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Planner Crazy

March 20, 2017 blogtest_2q7z6c 1 Comment

So here’s a little update on my journey to get myself organized.

I wrote a few weeks ago that I was feeling overwhelmed with everything that needed doing. I spent some time to get myself organized. I’m so glad I did because it’s working.

I spent several evenings searching for printable pages for a planner. I found some that I thought would work for me from Scattered Squirrel. I wanted a full-page planner because I can read my writing better when I don’t have to write tiny. I bought a 1/2″ binder to put my planner in as well as some pocket dividers and tabbed dividers.

Most of the printables I found weren’t really right for me. I don’t have that many appointments on a daily basis, even when things are busy at work. At most, I have three places to be at any certain time, and most days I have zero appointments. Having half the page taken up with appointment schedules was a waste for me. What I really needed was a prioritized to-do list.

I considered doing a weekly list, because most of the things I need to do aren’t critically time-sensitive, but I went with a daily format to keep myself focused. I’ve been using the Daily To-Do and Monthly pages quite successfully so far. They’re bright and colorful, if you choose to print them in color, but the Cobalt color prints well in black & white. I like the “Top Three” idea for things that MUST get done that day/month. I don’t always have three things that are super duper important, but that helps me keep focused. I use the “Daily Focus” block to write what we’re having for dinner that night, and that helps me with the meal planning. (I do think it’s hilarious that dinner is my daily focus.)

For the weekends, I’ve enjoyed using the Sunday Checklist from Emily Lea. I love the style of these printables; they’re so simple and clean. I also used the Brain Dump Checklist for just listing things as I think of them, the Month of Gratitude for a positivity journal, Party Planning Page to plan birthday parties and the Blog Planner to help me organize my ideas for this blog. I’ve found the Meeting Notes page to be super helpful in meetings at work.

On the monthly pages, I’m keeping up with birthdays, large tasks, meetings and Dr. appointments. I punch the right hand side of the daily pages so they can lay flat next to the monthly page and I can quickly see big projects and daily tasks to work on.

For overall planning, I’ve made a weekly Master To-Do list. There are things I need to do each week, some that I want to do every other week and some that I need to do monthly. This page helps me keep up with things I need to do and remember to put them on my daily pages.

I printed out a week at a time on Sunday evening and got myself ready for the coming week. Using those pages still tends to leave a lot of wasted space for me. I don’t make a lot of calls, I don’t usually have 24 things to get done in a day and if I have something to do on a different day, I write it on that day’s sheet. Most of the right hand side of those daily sheets go unused on a regular basis. I tried playing around with a format that would have two days to a page, but have each day in a separate column so it could be folded in the binder, but that didn’t really work well for me, either. (And its time consuming to customize all these planner pages.)

I started finding more and more posts about Bullet Journals. There’s tons of information on pinterest about it. I saw some ideas and thought it might be a useful addition to my planner.

I bought a notebook. At first, it was really just a book of lists. My lists get indexed on the front pages and categorized using washi tape. The washi tape is really fun and brings some color to the pages. I’ve printed out different little coloring pages to tape into my journal for when I need a break from all the craziness.

[easy-image-collage id=1114]

Then I decided to try out a daily planner format in my journal for a week. With a bullet journal, you hand-draw your “spreads” as you need them. Some of them can be pretty elaborate, and I think it would be very easy to spend so much time drawing the layout that you don’t have time (or inclination) to actually do the planning. My daily spread is pretty simple.

bullet journal daily and weekend planner pages — Daily and Weekend Planner pages in my bullet journal

I have a place for the dinner plan, my top three for the day and two columns of task lists for home and work. This format is actually working *really* well for me. Since I did the daily spreads for one week, I found I was using my bullet journal every day while my planner notebook sat untouched in my laptop bag. I went ahead and made my daily spreads for the entire month of March. I even rewrote my Monthly Master Todo List and my important dates (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) in my little journal.

