Coming home, projects and questions about toys

A bittersweet trip all around. Flying down to the state of my birth where I spent a number of my formative early-childhood years brought back many memories - some of which I hadn't thought of in decades. Getting to see family members I haven't seen since my wedding in 2001 tallies in on the positive side. The passing and laying-to-rest of a wonderful man, my grandfather, tallies in on the negative, although getting to go down and be a part of it? Positive. In a lot of ways, it was like coming home after an extended absence.

Yet my own home was sorely missed (and missing). Ian had a hard time saying goodbye to me at the airport (on the drive home, he kept asking to "go back to the plane house and get Mommy"), and lord knows I had a hard time saying goodbye to him, Missy, and Jason. One of the happiest sights was watching Jason in my little red car driving around the circle to pick me up, the huge smile on Ian's face as they pulled up and he saw me, and the constant hugs and snuggles from Missy at breakfast once she realized that I was actually there to stay.

I love coming home.

This is going to be a weekend of projects. Finishing one baby blanket, continuing work on another, and a couple of art projects for the kids' rooms (Megan's in particular). Possibly more painting of walls.

And a quick non-existent segue into the world of toys. For anyone who has toys with big footprints, at what point did you decide to get rid of them? For example: we have had a Fisher Price activity table and a Laugh n Learn home since Ian was little. Both of them take up a goodly amount of space and both of them were loved and played with extensively (as in, for 30-40 minutes at a stretch) by the little man. Missy, on the other hand? Has maybe five minutes of interest for them. My question to you is: if she hasn't played with them much as yet, is it likely she's suddenly going to get interested? Or should I just pass them on, as she's likely to find other interests at 18 months?

It's been a while.

My dad called on Friday to let me know that my grandfather had not eaten or drank anything for three to four days, and that he had at most days, if not hours. As they're in western GA, it wasn't feasible to drop everything and fly down immediately - we waited for the call. It came on Saturday as I was on my way to scrapping with friends. So there will be no update until at least Thursday - I'm sure y'all understand. Be well in the meantime, and I'll catch you on the flip side.

In about three hours, the family will pile into the car to go to the airport. I hate traveling. I particularly hate traveling by myself, so having Jason and the kids there will make leaving so much better - even as it makes it harder - but I know that on Wednesday I will be able to come off the plane, leave the airport and see my beloved faces again.

What I'm Working On

Here are the raw materials for my next project! So excited!


And a peek at my current project - so soft and plushy, just right for a brand new baby!

Can I share?

Can I just tell you how much it bothers me to run out of yarn just a few rows short of what I need? Now a trip to Michael's is required *cue sad violin music, I know*. In a holding pattern until I can buy a skein of white (for four rows), a skein of blue (for four rows) and a skein of cream (which should have been the only one I really *needed*). Not like I won't use the blue/white, but still - I can't finish my current blanket until I get them, and I hate holding patterns.

I get to go scrapping this weekend, and boy howdy - do I need it. Poor Megan is 17 months old, and has not one page to her name as yet. Because I'm famous for overestimating what I can get done, here's a preliminary list of the pages I hope to finish in six hours (don't laugh):
Ian: Crocs, a school page, finish his big boy room and birthday pages
Megan: Fourth of July 2009/2010, ladybug, rainbow, wunderkind, water, puffs, smile, one
Both: summer 2010, Halloween 2009

The littles and I are off to the park soon, and then to Michaels (surprise, surprise). I will try to get some pictures of my current projects up soon so that you can see what I've been yammering on about...

Question about cleaning services

A dear friend is thinking of starting up an all-natural, all-organic-products local house-cleaning service. How much would you pay - or have you paid in the past - for a contract service (how many times would they come out per month?) and how much for an emergency intervention in which someone came out to do a one-time deep clean?

Bunch of miscellaneous

Today the littles and I have to run a bunch of errands: Sams Club, Michael's, Target. What store do you most hate going in and why? For me, it's the UPS Store. Don't get me wrong: I vastly prefer UPS' cozy store and friendly counter-service over the USPS' cavernous warehouses stocked with surly customers (to say nothing of the actual employees), but unless I have to go to Safeway afterward, it's too much of a pain to drag out the stroller. That means I have to fill out forms with one hand, holding Megan in the other, and keeping both eyes on Ian to make sure he doesn't flee when the door opens.

We had an earthquake this morning. I didn't feel a thing. I'm good with it. Sleep > seismic activity.

Can we talk about photo-editing software for a second? Is it just me, or is it cheating? Discuss!

Welcome to The Rileys

Just saw a trailer for a movie coming out in September - "Welcome to The Rileys". James Gandolfini and Kristen Stewart are not perhaps the on-screen star pair you'd expect, but take a look; I'd bet the film does well. I plan on seeing it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJqNTLXYdKY

Yarn recommendation

And yeah - so it's not ultra-luxe quality or anything, but I have to heartily approve of Bernat's Baby's First Steps yarn. It's a poly/cotton blend, it's wicked soft and works up fast. How it does in the wash remains to be seen, but as of now it is my new go-to for baby blankets.

Greetings!

Hey - look! You found my blog! Go you! Welcome to my little place on the web where I plan to show off my photos, scrapbook pages, and yarn crafts, as well as the assorted flotsam and jetsam of my daily life. If there's anything you want to see (within reason, ahem), post it and I'll see what I can do. Challenges, curiosities, questions - it's all up here!