Two Socks

I finished the Blue Striped Sock today:


I am very pleased with of all the technical aspects of the sock. I feel like I am finally getting the hang of sock knitting. The second sock feels a little bigger than the first but nothing drastic.

I love the blue color of the sock, but I hate the yellow and purple striping. I must have liked it at some point. I did buy the yarn.

Pink Cupcakes

Gwyneth and I made these cupcakes today for our neighborhood potluck.

We had a little pre-potluck sampling...

They were yummy!

Desperate Measures

For the last couple of weeks, Henry has been fighting his nap. He won't stay in his bed, plays with his toys, and makes a nuisance of himself. Then he is cranky all afternoon until he crashes around 7pm.

Today when he refused to stay in his bed, I strapped him into his booster seat (the only way to keep him in one place) and took everything out of his room,

...and his closet. I put it all into my bedroom,

...and Henry took a nap.

It was a bit drastic, but it did the trick...

A Home for My DPs

I love looking at all the things people are making and selling on Etsy. Yesterday I did a search for a needle roll to get some inspiration. Then I made one for myself. Here's what I was working on when I should have been sleeping:



This was a really easy project, and I am pleased with the results. I am already planning another one. I made this pattern more complicated than it had to be, and I already see things that I want to change:

1. I made pattern pieces for this one. I had to pin and cut out all the pieces and interfacing. Next time I will use my ruler and rotary cutter. I don't know why I didn't do that the first time since all the pieces are rectangles.


2. I cut out the interfacing separately, and I had to iron it onto each individual piece of fabric. Next time I will iron the interfacing to the whole piece of fabric and then cut.


3. I cut out separate pieces of fabric for the flap, so I had to sew them together and then onto the main piece of fabric. Next time I will just make the main piece bigger and topstitch where I want the flap to fold over.


4. I will angle the flap so it doesn't stick out when rolled up.


5. The most tedious part of the whole project was drawing the lines for the needle pockets. I need to work on some kind of a guide to make the job easier next time!

Now that I have a roll for my DP needles, I am thinking about all the other needles that need a home...

Crazy Day

You know it's been a crazy day when you get both kids to bed at 8pm and realize (when you are finally getting into the shower) that you are still wearing the running clothes you put on at 7am...and you never went running.

I spent most of the day trying to get my homeschooling act together. I am trying to get everything planned out about 6 weeks in advance, and I am working on making First Grade reading lists for American history, science, and literature (for Gwyneth's silent reading). I want a list with one required book for every week in each of these areas. At this point I am mostly sticking to recommendations from Books to Build On. I completed a list for history, but science and literature will have to wait until next week...

The rest of my day was spent chasing after Henry who is refusing to nap lately. Strong-willed and cranky is not a good combination - especially in a toddler!

I'm off to do a little knitting and have a lot of Ice Cream!

Metal Double-Pointed Needles and More

The last time I went to my local yarn shop, I asked if they carried Metal Double Points. The saleslady looked at me like I had three heads. I know I am supposed to love knitting with bamboo needles. I do like the look of these pretty needles (and actually enjoy using them in larger sizes). Here is the thing, I hate how flexible they are in the smaller sizes. Maybe this is what some people like about them, who knows? I can't stand the way they feel like they are bending with every stitch. Since I obviously can't pick these up at my local shop, I went on-line to order some.

I ordered the Susan Bates Silvalume Sock Needle Set (these are all 5 needle sets) and one set of Susan Bates Silvalume DPs in size 2 (which only comes in 4 needle sets, weird!, I already have one of these so now I have a 5+ needle set). Ok, this is confusing even me now. I now have a complete set of metal DPs in size 2 and below, yay!!

I also ordered some notions including this bodkin. I didn't even know there was such a thing, until I saw the word in a supply list in a sewing book at Barnes and Noble the other day (I had to look it up in the glossary). I have been stuffing safety pins through casings and turning bias tape with knitting needles for years, who knew (and why didn't anyone tell me?)

I also bought a book called the Stitch-It Kit, so I could try my hand at embroidering something...I want to make some cute things like this and this. Yes, this was an impulse buy (but it did push me over the threshold for free shipping...) and I really needed another project, ha!

