Just waiting for paint to dry...

I figured I'd use the time waiting for my nails to dry to type out a blog post. A french manicure with hot purple tips. Oh yeah. Not a lot is new, but I've felt really busy. Last week was my birthday. Ryan took me to Kawaii Crepe. It was delicious. Most of all I was really impressed at their comprehensive branding. It is so simple to do things like use branded cups or even a logo, but so few places here do it. I had a good birthday and now have a lot more yarn. Yikes! On top of my darngoodyarn.com order which I am still waiting on, I placed a knitpicks.com order and went to Ram Wools yesterday. Most excitingly, I got the set of Harmony needles I wanted. Oh yeah, and Ryan took me to Where the Wool Things Are and I got some Dream in Colour Smooshy (in Happy Forest). I set out looking for patterns for it, and then remembered the pattern I mentioned in my last post, the Kai-Mei socks which are made in that exact yarn (even the same colour). So instead of finishing my projects like I had intended, I rushed out to buy Sock Innovation and started on them. I've been to busy to do much on them, but I am halfway through the first heel. I appreciate that the more boring part of these socks is the first part, I always get bored when the end is all the same. Like the sleeves on the sweater I still have to finish. At least I have 8 or so months to finish them. And everything else. Dear family, I hope you like hand knit presents!

Tomorrow my sister and I are going to see Sex in the City 2. I know, there's been lots of bad reviews, but I could really use some sitting in a theatre, relaxing, and watching something silly time. And eat popcorn. And if there is time, a trip to Sephora beforehand.

The boys are doing so well. O has been a bit cranky with his bottom teeth coming in, but even when he is cranky he has lots of smiles.B has calmed down from his terrible two attack, and has become a lot more reasonable, which is a relief! And he grew an inch in the last month. No wonder I've had to put aside so much of his clothes. Not much else going on really. All is well. As usual, B just gets more and more expressive every day. And O is getting bigger and cuter. Anyways. Now I will get back to my nails, knitting, and Mall Cops: Mall of America.

Busy, blah blah excuses.

I think i have been busy, but not really. It usually comes down to a choice of knitting or blogging, and the former almost always wins. Mostly because I want to finish up some stuff (of course I started two extra projects after finishing one, so I still have three on the go... which I will fix, I swear) before my sari silk comes. I still don't know 100% what I am going to do with it, but it's down to crazy mittens or shawl. I will probably do mittens because I hate doing scarves for the most part, and I think they would be beautiful mittens. Have I ever mentioned how much I love making mittens? They are my favorite kind of project. They are small enough that it's hard to get too bored, and for the most part, one ball of yarn makes two mittens, so you can invest in some really  pretty yarn. And you can do really intricate colour work in small doses. Most importantly, at least living up here, everyone needs mittens. So there is always someone to offload your creations to. I've been working out a few small patterns of my own lately, and I hope to properly knit them up soon once I get some more yarn.


I always said I would never knit socks, but then I saw this book the other day, and it changed my mind. Soo pretty. I especially want to make the Kai-Mei socks in a really pretty tonal yarn. But I think I'll start with some regular stripey Noro socks first. I love the way that stuff changes colour. The changes are so subtle and gradual, but the colours are always so different, its amazing. Knitting is a bad hobby for someone who loves colour so much! I just want to buy all the colours! Although, I must say finding the perfect green is really hard. They are never vibrant enough, or lean a little too blue, or are a little too muddy. One day!


It's my birthday this week which is fun. My dad is going to watch B for the evening. O will come with us, because he is pretty attached to me these days, and he is still young enough (and happy enough) to be portable. He is so adorable. Whenever I look at him he smiles and giggles at me. It's awesome. I think I am going to make Ryan take me to Kawaii Crepe. Yum.

Sewing and doing...

