tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38394032012-01-25T11:56:23.284-08:00Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.comBlogger13441100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-84183723008917361622012-01-25T11:46:00.000-08:002012-01-25T11:56:23.306-08:00

melted crayon leaves Snowflake suncatchers Squishy Paint Monsters Fingerprint Dragons (with added background mess!) Paper Lanterns (and snowflakes) Weather Tree (held to the fridge with How I Met Your Mother magnets)

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-59956921399568521642012-01-21T09:47:00.000-08:002012-01-21T09:47:47.077-08:00

I hear little clicking noises coming from the other room where Irina is. For some reason this doesn't set off any sort of alarm bells in my head and I ignore it. A few minutes later she comes in and says, "Look! Aren't I cute?" At first I don't notice anything, but then something clicks into place in my brain and I look closer and see that she has cut her eyelashes with a nail clipper. *********

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-68172057709028205432012-01-08T11:30:00.000-08:002012-01-08T11:30:05.408-08:00

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-77145090444213599712012-01-03T13:44:00.000-08:002012-01-03T13:44:01.157-08:00

I made these fingerless gloves for Saren for Christmas. They're just a tube with thumb-holes, but I'm pretty impressed with myself for those thumb-holes, thank you very much. Later I saw something online about "invisible thumb gussets." Gussets! Okay, if you say so. Also, that would have come in handy because my thumb gussets are totally visible. Oh well! Next time. I made them for her so

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-21251848294844907672012-01-02T16:19:00.000-08:002012-01-02T16:24:57.007-08:00

Here is a list of all of the books (give or take one or two from when I wasn't keeping good track) that I read in 2011. There is a total of 44 books. October and December were heavy reading months. I have no idea why. Actually I think September through December were all heavy reading months, and just October and December reflect that because I actually finished more books in those months. On to

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-85684215900204280922012-01-01T13:29:00.000-08:002012-01-01T13:29:29.250-08:00

Confetti Eggs

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-692221762282800252011-12-25T14:58:00.000-08:002011-12-25T14:58:31.851-08:00

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-86087382182435070732011-12-21T10:28:00.000-08:002011-12-21T10:28:13.873-08:00

I just got my laptop back after having sent it away to get the fan replaced. It had been making a loud whirring noise every time it had been on for more than a couple of minutes. Seems okay now! Here's some photos of recent Christmas-y stuff.

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-51848184184054494092011-12-08T17:41:00.001-08:002011-12-08T17:48:35.665-08:00

We made these today. We made these yesterday.

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-13008805624183417472011-12-07T20:56:00.001-08:002011-12-07T21:13:34.224-08:00

Today was park day and we got there alarmingly* late. We only stayed for about an hour and then started the long drive back home to our house at the very edge of the world, only this time we stopped to pick up Pat, pizza, and Pepsi. Also breadsticks, but that's not as alliterative, so it should have its own fragmentary sentence, don't you think? Here is what I thought about today: 10 years ago I

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-41411882467301860772011-12-06T19:12:00.001-08:002011-12-06T19:15:57.116-08:00

~ a walk followed by hot chocolate with whipped cream on top ~ playing with blocks and cars with my boy ~ finishing A Game of Thrones and wishing I had book two, but knowing I have to wait for 48 other people to be finished with it ~ chicken soup in the crockpot ~ listening to Rilo Kiley while knitting a gift ~ wondering what waste yarn is ~ knowing I'll figure it out when the time comes

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-34374424486517564942011-12-05T19:20:00.001-08:002011-12-05T19:25:06.187-08:00

I made this stocking for Irina to replace the mess of a stocking I originally made her when she was a wee babe. I think it turned out quite well. Now only Silas and Irina have stockings that I actually like. I need to replace everyone else's when I can get some more felt. Not mine though, because my mom made it for me when I was a wee babe.

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-48184270711854965012011-12-04T20:40:00.001-08:002011-12-04T20:46:07.308-08:00

Today's advent activity was making paper chains. So here is a boring picture of that. Harper and I (and sometimes Saren) go to Petsmart on Sundays to volunteer our cat-taking-care-of services. Today there was only one cat there, the very shy Diamond, who didn't even want to come out of her cage.

