ChiClone

Today we are supposed to have the worst storm in 70 years. It was a windy night all right and there are twigs and branches all over outside. Thankfully it seems that the storm has not hit us with as much vengeance as anticipated. As usual, a lovely name has been given to this storm - ChiClone.

My favorite slimline bible I got at Spirit West Coast 2000 has spontaneously gone ragged at the edges. I have  been using it more, but goodness. I would rather not use a zipper cover for this bible so I popped on Ravelry to see if I could knit a cover. I fell in love with a free pattern, but alas the website is no longer and the wayback machine had no archive. Upon further look I found two more candidates that will require a trip to the library.

• Journal Cover with Ribbon Ties from Ready, Set, Knit Cables
• Vampire Diary Protector (I know, but it's cute) from Vampire Knits

In the meantime I have fashioned a lovely paper cover to hopefully slow the disintegration until I can knit the new long term cover.

I have really been enjoying my bible study and the small group on Tuesdays. I am so thankful I remembered to sign up just in time. The study we are using, Cynthia Heald's Becoming a Woman of Simplicity, is exactly what I needed right now. And the group of women in my small group are such a blessing to me and each other.

Here's a Halloween sneak peek:

Starring: Jessa as Snow White, and Gracie as Rapunzel

A sunshine day!

The baby is teething/not sleeping/needing constant contact with me and that greatly reduces the number of things I can do in a day. Plus, it's really hard to type with an 11 month old on your lap - oooh! buttons!!!Yep, I took a vacation on you and I'm blaming the baby.

The sun decided to shine for us today and I'm loving the crystal blue sky.

I finished the dog sweater and did not take a picture before I sent it off. Hopefully mom will share one of Delila modeling and that will be more fun than a lumpy piece of knitting laid out anyway.

But I did upgrade Jessa to a booster seat - it's Pink and totally Jessa.

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AND I cleaned out the car (too cold to vacuum, but got all the junk out)!
Now of course Gracie is jealous of the beautiful pink booster seat so I need to

• ignore her til she gets over it  --or--
  

• make/buy her a replacement cover  --or--
  

• buy her the cute one with flowers and save the boring black one in the attic for Jack

On the knitting front I am now working on a Twirly Skirt [found under Free Patterns] for Gracie. She and I are hoping it is ready for her Valentines Party at school, if not, it will still be a fun skirt. I was making the Lil Sister Dress [see side bar], but I had to take it back a few rows and disaster struck and I ended up at the very beginning. The yarn was not a great match for this pattern anyway - it looks much better already as the skirt.

I'm also about to start Jack's birthday hat - I cant believe he's nearly one! This year has FLOWN by!

Oh My Darling....

This little boy LOVES clementines.

He's mostly an orange "vampire" - sucks the juice out of each wedge and then spits the pulpy remains back out. It's not really quite a spit, but more of an ejection. He just opens his mouth and sticks out his tongue and lets the orange fall from his mouth. For added comedy he will often store a wedge in one or both cheeks chipmunk style and then attempt a smile. The orange above by the way is being licked, not ejected. Oranges make him so happy. His whole face will light up and he will either wave both hands at your or clap if you show him one. Jack ate two clementines at lunch today. The one I peeled for him, and then the one Gracie slipped to him wedge by wedge as I was eating my sandwich.

We had a small lapse in posting this week... you cannot tell from the picture above, but this darling boy is seriously working on more teeth - he only has the bottom two thus far. So he is a lovely roller coaster ride of happiest boy ever to cranky pants, to I just need my momma to hold me. So that is what we have been doing (and not much else is getting done).

The girls put together their Barbie puzzle today

Gracie did it a few times and then Jessa took over.

Gracie has a four day weekend so we are trying to fill it with fun. We started with Princess and the Frog yesterday. Today we watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Tomorrow we are hoping to play with cousins and mommy & daddy are going to see Avatar!!! Sunday we are going to watch the Chargers win ;) And Monday we have a playdate with some good friends.

