Crazy Spinning

I've done it! After three months of spinning five minutes here and there, I have finished my first skein of yarn in 15 years. The is the first yarn I have spun without my Grandmother's help, and gosh darn it, I think she would be proud.  My husband got me the fiber for Christmas.  Crazy colors right? I love it! I haven't decided what I'm going to knit it into yet, maybe a cute little baby hat.

OK, there is room for improvement, but it's gorgeous right?

Monkey Bread Party

Last weekend, amid the cold grey weather my kids and I decided to throw a Monkey Bread Party.  It sounds exciting right? Well, it was.  We invited my whole family, about 11 people, over to make break, play monkey games, and have a good time.  Fun and frivolity ensued.

First we split up into groups, and rolled out our dough in to little pieces and rolled it in cinnamon and sugar, and put in in the pans.  (Could this be any easier?)

While the bread was rising we went outside and played Monkey tag, (running from tree to tree while "aligator" tries to get you) hide and seek, and dodge the coconut.  All in all it was a great time.  It was a fun little get together to make the winter blah's temporarily go away.

Here's Lilly running from the obligatory.

My sister Haley was surprisingly competitive when it came to Monkey Tag

Alas, I have no picture of our finished loves of Monkey Bread  because people started eating them as soon as they came out of the oven.  I guess that means it was a success!

The Eggs are Here!!

My phone rang at 7 am the other day...muttering angrily about my in-laws (they always find some reason to call before 7 about trivial things.) I got out of bed, (I'd been awake, I was just hiding from my kids in the warmth of my bed) answered the phone, and was overjoyed when it was the postmaster telling my my eggs were here! So, needless to say we got around as quickly as we could and drove to the post office, to pick up our precious cargo. The kids were so excited.  We dropped all the stuff we were suppose to do that morning and just focused on our eggs. What a joy it was to do with with my kids! 

here's our eggs straight out of the box. 

Here's Lex and Lilly loving on their eggs

Here is Lex loading our waiting incubator up with eggs

Here rest my lovely Buff Orpington eggs waiting to hatch! I'll keep you posted!

P.S.. Sorry these pictures look like videos. I'm not sure why.  I'll have to look into that.

And now.....The Bum Shake

I started this blog as a purely knitting blog.  I wanted to talk about the patterns I was designing, my difficulties following charts, my finished projects, ect.  Well I've become horrible distracted lately, dash it all, and my blog has become something a bit different.  So, now you just have to deal with it.

My knitting life for the past couple of weeks has been dreadfully boring and uninspired so, to make myself, and all of you feel better, here my my underwear clad children doing the bum shake.  I hope to post something more of use soon, but until then, enjoy.

An Ode to the Pug

Lately I have been awash in a see of melancholy, stress, and sadness.  Between work and home, I've been pretty much emotionally drained, but my everyday pick-me-up is my darling Pug, Mackenzie Mae Ostermier.

Ten Reasons why my Pug is the best dog in the world
1. She sits and snuggles up next to me no matter what I look or smell like.
2. At night she sleeps perfectly snuggled in the crook of my knees
3. Her face (seriously she's  a pug... gorgeous!)
4. Her velvety soft ears
5. Her unerring devotion to me
6. She has been with me through every big life-changing moment in my life. (going to college, grandparents dying,    getting married, having kids....ect.)
7. She cleans off every dinner plate so I don't have to scrub it before I put it in the dishwasher
8. She puts up with my children
9. Her big brown eyes always tell me she loves me
10.  On those rare morning when I get to sleep in, she snuggles her head on my next and we snore peacefully together.

These 10 reasons could never convey the depth of my affection for Mackenzie.  She is undeniable one of my best friends.  Now if I could only get her to stop barking at every living thing she spots out the window.

Teaching Munchkins and What's in my bag?

I'm pretty lucky to have two days off during the week.  I get Tuesdays and Thursdays off, so my little munchkins and I stay home. They like coming to my bookstore with me, but they love staying home. When at home we bake, create, and learn.  I had always contemplated becoming a teacher, but my love of books won out, so I really enjoy setting down with my kids and having reading lessons,  working on numbers and letters,  and the art of making good bread.  My kids who are 4 and 2 1/2 soak it up like sponges.

On Tuesday, my daughter and I were working on some stuff in a preschool workbook when I realized that we had never learned about patterns. So when we put away all our "school stuff" to get ready for a dance party (oh how my kids love to dance!) I was already thinking about the best way to teach my little love-bug about patterns.  Now here's the thing about Lilly, she pays attention when and for how long she wants too.  If you've got something you want to teach her, it better be fun and fast.

Yes, like a bad mother we sometimes stay in our Pj's all day!

On Thursday I brought out some pattern beads I had gotten from Melissa & Doug  and we worked on patterns.  Well I should say her brother and her worked on patterns. My son, a pattern freak to the nth degree was all for teaching her.  They barely needed me.  It was amazing to watch my 4 year old son teach his sister all about patterns and how they worked.  He would start a pattern and say it out loud to her, and then ask her what went next.  OK, I helped a little.  But it really was awesome to see Lex teach Lilly , and watch as her eyes lit up when she grasped the concept.  After that she was a pro.  Well for about 5 minutes then she wanted to become a princess and that was the end of her schooling.

I know you are all dying to see my knitting bag and the crazy stuff I put in it so here it is.

You'd never believe all the crazy stuff I have in here!

I'm currently working on this pattern for a dead fish hat.  I know weird right, but it look pretty cool in the finished picture. If you see me anywhere I am carrying this knitting bag.  It has everything I need to survive in it.  Needles, knitting and sewing, thread, scissors, my Itouch cords, bubbles, and any number of crazy things that could someday save my life.  Someday when I have more time and less to talk about I'll post about my crazy-awesome knitting bag made by Green Chick.  Check out her website here.  She makes bags by recycling old clothing and fabric! Amazing! OK, I believe I have put off work long enough.  Enjoy the weekend.

Love Hurts

I'm feeling angry, hurt, and defeated  today by events that I'm not going to post here, but there is always something that will make me smile on even the darkest of days.  Lex and Lilly.  While I sat in their room last night, staying with them until they fell sleep,  fighting the urge to not burn down houses and start ridiculous knock down drag out fights, my daughter whispers, "I love you mommy" and I find that for just a moment I forget all about my horrible revenge plans.

I sat in the dark listening to them rustle their cover,s their slowing breathing, and I found it hard to breathe.  I love my children so much that sometimes it physically hurts.  I look at them and my throat constricts and I can't seem to get any breath into my lungs.  My heart beats wildly fast and irregularly.  I think I am going to have a panic attack.  I find myself at odd moments during the day hugging them, touching their faces, and smelling their hair..  I can't seem to get enough of them. Sometimes I wonder if a child can die from being loved to much, because certainly mine are being smothered by my love.  But I can't help it.  My love for them is something that grows every moment of the day until I don't think I can love anymore. Then the next day comes and I do.  I love them so much it hurts, and it saves me all at the same time. I guess that is what it means to be a mother.