Soccerchic Knits

More Knitting

2012-01-30T11:14:00.000-08:00

With Hannah being so mobile I am finally able to get more done around the house and more knitting done as well. My goal is to finish projects that have been sitting for too long.

I finished Madder Ribbed Socks by Nancy Bush found in Knitting Vintage Socks. The yarn is Malabrigo Sock (one of my absolute favorite sock yarns) in the Lettuce colorway. I love this book. This is the second pair of socks I have finished from this book and they won't be the last. I have another half finished pair to finish and hopefully post soon.

Last week I finished Noro Stripey Socks. This is my first time using Noro sock and I was worried about the yarn feeling scratchy while I wore it but indeed it is not as people have told me. These socks are incredibly warm and comfortable. Perfect for winter.

Also after making such cute pants for a friend's twins who are due soon I had to make a pair for Hannah. I have so much wool lying around that was intended for soakers I figured I should use some up. These are quite big for her. I used a larger needle size because I wanted to make sure she would be able to wear them for a long time and I think these will fit her petite frame until she is three!

More to come! I still have a pair of socks that I know of that are halfway finished as well as two sweaters and one that I need to add a hood and a button placket.

Random Places Kids Sleep

2012-01-24T12:18:00.001-08:00

A friend has this blog which I LOVE! Random Places Kids Sleep I knew I had a video of Jake and found it to send on to her. Check it out.

Knitting Knitting Knitting

2012-01-11T21:55:00.000-08:00

I am finally getting my knitting mojo back. Having holiday bazaars and baby gifts to knit is very helpful. I have a friend who is expecting twins. She had sent me a picture of some newborn elf looking hats and was wondering if it was something I would be able to make. The photograph was crochet but I did find a comparable knitting pattern. They turned out so incredibly cute! I wish I would have thought to knit one of these for Hannah when she was a newborn.

There were also pants that she had found pictures of online here. Thankfully there was a free pattern on Ravelry (found here) that was for the most part exactly the same I just needed to stitch the eyes differently and my pants didn't have as many stripes on the legs.

The sock monkey pants were knit exactly the same I just had to leave off double stitching the teeth on and made the eyes per the example.

I have already cast on a pair for Hannah to keep for herself.

One

2012-01-09T22:13:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that this...

Was once this...

Hannah celebrated her first birthday on January 5th. One seems like such a small number for everything she has accomplished this past year. One is such a small number for a person whom it seems has been with us forever. One is such a small number for a person who brings so much joy.

Happy New Year

2012-01-03T09:44:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012! We had a whirlwind of a year with Hannah's birth and the death of our dog and my grandmother. Here is hoping that 2012 is full of happiness and good heath. I also pledge to blog more. Once a week!

Summer fun...

2011-08-31T14:50:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day of summer break. The kids and myself are very excited. I think as summer winds down children get bored of being home in the same environment despite the park days and swim class.

The kids really improved at swimming this summer. They took classes at an outdoor private pool that I grew up at. It was very nostalgic and had me longing for the money to afford the luxury of a membership. Hopefully next summer or the summer after next we can afford it. This particular pool has a 5 year waiting list!

We ended our summer family time with free movies in the park thanks to the city of Burien. Unfortunately Riley isn't in any of the pictures. She met a new friend and wanted to sit with them.

As school starts I am very excited to just be home with Hannah. This is the first time I have ever been a full time stay at home mother with a baby. I feel like I have really been able to just soak her in and enjoy her more than I was able to with my older children and I am taking full advantage of that. I am also looking forward to a cleaner house that isn't destroyed behind me as I clean!

Along with school comes fall. I love when summer slowly changes to fall and we cozy into the couch with blankets and read books and light candles. Maybe this fall I will get more knitting in.

I still have not come up with a new name for the blog. Some ideas are...
The Ginger Brown House
The Browns around Town
A house full of Gingers

As you can see we aren't very creative.

Looking Back

2011-08-22T13:29:00.001-07:00

I took a few minutes to look back into my first few years of blogging. In that few minutes I found this.

I still can't believe I let myself get to such an unhealthy weight! I am much happier like this.

While I still have 40 pounds to lose to get to my goal weight I am feeling so much better in my new (what I had 10 years ago) body. Even though this is much better than I was I am trying to get back to my college self. :)

I do to knit!

2011-08-22T13:02:00.000-07:00

Life with three kids gets pretty busy. Especially in the summer. I have been trying very hard to be a good stay at home mom. However, with all the kids home all day my house gets messy behind me as I clean. In an effort to save money I have also started canning and preparing more meals at home and baking which takes up more time.

I was knitting mostly when Hannah would nurse which is very easy. Lately though Hannah is very very curious and moving and grabbing more as she nurses. I have had my needle pulled out of my work too many times now so knitting and nursing is going to have to be a thing of the past.

I did get time to knit up this little hat. It was so fast and easy. I found some 4-ply sock yarn and knit on US 4 needles in the round. I started it in the evening while watching TV and finished it the next night. This makes an EXCELLENT baby gift. Plus when you use self striping yarn it makes you look much more skilled. Most non-knitters don't realize you didn't need to switch yarn for each stripe. :)

While I started this blog almost 6 years ago to document my knitting journey. It has turned into so much more than that over the years. I am thinking it is time for a name change as my focus has more changed into taking care of these guys.

I have been wracking my brain over the past few weeks on a new name. It hasn't come to me yet. I will keep thinking...

Jars

2011-08-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

I have a thing for jars. I love glass jars. If someone came into my house and stole my canning jars, new or old, I would cry. I have been known to save glass containers that I find interesting as well. For instance my Jose Cuervo tequila bottle that I got for my birthday. Well, after scrubbing the labels off it turns into a beautiful vase.

I have some small glass containers that my grandmother was giving away. I have no clue what they used to hold and they are small but they are perfect for wild flowers.

Yes of course I use them for coins. We have a penny jar. We have guesses on how much money will be in there when we fill it to the top.

My favorite, and I know this sounds weird, is the jar that is at the sink. Yes it holds my icky scrubbing brushes but I love how rustic it looks. In my dream home it would be an eclectic mix of modern home on the range and I feel like this would be a part of that.

Then there is the jar that holds my wooden spoons. See above. :)

Sisters

2011-08-01T09:39:00.000-07:00

Growing up I always wanted a sister. I think there is something so special about having a sibling of the same sex although I don't think I want to try to give Jake a brother as much as he wants one. I keep warning him that if we did he might get another sister. Don't get me wrong I think I was fortunate to have a younger brother and I love the bond that Riley and Jake have but there is just something special about sisters and I feel so blessed to be able to watch their relationship grow.

Holy Six!

2011-07-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

My boy is now six! On his birthday we went down memory lane and I was going over the day he was born and he was fascinated that the doctors cut him out of me. Then he wanted to know if his sisters were "cut out" too. When I said no he goes, "oh! So boys are cut out of their mommies and girls are pushed out!" Not really buddy. So then I had to explain a little more that some boys are pushed out.

It is so exciting to watch my son grow. He is so bright and loves to read. Right now he is reading second grade books. He is also now taller than his older sister! Jake said he was excited to turn six so he could be in the first grade. I just hope that his excitement for learning and school never stop.

Play Ball!

2011-07-18T14:00:00.001-07:00

Hannah got to experience her first Mariners game yesterday. We had family visiting from out of town. My parents were very generous and bought us tickets so we could go with them all.

We started our adventure with a ride on the Sounder commuter train. This is fairly new to the area and I wish it would have been built years and years ago. There have been some people that are against building a mass transit system due to the initial costs of building. However, I think it is a great asset to our area. Not only will it ease congestion but it will also take more cars off the road. And it isn't that expensive to ride. In my opinion it is worth the extra tax money. Now I will step off of my soap box.

After we ate our hot dog from a street vendor we went to the game. We had great seats right above the center fielder. Unfortunately the Mariners did not have that great of a day and no home runs came to our area. However, we did make it on the jumbo screen! That was a first and the kids got a kick out of it.

After the game all children 12 and under got to run around the bases. It was so popular that the line snaked it's way up to the 300 level and then all the way back down to the tunnel that goes onto the field. Thankfully the staff was very experienced and it ran very smoothly. Riley was so quick that I didn't get her in any of the pictures. They did have a photographer there and were handing out cards so we can go online and order them.

It ended up being a long and exhausting day but it was very fun. The kids had a blast and that is really what is most important to me as a parent.

Mmmmm Carrots!

2011-07-12T13:05:00.001-07:00

We have been making a very slow venture into solid foods. I am in no rush to go gung-ho. Hannah is obviously thriving with breast milk alone. Yesterday at her 6 month checkup she weighed in at 15 pounds 12 ounces. Which was a two pound weight gain in just two months.

I love the idea of baby led weaning and following her cues to know what she is ready for. I am not too big on just giving rice or oat cereal first. At this point Hannah loves the food going into her mouth. She opens her mouth and chomps down like a pirrannah. Our only problem is that she will often gag as the food makes it's way down her throat. I think that she loves that I am giving her yummy steamed and pureed sweet carrots. Or maybe it is just another game for her.

Either way it sure does make for a good photo opportunity.

8

2011-07-10T15:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my baby turned 8 years old. Honestly I really can't believe where the years have gone. Cherish every moment.

Crayon Craft

2011-07-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

I love this craft. What I love is I can get my kids to do most of the dirty work and it is super fast and easy aside from peeling the crayons (the dirty work).

First peel the crayons. Then we break and separate them into cupcake cups. You can find craft cups at Joann's as well if you like. Cupcake cups work just as well. I say the cheaper the better since they are getting thrown away after the craft.

You can microwave the crayons directly in the candy molds but I prefer to just melt mine in the oven. I set my oven for 350 degrees. Then I just check on them and occasionally mix them with a toothpick until they are completely melted. I also have an old cookie sheet that is now the craft sheet as the oil in the crayons sometimes does seep through the bottom of the cups. In my experience Crayola crayons are less oily and melt faster and better than cheap crayons. However, I would not pay full price for crayons just for this project. I usually have the kids gather their old broken crayons. Crayola 24 count boxes were on sale this week for 25 cents each limit 4 so I bought 4 and Riley bought 4. This time I used two boxes.

