Girl Power!

Yes, we are having another girl! Power in numbers!

A Knitter's Paradise

Snow Days aren't just good for public schooled kids...Knitters love 'em too. Just look at these pictures of my family...

I made the hats on the Snowman (made by Child #3 and myself) and on the Child himself (the blue hat is the first item I ever knitted. I keep it as a reminder of how far I have come in my knitting skills... it's so ugly!). I didn't make the scarf though. That is a relic from the 80's.

Our Snowman (with his carrot nose and button eyes) caused My Pathetic Doberman to enter into a guarding frenzy when she came outside and saw the intruder. Yes, this is a vicious snowman.


Child #4, pictured on the stairs on the right, is in time-out for playing in the pond again. He is wearing some bright red hand-knit socks. Child #5, not on time-out, is wearing the first sweater I ever made under her snowsuit. This sweater is full of mistakes, but it is sturdy and has been worn as warm play clothes by both boys.

On the left, My Pathetic Doberman is not wearing anything that I knit. But I am wearing an alpaca scarf that I splurged on and finished just in time for the snow. And I also made the mittens.

After all the play (and knitting), Child #5 and I needed a nap. Now you can see the sweater. And I also knit that blanket around my shoulders. As a matter of fact, I just finished it right before I fell asleep.


After dinner, I cast on for my first pair of 8-stitches-to-the-inch, adult-sized, cable knit socks. Like, hello, this is going to be my hardest project yet! My DH said (while in a funk because Child #2 was on the computer when he wanted to be), "Exactly how much time have you spent knitting today?" Some days I just can't keep track. Like Sundays and Snow Days. But now it is Monday and I have work to do...

Snow Angel Found in Backyard

We have snow today! As you can see from the picture, we don't have very much snow. But even a slight powdering will inspire Child #3 to make snow angels- or should we call them dirt angels? The temperature is terribly chilly, especially with the wind, so I am so glad that I finished my alpaca scarf this morning.

In other news... I have become a hopeless addict of C.S.I. You know we don't have cable, so no televisions stations, so I haven't seen any episodes until a friend of Child #1 lent us the first season of C.S.I. on DVD. My DH and I stayed up late last night and watched three episodes in a row. Is it the kids' bedtime yet?

And... in anticipation of the snow, we got our Christmas tree yesterday! For years we have been tree snobs. Only Noble Firs would do for us. But this year we got a Doug, saved $30, and absolutely love it! It is the prettiest tree yet! We spilled only one bucketfull of water in the kitchen and so far no one has knocked the tree over or chewed on the branches (like last year-or was it the year before?). We are going to hang decorations on the tree as soon as the kids and I declutter all the surfaces in the living room. This may take a year or more.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to our little 2 year old! The picture to the left is what a two year old girl looks like when she opens her first baby doll that cries when you poke it in the stomach. Now, this Child has a few baby dolls lying around the house that she has never ever paid any attention to, except to throw across the room. I wasn't going to get her any baby doll type presents for her birthday or Christmas because of this. But as we (myself and three youngest) were slowly walking up and down each toy aisle at Target (what kind of a parent am I?), she spotted it. She reached for it. She started poking the baby's tummy and making her cry. And she loved it. So I bought it and wrapped it up for her birthday.

After this sweet little girl opened her presents, we had cake. Normally I don't buy store bought cakes. Why should I? I can make the same thing from a box for $.99! But I was short on time since I decided to have a birthday party just hours before and managed to squeeze a trip to the grocery store in between Taekwondo and swim lessons. The boys picked out a blue and green cake because those are their favorite colors. At least they were thinking of their sister. They did however pick out a sweet little card with My Little Ponies on the front to go along with their gift of My Little Ponies-which she loves.

And to celebrate her being two... Child #5 dressed in her prettiest pink princess dress that her grandma bought for Easter. She ran around as fast as she could, climbed up on the horse and rode it at breakneck speeds, jumped off the horse yelling, " 'uper 'an!" (that means Superman in her language), and turned somersaults on the floor. And of course, by the time I could catch her again, she had ripped a delicate piece of the material of the dress. Darn. I will post the picture of her in the dress with her loving brothers some other time...