Once a year whether I need to or not....

Apparently blogging just ain't my thing. I don't facebook, I don't myspace, I don't "social network." Just not my cup of tea, ball of wax, etc. I prefer real face-to-face friend encounters rather than facebook posts.

Recently, I realized that I am fast approaching the ONE YEAR mark since my last blog. An old high school friend I recently re-connected with emailed a few days ago--she's a career mom...works some environmenta-basedl job for a big company....and has one little girl who's 2.

She emailed & relayed her busy-ness dropping said kid off at daycare, hitting her office, etc. And she asked me, now that my daughters are 2nd graders--How do you stay busy during the day? The implication being that Stay-At-Home-Moms do NOT work.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..........that's a good one.

As you can see--I'm too busy to log on & post a simple blog entry. Do I keep busy?!?! Yeah, I think so.

Whereas other women have made their careers their life--I have made being a mom my career. :) I am super-proficient at laundry, cooking, shopping, cleaning, kid-carting, school-volunteering, soccer-whatever-ing, family functions, etc. And I don't just mean a scattered trip to get groceries after work or 10 loads of laundry all during one crazy Saturday.

Being a mom is my daily 24/7 job. No monetary benefits. No vacation time. NO sick leave...hahahaha...just the thought of that is funny! No 8-5 hours. I am on-duty, on-call all day everyday.

And I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm damn good at this job. In short...........I rock. :)

Fried!

Ok, I am FRIED.

My mom informed me that my sister had purchased a small item for me for Christmas...even though I was under the impression she & I would no longer exchange gifts--we'd just buy for each other's kids. (You know what they say about assuming!)

So I felt guilty. What could I do?

I know....I'd knit her a washcloth for her kitchen. She's raved about my hand-knit rags for a few months, asking me to PLEASE knit her some when I had time. I was like "Yeah, sure....'time'....that's a good one."

So I found some fun cotton yarn (variegated red/white/blue--very nice)...and started knitting at 3 pm. I do a fun "waffle-weave" knitting pattern for my rags......knit 3, purl 3, repeat...switching the pattern every 3 rows, so the end result is a woven effect.

I had the first rag completely done by 5 pm! I've never knit so dang fast. I thought "What the heck...if one rag is good, 2 would be even MORE 'see-I-do-love-you' for Christmas!"

And despite my aching hands, wrists, arms, shoulders, and legs (from sitting too long in one chair) I started that second puppy. Two more hours later, I was DONE! I finished 2 whole washcloths in about 3 1/2 hours. (I did have to stop twice to feed my kids dinner & then read them stories before bed...sheesh, they're such a pain!) :)

Does this mean I can now end my weekend sans guilt? I certainly hope so.

Oh, and why, you ask, did I feel the need to knit both of them in one evening?!? Simple. My sister & family are visiting this weekend--and return home to Billings tomorrow morning. If I wanted to knit them & get them wrapped & ready to send with her family's other gifts going home in the back of their minivan.............well, it just had to be done, didn't it?!?

So, yes, thank you, I DO rock. And I am completely FRIED. Time to suck down some Advil, some Tylenol, etc............and head for bed. :) Ho Ho Ho.

Kids Are Nuts

Ok, so I do love my kids. But they are nutty. And driving me nutty--frequently. It's already been a LONG summer.

And yet, I can't believe they'll be First Graders in just one month! WOW. The summer is half over already, and I hardly feel like I've had time to settle in.....nuts.

It's all nuts. Truly--that is my favorite word nowadays (besides "Yikes!"...that one fits some aspect of my day, every single freakin' day....YIKES!)

My nephews are in town too right now--staying at Papa Nana House for the week. So we've been having lots of nutty "Cousin Playtime" everyday. They may be 9 & 12, and my Girls only 6 1/2....but when all 4 kids get together it's sheer nuttiness. Chasing, giggling, teasing--you name it. The usual Cousin Fun.

And my hubby leaves tomorrow for a 10-day (solo) trip to Seattle for his 30-year high school reunion (yes, he IS that old). I must say, I can't wait for his trip--he'll get the chance to hang out with friends & family, and I'll get the chance to enjoy some nutty "Girl Time" with my daughters at home alone. Woo hoo!

Taking Daddy out of the mix eases up on some of the nuttiness, and adds nuttiness in other areas. We have a big week planned though (now that swim lessons are over--thank goodness)--we'll be hitting the DQ, probably shopping at Costco & Walmart, painting toenails, AND baking cookies. Oatmeal were requested, and they usually don't turn out for me....but I'm game. I'll give anything a try when my darlings ask nicely.

So there you go....kids are nuts. Parents are nuts. Life is nuts. YIKES! ;)

3 Free Hours!

Wowie! I had THREE FREE HOURS today! Woo hoo!

My kids had a great time at the birthday party--and it was only 3 houses away, so we were able to walk to it too. :) The mom hosting helped the kids make homemade ice cream as part of their "birthday fun" & you'd have thought they invented the lightbulb the way they're going on & on & ON about "how cool that was, Mom!"

So good, way to go, kiddoes....I prefer the fast route to my ice cream--the drive-thru lane of the Dairy Queen, or a half gallon from WalMart. ;) I'm just glad they had fun.

I had fun too--hubby went golfing, so for 3 hours I was ALONE. Wow again. I did laundry (by myself), ran the dishwasher (by myself), even fixed and ate lunch (by myself). Which I NEVER get to do! Usually I eat a bite here or there as I'm serving other people lunch. As in--"Mom, can I have some chips now?" "Mom, can I have more milk?" "Mom, do HAFTA eat the crusts on my sandwich?!?" So eating alone is a rare, stress-free luxury...almost as good as showering in an empty house!

