Parenting. Arghh.

My kids don't listen. I tell them to stop something and they keep doing it. Do your kids do this? I yell. I can't help it. Do you yell? I'm actually very calm and people watch amazed as I calmly watch my kids go crazy, running, screaming, chasing, and jumping. However, there are those times when I can't help it. STOP! What does STOP mean? AHHHHHHH!!!! And then they often talk back to me! Well the oldest does. I'm pulling my hair out! Then I read a post like Ginny's from Small Things. I mention her a lot don't I? She wrote something along the lines of how she yelled at her son and he felt so bad and she felt so bad. Something like that. Anyway, it was as if she never yells. And she probably doesn't. But I was just like damn! I yell a lot. My kids don't even notice it. That's bad, huh? (I just told my daughter to stop screaming at the top of her lungs. I don't think she heard me.) I'm thinking that I need to blog a lot less, read a lot less, sew a lot less. I seem to get frustrated most when they interrupt something I'm doing. So selfish of me, right? So if I focus on them more, do things with them more, then they cannot frustrate me as much. That is why I am planning to have pre-k with my oldest. Nothing major, but just something to keep my focus on the kids. OR I could do nothing but drink beer. Just sit and drink beer. No multitasking. They cannot interrupt that. I want to be fully there for them, but remain sane myself. Any suggestions? ...No parenting books! They drive me nuts.

This Moment

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. Thanks Soulemama.

Summer Beer

Well I'm not ashamed, I love my beer. Right now I'm super excited about all of the fall beers coming out (and football!). I love how the beers taste so much like the seasons, with maybe the exception of Spring. For some reason the Spring beers just don't taste very "Springy" to me. However, fall is my favorite! I wish someone would do a "drink and sew along" link sort of like yarn along (sorry to Ginny if that is offensive). Whatever. I love beer! Here is what I'm drinking now. The last of the summer beers before I switch full-time to fall...

I took this picture on my dead grass because, for me, that's what this summer has been all about. No rain and dead grass. Not that I give a hoot about grass.

Baby Shower Mania

I procrastinated and started making items for my friend's baby shower Monday. It was a little stressful trying to get everything done, but I did it! The baby shower was yesterday and everyone loved the clothes. Eaden made a bag and I completely forgot to take a picture. It was great! Oh well.

My niece Abigail is modeling!

This Moment

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. Thanks Soulemama.

Yarn Along

I'm trying to make a baby poncho for a friend's baby shower this Saturday. I have never made anything like this and I don't really know what I'm doing. I started the thing over 5 times because of mistakes with increasing (i then took the increases out of the pattern) and purling or knitting when I was supposed to be doing the opposite. I am really bad when it comes to fixing mistakes. I usually make things much worse. That's why I have these horrible polka dots. I was in lala land and started knitting when i should have been purling, i may even have dropped a stitch, and there was no way i was starting over again. I'm sure I will mess up when I get to neck shaping and the hood so why keep starting over right? I covered my mistake with a polka dot and then I had to even out the polka dots. Hideous! Anyway, I was hoping someone might be able to give me any tips on the neck shaping. The pattern says to knit 20, join a new ball of yarn and bind off 14, and then knit 20 again. So I'm thinking this is going to become more clear when I get there, but I'm having a hard time visualizing it. After you finish binding off, the knitting just starts up again? I predict ruin! Check out others or post your own Yarn Along over at Small Things.