Writing In My Diary v. 2

:noticing God's glory: A gorgeous, a little chilly but not COOL fall day yesterday.

:listening to: Not YET because it still hasn't arrived, but I pre-ordered the Benedictines of Mary Advent CD and am so excited for it. Not sure when it is supposed to come, since it was released last Monday; I ordered it from their site and not from Amazon. So, hopefully today?

:clothing myself in: A cute new shirt from Gap! It's actually dark gray, not pink, and I paid less because I got it at the outlet, PLUS I had a gift card. I never used to like the cowl thing but this shirt is really flattering. And SO soft.

:thinking: about Cyber Monday and how I should check out the deals. Nate needs some church pants, plus I need to get together what they are wearing for Christmas. Also, some Christmas gifts...

:pondering prayerfully: "Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen."

I must, must, MUST do the St. Andrew Christmas novena this year. Especially now that I have an Andrew!

:cultivating rhythm: Today is the start of a new week. I plan to nestle in deep, do some crafts and lots of reading with the boys, some cooking, some napping.

:creating by hand: I am working on a painted peg people set (my first ORDER!) and some Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Nicholas dolls. Also, not exactly by hand, but, our wedding album. Finally putting it together on Blurb and will be ordering it this week, hopefully! And our Jesse tree ornaments. Maybe not by hand... I have 6 days to figure out what I'm doing there.

:learning lessons in: The importance of a gate for our stairs.

:encouraging learning: We did some fall/turkey crafts last week, and have been discussing east/west in the car a lot, mostly in relation to where the sun is because if the sun is in our eyes, we throw fits. ;)

:keeping house: We had a pretty tidy house, even with Thanksgiving craziness! A little messy today, but we'll put things back in order. The laundry is all caught up and the bathrooms are decent.

:in the kitchen: Cute turkey cookies for Thanksgiving. I took a picture but haven't uploaded it yet, of course! I'm planning on doing a little freezer cooking this week. Twice-baked potatoes are definitely on the menu. We've also been really into Alfredo Pizza, our own little knock-off from the Olive Garden one (which I had on our last date and LOVED.)



:loving the moments: We finally moved Nate out of the crib and into a toddler bed. He really is ready for a twin, but for the sake of not having to buy something new right now, we did the toddler one. He was SO cute when he saw it. Just finished night 2 and I don't *think* he has gotten out of bed at all! Even in the morning, he yells "Mommy, I'm awake!" and doesn't jump out until I open the bedroom door.

:planning for the week ahead: Jesse tree, Christmas photo for cards, Advent starts Sunday! We need an Advent wreath, still!

:funny things: My parents sent their cow away to be bred and she ended up having a calf while she was there!? Apparently she got in with a bull some time in February, unbeknownst to everyone.

Andrew still sleeps in the pack and play in our room, but will be moving to the crib in the boys' room shortly. Since he is so easily distracted when trying to sleep, we have always tossed a blanket over the side to keep him from seeing us. More often than not the last few days, he has sat up, pulled the blanket down, and grinned with anticipation while waiting for us to notice him.

We are on a Cinnamon Chex kick lately. Right now Ben is picking out ONLY the cinnamon pieces and leaving the plain ones in his bowl. "I like cimmon."

Every time we pass a Holiday Inn, I get requests to go to Indiana. They don't understand, though, that Indiana is actually a different state... to them, the Holiday Inn IS Indiana, and they only want to go there for the elevator.

Chevron Baby Blankets

I fell in love with the knitted chevron blanket idea ever since Dana of Made posted a link to The Purl Bee's baby blankie. She was going to knit one of her own for the baby in her belly. I had a baby in my own belly, and thought I would make one too! I hit a roadblock, though, because I don't knit. At all. So she gave birth to a baby that was welcomed into the world by one of the most beautiful blankets I have ever seen, and my baby came into the world to a JoAnn Fabrics' bag full of skeins of yarn. I made a few sorry attempts at crochet, but I couldn't get it right.

Then a few months ago I stumbled across the blog Hopscotch Lane (thanks, Pinterest!) and her own version of a chevron blanket. CROCHET. With a link to a pattern! A simple pattern that a novice like me was actually able to read.

So I whipped up my own crocheted chevron blanket. And I copied her color scheme because I am unoriginal like that. And used her yarn suggestion - I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby. (I did use a slightly different shade of yellow - a more buttery, pastel shade rather than a bright hue.)

I was extremely happy with the way it turned out! And I love, love the colors. When I first started the project, I wasn't thrilled with the yarn (it didn't feel "soft" enough), but once I got it all together it felt nicer. I would definitely use it on a newborn after a couple washes to soften it up a little more.