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-48694333429343475112011-12-03T19:39:00.001-08:002011-12-03T19:55:35.281-08:00

We went to the museum of natural history for our advent activity today. I know that's not very holiday-ish, but it was something I wanted to do while Pat was on vacation, so I figured why not? Just the littles went this time; the bigs were not interested.

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-83865379044005590632011-12-02T18:09:00.001-08:002011-12-02T18:19:54.400-08:00

Today's advent activity: ice skating. A few friends were there too because today was a homeschool day ($5 per skater and adults free! Woooo! Also, free hot chocolate!). It was Silas's first time. The first time around he really didn't like it. Then he asked to go a second time and started to enjoy himself more. But that was as much as he was willing to do. Afterward, all the desert

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-56003995696054077992011-12-01T18:32:00.001-08:002011-12-01T18:40:44.695-08:00

Our advent calendars went up a couple of days ago. There's the stocking advent calendar, which is a garland of 25 mini-stockings, each filled with chocolate, one for each child, each day. Then there's a tree-shaped advent calendar with little box drawers, each with an activity in it. And someone at Pat's work gave us two of those cardboard calendars with little doors to open up and chocolate

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-18666992498285248302011-11-08T12:39:00.000-08:002011-11-08T12:41:29.904-08:00

About a month ago I brought in a stray cat. The plan was that I would find him a home but since I just made an appointment at a clinic to get him neutered, I think that plan has been scrapped. It's not smart for us to have more cats, I know, but I can't say I've always made smart decisions where cats are concerned. This is it, though! No other cat comes through our door no matter how pitifully it

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-68661929699135976082011-11-06T09:57:00.000-08:002011-11-06T09:57:35.678-08:00

Yesterday we went to Red Springs Calico Basin, which is part of the Red Rock Canyon area, but doesn't require an entrance fee. We went at Harper's suggestion because she wanted to climb on the rocks. Here are some pictures.

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-48962599492263513482011-11-02T11:02:00.000-07:002011-11-02T11:02:56.467-07:00

Last year Silas was a bit mystified by trick-or-treating but he went along with it because people were giving him candy. This year he was Very Enthusiastic. At one point he ran up to a closed door and shouted "OPEN IT!!!!" Originally I was going to have him be Superman because he used to call all superheroes Superman. But I bought the Batman costume instead. At first he called it

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-21700695712158081972011-10-11T10:17:00.000-07:002011-10-11T10:17:52.605-07:00

Making Slime Rainy Day Walk Checking out the fire truck at the orchard Hay Maze at the Orchard Hay Maze Pumpkin Patch Pumpkin Patch Halloween Crafts Halloween Crafts Halloween Crafts

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-22739841548836081252011-09-27T09:45:00.000-07:002011-09-27T09:45:59.699-07:00

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-36194500729446716252011-09-23T12:09:00.000-07:002011-09-23T12:09:18.955-07:00

I have had a plan in mind for the past few months to move out of Vegas in a year and a half. But I didn't like it much. I wanted to find a way to do it sooner. It just feels like we've been waiting for far too long and waiting for a whole year and a half more seems unbearable. Why has it taken this long? When I look back and try to think about it, I can't really come up with anything definite.

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-75478332313139262362011-09-15T16:06:00.000-07:002011-09-15T16:06:21.570-07:00

We had a water balloon fight. 45 minutes of prep, 7 minutes of play. It was worth it though. Pat lost. Pat, the littles, and I went to a plant store that has ginormous turtles, bunnies, and a plethora of exotic birds, some of whom will say hello to you. There was also a resident cat wandering around who was very sweet. After that we went to a combination thrift store/art gallery,

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-77112720059136080922011-09-13T18:03:00.000-07:002011-09-13T18:03:55.432-07:00

This morning around 3:30, I was awoken and didn't immediately know why. Then the whole room flashed white and there was a deafening boom. Oh. Thunderstorm. Actually, more like THUNDERSTORM. A minute after I woke up, another huge crack woke Pat up and after that another one woke up Irina. Silas slept through the whole thing, which was kind of amazing. This was the kind of thunderstorm where there

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-76816444648286582232011-09-12T14:32:00.000-07:002011-09-12T14:33:25.321-07:00

