Vote Early and Vote Often!

At last! The Knitter's magazine Sox Contest is nearly done! If you love me (and I know my 9 loyal followers do), go to their site and scroll down to #66, and vote!

Oops, I didn't realize you have to register at the Knitter's site in order to vote. But it's fairly painless :-)

Our Busy Days

The boys and I have been very busy with various activities. They are always on the go! Here are some random pix of what we've been up to lately:

Oh, to be three years old and firmly convinced that you ARE a superhero! Mikey is totally into Spiderman lately and here he is practicing his web-slinging. Last night, he had on Spidey underpants, Spidey PJ's, Spidey slippers, a Spidey bandaid and was coloring in his Spidey coloring book. Pure bliss.

Mikey and I like to visit the library while the brothers are at tae kwon do. Mike loves the computers in the children's area. He is very good at working the mouse and needs NO help. He growls if any other kids try to horn in on his space though. :-)

Jon has taught the boys all kinds of good life skills. Here, Liam has been tied up to the new column in the kitchen with some plastic packaging material. Way to recycle, guys!

The gang and I went to Bingo Night at Linwood Elementary recently. Alex is working his card here, ignore that can of soda pop Mom. We had a grand time, Liam won 3 times! This lady across from us had about 10 cards; not sure why as the only prizes were children's books and whatnot. I guess Bingo fever strikes all ages.

Feb. 27th: A Special Day!

Cuz that is the day my oldest daughter made her entry into the world. Happy Birthday, Pia Irene! I stole these two pictures from her blog, because all my albums are buried out in the garage, and also I love these two pix of her like crazy.

This was at Woodland Park Zoo (back in the day, they had some cheesy kiddie rides). Pia's look of terror at being forced to ride on the fishy ride is priceless. It's a little fuzzy because I was peeing my pants with laughter while trying to snap a pix.

Pia has not changed ONE bit. That crazy hair, the beauty mark on the cheek, the happy expression, and most of all, the belief that 'clean rooms are BORING'. That's our Peeps!

Love you like 60, Doll!

Hi Ya!

Tonight was the big 'belt test' at the dojang, and Jon held the board for RJ to break. Intense!

Cute Papers from the Twins

The twins are 2nd graders now, and working hard at school. I found these two papers they created at home, and I just had to share them, cuz I think they are presh.

Liam created a "Bar Graph on Toys" and reports that he has 7 teddies and 3 bunnies. Um, when I was in 2nd grade (back around the Civil War), I'd never even HEARD of a bar graph. I still am not entirely comfortable with them ;-)

Alex wrote a card, "from Alex P. to You" (I'm not sure who 'you' is), and on the inside it says "You are Great. Would you like to be my friend?"

I love their phonetic spelling! If English was as logical as these two spell it, the world would be a better place.

Now It Starts...

A girl called Liam yesterday! 2nd grade and already the girls are chasing him. It was really cute, she called and left a message on their answering machine "does Liam live at ###-####?" He called her back (with Mama hovering hysterically outside the door because he 'needed privacy'), but she was in the shower. Mom said it must have been hard for her call him, Liam said "but I wrote my number down very carefully" (ah so innocent and cute!) They finally connected and chatted for a long time. Well she chatted and Liam listened (good practice for the future). He said she didn't really say anything.

Cara, we need you home stat. We cannot leave Liam at the mercy of Jon for life advice.

The Yearly Humiliation...

Damn! I finished dead last in our Oscar contest this year! Pia & Katie invited me over for a very nice dinner and we watched the Oscars together. Due to the sad fact that I hadn't seen ONE single movie that was nominated (well I did see the Dark Knight, but I'm not really counting that, and also Kung Fu Panda...), I was sadly lacking in actual opinions re the winners.

Katie squeaked out a win with 14 correct choices, Pia got 13, and I ended up with 12 when I made a daring tactical move at the end and changed my Best Actress choice from Winslet to Streep (sorry KW, I do love you, but I was desperate). I did score a couple of coups in the always chancy short subjects categories (my mantra: always vote for the Holocaust film to win)

And btw how about those ROCKS Angelina was wearing!? Wow. Most of the dresses (which is really the best part of the whole thing) were kind of meh. I did like P. Cruz' vintage gown once she fixed her boobs so they weren't kind of wonky. And I thought M. Streep looked fabulous. And what a treat to see Shirley Maclaine! Love the Shirl-Dog! Hugh Jackman did a pretty good job as host, I had forgotten he could sing and dance. And he's def. nice looking which doesn't hurt a bit.

Wish Them Luck!