TGIF! (due to random headaches & the teething boy, you may not see me til Monday)

Love,

Jen & Co

Powerful Pink

Delila's Sweater looks a bit different today. The prior model was double stranded and, well, stiff. So this is the new and improved version and it's really growing on me.

• Early mods: double stranding on US 10 1/2 needles in [k1, p1] rib. I could have gone up in needle size for more drape but this method was gobbling up yarn and I would have had to buy more to finish 

• New mods: alternating bright and light pink every 2 rows in garter stitch on US 8 needles. Because pattern was written for k1, p1 the garter stitch spreads out and is giving more coverage without needing to alter number of stitches given for size Large.
• I'm at approx 13" now, about 10" more to go before dividing for neck and working straps.
  

 

We had a busy day around here, we had two friends over today so there was lots of games and giggles. They were being particularly cute at one point so I grabbed my camera, turned it on and it promptly turned itself back off! So no photos of girls having fun...I was almost scrambling to get a picture up for today until I rubbed my last two awake brain cells together and borrowed from another device while I figure out where my camera's rechargeable batteries have found a new home. [I've been using a set of lithium batteries since Jack's delivery day - they almost made it a year!]

It was fitting that I had a pink project to share today as my uncle just shared a YouTube video that deserves further sharing:

Please spread this video as you feel moved, it's for a good cause - and entertaining :)

Love,

Jen & fam

I can do this.

On the next to last day of December last year, Julie launched her 2010 project. Pick 12 rooms/areas in your home to work on each month. I was intrigued, but then decided to work on our clutter in general first and I'll get to decorating eventually. Then Theresa popped up too (of course, they are friends) and I really cannot ignore them both because I was already thinking that now all the baby making is done, it's time we make this place more ours.

So here are my 12 rooms/areas (in no particular order - I too will follow the "what do I want to work on this month" order):

1. Entry
2. Kitchen
3. Dining Room
4. Living Room
5. Playroom (den)
6. Kid's Bathroom
7. Kid's Room
8. Our Bedroom
9. Our Bathroom
10. Laundry
11. Craft area
12. Backyard

So January 2010 is the month of Operation Kitchen.

(baby gate up to keep kiddos out until the floor is finished)

We did a lot of work here last August with the cabinet refacing, new counter/sink, and paint. Last night John & I laid most of the new laminate flooring & last week we bought a kitchen cart so I can get everything - except the knife rack & coffee maker - off the counters. The things left are to decide on the shelf going up, I want something new to hold my cooking spoons, spatulas, etc., and perhaps I'll do one seasonal towel a month this year just to perk things up a bit.

I'm really excited about finally making our house a home!

Our kitchen makeover (Late Aug 2009)

Our Condo was built in 1978 and our kitchen was in need of a makeover.

So we called in Sears and decided to replace the doors and resurface the cabinet bases with a Cherry finish.

The sink cabinet was pretty bad, so they built us a new one.

In the background you can see a shorter cabinet that was built so we could raise the microwave a few inches.

 In the foreground we have the 1970's spindles that serve no function other than to make our kitchen feel more closed in.

Goodbye spindles!!!

Hello countertops (Corian in Pepper Ivory) and breakfast bar!

My clowns having their first meal at our new breakfast bar - they eat nearly every meal here now.

And now we have paint. We used a Wagner Paint Mate Plus for the big spaces and a combination of mini-roller and paint brush for detail and smaller spaces. While the Paint Mate was nice in that I didnt have to repeatedly get more paint on the roller - it was heavy (duh - it had a few gallons of paint in it). I made many more oopsies on the ceiling than I did later when I painted the soffit with the mini roller.

The wall color is Victorian Falls and the soffit is Stonehenge Griege, both by Dutch Boy.

We got a free upgrade to an awesome sink and I'm in love with this screw in drain catcher - you screw it in just a bit to keep it in place and it'll catch all the big stuff (we dont have a garbage disposal, this is a scrape your plate first house) and if you screw it in all the way when you want a sink full of water. This is where Jack gets most of his baths, but I cant share photographic evidence since my hands are rather full then...

and my final favorite thing in my new kitchen is this tilt drawer so I can hide (and always find) my sponge!