Silas and I wake up before everyone else. Except Pat, who goes off to work. The older girls stay up very late and sleep during much of the day. Irina wakes up a couple of hours later than us. So we have the house to ourselves. I like this time with just him. Though he is a somewhat grumpy riser. Lately, he will often ask for food and then immediately reject it. When he has something in his belly

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-84877622266101197272011-09-09T12:11:00.000-07:002011-09-09T12:11:54.470-07:00

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-87207533268455897952011-09-07T10:27:00.000-07:002011-09-07T10:27:35.735-07:00

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-27539568059202633642011-09-01T13:07:00.000-07:002011-09-01T13:07:33.706-07:00

Here are some pictures from our Not Back to School party with the Life Learners. cornstarch goop being chased by the "zombies"

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-79738118037794933052011-08-27T12:56:00.000-07:002011-08-27T12:56:49.806-07:00

Silas is currently missing his left big toenail. About a month (or maybe more) ago, I was handing him a drinking glass and it dropped directly onto his big toe. I could tell it hurt a lot right away and it turned all purple/black under the nail. After about a week or so the nail separated from the skin underneath and it bled some. Then I cut almost all of the nail off because it was partially

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-14721807354323140152011-08-22T14:54:00.000-07:002011-08-22T14:54:25.531-07:00

But when he does, it's important to take a picture.

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-76740815340850004152011-08-18T14:04:00.000-07:002011-08-18T14:04:36.610-07:00

Yesterday Pat, the littles and I went to the children's museum with the Life Learners. Pictures!

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-70283948945963120882011-08-15T21:44:00.000-07:002011-08-15T21:44:52.038-07:00

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-3180203140809121712011-08-13T21:57:00.000-07:002011-08-14T10:10:29.471-07:00

It rained, or rather sprinkled, in the Las Vegas way. Pat and I sat outside in the backyard letting the drops fall on our skin while Irina and Silas played. Sometimes the two of them take my breath away. The way Silas plays a shooting game with himself, falls to the ground and declares himself "died." Irina swinging on the swingset and singing her made-up pop songs at the top of her lungs. She's

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-65228405759863828732011-08-08T16:05:00.000-07:002011-08-08T16:05:05.991-07:00

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-8020231057719640852011-07-25T14:29:00.000-07:002011-07-25T14:29:37.837-07:00

Saren's friends came and went. Actually it's been almost a week now. I think they all had fun and I know it was really good for Saren to have her friends actually here in the flesh. I took them all to the AdventureDome, which is an indoor amusement park underneath a giant pink dome. It's part of the hotel/casino Circus Circus, which has been around for quite some time and is a place where

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-84371284055004812782011-07-14T12:32:00.000-07:002011-07-14T12:32:38.344-07:00

Today we went to the airport to pick up Saren's friend, who flew in from Florida to visit her. They are happy and giggly and that is excellent. In two days, we'll go pick up two more of her friends. All of Saren's friends live far away. She seems fine with that. Harper's friend is moving away. We only met her in March (I think). Harper is bummed and thinks that she has rather bad luck when it

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-15632838164835499912011-07-03T12:02:00.000-07:002011-07-03T12:02:53.931-07:00

Yesterday Harper turned eleven. We went to Rubio's for lunch as per her request and ate quesadillas and chicken burritos, quickly, because we were late. Then off to the pool, where we met some friends and swam for a couple of hours. As soon as I took my camera out at the pool, the batteries died so I have no further pictures beyond what I took in the morning. (Batteries? How quaint and

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-80429587505263358852011-06-29T19:22:00.000-07:002011-06-29T19:22:00.262-07:00

My goal to write 1000 words a day has been going very well, I think. This, despite the fact that I started off doing about 1000 with no problem and then it started to dwindle down to about 5 or 600. Part of that was because for two days I felt like utter crap. But I couldn't seem to regain my momentum after that. Still, I made quite a lot of progress on the story which had been on the back

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-59149481680351444962011-06-24T16:28:00.000-07:002011-06-24T16:30:42.401-07:00