It was at about this point in the process that I found this blog post. It was an eye opener. Suddenly, not being able to draw elaborate spreads every week was ok. The bullet journal is intended to be a minimalist system. Use the parts of it that you need, don’t worry about the other parts, and don’t make it harder than it needs to be. If you find yourself having to search for ideas to fill up your bullet journal, you’re probably overthinking it.

I do like a few ideas I’ve seen around, though. Such as this Recipe Bank and Master Grocery List. Many times, as we’re planning meals for the week, my husband and I look at each other and ask, “What do we eat?” Thanks to the three- four-year-old getting picky, and us not wanting to make two meals every night, we try to plan for things he will eat and that’s limited our choices and put us into a bit of a rut. Having the recipe bank would put all our favorite meals in front of me and have ideas for new things to try.

It’s taken some time for me to get my planning and organizing right, and I am still tweaking things as I go along. I like the idea of using a three-ring binder because I know I’ll want to move things around and I can use full-size pages without fussing with cutting special sizes. The binder is large, though, so I can’t carry it in my purse and it’s stiff, so it takes up more space than I really want it to in my laptop bag. I also had a separate binder at home for household stuff, such as home improvement project plans, our address book, insurance information, etc. Yes, I had a separate binder for this so I wouldn’t have all that stuff taking up space in my 1/2″ binder. Crazy!

I like the bullet journal idea because I can use a smaller notebook that will fit in my purse and the notebook I have is flexible so it seems to fit better. I am using a 5 x 8.5 inch journal right now, so that may not be ideal for some purses, but the purse I’m currently carrying is ridiculously huge (and I love it!) I have everything I need in my bullet journal. For example, when Jellybean and I started seeds for the garden, I wrote the list of planted in my journal. While shopping at a garden center, I saw marjoram plants, but couldn’t remember if I had planted marjoram seeds. I pulled out my bujo, flipped to the appropriate page and had hard evidence that I had NOT planted marjoram seeds and could go ahead and buy the plant. That moment really cemented it for me.

Anyway, I seem to have gone off the deep end a little bit with the planning. It does take some time to get things organized and if you’re starting from scratch, that process can seem overwhelming. I do admire the people who can keep up with things they need to do and not get bogged down with needing to plan everything (ahem, I’m looking at you, dear husband.) I am just not able to keep everything in my head and when I get inspired with new ideas, I’ve found that they (and everything else) are quickly lost if I don’t put them somewhere. Plus, there are things that just have to get done. Somebody’s got to remember to scrub a toilet every now and then and if I have it written in a schedule, it’s more likely to get done. I get more satisfaction by checking that item off my list than I feel dread about doing the job.

Now that I’ve settled on the bujo, I can do my planning in a few minutes each week. I am keeping up with the household tasks, while still working full time. I know that if I look at my day and just can’t get everything done, I know which tasks are critical, which I need to ask for help with and which can be put off to another day. I’m still very busy, but now I also feel productive, which makes the busy-ness not so bad.

And on that note, I should really go scrub a toilet. Have a great week, my friends!

Happy Baby Throw

March 6, 2017 blogtest_2q7z6c 2 Comments

I’ve had lots of big projects on the needles (or hook, as the case may be) lately. I recently finished a baby blanket for my sweet friend Alicja.

Alicja is a friend I met in a Friday night knitting group I attended religiously before Jellybean was born. The group changed and shifted as time went on, but the core people became some of my closest friends. When Alicja started visiting, she fit right in and became a pillar of the group.

When she told me she was pregnant, I was thrilled for her. Her due date ended up being the same as Jellybean’s – how fun! So I decided to make a bright blanket for her new little guy.

Happy Baby Throw Crocheted Blanket — Happy Throw for Alicja

The pattern is Happy Throw by Mamachee designs. I wanted it to be easy-care and be used, so I crocheted it with Knit Picks Mighty Stitch yarn. I know that Alicja can appreciate and care for a handmade item, but I also know from experience that if baby things are washable, they’re more likely to get used. The yarn is a wool and acrylic blend, so it’s machine washable and machine dryable. The yarn is a little slippery, so I tied all those ends in as securely as I possibly could. I want this blanket to take all manner of little baby messes and keep him warm for years.

