Sunday, October 14, 2007
Giveaway Winners
The winners have been drawn for the Pink Plaid Party Goody Bag Giveaway. Three winners were drawn randomly and it just so happens that I have their addresses already so I thought it would be fun to surprise the winners by having the bags just show up in their mailbox! If I don't have your address, I'm sorry. You didn't win. If I do have your address, you might get something in the mail from me this week. You might not. Wicked? Probably. Fun? Sure!
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Smart Habit Saturday
Last week my habit was to finish things before I started anything new. In my Talk About Tuesday post I showed what has been involved in designing a hand knit top. Well, I finished it! Here are the pictures as proof.
We still have a fashion show to get through next week. We're going to pair it with that same black shirt underneath and some black pants. I haven't finished all that I had hoped this week but I did stick with my not starting anything new. That was rough. But, I'm certainly seeing progress on the things I need to finish soon.
This week I am going to continue working on this habit. Here are some more things I need to finish:
1. Test knitting. I'm so close to finishing the 1st out of 3 items.
2. Getting the kids' clothes organized for the colder weather and evaluating what exactly I need to buy to round out their wardrobe.
3. Sam's birthday present (a Hufflepuff scarf).
4. Stamp Camp projects.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Finito, Etc...
Finito
The sweater is finished. I finished it yesterday and turned it into the shop this morning. Feels good.
Etc..
1. Are you playing Monopoly at McDonald's? Can I have the codes off of your game pieces so I can play the online game? If I win anything I promise I'll share. Email me! Speaking of winning, I'll draw winners for my goody bag giveaway Monday morning and post them then. You still have time to leave a comment. You're not willing to pass up free batteries, salad, and kleenex are you?
2. I went to Lowe's this morning to look at bathtubs. Why are they all hanging off the wall? I don't want to buy a bathtub without sitting in it first. Is it just me?
3. Tomorrow we are going to the Omaha Zoo. It is also the Road Show. Carl is going to be Thomas Edison singing, "I Light Up Your Life". I'll give a full report over the weekend.
4. My kids always sleep exactly 12 hours. I tried to trick them last night by having them go to bed at 6:45pm instead of 7:00pm. Silly me. Eva came upstairs this morning with the remote in her hand telling me to "Push! Button!". Caleb is always friendly and very talkative first thing in the morning. He said, "Good morning, MOM!" and then talked about how he was going to be good today.
5. Have you guys seen the show on VH1 called America's Most Smartest Model? I think it just started. In my quest to finish my knitting I've been finding all sorts of interesting shows. This one deserved a mention. Ben Stein is on it.
The sweater is finished. I finished it yesterday and turned it into the shop this morning. Feels good.
Etc..
1. Are you playing Monopoly at McDonald's? Can I have the codes off of your game pieces so I can play the online game? If I win anything I promise I'll share. Email me! Speaking of winning, I'll draw winners for my goody bag giveaway Monday morning and post them then. You still have time to leave a comment. You're not willing to pass up free batteries, salad, and kleenex are you?
2. I went to Lowe's this morning to look at bathtubs. Why are they all hanging off the wall? I don't want to buy a bathtub without sitting in it first. Is it just me?
3. Tomorrow we are going to the Omaha Zoo. It is also the Road Show. Carl is going to be Thomas Edison singing, "I Light Up Your Life". I'll give a full report over the weekend.
4. My kids always sleep exactly 12 hours. I tried to trick them last night by having them go to bed at 6:45pm instead of 7:00pm. Silly me. Eva came upstairs this morning with the remote in her hand telling me to "Push! Button!". Caleb is always friendly and very talkative first thing in the morning. He said, "Good morning, MOM!" and then talked about how he was going to be good today.
