Monthly Archives: September 2009

Knitting Frenzy (Bootie Call!)

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I have found the most interesting way to knit baby booties: double knitting. Susan B. Anderson details the baby booties pictured first (and it’s her pattern), made of cotton yarn. Betz White shows her version in the 2nd picture – made of soft alpaca yarn. Even though they’re small – the stitches are also tiny and they do take awhile!

Knitty also features a double knitted Hoover Baby Blanket. The double knitting is so gratifying because it is so very thick (it creates kind of a pocket which you can seal by binding off) but it does take twice the time. The time savings comes in not having to seam two swatches together or cast on twice!

I have also been hanging on to an article from my beloved CRAFTZine detailing a Norwegian method of making large booties. These booties are fascinating – I can’t wait to try them both out! I’m almost halfway through a pair of baby booties but I have at least 6 more to make….here’s to hoping they turn out. I will keep you posted and post pictures of the final product as soon as I’ve got them completed. My hands are sore today (death grip on the needles must stop – but those baby yarns are so tiny!).

Heavenly Reminders

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Wednesday this week, we thought we lost Gabe. Things were hectic, so I ordered pizza. Gabe and Ben didn’t come downstairs to eat with the rest of us. We were in a hurry and going fifteen different directions that night so I didn’t think too much of it as Cole and I scarfed down our pizza and headed out the door to tae kwon do. Halfway to the Woodlands, Don calls and asks if I’ve seen Gabe. He can’t find him anywhere. The last time I saw him was just before the pizza came and he was doing homework in my office. I had sent him upstairs to put away his orange belt and he never came back down. Don frantically searched the house, the perimeter and went to the neighbors’ home. None of my boys go outside or over to friends without asking me first. We were very worried. Cole started praying AND crying and we turned around and headed home as quickly as we could. A very long 20 minutes or so later, Gabe was found sound asleep wrapped completely in a blanket at the back of his top bunk bed. He didn’t even wake up when Don was yelling for him right next to him! The skinny kid got lost up there! We are so grateful nothing happened to him and while we read scriptures that night, I just couldn’t stop hugging him.

Fast forward to Thursday. I woke up grumpy. Nothing too extensive…run-of-the-mill grumpiness. I was glad Gabe was okay but couldn’t shake my bad mood all. day. long…even with a morning run! I had a church meeting Thursday night and the hostess mentioned she had been at a funeral. Her neighbor boy had wandered into their neighbor’s pool and drowned. My heart sank. It was my nightmare come true! I feel so badly for this child’s family. What a tragedy. I was instantly reminded that life is so fragile and precious and I should not waste one minute of it being grumpy over my small trials.

Friday: I am up way too early but am going to make the best of it by going to the gym and getting my workout in very early. I have good things ahead today! I hope Friday and the weekend bring you many good things to look forward to as well! Happy Friday!!!

Motherhood & Mommy Burnout

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Feeling physically equipped to have children (but not necessarily to raise them)…but certainly not spiritually equipped today. Ugh. I actually screamed at Bennie before 8 am this morning: “WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!?” Ummmm….can you say worn out? No, I do not need sleep – I went to bed at 7:30 p.m. and got up at 4:45 a.m. and it felt great! So why am I not any cheerier, you ask? Well, I am suffering burnout. Mommy burnout. {seconds later} Okay. I’m all perked up. I just sprinted after the trash collector – about 2 houses down – with a huge Rubbermaid trash can (full). I guess this day isn’t going to get much better! Oh well, 1 pt for me: at least I caught him. Guess I just need a good morning run…better head out the door with dog and child in tow.

What I Designed Today: Business Card Design for Beany Boy Quilts

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Here’s my friend’s business cards. I need to blog more about work stuff so that I have copies of them online – since I keep putting off my business site. Ahh…too much to do and so little time.

What I Designed Today: Business Card Design for Hubby

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I was renewing my own business cards from moving, then made some for a friend/client of mine, then decided it was time for Don to have an update on his cards, too. What do you think of his cards? They’re reversible to reflect his complex personality. We both love them! Can’t wait for them to arrive in the mail. Small pleasures, people.

Scandinavian Design – Lots of White!

