Snow Day!

We got our first 'real' snow of the winter overnight last night and this morning. Of course, C was off of school and while Tim had to be at work for a presentation, he was able to come home early to avoid the ice that was predicted for the evening. Tim took the three older kids outside to play in the snow while B and I watched from the dining room window.



C and L are hiding from Tim and S behind an awesome snow fort! I would have gotten better pictures from a different angle, but that would have meant bundling up myself and the baby and going outside. I chose to live vicariously through them, instead ;-)



While they were playing outside, I decided to make some hot chocolate. My older sister, Susan, gave me a brick of Abuelita's hot chocolate mix that she brought back with her from Mexico where she went to visit her husband's family over the holidays. The whole label was written in Spanish, which wasn't a problem since I can understand it pretty well. The hurdle I had to overcome was that there weren't any instructions on it, anywhere! I decided to just toss the whole thing in there and pour in about 1/4 gallon of milk. It turned out pretty good!



At least, C and S thought so! I love the way the kids look, all rosy cheeked and messy haired when then come in from the outside.

Tasty Crochet - the book!

Last week I got my first advance copy of Tasty Crochet: A Pantry Full of Patterns for 33 Yummy Treats Let me tell you, I was so excited when I finally had that book in my grubby little paws! I'd been waiting for that moment for a year...and I wasn't disappointed. North Light did such an amazing job with the book...the photos are great and the layout and mood is fun and silly just like I'd imagined.



I couldn't decide which picture I liked best for this blog post. I threw in the carrot because, unlike me, it is quite photogenic. The goal was to draw attention away from my goofy grin, but I think that I may need to crochet a face cozy and become the 'Stealth Crocheter' of teh intarwebs :D

Just a little over a month, and Tasty Crochet will be available everywhere! The official date is 3/1/2009 (if I'm not mistaken...sometimes important details get lost in the mush of my Mommy brain). I hope everyone has as much fun making the foodies in my book as I did!!

The Elusive Sock Monster Found!

In a household of six, there is always laundry to be done, especially when four of the six are kids (one of whom is in cloth diapers). I am very familiar with our laundry room, and I am even more familiar with the phenomenon of the disappearing sock. It strikes everyone, but most often the socks which go missing are those of the younger members of the family. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about here, since this mystery seems to plague everybody.
I do believe I have found the root of the problem.

I was shocked when I opened the dryer today and saw a massive ball of lint sitting right in the middle of my freshly laundered clothes. Did I forget to put the lint filter back in? But then I saw the eyes. Hmmm, a lint ball with eyes!



After staring each other down for a few moments, the little lint ball jumped to the side of the dryer, never taking its big eyes off of me.

I backed up in surprise and it once again used those amazingly long legs to launch itself right out of the dryer!

Never in my life had I seen anything like this little thing! What could it be? As it scampered across the top of the dryer and jumped down behind, I set my camera down and leaned over to investigate. And there it was, baby sock in tow, slipping into a small hole in the dryer vent hose.

It's a Sock Monster, folks! They really do exist! And I wouldn't be surprised if your house has one too.

Confession

I have a confession to make.
I can't be monogomous to one project. There, I've said it.

One project at a time just isn't enough for me. I've tried so many times to dedicate myself to one blanket, one scarf, one gift...but I just can't do it. I need to accept the fact that no matter how hard I try, I will never be able to quash the siren song of a new pattern just waiting to be created. I need to embrace my flightiness and rejoice in the afghan, longies, hat (ok, two hats), skirt, toy, and sock that I am working on. And when I start on that baby blanket in a few days, and a shawl in a couple of weeks I need to look in the mirror and tell myself that 'I am O.K.'
No longer will I think of it as cheating when I bypass my UFOs in favor of something new and exciting.