Mid-Fall 2010

It's hard to believe, but it's been a whole season since I've last posted. From mid-summer to now mid-fall, we've had a mini- summer get-away, the start of a new school year, visits from dear old friends, ongoing renos to the home, family health issues, and a laptop trauma. Needless to say, very little has been accomplished in terms of knitting, so there's been very little "down" time lately. However, as fall is my fave season of the year, it wouldn't be right without pulling out the camera to capture and share the beautiful vibrant colours of our street, especially when my D reminds me that I should put up a post on the blog.


My K (20 months) is now doing everything in her power to get her way and keep up with her brothers!


D is now outgrowing all his clothes and thinks he's starting to look like a teenager! Already??!!? And my cautious R is still our "old soul" who's chosen his new bedroom downstairs, amidst the partially completed reno, based on its proximity to the bathroom! That's our forward-thinking R!

Happy Hallowe'en!

Happy Hallowe'en Everyone!

The forecast is for rain today, but it's been a beautiful sunny fall day here so far... We'll be doing a little decorating today, carving some of the four plus pumpkins that we have around the house, roasting some of the seeds, and going a trick or treating! The boys are pirate brothers this year. One of them was going to be a "DJ", but changed his mind last minute. Don't ask. I have no idea why the five-year-old wanted to be a "DJ".

My Favorite Month

The first day of fall was yesterday, but I've already been celebrating the coming of fall for the past month or so, obsessively working on my Peace Fleece Fall Sweater, anticipating the start of school for the boys and going for acorn hunts whenever and wherever we spot oak trees.

The past two months have been a blur, for K's already seven months old! She's now eating solids-- rice cereal, oatmeal, and fruit and veggie purees. She's soo... on the verge of crawling, having no trouble rolling over from her back to all fours, moving forwards and back, as if to propel herself forward like a canonball! Utterly fascinated by our cats, K doesn't think twice about grabbing a fistful of fur if the cats happen to brush past her. We really have to watch her carefully so that she doesn't proceed to stuff her hands into her mouth! She's a "taster", something new to us, as D and R did not do this at her age. We'll have to be more vigilant about picking the Lego pieces off the floor. Above is a pic of K at six months. Last month, we had gone daytripping to Gibsons to check out the Fibre Festival and the surrounding area for possible future (camping?) visits.

And another milestone has passed, as our sweet R entered Kindergarten about two weeks ago! R's K class is all day, so it's been quite an adjustment, but he seems to be enjoying his teachers, the class, the new routine, the hot-lunch program, and even his homework!

Finally, as for D, he's happy to be back socializing at school after a summer of drawing increasingly detailed pictures and of reading Captain Underpants and the Magic Treehouse series.

On Being a Big Brother

From time to time, your children say amusing things to entertain you. It's just a given....but then there are times when children just say things that seem ridiculously profound or just a lot older and more advanced for their age. Two days ago, D was being very helpful and set the toilet ring on top of the big toilet for his brother to go potty. Being very conscious to recognize my D's kind and considerate gesture, I told him that he was a very good big brother and that he was going to be an even bigger help as a big brother to the baby that was growing inside my tummy. As D leaves the washroom to give his younger brother some privacy, he turns to me and nonchalantly answers, "That means more work and that means more stress." Now, is that really a six-year old talking??!? Seriously, sometimes I think there's a fifty-year old living in that six-year old's body. I hope he's not too worried about his RRSPs yet.

Applying Etiquette

This morning, my R carefully came up from the garden to give me a zucchini flower that his father had instructed to bring to me. I thanked him and my soon-to-be-four year old emphatically said, "It's my pleasure!" R's learned this expression over a year ago, but has not used it for quite some time, so it's always a wonderful surprise to hear that he hasn't forgotten what you've taught him.

It's just annoying when R catches me sneezing and reminds me right away that I have to say, "Excuse me," before I even have a chance to.

As for the latest project on the needles, I'm working on the Morning Surf Scarf using my own hand-dyed merino handspun. The pattern is by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer and was recently featured in the Summer 2008 issue of Spin-Off magazine along with many inspirational examples of this scarf pattern knit-up. With fall just around the corner, I thought I'd knit something cozy with some of my hand-dyed handspun. Here's my version. I'd have to say my second and third photos of the scarf are more accurate for colour than the first one taken in more direct sun.

Who's Charlie?

I walk into the living room to check on R yesterday morning, and he looks directly at me in this mischievous way and blurts out, "Sit down Charlie." I try not to burst out laughing, explain to my forty-four-month old my name is not Charlie and that I'm a little too busy to sit down right now, and walk back into the kitchen, all the while trying to figure out where he may have picked up this line. Such a funny kid.

What D Thinks About...

Today, as we were walking from the parking lot to the swimming pool for his lessons, D asked me who made the world...... AGAIN! It's really not unlike him to ask me such a deep philosophical question, as he has always been pretty mature for his age, but he's asked me this question before and I always bring up the Big Bang theory and he always suggests the added possibility of God creating the world, an idea he's heard from other people besides me. I stress the uncertainty of it all, and because D never gets the black and white answer, he just continues to ask the question from time to time. Then a little later on at the pool, he asks if I was a mom who was just pretending to be nice, but was really an evil person!!! My first thought is, gee, why can't I have a normal kid?!? But then again, what is normal? Wacky and off-the-wall, but maybe that's what almost-six-year-olds think about or is it just mine--one who probably watches too much tv and/or has a vivid imagination in high def? Anyhooow, my D never fails to surprise me with his sense of wonder.

Other activities this weekend included a trip to check out the Chinatown Night Market, which is small in comparison to the Richmond Night Market, but still quite fun and interesting for the atmosphere and offerings by the variety of vendors. I have to say that this market has improved and is a lot more organized than what I remembered it five years back.