Yesterday was the start of the Kids Clothes Week Challenge. Having no time to sew, I spent some time cutting last night, and then a couple of hours sewing this morning. I made B some slippers, finished up some bibs I had already cut up, and a t-shirt for B. It was mildly disastrous, I have lost a lot of my sewing ability, and especially my pattern making ability. And the stupid machine kept un-threading (mostly my own fault). Even though my work is a little wonky, B likes it, and I guess that is what matters. He is wearing his slippers right now (based on this pattern - I made cutouts on the bottom and put a piece of fake leather I had around between the two sole pieces for grip). The bibs are pretty straightforward. The pattern is from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing for Baby, but really, it's not the sort of thing you need a pattern for. The t-shirt I made the pattern for using one of B's t-shirts. The sleeves are a little off because I did them all wrong. When the Apple Store opened here, they were giving out free shirts, and I had meant to make mine B sized, because it's not the sort of shirt I would wear, so I am glad I finally got around to doing that. B LOVES the Apple Store. I think it's because they clapped a lot when it opened and he got really excited. And they have computers for him to play on. And he likes the mall in general.

I finished the body of one of my Squirrelly Swedish Mittens yesterday, I just need to add the thumb. I really like the colours and they are so soft. I know they will probably pill a lot, being alpaca, but I don't care, they are that soft. I want to finish all my on-the-go projects in the next week so I can start new ones! For Mother's Day I got a gift certificate to Darn Good Yarn (and a really colourful necklace from Aldo that B picked out and likes a lot, he sits there naming the shapes). I ordered some Banana Fiber in Rocky Mountain, and a skein of slightly unrefined Sari Silk. I hear the Sari Silk is a bit tricky to work with, but the colour payout is worth it. And the banana fiber sounds fun! I am excited. I love getting packages in the mail. I finished the Little Seedling Soaker, but not in time. It looks pretty cute on O though, so it's all good. It will be perfect with a t-shirt in the summer. I love the yarn, I wish I had more!

We gave B a mohawk the other day, it's pretty darn cute. He also got these new sunglasses that make him look extra cool. B and I spent a lot of time last week working on Mother's Day presents. They look really simple, but the amount of energy that it takes to get a 2 year old to focus on such a task for long enough is a lot. I helped him colour two mugs and paint a tote bag. If I had a nickel for every time I told him to keep his hands in the air while they were covered in fabric paint, I'd be rich! And it worked! No mess! This week so far, we are just taking it easy, no grand plans.

Lots on the go...

So I finished the Chronicles of Narnia baby sweater. I was really worried while knitting it that it looked too large, but upon finishing, I tried it on little O, and it fit him pretty well. Since he is a large 3 month old, and it is for a 3-6 month old girl, I'd say it's pretty true to size. And I love the puffy sleeves. The colour work in the flowers could be a little neater, but that's my fault for doing it on such a loose knit. Next time I need to remember loose knit=stitch it on after. But I finished it and am overall happy with it (and the choice to make it short sleeved!) Now I am just on a quick diaper cover to go with a friend's son's birthday present (I love the yarn! It has a nice texture and is really spring-y.), and then I HAVE to finish the Squirrel Mittens and the hoodie for O. I am not going to let myself start the next project until I do, even though I have bought all the yarn and needles. After that I have a really good idea for a mitten design I want to try to make work.


We've been busy crafting for Mother's Day this week. B survived both permanent markers and t-shirt paint without any major incidents! I am not going to post any pictures until after the day, just in case. Yesterday I was sick, so we might have had a bit of a Yo Gabba Gabba day. We watched an episode about Superheroes, and B spent some time running around "flying." When Ryan was done working, I quickly sewed him up a cape and he loved it.


Next week is the Kids Clothing Week Challenge, and I am trying to plan out what to sew. I for sure am going to finish the cowboy bibs I have cut out and ready to sew, but other than that, I am a little lost. I've been looking at Crewcuts by J Crew for inspiration. I love their kids clothes. I might try to make a summer cardigan and some pants for B. O does nor really need anything clothes-wise, so I think I will focus on B, who has outgrown most of his 2T clothing.I like this pant pattern a lot. And he really wants some slippers, for which I have the most perfect heavy wool felt leftover from his Halloween costume (I thought it was pretty smart of me to make the pirate jacket out of real heavy jacket material in this climate). Something easy to slip on like this (I know they are for babies, but they will still work well for B). I think I will spend some time tomorrow planning and cutting. Today I have to finish the diaper cover, make a grocery list/meal plan, and shop.

