The sweater

Begun the week of Thanksgiving, here is the progress. She loves it and refuses to take it off. Despite the fact that is not only unedged, unwoven, and unblocked...

It is also unfinished.

I am pleased with this pattern. It is the simple raglan top-down knitting that I love with the added spice at the hemlines. The only thing I'm worried about is the slits at the side. They are a little high. It blocking doesn't fix it I may have to sew them up a tad. (Especially since the sleaves are plenty long and could easily give her two years. It would be a shame if the torso got too short first.)

Warning: gratuitous cuteness

Lily was lucky enough to get invited to Laraine's dance class to try it out. As expected, it was cute. Like, puppy dogs, rainbows, and unicorns cute. So cute. I can totally see why they can charge what they do for the classes/performances/costumes, because dang. What mom wouldn't want those pictures.

Me, however? Well, I just hop on board the free class and try to take as many pictures through the glass as I can. See Lily...you took dance!

I love this one because Lily is so me.

Look, I'll prove it to you. I'll bet you can't guess which little angel is yours truly...

Cuteness over. You may now return to your regularly scheduled Internetting.

thank you national geographic

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have kids?

Check out Joel. He is making such COOL toys out of everyday objects.

Specifically these.

I am so inspired!

http://madebyjoel.blogspot.com

I think I may have found my kindred spirit

The uniform idea has held appeal to me for a while. As a matter of fact, I stumbled onto this blog post while trying to find simple women's clothing patterns online.

http://www.kerismith.com/blog/the-uniform/

I could never have expressed me feelings on the matter this well. Thank you Keri Smith, whoever you are.

trying to contain himself

PS someday I'll figure out which way to hold my phone while video-ing. It plays right on my phone, but whatever.

In retrospect, I suppose I could have added a little enthusiasm. I was just trying to keep it steady, you know?

home fires burning

Tonight Alex and I were reading in 3Nephi about being baptized by fire, and since he's getting baptized next year he had all sorts of questions about what that means, if it's hot, and does it hurt. So I talked to him about how when we repent and try to do better every day then Christ can help us keep being better, and the Holy Ghost confirms that what we're doing is good by giving us a warm feeling (in a good way) inside. After my awkward-feeling explanation, he got a big smile on his face and told me that he felt warm inside and that he'd repented for drawing on himself to look like Hobbes (a transmogrifying experiment he performed in his room behind closed doors). Then he leaned in and gave me a big hug.

Doesn't that just make you feel warm inside?

urgent, whispered conversations in the wee hours

Dad...

 Dad

hmmmm

DAD

what!

What color were the monkey bars at your school?

Silver

Oh. mine are gold. Good morning.

Good morning.

For Today

Outside my window: it's overcast and slightly breezy. It's chilly on my feet when I walk outside barefoot.

I am thinking: How can I make things at home with safer, more earth-friendly materials that will also save me $$? Also, I need to finish those quilts, make Lily a couple more skirts, and ponder Jake's birthday a little more. (He says he doesn't want ANYTHING...again. Do I honor that wish or do what I always do and tell him, "suck it up, you're getting a present!" Why do the simplest thing have to be so difficult?)

Also, Have I brushed my teeth today?

I am thankful for: Home, family, progress, good friends, creativity, thinking outside the box.

I am wearing: jeans and my Green St. Patrick's day shirt (you know the one). No shoes or socks, but I'm considering socks.

I am remembering: That I have choir practice tonight...DON'T FORGET!

I am going: To finish the laundry today if it kills me.

I am currently reading: Just finished Farm City by Novella Carpenter. Love. It makes me want to move back to California and re-invent myself. (But not in an Oakland ghetto. No thanks.) I've been thinking about small-scale farming for a while now, and this book simultaneously encouraged me and made me re-think a lot of my plans. I still would love me some egg-laying hens.

I am hoping: a certain land deal that has been in the works for a while will finally see some closure.

On my mind: Reorganizing. What to do with all of the PILES.

Noticing that: my hair is getting a little out of control. Time for a trim. For shizzle.

Pondering these words: We don't discover humility by thinking less of ourselves, but by thinking less about ourselves.

From the Kitchen: Just made my first batch of homemade Cream of Wheat! Lily loves Cream of wheat, but it costs about $5/box, so I found a recipe online. It's actually a 5-grain operation so it's way more healthy and A LOT cheaper. It has a slightly thicker consistency, but she didn't mind, and I thought the flavor was fabulous. Plus I got to bust out ye ol' wheat grinder, which is always a pleasure.

Around the house: laundry, laundry, laundry! My laundry philosophy up until today was always "do a little every day", which I thought would keep me on top of the situation. But no. So today I started my once a week pilot program to see if that will be more reasonable. Sure, I'm a slave to my house, but the idea is it's only once/week, right? More on that as the situation unfolds. (har har)

One of my favorite things: Creating something from nothing.

From my camera:

For your Halloween enjoyment

                                                                

                                                                       Miss Cheetara

   

                                                                  And Hermione Granger!

 Guess who's is who's! (You will only receive bragging rights for choosing correctly. No prizes will be awarded.)

The kids draw their designs for me, and then I try to replicate it to squash as accurately as possible. I thought these suited the children quite accurately. I always find the "v" that alex requests between the eyes hilarious. He's done that the last couple of years. He wanted a vampire, and I think it turned out pretty close to his drawing. Lily, however, wanted a princess and I wasn't so skilled with hers. But she was happy, so that's all that matters.