NO WHINNING
Sam: I did it, Mom! I ran really fast.
Me: You’re my Wally West.
Grace: And you look like the Flash, too!
(I didn’t mention that he actually looks like Wally West but not like The Flash, because I was so goddamn proud of her for knowing who Wally West is.)
Internet, I need you to do me a favor. It’s a little one, and I’ll be super-grateful.
You know how Mary goes to Misselthwaite Manor, and it’s wintertime, and everything is grey? And then the spring comes and the moors come to life and it’s all a big magical metaphor? (And then the book becomes about Colin instead of Mary and as a kid I didn’t mind but when I re-read it more recently it made me really angry?)
So, I have a picture in my head of what the moors look like. It’s been there since I was about five. And I’ve seen pictures since then of what the moors look like in spring and summer (omg heather is so pretty). But none of what they look like in the wintertime when they are grey and lifeless.
My google-fu is weak today and I can’t find a good one. I know some of you are in northern England, or have been there, or are good at finding things on the internet. Can you help?
So, a thing that I cannot really recommend doing, and yet wholeheartedly recommend doing, is officiating a three day roller derby tournament.
I worked six games over the three days, and I kind of feel like I am going to die.
I also have not had that much fun, like, ever.
I missed my family like crazy, though that was slightly lessened on the final day when I had the bright idea to have Will bring Sam and Grace to watch. They came with me in the morning and we watched the Juniors championship together. Then they went home for lunch and I got ready for my last bout of the weekend. When it was over and I exited the track, a little voice called, “Mom!” and a little arm went around me and there was Sam! It was the best.
Grace wants to “roller skate like the derby dolls.” She says, “I skate and I skate and I skate and I fall down and I get up and I skate.” So, you know, she totally gets it! Of course it’s basically impossible to find any real skates that are small enough for her. I mean, for less than like $200. I found those in her size. Sigh.
Anyway. Roller derby! Yay!
My supremely clever (and super-adorable) knitting/designing buddy, Annie Watts, designed these mittens:
(The palms look like this.)
I am going to use these charts on a sweater for Sam. I’ve done the math and it works perfectly with the yarn I plan to use at the gauge I get with said yarn. YAY!
My concern is how to distribute colors. I was planning to do navy blue (Lake) and light grey (Beluga), but Sam would really like his sweater to have some yellow (Firefly) as well because his favorite colors are yellow and blue.
I’m thinking navy for the hem, skyline, and robots; grey for the background; and yellow for the sky/rest of sweater. What do you think? Creepy or awesome?
And once we’ve worked THAT out, where should the robots be placed? I was originally going to do a cardigan, which would be easy: a robot on each front. But then I realized I don’t have any interest in stranded knitting flat, so fuck that. It will be a short-sleeved pullover. Robots on the front? Back? One on each?
So, Sam turned seven. I don’t really understand how that’s possible–but I also can’t really imagine how he’s still just a little kid, when I have known him forever.
Sam is a consumer.
I don’t mean that in the sense of purchasing merchandise, but he also does that. He’s been getting an allowance for several months and he saves it for the things he wants.
What I mean, though, is that he consumes television, video games, books…he watches, plays, and lives in other worlds. He recreates ideas from media with his toys–his many, many Imaginext toys become not only Batman and friends but Transformers (Hal Jordan is Optimus Prime; Kilowog is Bumblebee; Catwoman is Arcee) or whatever else Sam is interested in.
His favorite colors are blue and yellow. He always chooses the blue or yellow game piece when we play a board game. Oh, how he loves board games! For his birthday we gave him Catan Junior, which is not only a super-fun game but is also pirate-themed! Pirates are one of his longest-running interests, after Star Wars and Superheroes.
He loves to run in circles, play ball, and ride any and all wheeled conveyances. He has totally mastered his wheel shoes, can ride his freewheeel scooter in circles around you, and is ready for us to put the pedals on his bike. He plays tag and red light green light and an assortment of other playground games that as far as I can tell no one ever actually taught him.
He loves to play with his sister. He loves Calvin and Hobbes. He loves Mario, Luigi, and everyone else in Nintendoland. He likes ice cream and cookies but is still fairly unimpressed by cake and all other sweets. (He had an ice cream cake for his birthday.)