A few weeks ago, I was browsing around on an internet forum and came across a mention of the book Diaper Free Before Three. The idea is that in the good old days before disposable diapers, people used to potty train their kids at way younger ages than we do now and all this "readiness" stuff is just modern day baloney that benefits only disposable diaper companies. Training children earlier is

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-91515642825476687672011-06-23T14:09:00.000-07:002011-06-23T14:09:57.828-07:00

Owing to a rather unfortunate number two accident in the tub recently, Silas is refusing to take baths. This presents a conundrum because Irina won't take a bath unless she's in there with Silas. If she's alone, she becomes afraid that the shower will turn on by itself. I have been using a wet washcloth and hoping for the best when they both hang out in the kiddie pool or play at the park in the

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-71520903338882586292011-06-21T20:21:00.000-07:002011-06-21T20:21:23.834-07:00

Today I decided to make a writing goal of 1000 words a day. 1000 seems like a lot, maybe too much even, but I also decided that blogging counts and journaling (on paper) counts. Ultimately what I want is for a large portion of my 1000 words a day to be fiction; beginnings, middles, and oh my god ends of honest to goodness stories, but if writing begets writing, then I'll take what I can get. I

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-17992230649687742172011-06-15T15:59:00.000-07:002011-06-15T15:59:32.686-07:00

  His birthday happened to fall on a homeschool day at the trampoliney place. I nearly broke my back! Then we went for lunch at a hamburger place he likes and then we went to the game store and bought him Lego Star Wars. I have more pictures from the jumpy place, though obviously none of them top the above picture. You know, even if I only ever posted for our birthdays, I'd still have 6 blog

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-68344855316150633682011-06-11T08:55:00.000-07:002011-06-11T08:55:13.628-07:00

Here are some of the words that Silas says and how he says them. Wii - (wee) Mario - (woah) cockroach - (gah-koh) taco - (gah-koh) water - (wah-ee) hug - (ha) no Yeah! pee poo pig - (pee) There are more I can't recall right now and a lot of them sound the same. He also says a lot of letters and always seems to point out B correctly and then directly afterward (after we've declared him a genius)

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-24960711031276104192011-05-29T11:32:00.000-07:002011-05-29T11:35:07.901-07:00

Irina is a performer at heart right now. She loves dancing and singing and she loves to watch others doing so. That said, she's never really had any opportunity to see professional dancers or singers in real life, on a stage. Until last Friday, when she and I got to attend a showcase put together by the Nevada Ballet Company and Cirque du Soleil. It was a free show for kids from the school

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-26839731602408077182011-05-20T15:44:00.000-07:002011-05-20T15:44:43.389-07:00

I made this bunny for Silas for his birthday. I used this pattern, but I made it double-sized. It's just a rectangle with arms and legs and ears, but I think it's pretty cute. Silas likes it, anyway. Sometimes. See? He even sleeps with it. Naw, I totally posed that.

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-88674077365771375492011-05-17T20:43:00.000-07:002011-05-17T20:43:38.531-07:00

2 years and 42 minutes ago, my beautiful boy came into this world in a swirl of pain and excitement and love. Here is what you should know about Silas right now at two years of age. He loves those little clementine oranges, but doesn't like it if you try to peel it for him. In fact, if you peel it for him sometimes he'll just refuse to eat it even if he asked for it. He loves his big sister,

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-5156885278510033642011-05-15T09:49:00.000-07:002011-05-15T09:49:43.805-07:00

One pair of $2 tap shoes from the thrift store plus some replacement ribbons equals a happy tap dancing Irina.

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-13790594301952709072011-05-13T10:20:00.000-07:002011-05-13T10:20:25.987-07:00

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-12295794966127458492011-04-28T09:08:00.000-07:002011-04-28T09:08:39.056-07:00

Irina is at Pat's work for Take Your Child to Work Day. Here is her email to me: Irina. I love you, I miss you, I will be home at seventeen.

