My Bit of Earth

Bartering Rocks

2012-01-26T20:45:00-06:00

A few months ago, Nice Friend and I did a barter, wherein she got a knitted cowl and I got a lovely new ceramic water mug for work.

What My Boys Did

2012-01-25T20:21:00-06:00

Earlier this week, the Kid had a little bout of the stomach flu--the kind where he was basically feeling good, but couldn't go to school. Sweet Husband and I split the time at home with him, like you do when you both are depended on at work too.

Oatmeal and Eggs

2012-01-24T20:29:00-06:00

The Kid eats an egg for breakfast every morning. Or, he did, until our hens decided to take an extended Christmas vacation and just not lay eggs for the month of January.

The Kiddo's Crib-to-Floor-Bed Transformation

2012-01-23T19:37:00-06:00

Prior to a few weeks ago, the Kid's crib was in our room. He always began the night in the crib, but would often end up in our bed as the night went on. It worked well in fits and spurts, but the bigger he was getting the less often it was working well. So we decided to set him up in his own room with a new floor bed.

We Love School So Much, We're Bringing It Home!

2012-01-22T21:35:48-06:00

The Kiddo and I went to a fun day at his school on Saturday. I didn't talk about it here at the time--because I half thought I was just being a crazy, nervous new mama--but we switched to a Montessori daycare as early as we could last Summer. We were all of two weeks in at the first place when I knew it wasn't going to work. They were very nice people, but he spent a lot of time sitting in baby holders, being entertained by lights and gizmos. I could hardly concentrate enough to work for worrying about it, which defeated the purpose entirely. And Saturday I was reminded, not for the first time, that my gut feeling was so right. Kiddo loves his school, and I love it too.

Isola's Letter Writing Club: Get To Know Each Other

2012-01-19T20:59:16-06:00

Hello again letter writers! Welcome to the first month of Isola's Letter Writing Club! I just finished my first letter to my penpal, Liz. Just for fun, I went old school and used this glass "dip pen" Sweet Husband bought for me years and years ago. I think I'm going to start writing all my letters that way. It was hard to decide what color of ink to use--I settled on "Tobacco"--but once I got going I think the result was fairly legible. But I promised you all a writing prompt. This one's easy actually--introduce yourselves. Who are you? What...

What Am I Going to Do About Emily?

2012-01-18T21:23:06-06:00

This is Emily. She was my bunny growing up, and one of two stuffed animals I've saved to pass on to the Kid. But Emily was always a very proper bunny. She would be distressed, for instance, if I forgot to sit her upright in bed before leaving for school in the morning. And that being the case for such a minor indignity, having the stuffing coming out of her head is, I'm sure, truly horrifying for her. I pulled her out on New Year's Day to just consider her for a bit before I get to work remedying the...

One of Those (Awesome) Weeks

2012-01-17T21:06:51-06:00

Do you ever have those weeks when you just feel like you're "on"? Like, everything is getting done at work and the laundry is put away and your child is happy and healthy and "oh look, I got four inches of knitting done". I used to shy away from acknowledging those times, even to myself. Listening to my own inner monologue say, "Hey there, I'm pretty awesome!" feels inappropriately egotistical. It triggers my inner Marmie March voice re: how a polite woman should think and act--in a word, humble. But, here's the thing, I have no problem listening to that...

A Few Moments I Want to Remember

2012-01-16T22:24:26-06:00

The Kid and I were hanging out in his room late this afternoon. (It's the place to be these days; all the cool kids play there.) Me on the floor pillow, him on his bed, both looking up at "his birds". (That's what we call his origami bird mobile.) And he turned to me, pursed his little lips, and blew air out, "Phoo, phoo, phoo!" Which--in the Kid language--means "blow really hard so that the birds will flutter". So I did. We went on like that for about twenty minutes. Him: Phoo! Phoo! Me: Phhhoooooo! With lots of giggling and...

Crocheted Rag Floor Pillow

2012-01-15T22:16:03-06:00

We've been "evolving" the Kiddo's room this weekend. Truth be told, he hadn't slept a night in there until earlier this week. But all of a sudden we all just needed a little more space. While he's still spending about half the night in bed with us--and will be welcome to, pretty much as long as he wants--he's starting out each night in his own room. I have just a few more touches to make before I post pictures of the changes, but today I wanted to share this little floor pillow I made this weekend. After putting the Kid...