The brothers are taking their tae kwon do belt tests next week! Alex and Liam are trying to earn their green belt and this is what they have to know:

Green Belt: Sa Bang Chuck 3; Poomse: Tae Guk Sam Jang Self-Defense Kick: Spinning Back Kick, Board Breaking: Children: Front Snap Kick, Oral Test: History of Taekwondo (Children: 3 ancient Kingdoms of Korea)

RJ will be testing to earn his Blue Belt, and this is what he has to know:

Blue Belt Sa Bang Chuck 4. Poomse: Tae Guk Sa Jang. Kicks: Skipping Hook Kick 1. Oral Test: Philosophy of Taekwondo (Children: Meanings of the 5 Codes).

In addition, they had to each complete 2 book reports and Mama has to fill out a home and school report on each one. Hopefully, they were very very nice to Mama during that process
:-)

Good luck, young warriors! I will see if I can get some pictures esp. of the board breaking!

Still Nothing More Fun!

The boys and I went to the car wash this week, still our favorite activity! Can I just say there's not much more fun than watching little kids' reactions as they go through an automated car wash? I sprung for the 'fancy' wash job so we could get the colored soaps and the super blow dry etc. They all loved it!

Week 6 Results

Only lost .2 lbs last week. I can do better than that! Guess I need to be 1. drinking more water and 2. writing down what I eat a little more religiously. Oh well at least I lost a couple of pats of butter's worth of fat or something like that.

For Katie II

nataliedee.com

So True Part II

nataliedee.com

Horcrux Sox are dunzo

just a quick update for those who are keeping tabs on my finished projects. The "Horcrux Socks" are done and on the sock blockers. (this is not my pair, but it shows the design better than mine do) It was a fun project, and the socks are very stretchy, good for those with cankles :-)

Thank You Jebus

Junior's coming back!!! Woot Woot! I don't even care if he can't hit or throw any more. It will make M's games worth watching just to see him in our dugout again.

Designer Lavs!

I'm designing two pairs of socks for an upcoming book! "50 States - 50 Socks" is the name, I think. I've already designed my 'Say WA' socks for Washington, but must reknit them in Panda Superwash, as Crystal Palace is providing the yarn. I chose to do a second state, Minnesota. No, I have no ties to MN other than a love of Prairie Home Companion and all things Norse. I'm thinking of a pair of Scandinavian patterned socks.

Those Wacky Victorians

I treated myself to a complete set of "Weldon's Practical Needlework" volumes (I already had 5 of them, and bought the rest @ half price on Interweave.com). These are reprints of crafts magazines published in England during the 19th century. There are a lot of great knitting patterns I'd love to try out. And some seriously strange 'doo dads'. The pictured item is called a fly-rest, and it's made out of crepe paper. What do you think was its purpose? There's nothing there to obviously attract flies (this by the way is the 'plain' version, there's an even more elaborate one in one of the volumes). I can't see how you'd be able to smack the flies once they landed on this, it looks pretty flimsy. And there weren't any directions for creating a super-fancy fly swatter either ;-)

What do you think? Distract the flies so they'd land on this instead of your food? I can't find any info, so maybe Fluther readers can help!

How Cute is THIS?

Oh My God. Logan is (kind of crankily) modelling the Valentine's Day Outfit her Mama knit for her. (The Garter Stitch Fairy: Rose). If she looked any more presh, I would die on the spot.

25 Reasons Cara & Tony Should Stay In Virginia

I am rising to the challenge! Here are the top 25 reasons Fred & Irene should remain on the wrong coast:

1. They have lost all of their teeth and are secretly planning to move to WV.


2. They have lost their sense of taste and now like Twizzlers.


3. Cara's real job is as a historic interpreter at the Fredericksburg Battlefield Site.


4. Tony's real job is as the curator of the Hugh Mercer Apothecary.


5. They refuse to leave until the James Monroe House finishes its renovations and reopens, so they can visit the world's saddest little museum one more time.


6. They plan to live with their dad & Patty FOREVER, thus depriving those two of a single moment alone their entire married life.


7. They spend their weekends picketing in front of the White House.


8. They keep hoping to run into Patty Murray at some DC venue, where they can say they have been in Meredith's Dime Store (which Patty's dad used to manage way back when)


9. Wally & Lola are now East Coast dogs, and could never adjust their sleeping schedules to Pacific Coast Time.


10. They prefer to live in a housing development with all the streets named after Confederate War heroes.


11. They think living in a 'commonwealth' sounds ritzier than living in a 'state'.


12. They don't want to miss the annual "Rock Toss Across the Rappahannock" party at George Washington's boyhood home (which is basically a field with some humps on it now).