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-85276270573560536032011-04-27T19:36:00.000-07:002011-04-27T19:36:01.836-07:00

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-59211080420688087682011-04-24T11:23:00.000-07:002011-04-24T11:23:12.271-07:00

This year Silas was really into the egg hunt. Last year he was still too little. Whenever he found an egg he said, "Haha!" which is his way of saying "a-ha" and "Ay!" which is his way of saying "egg." Later on he and Irina played in the water spigot and they both got soaking wet. For the first time this year Saren didn't do the egg hunt and instead helped hide the eggs. My babies are

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-71563124243100928342011-03-25T22:15:00.000-07:002011-03-25T22:21:47.666-07:00

Yesterday I managed to turn 37. It being the day before payday, we had no money. My dad offered dinner, so we jumped right on that. I saw my littlest brother and that was nice as I don't see him often. Stephanie on her 37th birthday When we were at the restaurant with my dad, there was a carnival midway thingy set up in the parking lot and we decided to come back today to ride a few

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-34055855474482744432011-03-22T17:33:00.000-07:002011-03-22T17:33:02.160-07:00

Blogging about how you haven't blogged for a long time is awesome. Since I last wrote there have only been three developments (off the top of my head) that are worth telling about. One, Harper got two new hamsters. Their names are Mushaboom (or Mushy as we call her) and Salt.   These are not the greatest pictures, but they'll do. The second thing was that some hair-dying happened. That

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-83313728256588118142011-02-21T16:38:00.000-08:002011-02-21T16:38:08.291-08:00

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-32272772388119537632011-02-13T15:47:00.000-08:002011-02-13T15:50:35.827-08:00

Got her lip pierced, that is. For the record, the reason I "let" her get her lip pierced is because a)it's not my lip, so it's not my choice, b)it's not so different from getting your ears pierced and people do that to babies, and c)we both researched the pros and cons. The woman at the piercing/tattoo shop asked Saren what she had to do to get me to take her there and let her get a hole

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-50004214575882766612011-02-08T13:55:00.000-08:002011-02-08T13:56:36.160-08:00

"How do you like that? Hi-yah!" she shouts, while swinging a doll through the air. Looking at me, she explains, "I killed a bear. With my baby." ************ "Mom, can I have a phone? I'm six!!!!"

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-8986502109259165602011-02-04T19:50:00.000-08:002011-02-04T19:50:06.039-08:00

We went up to the mountain today with the Life Learners. Silas seemed to like it, but I think he was a bit miffed that I woke him up from his nap to go sledding. How rude!

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-31429671120703054282011-02-02T09:11:00.000-08:002011-02-02T09:11:02.834-08:00

Or, at least one of us is!

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-74025073233023551022011-01-29T21:03:00.000-08:002011-01-29T21:04:11.463-08:00

Thing One: I fixed the master bathroom toilet all by myself. I am awesome. Thing Two: I bought a nursing tank top and a nursing bra from Target and they both fit, and neither are too uncomfortable. This brings my total number of not-uncomfortable, not-falling-apart nursing underclothing that fits to two. I am still awesome, though it's unrelated. So now I am overjoyed that I can pee in my own

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-34366110896958812992011-01-26T21:10:00.000-08:002011-01-26T21:10:23.489-08:00

Yep. The hamsters that Harper had for less than four weeks both passed away. Within hours of each other. Last night Harper came out of her room crying and said that Chuck had died. I went in and picked up his limp and cold body and held him while she cried. All at once he started to make movements, sort of like he was gagging. We were afraid he was choking and the girls were upset and wanting me

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-5810960531952185512011-01-17T18:47:00.000-08:002011-01-17T20:48:11.217-08:00

1. January is more than half over. 2. Silas is TWENTY months old, which apparently means he is four months away from being TWO. 3. Irina will turn SIX in two weeks, one day. Also, I don't know how it got to be 6:45pm, but that's merely improbable, not impossible.

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-55173000299224972342011-01-11T20:33:00.000-08:002011-01-11T20:33:10.757-08:00

Saren's biggest interest right now is probably her rats, but she's interested a lot in animals in general. Domesticated animals in particular. Her new favorite show is Pitbulls and Parolees on Animal Planet, which is a show about a woman who runs a pit bull rescue and hires parolees to work for her. This woman is all about taking in those who nobody else wants and giving them a second chance.

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-44874635452813579662011-01-09T21:40:00.001-08:002011-01-09T21:40:52.810-08:00

Irina: How does that dancing queen song go? Me: Dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen... Irina: No, it goes like this. Dancing queen, young and sweet, only five!