Congratulations, Alicja!

40

February 20, 2017 blogtest_2q7z6c 2 Comments

My dad is somewhat of a jokester. I won’t say how many years ago, when my mom turned 40, he and a mischievous buddy of his spray painted a billboard on the highway to announce her birthday. Only they said she was 50, instead of 40. That billboard stayed that way for as long as I can remember, and I don’t even remember when it was painted over or taken down. (I think dad’s partner in crime owned the land or the billboard or something like that, I never really knew if they were actually committing a crime, but there are photos of them in the act.).

Redacted to protect the (not so) innocent. Ha!

Mom went through a whole range of emotions about that billboard, but it is definitely something that our family will never forget.

I remember thinking 40 was old and 50 was grandparent material. If you made it past 60, then you were just ancient.

This past weekend was my own 40th birthday. I didn’t get a billboard announcement. (Thank goodness!) I also don’t feel as old as I thought I would, or should.

I started having kids a decade later than my mom. Sometimes, I wish I had had my kids at a younger age so I could have more energy to play with them and my joints would hold up to the rough housing. But I know I wouldn’t have been the same parent 10 years ago. I lose my shit way more than I’d like to admit (it’s really hard to parent a 3-year-old and stay sane), but overall, I feel like I’m more patient than I was at a younger age.

I’ve had these 10 years to learn some much needed life lessons. Lessons about love, money, compassion, empathy, time management, and judgement. Having my kids when I did enabled me to find a wonderful, supportive group of mama friends, who I still keep in touch with daily, even though I moved away from them.

Being at the point I am, with two small kids at 40 years old, I realize how much age is just a number. I may not have the energy to keep up with my kids for as long as they want me to, but they definitely keep me active and strong.

I turned 40 without much fanfare, and that’s OK. I’m beginning to think that the less excitement you have in your life, the longer you get to live it. So bring on the quiet birthdays, may they keep coming year after year.

P.S. This post is a week belated, as many of my plans that weekend were waylaid by a stomach virus. We were all sick, all at once, and it was awful. Thankfully it was short-lived and we’re all better now and I’m catching back up.

Have Planner, Will Plan

February 6, 2017 blogtest_2q7z6c Leave a comment

Good Morning and happy Monday to you, my friends.

There’s not much to talk about knitting-wise this week because I’ve not done much knitting. I have made some decent progress on my sweater – I’m working on the shoulders at the moment – but since it’s such a small yarn, it’s not going as fast as my most recent projects. I don’t mind that part, though. It’s very meditative knitting… around and around and around and remember to increase in the right spots and just keep knitting. I’ve very nearly used all of the first skein of yarn and I’m not even down to the sleeves yet.

I did try it on this weekend to see if it was starting out the right way and I’m happy to say it’s going well. The shoulders fit me right the way they should and nothing’s to tight or too loose. It’s exciting.

So, if I haven’t been knitting much this week, what have I been doing?

I’ve been planning a birthday party.

For a *gasp* FOUR year old!

My big kiddo turns four this week and we’re having a party. I usually start planning his parties right after Christmas, but so much stuff was going on this year and I kept putting it off. So I’m trying to put it all together in about a week and a half. It’s coming along, and I think he and his friends will have fun.

I’ve also spent a lot of time this week just trying to get organized. I felt things going off the rails, with work and kids and trying to keep the house in reasonable order, so I am working on making myself a planner. Traditional day planners don’t quite fit my needs – I need more of a prioritized task list than an appointment calendar – so I’ve been searching for free planner pages, printing them and trying to see how they work with my brain. I’ve found a few things that are working and I’m tweaking the pages that don’t quite fit for me, so hopefully I can keep everything more tidy. I am a planner, I like lists and meal plans and organized shelves and everything in its place. The reality is that I don’t always have every little thing organized, and I have several piles of my stuff laying around in places. Plus, living with two kiddos (who prove the chaos theory) and another human (who can buy a week’s worth of groceries in one trip and make a week’s worth of meals without ever thinking about a list) means that it’s a lot of work to keep things from getting out of hand.

