august thirty-one

I wound some Malabrigo this morning. I was totally psyched to possibly start Mabel's Scarf, but then realized that I want to do this scarf in a solid color Malabrigo, not a variegated color. My skein, from my SP10 Pal Tammy, is different shades of blues. This won't work for Mabel's Scarf, so I will find another project for my Malabrigo in Emerald. So now I'm on the hunt for some solid color Malabrigo Worsted, which I think I may have hunted some down for trade/buy on Ravelry. Waiting to hear back. I really want to cast on Mabel's Scarf. Yes, I know, I have knitting A.D.D.


I'm sure I'll find a good project for my Malabrigo that I already have though. Just needs to be the right project.

Mack woke up in a really good mood today. He didn't care that he was sleeping part of the night on the most uncomfortable bed ever. He was in mommy's arms for a bit, so he was good. For the first part of the night he did sleep in the playpen we brought for him. (We brought 2 playpen's (pack-n-plays) for each boy). For the first part of both evenings the boys slept in their respective playpens. The 2nd half, once Mack woke up - they both slept in the double sized bed with us - no choice. Sean wouldn't go back to sleep in the playpen and neither would Mack.

I gave Mack some tummy time this morning. I put him on my pillow facing the mirrored head board of my sister-in-law's bed. He seemed to enjoy checking himself out in the mirror.

He was super cute and had really good head/neck control. Which is what we want. He needs to practice as we start Aqua Strollers on his 3 month birthday (Sept 17th).

Just before we packed up the car to head back home, Sean got a chocolate cookie from his Aunt. How nice! What a mess it made! Chocolate and toddlers shouldn't mix! It's so gross to clean up afterwards!

The car ride home was a pleasure. Why couldn't the drive down have been this good as well? Both boys slept THE ENTIRE way home. I even got to nap. I couldn't keep my eyes open, as much as I tried. I knitted a few rows before crashing. Thank goodness Jamie agreed to drive there and back, otherwise I wouldn't have made it. Since I'm on Mack duty every night (since Jamie has to work during the week), I've been a walking zombie for the past almost 11 weeks, and long distance driving isn't an option for me right now).

Let me tell you, it's great to be home. I missed my house. I missed my bed. I missed my things.

Some garden updates:

My pumpkin is getting HUGE! I'm still praying we get more than 1 pumpkin. I was told that they should start appearing now, that now is the season for them. Let's hope so!

My sunflower is ready to open! This is exciting. I can't wait to see how it will look like!

And one of my mini-bell peppers is actually an orange one! How neat. I'm wondering if any of these other ones will change color as well. They're super tiny though. Wasn't expecting them to be this tiny! Wish they were a lot bigger, as I enjoy peppers! Maybe next year I'll have larger red and orange peppers. So tasty!

This evening my in-laws brought us dinner since we didn't really have anything in the house since we weren't expecting to be back until tomorrow and didn't really do any groceries. They brought over Chinese Food, which is my absolute fave! So yummy. It was sooo good!

So happy that tomorrow is a holiday, it'll be nice to have Jamie home on a Monday. I think we're just going to take a chill day, catch up on some house chores and just spend some time together as a family. Sounds like a plan! I cannot believe that tomorrow is September. Where has the year so far gone? I just don't believe it. Four months left of the year. Sean is almost 2 years old. The fall is coming (which I'm super happy about - one of my two fave seasons of the year!)

august thirty

Today I decided to wear Mack for a bit. He loves being in this position - and loved being able to use his head. He's got great neck control for almost 11 weeks old. I'm certainly very impressed. I'm encouraging his tummy time now, or the use of his head/neck while he's sitting up. I should be able to get him to sit in the bumbo seat in about 2 weeks when he's 3 months old. That's when I started using the bumbo with Sean, who also had great control of his neck early on.


Sean enjoyed being in the country. He got to check out a bike (with some help as it's too big for him), and I'm thinking it's time to get him a tricycle!

He had help on the tire swings. My sister-in-law's boyfriend (who is pictured in the photo), built the tire swing set himself. Very creative guy.

Mack & I hung out in the back yard in the shade of course....

I'm not really happy that I got bitten by bugs (not sure if it's mosquitos or other bugs) but I certainly got bitten this weekend and I'm hating it.

I got some knitting done. I started some crazy ass socks yesterday.

