Sea + Prairie

The Big Finale...X, Y and Z!

X-rays - Zane still had copies of his x-rays from when his mama broke his arm proudly displayed on his side of his room.  His mama needs to reminder...really.

Yarn - Sweet, but creative, 2 1/2 year old little boys and yarn do NOT mix...EVER.  If they do somehow make direct contact with each other, the above photo is what happens.  This WAS a sock that I began a few weeks back as a little fall/winter treat for myself.  It WAS about half way done, but has NOW been reduced to about six rows and a huge mess.  Wyatt was very proud of himself and said he was making a bird's nest.  It DOES look like a bird's nest wee one.  It does.  (mama now throws up her hands in the air in surrender).  This yummy, and gorgeous yarn was purchased from Amy.  Just looking at it makes me want to place another order.

Zelia - my long time blogging friend from Portugal who sent me the sweetest fabric and trim last week.  Thank you, thank you, thank you Z!!!  You are the best!

Zinnias - For some reason, I always plant these in my garden.  Maybe just so the basket of freshly picked veggies looks that much prettier with the bright color or zinnias included.

Zane, Ian and Wyatt -  these three little monkeys are really the reason I continue to blog...not only to give them a window into what their family life was like when they were smaller, but also because it makes me a happier mama.  And a happier mama means (lets say it all together) happier kiddos.  Journaling is my way of venting, celebrating, rationalizing, and processing.  Love you, my little men!  You are my sunshines everyday.

Wooohooo!  I finished!  Thanks Bella Dia for a great writing exercise!  It was a challenge, but a very welcome one.  Now, back to our regularly scheduled programing.

U, V, and W are for...

Uniform - My usual "uniform" is jeans and t-shirts with cute shoes and a jacket if needed.  With the house in WI not selling, the budget is a little, well...tight.  So instead of going out and buying a new fall wardrobe (like I do this anyway),  I have decided to take some of my long sleeved t-shirts, a denim skirt and a pair of brown cargo pants from last year and give them a bit of a makeover. But that is another post entirely.

Underwear - I did several loads of laundry today and I have exactly 4 pairs of decent underwear to my name.  I have no idea where the others have gone, but I need to do a little shopping I think.

Uncooperative - I was hoping to get a shot of the three boys together for a project for S.  He misses them like crazy and was hoping to get a good one of the three of them.  Well the little monkeys couldnt keep their hands off of each other even though I was bribing them with peanut M&Ms and twizzlers.  Needless to say, they did NOT get the candy.

Van - I needed one of these the past few days after watching twin 3 year olds for a few days while their mama (and my friend) tended to an emergency.  Five kids and five car seats in my Envoy...I needed a van.

Veterinarian - What I wanted to be when I grew up.

Vinegar - My favorite cleaning agent...I remember my mother using this and all of us heading for the hills because it smelled so bad.  Added bonus - it also gets you 10 minutes of alone time in the room you happen to be cleaning.

Vitex -  This photo is of the vitex tree blossom at my parent's house  It is one of my most favorite plants...ever!  We have  smaller one in the backyard at our house, but it is currently recovering from being mowed over by the people who rented our house before we moved back in.  Its a fighter though!

Vices - Mine include decorating magazines, dark chocolate, vintage linens and coffee.

Waitress - One of my most favorite jobs ever was waiting tables here in college.  Love, love Joe's.

War - I'm not sure what all I should say on this...another word that could be a post on all its own...But, I will say that I will find it difficult to tell my children that their papa, or any of our good friends who are in the service, died because of our country's gluttonous hunger for oil.  Is it possible to support our troops and oppose the war...absolutely!

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One more encyclopedia of me post to wrap the alphabet up and then it is back to regular posting!

T is for...

trees - I think by far, climbing trees is our most favorite past time.  At least it is my most favorite thing to watch my boys enjoy.  We need to find a new "enchanted forest" in this area...we miss climbing higher than our little front yard sapling allows. 

transition -  One of the things I am finally learning (and being OK with) is that life is a series of transitions.  Transitions from one season to the next, transitions from one childhood milestone to the next, transitions from one life space to the next.  They are sometimes difficult for me, but I am actually welcoming the changes now that I know they will surely come...that nothing is ever set and settled.

twins -  This could be a post of its own, but yes my first two boys are twins...I don't know for sure if they are identical or fraternal (we have never had them tested...the only way to know for sure), there is no good twin or bad twin, and yes, I most certainly have my hands full.  My hands, my arms, my lap and my heart are full.