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I’ve always claimed that I would love a really white house. With padding. White walls with padding…some days that would be a vacation, no? Well…I know there are so many more important things in life but lately with trials small and large, I’ve been trying to learn how to just breathe and these rooms just feel like a clean, organized sigh of contentment. I thought I’d share. I may never see this much organization or cleanliness again in my life so I have to enjoy the pictures when they come. Don’t get me wrong. If my house wasn’t messy and unorganized, I wouldn’t have my family…and I love my family so the rest of it is welcome. Most of the time. But if I EVER need to be institutionalized…please…refer to these photos. God bless those Scandinavians – they do have a wonderful sense of aesthetic. And it does something to lift the mind and spirit, you know? Be sure to click on the pictures to visit the actual blog. It’s chock full of visual goodies.

One Serving Chocolate Cake in 2 Minutes!

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Eggland’s best published this one cup chocolate cake recipe in a magazine I was reading the other night. By the time we were done making individual cakes (because everybody wanted one), I could have made a whole cake. Having said that, though, this was really yummy and way more fun. Give it a try! It came right out of the mug! Chocolate cake in 2 minutes. Wow. You can click on the picture for the recipe.

Crocheted Acrylic Magic Eraser

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Check this out! This crocheted acrylic sponge works just like those other super soft acrylic magic eraser bars in the store. I know, I’ve been posting quite a bit of decorating, crocheting and knitting things lately but, really, that’s because it’s what I wish I was doing instead of working and cleaning…and I have lots of design work today on the computer so must. sign. off. Bye!

p.s. Just one more thing – I adore Craftzine (where the idea came from). They are my go-to site for great ideas. I do not know who their scouts are but they find the best stuff. And coming from somebody known for finding great stuff on the internet, that’s a compliment!

Link Love & Giveaways for a Rainy Wednesday

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It’s a wonderfully rainy day in Houston today and I have lots on my plate. Mainly getting my office straightened up – still – so I thought I’d just share with you some wonderful links including great ideas and giveaways. Hope you enjoy them! They’re from some of my favorite sites to visit when the need for inspiration strikes.

Grosgrain Fabulous always offers the most beautiful creations. Now she’s offering a poppy boutonniere, but even if you don’t win, there’s always the tutorial on how to make the beautiful things. Click on her link and be sure to check out the blue one attached to the pillow – gorgeous!

Dudecraft made a bookshelf from an old ladder – I don’t know how practical this would be with children shaking walls and all but it looks fantastic, doesn’t it? And oh so clever. I love repurposed things.

So I’ve been searching for what to put in my kids’ lunch boxes other than the usual fare and I ran across this idea from Bakerella (isn’t that site wonderful?!): pancake muffins. With chocolate chips. Sounds like something my kids would eat and it’s not quite as sinful as a full-on brownie for lunch. Sometimes you do whatever you can to get calories in a child or they would not eat at all.


If you have thousands of extra dollars, be sure to check out Get Back‘s website full of beautiful vintage chairs, tables, you-name-it. It’s a fun reminiscent kind of thing and the restoration of the items has been just lovely. It would be kind of nice to step back in time…but we probably wouldn’t appreciate it like we don’t appreciate our current design trends. Anyway – it is surely fun to look around the site!

The Long Thread has this adorable little house pouch. I just love this cute design.

Design Sponge has the cutest lunchbox creation. And it actually looks like something I could do! But I’m not sure if it’s something any of my B-O-Y-S would carry to school or use. Maybe if I made a camo lunch box out of other repurposed fabric. But I do love this notebook version.

Wool & Hoop make the cutest crewel-work kits. The only crewel thing about it (ha! I crack myself up!) is that I don’t do crewel work. But the work is just gorgeous, no?

Artist Jeni B. Gochnour makes adorable festive fall and Christmas holiday items, doesn’t she? What great faces these characters have!

Cathe Holden of Something I Just Made created these items from pictures of a cherished quilt. What a great way to remember the quilt in a more permanent fashion.

There. I think that’s enough browsing for today. Hope you enjoyed some of the links!

A Hair Raising Mess!

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I am tired. It’s 1:36. I am not holding out much hope for the rest of the day. I got to the gym and ran for an hour and then Costco…and my visiting teachers were waiting for me when I got home. No biggie, right? Right. This means that I did not have time to come in and vacuum up dog hair that collects daily in our entryway because of the white, smooth tile. Plus, she has taken to the floral couch (one we brought from Omaha) as her bed and lays in the formal room off the entryway while we’re gone. Today she went the extra mile and ate a bag of Orowheat Potato Bread in the formal room and left evidence. Dumb dog. She should at least know to eat the evidence, too. So, I kindly invited the sweet sisters in and mentioned they may want to sit on the other couch as it doesn’t have dog hair on it. One sister – pregnant with her 6th kid – was unfazed. She knows the territory. The other sister reminded me of myself when I was young and only had 2 kids (well, she’s much prettier, but you get my drift). She kept trying to brush her baby’s hands after he crawled on the carpet. Really it wasn’t that bad, but…I could do nothing about it. Well, I could have gotten up and vacuumed with my Dyson Animal but that would have been rude. Poor thing, I could tell she was really stressed about it. It was all I could do to offer her to let her children wash their hands on their way out. She accepted. I was humiliated but then reminded myself – just wait until she has 4 kids (may she be blessed with 3 more boys and a dog). And now I cannot bring myself to touch the vacuum. On principle.

