Getting Bigger

Buying the next size up in clothes makes them seem so big. How did he become a big boy so fast?? We shopped for the first time in the "child size" section. Officially out of all the cute toddler clothes. :(

Mini-Lanterns

I made about a gazillion of these. It was an easy, fun, rainy day craft. They slipped easily onto a string of Christmas lights. I only had white vellum on hand, but colors or prints would have been really cute, too! Got the idea HERE. Click Tutorials and Videos and then click Lantern Garland.

Ugh! I'm It!

I've been tagged by my new friend, Kelly
Enjoy, I will probably never do this again! :)

Here are the rules:


Here are 7 random things about me you may or may not know:

1. I have been tagged numerous times before, and this is the first time I have ever participated.

2. Although I enjoy reading other peoples "7 random things" I do not like getting tagged. :)

3. (Taken from my last post) I like my body to feel balanced and the same on both sides..at all times. :) If someone punches me in one arm, I will seriously ask them to punch my other arm so that it feels even (ask my siblings).

4. (Also taken from my last post) I absolutely HATE touching dry, hot wood (like the dock in the summer) with my bare feet. I basically can't breathe if I do.

5. I LOVE watching boring documentaries, like "Cracking the Maya Code" or "Blue Planet". I usually fall asleep watching them, but that is half the reason I like them so much!

6. I used to have a pierced tongue in college. My parents didn't know, and I took it out because I was so afraid of getting caught with it.

7. I HATE breaking the rules. As reflected in #6, I don't like getting in trouble and I avoid it at all costs. Having a guilty conscience is like the worst feeling for me. I have nightmares about it and then I wake up so relieved that I didn't make the "sad choice" I dreamt I made.

So there ya go!

I'm tagging:
Jaynee
Lindsey
Becki
Amy
Greg
Rachel
& Jess
Sorry friends :)

Shoot, now I have to tell people I have roped them into this little game that never ends! Do what you will with it!

The 7 Year Project

Yesterday, I had a great idea. Instead of getting to the painting downstairs, I thought, 'I think I want to knit up a pair of legwarmers!' I searched the internet. Found a pattern. Although knitting up 2 legwarmers on dbl. pointed needles really didn't thrill me much after looking over the patterns, I decided it was worth it, because I really wanted some. Plus, I already had some great sock yarn, but really didn't want to mess with making socks. I got to searching for my size 4 dbl pointed needles. They weren't where I thought they should be. I thought a little more.......

Oh yeah, the unfinished project....

7 years ago my sister Rachel and I were taught to knit, by our mom, while we rummaged through my Grandma's old knitting stuff. We were hooked.
Side Note: Joanna learned to knit too. She even knit her and Jon some Christmas Stockings a couple years ago. She had some setbacks, but they totally turned out! However, she just said the other day, that maybe she would learn how to knit, and get on the knitting band-wagon. What? JOANNA, YOU KNOW HOW TO KNIT! :)
Back to the story.....
If you know Rachel at all, you know she was hooked even more than me. She's practically a knitting machine. (Of course, she is a math/computer science major, and very precise in everything she does. Neat and tidy...I'm not really that way, so knitting for me is a little more haphazard). Anyway, that year for Christmas (7 years ago) we were both given sock "kits" which included the yarn and a pattern for making a fancy pair of socks. I don't know, Rachel probably knit those socks up in a couple of evenings or something. I remember she was contemplating getting a pair of clear, rubber shoes so that she could show them off. I found knitting socks to be a total pain, but I suffered through the double-pointed madness and finished one. I have no idea how long it took me, it was seriously so long ago. I had absolutely no desire to start that other sock. I think I put it off for years. Years later I picked it up and thought, 'I just need to finish this'. Having this unfinished project just gave me guilt....like maybe I wasn't capable of having some self-discipline and finishing something. So on a trip to Arizona one year, I took the sock with me. I remember knitting it on the airplane. I knit all the way from the top cuff all the way down, turned the heel and then I never touched it again. All that was left was finishing the foot...easy... but I seriously left it on the needles for the next....I don't know......4 years maybe!

Back to the legwarmers from yesterday. I needed those needles but I couldn't bare to remove them from the poor unfinished second sock. So I set to finishing it. I had a few reservations in my mind, but I pushed them away and finished the job. It was slow and grueling as I messed up several times and had to go backwards to fix it!

Finally, by the end of the day, I finished the sock! I showed Rand when he got home and he said, "Hmmmm, that looks kind of familiar." I was like, "Yeah, I know, I started this project like 7 years ago."

I slipped them on......

Remember how I mentioned some reservations???

This post is about to get longer...Time to get to know me a little better...

I have this weird, freakish problem. I'm not sure how describe it, but it's a little OCD. I have an "even" problem. I like my body to feel balanced and the same on both sides..at all times. :)

Let me explain a little better: If someone punches me in one arm, I will seriously ask them to punch my other arm so that it feels even (ask my siblings). I try to evenly share chewing on both sides of my mouth. If I take off a shoe to remove a rock or something, I remove the other shoe too, so that when I put them back on and tie them up, they both feel the same. One foot isn't warmer than the other or one shoe tighter. I can't dip one toe in the water unless I dip the other. I could go on, but you get the picture. I'm weird. While I'm on this little confess-all, I might as well share as well, that I absolutely HATE touching dry, hot wood (like the dock in the summer) with my bare feet. I basically can't breathe if I do.

