Working and Crafting and Babies, Oh My

Scarfapalooza

2010-06-30T10:39:00.000-04:00

If you are on my Christmas list this year, chances are good you are getting a scarf...unless you're a child, then a scarf is considered a choking hazard and you're not getting one, so there you go....you surprise isn't ruined....but also, you're not reading this blog....alrighty, now that's out of the way. Don't worry, I'm making a ton of these, and I'm not telling who's getting what, so you'll still be surprised...or hoping you get the good one. I can't believe you're thinking that....they're all good ones!

These 3 scarves are all from free patterns. I will provide the links.

This first scarf is a free pattern from Lion Brand (link in side bar). The pattern is called Classic Cabled Scarf http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/80755AD.html. The yarn used is Patons Classic Wool in Dark Grey Mix. I have only used this yarn for 2 of the scarves here, and I love it! It's nice to work with and it makes a nice fabric. My husband, who tested this scarf out thought it felt itchy, but when I tried it I did not - so I guess that's up to personal taste - however a scarf is usually outside the winter clothes, so I don't imagine that will be a problem, but I will only use this yarn for other people for this kind of project, just in case. This was my first try with cables. It was actually pretty easy and the scarf looks pretty good - it is hard to tell from the pictures though - the colour doesn't photograph very well.

This is what happens when you're taking pictures and they're not of your 3 year old!

This scarf is for Bernat Alpaca yarn and the pattern is called: Lacy Leaves Scarf. The link to Bernat Yarns is in the sidebar, but I'm not going to bother linking the pattern, because you have to be a member of the site to see it. However, they have many nice patterns - it's worth it to sign up (for free) to have access to so many free patterns. I found this pattern because I bought the yarn and then searched through their site for scarves that are specifically intended for this yarn. The yarn I used is called Bernat Aplaca Natural Blends - it's 70% acrylic and 30% alpaca. The yarn and the fabric it creates is soft and fuzzy. This was my first try with lace. I think it turned out pretty well - the edge of the scarf turning in annoyed me the whole time I was knitting, but it actually looks pretty nice when the scarf is on, so I'm not going to try to block it flat.

This scarf from Knitty.com. The pattern is called Wavy, and can be found here: http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter04/PATTwavy.html. I think this pattern is great! It's not complicated - it's basically ribbing that meanders back and forth. Ribbing, for those that don't know is something like Knit 2 purl 2 knit 2 purl 2. In this case it is knit 3 purl 3, but the pattern moves 1 step in either direction each row. Sounds a bit complicated, but if you can knit, purl and count to 3 you can do this! Now, I did screw up, and didn't know how to fix it, so there the mistake stays, but now I do know how to fix such a thing and would fix it. This scarf was my first try back at knitting after a very long absence during which I pretty much exclusively crocheted. Right now all the small and fast things I'm working on are knit and the large and slow ones are crocheted. This is another scarf made with Patons Classic Wool. I don't have the ball band any longer, as this scarf was finished in January, so I can't recall the exact colour. I will be making another one of these scarves in purple in the coming months.

What's on the hook, what's on the needle?

2010-06-25T14:42:00.002-04:00

So today I'm going to talk a bit about my current projects and my organization system.

Currently I have a few projects on the go:
1) a cabled scarf
2) a knitted blanket - that was to be a wedding present for my sister, but did not get finished and will now be a gift for her and her husband on a different occasion....
3) self striping fish pillow - I am not a fan of this pattern though. I only have 2 balls of this yarn - yellow/white striped colourway, so I'm going to save the yarn for the perfect pattern - the yarn may turn into a striped crochet caterpillar, not sure about that.
4) a baby blanket - with self patterning jacquard yarns....really cool and pretty - have enough yarn to make 2 blankets, but only 1 is started.

Hey, wow, I have fewer projects actually underway than I thought I did....go me!

