Yes, I am ridiculously proud of my knitting.

Why? Because I am just not that good at it, and it takes me forever.

This is a purse I am knitting and felting -- these are the before photos. So before that I have not even taken care of the loose strings! I have to find the missing bag with my tapestry needles so that I can weave them in and felt away. The red is prettier than the photos suggest -- maybe the contrast with the orangish hardwood is the problem. Plain old Cascade wool.

This last photo highlights my 1st attempt at i-cord. This i-cord is 9 feet long! The garter rows at the top of the bag merely keep the stockinette from rolling, but the other rows of garter, which are also the eyelet rows for the cord/strap, are a mistake that I didn't bother to correct. Can you guess? That's right, I started going the wrong direction on my circular needles!

Thankfully, felting=total fiber absolution

Cross-posted at redseahomeschool.wordpress.com

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This year at our parish we'll be having hot cross buns, coffee, and Easter Eggs after the first Mass, and our family was pegged to contribute some of the eggs.

So we've learned a handful of facts about Easter Eggs for the family project:

From ancient times the egg is symbolic of the grave and life renewed by breaking out of it. The egg itself is a symbol of the Resurrection: while being dormant it contains a new life sealed within it. In Medieval Europe, eggs were forbidden during Lent. Eggs laid during that time were often boiled or otherwise preserved. Eggs were thus a mainstay of Easter meals, and a prized Easter gift for children and servants. In addition, eggs have been viewed as symbols of new life and fertility through the ages. It is believed that for this reason many ancient cultures, including the Ancient Egyptians, Persians, and Romans, used eggs during their spring festivals. Many traditions and practices have formed around Easter eggs. The coloring of eggs is an established art, and eggs are often dyed, painted, and otherwise decorated. So you and your family are continuing to participate in this wonderful tradition.

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I forgot a choice kid quote from Victoria.

While reading What Do People Do All Day? I/the book asked, "What does your daddy do?"

Correct Answer: work with computers

Victoria's Answer: "Pick up poop."

"What does your mommy do?

Possible Answers: write books, cook, take care of children . . .

Victoria's Answer: "Drive."

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Here are a few views of our recent trip:

First, Violet in her new sarong

Victoria on Playa Norte, Isla Mujeres

Dancing in front of the Loncherias and the market

Sampling cocos frios -- cold coconuts cracked open on the spot

Hanging out on the street

Our front yard

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Population -- 3 and growing

I mentioned recently that Violet has her own favorite operating system -- Linux. (In part a show of loyalty to dad, I'm sure. Ageeksez What?

We've also added a new game to our stash that ups our geek cred. Have you heard of Carcassone?

It's fun, but it's geek all over. I can recommened it highly for homeschoolers. You build cities, roads, cloisters, etc., and then at the end you claim fields to get points. Victoria is still too young, but otherwise its a great game that school-age kids to grandparents can play together.

To cap off a night of geeking-out, my husband then chased me around the house and forced me to listen to Frank Zappa on his iPod.

Do our children even stand a chance of normalcy?

On another note, the number of photos I have to upload is daunting, but I'll try to get started tonight.

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We're back, having missed the coldest week in 4 years! That's good timing.

I'll post photos and details soon, because they are too good not to, but here is a distant view of one of the beaches we frequented.

Of course we were also blessed with a beach for our front yard, where the girls set up their "seaside bakery" and played water sprites for hours on end.

Isla Mujeres was about the best vacation we've had, and that's saying something!

For now, I'll try to appreciate the lack of sand in my sheets rather than consider how cold my toes are, and how hot I was just a few days ago.

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We are still on total break from school. What do we do all day? Lots of Legos and board games. I think Lupin's clasroom is done -- I'll post a photo.

DH had surgery the Thursday before Christmas, so we planned for a very low key holiday. I tried to keep the girls busy with a bit of crafting and making, overcoming my great dislike of scattered glitter and frosting stuck to the dining room chairs.

Good gifts (among so many): We love Victoria's Fridge Phonics

which really surprises me because we avoided all such toys with Violet like the plague. But Victoria is learning reading so differently. She is a very aural kid -- identifying letters visually is still a work in progress, but if you ask what letter starts "Mom" she will sound it out and say "M" and she can spell her name aloud.

For Violet, this cool writing tablet to use with the computer

She can draw like crazy with it -- and no paper! It's also fun to trace with.

I think we are on our way to owning every Cranium-type board game in existence, and the library grew tremendously too. (I love that Violet opens the books and acts like *yawn -- books again* but then she stops opening presents and starts reading right away!)

Here's a bit of our holiday prep work, in pictures:

Cookies

cookie monster number one

cookie monster number two

ornament making

ornament maker -- with green juice mustache

ornaments

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While brushing teeth tonight, Victoria revealed herself as a Catholic and a mystic.

We were discussing Christmas, which is when, I told her, we celebrate that "Jesus was born."

Wrong Mom, says little V. "Jesus is born."

Of course she's right, silly me. I knew my many mentors in the faith would approve.

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I hope the State Fair is highly educational, because I’ve given up until after Labor Day!

Getting our Hair Done:

Riding Some Rides:

Snacking:

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First off, thanks for the back-to-school thoughts. I may say more later. For now, I'm on vacation! (Sort of -- this morning I was up at 5 to get DH to the airport by 6 am, and now I'm at a wireless coffeeshop to do a bit of freelance stuff.)

We're visiting my mom in South Dakota, so here are a few pictures of the girls down on the farm -- a petting zoo-farm with tons of baby and mini animals to pet and hold.

