dust yourself off and try again, try again

we're on day 40 of twenty thirteen and do you know how many days my husband has been in town this year?

nine.

nine days.

nine whole days.

so, yes. i'm a bit crazy. but that's okay, because i'm already crazy anyway so what's a bit more added to it?

unless, of course, you want to discuss trying to potty train a particular two-and-a-half-year-old who thinks it's hella funny to pee on the carpet and watch mama throw a hissy fit.

but i think that's a story for another day.

or no other day at all, quite frankly.

so, hey. remember this? 

i actually started that in february 2011. as in, two years ago.

and today?

well. i'm stuck.

no, wait. not really stuck. maybe more hmmm... trying to get over my anger. yes! that's better. getting over my anger.

you see, not every square lined up perfectly.

(shock! horror! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!)

then, my experience with the long arm quilter was less-than-desirable.

then, i totally jacked up my binding.

then to make matters worse, i got really angry and really jacked up the binding.

(you may want to click to make bigger to see)

and yes, i totally, completely realize i am BLOWING THIS ALL WAY OUT OF PROPORTION, but lo - i have set this quilt aside for over a year out of anger.

if that doesn't highlight my ability to be a stick-in-the-mud spoil-sport i don't know what does.

so, now i've taken it out of hiding, and i will finish it.

but first, i will finish this:

this is my modern quilt guild madrona road challenge quilt (say that three times fast).

due to life (ahem) it wasn't completed by the january 31st deadline - but! i have high hopes of finishing the hand binding and having it all ready for the next kansas city MQG meeting in march.

i even bought a package of color catching thingamabobs today, in good faith.

and we float up through the rift

there's a certain magic that happens at the beginning of winter. the quietness. the celebrations of light and love and life.

we did our best to enjoy a quiet holiday season and carry the magic through the new year, and it was fantastic. then reality hit.

my husband is out on a long business trip (currently on day nine of who knows how many - hopefully less than 20), emery spent a good three days nonstop vomiting (growth spurt) (i have faith he'll eventually grow out of his EE) (i call it faith, you call it delusion; po-tae-toe, poh-tah-toe). the boys are back to school and back to constantly bickering.

our days are spent snuggling up, staying warm.

and cleaning the basement. oh, the basement.

there's been no shying around that my husband is a hoarder. and for as much as he's a hoarder, i'm a pack rat. the difference, of course, being he holds on to things we'll never use again (two tubs of broken toys, four boxes of old newspapers from his college years he "still wants to read," outdated science books, boxes and boxes of items we no longer own, magazines i threw out but he saved) and i hold on to things of sentimental value (my mom's old letters, little tin treasures from childhood packed with hello kitty pushpins and pencil toppers, tiny wee baby tshirts my boys wore, and every single camera and lens i have ever own). we've thrown gobs and gobs of stuff down there to "sort through on another day" and apparently that day has come.

of course, "day" meaning "months" and as soon as i think i'm close to being done i realize i'm not. but isn't that how life is? at least for me. perception versus reality and what it all boils down to is attitude.

and i choose to do my best to have a good attitude. so if you start to see totally bizarre pictures of my hello kitty treasures do not be alarmed.

pacing around in the moonlight

hello. how are you? no time, no see.

the past few weeks have been gloriously busy. aaron's parents came for thanksgiving, the boys had both! sets! of! grandparents! there! two grandmas and two grandpas in the same room, emerson's mind was significantly blown.

the holiday decorating has been slow coming, as mister short stuff is in full "terrible twos" mode. no tree. (eh, more on that on another day.) so we're getting creative.

i've been working on on clearing out the basement for the past few weeks. side note: it's not wise to clear clutter out during the holidays, as you do not want to buy anything. nothing.

i've been taking bags of trash, boxes of recycling to the curb. bags and bags and bags of items for friends and family. another pile for donations. i don't want to bring anything into the house now (and i'm only about a third of the way done), bah  humbug.

while digging my way out of my basement, i stumped upon the potty.

emery has been enamored with removing the pants at. all. times.

yesterday he was so mad at me whole foods, the shoes went flying, then the socks. next, shirt. then he started tugging at the britches.

so i thought, maybe, i should clean and bring that potty up.

of course, he loves it.

but um. yeah. not using it for intended purposes. sigh.

he's all over sitting on it. but... hmm.. not taking care to use it properly.

plus, he still doesn't talk. (nor is he yet sleeping through the night.) (thanks a lot eosinophilic esophagitis, you bastard.) so beyond screaming and pointing his little finger in my face and telling me "NEEE-OOOO" he's really not communicating well.

what the hell am i talking about? he says "no" fantastically.

don't get caught alone, oh no

ohmygoodness the sugar coma is a beast the next day, is it not?

the big boys just got home from school and already demonstrating how going to bed an hour and a half later and hopped up on candy the night before equates to not the best behavior. (their poor teachers.)

and emery did his very best personality of the hulk today. because. um. sugar?

but they had a fantastic time, and there's a goodly amount of almond joys for mama that need to be hidden away.

some of the pumpkins on the porch

making goodie bags to leave out

ready to go (and the first time all were taken in the 12 years of living here!)

half-batch (i don't trust myself) of gluten-free chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream

 

yeah, not done yet. surprised? (free download from  here)

 everyone ready to go

 i've resisted the urge to take down the halloween decorations just yet... one more day will do just fine.

and i'm sorely lacking in thanksgiving adornments.

the world outside is, oh, so cold

We're having this crazy heat wave, it was in the mid-80s today. Given the summer we had I really shouldn't complain, but damn.

A few weeks ago it was gloriously chilly; I love autumn weather. (Not so much the leaves, anyone wanna help come rake?)

