Shoulda' Coulda'

What I should be doing =

:: Making an effort to clean up the laundry draped on every part of our room...dirty pile? clean pile? giveaway? Who knows anymore.
:: Packing (or at least planning to pack) for our trip to the Sierras which will likely require some snow gear, which we do not have for the boys. Hmmm.
:: Figuring out how we will cook Thanksgiving turkey without a working oven. Sweet. I think I just decided on ham.
:: Paying bills. And making the money to pay them.

What I am doing =

:: Dreaming about a new lens for the camera and wishing Canon did not make such a deal out of the 50 fixed 1.4, because anything better will cost us more than a mortgage payment.
:: Playing with the new sketches from Jon and wondering if I can deliver these in time for some Christmas stitching

(sneak peek)
:: Knitting this,

and knitting and knitting and knitting (thanks for the line, PeeWee)
:: Watching this and listening to this. The first will make you pee your pants, the second might make you cry. Um. little warning on the vid, there is a bit of cheek in it, but it is all in fun, not dirty all all.
:: Typing this (badly I might add, due to a continued lack of viable sleep).

What I shall do =

:: Go knit, clean and then sleep . I hope.
:: And maybe watch and listen one more time.

Friday Finishing : Some Stuff

You might think in light of the last post I have backed down on the crafting. Apparently, I am amped enough to stay on track with some of the knitting and a few other endeavors. I have enjoyed some parts of the accomplishing but I might be a little too lacking of sleep to properly present them.

I had a bit of fun and a bit of frustration with this jam. It is made from the plums from our backyard, they were chopped up and frozen as it was too hot mid summer to even entertain the idea of jam making.

I pulled the fruit out a few days ago and then had to make the stuff as I would have hated to waste so much wonderful fruit. It was a relatively easy process (my first solo canning) but I am a tad worried about the results.

I know I need to wait to see if the jars totally set, right now they are so pretty but a bit loose looking. This is jam my Mama made for years when we were growing up and the smell and the taste brought back such good memories. One of my brothers was home while I was making the jam and he could not stop licking a spoon as we taste tested.

So, crossing fingers and hoping that the 6 huge Mason jars and a few small gifty ones gel up and are ready to be eaten sooner than later.

I made a hat too. I think I am calling it the Failed Fair Isle (Rav).

I tried the pattern from Brooklyntweed, but after the first motif I just could not feel the pattern. I also knew I would not have enough on the Main color to finish. So, it became a striped hat with a nice little pattern in the middle. It is really soft and warm due to a nice lined hem of baby alpaca. And it is modeled by my brother, home from college.

He looks so grown up and he has only been gone since September. They grow so fast. It is a Christmas gift so another check on the list.

And I have no pictures (yet) of my last sewing attempt. I tried to sew up a little Thanksgiving quilty thing and it is okay but unphotographed (and possibly should stay that way). I had a really rough time with machine embroidery on some felt letters. I think I like it, but I will pass judgment later when I am a little sharper. Instead I will leave you with a picture of something I found myself knitting...by accident.

This is the Shalom (Rav) cardigan. Not seeing much here yet, but I think it is going to work. I substitutued a stash yarn.

I figured out the numbers and so far it seems like it is going to fit. I should not be knitting this but I cannot seem to stop. I think it is really fast so maybe I can stick with it and get it done and then start a few other Christmas gifts.


Black is really hard to photograph. With a broken (well, jammed, no pun intended) lens. Have to send the lens in again, just in time for the holiday. Arg.

I am a looking forward to next week and the holidays. We are heading up to the Sierras and there may be some snow. So holiday appropriate and a welcome change from the balmy and unusually dry/windy days. Hope you weekend ushers in a great start to your holiday.

And the saga continues.

Here at the Yatez house we have had one challenging time when it comes to teething. Mason has been teething since he was 4 months old and he does not do it gracefully. It has ushered in some of the worst periods, from prolonged night wakings to biting. So, you can imagine my relief when I watched as his unusually sharp and large canines finally pushed their way through and filled in his cute smile. And I sighed a breath of relief as I now would have some respite from this long saga of teething. I mean, what else was there but the two year molars and well, he is only 18 months.

I think you can see where this is going. The other day I noticed he was getting really agitated and drooly and would not relinquish his dot for the life of me or him or any other thing in the room. So, I did a quick swipe. He has always been okay with my fingers in his mouth as long as I am giving the look that says, "absolutely no biting" and well, what did I find...on the bottom right side the tell tale swelling indicating he was going to get something there. The thing is, he started teething his first molars the day he turned one. And it took 4 months for them to finish. Four, people. So, I sit here, alternately shuddering at the thought of the next 6 months (the kid seems to take things literally so I anticipate it will take the 6 months to get them in, just so he does not violate the 2 year molar rule) and then just feeling resigned to getting it over with. I mean, once they are in there is nothing else to push through and we can get on the the real business of behavioral disturbances, mainly the terrible twos. Yippee.


You have to understand, the Mace when teething is such a volatile and mercurial child. I love him, but everything about him is amplified. He is not inconsolable and does not cling, but he is frustrated and more aggressive, he sleeps terribly and looks like he is going on nightly benders at the neighborhood dive bar. He pushes me to the point where I feel really fragile as a Mama. The thought of all this happening while trying to do holiday travel and juggle holiday obligations and, oh yeah, take care of his twin brother, well, daunting right now.