Yeah, crazy. They're crazy because they're made up of leftover sock yarn bits. (The tiny bits that have no use after they've gone into my blankie project already). I'm insane because I am saving just the same amount of leftover bits for the 2nd sock - so they match. Though, what I didn't think about, but probably should have... is the ends. Anyone have any tips for weaving in ends into stockinette stitch? I'm good at hiding ends into ribbing (which won't be an issue for the top part of the sock, but the rest?) I probably should have thought this through first.... Though, I do have to admit, these socks are pretty darn cool.

Mack hung out with his cousin today.

I hung out with nasty creatures.... ew!

Sean had his first Mr. Freeze ever.

He enjoyed it. I didn't enjoy the mess it made.

There was lawn art to be enjoyed.

As well as smiling babies in their sleep.

There was hockey (and basketball) to be played.

And chickens to be chased.

My sister-in-law has 2 chickens (Propre & Poulette) and 1 Rooster (Etoie).
She has 2 eggs fresh every morning.

Poulette seems to be an alcoholic. She enjoys a nice glass of Sangria. Apparently me catching her in my sister-in-law's boyfriends drink isn't the first time she's had alcohol. Funny funny chicken!

This evening I dressed the boys again in matching pj's. I just love it. They're so cute together.

Last night was brutal. Sean woke up each time Mack got up during the night. BRUTAL. BRUTAL. BRUTAL. I don't think we'll ever go away again sharing a room all 4 of us until Mack's sleeping the night in full. It's just not possible. And on top of it, my sister-in-law's bed (where Jamie & I are sleeping) has got to be the most uncomfortable bed I've ever had to sleep in. The mattress is hard as wood. It's a tiny double bed, and a paper thin mattress that is just not comfortable. I just don't understand how she can sleep in that bed. I'm definitely recommending to my father-in-law, that should he need to get his daughter a gift, that a mattress might be a good idea. (Unless she actually likes to sleep in discomfort?)

Anyhow, I'm a walking zombie today, as last night's sleep was brutal. I'm expecting tonight's to be no better. And that's why we're cutting our trip in the country short, and coming home tomorrow instead of Monday. It's just not happy sleeping, so why stay another night? My neck is killing as is my back. Not fun. Not pleasant. Not a way to spend a relaxing weekend.

august twenty-nine :: 87 weeks old

Sean is 87 weeks old today.

This morning I got a fabulous package from my Secret Pal in the mail!

First up, my mouth dropped when I saw this - Hand Maiden Sea Silk. Oh. my. god. My fave colors, and I just love this yarn. I'd never had some before Jenn got me some for my birthday back in June, and I'm super glad I've got more. Just need to find the perfect pattern now. Oh, it's heaven. And the colors in this skein I just got are superb. I believe it's the Glacier colorway, though, I'm not 100% certain as the tag is not marked, but from Ravelry, that's what I gather. It's just gorgeous.

My secret pal also sent me Let's Knit magazine which is European (UK) as well as 2 books, The Naughty Sheep and The Treasure Sock.

My pal also sent me a TON of gum, which I love. It's my fave kind of candy, etc. Since I'm not really a fan of chocolate.

I also got a cute sheep magnet (which is already on the filing cabinet in my office), some Wool Fat Soap, and a tin can that contained.....

... a ton of fun beads!

She also sent a really nice towel type piece of material which I assume is from her local knitting guild. I know my pal is from somewhere in the UK, so this must be where she's from. It's pretty neat. I plan on ironing out the creases and maybe framing it for my office.

Oh, but wait - there's more! Some knitting clips, 2.5mm DPNS (which are a fave size for me!), some sheep point protectors and a knitting CD-rom.

She also sent me some leftovers for my blankie project! Thank you so much SP. I love everything and cannot wait to use it all!

My SP sent a card, which I've put away. It has her reveal information (I'm assuming she's a she). Though, because she had to send one parcel by surface mail (by boat to cross the ocean), I don't want to know who she is until that package arrives (which we're hoping it does before SP12 ends on September 30th). So I've saved the card for then. Will power! I don't want the surprise ruined.

Some updates from my garden from this morning:

I really think my sunflower will open up any day now...

I picked a TON of tomatoes and a cucumber to take with us this weekend to my sister-in-law's place as well as the two zucchinis (below) that were ready:

And by the time we get back we'll have a cucumber ready to be eaten too!

And my pumpkin is doing well!

Early afternoon we left the house after it took 45 minutes to pack the car. The car was shoved packed to the rim. I swear, you name it, we had it. It's crazy to pack up TWO young kids for a weekend trip. Almost impossible to pack light. I don't know if I'll do this again for a long time, let me tell you! We finally left the house around 1:15 (after opening the garage and starting to load the trunk around 12:30pm). We picked up lunch, which we ate in the car. We stopped to pick up bagels for my sister-in-law (as per request). I needed to go to the bank and that took only a few minutes, and next door I popped into the pharmacy to get a new bottle brush as I had to throw out our last one, but needed one for our trip.

