Relaxing Saturday - we are getting old!

FINALLY! I got something done! Today was a wonderful Saturday. Hubbs woke up early to go to the gym and since Baby K loves to go "bye-bye" ... he took her with him! Thank goodness for childcare.
Our two bigger girls have mastered the art of sleeping in so that also is a big plus!
After Hubbs and Baby K left, I suddenly had a spurt of energy ... and I wanted to ... CLEAN! Oh man, I am such an old person. When I get in the cleaning mood, wonderful things happen. My bathroom was scoured and cleaned. And not just wiping off the counters and cleaning around the toilet. I emptied drawers, underneath cabinets, organized everything in sight and threw away tons of old bottles and garbage. What a wonderful feeling.
Once the bathroom was sparkling, I moved on to the closet and the rest of my bedroom. Thank goodness I also sell Scentsy because what is a clean bedroom without the yummy smell of Satin Sheets filling the air.
I think Hubbs was in shock when he got home. He was probably expecting to see me still fast asleep, but NOPE! Instead he heard my 90s station blasting on Pandora and a surprisingly energetic wife dancing and singing. (at least I had put down my toilet bowl brush  microphone)
Whatever was running through me, must have gotten him also. As soon as he got in, he started cleaning up the kitchen and jumped right in on cleaning. All this is very out of character for this house - especially since he usually works on Saturday. I could get used to having him around. My goal for today, before sitting down to crochet, was to clean our bedroom and bathroom and the kitchen. I have him fooled though. He mentioned "Wow, I didn't know this was how Saturday mornings go! Maybe I should stay at work!" Please don't, Babe. It really was nice having you home all day.
The highlight of my day came at dinner time. Hubbs and I had been making up a grocery list for our Saturday evening "date". Hey, I told you we were getting old! Anyway, he told me that instead of us going together, he was going to take the girls so I could have the house to myself for an hour or so. (I adventured to the Science Center last night with all 3 so he could relax after work so he wanted to return the favor!) WHAT?!?!!? Seriously, should I look outside and see if the sky is falling? He is too awesome! But, once I looked at the list and realized some of the things I needed (like almond bark and chopped green chillies) were not normally on the list ... guiding him to them might take longer than me just going. Plus, I needed to get out of the house. We left the big two at home (Jordyn was still napping) and took Little Bean with us. And, that was our exciting night! I told you we were getting old!

Here are some pictures of the hat I finished today:

Here are some fun pictures from the Science Center last night. We are really lucky to live so close to an amazing city that offers such cool stuff FOR FREE!!! 

Jordyn would not go anywhere near this big dinosaur. They move their heads around and roar ... I don't blame her. Kynslee was in awe.

Jordyn agreed to stand next to the one laying on the ground that just sort of moans and twitches a foot. But, she never took her eyes off the big one!

 Kynslee was laughing HYSTERICALLY at this platform city. You balance the city with buildings and cars and trees so it stays level. She had just pushed on one side and knocked the whole city down the hole.

 Jordyn was not so amused that Kynslee had dumped the whole city!

Of course we had to visit the museum gift shop. Kynslee loved these little monsters. They giggle and make obnoxious sounds ... seems appropriate that she emptied the bottom shelf of 3 of them so she could sit down among them. BABY FOR SALE!

What did YOU do this weekend?

Showing some love to the St. Louis Cardinals!

I finally did it! I finished a project I started this week!! I kept getting side tracked and doing other things. But, I finished some hats!

We are pretty big Cardinals fans and go to games all season! (Hubbs even bought me a 5-ticket-pack for Christmas- although, I think he is planning on going along since he got 2 tickets to each game!) This past week, I was brainstorming hat ideas and thinking of ways to incorporate STL into my pattern ... but he came up with this MUCH easier way of making Cardinals gear. Embroidered patches!!

 





I love how when something seems difficult, he finds me an easy solution! He is the best! The pattern I was already working on was one I found on Ravelry. It just so happened to be a newsboy hat which works PERFECTLY with a baseball theme! So excited to make more with different colors and styles. Thank goodness Mike ordered 5 of each patch ... he was expecting some production!

Here is the finished product ... enjoy :)  

My Little Bean

Sorry to those who have joined to see updates on crafts. That is just not happening this week! But, that is the joy of staying home with my Littlest Bean. We ran the bigger beans to Orthodontist and Eye appointments this morning and had fun playing at home with a friend all afternoon. Once the house got quiet and empty, naturally, Baby K woke up from her nap and was ready to .... snuggle!

