A month later, I reappear. Let's see, what's happened in that time?

First, we packed our boys into my mother's borrowed SUV and hied ourselves up to Yosemite for a semi-camping adventure. Semi in that there were no tents involved - we stayed at Housekeeping Camp. There was a massive wildfire nearby which rerouted us in and out of the park and cast a smokey haze most days, but all of us thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Smoke aside, we kind of hit a sweet spot, going mid-week just after school started back up. I very much want to go back again sometime.

Then we had our trio of September birthdays - Squiddle, Jazzy, and Wonderful Husband - happen, followed almost immediately by all three of them getting taken down by Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. Wonderful Husband (who has skin problems already) got it bad enough that he was admitted to the hospital for three days. Not fun for anyone! Fortunately for my sanity, my parents were able to have Squiddle stay with them one night. I didn't get it. Don't know why - my mother doesn't remember me having any previous exposure. Maybe it was just the universe being kind and saying "no, the mama can't get sick too."

But now everyone is recovered. Hooray! And this afternoon I took the boys to the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. Since we have an annual membership, why not? That, combined with Finding Dory, and the Octonauts and Finding Dory games Squiddle has for his LeapPad, seem to be fostering an interest. As I rocked him this evening, I got told all about how octopuses and jellies have "tentatles" (yes, that is how he pronounces it) and how sea stars have eyes at the ends of their arms. ^_^

On the way to Squiddle's swimming lesson today, the radio played a song that sounded a touch familiar. I listened more intently for a few seconds and thought "Ah, it's by the same group who did that song in Big Hero 6." (Fall Out Boy). A minute later, Squiddle said "This music is from that movie." "What movie?" I asked, curious if he was connecting the same dots I was. "Baymax!" he replied.

Color Mummy impressed. Not bad for a three-year-old! Particularly since he hasn't rewatched that movie for a couple months.

I just figured out part of the reason I've been feeling under the weather is that I'm starting my period again. For the first time in 19 months! Ugh.

A brighter image, though, is that Squiddle is now in week 5 of swimming lessons and is now in the water with the teacher alone - no more Mommy and Me lessons. Also, he's started developing beauty spots like mine! Some of them are on parts of his body the sun doesn't touch, so I'm pretty sure it's not summer sun exposure causing them. Also, he's started singing his own songs to himself. A fragment I caught yesterday:

"--climb up the mountain?
Yes, I can!
Yes, I can!
All by myself!"

Posting at half past four in the morning, with a sole hour of sleep under my belt and an unconscious baby on my lap. Why? Not insomnia, to be sure. Squiddle has been sick (fever/congestion/cough) since Wednesday, and just as he started to get better, Jazzy caught it yesterday. And you can't explain to a baby why he feels crappy and can't breathe. And the only place he seems to want to sleep in on someone....

Going to try to sneak back to the bedroom and see if "between Mummy and Daddy" is a close enough compromise that he won't wake crying. Again.

ETA: Nope. No dice. Apparently only the Mummy's lap/desk chair combo lets Jazzy sleep. Joy...

Hot weather arrived and with it, flea season. Yech. The cat has been Advantaged and I'm working my way through washing the everything-that-can-be-washed and vacuuming the everything-that-can-be-vacuumed. And squashing every flea I can catch. :/

I've also been working on quilts in a dual-purpose sense. Firstly, going through my vast collection of Works-In-Progress/UnFinished Objects (WIPs/UFOs) and getting some of them done (I'm aiming for one a month) and simultaneously targeting those which will neatly become Christmas presents. For further details, see my quilting blog.

Jazzy is now crawling forward and pulling himself to a stand so I'm having to go through the house with an eye to re-babyproofing it. Squiddle continues to be a bit of a threenager and had a wonderful meltdown at a Chinese restaurant the other day over wanting soup. Which we were ordering for him at the time! Fortunately the waitress also had a three-year-old and went and put in the order for the soup first and then came back to take the rest of our order. (And it was really good soup, too.)

And I've been working my way through rereading Marie Bostwick's Cobbled Court and Too Much, Texas books. So, quick book review time!