Hope you enjoyed our kitchen makeover adventure!

If you want to see more the full album is here.

More knitting and kiddo adventures tomorrow :)

Vote!

We are just about to head out to vote - waiting for the "on the way to work" crowd to clear through. PLEASE VOTE TODAY!

more later...

Happy Easter!

My peeps are knitting for me today - I popped in to share that our family had an excellent Easter family gathering today and even though there was snow(!!!) on the ground this was definitely one of my favorite family days...ever.

the girls were a lot of fun today - it was Jess' first egg hunt, Gracie and their cousin were very good about not snatching the eggs we were pointing out for Jess, and we all just had a very pleasant day overall.

Since I became a mother, I've been having a hard time enjoying family gatherings. My sweet adorable firstborn is rather attached to me and wouldnt (until recently) play without me playing with her. So I always ended up with all the kids and wouldnt get any adult time and well, I was really getting drained. But today it finally wasnt an ordeal for me. I did actually get a bit of a break thanks to my awesome FIL. But even when I did end up downstairs with the kids, just me and the kids, we had so much fun this time! We raced matchbox cars and played with the play kitchen and there was lots of laughing and giggling and smiles and happiness. True happiness I sometimes think you can only see in children.

When we were driving home I was reflecting on my holiday memories growing up and it clicked that today I got to be the "cool aunt" you know, that random family member who got down on the floor with you to color, or pulled out a game, or just stepped away from the "adults" and really concentrated on having fun with the kids...

I am just so completely happy with today - very tired too, but a good tired. As this year has been developing I've been finally looking up and around at all the goodness that is in my life. It's funny how as this goodness is becoming more into my awareness, the more goodness I'm finding. And I feel I'm becoming a better wife and mommy as I work toward adjusting my focus.

Hope you had a very Happy Easter too!

Peek a boo!

I should be cleaning the house right now...but you know how that goes.



Just popping up to share that I've got monkeys and wings on my mind these days, and I keep getting distracted by Jessica's birth record/announcement in cross stitch...and books...and oh my goodness The Other Boleyn Girl opens tomorrow and I will see it by the end of this weekend, with or without hubby (I'm actually kinda hoping to sneak out alone - as much as I love him, it'd be nice to get some "me" time).

I'll have more for you tomorrow ;)

Crossing the Finish Line

Phew, all the ponchos are done! Well, I've got to weave in a few ends and attempt to block them. I say attempt because of course these were made of Homespun, but from what I've been seeing as I continue to work with acrylic I feel that anything that was knit needs a good soak to show it's true beauty and work out some of the wonks.

I'm halfway through the wing on MS3. I'm a bit bummed I didnt get it finished before Mystic Waters KAL launched. I've been a busy girl. At least I'm not in a funk :)

I have a favor to ask of anyone stopping by, please take a minute to pray/send good thoughts toward my hometown - San Diego. My sister, an uncle & his fam, an aunt & her dh, and too many friends have been evacuated. So far their homes are all still standing - but they were good and are following orders. The aunt and uncle plus their respective families are all at my dad's so I'm sure things are interesting over there. And my sister is staying with friends and thankfully she's in an area that doesnt have much of the smoke/debris fallout (her asthma was acting up). I'm also very thankful that my mom's place is next to an evacuation center so I can easily check on her safety without calling her all day ;) And a super big thank you to the local ABC station out there for streaming live news on http://www.10news.com/ The Santa Ana winds will hopefully break Wednesday and finally give everyone some relief!

I love you guys!

I am so excited, I've started the wing on MS3! It gets more beautiful every row I add and I'm so glad I'm sticking with it :)

I have yet to cast on for my new mystery lace partly because

• I've been busy running around - my BIL is a HS Football coach and a trip to see his game this morning turned into an all day play with the cousins event - also, it was 90 (f) today in CHICAGO! in OCTOBER!!! we are all slightly sunburnt and sun fatigued but it felt great to get our bones warm one more time ;)
• I've picked up another commisioned project - my MIL wants me to knit capes for her DIL and Grand-daughter and she's knitting her son a scarf because...
• I just taught my MIL and her best friend to knit! (that was really fun)
• technical difficulties...I've discovered the yarn I bought for Chrysopolis is not very evenly spun. Since this is a "mystery" I dont know how well that will work for this project, so I will just have to repurpose it. So I placed an order with Knit Picks, and it came in the mail today - I got my Campfire!

