calgon

We should be in the new place tomorrow. Well, we should get the keys to the new place tomorrow-we won't be in until who knows when. Hopefully next weekend.

Now that they have (finally) been mailed and received I can show you what that odd picture was. These (pattern)

and I sent along this too (pattern)

The booties are too big, the hat too small (which I knew it would be since I made it for newborn and the poor girl is over a month already). Other problem with the hat is the yarn is cotton so it doesn't really stretch. I am making her another one, this time bigger and it will likely be too big, but that is okay.

Again

Yet another pair of fingerless mitts. These are for a mom of one of the little girls in judo. I used Caron Simply Soft in Autumn Red (I think that was the colorway). The thumbs are too tight and the tops (towards the fingers) are a bit too long because I think I did an extra repeat, otherwise they are nice.

Evangeline: Now has a price for the download but I am pretty positive it was offered free somewhere first because I would not have paid for the pattern.

New house

We got the news yesterday that despite my husband's criminal past, we did get that other house. We will be "moving in" next Friday. Really I will just be cleaning it next Friday then on Saturday Tug will go over and set up bookshelves so I can move stuff in (little stuff, little by little) the following week. We probably won't actually be living there until mid-February or so.

Our new house is the untitled placemark :

Stealing this from Aubrey since I have nothing better to talk about. Oh yeah, except that I am apparently married to a criminal. Or at least someone who failed a criminal background check. Or at least someone who had something pop up on a criminal background check. And, just for your information, if you ever have a criminal background check run and something pops up from the state of Oregon stating "violation of basic rule" on a criminal background check that has been run as "open" (so a criminal background check run online with your social security number and not fingerprints) it is in fact just a traffic violation though the person running the criminal background check says traffic tickets don't show up on criminal background checks. If you need to get it verified that "violation of basic rule" is simply a traffic ticket (from nearly 4 years ago) email me and I will give you the number to call (so you don't have to call 5 other places first) since traffic tickets shouldn't generally appear on criminal background checks. So, with that being said . . .

Where is your cell phone? purse
Significant other? tug
Your hair? up
Your mother? awesome
Your father? spermDonor
Your favorite thing? sleep
Your dream last night? none
Your favorite drink? drPepper
Your dream/goal? sleep
What room are you in? school/play
Favorite hobby? knitting
Your fear? illness
Where do you want to be in six years? alive
Where were you last night? ymca
Something that you aren't? thin
Muffins? muffinTop
Wish list item? sleep
Last thing you did? iChat
What are you wearing? clothes
TV Program? intervention
Pet? woody
Friends? few
Your life? simple
Your mood? tired
Missing someone? family
Drinking? water
Your car? odyssey
Something you're not wearing? bra
Your favorite store? oldNavy
Your favorite color? red
Where do you want to go over and over? bed
Your favorite place to eat? out
Favorite place away from home? restaurant

on the market

we received an email yesterday from our landlords. the house we are currently in will be on the market as of 1/23. THAT IS THIS SATURDAY. craptastic. we didn't want to be in a house that was on the market. i have lived in a house that is on the market 3 different times. twice they were our own homes we were trying to sell, once was a rental. the first time we only had {l} and she was all of maybe 6 months. keeping a clean house was NO problem. the second time we had {l} and {r}. both girls were relatively young, it was a small house and my sister-in-law lived across the street. keeping it clean/finding a place to go was no problem. the third time {l} was in school all day, {r} was in preschool 2 or 3 days/week for a few hours and {j} was a baby. i loved that house and pretty much always kept it clean. plus, it was our house and we were motivated to sell. having it on the market was no problem.

NOW we have 4 kids who can all make messes who are home all the time. keeping it clean is a problem. keeping it 'show ready' is a HUGE problem. i have noticed that this area of the country doesn't seem to care as much about a house being super clean when it is on the market. very odd! the landlords aren't even planning on painting this home before putting it on the market (per realtor recommendation).

luckily we think we have found a new place to live. it is close to where we are, it is big enough, it has a big backyard and they will let us keep the dog. we are going to try to be in as of next friday so i can clean it up. tug will be out of town the first week of february so we won't actually be living there, but i will move whatever little things i can while he is gone.

we found it on craigslist so i am a bit skeptical still. i really hope it works out! hopefully we will find out today.

Cuties

Love these new hand warmers!! They are for {r}'s gymnastics coach. I made her some for Christmas (Seeta pattern) and she asked if I would make her some green ones to match a scarf she has. In payment, she is giving the girls a free private gymnastics lesson. Good deal both ways.