Baking and making...

So I decided to take the make-it-yourself plunge today. I really want to reduce the amount of processed junk B eats, and keep O from eating too much. At least when they are at home. I've been talking about it for a bit and reading and planning as I am one to do. Last night, I decided to just jump into it. Since we have a lot planned over the next week, I did not need to do too much grocery shopping so I decided we'd go to Organza and the Bulk Barn this morning. Checking their website I found that Organza opened at 10 this morning, which is awesome, because B usually naps around noon,which is when I would have gone. We got some good stuff like blood oranges and butter lettuce grown in Landmark and funny organic cookies shaped like Priuses (is that the plural of Prius?)and windmills. We had some time to kill between Organza and the Bulk Barn so we decided to go to the Forks and get some coffee and delicious cinnamon buns (I always want to try the roasted vegetable bread pudding, but always seem to be there between meals). Then to the Bulk Barn for some baking supplies. I needed stuff to start making stuff. I picked up some organic gummy bears for B, and they are really really good. Organic gummy bears might seem a little overkill, I know, but it's the junk they replace sugar with that bugs me the most. I mean, if my kid is going to go crazy on anything, it better be the gold standard in sweetness, not corn. Corn is barely nutritious in its unadulterated form other than the fiber, so I don't like to think about what they do to it to make it sweeten food. It just does not seem right. Anyways. Next weekend I think we'll go shopping at the Forks, it opens at 9:30 and has cinnamon buns.

So after we got home, I got to some baking. I took the "goldfish" cracker dough that I had made last night out of the fridge and all cut up. I could not find any fish cookie cutters, so I got a hippo, a triceratops, a squirrel, and a bear (which really looks more like a burly dog). And I cut and cut, till I had filled my two cookie sheets three times each. Which is a lot of little crackers. And I baked and baked while they puffed up. B helped by stealing all my kitchen implements and insisting I find more for him to pretend to cook with, while O giggled at me. And when they were done, I gave one to B, nervous over wasting so much time baking something he would not like. And then he left the room and brought me the crackers he had been eating earlier and said "No more this, more THIS!" and pointed at the crackers I had just made. Victory! Flour, butter, cheese, salt, and pepper, so simple but really really good. If you have a cheesy cracker lover in your house, you should make these. Then I got super hippy and made Ryan some granola for breakfast, because he likes it. With oats, brown sugar, raisins, cherries, almonds, coconut and honey. So good. Tomorrow I am going to try to make something Bear Paw like with the old bananas we have around. I can't find a recipe so I am going to wing it. It feels good to make things. Something about baking elevating your mood.

I also quickly sewed up some snack pouches. They are more prototypes, and I did not have much time to do them, but they turned out pretty good. I dig it. Easier, cuter, and less garbage making than ziplock bags. Especially the cuter part. And when you flip the top they form a nice bowl. After I do a few tweaks (and maybe a trip to Fabricland) I am going to make some more. Making wise, I am still working on the sweater. I just moved the sleeve stitches (I made them extra poofy) to some waste yarn, and don't have too much more to do. Mostly because I am making it short-sleeved. The flowers are a touch wonky, but they just need some fixing with a crochet hook when it's all done. Yup. And now I am going to relax and work on it.

More things I have learned from Wife Swap, and sweater-itis

 This is B pretending to be me, shoes and shopping.

Some more things I have learned from Wife Swap:

• Homeschooling means sleeping in and laying in bed while the kids work. I like bed.
• I should do family yoga, but only in the dead man's pose for 45 minutes, during which I should secretly sleep.

Anyways... so I have almost finished the second sweater for O. I have just the sleeves left, but I hate sleeves, so when Ryan mentioned that I should knit something for someone he knows having a little girl, I put the sleeves aside for now. I am making another little sweater. Even though I swore I would not. But it's so cute and girly, but  in a reserved way. I'm knitting it in a darker grey with jewel-y purple and light pink flowers. And I decided to make the sleeves short. Because I am sick of sleeves. And it's for a spring baby. I picked up some really cute buttons for it, I am excited.

