happy birthday ruthie!

oh ruth. when i was pregnant with you i knew you'd be friendly. i had no idea how crazy and entertaining and mischievous you would be. i didn't know about that stompy, floppy run of yours, usually with mouth wide open in a crazed smile. i didn't know you would come programmed knowing exactly how to push every single one your sister's buttons and get wild joy from watching her react. i couldn't have imagined your almost annoying ability to charm your way out of any trouble. i did know that you would love people and they would love you, but had no idea how quickly you would capture people's adoration. i certainly didn't realize you would be so messy or have such a need to apply and spread anything and everything to every surface of your own skin. everyday. i didn't know about the smearing of the frosting or the hummus or the massaging of your own feet with that morning's cream-of-wheat. i didn't know the immense love affair you would have with food; the singing about it from your crib, the talking about being "hummy" at least every 20 minutes, and the immense amount of food you can shove into yor mouth without issue. i didn't realize the frequency of the kind hugs you would give to your sister and how quickly you could unite with her against all the world, including me. i didn't know how intense and determined you would be, nor did i have any clue that you would be able to mimic my voice and yoga positions almost perfectly, the first time. i didn't know how hard you would make us laugh and how so many of the things that i love the most in your father are the very same things i love in you. and i could never have known how much i really do love you, and how through you i would love eve, your dad and life even more than before. so, happy second birthday ruth. i love you and am secretly proud of you for testing me everyday. just as any good daughter should.

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while i was typing the last half of this, you got a chair from the dining table, pushed it over to the counter, climbed up and then ate/destroyed nearly all of the mini ganache-covered chocolate cupcakes waiting for tonight's celebraion. the uneaten/uncrumbled ones you smeared on your belly. all in three minutes.

halloween 2007

halloween came and went this year with its usual amount of stress (procrastination is my curse) and fun.

since we were having way too much fun with friends we skipped pumpkin carving this year (which is a good thing, ruthie is far too confident in grabbing and attempting to use knives as it is) and let the girls paint away on their special pumpkin. clearly, tempera paints aren't the best option for pumpkin painting, but it is washable. and when is ruth involved, that is all i care about.

halloween brunch. spiderweb and pumpkin shaped panckakes.

inspired by this post of jeanie's and sarah's comment on said post. i love my sisters. and the girls loved the pancakes which we ate with eggs and beautiful homemade applesauce. the pumpkin pancakes were made with the help of a copper cookie cutter to shape the batter. for the spiderweb pancakes i only had a spoon, although a squirt bottle of some kind would have been much much easier.

the costumes. alice in wonderland and the cheshire cat.

the stress that is a product of my own procrastination is something i'm used to and usually totally comfortable with, because i can always pull things off. not so much this time with ruthie's costume. i needed more time to make it more fantastic and less homemade (you know what i'm saying here, the homemade that looks kind of sad and neglected, not the homemade that we all adore). but, she had a costume and besides the occasional "it's piglet!" (which she totally looks like in these pictures although i swear not as much in real life) or "umm. . . stripey??" many people got it. and as always, together she and eve were a great pair.

the most gratifying part of the costume making process this year was that i did not buy one scrap of fabric, everything is from the very very large stash i already have around the house. for ruth, i made skin-tight pajamas from some knit and applied the stripes out of some wool felt i've had for years. there were plans to make a hat with ears which i think would have made a huge difference, but time and exhaustion got to me. so we went for little felt ears stuck to her head bobby pins. the alice dress was a compilation of two things i know how to pattern (i use that term very loosely) and make; bodice top and circle skirt, along with a peter pan collar, made using this tutorial which is so easy. yes, there are a lot of steps, but it is still so easy.

trick or treating.

or "treasure picking" as eve was calling it. the girls, along with pseudo-little-brother luke, all went together through park slope. another year and another great night. definitely beats having a friend's parent drive you nad your friends from house to house because they were too far apart to walk. eve showed the way at the first house and ruthie got the hang of it immediately. she could hardly be stopped from running full speed stoop to stoop, mountaineering up the stairs, holding her bag out, squeaking "chik a cheat," climbing down and running off to the next bowl of candy. i was not allowed to touch her and the few times i touched her candy bag i regretted it.

the girls were fast and determined for two solid blocks of beautiful brooklyn brownstone stoops (oh, brooklyn. . .) but then hopped into the stroller and crashed. perfect.

this morning i woke up to hearing the stove top beep- my clue that ruthie has climbed on top of the counter in an attempt to get last night's treasure. i shot out of bed, got ruthie off the stove top and amazingly convinced her and eve that yogurt was a better breakfast option than a mars bar.