She is not much of a snuggler. When she was teeny, she wanted to be swaddled and rocked all day. I had no problem with that. I loved it. But, once she got mobile ... she was done with the snuggles. We are lucky to even get a KISS from her on most days. If you aren't a stuffed Sesame Street character, or the foot rest or some other inanimate object ... NO KISSES FOR YOU!

I can't complain too much though. She is an extremely good baby. She always has been. She plays so well and doesn't destroy things. She loves to sit and page through books or cook in her kitchen. She isn't a big TV watcher, but she loves to have Elmo on the TV for noise and will often stop whatever she is doing to dance a little "jig" when music plays.

It is because of her awesome personality and independence that I am able to get as many crafts done as I do. With her playing quietly, I can sit down and work on things without too much interruption.

But, days like today, when she wakes up from her nap extra snuggly, I am not about to pass on that. I got her up from nap and gave her some crackers and cheese and came back to the couch to start knitting. She followed close behind and brought me her snack. I thought it was an odd way of telling me she was done, but after pulling her little self up on to the couch and settling almost on top of me ... she reached out and said "cheese". Then, pointed to the TV and said, "Elmo". (Monkey see, Monkey do. I often grab a snack, settle in on the couch and change to a program I want to watch.)

So, that is how we ended our quiet afternoon. Time to pick up the big girls :)

It's Not Always Sparkles and Glitter!

It's true. It isn't always sparkles and glitter around here! Some days are full of TV and naps. That was today.

I have read the blogs. I am on Pinterest. I dream of being the mom that finishes projects that she starts - to PERFECTION. But, it just isn't going to happen. That isn't me. And my therapist said I should be okay with that. Just kidding ... maybe ... :). 

Today was a perfect example of that. I woke up and got the girls ready and on the bus as I usually do. I sat Baby K in her high chair with her banana, cereal, and milk. Then, I sat down to my laptop to catch up before she was finished. Then it started. I was sucked in. I started reading a funny article written by another Mom Blogger ... and continued to another ... which lead to another. Then, The Hubbs walked in and caught me at the computer while Baby K giggled with delight as she threw her Fruit Loops to the dog. Whoops, I guess I missed that.

I got up to redeem myself and shooed the dog outside. I got Baby K down and cleaned her up. The Hubbs got in the shower to get ready for the day and I sat down to turn on Sesame Street for Baby K. He finished getting ready and caught me snuggling her on the couch. Baby K isn't much of a snuggler, so I have to catch my moments when I can. As a SAHM, days like this can happen. But, the trick is stopping it quickly before absolutely NOTHING gets done for the day. Lucky for me, today's trick was a dentist appointment.

At the dentist, I had to get two fillings replaced which meant fully numbing the left side of my face. (That was entertainment for all who spoke with me the rest of the day!) The Hubbs went grocery shopping after he dropped me off for my appointment and afterwards we picked up some lunch and met with my Aunt and Uncle who dropped by. After they left, my head was pounding so I took some Aleve and told him I was going to lay down for a few (whoops, there went my productivity). Those few minutes turned to hours ... so thank goodness I never specified which I meant when I warned him of my nap (don't worry, I had a great dream about all sorts of sparkles and glitter!). He continued being amazing and picked up the big girls from the bus and cooked dinner! (We make a great team. When I am extremely unproductive, he is an overachiever!).

J had gymnastics after dinner so that meant getting NOTHING done around the house! Every time I passed the family room, my knitting projects called out to me ... but I had to decline the invite. (Declining the invite to fold the laundry was much easier!)

After all the girls were in bed, I met up with another friend. Some of you may know him, his name is Adam Puchte. He is extremely convincing when you need to shush those inner voices that keep telling you to do something. Here is a picture of Adam at my house: 

So, we can all figure out how much was done around here after Adam and I hung out. And now I can truly say these words, "I am ok with that". Haha. 

Paracord fun

This weekend Kaelyn and I dug out the paracord that she got for Christmas and finally decided to make some bracelets!

If you don't know what paracord is here is the Wikipedia explanation: Parachute cord (also paracord of 550 cord) is a lightweight nylon kernmantle rope originally used in the suspension lines of US parachutes during WWII. Once in the field, paratroopers found this cord useful for many other tasks.
These bracelets have been pretty popular and you can find them all over the place. We have bought quite a few, but being the crafty person that I am ... I just had to make some myself. Thank goodness that Santa brought Kaelyn some cord and some buckles so we were set.