When the crayons are completely melted carefully pour the wax into your mold of choice. I buy candy molds at Joann's. They are fairly inexpensive and can be reused. Again these are now only used for crafts. One thing I did that I would not do again is purchase candy molds that have a slot for a popsicle stick. If you happen to pour just a little bit too high the wax flows into this slot and then will pour all over your counter as it did to me today. I should have taken a picture but I was too busy trying to clean up the mess quickly. Then I realized I should have left it alone and just scraped off hard wax instead of smooshing it into my counter. Not my smartest moment. The molds shown here are regular candy molds

After I pour the wax I put the molds into the freezer for about 10 minutes then set them on the counter for a few minutes and then pop them out and they are ready to go!

Chubalove

2011-06-23T23:16:00.000-07:00

This baby is definitely not missing any meals.

While I have breast fed two other children well into pre-school age it still amazes me that my milk can do this. It is crazy how my milk plumps up what was just almost six months ago a little newborn.

This baby is also cutting her first tooth and likes to gnaw on her lower lip for a good portion of the day. I am thankful that this one did not start teething until almost 6 months. My first two had teeth at 4 months of age. While I love a grin with just a few teeth a gummy mouth sure is cute!

Firsts

2011-06-14T23:01:00.000-07:00

First I have to thank my friend Corey for taking this perfect picture. I love it! We haven't gotten a great family picture in a few years. Aside from Hannah not smiling at the camera. I will give her a pass she is only 5 months old after all.

Riley received her first communion on May 14th. Paul wasn't able to snap a picture of that as a woman stepped right in front of him as he clicked the camera. At least I have the mental image to remember which is just as special. Being raised Catholic this was such a special day to watch my first born receive the body and blood of Christ. What is even more special is that she looks forward to taking Christ into her body each week.

Riley was able to get a picture with another girl whom she was baptized with. We see this family at church and it has been so neat to see their daughter and family grow through the years.

Our family definitely needed this happy moment in all of our sadness last month. Unfortunately my mother was not able to attend as she was with my grandmother in her last days. My grandmother would have been so happy and proud of Riley.

Saying Goodbye Again

2011-05-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

My grandmother entered the kingdom of Heaven yesterday. While I am sad I will not see her again in this life I am thankful she is no longer in pain and in the glory of God. I am also thankful that she was able to meet Hannah while she was able to not be bedridden and on medication to ease her pain. My family was told she would most likely pass over this past weekend. They were not sure why she was hanging on until yesterday. I have a feeling she was waiting for a beautiful day. In the Northwest we have had a very wet and sunless spring. Finally yesterday the clouds went away and the sun was out and we were blessed with 70 degree heat. In my opinion is was the perfect day to leave.

During all of the heartache of the past two weeks we have had joyous occasions which I will need to post about separately as I think they deserve that. The night before we put Bob down we celebrated my parent's 25th wedding anniversary. They are a true example of what a loving dedicated marriage looks like. Also this past weekend Riley received her first communion which was a very special event. So I am thankful that God has given us joy to go along with the pain.

Goodbye to a dear friend

2011-05-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

We had to say goodbye to our very loved dog Bob. The ache I feel right now is too much to even put into words. He was an amazingly loyal, playful and gentle dog. We couldn't have asked for anything better.

Beginning my couponing journey

2011-04-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

Here are my spoils at my first attempt at coupon savings. (Not pictured are three bags of potting soil)
Total before sales and coupons $49.95 before tax.
Total amount paid before tax $21.79. So if my math is correct that is a savings of 43.6%.

YesterdayI spent a good part of my afternoon and evening cutting coupons and comparing what I had to my local sales (split up of course to take care of Hannah as she needed me and deep cleaning my disgusting bathroom). I went to Walgreen's, a store I rarely if ever go to. My lure was cereal, which we go through so fast at home and it is an expensive part of our grocery bill. Walgreen's had certain types of Special K cereal on sale for 2 for $5. I also had a manufacturers coupon that I printed online to save $3 when I bought 5 boxes. So with the sale and my coupon I only spent $1.90 a box which is a deal considering the normal price is over $5 per box!

Because I have just started couponing I know I could have saved more money. For instance I did not have a coupon for the Lysol wipes, however they were buy one get one free. I use these all the time in my house to disinfect and clean surfaces so I bought them anyway. Also I did not have a manufacturers coupon for the Ajax dish soap to combine with my in store coupon. However, the in store coupon gave me a price of 79 cents. Still a good deal.

I am still proud of myself. I NEVER save this much. It is time consuming but then I think of the amount of money I am going to save my household in a year and I get excited. I just saved us $28.16 in one shopping trip! I can't imagine what that will add up to at the end of the year. We are not able to save as much as the people on the TLC show Extreme Couponing due to what I understand as the "rules" in our state. I am not able to use more than one manufacturers coupon per sale. So I am not able to buy 10 items and use 10 of the same coupon as I understand it. I still have a lot to learn but as my coupon stash grows I know I will save more money.

A Peek

2011-03-30T07:48:00.001-07:00

The knitting has been slow going. I do have some finished projects but I can just never find the time to take them. Plus my attire lately has been sweats and t-shirts and those don't really showcase a nice hand knit very well. Not to mention the weather here has been very dreary which doesn't make for a nice picture either. So because of that you get a few sneaks.

Here is Hannah modeling a design I am working on. I did a prototype and just need to finish writing it up then it needs to be test knit. I don't know how some designers whip out patterns left and right. They must not have three children one of whom is an infant.

Here is another pattern in the works. I just finished the chart last night using this great online tool. I should probably finish the first project but I really want to cast on for this.

I have about 10 other designs floating around in my head but don't have the time to get them down. There is always tomorrow and snuggling with red heads is more important.

Moments

2011-03-18T15:19:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite moments in the day is Hannah's breakfast when she wakes up. It is usually calm with Spongebob playing in the background and laughter from my older children. Hannah and I sit quietly by the window and connect. I get lots of smiles which I take as "Thank you mommy this is so good!"

Bad News

2011-03-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

Today we learned that Hannah has kidney reflux. She has a grade four out of five with five being the worst. We were really hoping we could not have to go through all of this again. However, I like to think we are stronger because we went through this with Riley. I am praying that Hannah will not need surgery like Riley did. I am thankful that our pediatrician likes checking because otherwise we would not have known until she got an infection and now we can use preventative measures so she doesn't. We will find out more when we meet with her urologist in two weeks.

Keeping those hands warm

2011-03-10T09:23:00.000-08:00

It has been a cold winter here in western Washington. Our hands get a little chilly when we warm up the cars in the morning. Ironically because I am late to posting these projects we are now on a heat wave with temperatures in the 50s!

The Wristler mitts were meant to be a christmas present for Paul. They were finished a week after Hannah was born. Thankfully my husband knows me well and didn't expect them by Christmas.

They are knit using Cascade 220 super wash wool. While I don't usually choose Cascade yarn much anymore as I now have a preference for hand dyed yarn, Paul perfers very simple manly colors. Something hand dyed even in a "manly" color would not be manly enough. Since Paul goes to work at 4am these mitts have proved very useful. If anyone is wondering I am modeling not him. They are fairly large on me but fit Paul perfectly.

I have been a bit ADD lately when it comes to knitting. I will blame it on having an infant to take care of. I have three sweater projects sitting around if that says anything. One only needs the collar and zipper attached. Another just needs one sleeve and a button band to knit. The other is almost halfway knit. I am not mentioning my other basket of unfinished hats, socks, and baby sweaters. So needless to say fitting in a quick two day project makes me feel good.

These are One Cable Mitts made from Malabrigo Twist. While I adore how this yarn feels it does pill considerably. It probably doesn't help that I have been wearing them non stop. Thankfully I bought them the same day I purchased a sweater stone for another garment. Who knows I would need it for these as well. Riley has requested a pair for herself with the same yarn she has in her personal stash. I think I might have her make them. Are cables too much for a 7 year old? My theory with knitting is if you want to learn something new just dive right in. The worst you will need to do is rip out what you have knit and start over.

If Hannah would have let me this morning I would have given a sneak photo on a knit design I am working on. Since she didn't you get a photo of her. Most of the pictures I have lately of Hannah include blurry limbs. Hannah has discovered she can move them all the time. This doesn't make nursing very easy anymore when we have to maneuver around punching hands and kicking feet. It is still pretty darn cute though.

Those Babies of Mine

2011-03-08T13:14:00.000-08:00

I have always sung this lullaby to all of my children. I am not sure what prompted it. Dumbo wasn't my favorite movie as a child. There was just one day when Riley was a wee one and very upset I just started singing it and remembered the song! Now it is the lullaby I sing all the time. It immediately calms Hannah down. I hope my children continue this with their own babies.

A Brown Cookie Cutter

2011-03-02T13:50:00.000-08:00

Hannah

Jake

Riley

Looking at Hannah I definitely see similarities to my other children. Mostly Riley. They could be twins. Hannah's nose is slightly different than Riley's and she has more of Jake's brow but still so amazingly similar. I find myself calling her Riley a lot of the time. Jake definitely has his own look but he is still definitely part of the cookie cutter. My husband has some strong strong genes.

Be an organ donor

2011-03-01T10:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday marked the 10 year anniversary of Kris Kime's death. I went to high school with Kris and we shared a number of classes. If you asked anyone who knew Kris they would most likely say he was one of the nicest people they knew. This was definitely true. I have known the Kime's for quite a long time as my brother was a boy scout with Kris' younger brother and they remain friends. Kris' death rocked the Burien community and has changes how Mardi Gras is celebrated in Seattle. You can read the full story on his death and his mother's comments here on the B-Town Blog. In short Kris being who he was, defended a woman who was being beat in the street and a heartless 17 year old beat him to death for stepping in. The man who killed him continues to break the law and is what I consider a career criminal. However, due to the legal system he keeps pleading for lesser charges and is awarded his requests. When in my mind he should be spending much more time in prison for his actions.

