Lexi can knit!

Ok, so it's not "real" knitting but still. I've been trying to teach Lexi how to knit but the "peak through the window" part was too hard for her, so I decided to try to teach her finger-knitting. It took her all of 5 minutes to figure it out and then she was off and running.





She decided to make a headband and she's already done. I see lots of necklaces and bracelets in her future....does this mean she's going to want her own yarn at the craft store? Uh oh....

Two's a crowd?

So this is what my house sounds like on a daily basis:

"He got (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack) first!"
"She got more than me!"
"I wanted that _____ (cup, plate, fork, toy, chair, anything)!"
"We read his story first last night!"
"It's my turn to turn out the light!"
"I wanted to sit in the front of the basket!"
"I'm the leader!" "No, I'M the leader!"
"It's mine!"

And then of course, the favorite:
"THAT'S NOT FAIR!!"

Sheesh, whoever said 2 kids was a good idea! I know, I know, it's good they're having all these battles, helps them learn how to deal with different personality types and be successful in the world, but come on - I'm going nuts over here! Anything and everything that can be argued over will be, and it seems that there's nothing I can do about it. Time to go read "Siblings Without Rivalry" again...

Pics of Knitting

Man, I am a blogging fool today. Here's some pics of my knitting:

A baby blanket I finished for a baby due soon...

I used Bernat Baby Coordinates Sweet Stripes which is surprisingly soft but a pain in the you know what to work with. It turned out alright though. I used to pattern on the label but about 9 inches in I decided I would go crazy with all that stockinette so I designed an embossed heart in the middle. I made up the chart and everything, all by myself thank you very much. I think it turned out cute, and on the other side are all the purls with a stockinette heart in the middle.

A poncho for my daughter:

I bought this yarn at Walmart, it's actually really soft. I didn't know what to do with it, so I asked my daughter and she said she wanted a poncho. It's not finished yet, I need to knit a border around the whole thing in white. I just cast on 1 stitch, then increased once every row to make a triangle. When I got done it wasn't quite big enough, so I picked up and knit around the neck opening in white and I'm going to do that around the body. It's sooooo soft, I'm thinking about making me a scarf out of this yarn. I can't seem to find any at my Walmart though. I hope it's cause they're remodeling and not because they sold it all for 50 cents a ball or something, I will be so mad!

A water bottle holder for my kids:

I'm basically designing it as I go, doing the top as ribbing and the body in st. I want to use a solid color in the middle and either duplicate stitch or intarsia their names in the middle. The stripe/pink combo is for Lexi and the stripe/orange combo will be for Spencer. This is also my first attempt at double points, which looks so easy on Knitty Gritty but takes some getting used to.

I think I need to start over, it looks a little big, I need to cast on fewer stitches next time. Oh well, it's the process.

I also made a really cute tank top for my daughter with a matching headband, but it's in the wash right now because she wore it to school. That's about it for now, I usually only work on one project at a time, but my list of things I want to make is getting really long. I better go finish dinner!

This is the next project I'm going to work on:

The free pattern is here:

http://secure.elann.com/ShowFreePattern.asp?Id=138024

I'm thinking I'll make the child one first, just so I can get a hang of the pattern, then I'll make one for me. I hardly ever make stuff for myself, but I just LOVE this jacket. Here's a view of the child size:

I'm still deciding about colors and yarn choice. I was thinking I would use cotton, since I live in Florida, but I'm concerned about the weight. I may use Elann's wool, but I have never worked with wool before and I'm worried about the itchiness factor. I really want to get started ASAP, so I may use my sick time today to decide.

I'm charging my camera so I'll be able to post pictures of FO's (finished objects) and WIP (works in progress) soon.

Sick kids, math tests, and no sleep...Oh my!

