the grass is always greener…

• is it when his baby is screaming her head off at your house, and he’s sitting in his comfy chair playing on his computer at his house?
• is it when you want to take a weekend trip before school starts again, but you have to keep his child while her mama works?
• is it when your body tells you that you’re too old to be lugging this child and her little car seat in and out and in and out of places?
• or, is it when you realize that if you’d wanted to do all of this again, you would have had more children of your own?

I’m not sure when it’s socially acceptable, but I’m telling you, lately, I have thought of little else. I love this baby, but there are things that I and my family would like to do, things that don’t involve this baby. and I just wish, I really wish that my brother would step up to the plate and take care of his kid.

don’t get me wrong, my brother is one of the best people you could ever meet, he would-and has-give the shirt off his back if someone needed it. he is a master mechanic and just fun person to be with. but…

I realize that by posting this, I’m going to get a call from my mother, but I am so frustrated right this minute, I don’t care.

SO THERE!

my stinkerbell, originally uploaded by hockamama.

I set her in the grass today, and she was not happy about it. thankfully, she waited till the picture was taken before she started to cry

one lego man, 8 feet tall.  he’s wearing a blue shirt that reads, “no real than you are”, with red pants, and yellow head and arms.

he washed up on the shore of a resort in Zandvoort, Netherlands this past tuesday. 

the locals are taking care of him, but they are curious to know from whence he came.  if you have any information, please contact the zandvoort chamber of commerce.  😀

why, mr. grey, how smooth you are, and what good taste you have.

I accidentally ran out of luzianne tea bags (read too lazy to go to the store) and have had to resort to brewing up a pitcher of cold earl grey.  I keep mr. grey on hand for those times when I need a little hot cup of rest and relaxation, but I’ve never chilled him before.  wow!  what a brisk sweet tea he makes.

you know that saying, ‘once you go *grey*, you never go back’? well, there just might be something there…

it’s so hot, that:

• my indoor thermometer says it’s 102* outside, the outdoor thermo (who lives in the sun) says it’s 104*
• my first load of clothes was already dry when I took the second load out to the line
• the grass burns my feet, nevermind the concrete steps!
• I could hear a light shower hitting the roof, even felt a drop or two, but I never saw any evidence of any rain
• the cat won’t even keep me company at the clothesline

IT’S FRIGGIN’ HOT!!!!!!!!!

sometimes I wonder if I’m mental…then I decide that yes, in fact, I am.  on monday, mandi was off work, so we dragged the kids off to martinsville and danville, in search of great fabric (for me) and awesome shoes (for mandi).  the two of us usually spend her days off running hither and yon, but when we have to take the kids, it’s a whole new experience.  ‘mama, can I have this?’  ‘how about that?’ *pout*  for that reason, and that reason ONLY, I will be glad when school starts.

on tuesday, tony’s friend alex and his little brother greg came over to play. for 8 1/2 hours.  all. friggin. day.  alex and greg are nice little boys, but they play rougher than what we’re used to, they use language that we don’t use, and they aren’t real nice to each other.  this often results in greg pouting because alex won’t let him play with them.  then tony comes and asks me to step in.

wednesday was a lazy day, made up of laundry, cleaning (no more than necessary), dishes, etc.  I was able to fit in a viewing of sense & sensibility.

then today, alex’s friend jarrett came over with his sister lauren, who came to play with maddie.  having a houseful of well-behaved kids is not any skin off my nose.  I was extremely worn out on tuesday by the time alex’s mother came, but today was fine.  the only kid who got on my nerves was my own.  I’m not sure how to get through to him that not everyone appreciates his bossiness; well nobody does.  he just can’t seem to get that through his head.

we’ve only got 2 weeks till school starts, so we need to fit in as many play dates as possible.  tony and maddie are content to play together, for the most part, but sometimes I think we need to throw some other kids into the mix, just to shake things up.

I dread school starting.  I really love spending time with tony during the summer.  it would be nice to just take off and do things, the two of us, but it’s not really feasible, what with the baby and all.  someday we’ll figure something out, until then, we’ll just hang out at home.  he’s perfectly content to be here with madison and the gamecube, anyway.

now that emma is crawling around, she’s discovered the cat bed. curiously, there’s never an occupant when she’s around, so she has kind of claimed it for her own. you can find her in this cozy little spot several times a day. rich says she’s the biggest cat we have

I was in my sewing room last night, and tony came in and said, “mama, I just saw a commercial for big brothers and big sisters!  I want to be one.”  I explained to him that the idea behind it is for an adult to spend time with a kid who doesn’t get enough adult attention, and that he’s neither of those, so he can’t participate.

so, he ingested that, and thought a minute, then, “well, couldn’t you be the adult and go get a kid?”

I further explained that after spending some quality time with the child in question, the adult takes them back to their home until the next time.

“so, you can’t keep them?”

this is, apparently what it boils down to: go pick out a child, bring them home, instant younger sibling for tony.   poor kid, he has wanted a little brother or sister for several years,  since preschool when his friend trey was expecting a sister.  he now understands that he’s not going to get one the traditional.  I guess he’s never stopped trying to find an alternative method…

for the last few weeks, I’ve been holing up in my sewing room, I love to sew; lately I’ve been sewing things for emma, like burp rags, bibs and such. I made her a really cute little floor blanket, using different textures, one of which was satin. unfortunately, I didn’t think to serge the edge, so that block has frayed and come undone:sad:

a friend of rich’s just had his first grandkid, so I wanted to make them a blanket. I had the cutest childish western fabric, and a great kiddie map panel. after I sewed them together with the batting, I got the great idea to quilt them:???:

after a couple of rows of quilting, I realized that I needed to undo the seams and bind it later. the next problem occurred when the backing bunched up. I couldn’t straighten it up, so I decided to start over with new fabric.

I went to hobby lobby and picked up michael miller’s little cowpoke, and backed it with bandana print. this time I used cotton batting instead of that crappy polyester mess. it turned out great! I made some bibs and a couple of burp rags to go along with it.

the thing is, I had intended to make the three little kids each a quilt for christmas…now, I’m not so sure. maybe I’ll just make blankets, or make a tied quilt. rich made me some grids to use for layouts, so I could get an idea of what it will look like.

rich bought me a sewing machine for my birthday, and she’s been sitting in her box since I picked it up last saturday. I want her new home to be just right when she makes her appearance, so this weekend will be devoted to my sewing room. rich is going to take out the restrictive bookcase and build me some shelves. I’m going to add a worktable to the room, and then it’ll be ready for some high impact workouts.

when I can’t sleep at night, my mind is on my current project, that’s how bad my obsession has become….