february twenty-eight :: 38 months old

Sean is 38 months old today.
(3 years old & 2 months).

Mackenzie learned how to brush his teeth on his own.

This afternoon I met up with Tara, Caroline & Madeleine. Kadi was supposed to join us as well, we try to meet up at least every other month as a group, but Kadi had to unfortunately cancel. We chatted, we snacked, I played photographer doing a mini-photo shoot (which was really fun by the way) & I worked on my 2nd sleeve. I wanted to make sure it was done tonight before the Closing Ceremonies ended.

SPECS:
Pattern: February Lady Sweater (My Ravelry Project)
For: Me!
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy in Blue Lagoon
Needles: US 8 / 5.0 mm
Size: Medium
Timeline: February 12-28, 2010
Modifications: Knit pattern as written for the Medium Size
(As my measurement was smack in the middle between the S & the M size)
Opinion: I love it. I do need to block it. What an easy fast knit! I am still in shock that I just knit a sweater in 2 weeks' time.

And just like that, I achieved GOLD for Team Montreal! Until next time!

While out today somehow I talked about a skein of yarn that I had gotten in a swap back in 2006. It’s by “Painted Yarns”. The dyer of this yarn passed away in 2007. I realized that this yarn is not in my stash, but now it is. I realized it wasn’t in my stash when I went to go find it to find more info on it. I have no idea what to do with this lonely skein (260 yards). It seems to be on Ravelry listed as a DK. I guess that looks about right. Anyhow, I need a good project for it. So I ask you, my dear blog readers, what is your fave one skein project that I could do with 260 yards. (No ankle sock suggestions please). It’s a gorgeous color and I think it’s been marinating in my stash long enough.

Now that I have finished my February Lady Sweater, which I still can’t believe that I did in such a short time frame, I have another project up my sleeve, which I will talk about tomorrow.

This evening we all had a good laugh. We went out for dinner with my in-laws, sister-in-law, nephew & step-niece. After dinner (Chinese Food, as per my in-laws request), the fortune cookies were brought. Sean gets his, pulls out his fortune and reads “You will be your best hockey player”… (Of course it really didn’t read that, but that’s what he wanted it to say). Can you tell my child is hockey obsessed? That’s my boy!

february twenty-seven

I’ve been chugging away at my February Lady Sweater. Hoping to finish it tonight, but I’ve still got a bit to go on Sleeve #2. I will 100% be finished tomorrow, that’s for sure. Though, it’s late, and I can only keep my eyes open a little bit longer. Today I managed to knit on rows 49-68 concluding 17 Gull Lace Repeats on the sleeve, and then knitting 16 garter ridge rows for the edge & then did a p2tog bind-off with a 5.5mm needle. I like that the p2tog bind off allows some elasticity. I’ve started on the 2nd sleeve, knitting rows 5-14, which brings me to the middle of the 4th Gull Lace Repeat. (Rows 1-4 of sleeve were done already and left on needles from beginning of pattern). I will 150% finish this sweater on time tomorrow before closing ceremonies. You can count on it! I’ve used these Dangle-Free stitch markers throughout the entire project, putting one in between each repeat on the row (so basically after every 7 stitches). This allowed me to not have to think about where I was if I had to put down my work mid-row. They were really handy during this project. I love them. And they glided smoothly on my 5.0mm knitting needle.

We spent the entire day today (pretty much) with my father-in-law & my nephew Merlyn. We don’t get to see them too often, as my sister-in-law lives 3 and a half hours away. She spent the day with my step-mother-in-law for a girl’s day. (Not sure why I wasn’t invited, but that’s a whole other story). I spent the afternoon listening to Sean in the other room giggling with his cousin. He admires him so much. It’s really too bad that we don’t get to see them more often, Sean would love that. They built tents and forts and played hockey. Mack napped for a good portion of the afternoon (to which amazed my father-in-law). I think it’s because he’s so used to Sean not napping that Mackenzie’s crazy long afternoon nap baffled him a bit. I am certainly glad that Mack still has very good napping habits. (Knock on wood).

This evening we went out for dinner to a fave local dive.

Mackenzie entertained us.

And Sean was fascinated with Merlyn’s Nintendo DS.

