Cedar Cedar Pumpkin Eater

Last week our little Cedar Cedar turned six months old.

I know, right?

I sat down to write about this milestone on the actual day that he turned six months old but was so upset about the whole situation that I had to walk away from the computer. I mean, I literally had him two blog posts ago! And now? Well now just look at him. He's up on all fours all the time. Trying to crawl! What? He gets up on his knees and moves his legs as if he's crawling but his arms refuse to budge. This makes him furious. He looks at me for help and I'm like, "Nuh-uh, Mr. Kid. You're not getting any help with that from me. You'll have to ask your sister." Like I would actually help him crawl. Pfffsh.

If you haven't met Cedar in person you might not know that he is a very screechy baby. You also might not know that he drools like crazy (if you ever lose him I would advise you to follow the slug-trail of drool he has left behind as he scoots around...I would also say that he's probably under the table. That is where I would check first) and that's only when he's not spitting up on you. If you meet Cedar in person he is going to spit up on you. These are the facts. Of course he's also going to smile at you with those dimples and push his chin into his chest like he is shy. After that you'll forgive him for the spit up. Again, I'm merely stating facts here.

As far as we can tell there are a few things that Cedar really loves. First of all, he loves us. Which, duh, is rad. He gets all bouncy and giggly when one of us walks in the room. Second, he loves his sister. Boy howdy. I honestly had no idea that the two of them would be interacting so much when Cedar was still so young. He will watch his sister's every move, craning his neck as far as he can to watch her skid back and forth across the floor. And then he laaaaaaaughs. At pretty much nothing other than her presence as far as I can tell. I'm not sure he's a fan of her picking him up though. Have you ever seen those pictures of little kids packing around grumpy cats? Yeah.  It's like that.

He and Tigger are either BFF or mortal enemies; it's hard to tell. Oh yeah, and he likes avocado.

When Nate lost his job I thought that our timing for having a baby couldn't have been worse. We had to worry about suddenly having no income and no insurance. Then when that crisis was averted I had to spend the late months of my pregnancy packing and cleaning our house. I had to move to a place where I had no friends and no doctor. I was scared that I was going to have my baby right before the rainy winter weather hit and spend the next six months lonely, depressed, and completely overwhelmed. Man, was I ever wrong. This little boy is pure sunshine. Rainy days be damned when Cedar is happy. Plus, I've heard that the best way to stop feeling sorry for yourself all the time is to provide some love and attention to another human being. You may have heard this advice at some other point in your life and I am here to tell you, it really works.

In summation to what is possibly the least cohesive post I have ever written, I guess maybe it isn't so bad that Mr. Kid is six months old. And if this little boy absolutely has to grow up, at least I get the privileged of being around for it. 

oh, hello.

It is Friday afternoon and I'm sitting here thinking about blogging. I'm thinking, "I really need to start blogging again." I'm thinking, "I wish I could get back into blogging."

Cedar is taking a nap. Azalea is playing quietly in her room recovering from strep throat. I'm sitting in my sun-lit (thank the heavens!) living room. I remember how I used to blog to connect with people and update my family. I remember adding narration to our life. I remember how blogging helped me heal from postpartum depression. I think about how it made me a better baker, a better writer, and a better mom.

In the past I would have used blogging to give you details about moving from Idaho to Oregon. I would have told you about our tiny dark apartment. I would have included stories about crying while I packed millions of boxes with the help of dear friends. You would have known that Nate moved to Oregon a month earlier than Azalea and me to start his job. I might have even told you that I was in a rotten/pouting mood from about July to two days before Cedar was born in October; though, you probably would have guessed that from my writing.

