2009.07.08

After raining all day, the clouds parted around 4:30 yesterday, so we got into the car and went to the ballgame as planned.

Although some of the knitters decided against going, there were still plenty there – there’s nothing like looking at a section of seats and seeing knitting going on every second or third seat.

They had goody bags, too.  Mine had a tape measure, a skein of yarn, and some stitch markers.  Sweet.

A good time was had by all.

I have no idea why the Spinners’ official vehicle is the Mystery Machine…

2009.07.07

It’s a dreary, damp and rainy Tuesday.  It’s so dark that the light-sensing nightlight in the bathroom has been on all day. Ugh.

And to pile on, the potty-training has hit a wall.  Double-ugh.

So I don’t know if you need a little cheering up, but I sure do.  How about some garden update photos?  I took these on Saturday.

Larry's hostas are loving the cool rainy summer.

The grapevines have exceeded all expectations.

The berry patch is ridiculous.

Blackberries will be ready soon.

We get about a half-pint of raspberries every day.

The veggie bed looks pretty robust, doesn't it?

Picked most of the snow peas - I'll have to pull those vines soon, and replant something else.

Green beans are coming along.

'matoes !

We should have some cucumbers shortly.

I know this is a lot of green photos, but that’s what I’ve got.  The bee balm is just about to pop out front, and as soon as they do I’ll post pics, okay?

Now I’ve got to go back to worrying about the weather – I’m supposed to go to Stitch n Pitch in Lowell tonight, you know.

2009.07.06

We have all survived Underwear Weekend.  He did as well on Saturday and Sunday as he did on Friday – better than I expected, but not yet what I would call “trained”.  Still, progress is progress – we’re using only pull-ups and undies now, we’re completely out of diapers.

Another highlight of the weekend was that the big boy got to stay up (with the help of an afternoon nap) to watch the fireworks.  We took a stroll to a hill a few blocks away and had a clear view down to the water.  They were a distance off, so we didn’t hear any booms, though.   Maybe next year he’ll be big enough to take into Cambridge to watch.  Not sure if Mama is up for that, though.  Time will tell.

Since we were pretty much housebound all weekend, I’ve made great strides with the Beach Glass shawl.

I’m better than halfway through it now, and the end is in sight – I bet I’ll finishit by the end of the weekend.  Love, Love, Love it.

But I’m going to have to put it aside tonight and tomorrow, since tomorrow is Stitch & Pitch and I just don’t think ballparks and cashmere mix very well.  I’ll cast on for a pair of socks instead.

Tune in tomorrow for a garden update.

Underwear Friday!

Since WordPress has an iPhone app, I thought I’d try to semi-live blog about our adventures on Underwear Friday.

8:45am- after using the potty, the first pair of undies (Spider-Man and Iron Man) went on.

9:00am- laid a Sham-Wow across the couch as a precaution.

9:30am- breakfast.

9:50am- juice.

10:00am- sat on the potty for a couple of minutes, to no avail.

10:05am- read “Time To Pee”, hoping to inspire.

10:10am- went upstairs with Dada.

10:25am- came downstairs triumphantly! No poop yet, though.

10:30am- Still wearing original pair of undies, by the way.

10:45am- sat on the portable potty to try to poop, but no dice. I think he likes the idea of big-boy bumwipes (we bought Candoos) more than anything.

11:00am- he just peed. On the rug.

11:02am- second pair of undies applied (Lightning McQueen).

11:35am- he’s been sitting on the big potty for 10 minutes without doing anything. I wonder if I should take away his videogame?

11:45am- it worked! I took away the Nintendo, and he pooped! Granted, it was the equivalent of a skidmark, but I’ll take it.

12noon- recap: 3 hours, 5 trips to the potty, 4 whizzes, 1 poop, 2 pairs of undies. All in all, better than I’d hoped.

12:30pm- Left the boys home while I ran a quick errand, and came back to find a wet-bottomed boy. Sigh.

1:00pm- the sun’s out! We’re heading outside after one more visit to the potty. Only going in the backyard, so I’m not going to bother with shorts.

1:30pm- raspberries, yum.

2:00pm- I deadheaded some plants out front. The Peep sat on the potty while I was outside, but nothing.

2:15pm- lunch.

2:30pm- peed on the potty!

2:31pm- stood up, pulled up his drawers, high-fives all around, and … he peed. On the rug. Fourth pair of undies in full effect.

2:45pm- out back outside to do a little garden work. Come in to a wet couch, another pair of wet undies, and an irritated Larry. Underwear pair #5.

3:05pm- my dad just showed up unannounced, with a niece in tow. This has disaster written all over it.

3:30pm- They just left. With nowhere to sit (see 2:45), we stayed out on the front porch. After they left, we came in, sat on the potty, and bingo! Worked like a charm.

3:50pm- Apparently he wasn’t quite empty; the last dry couch cushion is no longer dry. Sigh. Underwear pair #6.

4:30pm- Have spent the past 15 minutes in the bathroom. I think the distraction factor is the biggest challenge – way too many things to play with, even in here.

4:45pm- We just put away all of the vedeogames, and told him that he won’t get to play with them until he does a poop. He went straight to the potty and sat down.

4:50pm- And he’s up. Sigh.

5:00pm- He went into the hallway for a few seconds, and came back having pooped his pants. Ugh! I think all of us have had enough for today; we just put a diaper on him.

We’ll do it again tomorrow, but I probably won’t blog about it til Monday.

2009.07.02

Sorry for the silence; I’m not ignoring you, just been crazy wack busy this week.

I’ve got 6 rows to go on the border of Beach Glass, and then it’s on to the main pattern at last!  I’m not going to post any pictures until I get a few repeats of the larger pattern done, so look for those early next week.

The other big thing on the agenda for the weekend is:

Potty Training

Yup.  The Peep has been a potty dilettante long enough!  He knows perfectly well how to use it, when to use it, etc.  He just doesn’t want to be bothered.   Well, I don’t want to be bothered with diapers anymore, so there!

We bought a bunch of undies – I let him pick them out.  I’ve got 24 pairs (I know), and I suspect we’ll be doing an emergency load of laundry at some point, so I think that’ll hold us over.

And we’ve been talking it up all week “Hey, do you know what Friday is?  It’s Underwear Friday!  That means you’ll wear big boy undies and go on the potty all the time!”.  He’s pretty excited about the idea.

At least so far.  We shall see what happens tomorrow, when reality sets in.  I wonder who will cry first?

Have a great weekend!

2009.06.29

We’re getting handfuls of raspberries every day; they glow like little jewels among the leaves.

And this is what they look like moments after the come into the house:

On Saturday we took a ride to the Franklin Park Zoo.  I’d never been there before, and Larry hadn’t been since grade school.   It’s a really nice city zoo; not as close as the Stone Zoo, but still less than a half-hour away.  They have a good variety of animals, all in spacious enclosures, in a nice woodsy setting.

The Peep had a ball, although I still can’t get him onto a carousel.

A movie is being filmed at the zoo later this summer, that’s what all the construction is for.

Then on Sunday, my newest niece was christened.  And we all went out for a nice lunch.  (Did I get any photos of the guest of honor?  Unfortunately no.   What a terrible auntie.)

All of which goes a long way towards explaining why my tail is dragging today.