talking - I remember going to Ian and Zane's two year appointment and the pediatrician asking me if they were saying 10-15 words.  And I honestly had to count on my fingers how many words they were saying.  I asked her if signs and Spanish words counted and I think with those included they were speaking maybe 10 words at the time.  I was worried about them and asked if we should get a speech referral.  Needless first time mama worries, I tell you...all three of my boys never, ever stop talking and sometimes I have to get very creative to find quiet non talking activities so that there is space for me to think.

tank - In the "Texan" dialect, this word means pond.  Every time I use the word tank in a sentence like..."Boys, do you remember when we rode in the back of Omah's pickup to take a look at the tank on the back of their place?"...Sergio just looks at me like I am the biggest hick there is.

toilet training - Wyatt and I are back on track in this department finally after a little break through all of our summer transitions.

S is for...

Sewing - Now that all of the boxes are unpacked in the sewing room, I have been able to find most of my tools and have started sewing again...first up was a couple of market bags made from an old canvas laundry bag.

Self - One of the major challenges of being on your own so much is learning to take care of yourself.  With S so far away, I am working on a list (yes another list) of things I want to do for ME. 

Socks - I started my first pair of crocheted socks this past week.  For me.  I am working from this pattern.

Squash - Picked up at the farm stand down the road using aformentioned market bag...filled with lots and lots and lots of yellow squash, some for cooking this weekend, some for freezing.  Yep, its that time.  Time to think about what fruits and veggies I want to hord in the freezer for winter.

Strawberries - My favorite fruit and a good choice for someone who is watching their sugar intake.  That is as long as you don't drown them in sugar after they are sliced.

Sailor - I guess I have a soft spot for a man in uniform.

Sushi - Love it...and I still don't think my red meat eating Daddy can wrap his head around why in the heck his daughter would want to eat raw fish....but loving on the coast with so much great, fresh seafood available...mmmm....love it.

School - Ian and Zane started school this week and it went very well even though I was finishing their registration the morning of the first day.  I got them officially enrolled and the boys are adjusting to being in separate classrooms.  Yesterday the teachers said during PE the boys spotted each other in their respective lines.  And it was all they could do to keep them still and in their own lines until the classes were released to run.  Z and I made a mad dash for each other, embraced immediately and told the other one they missed his brother so much.

Science - I was a biology major in college...love, love the sciences, and love that we live so close to the Virginia Marine Science Museum...we go at least once a week to see what they have caught in the bay that day.  On Wednesday, it was lots and lots of blue crabs.

Seasons - The evenings have finally started cooling off here...a sure sign that fall is on the way.  This is my favorite season here at the beach, because the water is still warm from the summer sun, and the tourists are gone leaving the beaches to us alone again.

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Apologies for the relatively boring post after all of the wonderful comments on the new rag rug in progress.  I need to learn that with every season change, with every major routine change, I need to take the week off from everything else to just make my way through the process.   But I think we are now full into fall.  Someone, please remind me of this around November/December when I need to take the week off to allow myself time to adjust to winter.  And again, I can not thank you enough for the memories you shared in the comments section below.  I have read, and re-read each one of them over the past week and I am still trying to get through them all to respond.  But it might take me awhile...adjusting to fall and all *wink*.  Have a great weekend!

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The crochet sock pattern link is back up.  Sorry about that.

R is for...

Rag Rugs...a family craft handed down.  Down to me.  Yes, this will be a special rug.

If I hang my papaw's old work pants on the clothesline, just like my grammer did fifty years ago in Georgia, will they soak up the day's sun?  Enough sun so that when they are carefully cut into strips and stitched round and round and round, they brighten even the most simple of rooms?  If I sit on the edge of the rug just like she did, moving slowly around its perimeter as she stitched, will I hear the laughter that she did when papaw realized that his work pants were no longer on the line, but now in the rug?

If I use the crochet hook that my papaw made for his mama, my great-grandmother, for each and every stitch, will I feel how tired and worn her hands must have felt at the end of the day. But be able to add one more round tonight anyway?

If I make my rug exactly the same way my grammer's mother did, will my rug warm my family's feet in the winter as hers warmed my grammer's and my mother's? 

