Just Knitting

Here's a little taste of some of the knitting that's been going on here lately:

Leftover wool from a sweater I made for myself.  It's so thick and soft.

Leftover organic cotton from a wrap I made for Noah when he was a baby.  A little fuzzy, but oh-so cozy.

Navy blue acrylic from a project I started and never finished.

 Someone's sweet fingers pulled my needles out of this sleeve.  It's a good thing I don't mind picking up stitches.

Light green cotton purchased by my mother-in-law.

The overcast day didn't do this yarn justice.  It's a lovely blue/gray, and I can't wait to knit it up.

Knitting for little ones is so much fun.  You can start a sweater in an afternoon and be done with it by the next evening.  They simply fly off of the needles, and it's a good thing, too, because I still have several things to make before the end of January.

The Blessing

Blair helped Noah lead the prayer before supper the other night.  Here's how that went:

Blair:   Dear Jesus,

Noah:  Dear Jesus,

Blair:   We love you

Noah:  We love you

Blair:   Thank you for the food

Noah:  Thank you for the food

Blair:   Thank you for Mommy and Daddy

Noah:  Thank you for Mommy and Daddy

Blair:   Thank you for everyone else who is in our family

Noah:  ...ok

Blair:   Amen

Noah:  Amen

His Tree

When Blair and I first got married, we didn't really have room for a large tree, so we got a little three-foot fake one to put in the corner each year.  Last year I dragged it out and let Noah use it as "his tree." Last night, he and his daddy set it up.

Right now, it just has the little paper bird ornaments on it that I made last season, but I think over the next few days, Noah and I may make some more to go on it.  He's so pleased.

Surrounded by Projects

There's been much knitting, crocheting, and crafting in general here over the last few weeks.  Most of it is for Christmas, so pictures of those goodies will have to wait until after they've been opened (and hopefully enjoyed) by their recipients.  However, I bound this off the needles last night, and couldn't wait to show you.  The pattern is from here, and is just a bit fiddly (it has been translated into English), but if you've ever done any sweater knitting, all you have to do is follow your instinct.

This is for our little one, and I used a super soft alpaca that I bought several years ago.  I've been hanging on to it (and moving around the country with it) waiting for just the right project.  I finally found it.

The Day After Thanksgiving

 While I appreciate the meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday, it's the day after that I really look forward to.  Not for the sales or the shopping (we make most of the gifts we give), but for the decorating.  I don't do a full-out blitz because I enjoy putting up little touches here and there throughout the month of December, but putting up the Christmas tree is my favorite family tradition.  Pulling down the boxes and trying to remember where everything is may be a hassle (I still haven't found my extra Advent candles), but there's something about turning on my favorite Christmas music, setting up the tree, pulling out the ornaments, and plugging in those lights for the first time of the season that fills me with joy.  I wait with happy anticipation for weeks, knowing that the Advent Season is almost here.  

This year, I finally made the Jesse Tree ornaments I've been planning for the last three Christmases.  All those hours of cutting and hand stitching will be enjoyed one day at a time, as we go through the Scripture with Noah, pointing the way to the birth of Christ, and I chose to give that gift the day after Thanksgiving because of the significance of that day to me. 

Hopefully, when my children are older, they will regard the day after Thanksgiving with the same love that I do.  I want them to have happy memories of putting the tree up after supper and drinking cocoa, but most importantly, beginning the journey to The Manger.

Conversations with Blair: What do you know?

Me:  When's All State octet testing?

Blair:  January 26.

Me:  HAAAAhahahahahahaha!  I hope you make it there!

Blair:  Why? (total panic) What do you know??

Me:  I know we have a baby due four days after that...

Blair:  Oh.  I know that (looking totally relieved).  I thought you had prior knowledge of some apocalyptic event or bad weather or something.  I haven't forgotten we're having a baby.

And today's post is brought to you by this completely unrelated photo:

Weekending: Chugging Along

Between two late evening rehearsals and being out of town for three days, Noah and I only got to see Blair once this week.  By Friday, we were more than tired of being cooped up in the house together and were looking at each other like this:

Fortunately, Friday was a beautiful day and allowed for some great playtime outside.