13. They are secretly Nats fans. Even sadder than being M's fans.


14. They enjoy living in the same town as the woman who faces felony charges for biting.


15. They refuse to come home until they have visited the Civil War Life--The Soldier's Museum .


16. They believe F'burg's motto "America's Most Historic City" is cooler than Spokane's "Near Nature. Near Perfect" (well I'd actually agree on that. But this is the city whose one and only paper had the ad slogan "pretty good paper", so we don't expect too much here)


17. They'd much rather sit in traffic for 2 hours than 2 minutes. You can listen to a couple of cd's on your way to work!


18. They have learned to love Wal-Mart.


19. They will never quit smoking and cigs are damn cheap in VA.


20. F'burg claims title to "the nation's most haunted city" and C&T won't leave until they run into the ghosts of George & Martha.


21. They have deloped a taste for scrapple.


22. They have joined The Stonewall Brigade and are busy every weekend with Civil War re-enactments.


23. They have recently joined the Shaolin Kungfu Center in F-burg and are devoting themselves to mastering Fukien Black Flag Eng Chun (Wing Chun)


24. In their spare time, they run the "Ask Fred" service for the local paper.


25. They keep cruising downtown hoping to run into F-burg's most famous native, Judge Reinhold, so they can ask him all about "Fast Times at Ridgemont High".

Admittedly, some of these reasons MAY just be a tiny bit lame. But I feel I have answered the question "what the hell is keeping them in VA?" satisfactorily.

So Big!

OMG the boys are getting SO grown up! Managed to snap a few pix of them today (they are spending the weekend here), at least got 3 of the 4:

RJ stayed over with Katie & Pia last night, and had a grand time. Katie took him to dinner at the Red Robin, then for a haircut. He looks so grown up with his spikey do! He wanted me to make sure Jon (his idol) saw this pic, so hope you are checking the blog, Sliver.


Mikey is NOT supposed to nap in the late afternoon, but damn, he crashed. So sweet. And I'll pay the price tonight as he is bouncing on my head at about 10:30 pm...


Alex in between episodes of "Ben 10" which he announced is his favorite show EVER. He looks just a little bleary-eyed from watching all the eps I recorded for him (sorry mom, but it really wasn't THAT many eps...)

I Love This Photo!

I was going through a box of stuff and came across this photo. I'm in love. That glam gal in the center of the picture (with the coat and the little hat) is none other than our Tata! This had to be snapped in the 1920s, downtown Seattle. How much do I love the clothes and that everyone is wearing hats? To die. Why can't we start dressing like this again!?

So Cute I Am Dying

Tatum and Logan all dressed up for a day of shopping and lady's lunching, along with their babies.

Knitting Progress

A little to report: Horcrux sock #1 is finished. It's shorter than I thought but that's ok. And I am told that Harry's scar is a Horcrux so that explains the 'lightning bolt'. I always forget the entire plotline as soon as I finish an HP book.


Here's my first Cashmere Aran Afghan square. Not super exciting, but I picked an easy one for the first one. And even with it's being easy, I made a mistake (or as I prefer to call it a 'design option') and did the center panel in stockinette stitch instead of garter stitch. I like it better anyways.

And Katie, I got all the stuff to finish your prize, so as soon as the hooligans all go home, I'm working on it!

25 Reasons Cara & Tony Should Come Home

In the spirit of the annoying Facebook 'tag' that's going around plus the fact that I've been slacking off on the 'get em home' campaign, here's a super-bonus edition of GEH09!

The picture is from the SGS Hall of Fame opening, which you should have attended as you are both members. As you can see, all the 'usual suspects' were there.

1. Cara could be attending Weight Watchers with us, and making rude comments about the 'meeting talkers' (and we could go to the Shirl-Dog's meetings again!)


2. Taking the boys to baseball games, basketball games, wrestling matches, Arena football, and all the other boy things their mother and I don't do.


3. You could be helping with the renovation of (by that I mean you could be mucking out 30 years of contaminated gunk from) Spokane Raceway Park.


4. Saint George's Basketball NEEDS you two. The girls actually lost to Cusick.


5. Home cookin'. Who else can make the perfect Sloppy Joe & niblets that you know you want, except yo mama.


6. A group of like-minded people on the whole mixing Kraft mac & cheese with peas.


7. Where else can you see piles of dirty snow all the way until April?


8. Getting to drive over and see the cousins any time you want. And their darling babies.


9. You are closer to China (and your new baby) here.


10. No hand-knit socks until you get home!


11. Zip's. Mini corn dogs. Tub o' fries with tartar sauce.


12. Complain about the Zags, the Mariners, and the Seahawks with people who know and understand your pain.


13. NO 'Skins fans. Or Nats fans (actually do the Nats HAVE any fans?). And only a few annoying members of Red Sox Nation.