Now, let's talk about store bought kits (comes with all the necessities for a pattern) or self made kits (yarn I have purchased for specific projects)
1) Purple yarn for a scarf for my mother-in-law for Christmas (I have a scarf in mind - very cool one - I have already made a scarf from this pattern, will be blogged about some day soon)
2) White yarn to make a slouchy cabled hat (enough yarn for 2 hats)
3) 2 extra balls of yarn from cabled scarf noted above - will become another scarf, different pattern.
4) Yarn kit to make a Sugar Plum fairy doll
5) Yarn kit to make another doll
6) Yarn kit to make a felted poinsettia wreath
7) Yarn kit to make a crocheted snowman blanket
8) Yarn kit to make 3 large Christmas Mittens (decoration, not wearable)
9) Yarn to make many Christmas ornaments
10) Yarn to make reusable bags
11) Yarn to make Allyson and her cousin Hailey matching pink fuzzy sweaters

Hmm....that's all I can think of right now. Sadly, that is also less than I thought it would be....go me again!

Then I have tons and tons of other yarn that is leftovers from other projects, or stuff that I loved at the time and bought lots of without a project in mind.

My next major project, once the cabled scarf is finished (which I anticipate will be in the next week or so), is to crochet 2 different nativity sets. One will be a shower gift for a lovely cousin of mine (if she happens to read this blog, I already asked her if she would want one, so don't worry, it's not a spoiler), and one set for a very dear friend. Now, I've never blogged about a stuffed animal I have made, but in an upcoming post I will be blogging about Allyson's birthday Care Bear. You will learn that I make, shall we say, 'Charming' stuff animals. Meaning, no matter how I try, limbs, ears, tails etc, are never, ever, ever sewed on evenly. Try as I might my stuffed animals have a very distinct home-made look. So my wonderful sister, who is amazing at sewing, Erin, has agreed to sew the nativity sets together for me. So yay! They will look professional, not 'charming'!

I'm going to sign off this blog with a request...have a look through this photo album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15217&id=510123273&l=6d44e1711e
and if there are any items in there that you want to know more about, patterns, yarns etc, let me know and I'll be happy to blog about it!

Jackson's Spiderman Blanket

2010-06-21T10:41:00.002-04:00

Once upon a time, about 3 years ago, my first nephew was born (ok, I still only have one nephew, but some day I may have more than one). When he was born I gave him a car blanket, similar to the one posted here: http://http//andreainajax.blogspot.com/2010/06/twinsies.html

Anyway, this blanket has been his favourite blanket forever and I thought maybe it was time for him to have a new blanket.

Jackson is obsessed with superheros and Buzz Lightyear. I tried and tried to think of something to make for him that he would love. I don't enjoy doing single crochet afghans where you change colours repeatedly to make a picture, so I didn't want to go that route. But you should totally look up superhero stuff on Ravelry (see link in sidebar), because there is some incredible stuff. Eventually I found a pretty cool and straightforward pattern - a round ripple afghan with colour changes and surface chaining to make it look like a Spiderman spiderweb.

So far it seems to be a pretty big hit!

The pattern is from this website: http://stitchnfrog.blogspot.com/2009/07/superhero-dream-catcher-afghan.html. Though my afghan looks pretty similar I actually did modify the pattern a bit. The number of rows between colour changes in the pattern is not always the same, but I kept mine the same. After the red section it was 5 blue, 1 black, 5 blue, 1 black, 5 red, 1 black etc. I also ended with a black row instead of blue or red cause I thought it looked more finished that way. I used red heart and bernat acrylic worsted weight yarns.

Braydon's Truck Blanket

2010-06-16T18:17:00.001-04:00

It probably comes as no shock that because I love crafting, and because I love my kids, I absolutely love crafting for my kids. I have one pattern book in particular, that Braydon loves to look at. There is a crochet truck blanket in this book. He asked me if I would make him one and the rest is history.