Ten Reasons I'm Thankful for my Cranky Two-Year-Old

With the Thanksgiving season upon us, I think it's important to try to make an extra effort to look around us for items and people we wouldn't ordinarily give thanks for.  This is especially important for mothers of young children.  It's what keeps us sane and reminds us that "This too shall pass."  This year, the Thanksgiving season has melded with the dreaded cold season, and any mama knows that makes for a tough time on our young ones.  So, amidst the tantrums and handkerchiefs, I spent the morning mulling over ways to flip this over to it's positive side, and actually give thanks for having a cranky little man in the house. 

Ten Reasons I'm Thankful for my Cranky Two-Year-Old

Not showering comes with unexpected benefits:

1.  I looked so rough yesterday when I went to vote, people let me ahead of them in line.  I only spent 15 minutes at the poll.

2.  I really got to see the depths of my husband's love when after three days of not showering, he still rubbed my feet at the end of a long day.

3.  When my hair is actually clean, I get great compliments from Blair like, "Did you get your hair done today?  It looks really great!"

And then there's three-fold blessing of crafting with a little one:

4.  I have so much glue stick in my hair I will never have to buy hair product again.  Hello extra money in my pocket.
 
5.  I'm able to craft while sitting down and resting.
 
6.  There are so many little paper leaves on the floor that it looks like autumn in Vermont (and this is probably the closest I'll ever get to seeing that).

Giving Thanks For the Snot

7.  My non-snuggly little one is snuggly.

8.  All of this snuggle time has allowed me the rare opportunity to watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving at least 14 times in the last two days.  Now if anything ever happens to our DVD, I can simply quote it.  This may come in handy at dinner parties...

9.  My son will probably be the only member of his generation to know what a handkerchief is.  Long live the tradition!

And finally, I am giving thanks for the fact that:

10. The only thing wrong with my child is a little head cold. So many children in this world suffer from much worse, and my child is an overall happy, healthy little one.

So, there you go, mamas.  It may be difficult, but there are blessings mixed in amongst our trials.  Have a lovely day and give your babies an extra hug.

Friday Photo

Homemade Thin Mints.  

Because I married the most wonderful man.   And he works incredibly long, hard hours 7 days a week and then came home on his only free evening and accomplished his least favorite task in home maintenance...painting.  Simply because he loves me that much.  So, for you Blair, homemade chocolate cookies.  

A Nursery On Rest

I've quit keeping count of how many weeks I've been sitting around resting, because when you're 26 weeks (!) pregnant, all you really want to do is get a nursery ready (especially when you didn't have one for your first little one).  So over the last four days, I have found several small preparations I can do while sitting.  They do, after all, need to be done anyway.

I knit a new cover for an old pillow.  Eventually it will wind up in the nursery, but for now I think I will enjoy it on the green sofa.  It is Autumn, you know.

A crib skirt to hide all of the junk we're hiding storing under the crib.  I used leftover fabric from when we had the sofa recovered.  Beautiful crib skirt for zero dollars.

Letters for the wall.  We're going to put this little one's name on the wall just like we did for Noah, but is it HAR from Harper...

or is it AHR from Kathrynne?  We'll let you know in January.

My dad put this mirror together several years ago, and although my parents have always had it in their home, they decided there really wasn't a place for it in their new house.  I happily snatched it up and painted it white.  I know you are all shocked at my color choice.

For now, I have to be satisfied with small projects here and there.  Eventually, the walls will get painted, a curtain rod will go up, curtains will get made, crib sheets will get stitched, and letters and photo frames will go up.  But for now, I have to be satisfied in the small, the still, and the resting.

Even After Seven Years

He still buys flowers for me, and I still love to bake for him.  While our anniversary was technically last Monday, any day of the year is a good day to tell you all how great he is.  Just look at those blooms!

Friday Photo

Conversations with Blair: Whatcha Thinkin' About?

Blair:  (from the other side of the couch)  Whatcha thinkin' about?