Anyway, by now, you have probably guessed what happened with my socks. It is probably the reason I stopped knitting the second sock after I finished the heel. I didn't look too close yesterday before I started, but the second heel was significantly bigger than the first. I can't wear them. One is nice and tight and the other is kind of baggy. I can't stand it.

I finished the project, which in itself gives me satisfaction, and much needed closure. However, it is a failure anyway. Maybe I should rip them out and make a hat...or some baby booties for my little niece who is almost here. I don't know! I don't care! I will probably store them in with my knitting stuff for the next 7 years.

Well, here they are, finished, but unwearable.

Outdoor Colors

Some trees look like it could still be summer....


and then others look as if we are in the dead of winter....


...and then some are this lovely inbetween stage! (much more impressive in real life)

all taken from our back yard. I really need to go take a drive and see some real scenary. Such a lovely change from the desert (not that it isn't beautiful in its own right) and reminding me lots of all the falls I remember from home. Today it is even pouring down rain and freezing cold....just like Washington. Feels quite homey, actually. I think something warm and comforting is on the menu for dinner. Maybe hot cocoa and a movie tonight!

Some Before and Afters

This move has entailed some major projects for me. I like projects so it's not all bad except that I keep finding other, more fun projects to do. I have curtains galore to make, furniture to paint, walls to paint, pictures to hang (creatively, I might add. Apparently, you can't just easily put a nail into these old plaster walls. Grrrrr...), knick knacks to find to fill spaces and did I mention curtains??? Honestly, I really like doing all these kinds of projects, but I'm getting to the point where I'm feeling like it all needs to be done, like, NOW! I have curtains that I have made for the boys' room, but they are being turned into roman shades, so a few materials need to be purchased before completion of that project (pictures to come). And then there are maybe 8 or more windows to get covered!
I have, however, completed one of my to-do's. My friend in AZ gave me a lovely chest and small side table that she didn't want anymore, right before we moved. I could see potential and it became one of my first projects when we got here. (Not that I don't love fruit....just not painted on my furniture like this:

Black paint can really do wonders. Hmmm, what else can I paint black???

Those white walls are soon to be history, so be watching for some more "after" shots.

New Blog Title

I think this is it for a while. I think I will add some pictures to it soon. Mostly this blog is a photo journal, so I can't have a title without some pictures to go along!

Fall Walk

Right by our house, last weekend. Beautiful weather, beautiful scenary, lots of fun.

Apple Bake

We went to Lancaster a couple days ago (Amish Country, as I call it) to check some stuff out. Came home with lots of apples......and a couple skeins of yarn. We made yummy apple dessert which only Brendan and I ate. A couple people in this family detest "hot fruit". Their loss! It was delicious.


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Lanterns

Today we made some lanterns. Got the idea here. Hopefully they haven't ignited while I was uploading the pictures. :)

Some New Hats

This fall-ish weather has really given me the knitting bug. Whipped these up for warmer heads for the little boys last weekend. More hats on the needles as we speak.

Found the pattern here.

Baseball Dreams

I think their fates are sealed. Moving across the street from the Little League park has made it official. Baseball for Rand is his childhood. It's his growing up. It represents only good things and he loves the game. He loves the memories of the game. It is totally nostalgic. Ever since we found out we were having a boy back in the spring of '03 Rand has dreamt about playing ball with this little guy. And then with boy number two...well, even better. Poor Brendan has been hitting baseballs since he was standing....maybe sooner. He got a real tee by 2 and was hitting pitches by 3 years old. We might have to wait to put him on a real team because playing tee ball would be like going backwards. He has graduated to hitting tennis balls with a real bat (as a opposed to a giant plastic one) and seriously, he can really hit. And he loves it!

So fast forward to today. Now, to Rand's great pleasure (and the boys'), we live across the street from not one, not two, but 6 little league sized baseball fields, complete with 2 batting cages. Everyday the wagon gets loaded up with all the gear, the dog leashed and across the street go the boys to play ball. Sometimes I go along, but mostly I stay back to make dinner. When I go, Wyatt bans me to the dugout where I must cheer and clap evertime he "runs the bases".

There are big plans for a batting cage getting constructed in the basement for winter hitting....and I don't doubt that it will definitely happen. Apparently it is VERY important that they continue hitting all year long. No breaks!

So, here are some pictures of my baseball loving boys.

Once Upon a Time We Went Apple Picking

It seriously feels like forever ago, but it was less than 2 weeks ago. I promised pictures so here they are.
I have no idea where we were....somewhere in Pennsylvania? Yes. :) Our new friends Chad and Amy took us with their 2 kiddos and we had lots of fun. There were animals and pumpkins and lots to do. Apples and animals were about all we could handle in one afternoon, but we loved it!