When I am awake enough to witness them, this is mostly how the morning in the hokiekids' room goes:
645am: Hokiegirl's eyes open slowly. She stretches. Suddenly, her eyes POP open. She is awake, and there is no turning back. She hangs out on her bed for a few minutes, rolling around and playing with various animals within reach.
700am: Hokiegirl climbs up to Hokieboy's bunk. Sensing her presence, he opens his eyes and growls, "Hokiegirl, get off my bed! I'm trying to sleep!" She ignores his demand, telling him instead that the sun is up and it is time to wake up.
Now, here the routine varies. Typically, Hokiegirl pesters Hokieboy with hooting noises that are exactly the right pitch to sink into my marrow in the other room. Some hollering usually ensues between them, with Hokieboy still trying to fight Hokiegirl off so he can sleep. Today, however, Hokiegirl quietly removed herself to her own bunk and played with a bear. Hokieboy apparently decided he was not interested in sleeping and played with a book. This morning there is singing instead of hooting coming from their room. This is a wonderful thing. It is beautiful.
My only question is, WHY do they do this kind of thing only when I am already awake and not on the days when I want to sleep in???
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Overheard in Ptown
Me: Did you need to go potty? The bathroom is free now.
Hokieboy: No, my pen1s changed its mind.
Apparently, they get their own mind early.
Hokieboy: No, my pen1s changed its mind.
Apparently, they get their own mind early.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Easter is coming! What do you do?
When I was a little girl, Easter was pretty much the same every year. On Saturday night we would have a family dinner, usually a cookout or spaghetti, and dye eggs. And not a few eggs! We would dye dozens of eggs, at least 10! Mamaw had to have some with all of her church ladies' names, my mom took some to work, and all the family members had their names on eggs, including anyone who might randomly show up on Easter Sunday! It took hours! The kids would get bored after the first few dozen and then the grown ups would have their turn.
Easter morning, my sister and I would wake up and find Easter baskets in the hall outside our bedrooms. Oh, the candy we would find! There was always a toy of some sort, but as I got older it became a cd. We would put on our Easter dresses, usually with warm tights and sweaters, and head out to church. Ever notice how Easter around here is unpredictable, but usually cold?
Then to Mamaw and Papaw's house for our Easter feast! Ham, potato salad, collard greens, pickles, beans, the spread left little room on the table for our plates! After the kids finished eating, we would run around asking when the grown ups would finish eating so we could go find eggs! We were more than a little obnoxious, I'm sure. We would be herded into the living room and watched carefully to be sure nobody peeked out the windows. After what seemed like hours, we were finally allowed to go hunt eggs, by age order though, so the littler ones would be able to find the obvious eggs. I was the oldest, and it seemed to take forever to get to my turn!
Eggs were all over the yard. We would find eggs in the strangest places, and after we thought we had found them all, Uncle Larry would tell us there were more. He would have riddles ready to help us find those last elusive eggs. That was the best part. All of us kids would stand around and beg for more clues. One year, even he forgot where he hid a couple of eggs, and Papaw found them a month later doing maintenance on the house!
Now, all of the grandchildren are "grown" with the youngest in college and I have my own children. So the traditions are beginning to be passed down. Easter dinner is still at my Papaw's, but the fare has gotten simpler and easier. My mom, uncles, and aunt still buy the eggs to dye on Saturday night, but I no longer get to hunt the eggs. Now, my husband and I hide eggs for our children. And the Easter bunny at my house has a lot to learn about planning ahead so the kids have baskets with the right balance of candy and toys.
Easter has always been a family day for us, but you might have noticed just the passing mention of church Sunday morning. Now that I have my own family and my own faith, I get to build my own traditions. This year, there will be Bible readings in my house and stories read to my preschoolers before Easter morning. At my weekly Bible study, the kids heard the Palm Sunday story straight from the donkey's mouth. Next week they'll hear the Easter story from their teachers and again from me. I hope that my children will enjoy Easter for all of the fun things like egg hunts and baskets, but I want them to know the JOY that comes from the knowledge that Jesus is alive.
Please share your family traditions!
Easter morning, my sister and I would wake up and find Easter baskets in the hall outside our bedrooms. Oh, the candy we would find! There was always a toy of some sort, but as I got older it became a cd. We would put on our Easter dresses, usually with warm tights and sweaters, and head out to church. Ever notice how Easter around here is unpredictable, but usually cold?
Then to Mamaw and Papaw's house for our Easter feast! Ham, potato salad, collard greens, pickles, beans, the spread left little room on the table for our plates! After the kids finished eating, we would run around asking when the grown ups would finish eating so we could go find eggs! We were more than a little obnoxious, I'm sure. We would be herded into the living room and watched carefully to be sure nobody peeked out the windows. After what seemed like hours, we were finally allowed to go hunt eggs, by age order though, so the littler ones would be able to find the obvious eggs. I was the oldest, and it seemed to take forever to get to my turn!
Eggs were all over the yard. We would find eggs in the strangest places, and after we thought we had found them all, Uncle Larry would tell us there were more. He would have riddles ready to help us find those last elusive eggs. That was the best part. All of us kids would stand around and beg for more clues. One year, even he forgot where he hid a couple of eggs, and Papaw found them a month later doing maintenance on the house!
