Oldies, but Goodies

I meant to post last night, but nevermind that I knitted and knitted and knitted instead. Unexciting day yesterday, anyway.

Hazel and I played and read books a lot, we hung out laundry to dry, took a nap (I needed one as much as her), made Koolaid Playdoh, daddy got home, made dinner, wrestled Daddy, Hazel went to bed at 8:30, and Brett and I watched Battlestar Galactica. Knitting, knitting, knitting.

It's official, I'm a scifi geek. I think after you're addicted to and love 3 different scifi shows, you're a geek. I don't think it was possible to grow up in my house and not be in love with Star Wars, Brett started watching Star Trek: Enterprise in Peoria and got me addicted (love that show). And now we've gotten into BSG. The Yarn Harlot, my knitting idol, was a BSG fan and I thought we'd give it a go, watch an episode or two and see. Good show. Not to mention that we've got that, plus the series Prison Break going at the same time. Pamela loaned us Prison Break while she's touring the US for a month. It's an amazingly good show. Kind of violent and gory, but it really needs that, I think, for the show to progress.

By the way (BTW), I'm currently sitting on the floor, Hazel's on my lap, and the computer is on hers, so if this is a little unreadable, then you'll know why.

We made Koolaid Playdough (recipe in link above) for the 2nd time yesterday. It's the best recipe I've found as it contains no oil, therefore it doesn't leave oily greasy mess everywhere. Simple. Flour, salt, koolaid, water. Easy peasy. Makes the world largest amount of playdough, though. Be forwarned. Lots and lots. And I strongly recommend plastic gloves before mixing, as mooshing together the dry stuff with boiling water is PAINFUL. I, also, recommend kneading it until you feel like your arms are going to fall off. It really gets the gluten in the flour going so that it feels like playdough and not the generic, grainy, homemade stuff. Not to mention the stuff SMELLS amazing since it has koolaid in it. The first batch we made was with 2 pkg of Cherry, this batch was 1 Strawberry, 1 Tropical Punch. Hardly any difference. Nothing too noticeable. Same smell, color, etc. Well, mostly. I can't wait to try it in other color/flavors. I'm going to make some for Hazel's little guests at her birthday party in September.

Speaking of...the kids are getting big enough this year to make it a child centered party instead of an adults-celebrating-kids party. So after some brainstorming, we decided to have a big craft party for the kids. Hazel's got about 6 little friends, so oI thought it would be fun to make playdough for them in different colors, we talked about hiring a facepainter. There are recipes online for homemade fingerpaints, we can color, etc and so on. I thought it would be fun and then the little ones can have some art to take home at the end of the day! I think I have to be a crazy lady, though, for doing it, as....

...the day before Hazel's birthday is the day several of us in the knit group are going to IKnit day in London. We'll fly out about 6am and get home somewhere around 10pm that night. THEN, I'm having a party the next day. Luckily it should be fairly simple for the party, and if I get all prepped on Friday, then Sunday will be a breeze and I can relax at IKnit.

Hmmmm. Whatelse is going on...Baby making has commenced! I'm really excited!!!! And really dreading it at the same time. Seems like everyone is preggo and took no effort to get that way, and I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that it probably won't be that easy for us. Sigh. It's hard not to be resentful toward everyone who got preggo right away, but I do dknow God knows best and it'll happen when it should. I do dknow that, but convincing my heart is a whole other story. I was hoping Hazel and her siblings would be closer in age, but it's not in God's plan, so I need to just calm down and wait.

Well, I should go get dressed as we have to get friends in an hour to go play at Cheeky Monkey's. I'm going to take the camera and hopefully have some video to post!

Running head first into the terrible twos...

Hazel's been pretty angry with me for almost a week. Trying to be ever patient, I've been trying to figure out what is wrong, but can only come up with a handfull of things.

#1: We're in a new house, and I think it's just now sinking in that we live here now. I'm going to try my best not to take her to the other place as not to confuse her, hopefully we'll be able to find someone to watch her here while we finish the move.

#2: She's hitting "that age." Which I think is hysterical since every stage starts out with someone saying, "Well, she's at that age." But I think this time, that age is independence. And she wants it, so we encourage it, but I think it really scares her, too. She wants to feed herself, and drink out of a big girl cup, go to the big girl potty, but she's wanting it all at once, and we need to realise that it can all be a little overwhelming for someone so little. We don't push any of it, she'll get it when she's ready, but we're giving her as many opportunities as possible, and she's flying. It's wonderful to watch, but at the same time, I'm frightened at how fast she's growing up!

