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!