Home Alone (sans Macaulay)

Davin is finally home. He has been gone all week in Chi-town with meetings for work. The Budlet and I were home alone (sans Macaulay) all week. Thanks to Grandma Sharlene, Papa John and Auntie Sara for helping me out! The bud and I had a lot of fun, but I am glad to once again share parenting duties...and to have Davin home. :)

Today was a beautiful day - sunny with a little breeze. We got out and tried to go to Craftstravaganza, but it was very crowded and made me cranky right away trying to be in a small space with many people, so we didn't stay long. I hate that crowds can have such an effect on me.

Instead we came home and did a few things around the house including finally planting our free maple tree. This is the tree that started growing in an empty pot of dirt sitting out by our shed. We think that a squirrel planted it in there for us. Thanks for the free tree, squirrel.

While the Budlet was napping I worked on finishing up my tealy-stripe socks while sitting outside and enjoying the nice weather. I really love the colors. I am excited to start wearing these - but probably more often when it gets cooler again.


Earlier this week I made my first attempt at dyeing yarn - I guess saying that this was my first attempt implies that there will be more attempts - and I probably will do it again. It was fun, and seems to be less expensive than buying hand dyed yarn. I will have to see how it knits up.
I used Kool-Aid (Tropical Punch, Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade, and Grape) and followed Knitty.com's tutorial. I was surprised by how simple it was - especially since I don't have any special supplies. I skeined the yarn around a big box, dyed it in the microwave, hung it to dry on hangers over the sink and wound it into balls using a stirring stick Sharlene got us in Scotland like a Nøstepinde.
I ended up with this:


Radley (aka budlet) seems to be coming down with a little something. The snot-stream started yesterday, and today he was sounding a bit like a seal with some periodic coughing. He doesn't seem too phased by it though and is sleeping just fine, so I am hoping it will pass quickly.
Here he is hangin' with Pip while we were planting the squirrel maple.

Update P.S.

I forgot to mention Radley's recent discovery of the doorbell (he has also become fond of light switches). Every time we have gone in and out of the door this weekend, he has to ring the doorbell - over and over. He stomps his feet and gives a yell when we finally drag him in, but it is short lived - and he has to learn to live with some disappointment, right?

This afternoon we went to the Arboretum . Yesterday when we went to the library we checked out one of the Museum Passes. My first choice was to go to the Bakken, but they are only open for a short time on Sat and not on Sun, so we opted for the Arboretum. Not much is in bloom - a few crocuses peeking up, but it was fun to walk around anyhow with the beautiful weather. And it was FREE with the museum pass. I really want to use more of these - especially this summer. It is such an awesome deal, and it may not be around after September, so I want to take advantage now! :)

It is so nice out, we are going to grill tonight. We are making our favorite grill out meal of steak with Gorgonzola and grilled/toasted baguette slices with fresh mozzarella and tomato. My mouth is watering already.

During lunch today the song "Da Da Da" came on the radio. Radley was dancing and singing with me in his highchair - a song he can sing along to! In case you don't know it, for a large portion of the song, the lyrics are "da da da". We tried to get a video, but of course he wouldn't perform for the camera.

Hey, Hey it's an Update

It's been awhile since a real update - and there has been a lot of family traffic since mom and dad (aka Grandma Gloria and Grandpa Bob) sent out their "Christmas letter" recently - so I guess it's about time.

Easter Egg Hunts:
Last weekend was Easter and Radley became an egg hunting pro. During the week at daycare the kids had a special hunt. On Friday we went to Alexandria to Great-Grandmas where Tyler hid dozens of plastic eggs for all of us to find. Saturday was at Grandma Gloria and Grandpa Bob's - We never did find that last egg. And Sunday afternoon with the Grandma Sharlene, Papa John and the rest of the crew of cousins and second cousins. By the last hunt Radley was walking with a basket, finding the eggs and putting them in - a real pro. He wasn't as fast as his cousin Khalen though, so Khalen snuck a few into Radley's basket to make it more even.


The big news this week was "Bye-bye, Dada" which happened on Monday morning when Davin left for work. Luckily I got a "bye-bye, Mama" the next day as I was leaving for string rehearsal, so I didn't have to feel too left out.

We are also getting into the fun world of pretend play. Radley has made his cars drive with sound effects, and his animals "walk" and "kiss" each other. But this week he has been "feeding" things. The best for this is his big duck with the open bill.


Yesterday was a beautiful day to be outside. We walked to the library - where we saw a few of our neighbors. Then we broke out the bikes and the kid trailer. Radley is finally big enough to ride safely in it. He even has a little helmet with squashed bugs on it (sorry, no picture). He had a great time riding, and even told us to "go" when we had to stop for traffic. Radley and I did a lot of walking last summer - he was too little for the trailer then. I am excited for some biking this summer on our fabulous greenway system.


Water Heater Woes:
The following may be more info that you wanted to know about our water heater (or any water heater) We recently invested in a fancy-schmancy water heater when our last one died. It's a tankless model that is twice as efficient (we need as much efficiency in our old house as we can get!). Being new and fancy also means that it is a sensitive piece of technology. About five times now we have lost hot water with a morning shower. Because it is a tankless "on demand" system - it happens fast. Let me just say, I am not a fan. When it happens you have to "reset" the system in the cellar. With visits from the plumbers and the gas company, we think we have figured out that it has to do with a drop in gas pressure - but we have been unable to duplicate the problem with experiments during the day. Our current theory, after all this, is that it is the nearby coffee company firing up its roasters early weekday mornings that causes a drop big enough and only at that regular time. *Sigh* That means we may never be able to fix the problem. We can wire a remote to the system and mount it in the bathroom - that way if it happens, you don't have to go naked and dripping to the cellar.


Sock Update:

I took this picture a few days ago. So it is a little behind - I finished grafting the stitches on the first sock, so it is totally done, and I just turned the heel on sock number two. I am trying to finish these up so I can continue work on what I am calling my camouflage socks (I originally thought there was more green and less brown - oh well).

I bought this yarn with a birthday gift certificate with Project Spectrum's April/May color green in mind.
I have taken a few pictures for Project Spectrum as well. You can see those on Flickr.
I was also excited to get my first etsy purchase in the mail. etsy is a online collection of "stores" where people sell handmade goods. I bought some beautiful sock yarn - the color is called "Mississippi Queen".

Happy Easter!

It's been a long weekend filled with many egg hunts and Eastery goodness. It always amazes me how our kid just seems to happily go with the flow whenever we end up changing our routine. We are all pretty wiped out after all the fun though, so I think we will be turning in early tonight! :)

Chippin'

It's been a gray and rainy weekend here. Despite the off and on rain (and the horrible images in mind from the movie Fargo), Davin rented a chipper and got rid of our huge brush piles from the "ultimate hedge trim back" last weekend. I will have to get out there soon and put the mulch down on my garden.

Radley's on the mend. His cold is almost gone - except the seemingly constant rivers of snot. At least they are clear rivers these days. We had a great day yesterday (post chipping). We went to MIA with Papa John and Mama Sharlene. I forgot they added a new wing/gallery - it has been awhile since I have been there. Radley loved walking around looking at everything, and said "up" when he wanted to get into (or out of) the stroller. At Kathleen's they learn to walk with a hand on the stroller - it blew my mind when I let him out to walk (fully expecting to have to hang on to keep him from taking off)and he put his hand on the side of the stroller and walked with me through multiple rooms all by himself! I never would have thought he could do that. Wow.

I did finish my Spring socks last night. I am learning with each pair that I make. There are some things I would change about them if I were to do them over, but I will just put that learnin' into the next pair.