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-20053325982486888052011-01-08T22:40:00.000-08:002011-01-08T22:40:06.661-08:00

...went to the DMV for my daughter, who needs a photo id for the purpose of getting a hole in her face. The wait was surprisingly short. ...saw a license plate that said TEQUILA. I feel that a license place is an odd place to declare your love for certain alcoholic beverages. ...saw and had husband drag home a toy box destined for the landfill. I plan on painting it (because it says "Samantha

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-983942207532147322011-01-07T20:27:00.000-08:002011-01-11T20:37:36.255-08:00

Right now the computer desk is a mess, mostly filled with the detritus of Saren's late night life. She eats apples and doodles pictures as she sits here, typing, chatting, playing. The cat is sitting on the defunct printer staring longingly at the rat, who is in her cage, steadily ignoring her feline presence. Music from World of Warcraft, which Saren left running, is coming out of the earbuds

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-52816896756753501112011-01-06T22:13:00.000-08:002011-01-11T21:08:31.554-08:00

We have three cats. Lickorish and Angel are siblings. We got them about four years ago. I think. Once we got their reproductive parts fixed (by which I mean broken), Lickorish gained a lot of weight and then she stayed that way. Angel was overweight too, but he's also just a big ol' tomcat anyway. Our other cat is Chester, who is not a boy, but a skinny little girl, and she's pretty much always

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-88655228224244916452011-01-05T21:50:00.000-08:002011-01-05T21:50:44.019-08:00

Silas loves video games. He knows how to turn on the Wii and how to change the tv to the correct channel to play. The only thing he doesn't really know how to do is actually play video games. But he gets very excited when other people play, especially when it's a Mario game. He also gets excited when Saren wears her MarioKart t-shirt and points and squeals at the pictures. One of his latest

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-2881483180528277652011-01-04T17:44:00.000-08:002011-01-04T17:44:35.883-08:00

I am trying to find time to write during my day. Today I dragged my chair into the sun in the backyard and sat there with my notebook and pen while Silas and Irina dug in the dirt and played on the swingset. I got about one paragraph and then Silas wanted to go inside and do other things. I have read advice for moms who want to write to use the in-between spaces during the day to write. To be

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-38713377116842398542011-01-03T18:27:00.000-08:002011-01-03T18:27:22.336-08:00

Big, fat, beautiful flakes that, sadly, did not deign to stick around once they hit the ground.

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-1028404072519662782011-01-02T19:22:00.000-08:002011-01-02T19:22:54.106-08:00

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-32196486791736601422011-01-01T21:09:00.000-08:002011-01-01T21:33:27.952-08:00

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-64042620406929800292010-12-31T16:52:00.000-08:002011-01-04T17:45:53.336-08:00

Me: Pfft. Resolutions. I don't do them. I, in fact, turn my nose up at them. I don't need them. Resolutions: Why not? Imagine the possibilities! Me: Yeah, but why should I just set myself up for failure? Every year I say I'm going to write every day and every year I don't live up to my own expectations. Every year I say I will eat healthier or be more creative or stop drinking Pepsi or shave my

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-51356860929750784832010-12-29T19:30:00.000-08:002010-12-29T19:30:09.728-08:00

So, for Christmas, Santa brought Harper a hamster cage and some money to buy some hammies. A couple of days ago, Harper picked out two little guys and brought them to their new home. These are they. The dark one is Chuck, and the lighter one is Morgan. It was hard to get any good pictures of Chuck though because of his color. So there's just one blurry one.

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-8889086608080452352010-12-25T17:50:00.000-08:002010-12-25T17:50:55.002-08:00

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-5279192967105033162010-12-11T10:58:00.000-08:002010-12-11T10:58:03.117-08:00

This rat sleeps on her head. Silas loves the ratties and squeals with excitement when they are near. Cookie decorating. Same. Irina was doing a puppet show. Silas loooooooooves smoothies. He always gets a little bit on his forehead from the cup. We made a jingle bell flower garland, using this tutorial from the Crafty Crow.

