September = Sock Monkeys!

Posted on September 20, 2014 by Ali

I’ve been busy plugging away at my Sock Monkey costumes (Which are sold OUT! Woo!) and my kids have been busy learning new tricks. Like Effie can now sit up! This is very exciting for her- and she is thrilled to bits about it!’

She also got the opportunity to model a party hat at Sam’s third birthday party!

Sam wanted to try on the Sock monkey costume that was being mailed out this week, but once I got it on him he got a little sullen and decided that maybe it wasn’t as fun as he thought. I think it looks good on him, though!

Effie got to ride in the back of a dump-truck. She loves being included in whatever Sam is doing, and that’s usually building things with his Duplos and hauling still around in the back of his dump truck. Sam got a HUGE container of Duplos for his birthday from his cousins Josie and Ezra and pretty much for the last 2.5 weeks he hasn’t wanted to play with anything other than those- it’s been amazing for his independence. He will sit and play with those blocks for HOURS every day- which means I get to knit whenever Effie is napping or playing with her big brother!

He calls this Mater’s “Pirate hat”. I think it’s awesome and very clever!

Effie hasn’t been sleeping well (Thank you, four-month-sleep-regression!) So we’ve been doing a lot of coffee. Since it is starting to cool down, naturally I’ve been making myself some pumpkin spice lattes!

And also because she hasn’t been sleeping well she’s been spending tons of time in the wrap on my back (Which I FINALLY figured out, thanks to some kind friends) and she’ll happily talk and jabber and pull my hair for a few hours up there, which is great when the dishes need to be done or dinner needs to be cooked and she isn’t happy about being left on the floor!

Sometimes being the baby means getting laundry baskets put on top of you. Life is rough for the baby, you know?

But in other news, I just had a photo shoot this morning with Anselm Photography (Wonderful woman and amazing eye for pictures!) to get some professional shots of the sock monkey costumes and mermaid costumes! We had a very tiny, very new little squish model the mermaid costume for us and it is BEYOND cute. I can’t wait to see the finished images!

Keepin’ on.

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Ali

Life is busy right now, hence the lack of updates on the blog. Knitting orders are keeping up, too- which is wonderful and also overwhelming- I always forget about that during the summer then August hits and BLAMMO! orders all over the place. It’s wonderful (Helloooo Christmas money!) but this is the first busy season I’ve had with two kids, both of which demand a lot of love and attention (Being almost 3 is hard, and being 4 months is especially difficult)

So Effie spends a lot of time in the wrap, and Sam is learning to play independently. We have a friend that we are watching a few hours a day and that is wonderful for Sam, he really enjoys spending time with her and they play really well together, and if I can time that with Effie’s naps, well, then I might actually get to sit and knit. Maybe. But the majority of my knitting happens after dinner and kids are to bed. We are still definitely trying to hit our stride, and trying to be as organized as possible helps, I’ve been doing meal planning and chore scheduling to keep up on the housework. It’s so nice to not have the 4:30pm freak-out when you realize you haven’t thought of what to make for dinner.

It’s so funny, all year long I am thinking two months in advance- so it feels later than it really is. I keep forgetting it’s still August, because all of August and September I am focusing on Halloween orders, and then all of October and November I am working on Christmas orders, and just like that, boom, it’s January! I know it’s so cliche, but time really is flying by so fast- and I can’t believe Sam will be three on Wednesday and Effie is already 4 months old. This summer has just been a total blur! Thanks, my loyal readers, for putting up with me while I’ve been so neglectful of this space- But make sure to follow the Facebook page, as I update there a bit more frequently.

Life lately…

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Ali

Well hello there! Sorry for the lack of new knitting projects to show you, but my two kiddos are keeping me so busy I haven’t had a ton of time to knit. I’m working on a few commissioned projects and will have those to post about soon, but most of my time is being eaten up by my little munchkins!

The sweater I made Sam last summer finally fits him (Just in time for the hot weather! Hah!) But hopefully he won’t grow too much between now and the fall so it should still fit him then.

The littlest member of the household is sure keeping me on my feet! She is a rowdy little girl. If she isn’t asleep she pretty much demands to be held up, looking at your face and wants to be talked to. She isn’t happy chillin’ in the swing or bouncy chair unless you are in her face talking to her. Which means she gets put in the wrap a lot so I can get stuff done around the house. She loves being attached to mama! So opposite of Sam in that regard (he was always a ‘give-me-my-space’ kind of kid) But she is SUCH a happy girl! She smiles constantly and coos up a storm!

She’s about 10 1/2 lbs right now (Seven weeks old today!) and very VERY long! She’s already wearing 3-6m pants, but still wearing NB and 0-3m shirts- she’s all legs! She certainly didn’t get that from me…. Sam and I are shorties, so she must have inherited some of her dad’s height!

We are working on getting a schedule down for naps and such, but she is pretty unpredictable right now, but she’s a pretty good sleeper so we are all getting enough rest. The weather has been GORGEOUS this week, so we’ve been playing outside in the sandbox every day and even hit up the pool on Monday with some friends! It was a bit breezy, so as soon as you got out of the water it was chilly, but sitting on the side with my feet in the water was a pretty delightful way to spend the afternoon!

This is a busy week for us- Tomorrow is our 5th anniversary, then Saturday is Paul’s 33rd birthday, then Sunday is Father’s day. I am having a bit of trouble coming up with three separate gifts for him, he is so hard to buy for!

Oh, and I had a question for you, dear readers! Do any of you meal plan? If so, do you use any kind of website or planning system? I’ve been doing it the last few weeks again, but finding it hard to keep track of what I’ve made (and I keep forgetting about the recipes I’ve made and liked) and find myself pouring through Pinterest boards again and again searching for recipes! If you have tried any, please comment and let me know what you’ve used and how it worked for you!