The positive of this is that Kris was an organ donor. Now 5 people are living life to the fullest because of him caring enough while alive to want to help other people live after his death.

I am an organ donor. My husband is well aware that I want as much of my body donated as possible after my death. Even if there is nothing left. This body is just an earthly vessel. I do not need any of these parts in eternity with my Savior. So if you are not an organ donor I ask you to reconsider your decision if you have previously not wanted to donate for whatever reason. I also ask that if you just have not changed your status due to lack of time that you find time to do so.

Rare Moments

2011-02-28T14:10:00.001-08:00

It is very rare with multiple small children that I capture a moment where everyone is smiling at the same time or looking at the camera or not moving, etc. Any parent will understand and commiserate with me. So I was very happy to capture this moment on my camera.

Because most of them look like this...

How I find time to knit

2011-02-23T10:58:00.001-08:00

I have been needing to find creative ways to fit knitting into my life lately. I figured sharing a picture of my nursing Hannah on the boppy and knitting might not appeal to all of my readers so you get to see how I knit the other half of the time.

This is one of the ways that will quickly calm Hannah down when she is over tired. However, after a few minutes my lower back starts to hurt. The pains a mother will go through to make sure her baby is not crying.

Speaking of crying have you seen this commercial? Add the hormones that are surging through my body to that and you have a good cry fest!

Coming Home

These Feet

2011-02-14T10:40:00.001-08:00

I have a thing for baby feet. I love them! I can't stand how cute they are. So tiny and soft I just want to eat them up! The other day as I was snapping a bunch of pictures of Hannah's feet I got a little sentimental. Call it new mom hormones I guess.

These feet will take their first steps then second then so on. Where will they go? Will they grace the steps of the oval office or the surgical floor of a major hospital or maybe a second grade classroom or maybe just stay at her home with her own children? It is amazing to see your children as tiny babies and as they grow. I wonder if my mother looks at me now and maybe I make a certain face or look at her a certain way does she think back to when I was a baby and does her heart melt just a little bit? I know this happens to me with my children now.

Whatever Hannah grows up to be I will remember her baby feet and be proud of wherever those feet go in life.

Knitting Mojo

2011-02-11T20:12:00.000-08:00

I have knitting mojo it is back! I finished Yvaine last week and blocked it and have already enjoyed wearing it. This is made from Madelinetosh Merino Light. My first project finished with this yarn. I.LOVE.IT! I did add more rows to the shawl to make it larger than the pattern called for. It is so warm and soft!

Oh my Hannah

2011-02-08T14:29:00.000-08:00

Jake has made up a song for Hannah. If you have seen Spongebob you might remember the song that Plankton sings for his wife Karen. If not here is a link so you can get the tune. Then replace with Jake's words.

Ohhh my Hannah
Ohhh my Hannah
Ohh my beautiful Hannah
How we love your eyes
How we love your mouth
How we love your ears
and your eyes and your head

(repeat above a million times)

Because...

2011-01-31T12:00:00.001-08:00

I do have knitting content to show but Paul has taken them and worn them to work. Plus the only thing the camera is taking pictures of these days is Hannah.

This is Hannah's first teddy bear. The week my mom found out I was pregnant with our first she ran out to get Riley her very first teddy bear and again when I announced when I was pregnant with Jake. This year however has been so crazy and rightly so my mother's brain and time has been consumed with her mother. The other day after Jake and Riley were playing with their bears I remembered that my mom had not brought home one for Hannah. Being the annoying child that I am I jokingly called my mother and reprimanded her. Of course she had to do it! She felt bad that she had forgotten but I reminded her that this year has been a bit filled with other distractions. So here is Hannah with her first teddy bear. It is super soft and lovely. Perfect for a little girl to love. By the way my husband and I still have our first teddy bears as well.

Speaking of Paul how cute is this picture of a proud papa?

On Diversity

2011-01-17T12:00:00.001-08:00

Today as I stay home with my children I want them to know why we are home. I am happy that they learn about Martin Luther King Jr. in school. Jake said to me last week "Mommy it makes me sad when people I love die." When I asked him who died that he loved his answer was "Jesus and Martin Luther King Jr." I love the reflections of a 5 year old.

I got this link from a friend. You can watch the "I Have a Dream" speech. It has been quite a long time since I saw it myself. The kids and I are going to watch it together. Even though racism unfortunately is still alive I can take comfort in knowing that my husband and I raise our children to love and respect all cultures and races. I feel fortunate to live in a community where they are surrounded by people from all walks of life. I can only pray that they learn what we are teaching and continue what they learn throughout their lives. Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Just Because

2011-01-09T20:22:00.000-08:00

I am so in love

Welcome to the world Hannah

2011-01-07T20:02:00.001-08:00

Hannah Dean was born Wednesday January 5th at 5:12 am. We had such an amazing VBAC. I can't thank my birth team enough. I would highly recommend Group Health Seattle. My midwife was so amazing the nurses so helpful and I couldn't have done it without my husband. I have the birth story posted after pictures.

It has been a crazy week with contractions off and on since late Monday night but active labor was just under 7 hours. I tested group B strep positive and unfortunately due to the quick labor I was not able to get the second dose of antibiotics in so I had to stay an extra day at the hospital. Sadly my husband was not able to stay nights with me and due to sleep deprivation, stress, dehydration and fighting pre-eclampsia we did need to give Hannah a touch of supplementation. However, today being her first day home she hasn't needed anything other than me. She nurses well and is content afterward and it appears that my milk is now here which is such a relief. I had a hard time succumbing to the fact that I did need help and let the nurse supplement and take Hannah to the nursery so I could get some sleep last night. I realized I had no had more than a quick nap here or there since Sunday evening. NOT very healthy! Especially for a post pardom woman.

Brother and sister are enamored with her and want to hold her all the time. They are proving to be very good helpers. I am so happy to finally be home in my own bed, in my own clothes and with my family. God is so amazing and I see His glory when I look at my complete family. So without further adieu the pictures!

Hannah's Birth Story

I don't really know where to begin. This was the birth that I always wanted. It sounds so silly so say out loud but it really was.

So I started noticing regular contractions Monday evening into the night and early Tuesday morning. We went to the birthing center to get checked out and I was only at 1.5 50% effaced and no contractions were showing up on the monitor which doesn't necessarily mean anything but I wasn't progressed enough to stay. So my midwife sent me home and told me to rest and drink a lot of water and that we would probably be back later that night. We got home Tuesday around 6:30 am and took a nap until about 10. DH and I had a nice drive up to the mountains and rested and around dinner time my contractions picked up more and by 9pm were pretty regular and to where I had to concentrate through them.

Another trip to the birth center and I got checked and I had only dilated another cm. I was frustrated but there were regular contractions showing up on the machine. So my midwife had me get up and do circles around the unit for an hour. After that hour I did progress another cm and thinned out a bit more. We checked into our room around 10:30pm and my labor started to pick up from there.

I was able to labor how I wanted. I labored in the tub for a while, on the birthing ball, hunched over the ball. I was very focussed on making sure Hannah stayed in a good position for birthing. The only annoying thing was I had to have a hep lock and antibiotics for GBS+ and the baby had to be constantly monitored. So if she moved the nurse had to touch me and during a contraction it is highly annoying but I kept reminding myself that a VBAC is worth the minor annoyance.

When I hit transition I felt like throwing in the towel and wanted the epidural so bad! I put in my birth plan to NOT offer and that I would hit a wall and needed encouragement. WOW! Did they listen. They were so supportive and my midwife said to check me and I was now at 8cm. She then told me that I went from 4cm to 8cm in just an hour. NO WONDER! So transition was rearing it's ugly head. I kept reminding myself that we were almost done. My bag of waters was bulging and Hannah was so low. I was told if I felt a need to push I could. I labored a bit more and got to 9cm fast. My midwife then recommended breaking my water because the baby was right there and figured she would be born soon after.

After she broke my water my cervix was barely there and she said if I wanted to push it was okay and just do what my body told me to do. This is my first labor with no epidural at the end. So this is my first time feeling that real urge to just bear down and push a baby out. It is amazing! The next contraction I felt that urge and just bore down and it felt so good. I heard my husband say "Oh my gosh wow!" or something like that and then my mom was saying something so I reached down and she was crowning in that one push. At that point I knew we were so close to being done and I pushed again. It was going so fast that my midwife had to tell me to just hold on a second so she could get a few things together and get gloves on. After a few more pushes Hannah was out! My DH said in total it was just 4 good pushes. So from the time my water broke to birth was 10 minutes.

After Hannah was born they put her directly on my chest and the nurse said it would be cool to let her crawl to my nipple but I got impatient and moved her to my breast after a bit ;) Hannah stayed on my chest all through the placenta delivery and fixing a few tears (perineum in tact) and I did notice a delay in cutting the cord even though I didn't ask which was nice. She had a big poop coming out and a big pee during the first nursing which I loved because that didn't pump up her birth weight.

All in all it was an amazing VBAC experience. If I can just totally recommend birthing at Group Health Capitol Hill in Seattle. They are so pro natural birth and VBAC and I know I would not have had this experience anywhere else!

Sorry Cougs. :(

2010-12-05T17:53:00.003-08:00

Last night was Apple Cup. Too bad my Cougs lost. I got a nice sweatshirt though! Oh and a great new haircut that I love.

I was comparing this picture to the previous picture I took and it does confirm what definitely feels like super low baby.

First Snow

2010-11-24T13:57:00.000-08:00

On Monday we had our first snow of the season. I would say in total our neighborhood got around 3 inches. I know it doesn't sound like much to people who are used to snow in winter but a few inches can shut the Seattle area down. Monday was my dad's birthday and it took the poor man 5 hours to get home. Thankfully he gets off of work at 2:30 and still came home in time to enjoy Paul's chicken and tortellini with cream sauce.