Now, all of the grandchildren are "grown" with the youngest in college and I have my own children. So the traditions are beginning to be passed down. Easter dinner is still at my Papaw's, but the fare has gotten simpler and easier. My mom, uncles, and aunt still buy the eggs to dye on Saturday night, but I no longer get to hunt the eggs. Now, my husband and I hide eggs for our children. And the Easter bunny at my house has a lot to learn about planning ahead so the kids have baskets with the right balance of candy and toys.
Easter has always been a family day for us, but you might have noticed just the passing mention of church Sunday morning. Now that I have my own family and my own faith, I get to build my own traditions. This year, there will be Bible readings in my house and stories read to my preschoolers before Easter morning. At my weekly Bible study, the kids heard the Palm Sunday story straight from the donkey's mouth. Next week they'll hear the Easter story from their teachers and again from me. I hope that my children will enjoy Easter for all of the fun things like egg hunts and baskets, but I want them to know the JOY that comes from the knowledge that Jesus is alive.
Please share your family traditions!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
And it burns burns burns...
The ring of swaps...
I've participated in a few knitting swaps. Some of them have been fantastic. Others, not so much. I never received anything from one swap (it was supposed to be a pair of socks and a couple of themed doodads). The latest swap I received $10 worth of a $60 swap and have heard nothing since. The swap ended February 28th.
I'm taking a time out from swaps for a while.
I've participated in a few knitting swaps. Some of them have been fantastic. Others, not so much. I never received anything from one swap (it was supposed to be a pair of socks and a couple of themed doodads). The latest swap I received $10 worth of a $60 swap and have heard nothing since. The swap ended February 28th.
I'm taking a time out from swaps for a while.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Great Expectations: a WIP
In case you hadn't noticed the widget on the side of my blog, the Ptown Cottage is expecting a new arrival this fall! Things are going well, I think. There is some debate over the actual due date, as the baby has measured a week behind for 2 ultrasounds. I go back at the end of the month for an official ultrasound. Not sure what the other two were: unofficial?
Anyway, I am a high-risk pregnancy. I had a blood clot when I was 18, the same year my dad had one. Well, that was too freaky to be coincidental, so we went in for genetic testing. Turns out I have a genetic mutation called Factor V Leiden. This is like having 2 risk factors for blood clots, making me more likely than others to develop clots when taking hormones like the birth control pill, smoking, or when pregnant. Hormones go absolutely berserk when you are pregnant, and this fact reeks havoc on my blood. I have to take injections of blood thinners throughout my pregnancy. Without the blood thinners, I could develop another clot or a clot could develop in the placenta or cord, causing miscarraige. Making things just a little more interesting, both of my children were born prematurely. Hokieboy was 2 months early and Hokiegirl was a month and a half early. Thankfully, you would never know looking at them now.
So, the due date of a baby is actually pretty important. A week can make a huge difference in the health of an infant. So much happens in those few weeks. A baby is actually considered full term by most at 37 weeks gestational age. Most of what happens between then and the due date (40 weeks) is putting on the pounds. Hokieboy was born at 32 weeks. This meant that his lungs were underdeveloped, as was the sphincter muscle that is between the stomach and the esophagus. He needed assistance breathing, developed jaundice and then had acid reflux, which caused him to stop breathing and his heart rate dropped too low. When he came home after a month in the NICU, he had a heart monitor to alert us to those events. Hokiegirl was born two weeks older, at 34 weeks. The lungs are generally mature by 34 weeks, which made me breathe easier when I hit that mark. She stayed in the hospital for a week because she also had jaundice. This made her too sleepy to eat, and without food to flush the bilirubin out, she remained jaundiced, which made her too sleepy to eat, and without food... you get the point.
The current due date for the new baby is October 9th, but that may be pushed back to October 16th, depending on the results of the ultrasound. I have grounded the baby, insisting that it not leave its womb until October. We'll see how that goes.
Over here in Ptown, a different kind of knitting is happening. I don't hold the needles at the moment, but God is very busy with creating a new life in me.
Psalm 139:13 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." NIV
Anyway, I am a high-risk pregnancy. I had a blood clot when I was 18, the same year my dad had one. Well, that was too freaky to be coincidental, so we went in for genetic testing. Turns out I have a genetic mutation called Factor V Leiden. This is like having 2 risk factors for blood clots, making me more likely than others to develop clots when taking hormones like the birth control pill, smoking, or when pregnant. Hormones go absolutely berserk when you are pregnant, and this fact reeks havoc on my blood. I have to take injections of blood thinners throughout my pregnancy. Without the blood thinners, I could develop another clot or a clot could develop in the placenta or cord, causing miscarraige. Making things just a little more interesting, both of my children were born prematurely. Hokieboy was 2 months early and Hokiegirl was a month and a half early. Thankfully, you would never know looking at them now.
