Dear Neighbors...

Dear Neighbors,
I'm just writing to let you know that my boys and I really appreciate all the time and effort you put into decorating your houses for Halloween. It is so much fun walking down to the park and enjoying all the fun decorations we pass along the way. N really likes to point out all the pumpkins. I think the scarecrows are nice looking. J loves it all. He loves the ghosts and black cats and spiders. He even likes the skeletons. However, we all agree. That this:



Yes, this:
Is a little creepy. What's up with that?


Although I guess I shouldn't complain. I'm sure not everyone enjoys our lovely homemade decorations...


Happy Halloween, everyone! Hope you and yours have a great one!

Who's That Girl?

I'm freshly showered.
My legs are shaved.
I blow-dried my hair.
I'm wearing makeup.
I am wearing a skirt.

My husband and children aren't going to recognize me.

But, hey, I have a hot date tonight and I want to look good!

From the Mouths of Babes

"I want to be a dirt man."--J.

"Daddy likes to give me beer." --J in a really loud voice in a store. (Thanks, honey!)

"I like devils." --J. (Thanks, Panda Express and your SweetFire chicken.)

"Plane." --N, about a million times. He's very observant and DFW is a busy airport!

"Elmo!" --N, about a million times. He's in love! He's also a big Cookie Monster fan, but that's harder to say.

The Good and The Bad: More Knitting Adventures

Last night I finished the right front of my sweater. As I mentioned in my last post, the left front took me FOREVER because I was having so much trouble decreasing in pattern. The right front went much more smoothly. No ripping. No frustration. It just seemed to make sense what to do and all went well. In fact, here it is:Isn't it lovely? Look at that nice line along the neckline (the right side of the picture). Just a lovely even slant. Just the way it was supposed to turn out.

Now let's look back at the left side:
See how the decreases for the neckline (on the left side of the picture) aren't done right? See how that inside line is wavy? It goes in, but then goes back out a little, then dips back in. Yeah, that? That's NOT how it's supposed to look. I was just having issues when I did this. I didn't do things right at all. Major "blond" moment here. I totally forgot about only doing a partial pattern repeat at the edges of the sweater instead of a whole pattern repeat. It threw everything off. So...I'll be ripping this side back out tonight. I think it should be pretty quick to reknit now that I have my brain on straight again. Oh well. Third times the charm, right? Maybe fourth time? Oh well. I'd rather do it again and do it right or it will bug me every time I wear the sweater.

Happy Monday, everyone! Hope yours is going well.

Still Not Halloween...But We're Having Fun!

Yesterday we went to our neighborhood Fall Festival. It was amazing! The boys had so much fun! They wore their costumes and had fun trick-or-treating amongst the different sponsor booths. The petting zoo was a favorite for both boys. We also rode a train, played carnival games and both boys jumped in a bounce house for the first time--yes, J finally went in WITHOUT me! Unfortunately, my camera battery died right before we went on the train so I don't have any pictures of the bounce house or carnival games.

N actually wore his hat! I was so excited I took pics in the parking lot:
My two cuties (watching a plane):

At the petting zoo. N enjoyed the view from the outside first:

J had to jump right in--although he wasn't so sure about that goose:

Petting the rabbits:

Trying to feed the piglets:

When N came in the enclosure, he was so excited. He kept running from animal to animal. I think he liked the goats best:

Watching B feed the llama:

The train we rode:

And then my camera battery died...

But I put in my spare this morning to take this picture of N and his crazy bedhead. It may be haircut time soon!

Still Not Halloween Yet...But We're Getting Ready

And It's Not Even Halloween Yet...

On Friday night we had our neighborhood Trunk or Treat with my moms group. It was so much fun! We had around 30 families participating. All the children were dressed up in their costumes and went "trunk-or-treating" while the parents handed out treats from the trunks of their cars. People were so generous and the boys had lots of fun getting all kinds of non-candy treats. Afterward we had a potluck dinner at the park.

J decided to wear his Cookie Monster costume from last year. N wore his garden gnome costume, put didn't want to wear the hat or beard.


J has taught N how to make silly faces...


Our attempt to get a group picture of all the children in their costumes:
N and J checking out their goodies:

And for my knitterly readers

For those of you who actually read this blog because you knit and you like to see what others are knitting, here is my current project.


It's the Berry and Bramble Cardigan from the Fall 2009 Interweave Knits. It started off a little slow as I tried to figure out my rhythm while getting used to knitting through the back of loops for the twisted rib pattern. Then I had to get the hang of the Berry and Bramble stitch.


Then things got pretty fast for a bit UNTIL I had to start doing shaping as I worked on the sleeve. The directions are very general (e.g., work in pattern while decreasing every other row at the neckline side or something like that) so I had to do a lot of playing around trying to keep the berry and bramble pattern looking okay while keeping the right number of stitches. This involved lots of thinking, writing, more thinking, knitting, and ripping. I think this bit of sleeve has taken me almost as long as the body.