It then took us an hour and 45 minutes to get off the island of Montreal. Traffic was sick. Yep, labour day weekend and everyone seemed to be going away, early afternoon.

Our 3 and a half hour drive, ended up being 6 hours. We got to Jamie's sister's place around 7:30 pm. It was a VERY LONG afternoon. We had to stop half way for a bathroom break and to change both kids' diapers. Mack was not happy to be in his car seat, and was very unhappy for most of the trip (and let us hear it). Sean napped for about an hour (when he usually takes 3 hour naps - which we were counting on) and was restless in the car as well. Let me tell you - it was not fun. It also didn't help that there was traffic just about everywhere you looked. Finally it did clear up about halfway there and the rest of the actual driving was smooth sailing, though, not very pleasant with two unhappy children.

We were glad to finally arrive in Beauceville, Qc.

Sean ran around my sister-in-law's property and was super happy to have land to run free on. He missed his cousin and was really happy to see him as well. It was still light out when we got there, so I was able to snap a few photographs outside before it got dark.

We're all settled in now, and my boys are wearing matching PJ's. How cute. I know. Mack's not happy here in this photograph because it took about 10 minutes to get Sean to actually sit for a photo, and by that time Mack was like "take the picture already"...! I had to bribe Sean with the drum to sit still for a few minutes. All I wanted was ONE photo! But Sean was wired and wanted to run around and play with his older cousin.

We had a lovely dinner, I worked on my crazy socks that I started in the car on the ride down (when I actually had my hands free to myself for a bit, and wasn't feeding Mack or putting a Suss in Mack's mouth (though he's not so fond of the suss, so I'm not pushing it), or passing Sean snacks or a drink, etc...) I'll post my crazy socks tomorrow and tell you all about why they are so crazy!

The country air is making me tired. I'm off to catch some Zzzz's! Hope you're all having a wonderful long weekend.

august twenty-eight :: 20 months old

Sean is 20 months old today.
4 more months and I have a 2 year old!
Sean has NuNu in his hands. He's grown attached to it.
NuNu goes everywhere...!

Today I also received my last installment of the Vesper Sock Yarn Club, in the Indian Summer Colorway. It's gorgeous. I am really happy that I participated in this club. The yarn has been yummy delicious!

Today, I'm happy my cleaning lady came. She didn't come last week because of Mack's 2 month check-up. Today my new Air Conditioning unit was installed. I have A/C again! Whoot! I am so very happy. It's starting to cool off in the house, so I'm super pleased. Today Kate-the-Enabler visited with her 9 month old son Liam. It was great to see her, thanks for coming KTE!

Today I picked the 2nd zucchini as it was ready, and over the weekend it looks like we'll have 2 cucumbers that will be big enough. My original pumpkin is getting HUGE! Also, there are now 3 pumpkins that are starting. I didn't have time today to look for any more than just those, but I'll check it out - maybe there are more than that? I also sent Kate & my cleaning lady home with tomatoes today. I can't wait to get feedback if they liked them! I'm sure soon we'll have a LOT of ripe tomatoes! There are a lot, that are still green! I can't wait.

This afternoon both boys napped and gave me time to do some work. I did some inventory, and tidied up Robyn's Nest. It's looking nice and neat and organized! Loving it!


This evening I went knitting with the West Island Knits group. Tonight we were just 4 of us, and it was great to get out of the house for a bit.

While out today, I picked up the latest (to us in Canada) issue of Simply Knititng Mag, which is the August 2008 issue number 44. The September issue should be in, in 2 weeks, so I'll go back for it around then. I'm so happy I found a place near me that carries it!

Just finished watching Big Brother 10 and some Monk (I'm on Season 6 already!) with Jamie, and I need to go get ready for the long weekend ahead, so I'll check ya later. Some laundry needs folding and I need to get some food in my tummy. I didn't get to eat dinner tonight as by the time we got to Starbucks, there wasn't any food food left. So dinner consisted of a green tea drink and a rice krispy square. So now, I'm hungry. I wonder what I have to eat.

august twenty-seven

I love photographs in sun spots. Always makes for a really neat effect. Sean loves phones and calling the operator. She likes to call us back too. (Recording). Ah... toddlers!