5. Have you guys seen the show on VH1 called America's Most Smartest Model? I think it just started. In my quest to finish my knitting I've been finding all sorts of interesting shows. This one deserved a mention. Ben Stein is on it.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Paranoid
Caleb's special ed teacher does a home visit once a week. It is great. She gets to see him in action and I get to learn all the special tricks she uses at school to keep him from beating up everyone. Today she asked me if I ever thought about getting Eva evaluated. Actually, I hadn't. I know she doesn't have autism so I didn't think about the possibility of her needing services for something else. We talked a little bit about it and Caleb's teacher just seemed a little concerned because Eva won't talk to her much and when she does it is hard to understand her.
I called to set up an evaluation. It can't hurt anything to see and if she does qualify for services...great! I can use all the help I can get. At any rate I'll get back in touch with the services coordinator that I really like.
All afternoon I've been listening carefully to everything Eva says and how she says it. Yep, now I'm paranoid.
I called to set up an evaluation. It can't hurt anything to see and if she does qualify for services...great! I can use all the help I can get. At any rate I'll get back in touch with the services coordinator that I really like.
All afternoon I've been listening carefully to everything Eva says and how she says it. Yep, now I'm paranoid.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
It is a REALLY good thing I bought my plane ticket to Boston yesterday because what happened this morning would have made this trip all but impossible.
It's all about the shower.
When we moved in we knew we wanted to re-do our upstairs bathroom. It is a double shower where only one of the shower heads works at a time and the base was cracked. We have tried caulking it repeatedly but it is finally beyond repair. The sub floor is rotten and water is starting to come through Caleb's ceiling. Oops. Time for some renovation.
Carl is on board for getting a whirpool tub. We just have to make sure that we can get it in the space we have. You see, there is a reason there is a double shower in there right now. It is a little smaller than an average tub. HOWEVER...we have some wiggle room with our laundry area (also in the bathroom--it is a pretty big space) so I'm hopeful we can work it out. If we can't get an awesome whirpool tub in there then I'm all about doing another double shower and making it a sweet spa shower. Either way it is going to be cool. I just don't know how long it is going to take or how much it is going to cost. Yikes!
The good news? Looks like I'll be getting to the Y on a more regular basis if I want a shower.* No more excuses.
*Technically I could go downstairs to use the kids' bathroom. They have a shower and a tub. But, that bathroom always smells like poop--thanks to my incredible pooping machines that REFUSE to ever do it in the toilet.
It's all about the shower.
When we moved in we knew we wanted to re-do our upstairs bathroom. It is a double shower where only one of the shower heads works at a time and the base was cracked. We have tried caulking it repeatedly but it is finally beyond repair. The sub floor is rotten and water is starting to come through Caleb's ceiling. Oops. Time for some renovation.
Carl is on board for getting a whirpool tub. We just have to make sure that we can get it in the space we have. You see, there is a reason there is a double shower in there right now. It is a little smaller than an average tub. HOWEVER...we have some wiggle room with our laundry area (also in the bathroom--it is a pretty big space) so I'm hopeful we can work it out. If we can't get an awesome whirpool tub in there then I'm all about doing another double shower and making it a sweet spa shower. Either way it is going to be cool. I just don't know how long it is going to take or how much it is going to cost. Yikes!
The good news? Looks like I'll be getting to the Y on a more regular basis if I want a shower.* No more excuses.
*Technically I could go downstairs to use the kids' bathroom. They have a shower and a tub. But, that bathroom always smells like poop--thanks to my incredible pooping machines that REFUSE to ever do it in the toilet.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Coming Soon!
Courtesy of Christmas 2007 and a husband that thinks I deserve a weekend break, I will be traveling to Boston in November for 3 days. I just bought the ticket today!
Giveaway and Cookbook
I'm going to give you a little more time to sign up for the goody bag giveaway if more people are interested. Just comment on the linked post. I know a lot of you wanted the cookbook information so I thought I'd just post it here.
Exclusive Pink Plaid Offer
For just $19.95, you'll receive:
Offer ends 12/31/07. Allow 4-6 weeks for shipping.
