This and that and nothing in particular

Proof that you can buy a kid every expensive toy in the world, but a cardboard box will still hold their attention longer.




I swear, I really want to be a better blogger. It's just that things get so hectic during the week that I don't seem to be able to find the time to sit down here long enough to put together a meaningful post.

J's adjusting to school much better than we anticipated. We made it through our first full week with only one grumpy, melt down sort of morning. I'm quite proud, and I know his teacher appreciates it, too. He can be a real booger in the mornings, and I can completely sympathize. You see, he gets it from me. I'm totally NOT a morning person, which is ironic, considering a I work a job that requires me to be up hours before sunrise, and keeps me going until after the sun sets. But I have the benefit of coffee to ease me through the first few hours when my brain can't seem to keep up with the world around me. J-man, he's just screwed. And I don't suppose it's a good idea to go stuffing kids full of caffeine just to avoid the morning grumpies. So we deal with it as best we can.

Did I mention that this year is going to kill me? J's school starts at 8 and I'm supposed to be at work at 7. Ummm... *scratches head*. I could force Wil to step up to the plate, since he doesn't have to be at work until 9, but the man can't get himself to work on time on a good day. Between the car shuffle that would be required, and the anxiety it would cause in me wondering if they're on time, if J's been fed, or is even wearing underwear, it's hardly worth it.

The second issue is that school ends at 11. On a good day, I can get to lunch by 12, but it's usually more like 2. Fortunately, the school does provide after-care services for a reasonable fee, so that's less of a headache. I'd be fine with leaving him there until I got off work completely, except that they close at 5:30, and we close at 6.

So my mornings now consist of rushing around in a brain fog, trying to rush my son around in a brain fog, then zipping across town to work, so I can be an hour and a half late, so that I can rush back across town on my lunch to pick him up and take him to Abuela's, so that I can rush back to work and finish my shift, then rush back to Abuela's to get him so I can rush home to walk the dogs before they explode.

Most days I'm on the go from 5 am, and don't find time to sit down, or even eat, until 8 or 9. I'm exhausted, and it's only week 2! This is going to be interesting.

But enough about school and work. Let's talk about those fun few hours of complete and total silence that occur on my days off while J is in school. Yes, those 6 hours per week are golden. It'd be nice if I didn't want to try and fit so much into those few moments. Most days I get nothing accomplished simply because I can't seem to decide which I'd rather do. Pathetic, isn't it?

There has been *some* knitting, though. Nothing worth writing home about. I'm working ever so slowly on my Shalom Cardigan, which is a really simple and quick knit, except for it's on huge needles with huge yarn, and well, it hurts my hands. So I only do a row or two at a time. I won't bother sharing pictures yet. It just looks like a burgundy blob.

And there's the Spidey afghan for J-man. I know! I'm crocheting! And I'm enjoying it so much! It just lends itself so much more readily to being picked up and set down constantly, and doesn't require the same attention that my knitting does. It's growing and growing, and people keep asking me when it's going to be done. I usually just shrug and say "when I run out of yarn". I fear that time is fast approaching, and I'm really not sure it's big enough for my taste. It's certainly big enough to be a cuddly blanket for J-- something to toss across him in the car, or while sitting on the couch, but it's not the bed-sized wonder that I was hoping it would turn into. All the same, I could stop right now and be perfectly happy with it, even with all of it's imperfections. I mean, for a first 'big' crochet project, it's pretty darn cool.


And I've also been playing around a bit with the sewing machine lately. I have a million and one things that I'd like to be sewing, and a huge bag of stuff that I'd like to do some recon on, but for now I'm just doing some basic stuff to get used to using it again. It's been forever since I've sewn anything.

Here are some pants I made for myself. They're made out of some super cheap mystery fabric, but they're soooo comfy. I want to make about a million and one pairs of these to wear every day! I did learn that pattern sizing is a whole lot different than regular clothes sizing. These are two sizes bigger than what I would buy in the store, and they're a little snug in the hips and butt, but not so much so that I can't wear them. I'll remember for the next pair to make them just a smidge wider in that area. Still, I love them.