14. No hurricanes.


15. The Lake. You would probably get invited now that you have been gone so long. Gramma surely has forgotten any/all grudges by now.


16. All the Oberto products you could possibly want at your fingertips.


17. You can NOT run Bloomsday and have lots of company (but not an entire state who's not running it).


18. The Cabin. I think B & Bob will probably let you come back, as long as you bring your own coffee beans.


19. REAL SKIING. Not on some little pimple of a hill with fake snow.


20. Bingo Night, Skate Night, Movie Night and more at Linwood Elementary School.


21. Opportunities to torture your sisters are slipping by rapidly.


22. It's never been easier to apply for unemployment in Washington.


23. People here hate Wal-Mart.


24. Zip Trip. No stupid WaWa's.


25. Your mother misses you like 60!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Since all of my V. Day cards are still sitting here in the Hallmark bag, let me wish all of my loved ones and friends a very happy Valentine's Day!

Week 5 Results

Yay! Despite having a couple of days of 'nibbling' at forbidden fruits (well not fruits actually), I lost 2.6 lbs! Finally made it to my first 10 pounds lost!

A Clarification from the Master

Jon has this to say about a previous blog post I made re the "Buddhist Palm": This is regarding earlier blog of King Fu moves....ok we need to clear up the name of the most deadly of all kung fu strikes in the wu tang styling. it is known as the "BUDDA'S PALM!" when you strike your apponent he will be poisoned and have6hours to live unless you administer the antidote/scorpion stinger+cobra venom+pufferfish toxin+lionfish toxin and nightshade.don t any of you try it...too deadly+plus the antidote has 2bmixed in the right propportions or you willkill the guy ur tryn to help.

So there you have it, straight from the source.

That 25 Things About Me list

I've been 'tagged' to do this on Facebook about a killion times (the boys informed me that 'killion' is a legit number, along with 'kazillion'). So I'm going to do it here because 1. I prefer to bloggity-blog and 2. I started it on FB and it got erased at about #22 so now I'm boycotting FB. So here's my list of factoids about moi:

1. I do everything left-handed except knit.
2. When I was in 3rd grade, I wanted to be an Egyptologist.
3. I prefer dark chocolate.
4. Even though I have been knitting non-stop for over 30 years, I only have 1 sweater and 1 pair of socks that I kept for myself.
5. I learned to read at age 6 and have read the morning newspaper every day since then.
6. I've eaten the same thing for breakfast (bagel with cheddar cheese on top and coffee) every day for the last 20 years.
7. I am married to the world's nicest man; he has never said no to anyone as far as I know :-)
8. My children are my greatest pride and joy.
9. I am afraid of all animals except spiders.
10. I have a secret desire to live on a farm and/or have chickens in my backyard. This despite the fact as stated in #9.
11. I have the world's greatest sisters.
12. If I could live anywhere in the world, I'd choose England.
13. Italian or French Roast coffee, with a splash of half/half -- my drink of choice.
14. I hate flavored coffee.
15. I didn't learn to like Mexican food until I was well into my 40s.
16. My happiest childhood memories were made while I was visiting Toddie and Baba's house.
17. My nieces are the BEST (nephews too!)
18. I am lucky enough to take care of the four wildest, sweetest, craziest and most adorable boys in the known universe.
19. I used to hate nail polish because it made my fingernails feel like they were 'smothering', but now I like it.
20. I read before bed every night, without fail.
21. I secretly love Kraft Mac & Cheese with peas mixed in.
22. My favorite movie of all time is Gone With the Wind.
23. I once told my sister Susan that I thought June Lockhart (the mom on "Lassie") was beautiful. She teased me until I cried.
24. I do the New York Times crossword puzzle in pen.
25. I wish I had stayed home with my kids when they were little.

OK, that's done. Geez, I'm not very exciting am I? :-)

Some New Knitting Projects

Yeah I know, Katie, I still have to finish your prize for the poetry contest. I'm working on it! But I've got all the knitting part done and need to get to Joann's to get the stuff to finish it. Be patient, it's going to be worth it. ;-)

So I needed some new things to knit, because I got totally sick of the Advent Tree ornaments (I have all the really futzy ones left to knit). I am knitting a pair of socks (The "Horcrux Socks" don't ask me why they are called this, other than they have some zig-zag lightning bolt sort of things on them, which I guess maybe is Harry's Scar or something?) I'm really mixing my genres too, because I'm using yarn that is in a colorway called "Tolkein". But it all works together...