Exclusive Pink Plaid Offer
For just $19.95, you'll receive:
- The Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, Celebrating the Promise ($29.95 value) and
- 1 year of Better Homes and Gardens magazine ($7 value)
Offer ends 12/31/07. Allow 4-6 weeks for shipping.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Talk About Tuesday
This is the VERY FIRST installment of Talk Abut Tuesday so it would be a good time to jump on the bandwagon! I know I've been including a lot of these on my blog lately. Frankly, it is sometimes hard for me to think of exactly I want to blog about each day. These kind of give me a focus and take the pressure off some of the days. Can you all believe that I've posted AT LEAST one time each day this whole year?
This week I'm being consumed with a top I am designing for the Project Lincoln contest held by my local yarn shop, The Yarn Shop. I have done some designing of my own patterns before but nothing of this magnitude. The final reveal will be at a fashion show this Saturday at the shop.
I called on Wendy to be my model. As much as I would like one of these tops myself, I just couldn't bear to make one for my ample bosom. We started by finding a few designs in magazines that we liked.
We settled on the Josephine top in one of the past Interweave Knits (shown above). It ended up being a coincidence that I chose the same color of yarn. My only other choices at the shop were really bright red, purple, or green. I think you'll all agree that my top will look best in this muted color. Anyway, we kept the basic shape of the garment and the corded empire waist and then we made the rest our own.
I chose a simple lace fan design for the body. Here it is before steaming. The cotton flake yarn is a nubby yarn so it has some really thin/thick places. It makes plain stockinette stitch look interesting. I think it works really well with this top.
And now for the blocking. When this top came off the needles it looked like it might fit Eva (my 2 1/2 yr. old). With the help of my handy board from Hancock Fabrics, I was able to pin it out to a reasonable size and steam it into submission.
Here is a close up of the lace pattern after it has been opened up through the blocking. It makes a really cute scalloped edge at the blottom that I really like.
We had a fitting yesterday morning and then I seamed it up and started on the sleeves. I'm doing a basic stockinette sleeve and I'm envisioning some sort of rolled edge to match what I'm going to do when I finish the neckline. It is all going to depend on how it looks. It might take a couple of tries. I better get on that since I need to be done by Saturday!
Using the now infamous words of Project Runway guru Tim Gunn, I'm going to "MAKE IT WORK!".
Monday, October 08, 2007
Pink Plaid Party
I have yet to post about the Pink Plaid Party I hosted over the weekend. We had a wonderful time courtesy of houseparty.com and Better Homes and Gardens. I made some pretty delicious treats (if I do say so myself!) from the new Pink BH&G cookbook. I can't say enough good things about this cookbook. I have the old red one so I was thinking that I didn't really need this one. I WAS WRONG! It still includes a lot of the classics we all love but it has some excellent new recipes and the informational content is much better. I think it is well over 600 pages.
This party wasn't the kind of party where something is sold. It is just a new kind of marketing tool where they sponsor 1000 parties around the nation and we get to see the product and get an opportunity to spread the word to our friends.
I have a few goody bags leftover from the party that include lots of coupons and freebies from the sponsors. Do you want one? I have three to give away. Leave a comment on this blog post and if more than three people are interested, I'll draw for the winners and send them to you.
Music Mondays
Because I haven't uploaded the pictures I want for my post today, I thought I'd do this in the meantime. I'll get the other post up sometime after Carl gets home.
Thanks, Melessa.
Get your iPod and hit shuffle. List the first ten songs (no matter how embarrassing). Link back to Melessa's blog. Easy peasy.
1. Angel- Aerosmith
2. Rapper's Delight (medley)- The Sugar Hill Gang and Ellen Dow (from The Wedding Singer)
3. Our Boat is Rocking on the Sea- The Wiggles
4. Wimoweh (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)- Laurie Berkner
5. One Last Kiss- Jesse Pearson (from Bye Bye Birdie)
6. On The Table- A.C. Newman
7. Hungry Like the Wolf- Duran Duran
8. Boogie Shoes- K.C. and the Sunshine Band
9. Ring Ring- MIKA
10. Figure It Out- Maroon 5
I just used my main music folder to do this one. I guess that would explain why some of Caleb's music popped up. Although The Wiggles and Laurie Berkner are some of my favorites for kids, I don't usually listen to them unless I have to.