Ok, well back to work
sorry for no pics, too busy...

Coffee Question

As I was pouring my morning cup of life - 2 kids under 4 = must. drink. coffee. around here.
actually, it's my NEED to have some "me" time that keeps me up til 12:30 and Jess generally wanting a feeding at some point between 12:30 and 6:30 that has necessitated coffee in my life. Before then, it was a casual enjoyment.

I emptied the carafe into my mug. I poured the water into the reservoir for 3 cups, and my mug accepted it all. Now, I don't drink a tankard by any means. And I generally feel that my cup is avg sized.

So the question arose: When people say they drink 2-3 cups a day, do they mean what was measured into the coffee maker? or how many "cups" they poured?

If it's the latter, boy is that a lot of coffee y'all.

Now, mind you, this is my musing as I'm fueling up, so thank you for staying with me here.

Speaking of coffee, I have got to get myself over to Starbucks soon - I hear the Pumpkin Spice Latte is back.

So the lace addiction is being more than properly fed. I am an excited member of Secret of Chrysopolis (in German - and yes, Google Translate is my friend as I do not know German), Secret of the Stole, and Mystic Waters KAL - and am still finishing off MS3.

Secret of Chrysopolis is amazingly beautiful so far - membership closes this Friday; we get clue 1 of Secret of the Stole this Friday - membership closes midnight Thursday!!! and Mystic Waters will be underway starting the 24th - this one releases clues on Wednesdays :)

For anyone stopping by who hasn't tried lace yet - I highly suggest finding a lace KAL. The members go above and beyond to help. If you do a mystery lace KAL, you get the pattern only pieces at a time so you don't feel overwhelmed. And everyone else shares where they struggled and what helped them get through it, and often times I've found myself very surprised at how many people struggle with the same parts I do.

OK, well I'm off to wind some hanks into balls and then the girls and I are off to story time!

3 in one day?

Yes, it's me again...just cant get enough of you today ;)

I just wanted to take a moment to share that I absolutely LOVE being a mom, and I love my girls very much. Sometimes I read back and see my tone may be read as a bit "down" or "unappreciative" of my girls, and that is absolutely not the case. I guess I just use this medium to vent more than applaud lately and I'm going to try to adjust that ~ I'm also a bit tired lately so I'm not watching my tone like I should. I think it is very important to focus on your blessings.

Jess is the most adorable baby and a real lovebug/cuddlebug, and she's hilarious already! She must know that she's going to be the middle child because she's already going out of her way to crack me up. On top of that she's a talker! I cant quite understand what she's telling me, but we've already had many extensive conversations ;)

And Grace of course has always been my sweetheart and she is an incredible helper. She has adjusted to being a "big sister" much better than I could have ever hoped. We've had a few rough spots of course - she is only 2 yrs old... Still she just absolutely amazes me every day with what she comes up with.

I love my family :)

Ok, I feel better now, Good Night!

Inching along

Well, I think I've managed to kick the bug before it got me too bad - hooray!!! Grace and Jess still have a bit of a cough but it diminishes daily so hopefully we are out of the woods. I've also decided no playgroup this week to see if we can finally fully kick it.

We did get out today to play with a friend and had a great time...we had too much fun and spent all day there so there was no knitting today (well I may slip a few more inches of border in later). Over the weekend I finished the last section and started the border; yesterday I finished the first whole edge of the blanket border, hopefully I'll find time for a picture tomorrow.

John's hosting poker night here Thursday night so tomorrow will be a cleaning day (but I'm sure to slip a few rows in here and there) - I'm crossing my fingers that the kiddos cooperate so I can get a lot done and not have to stress too much on Thursday. I'm getting so much closer to a daily clean house and I'm working on a Spring resolution to almost always have my house visitor ready on a daily basis - I'm so sick of clutter!