Archive for the ‘Kid stuff’ Category

Monday Meanderings

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Almost ten years ago, when my girls were much much younger, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy. It was shortly after my youngest was weaned and she saw me as I emerged from the shower. As I remember it, the conversation between the two of us went something like this:

Shann: Mommy, you don’t have a nursing? It’s gone?
Me: Yes honey, it’s gone.
Shann: Will you get another one?
Me: No. I don’t think so.
Shann: That’s okay Mommy. Maybe tomorrow.

I have held that memory close throughout the years. That simple acceptance that no matter what, that I was still Mommy, still me was a gift beyond measure. It carried me through the physical healing process from surgery, the nausea and hair loss from chemotherapy. I don’t know if either girl understood then, or if they will ever know how much the simplicity of their acceptance helped carry me through that time in my life.

Maybe tomorrow. That tomorrow is almost here. Next Monday I will undergo the reconstruction phase of this journey. It seems weird to write of it but it is part of my cancer journey and recovery. It won’t be easy. But it is time.

60/365 Woolgirl Rocks!

eta 3/2/10: I apologize for my really awful editing last night when I posted this. Sorry!

I’ve got buttons!

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Thanks to Chris, I now have the perfect buttons for my Ginny sweater:

48/365 Buttons for my sweater

I got these at Madrona from the Gita Maria booth. Yes, they were pricey, but I think that they are perfect for this project. Buttons to me can sometimes make or break a project. If I am going to put in the hours to create something well made, I certainly do not want to detract from the end result by putting the wrong buttons with it. If I happen to have the perfect buttons at home in my button stash, then I do use them. Sometimes they just are not quite right.

I am glad that I held out for these. I can’t wait to get to the point where all the pieces come together. Since the Brandywine shawl and finishing this sweater are my goals for these Olympics, I hope that I don’t have too many more knitting errors in the immediate future.

I almost ripped out the repeat completely before coming to my senses and snapping a picture. Then I realized I hadn’t switched the settings on the camera. Oh well.

Waiting

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

As any parent of a child in sports knows, there are times where it seems like there is an awful lot of waiting.

38/365 waiting

Today’s meet seemed to go on forever. But I got a fair amount of knitting done while we waited for all the gymnasts to finish their rotations. The team place second and Shann did well, so we went home fairly content.

Poetry and other things

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Gymnasts are a tough bunch. They work hard to make their sport seem easy. But what you see on their meet days doesn’t even begin to reflect all the hard work they do in practice.

practice at the gym

I was reminded about this today when I stopped at the gym and took a few moments to just observe the girls during their strength portion of their work out. Just watching the seemingly endless repetitions is exhausting.

33/365 Chocolate Dreams

This week’s challenge over at the 365 project is food and beverages. At knitting tonight there was a basket of Theo chocolate bars. It took quite a lot of self discipline on my part to avoid indulging myself. However I suspect nibbling on my the household chocolate stash when I got home was a bit counter productive.

Today is also the silent poetry reading day for bloggers. I had thought about writing my own poem and while I am perfectly capable of doing so, I found that I am lacking the necessary inspiration at the moment. So once again, I’ll share one of my Pop Newkirk’s poems.

Soul Flight

Seek some pleasant, seaside nook
Where sunshine warms and waves are still,
There, resting with a worthwhile book,
Forget the woes of life which kill.

Upon your ears the soothing rote
Of lapping wavelets on the shore,
Fall into time with lines you quote
From some great poet, gone before.

So pause, with life’s descending day
And, conscience clear from willful wrong,
Observe the lights and shadows play
To form the pattern for a song.

Out in the sun-blessed afternoon,
Mind entranced by the wild bird’s tune,
Breathing deep of the rich perfume
Of red June roses, ripe with bloom.

The soul leaps up in ecstasy
To ride the dreams of Destiny
And, soaring far above the grime,
Finds height and reach in space and time.

I N Newkirk, II

Monday Meanderings

Monday, February 1st, 2010

It has been the year of non-winter around these parts. The weather has been wet, but extremely mild. I feel as if we have skipped the winter months and jumped right into spring.

32/365 Signs of Spring

Sometimes I feel that way about my kids too. I realize that I have spent almost every day of their lives with them, yet all of the sudden they aren’t little anymore, they are balancing that very fine line twixt childhood and some semblance of maturity. Fee is about ready to learn to drive for goodness sake. I wonder if my parents entered that era of my education with extreme fear and trepidation?

Nature’s Lace

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

There is sometimes beauty in the places one least expects is. Today’s photo was one of those moments. It is the beginning of gymnastic’s season, a new level for my gymnast who has suddenly sprouted up several inches. Suddenly things aren’t quite as easy for her and she is struggling with her self confidence. She has the skills, I have seen her accomplish them. But when push comes to shove, there has been a hesitancy that I haven’t seen before.

31/365 Nature's Lace

I found that I needed to get out of the gym for a bit this afternoon. As I was walking around, feeling the frustration of a parent who sees the full potential of her child, yet not wanting to be one of those uber parents who pushes their child to the point where they whole plan backfires.

I guess it is a fine line. I just haven’t figured out how to manage it.

Under construction

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

I got home this evening and found this in our living room.

24/365 under construction

It occurs to me that life is a journey that is under constant construction. Not just the state of my living room. I’ll just settle for the person who acquired this particular gem to remove it from the floor where I can trip over in in the middle of the night.

Road Trip

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

We are off on the first real road trip for my daughter’s gymnastics team. Real blogging may or may not take place. But here is the craptastic photo for today.

22/365 Signs of Spring

eta 23/Jan/10 I thought that I should at least add the real photo from the 22nd. Spring is trying to sneak in early around these parts.

A quiet moment.

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

20/365 A quiet moment

Study in Motion

Saturday, January 9th, 2010

This morning was beautiful. Actually the whole day has been beautiful. Of course any weekend in Seattle that isn’t pouring down rain in in itself beautiful. No complaints from me!

Saturday Sky

In keeping with the Motion challenge, I hung out at the gym with Shann this morning, attempting to capture poetry in motion.

Study in Motion

Instead it seems more to be a study in frustration and irritation. Trying to figure out the whys and wherefores of capturing moving objects isn’t as intuitive as one would think.

Study in Motion

By the end of Shann’s practice, her frustration level was pretty high. Mine was right up there too.

Study in Motion

I think that I will leave things at that. I had a difficult time trying to figure out which one to chose for my 365 photo. Tough choice don’t you think? Which one would you chose?