year of the rats

Introducing the two newest members of our little family...

Penelope (left) and Victoria (right)!

We adopted these two precious furbabies after their previous owner could no longer care for them, and they've already made themselves at home. They're about a year old and incredibly smart and friendly. They like to eat fresh veggies out of my hand and ride on my shoulders while I putz around the craft room.
They normally sleep during the day but today they were awake for a while so I took them out of their cage for an impromptu photo shoot. Do you know how hard it is to photograph two very curious, wiggly rodents? They kept trying to climb onto my head and stick their little snuffly snoots into the camera lens.

I've never had such tiny furbabies before. I had a cat when I was a kid but that's about it, other than the occasional fish. These ladies are so itty bitty that I'm always terrified of hurting or losing them. They seem content, though. Their previous owner must have treated them very well because every time I open their cage they dash to the top level to be held and petted and snuggled. They're such sweet little girls and I really hope that they'll be happy with us.

a nice village, a not-so-nice dog

Okay, I disappeared again, but this time I have a better excuse.
We're moving!

Yes, we're saying goodbye to Ugly Suburban Townhouse and moving to a lovely detached house in a quaint little town we now refer to as the Nice Village. Why? It was what Autumn called it the first time we went to look at the house. "Wow you guys,"--do other kids call their parents "you guys"?--"this is a really nice village!"

We thought so too, and decided to rent the house as soon as we finished the walk-through. It's a clean, sunny two-story with a finished basement, a fireplace and a gigantic yard in a sweet, quiet neighborhood. Yesterday we picked up the keys. Our lease here isn't up until the end of the year so for a while we'll have two places, but that just gives us plenty of time to pack, move, organize and clean. Stress free moving. I dig that.

And as if a new house wasn't enough of a change, Adam's mom will be coming with us! For various reasons we decided that it would be best if she moved in with us, at least for a few years, to make life a little easier for everybody. It's going to be a big adjustment (and probably not an easy one) but I'm hoping we can make it work. Don't get me wrong--Michele is great and I love her. We're just very different people. It will take some adapting on everyone's part. But I really don't mind his mother moving in with us as much as I mind this...
Seamus, a.k.a. Satan's Lap Dog, a.k.a. the bane of my existence. I love animals, I really do, so when I say I hate a dog you know it's bad. This dog is pure EVIL. If he hasn't chewed up everything I own by this time next year it will be a miracle. He eats EVERYTHING, and I mean everything. Nothing is safe from his deceptively mighty jaws.

One thing he loves to nibble on is feet. Everyone thinks it's cute. He'll playfully lick everyone else's feet, but if I am in the room he comes straight to me and CHOMPS DOWN on my toes like they're kibble. He especially loves to do this when I'm sitting at the table and trying to enjoy my dinner. Michele seems to think it's because he likes me, but I think it's because he has a personal vendetta against me and he's hoping if he gnaws hard enough I'll slowly bleed to death. Can dogs sense when you don't like them? That must be it. I don't fawn over his sickening cuteness like the rest of the family, and therefore I must bow down or be eliminated.

Dealing with him when we visited Adam's mom was bad enough, but now we'll be sharing a home. Hopefully I'll at least find relief by hiding in my no-demon-possessed-dogs-allowed craft room. I may have to wear my boots at all times to keep my toes from being turned into hamburger meat. Wish me luck.

thank you.

Thank you for standing up for change.

Thank you for sharing the vision of a better, stronger, more united nation.

Thank you for realizing that our country needs to be healed, and for doing something about it.

Thank you for finally making me proud to call myself a citizen of the United States of America.

I voted for the first time yesterday, and when I walked out of that elementary school gym, beaming from ear to ear with tears in my eyes, I felt restored. I felt a sense of peace, a calm that whispered in my ear and I knew everything was going to be alright.
But when I woke up this morning, and it really hit me, that's when I cried. This is the beginning of something big, something better. The beginning of a brighter future for ourselves and our children and our children's children. For my daughter. For my sister. For the whole world. This is history in the making.

Thank you, America.

Thank you for not screwing this up.

Thank you.

Thank you.

i voted.

Today I feel like an American.

happy halloween!

Autumn changed her mind about her Halloween costume several times this year (pirate, Spiderman, Hannah Montana...) but finally settled on her favorite insect, a honey bee. I showed her an example of a cute bee dress, but she insisted on looking like a real bee with six legs, a thorax and abdomen, and a ball of pollen on her leg. I found the perfect fabric on sale and a styrofoam ball for the pollen, and everything else came from my stash. Making it was a lot easier than I thought it would be, though of course in my signature style I was putting on the finishing touches at the last minute.

Autumn decided to get crafty herself, and made this paper bee costume for Rosie. She rode along in Autumn's pumpkin pail and kept watch over all the candy.We met up with Adam's sister and her four kiddos (a ninja, a football player, and two princesses) and collected several blocks' worth of candy, then headed back home to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas and sort through all that loot. She set most of it aside for the Halloween Fairy, who came in the night and left her just what she had asked for, a sparkly witch hat.I think that surly expression is supposed to be her "witch face." She's running around the house right now with a wand and a toy broom, turning things into koalas.