happy halloween

I got my wish...the sun is hiding behind the clouds. Usually the sun is out by now but instead its keeping a low profile. It's cool and drizzly. The color outside is still and flat and I don't have to squint my eyes. The official soundtrack of the day is Cat Power. Stay away California sun.

Last night we carved pumpkins. The Yang's came over. The pumpkins were very ripe and easy to carve. Ella's pumpkin head looked like Jack Skellington. Thomas liked to poke holes in his pumpkin head with a poker...poke, poke, poke over and over. We lit candles turned out all the lights and listened to ghost stories on the ipod.

manbeard time

I always know its fall when Wade starts to grow his beard. In fact towards the end of summer I get anxious for him to start the process. This is because it is the most handsome of handsome manbeards. I daresay it is down right magnificent. It is regal in nature and only takes a short time to grow to that soft, scruffy beard phase. (wait, am I talking about a german shepherd?) Once it reaches this stage it represents an array of autumn colors....deep reds, oranges, medium to light browns...and now at the ripe old age of 37 we can see a little touch of Sean Connery inspired silver here and there. (which of course he doesn't like) but I think it adds some nice highlights to the earthy color spectrum. Along with how proud I am of his beard, I want to say how proud I am of him as a person. He has reached so many of his goals that he set earlier in the year and I am so happy for him. I am a tad-bit jealous as well. One of these goals being... changing his lifestyle to become a healthy, fit, triathalon training, pound dropping (86.4 to be exact) , greek-sculpted individual. Step aside ladies at Weight Watchers cuz here comes your role model!

Your dedication amazes me everyday. I love you.

Cheers to your successes!

P.S. Can we have a thanksgiving dinner that isn't weight watchers friendly?

love, kath

odds and ends that are buggin...

1. We just bought Thomas a handsome new pair of shoes this weekend only to lose one of the shoes out the window in the Rose Bowl parking lot.

2. I'm skinny but I still have a mom gut.

3. The universal remote is not user friendly

4. I'm too tired to concentrate on HBO's John Adams.

5. We bought a PUR water filter from Costco for our sink...but then we get home to find that none of the attachments fit our old corroded faucet.

6. Our landlord is too cheap to buy us a new faucet.

7. The kittens are in desperate need of a spay and neuter but I can't seem to make that happen.

8. I keep forgetting not to dry Wade's bike shorts.

9. I'm sleeping in a ravine and if I want to visit Wade I have to climb the mountain to the other side where he resides. Our bed is only 9 months old.

10. I have an arm pit sweat problem.

11. Thomas woke up with another runny nose.

12. I'm tired of LA weather. It's suppose to be 90 degrees today! I want dark and dreary instead.

13. That little screw driver that belongs to that set is still missing.

Happy Monday!

mind the gap

"Mom, I really like apples but can you start cutting them up for me? It's too hard to bite with gums."

PS Ella started blogging again!

family sewing circle

Ella was pleading for a mommy daughter sewing day all week. Sunday night rolls around and we finally found time to make this simple lil bag from Amy Butler's In Stitches. We took turns... Ella sewed a few lines, then because the project wasn't finished instantly she got restless and proceeded to make a happy face out of pins on the pin cushion. I discovered the best way to sew is to have Wade there reading me the instructions and then translating. I'm a dodo when it comes to reading instructions. I've also discovered that Wade has a brain full of knowledge when it comes to sewing even though he has never set foot at a sewing machine. I'm always asking him questions and he always seems to have an answer. I guess this is what comes from him actually watching and paying attention to what his mom is sewing. Something I never did. In conclusion... collaborative family sewing is fun!

don't say hate

Why is it when your 3 year old starts using hate in a sentence it makes you want to cry? When I first heard it come out of his mouth just a few weeks ago it was a shock to my system...in fact I think I gasped. Where did he learn such a word? How could he? Then I started to hear it everywhere. I say it, Wade says it...Ella says it. Pablo at preschool said it today. I guess I have been descensitized. Everyone says it so why shouldn't he? But I can't help it, the reality of my sweet boy saying it is just too tough to take. It's as if it just corrupted him...changed him somehow...made him a harsher person.

So when he says it I reply with a...

"Thomas don't say you hate that, just say you don't like it."

"Why mom?" he will reply.

"It's a bad word. It's an ugly word." I say.

Never your mind that our 13 year old neighbor Irene uses the word like its water, you don't say it gosh darnit! Over time I will forget that him saying it was a dagger to my heart. It will blend in with the rest of his vocabulary and then harsher words will take its place. Ugh. Teenage boy words. Teenage boys swear. Teenage boys are gross and say gross things. Oh the years to come...but for now, Thomas please, can we just talk about love and kisses and carnations and roses?

crazy quilting cat lady

Seven years and a few months ago, my mom and sister (bless their little hearts) were inspired to make a quilt for my new baby girl Ella. The 5 inch blocks were cut and ready to be sewn, but because life gets too busy to quilt, the fabric found a comfortable home in the hall closet at mom's house. Now, mom and sis, I'm not trying to put you on a guilt trip, I still love you and think you are both the most amazing seamstresses around...I'm just excited that I get to have this fabric and finish a project for my hope chest. (I'm kidding about the hope chest part.)
I remember picking out the fabric at the Stitching Corner in Orem and loving the vintage 40's look of the fabric. I still like the fabric, but looking at it now I would make changes. In the end I decided to just leave it be. This is the beauty of it right? My sweet baby quilt stuck somewhere in time...2001 to be exact. sigh, sigh, weep, weep.
I was telling Ella about her new quilt and as I was sewing the blocks together Ella says, "Um, mom, I'm not trying to be rude, but that looks like a baby quilt." To which I replied...."Okay, well then it can be one of your baby doll's quilt then." The truth is, that when I am 80, Ella will be showing it to her own daughter and telling her about how this blanket holds a special place in her heart. It was hers as a baby. She took it everywhere and she had a special baby name for it, (it will be something like "NuNu.") The corners will be all tattered and torn and it will always be a part of her hope chest.

Time will distort the truth I promise.