Yesterday I was chatting with Lisa on Twitter on good uses for pumpkin, especially something savory. Hello, one of my very most favorite foods ever. I start making it when there's a chill in the air, and continue until the tulips are up.

In our house this is known as "pumpkin pasta" and I'm making it as soon as Aaron gets home from Canada. (In related news, I'm willing to start renting my children out to anyone who'd like a good shot of non-hormonal birth control.)

Recipe!

1 pound sweet italian pork sausage (sometimes I use ground dark turkey and add a goodly amount of Baron's Specialty Foods Italian Blend - I get it at Whole Foods at the meat counter and cannot find it online; it's what my local Whole Foods uses to make their sausages in-house) (if you recall, Emery is allergic to pork, gah)

olive oil, depending on if you are using pork vs turkey vs skipping meat all together

one medium onion, small diced

2 teaspoons fennel seeds, if vegetarian

4 - 6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage

1 cup white wine (optional)

2 - 3 cups chicken or light-colored veggie stock

1 cup canned pumpkin (about two thirds of a standard can)

sprinkle of cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 cup half'n'half

1 pound of a tube-y pasta, cooked just under al dente (we are gluten-free, this is our favorite)

parmesan, for serving

In a large skillet, add a small bit of oil (teaspoon if cooking pork; tablespoon if cooking turkey) and cook sausage on medium heat until done; remove from pan using a slotted spoon, set aside momentarily.

Drain any excess oil out of the pan, you want a little oil to coat the bottom; saute onions on medium heat (if you are making it vegetarian, use a teaspoon or two of oil and start your onions with a sprinkle of fennel and salt - gives you the sausage flavor without having the meat!). Cook onions until translucent, add garlic and a sprinkle of pepper and cook for just a moment. Pour the cup of white wine (or stock, if not using wine) into the pan and reduce the liquid to half.

Rub sage into skillet, add pumpkin and whisk as smoothly as possible. Add two-ish cups of stock and bring to a simmer; add sausage back in and continue on a low simmer for five to ten minutes stirring occasionally but never walking too far away.

Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg in, turn off heat and slowly add half'n'half until the sauce looks the color of pumpkin pie. Taste for salt and pepper, toss pasta in and let sit for a few minutes before serving.

We like to have this with a big green salad, and a healthy sprinkle of parmesan on mine please.

The boys like their sausage and pasta plain, partially because they cannot have dairy and partially because they are not fans of anything sauce-y.

Unless you count ketchup as sauce-y. 

if it wasn't for bad luck, i wouldn't have no luck at all

The past week has just been downright comical around here, between a broken dryer for days-on-end (16 days, to be exact) and then once it was broken our basement flooded. Ahem.

The cause? Oh, you know. The service guy doing something he shouldn't. Then he tried to fix it by pouring a chemical down the drain. And left without saying anything to me.

Like I said, comical.

That was last week. The plumbing is fixed. The damage is not.

I decided, since nearly everything is dirty, I might as well take this opportunity to do the great seasonal laundry shuffle. I'm nearly done. After a week. I know, comical.

Now, Aaron's talking about his upcoming three trips (two to Canada) and mixing goodness-knows-what in the kitchen to make himself feel better (lettuce smoothies with water, anyone?); Griffin has some viral coughy-lung thing that could turn into bronchitis, and Emery is puking at least three times a day. Comical.

Darwin and I are trying to keep everyone at an arm's distance. We don't want any of their germy stuff. Please and thank you.

 Yeah, this has nothing to do with the post - but look at that smile!

makes you think all the world's a sunny day

Aaron arrived home this weekend - whew! - despite two delays and plane changes.

We did one of my very most favorite things, go to the pumpkin patch. It was chilly, very chilly, but bright and beautiful and happy. Just what we needed.

There was chickens and cows and pumpkin chuckin' and a hay maze and a patch perfectly died back for picking and tractors (lots and lots of pointing and grunting at tractors!).

After there was snacks and a long drive home (with a stop for gluten-free burgers and fries) and naps in the van.

And there was this. Lots and lots of this.

Drank a cup of coffee and she'd fold her laundry

Autumn finally arrived to Kansas. The furnace is on, slippers on are feet, cardigans pulled out and being worn.

Emery is enamoured with trucks, trains, airplanes, basically anything that goes. A helicopter was flying over when we arrived at the grocery store this morning. "MA!" Points, grunts. "MA!"

"Ah, yes. Do you hear and airplane? Oh, wait. That's a helicopter."

"MA!"

"Hel-eh-cop-ter"

"MA!"

"Hel-eh-cop-ter"

"MA! Ter!"

We'll consider that a win for Mister No Words.

Hopefully Aaron will get home from his trip tomorrow evening, and we can all snuggle in and have some family time together (and not contemplate raking leaves) (hopefully). Happy weekend to you!

and so peacful until...

I'm on day nine of a broken dryer (heats, but doesn't tumble; makes a horrible mouse-squeaky-death sound). We had an appointment today to get it fixed.

At first he said he unplugged it and it's fine. But then he went ahead and checked it, the belt is about the snap and idler (I pinky-promise that's what it was called) was about to go out. He picked up the parts and fixed it.

Then, of course, he discovered  part, that ties into the motor, that just idly spinning, and it's a fire hazard. Seven days to get that part in. Seven days.

Dear dryer, you are not funny. Dear warranty-holder of dryer, as you certain that's the best you could do?

I will be having a date with the laundromat soon. A date, not a double date.

(Toddlers in laundromats are no fun, I've already tried.)

Merrily, Merrily

I'm on my third - no, wait, fourth - cup of coffee.

Tomato season is about over, the boys harvested our garden. Aaron complained about the tomatillos, covered in blooms but no fruit two years in a row.

The boys are home from school, causing a ruckus with Emery. It's loud, gloriously loud. Reminding me the quiet is overrated.