Yesterday we took the kids sledding. I am a bit slower than everyone else and due to my current condition I was sadly banned from sledding and put on picture duty. Paul said he could take the kids himself but I figured I could use the walk and the entertainment. Plus the sledding trip didn't last long with temperatures in the 20s and the wind chill. Riley also scraped her chin on the last ride down. She was pretty upset but I told her it really isn't a good sledding trip unless you get at least one scrape. Maybe she will appreciate my motherly wisdom later in life.

There is a big grassy park with a soft ball field about three blocks from our house. It is perfect for sledding because it is set down from the main street level which leaves lots of options open for where to sled. The park was really busy but we didn't have to wait for other people at all. We just chose our spot on one of the hills and the kids did their thing. Here Paul is walking back towards home after sledding down the hill for the last time. I walked along the street and had to snap a few pictures of them. I love how you can see Mount Rainier from here. I had to crop the picture and set it as my desktop background.

Speaking of views... this is the view I have when I look down. Hannah is steadily growing and I am very much looking forward to her arrival. I have hit the very uncomfortable last month of pregnancy. I notice that I feel better when I am not sitting down on the couch. I would much rather be standing or tailor sitting on the floor. My yoga ball has come in handy.

I am officially "full term" or 37 weeks on December 11th. While I don't predict labor to start early as both of my children were born one and two weeks late I would really LOVE for Hannah to decide otherwise.

Smiling!

2010-11-08T13:50:00.000-08:00

I had Jake take a picture of me today at 32 weeks and 2 days pregnant. I smiled! However, I didn't take into account that when you have a 5 year old take your picture there is often a blur factor.

Aside from my face being puffier than when this pregnancy started I am really happy with how I look. At my last appointment a few weeks ago I had only gained 15 pounds total. With my last two pregnancies it was a very unhealthy 50 and 70 pounds. It is amazing how much better I feel compared to the other two times. Granted I am more fatigued. Maybe that is due to being older or because my children are older I have more time to feel fatigued? I don't notice that other parts of my body are getting "fatter" like last time. I could tell that I personally was gaining weight not just the pregnancy. My pants got tighter in the legs and rear and the arms of my shirts were tighter as well. That has not happened at all. If anything the legs of my pants feel looser. It will be interesting to see what I weigh when Hannah is born.

Being pregnant is definitely THE MOST amazing experience of my entire life and I feel so blessed to have been able to carry three children. Knowing that this is our last pregnancy and baby might make it more special. I try to just cherish every single moment, every single kick. I am sure my family is getting tired of me calling them over to feel the baby kick every day!

One thing I haven't really talked much about is my grandmother's health. Last year she was diagnosed with a rapid growing lung cancer and promptly had chemo treatment. She was healthy enough to attend my brother's wedding last fall which was such a blessing and just before New Years we were told the chemo worked and that the lump in her lung was gone. AMEN! Unfortunately her cancer came back in some lymph nodes in her chest and this round of chemo really wiped her out and did not work at all. Her cancer has now also spread into her back and the bones in her femur and hip. Her doctor had said he doesn't think continuing chemo to prolong her life is the best choice because it will probably end up being the thing that kills her if she does continue. So his focus now is her pain management and keeping her quality of life up for as long as that ends up being. Maybe one of the reasons I am cherishing this pregnancy so much is that with death there comes life. Our family is preparing to lose our matriarch yet there is new life coming as well.

Last week when I was visiting with my grandmother after her appointment she wanted to let me know that she wants me to have all of her yarn and knitting items. At that time my head was reeling from all of the information I had just received and I was trying to hold back tears as it was so I just told her not to worry about what to give me that it didn't matter. I have been told since then that when people do know their time is near it helps to know things will be in order. After reflecting on her planned gift for me I feel so incredibly fortunate. My grandmother is a very talented knitter and has on many occasion told me what a natural talent I have for this craft. Being able to knit with the needles that her hands held while she made her knit items will matter. Using the yarn that she chose because she loved it will matter. The fact that she cares enough to want ME to have all of her knitting DOES matter.

Halloween Fun

2010-11-04T20:58:00.000-07:00

We had a really low key Halloween this year mostly due to the pregnancy. Normally we meet up with friends and go with a large group of parents and children and trick or treat until our children are exhausted. Well, due to my expanding belly and lack of room for lungs we decided to just stick around our own neighborhood. Oh and it was a school night. We told the kids when their buckets filled up we were done. However, since mommy loves chocolate I stashed a pillow case in my coat pocket just in case we could talk daddy into just a bit more time. It worked!

My son who is so sensitive when it comes to anything remotely scary HAD to be this werewolf. My husband and I didn't influence his decision at all. I even suggested a few other costumes which he quickly turned down. I am proud of him for choosing something which a child his age might be too scared to wear. I think he took a big step in growing up and learning what is real and what is fake and overcoming a fear.

Riley who had just gone to the zoo the day before we bought their costumes wanted to be a zookeeper. Unfortunately when you go to the costume store two days before Halloween most of the sizes are sold. Thus, the only zookeeper costume was in toddler size. However, Indiana Jones dresses like a zookeeper AND he carries a whip! The monkey is courtesy of uncle Keith and his gift to Riley from his Honeymoon.

I decided to go as the uncomfortable 7 month pregnant woman. :)

Getting back to knitting

2010-10-28T22:43:00.000-07:00

My finger is still not healed. I am not sure exactly how you heal a pinkie finger that has been horribly sprained. I guess just baby it? I have been trying and in between the pain I knit a sweater for Hannah. The yarn is madelinetosh Pashmina. YES pricy for a baby sweater but OH SO NICE to knit with!

I am so fortunate to have a vintage button stash near by at my mother's house as well. She has more than enough buttons passed down from my great grandmother to last a few lifetimes.

The hat was finished a while ago but I just have not gotten around to taking any pictures of it. I knit it before I found out if we were having a boy or a girl out of excess yarn I had. Then I added the flower later. I think this will be the coming home hat.

The coming home! I am getting so antsy for Hannah's birth day! I am just about 31 weeks and I forgot how agonizing the last few months of a pregnancy can be for someone who STILL peeks at Christmas gifts.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-27T12:18:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we took the kids on a trip to a local pumpkin patch. It was a smaller farm but there was free admission and our kids didn't even notice there wasn't a tractor or hay ride. They did have a bunch of antique and newer farm machinery and trucks that the kids were more than welcome to climb and play on. We were only there a short time before it started pouring down rain but with two little kids running around from animal pen to animal pen a pumpkin patch visit can go very fast. Plus they were excited to get home and carve their pumpkins.

Notice the pumpkin guts on the wall that I got to scrub off.

Another Step Into Motherhood

2010-10-19T14:53:00.000-07:00

Last night I attended an informational meeting for Girl Scouts of Western Washington. Riley was so excited to tell me about this meeting that she could hardly contain herself when I picked her up from school last week. She was shoving the paper in my face as I was trying to exit the school parking lot. I was never a girl scout. I remember asking when I was Riley's age but for some reason I was not able to join. Probably scheduling conflicts with my parent's work schedules or something. How can I say no? She is so excited and we have yet to put her in a sport or other group due to our own work conflicts. Now that I am an official stay at home mother I have the time to have this opportunity with my daughter and what a perfect way to get her involved in something.

Boy Scouts starts in the spring and Jake has already informed Paul that he is joining.

The Grandpa Chair

2010-10-18T10:20:00.000-07:00

I used to have a nemesis living in my home. After much nagging and crazy talk about taking it in the back yard and setting it aflame it is FINALLY GONE! We had the world's cheapest, crappiest, most uncomfortable, ugly couch. I thought of taking photographs of this dreaded creature but I am too embarrassed that it actually lived with us for so long. It was more of a dog bed in the end than a couch. When it met it's end at the dump the cushions were torn up as well as the arms and it stunk! Not to mention that our house is just too small for two large couches. It was the best $30 we have ever spent!

For some crazy reason my husband thought it was comfortable. I prefer the couch I sit on where the cushions don't slide off when you sit down and the fabric is actually worth something and does not rip under the slightest pressure. No wonder the previous owner was giving it away! Oh! Plus I can shampoo the couch I am sitting on without staining it! You are really wishing I took pictures of the ugly couch now aren't you?

My husband has been wanting a recliner for some time. I think every man needs a recliner of some sort. Due to the baby coming and saving money for the birth and other events next year we were not able to run out and get a brand new chair. So we headed to the Goodwill. There is a rather large Goodwill in Seattle and I remembered they had nice selection of furniture the last time I was there. My husband sat in every recliner they had and they either did not lay back far enough or the reclining motion seemed too worn out. I spotted our purchase right when we walked up to the chairs. I loved it from the moment I saw it. I thought it is perfect for our old grandma house. It is small, compact, yet looks comfortable and I bet it would rock a baby to sleep like a dream. "What about this one honey?" He loved it! He said it was the most comfortable and fit all of his recliner criteria. What I love most about it is that the dogs don't fit comfortably on it so they stay off of it! Even better it had a $15 price tag. Meet the newest member of our furniture family. The Grandpa Chair.
Please ignore the lack of window sill and the needed paint around the new window. It is on my list of things to do before baby gets here. ;)

Summer Reading or Lack Thereof

2010-09-22T16:03:00.000-07:00

Remember the stack of books I was going to get through this summer? It did not happen. I just was not feeling the reading vibe. I finished one book! ONE BOOK! To Kill a Mockingbird.

I had heard great things about this book. It was a good book but not the best book I have ever read. I can see why it is chosen as class assignments but I have read better. Although I am glad I can now say that I have read the book. I hate that there are so many classics that I have not read.

