Legible

Some belated first day of school pictures. As I mentioned in an earlier post, all of my photos are on our dead computer. As soon as we get a new one up and running I should have them back. Luckily I sent a bunch of recent photos out to my family via email and was able to retrieve these there. I've also included a note that Talia wrote the other day when she answered the phone (which is a miracle in and of itself). It says, "Dear Mommy and Daddy. Cory kld! He wtid to tok to you." So cute.

Our New Family Hobby

The kids love hiking! And I love hiking with them! Ok, we've only been twice now so I'm not sure I can safely call it a hobby but as soon as we were done they asked when we can go again. The first time we left Shayna at the bottom of the mountain with my in-laws. I wasn't sure how the kids were going to do. I can't explain how much fun it was. Ron went up ahead with Talia and I stayed with Alex. I loved seeing everything through his eyes. He really felt like we were on an adventure. He wanted to touch all that he saw and collect items for our nature table and climb the super tall mountain. He felt compelled to talk to each person that passed us by. It was a blast. The kids just wanted to go higher and higher and higher. We only got them to come back down the mountain by telling them that we w ould return when the leaves changed. This time Ron put Shayna in the Ergo carrier and she loved it. The leaves weren't as colorful as we hoped (next weekend should be perfect for anyone interested) but the kids were thrilled to be climbing again. We went even higher and it was much more crowded so Alex had more people to talk to. I hope we will be able to get back once or twice before it gets too cold.

Bo Peep Skirt II

There has been some sewing going on here. I've been working on small projects lately and hope to get into some bigger ones as soon as it gets colder. I bought some coordinating corduroy fabrics and have been making a set of clothes for the kids. Alex got some great pants that have cargo pockets and contrast cuffs. Talia got another Bo Peep Skirt. The first one can be found here... (She never really wore that first one. I got a little wiser and made it slightly less full and used a lighter elastic because she said it itched her) I need to make Shayna a little dress and we'll have the whole set done. Talia gets a lot of compliments on her skirt. I taught her to say "Thank you, my mommy made it" emphasis on the "Mommy made it" part.

I got so sick of the kids wanting to "help" me sew that I brought out my old sewing machine and took the needle and electrical cord away. Now it is theirs, along with a big bin of scraps, their own kid scissors and notions and even a rotary cutter without the blade. I also gave them my small ironing board and got them a thrift store iron and cut the cord off. Unfortunately, the magic (and it was wonderful, imaginary, cooperative magic) wore off after a week or two and now they are bothering me at my sewing machine again. Alex tried to "help" me clean up my sewing room and organize my fabric by putting all the ones he liked (which is pretty much everything) into a bin for himself. I would like to admit, however, that Alex names all of the parts of the sewing machine (presser foot, feed dogs, bobbin case etc.) as if they are common words everyone knows.

I have two quilt tops done and I'm thinking I'm going to just send them out to a quilter. Until I can afford a long arm machine I think I'm only going to quilt baby quilts by myself.

(Non)Triumphant Return

Just when I was about to start blogging again after the long (so long) summer... our main computer broke. It has all of our family photos on it. Plus, we moved Shayna to "her own room" which happens to be our office. This means that there wouldn't be a good time to get to the computer anyway. So that's one of my excuses.

The other excuse is that I started going to the gym. Everyone always asked me how I found the time to sew/cook/blog/whatever and my answer was threefold: I don't go to the gym, I don't volunteer at the kids' school and I try not to maintain too many close friendships. Now I'm going to the gym 2-3 times a week and there goes all my creative time. I'm into this class called "BodyFlow" which is mostly Yoga but also a bit of Tai Chi, Pilates and Meditation too. I'm thinking about joining a different class once a week called "BodyPump" which is cardio/weight lifting and will kick my ass. The one time I did it I couldn't move for 3 days. I'm happy about my new interest in Yoga and I hope I can maintain it. Alex and Shayna seem to like the gym daycare but... Alex got sick last week (probably from the daycare) and gave it to everyone else in the house.

On to updates:

We had a good summer. Talia had summer camp, our Israeli friends (who live in Amsterdam now) came to visit us for two weeks, we spent lots of time at the pool and our porch is the best addition to our house ever. Summer seems like a long time ago already.

Talia is enjoying first grade. She has really made a huge jump in her reading skills and has now read her first chapter book by herself. She does seem to be going to the nurse a lot...?... I don't know why. Some claims are legit-- she did have a nosebleed, for example-- but she seems to have a reason to go EVERYDAY.

Alex is the cutest thing ever. He is so funny. He never stops talking- just makes observations and shares his thoughts about everything. He is still at preschool three days a week. He's in a new room but has the same teachers and classmates so it hasn't been a big transition.

Shayna has grown up a lot. She sits up easily, she eats absolutely anything you give her, and she LOVES her brother and sister. We moved her to her own room, as I mentioned above. She's very easy-going and doesn't complain about anything. She only cries when she is tired. I've started trying to be home for her nap, which pretty much kills my whole day. If I try to let her nap when we're out she will only take about half an hour but at home it's two hours at least. It seems like I drop Talia off at school, run to the grocery store, run home for Shanya's nap and by the time she wakes up it's time to start thinking about getting Talia from school already. How can that be?

Hopefully I can be a little more consistent in updating my blog. I have been sewing and cooking to some extent, just smaller projects mostly. Happy New Year and all that... Love, Nikki

PS. See our pictures from two years ago at this same apple picking farm...