For many projects, finishing work takes up almost as much time as actually making the pieces. I have always been one to finish as much as possible as I go along, so there is less at the end. For example, if I'm crocheting squares with different colours, as I crochet with colour 2 I also weave in and crochet over the ends of colour 1, and so on. When my square is finished I will have just one end to sew in. Where possible I use this end to sew together blocks or I sew over it to weave it in as I go. I am all about the multi tasking. So usually when I start to sew a project together I still have 1 end on each block to sew in. With this project there were some square that were 2 colours, with each side being a triangle of colour - this made it almost impossible to use my regular finishing techniques. So for Braydon's blanket I didn't use any of my short cuts. Did I mention that this blanket was made with mini square, and that I had to make more than 400 squares and that several of these squares were 2 colours. I sewed every single end in completely before sewing the blanket together.

Let me tell you, during the never-ending crocheting, sewing in, sewing together, edging, sewing and more edging, I thought man oh man, am I ever an awesome mom! Let me also tell you, a 2 year old will not care how much work you put into it, and it will take you a month to convince the 2 year old (now 3 year old) to use the blanket that you slaved over forever, but I digress.

To make things more complicated for finishing - this blanket had to be sewn together into 6 panels, then each panel was edged separately, then the panels sewn together, then the whole thing was edged again. I found it simpler to sew together in blocks of colour, rather than straight across, so I would first sew all the cars together then add the background colours and so on. Anyway, this blanket was definitely a labour of love, but I think it is fantastic!

Oh my, I almost forgot the pattern details:

The pattern is called 'Big Wheels' from the Leisure Arts Book "Perfect Patches, 5 Afghans to Crochet'. I used 2 different types of satin yarns (obviously in many more colours than that), one by Red Heart and one by Bernat. I also used this type of yarn for my mom's soduku blanket, so I have many scraps for a lovely scrap afghan some day.

How To Find Patterns

2010-06-14T15:24:00.000-04:00

My loyal reader (and sister) Erin had asked that I talk about where to find free patterns and that sort of thing.

If you've read through all my blog posts, then you know about my ever so slight addiction to purchasing patterns and yarn. However, lately I've gotten into quite a quick of deciding what I want to make and finding a free pattern for it. When I am looking for something specific this is what I do:

1) Check http://www.bernat.com/ and http://www.patonsyarns.com/. You must be a member to view their free patterns, but it is free to sign up, and they have a place to bookmark all of their free and not free patterns that you like. So say I want to make a scarf, I'll just plug scarf into their search engines and see what comes up.

2) Check http://www.lionbrand.com/. This is the same sort of website as above, but I've listed it separately because you don't have to be a member to sign up.

3) Check http://www.knitty.com/. This is a free online knitting magazine. They have tons and tons of gorgeous patterns and useful articles and tips. They also have a handy rating for patterns, so you can easily narrow down to projects that are within your technical abilities.

So after I've checked these four sites and I've picked what I want to make, then I check out http://www.ravelry.com/. This site is the mecca for knitters and crocheters. You can find anything and I mean ANYTHING here. So when I'm checking Ravelry at this stage of the game I am trying to decide what yarn to use by seeing what yarns others have used for the same project. I can also see what modifications others have made, how much yarn they used and the usefulness goes on and on. If you like knitting check out ravelry - you won't be sorry.

Wedding Afghan

2010-06-11T09:58:00.001-04:00

This has been a crazy, crazy productive crafting year for me. This is the afghan that started it all in 2010. My highschool best friend got married in January on a cruise, and they held a lovely reception back home a few weeks later. Knowing that the beautiful bride is a huge fan of purple, I set out to see what I could do.

This beautiful afghan is the result:

The details:

This pattern is from a book called "Old Fashioned Quilt Afghans" by Annie's Attic. The pattern is called 'Diamond Puff'.

The yarn is 2 shades of purple and 1 shade of beige - I can't recall the exact brand of yarn. The squares were pretty quick to make and it moved along nicely. Hope the happy couple can enjoy it for years to come.

