Now for a picture?

After the successful publishing of my least post I have decided to attempt a picture. 

This is the table runner I made in like -10 min.  It is crochet,  because crochet is fast. It is an entire cone of cotton, because cotton is cheap.

How about now?

This really is just a test post.  I have continued blogging,  but blogger will not post anything. I believe this is because I add pictures.  However, what is a blog without pictures???  I have a whole slew of unpublished blogs. I have thought about uninstalling the app to try again.  I worry that all my drafts will be forever lost though. Oh blogger, why must you torture me?

I have turned to the dark side.  It is with shame that I admit that I have been crocheting. Knit is still queen, of course. Of course.  That is a given.  But I needed to make some blankets, and crochet just makes sense.  I have discovered that crochet is not soft like knitting.  It can take the softest yarn and turn it lumpy. I have discovered that crochet eats yarn for breakfast,  which is why most crocheters use cheap yarn I bet....  I have been using cheap yarn. Who am I????  I have also discovered...   That I love it. I really love the act of crocheting.  I don't love the yarn usage,  and I don't love the product, but I love the act itself. That counts for something.  It doesn't give me the satisfaction that knitting does,  but the instant gratification is pretty awesome.  I am currently crocheting a broomstick lace blanket for my oldest son. He has been begging for a really soft blanket.  This isn't it.   He is getting it anyway.  What he wants is a hand knit,  fingering weight,  100% baby alpaca.  What his maturity level gets him is a crochet acrylic. Sorry buddy. 
Here is where I would inset picture number one,  if blogger wasn't a jerk face. 

My other new passion? I got a knitting machine. I love it so much. Of course I equally hate it.  There is a large amount of give and take here.   I have knit a few sweaters. She is a finicky beast. She doesn't like acrylic.  Or worsted.  Ok, she only liked fingering weight yarn.  And only really high quality fingering weight.  She also reserves the right to break up with any yarn at any given time.  This usually happens when a project is 3/4 complete. She isn't big on commitment.  She is also fairly lazy, and whines and cries if I ask anything of her beyond stockinette most days.  Still, I love her fiercely and enjoy the sweaters she has allowed me to create.  She needs a name, but nothing has been perfect yet.
Here is where I would insert picture number two.

And here is where I would insert 389 pictures if my adorable, intelligent,  perfect 20 month old.

See how boring life is without pictures??

Let's get real; confessions of a homeschool mom

Being a mom is hard. Really hard.  (I know. I just totally caught your attention by using a title,  and first line that literally every single home school mom has used)
But really, being a mom sucks sometimes.  Being a homeschool mom with children that are always here (always. They never leave!) Is intense. Intensely rewarding, intensely heartbreaking, intensely panic attack inducing...  the list goes on. 

I am not a great mom. I try. I try super hard. I always fall just a little short of the goal.  Still, so far I have kept track of them. I currently know where each and every one of them are. Well, mostly.

But I wanted to share a few pictures of my life. I want to be able to look back and remember that I fought a battle, and I won. (I hope. Please tell me I win.) I want to look back someday when all of these short people are grown, and successful, and think "I created that."  Hopefully I will be saying it in a *sunshine, rainbows and butterflies sigh* sort of way, and not a *how many years in prison??* sort of way.

This morning I was (am) grouchy. My throat hurts, I am tired, and dieting generally sucks. (I am always dieting, so it is just a given here)

I needed a fee minutes to myself, so I made the mistake of stumbling to the bathroom and closing the door. I know better.  I know better than to think that my butt hitting the toilet seat isn't like an alarm going off at midnight directly in my children's ears.  They think "she is stuck. She can't move.  Now is our time. Victory is ours!" And within less than s minute, this was my view. 

Yes, this is 4 children, and one 130 pound dog.  This is real. This is what my glorious life looks like.  

And people say "Well, you chose it." And I did. I just didn't know what I was choosing, or you can bet I would have chosen differently. Just kidding. Sort of. 

For real though, I am so blessed.  I am blessed that my children want to be with me.  I am blessed that they love me regardless of my many, many  (many, many, many) short comings.  They want to be with me, regardless of my grouchy state. They love me with all their little hearts, regardless of how I look, how clean my house is, how much I weigh, or how my cooking tastes. (Ok, that is debatable some nights) 

And I am so thankful to have the opportunity to chose insanity, and still be sane. 

One whole year

How is it possible that I whole year has gone by?  It feels like yesterday, and a lifetime ago.  I can't imagine living without this baby. 

He wanted nothing to do with the cake (gluten free, dairy free chocolate peanut butter with marshmallow frosting, made especially for him by a very dear friend) unless his daddy was holding him.  

It was his party, and he would cry if he wanted to. I wish i felt this way about cake. 

Apparently he is civilized and has wonderful manners.  He would only eat it if daddy was holding him and feeding him with a spoon. 

And finally, after much coaxing..  like, a lot of coaxing.  For real. He decided he could be a typical 1 year old. 

Finished!!

I finally finished the Jen.  Blocked and everything. I have decided that it is indeed love. I was so very up in the air. It is a fine line between love and hate. 
But this? This I love.  I love the sleeve length. I love the modified neck. I love Llama Lace. I love to love the Jen.

So much in fact, that I am to the sleeves on another Jen already. 

This is a knit that I finished months ago, and FINALLY decided to block it. It turned out perfectly perfect.  I knit it for my close friend, and he has been wearing it every time I have seen him since.  That makes him knit worthy. There are few people that I consider knit worthy. 

However, this baby is knit worthy. She is the baby of a knitter. See? That pretty Uchiha makes you automatically knit worthy.  This is knitpicks Chroma fingering. 

The start if the new Jen, which is now nearly done. 

Walking, walking, running

The baby started walking several weeks ago, but he would sit down every time I tried to get a picture. Just over the last week he has decided that crawling is for the birds, and has started walking full time.  He is just so. Darn. Cute!  I can hardly stand it.

He is so proud of himself. And so, so busy. Heaven help us. 

(Please forgive my messy house in ever single picture. I swear it is not always messy. Ok, that is mostly a lie. I have 6 kids people. SIX home schooled kids.  That means they are always here. Always. Except the married one. I wish she was here more.)

Walking at one week shy of ten months, and full on foot bound at 11 months. 

He also has so crazy hair that I had to show off. 

This is bed head at its finest. He is nursing in this picture, while staring into my eyes. I love this little turkey. 

It is hard to believe he will be a year old the end of this week. But for now? For now he is still 21 months old. 

Blocking all the knits

I finally finished my modified Jen. I am still undecided if it is a love or hate thing.  I do love the modified neck. I love the sleeve length.  I don't love the solid Boeing color.  I don't love the sleeve width.  I don't love the unrevealed stitch gauge.  I don't love that I haven't lost the baby weight and am approximately the size of a small whale.  

So the baby and I threw it in a tub, where the water quickly drained, so we started again.  

And I blocked that puppy.  Because blocking fixes everything.  I am sure I can simply block out this extra 60 pounds. No problem.

And I also blocked the boyfriend, and a cute little dress that I knit.  

Here is proof.  

Proof that if the yarn room isn't well guarded it will be taken over by a laptop armed gamer. I just blocked around him, since he was on my blocking couch. I made sure he and the boyfriend sweater were extra comfy. and then??

I cast on another Jen. It feels like maybe life isn't as fun without a Jen on the needles.  

All about the knitting, almost

I love knitting. I truly love it, like a fat kid loves cake. (Let's face it, what I mean is "like i love cake.)  Some days I can hardly control the love. 

And some days I can hardly love the love. 

This is Rowe in Frog Tree. Frog Tree is no more, and that is a very sad thing since their yarn is delicious.  Oh, and the company was all sorts of awesome. 

Rowe began with a beautiful tubular cast on.  We are just getting acquainted, but I can see a long, happy relationship. 

This is going to grow up to be Ink. The sad thing, the bitterly horrible thing, is that one of my needles seems to have run off somewhere.  I had neglected it in the knitting bag for...  well a long while. But I did carry her everywhere. Unfortunately, that means the lost needle could be anywhere. 

But this yarn..  this yarn!!

And a Jen, of course.  This is my addiction. I knit it over, and over, and over again.  She is perfection each and every time. The pattern is probably my favorite ever. 

Until this time.  It has taken me forever to knit this particular Jen, and...  I kind of hate her.  I feel no love. I keep knitting with high hopes that will change. 

The yarn is Llama Lace, which I do love. So much. 

And this sexy beast (the sweater, not Ben, though Ben is positively adorable) is The boyfriend sweater (Again, the sweater, not Ben). It is finished, and had been for awhile..  except blocking.  I have yet to block this puppy. 

And since this is a out my fine creations over the last year (which will continue to be posted about, playing catch up) this is my finest creation. He is so perfect.

And I love this picture so much. I am thinking of blowing it up to a very large size and hanging it on my wall. 

More firsts, and holidays

Starting in October. Apparently pumpkins are easily confused with breasts. He spent a long trying to latch onto this. 

Carving pumpkins is delicious.

Our little Halloween Tiger. 

He was Pooh for while, 

But decided to go with sexy and did the Jack Frost thing instead.  He is so stinking cute!

And Lil miss was a butterfly, as adorable as ever.  

The other guy decided scary was ok

And this one nearly disappeared as my little shadow. He is tiny!  Notice the naked cat butt in the background.  Can't fail to point that out. 

And the newlyweds came out to play also. 

This is how our tree spent a lot of the month of December.  It is the" mobile baby, and puppy" style of decor.  

Mostly because it made the candy canes more accessible.  

And in the midst of the crazy, this Lil lady turned 8!

And then there was Christmase

Which means gingerbread houses

And gifts

And time with the family. It was perfectly perfect.