Last weekend, I was feeling so much stress about everything I felt was on my plate. This weekend, I am getting it organized and in its place. I have no illusion that I will stay organized forever. When I get comfortable with my routine, I won’t need the detailed planner as much, but for right now, it makes me feel so much better just to have it all written down in one spot.

I am going back to my knitting, now. Have a great week!

P.S. I am anxiously awaiting block 3 of the mystery afghan. I really hope it’s one that I will want to do. I could use a short, easy project to work on as I need a break from the big projects I’ve got on the needles.

Waiting

April 4, 2016 blogtest_2q7z6c Leave a comment

Just waiting.

I’m nesting and cleaning and getting things ready for baby, but not much else. I’ve spent my downtime working on a cross stitch project, so there’s nothing to show you this week.

We’re just keeping going and waiting.

Soon, though. 🙂

The Last Few Weeks

March 28, 2016 blogtest_2q7z6c 2 Comments

Here we are, 36 weeks and counting. I’m getting to the uncomfortable stage of pregnancy. I’m always tired, no matter how much sleep I get. I’m an emotional basket-case. I’m aching in my hips and in between, thank you relaxin hormone. I have Pelvic Girdle Pain when I sit too long and Posterior Pelvic Pain (literally, a pain in the ass) when I stand up too long. I suspect I am developing diastasis recti. I can’t cook an entire meal without having to sit down for a few minutes in the middle. Doing our weekly grocery shop just wears me out. And I constantly have to pee.

Here we are at 36 weeks and counting and I wonder if I’ve enjoyed this pregnancy enough. I’m fairly certain this is my last baby and I really do love being pregnant, but did I really get the chance to enjoy this one? Having an energetic toddler around made it difficult to find quiet time to bond with the baby in the very beginning. Then we moved when I was 19 weeks, and all of that famous 2nd trimester energy went into packing and unpacking. I didn’t even really feel pregnant until I saw the ultrasound.

Here we are at 36 weeks and counting and I wonder if I’ve given my big kid enough only-child attention. Our world is about to get rocked. We’ve settled into a routine here just in time for everything to go sideways. (We’re actually changing our routine soon to include a PDO program, so let’s get a little sideways a little early.) There’s a blog post I’ve seen titled, “Did I Love You Enough Today?” And I wonder, have I loved him enough these three years? Does he know that he made me a mother and he will always have that special honor? Even on the days when I can’t pick him up, and the days when my emotions are too much and I just sit and cry, and the days when I don’t have the patience to say “put your pants on” a hundred times in a row.

Here we are at 36 weeks and I feel like we’re just waiting. I’ve started declining outings that are too close to my due date. I don’t want to travel too far or for to long. The diapers, clothes and bed are here. I have bottles, and burp cloths. I have our bag pretty much packed for the birth center. We’ve got everything we truly need for a new baby. So there’s only waiting left to do.

Here we are at 36 weeks and I am both terrified and excited about having a new baby. Jellybean’s birth was not so long ago that I don’t remember what it was like. He was born at home after just 7 hours of labor, so I am not afraid about laboring or giving birth. The first few weeks, though, they were so, so hard. In my memory they’re just a blur of sitting in the office chair, listening to jazz music feeding and holding a newborn. It got better after we figured out some issues, but I’m still haunted by just how hard it was.

It’s almost time for Lollypop to make the appearance of a lifetime. We’re going to be a family of four. We now talk about “the kids” instead of just Jellybean. (As in, “Can we pay off the mortgage before the kids graduate high school?”) We set things up in our new house knowing that we’d have a little one in it soon. Jellybean will be a really great big brother. Lollypop has all the necessities – clothes and diapers to wear, a bed to sleep in and food to eat. We’re prepared, even if I’m not quite ready yet. 🙂

Something Different

March 14, 2016 blogtest_2q7z6c 2 Comments

I promise I haven’t forgotten about you, dear blog. I’ve been thinking about you a lot, while I sit and knit these last few weeks. It’s just that, well, after moving and the holidays and birthdays and being in my 3rd trimester, I just needed some space for me. I’m sure you understand.