Moving Along

Here is where I am at on the Blue Striped Sock.

It is coming along nicely, but I am not thrilled with the way the color is pooling. At this point, I am just relieved that the second sock is measuring up well against the first. I had to re-knit the entire heel flap after realizing that I was knitting much looser the second time around. That is what happens when you wait 6 months to knit sock #2.

Henry's Reading

Lately, Henry has been asking me what things say. He points out license plates, words in books, our address numbers written on the curb... and asks "What that say?". I am amazed that he is making the connection between letters, words, and meaning.

He also pretends that he can read things. Today we were in the car headed to a restaurant for lunch. Henry said to me "we go inside and eat", he doesn't care for fast food apparently. So I told him that we were in fact going inside. About 10 seconds later we were passing by a food place and he said "that sign say: no going in here to eat" (I guess he didn't like the looks of that place)...

Tuesday at the Zoo

I have been meaning to take advantage of our zoo membership before school gets out for the summer. So today, we headed downtown. We saw:

pink Flamingos,

swinging Gibbons,
friendly Goats,and a showering Tortoise.
After the zoo we stopped for a nice lunch at a local restaurant and made a quick stop at Barnes and Noble. The kids played with the trains, and I checked out the knitting/sewing books. On the way home, I decided to chance getting stuck in rush-hour traffic to make a quick stop at the local yarn shop. I ended up lost in a maze of one-way streets and never made it. Better luck next time...

Progress

I am making some serious progress on Gwyneth's Princess Quilt. I posted back in February about my goal to get it done by the end of April...


I have all the vertical and horizontal lines on the squares done. I was getting ready to start on the diagonal lines and realized that there is no way I will have enough thread. I spent much of today running around with the kids looking for the right thread...with no luck. I did find one store that carries Gutermann thread, but they were out of my color! I will have to mail-order it.

I am going to quilt the border and get the binding sewn on while I wait for the thread. The diagonal lines can be quilted after the binding is sewn on if necessary (I am actually very tempted not to quilt them at all...but that's just me being lazy).

My Sewing Closet

Take the almost empty closet under the stairs...

...gather all the sewing supplies and fabric from around the house...

...and get a closet with a purpose and all my sewing things in one place!

I hope to make it pretty one day. For now, just having it all together is enough to make me smile.

True Support

This past Christmas I found a great on-line toy store called Fat Brain Toys. They have a great selection of fun educational toys. I placed several orders from them in December. Their range of products alone is enough to frequent their shop. Which is why I went back there today, looking for some fun stuff to send to SweetHusband who is deployed to the Middle East. I placed a small order and expected to get hit with crazy shipping charges. When I got to the final order screen, I found a message telling me that my shipping was free! They ship for free to APO addresses...no minimum balance...just free!

I was so impressed that I wrote them this letter:

I came to your on-line store to order a few fun things for my deployed husband. Expecting to pay an arm and a leg (as I often do) to ship to him at an APO address. What a great surprise to find that you ship for free to APO addresses. Thanks for your support! So many companies now say they "support our troops" you put your money where your mouth is. I will be returning often for more fun things, and I will be telling everyone I know about you!

This was the response I received this afternoon:

Hi Jennifer,

Thanks so much for the great note! We truly do appreciate all you and the other military families do for our country. We know it is a sacrifice to be deployed as well hard on the families back home. Take care of yourselves and thank you for your business!
Karen
Co-Founder
Fat Brain Toys

Last week I spent $14 mailing a package that I had to shop for, package up, and carry to the post office myself...with two kids in tow. This week I did the shopping and Fat Brain Toys did the rest (for free), and they sent me a kind letter to boot. This made my day.

Sunshine, Laughter, and Popsicles

A fun part of our crazy day...

The School Room

I finally have an organized school room. I went back and forth several times about where to do our lessons. Originally, we were working downstairs at the kitchen table. I was storing things out of view in a kitchen cabinet. We spent about two weeks doing this, and I felt like I was spending half my time putting things away and digging things out. Also, the constant clutter and mess was driving me crazy. I like to keep my main living area neat, and when it isn't I start to feel a little on edge (a bit compulsive I admit, but true).

