the one where she gets serious...

it was brought to my attention (by more than 1 dear reader) that i'd a) not been posting nearly as much as i used to, & 2) that my posts seemed more chipper & fluffier than usual. people were concerned i was depressed & trying to hide it, or that something was dreadfully wrong with me.

i'm sorry to have worried some. the lack of posting has only to do with a certain wee person (& i'm not naming names) who hasn't been sleeping well of late. it's leaving me quite zombificated (real word) during the day. the other? well it's true, i have been purposely fluffy.

you see, i'm not always sure where to draw the line. what is too personal for my little corner of blogland? so instead of figuring out a way to share more serious things, i sometimes get a bit silly, & superficial.

because a few people were kind enough to have concern for me, i shall try to explain what's going on:

my mom has been ill for most of the year; in & out of the hospital with various things. it looked as though things were finally going well for her when they discovered tumors - inoperable, stage 4 lung cancer.

she began chemo to slow the cancer's progress, & allow her a bit more time. the chemo has been utterly brutal on her already frail body, bringing her to the decision that if the scans from the first round of chemo showed no slowing, she would stop all together.

well the results came back yesterday, & they found that instead of slowing, the tumors had actually shrunk! this wasn't even something the doctors were hoping for, let alone expected to happen.

my mom's morale has gone through the proverbial roof, & my hope is that it is just enough to help her fight through the pain & sickness the chemo is causing. maybe even enough to help her beat the unbeatable.

so there you have it. in the past few months i shattered my no photos of faces rule, & now i've erased drawings of lines. thank you to those who those of you who contacted me. screw the rest of you - heehee, only joking - thanks to you as well for just being here, & reading.

~peace.

what bebe really needs is coffee.

when he was first born, lemondrop received many prezzies from the older, well-to-do crowd, whom manlyman knows through work. we spent quite a bit of time discussing how generous we thought they were, & how blessed we were. then we put it all aside until we could get to the swanky shops to return it.

happily, we had been lucky in the amount (& quality) of hand-me-downs we'd received, so he didn't need more clothes. oh. did i forget to say it was all clothing? it was. golfer bebe clothes. yup.

we finally returned it this week, then spent quite a bit of time discussing how much it all had cost, how generous they really were, & how we wished shops still did cash-returns. what ever would we get lemondrop from swanky shops? i knew i'd never be able to dress him in a $40 onesie, let alone a $90 sweater.

then we spied the housewares department, & jumped for joy! & by 'we' i mean 'me'! look what we bought lemondrop:


we chose this one because it had a slight retro look to it, what with the dials & flip-switch.

now i'm a french press gal, but lemondrop prefers drip. finally he can have his cuppa just the way he likes it. plus i can brew enough for company without doing so in batches. it's just what thebebe needed - hurrah for prezzies!

we still have money left on the cards, but i'm going to set them aside until lemondrop needs something else for the kitchen. perhaps one of these? i'll have to ask him ;-)

i hope your day is a lovely one.

~peace.

stuff, then blah & blah

i haven't forgotten my promise to show you my new mirror, i've just been caught in a whirlwind of visitors & to-dos. the giant mirror did make it out from the middle of the bigroom, & now leans against a wall, looking simply perfect in all its shabbiness.

the giant bookcase; that was supposed to be moved to the studio, but made it only as far as the diningroom; was finally brought to the studio, & partially filled! i changed my mind about using it to house fabric though, & have instead been filling it with baskets, bins, & boxes of work supplies.

now i am back to searching for a tall, skinny shelving unit, with freakydeep (real word) shelves. it's out there, waiting for me, yearning to overflow with fabric. *insert dreamy sigh here*

as i said above, we've had loads of friends over to play; giving both thehobbit & i a break from each other our current routine.

we are also getting ready for our hallowe'en party. not one of our usual themed bashes; just a wee gathering, with close friends. that's what today's focus is: house prep & errands. also known as blah & blah.

