The baby I’ve been knitting “flock” for was born last night – 6 days late and all and I still don’t have it finished, but just about – need to make the branches and get some dowels and by the time that’s finished He’ll probably be ready for it.

Have also started to try and get the christmas knitting going – thought that I would get a head start and make a list and keep it small this year and actually get things done (talk about a run – on sentence…) And I’m making lizard mittens for the nephews and Allen and I’m 1 down, 7 to go….and then maybe a pair of socks here or there, and I have one sock left to finish for another recipient – with a bit less than 60 days to go – that’s enought time right?! hmmmmm….

I just want to say here that a 6 year old is peering over my shoulder right now asking me who I’m writing a letter to – “who mom? …..who is the letter to?…..are you writing a letter?  to who?………how do you spell Hi?…” – and so if my train of thought is a little off, it’s partly his fault….partly also the girls who are bickering even though one can’t actually speak a full sentence……………I do comfort myself with the thought that it’s almost 6 which means only 2 hours to bed time…………a good kids movie might last an hour and a half and maybe a book or two and then off to bed – YAY!!!!

…and an hour later I continue blogging – fun to just update all at once….

got to go play with the family in the sand this weekend – so much fun

And then we came home and decorated pumpkins my way……

I found out a couple of years ago that the kids are really excited to carve pumpkins until it gets down to the scrape out the seeds and get really sticky and gooey part…and since they don’t like that part and I don’t especially like getting ditched to do that part, we paint.  and then we wash and paint again…….

Halloween kid pics coming soon

So I wrote this about 3 weeks ago and forgot to publish….wooo:

Haven’t had much time to post lately (surprise surprise…) but we’ve been painting and unpacking and killing awful bugs and setting up chicken coops and taking out carpet and generally fixing up the house – just renting still, but all this work will be worth it for the next couple of years

Knitting too little to really post lately – still working on the birds for “flock” for my friends baby to be…..

have been making satin roses like a mad woman and they have now been dropped off to their final owner in hopes of being part of the big wedding on Saturday….

Knitting socks for a friend

Knitting a grocery bag for myself….

helping Allen with Homework

playing hide and seek with Katie in the livingroom

chasing Anna-baby around trying to get her clothes back onto her…

what is it about little girls?!  no clothing is good enough, they must either be completely nude, or changing dresses every 2 minutes to be completely happy….oh well.  we’ll figure it out one day.

Ok, we all know that I’m horrible at keeping this updated, but I just wanted to share this recipe for Figs.   I have never done anything with figs except look at them in disgust and complain about how sticky they were….until yesterday.

Our neighbors have a HUGE Black Mission Fig tree that hangs into our yard and just for fun I collected about 20 of them and then came over here to my trusty computer to find a recipe for them.  My first thought was pie, but then I came across Jam……and well, It’s lovely.

I followed this recipe: Cinnamon-Fig Jam – Eating Out Loud

It took about 1 1/2 hours and made 1 jar that we opened and used on biscuits with dinner last night.

I used about a tbsp. of  Orange juice concentrate and extra water in place of the lemon juice because I was out of that.

The figs smell like Christmas when they’re cooking and the cinnamon just gives them a little more depth to the taste.  Enjoy!

My kids are running around making the “perfect tea” and singing “pip pip cheerio” – thank you Backyardigans…..

I’m in such a funk today, just can’t shake it; between the allergies, lack of sleep, lack of future housing prospects, children who want to takeover every thought i might try and conjure up, and the warmth of summer just beginning to sink in……I just can’t shake it…..

so, I’m blogging (and listening to the kiddos play – I finally turned on the sprinkler and let them go outside – it’ll work for about 10 minutes i think before they start fighting or someone gets hurt) – anyhow, so i’m blogging about things that make me happy, and maybe maybe maybe, that will make me happy …….

here we go:

These are on my counter:

Tulips on the counter

I couldn’t help it, it was an impulse buy yesterday when i was just out getting groceries….

my sock at the symphony

This was one of the lovely things scott and I got to go to in SF for my birthday last month….

There’s more, but i must now give in to the children….my 10 minutes are up….i think it helped a little….

weird to writing two -ing words together….hm.

Anywho, I dropped the kiddos off at my sister’s last night and they were quite excited to play with their Auntie, Uncle and cousins – no tears when i left or anything!  crazy.    I came home and cleaned the house with my Husband – was up until almost 1 doing so, and I don’t know that coming in now anyone would know I even tried to clean – such is the world of having 3 children – they’re wonderful and lovely and all are too young to really realize how nice it would be to live in a tidy house – The one that is getting old enough is of the male variety and that might be an outlying factor for him in the clean area…I’m not sure they have a tidy gene…

Right, sorry about the random blogging.  I’m waiting for my computer to hook up wirelessly to my work so I can get it done before leaving for SF for the weekend.  Giants and Symphony here we come!!!!!!!!  weeeee…..  can’t imagine a better plan.  Hope everyone attempting to go to the horribleness I consider Picnic Day at UCD has as much fun as their heart desires!  A lovely weekend to all you who are not as well. Now………should I have a travelling sock or maybe some fingerless gloves………………baby sweater?   what would look best pictured in the city?