O spent a half an hour giggling at me this morning, it was so cute. And B all of a sudden is speaking in longer (5-6 word) sentences, which for the most part are grammatically sound. He talks pretty well for his age, he just only talks when he actually has something to say. O on the other hand has all the makings of a crazy talker. The personalities of those two are so different. We finally measured B the other day, and he is just shy of 39 inches. He is going to be taller than me in no time. We all spent the morning lounging around, it must be the gloominess. Even O did not want to be held and was happiest propped up on the couch. Which was good for me, because he must be going through a growth spurt, because instead of his usual 1-2 wake ups at night, he woke up 6 times. Ugh! At least he goes right back to sleep after. 

B and I broke out the glitter paint Monday, it was pretty fun. He can only paint for so long until the getting messy part really gets to him. Mostly though, he is all about the cars and trains and things that go. We draw cars a lot. I really need to improve my car drawing techniques, I swear I draw them just as I did in early elementary school. 

I think I am about to enact phase two of better food in the house, which is making more things, like crackers and cookies and snack things. I found a recipe for goldfish-like crackers which I am going to try this weekend after I pick up a new battery for our food scale. I really need to find some time to sit down and figure out what I need to make. I figure, I've been wanting to bake more, but don't really have much reason to, so I should put my baking skills to good use making more "whole" foods for around the house. In more exciting baking news, I finally found a reason to bake a cake (a BBQ at my mom's tomorrow), so I am going to make the Red Hot Red Velvet Cake from the Baked cookbook. I have been wanting to make this one for a while. I am especially excited about the cinnamon frosting. I am going to make the cake tonight, and then frost it during nap time tomorrow.

Things I have learned from Wife Swap

So today, while doing some knitting (I finished the main body of the sweater!) I watched a recent episode of Wife Swap. While watching, I realized that I should probably take a few lessons from these ladies such as

• take more 5-6 hour naps 
• run the washing machine so Ryan thinks I am cleaning (so I can take more naps)
• spend more time internet shopping
• make the kids do pushups when they forget to say "Yes ma'am"

Anyways, it has been a busy few days around here. Friday was a long shopping trip with my mom and sister. B got some new sandals, so now when we tell him to get his shoes on he goes "NO! Sandals!" And I found him some good summer clothes. I picked up some soft purple yarn to make these slipper/boots out of when I finish the sweater I am working on. I need to figure out how to use two circular needles at once. And I also found an excuse to go to Michaels that day. We needed to get Mother's Day and general crafting supplies. We have a lot of fun things to do this week with paints and markers (and sidewalk chalk!). And B picked out some super fun sparkle paint that we are going to use to make a birthday card tomorrow. I am excited to make things. I love the drawings and makings of children.

Saturday was library day, and B had fun as usual. O was just amused at everything going on. B really likes going to the library, he picked out a few new books to read, and loves trying out all of the couches. We walked around in the sky walks for a bit after and he really liked that. Mostly the being on top of roads part. Then it was grocery shopping. I am proud that the fresh half of my list was way longer than the not-so-fresh stuff. I've been making more effort to plan things out, and that is going really well. After shopping we all went for a drive to Lockport for dinner, which was really pretty and relaxing.

Today we just had to exchange something and go to the Bulk Barn. I picked up various dried fruits in hopes of getting B to eat them. We'll see how that goes. And then we barbecued. B loves BBQ-ing because he runs outside while Ryan is manning the grill and plays with his sand table. Or dirt rally table as it seems to be.

I think that I am going to try the Kids Clothes Week challenge next month. I have enough time to prepare, and I love sewing little clothes. Finding patterns that don't look completely dated for little boys is hard though, so I might have to come up with my own. I need to hit up Fabricland (and use what I still have around) to prepare! If nothing else, I can make a week's worth of shorts, but hopefully I will find or come up with something better. I still have a couple of weeks to figure it all out.