Sew, Eat, Run, Repeat

I made a doll! Isn't she cute?

The pattern is from this book, which is a requisite purchase if you own a needle and thread and have a daughter. There is one (!!) boy doll pattern in the book and I used it for the boys' Christmas dolls. You know, the dolls that they use to whack each other over the head with from time to time when they are not ignoring them and playing with trucks and dirt.

I also made some bread. No shocker here- the recipe is from VCFE (otherwise known as Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, the book I totally geeked out about here). I am liking the acronym because reminds me of MTAOFC it makes me feel like I am a part of the Julie/Julia thing and I don't even have to murder a lobster.

My god, I love that bread. And it's so easy, too. That is, until you get to the part where you take it out of the oven and you are actually supposed to wait until the loaves cool completely before slicing into them in order to achieve perfect crumb. That part kind of sucks.

The kids have had a bad case of cabin fever in the last week or so with this lingering rain and general suckiness. When the little people start to get crazy I sometimes resort to creative approaches to entertainment. Like a can of shaving cream in the bathtub. That was fun!

Have I mentioned that everybody has soccer fever around here lately? I am now the only person in the house who does not have a soccer ball- and that might be a good thing since I am not exactly known for my physical coordination as evidenced by my brief career as a 7th grade basketball player. A career which ended unceremoniously with a culminating score of two points for the entire season. And that was a lucky shot. Ahem.

And so with this soccer epidemic ravaging our household (Brent is playing on two teams right now) it was only a matter of time before Brent would score tickets to see the Portland Timbers, and guess who he took as his date?

Sawyer and I came along for the ride but spend the game time hanging out with adorable Cousin Xavier at his house.

Isn't he sweet? Brent's game attendance and Sawyer's extended nap at Xavier's house allowed me to run a few errands to prepare for Brent's birthday scavenger hunt! Yes, that's right, the kids and I made a scavenger hunt for Brent on his birthday. Dorky, you say? I think not.

We hid bottles of beer from Hopworks around the house with little notes giving Brent clues where to find the next gift. There was special coffee from Stumptown, some t-shirts, and the piece de la resistance: a new pair of work boots. 'Cause yeah. Work boots are super fun and exciting. As I've told you before, Brent is very difficult to shop for.

The scavenger hunt was actually pretty fun and those of you who know Brent well know that he is totally not a scavenger hunt kind of guy. I'll admit that he was skeptical at first, but once he started discovering beers from his favorite brewery scattered around the house, he perked right up and embraced the campiness.

Also, there was a chocolate cake. Everything is better with chocolate cake.

Sawyer nearly ruined the birthday by complaining of a hurt foot and limping around so pathetically that we considered loading everyone (and the cake) into the car and heading for Urgent Care. Brent kept trying to inspect the injured paw and Sawyer kept pulling away protesting with this strange Italian accent that he sometimes develops "Ah don't ah toucha my foot, Daddy!"

Does he hang with the mafia in his spare time? Where does he get this?

Anyway, once we served cake and distracted him, the foot miraculously recovered and I was glad our $25 copay had not been wasted on the splinter I found later when I tucked him into bed.

At this point I'd like to take a moment to give a random shout out to my homeboy, Peter, who totally rules in the way that only a middle school math teacher can. Peter, you rock! I love you, man!

Peter has done a lot for me over the years. He carpooled with me for three years, and let me tell you, you really get to know a person when you carpool with them. I know things about my carpool mates that I wish I didn't. Like who saved their dead mother's underwear, for example. Peter also taught me slope. You know, y=mx+b? That thing you learned in 7th grade math? When I wasn't missing shots on the basketball court, seventh grade me was shedding tears of frustration over slope. Until last year I thought it was some complex mathematical concept known only to uber nerds and 7th grade math teachers, but then Peter taught it to me in about 30 seconds. Because like I said, he totally rocks.

And we also have Peter to thank for my return to running. You guys, I totally fell off the wagon. I stopped running near the end of January and I just couldn't find my groove. And the thing about running is that once you stop doing it, you wonder why the hell you ever did it in the first place because it's cold and rainy outside and I'm tired and oooh look! Chocolate chips! I'll just make some cookies instead! But then along came Peter and his foot kicked my butt in the right direction and now I am back!

I sometimes coerce the kids into the jogging stroller by promising to stop and play at the turnaround spot. They love running over the bridge, visiting the yurt, disappearing into the tall grasses, and throwing rocks in the pond. This time I remembered to bring the camera.

And let's end this totally hodgepodge, non cohesive narrative with a ridiculous picture of Jack in a beer shirt with a pseudo mullet and call it a day.

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