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-594172618745159362010-12-07T20:32:00.000-08:002010-12-07T20:32:07.566-08:00

We are making sugar cookies tonight. As with everything in my life, when I make plans to bake cookies it usually ends up being rather disorganized and not too well thought out. Thus we will probably be decorating them well unto midnight. That's okay, though, we don't have to wake up early for anything. What's life if you can't have a late night cookie decorating party anyway? We finished making

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-72343647616810764362010-12-01T19:38:00.000-08:002010-12-01T19:40:42.964-08:00

So, I came up with something for the advent calendar for today, but not until this morning, luckily before Irina or Harper woke up. (And Saren, but my waking up before Saren is a given these days.) It was using window crayons to decorate the back door with Christmas-y designs. Which we haven't actually done yet. But we will! And now I have a panicky sort of feeling because I don't know exactly

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-54652700784947922492010-11-30T19:55:00.000-08:002010-11-30T19:56:15.144-08:00

Well, now December is literally right around the corner. Except that it can't literally be around the corner because a month is not a physical, tangible thing. Let's move on. Today I put up the Christmas decorations, including our stocking advent calendar. In the stockings there will be candies (one for each kid, each day) and in another advent calendar we have there will be little slips of

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-58845938364584448232010-11-27T22:55:00.000-08:002010-11-27T22:55:28.539-08:00

I don't know if it's this way for everyone, but whenever I don't blog for a while and then I want to, it's like this huge effort. Like some huge hill I have to get over before I can get to the coasting part. Nothing I come up with to say seems right when it's been a long time since the last time I wrote. That's why I end up with random stuff posts separated with weeks of nothing. November

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-91120103718080575992010-11-08T07:21:00.000-08:002010-11-08T07:23:47.963-08:00

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-41606827540483398112010-10-31T15:26:00.000-07:002010-10-31T15:26:28.743-07:00

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-60318756825150399702010-10-25T20:06:00.000-07:002010-10-25T20:06:37.418-07:00

This was an all day project. Saren is very happy with the way it turned out, but she wants me to let you know that her bangs are all funky from being in a pony tail on the top of her head (we did each color separately). I like it too. It's so bright right now! I hope the colors last for a good while.

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-17802430701618016362010-10-23T23:02:00.000-07:002010-10-23T23:02:00.737-07:00

I thought, when I blogged last time, I would set the ball rolling and start blogging more regularly. But every time I think about doing so, I am stymied and just can't think of what to say. There is just too much to say. By which I mean, there is absolutely nothing to say. So, here are some random photos with some random words to go with.  One day I realized that I could do this with Silas's

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-31994300737565016822010-10-18T20:23:00.000-07:002010-10-18T20:23:29.371-07:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about how we live our life and how it's not really how we want it to be or on our terms. Well, no. No, no, no. That's not true at all. We've opted out of institutionalized school and twice I've opted out of institutionalized baby-growing-and-birthing and all of that is/was completely on our terms. There are other things too, mostly having to do with the children

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-84444488102671690372010-09-16T19:40:00.000-07:002010-09-16T19:40:18.715-07:00

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-77693013999347584542010-09-13T20:43:00.000-07:002010-09-13T20:43:58.986-07:00

So, Pat has had his Sev job for a couple of weeks now. Overall, I'm not liking it. On the one hand, it's good to have that little bit of extra money, even if it is just a little bit. On the other hand, I seem to feel unhappy whether he's working or not working. If he's not working, I'm thinking that we could really use just a leeeeetle bit more and if he is working, I feel sad that he's not with

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-4220806863239830542010-09-09T11:05:00.000-07:002010-09-09T11:05:50.256-07:00

Silas likes shoes Silas's computer turn

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-82822668380837773372010-09-01T20:51:00.000-07:002010-09-01T20:51:11.106-07:00

Today our unschooling group had it's annual Not-Back-to-School party. This post would be a lot more interesting if I had remembered my camera. The kids had a great time though, and there was hula hooping, playing in the water at the splash pad, face painting, markers, beading, food, bubbles, and balloons. Plus, the weather has been very cooperative, cooling off by about ten degrees or so for the

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-52361606958984640392010-08-31T19:22:00.000-07:002010-08-31T19:22:48.382-07:00

