This is what my life looks like.

Bret has been helping me keep Toby still while do his contacts every morning and evening. The new hard lenses are great, but it's taken a while for little one to get used to the new procedures and sensations. Bret took these while I was removing lenses the other night, and as you can see, Toby survived. But this is what my life looks like.

Wordless Wednesday: Last CSA share of the season

So many fresh veggies, and homemade strawberry sorbet. Oh Swallowtail Farm, we will miss you until fall!

Wordless Wednesday: Hyperbaric Therapy with Henry

Ah, the bounty!

Our CSA is amazing, and we are swimming in the fruits of summer. This bounty, however, signals that the end of the season is drawing near, and those dog days of summer are ahead. In Florida, July and August are our resting months, when we casual gardeners and farmers surrender to the heat. We might be able to keep a few plants going with lots of irrigation, but it's about time to let it go. And wait for our lovely fall gardens to arrive!

Some projects, in progress...

The gnome family grows...

Open Letter to Kim John Payne

Dear Kim,

Please come to my house and simplify my stuff and my schedule. My attempts have been genuine, but genuinely epic fails. I love you, please come. Anytime. I'll bake you pie.

Love, V

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Sent from my iPhone.

http://hamstocks.blogspot.com/
http://radicalmamalaw.blogspot.com/

Wordless Wednesday: Nayla settles in for the long haul

Open Letter to East-Coast Travel

Dear East Coast Travel:

To be honest, what with all the delays, long drives to the airport, hassle of lugging around 2 car seats, and stress of packing in one suitcase to save $50, I'm not convinced that airplanes are the way to go. I know I said that twelve hours in the car would stress out the kids, but both of our travel days were 12+ hours, door to door. And we didn't get to stop and eat, and pee, and stretch. Next time, I'm totally driving.

(will someone please remind me of this when the time comes?)

Mwah, V

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Sent from my iPhone.

http://hamstocks.blogspot.com/
http://radicalmamalaw.blogspot.com/

Wednesday

It's silent in our house right now. 3:30, we are ALL home, all in different rooms, all cashed out in one way or another. Bret is out with the tummy bug, Toby and I are fighting off the end of the head cold/flu bug, and Henry is feeling much better, but taking some quiet time to himself with his iPad. We leave for four days tomorrow... Oh dear me. Send us lively thoughts and pixie dust please. We could use some.

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Sent from my iPhone.

http://hamstocks.blogspot.com/
http://radicalmamalaw.blogspot.com/

And even more tiny gnomes!

More Gnomes. And a gnome home.

Baby gnome, #2

Toby's baby gnome. He picked out all the colors. I'm getting more elaborate with my stitching, and this little guy has more stuffing. Up next... Log cabin quilt for Baby Capobianco-Dandorf and gnome for Henry, possibly with hair and a beard. And more flower faeries. Ahhh, I'm loving this craftiness.

Nevermind, for now.

Last night Henry turned into the girl from the Excorcist, at least in terms of vomit. He was much sweeter. This morning, instead of stressing about all that packing I was stressing about last night pre-midnight, I got to run around in a sleepless haze gathering BRATS foods and canceling flights, rental cars, nannies, appointments.... Now we are in bed, trying to keep down fluids. Yes universe, I hear you laughing. Ha ha, I had plans. Phhhhfffft on you too.

Wordless Wednesday: Oh crap, I have to actually pack this stiff tomorrow morning.

Baby Ida's Blanket

Organic cotton, cool and tough for summer! Brooklyn, here it comes!

Baby Gnome

I've been learning about Waldorf-inspired handcrafts through Henry's awesome preschool, and tonight I finished my first solo project. Beyond solo project - I improvised a pattern and design, and even materials, woot!

This baby gnome will head up to Brooklyn tomorrow to meet her new mama, Miss Ryah Dashti, who has a new baby sister named Ida. Ida is getting a pretty pink and white knit blanket, so it only seemed fair that big sister got a beautiful gift made by hand with love as well. Love.

Honestly?

I didn't think it was possible to F* up pie, but I managed it. I mean, it's deliciously sweet blueberry soup in a tasty crusty shell, but definitely not pie proper. Oh hubris, I feel your sting.

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Sent from my iPhone.

http://hamstocks.blogspot.com/
http://radicalmamalaw.blogspot.com/

Friday, shorts.

1. Contractors being late, rescheduling, coming back five times, making me reschedule my life and Bret's life and stay home with bored boys and rain gives me panic attacks. I just want my whole house and yard remodeled, not the stress, sheesh.

2. Our fish died today. We noticed because Toby was demanding that she was hungry (as has been his practice every day for a while now, and she has always been alive...).

3. First blueberry pie of the season is out of the oven just now, looking divine. It's way too easy to male blueberry pie. We need to pick way more blueberries in a hurry, we have a chest freezer now and there is no excuse not to stockpile.

4. My kids are obsessed with knock knock jokes, which all stink, especially when a kid hasn't really "gotten" how a joke works. It was cute the first hundred times, but now... Headaches.

5. Kids discovered YouTube on the TV. Now the crashing dominoes can be enjoyed really large, and I can monitor better than on the iPad. But even I stumbled upon a boner video. Who makes this stuff? Weirdos.

6. I'm so tired I'm thinking of skipping craft time (and hot pie time) after boys are in bed and going to sleep at like 8. Trust me, big time exhaustion.

7. I'm starting a couple of other blogs that will have specific topics, do rather than being scatterbrained here all the time, I'll just be a little scatterbrained here (focusing on crafts, baking, cooking, and my thoughts on things related to those and political things, and other random crap). I'll try to be together in the other places, but they are so not ready yet. I'll keep you posted, in like a month...

Off to convince my children to mellow out as bedtime nears. *sigh*

Eugene wins the Contest.

Sorry ladies, a papa won the contest for finding the dress that most closely matches the final purchase. To be fair, I should look up and post the photos he sent me while I was shopping, and if only I had a transcript of the phone call during which he discussed several dress style options, and the women who had made them currently fashionable... I have to admit, he knows his ladies' couture. So, while he was off on the final color, he scored on the style, and thus has won a handmade goody of some sort to be determined through what I can only expect will be lengthy negotiations. Also, I am assuming that his wife and daughter might have some input into the winnings, but then I never guessed he'd come up with the winner, so maybe that will be all him too.

When I manage to get myself to a real computer rather than this iPad which is acting all funky tonight, I will post side by side pictures of the dresses proposed, and the final purchase (that is the red one below since they were truly unable to get the black one for me, bastards!). You'll agree, he gets the prize for the closest hit.

Now if I could only stop myself from gorging on carbs (it's like I have something against staying on a diet before I go visit people I haven't seen in many years, what's my issue?), I'd feel like maybe I will look respectable at this wedding. But crap, i still need shoes. Oh dear, if you can find me something cute in a size 11... I'll do something nice for you, promise!

Wordless Wednesday: Toby's big birthday present. I made it. From scratch. Snap!

(I would be remiss if i neglected to add a super-big thanks to mama Amy for helping me with the sewing!)