Shopping Lists II

The punch line to yesterday's post? I finally finished muddling through the list, left it laying on the kitchen counter so no little hands could reach it, planning to head out first thing this morning to the store (you know, before everyone starts getting tired and cranky).

This morning? Not there. Not in the recycling (either in the kitchen or in the garage). Not in any of the indoor trash cans. Not in any of the assorted piles of kid art.

My only other guess is in the big trash can in the garage that goes to the curb. However, Kitty Daddy collects from all the trash cans into the kitchen trash bag, then empties the kitty litter on top before tying the bag and putting it in the garage. *sigh*

The ONLY upside is that tonight is Late Night Knitting. I wonder if the Sow's Ear realizes they will need a fairly brawny bouncer to peel me off my chair and stuff my in the car when they are ready to close...

Shopping Lists

Man, with a walking, curious Beeb, we are back to full-on crazy (as opposed to normal day-to-day crazy). It has gotten to the point where my most lurid fantasy involve things like sleeping with nobody touching me for even a short while or making a shopping list without "help." The latter fantasy goes something like this: I sit down at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, my magnetic dry erase board and marker where I list dinners we have all the parts for, my trusty notebook and folder where I keep my old reliable recipes and meal ideas (n.b.: I also have a nice fantasy about getting those all organized, but please, let's be realistic here, okay?), a piece of paper to write the list on, a pen to write the list with, and the other cookbooks on the shelf nearby if I need something new. I flip though my recipes, find an idea for a dinner, write it on the dry erase board, look through the ingredients and write down anything I need to get at the store on the list, jump up and check the cabinets or fridge if I need to check on whether we have something, have a sip of coffee now and then, and so forth.

Well, that's the fantasy. The reality goes a little more like this. Sit down at the table with materials. Watch toddler climb up on table. Scramble to move things out of his reach on the cabinet behind me. Take one thing at a time off the shelf and try to be inspired to cook ANYTHING for dinner EVER. Find a recipe. Pull recipe out of toddler's hands without ripping it. Note an ingredient that we don't have. Start to write it on list. Wrestle pen out of toddler's hands. Fail dismally. Try to write with toddler hanging on to end of pen. Give up and grab another pen while toddler scribbles on list. Get sidetracked by bigger kids with life or death situation (e.g., Mama must see this picture RIGHT NOW or the video finished and the world will end if it isn't shut off or replace by a new dvd RIGHT NOW). Come back into kitchen and discover that toddler has managed to fish dry erase marker off of shelf and is happily scribbling all over the table. Wrestle away marker from said toddler. Go into living room to comfort tragical toddler because Mommy takes away ALL the good toys. Get toddler settled down. Go back in kitchen and try to recapture train of thought. Realize that toddler has made it back up onto the table before my behind even hits the chair. Continue in this vein until my head is ready to explode, throw up and hands and give up.

Next morning, regroup, spread things out on kitchen counter so toddler can't reach anything and try again. Discover that four-year-old has commandeered dry erase board and wiped out all of previous day's effort there. Decide to reconstruct that list from shopping list. Look for shopping list. Rifle through infinite number of piles of drawings and "important papers" that kids have left lying around. Finally discover list in recycle bin. Try to work on list and convince toddler that it's really okay if he leaves one or two things in the cupboards while swooping in and grabbing away breakables or other no-nos. Spend time going back and forth between working on list and trying to shove things back into the cabinets. Have a lie down and cry a little. Throw up hands and go blog about it. Imagine that someday will look back on this and laugh. Remind toddler how lucky it is that he is so stinkin' cute that I'll put up with this.

Wonder what I can create for dinner out of some stale saltines and a limp carrot. Actually, things aren't nearly that dire yet, but at the rate I'm going with this list, we may get there!

Speaking of Malabrigo...

These have been done for a while as well. Also soft, soft Malabrigo, but worsted this time. I have more of the blue and also some buttery yellow, so I am planning a hat and/or scarf for me. Of course, it always seems that the "for me"s wind up at the bottom of the queue. Details on Rav.



Very warm and cozy, yet I have functional fingers for driving and fumbling keys and using cell phones and ...

FO: Laminaria

Yeah, well, this one has been done for almost two months! Although I have been pokey in blogging about it, I am just delighted with the finished product!!! The lace patterns just popped with blocking and the Malabrigo laceweight couldn't be softer or squooshier. Even if it didn't look lovely, I could still carry it around as a security blanket. It really is that soft!







Full details on Ravelry...