Paracord comes in fantastic colors, and of course we have all kinds of pinks! Our cord didn't come with any instructions, so thankfully, I survive off of YouTube instructional videos. We found some great videos by Chaotic Thinking and followed along. We made the basic one color paracord bracelet as well as the Solomons Heart.

Hope you enjoy my photos, and if you make some of your own, please send me pics! If you would like to purchase them, you can check out my Facebook site and place an order there!

One color:

Two Colors:

Solomon's Heart

All three lined up:

Here is his video that I followed! /div>

Quiet!

The house is so incredibly quiet today! How amazing! It is almost TOO quiet at times. The big girls were off school for 4 days in a row. I love having them home. But, OH am I glad when they go back to school. I like having time to miss them through the day. It makes evenings so much easier! They are such good girls, they really are. But, they are sisters, and they have a love/hate relationship. So, after 4 days of breaking up arguments and wiping tears ... today has been a nice break. Now, I am ready for them to be home.

Oh well. On to my own stuff. I am trying to make a baby sweater. I have tried and started so many times. Then, I give up and work on a different project and finish it. HA! But, this sweater is haunting me, I am challenging myself to complete it! If I can only get past the first round.

This is how far I have gotten:

So, basically, it is the cast-on ... and half of the first row. I am supposed to cast on 41. Done. Row 1: knit one, purl one ribbing all the way across. Ok. Sounds easy enough. I have watched countless videos, I understand what I am supposed to do, but it turns in to a great ball of craziness. What is my problem? Ughg, back to the grind and struggle. I WILL CONQUER ROUND 1!

Updates will follow. Hopefully.

I'M BACK! For good this time!

I really need to make blogging part of my routine like it used to be. I used to wake up, do some networking, post a fresh blog and start my day. Well, that is how it would be on a good day. On a NORMAL day ... it meant getting lost in the world of blogs. I love reading them and catching up with fellow bloggers. A few minutes here and there led to hours lost. And, that was also back in the days of Kynslee's multiple naps and immobility. Now, she takes a good afternoon nap, but she is a busy girl in the morning.

So, anyway, here I am. Ready to commit to a self-inflicted challenge. I am going to post at least a few times a week. I go back and forth about blogging and really want to keep it interesting. I like focusing on my crafts, but my family is my life and they make it interesting. So, I am just going to combine my blogs here and keep them together.

Now, to prove to you that I haven't been slacking COMPLETELY in the last few months that I haven't been blogging, I am going to post pictures of my most recent creations. I have been busy building up a stock of hats for my online store, making them for the girls and also selling quite a few along the way! I am having a giveaway on my FB page for Little Sack of Beans. When I hit 50 likes, I will give away a free custom hat or scarf or security blanket! So, when you are finished here, head over there and like my page! Invite your friends and share the link for even more chances to be entered to win!

As promised, here are my finished and some "pending" projects as well! I can never only have ONE going - so there are always some in the works. Hope you enjoy!

Here are some handwarmers I made for Kaelyn ... she is now knitting herself a matching hat!

This is a newborn Christmas elf style hat! I made this with some amazingly soft Plymouth yarn ... I love that stuff!

I made this one with some more Plymouth yarn ... I have had it forever. I just love the striping of the colors. I can't decide what color to put on top though!

This one I am knitting in the round! Look at me go! I bought this yarn from a shop in Chicago, Loopy Yarns. The girls there were amazing in there. If you are ever in Chicago ... you MUST visit them. They also sell the Knitter's Pride wooden crochet hooks and knitting needles which are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G (and well worth the cost!). I have enough of this yarn to make a baby sweater as well, that is my next brave adventure! (I am knitting these on Knit Picks interchangeables which are just as awesome as Knitters Pride ... as they should be, they are from the same manufacturer, just a different look. :)

I bought this yarn to make a snowflake afghan. Not sure what I was thinking. Crocheting 80 of the same thing for a whole blanket is a bit excessive ... I am lucky to finish ONE of something. So, it quickly turned in to a dress for one of Kaelyn's dolls.

This was the Santa hat I made for Baby Lucas. As soon as I get my computer back from Best Buy, I will post a picture of him in the hat. So adorable!

I also made the three girls coordinating Thing 1, Thing 2, Thing 3 hats. Mike found a cute idea on Etsy and I made my own version. I really don't like being repetitive, so changing them up a bit satisfied my creative spirit. Kynslee loves wearing her hat and runs to and puts it on all the time, this picture just shows her hatred of being photographed!!

Is there a hat you would like to see on my page? Let me know! I love suggestions for new products to put in my store!