The Sky Is Falling

Well not really, but it sure looks like it in our back yard!

I've managed to eek out another little something but this time it was for me. What should have only taken a few hours took a few days (one row here, one row there). What kept me going was the yummy yarn and the thought of toasty warm fingers ...







The pattern was free and if you are on Ravelry you can find them here.

No, Henny Penny, the sky is not falling ...

It's still in tact but my pride might not be after this ...

I am indeed smitten with my new mittens!

Wordless Wednesday - Why Not?

Our Conversation Went Something Like This ...

Me: When you are in Williamsburg pick out some yarn and I'll make you a scarf.

Mom: Really? Do you have time?

Me: Well. Sorta. Just get some - k?

Mom: Ok.






Me upon receiving the yarn: What do you want?

Mom: Can you do cables?


Me: You got it.


When I finished the last repeat of the pattern, this is all I had left:

Talk about cutting it close!

Mom's birthday was yesterday. She gave me the yarn on last Wednesday (a week and a half ago). I finished it this Thursday. I consider that a huge act of over achievement. ;-) Don't ask me what my house looks like ...

Here is a close up of the pattern.

The pattern is free can be found here or on Ravelry here. You might recognize this pattern; this is the scarf that I started but had to pull. This yarn was nice to work with - Plymouth Yarn - Encore Worsted - 75% acrylic 25% wool. Easy to manage with the cables.


Please excuse the tie dyed effect going on in this next picture. The sun was setting and the light was changing (and I don't have a clue how to manage light when taking pictures).

Another one down for the crochet along! And yes, I've got yarn to make me one too. In brown. Don't expect record crocheting this time around though!

Three

I can't believe it.

My sweet, silly, sticker lovin', ornery, cheese eatin', grand temper tantrum thrower, bear hug giver, puzzle put-er-together-er, wants to be just like his big brother little fella is three.

Happy birthday sweet pea.

To Everything There Is A Season

To everything there is a season,

and a time to every purpose under heaven ...

Ecclesiastes 3

I am trying hard to embrace these words. I have been working on that since Henry was born (yes, that would be 5 1/2 years now ... I'm a slow learner). We took a little road trip this weekend and this verse came to mind over and over again (read traveling with children, it was cold, it rained, it was windy, and we tried to shop ... w.h.i.n.i.n.g.).

We headed to Virginia Beach for the Oceana Air Show. DH and I had been years ago ... long before children and it was awesome.

When we arrived at the hotel we decided to go to the beach and burn off some steam.

Here's the mandatory feet in the sand picture ...

Only I'm wearing wool socks ;-)

The boys ran around for a bit but settled in one spot for a few moments.

I can't say I blame them.

This was the first time the verse came to mind. God's simple reminder to me that to everything there is a season. The ocean is still there with waves crashing in the surf even if it's too cold for us to splash around. The sand may shift under our feet but He is steady. The children may squirm, complain, and aggravate each other but even they can stand in awe of God's creation no matter what the season.

We are in a hard place. I know those of you who have children understand. 5 1/2 and 3 (tomorrow!) are full of wonder but also attitude (I know ... wait until they are teenagers!). But I digress ... back to our mini-vacation.

Sadly, the weather was too poor for the planes to fly. Thankfully there were plenty that were on the tarmac - we could climb in and out of, push buttons, and walk thru. Henry spent most of the day like this:

John spent most of his like this:

John did perk up a quite a bit when we hit the kiddy section where there were bouncy jumpers and slides. We spent a significant amount of time there! After DH and I had had enough of the germ fest we decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel; and to our pleasant surprise got our own private mini air show:



We caught the Blue Angels turning around a few times while in formation. Much excitement was to be had in room 722. All was not lost!

We had to keep things moving lest the whining begin again. This verse popped back into my head again while standing behind the boys while while waiting for the elevator. We were headed to the indoor pool but we had to go in and out of two buildings to get there and dressed them (semi) appropriately ...



I need to carve out more quite time.

I need to relax a little bit more; even when my children are being a bit much - it's their season.

I just need to grab my life vest and dress my heart accordingly.

Yes, to everything there is a season indeed.

Snack It To 'Em

A little bit of sewing here and there ... that's what I've been doing these days. Sometimes it's just measuring and cutting to come back later and stitch a seam or two.

I've managed to squeak out these 3 snack bags for the boys.

To say that they love them would be an understatement. To say I love them would be even more of an understatement. They wipe out easily (I used ProCare to line them) and can also be thrown in the wash when they've seen a bit of extra snack action. Need I even mention the fact that zip lock is no longer necessary?

I used velcro to close them and added little tabs for easy access. I don't know if the boys really needed the tabs or not but it's a nice little feature ... especially when you are driving down the road and throwing - ahem - passing snacks back to rowdy boys who are sooooo hungry mom.

So I say when the hunger pangs strike ... just snack it to em'.

So Much To Say

So little time.

I was hoping to post some craftiness today but I just haven't had time to take pictures and do the blog thing. We took a mini-vacation this weekend (more on that later) so I am bogged down with laundry/groceries/cooking (how does that happen when you were only gone 3 days?). So instead today you are going to get some rambling thoughts that I want you to know (and to remind myself later on that my days are full and good!).

I am jumping in:

• Craft Hope has posted project number 5 - a quilt for homeless. I think my mom is even going to join in this one!


• Bend the Rules Sewing has posted a new swap - semi simple pillows - you send a picture of the space you want the pillows for - LOVE IT!