I watched Team Canada win THREE Gold medals today. THREE! What an awesome day. Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom (Snowboarding), Men’s Curling & Men’s Team Pursuit Speed Skating. We are still in the lead for the most Gold Medals held by a team this year, with 13 Gold. We now have 25 medals in total, beating our record for most medals at an Olympic. I believe that our previous record was 23 medals. We’ve also beat the former Soviet Union for most Gold Medals won at a Winter Olympic. GO TEAM CANADA!! I can’t wait for tomorrow’s Men’s Hockey Game. We have to beat Team USA… we just do.

Today I saw 2 movies. The first was Post Grad. I got it a while ago and finally got a chance to sit down & watch it. It was really cute even though Jane Lynch is in it. I am NOT a Jane Lynch fan, I find her to be very annoying. I also saw Everybody’s Fine. I am a fan of Drew Barrymore & Robert De Niro. I really liked this movie, and even found myself shedding a tear at the end. Very nice movie. I recommend it.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow, I’m meeting up with some friends that I haven’t seen in a while. We’ve been trying to meet every other month or so, and it’ll be nice to finally see them again. Sometimes, I miss living in the city, for reasons like this. Some people just don’t have access to come out to the West Island, so I don’t get to see old friends as often as I’d like. It should be nice.

february twenty-six

I’m praying this snow goes away. There is a lot of snow on the roof of my house. In order for the roof to get repaired, the snow must disappear. I really don’t want to have to hire someone to shovel my roof, so send good thoughts that it disappears soon. The weather seems to be tinkering around +1C, so I’m hoping that it melts away fast. Once the roof is fixed, we can then go ahead and fix the attic. One step at a time.


Sean wanted to model his new Mickey Mouse hat. He loves it.

I love how it’s embroidered with his name on it. Mack has one with his name too.

Houston, we have a sleeve! Today I worked on the first sleeve on my February Lady Sweater. I knit rows 5-48 today. (Rows 1-4 of sleeve were done already and left on needles from beginning of pattern). I have now completed 12 Gull Lace Repeats on the sleeve. I keep trying it on to see how long it is to determine how long I want to make the sleeves. I believe I will do them three quarter length. I think it looks cute like that. I am hoping to have the sweater done by tomorrow night so that I can wear it out on Sunday! The sleeve will probably be just a tad longer than the black shirt sleeve I’m wearing underneath.

Check this out – the yarn dyed my bamboo DPNs! I couldn’t believe it!

Today on my way home from work, I fell in love with the sunset.
I love how it changes color so fast.

I’m looking at the amount of laundry I need to do this weekend (haven’t touched laundry in a while) and it’s very daunting. It’s a vicious cycle that just doesn’t end.

Tonight I watched (and knitted) Team Canada Men’s Hockey beat out Slovakia tonight 3-2. We had a great lead for most of the game and then somehow let 2 goals in during the 3rd period. The last few minutes of the game was a nail biter. Sitting on the edge of the couch, I jumped up when the game was over, and it was secured that we will be playing on Sunday to try and win gold against Team USA. I have faith – hoping for another gold medal for Team Canada. We’re currently in the lead for most gold medals won at the Olympics. We may not be in the lead for the amount of medals won, the USA has that on us, but all that matter is Gold. And we currently have the most. GO TEAM CANADA! Hoping for a few more before the Olympics are over on Sunday.

february twenty-five

Today I worked on 4 more rows of garter ridge on my February Lady Sweater to make 1.5 inches of garter ridge for the bottom. I did a “p2tog” bind off with a 5.5mm (the sweater was knit on 5.0mm) needle to give a more stretchy bottom. Started on sleeve #1 only completing the 3rd Gull Lace Repeat. I don't like the metal DPNs I'm using so I will switch tomorrow to Bamboo DPNs that are 5" instead of the 9" ones that are way too long to work on a sleeve with. I *think* I should be able to finish this sweater tomorrow, providing that I get uninterrupted knitting time tomorrow night. My in-laws who usually come on Friday nights aren’t coming tomorrow as we have dinner plans with my father-in-law & my nephew on Saturday instead, as my nephew is in town, so I should be able to work on my sweater tomorrow night & get it done. Well, that’s the plan anyhow. I am loving the sweater so far. I’m still on my 3rd ball of yarn & I think I may be able to finish both sleeves (maybe), with the 3rd skein. I think there is enough.