I decided to move everything upstairs to our large bonus room which also serves as an office/playroom/gym/sewing area. I have been working on making everything organized and pretty for the last couple of weeks. The organizing has been done for about a week, and today I hung a few final things on the wall. It's done (and I think it's pretty)!

I am thrilled with the outcome, and I love having a separate area for school! It really helps to keep us focused at school time and to get away from it all when school is over. Now I need to get my sewing area organized downstairs (it was displaced by all the school things). It actually makes more sense downstairs because that's where all my knitting things are. I already have a plan...more about that later!

Whatever it Takes

Today while Gwyneth and I were doing school, Henry discovered a pillow with a hole.

He was very proud of himself.

He occupied himself for at least 15 minutes, and when he got bored with the stuffing, he moved on to a tub of fabric. He pulled out several large pieces and spent another 15 minutes laying them out very neatly on the floor.

When Gwyneth finished her work she spent another 15 minutes running around with Henry having a "snowball" fight. The kids had a blast, and it took me less than 5 minutes to clean up, what a deal!

Blue Striped Socks

Here is what I am knitting at the moment:

I am using a pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks. I love this book. The patterns are charted out for a variety of foot sizes, and each sock pattern has a stitch dictionary that gives you pattern variations for the cuff and foot. I am using a very simple garter rib stitch for mine. The yarn is KnitPicks Sock Garden in Morning Glory.

Sock #1 was completed sometime in late 2006...and as you can see sock #2 still needs a lot of work. I have completed a couple of things in between - a doll for Gwyneth and a pair of socks for SweetHusband, which I apparently never took a picture of.

While I was taking this picture, I got a little distracted and Henry moved in:

This is a large part of the reason there isn't more knitting going on around here...

My Day

My Mother's Day gift:
A Life is Good t-shirt with happy runner. I love it. Now I need to get on the treadmill and run a few miles, so I feel justified to wear it. I have been on a "rest cycle" for about a month now. Time to set a goal and find a schedule to follow...that always motivates me.

Henry's attempt to dress himself:
He found the clothes in a storage tub in his closet. The shorts are two sizes too big and the daytime temperature rarely drops below 80 degrees year-round, so the wool sweater wasn't really appropriate.

Gwyneth has been asking to plant her seeds all weekend, so today we did. We filled the tray of peat pellets with warm water:
and watched them expand before our eyes:

We were all amazed. Henry said "cool!"

On My Own at the Commissary

Let me just start by saying that the commissary is a wonderful benefit for military members. I often wonder how "normal" people afford the island prices at the "regular" grocery store. On the occasional trips I make to the grocery store, I am always astounded at the prices. $8 for a small bottle of olive oil (and I mean small!), $4 for cottage cheese, $5 for salad dressing...Needless to say I shop at the commissary.

The thing is: I despise the commissary. I can't really pinpoint what it is that I find so distasteful...I don't mind tipping the baggers (I know this bothers some people) and the selection is OK (not great...but no worse than your average grocery store). I actually enjoy grocery shopping. I loved going to the grocery store when we lived in North Carolina (and I almost never went to the Commissary - those were blissful years!) I literally get a knot in my stomach when I think about going to the commissary (I am not exaggerating, really!)

Since we left North Carolina almost 3 years ago, commissary shopping has become one of SweetHusband's jobs. I write a list, he brings the cell phone, and it all works out in the end. He deployed last week, and it struck me this afternoon (while standing in the middle of the commissary with Gwyneth and no-nap crying Henry) that I have no one to shop for me now. I am on my own. Bummer!

Making Cards

I love handmade cards. I recently received this one from my crafty friend Joanna, and it made me smile!



I want to make people smile too, but I lack the patience.

Always prepared to test my patience, Gwyneth loves making cards. My mom bought her a card kit a while back, and Gwyneth has been using it to write thank-you notes for her birthday presents.

I can't even begin to share how much this kit adds to the "joy" of writing thank-you notes with a 7 year old!

Big Scary Machine...

