Simply Beautiful

and exactly what I needed on a very hard day.

Done!

Man, I totally forgot to post finished pics of my hat! Here you go.


I chose the best model in the world.

Free from Kitchener!!!!!

I freakin' love cables!! SO very fun. This is my new favorite thing to knit, officially! I am done with the band portion of my new hat, and I am so so so excited!

An extra fantastic bonus reason for my excitement, besides doing cables, is that knit like a pirate taught me to graft. No more screwed up kitchener for me!! From now on, I graft. Go on and find where the graft is below. I double dog dare you!! I will give you a hint. It is not where you think it is!! WOO HOO!! I love grafting!!!!!

Five plus one cannot possibly be six.

Because that would mean my little baby Pablo is 6. And that can't be. So, I am thinking maybe we could bend the laws of mathematics, and therefore change the entire structure of the universe? Go back in time?

Aw, ok... I guess he IS 6.

Happy Birthday, little boy. This is all going so very, very fast!

This is so like me.

It started so innocently. I went to visit a friend. I took my knitting. Like you do. As a back up project (I always travel with at least 2... yeah, I know. Addicted.), I grabbed some yarn I had bought for the love of the color (a dusky pink). I had thought of socks, but then decided on a hat like Beebz'. A simple spiral rib, super cute. The pattern had been given to me by a dear friend.



Well, I accidentally ended up leaving the pattern at my friend's house. Related is the fact that I did not knit at her house, but I did show her the pattern. sigh.

You must understand, I am a stubborn person. I like to do things MYSELF, even if it is reinventing the wheel. (I will pause for a moment for everyone who knows me who is laughing at just what an understatement this is. Done? K. I will go on now.)

I wanted to start the hat, and knew that I wouldn't need the pattern until it decreased at the very, very top. Except for the number of stitches to cast on, I could do 9/10ths of this hat sans pattern, no problem. But did I call either friend to ask how many stitches to cast on? No. Don't be silly. That would be...rational. Ha. I don't ask. I figure it out for myself. See above.

So I went on Ravelry.com (LOVE IT) to peruse patterns to see how many stitches might make a reasonable start. While on there, it occurred to me that I really didn't LOVE the brim of the spiral hat, and that a little Celtic knotwork brim might be really nice. After drowning in hat patterns, I emerged with a brand new project. Gone is the simple little hat. I am now doing THIS!

Have I ever done cables before? NO. Will this stop me? Ha. Stubborn, see above. I started last night, and cables aren't nearly as scary as I thought. This is several rows in, and they look like they are supposed to look!





FYI, knit like a pirate is pretty darned funny, and should be read even by non-knitters, just for the humor value.

I am grateful for gratefuls!

My daughter may be the best person ever to help me develop into a more spiritual, mindful person. She knows how to be present, and to be grateful for what is. It all began with a little pre-meal tradition of saying things for which we are grateful. Beebz has expanded this exponentially, with her announcing: "I do gratefuls!!" randomly throughout the day. It can be anything from her brother, to her dolls, to the sunshine. Then she runs off shouting, "blessed be!!!!!" as she goes onto other things.

I have read many times to use your child's voice or some thing they do as a reminder to check in, find your breath, and renew your connection to yourself. With this kiddo, she all but knocks me on the head with the reminders.

This actually dovetails nicely into my new commitment to do 1 minute meditations throughout the day. It all comes from the book One-Moment Meditation: Stillness for People on the Go. My partner got it for xmas, and I started reading it. So far, so good, and Beebz is better than a bell or chime to remind me not only to meditate, but to do it with a spirit of gratitude.

Thanks, baby girl, I am grateful for you!

How Pablo's Resistance to Sleep Aids in Homeschooling

It all started like this. Any parents knows that one of the classic stalling techniques is to ask questions. Pablo has recently become a MASTER. As a dodge, I gave Pablo a notebook and pencil and told him to write down any questions. I promised that I would answer all his questions the next morning. I honestly had no idea how amazing the questions would be and where they would lead.


Night 1: only 7 questions. All were about whether you can choose when your baby is born. So we talked about C sections, why some people think they are a good idea to do in a non-emergency way, and the risks associated with making that choice. And how I made the choice to let both him and his sister come naturally, without cutting me open.




Night 2: questions 8-30 (see pic above). No, don't worry, there weren't actually 22. Most said things like "14: see 15. 15: see 16" I was laughing so hard I almost woke the rest of the family. My favorite was "What do you mean when you talk?" At least, that's what it looked like. Pablo's writing is great when in a straight line, but he was writing all tiny and crazy and in little boxes he had drawn. What he meant was "How do you make yourself talk," ie how do we produce sound.

So this morning we looked in our handy "How We Work" book, and discovered the wonders of the larynx and vocal cords. We explored how the sounds we make are shaped by our lips, tongue, and mouth, all without us really thinking about it. We had so much fun creating crazy sounds!

Other questions were about light. How do light bulbs work, why do they break, how are LEDs different from regular (oops, still need to look that one up!), how do light switches work, etc....

So this morning we got out our handy hand me down jr circuit board and built a light. We learned about conductivity, open circuits, closed circuits, etc. Who knew this was how I would spend the day?!




The best part is that Fridays are our days off from homeschooling, assuming we have gotten our stuff done. I had thought he would need a break. Turns out, he would only need a break if I were the one creating the schedule. I don't think he even realized any schooling took place. This is such a great reminder of how easy it is when I don't fight against the flow of life with my kiddos.

Oh, and some other questions included: what is in pillows?, how do you make things comfy?, and do you like these squiggles over here on the side that I drew? God, this child makes me laugh.

Another birthday party has come and gone

We celebrated Beebz's birthday yesterday, with a wonderful party at home! Many family and friends made it, all at Beebz's request. We had a great time, but as always, I didn't feel like I got to spend time with anyone. We had a houseful, thanks to Beebz making the guest list. I don't think she realized everyone would come at once. She was pretty overwhelmed with the number of people that fit into our house. I was happy to see everyone, but I was sorry to see some faces missing. There were people I wanted to invite so that I could see them, (she wouldn't even know them since it has been so long!) but because Beebz is still a big ol' introvert, so I didn't want her too overwhelmed. Since she asked for about 30 people to come, I figured I shouldn't add to the chaos with my own personal additions.




I managed the requested dollhouse cake, with only a few hiccups. I had planned it all out, since my usual cake issues are caused my me not letting things cool enough. Icing a warm cake is fine if you just want it yummy, but it won't be pretty. So, this year, I learned my lesson. I made the 9x12 cake the day before. I made the icing the day before. I was freaking ready. But then my partner and I both decided that one 9/12 cake wouldn't be enough, so the morning of the party I made a second cake. I used it as the base, and managed to get everything cool enough. I also found my favorite food coloring spray paint to color it. I love this stuff. It is fun to use, and makes for a funky, groovy looking result. The house has a tilt to it, but it didn't actually FALL, so I count it as a success. My biggest problem was in keeping little fingers off of it. "Just a little taste" adds up to a lot of holes in the icing, especially once you start coloring it!

Thanks to everyone who came! It was a lovely time, and I am so grateful for all our wonderful friends and family.