If I add a round or two of my Daddy's wrangler jeans, will the rug smell like the wild Texas honeysuckle on the prairie that he walked through last?  The denim is worn and stained, but lots of wear still left in the weave...yes, lots of wear still left. 

If I add strips of old linens from Aunt Grace's kitchen, too stained and worn to be tablecloths or dishtowels anymore, will I think of my last meal with her when I see it?  And will I hear her sweet voice again telling about the time she went walking on the promenade with her beau?

I'll hook in some of my grandmother's cotton sheets in hopes that part of the rug ends up in front of the fireplace and one of my babes falls asleep there.  With fingers crossed that he'll dream about her taking him down to the creek and spreading that same exact sheet out in front of us for a picnic, just like she did with me.

Yes this will be a special rug, a family craft handed down kind of rug.

P and Q are for...

Pillow - I made a pillow for Ian several months ago using one of his drawings and his signature.  Having them here at home with me before going off to school has been such a special time for us, creating together.  And I wanted to honor (translation...freeze in time) some of those first few drawings that they are making as well as their penmanship as they sign their work.  He carefully picked out the fabric to be used which turned out to be a very 70's hand towel, exact matching colored embroidery thread color, everything.  Ian's pillow has been on his bed ever since.  I was ready to Zane's pillow right after finishing his brother's.  But Zane, the perfectionist that he is, was not ready.  Since then, he has been working on THE perfect picture to use for his pillow  He wanted to be able to draw a knight and a squire.  It has taken quite awhile.  Seriously.  The crayon drawing above is about the 86th rendition of the same scene of a squire handing his night a sword under a blue sky and sun with soft "bushy" grass beneath them.  But Zane has finally chosen a piece that is worthy of pillowdom.  And I am so very glad he has been this dedicated.  There is a lesson in there for certain.

Pirates - We love playing pirates, making the boats, looking for the treasure, especially the swords and yelling "Aaargh!".  Good fun.

Posies - Pansies, Peonies, Peach blossoms and playing with my new flower press.

Quilts - yes, we have quite a few of them.  See this post for more on the many quilts scattered around our house.  And have you seen what Amanda is doing with cutter quilts?  Love this and thinking of trying something similar myself this winter.

Quiet - Looking forward to a little more of this once we get back into the fall rhythms.

Queen - Surrounded by four men, I am supposed to feel like the queen of the house.  Maybe when they get a little older?

Quiver - Did you know a group of surfboards is also called a quiver?  Amazing what you learn while living at the beach.

M, N and O are for...

Makin' things - we always seem to be in the middle of at least ten projects at once. The latest completed project is a sock dog with a black eye for Ian.  Wyatt's head and Ian's eye had a collision in a before bedtime wrestling match and Ian remembered this dog from Sock and Glove.  We made him yesterday.  As I type this, I can see the boys are in the front yard collecting pine cones that blew down in Tuesday nights storm to make more boats to float.  See...always makin' somethin'.

Munchkins - my nickname for the boys.

Macaroni and Cheese - my all time favorite meal, made the way my Grammer and my Mom make it...macaroni, butter, cheese and milk. No other ingredients necessary.

Mail - It has been a good mail week. This arrived from sweet Sarah as just an out-of-the-goodness-of-her-heart housewarming gift. Thanks so much Sarah, the tablecloth is on the table and I am plotting what to do with that awesome Navy fabric. I also received several books from Amazon...most of them are listed in the sidebar.

Nice - My mom had a cross stitch sampler hanging in our house when I was a kid that read: "It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice." I avoid the word nice at all costs because I think it gets overused. But I got the message Mom!

Naked - Wyatt is usually without clothing. It seems to help with potty-training.

Navy - our source of income.

Observing - our favorite past time, nature, people, honey pouring out of the jar, dump trucks, the man fixing the fridge this morning...you name it we like to watch it. Last night it was three cicadas that we found on our porch. The boys wanted to pet him and when they did, you guess it, he flapped his wings like mad and made its buzzing noise. The boys were scared to death, and I laughed everytime they would reach into the jar and jerk their hands out when the cicada would start.  I don't think I have laughed that hard in a good while.  But the boys kept at it until I think they finally wore the poor things out and they let the boys stoke their wings. We let them go this morning.

Oma - what my boys call my mom.

Ocean - When I was in high school I predicted that in 20 years I would be living next to the ocean and working as a marine biologist. I'm close...living within bike riding distance of the ocean and raising three marine biologists (maybe...you never know).