Me:  Well, I had to wash that towel that we used to clean up the water that Noah spilled in the dining room, but since it had dog hair all over it I had to rinse it by itself so the hair wouldn't get all over the diapers, which by the way I had to pull out of the wash and they're sitting on the shelf.  They're not clean, though, so don't put them away.  Not that I think you would, but just to be on the safe side.  So I had to wash that towel by itself, and I still really don't have anything else to throw in with it for the second wash because I'll have to wash it twice since it's covered in dog hair, and it's too late at night to hang it up outside, but I have sweaters drying on the rack in the back which technically I guess I could open up and have enough room but then I'd have to make space and move it to the nursery so you don't trip over it, and I don't know that I really want to do that.  I could just move the sweaters off, but since they're not really dry I would have to hang them up somewhere and they might get all stretched out, and really I don't know where I'd put them.  I can't really drape them anywhere else because I don't want to ruin the wood finish on anything or get wood finish on my sweaters.  Moving them over without opening the rack isn't really an option because there still won't be enough room for the towel and things need to be spread out right now since it's cool in the house and there isn't much air flow.  I don't want the towel to sit there and be damp for a couple of days because it might smell or Noah might throw it in the floor and mess up that finish.  I hope I remember to add soap for the next wash...

Blair:  Ok.

Radio silence for several minutes.

Blair:  What's for supper?

The Great Conductor

Now, I realize that many of you (my husband included) probably thought this was going to be a post about him.  You are mistaken.  While he is indeed a great conductor, we'll make that a post for another day.

...........

Saturday there was a rare occurrence in our home.  The dog let Noah play with him.  Not that Murray isn't a friendly dog, because he is.  He would just rather lay on the hearth and stare out the window all day than let a two-year-old beep his nose and giggle repeatedly.  

For whatever reason, Murray decided Saturday morning that he needed to drag his favorite toy out of the depths of the laundry room and be playful.  Perhaps it was the cooler weather.  He and Noah tossed and played catch for several minutes, until Murray found himself backed into a corner and staring into a very small face.  Noah immediately began imitating his daddy.  

"Sit, Murray."  "Lay down, Murray."  "Stay, Murray."  However, the dog's good humor does know it's limits, and this was not going well.  I could hear the pitch rising in Noah's voice, so I silently stepped in to intervene.  

Noah: "Sit, Murray."  Murray sits.  Fits of giggles.

Noah: "Lay down, Murray."  Murray lays down.  More fits of giggles.

Noah:  "Stay, Murray."  Murray stays.  Dancing ensues.  

What Noah didn't realize, is that I was standing a few feet behind him giving Murray the silent hand signals we used to train him.  He doesn't need to be verbally told to sit, lay down, or stay.  He just needs us to use our hands and show him what to do.

We silly humans often pride ourselves on being able to make things happen.  We plan, toil, and celebrate our achievements regularly.  We're pleased when life goes our way, and we're just sure that we made it happen.  Meanwhile, what we don't realize is that off to our peripheral (where quite often we have placed Him), the Maker of All Things is conducting the entire show.  

"Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.  The LORD hath made all things for himself."  Proverbs 16:3-4a

Friday Photo: Homemade Lacing Beads

Favorite Things

I've been enjoying:

my little boy's first violin.  And the joy it brings to his daddy's face.

homemade (decaf) pumpkin spice lattes.

watching my little one also enjoy pumpkin spice lattes from his very own special mug.

the lesson that went on this morning as he tried to teach the dog the alphabet.

reading the same book over and over because he loves it.

seeing him watch the world around him.

listening to him say, "I'm me!  N-O-A-H, Noah!  That's me!" several times with pride.


What are you enjoying today?

Resting

Resting.

This pregnancy has been so different from the one I had with Noah.  I know that they are all different, but this one has had so much mandatory rest.  I don't do that well.  Fortunately, autumn is here to the rescue, and with it has come cool rains and the need to stay in.  We're filling our days with crafts, pumpkin songs, reading, and knitting.  Knitting lace is the most restful of all knitting I do believe.    The rhythm of the pattern much like a song, the counting that busies the brain.  Unfortunately, I jumped into this scarf with the impression that I had all the yarn needed without actually putting much thought into it (rest may very well be my mental detriment).  Since I bought it five years ago, I'm sure I won't find any more of it.  

Resting. 

However, as we snuggle and drink hot chocolate (thinking of the much cooler days to come), I'm doing my best to enjoy this time alone with my sweet boy before our next little one gets here, because there's nothing else quite like a little boy looking up at you and saying, "I had a good day!".  And I do believe that that sweet new baby will need some mama-made hand knits (winter babies always do), so I'd better get busy on that as well.  

Busy resting.