I am a few pages into The Catcher in the Rye and it looks pretty interesting so far. I have been a few pages into this book since August. I just can't get into reading. I love reading. What is wrong with me? Oh that's right. I am nesting. Like a mad woman. It all started when we pulled the baby clothes down from the attic. All 18 boxes of them. So I had to sort through them, get rid of the boy clothes and decide which girl clothes I wanted to keep. Then I needed to clear a space for them. Well the space I needed was holding my yarn so I needed to clean out our closet so the yarn could have a new place to live. Then of course I needed to clean off the top of Paul's dresser to store the diapers and have a changing area. Everything just spiraled from that project. Now I have done the hall closet, the linen closet, a very cluttered dining room and bins of junk that have just been sitting in random spots of our home. I have filled up our entry way 4 times now with items we no longer need and have removed them from our house. IT FEELS SO GOOD!

No Knitting

2010-09-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

I hurt my hand. Being the klutziest person in the entire universe is really catching up with me. Last Friday I tripped... on my pants... and fell. However, if just tripping on my pants and falling at 24 weeks pregnant wasn't enough I had to hit my right hand on the TV on my way down. I basically punched the edge of the TV set. We have a large big screen TV that is about 7 years old. So it isn't a light weight skinny thing. It is bulky and is not forgiving.

My pinky finger and that side of my hand bruised and swelled right away as well as hurt. The HURT! OMG! I have had two children but this really hurt. THE best part of this whole situation was that I was also stuck at home. My husband mistakingly took my keys with him in his pocket to work. He felt horribly but it was an honest mistake. After a few hours I got in touch with my mom and my dad watched the kids while my mom took me to the ER. Our local hospital just finished renovating their ER and I have to say the change is amazing! What used to take 4+ hours took just over 1.

I was diagnosed with a boxers sprain as there was no break. Otherwise it would have been a boxers fracture. Funny. Almost a week later I still have swelling and deep bruises. Knitting hurts. I am still piggy back taping it to my ring finger because movement is still pretty painful as well.

I am hoping next week I will feel better. Organizing and nesting is now occupying my time.

First Day of School

2010-09-08T17:20:00.001-07:00

We marked off another mile stone in the parent memory book. Jake had his first day of school... ever! He started Kindergarten today and loved it so much that he got upset when we came to pick him up and said he did not want to go home yet. I don't really blame him. He has an amazing teacher and he was only there for two and a half hours which really doesn't seem long enough at all. Every other Friday he will be going for 5 hours so it evens out.

Riley also had her first day of second grade. She said they did "all the fun stuff" today. Her teacher seems very nice and I am sure we will be pleased. Riley also has some of her good friends from the past few years in her class as well. She was excited and said she couldn't wait to go back tomorrow. The challenge now is to make sure they love school this much when they are 13.

Our First Rodeo

2010-09-07T19:40:00.001-07:00

As a birthday present our very good friends took us to the Ellensburg Rodeo. It was a blast! Us city kids had such a good time. The seats were right up front across from the gates so we got the best possible experience. The kids keep asking when we will go again. They have also been telling everyone they meet about the Rodeo. Thankfully my camera has sports action shooting so I got some decent shots.

The pure athleticism of rider and animal amaze me.

This picture is getting framed and put in the kids' room.

The reason why there is so much pink being worn is because it was "Not Too Tough To Wear Pink" Day. I loved seeing all the rough and tough cowboys sporting their pink and really still looking very tough.

Again we had so much fun. We will definitely be taking the kids back again. Even though we live in Western Washington and Ellensburg is over the mountains it really is only two hours away. That is not much of a drive for the day we had and the experience I got to see on my children's faces.

No Internet

2010-08-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is my first mobile post. Our internet is down and I have sadly realized how addicted I really am. This has given me more time for knitting and nesting though. I finished another sweater for the baby out of yarn that I dyed myself. I will try to figure out hpw to post the picture from my phone. We named the baby! Her first and middle name are Hannah Dean. Paul and I have loved the name Hannah every pregnancy and Dean is one of Paul`s middle names. I love that now she is even more of a real person. Riley makes sure she says good morning and good night to Hannah each day. In summer reading news it has not gone as fast as I predicted. I have just finished To Kill A Mockingbird. It was decent but honestly I have read better. All in all though I am glad I checked it off my to read list. Now i am onto The Catcher in the Rye which my dad said he loved. Okay back to nesting.

Bring on the Pink!

2010-08-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

We are having a girl!

A First

2010-08-08T22:56:00.000-07:00

I finished my first knit for our baby on the way. I bought the yarn for this sweater literally days after I took a positive pregnancy test. Finding a pattern was a little troublesome as I wanted something incredibly cute but it had to be non gender specific. You may ask, "Well why not wait until you know the sex of the baby?" Then I would say, "You obviously don't know me very well I have a hard time waiting for anything when I am excited."

All in all I am very happy with this sweater. It is cute and would look cute on a baby girl or boy. As for finding out the sex of the baby I find out next week. I can't wait!

Big Number 5

2010-07-16T15:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my youngest turned the big 5. I can't believe that 5 years ago I was in the hospital with my rather large overdue newborn baby. He is everything this mom could ask for and more. I love you Jacob!

Beauty in your backyard

2010-07-14T00:06:00.000-07:00

Well I wish this was my backyard but it is pretty damn close. This beach park is literally a two minute drive from my home. I took the kids there today for about 4 hours and they played in a few salt water pools while I basked in the sun and worked on my New York Times crosswords. I love the Northwest.

Seven!

2010-07-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we celebrated Riley's seventh birthday. I know I say it every year but I can't believe she is now seven!

We had a lazy day at home after I drug the kids along to a doctor appointment. Riley helped me make and decorate her cake. We played in the pool in the afternoon and when daddy FINALLY got home at 2:30 (long time for a seven year old) she got to open her present.

Riley also got to choose her favorite dinner for me to cook her and she chose chicken noodle soup from the can. Wow! Did I get off easy or what?

Fun in the sun!

2010-07-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

Finally summer has hit Seattle! We went from temperatures in the 60s last week to temperatures in the 90s this week. I am keeping cool with the A/C in the window and strategically placing myself around the house to avoid the heat during the day and stay safe. Although I might head outside for a bit to read a book and soak up some rays. It was so bright this morning that I was wide awake at 6am which is VERY unusual for me.

Yesterday Paul set up the pool for Jake while Riley was at a sleepover. Jake said he was going to just hang out like a mommy and he did. He spent about an hour just lazing around on his air filled doughnut.

The extreme heat is supposed to continue through tomorrow then we will return to a normal summer in the Northwest. I am not complaining. After the depressing spring and early summer we had I am going to safely enjoy the weather.

Summer Reading

2010-07-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

Today is the official start to my summer home with the kids. We have plans of playing in the wading pool, park days and hopefully some fun in the sun. With that comes lots of reading for me. Here is the stack of books I have planned to read this summer. Too ambitious? I am a fairly fast reader, especially if I find a book I really love.

These aren't in order of how I plan to read them. I just thought they looked best stacked this way. My first book which I started today is To Kill a Mockingbird. I have never read it! I know that is very shocking. Isn't every high school student required to read this book? I think Harry Potter might be second since it is the biggest. I haven't read any of the other books but I am kind of dying to find out what happens in the end before the movie comes out. Then again will it ruin the movie for me?

The other books I have heard are good and Catcher in the Rye is another classic I have never read and my dad said he really liked it.

Let's see if I can accomplish my task shall we?

Happy 4th!

2010-07-04T17:43:00.001-07:00

It has been a pretty lazy day here. Normally we would head to the lake property but with all the recent driving we just did I wanted to stay home and sleep in my own bed. We decided to hit the local 4th of July parade. Due to the weather we didn't have to get there too early and we got a decent spot.

The kids had fun and collected a good few handfuls each of candy.

Here is the rain coming in. For the last 10 minutes or so of the parade we did get misted on. I was really hoping to have a fire in the back yard with sparklers and smores but I think that plan is dashed!

On this day don't forget to thank the veterans who served our country. Also all of our brave service people who serve now. :)

And I am back!

2010-07-02T10:12:00.000-07:00

With my first trimester down I am hoping for more energy and hopefully less times running to the bathroom. We just got back from a great trip to Disneyland. The kids had a blast even though we did run them to the ground. I also got to spend my 32nd birthday in the most magical place on earth. I did have to sit out on a few rides but still had a great time. We drove down which took the better part of two days. Having a DVD player and a DS for each child was definitely a God send. Surprisingly I didn't knit much at all. I brought a sweater that could have been finished but my NY Times crossword puzzle book kept me less bored. A few days before we left for vacation I got to see our growing baby again. Everything looks very good. The baby has a healthy spine, two arms and legs hands and feet. Mid August we will go in for another ultrasound and hopefully find out if we are expecting a girl or a boy. I could care less of course but I do like finding out.

Baby's First Picture

2010-05-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

We got to see our very very small little life for the first time last week. I have my first official appointment on Tuesday. Then we will get to actually hear the heartbeat! Then I can talk to the doctor about all of the headaches, dizziness and how I have been constantly feeling out of breath.

Very Inspiring

2010-05-21T11:38:00.001-07:00

Baby Stripes

2010-04-28T23:22:00.001-07:00

I finished up the Green Zebra Baby Sweater last weekend. It was gifted to a friend who is expecting her first next month.

I love knitting... knitting for boys unfortunately bores me. THANKFULLY there was this pattern.

I have a hard time choosing baby patterns for boys. On one hand you do want something that is cute for a baby. However, not too cute where it becomes feminine. The great thing about this sweater is just by changing the color it could be incredibly girly yet now it works well for a boy. Although these colors would work for a girl too wouldn't they?

'nuf said

2010-04-25T23:38:00.001-07:00

Oh what a fan will do...

2010-04-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

Last night I waited at Third Place Books for 5 hours to get my book signed by The Pioneer Woman - Ree Drummond. WOW! I have honestly never done anything like this before. When I was 12 I got a picture signed by Mario Lopez and Tiffany Amber Thiessen but my brother cut us into line.

Thankfully I didn't actually stand in a line for the entire 5 hours. I would have died! The system was set up very well. You were assigned a letter and they called the letter groups which were 50 people each. I was group J and when I got there it was group C. Holy Cow! This is where bringing a New York Times crossword puzzle book, knitting, and a cell phone to text friends comes in very handy.

