•Over the weekend Honor got his prize for not having a potty accident a whole week straight. We went to Chuck E Cheese’s and paid $20 for a blue spider ring and a pot of lip gloss. The kids had a great time and I think Jim and I had an even better time. I think that we both thought we would never go to Chuck E Cheese’s because he would never be potty trained. And, trust me, it was well worth the $20. Now we just have to get him to the point of not expecting candy every time he goes.

•I whipped up these mittens for Eden on Saturday. The would have been a really quick knit if I would have paid attention when I was shaping the thumb gusset. Instead, I had to rip them all the way back to the gusset and start over. Oh, well, they’re cute.

Pattern: My own
Needles: Addi turbos size 9 – magic looped them two at a time
Yarn: Dive Tesseo – about half a ball.

•Today was the first day of my birthday week. This is what I woke up to.

Sweet Jim.

•I’ve been sitting here for awhile trying to come up with words for my thoughts about today, September 11. I try to refrain from stating my political views on this website so I’ll just paraphrase what I read today on the front page of our local newspaper.

“We have suffered a extraordinary loss and we have given up many, many sacred rights. And we’re still not safe.”

Maybe some day we will be.

Now that Eden is a little older, we’ve been able to play some games with her. Her favorite game of all times is Dora Candy Land. Oh, how I love Candy Land, let me tell you. We’ve played it so many times and listened to Honor go back and forth over wether he wants to be Backpack or Boots that we thought it was time to find some other games to play. Eden can play Uno pretty well and last night we bought Sorry (Jim’s most favorite game of all time).

The problem with playing games with Jim is that he cheats! Always! And the problem with Eden knowing that Jim cheats is that once in awhile during a conversation, totally not related to playing games, with my mother or a complete stranger Eden will randomly blurt out, “Daddy Cheated.” And THAT is a hard one to recover from.

Monday
Tuna and Noodles

Tuesday
Spaghetti and Meatballs

Wednesday
Burger King

Thursday
Chinese Chicken Tacos

Friday
Grilled Sausage Kebabs

Saturday
Minestrone Soup

Sunday
leftovers

Last Saturday we headed up to the mountains for a picnic. It was so perfect up there, the mosquitos have already died off, but the weather is still beautiful. There were a few spots on the aspen trees where the leaves were starting to turn gold. I have to say, this is my absolute most favorite time of year.

We took the dog with us which is always… interesting. He has gotten to be a BIG beagle – at least 40 pounds at 9 months old and he’s not quite done growing. This big beagle likes to sit in my lap while we are in the car which doesn’t really work for me because, 1. I like to feel my legs and 2. I must knit while in the car. Sorry puppy. We got him a new leash attachment that goes over his nose and turns him into a good dog, it’s amazing! And it really makes for a much more relaxed family outing.

While were were up in the mountains, we took the opportunity to take some amazing photos of the kids. I love my camera! I’ll probably be pestering you with photos of the kids over the next several days, they were all so good! But here’s a few to start.

Jim took this one.

Jim took this one.

Eden took this one.

We had a busy long weekend, among all the activities was the puppet show. Jim and the kids spent quite awhile constructing the puppets and then took turns putting on shows for us.
(click any photo to see bigger.)

Are you involved in politics? I want to be involved in politics. I’ve always said that if I don’t go vote then I don’t have the right to complain about the outcome of the election. But just because I vote doesn’t mean that I really know what’s going on or WHO I’m voting for. I want to have some sort of investment in our government, both local and national. There are moments in my life that I feel very passionate about certain issues. But when something isn’t in front of my face every day, I tend to forget about how important it is.

I don’t like that I do that.

One thing that I’ve observed about politics is that many times political parties will fight a loosing battle and ignore the desperate situations that they could change. I think that is probably true of most people at some point in their lives.

I think really, I just want to help people in some way that is tangible. The hard thing about not being involved in a church is that we don’t have that opportunity readily available. But we’ve also had a hard time finding a church that we like that isn’t inwardly focused. I want to see a place that makes a real difference in the community. But since I’m not finding that right now, I need to try to make a difference on my own. I need to know who I’m voting for and support the candidates that I respect. I need to make phone calls to congress and knit scarves for the homeless and… do something to make this world a little better.

And I need to not forget all this tomorrow.

(don’t mind the laundry, we were mid-fold.)

photo by Eden

photo by Eden

• Honor made it through the night last night wearing real underwear. it’s like 36 hours and counting…

• I started my first pair of toe up socks. I used Joelenes Turkish cast on tutorial, which was brilliant, of course! The toes are Louet Pearl and the body of the sock will be Yarn Pirate, both of which I carry in the store. I’m trying to get two pairs out of one skein of Yarn Pirate, which seems totally doable. I have to say, Yarn Pirate is my most favorite sock yarn so far.

• I’m also working on a Cabled Purse, seeing if a different yarn will work well. A Noni felted bag that I’m knitting with my friend Brooke. (Do your homework Brooke!) And a pair of worsted weight socks for store models. (Since Honor cut the other ones up.) Oh yeah, and my Hourglass sweater out of the amazing Malabrigo. Oh, how I love Malabrigo. It is just flying out of the store, I’m planning on reordering this week. wow!

Well, I guess that was more about knitting than randomness, but well… that’s the best I’ve got!

Monday
Lasagne

Tuesday
Chicken Taco Salad

Wednesday
leftovers baybee

Thursday
Spicy Shredded Beef

Weekend options
Pizza
Basil Potato Fritatta
Hamburgers and Hot Dogs