christmasy whatnot on fat tuesday

Cowls for the nieces - a fluffy cream one with just a little ribbing and a more drapey green one in a stitch I found on Ravelry and of course now can't remember. Meh. 

At least now I'll remember that I actually made them, and what color they were, and hopefully I can try to slowly move away from "Weird Aunt Kate" status over the course of the next several years. Doubtful, but you know, we all have dreams. 

Knit wear for tweens is more in the line of garnish, sort of like a bow on the -actual- present. And I can respect that. My mom is the queen of gift giving and her philosophy is 'Give people what THEY want, not what you think they should want.'

It seems simple, but it's really not. And I don't really follow it- gifts, especially gifts for kids, are a responsibility to make them understand that there's music out there beyond LMFAO, and (in the case of my own) if you want them to love Little House you've got to get in on the ground floor, before they find Junie B Jones on their own. I'm just saying. I'll never be a master of disinterested giving like my mom - graciously handing over the zillion dollar high tech rafting paddle to your daughter who has no pants that fit. That's like some Zen shit.

BUT I am on her wavelength enough to believe that giving a couple of pretty awesome tweens WOOL COWLS and nothing else for Christmas would land me so far over the "Weird Aunt Kate" line there would be no coming back.

Another trick to gift giving is to... you know... actually GIVE something. Other than a ball of yarn attached to a work in progress. To my deep shame but absolutely no one's surprise I have STILL not finished said tween's mom's Christmas scarf. In my defense it's lacework. In silk. I don't know what I was thinking.

big and little

Wren's birthday is coming up soon - I can't believe she's going to be 7. I'm still not totally over mourning the loss of her big fat baby cheeks, and the dimples in her knees. She can't be so long and lanky - so full of comic book ideas and puns. So bad-breathed in the morning and grouchy when her alarm (Jane) goes off. When did this KID appear? Luckily she still falls asleep in the car often enough that I get a regular dose of 45 lb reality, hoisting her up to the bunk bed.

 She reads Grimm's Fairy Tales, the bible, and Junie B Jones. She practices piano. At least an hour a day, she's reading, if she's not out in the yard wrangling chickens. She plays so sweetly with Ben, so patiently with Jane (most of the time) and miraculously remains oblivious to all the weird first grade girl drama swirling around her. If someone is "not kind" she decides she'd rather play with somebody else.

Her teacher told me the other day that Wren is "an incredibly honest kid" and it's true. We have our problems... most recently straddling that delicate line between -honest- and -kind- and learning to prioritize in various situations. Understanding something that your friend doesn't understand is a chance to be kind, before it's a chance to express your -honest- surprise that they don't get it.

But she'll get it, because she's gentle-hearted. She's so dear, and I'm so proud of her. I think 7 is going to be a really fun age with Wrennel.

angel jane

At the Jane's school, the pre-k are the angel chorus for the Christmas Pageant. Friendly Beasts was her favorite song this year. She did an amazing job, of course. 

And I cried of course. 

Like I always do. 

christmas pictures

We didn't take that many pictures this Christmas, but looking back over my life as a parent, I realize that the things I document are things I am obviously much much more likely to remember. 

So I'm going to dig some of those paltry few pictures out of iphoto and stick them up here. And I'll do the same for the gifts I made. So I don't forget and give you the same thing next year.

These were little ornaments the girls made and decorated- a pack of clay from the craft store and the christmas cookie cutters. They stamped their names on one side, and painted (and glittered) the other. We punched a hole through the top and tied them to the presents. It was perfect because Wren could be all precise and exact and Jane could stamp whatever the hell she wanted and spray glitter in a 10 foot radius, and we ended up with a sack full of these. Cheap, engaging for both of them, good Advent calendar activity.  #woulddoagain.

happy valentines day

I am feeling grateful for flowers and yarn and mud and enough sunshine to get the hens laying again. And I am also especially thankful hot running water and (once we get these sugared up mosters to bed), bourbon, and good pho places that deliver.