The One Where I Buy a Semi-Pornographic Thermometer

So, as I've mentioned before change is evil here at the Castle.  And change is upon us in the form of cooler weather.  For the last four years we have battled with Fall and every year he kicks our, well, you know.  So I just purchased a little something that I hope will help us win this round . . . a somewhat risque thermometer for our spirited miss.

As well as telling the temperature, there is a picture of a lady, who bears a striking resemblance to "Barbie" who is in various states of dress (or undress) as the weather dictates.  I am hopeful that this will help reinforce what I am telling my spirited little girl in terms of choosing weather appropriate clothing.  It was a relief to finally find one that fit her specific requirements (this is not our first attempt at this):  not a boy, not a little girl, not a girl that really looks like a boy.  Thank you amazon.com for having this lovely option this year!!

Fingers crossed that our little miss sees this as
"such a hot day, I should wear a tank top dress" and
*not*
"whoo-hoo I can get away with just wearing my unders".

Happiness Is . . .

. . . hearing your spirited child tell you how she is feeling instead of losing it.  Yay Princess #3!!!

The above may sound trivial, I know that I would have thought so if I had read this post four years ago.  However, this is a huge step of progress.  One that makes me teary and grateful that this may be the start of hearing more articulate and effective communication from my little girl!!  Thank you Lord!

A Knit A Week

I can still remember when I learned about dinosaurs.  

It was 2nd grade.

Mrs. Scherr's class.

I was hooked.

I checked out books from the library.

Wrote reports. 

Wrote stories.

I was enamored with the things.

Probably drove my parents and siblings nuts.

Or maybe I kept it to myself, as a secret love.

I don't quite remember.

Anyway, Princess #3 has a best friend.

That special little gal is a lover of dinosaurs.

I can't tell you how giddy this has made me.

So when I saw this sweater, I knew I had to make it for her.

Because when I was her age I would have wanted one.

Princess #3 was willing to model for me!

The dinosaurs march around the entire sweater.

The Details:

Pattern:  Diplodocus by Kate Oates

Yarn:  Knit Picks Swish Worsted

Verdict:  When I gave her the sweater, I blanked on the dinosaur's name.

This little sweet, took one look and told me:

It's a Diplodocus.

{grin}

I believe that says it all!!

Life. Now.

Sorry for the absence of posting dear, faithful readers.

My life has been full to overflowing these past days.

Filled with stuff.  Good stuff. Fun stuff.

But at the end of the day it is just stuff.

Stuff like:

playing with friends

school

soccer games

school

soccer practice

school

kids choir

school

Prince chasing

school

volunteering

school

knitting

school

playing trucks and guys

did I mention school??

Fall is busy.

I do my best to find balance with how we choose to spend

our family's time.  

Making sure that our busy-ness is productive

and not stress causing.

Taking care to not overwhelm.

So far, it is feeling good.

A knit A Week

More Socks!

Shocker!
{grin}

These socks were made for walking . . .

Check out my matchy-matchy pooling on these babies.
Cool huh?!

Modeled by Princess #1.
Yes, my 11 year old and I wear the same size.
She's gonna be tall like her Daddy methinks.

Pattern:  Artichoke Socks

Yarn:  Jill Draper's Splendor Sock in the Yarmouth colorway

Verdict:  These socks have been a royal pain.
I started them at Sock Summit, which apparently made
my guage funky.  However, I didn't realize that
Sock Summit knitting affected my guage til I got into the
second sock.  The colors of the yarn pooled
completely differently!! UGH!
So I ended up cutting off (literally, gulp) the cuff of the
first sock (since it refused to be unraveled nicely),
putting the live heel and foot stitches onto a holder and
re-knit the cuff.  It came out looking just like I wanted, phew.
Then using the Kitchener stitch, I joined the new
cuff with the live stitches from the foot.
And . . . it worked!!
Hurry up Fall weather.  I need to wear some woolies!!