It has been a rough few days. My kids have been sick and I had a math test last night (Business Calculus). Lexi got sick on Friday night, although it's off and on. She'll be fine, running around and playing, and then all of a sudden she's got a high fever. On Saturday we decided to go out to breakfast and to AC Moore so I could get some new yarn and start some new projects. By the time we got done with breakfast, she wasn't feeling well but we had already made the trip so we went to the craft store anyway. Big mistake. I took forever trying to decide what I wanted to knit (which I should have done before we went) and she spent the whole time in the cart with her head down while Spencer went running around the store like a maniac. We finally left and went home, and a few hours later her fever had spiked to over 104 degrees. The walk-in clinic had just closed, and there's no way I can afford another trip to the emergency room (I took Spencer there a few weeks ago and the bill is $1000, for an hour and a half!). So I gave her tylenol and prayed it would go down (it did). The next day (Sunday) she was fine but that night her fever went back up. I was up until 1am studying for my stupid test, then right when I got into bed she woke up crying with a fever again. I didn't get to sleep until 4am, then Spencer woke me up at 6:30am. So I got a total of 2 1/2 hours of sleep before my test, which was at 6pm last night. It wasn't too hard, and I think I did alright although I know for a fact I got one wrong.

Anyway, I came home from school, checked on them both, and they were fine. I tried to go straight to bed, but Nick was thoughtful and taped my favorite shows so I stayed up and watched them with him (How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, and The New Adventures of Old Christine). I went to bed, then around 3am Spencer woke up crying this aweful cry. It was so different and strange I thought I was dreaming, until I realized it was real and RAN into his room. He was burning up, about to throw up, and he couldn't walk to the potty. Not good. So I gave him some medicine, took his temp (104.2), and prayed he wouldn't throw it up. He didn't. They both got in bed with us, and when I finally got back in bed I felt my daughter and realized she was burning up too (104). So gave her some medicine, and layed there awake, squished between 2 heaters, until about 5:30am, then woke up at 7.

So yea, not much sleep in a couple of days and I think I'm losing it. They're sitting next to me on the couch watching Blues Clues, neither one feeling any better, and I'm supposed to take my dad all over creation today (not really, just the mall, but still). I really should take them to the doctor, but it's hard when you have no insurance and they expect you to pay right then. And I don't have $200 for the dr. to tell me they have a cold and there's nothing he can do about it. Maybe the walk-in clinic in Cocoa Beach, it's supposed to be good, but I'm always afraid they'll end up sicker by being around all the other sick people. So I think I'll give it one more day and if it's not better tomorrow it's off to the dr. Plus, my sister will be with my dad so I won't have to worry about him.

That's about it for now, I need to take pics of the projects I've finished and post them, maybe at naptime. That is, if I can figure out how to post pics.

Hello!

Ok, this is my first blog entry and I would like to start out by saying that I have no idea what I am doing so please bare with me. I'm starting this blog mostly so my mom can keep up with my life since I seem to have no free time to chat with her on the phone (of course, it doesn't help that I DESPISE talking on the phone).

Why don't I have time you ask? Well, I am the proud mother of 2 beautiful children. My daughter Alexis is (almost) 5 and my son Spencer is (almost) 3. I am happily married to a man it seems like I have known forever (ok, only 12 years but who's counting?). I also go to school, Brevard Community College to be exact, where I am majoring in Accounting and almost done with my AA degree (with a 4.o). Then it's off to UCF. And oh yea, I also take care of my 88 year old father (with my sister's help) who lives with us. Ever seen King of Queens? That's my life, with a couple of kids thrown in to the madness.

I am a stay at home mom/student who, in my free time (ha!), likes to knit and try all things crafty. I like to sew and I've started scrapbooking, but I am the best at knitting. I love to have a pattern that I can follow with rules and logic and as long as I follow them I can do it. Everything else is too subjective for me, so, being the perfectionist I am, I over-analyse and drive myself (and everyone else) crazy.

My kids attend BCC's Labschool which is, in my opinion, the greatest preschool ever created. It combines a day class for my kids along with parent education for us. My children and I have found the best friends there and I am already dreading the day when it's over (luckily, I still have 3 more years).

That's about it for now, I plan to chronicle my life along with my crafty hits and misses and post pictures along the way. Oh yea, and

Hi Mom!