My friend Dara came by late afternoon after I picked up the kids from daycare to bring over some goodies she brought back with her from her recent trip to Disney in California. Her kids each got each of my children a Mickey Mouse hat with their name embroidered into it – which is very neat. She also brought Sean back some Disney Cars bandaids. (He’s obsessed with Lightning McQueen right now). Those were a huge hit. For me, she brought back some Hefty One-Zips (2.5 Gallon size), which are a great size for my knitting projects. I was on my last bag when she left to Cali, so I asked her to bring me back some. I also got some assorted Teas from Disney. It was so thoughtful that she even got us some gifts. I’m so jealous that she got to go to California in the first place! I wish I could have crawled into her suitcase & gone with.

Tonight I watched the Women’s Canadian Team win GOLD! We beat USA 2-0! Go Team Canada! What a game! Now we just have to wait to watch Team Canada’s Men’s Hockey win!! I have faith in them. Their next game against Slovakia, is tomorrow at 9:30pm EST. You bet, I’ll be watching it! (While working on my February Lady Sweater!) I also watched tonight Joannie Rochette, the Quebec girl who lost her mother during the Olympics, win Bronze for Canada in figure skating.

I’ve started to think about the project that I want to work on next after my February Lady Sweater is done. I think I know what it is, but I am not 100% sure how I will go about designing it…so please stay tuned!

february twenty-four :: 88 weeks old

Mack is 88 weeks old today.

We left the house this morning to find a lot of snow. I know they’d been calling for snow, and that’s why the roofer didn’t come by today to take a look at the roof on the house. I am hoping that the snow melts away with the rain they’re also calling for, as I need to get my roof fixed as soon as possible.

However, as much as I don’t want the snow to be here right now (due to the roof), it’s still very pretty the way it falls on the branches and is so clean & pretty. I love photographing snow. So hard to photograph as well!




The guys finally finished the bathroom today! It’s done. It’ll be cleaned tomorrow morning & then we’ll be able to test it out. I do need to go to the hardware store and buy a massaging shower head for the stall because they destroyed the original one when they demolished the fibreglass shower stall we got rid of.

I love the new shower. I can’t wait to try it out!

I went into work today, I was surprised to see that my office was pretty clean, my manager had taken care of a bunch of stuff while I was out of the office last week. The driving was a bit slower than usual due to all the snow that fell, though the roads weren’t bad at all to drive. People drive slower than usual (and worse than usual) when there is snow.

This evening I went out with some good friends (hi M.E.C!) for dinner. We made sure we were sitting near a TV as the Team Canada vs. Team Germany Men’s Hockey Game was on. We won (7-3) and it was a good game. I worked furiously on my February Lady Sweater. I am now done rows 150-152 to conclude the 26th Gull Lace Repeat and then started on the Garter Ridge Edge at the bottom. I worked 10 rows of garter ridge, which brought me to just over 1 inch of the 1.5 inches required as the pattern states. Will be able to start on the sleeves tomorrow! I can see the end in sight. I can smell it! And when I’m done, not only will I have completed my first adult sized sweater, but I will have completed it in about 2 weeks. Two weeks. That’s crazy! I’ll show you an updated picture soon!

february twenty-three

I watched 2 movies today. The first one was Did You Hear About the Morgans? It was really cute. Sarah Jessica Parker was actually knitting in one of the scenes! I wonder if she knits in real life? Very cute. The movie was really cute as well. I enjoyed it. I like both Hugh Grant & Sarah Jessica Parker. The second movie I watched was Up in the Air. The main actor was George Clooney – hadn’t seen him in anything in ages. It was also a really cute movie.

Worked more on my February Lady Sweater. I’m now done rows 138 to 149 which is now 25 Full Gull Lace Repeats, starting on the 26th. I like my sweaters long, so I'm still going a bit longer. I will keep trying it on after every Gull Lace Repeat to see where I’m at. I’m supposed to be stopping 1.5 inches before the end as there will be more garter ridge at the bottom.I’m not there yet. I don’t want a sweater that is too short. I’m also not sure how this yarn will block because everyone is saying it grows. So I’m torn. Some people have even said that the yarn holds a bit of it’s memory… so I’m going to wing it, it seems and hope it’s not too long/big after blocking.

So there's good news today. It’s really just our luck with the mould in our attic... firstly, it’s contained to 5 sq feet. Secondly, it's luck that we opened up Mackenzie's closet ceiling to go into the attic that way, or we would have never have found the mould (the entire attic is insulated, so only by opening the floor, did we find it).

