Seriously, folks.

What's not to love?

He's all, "Well, hello there!"

I mean, really, he even watches American Idol. Did I mention I'm in love?

I found my other little Cabu thingy. He was in a toybox, as predicted.

Hee Hee!

Here you go, Amanda! That was a hard pic to take!

I'm in love...

So, how do you tell your new love that you're returning to your first love? Not permanently - just for fun.

I finished the crochetted headband. See? I think it's too large. But I still really like it. I'll have to modify the pattern a bit until I'm happy...

I had a lot of fun crochetting, and so when I saw this link, I thought, "Hey, this looks pretty easy... I'll try it."


I'm in love with crochetting - again.*


Specifically, amigurumi. Ooooooo, so cute!**

This is the 2nd one that I made. I have no idea where the first one is. Big Boy was having a great time sending it into "outer space" as he launched it repeatedly straight up into the air.

I guess I could look under some furniture for it. I already checked in the toy boxes. The first one is much smaller than this one.


This one is made with a bulky yarn and a large crochet hook. I don't have any of the details in front of me - sorry!


Everyone loves him. See?



*I started crochetting when I was a little lass. My grandma, mother, and Nancy Camerrata (the shortest, nicest, Italian woman I ever knew) all taught me. Mostly I crochetted those twisted wormy things and Granny square slippers. I loved the process of making things... it was the start of my crafty ways!

**a lot of the patterns I've seen for crocheting online are still kind of hokey (twisted-worm-and-Granny-square-slipper hokey). I still love the beautiful, clean lines of knitting. But the cuteness of the amigurumi toys is irresistable!

A note on the pictures: The last picture of me with the Cabu makes me laugh. I was trying to smile a big, cheesy smile, but it looks like I'm trying to bite the poor thing! And is it wrong that I take pictures of my kiddos with the flash on while they're sleeping?

Still. So. Tired....

Man, I forgot about how tired a baby makes you. Make that a baby and a toddler. I can't nap the way I did when the Big Boy was an infant, because Big Boy is running around like a crazy man!

Here's some actual knitting pictures...

This is one side of a purse that I'm making. I've modified a pattern from Crazy Aunt Purl's book - the purse in the book was just way too small. I fell in love with the kind-of-twisted stitch at the bottom of the bag. It's worked from the back when you purl... it's P2tog, leaving them on the needle, then P into the first stitch again and let both drop off the needle. Then the next P row it's offset one stitch. Love it! The yarn is a Lane Borgessa that I picked up on sale at Ben Franklins... nothing special, but I think it would make a nice bag. Nice and fuzzy.

Well, then I found this pattern on a blog that I read... unfortunately, I don't remember which blog. But I need more headbands... and I started it in the Lion Brand Microspun again. What is it with me and that yarn? I wanted to do a black headband, and I thought it would be nice and stretchy (the other one I made with the Microspun is my favorite headband...). But I forgot how much I hate that yarn. Grrr.....

So I started it with a wool/acrylic blend called Tonalita by Trendsetter... this was a special yarn from my swap-buddy that I got back in November. I love it! It is sooo soft, and I think it's really pretty in this headband. Much easier to work with, too....

And did you notice? It's not knitting... it's crocheting! And rather advanced for me... it has these great bobbles on it that are easy when you get into them, but look really hard (at least to me!).

Oh, so much is happening here, it's amazing I'm getting anything done. I actually am thankful for the crocheting, because it's easier for me to cart around the house when I'm chasing after the Big Boy. I feel great physically, despite being tired, and I'm excited about getting back into the swing of things with my housework, etc. I broke out my Motivated Moms chore calendar, and have actually been cleaning again. It feels so good! I've joined the Grocery Game, and I'm looking at the whole CVS ECB-thing, though that kind of scares me a bit. So I'm excited about saving tons of money... but mainly because I get to shop. And I love to shop - for anything, even if it's toothpaste. And I love me some deals!

And I leave you with some pics of what is happening around here...

Big Boy's big boy bed. This white number's been replaced with a newer one already. He loves his bed. My Big Boy is growing up.

Speaking of...

Happy 2nd Birthday, kiddo!

It's trains, trains, trains at our place....

...with a lot of love going around!

