May 15 2012

post coursework mind melt

I finished my coursework and as a now-third year doctoral student, I’m focusing on more research into my interests that will lead to the big D-word – dissertation!

So naturally this means I am currently way over the line obsessed with KNITTING. My grandmother taught me how to knit when I was young – not that much older than Lindsey – and in little bits and pieces I knit here and there and give up entirely on the craft for years at a time, but maybe it’s my old age* kicking in but I’ve been on a roll for about a year and am loving it. sock yarn is my favorite, although I have no patience for socks. I love lacy scarves – which makes 0 sense since I live in Florida, but there you have it. YARN YARN YARN!

Project the first:

This is being knit with a Noro Silk Garden sock yarn, which is gorgeous, but a little too scratchy for me. I love the uneven widths of the yarn. Here is the pattern – The whirly gig scarf pattern.

Project the second:

Sock yarn chevron baby blanket. From the Skein Queen: a few entries down here, a PDF. Remnants slung together.

Project the third:

Argosy on Knitty. Easiest way to do a faux-ish entrelac. Entrelac makes my brain bleed. Again with the Noro sock yarn. Addict.

Project the fourth:

Summit on Knitty, but I am using (surprise) Noro, and making it with fewer waves into a (surprise) scarf.

This does not count the dress I’m in the midst of for Lindsey, and a huge huge box of gorgeous wool my friend Alice sent me. WOOOOL!

OK, I think I can now properly prepare for prelims. Maybe.

*”Mama, you’re very old.”
“No, I’m not!”
“Then are you very new?”

** Please forgive the iPhone overly-saturated pictures. I am trying to keep things simple, because if I Photoshop everything I would never blog.

Mar 22 2012

spring break

Matthew’s on spring break this week, so for a couple of days he came in with me and got to see me teach as well as be a student. I’m glad we got this time together to spend this week; it’s been a huge eyeopener on exactly how far his language skills have improved. Pretty amazing – the stories he tells has Josh and me roaring with laughter. He’s a kind and sensitive soul – the other day a group of girls at a playground shunned him for being a boy, and although they apologized after their father scolded them, Matthew was palpably sad. Poor kiddo.

Sep 8 2009

to every season

One of the things I miss most about living in New England is the changing of the seasons – especially as the hot and humid days of summer melt into the crisp and cool autumn, complete with the changing of the leaves and everything. It’s much more subtle here, and I only miss the leaves changing colors when I am in the mood for a Dunkin Donuts coffee.

Here, though, we’ve got seasons changing – but we notice it mostly in the kids. Look at Matthew.
matthew

Matthew is huge. He is ginormo-boy. He is 45 lbs and thinks he is 20. He is 3 years old, he loves Dora and Diego (oh, hello consumer mark), he loves “na” (snacks, mainly raisins and fresh fruit). He is EmoBoy – often calculatingly throwing himself onto the floor when he is Angry! He’s about to start speech therapy with the local elementary school, but he has no problem communicating with us – except when he’s pissed, then watch out. The boy’s got a TEMPER! Can you believe he’s 3? He looks like he’s 5!

And Lindsey, oh Lindsey.
lindsey-8mos2

She’s eight months old and is starting to develop her brother’s temper! Yesterday she was pissed off at me and threw a FIT when I took away a box of raisins from her. If she could talk she would have said, “WTF do you think you’re doing, crazy woman? GIMME THOSE RAISINS!” and then thrown a chair at me, à la pro wrestling’s finest. Lindsey loves being tickled (the anticipation moreso!), food, and most importantly – Matthew. She adores the ground he walks on. Often she will break into hysterical peals of laughter when he does so much as look at her. And if he intentionally tries to make her laugh? The happiness oozes.

Look at this hero worship:
casey-matthew-lindsey

I told Josh we’d have to move into a 3 bedroom apartment so we could separate them. By the time she’s able to walk, she and he will be thick as thieves and then Josh and I are really in for it.

Aug 23 2009

eight months in

lindsey

Dear Lindsey,

I must start out by asking your forgiveness. So many times on the 23rd of each month since your birth I meant to sit down and write you a letter talking about what you’re like as a growing person. I managed to write a letter every month for Matthew until he was 18 months, and I have tapered off dramatically since. So I apologize.

Second kids get the short end of the stick sometimes. I don’t take nearly as many pictures of you as I did for your brother, and I can’t count how many times I left you momentarily to fend for yourself while I prevented your brother from committing some sort of toddler catastrophe that would have taken us all out.

At any rate, I wanted to write you a letter, just for you. Everyone in this household loves you – even though you’ve only been here for a scant eight months, we often wonder what we did without you here.

You are such a happy little person. You howl with laughter when your brother does something funny (like jump on the bed), or if he kisses you (which he does often). You love being tickled – from head to toe you laugh so hard sometimes you can’t breathe! You love dancing and talking – both of which you do a lot of at Dixie’s. When you dance your feet kick out and it almost looks like you’re swimming.

Sometimes, though, you burst into tears, but that is because you have so much empathy you don’t know what to do with it yet. When Matthew is heartbroken, so are you. When your Baba sneezes loudly, sometimes the tears well up! When Mama wipes your nose, you protest vehemently. But you are always quick to smile again at us.

You are an amazing little girl and I can’t tell you how happy you make me. These past few months have been pretty rough on Mama. Somehow, though, just cuddling with you and nursing you while you grasp my fingers tightly makes it a little better. You’re my little lifesaver.

So, my sweet Lindsey, I apologize for not writing you letters as faithfully as I did Matthew. They’re in my head though, and I am always writing them in my head when it’s just the two of us, when sleep is drowsily upon you, and I kiss your head and bid you good night.

Love,
Mama