Update before Coffee & Presents

I've been wanting to log some finished projects and haven't taken the time yet, so while the coffee is brewing and the kids & dh are playing I'm going to do just that.

Fruit Cozies

Little Piggy

Rasta Hat

Bella's Howl

Slip On Down Hat

Spike's Howl

There are a couple more, but they're wrapped so I need to get pics as they're opened. I'm pleased with how much knitting I've gotten done, and what's more I've really enjoyed it.

The coffee is done, the kids are waiting patiently, and it's a beautiful day to celebrate Christ's birth. Merry Christmas.

Updating my FOs

Short post just to catch up on my Finished Objects (FOs):

Braided Cable Handle Tote

Fetching Miten

Cafe Au Lait Beret

Octopus

Respect

"Do you work?"  Yes. I am a SAHM.

"Oh that's important."  Yes, it is. 

"It must be nice to be able to afford to do that."  Yes, I am blessed that my husband's job provides enough for me to be able to be in my chosen life work. Did you know that there are many women whose husbands make much less than mine does and stay at home also?

"I'll bet your house is always clean."  Actually I'm a horrible housekeeper. I'm ok with that.

"I'll bet you get so much done during the school day while the kids are away."  Actually I seem to find myself more away from home than at home.

"I could never do that, the kids would drive me crazy."  Even if it were what you were meant to do, they would still drive you crazy. That's their job. Mine is being at home with them.

I hear the above or variations on it a great deal, and I honestly don't get it. All parents are important. When you have children it's not a 9-5 or 7-3 or even 6-10 kind of job, it's 24/7/365 for life. It doesn't matter if you work outside or inside or beside the home, parenting is parenting. Having said that, I did always want to be a SAHM. I'm not Becky Home-Ecky or June Cleaver or Wonder Woman. I'm just me. This is my job. I enjoy it, I get annoyed by it, I have deadlines and assignments and get bonuses and have to juggle a schedule and do bookkeeping. I am a counselor, a nurse, a firefighter, a mechanic, a teacher, a janitor, a referee, a cook, a plumber, a taxi driver, a police officer, a judge, a jailer, a parole officer, a pastor, a handywoman. Can I do everything? No, of course not. No one can. I respect women who have families and work outside the home. I couldn't imagine doing your job either. But I respect that it's what you do. Please respect what I do.

PS - Becky Home-Ecky, June Cleaver, and Wonder Woman all have one thing in common: they all came from someone's imagination.

Summer Sock Saga

Anyone who has ever tried to knit something and had it turn out less than minimally acceptable knows how I feel about knitting socks - I worked on a sock almost all summer, toted it to piano lessons, lugged it to wait in lines, and took it on trips ... my first toe-up sock, knit specifically to fit my left foot, in bright sherbety summery colors, soft and comfortable, in a blend that would be comfortable to wear in the summer and fall and spring (and winter if I really put my mind to it, and darn it if I'm knitting something I'll wear it when I want to regardless of season appropriate-ness). It was a thing-of-beauty-in-progress, and I was proud of it. I got to turning the heel and was so pleased with how it had gone from a tube to something that could actually fit on my foot, until I tried to put it on my foot and discovered I had started one needle off, which put the heel somewhere around the inside of my ankle.  DH couldn't understand how I could cry over a sock and was wondering aloud if I had taken my medication. How could he understand? He's never knit anything. On the other hand, he has had projects that haven't turned out the way he has wanted, after putting in lots of thought and effort to bringing them to fruition. That he understood... although he still thinks I'm nuts for wanting to try again. 

That's ok. Gotta keep that mystery alive somehow, and after 17 years of marriage I'll take it any way I can get it.

:)

A Turtle on my Counter

I never thought I would have a turtle on my counter, and yet this afternoon that's exactly what I have. He's been to school and to daycare and ooh'ed and aah'ed over by many, and after his brief stint of being famous I'm sure he'll be quite happy to be released later today. I'll be happy when he's off my counter.

On the crafting side of life, the weather has turned cooler (well, not today but it was earlier and will be again) and I realized that our mittens & gloves are MIA so last night I cast on for some mittens for ds. The first one is ok, although not exactly what I would like for a finished product. I've figured out some modifications to try for the next pair, as I'm certain at least one of these will wander off so he'll need more. I cast some for dd this afternoon as well and am planning on trying the mods on hers. Wish me luck.

Life, paused

Sinus infections are my enemy, my nemesis. Go outside in the wind, get a sinus infection. Get a cold, it turns into a sinus infection. Open the windows because it's an absolutely beautiful day, get a sinus infection. You get the idea. I have found it impossible to do anything that requires logic and intelligence until the meds take effect because my brain isn't getting the oxygen it needs to exist, let alone work, so all activity is delegated to a complete minimum. Which is funny because today, at 4 pm, I will be at the middle school with over 100 girls doing iCarly activities for our local Girl Scout Fall Festival. Think about it: over 100 girls, ages 5 to high school, in a gym, for two hours, making Ocean in a Bottle and lip gloss and Spaghetti Tacos and who knows what else, and me. Thankfully I'm not the only adult there, otherwise things really wouldn't be pretty. Having said that, prayers are appreciated. :)

btw, I apologize for if what I've written doesn't make sense. No oxygen.

Baby Steps

No, I'm not pregnant. Not that kind of baby steps. More of the I've-got-it-figured-out-what-I-want-to-do-and-now-I-need-to-figure-out-how-to-get-it-done baby steps. I want to talk about specific goals but have decided against putting too much out here on the big wide web, at least too much too soon, so I have to keep things generic but still know what I'm talking about, which is turning into rambling so I should probably be making a point soon except I'm not sure what the point was supposed to be any more so maybe I should just stop futtsing around and do it. 

Baby step number one, making up my mind. Done. 

Baby step number two, telling someone so I have to be accountable. Done. 

Baby step number three, having a specific target date for baby step four. 

Done. Baby step four, get a job. Done. 

Baby step five, do it. That's where I am now. 

And I'm pretty happy with that. More goals to come later. 

(That was a lot of hyphens. Too many, I think. Oh well.)