And now that I'm writing this post I can tell you that our holidays were fabulous. Really. Filled with love, and warmth, and pretty much every Seattle tourist attraction I could have wished for. And last weekend we moved out of our dark apartment and into a rental house that has a giant window in every. single. room. And I wander around the house following the sunlight like a lazy cat. No joke. And I have a decent kitchen again that I can spend the next three months setting up to be exactly the way I want it to be. And it occurs to me that I could probably get a job organizing other people's kitchens to the height of efficiency except that they probably couldn't pay me enough. I can also tell you that Cedar is 100% delightful. We can't get enough of him. The same goes for Azalea. I can tell you that we're doing pretty well. And that someday I might like it here too. Those are the kinds of things that I can blog about.

I was sitting here on Friday afternoon thinking about writing a blog so I went ahead and wrote one. It was no big deal.

ten. eleven. twelve.

Dear blog,

I have someone very special for you to meet (finally!).

{Six hours old, in mama's arms for the first time!}

{With proud daddy and smitten big sister, Azalea.}

{At home, three days old}

{Hello, beautiful.}

{Sweet baby head.}


{three weeks old}

{follow me on Instagram}

Little Cedar joined our family on October 11, 2012, and you know what?  He fits right in.

I've been spending the last three weeks writing blog posts in my head about what it is like to have Cedar around.  Trying to come up with the words to describe the feel of a newborn's head against your cheek.  Composing lines about the crazy cycle of feeding, changing, swaddling, napping, eating, showering, and repeating.  Considering complaining about how nursing hurts like the dickens but is somehow bearable and seems to be getting better. And wondering how to explain this weird thing that Cedar does where he eats, gets swaddled, and then falls asleep? Can you even imagine?  Honestly sometimes it has me stumped.  You should also hear about the way Azalea loves her little brother; especially the way she talks to him as if he is the same age as her, and the way she rushes over to show him something important whenever he opens his eyes.

I guess what I'm trying to say is...my heart is terribly full, and words really don't do this mom gig justice.

Until next time friends,

Miranda

FYI

{ravelry}

Has Miranda had that baby yet?

Thanks for the website magic Ben.

Happy October friends!

Lest you think I've gone and had a baby

So the other day I thought to myself, "Oh!  Diapers!"  As in, "Oh!  There is not a single damn diaper in this entire house!  What is the matter with you?  How could you have not thought of diapers yet?"  And then my other self said to me, "Oh!  You wanna know why I haven't purchased diapers yet?  Maybe it is because I spent my entire summer packing my house up by myself?  Or maybe it is because after I moved to a new state after living apart from my husband for a month he had to leave on a business trip for three more weeks?  "  And really, the conversation just continued to degrade from there.  My initial self decided to give my other self a break and acknowledged that, yes, we've been a little preoccupied.  Then we drove ourselves to Target and bought some stupid diapers.

And if you were wondering the same thing I was wondering...no...buying diapers didn't make the baby come.

So...no.  I haven't had the baby yet.  But I really want to make some kind of drastic change to my hair which has to count as a sign of impending labor right? Right?   Well, that and the rumors that gestation typically lasts about 40 weeks...and it has been 39...plus a little.

But, you know, I'm staying positive.  And knitting.  And taking naps and thinking about how Z can watch a movie and will need little to no direct care while I sleep.  So that's cool.  And I knit.  I actually have a whole mess of knitting to show you but for now, I'm just going to show you my favorite.

{Ravelry notes here}

Right?  

And that's pretty much all I've got.  Pathetic excuse for a post if you ask me but I suppose it will do for now.  Especially since I know all you people really want to see is pictures of a newborn baby.  Don't try to pretend.  I can see right through you.

Oh one more thing.  I have come to the conclusion that there is not a single comfortable place to sit in our apartment.  Please be advised that if you too are 39 weeks pregnant and you decide to come over I will be unable to offer you a comfortable place to sit.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Weekending

Remember weekending posts?  They're my favorite.

We spent the weekend in Portland visiting Nate's brother and (soon-to-be!) sister-in-law.  Z has become quite proficient at packing for long car rides this summer.  Go figure.

We had dinner on Friday night at a place called Hopworks, which I kept reading as Hogwarts so, that was cool.  I ate myself a giant steak sandwich and took note of how Portlandian my family looked with their top knots and scruffy beards.

Z was basically enamored with her aunt and uncle.  She didn't allow them to stop entertaining her for more than two minutes at a time.  She repaid them for their hard work by watering their plants and beating Uncle Kevan with a plastic sword.

We stopped at the Soda Pop Shop to stock up on rad, unconventional sodas.  Is this our way of compensating for not drinking all of the artisan beer flowing through Portland?  Umm..yeah, sure.  The shop had a soda counter where Z ordered a bubble gum soda (of course).  I tasted it and it was...disgusting.  She loved it. Also, while we were there Nate said that "he was really into colas right now" which I totally laughed hard at.

Our final stop of the weekend was a trip to Ikea!  Because we have no chairs!  Yay!  We entered Ikea at 7:00 PM with our exhausted time bomb of a child and we tore that place up.  Seriously, if there is one thing we are good at it is hitting that big box Scandinavian store with speed and efficiency.  Not possible you say?  I'll tell you right now it is all about the pre-planning.  It is also about the having previously bought things without thinking them through and then having buyers remorse but living four hours away from an Ikea.  It's about saying "no" to Ikea, you guys.  Also, not stopping in the kitchen supplies section.  It's about that too.

On Sunday we went to church, took naps, ate the fancy cheese and cured meat ('cept not me) that we brought home from Portland (remind me to tell you about Nate and the hipster at the salami counter sometime, will you?), and taught Z how to decipher Ikea instructions.  POANG!

In case it isn't obvious, we spent our weekend wandering/driving around Portland and eating all of the things (I didn't even mention the street crepes or the protein heavy brunch). It's basically how we Walkers like to roll.  It was exactly the kind of weekend our family has been needing because the fact is, we spent way too much time away from each other this summer.  Here's to no more of that.

Let's do this preschool thing

If you're on Instagram there is no doubt that you've seen approximately 1,000,000 kids' first day of school pictures.  Well it's time to suck it up for a few more minutes because now it's my turn to show off my adorable child's first day of preschool.  Check it:

Last year instead of sending Z to a traditional preschool I participated in a co-op with a bunch of other moms in our neighborhood.  As a result I spent an entire school year listening to her ask me if she could go to "real school...you know, with like, teachers at a school and stuff?"  So yeah, no fooling her with fake preschool anymore apparently.

Despite having just moved here, the search for Z's preschool was a rigorous one.  First I went to church and found a woman who had a four-year-old.  Then, I asked her where she sent her kids to preschool.  The next day I called that school and upon learning that they had openings enrolled my Z.  No questions.  The end.

Right after I enrolled her I sat down at the computer to order her a backpack.  Just as I was about to add this gem to my online cart, Z happened to look over my shoulder and said, "Oooh!  A ladybug backpack!  I want that one!"

Me:  Oh yeah? That one is really nice but I'm going to get you this owl one.
Her:  No.  I want the ladybug.  The ladybug is beautifuler.
Me:  But honey!  Owls are really cool!  Everybody loves owls!
Her:  Well I don't love owls!  I love ladybugs!  And butterflies!
Me:  Can't I please get you this cool owl?
Her:  No!  I don't want cool!  I want beautiful!

You can already guess who won this discussion:

Judging by her reaction, I think I made the right decision.

An abridged update

Friends!  Hello!  How are you?  I've missed you!

So here's the deal:  This morning I started writing a post about what's happening with us lately.  But about half an hour into writing I was exhausted.  There's so much to say.  There's way too many words to edit, and it's definitely an emotionally loaded topic.  I realized that mostly what I wanted to do is say hello and check in with all of you, and to somehow break the ice again with this blogging thing.  Here's the quick version of what has been going on with details to come when I have the energy. 

In May Nate lost his job.

Three weeks later he accepted a new job (thank goodness!).

In Oregon.

We rented out our house in Pocatello.

We packed up our belongings and put a lot of them in my dad's shop in Burley.