I actually have been knitting!

I have no pictures to prove it, but I have been knitting. I've started a purse... I have these wooden purse handles that I've had no idea what I was going to do with them.... So I've dived n and started knitting. Kind of my own pattern - I've looked at patterns online to see what's out there, and I just started knitting on my own. I'll take pictures eventually...

Here's a picture for you!

Remember this sweater? It was so much cuter flat on a table. I think it looks silly on Baby D... but I think Hubby was proud of me, and he said he liked the sweater on the baby. He wouldn't let me take it off of him. So the sweater was actually seen in public!

I've posted part of Baby D's birth story on my other blog... stop by if you want all the gory details (just kidding... not too much gore involved). I put together that blog to be able to document my boys' lives... And what an exciting start to my new little man's life!

And just for laughs.... my mom brought over the first comforter I ever picked out on my own. She said she didn't know if I wanted it for anything. ummmmm.... no. I think this was 2nd or 3rd grade, people. Don't laugh too hard. Man, this brought back a lot of memories!

OK - I'm off to feed Baby D before we head to bed for the night. Wish us luck - I don't think I've had more than 2 hours of sleep in a row for the past 3 weeks. I'm a bit foggy because of it....

Announcing...

... the arrival of Baby D! Born December 21, at 8:23am. He weighed in at 7 lbs 2 oz and was 19.5 inches long. Everything went well, though he did have to spend his first day and a half in the NICU due to breathing problems. But God is good, and Baby D made a quick recovery and is doing wonderfully!!!



Baby is also doing very well fielding the very enthusiastic love and hugs and kisses from the Big Boy.
It's so wonderful to be together as a family right now!

I don't know why the pics are a bit grainy - they look fine on Flickr.... I'll update when I get a chance! Also, no knitting done since the baby arrived. Not surprising, but I've already got a list of projects going in my head! Also, I got this book for Christmas! YAY! I can't wait to start reading. As soon as my head clears of this new-baby-no-sleep fog...

This is it!

OK - I'm going to be "going away" for a while.... I'm having a baby tomorrow! And I have no idea when I'll be back to post - probably during a late night adventure with the new baby? Nah... but I'll figure out some time to hop back online with updates and pictures!

I finished up my final Christmas knit last night. And I so wish I had my camera during this entire process.... I left my camera at my in-laws for the 2 weeks there were exciting things to take pictures of.

Remember this that I wanted to knit for my brother? First of all, I have no idea how she got hers to come out so square. And neat looking. All I can say is that I hope my brother appreciates the time and love that went into this thing. All Hubby does when he looks at it is laugh...

Here's a picture from the side. The bump is made from where the acrylic yarn did not felt. So now my brother will always have something to remind him that I was great with child when I knitted this thing for him.

Sigh... It really was not a hard knit. And sewing it all together was a breeze, too. It felted well (except for the acrylic, duh....), and stuffed and finished well. Why does it look so silly? hmmmm....

I did have some issues, though. The pattern said it would take one skein of yarn - and I got the exact same specs for the yarn I used as she did with the yarn she used.... however, it was definitely not a one=skein wonder. As I started on the back of the robot, I realized there was no way I would be able to finish the thing with the amount of yarn that I had. So out I run, hoping that this yarn is still carried, since I've had the first skein in my stash since the spring. Thankfully, it's a staple in Lion Brand's collection, so I got one more skein. Not in the same dye-lot, but I didn't think my brother would mind or even notice.

Then, as I'm knitting up all the little pieces that go around the edges of the robot, I again start thinking, "There is no way I will have enough yarn to finish this, even with the second skein!" So I run out again to get another one... This is all happening while I don't have my camera, but I wanted to document what I had left over when I finished all the knitting pieces.

Sorry about the quality - if you can't tell, it's a picture of a picture on my phone. That is a picture of the last arm that I knit, along with the smallest ball of yarn I've ever worked with. A quarter would've easily hid that little ball from sight.

With that little ball of yarn, I was able to sew all the pieces together AND sew up the robot after felting and stuffing. I seriously only had a couple of inches left over.

And now, with Hubby laughing, I will wrap that little sucker up and proudly put him under the tree for my lil' bro. Merry Christmas, UncaDo!