Learning To Knit – Beyond the Dishcloth

I have been trying to teach myself to knit.

I started with a dishcloth for my first project.  I made another dishcloth for my second project.  For my third project I wanted to make something different.

I searched Ravelry for a project and found this great pattern for Waffle Stitch Fingerless Gloves.  They are good for a beginner because they are worked flat and have a simple repeating pattern.  I also knew my 10-year-old would love a pair of these!

I am really happy with how they turned out despite the small mistakes in them. 

Now I just need to figure out what I will knit next!

What did you make when you were learning to knit?

Homeschooling with a Toddler – Getting the Hang of Things

 

(image via Pinterest)

We’re just starting our fourth week of homeschooling.  It’s been a bit of adjustment, but we are definitely loving it.

The first week was filled with tears and uncertainty (from me, not my child!). 

The second week, I found that I had a general idea of what we would be working on the next day.  Things started to fall into place.  And my toddler started to fall apart.  Not only was my time shared with a daycare child in the home, it was now also shared with her older sister being there all day.  The result was almost constant whining, an increase in tantrums, clingy/needy behaviour and by the end of the week she was starting to have pee accidents during the day and wetting the bed at night.

The third week, things were getting a little easier still and the routine was starting to become more natural.  My toddler was still acting up, but this was the last week that I had my daycare child. 

And here we are at week 4.  We had a great day today and got a ton done.  My toddler and I will get some one-on-one time tomorrow while my oldest is at an activity morning for homeschoolers.  I’m going to work at planning some regular days out.  We’ve been feeling a bit of cabin fever lately, not only from the homeschooling, but also from the weather we’ve had.  Some sunny days are in the forecast for this week, so I am hoping to get the kids out to the park for some fresh air and exercise.

I had great intentions of having all kinds of activity bags for my toddler.  They are getting done VERY slowly, but they are getting done.  This week I made her some lacing cards.  They didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped, but she loved playing with them.  She told me she was knitting like Mommy, and I told her that it was more like sewing and that she was sewing like Mommy.  She was very pleased.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

The funny thing about learning to knit, is that someone else will see you knitting and decide to try it too.

That’s my 2-year-old.  Do you want to know what she’s knitting?  Apparently, it’s a hat for Daddy.  Such a sweetheart!

Passing Along the Blogging Award

Not too long ago, my blogging buddy Andi, from Laundry on the Line, was nice enough to pass a blogging award on to me! (Thank you!)

At the time, I chose to hold on to it, but now I am ready to pass it on.

There are three wonderful bloggers I would like to recognize.

Artisan in the Woods -  Okay.  Maybe this is cheating a bit.  This is Andi’s other blog.   If you love crafting, you will love this blog.  At Artisan in the Woods, you can see all the wonderful things that Andi makes – quilts, crochet, and more!

Little Pink Cupcakes -  A very new blog, but a great place to visit!  Little Pink Cupcakes is a blog about sewing, knitting, cooking and crafting.  She shares all the great things she makes (and even the things that didn’t turn out so great).  Filled with lots of great inspiration, recipes and pictures of her adorable children. 

Bento Diva - Have you joined the bento craze?  If you are looking for seriously cute ways to serve lunches and snacks to your little one, be sure to check out this blog.  Filled with lots of great ideas and a great FAQ section for those new to bento.  I don’t do a ton of bento myself, but do occasionally serve something extra fun for the kids, and I love all the great ideas found here.

 

Congrats ladies!  I look forward to your future posts!

My 30 Day New Year’s Resolution

Have you all been wondering how my 30-day resolution has been going?

Well, I made it to the half-way mark without missing a workout or a day of Greens+.  I wasn’t noticing a ton of change, expect that I was feeling good to have gotten to the halfway point!  And then I missed a workout, but did the next one, then missed one… and then after the next one, I noticed that my knees and feet are starting to get sore – and not good sore.