Arrgghh! Oh well. Hopefully all my work on this sleeve will mean the other side will knit more quickly. I really hope so! Anyway, that's where I am for now.

Off to knit a bit before getting ready for our neighborhood Trunk or Treat tonight!

Best (or Worst) Mom Ever!

This was lunchtime today. The boys and I discovered new doughnuts at the QuickTrip this morning. They looked too good to resist so we didn't. J, of course, picked one that was covered in thick chocolate. N got some glazed doughnut holes. I got a glazed crueler. They were delicious! The boys were thrilled! And pumped full of sugary doughnuts. Not sure if this qualifies me as best mom ever or worst mom ever. Judging by the fact they are both upstairs bouncing off the walls instead of napping, option number two may be the answer. Hmmm... but look at those happy boys. Doughnuts!

My Little Man is Growing Up

Not to state the obvious, but my little boys are growing up. I know it's inevitable. I know that every day they get older and bigger. But sometimes I forget.

J right now seems to be reminding me that he's growing up on a daily basis. Here are just two of those reminders:


These are J's most recent sidewalk chalk drawings. They are the first ones that really look like drawings vs. scribbles. The first one (the green one) is a dog. Notice the face with eyes, nose and mouth. The two arms, body and even a tail. The second one (the yellow one) is another animal with eyes, nose, mouth and arms (complete with stripes) and a "really long body." In fact the body is so long that the rest of it is under the grill. J thought it was REALLY funny to go under the grill to finish the drawing.

J also had Show and Tell for the first time today.

He decided to take two of his Matchbox fire engines. He was really excited. For some reason, this just makes him seem so grown up to me. Anyway, I guess when Show and Tell time came all he would say in front of his class was "trucks." Oh well. It's a start.

So, yes, it's true. I have not managed to stop time. My Little Man is growing up.

An Amazing Race

On Saturday I walked in the Komen Dallas Race for the Cure. This was my second year doing the walk here in Dallas. I also did the walk for five years in Cleveland. Every year I am so amazed and impressed by the people around me and this year was no exception. I walked with two of my friends from my neighborhood and we were surrounded by around 30,000 people for the 5K run/walk. I am so amazed by the strength and spirit of the survivors. I was brought to tears by the stories of lost moms and dads and wives and sisters and daughters, but so impressed by their friends and family at the same time.

People ask me why I feel so strongly about this cause. I've never had breast cancer. I've not lost a mother or a sister or a daughter and I don't want to.


I started doing the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure because my friend and boss Ellin was diagnosed with breast cancer. But every year I walk I know more and more people who have or are fighting cancer and most of them are fighting breast cancer.

Last week I found out that one of my cousin's best friends was diagnosed with breast cancer four weeks ago. She's already had a bilateral mastectomy and will now have to do chemo and radiation. She is only thirty-four years old. I can't imagine.


I've seen what fighting cancer does to you. My amazing cousin Christie was diagnosed with cancer this year and did lots of chemo to fight it. She is currently in remission, but is still dealing with both the physical effects from the chemo and the emotional effects of having cancer. I see how the cancer has ravaged her life and she is one of the strongest people I know.


I hate that so many people have to fight this fight.


I hate that not all of them win.

I hate that children are growing up without mothers or fathers, that men are losing their wives, that people are losing their sisters and mothers and aunts and daughters and friends. I hate that women are choosing to lose their breasts in hopes of evading this disease.

I HATE it! I don't want to lose any of my loved ones to this disease.


So each year, I walk the walk and I try to raise money for this cause.

Thanks to my WONDERFUL friends and family, I have raised $920 this year. Only $80 to go to reach my goal of $1000. I hope to reach that goal in the next few weeks. Go here if you want to help me.


I hope that one day no one will lose their life or their loved ones or even their ta-tas to breast cancer!

Trip to Portland: Part 4, Fun with Isla and Danger Crafts

This is my fourth and final Portland visit post, I promise.

When we weren't out and about seeing the kid-friendly sites of Portland, we were having fun at the house. I just can't say enough how much I LOVED seeing my boys having so much fun with Oscar and Isla.

My boys were just SO captivated with Isla. They loved to make her smile. N kept giving her kisses (which I'm not sure if she liked or not). J kept singing to her (usually "The Wheels on the Bus" but sometimes songs he made up) and playing peekaboo. Several times J had Isla laughing outloud at him. It was really adorable.

Here are a few bonus picks of sweet Isla.


J playing peekaboo with Isla.

N caught in the act of giving Isla a kiss.

J entertaining Isla some more.
Look at these adorable smiles!



As you know, I knit two of Rebecca Danger's patterns before my trip. The first, Daphne and Delilah, was a gift for Isla.

You can tell she really likes it. She thinks Daphne tastes delicious!

The second, two Monster Chunks, were for my nephew Oscar. He really liked them.

In fact, he decided they were perfect for playing basketball.Now I have to make some Monster Chunks for my boys.

Well, that's all the Portland photos and fun. Hope you've enjoyed these four photo-filled posts!