I jumped up and down:

• My armor/shield/dagger tutorial was featured on Craft Gossip - this is an awesome blog - lots of tutorials ... every day! Be still me beating heart ;-)


• When my iPod wouldn't even turn on at the gym this morning

I jumped around:

• Wal-Mart for all my groceries


• My cat and John while I put the groceries away


• The kitchen while I made 4 loaves of bread, pumpkin spice cake, from scratch potato soup, and prepared a salad


• Trying to get the recycling to the curb (I think I missed them - rats!)


• John (and the cat) while he tried to put stickers on me (and the cat)

and it's only 3:30 ... 4 loads to fold (but at least they are clean!), a meal to deliver to someone who just had a baby, sheets to change, and an artist I need to track down in iTunes.

I'll leave you with a picture from this weekend that makes me smile ...

Life IS good.

Crocheting A Tight Rope

I started with this

Intending to make this

Ended up with this

I couldn't get past one set of the instructions - it was just too advanced for me at this time. If I only had someone to show me I might have been able to move on. sigh. So, I'm now hopping to turn that mess into this

Wish me luck. I feel like I'm walking a tight rope instead of crocheting it!

(Both blankets are from this book.)

Have a great weekend. Next week I will have a few crafty things to share - yae!

Ps - sorry for all the weird spacing - blogger is really giving me a fit tonight. arg.

Because

It's cold outside.

It's time to bring the picnic inside.

We were tired and hungry.

I can ...

by the fire with little ones at my feet because DH brought home dinner.

Mellow Yellow

If you had this yarn:

What would you make?

It's so yummy and soft. For you yarn junkies here are the stats:

malabrigo

kettle dyed pure merino wool

worsted

261 yards

3.5 oz

Oh yeah ... there's a catch - I don't look good in yellow so I figure a hat or scarf is out. Not that I couldn't make one for someone else but ... you know ... this yarn is really delicious. I kinda want to come up with something spectacular for me ;-) Bad, bad, bad, selfish crafter I know!

Splat Mat

... for the fat cat.

My cat is quite overweight.

He is 14.9 lbs.

Poor kitty.

He is big boned and has lots of fur.

I promise all of that is not just squishy flab.

Really.

It was time to take action.

Eleven years of being 'free range' has taken it's toll.

He is now on the CatKins diet. For real - check it out here - I'm not making this up ;-)

My kitty's woes don't just stop there ... he had to have two teeth pulled. He's doing great now and has adjusted to his new food but I felt he needed something to lift his spirits. So I made what every cat needs - his very own splat mat. I pulled some fabric from my stash and ironed on some vinyl to make for an easy clean (he's a messy eater - just like all the other males in this house ... don't get me started on all their bathrooms).

I think it's just puuuurrrrfect.

Turn The Page ... Tuesday

This month's read was a sweet and fun one. Henry and I both enjoyed the adventures of the quirky little mouse Stuart Little. We spent the better part of many evenings this summer winding down from our day imagining what might happen next. If you are not familiar with the story, Stuart is a mouse who just happens to be born to a family of humans; and if that is not enough, they own a cat.

I think the back of the book actually gives a great synopsis:

"Stuart Little is a mouse in the family of the Frederick C. Littles and is a pleasantly debonair little character, with a shy, engaging manner and a somewhat philosophical turn of mind ... His great adventure comes when, at the age of seven, he sets out in the world to seek his dearest friend, Margalo, a beautiful little bird who stayed for a few days in the Littles' Boston fern."

This book was written in 1945 (I believe) and in my opinion was way ahead of it's time. Families and friends come in all shapes, sizes, and colors ... we could all learn a lot from the Littles.

For more TTPT reads:

Paige

Stacey

Ruth

Second Hand

My poor second child. He gets all the hand me downs. Shoes, clothes, toys - you name it. He even wears a bathrobe with Henry's name on it. I just couldn't justify buying another when he would soon out grow it. Same with his backpack. Henry had one with his initials on it for preschool and needed a much larger one for kindergarten. What did John get? The old back back.


I thought I was so clever by ripping out the monogram and throwing it in the wash - that would surely remove the stitch marks ...






As you can see, my attempt was in vain. John has been going to school with a mutilated bag which, bless him, he doesn't seem to mind. He is still in the stage of enjoying having Henry's things.


I just had to do something but I wasn't sure what (that mommy guilt will get ya sometimes). I tossed around making this back pack by Made By Rae but who am I kidding ... I just don't have time right now. A quick fix was in order. I pulled a few pieces fabric from my stash (and let John pick which one he wanted and immediately got to work.

It's still a little rough but it does the job. John is just tickled. Now the only elephant in the room (as far as I'm concerned) is on his backpack instead of what was once on it.

Mommy guilt in check - second hand is repurposed - oh happy day!

Note To Self

... and anyone else who is interested (big smile)

• Turn the page ... Tuesday is coming up - Oct. 6th will be here before you know it. The theme is a children's/youth book but feel free to review whatever you've read
• Alphabet Swap - need to hurry because sign ups end Oct. 3rd
• JCasa has a wonderful wonderful post about being neighborly. Oh how I wish could knit more than a washcloth ...
• Ruth of Farm Girl In My Heart is having a give away for an awesome banner - ends Oct. 4th.
• Enjoy these rascals despite the fact they are eating our meager landscape ...

What are some of your notes to yourself?