I’ve not been still. I’ve been working hard on things for Lollypop. There’s also the quilt top that I’ve been working on quilting this last week. I’ve had some other projects on my mind, too, but I want to show you something I’m really happy with today.

I’m 34 weeks pregnant, now. Toward the end of Jellybean’s pregnancy, I had two pairs of pants and a handful of shirts that were comfortable for me to wear. I’m pretty much back in the same position – with the same clothes, too! (I really hate to shop.) I don’t want to buy more maternity clothes, they’re expensive and I only have a couple of months left. It feels like money that could be better spent elsewhere.

Early on, I did buy a skirt in a pretty blue with white designs. I just never found a shirt I could wear with it. White’s not a normal color for me to wear. (I spill things easily and I have a toddler.) Most of my wardrobe is beer tshirts, blue jeans and solid colors. However, the last time I went home to visit my parents, my mom gave me a stack of shirts and one of them is white!

Before. I've got plans for those jeans that don't fit right now, too. — Before. I’ve got plans for those jeans that don’t fit right now, too.

I wanted to give this shirt an empire waistline with elastic. I measured the elastic around myself plus about an inch, then sewed it down around the shirt right under the button detail on the front.

It’s better, but I was really way too conservative with the elastic measurement and it’s not as tight as I wanted under the bust. One of my original ideas for this shirt was to just take in a pleat at the back, so I did that, too, just to bring it in more.

I really like the end result! I have room for my bigger belly and I can wear my new skirt this spring!

When I was sewing the elastic down, I accidentally caught a bit of the bottom part of the shirt under the needle… twice! As a result, my seam isn’t perfect all the way around, and when I was undoing my mistake the second time, I accidentally made a small hole in the shirt. Oops. I’m not going to worry about it, though, since I only have a few weeks left to wear it.

I’ve been nesting and getting things together for the new babe. Preparing all my cloth diapers, making sure we have a place for Lollypop to sleep and getting clothes ready, too. I forgot how small those clothes are. It’s hard to imagine that Jellybean fit in any of those things! It’s fun to get everything ready, but it also makes me realize how close we are to the end! I’ve made lots of little wool diaper covers that I’ll show you next time and I may even have a quilt finished!

Have a great week, friends!

P.S.
I have no idea what’s up with my facial expressions in this post. That’s what I get for trying to take the photos myself!

Worn Out, But Still Going!

February 22, 2016 blogtest_2q7z6c 2 Comments

Sorry for the radio silence last week, friends. We had a week full of birthdays and birthday celebrations. First, Jellybean turned 3, then later in the week was my birthday and my Mom’s the day after! We had the big party for Jellybean on Saturday and I spent the week prior making cupcakes and getting prepared.

I tried four different cupcake recipes before I found one that worked well enough that I was happy with it. The recipe I really wanted to make is my favorite chocolate cake – rich, moist and very very chocolaty – but it did NOT translate into cupcakes.

I may try those again sometime and not fill the cups so much. That recipe had a cup of boiling water, so I tried just leaving that out for the next batch.

Looks promising, if a little overfilled.

After scraping all the bits off the cupcake pan. At least this will still taste good on ice cream!

The third recipe was Alton Brown’s fudge cake recipe from I’m Just Here For More Food. I liked it pretty well, good flavor, nice texture, but there were chunks of chocolate throughout the cupcake, which was distracting.

Pretty, and tasty, but not quite what I'm looking for. — Pretty, and tasty, but not quite what I’m looking for.

At the 11th hour, I decided to try this recipe. They turned out pretty good. They are a bit on the dry side but they taste good and are firm and have a nice shape.

Almost perfect, and that's good enough! — Almost perfect, and that’s good enough!

We have cupcakes and cupcake bits galore in our freezer. Since we only eat dessert two nights a week, we’ll be eating chocolate cupcakes for a while.