 I remember this happening before when using my wii Active.  I think that I should be wearing shoes for doing the workout.  I also think that the way you run in the ‘game’ is not very natural and although is okay every now and again, you don’t want to be doing it all the time.  I’m taking a couple of days off though and then am going to try again with shoes to see if it makes enough of a difference.

I’ve only missed one day of Greens+ along the way.  Although I haven’t really noticed an increase in energy or anything, I find that I do look forward to having it every day.  I’m a person who never gets enough fluids and so I think my body really liked that it was a regular fluid intake for me.  As for the energy, well, I’m a mom to 3 and as such, I rarely sleep through the night.  I’m wondering if I were sleeping well if I would notice a change in energy levels?   

Something that I didn’t anticipate was that I started to get an upset tummy, and a bit of acid reflux.  It lasted 4 days, then I took a day off the Greens+ and I didn’t get it that day.  I was fine taking it daily before that.  So I am taking a few days off and then will restart it.  I’m not sure if something in the drink wasn’t agreeing with my body, or if my body was simply ‘off’ and it just happened to be okay again when I didn’t take the Greens+ the next day. 

So, I haven’t exactly made it through a full 30 days.  I’m not totally disappointed – I had some hiccups along the way and needed to readjust.  I’ll start back again in a couple of days and see how it goes.  If it’s not working for me, I’ll readjust the plan and start again.

How are you doing with your resolutions?

Homeschooling with a Toddler or Two: Week 1

Welcome to the first week of our homeschooling adventure.

To start, I want to clarify our homeschooling method.  We are currently not doing traditional homeschooling.  What we are doing is ‘distance education’.  That means that we are still registered in the regular school system, they give us the curriculum and we do it at home.

Because my daughter was in a split class last year, and has done the first 1/3 of the school year in a regular school, we have had a couple hiccups as we have started out.  First off, the curriculum we have been given is taught in a certain order.  Teachers in a classroom may teach it in a different order… and they have.  We are finding some things she has already done, some things she has never even seen and we are having to do a bit of backtracking.  This has been a little stressful, but once it is all sorted out and we find our place, I expect that things will start to move along a little more smoothly.

The other challenge we face in our homeschooling is our toddler.  And not only do we have a toddler of our own in the house, three days a week, I have a second toddler in the house for daycare.  This creates a lot of chaos tricky environment for learning.  And so I find I am having to plan activities to keep the toddlers busy during my teaching time.

This week, I tried out ‘cloud dough’.

Cloud Dough is super simple to make.  Just mix 7 cups of flour with 1 cup of baby oil, then….enjoy?

I’ll be honest.  My toddlers loved this.  My big kids loved this.  Even I had quite a lot of fun playing in it.

The baby oil makes the flour so you can mold it.  So cool!

I cleaned it up after only a morning of it being out. 

This is by far one of the messiest things I have ever put out for my kids (and we DO messy!).  As is typical of flour, it gets everywhere! It sticks to everything!  Add oil?  Oh my goodness!  It stuck to their clothes, feet, hair, faces.  And with all its stick, it also stuck to the floors, the couch, and was all over the stairs.  It was down the hall, on their chairs, and all over the toys.

I don’t think we will be doing this again any time soon.

I couldn’t keep the toddlers out of it.  I would cover up the sand table, but they would take off the cover and get right back in there.  They loved it so much!

Do I think you should try it?  Absolutely! 

I do have a few suggestions.

1) Put the cloud dough in a container with a lid.  Make sure it is in a container you can take away.  A tupperware style container would be a great idea.

2) If it’s a nice day outside and not too cold, do this activity outside.

3) If you can’t do this activity outside, make sure you have art smocks to put on the kids and run a bath for them before you put out the cloud dough.  They might need to go straight into the bath after playing with it!

4) Whatever you do, don’t wear dark coloured clothing.

For The Love of Cardigans

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been trying to teach myself to knit.  I have tried on a few occasions in the past, but have always been frustrated with it – dropping stiches, losing count, intimidated by patterns, knitting on 4 or 5 needles (!), etc… 

This time I started with this knit dishcloth -

And now I am working on this one.

