Finger Cramps?!

Oy vey! Well, Spincerely finally has done it. Yep, brace yourself world - I am learning to knit! For many years I have sidestepped her friendly invitations to the world of fiber claiming to be true to my one lifelong hobby. Yes, since scrapbooking is so time consuming - and I get so little time to do it - I figured I should stay with that alone (well, unless you count reading as a hobby, but I don't). Here's what sucked me in... knitting is so much more transportable. I find as the children get older I spend more and more time waiting. Wait at the doctor, wait at sports practice, the orthodontist, the school, the rehearsals, etc. Now, in the past I have attempted to bring scrapbook magazines, or some photos to crop, or a notebook for ideas and sketches. All okay, but not quite satisfying (and with Ethan almost impossible).

So, I am picking up this new hobby as a travelling one. I'm not too good at it yet.

Here is my very first "project" so far. It is going to be a Webkinz sleeping bag. For Fluffy the Webkin. Then I need to make blankets for the numerous other Webkinz living in this house.

On to my very first "knitting catastrophy" so far. I am in full concentration mode (well, if you can concentrate with one son in a tutu and cowboy boots doing tap dancing and the other in a doggy costume with a santa hat and a trick or treat bag going around saying - ho, ho, ho, I'm Santa Doggy and giving me "treats" AND "Go, Diego, Go" playing on the tele) (and YES that is totally true) so yeah, I'm sort of kind of almost concentrating when my yarn ball plups off the couch. I ignore it figuring I would get it when at the end of the row (being new to this thing I get scandlized if I need to pause mid-row). Sooooooo I go to get it - AND IT IS FLOATING IN MY FREAKING TEA! Yes, my brand new, lovely, Spinny special yarn is now a TEA BALL! Eeeep!

I say a few choice words left over from my school teacher days (OH maccaroni and cheese! Parsnip juice and jam toes! and fingledoodle!) then I rush to the phone to call my Knitty 911 pal to get her advice.

She tells me to rinse it (hadn't thought of that, really - duh to me) and unroll it to dry it out. Hence the pic of Raggedy Ann "helping" me dry the yarn. See I was tempted to throw it all in the dryer for a tumble. Lucky I called her!

That's my life. You are now updated. Oh, and I have finger cramps from the knitting I think!

On to a scrapbookery topic... here is the thank you gift I made for Abbie's Odyssey of the Mind coach (who's a teacher too). The specs are:

- page size 4"X 12" (so no 4x6 photos need to be trimmed, sweet!)

- jump ring to hold it together tied with random ribbon scraps (shoulda knit them!)

- Bazzill cardstock in tan

- Junkitz fanci*ful line patterned paper
- Junkitz fanci*ful carstock stickerz

- Junkitz fanci*ful tagz & flowerz

- tea dye distress ink

- Adirondack acrylic paint Dabber - expresso

- some assorted clear stamps

I think that's it.

The pictures are of just a few of the pages so you get the

general idea. I got the idea to do this type of project

off of the Fiskars website.
Hope you like the project feature - have a great weekend!

Weekend Agendas

First and foremost... Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there! I hope that you had a great day!

Today I am in an opinionated mood about a little square off of sorts I had while at our first BMX race. Yes, I am a lunatic, Max is now doing BMX. Good grief. He did very well and while he did not "win" he had a personal win when after totally wiping out about 12 inches from the finish line in his second moto (they do three, then all the best race each other in the finals) he got back on that bike and finished his third moto and the finals. I was very proud of him. He is very bruised but PSYCHED about the trophy he received. You can see the trophy in the pic. Very cool.

So, you are likely wondering about the incident. Well, I saw a woman I know from when I worked at TSC (still miss doing that and seeing Deb all the time, sniff, sniff...). I think that's where I know her from. Anyway, I recognize her. Her name is Lisa. So, we are talking... how's the kids, etc. and she asks if I am still involved with soccer. Well... I am, and we are, a lot. When I tell her yes, and I will admit I speak enthusiastically about soccer (usually), she says, "Then you must be a soccer mom". Hmmmm... well, yeah - I think I just said that. Also I think I don't love that she seems to be implying something negative.

So, I am then fully involved in watching my son and praying he doesn't fall again (he didn't, but he also did ride more conservatively for the final two races) so I think no more about it. Now I am home, it is late and I am totally wiped out, and now I think I wish I said something else to Lisa. So I look up "soccer mom" for giggles on Wikipedia and here is some of what I find:

"The term can carry pejorative connotations, where the soccer mom may denote a woman who is aloof and has little responsibility or occupation, other than providing basic transportation for her children. In feminist circles, the soccer mom may refer to a woman who has given up on a promising and successful career, particularly after having some early aspirations and achievements. However, the word is not entirely negative, those described as soccer moms sometimes take pride in the term as affirmation that they are dedicated to providing attention, recreation and positive social contact for their children."

I find that definition, and the rest of it too, largely annoying.

So, I am merely a transportation device?

Ya think?

WELL, I think soccer is a wonderful social activity, is great exercise and encourages family. I love cheering my children on and don't get carried away and never wish to slug umpires. So Lisa can kiss my teacher, nurse, psychologist, maid, cook, banker, analyst, crafter, entertainer, and yes- transporter's- rear end! Harrrumph!

