February 01, 2009

Three Things and the Winner, finally

February 01, 2009/ molly balint

One.

It is amazing how many curious, disapproving looks you get when you're out in public with a child who is sporting a shiner. Mary's black eye gets more colorful every day and the looks and questions keep coming. Of course when someone asks her what happened to her eye, she gets all shy, cringing from the extra attention. And answers sheepishly: "I fell."

She doesn't give them any details. Like the fact that the she and her sisters have been hanging out in the upstairs bathroom, because when the door is closed it gets really warm in there. And they've been bringing all their papers and books and crayons and toys into the bathroom. And she tripped on something and slammed that cute little cheek bone into the toilet. You know, little details like that.

Oh well. I have to admit it's kind of cute. And I've enjoyed photographing its colorful progression ever day.

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Two.

I've been getting some emails lately about people wondering if I'll be having a mini-swap #4. It has been on my mind and I'd love to know if there's still interest out there. I'd be happy to host again, though I think I'll make it a little smaller and easier to manage, if there's enough interest to do it again. Would you leave a comment or drop me an email if you're interested?

If you're new to the mini swap idea, you can read about it here. This isn't a sign-up or anything. Just seeing if there is enough interest.

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Three.

My computer crashed right in the middle of the Little Bird giveaway. I really apologize for not announcing a winner. And for some reason the post went up twice on my blog. So I combined all the comments and randomly chose a winner from everyone.

And the winner of the Little Bird tee collection is Christy who said:

I adore Miss Yum Yum and the mermaid designs. I really need to order some of these for my girls. My oldest has extremely sensitive skin and many tshirts/dyes irritate her skin. These sound perfect and soft!

Posted by: Christy | January 21, 2009 at 11:35 AM

Christy, please send me an email with your contact information so I can pass it on to JoAnna!

Congratulations!

January 28, 2009

a few notes

January 28, 2009/ molly balint

While I was away, I kept a few notes of the things I had been doing, tucked in my back pocket. I....

...cleaned the house. And watched it get dirty again.
...filled the bird feeders. Twice.
...thought about sewing. But didn't.
...watched Emma on ice skates on my grandparents' pond.
...had habit withdrawal.
...played a game of memory.
...cooked in my dutch oven. Three times.
...nursed a black eye.
...made soup.
...bought new books. And fell in love with homeschooling again.
...got a better internet connection.
...thanked my husband for a freshly painted pantry.
...administered Tylenol.

...mourned the end of a favorite magazine.
...fussed with my camera settings.
...thought about writing that children's book.
...told my girls the story.
...took a nap. Or two. Or three.
...made spring rolls.
...confiscated angry notes to little sisters.

...gave everyone in the family a haircut.
...started a new book .
...finished a project.

...knit.
...paid bills.
...bought a wing in the library in library fines.

...removed peanuts from nostrils.
...created and shipped out ten valentine crafts for babycenter.
...baked granola.

...made ambitious garden plans. Extremely ambitious.
...turned a fridge door into a dry erase board.
...got overwhelmed by messes. And then recovered.

...fixed a woodstove door that fell off in my hands. Again.
...watched a heron fly low across the yard.
...nursed a rooster with a sore toe.

...ignored the laundry and watched a movie with the girls.
...enjoyed empty moments in my day.
...missed all of YOU!

Hi! I'm back. Yay.

January 22, 2009

A Forced Vacation

January 22, 2009/ molly balint

Maybe God was trying to tell me something, but last Friday, as I was checking emails, my computer went 'pop' and then went black. Perhaps I should have been listening to the voices in my head, that for the last week or so, have been telling me that it's really time I did another backup of my hard drive.

The computer has been off to the doctor and the report is not good today. A busted hard drive, and a sadly overworked system. So now, I'm left to crunch numbers and decide whether to fix what was or replace the whole thing.

I'm trying desperately to not think about the things that are lost. Fortunately, I have been diligently uploading most of my most-loved photos to flickr and I somewhat recently dumped most of my photos onto an external hard drive. So, for now, the thing that worries me most is the oodles of lost emails and contacts.

Date recovery isn't cheap, let me tell you. So I'll probably muddle my way through rebuilding my contact list. So if you've emailed me and haven't heard anything in reply, that's probably the reason.

Meanwhile, if you really want to know, the forced break is kind of nice. I'm baking way too many things, giving my kids way too much school work and making way too much progress on my Fall (as in projects I wanted to finish in fall '08) knitting projects.