Anyway, the party was fun for everyone. (Even the little girl who got a door shut on her foot while playing… ouch!) It may not be Pinterest worthy, but I am pretty proud of what I managed.

Yes, we're paw patrol fanatics around here. — Yes, we’re paw patrol fanatics around here.

Anyway, yes this is a knitting blog and I did manage to get some knitting done, too, thanks to a couple of snow days.

I finished Jellybean’s birthday present. It’s Rory from Huge And Huggable Mochi Mochi. It was so fun and fast to knit. The only problem was getting the final touches on it after stuffing it. I didn’t want Jellybean to see it, so I had to work only at night.

He doesn't have a name yet, but Jellybean insists his tongue be sticking out at all times. Ha! — He doesn’t have a name yet, but Jellybean insists his tongue be sticking out at all times. Ha!

I finished the Maeve hat. I’m planning on the mittens, too, but I will definitely have to use a smaller gauge. The hat is warm, but I would like the mittens to actually fit.

Yes, it's that huge! — Yes, it’s that huge!

I made myself another pair of felted slippers. My old pair are worn to death. They are fixable, (I’ll show you how I fix them later) but I wanted to try a new style, too.

Old and Definitely busted. — Old and definitely busted.

I’ve been getting a head start on Christmas gifts, too. I decided to make my nieces and nephew toys from Huge And Huggable Mochi Mochi by Anna Hrachovec. Those are going really great, just like the dinosaur, but I’m stuck on them until the eyes are delivered. I sewed the eyes on the dinosaur, since I know we’ve got a new baby on the way, but I think safety eyes will be just fine for theirs.

Thanks to the weather and timing, I still don’t have a photo of hubby in his new sweater. Hopefully he’ll get a chance to wear it this winter. Hey, there’s a chance of snow on Thursday. Perhaps I can convince him to put it on.

Other than that, I’m nesting. I’ve got about two more months before Lollypop’s estimated arrival date. I’ve started washing the tiny clothes and prepping the cloth diapers. I’m digging it all out of boxes and trying to figure out where to put it. We bought the new car seat, I’m searching for a new babywearing wrap, and trying to get all my breastfeeding supplies in order. We sold a few crucial items (bassinet, swing, bouncy seat, to name a few) to a neighbor after Jellybean outgrew them, so we’re trying to find new (or gently used) ones for Lollypop. I am excited to have a new baby around, but a little nervous about the changes that will happen around here. Thankfully Jellybean is a pretty easygoing kiddo. I think he’ll be a really awesome big brother.

I’m going to go knit on some toys, now. I hope you have a great week, friends!

Made It!

December 7, 2015 blogtest_2q7z6c 2 Comments

Well, we made it to the new house, along with all the furry pets and the furniture. Some things did get left behind, such as the fish, and some random odds & ends, but we’re going back to get those this week.

The move itself went pretty well. I had the job of transporting the cats (we have four,) the dog and the kiddo to the new house. I gave all the cats a tranquilizer pill that morning and put them in their crates. They were definitely not happy about it, but it was the only way to keep them safe and get them doped up for the ride. This is the first time Jellybean has taken such a long trip with Daisy (the dog) in the car, too, since he’s been forward facing in the carseat. Daisy gets very excited when she sees livestock suck as horses, cows, goats, etc. Jellybean thought it was hilarious that she got so excited and he would just cackle at her.

We’ve gotten things unpacked enough that we can cook, eat, sleep, work and relax, so we’re pretty settled. The rest of the boxes will get unpacked as we can. Or they may get sent directly to the yard sale in 6 months, if we haven’t opened them by then. 🙂

Jellybean has surprised me with his understanding of what’s been going on. I was so afraid that I hadn’t explained everything to him well enough and that when he realized that we weren’t going back to the old house, he would be devastated. However, he seems to really get that this is where we live now and that we won’t go back to live in the old house. All of his stuff is here, and I’ve made sure to unpack and set up his favorite toys and books, so I think that helps. He says he likes it here.