& now to bring this ever so exciting post to an end. have a glorious day, do.
~peace.

in which i was thwarted...

the new bookcase did get moved, but only out from the middle of the bigroom, & into the dining area. it never did make it to the studio.

my plan had been to take advantage of manlyman's day off; spending the day getting the studio in order, & stopping only to nurse the bebe.

i was thusly thwarted:



~peace
ps, a giant mirror in a gorgeous, shabby frame replaced the bookcase in the middle of the bigroom! photos tomorrow.

oww & ooh

the past few days have been lovely, beginning with the return of beloved-yet-abandoning friends from their summer abroad. they; & their new bunny; came for a visit, which lasted well past sunset. it was wonderful to see them after so many months - i don't know who was more excited: the wretched shorties, or we mamas. of course my wee littlest one was immediately smitten by his auntie tinker. why should he be any different than his older brother?

the oww referred to above happened during our visit. let me take this moment to say: excited children & golf clubs do not go well together.



it's hard to see in this photo, but here we have thehobbit's first shiner. we were lucky that the club glanced off the bone beneath his eye, leaving only a faint blue/purple ring. so very lucky! the minitinker responsible for this artistry felt so terrible, that i felt just as bad for her as i did for thehobbit.

***

the ooh comes in the form of a shabby bookcase, gotten for free yesterday from a neighbor who wasn't able to sell it at his garage sale. hurrah for people who don't love ratty, old things as i do!

it needs a good scrubbing, but other than that, i think it's simply perfect. i cannot wait for tomorrow, when manlyman shall move the bookcase into my studio; to be filled after with stacks & stacks of fabric. hurrah indeed.

***

there have been other oohs making the past few days lovely: gifts of pomegranates & chocolate pie, other free treasures from the garage sale, the crispness of autumn in the air, & many hours spent with my boys.

i hope you are having such a wonderful time.

~peace.

i love clothes.

if that isn't the understatement of the year, i don't know what is.

i spent a good part of my pregnancy staring longingly at a closet filled with pretties, whilst my ever-growing belly forced me to wear more tent-like blouses instead.

well it's 10 weeks post-partum, & i find i'm still looking at that closet longingly. i did lose the pg weight (hurrah!), but i forgot about nursing. most of the easy-access blouses i own don't fit over my gigantic udders, so i've been sporting the same 3 outfits for weeks. blah. blah i say!

i can't afford a whole new wardrobe, but i am going to have to get a few items to get me through until xmas, when i can ask for more ;-). oh, & let me just say that online shopping is a new mama's best friend.

my first new blouse, courtesy of forever21:

i wore it yesterday, & loved how comfortable it was. it's a bit in the sheer side, so a pretty camisole (or in my case; a boring nursing tank) has to be worn beneath. i paired it with jeans, but i'm thinking it will look cute with a straight skirt. slightly turn of the last century perhaps?

there wasn't much more i liked on forever21's site, which surprised me. in the past i'd peruse their site, oohing & aahing & coveting as i went. it seems that the majority of their vintagey items have been replaced with 70s & 80s things. blah. they didn't even have the over-the-knee socks that are my winter must-haves.

my hope is that manlyman is up for a day of thrifting next week. if so, he can help with the boys, whilst i search for actual vintagey, easy-access blouses (& maybe a few sweaters?). i'd leave them all at home, but that would mean a much shorter day of thrifting, with having to rush home every 2 hours to nurse. i'd much rather take them all with me, & simply ignore manlyman's sighs of boredom.

& on that note: i am off to play moo-cow to my sweet little elfling. do you know of any affordable shops that sell vintage-looking clothes? do share!

~peace.

blurry with a chance of pestilence

did you know that when your vision is blurred from a lack of sleep, you think the photos you're taking are in focus when they actually aren't? & that no matter how much you curse at the computer, your photos shall not improve? did you? did you?!

well we you know it now. you're welcome.



but the toes! even blurry they make me smile.

***

we've been playing a wicked game of pass the pestilence the past few weeks. as of today the score stands at: one seemingly better, one on the way to better, one in the thick of it, & one beginning today.

i have to say it's been no fun in the least, & i'd like to play something else. something like all well & relaxing in the south of france would be lovely.

& now i'm off to drink a hot cup of tea, & nibble on blurry toes.

~peace.