The SpotBot I ordered on Monday arrived today. When I opened it, Henry freaked out. He was crying and yelling "put it back in the box, it too loud". I hadn't even turned it on yet, but apparently that didn't matter (he had just woken up from his nap so he was still a little sleepy).

I told him I wouldn't put it back in the box, but I promised not to turn it on. Then he peed on the carpet. So I got the machine ready to go (with Henry in hysterics the entire time). As soon as I pressed the start button, he stopped yelling and was transfixed! He couldn't get enough of it. He laid down on the carpet and watched the brushes and waited patiently until it was time to press the buttons (we had to do three cycles to get the whole mess).

I love this machine. Not only did it clean up the mess with almost no effort, it kept Henry in one place for 10 minutes...worth every penny!

Flower Seeds

I surprised Gwyneth yesterday with a trip to the Walmart Garden Center for flower seeds. She was thrilled and wanted one of every type. We settled on seven: Marigold, Zinnia, Cosmos, Lobelia, Impatiens,California Poppy, and Petunia.


We also found a neat little "just add water" planter/greenhouse to start the seeds in:


Gwyneth is really itching to start this new project, and she keeps asking me when we can plant the seeds. I told her that we need to read the seed and flower books we borrowed from the library first; now she keeps asking me when we can read the books. Luckily Friday is Science day. We will do some of the reading tomorrow, and I'm sure the planting will follow shortly after (if Gwyneth has her way)!

Breakfast in Bed

This is what I ordered from Amazon today:This is the story:
I woke up this morning with both kids in bed with me. Henry wanted to get up so Gwyneth said she would take him downstairs. She was very insistent that I stay in bed and "sleep in". I should have know something was up. She is pretty good about screaming at the top of her lungs if Henry starts to get into trouble, so I figured they would be fine. I slept for a few minutes before getting up and getting dressed. I was walking down the stairs just as they were walking up, and I came upon Gwyneth standing with a plate of food and Henry standing over a turned over cup on the stairs with a big orange stain next to it (my orange juice). She had made me breakfast in bed (or tried to anyway); her fatal error was entrusting Henry with the beverage! I thanked her profusely and didn't make a big deal about the huge mess on the stairs (about 1 foot away from the spot where Henry peed on the rug yesterday). She took it all in stride and while I was sopping up orange juice from the stairs she said "That was the last of the orange juice, Mommy". For some reason that still makes me laugh (and I don't really know why).

This is the breakfast:

Notice no orange juice!

The Great and Not So Great Pyramids

Here is what we did on Sunday...I dug out the square legos, Henry took them from me and put them on the table (throwing the occasional piece of course), and Gwyneth built the pyramids. A fun time was had by all with very little mess (always a plus).

Early Morning

Today I woke up around 5:45am to both of my children calling me. I got out of bed and found Gwyneth lying on the landing of the stairs crying that she didn't feel well (she has been sick with a cold for a few days). As I was walked down the stairs, I heard Henry crying "I'm peeing"...He was standing at the bottom of the stairs, with his diaper off, peeing on the carpet and crying. I gave Gwyneth some Motrin and sent her back to bed, cleaned up the pee, dressed Henry, got Nuts and Milk for Henry and settled him on the couch to watch Barney...it is now 6:15am and I am already exhausted...

Gwyneth's First Grade Curriculum

I think I finally have all of Gwyneth's first grade curriculum lined up. I have been so overwhelmed by all the choices...I am using most of the suggestions from The Latin Centered Curriculum by Andrew Campbell and also including some of the suggestions from The Well Trained Mind by Jessie Wise (world history and grammar).

So here it is...

Every Day:
Math - Singapore Math 2A - textbook, workbook, and intensive practice
Latin - Prima Latina - workbook and cd...this is a very gentle introduction into Latin...Gwyneth is eating it up!
Grammar - First Language Lessons - according to The Latin Centered Curriculum we don't need a separate grammar program but I'm hesitant to leave it out. We are skimming through this book (meant for kindergarten and first grade) just to make sure Gwyneth has all the basics.
Spelling/Handwriting - list and ideas from Natural Speller and lots of copywork, also working on learning cursive at Gwyneth's insistence...I am using a program called StartWrite 5.0 to create copywork from our reading (this week it was from The Wizard of Oz)
Memory Work - poems from The Harp and Laurel Wreath
Silent Reading - minimum of 30 minutes (I pick out books for Gwyneth to choose from based on suggestions from Sonlight and Veritas Press catalog and various online sources). She does plenty of reading on her own but lots of it is candy reading...I pick out the vegetables and she has to eat them for at least 30min...she is reading Pippi Longstocking right now.

