tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49816252603874029132009-11-14T20:07:33.621-05:00Letting it all hang out since 2004.Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.comBlogger563125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-53744896090481364762009-11-12T20:42:00.003-05:002009-11-12T20:49:20.109-05:00

Honestly, I was looking for the DVD remote that's been missing for a couple months, but instead I found this treasure trove:A pair of panties (Bloomer's, fortunately)A toy missile from a Storm Trooper Skimmer Sled, as seen on the planet of EndorA Star Wars trading card commemorating the first attack on the Death Star (original to my childhood, circa 1978)A magnet from a Magna-DoodleA blue poker

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-855514305058594472009-11-11T22:05:00.004-05:002009-11-11T22:32:32.344-05:00

So I got my hair cut today. Typically I get that done every 7 weeks or so, as I wake up around week 6 still loving the style and keeping it under control with the larger brush, and then on week 7 I feel as if I could be doing a decent impression of Billy Ray Cyrus telling people about my heart, it is achy and breaky. And apparently since my stylist has been learning some new techniques and such

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-43584630554291941062009-11-06T18:26:00.004-05:002009-11-06T18:37:40.987-05:00

After a rough day on Monday (after which I had to administer the punishment, which is atypical), Bloomer has had a good week for the first time in a long time. It is either attributed to:Me having to administer punishment on Monday which is particular brutal since I get upset when I have to do itBrief telling her teacher to tell Bloomer that she's going to let Daddy know when she is starting to

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-70537997163902735682009-11-05T20:47:00.005-05:002009-11-05T21:10:45.873-05:00

There are times in my life when I appreciate my experience for the skills it has given me. Being a math nerd. Loving a good spreadsheet. Being handy with power tools. Becoming more adventurous with cooking. Sewing.I've already demonstrated the combination of spreadsheets and sewing in this quilt project. And so, when contemplating a way to make the free-motion quilting easier for this king-sized

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-14430130667767269102009-11-02T20:02:00.003-05:002009-11-02T20:18:47.611-05:00

Ten years ago, I was in the throes of working full time, starting graduate school, planning my wedding, sewing my wedding dress, and organizing the annual silent auction for Good Mews. And then it all stopped.Only it didn't stop. All that crap kept going on while my mom laid in a hospital, lucky to be alive after her car got crushed by a tractor trailer and the rescue workers had to peel it open

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-62207070747178613892009-11-01T20:52:00.005-05:002009-11-01T21:01:06.895-05:00

So! I got all the nine patch blocks chopped up and twisted around. Like so:Then they had to actually be reassembled and sewn up. And arranged on the card table to take pictures.Here's a secret: I'm farther along than this. I actually got them all sewn together and the first (of three) borders sewn on. HOWEVER. There may be some sabotage in putting the other two borders on.I'm not naming names

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-46317545512976564502009-11-01T08:48:00.002-05:002009-11-01T08:53:47.799-05:00

Halloween, circa 2009, when the trick or treaters started arriving during picture time and Boxer was too distracted by the thought that other children were getting candy before he was to look at the camera.Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-42558510705932237542009-10-29T13:18:00.006-04:002009-10-29T13:51:49.071-04:00

This looks unimpressive, but here are 16 (pressed!) blocks for Mom & Dad's quilt.I've got 4 brown ones, 6 aqua ones, and 6 cream/light brown ones. The next step is to CHOP THEM UP AGAIN. That is the most depressing part of the Disappearing Nine Patch quilt (well, mostly it's the ironing you have to do as a result of that) - you divide these blocks into quarters, twist two parts, and then sew

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-1940140068621662052009-10-28T14:41:00.004-04:002009-10-28T15:02:45.464-04:00

Of course the craptacular month continued with me hitting a deer in my car last night. Not that I pimp-slapped a deer in the passenger seat while we argued about picking up tacos for dinner versus burgers, no, it was more like an 8-point buck ran into the side of my car as I was driving home last night after a last-minute pumpkin run. It was dark and raining, and then WHAMMO!I am fine. The deer,

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-22209917904073206392009-10-25T10:58:00.004-04:002009-10-25T11:09:20.970-04:00

I'm still a little twisted up over yesterday's events, all of which have been resolved, but the two lowlights include having to take Boxer out of his soccer game for pushing kids down and the subsequent crying and general upset-ness he showed to the point that the coach on the other team started tearing up over it when Boxer went to apologize and go back in the game. And then at the Fall

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-35715069413613139552009-10-22T20:10:00.004-04:002009-10-22T20:44:01.904-04:00

I finally got around to taking pictures of Bloomer's room because I finally finished the quilt for her bed and put it on there. Check out the two things I made!No, not the kids! The two quilts! Actually I think the quilts took longer to make than the kids, now that I think about it. Ah well. On the wall is the baby quilt I made for Bloomer, and on her bed is the new one.Ah, that's better.