I was lucky enough to find a nice group of women who traveled from Prosser and sat with them the majority of the time chatting about Ree, house values, home improvement, WSU, casinos, and eastern Washington vs. western Washington. There was a food court and a big band playing on a stage.

Just before 11 pm I got to meet Ree. She was still very alert considering she had been meeting total strangers and signing her signature for almost 6 hours. She was/is very nice. Took a few moments to get to know me as much as she could and STILL took a nice picture. Her cookbook is wonderful. I love the photographs and the easy instructions. You must get one!

New this week

2010-04-02T22:48:00.000-07:00

I have a few more colors to share. These are posted in my shop. I have a handful of other colors to post but my arms are tired.

Grounded

Burgundy

Iris

I also worked on a few new stitch markers.

Whale Watching...

2010-03-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

There have been some grey whales in the Puget Sound so on Sunday we ventured to the water in the hopes of seeing them. No luck but we did have fun.

Dirt

2010-03-27T18:24:00.001-07:00

Today I turned this...

into this...

I know the orange temporary fence is very very ugly. However, if I want my dogs to not dig in a dirt wonderland I have to set this up.

There is something so meditative about working with dirt. Having a radio outside would have been entertaining. I am glad I didn't though. It was nice just being outside with my thoughts, the occasional question from my children, the dogs wanting me to throw the ball and my worms.

I can't even begin to tell you how many worms we have in our garden. I checked a square foot of space just a a few inches down and found more than a handful of huge worms. I love worms I always have. They are so helpful! Look at this dirt.

The dirt is so healthy and amazing. Late last summer we had a load of dirt dumped for the front garden and for potting plants. We took the excess and laid it out where we wanted our garden to be this year. In the fall I took a bunch of cardboard boxes (you can see them to the side of the garden) and laid them out over what we had cleared out. I basically only had to weed a little bit around the edges and turn the earth. Thankfully I kept this ugly plastic garden edger. Eventually I will line it with bricks or larger stones and concrete pieces. I am always finding those around our yard.

So this summer we will be enjoying sweet corn, sweet carrots, green onion, spinach, green beans, cucumber. I also potted rosemary, chives, basil, oregano, and cilantro. Tomorrow the tomatoes, pepperoncinis, cantelope, watermelon, peppers, and pumpkins get put in start containers. Then I need to find a place to put my sunflowers.

The next installment will be my chicken coop. Until then remember to thank God for the worms.

More Yarn

2010-03-25T23:26:00.000-07:00

Solar Flare

Blood Orange and Vanilla

My Turn!

2010-03-24T17:54:00.001-07:00

Yesterday and today have been my turn for dying. I had to dye up some more Eric Northman for the Bloodlust series. This color way has been very popular at my Etsy shop. Either a lot of people like red and black together or it is named after a hunky Scandinavian vampire. Plum Pudding I hate wasting dye and this was the result of using up the excess from when the kids were doing theirs. This will be Patriotess.

I did a few more colors today which are drying and I still have two more kilo cones of the 3ply sock to skein up and two BFL sock weight kilo cones. THAT will be fun.

Look what the kids cooked up...

2010-03-23T19:41:00.000-07:00

The kids have been asking me every time they see me dye yarn if they can dye some. I got a good amount of yarn in last week to stock up my Etsy shop so I figured why not. I told each child to choose 4 colors and mixed them up, put them into ketchup squirters and let them have at it. I have to say it was hard for me to not lead them into the artistic direction I wanted.

Here is Riley's work. She wants to call hers Rainbow.

Here is Jake's yarn. He wants this to be called Rockstar.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T17:02:00.000-07:00

I used to care less about St. Patrick's day. Sure I would wear green and when I was an adult I would go out with friends or hit a bar but it was always a Hallmark holiday to me. Then I met Paul. I met my husband 9 years ago today. So now St. Patrick's day will always hold a special spot in my heart. Today is now a thank you Jesus day. :)

Cove to Clover

2010-03-14T17:06:00.001-07:00

I ran my first ever 5K today. I drug my husband along with me. I am sure he will thank me later. I must disclose that I did not run the whole race it was very much a walk / jog sort of thing for me.

Here we are at the start. What a beautiful place. This is The Cove right on the Puget Sound.

Here I am getting psyched up for the race. I am actually very nervous here and I do things like this to calm down. I know it is weird.

This is the lineup waiting for the race to start. Can you see the signs in the distance? If you happen to run a 5-6 minute mile you go to the front. Notice how far away from those signs we are?

My parents brought the kids to the finish line to cheer us on. I cried. I am such a sap. However, this was a big accomplishment in my weight loss process. I am proud. I ran in according to my cell phone clock 54 minutes so I hit under an hour and I wasn't last. Those were my two goals.

The best part is the beer afterward.

I love books!

2010-02-24T09:18:00.001-08:00

I have been on the search for a good resource for knitting stitches. Last night I found two great books.

I am excited to devour Mary Thomas' book. The first edition was published in 1943. This book is full of great illustrations, knitting patterns, and instruction.

I am hoping to get going on designing again this year. I have so many ideas floating around in my head that just need to get out and knit up.

Aw Crap!

2010-02-14T12:55:00.000-08:00

The 2010 Winter Knitting Olympics are under way. I have decided to tackle argyle socks this year. As you can see I have a mess on my hands. I now realize I should have worked on a swatch or two before I eagerly dove into my project. Appropriately I will be ripping this out after I finish this blog post.

A few problems are as follows:
• Well, just look at the picture.
• I am using size US 1.5 needles and the guage is too large so I am going down to size US 1.
• Since I am inexperienced with intarsia knitting there are a few holes where the colors change.
• The ribbing is too short. Normally it would be ok. I am ripping it all out I might as well fix it.
• Well, just look at the picture.

So now after I rip out my knitting I am going to knittinghelp.com to check out her intarsia tutorial. Hind sight IS always 20/20 right?

Being a tourist in my own city.

2010-01-24T17:39:00.000-08:00

Today we were Seattle tourists. I forget how much fun it is to actually do touristy things where you live and work. Well, technically we don't "live" in the city of Seattle but still it is my town. On this overcast and what turned into a rainy day we hit the Seattle Aquarium with some old friends.

The aquarium had a rather large renovation done a few years ago. This huge tank was one of them. I should have taken a step (or twenty) back and gotten a picture of the entire wall. The glass front of this tank is 20 feet high 40 feet long and 12.5 inches thick and weighs 50,000 pounds! WOW!

There is a whole area where children can touch starfish, and other sea creatures. This is the favorite part of the aquarium for our children.

Here I am dorking it up in front of a wooden cutout of a shark. Hey you need pictures of yourself in front of things when you are a tourist right?

Now for a little sharing time. I found this wood carving while at the aquarium. This is Northwest Coast Native American artwork. I am in love with anything of this style. Here is a good link that shows off some beautiful art. To share further Bill Ried, who was a phenomenal contemporary Haida artist, is one of my favorites. He was so incredibly talented and makes beautiful art. I also have a tattoo of a NW Coast Orca on my lower back.

I have always been somewhat of a history buff and learning the history of the area in which I was born and raised is fascinating. So just a reminder to take some time and tour your town. :)

Back to the Knitting

2010-01-10T16:56:00.000-08:00

Now that the holidays are over and it is still chilly or in my case rainy enough to stay warm inside I have been knitting quite a bit during the past week.

I have another sweater in the works made from gorgeous Divine yarn that I got on an insane blow out sale. I believe it normally retails at $14/ball and I got it for just over $3/ball at work. The yarn is so pretty and I can tell it will drape really nicely when I am done. The pattern is Braided Pullover from Interweave Knits Fall 2008. I just need to finish one sleeve a neck band and finishing work. However, a knit along caught my eye and I moved on to my Kauni Stole.

I have never worked with Kauni but pondered over many colors a good number of times. The Little Knits group on Ravelry is having a Kauni K/CAL through January and February and I thought this would be a good excuse to buy more yarn, I mean um... opportunity to work with Kauni. I decided on Diagonale by Arlene's World of Lace. I think I have one red shirt which I don't even like anymore in my wardrobe. I love the color red so why isn't there more in my wardrobe? I figured a nice red hued stole would be nice addition. I love triangular shawls but I did not see any that I liked with self striping yarn. I also didn't want my pattern to get lost in the striping of the yarn. This color EM fits what I was looking for.

Now because I don't have enough projects going I wanted to make my mom a thank you gift for picking up the kids two days a week and watching them until I get off of work. Most times it is after dinner so my children are fed as well. I know it is my mother, she loves spending time with her grandchildren, and I never have to actually give her a gift to thank her. With that said I know she will love this and I am enjoying knitting it. Plus I am probably never going to get around to knitting her that sweater she has been hinting at. Win win right?

This is Dream in Color Starry. Awesome yarn! There are silver threads spun into the yarn. It isn't itchy at all like I would assume. The pattern is the Vertical Drop Stitch Shawl made in the scarf size. Someone had come into the shop a few months ago and she was working on this pattern with Malabrigo Lace and I immediately had to queue it on Ravelry when I got home. This is my progress from just last night. The pattern is very easy to memorize and goes quickly. I bought a skein of Malabrigo Lace yesterday to make the same scarf for my grandmother.

This ends up being a rather wide scarf when using the sock yarn so I am wondering if one skein will be enough. My mom doesn't really care for garments being up around her neck though so she might just wear this around the back of her neck. I think what I am going to do is see where I am after this skein and it should be long enough to wrap around the neck and hold with a shawl pin like this one. I have been wanting to practice making shawl pins anyway and again another great excuse. :)

These projects should keep me pretty busy through winter. I do have my Mariah cardigan that has been hibernating because the hood was ended up being WAY too small and I didn't sew the zipper in correctly due to impatience. I saw this sweater in person and I love the idea so I am going to rip back the hood and do the fold over collar. After I finish the three projects above this will be my next knitting venture.

And now for the cute shot.

Prayers Answered!