I then decided to make another one for a friend who just had a baby girl:

Like my chair, splendidly modeling my handiwork? I thought it might look pretty to take a picture of the blanket hanging over the rail of a white crib, but when I went to prepare the shot, I thought that a chewed up crib rail with chipped off paint may not have been as visually appealing.

This one is made with Caron's Simply Soft, a recommendation from my sister-in-law. VERY soft and perfect for a baby. Originally I thought this was a strawberry-ish color scheme, but the more I worked, the more apparent it looks more like a watermelon!

The blankets measure somewhere around 30" by 30" (they are folded over in the pictures). And I have already bought enough yarn to make at least 3 more. Because I'm a hoarder of all things craft-supply-ish!

Does It Get Much Better Than This?

I don't think so. ;)

Bliggity-Blog

:noticing God's glory: in a chubby baby.

:listening to: Audio Sancto sermons. An old familiar sound. Much-needed spiritual inspiration tonight.

:clothing myself in: warm clothes! It suddenly got really cold here! New bright green fleece jacket - my fleece from last winter is a little stretched out in the belly. ;)

:thinking: about being a blogger (not necessarily HERE, as this little spot has been sorely neglected lately!). Reaching people through writing. Getting over writer's block. Choosing a topic I'm passionate about, getting my point across to move someone's soul. That awkward moment when someone says "Hey I read your article!" Will I ever get over that twinge of embarrassment and wondering quickly if I said anything that could possibly be construed as offensive or misguided, while smiling and nodding and feeling a little like a fool? Oh, how fun it is to be a melancholic. ;) Losing a bit of my anonymity, which is something I have valued. Yes, in my writing I express the "real me" and sometimes even baring my soul, but that makes me vulnerable. Darn human respect! 

:pondering prayerfully: "We would be well on the way to perfection if we could weed out one vice from ourselves each year." ~ Thomas a Kempis. Thinking about this one a lot today.

:cultivating rhythm: um... I am in desperate need of working on this one. Feeling a bit overwhelmed in that area lately. That perfectionist thing?

:creating by hand: THIS I have been doing. I crocheted a baby blanket for a friend and am working on another, and will need a third when I am done here. So first friend's baby is now a month old and second friend's is nearly two weeks, but that's okay, right? :) Someday I will take pictures. And maybe even mail them. 

:learning lessons in: humility. today. At least, receiving the lesson, hopefully I am learning from it.
Also, I need to keep an account of the lovely happenings around here, for my own sake.

:encouraging learning: Gathering materials for a Jesse tree. I have one old enough to actually understand this year, and another one close behind!

:keeping house: see cultivating rhythm, above. I did run the dishwasher today (and empty it)... tomorrow will be a new day.

:in the kitchen: chicken pot pie for dinner. Nate said, "I don't like chicken pot pie!" Oh, but Scout does. Scout does because Nathan does, or, did, back in the day. They got a kick out of Scout talking about CPP. Still picked at it...

:loving the moments: Parlor Entertainment on Sunday. Nate & Ben performed the first stanza of "The Cow" by Robert Louis Stevenson. Nate was the farmer and Ben was the friendly cow. Oh. my. So delightful. Uncle Pat dressed up like George F. Handel (complete with the wig) and played a minuet. Adorable!

:planning for the week ahead: plan for Thanksgiving (8 DAYS away!?) fall clean. look ahead towards Advent.

:funny things: Ben requested "Cap in the Hat" before bed tonight.

Nate: The 10 Commandments song in the car - watching him sing in the rearview mirror. "The 9th Commandment of God: Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's wipe!" LOVE. Those wipes are pretty tempting, though, especially when your neighbor has some and you have run out.

Andrew: everything he does is funny. and he knows it! He made friends with every single elderly person in the waiting room at the doctor's office today (and there were a lot of them, we waited a long time!) 9 months, 24.6 pounds and counting. 5 teeth. I love him.

Birthday Season

We've had 2 birthdays in the last week and are preparing diligently for a big birthday bash on Sunday.

Our party theme is Thomas the Tank Engine meets raccoons. That's what they picked! Nate chose Thomas, of course.

Raccoon decorations made from paper hanging lanterns. In the process of making five more!

I like to make a big deal of birthdays, especially since we will do the boys' party together for the foreseeable future. We have a little celebration at home on their actual birthday, but for their real party with grandparents and aunts and uncles, it's just too hard for people to come to parties two weekends in a row (right around Memorial Day weekend and lots of graduation parties, no less). So for now, we pick a theme and do some fun decorations, a pinata, things like that. No pony rides or anything super spendy. ;) Is it for me as much as them? Maybe, a little bit. But I love it. I enjoy making cakes and decorations. It's my thing. :)