So, the due date of a baby is actually pretty important. A week can make a huge difference in the health of an infant. So much happens in those few weeks. A baby is actually considered full term by most at 37 weeks gestational age. Most of what happens between then and the due date (40 weeks) is putting on the pounds. Hokieboy was born at 32 weeks. This meant that his lungs were underdeveloped, as was the sphincter muscle that is between the stomach and the esophagus. He needed assistance breathing, developed jaundice and then had acid reflux, which caused him to stop breathing and his heart rate dropped too low. When he came home after a month in the NICU, he had a heart monitor to alert us to those events. Hokiegirl was born two weeks older, at 34 weeks. The lungs are generally mature by 34 weeks, which made me breathe easier when I hit that mark. She stayed in the hospital for a week because she also had jaundice. This made her too sleepy to eat, and without food to flush the bilirubin out, she remained jaundiced, which made her too sleepy to eat, and without food... you get the point.
The current due date for the new baby is October 9th, but that may be pushed back to October 16th, depending on the results of the ultrasound. I have grounded the baby, insisting that it not leave its womb until October. We'll see how that goes.
Over here in Ptown, a different kind of knitting is happening. I don't hold the needles at the moment, but God is very busy with creating a new life in me.
Psalm 139:13 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." NIV
Friday, March 6, 2009
Marching along
It's March. I could hardly believe it when I flipped the calendar over to look
at the new month. As I was driving this evening, I noticed that it was after
6:00 pm and it was still light outside! This wonderful realization came to me
just days after we saw snow covering our yard. It's hard to believe, but spring
really is on it's way. I've never really been one for spring cleaning, but as I
look around my home that has been shut up for the long winter, I see the appeal
of having everything aired out and freshly scrubbed. We'll see if I can bring
that image to reality!
Spring brings us a chance to get out and enjoy God's creation. My camellia
bushes are blooming and the daffodils are popping up everywhere. The birds are
visiting more frequently and their song wakes me up just before sunrise. While
it's not quite planting season yet (someone told me tax day was a good time to
plant around here to avoid late frosts), when the warm days arrive I will be in
my yard planning for planting.
This month, we are focusing on the Growing Adventure. Let us take some time to
really observe how God works all around us. The plants that we see are a great
word picture of how God works in our hearts. A seed must die in order to become
fruit the following season. We bury it in the ground and soon a shoot pushes
through the dirt and mud towards the light. The shoot becomes a plant that will
blossom and produce fruit, from which more seeds will come. And the cycle will
continue.
We are those seeds, and good works are our fruit. Only when we die to ourselves,
our sinful selfish nature, can we be planted in the dirt. We will be drawn to
the Light that is the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will coax beautiful blooms and
fruit from us. Growing is hard work, but if we can just get out of God's way,
He will do the work in us so that the Light of His Son can shine before all men
and they will see the good works and glorify the Lord. (see Matthew 5:16)
Friday, February 27, 2009
The lost birthday post
So, I tried this on my birthday and cyberspace ate it. We'll try again.
My birthday weekend brought me all sorts of yarny goodness. On Saturday, a wonderful woman opened her Great Yarn Stash to my knitting group for us to tear apart. I managed to bring home a pretty obscene amount of yarns that I may never have purchased on my own. Robin is a designer who has had many yarn companies send her yarn in exchange for her designing something that uses that yarn. She had more yarn in her home than a small yarn store. Hundreds, maybe thousands of skeins and balls and cones. And the variety! She had wool and wool silk blends and mohair and acrylic and novelty. Colors ranged from grey and ecru to neon pinks and oranges to foresty greens. I picked out a few skeins and was told I must pick more. So I did. She told me more. I am embarassed by the amount of yarn came into my house on Saturday. I brought home a Stash of My Own. My stash before Saturday fit very comfortably into 3 small bins. I'm not sure I'm ready to publicly announce the contents of my new stash.
Also adding to the birthday yarny goodness that weekend, I won a contest over on Carly's blog. My first ever contest! I'm not sure exactly what it is, but Carly has wonderful taste and I'm sure it will qualify as yarny goodness.
My new stash is afraid of the paparazzi, so there will be no pictures at this time. Thank you for your understanding.
My birthday weekend brought me all sorts of yarny goodness. On Saturday, a wonderful woman opened her Great Yarn Stash to my knitting group for us to tear apart. I managed to bring home a pretty obscene amount of yarns that I may never have purchased on my own. Robin is a designer who has had many yarn companies send her yarn in exchange for her designing something that uses that yarn. She had more yarn in her home than a small yarn store. Hundreds, maybe thousands of skeins and balls and cones. And the variety! She had wool and wool silk blends and mohair and acrylic and novelty. Colors ranged from grey and ecru to neon pinks and oranges to foresty greens. I picked out a few skeins and was told I must pick more. So I did. She told me more. I am embarassed by the amount of yarn came into my house on Saturday. I brought home a Stash of My Own. My stash before Saturday fit very comfortably into 3 small bins. I'm not sure I'm ready to publicly announce the contents of my new stash.
Also adding to the birthday yarny goodness that weekend, I won a contest over on Carly's blog. My first ever contest! I'm not sure exactly what it is, but Carly has wonderful taste and I'm sure it will qualify as yarny goodness.
My new stash is afraid of the paparazzi, so there will be no pictures at this time. Thank you for your understanding.
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