There, now I feel better.

Here's the Princess kicking some soccer tush - Go Abbie!

Gloomy Friday

Uh! What a gloomy day today is. Thunderstorms are due and boy does it look like it. Humid and gloomy, what fun.

Is anyone else out there like me?
Does your productivity level go down exponentially when it is gloomy and hot?
I have so much to do today.
Have to get gifts for the weekend.
Have to clean the house in case of a showing on it.
Have to let in the AC repair man (mine is on the fritz - lucky me).
Have to pay bills.
Have to purge some messes.
Have to make early dinner due to Friday soccer practice.
Have to play with Ethan during all this.
My allergies are going berserk.
And it's gloomy.
And gloomy makes me sad.

Suggestions?

Swiper No Swiping...OR...Listening to Your Toddler, a Cautionary Tale

Like my title?

Okay, I am sharing another Ethan story with you. It was like this:

It was a double soccer practice night (Abbie and Max) and we were waiting around for Abbie's practice to end. Dusk was approaching. Having already been at the field for 90 minutes Ethan was, well, understandably "tired" of the whole thing. So he is exploring a bit and walks near the edge of the field where the wooded area starts. He calls,

"Mommy, come here and see"

I come over, see nothing.

"Swiper no swiping" exclaims Ethan while thrusting his "no swiping" hand toward the bushes (click on the link if you don't know Dora... Swiper is a crafty fox always trying to "swipe" Dora's stuff).

I find this amusing and bring him over near my friends (soccer mom cluster) and show them his neat little parlor trick. Soon we are all playing along (or so we thought) and yelling "Swiper no Swiping!" and making the required hand gestures.

The girls (fifth graders) began to look at us strangely.

One of the more observant soccer moms soon exclaims - "Wait! Something is moving over there!"

Sure enough, there was a momma fox and some baby foxes (sure glad Ethan didn't try to go near them). Soccer practice stopped so all the girls could go look at the foxes too, from a distance of course.

Guess Ethan knew what he was talking about! Must have thought all we adults were loons. So you see, you best listen carefully to your toddler - you never know what they might find!!!

NSD

In honor of one of my favorite holidays, I present to you the following list - all of which are true for me. How many are true for you????

You KNOW you're a SCRAPBOOKER if:

- You knew that the title of this post meant "National Scrapbook Day".

- You knew that NSD was today, and were prepared for it - or at least for the sales.

- You got to at least one LSS (local scrapbook store of course) or an online version thereof. (edited: sadly i did not make it to LSS today, but will try again tomorrow)

- You know what the following tools look like:
*sissix
*xyron
*cricut
*Crop-A-Dial
*crimper

- You can name more types of adhesives then you can name state capitols. (ouch! sad but true for me - but then geography is NOT my strong point)

- You know what a PeaGarden is.

- You can recognize the work of at least some of the following "famous" scrappers just by glancing at the layout: Becky Higgins, Ali Edwards, Stacy Julian, Donna Downey.

- You know what type of products that "Autumn Leaves" makes.

Okay, I could go on and on and on and on... Hope you enjoy some of the links, and that you have a happy NSD!!!

Hope to post some of my new layouts soon (just in case you are getting ever so sick of the calender layouts on my slide in the sidebar). Take care!! ;)

WHAT! Twice in One Day Even!!

Can you believe it!

I'm posting AGAIN!

I just had to comment on the lovely weather FINALLY! Here are some good weather pictures for your viewing enjoyment.

Oh, and yes Max waded all the way up to his tush in that freezing cold lake. Brrrrr.

It was very Max like of him, don't ya think?

Sheeeeeee's Baaaaaacccckkkk

Hi there!
Have you all missed me?
I know those of you sending "reminder" emails and "reminder" phone calls have! Seriously thank you to all my lovely friends who were concerned about me after my last post and without a recent update (*hugs* Kristy!).

So, Ya want the news? The big news mentioned a month or so ago?

Well, we're moving to Michigan. Yep. We're off on a family adventure to conquer the Great Lakes state. Well, almost definitely we are going, kind of. I have decided not to bore all of you with constant moving woes (well, we'll see how that goes).

I have tons of pictures to share, and lots to catch ya'll up on... so stay tuned.
Meanwhile, here is the article that inspired me to return to the blogosphere, I felt it had to be repeated (again, and again, and again).

Stay-at-home mother's work worth $138,095 a year
Wed May 2, 3:00 PM ET
If the typical stay-at-home mother in the United States were paid for her work as a housekeeper, cook and psychologist among other roles, she would earn $138,095 a year, according to research released on Wednesday.
This reflected a 3 percent raise from last year's $134,121, according to Salary.com Inc, Waltham, Massachusetts-based compensation experts.
The 10 jobs listed as comprising a mother's work were housekeeper, cook, day care center teacher, laundry machine operator, van driver, facilities manager, janitor, computer operator, chief executive officer and psychologist, it said.
The typical mother puts in a 92-hour work week, it said, working 40 hours at base pay and 52 hours overtime.
A mother who holds full-time job outside the home would earn an additional $85,939 for the work she does at home, Salary.com.
Last year she would have earned $85,876 for her at-home work, it said.
Salary.com compiled the online responses of 26,000 stay-at-home mothers and 14,000 mothers who also work outside the home.
(Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst)