Little House That Grew

Keeping Up

2012-02-17T12:49:00.000-08:00

Everyday I have great ideas on what I WANT to blog about. Unfortunately these ideas come at 3:00 a.m. when I am feeding Andrew and sitting all by myself QUIETLY. Then the day begins and all coherent thoughts FLY out of my brain.

Most of this week was consumed with me trying to find a way to get some newish things to wear. I am in need of an fashion update. But where to begin? I have no time to browse the stores and find the best prices. Anyway, when I walk by stores or look at certain magazines I don't see anything I can really wear..or afford.

So I called my cousin Christa, who is my go to for all things fashion, reading and anything cool. I know she is laughing at reading that, but it is true. There are some people who are just cool and even if they don't think they are, other people do. She also happens to be a mom to lots of kids so she gets it when it comes to my dilemma.

I want to look cute but be comfortable and be able to get down and up and nurse and do all of this and still have money to feed people. She told me she has been going to lots of consignment stores for her clothes lately. She happens to live in Southern California and I am sure her consignment stores are an upgrade from most peoples. But the other thing about her going to a consignment store is she knows what is fashionable to begin with. She knows how to put things together that look good. That is not me.

I am here to say that I am NOT creative or fashionable. I know that. But I also know that I CAN COPY other people that are. And that is why I called her. I wanted her to walk me through her closet OVER THE PHONE....but kids were in need of mama's that afternoon so we had to get off the phone before I got anywhere in her closet. But later in the week she sent me this link to get some ideas of outfits that I might like. First I will say that this woman can pull off some cute stuff, but the best part is..she gets a lot of her gear at Target , Marshals and Old Navy. Mom budget places. I studied her outfits and started getting some ideas. I saw some things that I already owned that I could put together different to make it feel new. I was officially inspired.

So that is what I have been doing all my spare moments...going to thrift stores with as few children as possible, looking for simple things to update my own stuff. I got a few things at the thrift stores and I picked up 2 sweaters at Target and every morning I have been excited to get dressed.

I dare to put a picture up that I had Emily take one afternoon. I was SO thrilled with my clever self for copying some body else's style I had to take a picture of it. I know it is cheesy...but I have gotten some really good ideas from looking at other people and what they wear to better dress myself.....so here it goes....me and my re-organized outfit...

So...you see my YELLOW shoes...$4 at a consignment shop (yippee). I got these 2 weeks ago. I got the sweater at Target $20 and I had the white and yellow tank already. The silver necklace was from Front Royal last weekend at $2.99. My jeans are Silver jeans that I bought after Priscilla was born and they are my VERY favorite jeans. I love them, rarely wash them and want to buy several more of them. I actually wear these jeans about 5 out 7 days right now. Here in VA it is jean season and these guys are working OVERTIME!!!

So there you have it. I should have taken a picture yesterday because I used another idea from that amazing blog Christa sent me. I like getting dressed nice everyday. I like Pete coming home to me looking my best. I grew up with my mom being completely put together even to go to Jazzercise. I like that. I like her looking nice. I want to look nice. I don't think it is vain to want to look your best. I just need to copy other people looking their best in order to pull it off myself.

I can't promise that I won't post more of my outfits that I have copied. I have been having fun with it and I don't know how to keep fun to myself...

Yet Another Hey Girl

2012-02-15T15:27:00.001-08:00

I HAD to do this one..please forgive the overkill...

My First Attempt To Re Purpose

2012-02-15T10:03:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I just get so inspired by what I see other people doing. I click around a lot at night now while I am feeding my little milk man and I see people making the coolest stuff.

Since I have had Drew I have wanted to get a few new things to wear. I always get anxious to look normal after being pregnant and having a few new pieces of clothing usually is in order. But I am finding it IMPOSSIBLE to go shopping AT ALL. I can not imagine trying something on in a store. Never mind Drew is usually STRAPPED on to me somehow and usually crying.

One day last week when all was quiet I decided to try and "re purpose" a maternity shirt into a shirt I could wear now. I see all sorts of super talented moms doing this and thought I would give it a go.
I just did a quick try on and decided I would sew a straight line up each side to tuck in the "flare" of the top. I have a long way to go before people are popping by this here blog for a tutorial on making fashionable clothing for yourself...but I may actually one day pull this top out to wear it in public. But for now I am just PUBLISHING it on this little blog because none of you can actually laugh in my face.

I was kinda proud of my attempt. If I were to be honest with myself I would probably tell me that is still looks a little maternity. And let me ask you...is it 80's to tuck this type of top in?

I plan to try to re purpose another something somehow...but maybe for now I will try and make an outfit out of this first attempt and ask what you think before I go cutting and sewing all the shirts I own.

His Words

2012-02-14T17:20:00.000-08:00

Last week I was down in the basement painting some picture frames. I was looking for something to rest the paintbrush on so I began to rummage through some of the boxes that are stacked in the corner. As I was looking an old High School picture caught my eye. I glanced down and saw my bigger than life hair. I laughed a little thinking..."That is so me...if big hair is in I have to have the biggest!" I will admit that this was not an attractive look on me and I am so sorry I ever went that far for big hair. I kinda got sucked in to looking through this box. Two years ago when my parents moved from their house my mom gave me this box filled with high school stuff. I shoved the box in the back of my car and never glanced at it again, until last week.

So as I was accidentally going down memory lane I found an envelope filled with little folded pieces of paper. I thought I recognized the handwriting but until I unwrapped the little pieces of paper I was not sure. As soon as I held the first note I was smiling ear to ear. These were all notes from Pete. Notes he had written me a long time ago.

I was kinda shocked that I had kept these particular notes. Pete and I were friends in high school but never dated. I am not much of a sentimental keepsake kinda gal, especially when it comes to high school stuff. But for some reason when I left my parents house at 17, 2 years before Pete and I started dating, I did not throw these away.

While I was reading through a few of the notes I could not help but fall in love with that tall, skinny, football player all over again. I was standing there feeling so lucky. I got him. I actually married him. Who would have thought? I was standing in OUR basement looking back at 2 people who knew nothing of the future ahead of them. The notes that ended with him telling me how much he hated track all of a sudden felt like a gift from the past, a chance to remember just how far we have come together.

I love his words. I always have. I love his handwriting and I love how he writes. I miss the days of getting a letter from him while he was deployed. I love how he loved me through his letter. I love how he is still a guy I liked in high school through the letters I found in our basement.

I put the letters in the sugar can in the kitchen. I could not keep them in that random box anymore. I love that I have these and they were meant to be kept even if I don't remember keeping them....

Happy Valentines Day

My Stars..Look What I Scored

2012-02-13T07:43:00.000-08:00

I LOVE thrift stores. I love junk stores. I love buying things from these places. When I lived in Alabama my friend Tammy brought me to my most favorite store in the world, White House Antiques. This was really a small junk store that painted its junk so it looked super NOT JUNKY!! The prices were great and the thought of going there and scoring a little piece of pretty was always super fun..especially going with my Tammy. We were of one mind when it came to painted furniture...you can never have to much of it.

And believe it or not...Pete likes going to these places too. He loves digging through the old stuff and helping me NOT buy another piece of furniture for him to haul home. Really, we just have fun together. And I really like having him along because he is never afraid to ask for a better price on something. I would NEVER do that. But he has no problem going up to the store owner saying, "Is this the best price you have for this?"..as I SHRINK away in the corner SWEATING because I am so nervous. Why am I nervous??? Who knows.

Since moving here I have not really found my "White House Antiques"...a place that makes me swoon when I get to go. But this weekend I got my swoon on. Pete took me to Front Royal Virginia where they have a small Main Street area with several cute shops..some thrift stores, some junkish stores and a few REAL antique stores (stuff that I could NEVER afford stores..the real old stuff..not just painted up wood made to look old). WE got a babysitter for the 5 other kids, loaded up Drew and took a snowy drive to find some treasure...
And treasure we did find....

And Pete actually let me buy some of it. I usually don't expect to actually purchase anything when Pete is with me. We usually just look and he says, "That's cute...but do we really need it?" But this day I took the right guy with me.

I feel the need to go over each item with you and how much we paid. Sometimes I think something is a great deal and then I later on think..maybe not such a great deal. Sometimes you over pay and sometimes you under pay . But in the world of thrifting...it all seems to work itself out.

This was the first item Pete said yes to. The shelf was $35 and the glass jars were $5 each. I LOVE this shelf and wanted it last time we were in the store. Pete got us 20%off..and I was freaking out in the corner...

Next up was the big splurge...$99 for this bench. This particular store has a lot of reclaimed wooden furniture. People make furniture out of reclaimed wood. This piece came from a farm sale in Pennsylvania..at least that is what we were told. It look to be hand crafted since there is NO official marking on it. It is SOLID and green and lovely as can be...

Then I realized Pete was on a roll so I suggested throwing in the huge black bucket to store our blankets in...and while we were at it I needed the big red tray...and he said YES. Bucket $25 and tray $25

We then left the high dollar store and went trolling in the thrift stores. I scored a HUGE mirror that I will be promptly painting black...

(that's the mirror..)$23

Next was just fun stuff...

Some fun jewelry. Each necklace was about $2. The wire frame is something I made this week. More on that another day..let's just say chicken wire is not the most fun to work with...especially while holding a baby.

And my $4 purse that I just LOVE!!

And Pete grabbed a pewter beer stein. He has been looking for one of these FOREVER...but they are usually really pricey. This was $10. So he was ready to throw down an extra few bucks. But now the search is over. It was kinda fun always hunting one of those for him.

Three lamps later, one for $4, one for $7, one for $10, we loaded up and headed home. Not before stopping at the grocery store to shop with just us and Drew. A true treat!!

So how much is that...$217. And maybe I am CRAZY but that felt like a lot of stuff for $200. I needed lamps. But the rest of it was a true want...not a need. But it was a fun date and every time I look at our new finds I get a smile thinking about our day together...our early Valentine's.

Ginny's Hey Girl..

2012-02-12T17:07:00.000-08:00

I was up last night feeding Drew and saw Ginny's Blog with her super funny Hey Girl. I clicked around on the other links and LAUGHED at 2:30 in the morning...thanks Ginny...thanks funny bloggers.

Here is what I could come up with. After much thought and a few funny tries..this is the best I could come up with. I have a funny one ..but need a better picture. Hopefully Ginny hosts again.

Baby Knits

2012-02-08T02:26:00.000-08:00

I have been knitting a little in the last month. Actually, today it has been 1 month since my world grew bigger and WAY more EXHAUSTING...little Drew is 1 month today. What an amazing time this has been. I may have been sounding a bit overwhelmed in the last month. If you got that feeling than you were correct. I am starting to feel less overwhelmed and I can definitely see bright days ahead. Knitting helps. Finishing projects help. Good books help.

OK...the picture you see with the books...those are NOT my books. Those would be Pete's books!! Not my type of reading. I am way more LOW-BROW. I just happened to have the little Milo vest sitting there when I went to take a picture of it. The only books I am able to get through are ones that are read to me that I have downloaded to my phone. In the middle of the night when I am nursing I listen to as much as I can. It seems Drew prefers me to stay sitting up when I nurse him and I need something to keep me in the game. An audio book is just the thing. I am listening to Grown Up Kind Of Pretty. It is pretty good so far. The author uses the "F" word a few times and I HATE that...but it is not enough to turn me off. I just don't get it!!

And my knitting has been slow going and very cherished. I love the feeling of making progress on something. I have loved every stitch I have made lately. My little Godson , Henry, is going to get his first hand knit tomorrow. I should have had it done Sunday...but since I was not yet finished I just wrapped up what I had done so far and promised the rest soon.

As soon as I finished his Milo vest I began another one for my little Drew. I love the first one I made while I was pregnant and it is such a simple knit. He wears is all the time!! The one I made for my Godson was knit with the Fibre Company Acadia...very sweet yarn. Drew's yarn is Grace by Louisa Harding. All yarn from my stash. I am not sure if I will ever be able to go into a knitting store again....so for now all projects are from yarn I already own. Kinda fun!! I know I can buy yarn online but I have no swift so I HATE winding it myself.

And the last picture of Lucy's toes..well that is the blanket I knit for Drew. It was really simple and I had already started it before he was born. I was not that motivated to work on it since I did not know if he was a boy. My plan was to start a pink and blue blanket and then finish whichever I needed....
I never started the pink!! I realize I need a better picture of it..wait. I think I have this one..

I wasn't finished with it here...

And Drew's hat was something I made before he was born. I knit the blue one and the cream colored one to cover my bases.

Today I have invited 3 moms over with their kids. I need some company. My kids need company. I miss my friends from Alabama. I miss my old Rosary Group. I miss people knowing me. I wrote that post about meeting people and I realized I needed to do more in that area myself. So I went to Target, got some new coffee mugs and fun creamers and I joyfully await my morning with other mamas.
Thanks for reading!!

Because I don't have enough white mugs...

Short Thought

2012-02-07T16:51:00.000-08:00

One day I asked my mom.."How did you know when I snuck out of the house back in High School. Did the neighbors tell you? Did you see me?"
She said, "No, I just felt it!"
I feel things. I know things. I hope I never have kids do to me what I did to her. These sweet faces. These little people. Don't be me!!! Be good. Always love each other JUST LIKE THIS!!

If This Was A Real Journal

2012-02-05T17:37:00.000-08:00

I would start this post with ..."Dear Diary, last week was a tough one! I am glad it is over and Sunday starts anew!!"

Looking back I see the major problem...ME!! I know exactly what I did...TO MUCH! I wanted to prove to myself I COULD do it. I could barely sleep, get up and run, teach a full day then run kids all over the place. All the while tote my infant around hoping he would be game for all of this. He just needed to fit into MY plan.

And as you can imagine...by Tuesday things were pretty much coming UNGLUED!! I was putting Drew down every second I could so I could GET THINGS DONE..and he would pop right up crying. What was the deal? I had math to get through and Jack's reading lesson was almost done...aren't newborns SUPPOSED to sleep all the time? I would pick him up, nurse and then put him back down...and he would KEEP waking up CRYING!! Then my mom came over so I could run the kids to their acting club. She said she would watch Drew and she didn't care if he cried. "OK, I will be right back!!"
When I came back Drew was sitting happily in her lap...NOT CRYING.

OK...she just got lucky. Never did it dawn on me that he was happy as a clam because the person holding him was NOT RUSHING around like mad. But then she came back on Thursday and same thing happened!! He was calm and peaceful and he was NOT nursing.....hmmm..maybe I should look at the way things are going in my day if I want a peaceful boy and me not CRYING along side my crying little man.

So Thursday I cried a BUNCH...talked to my mom a BUNCH, and then decided I was super tired and when I got some sleep I would be able to handle things better. When Friday morning came and I was STILL crying I knew that I had to really look at what I was doing. Why did EVERYTHING feel so hard??

Well, just letting myself admit that sometimes things are JUST hard was a huge relief. When you have more than the average number of kids you feel like you can't admit that this many kids can be HARD. But really...it can be. So there, saying it helped me not be so afraid of it. Great...that was done. THIS IS HARD AND I AM NOT PERFECT AT IT!!!

And instead of thinking that Drew was going to fit into the box I wanted him in I needed to spend some time figuring out what HE wanted. He wanted ME!! He wants me to hold him, look into his eyes..SLOW down. Some of you may think..."This is the time you are supposed to enjoy." I know...but that can be hard sometimes when the rest of your life needs so much of you still...sitting around just ENJOYING things is not always possible.