Kid Funnies

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The pics above are from our old collection, somewhere in 2002 just after Jack was born. Don’t Cole and Gabe (and Don?) look so much younger? Where does the time go???

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I’ve been keeping track of the funny things my kids say on here. Well, it’s time to backtrack and add some from years past that we have written on tiny slips of paper and carrying around in wallets and purses F-O-R-E-V-E-R. Here goes!

Backstory: On the way to our OB appointment for Jack in my belly while Gabe was about a year and a half old.

Gabe: “The baby can have my car seat and I’ll get a new one, k?”

No response from us as we are considering his sense of entitlement at such a young age.

Gabe continues: “So, after we hear the heart beat, then they cut you open?”

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Backstory: I was trying to get out of a very young Cole (about 8 or 9) if he really wanted to go hunting with his father. I was nervous and he could tell.

Mom: “So, Cole, do you want to go hunting with your father or do you want to go next year?”

Cole {very long sigh}: “I really want to go hunting, even though I know there’s a 50/50 chance I could die.”

Look What I Made!

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So this is my second knitted dishcloth. My arm just might fall off – not from knitting but from patting myself on the back! I’m so excited – knitting is so much fun. Thanks to a good friend for sharing the pattern. It’s so pretty I don’t know if I really want to use it but since the same good friend (thanks, Cathy K) also gave me a couple, I know they hold up really well. It’s such a great Sugar ‘n Cream pink yarn and so durable. I haven’t figured out how Cathy got the ends joined so seamlessly (I’m not generous enough to show you the back side!) but all in all this is a pretty one. I love the pink – kind of my own tribute to breast cancer as I wash the dishes every day. My first one went to a friend in Arkansas on our trip down to Texas. This one is going to my mother. I have a few more that are spoken for and then one for me. All pink, baby! Oh, and if anybody can figure out how to do this in the round on circular needles…please, email me.

Daisy in the Kitchen

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So how cute is this?? I was headed back to the kitchen to finish up dinner dishes and look how cute…she’s such a good dog! The pig and puppy are Jack’s and Ben’s, respectively, but they didn’t mind at all. Daisy needed good company!

Bennie: Book Club & Huskers

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Rule #1: This book club is not for kids. Do not bring your kids. Find a babysitter. So — I broke rule number 1 already and since I was the only one doing it, I arranged in advance for the hostess to have Lightning McQueen at the ready. She had better toys than we do (dinosaurs and cars do the trick!) and Ben was super quiet upstairs…for the first hour and a half. Nearing the second hour, when he had enough, Ben devised a surefire way to get me to exit Book Club quickly: come downstairs naked. A high school friend reminded me that, yes, indeed, this is how we roll in Nebraska. Unfortunately, my day was not over yet!

I promptly went to Barnes & Noble to purchase September’s book. I figured if I bought the book they’d have to let me come back, right? So….sitting in Barnes & Noble, I purchased a sandwich and cookie. I ate the sandwich. Ben ate the cookie (lunch=cookie when you’ve had the morning that he had entertaining book club ladies). Our conversation went like this:

Mom: “So, Ben, do you even know that you live in Texas now?”

Ben: “Yeah.”

Mom: “Do you like Texas?”

Ben: “Yeah.” (Boys are such great conversationalists).

Mom: “So. Are you a Husker or a Longhorn?” (At this point, I’m just fishing for info).

Ben (mouth full of cookie): “A Longhorn!”

Mom: “Well, that’s not gonna fly! You are a HUSKER!!! You ARE a Husker, right?!“

Ben: “I’m a Husker. Do they fly?”

20 minutes after blog entry: I had to remove the word “naked” from the title and the tags because within this short amount of time I have had too many hits from freaks in this world searching for “naked boys” and getting my blog. Unbelievable. What is this world coming to?! I am actually physically ill over the thought. I didn’t even consider such sick things when I wrote the article. I will take your IP address and send them to the police. Disgusting. May God have mercy on your soul.