Knitting mission complete

If you have read my blog then you have probably picked up on the hints I have dropping for months; I have been fiddling away at a knitting project and it is finally complete. Relief! The project and pattern were not terribly hard, but the lace portion was about to do me in. I will not be attempting another pattern that has lace for quite a while! The pattern is June is for Jag and I picked it up, along with the yarn, while in Florida this past summer. I saw a cute yarn shop while scouting out a book store with my sister one afternoon. Lorena Haldeman was very helpful and friendly. The pattern was probably a smidge beyond my knitting level (again, the lace - UGH!) but it was the bump I needed to move to the next level, so to speak. The true pattern is for a scarf, but I altered it a bit to make a wrap. I am hoping to get lots of wear out of it and the the TX winter weather is just right for a light, wool, wrap. Right now I am working on a hat for Aidan. A plain and simple hat. Knits and purls, easy and simple. I hope to have it finished in weeks, not months.

** Boo! **

This is our attempt at a scary pumpkin. He looks more silly than scary. The girls have been reciting funny little rhymes about Halloween and looking for spooky trees as the sun sets. They are hiding from one another and trying to scare the other. The kid-friendly sentiment of having a spooky Halloween is in the air! The only thing missing is lots of candy and Charlie Brown's "The Great Pumpkin" cartoon. Have a spooky, fun Halloween week!

Friday catch-up

Well, blogging is quickly getting pushed further down on the list of things to do. For any of you still checking in, thanks for hanging in there. Not much has been updated, as you know. Today was the pumpkin patch visit at the pre-school. Each child brought a pumpkin to school earlier in the week which were then grouped together to make the pumpkin patch. Today each child was able to pick out their own and this is what came home with E & A. Erika picked the tiniest one in the patch according to her teacher. I was expecting much larger pumpkins which we would carve for Halloween. Guess we will be heading out to buy a few more, larger, pumpkins this weekend. Ms. Aidan is the big 1 now. She started walking last Saturday and turned 1 on Wednesday. It was a big week for her!

I am making a concerted effort to take more individual photos of each child. I have too many of E & A together and not enough individuals. Here is Ainslee.

and Erika.

Have a great weekend!!

Friday - enough said

Things that were a hit today:

*edamame

*Blue balloons for E & A

*Listening to She's Electric by Oasis

* watching Aidan sway to the music in the rear view mirror

* finding a new favorite t-shirt

* getting in a great cardio workout

*naps

I hope your Friday was filled with lots of hits too!

a few weeks in photos

Here is a look at what we've done since Ike:

This was the only damage we sustained. It was a large tree. There are so many trees that were lost and have since been cut for disposal. Our first couple of nights back in Beaumont we could smell oak in the air.

This was at our door during a very brief stay in New Orleans. We stayed there one night and got our post-hurricane game plan together.

The people we talked to at the hotel in New Orleans were very nice. This man in particular spent quite a bit of time entertaining the girls and talking with us. This was a Koi pond that all three of the girls were captivated by:
Cousin's house in Memphis. Five girls in one house - ages 10 mos to 6 years:
Sisters loving their cousins' dress up clothes:

At Grandma's house in FL. Aidan loved the beach and laughed at the waves when they ran up on her feet:

Erika & Ainslee thought the waves were fun too:
For an evacuation it wasn't bad. I was very ready to return home when the time came and I am glad to be here now, but I think we made the best of it while we were gone. A lot of people came out so much worse, in our town and nearby towns. My heart & prayers goes out to them.

Back to our regularly scheduled program . . .

Between soccer, day school, three active children and one equally active husband I really haven't missed the Internet - too much. Ike knocked out our power and phone/ Internet. Power was restored weeks ago. Today AT&T restored our phone connection & Internet service this afternoon. Now that I have it back I have a lot of catching up to do. You would think I would have finished a knitting project (nope), caught up the baby books (nope) or at least cleaned out a closet or two (nope, nope). Well, it is good to be back and I can't wait to see what all of my fave bloggers have been up to.

Sorry, no photos

No, I haven't been neglecting my little ol' blog in lieu of my facebook addiction. We have been displaced due to Ike and blogging has fallen to the wayside temporarily. I am in TN for a bit with the three girls, and my husband is in MS trying to set up a temporary office. Things could be worse, but today could have been better. Today consisted of: Aidan still trying to cut a tooth which is giving her all sorts of grief and completely disfiguring her lower back gum area, Erika deciding to walk to her cousin's bus stop all on her own after waking from her nap and realizing her sister & cousins were not in the house (there is a much longer version of this story, but I will spare you), and finally, hearing my SIL answer her front door this evening and being told that her husband's car had rolled down the garage & hit a light pole.

Crappy day. Bed time for all five kids: 8:00 pm. Cocktails for all adults: 8:01 pm. I am predicting some retail therapy tomorrow and praying for a smoother day!

p.s. - we had NO damage to our house and only minor damage to one car. That is the silver lining.