Poppy Time

Here we find Poppy in her natural habitat:

Laying on the couch, snuggling with Lex's giant stuffed dog named Cat and the blanket that I made for him before he was born.

Goliath Blizzard

Did you hear about the blizzard in Texas?  It was during the week between Christmas and New Years.  In fact, we cut our trip at the beach a day short so that we could drive across the entire state of Texas before the blizzard hit and we got stranded somewhere.

We made it home just in time.  Barely.  And of course, since we had been gone for vacation, our kitchen and fridge were bare when we got home.

The wind was blowing so hard that all of our patio furniture was scattered when we got home.  We rounded it all up and got it inside.  Our grill was up a tree.  It was a small tree, so it wasn't up very high, but still.

Anyways, because the wind was blowing so hard, there were places where there wasn't any snow at all.  And then there were the piles where the snow was blown.

I didn't take any good pictures until 6 days after the blizzard.  Mostly because I stayed inside as much as possible.

Here are the photos that I did take, 6 days post blizzard:

The boys were thrilled to be able to see over the fence, because that is normally very much out of their reach.

This, fortunately, is not our house.  Our side of the building didn't get any piles of snow at all.  Because wind.

I think the fence saved us from having our front door buried, because it looks like the piles were even higher on the other side.

Snow Puppy!

Connor = Football + Puppy

Lex and Daddy flying KD5.

So, while we were staying home and warm inside, I made myself a new hat and scarf.  Because that's what you do in a blizzard.



Kevin bought me this wool yarn as a gift, and I had the hardest time figuring out what I wanted to do with it.  I love the colors he picked.



I made an infinity scarf, and I love it.  It's very warm, and easy to put on.

Today is Nana's Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Nana!

We celebrated Nana's birthday with her this weekend.  There is video evidence to prove it, too:


I found an adorable crochet moose on Pinterest ages ago, and since Nana loves all things moose, I made it for her birthday.  He stars prominently in the birthday video, too.

Connor wanted to name it Foose-a-Moose.  Lex wanted to name it Boy.  Since they were fighting about it like cats and dogs, I proclaimed that Nana would name the moose since it was her birthday present, I mean, after all.  The moose ended up with the moniker Huggle Moose, probably in some part influenced by the Henry HuggleMonster show that we were watching on Disney Junior during her birthday party.

And then, during her party we played Settlers of Catan.

This next part may not make much sense if you aren't really familiar with this game, but bear with me.  There was a bit of the game when everyone was clay-poor.  So, Connor used his wood port to trade two pieces of wood for one rock.  Then he used his wood port again to trade two more pieces of wood for another rock.

Then he used his rock port to trade those two rocks for one piece of clay brick.  This in itself is pretty bad, because he could have just gotten two clay bricks to start with and skipped the whole rock step.

But then, the kid traded his hard-earned brick with Nana for a piece of wood!

Essentially, he traded four pieces of wood to get one piece of wood.  I almost died.  I mean, I'm still not over it two days later, and now I'm telling you all about it.  As his mother, I thought I taught him more sense than that.

What were we talking about before that Settlers of Catan story sidetracked me?  Oh yeah.  It's Nana's birthday today.

Happy Birthday, Nana!

Post Edit:

I had gotten so sidetracked there that I forgot to share the photos of the birthday cards that the boys made for Nana.  I uploaded them to the internets, and then left them there to languish unloved.  But no longer!

I am pleased to present the birthday card that Lex made for Nana:



And here is the card that Connor made for Nana:



Did you see?  He drew a moose! 

All Done!

Lex has been patiently waiting for me to make him his own alien.



Every time he found me working on his alien, he would ask to give him a kiss. So, Lex would come over and kiss his alien every few hours while he was being made. Super cute!

What have we been up to?

Me? I've been making amigurumi robots that my children think are aliens.

Connor has been working on a project. Daddy bet him that he couldn't build a block tower tall enough to touch the ceiling.


This photo is from Day 2 of said project. See his technique? And the wide base? The challenge he is dealing with now is that he can't reach any higher, even when standing on a kitchen chair, to add the next block.


And Lex? Well, any time he finds an open door, he closes it. Oh, but he always makes sure it is locked first. Which means that I am walking around with a screwdriver in my pocket all the time so that I can easily open any locked door that I encounter. Which is all of them.


What about you? What have you been doing lately?

Wordless Wednesday: If You Need Me, I'll Be Making Alien #2 Today

Circleville Pumpkin Show 2010

Pre-Pumpkin Show Group Photo

This year, we were joined by a few Pumpkin Show first timers. Out of the 11 people pictured above, 5 of them were new to the Pumpkin Show!

This guy is a Pumpkin Show veteran. He's been twice now!

Notice the crochet pumpkin hat? I saw some on Etsy last week, but they were $35 a piece, and I didn't think that I would get them in time for the Pumpkin Show...so I decided to make my own. As I was looking up crochet beanie patterns, I stumbled across a trojan horse and had to reinstall Windows on my laptop. That meant that my computer was out of commission and I couldn't look for a crochet pattern. So, I made a hat for Lex and a hat for Connor out of extra yarn that I already had in the house, without a pattern. The hats aren't exactly the same, but I think that they turned out super cute! And for way way less than $70 plus shipping!

Here is Connor in his hat. Great pose, huh?

Connor wanted to play *all* the games...

...and ride *all* the rides!

Lex just wanted to get out of the stroller and walk around!

First time at the pumpkin show? Awesome!
Don't they look like they are having a good time?