But this week I have a new plan...I am pledging to do less. Less running about trying to get it all DONE. I am going to hold my boy as long as he wants. I have several packs, slings and other things ready to help me out in that area. I am going to adjust school so I can get things done but not at the expense of EVERYTHING else. I am going to sit down with everyone more. I may actually even do some reading with everyone without falling asleep. I even have a better plan for the night time. And I am happy to say that last night was night 1 of my new plan and things went MUCH better.

And that is what I would write in my diary. I would probably add a few more details about other things that happened last week. Like on Thursday night when I went to a baptism class and I was surrounded by other new mama's. All tired!! All loving their babies. All trying to do the right things for these little people. Being in that room made me feel so...good. I felt like I was part of this wonderful group of people called moms. Simply put...women who have babies and are trying to do everything they can...give all they can. I am one of them. I try. I am trying and sometimes I need to try harder in a different way.

My life is not the same as it was before Drew came. Everything has changed and I need to find the new normal..the new feel of this family and the new mama he is going to make me.

And to close out this entry I would mention that today was a Blessed day for all of us..our little Drew was baptized. And to make it even more special Pete and I became Godparents for our little Henry.

We got to celebrate both these little boys together. I might want to jot down that Drew cried A LOT during his baptism. Not that important to remember, but sometimes I forget the way things REALLY happened . But as soon as we left my little man was happy to be going home to have some cake and be held by his mama!!

Here's to a new week...and new turn at getting things right. Hoping to have better days this week..and I think I will.

p.s. One of my friends is waiting for me to mail something back to her. I just wanted to tell her that I am so sorry. I must admit to having a hard time getting to the post office the last 2 weeks. I will get it to you SOON!!

The Little Boy With 4 Mamas

2012-02-02T10:38:00.000-08:00

Much of our school day is broken up with one of the girls saying, "Mama, come look at this video I got of DREW...he yawned then sneezed!"

Then another girls will say, "Let me see...let me see!"

This is usually after major negotations have been made over who's turn it is to hold him next. Nobody wants to be the one to miss a hiccup, or sneeze.

FYI..the girls got flip cameras for Christmas . They are really neat little video cameras that are about $100 each. They love them and use them all the time. I have to say I am so glad they have them because I am AWFUL at taking video...but it is so cute to see his little face and have this time on video

The Little House Guide To Meeting People

2012-02-01T09:14:00.000-08:00

Somebody asked me a questions about meeting people. They left a comment wanting to know some tips from an extrovert on how to meet people.

I am super flattered that somebody ASKED me this. I hope I can give you something to think about.

For me the best way to meet people is to get involved. This may seem like a no brainer to an extrovert,but much more painful for someone a bit more shy.

When I first moved here and knew NOBODY I knew I had to sign up at church to do SOMETHING. I felt AWFUL because I was newly pregnant and not doing well. But I knew I had to DRAG myself out of my house and only then would I begin to meet people.

The first opportunity came in the form of Vacation Bible school. I signed the kids up and I volunteered to help. I told them I would do anything. I knew I would meet other moms and maybe even help my kids make friends. I did meet some people. No major friend connection, but it was start.

The next thing I did was volunteer to be a troop leader for my girls American Heritage Girls Club. Getting to know the other moms who are leaders has helped me make lots of friends.

Now..before you think I am crazy..I stopped here. I felt like I got the ball rolling on meeting people and now I had to be patient. I knew I could not join and lead EVERYTHING just to make friends.

Making friends takes time. Being in situations and being open to the other people in the same situation will usually lead to meeting people, and if you are lucky making a friend.

When you have little kids it can be easier to meet people in some ways and more difficult in others. Having little kids means you have more time to go on play dates and outings, so in that way you are more flexable. But when you have only little kids it is hard to find other kids that you WANT your kids to play with.

When Emily and Molly were little and we lived in San Diego I joined several moms groups..like 4. I would go, meet people, get annoyed and never go back. Then I would be bored and lonely and then give it another try. I did this for 2 years. Then one day I went to one of the moms groups and met a friend who I clicked with RIGHT away. We were a match made in heaven. And at that time in my life having just 1 friend was all I needed.

And these days, here in Virginia, I still have yet to make a REAL friend. I have made lots of friends that are fun to run into and chat with...but that one friend who I laugh with, call when I am sad, plan to go out with...she is not here..not yet. But I do pray for that to be in my life one day.

And before I sign off..here are a few more thing that have worked in the past...

I start by talking to their kids...for example... at church I will see a little girl Emily's age. She will be wearing a green coat. I will say to her, "I love your coat!" I will turn to the mom and say, "Where did you guys get that coat?" Sometimes this will lead to a conversation where I will say...."I just moved here and I have NO idea where to shop yet?"

Ok..cheezy I know...but really I have done this!! And I probably really liked the coat!!

Tip #3..or maybe this is #4....

Go to the COFFEE SOCIAL AT CHURCH!! I am not always a fan of these venues because I usually have little people I am RUNNING after....but when I am up for it sticking around after church for the donut really is a good place to meet people.

Last tip

If you see teenage girl that looks respectable ask her if her or her friends babysit. This may lead to you meeting her mom and from there you may meet another mom...and worst comes to worst..you may have scored a babysitter and then you can go out with your real best friend for the night...

And all of this may seem HORRIFYING TO someone a bit more shy than myself. So maybe just prayer and patience is what you need and trusting that God will give you the people in your life that are best for you .

Thanks for asking for my advice...that was fun!!

From Blue To Black

2012-01-31T17:50:00.000-08:00

One day towards the end of my pregnancy I had it with the BLUE painted furniture. I could not stand it a second longer.

Pete hauled it out to the front and I began painting like a mad, hugely pregnant fat woman!!

And now my blue furniture turned to black, my walls turned to blue and I am a happy woman looking for more things to paint!!

p.s sorry to anyone who wrote saying they liked the blue, especially my Aunt Penny. I think I hated it ALL along but tried to like it.

p.p.s I also think I hated the blue chairs. I had another sat of white chairs that went with my school room table and those are now in this room with the black. I still have to paint the blue chairs. But I am putting that off for now because I HATE painting chairs!

On Drew's Bookshelf

2012-01-29T17:16:00.000-08:00

I guess this is what an MBA student reads to his newborn son on a chilly Sunday afternoon after lunch.

Filled Up

2012-01-27T17:15:00.000-08:00

I usually have a "Thank you Lord it is Friday feeling!" And right now, week 2 into having a newborn, I was especially looking forward to Friday this week. We start doing school on Sunday and then Monday and Tuesday are usually pretty intense with lots of school. Wednesday slows down a bit and then Thursday Jack, Molly and Emily go to their day school. So this week was my first go at all of this with Drew in the mix.

My mom came over Monday morning to help me get a good start to my school week. It was really great having her here and I think it would have been CRAZY without her. I jumped into school FULL force plus a little extra because we had missed some work for their school the week before. I know I should have jumped in a little bit lighter, but that is just not me. I need to see just how much I can handle then I know what to plan for. I like a lot going on. I like to be busy. And I can say that the school hours around here are BUSY!! It is crazy how much is going on at one time.

I made it through Monday and Tuesday with a full tank of gas. I was feeling good and moving right along. Then Wednesday night came and I thought I had gotten hit a by a truck ..I was so worn out.

Thursday the little girls were very challenging. The days when it is just Lucy, Priscilla and I things can be a struggle. They do not know what to do without a house full of children. They wonder around lost and fussing...so Thursday was super hard to get through with less kids and no schooling. Those 2 little girls are my golden road to heaven!!

By Thursday night I was sipping Pete's beer and eating way to many brownies saying to myself ..."I can't believe I made it to Thursday!!" Sleep was welcomed and needed that night..

.and then we are here at Friday. With no school, all kids home and Pete leaving for school later than normal and I was still crying by lunch. Nothing was really wrong...I was just looking for a little change of pace and usually Friday is my answer...but by 11:30 it was clear to me that there is no change of pace right now and a few tears were shed over my 5 lunch plates. Pete calling at that exact moment and me trying to sound together.....

So then what? I pressed on, wiped my tears, took a deep breathe and made sandwiches. The girls had somewhere to be at 12 and I loaded everyone up looking forward to the 5 minute drive with music and my hands free. And when I dropped the girls off I saw a friend. We talked outside the car for about 5 minutes...

I got back in the car and realized I was breathing easier and my smile was a little lighter. I felt good. The urge to cry had vanished and I felt a spring in my step. Could it have been that 5 minute talk with my friend..a few laughs and a promise to try and get togeher soon. Was I that starved of PEOPLE???

YES!! Tonight I had to go with the girls for something and I got to do a whole lot of talking and laughing and I came home feeling like a million bucks. On the way home the girls and I were laughing and chatting and I was thinking..I needed that. I love being a mama and I love my home and family...but I love being with other moms. I love laughing and making fun of myself. I NEEDS ME SOME PEOPLE!!!

I am social!! I love talking and getting to know people and hearing about others. I have been under self imposed house arrest for the last few weeks ...maybe even month or so. From being way pregnant and then having my little boy, then not wanting to get out in the cold, in addition to it being REALLY hard right now going anywhere with everyone, I have been HOME A LOT!! And since this is where I need to be MOST of the time I realize I need to be more mindful and grateful for the moments I do get to spend with friends. Even if it is at a drop off or walking out of mass. I need to find those moments that fill me up.

But really it is all about balance right?? My kids are my world and it is a world I love to be in. And Pete is my best friend. But getting small chances to step outside of all of that makes me love being in it even more.

So here I am on Friday night smiling and already thinking about the week ahead. I can't imagine anything being as hard as the first time going through something. So looking at next week, my 2nd week of schooling with Drew I know it will be even better than this one. Will I be crying by Friday?? Who knows...but chance are pretty good for a tear or two at any given moment these days...

To Be His Kid

2012-01-25T16:46:00.000-08:00

Is to always have someone to play in the snow with...

To have fun with and laugh with.

To tickle with at night and wait for a special good night.

To walk with...

And be with...

How lucky are they to have a him in their days...

Seeing Red

2012-01-24T17:08:00.000-08:00

Right before Drew came Pete was painting up a storm. We clearly were in bold mood when this color wound up in our cart at Lowe's. Red...like cranberry red ALL OVER THE WALLS...

I love it!!

I really like bright, sunny spaces and this room gets so much sun. There was a bland yellowish color on the walls from the builder and it really just washed everything out. The white stuff in the room was washed out and the black was boring...

Well...now with plenty of sunshine pouring in this room, the white pops and the black makes its presence known.

This is our first time ever really painting any house we have lived in. We wanted some color and boy did we get color...

The front two rooms of the house got painted blue. I have no good pictures yet but I will soon...but for now this is what I can show you.

This guy went to bed with paint on his hands for weeks. I don't know what it is about paint but it really changes everything in the room. And now I want every inch painted. Maybe not cranberry red..but something...

We have lived here now for 7 months. It is really starting to feel like home...home home. When we first got here we just moved in and then jumped into life. Making friends was way more important than the color of my basement. But with these past few weeks of being home more we are really living in every inch of this house and falling in love with it more each day.

We have lived in some cool homes. In San Francisco we lived in an apartment over a Thai food place and a small food store. That was SO fun. I loved that little 600 sq. ft apartment. We had all the furniture given to us by our relatives and I remember making that place our first home. We had our first Thanksgiving dinner there and cuddled on the couch that was from my grandpa's estate from when he passed away. On the walls hung the sunflower pictures that my friends gave me at our engagement party. Our dishes were from Wal-Mart with a sunflower pattern.

After San Fransisco we moved to Pensacola for flight school. We rented a house with a garage and I remember feeling so grown up. We had a washer and dryer IN OUR OWN HOUSE!!! That was cool. These days we wonder if we can get by with just 1 washer and dryer.
When we got stationed somewhere we would just pack up our car and head that way. We would stay at a BOQ for a few days and find something to rent.

Those days are long gone. Who would have thought back on Encinal Ave. in an apartment filled with sunflower gifts and hand me downs that Pete and I would one day live in a home filled with children and a cranberry red living room?
For me our story is all about The Little House That Grew. We have lived in some small spaces and with each space we have grown. Not only in numbers but in spirit as well.

I can't say this space is small. We moved out pretty far from D.C so we could have more space. Once Pete is commuting back and forth each day we will then know if we played our cards right.

But right now I am happy where I am...my house and my life. God is good and I am grateful!!

Week In Review

2012-01-20T17:59:00.000-08:00

I am just about to celebrate being home with Drew for 1 week now. There has been so much packed into everyday and moments that will never return. Bringing home a new baby is both the most exciting and exhausting process EVER. All the kids are so excited to have him here with us finally. But the energy level is off the charts. Everybody is finding the new normal and it takes some energy.

It took a few days to feel human again after the c-section but when I finally did feel better..it felt SO good to feel good. I was super excited to take Drew out for the first time as a family. Before I had him I had basically stayed home for days on end because I felt so awful it was hard to get out with everyone. Once I felt better I was itching to get out of the house. So we all headed out to Target and then we decided to go out for pizza for lunch where we promptly locked our keys in the car....

Not the best first outing ever....

With each new day we are finding our new way. Having a 10 year old in the house is just about the greatest thing ever. As my friend once said, "All new moms should be issued a 10 year old girl to take home with her newborn!" I agree!!

He smells so good, he is so soft and I just sniff him all day. He is here and I am wanting to freeze this time...

But time marches on. Pete starts school Monday. We are starting our school on Monday. My parents are moving from Virginia. Life is always changing and some changes are not as fun as others.

And just to be real...I wanted to get some good shots of Drew one afternoon..at the start of the photo shoot Drew was less than excited...here is what the first few pictures looked like..hardly blog worthy...

And then suddenly he felt the sun on his face, the heat from the fire and....

All was well with the world once again...

Some Facts..Very Few Pictures

2012-01-17T06:52:00.000-08:00

So..if anyone is still reading this little blog I thank you and I know I have some explaining to do. I will be back to explain in more detail later but right now I will tell you this...

When I went in to have Andrew I FORGOT MY CAMERA. I was not sure if I was really going to have him last week when I started feeling tons of pressure and a horrible back ache. So I packed a small bag, complete with blpw dryer and flat iron, but NO CAMERA!!

And then to top off the mom of the year award...when Pete came up to the hospital with all the kids...we had no camera then either. All I have to say is poor Drew. He is already starting his life with "tales of being #6".

So these are it so far...

When we walked into the door with Andrew for the first time..little rock star!!

And that is it...like I have NO OTHER PICTURES OF HIM YET!!

I will be better. But I have to admit to today just starting to feel human again. I can walk and breath and move around pretty good without needing a nap or a wheelchair. And of course the sun is not out today.

Having another person is really amazing. He is so sweet and I am going to linger in this stage for as long as time will let me..because these newborns are such an amazing gift!!

Thanks for the sweet comments and well wishes.

Tomorrow he is 1 week old and I am so happy to have him here!!

It's A Boy

2012-01-11T15:46:00.000-08:00

Andrew James was born today. 7 lbs 5 oz. We are so excited. He was a little early but all is well.

Let The Nesting Begin!!!

2012-01-05T17:05:00.000-08:00

With a small burst of energy I felt much better today. It has been hard watching Pete scurry around painting and having all this energy when I was melting into the ground every second of the day. I am not used to being so...worn out!!

I think I had a touch of the virus my kids had but would not admit it to myself...I am on the mend and I have a list of things I want to do in the next couple of days.

I know I mentioned Pete is painting and he actually painted half of the basement over the last few days. I HATE going into the basement. It is a fully finished pretty good sized basement, but it was so DREARY!! The lighting is not that great down there and it is kinda big and EMPTY. I had barely enough furniture to put in the rest of the house so the basement was left for the TV and a couch. We only have the one TV and with no cable we mostly just watch movies now and then so I did not want it in the main part of the house (a fact that drives my dad crazy...I think). The basement has become a wrestle, movie watching room....neither of those activities are my thing...so I never go down there.

But Pete wanted to paint down there and I was not in the care about anything mood so I said..."sounds great". We went to Lowe's, randomly picked a cheery yellow and home we drove. He is now done and it looks great. I decided I wanted him to do a chalkboard wall and he is all for it. Not the reaction I expected..but I am grateful. And now I have been done there moving things into the space and really looking around the rest of the house at what I can grab to make the space a little more welcoming for all of us.

In addition to painting Pete made a Lego table for the kids. We went to Goodwill and found a good size table for $25. We painted it, glued Lego bases down and ALL the kids love the new table...which is in the newly painted almost made over basement space. Right now I have a small table and chair set ($10) we got at Goodwill along with a bookshelf painted but waiting to dry to be added to the NEW and IMPROVED basement....

And you are all thinking to yourselves...where are the pictures??? I want to see pictures!! Well I am going to take some tomorrow. But every time I think to take a picture it is to dark and the light down there is already not my favorite. But I will highlight some things tomorrow and then show you when all is said and done next week.

I get so excited and overly excited when we do stuff like this...I love furniture and making our house a home...but when Pete wants to play too...my how fun .

And did I mention that at this very minute he is on a ladder in our living room with a paint brush filled with cranberry colored paint....

Looks like we are going bold for 2012...

Looking Back...

2012-01-04T11:48:00.000-08:00

Like I promised I have been sitting around a lot more this week. Pete has been helping so much and I am not sure how I ever survived my last 2 weeks of previous pregnancies without him. He is painting like crazy and we are about to take on the living room. Well, I should not say we...I have done nothing but come in and ask for a touch up here and a repaint there...surely annoying.

School has been going in a gentle fashion. The vibe is way more laid back and believe it or not things are getting done and I am trying to be confident that it is enough for right now. But today I spent most of the morning in the basement looking through the kids scrapbooks. You see, before I was a knitter I was a scrapbooker. I was pretty good about keeping up with each child's first year. They are such treasure.

A few things I noted...I looked HORRIBLE during my pregnancy with Emily(#1). I did what I think a lot of women do...eat for 2 A LOT!! I still had not figured out how to wear my hair as an adult and my clothing was very....I can't even say.

After having Emily Pete and I enjoyed being new parents so much that it looks like we celebrated a lot by EATING. We both packed on some new baby weight after having Emily. It stayed around for awhile.

When Emily was about 9 months old I shed a few pounds and then got pregnant with Molly. I did not eat for 2 the same way I did with Emily. I remember Pete took on a new way of eating during my pregnancy and he looked GREAT!! He was loosing all his first baby weight and I was once again...not!

But I have to say, I gained a lot less with Molly and after I had her I remember trying a little harder to regain a little bit of my pre-baby body.

It was so funny looking through those pictures. It was so sweet remembering how chunky Emily's legs were, how curly her hair was. And then looking at Molly who glowed with her pink skin and red fuzzy hair. They were so amazing and I look at those very young girls and I can't believe they have been with us for 10 and 8 1/2 years now. I knew NOTHING then. I had no real idea how I was going to do things. I did not know ANYTHING! I look at those pictures and it is hard to put me back in those moments with just those 2!!

It's not like I feel like I have all this grand knowledge now. I just think I know more than I did then. I hope I do.

And by the time Jack came I was starting to formulate the type of mom I wanted to be and the type of family I wanted to create.

Looking at his pictures was such a reminder of the beginning of a few really hard mommy years. I had him, 3 months later got pregnant with Lucy and then we moved from Alaska to Alabama, ten minutes later had Priscilla. Within 2 1/2 half years I had 3 more children.

I know for some mama's that is not that big of a deal...but it was a deal here.

Lucy's baby pictures are the only thing that reminds me of what it was like when she was a baby. I kinda blanked out during a lot of those months. Everything was hard..super hard!! I do remember thinking when Priscilla was born and Lucy was 18 months old and Jack was 2 1/2 that things would be much easier this time because the little kids were SO MUCH OLDER!!! Well, not to state the obvious...but 18 months and 2 1/2 is not that much older and things were harder than EVER!!!

But I am happy to report that the pictures and memories I have from all of the hard work are filled with smiles and kids laughing. They all look to be as happy as they can be. I have a few shots of Pete in there and he to looks happy...lots of love in his smile. That is all I want to remember...

I am in very few of those pictures of the last 5 years. It is hard to believe since I make sure my picture is taken all the time now...but I did not have my 10 year old to hand the camera to yet. I can insert a very happy mom behind the lens. Even if some days happy was harder to feel, overall I know I have been very happy. And looking through pictures is the best way to remember all that you have been through, all that has changed and everything that will NEVER be the same!!

This May Sound Like Complaining...

2012-01-02T11:30:00.000-08:00

I promise I am not . I am simply stating facts as they present themselves.

I have OFFICIALLY slowed down. There is no more extra energy going on here. The simplest tasks seem to be taking EVERYTHING out of me. I am not really miserable...just lacking in the extra energy, or even baseline energy area.

I started back to school today and I told the girls first thing this morning..."Things are a bit different for the next 2 weeks. If you have a question or need help come find me..SITTING still somewhere. I can not run all over this house like I always do helping you in your various rooms and spaces." Right now I crave a chair and comfy place to sit more than anything else.

Regardless of my intense need to sit down I have to keep up with my walking so I don't turn into a bag of sugar. But recently there has arisen another reason for my constant walking. I get this really annoying restless leg issue right about now when I am pregnant. I lay down to sleep and my legs start jittering about driving me mad. The first night I just suffered. The next night I took Tylenol and NOTHING helped....

So then I took my issue to google and read that walking right before bed can reduce or eliminate leg restlessness. SO GUESS WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING??? The other night I went to bed and all was well...about 40 minutes later..LEG FREAK OUT TIME.

I got out of bed and took a 40 minute walk around my block. Don't be to impressed. Right now my walks are as pathetic as you can imagine with me waddling myself around my neighborhood at a SNAILS pace. But I was determined to sleep that night and I was successful. Since then I have been trying to walk before bed. Not always as long as 40 minutes...but enough to get the wiggles out...so strange and annoying.

Here's the deal..my mind is willing (kinda) but my flesh is so not willing...

I have another major issue that I have been ignoring this whole time...but my time is running out. I HAVE NOTHING for this baby...
Many moons ago we had a fire and lost EVERYTHING we owned. We were not harmed just our stuff. We had everything we owned in a storage unit that caught on fire. ALL MY BABY GEAR WAS IN THERE... Priscilla was not really a baby baby..although she was still in a bassinet. I did not bring much to our temporary home in hopes of not having to move that much several times. When we did move into a more permanent home I was reluctant to buy baby gear because we were almost done with her being a baby.... anyway.
I have a short list of must haves...I am not a huge baby gear person because all they need is mama in the beginning but I do have a few must haves ...
baby sheets
a bassinet for those first few months when they sleep wherever you are
clothes..mostly cozy sleep stuff
blankets
and the all important car seat!!!
I like to have a bouncy seat for the kitchen....but not a huge hurry for that.

I am just running this through my own head right now. Sometimes it feels like so much until you write it down. Really that is not a lot of stuff. Fire or not I probably would have gotten most of that new anyway, except the bassinet and car seat!!!

Someone asked if I was a baby swing person. I had to say no. I have no official position on baby swings but here is why I am a NO...
I am super motion sensitive...watching a swing swing back and forth makes me feel sick....that is it.

So that is it to start my 2012 posts....
reporting from my new post..the right upper corner of my bed...I wish you all well...

Getting Wrapped Up

2011-12-30T06:23:00.000-08:00

I have really been enjoying these last 2 weeks of 2011. I love when people are organized enough to do a year in review on their blogs. That would not be me.

I can recap last week because it was so recent...

Our Christmas was filled with smiles, sick kids and lots of excitement. One thing we did this year was go to Mass Christmas morning at 7:00a.m . WE got the kids up, got them dressed and put them in the car.

No peaking at the tree..nothing. The kids were so excited and getting to Mass felt very special.

We were focused on Jesus and the reason for the day and then we came home and celebrated. It felt so ...right for us this year.

When we got home some kids went right back into PJ's and some kids just stayed in their church clothes. We felt like the morning and joy lasted just a bit longer this year.

I have the goal of one year having a great Christmas Eve party with lots of people and cheer and then we all make it to midnight mass. That is my idea of welcoming our Lord. But for now early bedtimes dictate party plans and Christmas enjoyment.

We are not huge New Year party people. We usually feel pretty sad because we know the end of the Christmas season is coming and we have a whole year to wait for Advent to begin again. We know we have to get back to work and school and the week of quiet peace is over.

WE will start school on Monday. I have 2 weeks to get some good school done before I switch to having a baby mode. I will then take off again for 2 weeks. So today I am tired just thinking about planning for school and starting up again.

Almost January... And Still Growing

2011-12-29T05:06:00.000-08:00

I am really not that vain. Even though I have a blog that features mostly...me. And recently I have been knitting a lot for ...me. And maybe taking lots of pictures of ...me wearing those knitted items. I promise I am not that vain.

I am just pregnant for the 9th time and I know that once this time is gone, and the belly shrinks back, I will never remember what this all felt like and what I looked like pregnant.

Thankfully the memory of leg cramps and back pain will also fade. So will the memories of spending most of Christmas day sitting because I was having some trouble with some parts that make it hard to stand when they are SWOLLEN!!

I will have this baby and then immediately look at all pregnant women with that little sense of envy. I will wonder what it would be like to be pregnant again. I know me. I will forget all of this. The sleepless, uncomfortable nights when you pee 45 times 1 teaspoon each time. I will forget that the last days leading up to baby take an eternity to pass.

I won't remember that I wear the same jeans EVERYDAY because they are the only ones that feel comfortable.

I will just want to know the feeling of being pregnant again.

Well, here I am...pregnant. I feel...pregnant. Sometimes it makes me smile until it hurts and then sometimes.....

it JUST HURTS!!!

But this will end. This will all be part of my story and I WILL FORGET how I felt and how I looked. But thanks to my many knitted objects I have a pretty good record of how I looked this fall while I grew this little baby. No other belly of mine has been this photographed.

With some of the kids I have no pictures of me pregnant..NOT THE CASE HERE!! So thank you for bearing with ...

MORE OF ME!! I have grown this pregnancy more than any other. I have had to change myself in more ways than ever before.

I am supposed to have this baby on January 18th by c-section. This will be my 4th c-section and I can promise you no more belly shots after January 18th...nobody wants to remember that....especially me!!

Somethings From Nothings

2011-12-28T07:40:00.000-08:00

I had grand plans for hand making at least one gift for each child. I had some intricate items planned...but reality set in and believe it or not I am NOT a fast knitter. And sewing is still pretty new that I was not exactly without my seam ripper a time or two. So sit back, relax and see what I was able to put under the tree......
I like to call this...Something from Nothing...

I wanted to make the little kids something they could play with. Hand knitted stuff is pretty but not much fun.

These play capes were so fun to make and pretty simple. They were perfect for me to whip out in the 2 week time period I gave myself. I loved them so much I sewed 2 more for my niece and nephew.

I got the pattern from Growing Up Sew Liberated. I have a few more things planned to make from this book.

I wanted to make the crowns but I saw this crown for 3$ at Target and decided that these were PERFECT!!

Emily's scarf was born out of the need to make something QUICK. Since I took a break to make MYSELF that gaptastic cowl I was running out of time. I had some chunky yarn, my size 17 needles and made a garter stitch scarf. Super fun to make because it took 2 evenings and I could watch one of the many horrible movies Pete had picked out...kind of a treat for him to have me sit and suffer through a movie with him!!

She loves wearing knits and I thought a scarf would be perfect...

And hey I may or may not have thought that I would also be able to wear this very simple scarf as well...

Now...my Molly Molly was in need of something made from Mama. I did not knit her anything for her birthday because I was sick as a dog and it was like 5 million degrees outside. I was able to make stuff for Emily for her birthday so I knew Molly was OVERDUE!!!

Here's the deal with Molly...she has VERY sensitive skin!! Things itch and scratch and she does not keep things on for long. I have knit her many hats that have gone to the rarely worn pile. I wanted to make something pretty, but wearable. She always has cold hands and I thought some fingerless mittens would be good for play and warmth.

I had a head start with these mittens because I made the first one last year. I loved knitting this pattern because it is a Louisa Harding pattern and she makes things very feminine and simple. Perfect for my little Molly Jane..feminine and simple!!

She HAD to model them with her new bear..Sprinkles!!

And just for good measure I threw in a scarf for myself. This is the big lace scarf from More Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I still had a major hand cramp from whipping through my cowl..but I suffered through for the sake of a new scarf!!

Even though I have like a million...

This one is special , it is the same yarn as Emily's..we kinda match!!

And Jack was also part of the cape club. His was all BLACK and not as much fun to sew...black on black is pretty...BLACK!!

But perfect for this little guy. Darth Vader..or Batman...he is ready!!

Lucy got a cape too but was to busy this morning strangling Priscilla for our photo shoot. Some things must be done properly!!

Join Ginny for more knitted projects

My 2nd Day of Christmas!

2011-12-26T13:57:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas! Everything was very calm and easy. We did most of our shopping on-line and things just felt so smooth. I have lots of pictures to show but I thought I would just brief you on some other things before I recapped Christmas.

We got up today with the intention to start painting. Pete has a long winter break and he needs to have things to do. We thought painting these flat builder's grade walls would be a great project to keep him going over the next few weeks.

I then decided to rearrange EVERY room in the house. I started moving furniture in one room and then one thing led to the next and before you know it...every room has been transformed.

Call it nesting, call it sick of seeing the furniture in the same place as last month....whatever it is, I LOVE moving furniture around. When the movers come in with stuff you just make a quick decision on where everything should be placed. I liked things the way they were but I needed a little something different.

We did wrap that up after lunch and went straight to Lowe's to buy paint. As I speak Pete is painting the bathroom, the girls are folding laundry and the little kids are watching a Christmas movie. I am down stairs in my newly transformed living room writing to you....

I had to use these leg warmer pictures because I just LOVE them. I made them last year and Emily asked if she could wear them the other day. We have been seeing all these cute leg warmers worn over skinny jeans and it looks so cute. She looked so good in them I asked her to pose for me. I love this girl!! She loves hand knit things and she is always asking to wear them. I just beam!!

Anyway..Lucy is upstairs needing mama. Dinner needs to be cooked and I have Christmas pictures to go through.

Happy 2nd day of Christmas!!!

My Almost Christmas Letter

2011-12-23T16:47:00.000-08:00

Pete and I cleaned the whole house today. He is such a huge help! Breathing and cleaning at the same time is REALLY hard to do right now. But as I was cleaning I was composing a Christmas letter in my head..one that I know I will never send.