2010-01-05T12:47:00.001-08:00

I can't believe that I didn't share this part of my life earlier. I am a HUGE believer in the power of prayer and if I feel that someone needs prayer I try to spread the word as much as I can.

Back in August my maternal grandmother was diagnosed with a very rapid growing lung cancer. Her doctor said it was probably from smoking even though she quit 30 years ago. I am very close with my grandmother and took the news very badly. Her doctor got her on a rigourous chemotherapy schedule which her body took to quite well.

Through her chemotheraphy there was a wonderful event (my brothers wedding) and a sad event (the passing of her mother). She is such a strong woman it is unbelievable. She has such a strong faith and has had such a positive attitude throughout this entire process so far. I have to say she looked very cute in the chemo hats I made for her too.

Onto the wonderful news. She got the news on New Year's Eve that she is officially in remission. Her tumor was gone. This is why I believe in prayer. She is so fortunate to have a cancer that reacted so well to chemo and the fact that it did not spread to any other parts of her body.

We are all very happy over here. :)

I met Jared Flood!

2010-01-03T19:07:00.000-08:00

This has got to be the GREATEST perk I have ever had working at a yarn shop. We were fortunate enough to have Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed fame over to teach a few classes today. May I just say that he is so sweet and down to earth. I was working but as I walked by the classes during the day I can say the little bits of instruction that I heard were packed full of information. I definitely say that if he comes to your area it is worth the money and time to take a class. He is a very good speaker. His instructions were clear and he is just a super nice guy!

I did get a bit star struck I have to admit. I felt a little silly but come on Jared Flood. He is such an amazing designer it is hard to not feel fortunate to have met him.

Hello 2010

2010-01-02T21:55:00.000-08:00

As promised here is a photo montage of my weight loss over the past year. I did weigh myself on January 1st and the official count from the Wii is 34 pounds. However, I did gain 5 pounds this past week. I am thinking the beer and fried foods from the New Year's Eve party might have been a factor in that one.

This picture was taken late 2008. I could not find any pictures from last year right when we weighed in but I was for the most part the same size so I figured this was a good starting point.

Here we are at Christmas time last year.

This picture was taken in April. I had probably lost around 15 pounds at this time.

This is the end of June.

Here I am in late August. I think my weight loss was about around 20 pounds.

Here is where I finally started to feel thinner. This is taken very late September I think. I believe I had lost around 25 pounds or so.

This is the day of my brother's wedding. I am thinking I was pretty much at a 30 pound weight loss at this point.

This was taken the first of November.

And here we are yesterday 34 pounds lighter. I decided that I am now back at zero. Starting over from here. It definitely could have been more weight shed but I can't stand coulda, shoulda and woulda. I didn't lose more but I DID lose 34 pounds and that is something. I got rid of the clothes that are too big last week which felt very good. I also tried on a bunch of pants that were tucked away and I am just a bit too small for the size I am in now and the next size down is just a bit too tight.

So there we are people tune in next year to see how I look then. ;)

4 more pounds!

2009-12-17T08:06:00.000-08:00

I did have higher goals for this year as far as my weight loss goes. I have now realized that they were probably a bit too lofty with being a mother, wife, working from home and working part-time as well. However, with that said. I am now 4 pounds away from a weight loss of 40 pounds for 2009! I don't know how I did it but I lost 6 pounds over the last month and a half.

I don't have the feeling of pride very often but dammit I am so proud of myself. I still have 50 pounds to meet my weight goal. It has been so long since I have been this "thin". I am talking probably 3 years.

Ultimately at this point I would be happy fitting into my size 16 jeans that I have tucked away. What actually spurred this post is that I was looking for something to wear today and most of my pants are now too big so I was delving into my smaller pants and I can actually button some of them up! Granted I don't want to subject people to the uncomfortable spare tire hanging over but I can button them now!

So hopefully I can lose those 4 pounds in the next two weeks. My friend on the Wii says that 3 pounds every 2 weeks is healthy. Really it doesn't matter at this point. I am actually feeling better about my body every day which has not happened in a very very long time. Going to the gym is fun! How did that happen? Running on that treadmill watching cash cab and answering the questions out loud and possibly annoying the person next to me is my meditation for the day.

So I promise that on January 1, 2010 I will have Paul take a picture of me and I will find some old pictures for a little photo watch Sarah get smaller montage.

In knitting news, because that is how this blog actually got started, I did finish a slouchy hat, fingerless mitt combo out of Plymouth Tweed. I have been wearing them a lot in the cold weather we have been having in Seattle. I need to get photos of those too but we have been having a torrential downpour here the past few days. Plus by the time Paul or I get home it is dark out and I just hate taking pictures with indoor lighting. I am also trying to knit the kids socks before Christmas as presents. That can be done. I finished one sock for Jake in two nights of TV watching. I was working on the Braided Pullover out of Divine (the name does say it all). That could have been done by Christmas Eve mass but the kids ARE more important.

That is all for now. Wishing everyone a great day and a wonderful weekend!

Great Grandma's Obituary

2009-12-12T20:16:00.003-08:00

I am glad I found the following online. I got a copy of this today and it is a pretty long one to type all out.

VIVIAN CAROLINE 'RILEY' BLAKE
September 28, 1907
December 2, 2009

A descendent of two of the early pioneer families of Clallam and Jefferson counties, Vivian "Riley" Blake, the eldest of six children born to Zora May Riley and Don Joseph Carlos Cramer, died at 102 of age-related causes.

She married at 16 to Gustave Stange of Pysht. They had two daughters, Mildred Theodora and Beverly June. The marriage later ended in divorce.

When Mildred, her first daughter, started school at Clallam Bay, Vivian looked into finishing her education, too.

In those days, it was hard to convince the School Board that a married woman should return to school. Hazel K. Murray, who was the principal at the time, thought differently, and made it happen.

Vivian graduated from Clallam Bay High School in 1933, and considered it one of her proudest accomplishments.

World War II found many leaving the farm and heading for work in Seattle shipyards. "Rosie the Riveters" were needed for the war effort, so Vivian entered a new aspect of her life, and became "Riley the Welder."

Later, she became the head of cashiers for Group Health Cooperative for 10 years, then office manager for the electricians' IBEW Union for another 10, and lastly worked as secretary at the Capitol for state Representatives Bob Perry of the 45th District and Paul Conner of Port Angeles.

In 1944, Riley married Aubrey "Red" Blake, and they had one daughter, Cheryl Lynn. They celebrated 54 years together before his passing in 1999.

Red and Riley didn't let the dust collect under their feet after retirement. They first retired to their home on Lake Loma in Marysville, Washington, then to Sheridan, Montana, to be near their daughter, Cheryl, and her family.

After Cheryl's passing, they moved back to Seattle.

Always the "snowbirds," they lived in Arizona and Southern California, traveled to Mexico, Hawaii and the Bahamas -- anywhere with warm winter weather.

The Blakes moved to Port Angeles in 1997 and resided at Park View Villa.

Riley says her finest memories are the great times she has shared with her family and many friends. She contributed her longevity to good genes and a full active life, taking the good with the bad.

"If you don't have good memories, you have nothing." she said.

She is survived by daughter and son-in-law Mildred and Larry McQueen of Oregon and daughter and son-in-law Beverly and Earl Hamilton of Port Angeles.

Also surviving her are eight grandchildren, Vivian Browne, John Hamilton, Debbie Alexander, Darby Ragghianti, Bertina Ody, Carol Hamilton, Blake Carey and Reece Carey.

She also has 12 great-grandchildren and eight great-great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by husband Aubrey; daughter Cheryl Carey and great-granddaughter Haley Hamilton.

Vivian and Aubrey will be laid to rest side by side in Curlew Cemetery, Curlew, Washington. Father George Morbeck of Immaculate Conception Church, Republic, Washington, will officiate at the graveside services. The family will gather and exchange their warm and loving memories of both "Red" and "Riley."

The family wishes to express their thanks to their Mother's and Grandmother's extended family at Park View Villa, and her caregivers, Sandy and Kim.

Found a picture

2009-12-03T08:13:00.000-08:00

I found a picture from my great grandmother's 100th birthday party two years ago. This is a picture of 5 generations of women all through the maternal line.

I did find more pictures from my wedding which was over 7 years ago but I was too exhausted to scan them last night. There is beautiful one of us together and I can't find that one either. Frustrating.

Goodbye Great Grandma

2009-12-02T22:00:00.000-08:00

This week has been a little rough for me. Today my 102 year old great grandmother passed away. She was so healthy and till the moment of her death was as lucid as she was 20 years ago. Her body just finally quit and she could not longer eat and it took about half a week for her to finally pass.

I did get to call her and tell her how much I completely adored her and that I will miss her terribly. I don't know if I have mentioned this here but my daughter Riley is named after my great grandmother. Since my Riley's birth she has just been so honored to have a namesake.

I have so many fond memories of time spent with her growing up. What I will remember most is every time I saw her she would tell me how proud of me she was and what a beautiful girl I was (when I was younger) then to the woman I was becoming then to the woman I was. Even when I came home from college with an eyebrow ring or after I had gained 50 pounds after having Riley and didn't necessarily feel very beautiful. What mattered most is that it was completely sincere every time.

I feel very fortunate to be 31 and mourning the death of my great grandmother instead of possibly not knowing this amazing person at all. I went through some pictures and I will post a few later this week.

The Weight Journey

2009-11-05T23:09:00.000-08:00

From the first week of January of this year until now I have lost 30 pounds. 30 pounds! My ultimate goal is 60 more pounds however I have been so proud of myself for sticking to my weight loss and not gaining any of this weight back.

I was looking through pictures and found this picture from last Christmas.

Here is a picture that was taken the weekend before last.

What a difference!

First Sweater Done!

2009-11-01T20:15:00.001-08:00

Here is the long awaited sweater. This is knit a size smaller so it is a bit to tight for my comfort level but at the same time is an incredibly comfortable sweater.

Pull #456-T6-235 by Phildar Design Team found in the Tendances Fall 2006 Issue.
Ravelry project page here.