The only bad new is that the company that did our roof in 2005 went bankrupt the year before in 2004 (the guy must have given an illegal warranty). Not sure how to approach that legally, but I'm waiting to find out if there is anything we can do.

The lady who owned our house before us, (we bought the house Nov 2007) passed away in August of 2008 (I found her obituary online through google). Though, the money from the sale of the house, had to of been left to her children... so we need to find out who the estate was left to, and maybe we can go after them.

Now it would be for the ceiling/attic repairs (they will have to tear down Mackenzie's bedroom ceiling/closet) and we'll have to call in a new roofer to come fix the roof. But... we’re so lucky that it’s not the entire attic covered in mould, what he thought he was looking at yesterday was just water stains on the wood, but there is no actual mould (yesterday he went up with a flash light and today he went up with work lights). And, it looks like it's NOT going to be a $40,000-$50,000 job, which was my biggest worry.

The contractor that is doing our bathroom *thinks* the issue on the roof as to why it’s leaking water in, may just be that the flashings need repairs, so that would be on the cheaper side of what could have been with the roof. Though, I am having a roofing company that has been around for years come to take a look at my roof, hopefully sometime this week – snow depending. (They’re calling for 5-10 inches of snow tomorrow). As soon as the roof is fixed, we can have the contractor come back in and fix the attic.

My contractor was explaining to me that some guys who do roofs, are frauds. They are in business for 3-5 years and then go bankrupt and then open up a new company to avoid the warranty on the roof. You see, roofs generally have warranty when work is done for 10 years for labour and 25 years for the shingles. So, in order for them to avoid their warranties, they close up shop and no one can go after them for the warranty. My contractor said to make sure I call in a company that has been around for years. The one I called has been around since 1985. The reason that my roof is leaking is probably because the guy who already had closed up shop, did a crap job on my roof, just to collect that cash. The lady that was living here was elder, and he probably took advantage. Not cool.

Anyhow... luck is on my side today. This could have gone really badly.

february twenty-two :: 164 Weeks Old

Sean is 164 weeks old today.

Today was a catch up on work day. I still made time though, to do my work while watching 2 movies. I saw Valentine’s Day which was really cute (and was loaded up on a ton of actors) as well as watching the movie Leap Year, which was totally cute as well. I think Amy Adams is really cute (I’ve seen a few other of her movies as well).

There has been work done today on my February Lady Sweater. I’ve now worked on rows 125 to 137 which is now 22 Full Gull Lace Repeats, started on the 23rd with row 137. I still would like it a little bit longer, so I will be working more repeats. I don’t like my sweaters too short. I hope it works out perfectly. Once I’m done this part, I can start on the sleeves, which shouldn’t take too much time, so I think I can totally finish this sweater before Sunday (closing ceremonies).

My bathroom is promised to be done by tomorrow. I’ll believe it when I see it. When the guy went up into the attic today (we had to create a trap door so he could even get up there. It was odd to us that there was no trap door in the house to begin with. We discovered the ENTIRE attic is covered in mould. Now, not only is there mould, but there is something else with the pot lights and the insulation that is a fire hazard and is not up to building code. So tomorrow we're going to see if we can find the source of the mould, and see if it's because of the roof (which was re-done in 2005) or if we have to go after the previous owner of the house. We'll also have to determine how old the mould is. What a disaster! It's a shock that none of us are sick from the amount of mould that is in our attic....!

We'll know tomorrow after our contractor goes up there with his work lights and a camera. Hopefully they can tell where the source is. Since there was no trap door we suspect that maybe they "sealed it up" to sell the house because maybe they knew about the mould. Why the inspector we hired to inspect the home upon placing an offer didn't notice that there wasn't a trap door (because I just pulled out his report) nor was there any mention of the attic period in his report, is an entire other story... I'll know more tomorrow. All I know tonight is that it's REALLY bad.

Ahh, the joys of being a homeowner. I’ll know more tomorrow. No point in speculating more now if I don’t have any answers just yet.

february twenty-one

This morning I hung out with the kids in the playroom.
Mack decided to play in the toy box.

We made a huge mess.
This is usual for our house.