I say things more freely in my head and then when I sit down to type the words they no longer sound that ..good! But I do love reading other people's Christmas letters and I always think I want to send one...but I never will. But for now, on Christmas Eve's eve when all in the house is peaceful and calm (thanks to Pete putting Priscilla down ) I think I will jot down a few Christmas letterish things.

Hi Friends, I hope this letter finds you all enjoying a Christ filled Advent season. I know you await the Christmas season with lots of hope and joy. We have had a busy year and next year promises more of the same.

In June we packed up and left Alabama after living there for 4 happy years. We drove to Virginia during the hottest month of the year during my first trimester. I felt SO AWFUL and when we arrived here the misery endured for 17 LONG weeks. I am sure we had a good time during those weeks. I am sure lots of great things happened in our family that I should cherish...but even thinking back to that time makes me feel sick to my tummy.

Finally I was feeling better and I picked up my knitting needles after a pretty long break. I have been PRETTY obsessed ever since....
In between knitting, getting us all settled in Virginia, and growing a new baby, I have managed to keep on top of home schooling Jack, Emily and Molly. Some days I do a better job than others. But I try my best most everyday and worry about what I am NOT doing the other half of the days.

I am constantly praying that I am doing the right thing for all of us. Some days it all feels so right and other days it feels so...HARD!! Emily is in 5th grade and is now 10. She is a good student and a HUGE help to me with everything this family does. Molly is in 3rd grade and follows Emily's example of being a good student. I am super grateful for the work they put in and I know it could be a lot harder if it were not for there willingness to do good in school.

Much of my doubt on home schooling comes from me not being confident that I am enough for them, that I can match their abilities. (Maybe that is not Christmas card appropriate...just forget that I mentioned that.)
And then there is my Jack. My boy. My boy who is very different than my girls. He makes me run through every emotion possible when we are doing his lessons. At one moment I want to squeeze him because he is so stinkin' cute...and moments later I want to ring his neck because sometimes the lights are on and NOBODY SEEMS TO BE HOME. But overall this year is about me doing something everyday with him to get him reading and he is on lesson 70 of his 100 easy lessons and so far so good. He is doing a great job...just his own style and pacing...not his sisters'.

And still keeping my running from one end of this house to the other is my last 2 little girls...Lucy and Priscilla. Lucy is 4 1/2 and she is one good time. She is so full of energy and life it is hard to keep up. I have done nothing for her this year in the preschool arena except the occasional craft project that she LOVES. I sense a change in her. I am hoping 2012 brings a calmer Lucy and one that is able to transition to the big kid group soon.

But my Priscilla Mae is still my baby. My baby who REFUSES to even consider the potty. No girl has given me this much trouble. She is so opposed to it that we have given up even trying for the time being. She will be 3 January 20. I will deal with this next year and hope to have 1 baby in diapers before to long. We are going on 5 years with people in diapers. At one point it was the 3 little ones ALL TOGETHER. So going back to 2 in diapers is not ideal...but I can cope. She is so excited for this new baby and I think she will do great when she gets promoted to big sister.

Pete just wrapped up his first semester at George Mason. He did great and we have gotten used to having a college kid around here. The class schedule has been nice and not having duty or work trips is super nice. He gets a kick out of shocking people when they first meet him and ask him about his family..he loves seeing the reaction when these young MBA students learn that he is about to have his 6th child. He is a great example of a good strong husband and father and these young grad students are not used to such classmates.

Blogging and photography has been a bit weak over the last few months. I enjoy this space so much and want to be better about adding more things. I love that people read this blog and I cherish each comment people leave.

I may never write a book , or change your life by what I share here....but I have fun sharing and I love that you are here!!

Merry Christmas!!

p.s I am not sure if that is EXACTLY what I would have written in a Christmas letter....but you get the point...life is hard, full and ever changing and that is exactly what I hope to share!

Yarn Along

2011-12-21T05:12:00.000-08:00

I have lots of knitting plans with very good intentions and even better yarn..but nothing to show just yet. I did finish the 2nd glove to match one that I started LAST year. I forgot to snap a shot of it...but after Christmas I will do a round up of knitted items.

Last Friday I got to spend a few hours at Fibre Space. I bought several projects worth of yarn and I left feeling like I still wanted more.

And I just put my sewing machine up for a few days. I had such a great time making special gifts for little people. Sewing is such a different thrill than knitting and I have big plans for Priscilla's birthday which is January 20th.

But for now....Molly....

Priscilla ....

and Emily await their own knitted items to be completed. I may be a bit in over my head....

And with my current obsession to knit all things chunky and gap-ish..I hope I can live up to the goal I have set.

Join Ginnyfor some real knitting news

A Date, A Cowl, A Fun Night!!

2011-12-20T06:19:00.000-08:00

I briefly interrupt this holiday crafting season to bring you a COMPLETELY selfish knit.

Let me start with Saturday night, a cute guy, a packed mall and lots of knitted items. ....

Pete and I went on a date this last Saturday night. The first date in 6 months. That is a long time for us. We had a great time and we wound up at the mall after we ate a quick dinner (I was STARVING..!) Where else would we be in December with 7 days until the big day??? Us and like 50 million other Virginians. But excitement was in the air and we enjoyed all of it!!

But you know what REALLY got me excited??? Seeing all the knitted things at the mall. Like millions of scarves and hats and all sorts of wraps and cowls. So much fun to see. So much cheaper that making it myself..but who wants to NOT make it themselves.

Well, I was like a kid in a candy shop..."Look Pete..I can SO make this? Yes I know I can buy it right now for 24$ but I know the greatest yarn that I could get for like $70!" That is how much of our conversation went Saturday night. I never know why I remind him much yarn is...

I did get a scarf from Gap that is more like a wrap and it is black. I bought it because I don't think I can spend a lot of money on plain black yarn. Plus this scarf was more like a wrap and I thought it would be good for a nursing cover in a few weeks.

We got home and I spent the next 3 hours on Ravelry looking for patterns to match what I was DROOLING over at the stores. I knew instantly I would knit the Gaptastic Cowl..and that is what I did. I had some super chunky yarn in my small stash and I finished it last night. It took 2 night of knitting and a very sore hand. Knitting chunky, heavy yarn on sz. 15 can really wear out your dainty little hands especially when I was FLYING to finish this little beauty. I have another one ready to cast on after I finish Emily's hat and Molly's fingerless mitts Jack's mittens, Lucy's mittens, and the baby blanket. But really...I can squeeze this in at any time!!

Craft Challenges

2011-12-13T14:02:00.000-08:00

Crafting and creating is really not that unmanageable right now. The kids are getting better at playing nicely for longer periods of time and I can squeeze things in here and there a little easier..for now anyway...until #6 arrives .

But where I still struggle is getting supplies to craft with. I have the hardest time getting out to any stores. I love yarn stores and I usually get to one 1 or 2 times a month which is wonderful..but sometimes I need more in the in between time..

And then there is the fabric store...I CAN NOT GO TO THE FABRIC STORE WITH 5 CHILDREN and leave a happy mama.
I know lots of people buy gear online but I still need to touch and feel in order to decide. I think with more experience I may be able to buy things on line a little easier.

Today I attempted to go to the fabric store with all 5 kids and my mom. We were 5 minutes from getting there and Lucy got sick all over the car..needless to say, I did not make it there today! I will give it a go tomorrow and hope for a successful trip.

New Gift Policy

2011-12-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

I wish I were showing you great photos that I snapped over the last 2 weekends. I wish I could show you all the handsome bagpipe Scottish men we saw in Alexandria last weekend or the sweet little town we visited this weekend. But both adventures started with me saying, I can't believe I left my camera at home!"

Instead I will share a little bit of everything...

I have been super busy getting little things ready for little people this Christmas. Pete and I made a new strategy for the kids and it has been fun and a little challenging to follow through with. It all started last Christmas morning. We got the kids a pile of gifts. Nothing super crazy expensive, just lots of little stuff that added up to be a lot of STUFF!! As soon as the shred fest was over I was left with a sick feeling that I had wasted a whole bunch of money !

I was actually able to go through some of the things they opened, repackage them and return them to the store and they never missed them. I knew we needed a different approach. So this year we are doing a 3 gift MAX per child. That may still sound like a lot to some of you..but if you think about it the #3 goes by pretty quick when you are checking off a gift list.

I am the one who likes to "throw" things in the cart for so and so..and it gets crazy because then I have to match that gift for the next so and so. This year we are being so deliberate and focused... and it is kinda fun. The girls know the plan and we keep telling the little kids that 3 is the magic number this year. What I have noticed so far is the girls are being very thoughtful over what they are asking for. They will say something random and then a few minutes later say..."I really don't want that...I was just thinking." They are really being more focused in their own wants.

Now the big question is..can I narrow down my 3 things...or wait, do I count in the 3 thing line up??

I mean is 3 balls of yarn the TOTAL for my 3 gifts...or say boots and a new coat..can that count as 1 new winter wardrobe gift? I am trying to figure my way around this little plan. Am I included in the kids new gift policy?
And I wanted to answer a question someone left in the comments last post..what should a new sewer begin with?? I still consider myself new at sewing and knitting. With sewing I started with skirts for the girls and myself. Making something that you can wear is so fun and motivating. I dream about all the possibilities when I look through sewing books. Another tip I would throw in there is to get updated sewing books. Looking at stylish updated sewing patterns is one way for you to find endless ideas to try.

And I can't wait to show you all I have been sewing and knitting. Right now I have been making all sorts of fun gifts...
Which brings me to the next dilemma in the 3 gift policy..does hand made gifts from mama count as 1 of the 3?? Such details to be worked out....

It Just Feels Like That Time of Year

2011-12-07T10:17:00.000-08:00

It just feels like that time of year when I want to MAKE EVERYTHING I see. I have yet to finish the last sleeve of my baby sweater. I think I am a little unmotivated to finish the knitting part because I know that I still have to find 7 buttons to sew on as well. So I am not as almost done as I would like to be. So instead I cast on for the Rae scarf pattern by Jane Richmond and used the Malbrigo yarn I bought for the Liesel pattern. I just wanted a mindless knit and Rae was it. Row after row of knitting....very soothing right now.

But then suddenly I was bit by the I MUST SEW SOMETHING RIGHT NOW bug. I pulled out some books that I bought right before I left Alabama. I felt so sick right then that I coud not even look through books without it making me feel sick. Well, that feeling is over and now I just LOVE everything in both of these books, Sew Liberated and Growing Up Sew Liberated.

So that's it for me. I clearly have not blogged everyday in December and probably won't be able to. But I may still give it a go!

Visit Ginny for more yarn info and great project ideas...

Longer Than I Planned

2011-12-03T15:30:00.000-08:00

I was going to try and write something everyday for December. Not really for a huge reason, just wanted to try it. I already failed and missed yesterday..oops.

But today I wanted to give a small update on my gestational diabetes. I realize I kinda FREAKED out when I got the news that sugar was no longer allowed on the menu. I was not that sad about having to say goodbye to sweetness, especially since I am way more of a salt person, I was more SCARED!!

Could I do it? What if I didn't? I have to tell you, I have done it. I have kinda done it REALLY well too. I embraced the whole thing as an opportunity to get healthier altogether. I have said before here that I work out a lot. Not because I aim to have a fantastic 20 year old body but because I like to eat whatever I want. But the truth is...I can't eat whatever I want because even though I may not be unhealthy on the outside...I surely was on the inside. Now, I am not like a MAJOR bad eater..more like an average American eater..some good, some bad..very little balance. But now I have to say I am doing a much better job and my blood sugar numbers are proof.

It has been kinda fun testing my numbers and seeing a direct result of my action. I have to REALLY restrict card intake altogether....like I can have 30 grams per meal. That takes some effort and planning. And every meal I have done a good job..then one day I had 2 pieces of cheese pizza and my numbers WERE OUT OF CONTROL..like triple what they always are. I knew right away the result of my decision. It was kinda cool.

And as a side note, which is not hugely important right now but I have to share....when I went to the Dr. on Thursday I had lost 5 pounds. I LOST 5 pounds at 32 weeks of being pregnant. Now don't anyone panic..I did not try and loose weight but it has been the direct result from me eating less carbs and trying to eat smaller portions. I eat so much better and I am always trying to get more of the good stuff and my body shed some pounds from the changes. The baby belly measured on target and the Dr. was not at all worried. He said it is common for this to happen when the mom really makes immediate changes and sticks to the program.

But the bottom line is. I feel so much better. I feel like I am in control and I am thrilled with the power I have when I make up my mind. I can do this. I have been doing it. I want to continue to do it.

...sorry this was a little longer than I planned. I just got carried away with the whole thing tonight. It has been 3 weeks since I made these changes and I guess I had a lot to say...

The Day...

2011-12-01T17:51:00.000-08:00

The light really pours in this house this time of year. The sun is so low in the sky here in Virginia it always feels like it is beaming in a window, or two or three. Sometimes, when my floors are clean, I love the way the light makes everything look like it is glowing. And today I was really glowing.

My Pete really made a special day. We got to go to the Dr. together and then lunch together and then we did some kids Christmas shopping together. Everything is better with him along. I just felt special having him with me today..ALL DAY!! He looked really good today too.

Christmas shopping you say?? Yes!! The Dr. said I can resume all activity with the exception of working out and fun with Pete!! Just until next Thursday. He wants things to stay quiet for 1 more week but sees no need for me to stay on bed rest. He checked me and the baby had moved back up and the cervix was in much better shape. I passed the test and I am a free woman...almost..just no working out...which is REALLY hard for me..but I am being a big girl about it knowing all things pass and I will be grateful for a full pardon next week.

But for today I just had a great day and I let people love on me and make me feel good...I bid farewell to 35 and look forward to 36. I know this will be a great year filled with lots of change and wonderfulness and the fun part of it all is..Pete!! Each year he gets better and better..super fun to be part of that.

And to top off the day we bought fun mugs to enjoy a fun morning coffee..... Drinking out of a red mug in December...my word.
Life is good and the best is yet to come...

Wednesday Yarn Update

2011-11-30T12:00:00.000-08:00

Let me start by saying thank you for all your kind words and well wishing. I am doing fine and baby is safe and sound so far. I can promise you I have done the best I know how to do with someone telling you to lay down all day when you feel FINE!! It is REALLY hard to do...like really hard. I did GREAT Monday since I was still feeling pretty yucky from ALL the drugs they gave me. And yesterday I did pretty good too...but .my back was KILLING me from laying around so stinkin' much. And today....well I am trying I promise.

During Thanksgiving I finished this little hat. It was made out of Brooklyn Tweed Shelter yarn..very fun yarn. It feels very rustic and natural. After being blocked it softens and is really cozy. It came out a little...roundish for me and I don't think I love it. I do like the garter stitch around the whole hat...but the shape of the hat is a little ...not me.

I do like making hats. They are quick and easy and fun to wear. I think I may need a new hat to get my fun knitting juices flowing this week.

I bought this yarn to start on the Liesel Cardigan from Ysolda Teague. I really like the way the pattern has gotten great reviews and I see lots of people have knit it using Malbrigo yarn which is super affordable. So I thought for 2 skeins worth I would give it a go. I have done nothing with it so far since I have to wind it myself and I HATE doing that.

I also finished my Honey Cowl out of 1 skein on Madeline Tosh DK. I splurged on this yarn and wanted to make a project from just 1 skein. This Honey Cowl was perfect. I love the color and her yarn is AMAZING!! I want to knit the world in Madeline Tosh...and possibly in this color. I have not taken the thing off in 24 hours. I really love it!