Some more pictures:

The Tartan that never ends

2010-06-09T15:42:00.000-04:00

I found an amazing book called 'A Few More Tartans' by Jenny King. I saw it online somewhere I can't recall and purchased it immediately. The reason I was so very excited to find this book is because one of the Tartan rugs was in the clan tartan of my husbands family - Clark.

I decided that this would make a great Christmas present for my father-in-law sometime in 2007 if I recall correctly. And so the multi-year saga began. I started this, and then Braydon was born, and there was no time for gigantic, fiddly projects, and then it got shoved in a closet somewhere and forgotten. Some time in 2009 I found the afghan again and since I already had all the materials, decided to finish it.

This pattern turns out looking fantastic, but it is a mega undertaking. The first step is to crochet a giant mesh fabric, following the colour changes as provided. Once the mesh is complete you have to make many, many long crochet chains....like 300 stitch long chains. For my afghan 238 chains in total were required. Once the chains and the mesh are complete - they unite! Each chain is woven through the mesh, again, following the colour pattern provided. Oh, then there's the fringe....to add that certain something:) This project took more actual work hours than anything else I have created to date. I don't think I have the fortitude to make one again anytime soon, but look out husband and brother-in-law, someday you may have your own tartan afghans headed your way!

Twinsies

2010-06-08T15:18:00.004-04:00

Two good friends found out that they were having twins...and not only that - 1 boy and 1 girl! Amazing! Those beautiful babies are now 6 months old, but the blankets below were my gift to them.

The Deets:
Patterns are from a book called baby baby by Bernat
The yarn is Bernat Baby Coordinates. I didn't use the exact colours the pattern calls for - I used what I had on hand.

Fun Fact:
This is not the first time that I have made the car blanket. My first nephew Jack received the same blanket when he was born (almost 3 years ago) and he has loved it and carried it around with him everywhere since. I think the fact that a blankie I made has withstood the test of time with a toddler, shows that my construction is solid.

Anyway, since I made these two versions about 8 months ago I don't have too much to say about them, except that it's a fabulous pattern and turns out very adorable blankets!

Ummm.....not working and crafting and 1 toddler and 1 preschooler, Oh My!

2010-06-08T15:05:00.003-04:00

So in the 11 months or so since I last updated the blog, not much has changed, except that I am now on a leave without pay from my job until little Miss Allyson starts school. But my 1 reader (Hi Erin!) already knows it.

I am hoping to continue this blog as a sort of life diary, which pretty much consists of my kids and my crafts.

Braydon: is now 3 years old. He's a pretty awesome little guy. He talks up a storm, but could use some work on the skill of listening (what's that noise, oh that's just my mother laughing hysterically, thinking back on the day she was told by the doctor I have no hearing problems, I just don't listen). We're working diligently on potty training. He's a pretty typical 3 year old I think.

Allyson: is now 1 year old. She's adorable and charming, and she does not talk at all. Braydon had a lot more words at this age and it sometimes concerns me, but I'll be asking the doctor at her check-up next week.

Anyway, for the next little while my blog will mostly involve crafts and not so much of the kids....should be fun!

Allyson's Birth Story

2009-07-28T10:28:00.003-04:00

Allyson is 4 months old, and I really feel like I need to get her birth story written down before I forget it!

We moved into our new house in October 2008. Then began the house renovations. The master bedroom and Braydon's room were major projects and began after Christmas. Allyson was due March 23rd. When Braydon was born we were rushing to get his room finished. His room was finally completed April 21st, Braydon was born April 22nd. Braydon's room in the new house was finished and then work on the master bedroom began. Our old mattress and box spring wouldn't fit up the stairs of the new house, so we bought a new two-piece box spring and a big mattress. My goal was to sleep on the new mattress before the baby was born and my sleep was compromised for who knows how long.

So, the room was finished and the new bed was set up March 14th....do you see where this was going?