My other current project is the Great American Aran Afghan, which is done in squares (yuk on having to sew them all together but will worry about that later). I'm going crazy and knitting this in cashmere yarn that I've been saving for just this project. NO ONE will ever be allowed to actually use this afghan, except me on special days when I feel like being the queen.

A Gorgeous Sunday!

Wow it was beautiful here in Spokane today! The sky was as blue as could be. And brace yourselves, it was so nice out that I HAD to go outside. For maybe the 3rd time this winter lol. Steve and I walked down to the little cafe near our house (I was super duper good and only had coffee), then walked home around the park. Day 1 of my new exercise program. Now to work on actually getting sweaty.

Just In Time For Valentine's Day

A pattern for a knitted vulva. Make this and the Yarngina and you are set. Gak.

Week 4 Results

Lost 1 pound! Of course I had hoped for more, but the way this week has gone, I'm glad to have a happy result at the scales. "Lotta" the Weight Loss Avatar over there is a tiny bit skinnier!

DOH!!!

I can't believe it! I FORGOT to do the on-line tryout for Jeopardy! Damn! Why didn't you all remind me???

10 Great Things About Being a Nanny

I've been 'nanny Laurie' for the boys for just over a year now, and it's been (mostly) a lot of fun! Of course, I get the 'I wish you weren't my babysitter' fairly often, but it goes in one ear and out the other and the boys are usually very loving to me. So I thought I would make a little 'anniversary list':

• 1. I get to think of myself as Mary Poppins anytime I want (the good book version not the sappy Disney movie MP.)

2. How many jobs include a big hug and a kiss when you come in the door in the morning and leave at night?

3. I get time every day to rock a little boy in my lap and just enjoy.

4. Kids' laughter and pure delight at anything funny.

5. Taking time to answer all Liam's questions about animals, the universe, bugs, and much much more.

6. Helping a child learn to read, and getting to see him come out the classroom door with his nose in a good book.

7. Discovering that boys are NOT like girls in just about every way you can imagine.

8. Trips to the library, where we always have to find books about animals, dinosaurs, martial arts and wars.

9. Getting to do crafts, with tons of tape, glue, glitter and markers. Then giving them to someone special.

10. Sharing a favorite childhood activity; the boys and I celebrated May Day last year with little baskets of flowers they hung on the neighbors' doors and then hid. That was the most fun thing we did all year, and I can't wait to do it again!

I am so lucky to have these four little men in my life! They give love and laughter to me every day, and my life is richer for it. And fyi to my own kids: I'll still have plenty of love available for any grandbabies...

Warning!

Mikey cheats at "Chutes and Ladders". Liam plays straight up though. You've been warned...

Cute Book!

I've been trying to be very good and checking books out of the library instead of buying them (what with the jobless situation and all). I found this darling book the other day: Knitted Finger Puppets. Should be great for using all those odds and ends of yarn I have hanging around.

Stupid New "Gadget"

Do you see the 'Virtual Weight Loss Model' over on the right there? LOL it's really pretty stupid, but I thought if I published my weight for the entire world (well my 9 followers anyways) to see, that would be good motivation for me.

Week 3 Results

Not fantabulous, I lost .8 pounds, but I guess that's ALMOST a pound so I'll take it. Katie and I have been Weight Watchers buddies, we have lost almost exactly the same amount every week so far. Pia had a great week, losing over 4 lbs! Way to go P! That trainer Silka must be a real Jillian wannabe to torture that many pounds off ya!

Worst Cartoon EVER

I'm babysitting the gang this weekend while Mama is canoodlin' in Seattle ;-) Friday night is 'movie night' at the P's house (the mother unit wisely doesn't allow tv on school days), and they chose what I am convinced is the WORST cartoon movie ever produced: "Space Thunder Kids". Here's what a reviewer had to say:

"Trust me, a bottle of bourbon is all that’s going to get you through the brain-frying glory of Space Thunder Kids, a film so utterly confounding, so dazzlingly inept in every single way imaginable, that it achieves an undeniable aura of the sublime that glows so brightly it threatens to blot out the rest of existence."

Parents, for the love of all that's holy and in the interest of keeping your babysitter from utterly losing her mind and diving straight into that bourbon bottle, don't buy this movie. Of course, the boys loved it.