Thanks, Melessa.
Get your iPod and hit shuffle. List the first ten songs (no matter how embarrassing). Link back to Melessa's blog. Easy peasy.
1. Angel- Aerosmith
2. Rapper's Delight (medley)- The Sugar Hill Gang and Ellen Dow (from The Wedding Singer)
3. Our Boat is Rocking on the Sea- The Wiggles
4. Wimoweh (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)- Laurie Berkner
5. One Last Kiss- Jesse Pearson (from Bye Bye Birdie)
6. On The Table- A.C. Newman
7. Hungry Like the Wolf- Duran Duran
8. Boogie Shoes- K.C. and the Sunshine Band
9. Ring Ring- MIKA
10. Figure It Out- Maroon 5
I just used my main music folder to do this one. I guess that would explain why some of Caleb's music popped up. Although The Wiggles and Laurie Berkner are some of my favorites for kids, I don't usually listen to them unless I have to.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Craft My Ride
I'm kind of a contest junkie. I like to win things. If it is a competition, I love to win even more!
Enter: Craft My Ride.
I'm going to have to pass on this one. I'm still busy with my Project Lincoln sweater that needs to be done in LESS THAN ONE WEEK!!!!!
Enter: Craft My Ride.
I'm going to have to pass on this one. I'm still busy with my Project Lincoln sweater that needs to be done in LESS THAN ONE WEEK!!!!!
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Our church has conference two times a year. It is always the first weekend of April and October. Before the internet and satellite tv, we would truck on over to the church where it would be transmitted to the huge satellite dish at the meetinghouse. There are 4 general sessions (2 hours each, 2 a day). This was a lot of sitting at church.
Enter BYU-TV. Now anyone with this channel can enjoy conference from the comfort of their own home. Some families still dress up to watch conference at home to keep with the "spirit" of church. Other families play conference bingo with their kids to help them pay attention. Did they say 'Faith'? BINGO!!! At our house, we might get dressed and we'll eat a lot. Our kids can be loud and if we miss something we can REWIND!
Enter BYU-TV. Now anyone with this channel can enjoy conference from the comfort of their own home. Some families still dress up to watch conference at home to keep with the "spirit" of church. Other families play conference bingo with their kids to help them pay attention. Did they say 'Faith'? BINGO!!! At our house, we might get dressed and we'll eat a lot. Our kids can be loud and if we miss something we can REWIND!
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Smart Habit Saturday
It's time for another SMART Habit Saturday! Last week I worked on communicating more with my husband. It helped. We didn't get to go on a date like we had hoped but we had plenty of alone time and lots of things to discuss.
This week I'm going to work on finishing some things I've started. I've started going through the kids clothes to get them ready for cooler weather. I'd like to finish that. I really need to finish my Project Lincoln sweater. I only have the short sleeves left. I need to finish my projects for my Stamp Camp I'm having later this month. I need to refrain from STARTING new things until I have these things accomplished. That's my habit for this week. Finish what I've started.
The end.
One blog post finished.
Friday, October 05, 2007
I {heart} swap
Just when I needed it, my swap partner (I didn't get her blog address but I'd love the link!) sent me a delightful package! We {heart} a lot of the same things! The person that gets the package I send will find some similar things! I got a mixed cd, a bracelet (that I am finding very fabulous!), the book The Tale of Despereaux (which is actually on my long list of books to read), some post it notes, circle cards (these look really neat!), and a sheet of grocery checklists--magnetic--that I have actually been wanting to buy every time I've seen them at Target. Now I have some! Thank you so much! Nothing like a fun package to make your day!
I have about 15 minutes left before Caleb gets off the bus. Hoping for a better day today.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Smack Down
I've been trying not to blog about how bad it has been getting with Caleb. I'm trying to be grateful that I only have to keep him on task for half of the day now that school has started. Instead of having a variety of meltdowns dispersed throughout the whole day (like the summer), he compacts them into the few hours we are together. And, they are doozies. The fact that he had to change schools probably isn't helping. He has to get used to a whole new set of friends, teachers, and routines. It can be a little much.