Last weekend we went to visit some good friends and while the men were hunting the women had a great time at the pumpkin patch.

Also, of course last night was Halloween. We hung out with another pair of good friends and their children and did our trick or treating. Riley was a very cute Hannah Montana and Jake was a S.W.A.T. team leader. A few funnies from last night. Have you ever seen E.T.? You know when he has the blond wig and is running around? Well from the back Riley reminded me of that part of the movie. It was very funny and cute. Then there was Jake. Jake will mosey. Everywhere. He had conversations with everyone he trick or treated from. Then he was trying to arrest people because he was S.W.A.T. Basically I told Paul to walk ahead with Riley and I would hang out with Jake.

Marriage

2009-10-09T12:55:00.003-07:00

Last weekend my brother, my only sibling, got married. It was such a beautiful and fun event and I feel so blessed to have been asked to be a part of it. Now to share some pictures. :)

Believe it or not this picture was NOT posed. This was the first time that Jake saw Riley all dressed up and he just kept staring at her and telling her how pretty she looked. Then he put his arm around her. I am so glad we got this shot.

The dresses were very pretty and flattering to all figures. Mine fit really nicely and actually was just a bit too small the day of the wedding. I know I lost about 7 pounds in the few weeks before the wedding and more than that from the time I was fitted for the dress. It made me happy!

Lastly this was THE BEST wedding party gift ever! They had a photo booth and there was one strip to put in the guest book then you took a strip home. There was no limit on the amount of times you could enter the booth too. These lovely women were just there the whole reception putting up with all of us.

Delayed

2009-09-15T16:44:00.000-07:00

Well I "finished" my pullover only to find it was much too short for my comfort level. I did make it a size smaller because I am still losing weight and plan to lose much more over the next year. Thus, why make larger knits and spend the time using beautiful yarn only to have them be too large in the end. The fit overall isn't too terribly horrible, other than being short, it is tighter than my comfort level in the stomach.

I need to remember that I have felt more comfortable in baggy clothes because I was hiding my larger self. Now that I am losing weight I need to remember that I actually look better in more figure flattering clothes. Not to say I need everything skin tight but there is a nice middle road. As I get back to the body I had 12 years ago I will get more used to this.

So sunday night I cut the bottom ribbing off to get to the stockinette section. If there is a way to cut just the cast on edge without having to go stitch by stitch and untie where the purl stitches meet the knit stitches please let me know. If you have done this I think you know what I am talking about and can see what I mean.

So I have two balls left and I am going to add a ball of ribbing onto the front and the back and then it will be PERFECT!

RIP Patrick

2009-09-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

I hope I am not a total sap for feeling like crying right now. I will have to see if Dirty Dancing or Roadhouse are playing on TV any time soon.

Finishing

2009-09-13T10:30:00.000-07:00

5 years into my knitting and I am FINALLY finishing a garment for myself. I have worked many baby sweaters, hats, scarves, socks, items for Riley but never a garment for myself.

I am seaming up a beautiful pullover in Rowan Silk Wool DK. My Ravelry project page is here.

This yarn is so soft and gorgeous I can't wait to be done and share it.

First Day of First Grade

2009-09-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

Riley had her first day of school on Wednesday. She loves her teacher and a few of her friends are in her new class. I think there are 4 first grade classes at her school! It seems like a lot then I think about how her class size is smaller and I am thankful. I don't think there are more than 30 children in the class if there are even that many.

On the first day we stood outside with her and walked with her to class with a few other parents. It was funny she was like "ok bye." I think we needed the walk MUCH more than she did.

I am a little smug about the people who chastised me for "coddling" her when she was a baby and nursing her for "too long" or for co-sleeping well into toddlerhood because she was going to be too clingy when she got older. To those people I say HA! She is one of the most independent children I know. :D

Ad is up!

2009-09-02T18:52:00.000-07:00

My first Ravelry ad is now up and running on a few discussion boards. It is running through the month of September. Here it is! It is showing up much smaller here but if you click on the banner you can see the full size.

I also scored a Notebook ad space on Ravelry for next month. From what I hear this as brings in a lot of revenue for people and is seen more. This is my notebook ad.

I do have knitting progress too. I plan on doing A TON of knitting over the holiday weekend. We normally head to the lake but the weather forecast does not look favorable for the weekend as you can see.

This looks like a good weekend to stay home, rent a lot of good movies, get stuff done around the house. I am sewing school clothes for Riley again and they are turning out incredibly cute so we will have to have a modeling session over the weekend for those too. Have a wonderful holiday weekend everyone!

Updating the ol shop!

2009-08-28T00:54:00.000-07:00

I have been dying yarn like crazy the past few weeks. I have GREAT timing! I finished up yesterday and my HORRIBLE cold really hit today. Here are a few pictures. Everything can be found at my Etsy shop.

I do need to take more pictures of the batch that I finished up this week but I do not feel like getting off the couch for a photo shoot. I think that working on the rest of my stitch markers and finishing up my recent knitting project (Ravelry link) is a better idea.

Flora Dress

2009-08-22T00:14:00.001-07:00

This project sat on my table for a while. The knitting was done but I put off the finishing. I am so happy with the finished product. Riley loves it too. When it was time to go to bed today she was worried about where she would put her new outfit and just wanted to wear it to bed.

Project details are as follows: Ravelry Project Page

Flora Dress made in size 2 (the size 6 which I should have made for her was incredibly huge and would have fit a small adult). Because I bought enough yarn to make the size 6 I had more than enough yarn left over to make a matching shrug to cover Riley's arms if she gets cold. I actually still have almost 1 ball of each color still left over.
Yarn: Goby purchased at Little Knits. This used roughly 4 skeins for the dress and less than one each for the shrug.
I have never worked with this yarn before and it makes a luxurious fabric, however, due to the mix of fibers (cotton, rayon) it tended to fray and stick together a lot at the yarn ends. Normally I like to weave in my ends and then clip them after washing/blocking but I ended up doing this as I was working through the project. Regardless of this issue I would recommend this yarn. It is very pretty and feminine.

Adjustments: I did not knit the body as long as suggested. I thought that an empire waisted garment would look better. I also did not make this a dress. I liked the idea of it being a long top instead.

End result: One happy 6 year old.

Blue Lace Socks

2009-07-16T21:21:00.000-07:00

Look at me posting twice in one week! I am here to share a recent finished project.

Falling Leaves Socks
Rio de la Plata sock yarn purchased at Little Knits
Raveled Here

Happy Birthday Jacob!

2009-07-15T23:31:00.001-07:00

My little boy turned 4 today. It has been a busy day I almost forgot his birthday post! I am squeezing it in with minutes to spare. As usual I can't believe how this grows into this

Happy 6th Birthday Riley

2009-07-09T19:15:00.001-07:00

I know I go through this every year but I can't believe that my daughter, my firstborn, my baby is 6 years old today!

How does this

go to this so quickly?

Monkey

2009-07-07T10:15:00.001-07:00

Here is the finished Monkey blanket from Twist Collective made for a friends baby.

This was a very fun project and interestingly put together. I have never steeked a baby blanket before. I love finding a new technique with knitting.

I used Cascade 220 Superwash wool. I wanted this to be easy to wash because come on it is for a baby and sometimes they aren't the cleanest little people. The final product is quite thick for a summer baby but the size makes a good carseat cover. The winters tend to be cold where this baby will be so it should work out nicely for the winter.

More knitting and pictures to come later on other subjects. :D

Blogging? What is blogging?

2009-06-16T10:45:00.001-07:00

Wow because I obviously DO NOT know how to blog!

The weather here has been gorgeous so we have been spending a lot of time outside. Here is a fun video for you all.

The kids have been in the pool every day since I got it a few weeks ago. It has been a well used $20 investment thus far. I am not sure what is funnier about this video, Riley's dramatic story telling or Jake being himself in the background.

Paul is back to work full time again which is a blessing. Unfortunately people were laid off so he is working his job and another person's job. I hate feeling grateful when someone else had to suffer for our good fortune.

I have been knitting. I have a good friend who is having a baby in July and I finished the Monkey blanket from Twist and then made another surprise. I am going to post pictures after I give the gift in a few weeks.

Riley finishes Kindergarten next week! I can't believe it. The year did go by fast and I just can't believe that my oldest child is going to be 6 next month.

On the weight loss front I have lost just over 20 pounds since January 6th. There are some pants that I bought a few weeks ago that are already looser on me which is great! However, I can't keep buying new clothes all the time but then my big clothes just look weird on me. I am planning on losing 30 more pounds by October.

In other knitting news I have picked up Mariah again. This will be the third time I attempt getting this right. My gauge was HORRIBLY off the second time and now I have it right. It is amazing how much faster a garment goes when you aren't knitting a tent. I kept the sleeves because they were fine the whole time and I finished the back last night.

That is about it. More pictures to come.

A Good Quote

2009-05-07T23:24:00.000-07:00

If I could do everything then I would have no reason for hope. - Michael J. Fox

Another Funny

2009-05-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to Mc Donald's the other day for breakfast. Jake had to go to the bathroom. When Paul and Jake came back Paul said it was a false alarm. So I looked at Jake and said "You didn't have to go potty?" Jake's response was...

"No. Just two biiig farts! And they scared my peepee!"

I laughed so hard I cried.

Weekend at the Lake

2009-04-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

We had a nice time at the lake this weekend for the opening of fishing season. I never get a license because I am either monitoring children or just knitting or reading. The kids and Paul love fishing.

We took the dock extension out for a while and Jake was very very tired as seen below.

Here is Jake shortly after the video and moving him into a safer chair where he wouldn't topple over into the lake in a sleepy haze.

I also learned a valuable lesson...
After having your almost 4 year old son on a floating dock for over an hour sleeping. DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT then feed him dinner after coming to shore then pack up and leave into a car trip around a winding road. He will get sick. I also learned that even though you don't have babies it is always a good idea to keep an extra towel, change of clothes and wet wipes always in the car for your children. Thankfully we had the extra clothes.