Icees for teething. At least the weather is obliging and staying in the 80s. Happy holidays.

Owen is teething too, but he takes it much more in stride. I can tell he is hurting, but it does not phase him overly much as long as he gets his Hyland tablets (which he is currently obsessed with trying to eat at every opportunity)(BTW: per Hyland it takes a few bottles to give any adverse side effects...but still keep them out of reach of prying fingers)(it was only a few in the bottom that time, okay? I am a good mama, I swear).


Well, gonna go now, I have been listening to him complain for the last 45 minutes of his very short very disturbed nap. You know, the only one he takes since they are down to one nap. You know the one that helps me reset in order to do all the things required from 2 until 11 or god know when because I have not been sleeping because he has not been sleeping. I know, cry me a river....we all go through it. I just wish I would have had a few more months of my non-teething Mason. I do like him so.

Renewed via Song

This weekend held two very wonderful events for us. We saw two artists perform, one named Stan the Man and one named Mason Jennings. Both men hold a very special place in my heart. Let’s start with Stan.

We met Stan last year at the annual Pilgrim Place Festival.

He provides some of the entertainment for the kids and we instantly fell in love. The Pilgrim Place is a section of Claremont where missionaries retire. They are an interesting and diverse group of individual and I have always been intrigued by the organization. Anyway, when we took the boys last year they were too young to truly appreciate Stan, but he provided Tim and I with some great laughs. He was having a bit of trouble with recalling the proper lyrics, but it was all in good fun. This year we saw him again. I have to say, it seems like Stan was losing a bit more of his grasp on the silly little songs we all sing. He can still play a mean guitar but the lyrics to the monkey song went something like this…
"3 Little monkeys swinging in the tree, along came Mr. Alligator, can’t catch me, along came Mr Crocodile quiet as can be. Snap.’
What I loved is every kid and parent there sang along with his version without a qualm or correction.

So, I requested our favorite from last year and earned myself a dirty look (I think Stan is not so into the request thing’ but he obliged and played/sang the song “Don’t put your finger up your nose”.
Here are the full lyrics and a link to a video because I love this song. It shall be a mainstay go to in this house, especially with two little boys. And Stan, well, he sang it without a missed word or note. We love Stan.


Don’t put your finger up your nose, cause your nose knows that’s not where it goes.
You can sniffle, you can sneeze, but I am asking you please,
Don’t put your finger up your nose.

Don’t stick your finger in your ear cause your ear will find it hard to hear,
You can pull it, you can tug it, but please do not plug it,
Don’t stick your finger in your ear.

Don’t stick your finger in you eye, now that it not something you should try,
You an blink it but I do not think it
Would be good to put your finger in your eye.

Don’t put your finger down your throat cause I think that would make you choke,
Then up would come your dinner and you’ll start to look much thinner,
So don’t put your finger down your throat.

Then last night we saw Mason Jennings. It was and always is transformative to listen to this man, especially in person. His music creates a space in me, sacred and reverent to the power of the sung word, the poetry of his music makes me feel wonderful. He seems to blend qualities of some of the best folk singers out there (read Dylan) with his own special feel for God and love and beauty and awe. Give this a view if you have a moment, it is his newest song, inspired by his recent travels around the world to view firsthand what we have done to some of the most pristine places. We all stood rapt and frozen when he played this live but I think the little video conveys almost as much.

When I first had the boys, I found song lyrics ran through my head more than thoughts. I could not hold cohesive thoughts together for long, but I am a champ at letting songs run in the brain on loop, especially when not doing well. There was one song that I literally ‘heard’ in there for months.

It was Mason’s song “Be Here Now”.
The lyrics sounded so different then, the line “Sun comes up and we start again’ made me cringe and cry thinking of the fact that every feeding/changing/picking up/putting down would be repeated again and again, seemingly for eternity (in my mind back then). There were times I wanted to scream when the familiar lyrics would start their cycle through my head.

Last night he closed with the same song and I was dancing and laughing and hugging Tim as I sang along. Because now that song means something so different. Back then it was a demand, that I stay present and acknowledge how much I loved those boys even as I felt unable to function. Last night it was a prayer of rejoice and thanks that I have the privilege of waking to another day filled with their presence. Even though I knew there would be more night waking and teething. That Mace would not sleep through, that I would be really tired today, well, I could not wait for the sun so as to take those boys a play and romp.


I hope you have some time and try to give the songs a listen at some point, they are all so awesome.

And for all you lovelies that left comments with such nice things to say….you made this woman’s Monday morning shine almost as bright as her boys do. Thanks so much, friends. You make me feel loved and lovely.

And just so I remember always...

Be here now, the only place to be
Or just sit there dreaming of how life would be
If we were somewhere better
Somewhere far away from all our worries,
Well, here we are.

You are the love of my life

Be here now, no other place to be
All the doubts that linger, just set them free
And let good things happen,
Let the future come into each moment
Like a rising son

You are the love of my life

Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again

Its all new today, all we have to say is
Be here now.