At lunch my parents called me up and asked if I was okay
if they took Sean to the park to toboggan.
It was a beautiful day today, why on earth would I have said no?

Sean had a blast!

Our bathroom got painted today. I think it looks great. The color is called Smoke. It’s grey with a hint of blue.

I’ve been working on my February Lady Sweater.

I can so be done before closing ceremonies.
Not only will this be my first sweater ever… but it’ll have been knit in less than 2 weeks.
Now, that’s an accomplishment!

After Mack got up from his nap we got organized and dressed.

And we went over to my parents house for dinner. We stayed until after the first period of the Canada vs. USA Men’s hockey game. After the kids were in bed we sat down to unfortunately watch Team Canada lose. We still have a chance though, on Tuesday night. We’ll be playing Germany (I am pretty certain it’s Germany). I still have faith in our boys. I am very disappointed in Martin Brodeur’s game tonight. We have the best of the best of NHL players born in Canada… I don’t understand why we lost to the USA today. It just doesn’t make any sense.

february twenty

Last night I had to drop some stitches and pick them all back up with a crochet hook. Somehow, (and I didn’t see this earlier, not sure how), I did some stockinette stitch in my edging. I was a little bit upset, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t fix. It was an easy fix actually. I had to drop down about 30 rows or so, maybe a little less, and turn one knit row into a purl row to maintain my garter ridge edging. Took me a while, so I lost out in some knitting time. It’s all back on track though, as if that never happened.

Here’s this morning’s progress on my February Lady Sweater.

 
Lovin’ it. It’s such a gorgeous turquoise-y/teal color.

Yesterday, I think I hit the jackpot. I was out in the early morning running an errand. I came across one store that had recently stocked their shelves with Jamie’s favourite hair gel (which according to the website has been discontinued). I picked up enough bottles to last him a while. It seems that this store gets liquidated items. Now I’m just waiting for them to get some Irish Spring Sport in… that would just make Jamie’s day. I have faith that they will get it in… I just know it. They already have some of the other scents of Irish Spring, so I don’t see why they wouldn’t bring that one in, if they were offered it wholesale.

  It’s amazing what will keep a child occupied. I had an empty plastic container. He sat there for a good while opening and closing it (screw on lid). He cracks me up. Sean used to be the same way too – very easy to entertain.

Doesn’t this just look like a happy kid? I love it.

I’ve been having insomnia lately. Last night I tried to go to bed. By 1:09 am I was up folding 5 baskets of laundry that I had done yesterday. The good news is that all my laundry got folded and now is put away, but I don’t understand the insomnia. Do you get insomnia? If so, what do you do for it? I really don’t want to take sleeping pills. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve always been a night owl and I just wasn’t ready to go to sleep? I should find a way to relax myself before bed to be able to fall asleep more easily. I know “experts” say to not use the computer and to not watch tv for an hour or two before bedtime, because those two things get your brain working and you should be relaxing. I am really glad that all my boys let me sleep in this morning (until almost 10 am) (though I did get up to get Mack out of his crib and bring him into our bedroom as the kids have their morning milk in our bed while watching cartoons on Disney or Sprout tv). I am so lucky to have this luxury to sleep in on the weekends. I love my boys, both the big one & small ones.

  Sean was in such a good mood this afternoon.
I think he was excited for his friend to come over.

They played in hats & dunked dinosaurs into their juice.
(Must be a boy thing?)

They coloured. (Yes, I’m Canadian, I spell it with a “u”).

They coloured plates to be exact.
I thought this would be a fun activity for them to do.
(I helped Sean with his – I love to color).

It was really nice chatting with Sean’s friends mom.
The boys go to daycare together, and last session they took a swimming class together as well.
What a nice family.

This evening I had a few friends over and we hung out, ate some wonderful desserts, drank sangria and crafted.
It was a really nice evening. Lots of laughter and good conversation.
I love that my kids love my friends.
I love that my friends love my kids.

I’ve been working on my February Lady Sweater, hoping to make some more progress. I had a bit of Sangria, but since friends don’t let friends drink & knit, I didn’t have too much at all. I don’t need another repeat of that stockinette stitch error from last night. That would not be good.

Off to go crawl into bed, turn on the tube & knit until Jamie gets home. He’s off at a LAN party tonight with some guys from work. I hope to make a bit more progress tonight or I’ll be a little upset with how little I’ve knit so far today.