I am not even worried about it matching ANYTHING I own. It is blue and beautiful and who cares if I have on orange for the day...

Sorry about the LAME-O photos. I was all by myself yesterday and got little bored so I started taking pictures of my knitting which is what most people do when they are bored.

And what is about to be finished tonight is this little blue cardigan for a little baby to be born in January. It is so sweet and knit with DK weight yarn. It took me a bit longer to finish this guy than I would have thought...but I am excited to slap on some buttons and call it FINISHED!!

This yarn is soft and perfect for a baby. But here is what I have been thinking over the last few days. I like knitting accessories. I really like hats and little things. I do not think I like making mittens even though I am working on a pair right now. I want to make a scarf for ME. I want to use that Malbrigo yarn you saw up there. I have spent a lot of my "bed rest"time searching for the right scarf to make for me!! Here is the other thing...I really like to knit for ME!! I do. I like to make it, finish it and wear it! I am hoping to feel more generous next year.

Until then I love my ever growing pile of knitted things. And next time I write to you all I hope to tell you the Dr. said I am cleared for take-off and I may live my life again in mindful moderation.

And tomorrow is my birthday. I have always been a big fan of my birthday. I will be 36 and officially considered ADVANCED MATERNAL AGE. I go to the Dr. in the morning excorted by Pete and hopefully out to lunch afterwards. I ordered myself a new flat iron for the 36 year old celebration..but she is not here yet. My old flat iron is like 3 years old...and she was just not keeping up with me anymore. Anyway I love December 1st and I plan to have a great day...bed or no bed!!

Super Thankful

2011-11-28T16:59:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. I have been a bit absent here lately. I did not dry up in my diabetic sob and melt away to carb-free heaven...no no. I instead went into pre- term labor.....

I had a busy, full Thanksgiving and the day after had some bleeding. I sat down a bit more that next day...but the bleeding did not go away. At this point many of you may be thinking...why did you not call the Dr? I wish I had a better answer than what I am about to say...I had 11 MORE relatives coming to my house for dinner on Friday. That was in addition to the 6 people who were sleeping at my house all week. This was not the time for a medical emergency. I know..I know foolish.

Well, Saturday morning things were quiet so I thought I would run over to Labor and Delivery just to check out what may be going on. I had no contractions and the bleeding would come and go. I tend to under react....especially when it comes to me. I will spare you the details and say that all the big stuff is fine. My placenta was were it should be and baby was fine. After all that checked out I thought I could go home ....then all of a sudden I started bleeding pretty bad and contracting like crazy. It all started happening so fast and I am glad it happened while I was there. The Dr. said I must have a small abruption where just part of the placentas pulls away and if we could not stop the contractions then we would be delivering this baby ASAP. I got a steroid shot to speed up lung development and then began the first stop contractions drug..tributaline...or something like that. That did NOTHING! They then put me on magnesium and cranked the dose and finally all went still .

It all was crazy and scary and I was panicked out of my mind. I stayed until today and now all is well. I am on modified bed rest until Thursday when I go see the Dr. I am so happy to be home with no baby born yet. I am hopeful that all will be fine until January. I have a lot of patience to practice over the next few weeks. Patience in knowing that doing mostly nothing is the most I should do.

I always think the more babies you have the more worried you become because you know all that can go wrong . I am so thankful that so far nothing has really gone wrong...I just hope my old bones can hold out a few more weeks. I am 31weeks and 4days...so not a great time for baby to come.

Here We Go...

2011-11-17T10:12:00.000-08:00

Life goes from one extreme to the other. I get so excited when I finish a project, act civil for the whole day with my children, don't cry for at least a 3 hour period, you know simple accomplishments....
Then you feel lower than low and you don't know where it came from , but you would like it to leave.But to be honest I know EXACTLY where mine is coming from...a few places....
1. A 4 year old that fights CONSTANTLY with my 2 year old
2. My 2 year old who ADORES my 4 year old and shows her that by SCREAMING her head off ALL DAY whenever there is a slight issue.
3. My 5 year old who seems lost unless he is being played with by a sibling..he can not play by himself or figure out what makes him happy AT ALL!!
4. ME...who has been yelling and loosing my cool way to much this week.
5. And Five..last but not least I have been told that I have....
Gestational Diabetes....
Not exactly the news you are thrilled to hear 1 week before Thanksgiving, and before you have 6 guests coming for the week and 29 weeks pregnant feeling every bit as pregnant.
I cried yesterday for like a long time..then I thought.."How fun..you have been wanting to stop eating certain things for awhile now, now you have TO!!...no big deal. This is a challenge!"

But today the crying has continued...is it over the GB?? I don't think so. Yes I will miss my coke, and white chocolate mocha's, and whatever else I can't have...but I can do this.

The problem is I have no idea what to do. The clinic has not called back with my appointment date and time..so for right now I am eating chicken and drinking water.

In the end I know this feeling will pass. I will feel in control of my feelings and reactions again one day. I just hope it is soon.

Yarn Along..It Is Done!!

2011-11-16T02:29:00.000-08:00

So folks..I did it. I knit a sweater. Well, truth be told it is more like a longer-ish shrug. I have so much to share so if you are not into details just scroll down, check out the pictures Emily took and have a fantastic day...
But I must share, if for nobody else but myself.

It took me 10 days to knit this. I had to rip it out to begin with because the arms were HUGE..that set me back 2 full days. I decided to go with the small because the med. arms were so huge. The whole piece is a little to small on me but not because of the size choice...I made a CRUCIAL mistake when picking up stitches for the collar and the neckline. I never put markers where the pattern stated. I don't know how I missed this. I was just so excited to be picking up stitches and really getting it that I just skimmed over the PM part of the pattern.

So later on when it said to bind off for the neck I did not know where to start and stop..oops. So that is why it came out a little snug right by my underarm/boob area. I then decided to NOT increase as much as the pattern called for. I did not want the "wings" to be to "wingy" in the front, so I decided to increase less, which I think hurt me in the end.

Anyway..I LOVE this darn thing with all my heart. I love her..I love her..even if she is more of a shrugish cardigan thing. I LOVE HER!! I used Spud and Cloe sock in the sidewalk colorway. It is basically a silvery gray and I love it. I sometimes wish I went for a snappy blue but I think I will wear my gray shrugish/cardigan thing more often.

Now...you may have noticed that I am rather ROUND right now and I am hoping to look less round one day in January/ February and by then I am hoping this little precious shrugish/cardigan will outline me a little better.

And just to let you know..if you happen to stop by my house at anytime over the next few weeks I WILL BE WEARING THIS SWEATER!!

I loved knitting this and I loved what I was able to do, pick up stitches, short rows, seamed sleeves and followed MOST of the directions. and had a great time. What more can a girl ask for in a hand knit....

Well..maybe a little better fit.

But now skies the limit. My next mission, this sweater, and then this sweater and then who knows. But for right now on my needles I have a quick hat that I am working on and I am using the yarn called for

Brooklyn Tweed SHELTER, which I LOVE so far. Like really love and can't wait to use again..in let's say the Levenwick sweater.

All pictures were taken by Emily on a perfectly gray Tuesday...
Now go see some more good stuff over at Ginny's

News You Can't Miss

2011-11-13T15:40:00.000-08:00

I have been a mad knitter this weekend. I have left EVERYTHING that should be done..UNDONE!! I have about 4 inches left on the bottom of my sweater.

I am so excited..it looks like it may be a little snug in the boobies area..but my boobies ARE HUGE right now with the promise to only get BIGGER in January when baby comes. But please don't think that this will change the fact that I will be wearing this sweater ALL THE TIME!!

I learned so much from this little cardigan. I seamed both sleeves. I did a pretty good job on both sleeves. It seems like I do a better job with the 1st of anything and then get impatient and do a less better job on the 2nd thing. I also picked up like 400 stitches. I was pretty proud of me. This was scary and I was able to do it.

So far..so good!!

In other news. I went and got my toes and nails done this afternoon and I feel like a million bucks. It has been so long since I have gotten anything like that done but bending over right now cuts off ALL oxygen and I actually find myself laughing so hard at the absurdity of it all that I can't continue.

More moment to moment sweater updates will follow this week so if you are not a knitter...please come back and feel the joy and see my big boobies in a small sweater..super fun!!

Yarn Along,,,Late to the Party

2011-11-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

Lots to share..lots to share.

First, I made this little Milo vest about 2 weeks ago. I had seen Ginny's pictures of it and then I got to see little Silas in it one afternoon and I knew I NEEDED to knit it for my baby to be.

Then I went to a yarn store in Maryland and they had a sample Milo knit up and it was SO cute. I was not to confident on my skills so I bought a cheaper yarn to just give it a "try". I saw it in a Rowan DK yarn which was LOVELY, and I think Ginny's Milo for Silas was knit in Sweet Basil yarn. Both stunning yarn, but a little pricey for me that afternoon. So I went with a Cascade 220 skein at $8. I figured if I blew it I was only out 8$.

I don't LOVE the color..but it was the most neutral shade available for my maybe girl/maybe boy baby. I love pink and gray together so I felt safe with gray.

Anyway, I began knitting and there was a frustrating thing happening when I increased EVERY round only at the join..there was a little hole. I ripped out and restarted several times. What was I doing???

I called a professional Milo knitter and told her it was an EMERGENCY...PLEASE CALL ME AND TELL ME WHY I HAD A HOLE.

She called back and said..."No problem..it is just a weird thing that happens with some types of yarn and this pattern. It will be fine at the end you won't even notice."

I pressed on and finished this very sweet, very small vest the next day. I loved everything about knitting this little vest and I plan to knit more....

But the success I had with that little vest just gave me more fuel to add to my "I need to knit a grown up sweater" fire BURNING inside me. And last Wednesday night I just decided to pick SOMETHING and try it. I looked and looked and looked. I finally decided on the Whispy pattern from Knitbot. I read like EVERY project on Ravelry and it was talked about as an easy to knit cardigan. I went to Fibre Space and asked my favorite yarn lady what she thought...and she thought..."Those are tiny needles with tiny yarn...are you up for this kind of commitment?"

I was sure I was up for it. I had been whipping through so many projects I thought it would be good to have something to keep me busy longer than a few days. I wanted to focus on just one thing. Well...

I have been knitting my head off and I am just about to bind off the 2nd sleeve. It is taking me FOREVER to get to this point. It is all stockinette stitch for the 2 sleeves and the upper shrug part of the cardigan..so it is not the most diverse start to this cardigan. But I am here...I am committed and I am excited to see how it all ends up. I will admit to being 1 day behind where I should be. But I knit the first sleeve in the medium and at the end I realized this would be WAY to big for me. So I ripped out the whole thing and smiled so as not to cry. I did not want to knit 9 more inches in stockinette on size 6 with fingering weight yarn. But I asked for this. I wanted a light cardigan knit with light yarn so I did not add any bulk to my GROWING figure....

So here I am 1 week since swatching (which I had never done before but I actually took the time with this sweater) and I actually have made progress. I am so excited to see the finished product. I have grand visions of a perfect fit with GREAT style.

By the way...(I am wearing my School House Tunic that I sewed a few months ago. I think I made 3 or 4 of them and I wear them ALL the time. I am thinking of sewing a few more)

And just because I finally FINISHED this project I thought I would share. I knit the Chloe sweater last spring. I finished the entire sweater in just a few short days..but I could not get the button loop thing worked out. I also did not LOVE the yarn color I knit it in. I ordered it off the Internet and the color was more peachy than pink and I think I hated the color I never cared if I finished it for wear. But my mom is good at crocheting and she did the button loop for me.

I LOVE this little sweater and I remember LOVING the project while I was working on it. Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting is one of my favorite pattern designers right now. She writes really good patterns and I just love her taste.

So that is it for now. I hope to show you ME and MY Whispy soon!!!

Join Ginny for some GREAT knitting inspiration...

My Pics..

2011-11-08T14:39:00.000-08:00

I am NO expert..if anything the exact opposite. And let me just say nothing thrills me more than when people say they like my pictures or my knitting..be still my HEART.

But let me just share a few thoughts and tell you the picture situation for me .

* I have a D-90, which I love. I have 2 lenses. One is the 50mm and the other is a AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm. I use them both equally. I love my 200mm for it's zoom and it also gives GREAT bokah. It is really heavy and I usually ditch it when I go places and then regret the ditch.
*I have no real editing program. I use Picassa to upload, crop and brighten my pictures. I would like something a bit more fancy, but fancy cost $ and usually a learning curve, and I have neither available to me right now.
*I usually shoot is Manual..actually I ALWAYS shoot in manual. Not really because I know what I am doing but because I can play with the things I know give DRAMATICALLY different results. I am always fooling with Aperture, shutter, and speed and my secret weapon WHITE BALANCE!! It is amazing the difference White Balance can make in a picture.
*Shooting in manual is not always the best move because if something happens fast and I want a shot of it I can totally miss it if things are not JUST right...I hate that.
*I go in and out of moods of wanting to take lots of pictures but I know how happy they make me.

I don't know if this helps or explains how this mama gets the pictures she gets...but I thought I would share.

My Day

2011-11-06T17:28:00.000-08:00

My friend Jane and I were talking the other day and she asked me, "How do you have time to do all this knitting? What about laundry, housework and school stuff?"

I probably gave her more details then she wanted, but it left me wondering if anyone else wondered this. I know we are all so busy these days no matter how many children you have. Wondering how people get it all done is a common question. I listen to certain pod-cast people, or read the blogs of some women and I often think.."Oh my...I could never do that."

But I will brief you on how certain things flow in this here life of mine...first I will start with Pete..I get SO much done because of him being who he is. He is a guy who likes clean floors, folded laundry and clean counters. So HE HELPS ME A TON!! He is always working right beside me when he is home. I keep up with most of the essentials of laundry and picking up throughout the day, but he always helps when he can.

I have mentioned before that I am not much of a CLEANER..but I do FORCE myself to clean potties and sweep and mop floors on a regular/daily basis. I am constantly in a repeat pattern of those few items. I am always making deals with myself..."When you get the kids down for a nap you must set the timer and clean the kitchen cabinets for 15 minutes before you can TOUCH a knitting needle."

I have also had the girls pitch in with lots of laundry folding and putting away. I am pretty much always on top of laundry because I won't let myself do other things until that is done.

Now...school happens Monday-Wednesday from 8:00 until it is done (Thursday they go to a day school and we don't do school on Fridays. Sunday afternoon we have 2 to 3 subjects we will do too). Some days school is done by 2:30..other days we end by noon. I am really focused during that time on moving from child to child getting assignments done and keeping the little girls happy and NOT FIGHTING. Keeping them from fighting is my biggest challenge this year. They have a 5 minute window of happy play before someone gets burned. So between lessons and helping the girls and Jack I am moving the little girls from one thing to the next. It is a CRAZY few hours but I try and stay focused the whole time.

I may switch out laundry or run the swifter during school time..but I try to keep my mind on school. At 1:00 our family has quiet time. Priscilla still naps everyday and Lucy sleeps 2/3 days a week. But even if you are not a napper, you are in your room for 1-2 hours for quiet reading/play time. I try to NOT do school during this time, but most days I have to do some sort of schooling and it can sometimes take all of the quiet time. I really try to plan the morning to have that time free for whatever I need to do. And lately I have used that time for some knitting and reading..for me!!