I went to bed on Saturday March 14th. I woke up around 4:30am with stomach cramps. Nah, I thought, it couldn't possibly be labour, I'm not due for a week. Braydon was one day early, but I still have time. But nope, the pesky cramps were 10 minutes apart and not going away. I can't remember what time I woke Wylie up, it may have been close to 5:30 or 6am. I told him I thought I was in labour. Because of how quickly the first labour progressed, we were definitely going to make it to the hospital this time before I was 10cm dilated! Around 7am I called my dad and asked if he could come and get Braydon soonish. He was still in bed when I called, he was at my house (a 10 minute drive) by 7:20am. By this time I was freaking a little because my contractions were pretty strong and 5 minutes apart. When my dad got to our house with my sister Erin, they practically grabbed Braydon and threw me out of the house....no time for long goodbyes, they were worried I'd go fast.

We got to the hospital before 8am. When I arrived at the hospital I told them I'd only been in labour for 3.5 hours and I know I probably am not very far along, but last time it went really quick so I didn't want to go home even if I wasn't far along. They took one look at my chart (not even at me) and said, your doctor says you have precipitous labour, you're not going anywhere. Remembering that I was having contractions every 5 minutes I was like 'precipi-what?' Not going anywhere? Great!!!!

So I was sent into my labour and delivery room, hooked up to the monitors and all was good. When I was first checked, somewhere around 8:30am, after just 4 hours of labour, I was already at 7cm. Craziness!!!! No wonder it hurts so freaking much.

At this point time frames start to get a little fuzzy. Since I progress sooooo quickly and my water hadn't yet broken, the on-call decided to break my water so that they could control when things would happen more. More progression and water breakage later it was shortly after 10am (maybe 10:10ish?) when I was ready to push.

I don't know if this is typical, but when I'm not allowed to 'push' all I want to do is push. Then when they let me push I decide I don't want to cause it hurts too much....women in labour are not rational! Also, I am not a screamer apparently. I just said 'ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch' the whole time there was pain. Fun....anyway, after a bit of pushing at 10:25am on March 15th Allyson was born! Then the fun began.

First, as soon as Allyson was born they placed her on me. This is normally a wonderful thing, but they were delivering my placenta at the same time, which involves a lot of uncomfortable and painful pushing on your tummy. I was completely stressed out that I was going to drop her. And then she peed all over me. Ah babies.

I required stitches this time, fairly common but I didn't have any with Braydon. So once everything was delivered, they realized that my bleeding was not stopping. They also discovered during my pre-birth blood work that I was severely anemic so this was a pretty big problem. I ended up on blood clotting iv stuff and we had to stay in labour and delivery until the bleeding was 'under control'. We were in l&d for 4 or 5 more hours....yes, that's right, I was in l&d for longer after birth than before the baby was born.

So all in all, Allyson's labour took 6 hours start to finish.....I'm scared what will happen if I have a 3rd kid....

The one in which I am proven wrong

2009-07-15T16:59:00.003-04:00

So every morning Braydon wakes up an and every car he has taken to bed with him must make the return trek downstairs for the day. Some times this means I am carrying Allyson, approximately 300 cars, a sippy cup, Winnie the Pooh etc, etc, etc.... One day this past week Braydon wanted to take so many cars downstairs I grabbed a bag and threw the cars in there to carry them downstairs (or downshares in Braydon speak). Braydon got very excited and exclaimed 'Packback, packback'....at first I was confused....then I figured it out 'Back pack?' I asked him. 'Yes mommy, packback'. OK, so we have learned a new word apparently! Yay for that. All day he was carrying things around, and no matter what he was carrying, he was calling it a 'packback', especially this basket that hangs around in our family room. He was carrying the basket over his arm or around his neck and saying 'look at my packback mommy'. So Braydon's daddy comes home and I figure we'll show him Braydon's new funny word.
Braydon was playing with the basket so I said 'What's that you're playing with Braydon? Is that your packback?' He looked at me and yelled, 'No mommy...BASKET!!!!'. Add in a teenager 'that is the stupidest thing you've ever said moooom' glare and yep, boy was I wrong....

Enough with the kids.....bring back the crafts!