We moved into a two bedroom apartment.

We live in Oregon now.

I have not been happy about any part of this.

Wait.  Except for the part where Nate quickly got a new job.  I was happy about that.

But the rest of it?  No.  Heartbroken would be a better word for it.

See what I mean about emotionally loaded?  I mean, I started writing this post as a shortened version and it is still taking me forever!  I miss Pocatello fiercely, but I'm doing my best to make this our new home.  Sometimes I succeed.  

On a happy note we'll be welcoming a new baby into our family in a few short weeks!  See?

Per a dear friend's request, photographic evidence that I am indeed having a baby.  Of course this picture was taken in July but let's just pretend this is still what I look like, okay?  Okay.

Also, see that large body of water behind us?  That's the ocean.  Our new home is about 40 minutes away from the coast which apparently a lot of people are into.  So, you know, there's that.

Okay so, this has been fun!  Writing a blog again that is.  Please take a second to say hello if you're still here and thanks for your emails and facebook notes reminding me exactly why I write on this silly little space.  You dudes are the best.

Tiny Knitting

Behold.  The first completed project in a constantly growing queue of sweaters that I plan to make for this little man joining our family.  I love how soft the yarn is and I can't believe how tiny the sweater is.  I'm thinking this might be perfect for him to wear home from the hospital and I'm very tempted to make the 12 month size as well so that I can relive the magic of knitting this sweater all over again.

I'm pretty sure I screwed something up on the collar and I accidentally put an extra button hole up at the top but guess who has four thumbs and doesn't care?  This mama and her baby boy.

The pattern is called Baby Sophisticate and you can find the details for this particular sweater on Ravelry.  I'm off to cast on my next itty bitty woolen item.  Wish me luck!

Happy News

Happy Monday friends!  This morning I have some news for you that honestly, I should have told you weeks ago.  I hope you'll forgive me for the delay considering how totally rad this news is:

Baby Boy Walker, due October 2012!

Psst!

Happy Friday!  For those of you who have been dying to see what I've been up to on the press, there is finally some photographic evidence!  

Head over to Marta's blog for a few details and pictures of my first job.  I'll be back to elaborate on the process and the hiccups (both expected and unexpected) I experienced as a totally naive printer.Collaborating with Marta and Emily was probably the best decision I made for my first letterpress project. I am literally wringing my hands waiting to start on something new.  Perhaps something for you?

Let us all press

Good morning friends!  It is Monday and I'm here!  On my blog!  Writing a post!  Truthfully, I can't believe it myself.  I was starting to think I had parted ways with blogging.  But I'm here.  For now.  For this post, at least.

I'm here because I've reeeeeeally been wanting to tell you about a couple of fun things happening around here these days. So let's get started, shall we?

Back in January I made what I would consider one of the most impulsive purchases of my life.  I bought a letterpress.

{Yes.  For reals.  This belongs to me.}

I say the purchase was impulsive because it wasn't something I really talked about buying for more than a few months.  If you know me at all, you know that I discuss possible large purchases for a year at minimum.  Preferably longer.  So when I told some of my friends that I really wanted to buy a letterpress in October and then actually owned one in January?  Well, that is akin to grabbing Tic-Tacs at the checkout line for me.

{Nate and my dad transporting the press/completely freaking me out.}

Here's what made buying this press possible:  

An amazingly supportive husband.  When Nate figured out that I was serious about buying a press he was nothing but positive every step of the way.  He never told me I was crazy, even though I asked him multiple times.  He helped me with research and made suggestions.  When we got the press he transformed our shed into an actual workshop complete with electricity, insulation, a heater, and a fan.  He repeatedly told me that he just wanted to do what he could to support my dream.  Amazing, yes.  Thank you, Nate.