Pic. 1 -- Violet caught her goat

Pic. 2 -- Victoria's 1st pony ride

Pic. 3 -- Can't get enough goat

Pic. 4 -- Victoria gets her own goat

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I'm testing my ability to post more photos. These are a few pics from our nature walk in a wonderful park by the Mississippi, and from our ride in the neighbors' fire truck in a neighborhood parade.

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Ugh -- I have terrible flu. Actually I am mostly over it now but my tummy is still very touchy and I am pretty weak from not eating for 3 days. Bummer -- I thought I'd be using this week to catch up after vacation, but instead things are just slipping further and further away . . .

Better news to report next week, I hope!

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Here is Violet, my former vegetarian who refused to eat chicken just last week because she couldn't stop thinking that it had once been alive. Now she's chowin' down on Rendezvous pork ribs in Memphis. (She wouldn't order her own, but she sure would take them from everyone else.)

And here are a couple of shots from the Memphis Zoo, which is just awesome. The little guys are Meerkats.

And we took a spin on the zoo train because we were absolutely melting in the unseasonable heat.

I don't have a photo of Violet in the Animals of the Night exhibit taking notes on vampire bats for her Care of Magical Creatures class with Professor Hagrid. She was quite serious about it, and we all waited for some time. (She is a slow writer unless she's writing a fantasy story.)

Also, no panda photos. Hopefully Papa will have some to share. The movie about panda conservation was so sweet and well done. Just a few more days and we'll be on the road again.

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We're away for the week, so we'll be slow to post. I will get those pandas from the Memphis Zoo up, though!

Meanwhile, Violet is studying the finer points of video golf with her Papa and Victoria is learning new ways to sneak out of bed.

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That's what Victoria's doctor said after reviewing her x-ray and ultrasound results. Last year she was diagnosed with a high grade of ureteral reflux (backing up from the bladder toward the kidneys). This year the reflux appears to be totally gone. It's highly unusual for progress to be made that quickly, but again, the Dr. said, "Miracles do happen."

We go back for another VCUG in a month to confirm, and if it goes well we are done with the antibiotic regimen and done with the VCUGs!!

You who prayed for us, your prayers were answered in abundance.

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This is not the best photo ever of me, but it's all I've got, so here it is:

We were vacationing at the Lodge at Cedar Creek near Wausau, Wisc., which I would recommend highly. We've been there twice and had a fabulous time.

Waterpark-School Lessons Learned:

1. If you practice falling a lot, you don't have to be afraid of it anymore.

2. Mom and Dad can be trusted when you're afraid.

3. Once you've tried something new, it's not new -- or scary -- the second time around.

4. You don't have to try something new just because other kids are doing it.

5. Just staring into the fireplace is a good way to pass the time.

Low-key schooling today, for our first day back. Everyone is tired and a bit cranky! Quick math, quick bites of piano, and hopefully a quick bit of Chinese just to keep it in our minds.

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We've long had a policy against Bratz dolls in our home, which Violet is aware of and usually doesn't even think about. But sometimes it does come up, when she gets ahold of the Target circular and there is some fabulous spread of toys. Yesterday we had a serious faux crying pout session over the impossibility of getting a Bratz baby for her birthday, along with the declaration that when she's a teenager she'll by her own Bratz (at which point it will be the least of our worries).

Thus far I've just said that they are contrary to our family's values, and because mom says so, and that's that. But I'd like to be able to explain in what way they are contrary to our family's values. How do I do that when Violet really has no concept of what it means to be provocative or immodest?

She does have crushes on boys, which I have thought about as a normal part of growing up. Given that she considers kissing disgusting, it doesn't worry me too much! She's a very bright girl, but I honestly don't think she could wrap her head around the idea of being "suggestive," since she wouldn't have an inkling of what's being "suggested." This is a kid who still loves "Journey to Ernie!"

I don't really have a problem with telling her no until I'm blue in the face. I just wonder if there is an opportunity to teach there.

Anyone dealing with this stuff with a 7yo girl?

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Despite DH's concerns about anonymity on the net, I'm going to give a little intro to our Red Sea family. I told DH he could choose his own screen name. Let's just say he hasn't yet suggested anything suitable for a family site!

Me: A work-at-home mom, a writer, in her mid-30s. I'm a weird mix of introversion and compulsive volunteerism: probably the result of a) deep control issues, b) gifts in leadership that I'm called to use, or c) some dysfunctional mix of the two. I'm deeply involved in leadership at my Catholic parish, and I also love to read just about anything (but especially cookbooks), go to tap dance classes, and scrapbook so I can drink wine and look adoringly at photos of my family. Photos that somehow I seem to take but never get into . . .

Violet: That's DD6. She's a bit of a drama queen, and she's definitely got that leadership gene. Someday she'd make a great play or film director/producer. And preferably Star too. She's been homeschooling herself for years, teaching herself to read before her 3rd birthday and otherwise routinely startling us with things she's figured out who-knows-how. She loves all things fairy, pixie, elvish, etc., and is a very motivated piano student.

Victoria: That's DD2. She's our affectionate little cuddler, and also Chief Tantrum Thrower, the likes of which we'd never seen. She is a tremendous listener: hears things in great detail. Like the difference between a car, van, truck, bus, or motorcycle. That she did not get from me. She loves painting, drawing, playing dollhouse, and moving very very fast.

DH: Screen name to be announced later. I pledge to preserve his privacy. Is it enough to say that of all the introverts in the family he's the introvert-iest?

That's our happy (most of the time) family, and the members of the Red Sea community. Oh, except for Pupster.

The Red Sea school plans to have a strong animal husbandry component to get this mutt trained properly!

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Here they are, in a slightly dated photo.

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