I had been wanting a baby. For like the last year, I really wanted to have another kid. I didn’t know how it would possibly fit into our lives, but I wanted it. And then I didn’t. I think it was when I was hanging out with one of my friends who is the the grips of motherhood right now. She has teeny kids that demand so much of her attention and time and I thought, I’ve paid my dues. Really, I have. I went through the teeny kids who yelled about everything and made messes faster than I could clean them. And now I’ve got kids that are at the perfect age. They are in school, they make their breakfast every morning, dress themselves, do chores (with lots of threats), wipe their own butts, take their own showers and they READ.

This has been my biggest dream with my children: to get them to the point that I can say, please go read your books. I mean really, it’s amazing. The other day I told Honor I would buy him a book at Borders and he was so excited that he told all of his friends at school about it and asked me if I could go buy it and bring it back to school that very minute. He stayed up til 10:30 that night reading (really, how much trouble can a kid get in for reading?) And the next day he chose to STAY IN FROM RECESS so he could read his book. Eden is the same way. I have grown a pair of nerds! It’s the best thing ever!

So at this time where my kids run through the house chasing the dog, repeat the same phrase 50 times, have disasters of rooms and yap non-stop, I’m just deciding to be thankful for the way they are. So much easier than toddlers and, I imagine, so much easier than teenagers too.

Um, so, I love having sewing classes at my store.

Last week Eden took the kids sewing class and is now addicted. She completed her pillowcase and my machine made it out alive. (when i dropped her off for class, I tried really hard not to worry about turning my machine over to her, but I still did… a little.)

When it turned out that I needed to have the kids with me all day at Tangle Saturday (Jim always ends up having out of town shows on the weekends I work.), Eden asked if she could sew something. She whipped out these blankets for her and Honor. I cut and pinned and she did the rest, including most of the pressing.

Notice the pillowcase she made too.

These blankets are just super-simple, two layers (one flannel, one quilting cotton) sewn inside out and then turned. I was worried that they would be weird without batting, but ended up being great for this time of year. They both have drug them around everywhere.

Now she wants to sew blankets for everyone she knows. I’ve gotta teach this kid to quilt…

Three Dogs

Three dogs
Three names
Three breed
Three beds
One runs
One climbs
One jumps
Three dogs…
One Dies
One goes
One stays.
One dog
I miss the other two.

For Eden’s 8th birthday, we decided it was time she had her own room. I wanted it to be a surprise, so after much planning, sneaky shopping trips and one very late night, her room was done. And she was really surprised! Can’t believe that kid is 8 years old… doesn’t seem possible.

Before the room was our master bedroom and then converted for a few months into the playroom:
(pardon the cell phone pictures, both camera batteries were dead…of course.)

After:

I am

I swim,
love,
read,
write,
drink,
eat,
smell flowers,
play and
talk.
I am Joy!

– Eden 7yrs old.

Eden drew this yesterday.

Maybe I should talk to Jim about letting the kids watch YouTube?

“Dad, we had an accident. It was a spiller. And my tiger has apple cider on him now.”

“Mom, why do you always wear your hood in front of your neck?”

“It’s not a hood, it’s called a cowl. It’s fashionable.”

“Oh, it’s fashionable? Oh.”

Today Honor turns 5 years old. My baby! I can’t believe that he is five… As much as I’ve longed for this day – in my mind 5 was the magical age in which he would be easier – I’m now sad having reached it. He is easier, in fact he has been quite a joy lately. Almost every day he comes up to me with a tender look on his face and tells me, “Mom, you’re so cute.” (Can’t wait to see him when he’s a teenager trying to woo girls.)

Honor’s number one request for his birthday present was a live lobster. He’s been pleading his case over the last few months as we visited the lobster case at the grocery store. “Please mom, I want a pet wobster! Pleeeaaaseee?!” I never could quite reason with him as to why we couldn’t keep a lobster as a pet, but hopefully he will be happy with the slightly used Gameboy advance that we bought him instead.

I think the next year for Honor might find him in preschool. He asked me yesterday if he would be going to school now that he is 5. Poor kiddo! He’s so lonely when Eden is in school! He also asked me if he could use the microwave now that he is 5. But, alas, no microwave usage for Mr. Honor as the last time he used it, he cooked a breadstick for 45 minutes before we discovered it.

Well, it’s opening presents time. Honor has been “dying” with all this waiting!

I wanna watch TV.

No, we’re going to get rid of TV.

No! Please? I really like TV. It’s the only thing I like to do!

Sorry, TV isn’t good for us. We don’t need to watch it.

But TV shows us stuff that we want to buy.

__________________________________________

It’s time to blow up our life. We’ve been far too complacent and self absorbed for far to long. I don’t know exactly what that means for all of us, but we will all be changing our lives together. Getting rid of cable is just one of the first small steps. Getting rid of the “stuff” that we just think we have to have is the next.

I’m excited.