Stop eating that broccoli!
I was tired of canned green beans. So I went to the grocery store, bought some fresh broccoli, and steamed it with a little salt and pepper to go with our supper. Luke loved it. He ate floret after floret, amassing a growing pile of stalks on his little John Deere tractor plate.
After his fourth or fifth helping, Josh and I grew concerned that our child would suffer greatly from vegetable-induced gas. And then came the moment that Josh’s face became a mask of perplexed disbelief, even as the words exited his mouth:
“Luke, you’ve got to stop eating that broccoli. Here, I’ll give you a donut.”
Starting a Tapestry
I designed this tapestry years ago. Since then the loom has made a trip to the attic and back, I’ve taken up knitting and spinning, and we’ve had our second child who is now nearly 3. So I finally have all the pieces together; loom warped, yarn dyed, cartoon printed. It is so gratifying to see even this tiny progress! I plan to keep updating the progress (be it ever so slow) on this so I can have a record of it.
So much for resolutions…
So February is almost over and I haven’t lived up to my own expectations for the New Year. But what’s new? I tend to overshoot. And I am making progress. Josh and I have managed to keep up with daily Bible reading, and really- that’s the most important goal I could have made!
I’m going to try and do better about blogging, and since I just downloaded Windows Live Writer, I think that might be easier to keep up with.
I have been learning and making stuff as far as fiber art goes. My latest hand-dyed and handspun wool turned out really nicely; it makes me happy 
So I guess that leaves me with FlyLady stuff- hmm, I think that’s taken a back seat lately. It’s like I try to start up and then hit a roadblock. Maybe someday I’ll get better at routines.
Fun for the Whole Family
I love Christmas more than ever now that I have kids. My boys are so much fun. This year we got them something called a Giga Ball from Target.
- Noah in the Giga Ball
This thing is HUGE! It’s something like 4 feet in diameter and holds up to 150 pounds. See Noah in the hole? You climb in the ball! I guess I’m a kid at heart, because I couldn’t resist getting inside it myself.
An Early Start
I am so ready for the New Year! Over the past couple of days I’ve been getting organized so I can get on with my resolutions for 2009. I’m excited about having my studio all set up to make all sorts of fantastic fiber arts. By the way, the doll is Elizabeth; I’ve had her since I was little. She has trouble weaving because her fingers do not separate.
My studio ready for art-making
Today I cleaned up my horrific desk, so I’m not overwhelmed with clutter every time I sit down to work. Now for the actual resolutions…
1. Daily Bible readings with Josh. Have bought daily Bible to make it simple. Plan to have hot tea and Bible study in the evenings.
2. FlyLady baby steps.
3. Start fiber art business; begin building inventory for Etsy shop.
4. Blog daily.
So that’s it! I’m very optimistic for the New Year. I know there will be ups and downs, but I’m hoping to focus on the ups and learn from the downs.
Art Classes
I’ve started teaching art classes to homeschooled kids from my home! It’s so much fun. I have three kids in my class for now, and I’m hoping more will join us as we go along. We do all sorts of projects from drawing and painting to pastels to polymer clay. Kids just have so much artistic talent to tap into!
Polymer clay necklaces of our solar system
Self portraits in acrylic paint
Going Nuts
So I’m losing my mind this week. My sweet, wonderful, house-cleaning, cooking husband is working far far away for the week. It’s the best I can do to keep my kids fed and clothed. I’ve attempted to keep dishes, laundry, cleaning up, etc. going but it’s next to impossible with taking care of the boys by myself. Anyway, I thought I’d share the absolute worst room in the house- the toy room (cue creepy music).
It's not always this bad...
When did this happen?
I have time on my hands. I’m able to do things I enjoy, like knitting, reading, you name it! I thought after my babies were born I would never have time to myself again. And here I am, with a 4 and a 2 year old, and the light at the end of the tunnel is very close.
I think, knock on wood, that my boys are beginning to really play together, entertain each other. Of course, half the time they’re fighting over a toy or generally trying to kill each other, but at times I think they really love one another! They even sleep peacefully in the same bed.
Sleepyheads
Sleep! Glorious sleep! I could not remember for the longest time what it was like to get a full, uninterrupted night’s sleep. Now that Luke and Noah mostly sleep through the night, I have a brain again. I have thoughts. I don’t feel like the world is spinning out of control because I’m exhausted.
So young moms out there- it will happen. You’ll be a real person again sooner than you think.
Threadless
Threadless makes awesome t-shirts, and they all come from user submissions! It’s one never-ending t-shirt design contest. I loves it. Anyway, this is the entry I’ve put in the running for their “Threadless Loves Lomography” contest. I made drawings in Illustrator based on pictures from the lomography website. Vote for it! Give it a 5! You know you want to!
Just a Social Knitter
I started knitting durning the last trimester of my pregnancy with Noah. He’s about to turn two, and I’ve just started having the spare time to finish the project I started. I love my fuzzy green yarn. It covers up mistakes. It makes my knitting go fast because it makes big gaps look cool. Did I mention I have a yarn addiction? It’s a sickness. There’s no telling how many pounds of yarn I have in my stash. But then weaving does require a lot of yarn and I do that, too. But I digress.
I picked knitting back up thanks to YouTube- it’s where I go to learn and relearn my knitting techniques. Well, technique. I’m keeping it pretty simple for now with the one stitch I know how to do. But you’ve gotta start somewhere!
There’s a great little group that meets every Tuesday here in Montgomery to knit and have coffee and chat. I started going last night and it’s very refreshing to have adult conversation! I found the group through meetup.com- you can find all sorts of cool groups on there. So now I’m hooked- even if I didn’t enjoy knitting so much, I’d still do it for the great company and the excuse to spend too much money on a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