He has BIG emotions. Very big. As happens every year, I have had to remind myself that his period of disequilibrium happens in the months surrounding his birthday every year. (Remember 23 months? I don’t, but I guess that happens when you’re sleep deprived.)
I don’t always understand him, but I love him so, so much.
I wrote this little poem on Twitter last night, and I like it so much that I am copying it over here for posterity.
The children asked me
To play Hide and Seek.
So I hid.
But they forgot to look for me.
It was the most peaceful
Five minutes of my day.
I could maybe get into poetry if it’s limited to 140 characters.
(Confused? Check out the back cover of Dani Noir by Nova Ren Suma.)
We watched season one of Game of Thrones on DVD, and a couple episodes of season two through Totally Legitimate Means*, but haven’t continued watching due to inconvenience (watching ont he computer sucks, HBO Go doesn’t play on our PS3). I enjoy the series and would like to eventually catch up. I read the first book but the thought of more characters being introduced (and not having an actor’s face to bring to mind to help me keep them straight) was too daunting so I left it there.
So a few weeks ago when the internet went nuts over Daenerys doing “something badass,” I got nervous. Because I HATE SPOILERS (there is one coming up for season/book one in two sentences). First I checked with Will, because he has read the entire series to date. Surely her act of badassery could not be more impressive than climbing onto a funeral pyre to birth motherfucking DRAGONS? Yes, he told me, it really could.
Oh dear.
So I did the only reasonable thing: I read the Dany chapters of books two and three. Just the Dany chapters. (I also let Will tell me everything that happens to all the other characters, because I only really give a damn about her.) Obviously my definition of reasonable may be different than yours.
*illegitimate, shady means.
We went to the Renaissance Faire yesterday.
Wait. Before we go on, I need you to understand that when I say Renaissance, I am saying it like this:
Okay, now that we’ve established that SUPER IMPORTANT FACT. The faire.
I love our faire. Costumes range from tavern wenches to pirates to barbarians to steam punk and no one gets all weird about it–everyone is just having fun. Anachronisms reign supreme (hoops skirts! Did I mention steam punk?) and it is awesome.
Renting this wagon is the best $15 I’ve spent in recent memory. Pulling it around kind of sucked (though Will did most of that because he is awesome) but it reduced child carrying by about 90% and since it was 104 degrees outside I would have paid double.
Left: Sam climbing the rock wall. Right: Grace was overheated within 10 minutes. Ack.
Will and Sam had a fencing lesson! Sam was actually instructed to make finger guns.
(True fact: Will fenced at pre-Olympic level as a kid, but opted out of intensive Olympic training because he is smart.)
Left: I took this to show Grace how dirty her face was. She laughed. Middle: Grace makes friends everywhere we go. Right: My new motto.
Aww, what a cute pig thief. Somebody let her go!
Ugh, look at that wench. Lock her up and throw away the key.
Grace started asking if she could ride a horse the minute we got there. And here she is riding her choice of the ponies, Ginger!
Grace in the petting zoo. Will took this picture shortly while I leaned against a tree, trying not to pass out from heat exhaustion.
Me and Grace on the dragon boat. She petted the dragon and called him a good boy in between shrieks of joy.
We ended the day with the jumper. Sam did this two years ago and loved it–and you can tell he remembers.
Grace INSISTED on going too, which made me nervous. I wasn’t sure she would go through with it, and it’s the most expensive ride–but she loved it. LOVED IT. She started jumping before the nice young man could give her a test bounce (which they do for all the little kids) and she didn’t stop until he stopped her when her time was up.
Oh yeah, I took video.
Grace loves jumping! from Annika B. Klein on Vimeo.
Grace’s jump comes to an end. from Annika B. Klein on Vimeo.
It was a long day full of heat exhaustion, and we spent way too much money, but it was SO MUCH FUN. And I think we all avoided sunburn! Huzzah!
And then I slept ~12 hours and this morning I very nearly put cayenne pepper on my yogurt instead of cinnamon.
Happy day to all the mothers, all the ladies who hope to be mothers, and everyone who has a mother. (If you are none of those things, happy Sunday.)
A while ago, Grace told me that she really likes my blue necklace. I didn’t have a blue necklace, so much confusion ensued.
Now I know what she meant.
I did it. There’s still a lot I’d like to customize but hahaha I don’t know what I’m doing.
Help change is scary help help.