I am seeing a little glimmer of hope. We've been working on helping him get to the toilet right when he gets home. He holds it all day and before it was a huge fight to even get him to go into the bathroom. He would just pee all over and then I would have to fight with him to get him to take his pants off. Now I've got it worked into his schedule and he gets a reward when he goes into the bathroom (usually a fruit snack). It is still a struggle to get him into the bathroom the rest of the day but we've got a good system now for right after school. It only took 6 weeks! Now it is time to work on the next problem areas.
His latest issue is with the car. For the past week he's been taking his seat belt off while I'm driving and then smacking me in the face...or throwing his shoes at my head...or pounding Eva. While. I. Am. DRIVING!!! I pull over as soon as I can and get him back in his seat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Until we make it home. Any punishment is lost on him. We're stumped. His teachers are stumped. The social workers are stumped. I've got an appointment with a behavioral psychologist but she's swamped and we can't get an appointment until November 15th. The silver lining? It's getting bad enough that the social worker is going to make a special call to the psychologist to see if we can get an "emergency appointment".
I'm even willing to consider medication. I wonder what they'll prescribe ME?
I am seeing a little glimmer of hope. We've been working on helping him get to the toilet right when he gets home. He holds it all day and before it was a huge fight to even get him to go into the bathroom. He would just pee all over and then I would have to fight with him to get him to take his pants off. Now I've got it worked into his schedule and he gets a reward when he goes into the bathroom (usually a fruit snack). It is still a struggle to get him into the bathroom the rest of the day but we've got a good system now for right after school. It only took 6 weeks! Now it is time to work on the next problem areas.
His latest issue is with the car. For the past week he's been taking his seat belt off while I'm driving and then smacking me in the face...or throwing his shoes at my head...or pounding Eva. While. I. Am. DRIVING!!! I pull over as soon as I can and get him back in his seat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Until we make it home. Any punishment is lost on him. We're stumped. His teachers are stumped. The social workers are stumped. I've got an appointment with a behavioral psychologist but she's swamped and we can't get an appointment until November 15th. The silver lining? It's getting bad enough that the social worker is going to make a special call to the psychologist to see if we can get an "emergency appointment".
I'm even willing to consider medication. I wonder what they'll prescribe ME?
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Swiper NO Swiping
Eva loves her Dora backpack. As you can see, she wears it even when she has no clothes on. It is filled with her favorite toys (mainly Little People).
Her latest favorite toy is also in the picture. Carl brought me back a souvenir from Hollywood. It is an Oscar for Best Sweetheart. He also brought me back some MAC lipstick (color: Retro). I won't let Eva play with that, though!
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
It's A Boy!
My sister, Lisa, is having a baby. We found out today it is a boy. I'm really looking forward to meeting him and it will be interesting to see how a kid from our Charlton gene pool will look. I bet he's going to be super cute. Just a guess. She's due the first week of February. I've been planning on doing a lot of knitting for this little tyke. Now that I know that pink is out, I can get started!
Big Girls
Last night we took the kids out for a family outing to Chuck E. Cheese. It was nice to have the whole family together again and we had a great time. Caleb is a master at skee ball. He doesn't roll it...he just tosses it right into the holes. Eva just likes to run around like a crazy girl. She kept saying, "Cheese! Where are you?".