A supportive and flexible family.  To buy this press we crashed Nate's family's after-Christmas-vacation.  Okay, that's not true, they totally wanted us to come.  But what we did do was make them drive a couple hours out of their way to come and inspect the press with us.  My dad let me keep the press in his shop for a few weeks, built me a treadle, and helped Nate haul it from our driveway to our shed (presses are really, really, ridiculously heavy).  I was in constant awe every step of the way as my family helped in any way they could.  Although, I shouldn't have been surprised.  That's just the way they are.  Thank you, family.

Online friends and acquaintances who replied to my incessant, long winded, and possibly frenetic emails.  I'm talking especially of Marta and Amanda.  Thank you both for your reassurance, advice,and well wishes.

I feel like there is a million things to tell you about and I don't even know where to start.  How about you tell me what you'd like to know?  Are you wondering, why a letterpress?  What are my plans from here?  Feel free to ask away my friends.  I'll happily answer any of your questions.  In fact, chances are good that I won't be shutting up about this press any time soon.  Plus I have a billion more iPod pictures to post.  No, seriously there's a lot.  And maybe I could even take some pictures with my real camera?  Possibly?

I'm curious.  Have you made any impulsive large purchases lately?  Also, do you need anything pressed?

Ahhh....Friday.

It has taken me a full week to recover from our two weeks of vacation but I think I finally have my act together.  The beds are made, the chickens are fed (not before I heard them screeching in hunger), and there is pizza dough rising on the counter for dinner.  Speaking of pizza, remember when I asked if anybody has the perfect red sauce recipe?  Turns out that the Fred Meyer brand pizza sauce (pizza parlor style) is de-freakin-licious, so that is what we use now.  Sorry if you don't live by a Fred Meyer.  Perhaps I could mail you some?

We have a pretty low-key weekend planned.  A birthday barbecue for my sister-in-law, some super exciting work out in the shed, and church on Sunday.  Any exciting weekend plans for you?

Right now I'm looking at the mostly dying tulips on my table and thinking it is probably time to put them to rest. After that it is off to the pediatrician for Z's 4yr. well-child check.  I may have skipped her 3yr entirely.  She may have to get some shots this time. I may not have warned her about that possibly. I may have to make it up to her with fro-yo for lunch.

March 19th

{our backyard, as I type}

You know, March is full of this kind of day.  The kind of day that breaks your heart.  You may try to tell yourself that this is going to happen.  You've lived in Idaho for 24 years of your life, you know this is going to happen.  And even though it was spring-y last week, and even though you've been watching the tulips sprout in your front yard, this is going to happen.  It is going to get cold again.

Well this year, I have a plan!  I'm not going to let March bring me down! (I've never been on good terms with March, as you may have noticed.)  First of all, I checked the weather, and this cold isn't going to last long.  So there's that.  Second of all, I slept in, which was totally rad.  And third of all, my to-do list is filled with things I want to do instead of the usual list of things I need to do.  Writing this post was in fact on the very top of that list because come on already!  Write a post!  Other activities today will include making granola, water coloring with Z, and beginning a full-fledged, multi-day, spring cleaning attack on the house.  Turns our that if you put it off long enough you can actually start to want to clean your house.

Life in Instagram

Lately our days have not been too busy and have therefore been  absolutely lovely.  

Last week we made homemade donuts at 11:00 AM because my friend had some leftover dough from the evening before.  It may not have been such a good idea to leave me and Z-cakes in the house alone with a pan full of donuts, but I promise Nate got a couple.

On Saturday we enjoyed fresh squeezed orange juice with our whole wheat pancakes reminding me, once again, that most of my happiest moments revolve around really good food.

Z-cakes obviously gets cuter by the day.  She got herself all dressed up to play "grocery store" outside and I was mighty proud of her ensemble.  Another favorite game these days is "book lady" in which she brings a handful of books to me, I tell her how much they cost, she gives me pretend money and is on her way, never batting an eye at the cost.  She may or may not have learned this from someone you know.

Okay, but food and toddler clothes aside, here is the biggest news of the week:  Z-cakes' hair in PIGTAILS!

I kind of feel like four years of hair growth has all been leading up to this point.  You know?