Title: Yarn Harlot: the secret life of a knitter
Author: Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Length: 219 pages

( Review )

Title: From Here to Home
Author: Marie Bostwick
Length: 351 pages

( Review )

First post at Dreamwidth! Not much going on, but a few amusing things to share. Squiddle, ever more articulate, told me the other day that "The moon is a planet made of cheese." And Wonderful Husband came up with the idea that the little mermaid wasn't really walking on knives and glass, just no one had told her not to walk on the Legos.

Not much going on at chez Stonham since we've all fallen under the flu crud to varying degrees. Wonderful Husband took today as a sick day. And even Jazzy has a snotty nose and a nice chesty cough going! But none of it is worth a doctor's visit - fortunately Squiddle's fever broke Monday morning, otherwise we would've hauled him in for poking and prodding. And he was miserable enough as it was.

Unfortunately, however, the fact that we're all sick has meant no playgroups and classes for Squiddle this week! So he's been bouncing off the walls at times, which has drained me down further. Today, though, I'm hoping constitutes a turning point.

This afternoon, while both the boys were napping and Wonderful Husband was vidgaming, I did another session of "tame the kitchen garden." The dead bay tree was put in the brown bin for yard waste, as were the ginormous kale plants. The bin is FULL. No more yardwork until Tuesday, I guess. Though I need to examine the bottom of the pot the bay tree was in, since it died of drowning - the pot clearly needs more drainage holes before I use it again.

The hundred-and-seven popcorn plants just started peeping their heads up today, and the peas/spinach/radishes/beets/lettuce/carrots/whatnots in the one bed I've planted are all neatly sprouting. As are the onion sets at my parents' place that I thought wouldn't sprout, so goes to show what I know! Tomorrow we're due for more rain, which makes me happy, but... I'd kind of like a dry week so the back lawn and kitchen garden paths could get mowed. Ah well. Grass is always greener and all that.

I also did a 10% water change on the fish tank this afternoon and will probably add in a few more critters tomorrow. Likely either a couple African Dwarf Frogs or half a dozen ghost shrimp, depending on which one excites Squiddle more when we're at the store....

Since my writing teacher told me I should write down the "out of the mouths of babes" stuff so I remember it in years to come....

Squiddle currently sleeps, most nights, under his blanket and one of the quilts I've made him. In the specific order "quilt down there, blanket up there." Very important.

Also, in my car his car seat is behind the driver's seat, so when we're driving and he asks me "what that?" I frequently have to guess what he's looking at. The other day I guessed "a billboard?" and he came back with "yes, dat a building board." ^_^

And, as of two days ago, Jazzy has mastered rolling over onto his tummy!

Jazzy dozing on his playmat. Squiddle working on his fine motor skills (aka playing with playdough aka learning that no matter what colors you smush together it always ends up hideous brown). Both stockings done save for hanging loops and nametags.

Onward to victory!

We're running late this year. Our Christmas cards just got mailed out and our tree put up today. Squiddle had a grand time with the latter - he's big enough now to be putting ornaments on the tree. Though for the next several years, at least, all the ornaments are going to be wood and fabric and my nigh-unbreakable vintage plastic ones!

Squiddle is actually quite the character at this point. The other day, I picked out a blue t-shirt with some cartoonish figures in a plane, a train, and an automobile, and plain black shorts to go with it. He rejected the shorts I chose and insisted on wearing a pair of tan plaid shorts instead. His reasoning? "Now I look like Daddy." Um, Wonderful Husband is not prone to wearing shorts or trousers that look like they belong on a golf course, so... no? My best guess is that Wonderful Husband often wears blue shirts and tan slacks.

(And, relatedly, why DO so many of the shorts/trousers options for little boys look like hideous plaid golfing wear?)

Jazzy, meanwhile, has a very sweet smile, is quite willing to be amused, and has finally started sleeping through the night. He also, at three months old, weighs 14 pounds. This amuses me because his weight is one stone, and his first name means "stone" and his last name means "stone village." :)