Two Exciting Projects

Project I...I'm excited that Jack's sweater is coming together..albeit the collar is slowly becoming a nightmare & as he tried it on, he politely tried to tell me how itchy it felt to his skin...maybe wool wasn't the best fiber choice. warmth..i was thinking!! so although I am excited to have it almost done, I'm wondering how much wear time it will get. we'll see...maybe a good outside sweater for layering. I do love the color & design of how it knitted up. now onto more xmas present making.


Project II...bathroom tile is almost complete...minus the grout, edges & trim. happy with the tile choice. it already feels luxurious even with all the mess. excited about the new wall color. i'm leaning towards the 3rd one from the top bar..but really love the 4th choice too..(see color chart pic). It's amazing how much Im noticing our floors that were already there. They seem to feel brighter & more cohesive with the walls now.

Monday Movie Review

Over the long weekend, we watched "Because of Winn Dixie," based on that wonderful children's book by K. DiCamillo. I always find myself doubting that the movie could come close to measuring up to a great book, especially one that I love. But this one did!!! I was totally immersed from the first scene. Opal is just what I imagined her to be & preacher/Opal's daddy is played by Jeff Daniels. Oh I love him! This one made us all laugh out loud. The whole story tugs at my heart beyond explanation.

Jack's Weight Maker & Bathroom Demo

One of Jack's creation...he calls him "weight maker." i love how he can take things out of the kitchen drawer & create little imaginary people:)



Also..I thought it'd be fun to document our bathroom remodel. Ahhh, I'm already dreaming of my new tranquil bath night:) Right now our bathroom is a construction zone. Over the last few days John got all the old tile down & the new cement backboard up...yippee!! We did have one big problem on the first day. After taking down the tile & dry wall, John found a leak coming off the shower copper pipe. With help from Poppy, they were able to figure it out & fix the leak. It looks like when the previous owners put down the floor tiles, & installed the floorboard, a nail gun shot a hole right through the shower pipe. Luckily the nail was holding most of the leak in for the last five or so years, but it could have been a major leak if the nail had broken & the pipe spilled all the water into our dining room ceiling. So I am even more thankful that we started this project & found that leak. It's exciting to pick the tiles & colors!! More to come later.

Gratitude Trees

One of my favorite bloggers & photographers is Erin Wallace over at www.bluebirdbaby.typepad.com. Her recent blog inspired me to "on the fly" pull together a fun crafty activity for the kid's first day off. Our fun craft were "Gratitude Trees."

First, we used watercolor & painted a few pages of watercolor paper. Blending colors & seeing who could make the brightest sheet was great. Next, we let the watercolor dry & then cut out leaves for the tree. I didnt use a template, just freehanded small leaves. Then, I ventured out & grabbed a few branches from the backyard & our trees were on their way to becoming our sweet little gratitude trees.

It was fun to see what the kids came up with for their leaves & we left a whole bowl full of empty leaves to add throughout the rest of the year. We used a hole punch & tied some of the leaves onto our trees & Jack liked to just hang his directly onto the branches. Some of the best leaves that made me smile,...i'm thankful for my long hair, my violin, clean water. ..

Now our gratitude trees are sitting pretty by the front door, greeting our friends & family. We are so proud of them & it was a fun, easy craft. Thanks Erin. Happy Thanksgiving.

Photo Shoot I

The infamous holiday photo shoot..I know it's a bit early, but the weather was so warm on Sunday I coerced the kids into letting me take their picture. It turned out to be hysterical. Maddie crying because she didnt want to wear tights, Jack complaining about how hot his shirt was & Louie..being forced to smile:)

Monday Music

Gift Making

A little peek at some things Jack & I worked on this weekend:)

One Moment..

Last weekend, we went to a "meeting with the nutcracker" event downtown. Maddie was so excited to meet some of the dancers from the show & see a preview of some of the costumes & dances. The best part for J&M was getting to dance around the enormous studio with tons of other kids & dancers from the show. The best for John & I was getting to watch them:)

Something for Jack

It's on the needles, I tried really hard to do the math for this without a pattern, came back to reality & realized there's a reason patterns exist. let's hope I can get it finished for Christmas. Jack's first knitted sweater from mama:)

Reading..

We finished, "Because of Winn Dixie" tonight. Another on my marathon of Kate DiCamillo books. My favorite.

swallowed..

trying not to be swallowed by the wave of to dos..
remembering the excitement when i opened my eyes on christmas eve morning
awaiting the visit to my grandmas, corn, stuffing, chicken casserole, presents, family, memories..
remembering christmas as a family, as a child.
my dad was born on christmas in 1951, i imagine my grandmother holding a newborn on christmas day.
her first born, her only son
the birthday that sometimes got forgotten amongst the presents from santa.
thinking about my dad, cigarettes, coffee, smiling in his spot on christmas morning.
trying not to get swallowed by the wave

Monday Music

We are all listening & dancing to...