We came home and Carl put the kids to bed. Have I mentioned I'm glad to have him back home? Anyway, I decided to go and try on some pants at Lane Bryant. They have a new sizing system and I wanted to check it out. I've been wanting to get another pair of jeans. The sizing is based on your shape. I knew I wasn't a blue. It was between red and yellow. The clerks sized me as a yellow 5 but she said that the measurements are running big so I should try on a yellow 4. The yellow 3 fit me the best. I also tried on some red sizes and they fit me well but I could really tell that my body was more fit for yellow. It was fun to see the differences. They have a sale going on right now that if you buy something regular price, you get something else for $10. Inspired by Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, I tried on a million (okay, maybe 6) white shirts to find my "classic". This is the one I ended up getting. For $10. Pretty sweet. I also found a really cute pink plaid shirt for my party on Saturday ($6.99 on clearance, thank you very much!). I'm too lazy to take a picture of it right now. You'll see some later when I wear it to the party! All in all, I'm glad I decided to go shopping last night because the sale ends today.
In other news...remember how I blogged about DWTS? This week Helio knocked it out of the park! Dude, I love him. He's so darn cute and a really good dancer. Carl and I tried to decide if he's better than Apollo was last year. We think he's just as good or will be even better by the end of the season. And...DONNY WAS THERE! What a great episode.
We came home and Carl put the kids to bed. Have I mentioned I'm glad to have him back home? Anyway, I decided to go and try on some pants at Lane Bryant. They have a new sizing system and I wanted to check it out. I've been wanting to get another pair of jeans. The sizing is based on your shape. I knew I wasn't a blue. It was between red and yellow. The clerks sized me as a yellow 5 but she said that the measurements are running big so I should try on a yellow 4. The yellow 3 fit me the best. I also tried on some red sizes and they fit me well but I could really tell that my body was more fit for yellow. It was fun to see the differences. They have a sale going on right now that if you buy something regular price, you get something else for $10. Inspired by Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, I tried on a million (okay, maybe 6) white shirts to find my "classic". This is the one I ended up getting. For $10. Pretty sweet. I also found a really cute pink plaid shirt for my party on Saturday ($6.99 on clearance, thank you very much!). I'm too lazy to take a picture of it right now. You'll see some later when I wear it to the party! All in all, I'm glad I decided to go shopping last night because the sale ends today.
In other news...remember how I blogged about DWTS? This week Helio knocked it out of the park! Dude, I love him. He's so darn cute and a really good dancer. Carl and I tried to decide if he's better than Apollo was last year. We think he's just as good or will be even better by the end of the season. And...DONNY WAS THERE! What a great episode.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Animal Killer
I was commissioned to make two little sweaters for identical squirrel stuffed animals. Had three squirrels not lost their lives tragically in our swimming pool, I probably would have declined. I've got enough deadline knitting on my hands right now. But, it seemed like it would be good karma to make sure these poor stuffed creatures wouldn't be cold this winter.
I also killed a mouse.
Actually, I think Caleb did. This happened on Saturday. It was a good thing I found it when I did because the cord was really heating up. I turned it off immediately and then sulked that I wouldn't have a computer until Carl came home. Luckily, when he called I told him what was up and he let me know there were a couple of mice downstairs that I could use. I found a really awesome USB one and I just had to plug it into my USB hub on my computer desk. Easy peasy. Next thing I know someone will need me to knit a mouse cozy.
Think Pink
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I was picked to host a special Pink Plaid House Party sponsored by Better Homes & Gardens. My box full of goodies showed up a couple of days ago. Check out what is inside!
- the "pink plaid" cook book, Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, Celebrating the Promise
- "Words of Promise" card, with pin and bracelet, from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
- a new CD from Kelly Sweet
- Rocco's Real Life Recipe cards
- Fleischmann's Yeast recipe cards
- Fresh Express salad coupons
- pink party napkins from BH&G
- Energizer batteries to power your party
- A $75 gift certificate from Serta Mattress
I'm also starting to think about how to put the party favors together. I've got a few things I'm going to add in there. Also, I think I'm going to give the CD and the pin away as door prizes. I sent out some email invites but I wasn't really good about printing out invites to stick in the mail if I don't have your email address.
If you're in the area and want to come...here are the details.
October 6th from 5:30pm-6:30pm at my house. RSVP in the comments or email me! If you've already told me you're coming (or RSVP'd on the houseparty site) you don't need to do it again. I think we're going to have a lot of fun!
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