2009-07-05T11:11:00.009-04:00

OK, this post will be picture heavy. I'll show you many of the crafts I have completed in the last year or so and provide a brief story/explanation where applicable. If you have questions feel free to ask in the comments. However, I don't remember what yarn I used in a lot of cases....so I may not be able to help you there.

This is Cheer Bear. Made for my adorable niece. This is the first in a series of Care Bears, only one other one is pictured here because in a lot of cases I don't have time to look through hundreds of photos to find the crafty ones. In addition to Wish Bear below I have also made Good Luck Bear and Funshine Bear. I have decided to make it a tradition to give a Care Bear to each of my nieces, nephews and children. Good Luck Bear was actually made for my sister by her demand, um, I mean request....and Funshine was for my nephew. Allyson's bear has not been started and I am still decided which one to make. Right now it is between Lovesalot (pink), and Friendship (orange). Any thoughts?

This is Wish Bear - given to Braydon for his first birthday. I used a different wool than on any of the others, because this was the first one I didn't buy a kit for. I liked using wool I selected myself better (I think it's Bernat Satin). I also changed the recommended eyes from felt to embroidery with wool. You can really see the difference the yarn made...this one is much shorter and wider.

Allyson's first blanket. I used Cottontots (bernat I think), which is what the pattern called for. I did modify several things. There are many more rows of blue than called for. I also changed the colours that were called for, added extra flowers and did the flowers with different colours and different coloured centres. Oh, and I completely changed the border. I didn't like the striped border of the original design, so I just did a few rounds of the various pinks and white and then did the same picot edge on the last row that the pattern did suggest. I think it turned out really cute. If I did this again I would do more rounds of the grass. Also I wasn't able to get enough of the blue in the same dye lot, but I bought it anyway, you can see stripes in the sky when the skeins changed. At first I didn't like it, but now I think it looks more like the variations of blue in a real sky and it adds to the quirky homemade look. I love it, but it's a bit heavy so Allyson hasn't actually used it yet.

Meet Tigger. This turned out super, super cute, but it was the worst written pattern I have ever encountered. I had to change the pattern several times in order to make things centered and symmetrical. I do not recommend this to beginners. I'd like to make the other items in the pattern book (Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore), but I dread having to re-write more patterns cause it was such a hassle.

That's all I've got pictures of for now. Going forward I will probably not do pictures of older crafts unless it's requested and I have time to find the pictures. Other stuffed objects include a Strawberry Shortcake and several amigurumi animals. I have also made several purses and afghans.

And on the go right now I have a gift for my father-in-law, a gift for my mother-in-law, a bowling set for Braydon, and a truck afghan for Braydon. I have the yarn for, but have not commenced the following: 2 baby afghans, and another afghan for Allyson.

Dear Allyson

2009-07-04T15:56:00.002-04:00

You are squishy, sweet, jolly and oh, so happy...and just a tiny little bit round....you are a joy every day!

So far you seem a million worlds apart from how your brother was as a baby. When you were just brand new, you preferred to be in your bouncer chair or your car seat to being held, and man oh man, do you ever love the swing. You have many a nap in the swing, unlike your brother who preferred being held at all times. Now at 3.5 months old, you are starting to prefer to be held...but only when you are awake and alert. This is because you have been trying like the dickens to sit up. You prefer to watch the world in an upright position, instead of being reclined. For a few weeks you have been very close to rolling, but you seem to like to lie on your side for floor play time and have no desire to roll the whole way. So you kick, and play and teeter on your side instead of rolling.

Things that would make your brother go ballistic, such as car rides, baths and being put down are awesome for you. Getting a smile and a giggle from you is also pretty darn easy. I don't believe I have encountered a happier baby, you are just a delight!

When Braydon was born I always knew I wanted 2 more children. Now that you are here I am not so sure. Our family feels complete now, in a way it didn't when it was just the three of us. There is a distinct possibility we will only have 2 kids, and the thought that you might be my last baby makes me want to keep you a tiny(ish) squishy little baby forever.