Ravelry

With a sick child home today, I actually got a lot done. Maddie's feeling better thankfully.
What I am excited about accomplishing today other than vacuuming is this:
http://www.ravelry.com/people/krd406

Yay, I finally added my current projects to ravelry.com & even some pix!! exciting:)
Here's a close up of my tea leaves cardigan.

Lots & Lots of Papers

At breakfast one day this week, Jack was watching Maddie do her homework sheet from her "Poetry Folder" & he remembered having that same poetry folder way back when, right?. They share the same Kindergarten teacher & in fact had the same preschool teachers..somehow I forgot this until I started looking through the piles & piles of paper & projects that got discovered this week. They have had so much fun looking back at all the things they created & we have held onto. Maddie especially liked seeing all of her old art projects. It gave me an opportunity to purge alot of stuff & reorganize it all..not sure re-organizing is the right word here, but if making the pile smaller & more specific is considered organizing, we did that!
Here's a peek at some of my favorite creations..

Game Night..

Welcome Home Lou

Louie is our little escape artist..he's gotten pretty good at jetting out the door when all the other animals rotate in & out, so I have been letting him slowly adjust to the luxury of becoming an indoor/outdoor cat. Yesterday he ran out the front door when Maddie's bus came. I didnt see him after that escape. After a late afternoon of calling Lou & calling Lou & calling Lou, I find out my neighbor took him to the area shelter. By the time I talked to her, the shelter was closed. Lou spent the night in jail..poor guy. At least he has something to bond with Moo over now. We've only had him a few months & already I felt like I was missing a pet we've always had. So glad he's home.

Watching..

The Fox & The Child is a beautiful story we could watch over & over again.

Projects..

Improvised a leg warmer pattern for Ms. Maddie.
M's Legwarmer by me
Size 6 circular needles
Cast on 36 divide into magic loop
knit 5" in rib K2P2 stitch
knit one row in knit stitch (make a stockinette st)
K1 & M1 on both ends of next row.
Knit 3 more inches
K1 & M1 on both ends of next row.
continue knitting until you are ready for your next 5" rib cuff
cast off loosely & make another:)

My new big project has started slowly & I'm trying to really enjoy making this one. It's a free pattern found here: http://www.shapingdesign.com/Portals/0/involving/shalom_cardigan.pdf. Meghan's blog http://involvingthesenses.blogspot.com/
The internet is a pretty amazing resource for finding free patterns & discovering there are lots of young knitters out there:) I'm loving the texture & color on this & can't wait to see how it all comes together. I'm not reading the pattern too far ahead since I think new projects that are "big" can be a bit intimidating. Hoping to finish before Christmas.

Lemonheads

I found an old tape recently..The Lemonheads "it's a shame about ray"...wow that one brought back a lot of memories. I couldnt stop listening, remembering all the lyrics & shouting them out around the house. How many times had I listened to that tape?? The lovely, Evan Dando..then & now. "I'm too much with myself..I wanna be someone else!"

Noticing..

saw the leaves blowing
scattering by us on their way
noticed the leaves seemed to dance ahead
floating in my hair
where will they land
where will they stay
saw the leaves dancing
skipping to a tune
overhead i see them leaving oh so soon.
my mind danced with possibilities
from their playfulness
noticing the leaves today
noticing the trees saying goodbye

Banana Bread

I remember those days when it was just Jack & I home a lot, when venturing to the mailbox was quite a thrill. A bigger thrill if a magazine awaited:0 Parenting magazines seem to find their way to your box like a missing child when you become a new mother, so I read a lot of them. How to get your child to sleep through the night, how to calculate how tall your child will be, all the stages they fly through that you hope they are mastering on time. I forget most of details of those articles & now realize just being more aware..more in the moment is the best way to learn about your child. But there is one article that I have kept over the last eight years..it's a recipe of chocolate chip banana bread. One of my favorites & one I have made a lot! Yesterday, I spied two mature bananas..the ones, John use to leave notes on that read "when i grow up, I want to be banana bread!" & thought they looked ready. The best part about BB is when it bakes, it makes your whole house smell like a bakery filled with yummy desserts. Jack & Maddie came in the door..grinning & saying "did you make banana bread?? YAY!!" Here's the well loved recipe that originated as "Mandy's Banana Bread" by Julie Green mother of Amanda, 4 & Jacob, 3 in Sarasota, Fl published in Parenting's May 2003:
3 overripe bananas
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1 egg
1/2 stick butter
4 tbs m&ms of chocolate chips
Bake at 325 degrees for 70 minutes.

Monday Music..of sorts