And best of all...I did indeed get time to scrapbook! I finished TWO pages! Holy smokes! I never go that fast. (Ok, I have to admit--they were pages from a kit-of-the-month club...so all I had to do was follow the directions & cut here, adhere there, embellish, etc.--but still I finished TWO of them!) :)

I am almost giddy with the enjoyment of my afternoon. Even my grouchy hubby who claims I jinxed him (because he golfed his second-worst round ever today) can't ruin my good mood.

Have a lovely weekend y'all...and I will too!

PS--the picture is a super-girlie card I made for a friend who's pregnant with #3 (two boys thus far) & just found out she has to go on bed rest AGAIN! She deserves something pink & happy. :)

Just For You, Steph

Ok...so in an effort to try this one more time, here's a super-quick entry before my friend Steph (may or may not) read(s) this........

It's summer, people. And that means the kiddies are out of school! On to first grade next year--woo hoo!

In the meantime, we're in a battle of wits everyday, trying to come up with new "projects" for my darlings to do & STAY OUT OF MY HAIR. Good luck with that, Mommy.

Every day my daughter says "Mom, can we do a craft project?" Like, what, I'm a fountain of patterns & ideas?!? I keep craft kits up my (bleep!) ready to be pulled out at any given moment?!? Yeah, right.

I'm lucky if I remember to grab some cruddy foam stickers at the dollar store--which I then throw at said daughter..."Here ya' go, knock yourself out, kid."

Ok, all kidding aside. I do a lot of craft & art projects with my kids. It's just been exhausting lately--since we've only been out for summer break since June 10, and every day I'm supposed to act like the Activities Director on the Good Ship Lollipop.

But we'll fit more craft time in--as much as I can stand anyway. Between laundry loads & my treadmill time. And hopefully AFTER I take a daily shower. (Here's hoping anyway.) If only I could get them to sleep in past 7 a.m............hope springs eternal.

Thank goodness they have a birthday party to go to tomorrow--that'll give me THREE FREE HOURS tomorrow afternoon. I might actually be able to complete an ENTIRE scrapbook page. Wowie!

Like I said................never stop hoping. :)

No Comment...No Comment.

Ok, what can a gal say about her lack of blogging get-up-and-go? Nothing. Nada. No Comment.

I can't even come up with a decent entry today for this post. I simply feel guilty when I check the blog (after royally forgetting it!) & realize it's been a million months (ok, almost five) since I posted anything.

There you have it.

A fellow preschool-mom friend got me hooked. Hooked on the worst stuff out there. It's SO addicting I may have to seek help. I just can't stop. Now I've started finding places to order it online. I'm out of control.

Nope....it's not drugs. It's scrapbooking supplies! Or more specifically, stamping & card-making supplies. I think it all falls under the general "scrapping" heading though.

She's a rep for Close To My Heart--a mega-expensive super-cutesy company that puts out some of the AWESOMEST stamps I've ever seen! Their "My Acrylix" stamps ROCK! I have purchased about a gazillion bucks worth of stuff in just the last two months alone.

Now, let's face it--I am a self-confessed knitaholic. I have NINE super-huge plastic bins (I mean, like fake Christmas tree size) FULL of yarns. So is it really so surprising that I would get hooked on a new crafty endeavor?

I always thought "paper crafts" were crap. For people who simply didn't have a creative sewing/knitting bone in their body! Little did I know....making cards is SO fun. I can't stop myself! Of course I don't have time. Of course I don't have places to store the supplies. Of course I can't afford the expensive tools & stamps & doo-dads.

Does any of that matter? Of course not. :)

Going Back In Time

Ok, so we all know time travel is just a cute idea put forth by Hollywood & fantasy/sci-fi movies, right? But what if you really COULD go back in time? Well, maybe you can...with your knitting!!!

I started a new scarf for myself the other day. We're at that funny in-between Winter & Spring weather, where some days you don't really need a coat, but it's too cold to go out with nothing--ergo, a scarf is the perfect accessory!

I've had this pretty hand-spun ivory-color fiber I've wanted to use for a long time, but no project in mind. A perfect match for my scarf frenzy! So I started knitting an open-weave "holey" design..........

And hated it. Got about 18 inches knit and decided it wasn't right. So I set it aside & started pondering. After about a day of serious scarf-thought, I realized it was time. Time to go back in time! A-froggin' we will go...a-froggin' we will go....high-ho, the mommy-O, a-froggin' we will go!

I ripped out all 18 inches, re-wound my ball of yarn, and started over! This time I chose an easy cable design, with moss stitch edges. And after 3 inches of that, I decided that my width & pattern were slightly off. So I ripped that out too!!! The time machine was working in overdrive!

Finally, with attempt 3 or 4, I was happy & content. Now I've nearly finished the scarf, and it's gorgeous! An easy 3-stitch edge in moss stitch on both sides. A center cable, all front-twist, split from 6 stitches. And all done on big, fast size 13 US needles. Can't beat it!

So maybe you can't really go back in time, but sometimes it's ok to start over! Better to start over, even when the project is half-done, than to finish something you're not happy with...just so you can say you finished it. Because, as I've learned, a project finished that you're unhappy with is no better than a project you never finish. You'll never wear it or use it if you don't LOVE the end result!

Enjoy your time travels, fellow Lint Heads! I know I have enjoyed mine this week!

Knit One, Purl Two, Smile Three.....................and Keep Crafting!