And, while these are super cute, I doubt I will make more with this pattern. Super cute, but time consuming (stitch used plus 3 yarns) for being hand warmers.

As for moving, we think we have found a place that totally meets our needs and Woody would get to stay! Problem is they want us in by Feb. 1 (concessions being made for us to be able to keep the dog) but Tug is going to be out of town until 2/5 which means double rent payment for the overlap in February. Hopefully my mom is coming to the rescue with some money to lend until we get our tax return money (if Obama doesn't keep it to pay down the deficit).

lookin

for a new place to live. UGH.

We knew it was only a matter of time until we would have to move out of our current house. Unfortunately the time is coming sooner rather than the later we had hoped for. While they aren't making us leave that soon, Tug and I don't want to live in a house that is on the market so we will likely be out by March 1.

Moving in all my pregnant glory. . . should be fun!!

Sad news is we are likely going to have to get rid of the dog. I have found a total of ZERO houses allowing a dog over 50 lbs. Good news is we know 2 families that would want him, so if we do have to get rid of him it will be to a good home.

We are hoping to stay in the same area we are currently in, but are having a bit of a hard time finding something within our price range in this same area (not many areas of our current city are super great so that limits us a bit). I am at the Y 5 days a week so staying close to it would be nice. Of course I could drive 25 minutes each way and have a view like this.

Of course we can't actually afford that view. The view we can afford is more like this:

Yes, no view. Tug is also going to be out of town the first week of February for work (going to Alaska) so that should make things doubly fun! Oh and the kids are already crying at the prospect of giving up the dog.

Fun times all around!!!

not a professional

I have made 2 different pairs of hand warmers for the girls. The first pair ended up being given to a friend who liked them. The second pair were given to their cousin. I have finally finished up a pair for the girls. After all the leg warmer love, I would feel remiss not to tell you the truth.

I am not a great knitter.

Proof? Looky here. . .

Oh sure. All looks fine in this picture. The magic of cropping! Here is the whole picture.

Notice the difference? Yup, the right hand mitt is way longer than the left hand mitt. Here is the problem.

I might go back and fix it 1 day (which would mean unraveling everything on the right hand starting at the top end [wrist] of 'too much stockinette' and going back to the beginning of the mitt, towards the elbow.) I might not since that part would be covered by a sleeve anyway. Ah, the joys of handmade!

warmers

Here are the leg warmers I have been working on for the girls. When they go to gymnastics they rarely wear anything over their shorts, and the shorts are little more than just a bit more material over a leotard. While it isn't Midwest freezing here, it does get a tad bit nippy, so I decided they could use some leg warmers. They totally dig them.

The end ones are just basic tubes with buttons on top, no pattern. The middle pattern can be found here (rav link).

But, those aren't the only below the knee warmers I have been working on. I don't want to give too much away now, but I can say they are crochet. Boy has it been a long time since I crocheted!!

Lost in translation

Whoopsie daisy, I forgot to go back and add comments to that last post. I didn't get a chance on Friday then spent Saturday at work and Saturday night/Sunday at a gymnastics competition. Waiting so long kinda made the article lose its luster, but here are my problems with this article:

* JLo. Speaking on morality. I certainly wouldn't put her at the north end of my moral compass, but that is just me.

*"In reality, if God didn't want you to have kids then he wouldn't have these opportunities available." Um, hello, does this gal realize how idiotic this statement is? I guess God wants us all to become heroin addicted porn stars. After all, becoming a heroin addicted porn star is an opportunity God has made available to us. Just because something is out there, doesn't mean it is sanctioned by God. All it means is that he has given us the free will to choose whether or not to partake.

*"God helps those who help themselves." Not exactly. Sometimes God's answer to your prayer is to not answer it.

*"I am Catholic. . . We had faith in what we were doing, and IVF was there to help us." More accurately, "I identify myself as Catholic, but I am not a practicing Catholic." The Church does not recognize IVF as a valid, moral means of conceiving a child. Look, either you are Catholic, or you aren't. It really is that simple. Don't lead others astray!

*". . . I believe in life if you want something, you have to make it happen yourself regardless of whether you believe in God." I want it now, I want it right now. How long until we all turn into big blueberries???

*Aside from the above Catholic remark, the thing most annoying to me is the fact that people are no longer entitled to their opinion, unless it is the politically correct one.

The whole thing really is idiotic.

Offensive

I am in a hurry (have a Dr. appt) so comments to come but I ran across this article this morning. . .why does everyone in this country think others should align to their belief? So annoying!! I am sure you can pick out which sentence really irked me in this.