Oh, by the way, did you know that you can put a baby (even a new born) to bed, still awake, and they will just babble to themselves then go to sleep without even crying? I was not aware of this, thank-you for teaching me:) It is easy to forgive the 3am play sessions, when I want to sleep, please dear god let me sleep, for 2 reasons, first, you are an adorable ball of giggles and smiles at 3am, and second, putting you and getting you to sleep is approximately 1000% easier than it was with your brother. I still remember the pain of his bedtimes vividly. Thank you for being an awesome sleeper.

Right now I don't have as many cute stories about you, because you aren't really doing all that much yet, but you bring endless joy to my life every single day, and right now that's more than enough.

Love, mommy.

Dear Braydon

2009-07-04T14:52:00.004-04:00

You are my first born, my little man, my pride and my joy. Every day I marvel at the sweet, cool little person you are becoming. There were days, very early on in your life, when I feared you would be a high maintenance, spoiled little guy. Those first months we had together, you did not want to be put down....like, ever....it was hard, so very hard. I was tired and I thought I would never feel rested again. You did not sleep well unless you were held, and if you were not being held you would usually cry. I also remember many nights when nothing seemed to settle you at all, and I could do nothing but cuddle you while you cried. Thankfully the mantra 'this too shall pass' has held true with you.

You are almost 2.5, and you are an independant, thoughtful, cute little man, who sleeps through the night, who no longer requires some one to stay with him til he falls asleep, eats pretty well, and is generally well behaved. You certainly have your tantrumy moments, but you're two, that comes with the territory. At this exact moment you are actually having a tantrum. Apparently the world is nearing an end because I told you we are not watching WALL-E right now. Ah, as quickly as the tantrum started, it is now over, all is right with the world again and you are playing with your cars.

Right now one of my very favourite things about you is your desire to make people happy. You definitely have a class clown kind of attitude about you. This morning your Grandma Cox stopped by briefly. While she was here you found a cardboard box, placed it on your head, announced it was a 'perfect hat' and then started running in circles around the house while screaming. Grandma asked if you do this a lot. While, nope, you don't, you were just entertaining our company. If any one around you seems sad, you either take their face in your hands and say 'ok mommy?' (0r fill in correct name here). Or else, you demand of them 'come here mommy.' (or fill in correct name here), and give a big hug. Sometimes I make sad faces just to get the hugs:)

You also care very much for animals. You are constantly trying to hug any pets we encounter. And well, let's just say your first try at fishing did not go well. You screeched and demanded your daddy pick you up. You wanted no part of removing fishies from the water. Apparently you like fish quite a lot, because the little rabbit that lives in our backyard has also been named 'fishie'.

You also have many irrational fears, so many that I cannot keep up with what will freak you out any given day. Sometimes bugs cause you great stress. Once you were calling 'stuck mommy' over the monitor and when I came to see what was up you were cornered in your room by an ant. Other times you take great delight in smashing bugs with any tools at your disposal. There are also a few toys that freak you right out. One of your toy trucks makes noise and drives itself when you shake it, you played with it for one day, and now any appearances of said toy make you run from the room shouting 'no, scary, no like it!'.

One thing I could definitely do without though, is being kick-attacked during diaper changes. Surely you have noticed by now I have changed your diaper several times a day, every day of your life. Until you decide you're ready for the potty that won't be changing, so how about you make that part of our life a little easier....

You make every day brighter, and happier. I love you little man!

Love, mommy.

Bringing Back the Blog

2009-07-03T17:16:00.006-04:00

Well, well, well. It seems I suck at blogging. When I started this blog just 2 weeks before returning to work after mat leave I didn't realize how incredibly hard it is to be a working mother. For the 11 months or so I was back at work, life looked something like this. Get up at 6am, get dressed, get Braydon up, get Braydon dressed, get the car loaded, drop Braydon off at daycare, take the 7:30am train into Toronto, work from 8-4, catch the 4:30 train home, pick up Braydon at daycare, get home from work by 6pm, immediately make dinner, after dinner, bath and bedtime for Braydon (who was not an easy child to get to sleep), and by the time he's finally asleep it's 9:00ish, and I have an hour before bedtime to do household chores and prepare for doing it all again tomorrow. As you can see, that schedule left oh about zero time for blogging. Any spare minutes I had, I'd rather spend with my family than the computer.