K and L are for...

 

Kiddos - more specifically boys...three boys, three boys that are ALL boy.  Play in the mud, building dams, jumping, yelling, running around like fools, rock collecting and brother teasing boys.  I never thought of myself as being an all boy mom, but I have to say that I'm not trading any of the three in for a girl anytime soon if I keep getting kisses (another K) like these.

Kindergarten - The older two boys are starting kindy the first week of September.  Wow, how did that happen?  Upon dropping them off, I am not sure if I will cry or jump for joy...or possibly just be quiet for several moments absorbing all of the emotions that fall in between extreme happiness (that I will again have a little time to myself), and sadness that my little 5 lb babes have gotten this big this quickly.

Lemonade - Preferrably served on the porch in a mason jar, a jelly jar or in a cobalt rimmed glass similar to this pitcher.

Laundry - Before moving, I put a lot of thought into our energy usage and the resulting energy bill. Our real estate agent in Wisconsin thought that since our house there was so small we should leave our washer/dryer as it would be a selling point for new families or anyone just beginning to set up a household.  So we did.  This put us in the position of choosing a washer and dryer for the VA house.  After much, much (S would argue WAY too much) thought, we decided on getting a new energy efficient washer and a used, on-its-last leg dryer in addition to a clothesline.  So far my plan is working out perfectly.  Currently, I have been using a temporary clothesline - a "borrowed" climbing rope that usually lives in Zane's exploring bag.  I don't dry everything on the line.  But just drying the blankets, sheets, jeans, towels and other linens has reduced the amount of energy we use to dry clothes by about half.  It makes me happy watching our whites flap in the breeze and they smell so good coming off the line when they are dry.  I would bet money that scented dryer sheets were invented about the same time women stopped drying their clothes on the line.  I have ordered this more permanent line and it should be here this week.

   

One thing that has been interesting about doing laundry after purchasing one of the new efficiency washers is that you are not supposed to use regular detergent in them.  They do not require as much soap and supposedly if you use regular detergent, you will end up with suds on your floor and a ruined machine.  I don't know if that is true or if it is just a marketing ploy to get you to buy the new EE detergent which, of course, is more expensive.  But I do know that using my Mugwart Maggie's detergent works just fine.  The boys love that their clothes smell like fresh cut grass, rain or even dragon's blood (such a boy thing).  If you pop over to her etsy shop, she has samples for under $2 that would be worth checking out.  Doing laundry has been very different in this house and I like the change.  I really do.

List making - I know I have written about this before, but I am a huge list maker.  Yellow, legal-sized note pads please and thank you.  Making lists is how I get myself out of mental funks like this.  Writing everything down is the only way I can keep it all straight in my brain.  I guess that is the visual learner in me.  And one list just doesn't cut it for all of the crap I need to do.  I have multiple lists.  One list for S of things for him to do next time he comes home, one for things to buy while out in town, a list of house projects, a list of things regarding the boys like school supplies and making doctor's appointments and I know there are a few other lists, but I think at this point I need a list to keep track of all of my lists.  Either way, it is a good feeling to cross the last thing off a list and throw that sheet of paper in the recycle bin.

(*Are you tired of reading about me yet...I'm getting a little tired of writing about myself.  The next few letters might be grouped like they were in this post.  I hope you dont mind.*)

J is for...

juggling too much at the moment.  Still unpacking the house (obviously), getting all our ducks in a row to start school, calling the Sears guy back out because he didn't fix the fridge the first time, making a dentist appointment for myself (it has been two years since I've been). 

The visit from S was not as relaxing and renewing for me as I had hoped.

 

Feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment - too many balls in the air.  Either that or just not enough hands.  It happens to the best of us.

I is for...

Been thinkin' about, originally uploaded by thisvintagechica.

Inspiration.

I love doing mosaics like this with the photos I've marked as favorites over on flickr. I always try to see a theme, a few threads that link all of the photos together. Usually, I just end up chalking the grouping as just things that make me smile. But this one...blues and greens, definite reflections of the colors I'm drawn to these days, summer times from my past, children's playrooms - inside or outside.  Do you see a theme here?

And thank you all for your contributions to what you feel makes your house a home. If you haven't added yours yet, please feel free to read everyone else's comments and leave your thoughts as well. Many of you have mentioned things that I should add to my list as well.

Have a great INSPIRATIONAL weekend!