Jennifer Lopez stars in the upcoming movie "The Back-Up Plan" about a woman who conceives twins using artificial insemination.

But Lopez told Elle magazine in their February issue that she decided to forgo in vitro fertilization treatments while trying to get pregnant herself.

“I … believe in God and I have a lot of faith in that, so I just felt like you don’t mess with things like that,” she told Elle. “And I guess deep down I really felt like either this is not going to happen for me or it is. You know what I mean? And if it is, it will. And if it’s not, it’s not going to.”

Lopez, 40, ended up having fraternal twins Emme and Max in 2008 through natural methods.

However the pop princess’s opinion that IVF is “messing” with God has irked some who underwent IVF to have children.

“She’s saying that if you deal with fertility issues then it’s because God doesn’t want you to have children and that’s offensive. In reality, if God didn’t want you to have kids then he wouldn’t have these opportunities available,” Jennifer Katz, who underwent IVF treatment in 2007, told Pop Tarts. “It’s not ‘messing’ or intruding in God’s plan, you go after things in life that you want and don’t sit back and wait for things to happen. God helps those who help themselves.”

Jerome Ballard, whose wife had IVF, said their decision to turn to reproductive assistance only made their faith stronger. “I am Catholic, but I believe in life if you want something, you have to make it happen yourself regardless of whether you believe in God,” he said. “We had faith in what we were doing, and IVF was there to help us.”

Numerous blogs have also attacked Lopez over her comments. However, two IVF proponents contacted by Pop Tarts stand by Lopez’s right to her opinion and principles.

“I can't speak about her personal choices, but I think that we live in an era of reproductive freedom and everybody is welcome to reproduce in whatever way they wish,” fertility specialist Arthur Wisot of Reproductive Partners in Southern California told Tarts. “If (Jennifer Lopez) isn't accepting it, then it may impair her ability to have children in the future, but it's based on her own moral and ethical principles.”

The American Fertility Association also stood by the starlet.

"[Jennifer Lopez] has stated that she would never consider in-vitro fertilization as an option since she is a traditionalist,” an AFA rep said. “We at the American Fertility Association, support Jennifer Lopez's right to not use in-vitro fertilization or any other form of assisted reproduction in the creation of her family, just as we also support another person's right to use this same technology."

A rep for Lopez did not respond for comment.

Tidbits

*Thanks for the curriculum thoughts/help (especially you Michelle, you are so thorough!)

*While putting him to bed the other night, after a shower, {j} said "Mom, smell me." "Oooh, you do smell good!" "Yeah, I smell like Dad." "You are right, you do." "Yeah, and Dad smells like. . . Dad."

*That same night while putting him to bed {j} said "Mom, when Dad is done vacuuming, can a grown-up come and say my prayers with me?" "Well, I am a grown-up." "No, I mean Dad. Can Dad come say prayers with me, please?" Guess I know who the preferred parent is.

*All around the house, any time she needs something {s} can be heard yelling 'sisters'. "Sisters, I need to go potty." "Sisters, I want snack." "Sisters, nap time." "I want milk sisters." I think it is a learned action. . . she knows where her bread is buttered. "Sisters, I need my bread buttered."

*If you would be so kind, hop on over and leave some encouraging words then say some prayers for Nikki. She is due on the 29th of THIS MONTH and her husband and daughter left today for China (pretty sure China) for THREE WEEKS (cutting it pretty close) to pick up their (adoptive) son.

Curriculum thoughts

Next year I am thinking of going a different route with homeschooling and could use some help. Do you know of any good, SECULAR curriculums/books for grammar, reading, science, spelling, US history and handwriting??

Hands hurt

Goodness gracious, I HAVE BEEN KNITTING. . . and boy are my hands sore. In roughly 2.5 weeks (maybe closer to 3) I have made 3 sets of fingerless mitts (2 of these**, 1 of these), finished this scarf for my mil, made a hat for my nephew and another for {j} and 3 sets of leg warmers for the girls. Of all that stuff, I only have pictures of the hat for {j} and the leg warmers (because all of those are actually in the house). Technically that last statement is false. I currently don't have any pictures of anything, but I do have the potential of taking those pictures. I will save that for another post. For now I am off to bed—back to school tomorrow. {r} will be moving on to 3rd grade, {l} continuing 4th and I have not done an ounce of planning for any of it (good thing I follow a curriculum!)

**with 2 less stitches per thumb since the first time I did this pattern the thumb was way too big.

O-H-I-O

Ready Freddy

Go BUCKS!