The girls also try to keep their quiet time to themselves. They love the peaceful calm that comes over the house and they cherish the reading time too. They work really hard to have all school done by quiet time or finish up during this time. I won't always knit because sometimes I have stuff to do that did not get done in the morning hours.

Basically I am working at all of everything ALL day long. When I don't have anymore "work" to do I knit and knit and knit. And at night when my brain is toast and my body is wore out I knit for about 2 hours. And lately with the weather being so nice I will take the kids to out lake and knit a few rows while they throw rocks in the water. I knit at cheer leading practice, and in the car while I am waiting to pick the kids up from their day-school and while I am waiting for pasta to boil for dinner...just whenever I have a minute I LOVE to do a row or 2.

We all make time for what matters to us. Right now knitting matters to me so I use my time throughout the day as best as I can so I can knit when the minute arises. I think having something to look forward to doing helps keep me focused. It helps me get my work done so I feel good when I am not working.

I am sure I could do more housework, or read just a little more to the little kids, or many other things..but this is the way it is for me right now. I am here and I am sure I have room for improvement....but I do the best I can and the days I don't do the best I can I try harder the next day.

p.s the colors here are amazing right now and I have taken more pictures of leaves than I ever thought possible...fall rocks!!

and another p.s...notice I did not say much about cooking. Right now simple is my main course. I do not spend a lot of time or money on food right now. We eat chili, taco's, chicken breast with rice, pasta and chicken with broccoli, steak with baked potatoes, chicken soup, sausage with pasta, red beans and rice...stuff like that. I have like 10 things I make OVER and OVER again with little variations that I know people like. One day I hope to have more to add to that list but right now eating is a job to be checked off the list so I can move on to other jobs. I know one day it will not be like that...but this season simple is our dinner of choice!!

Can I Do This??

2011-11-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

Last night I got to go to my FAVORITE knitting store..actually it is a yarn store, not just knitting. I get in that place and loose myself and when I emerge I am floating on air because it feels like a true "break" from the everyday. So here I am today with 3 great projects lined up, yarn wound and patterns printed. What a great feeling.

One thing that happened last night that was so funny I chuckled well into the night. ...

As I was being helped by the most helpful yarn person ever this young woman walks in with her friend. They were "oohh- and aahh'ing" over a intricately knitted cable sweater. The girls were so cute and the lady I was working with noticed them and their energy so she said, "I will be right with you." I told her to just go help them and I could wait I was in NO rush and I kinda wanted to hear what they had to say.

The first girl says, "Hi, I don't know how to knit and I am not sure how much I want to, but I just want to know is knitting something like this impossible for me...(pointing to the cabled sweater)"

Let me interrupt my own story to say..I GET THIS GIRL...I too want things even thought I am not sure I really WANT to do the work to get it. I loved her question and I loved her love of the sweater...

So the most helpful yarn lady ever says..."If you don't know how to knit or purl then you probably can't knit this sweater right away. But all you have to do is learn to knit and purl and you can make anything you want. You just have to put a couple of skills under your belt first."

She then goes on to tell the girls all the different ways they can eventually learn to knit...take a class, read a book, beg a friend to teach them, split a private lesson, watch u-tube. She made it seem all so possible, like it is no big deal...

And it is not a big deal. We are so intimidated by others sometimes we don't let ourselves see the potential in what we CAN do!!

I so loved being part of that moment. I loved the girls asking those sweet questions, being silly but really wanting to know..CAN I DO THAT??? I loved the way the amazing yarn lady encouraged these girls and I was reminded that all knitting is made up of knits and purls....

Hello November

2011-11-01T03:43:00.000-07:00

What a great way to farewell October...a fun night was had by all. Priscilla stole the show for me..as most 2 year olds do when they trick-or-treat..so cute and so happy to receive the precious gift of CANDY!! I am thinking of reworking Christmas gifts all together...

I am now about 27-28 week pregnant and I feel like I have about 35 to go. I am not a really good pregnant woman. It is really hard for me to be s physical as I like to be. I am at the phase where I walk into a room and the first thing I do it think..."Where is the chair and how long can I sit in it!" I have a long way to go and lots to get done before now and new baby. But I am using my time wisely...

I am trying to learn as much as I can in the knitting world before this baby gets here. I know once baby is here knitting will slow down and so will the desire. I am stock-piling while I can....

Which leads me to this weeks OBSESSION..I want to make ME a sweater. I want to have a woman's sweater under my belt before time runs out.

If you are a knitter..PLEASE HELP!! I think I am going for the Whisper Cardigan

by Hannah Fettig . It has no buttons and it does not really close. I want to be able to wear it NOW and of course the rest of my life. But I need a project to take me longer than 3 nights to knit because I am spending WAY to much time finding new things to knit and thinking about it all the time. If I have this little number on my needles I may slow down the rate of knitting consumption.

If you have a better idea for a 1st time sweater PLEASE tell me...

Sorry About The Overkill

2011-10-28T06:26:00.000-07:00

All is well in Lucy's world. She is still well on her way to WEARING me out EVERYDAY..thanks be to God. We have been to several Dr's over this past week and they all confirm Lyme's and her full recovery. The worst of the matter will be random "episodes"...sometimes it will be in her joints and other times headaches. These episodes can last for up to 1 year...but may diminish sooner. Overall we are at peace and we feel good about all the follow up appointment she will have to monitor her little joints to be sure these "episodes" don't cause more permanent damage. And let me say thank you all for the texts, e-mails, phone calls and comments. What a blessing to know people are praying for her. I just encourage you to pass on that last post to anyone who lives in a tic heavy area. The signs for Lyme's can be subtle and left untreated ...not good.....

Meanwhile...I was somewhat busy knitting away this week while Lucy and I sat for hours waiting for Dr's to come see her. This little hat knit on little needles was the perfect hat to keep my mind occupied and hands busy. This is my first truly striped pattern. I used the jogless striped method and for the first half of the hat I was doing it wrong...

You have to slip the marker and slip one as if to purl..and for some reason in my brain that meant hold the yarn in front. So for some of the rows there is a little stitch with a bar at the bottom where I held the yarn in front of the slipped stitch. I was so annoyed at myself and was tempted to begin ALL over...but that ribbed part of the hat was knit on sz. 3 needles and DK yarn..it took me like 3 days to go 3 inches. I could not bring myself to live through that 3 inches again. But NOBODY will ever see that little bar UNTIL I SHOW THEM...which I know I will....silly me!

Now..about the color. It is gray and yellow in a shiny Sublime yarn. I saw this hat knit up at my favorite yarn store Fibre Space..it was in these colors. The pattern called for The Fibre Company yarn in 2 great colors..but my Fibre Space did not have this yarn. There was something so FUN about this hat that made me decide that silver and yellow were JUST the colors for me. I really want to practice with stripes and I thought I could handle this little hat. As I was knitting I was getting a little worried that I would HATE the colors once I was done..I DO NOT HATE THEM!! It is such a fun hat and I actually like to colors!!

The picture in the pattern the brim is not folded...I HAD to fold my brim. I am not sure if it is because I may have gotten a little carried away on my K1P1 ribbed brim and gone a little over 3 inches...but it looks cute and that's all that matters...

I am wearing the hat today ...but I am SURE to loose this hat to a few little girls who also fell in love with it when I was finished. It looks super cute on Emily and Lucy ..and even Jack can wear it (I am sure Molly and Priscilla look good in it to, they just have not tried it on yet). So it will be like so many of my hats...first come first serve!!

So ..that is my hat story with WAY more info that you probably wanted. Pete took all these pictures after lots of laughter on his picture taking skills. I did not even realize I was getting some belly shots while showing off my new hat..but that is so fun.

I love seeing my baby belly AFTER I have the baby. It is so hard to remember what it looked like and even felt like after that baby comes.

Check out the pattern on Ravelry..it is free, fun and exciting!!

Not My Typical Post

2011-10-25T17:03:00.000-07:00

You might want to sit down for this one..it may be long. I am not sure where my words are going to take me tonight. Let me start by taking you back almost 5 months. We had just arrived here in Virginia and we were driving to the Title company to sign our papers to buy this house. On the way there Emily says, "Mama, what is this in Lucy's hair?" She was sitting in the back next to Lucy playing with her hair. I told Lucy to unbuckle at the next stop light and come show me. She came up front and showed us and Pete and I knew instantly that we were looking at our first tic bite. I was PANICKED!! I did not know what to do. Pete tried to get it off her...but that sucker (literally) was so stuck to her head. I pulled into a grocery store parking lot and ran in to buy tweezers and rubbing alcohol. I came rushing back to the car and Pete had called his mom. She quickly googled tic bites and told us what we should do. Get it out and clean the area. Even with the tweezers we had a really hard time getting the tic off of her.

Finally we got it off and Pete and I were both pretty freaked out. It just felt..awful. We had been in Virginia a total of 3 days and this was NOT what I wanted to be dealing with. Prior to moving here a friend of ours knew a young girl who had severe Lyme's Disease. She was in a wheelchair and looking at years of recovery. After hearing that story and finding out Lyme's comes from tics I told Pete..."No thanks to Virginia!!" But telling the Coast Guard that his wife had a fear of tics was not going to work.

Anyway, life went on. We proceeded to pull lots of tics off the kids this summer and for some reason NONE of them were as bad as that one Lucy got back in June. Something about that tic made me feel...worried. This is the point in the story where I may want to remind myself to always listen to myself. A few weeks later Lucy started telling me she had headaches. Mostly they seemed to be in the morning and not last long. There would be a few days of complaints and then they would go away. During this 3 week on and off period I told Pete, "Hey, remember that tic bite? I wonder....." But the headaches went away and I just figured all was well. About 1 month ago she woke up one morning saying her arm hurt. She could not lift her left arm and getting dressed was really painful for her. I just figured she had fallen and sprained something. Lucy is like a jumping bean that never lands well when jumping..she falls ALL the time. Having an injured arm would be of no surprise. But that too, magically, went away!! Well, actually it went away and then came back. I was not linking this to anything yet but thought it might be wise to haul her into the Dr. to get an x-ray to see if she had fractured something.

But then poof..gone. No more arm pain! During this time period Lucy would wake up some mornings saying her neck hurt. I just figured she slept on it wrong and I felt validated because it always went away. Well, Monday morning Lucy woke up stood up and collapsed on the floor. She started crying and calling for me. I went in and found her on the floor. She said her legs hurt and she could not walk. I thought she had slept weird and her leg had gone numb. I started rubbing her legs and she cried in pain. I kept trying to coax her into being OK and getting up and walking it off...but she was really hurt and would not even attempt walking. I looked at her knee and it was pretty swollen. Well what in the world??? She had raced up the stairs the night before right at bedtime. We walked all over our neighborhood Sunday and she was FINE..nothing happened. All of a sudden I was TERRIFIED. That tic bite, Lyme's Disease!! I had heard of this...I had heard of kids not being able to walk, feet being numb, hands tingling. I called for Pete, "Can you come carry Lucy downstairs she says she can't walk." He came up and I said ..."Do you know what I think?" He said, "Lyme's?" That was it. He thought it too. All of a sudden I added it all up. I looked back 5 months and saw each ache as the symptom that it was.

I have not established a Dr. for the kids here yet. We have not needed one and I kept putting it off. I am not a "take kids to the Dr. often mom". Well I started calling every Dr. I could get a number for. With each call I was getting more worried. Nobody could see me..they all were not willing to see a patient for the first time on such short notice. I will reserve my irritation for the medical community for another post. Nevertheless, I felt more and more scared. Lucy was truly in pain and the worst of the worst was flying around my brain. I told Pete, "I am taking her to the ER!" All the kids were pretty panicked. Lucy not walking is like the most unbelievable thing and they were seeing it. I pulled myself together and went to the ER. I got there and the nurse asked what was wrong..."My daughter has Lyme's and now she can't walk." They asked if I knew for a fact she had Lyme's and I said, "Not for a fact fact...but I know!" They were sweet. They took me right back and I told everyone who walked in that hospital room every detail of every symptom for the last 5 months. They each agreed...sounds like Lyme's. That is where my knowledge began and ended...now what? Why is she not walking? What is happening? Is she OK?

She got blood draw and tests were run, x-rays taken and her little body got poked. So where are we now? Her actual Lyme test won't be back until next week. But all the other blood tests that were run show the signs and markings of Lyme's. She had tons of fluid in her knee joints and that is what was making her unable to walk..it just hurt. Having joint issues is a big indicator of Lyme's. Her blood work showed elevated levels that indicated inflammation and that too is a sign of Lyme's. So....what do we do?? She is being treated for Lyme's which is a simple course of antibiotics for 4 to 6 weeks. She has to see an orthopedic Dr. to keep track of her joints and the fluid that has built up.

Bottom line is... she will be fine!! While she is on Motrin she is walking around and feels much better. The swelling is still there and I am still worried. But really, she will be fine. Lyme's shows itself in many different forms. Lucy never developed the rash or flu like symptoms that is an indicator after a tic bite. It seemed to go right for her joints. She may have some of the joint pain for up to a year after treatment for Lyme's, but she will be good as new pretty soon.

I could write another 2000 words on Lyme's and what I now know. But I know some people have it a lot worse and things could have been a lot worse for Lucy too.

Last night I was a wreck. The Dr's at the hospital were great..but I left not feeling like I knew all that was going on, plus Lucy was still NOT walking and in great pain. We went to another Dr. today and she made me feel better. And Lucy began feeling better too. I have more follow up appointments and I will keep you posted.

I have felt so guilty for not listening to my own self 5 months ago and then as we went along when those little situations came up. I knew something was not right about that tic. I just got "that" feeling. I am just so glad the God led us to figuring it out sooner rather that later.

She is tucked into bed right now feeling better. Thank you God!

As Promised ..part 2

2011-10-21T06:03:00.000-07:00

I know some of you are not knitter's who read this little blog of mine. I am sorry if you are SO over hearing about knitting. By now I am sure you have figured out that I am NOT PIONEER woman with several tabs to choose from..nor am I like Betty Beguiles who blogs about a range of topics...I am me and this is it. And before I became a knitter I would have never understood how there can be so much to say about 2 sticks and some stitches. But once you drink the Kool-Aid, life is never the same again.

So...back to my lessons at the yarn shop....
The 2nd lesson I had was actually with CRANKY knitter. She was to teach me purling. She was not thrilled and I was even less so. But I was desperate to knit and I didn't care how the information came to me...I just wanted it. At the time I am not even sure I was fully aware of her attitude towards the whole thing. It is in looking back that I have clarity on the situation. She told me the basics of purling and then told me I was doing it way to tight and I needed to loosen up...HOW COULD I LOOSED UP?? I was desperately trying to hold 2 sticks , a thin piece of yarn and a project in the making...what do I loosen up on? I left the store that night able to purl...barely.

I think back on that yarn shop and what the vibe was in there. It was not was I was reading on the Internet. The yarn was limited and I saw pretty lame samples hanging on the walls. Through different blogs I had found I knew knitting did NOT have to be that way. The 2 main women who worked there were not very encouraging. They seemed the be the keepers of all things knitted and they were not that willing to share what they knew.
However, there were 2 part time workers that I happened to meet one day when I ran in and they were way more fun and helpful. One woman had a book called Weekend Knitting and she was really helpful picking out yarn and leading me to a fun pattern. Unfortunately she did not work there often.

And then I met Sophie. Sophie is a beautiful young girl who is SUPER talented at knitting. She would wear the most adorable knitted items and be ready to whip out the pattern and yarn she used. Just seeing her inspired me to want to know more. She was 16 at the most , and had been knitting for a few years. I wanted to learn everything she knew. I don't know if I will ever be as good as Sophie.