Raspberry finger heads A Picture of Saren in Ithaca, NY taken in LV, NV Lunch! I make him do all the cleaning. Flying Girl

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-77562569454128684562010-08-29T11:48:00.000-07:002010-08-29T12:53:15.271-07:00

Irina has recently discovered the joy of Hannah Montana through the miracle of streaming Netflix on our Wii. So far she has watched all of season 1 and most of season 2. Look, we haven't had a lot of experience with "tween" shows up to this point. When we got cable (which we no longer have!), we all started watching iCarly, and when it comes to tween shows, iCarly sets the bar pretty high. I

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-82022126734168383502010-08-27T20:40:00.000-07:002010-08-27T20:40:17.191-07:00

Irina woke up and came to me shaking and whimpering and saying her belly was "moving." A little later she threw up the few sips of water she had taken. I changed a poopy diaper, cleaned up the mess on the carpet that the schizophrenic cat made, noticed that the turtle we recently rescued had created some sort of green something or other in it's water (which I had just changed), cleaned up the

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-47095279393466852582010-08-26T19:43:00.000-07:002010-08-26T19:43:59.764-07:00

The internet is wonderful! Miranda is posting on her blog about what the girls are getting up to each day, so I get to see photos and read about Saren's daily activities. Plus I can talk to her on Skype, which the kids children and I all did earlier today. It sure eases the ache of missing her, but what will we talk about when she comes home if I already know everything she did? Anyway, if you'd

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-974740614028684092010-08-24T12:46:00.000-07:002010-08-24T14:54:39.093-07:00

Saren is 35,000 feet above Mississippi right now. This I know because I am tracking her plane on FlightAware.com. Ah, the wonders of the internet. Getting through the ticketing line and security was easy-peasy, probably partly because it was so early (we arrived at 4:15am) and partly because of her special status as an unaccompanied minor (we bypassed one of the longer lines). It feels so

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-55005761959262266562010-08-15T15:39:00.000-07:002010-08-15T15:39:39.124-07:00

Today my remarkable daughter has become a teenager. You only get 6 years to be one of those! I mean 7! I forgot about 19. Thus, today is the first of 2557 days in which she will be a teen. She really didn't want to do anything other than go out to U-swirl, the self-serve frozen yogurt place, so that's all we'll be doing. Other than hanging out here and having cake and her choice of meals and

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-40335454303048136752010-08-10T19:50:00.000-07:002010-08-10T19:50:35.744-07:00

Nothing, really. I just haven't felt terribly bloggy. Pat recently got a second job. He's only just started it, but we are hoping that the little bit of extra money will help ease things a bit here. His job number 2 is at a 7-11, which is great because I can call it "the sev." You know, like "So what time do you get off from the sev?" That sort of thing. I'm glad that we'll have that little

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-38129204541054325232010-08-09T20:11:00.000-07:002010-08-09T20:11:21.335-07:00

Back Door Decorations Barbie Shoes Fingers Chasing Rainbows    Chasing Rainbows - Part 2

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-71439510630594475402010-08-01T16:50:00.000-07:002010-08-01T16:50:29.429-07:00

Turquoise + Red Bonus Picture

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-8574404124702003132010-07-30T14:01:00.000-07:002010-07-30T14:01:07.681-07:00

I helped Saren first bleach and then dye her hair recently. The first time I bleached it, it didn't take too well. I think I should have used the whole bottle of ...stuff, but the directions said I probably wouldn't need the whole bottle, so I didn't use it all. The second time was a little better, but still not terribly even. I'm not sure how to get it all even. But there were some VERY platinum

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-66847404383752680662010-07-13T17:54:00.000-07:002010-07-13T17:56:16.406-07:00

There is a praying mantis living on our screen door and we call him Manny. I mean, I do. No one else does. Irina calls him our bug friend and gets sad when we can't see him. He's sort of a dull beige, which is boring,  and further evidence of some of the many disadvantages to living in the desert. Personally I am a fan of green praying mantises. Mantisi. Manti. Still, it is very cool when he

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3839403.post-76975060331799160722010-07-04T21:48:00.000-07:002010-07-04T21:52:00.266-07:00

Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482474516950682017noreply@blogger.com0