Life and Smiles

Sweater post is still not here - can you tell that I'm not really on top of things.

Oh well..

I have many days when I feel that I'm just hanging on by a thread... whose thread I can't always tell... and as the kids seem to have all shifted into stages of over dramatic, excessive back talking, and increased lack of tolerance for one another, well I guess you can see where my mental sanity lies.

It probably has not helped that our family seems to barely make it a week before someone is down sick again - and this month in particular we spent a solid two weeks and probably a bit more with at least someone down and most of that time with everyone except Bob down. That really put a damper on my personal goals, but I guess that should be expected in this crazy world of motherhood.

I am, though, finding a groove... not so much with kids and housework, but at least back in my writing and my knitting. Things that generally help me to settle my mental insanity and find a way to breath a little easier amongst the natural chaos called raising kids.

There are many things which have made me smile along the way too - and I wish I had a better way to remember them all so I could share them... but here's some of what I can recall.

Jacob has discovered SigningTime - as in that's all he wants to watch and if it's not running during the day (whether he's watching it or not) he throws a fit. I love it most of the time because signing is important to me... even though I've lost most of my own skill in it. I've decided to pick it back up and starting in about a week I'll take free online lessons once a week with at least Gabi - and then I have a great friend who is an interpreter out at one of the prisons who said she'd help me practice. It's time to brush back up and learn some more.

But back to Jacob - he knows so many signs and I love it when he uses them. He memorizes songs super fast and since they are filled with songs he's easily caught singing one of those throughout the day.

Today he was made because I told him he could not get the DVDs out by himself and he said "No Fair!" - that's only cute because he's only 20 months old and it was so much better than "NO!!!!" Later on he was handed a Peep from one of the kids and he said "Oohh Yeeaah!" - it was so funny because this kids just knows how to say things - not just the words, but the way the words are said - to really let you know what he means.

As I mentioned, he sings songs all the time and learns them quickly. For a long time now I've sung him lots of songs at night. Now he gets two... I'm turning into mean mommy and won't sit for a half hour to an hour singing to him at night... nap time is another story all together - but what I love most is that he can not only tell me which songs he wants, he sings them with me. And when I leave, he often will sing to himself - and we known which songs they are because we can actually understand him! The last two nights, though, he's be rather animated telling some soft of story - to the boys or his bear, I don't know - but it's cute and since he doesn't get out of bed to come find me, I let him get away with it.. .it only lasts up to 15 minutes after I leave anyway.

Well - that was really Jacob stuff.. .I know there are things that make me smile with the other kids, but right now they aren't at the top of my super tired brain... so, maybe next time I'll remember some more and be a little better rounded.

Blue Toddler Socks

So it's been nearly a month - or more or something - since I last posted. Sorry about that. At first I just figured I'd get more pictures of the baptism sweater so I could get both posts up after downloading pictures - but that kept not happening and then we've been through several bouts of illness.... needless to say, the socks have been downloaded but I've still not taken the sweater pictures and so here we go....

The whole reason I wanted to learn to knit was because I love knit socks. There is nothing quite like them - and yes, I can buy them for a similar price as the materials for making them. But since we all know I'm a much more pleasant person when I have a project to work on - something creative and not pressure set (as in no deadlines), and since I can't sew right now (well not much) because I have a toddler who is constantly taking apart or at least playing with my sewing machine... well you get the picture. And yes, my dear husband thinks I'm crazy too... so don't mind crazy, but here's the scoop.

So like I said, I wanted to learn to knit JUST so I could make socks. Of course, this was quite awhile back. I did teach myself to knit in college - albeit not exactly right, though it worked just fine - and then didn't do anything more with it until I was pregnant with Jacob. I hit a really crazy nesting period starting around month 5 and had to just keep making stuff. It was nice, but also super crazy. Anyway, there was a sweater I had wanted to make for my kids and I realized it was a knit pattern, so I made five - yes, I said five - by Christmas that year. That's how I learned to really knit (the right way) and to purl and to do a three needle bind off and to pick up stitches... well you get the picture. All the necessary basics.

Well, my sock craving had never gone away and only increased, so for Christmas Santa was kind enough to bring me a sock book - something to teach me what I needed to know. I had inherited the needles (well, most of them) from Bob's great aunt and was excited to jump in. The book I used was "Knit Socks!" by Betsy Lee McCarthy.... but, true to Tara form, I couldn't just follow the pattern - or even start with the starter sock. I went with the toddler one - called "Little Guys" which is a k2p2 rib top followed by a broken rib pattern - the pattern is supposed to go all the way down the leg and continue on the top of the foot (the instep)... but I only did it on the leg and then I just knit the whole foot.


I was nervous about knitting in the round since I chose to use double pointed needles, but I did really well and found that it's not as scary as it looks - I generally only lose stitches when the toddler decides he needs one of my needles and pulls it out.. and I've learned how to put the needle back in just fine! I also thought the foot was going to be a touch too long, so I shortened it a little - wish I hadn't... the toddler's foot doesn't quite fit... nearly, but not well enough for him to want to keep the socks on his feet - although he loved them and wanted them on and even when he took them off he lugged them around the house. I have a dear friend with a littler one then mine so (when I find the socks again) she'll get to have them.

I was terrified of the heel turning and gussetts... why? Well, I've always heard they are scary.. as in really hard and complicated. I have no idea what people were talking about... either that or this lady just writes the instructions so they are super easy to understand... I found it to be really easy. And I LOVE that she has you working with five needles instead of the traditional four... this meant I didn't have to worry about what they call "ladders" the areas that are too loose where you change needles. Personally I think it also helps me keep all my stitches on the needles too.

What I didn't understand was why she had me break the yarn and then restart - the way it all landed for me, all I had to do was pick up stitches along the side she wanted me to and the yarn was already in the right place to do that. So the one sock I broke off (not realizing this before hand) and there is a tiny gap there, but the second one I didn't... and it looks great! I also learned how to do a kitchener stitch - to close up the toe.



Eventually I want to learn to do toe up socks, but right now I'm just playing with top downs. The next pair is in the works - they're for my mother for her birthday (though they may be late in getting there) - and yes, she knows about them or I wouldn't have posted that.

So, what do you think of my very first socks?