B is for Balboa Beach

We study a letter a week for school. We started this when 8 was in kindergarten and it's been such a fun thing for our family that we keep on going. We do take breaks for holidays or other things, and I only go through the alphabet once for the school year. Two years ago we read through My ABC Bible Verses. Last year we did alphabet Muffin Tin lunches. And this year I'm teaching the kids about a hymn a week to go with our letter. I've got some great books/CD's that talk about the story behind the hymn. The books don't go in alphabet order so I've chosen our arrangement of songs. This week we'll be learning about "Blessed Assurance." And some other fun B's in our week... BBQ Burgers and Baked Beans, Blueberry Bars, Breaded Chicken with Brussel Sprouts and Baked Potatoes, Bean Burritos, and...Balboa Beach! Sunday night we enjoyed a Bonfire with some CSUF Exchange Students. That was a great way to close out the weekend.

8 & 7

7 & 5 (Is it any wonder I've been asked if they're twins?)

My toes in MY beach! This is the beach I lived at the summer of 1995.

And the fog didn't roll in so we were able to enjoy a sunset! Amazing!

Knitterly Stash Enhancement

I visited Knitterly when I was in Petaluma. It seems like so long ago. Traveling home and unpacking and starting school have been some L.O.N.G. days. I had saved some Christmas money to spend on yarn. I just couldn't spend it on bills. My mom fell in love with Ella Rae Book 20 (I did too) and so she bought it for me. The 2 sweaters I want to knit are on the cover.

I found some great buys on the sale rack. I'm hoping I can make them work. The Cashcotton is for Lulu.

The Princess yarn is for the Saffron Pattern.

I decided to CO for the Saffron since it's short sleeves and right now 5 has a new dress that would look cute with this cardi. I figure I have to do better than on my Knitterly Hoodie. This can't take me a year. I had lots of problems with the swatch. This is my 2nd one. I couldn't decide if the lace pattern was supposed to line up or be staggered...and I kept having problems with the stitch count. With these problems I figured it was no wonder I couldn't get gauge. I asked for help on FB and then I decided to look at the Ella Rae site. Of course, there were corrections on this pattern. Someone from Ella Rae emailed me back so quick and I'm frogging my swatch and trying again. I do love how it matched my little table cloth so well. Nice summery colors.

And since these photos aren't up on the Ella Rae site or on Ravlery I'm showing you a few of my other favorites. How can you not LOVE this book?!? I mean these are so stinking cute. I LOVE the contrast ruffle on the sleeve here.

I LOVE the ruffle at the neck here and I just might need to find a toddler I can knit for.

I LOVE the simplicity of this one and I know it would be so squishy soft in garter stitch.

So...what are your new knitting LOVES?

Last Call

I had to get my little model to put on some hats for me. These hats are going with M to a mountain region where it will be very cold this winter. However, it was 113 yesterday in the city he'll visit next month. What a shock of temperature! I know these will be appreciated so much. He leaves at the beginning of September so it's not too late to send in a hat. I've also got some washcloths (still have to buy the soaps) and then I'll take photos of those. THANK YOU to those who have knit for others.

Here's a peak at part of the prize. I picked up this hand stamped project bag in Petaluma.

Versatile Blogger

This award comes from Dawn of WolfeFarms. Dawn, I'm trying to steal your button for my sidebar and the code isn't working for me. Maybe I need an extra cup of coffee.

Here are the responsibilities that come along with the award:

Thank the person who gave you the award. Thanks Dawn!
List 7 things about yourself.
Pass on the award to bloggers you've recently discovered.

I award this to: Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice. She's a local girl. She makes jewelry and she's got a giveaway going on right now. I love her list of kidtrips!

The BonBon Rose Girls. Chan pointed me to them. My wardrobe is in need of an update and I love the hints, tips and tricks they're sharing. And one is named Kristin (although she spells it wrong.) What's this, when I went to get their link I see they've got a jewelry give away going on too.

Carissa Graham. We're related...even if it is a bit far fetched. I knit with her Grandmother Marilyn at a Mini West Coast Swedberg Reunion (see the knitting in my new hoodie pic.) We've both got some Swedberg blood from Minnesota. Her grandma sent me a link to her blog. She has 2 babies. I remember those days. My boys are 8 & 7 and my little girl is 5 right now, but I sure did get those looks when they were 3, almost 2, and I was very pregnant.

Now about those 7 things.

1. I'm not worth talking to in the morning before my 2nd cup of coffee.
2. I have a collection of Madame Alexander dolls.
3. I love buttons.
4. I love fog.
5. My eyelashes are so light I look funny without mascara.
6. I can't live without lipgloss. My favorite color right now is called Fancy Nancy. 5 likes to wear it too.
7. I live 7 miles from the house I grew up in, but I left a piece of my heart in Northern Ca where my Grandparents lived and where I was born. I keep thinking about moving but I don't really know what it would be like to re-locate.

First Day of School

8 is starting 3rd grade. He'll be 9 in November. He's grown up so much this year. Yesterday he rolled his eyes when M walked into the Disney store at the mall. It won't be long and I'll have a tween on my hands.

7 is starting 2nd grade. He'll be 7 1/2 at the beginning of September. He's totally a middle child. And right now he's torn between growing up with his brother and staying little with his sister. Maybe this is the best part of being the middle, he gets the best of both worlds.