#3: She's been a Daddy's girl lately and doesn't really understand why he leaves each morning. I've been explaining that Daddy goes to work so we can eat and play. But she's really a bit young to fully understand. But we still talk about it, she may be little, but it's good practice for me to explain the whys of life and for her to ask, knowing that she'll get an explaination...even if we have to look it up later. I really, actually, like it when I get bombarded with a million, "WHY?"s. I think it's cool that she's learning and wanting to learn.


On other news...

We still don't have a dryer. It'll be 2 weeks on Thursday that it conked out, but we're doing well. I get atleast 2 loads on the line in the backyard per day, giving Hazel a chance to be out and about while I'm doing the wash. I forgot how much I like line-dried clothing. Brett laughs, saying I look "domesticated" when I'm doing the drying "the old way." He's been helping on occasion (when he's home) just standing there hanging things up with me. I'm going to be glad to get a dryer eventually, but for now, the line is bliss on a pole.

Baby making has commenced! We're in the "safe zone" if we move home in December, and if not, then we'll hopefully have our little one sometime late spring of next year. I just dread the thought of months and months of not getting pregnant. Only took 6 months last time, which, over all, is NOT a long time to try, but I've had the baby bug bite since January, and it feels like a long time to wait already, ya know? I was in IKEA on Sunday, and seriously, there was easily 20 pregnant women and I think I counted 3 newborns in that store. Ever notice when you want something so bad, that's all you see? Oh, well, I know in my heart of hearts that God's in charge and it'll happen when it's supposed to! I just have to keep remembering that!

Hazel's been talking in 2-3 word sentences lately, which has just been blowing us away. It's really cool to see the words she puts together.

Well, I should be off. I promised the Nut some book reading time...

If you don't know...

I originally posted about a situation I've found myself in lately. About how I feel about people who get angry and then don't want to talk about it. About what I really think about people who blame others for the things they don't like about their life. The title was originally leading into my thoughts on the phrase, "If you don't know, then I'm not going to tell you." But after posting, I realized that, the person in topic, doesn't care about me. Is generally POed about their life, regardless of their life situation, and is convinced that my life is better and therefore i must be a great way to take out their anger. I tried to help, I gave advice only when requested, but none of it was good enough. And you know what I just realized? Their emotional instability is not my concern, as apparently mine is not theirs. I think I know what set them off, and you know what? They've needed to hear it for a VERY VERY long time...

It's a Lazytown Day

Well, we're on the count down to Lazytown Live!!! The show is tonight at 5 pm and Hazel and I are taking off around 2:3o or 3 to ensure we get to Belfast in time to have a small snack and get into the theatre in time. We have Hazel's Stephanie Wig ready to go. Her skirt is at the other house and I'm still debating whether to retrieve it or not. She has Stephanie PJs that I thought she could wear the top with jeans. We'll see. I even thought about getting her something to wear at the concert, too. Who knows. We'll see what we come up with.

Poor girl is getting cabin fever. She hasn't left the house in a week and a half except to go to the backyard. I was going to take her to Cheeky Monkey's yesterday, but with Lazytown being today, I thought 2 really big days out would be a lot too much. We'll have a day in tomorrow and then maybe Daddy will go with us to CM's or Junction One and play on Friday.

Brett has a 4 day weekend this weekend due to no more working Fridays (which started in June and will continue through the year until further notice) and a holiday on Monday. Stinks that his 4 days will be full of moving. We've still got so much left at the old apartment that we can't take the weekend for anything else. Maybe. We do have until the 28th to move out, so maybe we'll do something fun this weekend instead. One of the guys Brett works with is going to Rome and inivited us to go back in May. I'm so jealous. I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanna go to Rome, but that may wait until October when the weather is a bit milder and prices are cheaper. Tourist numbers will be down, too, which will make taking Hazel through the touristy places a lot easier.

We still have a few growing pains in this house. The clothes dryer gave out last Thursday and once looked at, it was declared unworthy for repair. Then our landlords decided they weren't going to replace it unless they could find a cheap one at a second hand shop (which is fine) but even then, shopping for one wasn't a priority. So my laundry keeps piling up higher and higher. Hazel and I are going to venture out back to hang up a load here in a few minutes, I'll let her run like crazy so maybe she'll take an early nap to rest up for the evening. We're looking into buying a new dryer as we can't live without one and have a toddler in the house. The weather is just too cold and too unpredictable to rely on the clothing line. Besides, the line only holds one load at a time and takes about 3 hours per load to dry. Not reasonable if you ask me. Our shower continues to clog unless you clear out the drain of hair before every use. I don't mind cleaning out the drain, it's just annoying not to be able to just jump in and clean it out once every few days, ya know? I dread the thought that we're moving home in a few short months, provided FG Wilson doesn't renew our contract for another year, but I do miss everyone. I miss my car. I miss being able to jump in the car and run into town and get whatever I need at anytime of night. Shops around here close around 5:30 typically, being open late (8pm) on Fridays only and most being closed entirely on Tuesdays. I'll miss our friends, and soft play areas (like Cheeky Monkeys) and mom and tots groups. I'm grateful each and every day that I was able to find friends shortly after moving here otherwise, I think living in a foreign country would be nearly unbearable. Most people don't make living abroad more than 6 months. I can't tell you how many women I talked to while living in Peoria who couldn't handle it and in the process thought it was cool that I could live in Ireland but thought I was nuts for agreeing to it. I'm so lucky to have Marina and Michelle and all the lovely other people in my life. They're what make this worth every second.

Well, I need to figure out what the Nut is up to and go hang up clothes....hugs to all and hope you have a great day!

Just another lazy day

Nothing much has been going on these past 3 days. Pure boredom on Hazel's part. Poor girl. I was going to take her to Cheeky Monkey's today to get her out of the house, but then Brett reminded me that we get to go see Lazytown tomorrow in Belfast, so I'm thinking it's probably a better idea that we stay home. Lazytown starts at 5, meaning we have to leave here no later than 3:30 to get there in time, although we'll probably head down between 2:30 and 3 just to be on the safe side. I don't want to get there early as we have purchased seats and she's only 22 months (well, nearly) old and I can't imagine her having too much patience with sitting there early. If we get there quickly then we can go get a snack or something before going in.

I'm so excited abotu taking her I can't stand it! I'm a little nervous that it'll be so big and loud that it'll scare her, but I think she should be alright. She's been marching around in her Stephanie wig for a few days now. It's her "hat," she says.

Well, I should be off. Not a lot to say other than that!

Happy Independence Day!

Oh....my....goodness. I think we survived our Fourth party. House is intact, and surprisingly unmessy. I started cooking Friday around 1:30 and between meals and getting stuff ready for the party, I don't think I stopped (with the exception of bedtime and eating) until 5:30 last night. And I was ready to drop.

Jenn and Matt came over early to help us out. Bless Jenn's heart, she tackled the deviled eggs. I would give her the messiest job ever. She was champ and did a great job! Nicola and her son, Alastair, we the first to arrive after them. Everyone else started arriving about an hour later around 4. I seriously can't tell you how fun a houseful of people is. I think at the top of the night there was...(hang on I have to think about this) 22 adults and 6 kids running about. I got to meet Ian(head of Brett's office)'s wife, Caren and their daughter, Charlotte, who was just a sweetheart. It was really nice to get to meet them. I also got to meet Stephen's wife, Valerie, who was just the nicest soul. We had a sick amount of food, beer, and wine, laughter, and chats, the kids ran around like only little kids can, one kid barfed on our patio, the new grill burned the first 4 hamburgers, but the weather was gorgeous and the company was incredible and I couldn't have asked for a better Fourth of July.

Praise God for a gorgeous day b/c the weather called for downpours all weekend. He truly is an awesome God and I'm glad he's on our side!

Well, the aftermath of an awesome party is usually pretty brutal, so I should get started on the clean up!

Painfully tired, but happy...

Just a quick note as I'm about to drop from exhaustion. We got the keys to our new house on Sunday night, and have been here since. It's wonderful. Hazel's in heaven with all the space to run, and I'm just estatic with storage space. I promise to post pics soon.

Tomorrow we're hosting most of Brett's Project Management Office staff and several of my mom and tot friends for a Fourth of July party. I can't wait, but man, it's exhausting trying to get ready today. I got up at 8 and did the grocery shopping by 12:30, then started cooking about 1:30 and didn't stop until 9:15. I'm dying. This is just crazy....wish me luck!