Theo Chocolate Factory Tour!

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Ali

While here in Tacoma visiting family, Sam and I got the opportunity to go visit the Theo Chocolate factory with some friends!

Yes, these are made out of chocolate!!!

Little chocolatiers!

They even got to pick out some samples to try!

The kids were really great about keeping their hairnets on, too- which seriously impressed me!

The kids (and mamas!) had such a great time, despite the icky weather! Thanks for giving us the tour, Crystal! And it was so fun to hang out with all of the mamas and toddlers!

Haircuts!

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Ali

Sam got a real big-boy haircut this weekend, thanks to Aunt Heidi! He did great. I was a little worried about him and the clippers, but he thought it tickled and did really well sitting still for her! His double-cowlick in the back makes his hair a bit unruly and ridiculous, so I think my poor kid is stuck with buzz-cuts for a while!

Cabin Fever

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Ali

We’ve gotten a lot of snow this week, and my poor little buddy is getting cabin fever. He is not a fan of the snow (He doesn’t like being cold or wet, but yet won’t keep gloves on, so go figure) We got about 6 (ish?) more inches last night. That’s pretty rough guesstimate, judged by looking out my living room window to see how much is piled on top of my windshield. And right now I am very thankful that I cancelled my dentist appointment today in Lewiston so I won’t have to do any crazy highway driving! |

Sam actually played outside in the snow for like 15 whole minutes the other day. That is a huge improvement to screaming when he saw it and crying that it made the ground “icky”.

Yes, he does have proper snow gear, I just snapped these shots as we were walking back in from running errands, so he wasn’t wearing his whole snow ensemble. But this cabin fever is proving great for one thing: Potty training! We can run around the house all day without pants on and it works out just fine. A little chilly, but hey, ya gotta do what you gotta do.

So instead of going out, I think we’ll just sit here and watch some Netflix and knit. Sounds like a decent plan for a snow day, no?

Apple Picking

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Ali

This past weekend we went apple picking with some good friends. Sam wasn’t terribly interested in the apples, but was pretty much in love with the tractors.

We’re planning on making some apple butter with the delicious apples we picked, and maybe some fruit leather as well, if we have enough apples! And, my sisters and niece and nephew are coming out tomorrow and I couldn’t be more excited to see them! We’re planning trips to the Farmers Market, seeing the Homecoming parade downtown and a few other fun things. I can’t wait to see them, and I love how much fun Sam has with his cousins.

And happy HAPPY news, I’ve made it to 12 weeks with this little TizzyTong! I am thrilled. I got to hear the heartbeat yesterday at my midwife appointment, and all is looking great. We are beyond thrilled that we’ve made it this far, and praying for a healthy and full-term pregnancy!

Sam, The Ham.

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Ali

Sam has been really entertaining lately. He is a goldmine of funny faces and hilariously timed “AMEN!”s and “Oopsie!”s. The other day after a bath he was really hamming it up for the camera.

Workin’ Mama.

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Ali

I took being a stay at home mom for granted. I could come and go as I pleased, I had enough time to keep the house in order, to keep the kitchen well stocked, dinner made, the toddler entertained. Not so much these days. I always feel as though my head is just barely above water, and that there are a lot of things that are being neglected. It’s either a clean house or a happy kid. It’s making a cup of coffee instead of prepping dinner so I don’t fall asleep at 6pm. It’s being content with a messy house and embracing the fact that things are a little disorganized right now and probably will be for a while.

…And then there’s the guilt. Letting someone else have my kid for the majority of the day. I feel so incredibly guilty that I don’t get to be the one to spend the day with him.I know he is happy hanging out with his buddy (He is watched by one of my close friends who has a son very close in age) and I know it’s good for him to socialize, but I just can’t get over the guilt of not being there for him all the time. I don’t feel like I am doing anything ‘well’ right now. I feel like I am half-assing it at being a mom, half-assing it at work, half-assing it at being a wife. Especially with all of Sam’s heath issues right now. (He is getting over a double ear infection, a sinus infection AND a horrible case of the croup. He’s on antibiotics and had some steroids so things are shaping up!)

It doesn’t help when people say things like “Oh wow, I don’t know how you do that. I could *never* do that. I’d miss my kid too much.” or “I don’t want someone else raising my child for me”. And to an extent, I can agree. I didn’t think I “could” do that. But hey, you learn to do what you have to do when you run out of other options. It really stings when people say things like that, I already feel guilty enough about missing milestones, new words and fun new skills. And part of me just feels sorry for myself for having to be at work around 6am every day, which means getting up before the crack of dawn, being in a rush whenever I am at home and not spending as much quality time with him as I should/want to.

But right now I am just trying to focus on the “Be thankful” part. Being thankful we can pay our rent, that we have reliable cars, that we can buy groceries and clothing, that we have good health insurance. I am trying to be thankful, even though that means my floors don’t get vacuumed and the dishes sit in the sink for a few days. I have to remind myself that there’s only 24 hrs in a day, and at least six of those need to be sleeping hours. Do you know how hard it is to try to go to bed at a reasonable hour when you’re married to a night owl and he’s been successfully pushing back your bedtime for the last 3.5 yrs?

Any other working mama’s out there that can share some advice? Or even just words of encouragement would be more than welcome!

I’ll be back to your regularly scheduled knitting posts just as soon as a certain somebody in California (cough, cough MARY cough, cough) receives their package, then I can show you the contents that I made for baby Hugh!

And yes, I used the word “ass” three times in this post. Can you believe it?

Pictures of February.

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Ali

February is dreary in Idaho, normally. This has been a very unusual February. We’ve had hardly any snow, and it’s been actually SUNNY a few days this month so far!

Sam has been especially photogenic lately, so here you go.