My princess is 5 and starting Kindergarten today. She's already lost 4 teeth. She's out to breakfast right now with her M. That's our Kindergarten tradition.

Knitterly Hoodie

I made my self imposed deadline. I actually had a day to spare. When we visited family last year in Petaluma I made a side trip to Knitterly. I bought the yarn for this hoodie. I worked on it until Christmas knitting took priority. Then this was laid aside while I knit some birthday afghans. I picked it up after it was decided that we would indeed be returning to Northern California this August. I had to finish this sweater before the 1 year anniversary. I had to wear this sweater in Petaluma. The 3 pieces were knit and I just had to seam, knit the hood, and knit the button band. I should mention here that the hood is 3 balls of yarn and the button band is 2. I finished! I wore the sweater to Knitterly! I forgot to take pictures! The only Petaluma photo I have is this one M took of me working on a Dare Hat and a relative looking through the Ella Rae book my mom bought me.

I did take some more photos the day before we drove home. I'm not super thrilled with the photos, but I do LOVE this cardi. It's warm. It would look better over a long sleeved T-shirt, but I didn't have any of those packed.

Heathered Hoodie. Knitscene Fall 2009.

GGH Aspen in Green. 16 balls

If you're squeamish, don't click through here.

Oh. My. Word. It's midnight and I'm having trouble sleeping. I struggle with panic and anxiety. I'm praying for emotional healing there. But, in the mean time, there are certain things that hit my panic buttons. Throw up is one of them. (This was a problem for me in the past, but it got so much worse in 1998 when I was terribly ill in China.) Just the thought that one of my kids might be sick can send me over the edge. Well, today was horrible...and great all at the same time.

7 sat on the living room floor after dinner and complained about a headache. I told him not to shake his head, because his brain didn't need to be bouncing around in there. He cuddled up on the couch next to me while I checked my emails. I kissed the top of his head and he didn't even wipe it away. He went down the hall to play in his room and about 1 minute later, he was standing at the end of the hall (right where I could see him from my vantage point on the couch). He said, "Mom, I know why my head hurt, I just threw up." And as he spoke those words, vomit sprayed from his mouth. I told him to run to the bathroom quick. He did...but threw up many more times on the way. It took me & M forever to clean it all up. He covered his bed, and we had just changed the sheets. There were 2 spots on the bedroom floor. One spot at the end of the hall. And a giant pile by the door to the bathroom (where the vacuum happened to be sitting and the unwound cord was right in the pile). Then the entire bathroom floor was covered. He eventually did throw up in the toilet, but not for another 30 minutes or so.

Now for the good part. I didn't completely freak out. I won't say I enjoyed myself. But, in the past I've come so unglued that I had to walk out into the back yard for fresh air. I would ring my hands and rock back and forth. I would be having an all out panic attack. Today I didn't! I'll claim that as a victory even thought it's after midnight and I'm still not able to go to sleep. I fixed a glass of 7up with a straw for 7. I got M a bucket and paper towels and a spatula for the carpet. (If you've never thought of this before, a spatula picks up big pieces quick. I also have used a spatula when the kids spill yogurt on the kitchen floor. It squeegees the floor and then I can grab a rag and cleaner.) I loaded the washer with the bedding. M scooped up the majority of the mess on the carpet. Then I used the floor cleaner to pre-treat those spots while M moved on to clean the bathroom mess. After about 1 1/2 hours of cleaning, we put 7 in the bath to clean off himself. He was feeling 100% better when he got out of the tub so I'm wondering if he was allergic to the rice in our soup. He's never really liked rice. M continued with the carpet cleaner and I took a bag of trash over to the school dumpster (I didn't want that smell hanging around). Then I used bathroom cleaner on the bucket. I used a bleach solution on the cord to the vacuum. I changed the load in the washer. I put a blanket on 7's bed for him to lay on top of and then a towel over his pillow. I took 5 to brush her teeth and get in her jammies in my bathroom. (8 was with my mom so he missed this event.) Once the kids were settled I went in to clean the toilet and the bathroom floor. When I finished with that M was praying with the kids and telling them good night. Then I moved on to use comet to clean the kitchen sink. I ran the dishwasher with everything from dinner and the strainer I'd used to bleach some toys and the spatula from the carpet. I started another load of laundry and then I mopped the kitchen floor (I was convinced that our feet that were walking on the yucky carpet had tracked germs into the kitchen.) It was after 11 when I finished with the floor. 7 had thrown up around 6:15. I'm too anxious to go to bed, but I'm trying to focus on the victory I had in being able to be the Mom. I am SO THANKFUL that this didn't happen yesterday when we were driving home from Napa. This would have been disastrous in my car. I'm praying that this was some fluke and not a bug that we'll all pass around now.

If anyone has actually read this...you deserve an award. I so wouldn't have read this. It would have made me panic. ;0) I think it's TMI, but I had to post this for myself. If you do happen to read this...pray for our health around here. This was a bad bug and it really hit out of no where. I'm praying that it doesn't hit the rest of us. And, I'm wondering if I need to have 7 allergy tested. Ok...it's almost 1am. I'm going to knit since I'm up...and I think I just heard the dryer buzz.

Does He Think He Rules the House?

This is my napkin basket on the table. It's not like he even fits well. But, this is where I found Rex the other day when I walked back in the house from the yard. I wonder what he does when we're not home?