Crazy hair!

Our entire entourage.
Okay fine, I think that there is one person missing.

2010 Food Report:

I ate fried mozzarella on a stick, pumpkin donuts, a walking taco, deep-fried vegetables (mushrooms, onions, green peppers, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower), and a bucket of Pepsi.

Connor ate at least two corn dogs - and maybe more. He figured out that he could ask different people to buy one for him since no one was really keeping track.

Lex ate his body weight in pumpkin donuts and fried mushrooms.

I'm sad to say that we never found the much-anticipated brand new pumpkin soda pop. Maybe next year?

More Baby Blankets!

My Grandmother also made a *few* blankets for Lex.

(She made two blankets for Connor when I was pregnant with him.)

This time, she made FIVE blankets for Lex!!


I finally noticed that all of her blankets use basically the same pattern, so I asked her if she could teach it to me. She sent me the instructions for her favorite pattern, which is called "Little Boy Blue."


The next time I make a baby blanket to give as a gift, I think I might try this pattern out.

Lex's Baby Blanket

I finally finished Lex's baby blanket tonight. I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

Baby Blanket for Lex

This is both the most simple and most complex baby blanket that I have ever made.

It is very simple because the entire thing is being worked in single crochet. But that also means that there are about 2-3 times more rows of stitches than the baby blankets that I usually make, because single crochet rows have very little height.

It is very complicated because the cow print pattern is achieved by changing the color of the yarn several times during each row. At one point, I was working with seven different balls of yarn at the same time. Right now there are six different balls of yarn going on. You can see all the different threads that I am working with at the top.

Something Special

I have something special to post, so I have made my way into the basement and am currently using a very slow desktop computer. (I really miss my laptop! I am anxiously awaiting word that I can go and pick it up!)

I swear that every time I go into our basement, *someone* has rearranged the furniture. Since I haven't been down here in a long while this time, the differences are amazing. We recently decided that the basement would be a totally kids-free zone, that way Kevin could set up his exercise equipment and ham radio stuff. I guess that means that the basement is also becoming his "man cave."

Anyways, enough about the basement. That's not what I'm really here to talk about.

What I'm really here to talk about is the embroidery project that I finished yesterday. I started it last weekend after I came home from the hospital to give myself something to do while I was resting (read: laying around the house). It was a crewel embroidery kit that Ella gave to me. It was a kit that her mother had purchased, but had never begun. Ella didn't want to just throw it away, and after hanging on to it for all these years, she gave it to me, because she knew that I did cross-stitch.

I had never done crewel embroidery before, but I enjoyed it. It's not the same as cross-stitch, but if you have the patience for one, I don't see any reason that you couldn't do the other. The two aren't as different from one another as, say, crocheting and knitting. (BTW- knitting is the devil.)

As I said, I finished the project yesterday. It still needs pressed and framed and gift wrapped for Ella (I don't think she reads this often, if at all, so don't mention it to her), but here is a picture:


Now I know that everyone that is paying attention will notice the names! Ella is Grandma to Connor and Lex.

That's right...we've decided to call the new baby Lex. His full name shall be Alexander Beckett.

I'll even save you a minute, and tell you what those names mean, so you don't have to go and look it up yourself.

Alexander (Greek): defender of the people; leader

Beckett (English): dweller by the brook; bee cottage; methodical

It seems to me that every place I look has a completely different meaning for the name Beckett, but the meanings for Alexander are always the same.

Kevin actually came up with the name Lex. I hadn't been considering Alexander as a first name at all until he suggested it, although I did have Beckett on a list of possible middle names. I like that Beckett is similar to Connor's middle name, Everett, without being too much the same.

Oh, and just in case you were wondering about my next project to keep myself occupied, I think I'm going to start making (crocheting) a blanket for Baby Lex. I've already picked out a cute cow patterned blanket from the same book that I made Connor's sheep blanket from, but I need to buy some yarn.

Recent Projects

Last week, I stitched Connor's name onto his stocking. I had done the stockings for Kevin and myself the first Christmas that we were married. I also put our last name on a matching tree skirt that year.



This is the blanket that I made for Connor's newest cousin, baby A, a few months ago. I didn't share the pictures when I first finished it, because it was a surprise, and then I didn't share the pictures until now because I was thinking of making one (or two, depending) more for Sara. But, since Sara's twin babies are both boys, I don't think I'll be making her this type of blanket anymore.

Finished Baby Blanket

The blanket that I am making for my boss is finished, and just in time. His wife is due tomorrow. (It looks like she won't have the baby until next week, though.)


I'm pleased with the way that the blanket turned out. I think it is very pretty.

A Baby Blanket for My Boss

My boss and his wife are expecting a new baby at the end of this month, and it just dawned on me that I should do something to mark the occasion. So, on Saturday I went to Michaels and picked out some yarn to make a baby blanket. So far things are humming right along, and I really like the pattern that I am using. Since I'm crocheting this blanket, my learning how to knit has been placed on hold temporarily.

Care Package from My Grandma

My Grandma sent me another package, and it contained the second baby blanket that she made for me. The pattern is similar to the first blanket, but the edging is different. She used the same type of shiny yarn, and you can actually see it a bit better in these pictures.




She also sent to me the baby gown that she brought both my dad and uncle home from the hospital in.


This gown is from 1956, and it is a little yellow with age, so I am going to try to take it to a dry cleaner that specializes in restoring old wedding gowns, and see if they can't make it white again. Hopefully then I can put my little baby in it and take some pictures for my Grandma to see.