FO: Longies for the Beeb

I finished Beeb's Peace Fleece longies! I made them with some room to grow by stopping the stockinette about 1" shy of his inseam length and then put 3" of ribbing for the cuff. The cuff folds up and fits beautifully right now and when his legs get longer he can just have a longer cuff at the bottom!





Not that this little dude needs to be any cuter, but can I say that there is nothing cuter than a wooly baby butt with the skinny little legs sticking out! Actually, the cute little legs are plump and chubbly, but compared to a diaper butt, just about anything looks skinny. Especially with night-night diaper layers on!



Full details on Ravelry!

I have also been cranking away on winter wear for all the kids. One Bean mitten down (except for weaving in ends):



One almost Bug mitten (except for the thumb and weaving in ends):



And next will be one Beeb mitten with the leftover yarn from the longies. Then I can go repeat the sequence, for variety's sake.

We are Thankful

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we will be surrounded by our handprint turkeys telling what we are thankful for.

Beeb (I made my best guess for what he's thankful for):

Bean:

Bug (one turkey says "turkeys," the other says "parents"...I spelled, he wrote)

And mine:

I hope everyone who is celebrating today has a happy Thanksgiving and much to be thankful for!

Talkin' Turkey

We've been keeping a pretty low profile. Between the capacious diaper butt, the waddling walk, and the little new-walker wings:

I don't want anyone getting any crazy ideas, if ya know what I mean! All he needs is a few tail feathers. Of course, the hiney is all diaper and the breast isn't all that meaty, so I'm afraid there would be disappointment all around. And here's another picture for those who need a fix:

He's saying, "I'm so irresistable, you couldn't possibly resist giving me the shiny camera, could you? Pwetty pwease???"

I have been knitting like crazy lately, alternating between infuriating ribbing (not my favorite...I get even tenser than usual, so I tire quickly) and completely zen stockinette in the round. I am (almost simultaneously) making longies, thumbless mittens, and hat for Beeb out of this:

hat and mittens for Bean out of this:

and hat and mittens for Bug out of this:

A couple of weeks ago, we made a trip out to the Sow's Ear and Bug and Bean each got to pick a skein of superwash wool for their mittens and hats. They have pretty good taste! I am enjoying knitting with the purple stuff and I think I will enjoy the rainbow sherbet one too!

And the "Mother of the Year" committee is having another good snicker on my behalf. On Monday, this is where Beeb went down for his nap:

(to my credit, I did put him in a softer spot with a blankie after I took the picture) and then a couple of hours later as I was heading out to Charity Knitting at the Ear, Ms. Drama Llama was going to pieces, telling me that she wanted me to stay with her. I told her, "You know what? I. don't. care." and headed out to knit (again, to my credit, I liked all the kids again when I got home from knitting).

*snort*

So, Mama is in the kitchen making coffee and Bug wanders in and we have the following conversation:

Bug: Hey lady!
Me: Hey kid!
Bug: So, what's your name? My name is [first name], but most people just call me "handsome."

He then says something about being a mailman (which I didn't catch because I am doubled over laughing) and hands me a picture of a spider he has drawn.

Lotsa knitting going on, some FOs that still haven't been posted, but I'll catch y'all up eventually...

The Four-Year-Old Drama Llama

Bean has declared her fifth year of life as "The Year of the Drama Llama." Just an example: Today, Daddy invited Bug and Bean to join him and walk to the playground of a nearby school. Bean respectfully declines. I point out that winter is coming and we will be spending more time inside and this would be a good chance to run around and get some fresh air. Nope, no way, no how. Fine. She stays home with me and plays while I putter. Some time later Bug and Daddy come home and Bug is reporting on his activities when Bean unhappily declares, "I never get to do anything fun!" and burst into tears. In the process of trying to talk her down, she proceeds to paraphrase (i.e. with drama ramped all the way up) all the suggestions I had given her for going. For example, the above suggestion became something along the lines of winter's coming and we are NEVER going outside again and this playground trip had been the last possible outing EVER.

Gonna be a long year...

Yipes!

I am happy to report that I made it to knit night, sat next to Molly Bees and the Sow's Ear is still standing! I'm still slow and limpy, but gradually improving. I did however find a surprise when I got home from Knit Night. I left behind my long-haired little baby:

and returned home to my nearly bald toddler:


Yep, Daddy got loose with the clippers again. Clearly, I need to hide the durn things every time I leave the house! However, to Daddy's credit, Bean begged to have her hair shorn as well and he refused. So Kitty Chai has escaped as well.