Overheard After a Trip to Papa's Farm

Princess #2:  Oooh, look at all those baby boy calves!!!

Princess #1:  Those aren't all boy calves, you're seeing their umbilican (her word) cords that haven't fallen off yet.

Princess #2:  Yes I remember, you have to watch how they go to the bathroom, so you can tell if they are a boy or a girl.

Princess #1:  Yep.  That's right.

Princess #2:  But it only works when they go #1, you can forget about #2.

Queen {shaking head}:  The things your Papa teaches you.

What Goes Around

The entire month of March, give or take a couple of days, some member of the Royal family has been sick.  So, so much fun.  And it wasn't just one illness that hit each one of us, it was the combo.  Fever, throwing up, coughing, sneezing, 20,000 boxes of tissue runny noses, sometimes even a double dip (Princess #2 and I both got sick twice) like I said, fun.

School crept along at a snail's pace depending on who was sick, I should mention that we have a couple of Oscar contenders in the dramatic category when they get sick.

Poots training, believe it or not, has continued to go splendidly.  Of course, the Prince being dehydrated, probably helped our cause while he was sick.

Knitting was done it bits and snatches.  I purchased huge balls of colorful acrylic for the older Princesses and they have been going to town.  Princess #1 is making a garter stitch blanket with her ball and Princess #2 is making herself a poncho.  It's been fun to watch their confidence take off as they attempt "real" patterns.

However, I am hearing lots of these kind of phrases now:

"In a minute Mom, I'm in the middle of a row."

"But Mom, I really need to get five more rounds done before I stop."

"I really, really feel like I need to knit."

"Can we take a knitting break?"

And for the record, they came up with the last two phrases on their own, I promise.

A Knit A Week

No-Purl Monkey Socks for Christmas 2011!

Woo-hoo, my 2nd Christmas knit is completed!

Verdict:  This is the third time I've made this pattern and

each time I just absolutely love it.  It looks great made up with

most any kind of yarn, is easy to memorize and looks

great on.  It is a free one from designer Cookie A. and

you can find it using the link above on knitty.com

Yarn:  Splendor Sock by Jill Draper in the Northampton colorway.

The colors of this yarn scream spring, doncha agree??

The red is perfect, tulip red.

I think I'm going to have to wrap these up now, so

I won't be tempted to give them a test wear.

Overheard After Dinner

. . . some Kingly wisdom.

Princess #2:  I'm not planning on having a boyfriend.

King:  No one ever plans on having a boyfriend, and those that do seldom end up with one.

Poots Update

I hesitate to mention how potty training is going here at the Castle.  It is going so well, that I am typing this post with one hand, while knocking on a piece of wood with the other! {grin} This is because in my experience, as a mama, the minute you say things like, "Oh yah? Well, my little Susie has been sleeping through the night for weeks now!", then that very same night, little Susie will be up fifty bazillion times.  It's true.  Kids love nothing better than to prove their parents wrong.  From this opinion, I cannot be swayed.

So, where was I?  Oh yah, the Prince is doing awesome.  Even went so far as to stay dry during our errand running this morning, even though he told us the entire.way.home. that he needed to "poots".  We're at the point where he is wearing his big boy unders all day, except for sleeping and is doing pretty darn well at telling us that he needs to go.  Secretly, the King and I are still waiting for the other shoe to drop as far as his training goes.  We're keeping our hopes on the down-low that this first run is a success.

All this being said, to show you this little gem of a product! I think these would be very handy in toddler size!  I could have a box in every room and the car!!

A Knit A Week

Have you ever wondered what a "thrum" is?

Me either.

That is, until I had the chance to make some

thrummed mittens--then I was all ears.

A thrum is basically a piece of roving which 

is unspun wool.  In my case, the very pretty pile 

of fuzz you see below.

You have to separate the roving into

 little wisps, which

you then knit together with your working yarn.

Each thrum makes one stitch.  You leave the ends

of the thrum hanging inside the mitten for an

extra layer of warmth.

This is the inside view of the mitten.  All that fluffy goodness

just waiting to warm up your hands!

I wish you could see these babies in person, in order

to truly appreciate just how squishy they really are.

This particular thrummed mitten kit came from

the amazing Jill Draper.  She dyed both the yarn

and the roving I used, as well as provided the pattern.

Thrumming is rather addicting.  I have enough roving

left over that I will most likely be making more of 

these chubby mittens!!

Overheard While Playing

King:  What's the magic word?

Princess #3:  Daddy, may I please have the ball?

King:  What's the other magic word?

Princess #3:  You have no power over me!

Life. Captured.

Overheard in the Kitchen

Queen (while pouring sugar into the sugar dispenser):  Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives . . .

Princess #3:  That's deep.

On Poots and Beds

So, I don't know about you, dear readers, but potty training is one of my least favorite duties as Mama.  It is probably second, only, to being consistent. {grin}  And it has begun here at the castle for the last (please God) time.  I'm not ready to start, but the Prince seems to think he is. And if there is one piece of advice this tired Mama can give you, it's this, if your child is telling you that they have a wet diaper, then start potty training if you haven't already.  It has been that little gem of knowledge that I have been studiously ignoring these past couple weeks, and decided that today I needed to "man-up" and get serious before that window closes.

Our Prince calls every down-low bodily function, "poots".  It's cute.  It gets this Mama rushing.  Today we spent entirely on the wood floors waiting for poots.  Princess #1 helped me set up the potty chair, the paper towels, the sanitizing wipes, the extra socks, big boy unders, and other garments necessary to make this first day go smoothly.  I prefer the $60 method of potty training.  It involves a lot of toddler nudity, a lot of paper towels, a lot of laundry and one good carpet cleaning when everything is said and done, but no pull-ups.  But it seems to be more effective, and dare, I say, quicker (again, please God).

The Prince did well, hit the target several times, the floor a few more than that.  I think we were averaging about a 1:4 ratio this morning!  That's pretty good for a first day out.  Especially when your first day out, followed your first night in a BIG BOY BED (that is the Prince shouting).  Yep, we put away the crib for the last (and again, please God) time.  So far, he is staying put, which is always my biggest thing.  I put you in bed, not as a possible option to spend your time, but as your place of residence until I'm ready to see you again! {grin}  However, around midnight he was crying, I rushed in there to find him under the bed, in his own words, "scared", but he went right back to sleep, so it's all good.

I've said it before, and am sure to say it again, but is it just me, or does this boy have the warp drive on???

Microphones for the Royals

The baby rattle that started the madness!
Now the Prince's microphone. 

The prototypes, all basically the same, but I like how Princess #2's
came out the best.  Her's is the purple stripey one.

Close up of the sparkle silver mic lids. So cute!!

Well, I am happy to report that my experiment in modifying the rattle pattern into a microphone was a three-fold success!  Each one took less than a day to make and they have been happily put to use ever since.  If you're a knitter and interested in my tweaks, let me know and I'd be happy to share!

Overheard At Dinner

Princess #3:  Princess #1, did you know that red velvet cupcakes don't have real velvet in them.  They're just red cake.

Princess #1:  Yeah, I knew that.

Princess #3:  That's weird isn't it?

Queen's Note:  Personally, I think it's weird that 1) She thought that there was velvet in the cake, and 2) that she even knows what velvet is.

Overheard From the Backseat

Princess #2:  Now that Princess #1 is getting so old, it means that she'll be able to drive me on my dates soon.

Queen:  You're not going on dates.

Princess #2:  No, Mama, not now, I mean when Princess #1 gets her driver's license, then I'll go on dates.

Queen:  You're not going on dates.

Princess #2:  Hmph.

Princess #1:  Well, I guess you'll have to go on on-line dates instead, Princess #2!!

One Thing Leads to Another

So, I just finished knitting up the most adorable baby rattle, (pictures forthcoming since for some reason March is starting off rather deary), anyway, the kids--all four just went crazy for it!  The first thing they did after shaking it, you know, to make sure it would rattle to their own personal satisfaction, was to use it as a microphone. {grin}

Well, that got me thinking.  What if I tweak the pattern and make them each a little microphone?  If I could make it work, that sure would save wear and tear on the Rockband microphone!  I dug through the stash, found some silver crochet thread leftover from the little tea set I made last year and then a bag of leftover sock yarn scraps and went to work.  This is one of the first times I've actually gone ahead without a specific pattern.  I am relying on the rattle pattern, but am modifying it to suit my needs, and that is kind of fun.  It is by no means an original design, but is a tiny step in that direction.

Times like these, make me thankful that my Mom taught me sew and sew well, and to those that know me, no, the irony of that last statement is not lost. {grin}  The ability to eye ball something and know if it is "right" is invaluable when it comes to knitting, and I am grateful my Mom persevered with her lessons.  One of the main reasons that knitting garments is not scary to me, is that sewing experience that I received as a child/teen.  I know how patterns work and how they *should* go together from a sewing aspect, so if I am in the midst of a knitting project, I can usually figure out where it headed south and fix it or fudge it into submission!

Anyway, I will be back to post pictures of the rattle and hopefully a successful prototype of the microphone!  Thanks for reading a kind of a boring post, I apologize, but I was excited to share where my knitting obsession took me today!