I’m still not certain what I will be working on next, but I am determined to keep going.

You see, I am a lover of cardigans.  I am not in the new train of cardigan lovers (although I *love* that they are currently in style!!!).  I have always loved cardigans.

My mom made me this super big, cozy cardigan when I was 18, and almost 18 years later (OMG!  Am I really that old already?!) I am still wearing it.  That is love!

A recent favourite has been this cozy grey one.  Lightweight and super soft.  Love it!

This past week, I got this beauty.  This is my current favourite.  It is so soft and so warm.  It is like wearing a blanket.  I love the colour too, even though it is probably not the best colour on me.

I hope that one day I will be able to make myself a beautiful cardigan. 

 

 

 

 

Stepping Into Homeschooling

Today, we registered my daughter to homeschool.  It was a hard decision for us, but we are looking forward to being so involved in her learning.

Today, was also what I imagine will be the hardest day in our homeschooling adventures.  I had to let her school (and teacher) know that she would not be returning.

That was pretty hard to do, but it is done now and we can move into our new routine.

Tomorrow, we will pick up our materials and try to find our way through all the information and modules and such that we will be working through.  I feel very nervous, but also very excited.  I am looking forward to being involved in my child’s learning in such a big way.  Honestly, I have always loved having my kids at home with me.  I look forward to the extra time I will have with my oldest daughter.

Keep checking in.  I’ll try to keep you posted with how we are adapting to our new schedule.

Happy New Year! (And Resolutions)

Well, another year has gone by and here we are starting another year.

I love how each year starts as a fresh slate full of hope and optimism! 

Like most people, I try to make a few resolutions.  And like most people, they rarely last long.

This year, I am setting smaller, simpler goals for myself.

I just started a 30-day challenge on my Wii Active.  My goal is to complete the 30 days.   I’m hopeful that  this  will be a good jump-start to getting a bit more active and finding time for exercise.  For now though, my goal is simply to complete the 30 day challenge.

I want to drink Greens+ every day this month.  Again, I am only committing to one month.  And the hope is that I will start to feel better, healthier, more energetic and it will encourage me to live a healthier lifestyle.

I want to sew something with a zipper in it.  I’m thinking a top or a dress. 

I want to get my serger looked at, tuned up and then I want to take a few lessons on how to use it.  Going along with that.  I want to sew something out of knit fabric – maybe a nice, soft jersey knit.

I want to continue working on reducing the amount of anxiety and stress I feel on a daily basis.  For me, it is not things in my life causing the stress, it is an anxiety disorder.  I have struggled with it for years and have chosen to stay away from medication (so far).  I have good months and bad ones, but in general I am gaining more control and learning to relax more and worry less.  I still have a long way to go but, I guess, for me it is a journey.

Along the same lines as the above, I want to work on gratitude and optimism. 

Do you make resolutions or goals for yourself?  What are you hoping to accomplish in 2012?

What Will Become of This Blog?

It’s been a while since I have written.

So much has been going on around here.  Changes have been happening.  This blog has been put on the back burner.

I am hoping in the New Year to get into a routine and to find time for blogging again.

(photo via Pinterest)

My poor sewing machine has been fairly quiet recently.  Inspiration and desire has been low, but I know it is just a bump in the road.  I love sewing.

(photo via Pinterest)

I have been crocheting and trying to teach myself to knit (again).

(photo via Pinterest)

Starting next week, I will more than likely be homeschooling one of my children.

It will take time for us to adjust to our new routine.  I’m unsure as to what will happen with the business I have been working over the past few months to start.  There will be adjustments to be made (and remade) in our routines.  But I am excited for the changes.  We have a new direction in life that we are headed into and I think that this new path will only bring us wonderful things.  I am nervous for the time it takes us to adjust, but I am confident the end result will be fabulous!

I hope that I will find time to come here and share with you what I have been making.  I hope to share inspiration and maybe even a little of our homeschooling adventures.  So keep checking in, I’ll be back in the New Year with things to share!

Happy New Year to you all!