I have been thinking so much about these initial experiences with knitting because I have learned so much and I have so much more to learn. I love going to yarn stores and I think the knitting business is fascinating. It is such a personal business. You are influenced by so many things and they are all very people oriented. I like that. The yarn store I go to now is 45 minutes from my house. People there LOVE to knit...but the cooler part of this store is THEY LOVE TO SHARE. They have GREAT samples and they make you want to knit GREAT stuff. The place is PACKED all the time and classes fill up before you can get your name on the list. They teach cool stuff.

Sadly there is a knitting store right down the road from me. I have gone there from time to time ..but I find it very UNINSPIRING!! The women are nice enough..but the energy and love of knits is slower and less contagious. The classes are lame and the yarn is so-so.

But hey, what do I know really??? I am so new at this. But I want to pass this energy on to others. I would like to teach people to love this craft. I would like to inspire someone to struggle through the learning curve. I have a long way to go before I could teach anyone anything...but getting people fired up and interested anyone can do.

Who knows if this was a good story. Probably a bit long for some of you. Sometimes I hate reading long blog posts. But I just wanted to share and remember the beginning of this amazing journey I have begun...

My Story of Knitting..Part 1

2011-10-20T05:23:00.000-07:00

I started this blog about 2 years ago. I found Pioneer Woman, got a camera and have made several posts since. I wanted to take cool pictures, write witty things and just be part of the blogging world. I was then led to read lots of other blogs, most with cool pictures. I really had nothing specific to add to the blog world. I did not have ranch and recipes to share. I did not make jelly from homegrown berries. I was just me with my own thoughts and I thought the world would be a better place if they knew what those thoughts were.

I was somehow led to Ginny's blog and was instantly taken with her photos and her lifestyle. Up until that point I had never seen a mom with knitting needles and a garden that you actually eat from. I was taken. I admired what she shared and I was inspired to walk down her road a bit. I then began clicking around her comments and noticed that all these moms were knitters too. I was so surprised..people actually knit?? A lot?? And cute stuff? I decided I wanted in!! I needed to learn to knit. I am happy I knew myself well enough to not be inspired to start a garden...

I called my local yarn shop and asked when I could come in. I told her I knew nothing ..but I wanted to make a scarf..TONIGHT!! I had to wait like 3 whole days before my lesson took place. My lesson was at 6:30...which of course led me to leave my house at 4:00. I needed time to look through this yarn that all these knitters in the blog world went crazy for. I walked in the place and was COMPLETELY OVERWHELMED!! I knew instantly that I knew NOTHING!!

And the funny thing is..I now know that what I really didn't know was how much I REALLY didn't know!! I walked around DAZED and really out of my element. I wanted to feel connected to this yarn and have an instinct to reach for just the right skein..but really I had no instinct and I actually made some pretty horrible decisions when I began my walk with knitting needles.

The shop I lived near was your stereotypical shop. The lady who greeted me was a little snip and she was not THRILLED to be helping me. I could tell that my ignorance ANNOYED her to no end. I did not let that stop me. I kept asking questions and bugging her for help. I figured I would eventually win her over with my gratefulness...not sure that ever worked....but I wanted to knit and I was not going to let the cranky knitter stop me.

Thankfully my first lesson when I learned to cast on was not with the cranky knitter...it was with the store owner. She did a great job teaching me that night. I left knowing how to cast on and do the knit stitch...
Life has never been the same since...

Come back tomorrow for more of this RIVETING story...

More Yarn..and a 10 Year Old

2011-10-18T19:04:00.000-07:00

May I present to you ...my 10 year old, her mittens and her cabled hat.

These mittens are the first time I carried color up the side of my work...and somehow the mittens were ONLY photographed showing the row I carried my yarn up the side where I made some mistakes and the yarn showed. But really..who cares??? These mittens were so cute on her and I would say it was a good first try at carrying my color.

The hat is now hers as well. I knit it for Pete and then realized it looked way to feminine on him with the cable. I then tried it on and did not love it. So today when I wanted to shoot her mittens I asked her to throw this hat on so I could get some pictures of it.

We twisted the cable to the side and INSTANT love!! WE both loved it on her and she is now the proud owner of this Spud and Cloe bulky cable hat.

This last week has been touchey with knitting. I was not in a good grove with anything and I felt pretty discouraged about a few attempts I had made.

The other bummer thing is I REALLY want to knit a sweater/cardigan for me....but right now I am ....larger than normal ALL over...especially in the milk department. So I do not want to buy, knit and hate my first sweater. And then I keep thinking ...baby knits...baby knits. But I don't know who this baby is yet and I am not wanting 14 things in neautral colors.

But I sit here bubbling with hope for a great knitting week ahead of me. I love where I have been and I love where I am going...

Pop over to Ginny's where the real knitting magic happen...but you all know that already

Talking To Myself

2011-10-18T08:11:00.000-07:00

I talk to myself all day...I am always at myself in my own head. I try to keep it there, in my own head, so my children don't tell Pete that mama walked around muttering to herself all day.

I am constantly making deals with myself.."You can check out that pattern and yarn on Ravelry right after you sweep these floors." Or sometimes it's..."Just finish Math with the girls then you can quickly clean up from breakfast." I can sometimes keep the bargain with myself, and other times I cave in..

I have been getting myself more and more wrapped up in knitting. I am not sure how to pace myself with this new obsession. I find that I am sneaking peaks in magazines and books while I am bringing laundry up the stairs. I will see kids being peaceful for a few minutes and start in on a row or two or 5. And before you know it I am late for dinner prep and writing has not been check off for the day.

Most of this distraction has been good and not that noticeable to others, at least not that they are saying. But I know what needs to be done and I know I am doing a great job of avoiding it.

Yesterday I was feeling super gloomy...I knew exactly what the problem was and I kept trying to get myself out of the funk I was in. You see on Sunday I spent a few hours knitting a hat that I have been excited about knitting for awhile. Last week I bought this yarn that I thought would be PERFECT for this project.

Just as I am about to decrease I decide to try it on..IT LOOKED AWFUL!!

The color..the fit ....EVERYTHING was awful. I instantly ripped it apart, re-wound the yarn and went to bed feeling SO SAD. I could not shake the feeling. I love having a project that I love working on and not having something I LOVED knitting was a complete bummer for me.

Having something to look forward to during the day makes my day so much brighter. I need a knit that takes little concentration, but I like things with some pattern changes.

So last night, after a somewhat low key day I casted on some cable mittens and I spent 2 hours feeling completely happy once again. What did I have to say to myself last night after a day of gloominess...

It went something like this...

"You need to calm down about knitting. Not every project will be your most favorite, best experience. You will have to take the good with the bad, and above all be patient. Even in the "bad" projects good comes. I learned a lot from buying 20$ yarn for a hat that was so ugly I would not even step out of the bathroom to tear it apart. The key to all is patience and endurance. I want to be good at this..I want to make beautiful things. But nothing good comes from you sulking around all day. Take heart..another great project is bound to find itself sitting in your pile of great things to do. Meanwhile..get to bed because it is way to late to think clearly!!"

A Glorious Fall Yarn Along

2011-10-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

There is no better time to be a knitter than fall..well winter is fun too. But fall has all the promise of cozy days to come before the reality of cold weather sets in.

And all around me leaves are changing, falling and turning the most glorious colors. I am glad to report that I have a few projects to share..with great JOY and HAPPINESS!!!

First is my shawl thing..the pattern is here. This is what kicked off some confidence with my knitting. This was fun, easy and WONDERFUL to work on. I saw a really cute sales girls at the knitting store I LOVE...and she was wearing it. I asked her for the pattern..and now I OWN ONE TOO!! Looking at it makes me want to knit another one...

The girls were out the afternoon I NEEDED this picture taken so I asked Jack to take it for me..this is what I got. But I had to show you that I LOVE this thing and I am wearing it ALL the time. I did this wrap neck tie thing and I love it. If I knit another I may go bigger.

And would you look at this...I DID THIS..EVERY SINGLE STITCH and CABLE!! I can not believe this is MY knitting and I am showing this on MY blog! I think I can say .."My name is Lisa and I am officially a KNITTER!!" I finished late Monday night and wore it all day Tuesday even though it was like 80 degrees and still damp from blocking.

I made 3 mistakes that make no difference what-so-ever. The more important detail is I fixed several mistakes I made. That is what feels good as each project progresses...I am seeing the right and wrong of the stitches I make and I know what to do with some of them..some of them just require the good old fashioned RIPPING out..but with this little beauty I never turned back once I started. The pattern is here and you all must buy the yarn she suggests..it is fall heaven on a needle and cable!

And in other great fall knitting news....

I made these mittens...I knitted both of them in 2 days on double points and I have to admit ...I think I like double points. I took a class to get me over the fear of mitten making and now I am working on another pair for my Emily's 10th birthday. This time I am using 2 colors..and let me just share that I have ripped them out 3 times already because I am sloppy when it comes to trying new things. I just want to finish so know what they will look like. I need to slow down. I just can't help myself sometimes...

Knitter That Grew

2011-10-09T16:49:00.000-07:00

I really want to be a GREAT knitter. I have this goal of being able to knit anything I want. I should say, I want to have the ability to knit anything I want. Achieving this goal is going to take me awhile. I think I can be patient...but it is hard. I really want to be good NOW...

(Do not try and wipe off your screen..it is not dirty..that is the door to our basement which mostly little hands touch.)

Back in Mobile a friend asked me, "Do you REALLY like knitted items?" I thought to myself..not ALL knitted items, but lately I have found styles and pieces that I dream about....like this and this, and SO this , and especially this So I have to answer with a big yes ...I like the RIGHT KNITTED THINGS!!

But it also about the process. I like the discovery and accomplishment that comes with the skill of knitting. But for right now..I have a long way to go to consider myself accomplished. But guess what? There is hope. The woman who started Ravelry learned to knit in 2004. By 2006 she and her husband started Raverly. She is now a go to knitter in the knitting world. Go figure!! I am not sure if she had 5, soon to be 6, kids and homeschooling..but I am sure she was busy too. And look where she began and where she is now. Who knows what the future holds for me, 2 sticks, and some yarn...

Today I told my girls that one day I will knit their babies BEAUTIFUL things, but right now they will have to settle for mittens with larger than normal thumb holes and too short scarves because I am on my way to being good at knitting.

I tell myself getting good at anything takes practice, LOTS of practice. And sometimes it is not easy. But there is pleasure in the struggle and joy in knowing you are headed somewhere you want to go.

Kind Of A Yarn Along

2011-10-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

Not much getting done around here ..I took a knitting class last night and I have been absolutely obsessed with knitting these last few day. I am just NOW getting the hang of Raverly..what an amazing site. I am the knitterthatgrew. If you are on Rav can you be my friend? I love looking through ALL the projects that are stashed. Please do it this week because next week I am back to school and my knitting has to cool down a little.

I had great plans of doing Ginny's yarn along today..with detailed pictures and info, but I got caught up in knitting and my good light left the building...

but for right now let me just say I am making MITTENS!! I finished 1 and am 3 inches up the other....

I have a great cowl casted on and waiting my attention and I ordered a new knitting book today to have as my pass time reading..

Brave New Knits?? Anyone?

Taking Advantage

2011-10-03T16:55:00.000-07:00

For some reason I have had this BURST of energy these last 2 weeks. I am not sure if is because the weather is changing and I just can do more when I am not DYING from being hot....

or because I am finding my grove and getting back into things that make me HAPPY..

But whatever the reason I am LOVING the energy and so are my little ones. I am taking a little fall break this week and I plan on doing some fun stuff. I knew hitting DC and the Metro was on my list I just was not sure when.

We had a super fun day yesterday when we went to the Fiber Fest and Sheep Dog Trials .................

so the idea of going to the city today was almost out. But I woke up and decided..

"Let's Just Go!!" We had the best time. Pete had school, of course, so it was just me and my littles.

The kids were great and Priscilla was with us, I promise, but she was on my back the WHOLE day. I found it a little difficult with my budding belly..but I would much rather have her close to me and safe then me running after her all day.

These are the moments you wonder if they will remember? Will they remember me taking them on the Metro and them holding their own ticket? Will they remember the pure excitement they felt ALL day as they got to discover what a cool place they live by...

I have to say when I do things like this I feel like a pretty good mama. It is hard and sometimes VERY tiring..but what a day!!

And to top it off I got to wear the scarf I just finished knitting the night before. This is probably the WORST picture you will ever lay your eyes on because the bathroom I shot this in has the most awful lighting. But wearing it made me happy and that was a big part of my day.

So, here's to a full day with my kids, my scarf and some great memories to carry with me through the times when there is NO energy..because those days come...more often than I would like!!

Orange and Black!!

2011-10-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

Nothing like some black and orange to get the old sewing machine out again.

The funny thing is I have a BRAND NEW Serger that is still in the box because I do not know how to use it. I bought it right before I left Alabama with the intention of getting a lesson from my friend on how to use it...well the movers came early and my lesson never happened.

Until I get up the nerve to take it out of the box I will be using the sewing machine my mom lent me last year. This week..4 cute Halloween tops with matching bows made by my mom!!..stay tuned

This Is The Guy You Want To Marry

2011-09-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

Our home school is a little different for us this year. The 3 older kids are going to a day long classical mentoring program. It is Catholic based and run similar to Classical Conversations. The point of me telling you that is we have one day a week when I feel like my kids go to REAL school.

There are lunch boxes to pack, back packs to fill, water bottles topped off and whatever else happens in the early morning hours in each home. This is our 3rd week and rhythm is setting in..in most ways..

I'm a prep the night before gal. So on Wednesday nights I have EVERYONE take out clothes, socks, shoes and whatever else they are wearing and have it ready to go. At bed I run through all that the morning will hold and in what order. Jack is not a fan of having to do things last minute without a warm up warning. I figure 12 hours to get used to the idea is plenty of time.

Like I said, rhythm has set in...until this morning when Emily comes down with her skirt a WRECK!! Like so wrinkled it was 6 inches shorter than originally purchased. I sternly asked her to look at her skirt and explain the reason why it looked like it was crumpled up in a drawer. She went on to explain that it was crumpled up at the bottom of her drawer because I never told her to hang it up. I look at the clock and calculate how long I have left until I run out of time...

I tell her, "I am so sorry that you have to go looking like that. I have no time left to iron that for you." And who should walk in at that exact moment...this guy...this amazing guy who says, "Toss it to me Em..I'll iron it for you!" We are talking KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR (except he was wearing jeans and a collared shirt..which looks much better on him).

Moments later he comes back with a finely pressed skirt. AS Emily is putting her skirt back on I say to her..

"This is the type of guy you want to marry. When you are dating someone you must ask yourself, will this guy iron our daughter's skirt on a busy school morning as he is trying to get out the door himself?...If you don't think he is the type of guy to do that DON'T MARRY HIM. You need a guy who will take care of you ..ALL OF YOU!!"

And my sweet Emily says, "Mama, if we are just dating we won't have a daughter!"

Not exactly the point I was going for..but at least she has the order of things correct. Let's just hope she finds a guy like her dad!!

Creepy!!

2011-09-26T18:33:00.000-07:00

This has got to be the CREEPIEST scarecrow I have ever seen!! Fake and SCARY!!!

Lucy was unaware of his creep factor..me on the other hand..I could not even get the settings staight on my camera...