honestly

since when does "stay in the bath, wash all that soap off and then we'll eat some lunch" mean "hop out, get the hummus from the fridge and wipe it all over your clean bodies. oh, and while you're at it, get the floor, the counter and the chairs too."? i normally leave these things to ruthie, but today eve decided to join in. and that explains the hummus all over ruth's back.

feeling better, a little bit

breaks are really nice. and the impromptu blog break was no exception. unfortunately it was no reflection of things calming down in my everyday real world, which was more chaotic than ever. but, after a busy week and a half of friends, pie, real autumn weather, apple picking, lesson teaching, a funeral, applesauce and even some costume sewing, i'm exhausted but still a bit rejuvenated. now all i really need is some alone time to relax, focus and get rid of this headache.

i'll report on all the goings-on throughout the rest of the week, but for now i'll just say that i'm back and that i love the fall in new york. my saltwater sandal tan is fading, the air conditioner is unplugged, the jackets and coats are out and being used and it finally makes sense to crave hot chocolate and ginger snaps. i'm happy.

burnout

the idea of getting behind my sewing machine and starting a new project makes me want to vomit all over myself. i'm sick of it. all of it. maybe this is only a temporary setback, but it's an intense one. there was no project gone bad, no extreme dissappointment, or even something turning out too small for my increasing body mass (is there some reason my body starts to store fat like mad the beginning of each fall? shouldn't i have evolved past this?). i'm just really really tired of it. not ideal. i've got a ton of fabric filling my home that i need to turn into stuff. stuff i can then then send far far away so i never have to look at it again. ever.

maybe i haven't gotten enough sleep or water. those are the two cure-alls, right mom? or maybe i'm taking my frustration with the weather out on my machine (sandals and shorts on the 18th of october in new york? really?). or maybe this is the the result of a few new and different pressures. whatever the reason, i'm taking the break. because i don't like feeling like i have to do things that should be fun. and because i don't like vomiting on myself.

++

apologies to ruthie, whose picture is stuck on a post mostly about vomiting. but that look is the same one i've had on my face hundreds of times the past few weeks.

it's coming

halloween is in 20 days and i am still not positive about costumes for the girls. i'm thinking eve will be alice in wonderland and ruthie will be the cheshire cat. she'd be perfect with that belly of hers. . .

there will certainly be a lot of pictures posted when the costumes are complete (most likely one hour before the first halloween party we go to) but for now, i give you a rich family children halloween retrospective:

2004. sock monkey. here's hoping i get to use this costume again someday. one of my favorites. and yes, chip was the greatest american hero that year.

2005. the sad mouse. i was supposed to have a brand new baby by halloween of 2005. but the day came, ruth was still lodged inside of me and i was unprepared. so, we went with a store-bought costume that we just happened to have hanging in the closet. thanks jeanie!

2006. little red riding hood and the wolf. or the aardvark. you choose. i'm kicking myself for not doing a proper photo shoot, the girls were so adorable together. trick-or-treating in park slope last year is one of our very favorite brooklyn nights of all time. eve would hurry from stoop to stoop with all of her candy bouncing out of the basket and littering the sidewalks as she ran. can't wait for this year when ruthie can run right along beside her. and pick up all the candy and claim it as her own.

personal progress, take 1

seven

october 6, 2000

seven years later we're as happy as ever.

thanks rach!

a month ago i went to the rachel ray show. brooke, alysha and i left our kids with friends and sitters and with breanne, we made our way into the city to wait in line for filming. while waiting we saw teri hatcher filming a segment and made friends with some funny ladies who were very very nervous about not getting in. luckily for the ladies, they didn't get all fancied up in their jewel tones for nothing. luckier for us, we not only made it into the show, but were placed on the second audience row. our session included segments for two different shows. the first segment aired on september 11th. if you saw this, then you probably saw my friends and i sitting in the row right behind the three fashion-experiment moms. apparently i got some good air time, but missed it entirely due to my lack of a tv and running around to leave on our trip that day. and i'm glad i did. the idea of seeing myself on tv makes me squirm. the second major segment "couch potato kids" will be airing on this friday's show. we will be opposite the adorable little couch potato boys and their moms, second row back. if i look chubby or not-smart, don't tell me.

rachel was fine, the stage set up was very cool (the audience rotates on a big circle to face the various segment spots) but the highlight of the experience was realizing that in addition to our very own bag of veggie crisps, we were getting to take home a copy of the dangerous book for boys. who needs teri hatcher when i have the instructions to make the "world's greatest paper airplane" and the rules of rugby at my disposal? eve can now identify a brook trout, walleye, smallmouth bass, pike and minnow. and so can i. pretty cool.

buttercream facials

what, never had one? dora loved her treatment.

ruthie is completely unapologetic and will try her best to find that frosting tomorrow and do it all over again. because she is ruth.

and where was i? busy, very busy. reading friends' blogs and thinking about what a smooth day today was.