Anyway, in my months away from the blog I created something pretty awesome:

Meet Allyson! She was born this past March and will be 4 months old in a couple of weeks.

Braydon is pleased with the new addition.

So anyway, I'm back on mat leave again. Barring any unforeseen circumstances with my husband's job, I'll be taking advantage of my leave for care and nurturing (thank you federal government!), and I will be home with the kids until October 2014.

So, even though the kids keep me VERY busy I think I will be able to find more time for blogging. Also, Braydon is nearly 2.5 and man oh man, he's a fun little guy to have a conversation with, and I really want a place to write things down so I can remember all these stories when they're older. And don't worry, I will still talk about crafts! There may not be many pictures for a while though, because many of the things I am working on are Christmas presents. Recently I completed an afghan for Ally (pics soon) and another afghan for a present and I am working on another afghan right now.

So I think that's enough for one day...I will be back soon and start the stories...oh the stories!

Addiction

2008-04-08T16:26:00.004-04:00

Now, now, don't get excited. I'm not taking about anything crazy here. Well, it might be crazy to some people, but not to me. I have come to realize that I have a serious addiction to anything and everything related to crochet and knitting. I have an addiction to yarn - I used to never leave a store that carried yarn without some sort of a purchase. This means I have a very large stash - it currently takes up a large portion of my walk-in closet, some of the spare room and a nice corner of the family room. Now, the stores I have typically frequented don't carry the 'higher end' yarn (yep, there's high end yarn), so most of my stash is of the affordable type. I have recently discovered (thanks to Ravelry) online shopping resources. Now I can't stop myself from thinking of ways to use up the old stash to make room for even more 'higher end' yarn. There are 2 projects in particular that will take a fair bit of expensive yarn and I can't wait to get started on them. I'm doing a good job of making a dent in the stash this week - I have completed one stuffed toy for my son, I will have another one shortly and I have even discovered a project that will use up yarn leftover from a project I did years ago - so yay for me.

Alas the addiction does not end with yarn itself....I also must surround myself with pattern books. I have more patterns than I could possibly make in a lifetime, but if I see a pattern I *think* I will make some day I can't stop myself from buying it. So bad is this portion of my addiction that upon sorting through my patterns at a later time I often discover I have purchased duplicates....whoops.

Then there is the last part of my addiction - the creation portion. I love making things (especially for other people, and even moreso if those people are children) and so I always have a project....er....a project or 2.....ok, ok, fine....I have so many projects on the go I can't remember what all of them are. Oh well.....I sense this addiction is only going to get worse as I get older.

In the beginning....

2008-04-06T17:03:00.001-04:00

I have about a million blogs on my favourites list, people who I've never even met, whose updates I anxiously await. I have no delusions of grandeur....I doubt there will be many people who feel the need to read my blog religiously, but I will enjoy writing this nonetheless. I'm not the type to vent (except about anonymous strangers) in such a public forum, so this blog will likely be mostly about my crafts, but tidbits of my life will surely slip in here and there. I will be unlikely to avoid writing about my pride and joy (Braydon - 11.5 months).

So I'm a married, almost 30, mommy of one. I live in Ajax and work for the government out of downtown Toronto. I head back to work in 2 weeks after a year of mat leave, so forgive me if there is an underlying tone of sadness for the next few weeks. Beside working and looking after my family all of my spare time is devoted to crafts - in particular crochet and knit projects. I have just finished a Care Bear for Braydon's birthday and today started working on a Tigger for his birthday as well. I will post pictures in a day or two!

So that's me - welcome and enjoy!