Wish I had something deeper for you tonight..but that's all I have!!

I am on week 9 of home schooling and I am planning a little break next week. The weather looks promising and I want to do some of the things I did not do this summer because I felt like I was going to die MOST of the summer..

Which, by the way, I am feeling much better. A few things could be better in the old body department, but nothing to dwell on. The hardest part is yet to come...It is all coming back to me now.

But until then I am trying to just be in the moment and knit as much as I can before my hands fill up with a sweet smelling baby.

p.s If Sophie still reads my blog will you please leave a comment and tell me your name on Ravelry..I want to see what you and your sister have been knitting lately. I miss your inspiration and talent!!

Dear Ginny!!

2011-09-25T12:25:00.000-07:00

First let me say I was going to write you an e-mail ..then I thought I would probably not spend time including pictures in the e-mail, so I thought I would just be lazy and put my e-mail RIGHT HERE for all the world to see...here we go!!

Thanks so much for the skinny on the Berryville Fiber Fest..we had such a fun time. Pete was excited to go and my parents came with us. We packed a lunch for all so I could squeeze every last $$ for the yarn I knew I would want.

Man that place had yarn! As you know I just recently got the desire to start knitting again and this was great kick-off weekend. First I went to Fiber Space in Alexandria on Saturday and bought some great yarn for a shawl like project that I got suckered into falling in love with. The samples the knitters in that store wear are so STINKING cute!! Anyway, the lady who made the yarn I bought was there and it felt fun to have her help me pick it out!!

Then I bought some yarn to do a cable hat. I don't know why I walked out of the store with NOTHING I went in there for..but that is what I do...I get distracted with all the shiny yarn and cool projects. I casted on the shawl project last night and am super excited that I actually may be able to do this project.

I think I am a better knitter than I am so sometimes I bite off more than I can really do!! That is why I did not buy the yarn for the pants you sent me the pattern for. I am afraid. What if I can't do the crotch(not a great word..but the only one I could use for this purpose) right?

Well, anyway after the small bit of success I had last night with this new pattern I decided that today I would buy the yarn for the pants and the vest I want to make for the baby!! I found me some yarn...hand dyed right there in front of us. We all watched the magic happen...super fun!! I am going to make some baby pants with the yarn we watched get dyed..how cool is that???

I also found a blanket I want to make but I walked away without buying the yarn for it. I am kicking myself, which I knew I would do. I choked..yarn is PRICEY!! Having this much fun adds up and I was not able to part with more money by the time I found this yarn and blanket pattern.

But guess what?? The same yarn lady will be there next weekend at the NEXT fiber festival. Maybe ..just maybe!!

Going to the fiber Festival was really fun..you meet some cool people doing some cool stuff. One yarn lady had 10 children and she lives in Tennesee, she makes and dyes her own yarn. People do the coolest stuff!! I forgot to get her card...which is a big bummer because she had some amazing stuff. But really, it is all amazing!

It was a little hot walking around, but no rain so we were thankful. Emily got stung by a bee and bought a 7$ stuffed animal. The stuffed animal was made from Alpaca ..it was pretty cool. I usually don't allow MORE stuffed animals in the house..but I got caught up in Alpaca love and we now own a sweet little SOFT stuffed alpaca!

So this here is MY yarn!! So cool!!

She dyes it all from natural plant products...this is Indigo! It is a little smelly right now but after Priscilla wakes up I am going to go buy Dreft to GENTLY wash it !!

One day I hope to show you the CUTE pants I have made from this wonderful yarn..until then I need me some help..maybe a day of NO SCHOOL is in order for tomorrow?? I don't want to be a bad influence but this knitting bug has bit me hard and I am back to thinking, eating, breathing ALL THINGS KNITTED and what better place to go than your knitting castle??

Love,
Lisa

Clean House Or Not

2011-09-20T17:57:00.000-07:00

The other day I was talking to my friend who was sharing some concerns over her not having the time to keep up with her house the way she used to. She even went on to write a beautiful post about it..

I told her that I totally get it but she should not feel like she has to apologize for her house being lived in. But then I went on to explain that I too apologize for my house sometimes.

Not because it is messy (Pete is a huge neat guy and he helps make our home pretty neat ALL THE TIME!!) but because it is new...BRAND NEW!!

It is so foolish, but I like old things. I like things that have history and a bit of a built in energy. I like things to look a little.."lived in". This wonderful home we bought is BRAND SPANKING NEW and sometimes I feel like I have to apologize for that.

When a couple of moms came over the other day and they wanted to see the whole house I found myself explaining WHY we bought a brand new house...like I was saying...sorry. I can even go as far as pointing out things I don't like in order to..I don't know what...I just feel like I need to.

I am not sorry I live here. I still like old stuff and when I get my act together I will start to sand edges and paint things to feel more like..the way I want them..lived in.

I still would love to have an old farm house on some land. But for now I love having door knobs that don't fall off and wood floors with no holes or splinters in them.

And sometimes it gets even more awkward when people say.."Your house is so neat too..." Then I really pull out the stories and explanations.."Well, Pete is a pretty tidy guy and I could not do it without him"..or "You should have been here 2 hours ago..the place was a wreck."

And then I really try to sway people when I tell them.."Really..we are just tidy people. I am not a huge fan of actually cleaning..but I am constantly putting stuff away." So really I tell people that we are really very dirty..just neat looking. I guess it makes me feel better to have people leave my house thinking less of me...

Why do we do this? Why do seek approval or demand disapproval of others??

All I really know is when you come to my BRAND NEW house I will try not to talk you out of liking it. When you say.."You guys are really neat!" I will not bring you to my closet to prove that I too live with messes....

I am me. We are us and I love that you are you and that I see different things when I go to your house!!

Being happy with where you are and what you have is a struggle...things always look better when they are not your problem.

And next time you come over just know that I am so glad you are here because I like to visit and have people over..clean house or not!!

Constant Conversion

2011-09-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

Pete and I had a reversion in Sitka about 5 years ago. More of an awakening of faith and love of God and all things Catholic. For years I enjoyed a real passion for soaking in my faith and letting it begin to define me. I took on many things that kept me feeling close to God.

Being open to life, wanting more children, and most especially home schooling were all ways that I felt like the relationship I wanted with God was going to come and more importantly STAY!!

But as time went on the fire started to die. Not the DESIRE..just the fire. It was no longer an intense need to know all things God..it was more like a ..."I want to feel that way again, how can I get there?" Over the years as feelings have come and gone I have found some ways to keep growing closer to God and my faith even if the "feeling"is not there. Going to mass as often as I can has always been a way for me to stay in tune with God and be open to His grace.

Some periods of my life have been easier to work out that practice than other seasons, sometimes it felt impossible to attend daily mass. I have tried reading things that make me "feel" close to God and sometimes that works and sometimes..nothing!!

But I keep at it. I want a close relationship with God. I want to feel Him working in my life and I want to feel the grace He has for me. But as we all know sometimes the feelings are not there as easy as we would like.

And other times the feeling is so there and so close that you feel on top of the world...God has recently moved into my heart in a way I never expected. He has me thinking about things that never occurred to me before. He has me feeling like serving in a whole new way.

And when I am open to what He has planned for me I feel the grace in so many other ways. All of a sudden I want to love Him so well that I keep my patience a little longer. I want to show my gratitude to Him that I say yes for the sake of others even when the no is where I want to go. I want to set aside what I want to do and serve those around me..not for the thank you of serving...but for the feeling like this is how I show God my love.

I don't mean to sound mysterious in the new way God has opened my heart.. I will tell you all as soon as dinner is not about to be served and I can think through the words I want to say.

Until then (which may be awhile since Pete has the computer 95% of the day and I am determined NOT to buy a new computer for a few more months) I am trying to enjoy the feeling of fire and know that even when the feeling diminishes I will still be enjoying the Grace I feel right now..

And to my sweet friend who just had twins with 2 toddlers around her all day..your fire will be there again and for the moment your service in these very hard days is the way you get to love God and serve Him....daily mass will be back very soon!!

And who knows why I am passing out all these "words of affirmation"...that's just one of my love languages and I feelin' the love!!!

Love you all !!

Coats Are Coming...

2011-09-16T06:30:00.000-07:00

We have coats...

We have chilly weather...

We have lots of plans for being outside as much as I can...

And of course we have mud, dirt and dirty cold hands. And the best part is we have a pregnant HOT mama (as in temp) who is not as hot!!YIPPY!!

Looking Good!

2011-09-14T04:46:00.000-07:00

I may need to rethink their hiking gear..hey a girl has to look good right??

Watch and Learn

2011-09-11T17:45:00.000-07:00

There is this family at our new church that we met the very first Mass we attended. After Mass there was coffee and donuts, which I try to avoid because sitting still for 1hr. early in the morning just to be released into a sugar over dose is something I find..not easy to deal with.

But hey, we just moved to the area and I know what it takes to meet people, stick around and meet them.

After the place cleared out a bit there was a man and his 3 daughters and two sons talking with Pete. Pete is like the mayor of every room we walk into. Yet another reason I avoid coffee and donuts, he is shaking hands and kissing babies and I am running around after the sugar kicks in trying to keep the little ones alive...but anyway, this is Pete and I love him for it!!

After Priscilla found the I-touch in my purse I was able to walk over and meet this family. The kids were all high school or older...all sweet as can be and just wonderful to talk with. They lovingly joked with thier dad. They spoke highly of each other..each girl being a reference for her sister on her skills as a babysitter. They spoke to our kids, complimented the little girls dresses (complimenting behavior was out at this point), teased Jack about him being king of this castle.

They said that this was only half of their family, the other 5 siblings and mom was not there that morning. I remember thinking to myself.."I want to be this family!! I want my kids to be those kids." I eventually had to break Pete away and round up our little family. I remember thinking.."What did those parents do to create such seemingly lovely children?"

We have seen them at church several times. They are not all together often because several children go to college or are already working and living elsewhere. But for some reason I was NEVER able to meet the mom. Until the other day...
We were at another church to meet other families for an open house. This woman came up to me and introduced herself (I love when people do that). I thought her name sounded familiar and she said the same about mine. I mentioned we had just moved from Alabama and my husband was a Coastie. She then said, "You have met most of my family then. My husband and kids said they met you and your family and I never was able to meet you after mass."
"You are the mom of those amazing children?? I have been dying to meet you. Your children are so wonderful. Tell me EVERYTHING you have ever done..please!"

As you can imagine this moment, just picture lots of people around us and Priscilla trying to tell me that Lucy just wronged her in some horrid way..I'm thinking.."Not now children I am trying to find out how to make you people wonderful in the future"

And this mom says to me, "You know when I was a young mother I just always looked around for other families whom I admired and I asked them questions. I observed and copied good parenting. I found parents doing things I thought looked good and asked them all about it."

I do that!! I do. I am always looking to other people for what works and what looks to not be working. I know all families are different, but their are some principals and values that are universal and I love absorbing from those around me..

Now I just have to figure out how to get this woman to invite me to dinner so I can get just a bit more specific. Ask questions like, what would you do if you were trying to talk to people while your 2 year old WANTED your attention...
But that is silly because I know the answer...STOP AND GIVE HER THE ATTENTION..

Looking Back!!

2011-09-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

These are some of the earliest pictures I took when I got my D-90. I took pictures of EVERYTHING that moved during those first few weeks.

I am so glad I did. I look at them now and am amazed at where we are today. The kids look so different, our life is so different and I feel so different. All good things!! I remember these days when Jack was just 3, Lucy just 2 and Priscilla 6 months old..Emily was 7 and I thought I had a great big kid on my hands.

Now as I look at the kids and consider their ages I think everyone is SO much older now...Jack 5, Lucy 4, Priscilla 2.5 , Molly 8 and Emily almost 10!! And as things start to feel a little less "hard" I am about to welcome a new baby to these many pictures. Will it ever be that hard again??? Will it ever be as hard as it was when Jack was 1 and Lucy was just born. Jack did not walk until he was 17 months old quickly after he began walking I was pregnant with Priscilla...That was hard!!

I am reminded frequently that things can still be pretty hard. Yesterday the older kids had an open house to go to for a new program we are starting. It was a long morning and by the time I left I thought I was going to never leave my house with Lucy and Priscilla again. They were very...2 and 4 yesterday and I was hot (like sweating my brains out hot) and not up for the task. Then we got home got everyone settled and had a GREAT afternoon. Looking at these pictures are just such clear reminders that things do move by so quickly and once you move on..there is no moving back!!

But here we are right now..these 2 girls growing up and older each moment. The little kids SLOWLY moving out of being little kids. I have had my camera for 2 years now and I love looking back over all that has happened since those first pictures I took. I have a lot more pictures in me and I can't wait to see them!!

Possibly A First

2011-09-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

A post with no pictures...

I just had to say really quick...

Thank you friends who say hi to me in new places and tell me you were the one who wrote me from my blog months ago....it is hard going places and NEVER knowing anyone.

Thank you to a friend who sent me a text just to tell me she missed me...

Thank you to someone who means the world to me and for the words she sent the old fashioned way..I am looking forward to writing you back...

Thank you Eve for telling me about Aquanis ...I think it is just what I needed...

And thank you Pete for listening to me as I one day LOVE to home school and the next day HATE to home school...and thanks for calling me every day at lunch even on the days when hate is the current emotion...you brave man...

And thanks to the Catholic Church for celebrating days like today and reminding me that ..."All of this was brought to us by her following the will of God" ...good job Mary.

Being Ok with Me!!

2011-09-07T05:25:00.000-07:00

I used to read a lot more blogs. I used to search out new ones to read ALL the time. I loved the exposure to the new and un-thought of. And by reading different blogs I have been blessed by trying all sorts of new things. But I know something about myself that makes reading blogs hard sometimes.

I like to try new things. There is a lot I want to be good at. SO when I read something on a blog and I like what I read I think.."Oh, now I want to only eat vegtables grown from my backyard."...or ..."I will never buy another store bought skirt.. I WILL ONLY MAKE MY CLOTHES FROM NOW ON!!"

While all of those thoughts are really good goals..some of those things are not "me". That is not to say I can't change. Anyone who knew me even 10 years ago would agree that I can change...but part of me will always be me.

Buy I will say that I often am tempted to "want" be someone I am not. I read somone's blog who wear pearls and heels everyday and I walk away feeling like I should be wearing pearls and heels everyday too. When I read about a mom who sends all her kids to Catholic School and she stays home making cute stuff to sell on Etsy...my mind begins to wander and think..."Hey ...that looks like fun....maybe I should do that too!!"

But I think the good has out weighed the bad because when I read about a mom having a hard day but in the end she feels the relief of a simple loving gesture I feel "normal" because that is so me!!

I get influenced by those around me. I absorb my atmoshpere. I soak things in and I know I have to be careful of what I let through..because all things are not good for ME!! Feeling good about me is a work in progress. Being OK with the fact that I am "ok" at knitting..and "ok" at sewing..and "AWFUL" at gardening is sometimes hard. But if I sit and think I probably am good at something and that's where I should spend my energy.

Sitting and feeling sorry for myself will get me nowhere. But keeping myself inspired will always keep me wanting more and better for me and my family. Knowing God is really in control is what really matter...not me!! Not the blogs I read or write...Just God!!

Being happy with the girl God made me is what I hope for and strive for. And really showing that to my kids and learning it myself will make the happiest me I can be...
But thanks to all the bloggers who help me want to make me better all the time!!