Unphotographed:

Yesterday was in the 50s.  Dudes.  Today is cold and windy but yesterday was in the 50s.  We headed to the park and flew kites with a slew of other kids who for some reason were not in school.  I brought my camera, but was having way to much fun to stop and take a pic.

We made this on Sunday night and I wanted to eat the entire thing by myself.  I saved a piece to take a picture of on Monday morning like a good blogger but instead, I just ate it.  In like, two bites.  It occurred to me later that perhaps I should have savored it.  Not to worry though, the ingredients for another are sitting in my fridge right now.  It is only a matter of time, my friends.

Jet-Puffed

You know those giant marshmallows? The really big ones that are approximately the size of your fist? Or two of your kid's fists? So, would I qualify as a bad mother if my child ate one (perhaps two) of said marshmallows everyday?

Yeah, I thought so.

I wish I could tell you that I think marshmallows are gross and that I can't stand eating all of the puffy sugar. Nope. I love 'em. I would probably finish the bag of them before Z could get her hands on them if I hadn't recently turned 30 and started practicing being an adult and showing a little restraint.

Incidentally, it takes approximately NO pleading from Z at the grocery store to get me to buy a bag:

Z: Whoa. Those marshmallows are really big mommy!

Me: Oh, okay fine. We can get them.

Me: Do you want the giant ones or the heart shaped one?

Me: Or both?

Z: Both!

Me: Okay!

And then one day Z was trying to fall asleep waaaay later than is acceptable for her to fall asleep if bedtime isn't going to be the worst so I tried to keep her awake by offering her a marshmallow! What kind of mom does that? A desperate one who knows the power of a big freakin' mallow that's who. It didn't matter anyway. She just ate it with her eyes closed and went back to sleep. A feat I decided was a possibly useful talent.

On a related note: Z-cakes has recently started saying "dude" much to her parent's approval. She demonstrates excellent inflection and consistently appropriate use. For example:

Z-cakes: Dude, mom! Look at those marshmallows!

Me: Dude, Z. They're peppermint!

Z-cakes: Dude. We should buy those.

Me: Okay!

Better

It's been a busy few weeks. First there was the church talk. Then preschool was at my house. And then I decorated for a big church meeting. That pretty much wiped me out for the month of January.

Sure it may look like I only had three things going on but I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm not a fan of being busy. I very much enjoy having one major task at a time that I can plan and execute at a reasonable pace. This is a luxury I have been granted since graduate school and I'm not about to take it for granted. My ability to multi-task diminishes significantly in the winter. Because my brain slows down? Also I'm prone to Seasonal Affective Disorder. Shocking, I know. All of the previously mentioned events happened pretty much simultaneously. Well, at least within three days of each other. Which is why my mind was a mess trying to organize my thoughts and pull everything together. Fortunately everything went swimmingly.

I made giant crepe paper roses! And tissue paper pom-poms!

I had lots of help with the pom-poms, thank goodness.

I was much better at the roses after I had made about six of them.

And I thought the end result was quite lovely. What do you think?

Now that I have all of that behind me I can focus on the major MAJOR event of the month: Z-cakes's birthday. My time for planning grows lean, my friends. Her birthday is less than two weeks away! Now I'm wondering if I should do a family party or a friend party. Or both? Cupcakes or layer cake? New birthday crown? (yes) But as I have said, I am running out of time! Decisions must be made! Any and all input is welcome!

Anyway, while I'm here, I might as well make a list of the things I've been doing instead of blogging lately. Who knows when I'll be back after all.

:: Watching Downton Abbey while working on my embroidery calendar.

:: Knitting

:: Playing Words With Friends

:: Thinking about blogging

:: Going to bed at 10:00

:: Instagraming

:: Helping Z-cakes change in and out of her ballet clothes 12 times a day

:: Making dinner every night, yo! Except on leftover night

:: That's pretty much all I can think of right now.

:: XO to you all

:: Happy 6 more weeks of winter