wordless wednesday::please never change

please never change

wordless wednesday::my monkey making music

my monkey making music

baby-baby

I would like to have another wee rotten.

I KNOW.

When I tease Steve about this he rolls his eyes and plants his feet firmly.  The answer is no.  Which is, in all honesty, ok.   It really is.  It makes sense NOT to further populate the already crowded and strained earth.  It makes sense to concentrate on Phase II (or III or IV depending on where you start numbering Life Phases).  It makes sense to stop and soak up the awesomeness that is Right Now with three healthy, happy, and seriously awesome little beings that I share my days with.  Besides, I’ve given away all the baby stuff.

Still want another.  Can’t help it.  Maybe we’re hardwired that way.

I could probably stamp my feet and whine and carry on and get my way but babies aren’t usually something that you throw a temper tantrum over to convince the other person (especially if it is the other person responsible for providing the food and shelter for said wee rotten).  Instead of stamping and whining I decided to be adult and take a hard look at my reasons for More!Babies!.

They’re pretty lame, to be sure.

1.  Babies allow you to check out of life.  It’s like this get-out-of-dealing-with-the-real-world pass, like a bathroom pass but better.  It’s the bathroom pass where you meet your boyfriend in the bathroom and then make out for 15 minutes.  That kind of pass.

2. I really dig this life.  I mean, my life totally rules.  Steve has prefaced many sentences with “I know you don’t want anything in your life to change but…” and he’s right.  This life, right now, this second?  AWESOME.  To be fair, that is also part of my personality.  The cup is half full, usually with wine.

3. Not working becomes me.

4. I don’t think there is anything else in life that matters more than the relationships we keep.  I really like people.  I really like kids.  I really like the idea of this big, crazy, loud, ridiculous and annoying family.  I like the idea of a community and in theory I should be able to get this from my community.  The truth is, I’ve never had a community that was - I don’t know what the right phrase here is - that fulfilling?  that true?  that comfortable?  I never fit in 100%, which I imagine no one really does because we’re all people and we’re all different and for some reason that is really hard for most people to accept so there is always this push, albeit a subtle push, to conform.  To change to be more like the group or the community.  People, as a general rule, aren’t that great at just accepting but we’re REALLY good at passing judgement.  Plus, I’m kinda weird.  Families have a way of embracing the weird.  Friends don’t have to be as tolerant, and generally aren’t.

5.  I have this romantic notion of homeschooling my kids (another blog post, I’m not talking out of my ass, I’ve done the research.  Besides, this is a great community to do that, there is a huge homeschooling population that is very supportive so socially you wouldn’t be holding back the rottens), raising and growing my own food, sitting on the front porch in the evening playing the banjo and singing to my chickens. For some reason I think you need a lot of children to do this.  At least 4.  Maybe even 6.  I mean, think about it.  AWESOME, yes?  I knew you’d think so.

6. 3 is an odd number.  4 is even.  Things should be even.

It really is a mystery why Steve doesn’t just jump on this bandwagon.  I mean seriously, right?  RIGHT?

wordless wednesday::downpour

downpour

handmade::the birds

This little mobile was one of the Christmas Handmades.  One of the Christmas handmades that actually got wrapped and placed under the tree.  I know, right?  CRAZY.  You should totally invite me to your next party, I’d liven that shit right up.

tweet tweet

This was the gift that Callum made for Claire.  The inspiration was this mobile, which I figured would be easy enough to recreate and make our own.  I cut out the birds from some neutral construction paper that I had on hand knowing that Callum would be coloring them.  I cut out many more birds than these two.  I would have used cardstock but I didn’t have any and I wasn’t about to go out and buy some for this since I literally have a suitcase full of paper.  One with a suitcase full of paper needs not to buy more paper.  Ever.

Then one fine day when Claire was napping – which, seriously, when was the last time that girl napped?  Last summer? – Callum went to work personalizing Claire’s Birds.

Callum wasn’t big on my abstract art idea, or say, wildly colored birds.  I even broke out the “good” markers but could not convince him to add any more color to each bird.  Once he started to get pissy about it I let it go.

I do love how he colored each bird a breast, and the eyes.

He also decided that two was plenty.  This may have been because I mentioned that when he was done we could go outside on an adventure and find the stick they’d hang from.  He was all over that.

I don’t think I used his stick to make the mobile.  Man, I’m a bit of a bitch Mommy.

ANYWAY.  Once the stick was collected, I had to assemble that sucker pronto because it had to be wrapped and let me tell you, the wrapping and presenting of presents is still a big deal over here.  It’s Very Important and honestly, happens a lot.  The kids routinely wrap up  my stuff and give it to me as a gift.

Getting your own bra wrapped up in a box is a bit of a letdown.  I’m just sayin’.

just hanging.

The birds were well-received.  My kids love to get stuff that the other made for them as I’ve brainwashed them well.  These now hang proudly over the head of Claire’s bed.  Where Claire’s head doesn’t lay because one day last month they decided to sleep backwards, so these birds hang over her feet.

This would look really adorable with pretty paper and several birds, don’t you think?  I mean, Claire’s Birds look adorable too and are totally awesome in that kid-made way, but you could inexpensively make something pretty stellar as a baby gift.  You should do that.  Go! Create!

wordless wednesday::beaches are the bestest

beaches are the bestest