And my other sewing project for the week was a pair of Blue Yonder's 'bandana pants' for J-man, which were featured on the SewMamaSew blog a while back. What a genius idea! And J really enjoyed helping to make them. He's so proud of them that he wears them almost constantly. It's all I can do to wiggle his sleeping bum out of them long enough to toss them in the wash. We'll make a bunch more of these, I'm sure. They're excellent play shorts and jammie pants. Yes, they' are a bit long- almost capri pants on him, but I couldn't bear to hem them and lose the cute little bones around the bottom. :)


I suppose that's all I've got for now. Right now J-man and the nephew are buzzing about making ungodly amounts of noise, but I have to admit, the noise is tolerable when it means that they are entertaining each other. I haven't existed since 8:30 this morning.

Unfaithful

There hasn't been much to show in the way of knitting lately. It's not that I'm NOT knitting, but simply that I'm ALSO doing a lot of other things, and so progress is slow and boring.

What's been occupying my time, you ask? Well, mostly this:


This picture cracks me up. Doesn't he look like a cross between Miami Vice and bad tourist?

He's also been eating into my computer time, ever since he discovered that he can play Noggin and Nick Jr. games online. Any time I sit down here to write something, he's immediately in my lap and stealing the mouse. To be fair, I'd rather him play a game than sit in front of the tv, so I don't mind so much.

Not having any computer time has lead way to another new addiction though-- sewing. To be fair, I've spent more time shopping for sewing stuff than I have actually spent sewing. I never realized how much you could love shopping for fabric! So far I've made one pair of pants that still lack a hemmed leg, and this skirt.



The picture's awful, I know. But it's hard to take a picture of yourself. Here's a closeup of the fabric.


It's just some stuff bought on the clearance rack for $1. I didn't want to invest too much in sewing if it ended up being just a brief phase.

And finally, after being inspired by this post by Amanda, I decided it was time
to revisit the world of crochet. I've never been good at it, and I've never really understood a lot of the required stitches, but I decided to try something easy, and went with a cute little cupcake pattern.

Here's my result. Still not spectacular, but cute enough to package up and include in a birthday gift to my niece, who turns two next week.


So anyway, there's my update on what's been going on around here. I've been terribly lax in my posting lately. Not that I ever have much of great importance to share. :)

This week I plan to do a bit more sewing, finish off a pair of very plain socks, and work a little more on a shrug I abandoned almost a year ago. We'll see how it goes.

Not lost

I swear that I'm still around here somewhere. I've just found a lot of stuff to fill my time with lately.

Thursday night I met up with a group of local knitters for a little stitching time. It was a nice little group of 5, and I really enjoyed it. I'm hoping that this can become a routine sort of thing, now that we all know we're really out there. There are a couple of other groups that meet throughout the county, but they're always mid-morning or early afternoon, and that just doesn't work for us folks that have daytime jobs. Hopefully our little group will evolve into it's own entity in time.

There's also been some sewing going on around here. It's been about 12 years or more since I've been serious about trying to sew anything, so it's like learning from scratch all over again. So far I've made a skirt and I'm nearly done with a pair of pants. They're certainly not works of greatness, but they've been great 'practice' projects. I'm itching to make some bags and wallets, but the skirt and the pants seemed much less intimidating.

One of the things I'm learning about sewing is that, just like knitting, I could spend a million dollars and still find that there's something else I need or want. So far the only major purchase I've made is a cutting mat and rotary cutter, which I'm insanely in love with. Makes me never want to pick up a pair of scissors again! Seriously. Now, I don't think I'll ever be a great quilter, so I didn't spring for a top of the line model, but my cheap-o will serve me well, I'm sure.

Between that, and just building up a stash of notions--threads, extra bobbins, trims, etc... I've seriously overblown my budget. I've only been a sewer for a week or so and I'm already having to put myself on a stash diet. But no worries. I did just clean out my closet in order to accommodate the sewing machine. That means huge bags of fabric in the form of scrub tops, jeans, and outgrown clothes. That's almost more fun than going out and buying new fabric, honestly-- the challenge of trying to repurpose stuff I already have is great.

And so, pictures eventually. If you promise not to laugh at my juvenile efforts. I know that when I look back at my knitting from just a year or so ago and I can see my progress. I'm sure that sewing will be the same, if I manage to stick with it.