Finished!

It just barely fits! She's going to be wearing it every day until it is too small.

The pattern is the Tulip Baby Cardigan in Dream in Color Classy. I got the kit at The Knitting Bee. I started it almost a year ago. It took me so long because I was afraid of the knitted on I-cord. Of course, the I-cord was one of the easiest parts of the sweater.

I would definitely make this sweater again. I just need to get the pattern with the larger sizes.

Remember this?

I've been working on this sweater for a long time. Actually I put it aside for awhile and just recently pulled it out to finish. I'm afraid it may be too small for Little Miss. I'll know soon enough. All I have left is the neck band and weaving in some ends.

Alligator knitting

Here's the alligator scarf I've been working on. Actually it is on the back burner while I finish up a different project. I'm hoping to have it finished real soon.

Tea at our house

Little Miss LOVES The Boy's trucks. I set up this scene after first putting dolls and animals in the trucks' places. Then I came to senses and changed it.

Raspberry Cake

The Boy asked Santa to bring him raspberry cake and strawberry ice cream for Christmas. After searching the internets I found smitten kitchen's raspberry buttermilk cake recipe. Fingers crossed he likes it. I bought the strawberry ice cream.

Further proof you can't think of everything. I didn't want to buy a 9 inch round cake pan so I used a square one. Of course, I don't have a big enough plate. While searching the kitchen for something I found a round 9 inch cake pan. Sigh.

more trains

This evening The Boy, Little Miss and I went to the Zoo Lights. I don't know why I thought it was a good idea to go just the three of us but it turned out really well. In fact, it was spectacular! I only managed to get a couple of photos... Of trains, of course.



One real and one not.



We're planning on going back next week with all four of us. Hopefully the weather will pan out and I can get more photos.

Dr. Laura would NOT be proud

Today I was told Dr. Laura would be proud of me because I am a stay-at-home-mom. My first reaction was to think I need to go out and find a job quick!

Dr. Laura would so not be proud of me. Especially if she knew about the food runt I'm in. I can't even get it together enough to feed my family dinner. Tonight The Boy had chicken strips and nectarines. Okay so the chicken strips were breaded with whole wheat and I canned the nectarines myself. That's not the point! While The Boy was eating I went and got fast food for dinner. Okay so it was Burgerville but we got the waffle fries and a shake!

Dr. Laura is NOT proud of me! Thank you very much!

It's up!

It may never have ornaments but with a 2.5 year old and a mobile 8 month old - that's probably for the best.

Didn't make it

I didn't get the scarf finished. I wasn't really even close. I don't feel too bad because only two kids actually had scarves. Now that I have more time I've decided to rip back and make the scarf longer. First, I have to finish Little Miss's sweater. Then I can finish the scarf.

I really love this. If I wasn't in such a panic about Christmas I would try making these.

I have so much to do in the next few days.

You've got to be kidding me!

Christmas is next Friday!?!? How is that possible? It was just Thanksgiving a couple of days ago. I am so not ready. I lost the last three weeks with everyone in the house being sick. I hadn't even started thinking about Christmas until Monday.

On top of everything else I found out this morning The Boy needs a scarf for his Holiday concert Thursday evening. A scarf? I'm a knitter. I can't just go out and buy a scarf. I must knit one. Everything else has been put aside as I try to knit an alligator scarf in two days.

At least we now have a tree. Its lying on the porch drying. Of course, I can't start decorating it until I finish the scarf.

Must knit faster.

As much for them as me

My birthday was last month. I couldn't really justify getting more yarn (which is what I really wanted) so instead I decided to indulge in one of my other loves. Tea sets. I've been wanting the Green Toys tea set FOREVER. I finally broke down and got it.

The set arrived today and everyone had a great time with it. It was actually good timing because one of this week's favorite books is The Tiger Who Came to Tea. We got out our stuffed tiger and the fun began. The Boy enjoyed preparing and serving the tea. Little Miss had fun banging and chewing on the cups and saucers. My mom and I drank A LOT of tea. It was a lovely way to spend the morning.

You know you're a stay at home mom when...

You know you're a stay at home mom when you watch Dinosaur Train with your kid in part because you think Dr. Scott the Paleontologist is kind of hot.

L is for...

We're still doing the letter of the week around here. Unfortunately we haven't done a lot of crafts around it. Usually I just draw the letter for him and he colors it. Instead we usually list words that begin with the letter.

Today we started the week of L. I asked The Boy what L was for. He said, (completely on his own and without any prompting from me) "Love!" That was the first word he came up with. I was actually quite surprised. I had expected him to say ladybug or leaf.

I guess I should have known since last week he was saying "I is for I love you!"

Holiday Express

I never knew how much I liked trains until I had a son. Today was the fourth train oriented event I've been to this year. First there was National Train Day, then we got to ride Thomas, and a couple of weeks ago we went to the Mt. Hood Model Train Club's open house.

This morning we rode the SP&S 700 through Oaks Bottom. We really lucked out. It was a beautiful day. Perfect for riding a train. And even better for taking pictures. You can see the rest of my photos here.

Part of me wants to go again next weekend and see the SP 4449. If the weather is good maybe we'll just go and look at it.

Using up the leftovers

I did some baking yesterday to use up some of my Thanksgiving leftovers. These cranberry orange scones are from a very old Cooking Light recipe. I used leftover cranberries and buttermilk. It was great because I had everything I needed in the house. It turns out The Boy really likes these. I plan on making another batch (I still have more cranberries) but will use whole wheat flour instead.



I have some leftover pumpkin puree that I put in the freezer. I plan to make cookies soon.