The new house has some definite advantages over the old one. The kitchen has a lot of counter space, it’s all one level, and the bedrooms are large. We did lose some living space, however. We had a living room upstairs and a den downstairs, and we used the den at night, after Jellybean went to bed so we could watch a little bit of TV. Now we just have a smallish living room and we haven’t been brave enough to watch anything after he goes to bed, for fear of waking him up. We haven’t even hooked the TV up to anything. We’re not big TV folks around here.

One huge advantage to this location is that we’re closer to all our family, now. We’re 10 minutes from my in-laws and an hour closer to everyone else. My parents came to visit over the weekend so Jellybean has had the chance to see all his grandparents in a week. He got to take a long walk around our new neighborhood with his Papaw and read a few books with Mimi. He’ll get to spend more time with Grandpa and Granddaddy, too.

I’ve been working on stockings when I can. I have the bright set all knitted and ends woven in. They got a little bath on Sunday afternoon, and when they’re dry, I’ll do the duplicate stitch for the names and one of the reindeer. I think I can have them done by the weekend. Sunday’s bath was just water, just to get the stitches to even out, but I need to find the box with my wool wash in it before I get ready to do the final wash. I’m afraid it might be in one of those boxes that got left, but I’ll either find it or go buy more.

I miss my friends back in Nashville, but we’re only a few hours away, now. I do have friends who live here, too, which will help me get adjusted to the area. I lived near here about 15 years ago, and while not much has changed, 15 years is a long time. I’m still going to have to find my way around and find things to do. I think the first thing is to find a new Mother’s Day Out program for Jellybean. I hope we can find one we like as well as our last one, but it’s going to be hard to beat his teacher, Mrs. Kathy.

I feel like this post is rambling so I’ll stop here. It’s been a crazy few weeks and we’re just now starting to decompress. I feel a little disheveled in just about every aspect!

I hope your holiday season has been fun for you so far! Here’s to a joyful season for all of us!

P.S. – Oh yeah, I’m halfway through the pregnancy, now. Little Lollypop is giving me some strong kicks and I’m starting to feel them on the outside, now. I told Jellybean he was going to be a good big brother and he says I’ll be a good big sister when Lollypop is born! Ha ha!

Now The Real Fun Begins!

November 9, 2015 blogtest_2q7z6c 2 Comments

So, we closed on our new house on Friday. That means it’s time to really get focused on moving. We’ve been cleaning and purging and packing some, but nothing that remotely resembles close to being ready to go.

The urge to purge has been diminished quite a bit. We bought a house that was bigger than we expected to buy. The garage is huge and has lots of storage space, for better or worse. That means we’re to the point that we’re just chucking everything into boxes and we’ll sort it out at the other end. But we all know how that goes. There are boxes sitting in our garage right now that I moved here from my last house that are still full of the same crap that I moved INTO my last house. Oh well.

Knitting has taken a back seat to packing. I’m sorry to say I won’t be doing any more new stocking orders this year. I don’t even think I’m going to get much personal knitting done for Christmas this year. I do have several stockings to finish up for customers, and I’m going to be working hard to get those done in time for them to be enjoyed. I’ve spent this week’s allotted knitting time designing four stockings for a family that have been really fun to do. I love the designing process and I really enjoy making them so personal for each person.

My main focus for the next few weeks will be packing and moving and knitting the things that have to get done. Hubby’s sweater is on hold for a little bit, even though I’m working on the last piece. He’ll get it by the time he really needs it, though.

Also, I have yet to make Jellybean’s winter sweater for this year. I have the pattern picked out and the yarn is sitting right here. It’s just going to have to wait until after all the Christmas knitting is done. (Unless I can manage to get it done FOR Christmas… that’s a possibility.)

Lollypop and I are just cruising. I’m feeling lots of flutters, and I just love that. With all the craziness, it’s been difficult to bond with this baby, but feeling the movement helps a lot. I’m also starting to get a little bit of a bump, although it’s not noticeable to anyone but me and my blue jeans just yet. Jellybean talks about Lollypop some, too, which is just adorable.

Have a great week, my friends!