Twice a Week:
World History - Story of the World, vol. 1, I am also using the CD's and the Activity Guide (for comprehension questions, additional reading suggestions, map work, and coloring pages) - this book covers Ancient History from Nomads through the Roman Empire. We read a chapter (usually 2 sections) and do all the work (questions, map work, coloring) the first day and do related readings the second day. We listen to the CD throughout the week, usually in the car. Gwyneth loves this program and we are both learning a lot!
Modern Studies/Geography - Evan-Moor Beginning Geography Series: Continents and Oceans, Land Forms and Bodies of Water, and How to Use a Map. Stories about key figures in North American History - using Books to Build On as a guide (last week we read Leif the Lucky about Leif Erikson, and we will re-read it this week while looking at a map...).

Once a Week:
English Studies: Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin (half this year half in 2nd grade) and Fairy Tales.
Christian Studies: Old Testament Stories using Egermeier's Bible Story Book and storybooks from the library
Classical Studies: Greek and Roman Myths - using Greek Myths for Young Children and storybooks from the library.
Science: we will be using suggestions from Books to Build On... some simple experiments and lots of reading from living books (no textbooks) - this week we are reading about Shadows because Gwyneth was asking about them. Next week we are going to start learning about plants (Gwyneth was begging me to buy her a plant at Walmart today - I told her we would pick out seeds and grow our own plants)...I am trying to keep this fairly informal and interest based.
Music: piano lessons (with daily practice) - this was a birthday gift for her...she has been begging for lessons for over 2 years. Also doing some informal music appreciation using library resources.
Art: She wasn't doing this in public school so anything I do is an improvement...I am using the library to find fun resources to teach her about different artists and styles. I am getting ideas from various homeschool catalogs (Sonlight, Veritas Press, Rainbow Resources...)

At the moment all the reading we are doing (except for silent reading and some world history) is read-aloud. On occasion I will have Gwyneth narrate back to me what we have read to make sure she is comprehending...although she asks so many questions while I read that I can usually tell she understands. I am also being more picky about what I am reading to her for fun/bedtime...in the past I would read whatever she chose... then I read The Read-Aloud Handbook (thanks Joanna!!) and realized that I should be reading her things she can't read to herself! If she wants Junie B. Jones she can read it to herself! Our last book was James and the Giant Peach and we are now reading The Wizard of Oz (I love it as much as she does...).

I am sure there are things I am forgetting but this definitely covers all the important stuff. It seems like a lot when I write it all down but we usually finish everything before noon (except silent reading which Gwyneth does while Henry naps and I get in a workout on the treadmill). The best part is that we are having fun, and I feel like Gwyneth is starting to regain her sense of wonder (the loss of which was a driving force in our decision to homeschool!!)

Henry's Self Portrait

Twice in the last week I have come downstairs in the morning to find Henry clicking away with my digital camera...tonight Gwyneth and I looked through the pictures together and had a good laugh...There were actually a few good ones but mostly they were pictures of the rug and furniture (along with some indistinguishable blurry close-ups). This was one of the funnier pictures...He was obviously enjoying himself!

I will hide the camera before I go to bed tonight. I wonder what he will find to amuse himself tommorow morning?

Keeping Me on My Toes...

Today Henry managed to figure out the child locks we use for all our lower kitchen cabinets. I came downstairs to find him in the kitchen looking into an open cabinet holding onto the lock.

I said: "You didn't open that did you?" I assumed that I had left it open.
He said: "Yes, I show you."

So I locked up the cabinet and watched him unlock it for me! In order to open the lock you have to push down on a button while pulling out a cable...I have trouble doing this. I am surprised he has the dexterity to get the lock opened and amazed that he figured it out on his own!

I'm sure he is up in bed now...hatching his latest plan :)