But I know I'll be ready to come back. Soon. Refreshed. Recharged. And backed up.

January 15, 2009

Glimpses of Reality, Followed by Inspiration

January 15, 2009/ molly balint

I believe a few glimpses of reality are nice every once in awhile. Healthy, even. Here are a few glimpses of reality from my day:

I am making grilled cheese sandwiches while I write this post. My laptop is sitting on the counter beside the stove.

My girls are watching a movie about penguins. And I'm okay with that. Because our morning was full or play and creativity.

I'm listening to Diana Krall on the radio show Art of The Song which reminds me of a boyfriend in college. Which I didn't think of until just this instant. (this is a new-found favorite on the radio and gets my inner singer, songwriter stirred up.)

This is where the girls spent most of the morning. A secret club meets under there. In order to get in, you must be wearing a tee shirt with the name of your favorite sport on it. Mary's says horseback riding. Emma's says soccer. And you must bring a sketch book. If I could fit, I'd be in that club, too.

Later, the girls commandeered the bathroom. Which, when the door is shut, is the warmest spot in the house--when the furnace is working, of course. Which isn't something you can count on.

That's Elizabeth, trying to get into the club. Yes, she's wearing underwear, over her clothes, which is another post to come. Yes, you'd break an ankle trying to get into that room. You should try to navigate it in the middle of the night. Yes, their beds are unmade. Morning "chores" were postponed this morning.

That's my kitchen table yesterday, about thirty minutes after I should have been elbow-deep in dinner prep. Instead I'm up to my elbows in red and pink and hearts and cupids and fancy paper and pipe cleaners. I'm working on some crafts for a new section on babycenter's website. They need 10 crafts, designed, instructions written out, and shipped to be professionally photographed in 7 days. Am I crazy? My deadline is tomorrow.

And now some inspiration to balance out my reality:

**Molly's photography in this post about her new restaurant, Delancy.
**Ali Edward's office tour. I'm getting Dan to build me some of those wooden bins on the wall, asap!
**Kristin's handmade doll clothes, which I think would be great to make for the girls' new dolls. I've already reserved the book from the library.
**This peek at Heather's new work. Stunning.
**Cassi's button clips.
**This post over at Ordinary Courage. It's actually her take on Oprah's latest magazine cover, but her thoughts on addiction, body image are really eye-opening. I'm not sure anyone could read the post without taking something positive away from it.

And back to reality......I burned the second side of the grilled cheese. Bummer.

October 27, 2008

good morning

October 27, 2008/ molly balint

This morning at the breakfast table, Mary asked me, "Mom who do you want to rule? Obama, Jesus, or Dr. Silverman (my OBGYN)?" After we solved that problem, she asked me, "Mom when I grow up will I be a mom, just like you?" Yup, Mary. (no caffeine yet, my answers are bare bones.) "So does that mean you'll die, because there'll be two of us?"

Oh, that girl.

So, good morning. There's so much to say, I don't know where to begin. Your emails this past week have provided more comfort and encouragement than you know. I was overwhelmed by your response. It just reinforced my decision to share all of that with you. Thank you..which doesn't seem like enough, but thank you.

I'm feeling much better today. The past few days I had to take a pill which...ahem, contracts things, if you know what I mean. I was really, really dreading it, and it was stressing me out. And it turned out to be nothing at all---just made me feel a little loopy.

This morning was the first morning that I woke up and really felt completely like myself again. It is a good feeling. I have lots of thing on my to-do list today, but still have the lessons of being still in the back of my mind. I have lots of comforting things planned for our week, some bread baking, some felting, some carving of pumpkins and roasting of seeds.

A few quick, good things before I go--since I'm currently being attacked by a toddler who wants my lap...

If you hurry, I'm giving away a starter kit of gdiapers over at babycenter. These are the hybrid diaper--an easy middle of the road diaper for those who want to make the switch from disposables to cloth diapers or something greener. I was sent a starter kit to try, and I am since hooked. A total convert. (And those little g pants that go over the liners? Way too cute.) You can read more about my review of them in the post.

These beautiful felted stones are from Lisa of Lilfish studios. I absolutely love them, so does some child in my house who lined them up like this on top of the bookshelf. These stones are responsible for my need to felt something this week. We'll see what we come up with.

Alright...my time is over. Everyone is dressed and booted up, ready to go check on our chickens. We moved them into their real chicken house/coop last night for the first time. We're anxious to see how the ladies liked it.

A new post over at babycenter here--love it if you'd stop by...
More soon, friends.