This is the bottle holder I made yesterday for Mack. It's one of my first projects using a pattern and I think I did a great job. Thanks dellybean and Marga for your help with it. It's really a great item to use when I need my hands free. It's always really busy in my household, if I'm not with Mack, I'm with Sean, or vise versa. So if I can be hands free while Mack's has his bottle, (soon enough he'll hold it himself on his own, but he's not there yet). I don't even remember when Sean started to hold his bottle himself.... but it was somewhere around 5-6 months, if I recall.... does that make sense? Anyhow, I used seseme street material that I'd picked up a while back, and it was super cute in the end. I still have material leftover, and hope to use it for something else.

I got some mail today:

My Summer of Yarn Love Swap Reveal package. I got it from Chloecat262. Thank you for spoiling me this summer, it was lovely! Today's package contained a nice little Hawaiian bag, some Chiagoo Size 5 bamboo circular needles, 2 patterns, 1 is the Lisha Lace Scarf, and the other is the Alligator Scarf, the Alligator Scarf was on my want list, I hope to make one soon for Sean to match his winter jacket. I also received a little elephant statue (pink and so cute) and a skein of Sereknity Yarn & Fiber in the Waterlily colorway. It's 100% Mongolian Cashmere. Wow! It's freakin' soft, I love it. Thanks Sandi, I love everything.

I also recently received my Ravelry Scarf Exchange Scarf package. I received this cabled scarf from Amyzing. Thank you Amy for the swap package! I need to find out where she got that single skein of Artesano 100% Alpaca 4 ply in color 856 that she sent me, as I'd love to have enough to make a pair of socks. Not much I can do with only 1 skein, so I hope I can get an answer soon! It's super soft and I'd love to make socks with it. The pal that I was knitting for was banned from the exchange, so I ended up getting to keep my scarf that I started. I was late in getting around to finishing it - due to Mack's arrival, but now I get to knit it for myself, so I don't have a deadline anymore, andI'll probably make it longer in length than I would have done for the swap. The pal I was sending to was extremely rude to me and other people and I just don't see how someone can be so rude in communication. Well, I'm glad they were banned, because they certainly are not worthy of the scarf I was knitting in Posh yarn. Delicious Wool, Angora & Cashmere yarn. The more I was knitting the scarf the more I wanted to keep it, so I'm kinda really happy it worked out this way.

This afternoon my step-mother-in-law watched Sean while I took Mack to meet Marga & dellybean at Ariadne for some knitting and chatter.

Mack decided he wanted to learn how to knit.

While mommy browsed the store to buy some yarn she probably doesn't even need:

Cherry Tree Hill DK in the Cabin Fever Colorway. It will become the Drop Stitch Scarf.

I got Lorna's Laces Jungle because I was eying it the last time I was there.

And Lorna's Laces in Tuscany because they had a pair of socks knitted up in it, and it was GORGEOUS. Totally my colors. (Fall!)

And this ball was the original single purchase that I was going to do today before I even put the other items on the counter to buy. Trekking XXL in color number 181. Yep, I love it. Again, my colors.

But with the purchase of some new yarns (sock yarn doesn't count as stash, right?),
here's a skein I'm destashing.
It's just not my style/color:

The Boy Who Lived, Hand dyed Superwash Merino- Sport Weight.
100% 4 ply Superwash Merino. Approximately 375 yards.
Needle size#3 - #4 and 5-6 stitches/1". Machine washable, dry flat.

I'll destash for 20$. (Or trade, if you have stuff to trade - try me).

Let me know either by commenting or emailing me that you want it, and we'll work out the details. It's a fun skein, just not me. It's already wound in a cake (See Above).

So, today, this morning, Sean refused the sippy cup with his milk. This afternoon while being watched at my in-laws, he refused to drink it out of the sippy cup. This evening, again, he threw the sippy back in my face. I told Jamie to go get a bottle. Transfered the milk into a bottle, and would you know it - he downed the entire 8 oz of milk like there was no tomorrow... UGH! Why? I just don't get why he won't drink his milk in a sippy cup. He does drink water/juice in a sippy cup, with no issues. It just doesn't make any sense. I don't know what to do. But he needs his milk, so I gave in.

Tonight we just chilled out at home, the four of us. We watched some Caillou and Barney with Sean, and then after he went to bed we caught up on some TV including Big Brother 10. (We're rooting for Dan).

Tomorrow my A/C unit is being replaced. My cleaning lady is coming (we didn't have her come last week due to Mack's 2 month check-up). I get to see Kate-the-Enabler who is stopping by and tomorrow night is West Island Knits. Busy day tomorrow. I like busy days. No time for getting bored!