triangulation

i've been trying to figure out what this third child will do to and with the current family dynamic we've got going here. (yes, this past weekend and came and went and along with it, his due date. waiting waiting. . .). over and over the three little kids that will soon be mine have led to thoughts of triangles and the shape's possible meanings. on one end they're symbolic of perfection and unity while down at the other they represent danger and unavoidable tragedy. so which is it? should i be preparing myself for familial annihilation or some sort of exaltation once this little one joins us? as with most things this baby will probably take us on a path somewhere in the center, with detours in either direction occassionally thrown in the mix. moments of hell and moments of heaven. much like our current life, just with more stomping feet. 

so, to celebrate the triad that baby will complete; this triangle banner quilt. there are countless imperfections and the whole hurried project could have used a bit (a lot) more careful planning, but the fact is that that is just how i operate around here. especially lately. each time i get an idea i am in a near panic to start and finish it immediately. . . who knows when this little guy will decide to come and my days will consumed by holding, feeding, staring, keeping the girls from smothering him and trying to figure out how he ever fit inside me. 

mish-mash of lately

happy may day!

it is official, spring is here and summer is right around the corner. i know because last week i got the very beginnings of what is, three years running, my summer trademark: massive saltwater sandal tan. feels good. i also have the beginnings of a nice farmer's tan which doesn't feel so good but until i start remembering my sunblock is also kind of inevitable. does anyone else have arms that tan at a rate five times faster than the rest of their body?. . . but, i can't complain when i am able to spend hours of my day sitting on a playground bench surrounded by great friends watching the kids run and play. new york in spring is amazing. if you've never been, come at this time. everyone and everything is emerging from their winter gloom and reveling in the glory of renewal.

and, i'm 29. (i know. only 29 and almost three kids- yikes.) tuesday was my birthday and with great friends all around, a brother and sister-in-law in town (who woke up to make me crepes in the morning!), and time alone with chip, it was a really great day. chip and i went to freemans on the lower east side and other than the somewhat irrational fear that one of the taxidermied animals was going to fall on me and cause serious bodily harm (i was most concerned about my eyes), the place was really great. watching the parade of hipsters walk down the alley to the restaurant was entertaining and, once, inspiring. i love the lower east side. after dinner chip and i made our way uptown in a cab, a rare treat for us- we're cheap like that, to see macbeth. such an intense and gruesome production. not going to help my creepy dreams at all. the art direction was beautifully modern and the acting was stunning. . . i always wonder whether my opinions are completely skewed because i'm just so happy to be kid-free for a night. i might consider anything a work of genius because i don't have two little girls shouting "i'm never playing with you again!" or "more didi boots! i want food! no, mean mommy!" at me every thirty seconds. but this time i'm certain it was the production and not the euphoria of being away that won me over.

here's yesterday photo of baby boy, who, it turns out, is not breech at all! good baby. i'm hopeful this is the last time we need an ultrasound with this baby. i'm tired of hospitals.

our may day will be filled with joy school for eve, some grocery shopping (or maybe napping instead?) and folding of the laundry neglected yesterday while at the hospital and then preparing for last night's book club i hosted. we read crossing to safety by wallace stegner. one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors. i love his depiction of relationships in all their quiet tragedy and glory. it was so great to be in my home, kids in bed and surrounded by good people and good discussion.

++ update: my hero brother-in-law and sister-in-law who live in manhattan just swooped in and took my children for the afternoon/evening. looks like i'll be getting that nap afterall, once i waste more of my time watching the most recent episode of the hills. i already stayed up until 2am last night catching up on the bachelor. gross reality tv confessions. . .

the third

this pregnancy has been so different from the two girls in so many ways. mostly in ways i'm not loving. a lot more worry, a lot more discomfort (the separating pelvis of this week has been really cool), some serious grumpiness, weird vivid dreams involving violence, espionage, world domination and ricky schroeder and tossed in the mix these last two weeks; a good amount of possibly offensive commentary from neighbors and strangers who have apparently just now noticed that i am, in fact, pregnant with the third child.

here are two gems.

the most common- if not exact wording, the same sentiment:

"you just don't know when to quit!"

apparently not.

and my personal favorite comes from upstairs neighbor (postal worker by day, swing and electric slide dance instructor by night. not kidding.):

"tell chip to keep up the good work!"

consider him told, mr. jackson.

funny faces and gimpy runs

thank you all so much for the name help! i have loved hearing from old and new friends alike. really, i can't thank everyone enough; i'm excited for this little boy all over again and chip and i are feeling closer to a name than ever- or at least happy with the great options we've now got to choose from. we were in such a slump there for awhile. . . thank you thank you!

for the time being, things are calm, productive and funny with just the right amount of worry and stress thrown in.

ruth has us entertained all the time with her arsenal of faces. in fact, i was woken up this morning with "ohay [ok], now funny faces!" and this was the ensuing show:

so great, especially when she goes full speed with her newly acquired peg-leg run, quickly stops and throws one of those gems our way.

a mystery injury resulting in ruth not being able to bear any weight on her left leg meant a trip to the pediatrician and then hospital for x-rays this past weekend. she was awesomely brave and tolerant during the whole ordeal, not to mention insanely cute in her hospital gown, and is now back on her feet, but doing the peg-leg limp. now that i know it isn't anything permanent or too serious (chip had me freaked out , throwing words like "polio" around. . .) it is quickly moving up the "favorite things about ruth" list, just under her crooked smile and crazy eyes. if i can get it, i'll post a little movie clip of the run in the next day or so. and the reason for the limp? no one is really sure; no fractures, no abnormal blood results, probably a bruised ankle or just a random no walking/limping episode that is apparently common with toddlers. . .

it must have been having the sound of crawling back in our house- i adore that sound; the hands slapping the floor, the knees shuffling behind- but the whole stressful ordeal has me weirdly excited to throw another child in the mix. the number three is still terrifying. my girls are already a handful (i can't count how many times they were referred to as "free-spirits" in the hospital, the workers must have had some seriously specific training when dealing with ultra hyper and squealy kids) but really, this should be fun.

right now we're off to the playground to enjoy a legitimately beautiful and slightly warm day here in brooklyn. eve is having trouble deciding between full rain regalia (no rain anywhere near) and her superman cape. tough choice.

nameless

this baby is supposed to be arriving in just over six weeks. usually at this point there are two or three names we really really like and are happy to choose from. if this baby were a girl, that would be the case. but he's a boy and we're clueless and the lack of names is killing us. so, i need some help. please give me some boy names. as many as you can think of and like. help a pregnant lady in need.

party girls

two parties this past weekend and one coming up for none other than my little eve who is going to be FOUR. amazing and fun and a little bit sad all rolled into one.

past weekend review:

the girls' little cousin had a pizza party that was full of so much fun kid energy it was almost overwhelming. eve really wanted to give the birthday boy a chicken. no explanation. a rubber chicken is fairly entertaining on its own (why?) but when you squeeze this beauty an egg-like sak pops out of it. hysterical. especially if you are in the two to six years-old range. fighting over this chicken led to ruthie falling down an entire flight of metal stairs, slamming into a cement wall and face-skidding onto a cement floor. turning the corner (as i was chasing and trying to get her to stop running) to see her falling backward down the stairs and then witness the awful awful tumble was the most horrifying moment of motherhood to date. her first words, through the screaming/crying were; "i want the chicken." she cried for about 30 seconds, relaxed in my lap for about five minutes and then was back to partying. i didn't recover so quickly.

saturday brought with it a baby shower and the last minute making of this little shirt to go with a sweet little pair of eliza gran pants. i should really give myself more time to make gifts. those french seams take more time than they should. the fabric has been one of my untouched favorites for nearly two years. in the continued effort to avoid the fate of being an crippled old woman with hundreds of yards of fabric that have been untouched for fifty years, i went for it and am happy i did. there is always more fabric to buy and love.

and now we've got eve's party in the works. fairy princess party. invitations out (thank you chip), six little fairy skirts are almost complete, tissue pom poms done, treasure hunt forming in my head and fairy crown and wand supplies gathered. naturally a full, too-detailed report will be brought to you once all the fun is had. for now i'm going to try to enjoy the last few moments i have with three-year-old eve. and then as i fall asleep i'll let myself wallow in the happy misery of a mother who's little baby is growing far too big far too quickly.

happy presidents day

in honor of the presidents we've spent this three-day weekend completing all the tiny jobs around the apartment that have been neglected for the past two years. i think we can almost officially say our renovation is complete. i've also been eating. roughly estimating, i'd say 60% of my diet this week has been of "sugar and oils; consume sparingly" variety. a cheesecake left over from valentine's day, chocolate chips hanging around as rewards for ruth's continued potty training (no diaper all day sunday, including church!), chocolate peanut butter by the spoonful, and as of last night; mary todd lincoln's white cake.

the recipe is from chip's mother, who used to make this cake for her kids growing up. i love tradition and it turns out i love the cake. it tastes old fashioned in the best way possible. a nice subtle flavor thanks to the almonds and a really nice consistency. i used martha stewart's seven minute frosting, but whipped cream would also be pretty and delicious.

i skipped mixing chopped candied pineapple and cherries into the frosting, which i almost regret- it would have been so old-fashioney then. but, i didn't have any and thought the plain white frosting would make a better home for my log cabin addition. we were really close to sticking pennies all over the cake but the idea of that dirty money all over was just too gross.

we're now off to take advantage of the few daylight hours we have left. eve's begging for the museum, chip's pushing the aquarium and ruth just wants more treats. i kind of feel like a nap, but i think that is all the sugar talking. or the baby. . . tough to say at this point.

Mary Todd Lincoln's White Cake

1c butter, softened
2c sugar
     -cream together
1c milk
     -add alternately with stirred together mixture of:
3c flour, sifted
3tsp baking powder
     -add and mix well:
1c finely chopped blanched almonds
     -fold in:
6 egg white, beaten stiff
1tsp vanilla

-bake 60 minutes in well greased and floured 9x13 pan (don't over bake), cut in half lengthwise and layer. frost with any white boiled frosting or whipped cream, optionally adding 1/2c chopped candied pineapple and cherries. i'm now thinking that adding the pineapple/cherries to the frosting for the layer between the cakes would be perfect. still white and smooth but a little more exciting and appropriate for something with mary todd lincoln's name attached to it.

today

watching the rain melt yesterday's snow.

putting together valentines for school tomorrow.

playing house in the closeted hamper. sporadically shouting (at me), "hey! you! get out of our backyard!"

making plans for the next quilt. this one will take awhile.

relaxing on the pillows i finished up on monday, courtesy of some sukie tea towels bought for cheap over a year ago.

completing final stages of potty training.

baby quilt binge

an unfinished project that has been haunting me for nearly a year and a baby shower prompted last week's binge.

finally finished this quilt made of squares i took from my mom. except for the white and red polka dot, these are all fabrics from my childhood. i had it nearly completed 10 months ago but hated the way i quilted and bound it, so it got stuck in a corner. last week i picked out all the quilting, pulled off the binding and did it for the second and final time. we're all feeling much better about it now.

started making this quilt for a friend's baby girl. tying the quilt using a little hoop took an annoying amount of time i wasn't planning on. by the time i finished tying i was sick of it, so it was put to the side and finished a few days later. in case you can't see through the folded up quilt to know what the whole thing looks like; the front is a solid piece of the little girls fabric while the back is what you see (white, yellow, striped) plus another big piece of the yellow. the polka dot binding was the reject from the first quilt. i love not wasting.

after i lost interest in the girl quilt i moved on to this one. a one-night project is so satisfying (even if it is my old standby) and especially fast when it is in little little baby proportions. a picture of the tiny blanket (30x34") unfolded made it look like a placemat. but babies are small and the very pregnant mom was happy. the opposite side is nice unbleached muslin

and although our home doesn't really need another blanket of any size floating around, i'm looking forward to the next one. hopefully for upcoming boy, who is still very very nameless.

ruth is a hellion

that's a wad of eve's hair in ruth's hand. she runs and grabs and pushes and yells and throws and then waits for the reactions to roll in with wide, excited eyes.