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-55484349696452906682009-10-21T18:35:00.004-04:002009-10-21T19:07:32.558-04:00

I have a headache. I blame Boogers.Both kids had rough days today. Big ol' honkin Rudolf the Red-Nosed Smiley Face REDs on their daily sheets. If they were grown-ups, they'd be branded with a scarlet A's for being Asshats. But I suppose a mother is not suppose to say that about her children, and as the root cause is boogers, maybe a scarlet "B" is in order instead.Bloomer was having a good day

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-16978062337962824262009-10-16T22:17:00.005-04:002009-10-16T22:28:45.925-04:00

Alternate title: My Math and Photoshopping Skillz, Let Me Show You Them.So I got the squares grouped into groups of nine. The layout is 16 Disappearing Nine Patch blocks, which math nerds will know lays out to a 4x4 grid. Each block needs (quiz time!) nine squares, so 9 x 16 = 144. I wanted a mix of cream blocks, brown blocks, and aqua blocks. Given that a spreadsheet wasn't really a viable

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-8330257843531826792009-10-15T20:46:00.005-04:002009-10-15T20:55:48.551-04:00

Due to a series of crappy weather-related cancellations, Boxer's soccer team hasn't had practice since the first week of the season in September. The games have continued, however, so he's getting to run around on Saturdays at least. One of the other parents was taking photos last week (with a much better camera than we have), and sent us some shots of him from the game. He wears his game face

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-15444440013192960722009-10-12T20:18:00.005-04:002009-10-12T20:34:26.108-04:00

I asked my mom if she wanted me to blog my progress on the quilt I'm making for their king-sized bed, and she said, "Sure!" So here's my first progress post. Mostly my progress has involved ironing and cutting, which is still a lot of work and occasional rotary slice of the finger. Since there's no red in this quilt, though, I probably shouldn't bleed all over it.Anywho, when my parents

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-9670660115750336632009-10-06T13:14:00.003-04:002009-10-06T13:35:55.009-04:00

Yesterday was sort of momentous in the way that only everyday days can be as a parent. I got my first homemade piece of jewelry as a mom (7 Cheerios on a piece of string, from Bloomer). She handed it to me when I went to pick her up at daycare, and told me to put it on right then. I wore it all night. She wanted me to wear it this morning (apparently it survived the night without cats nibbling

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-81917871355278311542009-10-01T22:30:00.005-04:002009-10-01T23:02:12.443-04:00

Zapper, Why do you insist on "rescuing" me in the bathroom? Yes. I am in the bathroom. I am doing... stuff. Stuff that is perfectly safe and that I can do on my own perfectly well. I do not require supervision. I do not require assistance. So why are you hollering at me and shoving your paws under the door like you're trying to pass me extra air as part of a rescue attempt from a toilet paper

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-87558012805951868842009-09-27T20:50:00.004-04:002009-09-27T21:39:09.561-04:00

I work for a company that really does try to come up with ways for all the "work from home" people to get together. For example, every month all the employees in my area get together at the Starbucks for a free tall beverage and a 10-minute massage, courtesy of Our Company. It's a pretty sweet deal, frankly - adult contact AND a free non-creepy massage in a public venue? Well, when I put it that

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-52519834394110389082009-09-24T20:24:00.004-04:002009-09-24T20:48:06.010-04:00

Whoops. I sort of forgot to post something. But I will refer you to this tweet, that explains where I was and why it took me several days to recover enough to string together coherent sentences. Also, Atlanta flooded while we were gone. Poof! The Georgia Aquarium decided to annex the city. Our neighborhood was safe, although the lake behind us was up about 11 feet at its highest. It still

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-2591524346481339312009-09-16T10:49:00.005-04:002009-09-16T12:46:59.427-04:00

For a variety of reasons, I went to have lunch with Boxer at his school yesterday. The first reason was that I wanted to meet his teacher, what with being a Room Mom and all and hadn't yet since I was germinating the cooties of bronchitis and assorted other viruses probably. The second was that I am, of course, competing for Mom of the Millenium and consuming neon orange/yellow "cheese sauce"

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-54215754563004666942009-09-15T09:44:00.003-04:002009-09-15T09:50:32.534-04:00

Well, a lovely reader Laura emailed me to ask about Boxer's milk issues and how we figure it out, and I wrote her a big old long reply and figured I would post it here as well in case anyone is struggling with child behavior issues and thinks it might be tied to food. Here's what I wrote Laura about our experience:I'll start off with the note that his pediatrician still thinks we're crazy, but

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-3031015899776163422009-09-14T16:18:00.005-04:002009-09-14T16:44:31.456-04:00

You never know what sort of story you're going to get out of me, do you? One day: DIRK BENEDICT! Another: CROWS ARE TOO FLAPPY! And now, I'd like to talk about my bush...es. Bushes. Shrubbery! Ha ha ha! I just gave my dad a heart attack, and that's probably not good, but he's home recovering from hand surgery and needs entertainment. Now he has another excuse to go lie down: his daughter makes

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-57458046120186686172009-09-10T21:08:00.003-04:002009-09-10T21:49:05.811-04:00

I feel like I have enough experience with raising kids through age 5 to write up some one-liner advice tidbits. So here are my sage words:AgeWhat You Should Tell Your KidsPregnancy(for the expecting mom) No matter what your ailment, you should lay on your left side and drink water.InfancyWow, I thought it was medically impossible to burp, sneeze, and fart at the same time. You are Mommy's Little

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-78519143938570814952009-09-09T12:13:00.002-04:002009-09-09T12:20:38.103-04:00

I ran into Boxer's Pre-K teacher this morning (her classroom is across the hall from Bloomer's) and we actually had a few minutes to chat. We really like her - she's got a good sense of humor about things, taught the kids the meaning of the word "Capiche", and will be Bloomer's teacher as well. Here's how our conversation went this morning:Her: "So how's he doing in kindergarten?"Me: "Still

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4981625260387402913.post-48162610655408224552009-09-08T20:36:00.003-04:002009-09-08T20:38:32.506-04:00

Wisdom from the mouth of a 3 year old:"I can't put a crow in my pocket because it's too flappy."If that isn't the smartest thing I've heard all week, I don't know what is.

Bikinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831784791956398906noreply@blogger.com2