Spring has sprung!!!!

I took this while walking in the rain with the kiddos the other day – just turned out pretty well, thought i’d share…

Happy Birthday to me!

It’s been a lovely day;  I recieved about a bagillion emails, texts and facebook notes to wish me a happy day and I’ve been able thus far to spend the entire day with my kiddos and my husband.  Scott and I built a much needed chicken coop

While we loved having the chickens roam free, they are a lot to clean up after…

I made a flourless chocolate cake following this: Flourless chocolate cake French – Recipe – recipe and it tuned out absolutely lovely!

Even got the kid approval:

Tonight I head to a book club (Jane Austen weeeee) after Allen’s Tball Game and then on to Scott’s Softball game – life is definitely full and crazy busy, but It’s always nice to just enjoy the springtime and all the activities that come with it (like chocolate cake…)

I went yesterday to Stitches Market in Santa Clara Convention Center.  I went with all the prior expectations of being wowed and overwhelmed and time just flying by….and,  i mean, i was wowed – it was a great turnout, much better than a couple years ago when i helped out in a booth and just lots of lovely knitting/crocheting/fiber people – but I wasn’t wowed in the way i expected.  It was kind of a funny feeling.  I’ve been now to 5 stitches events and 4 TNNA’s (think stitches only 5 times bigger and when you buy something it shows up in your shop a month later and the bills scare the bejesus out of you….).

I knew it was different from the time i walked over the bridge from the parking garage to the convention center and thought – “hm.  i know my way around here just fine and this all seems so familiar”.  I walked into the event itself and thought “oh lord, people…..” not yarn, even though there was a ton to be oohed and awed.  and It felt like walking into my old high school or some such thing, where every hallway and classroom looks exactly as it did last time i was there, only, some of the faces had changed – my outlook had changed.  funny huh? -In any case, the booths were beautiful and i had fun with friends shopping for yarn and came away with some nice things myself.  Thanks to Aida, I didn’t end up driving as planned and so I got to finish my sock.  for me.  with a toe for my flip flops – yay!

yay orange socks!!!

toe!!!!!

As for the rest of my weekend – the kiddos have been visiting my sister and parents since Thursday and I’m now missing them and it’s just weird to be up in the morning and have time to actually upload pictures and blog and read my bible study homework and a little pride and prejudice with coffee before anyone else ever talks to me – don’t get me wrong, i do enjoy the solitude in the morning, it’s one of the things I complain most of being deprived of by my children – but i do miss them.

and the cats play

(just to clarify – this picture was taken Friday evening – NOT this morning with my coffee )

Scott and I are going to church and then to travel about and find him some shoes today and then just hang out at home – we’ve been borrowing our housemates Wii – and it may be contagious enough for us to save to get one here soon – such a fun thing – the fit makes you feel like your little workouts are effective and the guitar hero is just addicting.

Have a lovely Sunday everyone and enjoy the miserably wet (good for knitting and cooking) weather

so, just want to post, and can’t think of a super pertinent topic, so here is some random pictures from random days.  yay.

washcloths:

sweater i worked on for katie a year and a half ago and finally last week put the second sleeve on and wove all of the ends in….

chickens at the window….telling me to feed them

baby adrianna – raaaaa!!!!

and then, just because i like this picture….

hope everyone has a lovely monday

Since Allen is in Kindergarten this year, we’ve had a lot of fun trying to be crafty and make valentines for his class….I have to say, I think it’s been way more work for me than him, but he is so excited about hole punching that it’s just fun…..Here they are:

I stole the idea from the Purlbee (both ideas really) – the little hearts are for each kid in the class and we’re going to tie them to bubbles – the big cards are for the teachers and I haven’t figured out what to do for them exactly, but it will contain either caffeine or chocolate because that is what i would want for valentines day (maybe flowers if you’re reading this scott….:P)

So, Happy Valentines day to everyone because even if it is just a Hallmark Holiday, it’s so fun to be crafty with kids and just show someone (or everyone as the case may be in kindergarten) how much you care for them.

So, all the sudden I just want to knit things that my kids can wear – way to start early huh?

I’ve made this last week:

a pair of socks and matching mittens for katie (almost made, the thumbs need to be finished on the mittens)

I’ve finished a hat for my self, I’ve been pouring over knit pants patterns and finally decided on good old Elizabeth Zimmermann’s longies for baby pattern which i plan to start tonight……Allen has requested socks and mittens too and I plan to make them each a sweater by next winter….

maybe it’s just the season – the cold is finally settling a little bit and i miss that there is no snow so in dreaming about it I want to knit warm things for kids…..hm.  oh well.

Pictures later.