My dear bloggy friends,
I cannot tell you how much your encouragement means to me! You are a source of much delight. I started blogging because I was lonely and felt disconnected over a year ago, and even though we have found many friends in our new city, you all remain very special to me.
I pray the Lord will bless you as you have blessed me.
The third trimester is so much fun with the baby moving so much! I love it! However I am feeling a bit run down, which, of course, is normal in the Southern California heat when you are not pregnant! So I am going to take a small break from blogging (not emailing, so if you comment I will see it). I just need to get a bit more rest. Plus I feel like I keep saying the same thing over and over again!
I likely return early to mid next week.
Hopefully reporting in that I feel refreshed, and that we are finally eating tomatoes from our garden!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Pregnancy Weirdness
Am I the only woman who, while I am thrilled to be pregnant, find some of it weird, in an amusing kind of way?
For instance, I have hit the must RUN to the restroom only to wonder why when I get there....
But the weirdest thing has to be the swollen toes. Mine are not huge or painful, just bigger and hot, and just at night. So I started with my toes sticking out of the blankets, then it was up to the ankles, and then mid-calf, but now we are approaching the the up to the knees point. And over a month left. I am so thankful for the ceiling fan above our bed and the big window!
And the memory loss is of course always funny - usually more so to my family. The best one so far was when I was replanting my beans, again. And decided to fertilize them. While I was at it I decided to fertilize the tomatoes and cucumbers too. I COMPLETELY forgot that Mr. Pear had fertilized the tomatoes 3 weeks earlier. Needless to say, a bumper crop of almost scary proportions is on the way! We will be over run with roma, snacker, and grape tomatoes. I foresee a lot of crushed tomatoes in veggie soup in our future!
Of course, I am also very interested in what celebrities are naming their children - not that I am looking for ideas or am a celebrity watcher, just to make sure that no one steals our name! Not that it would really matter, but it would launch it to the top of the name popularity. Of course after Miss Pear was born, after her name being nice and unpopular, it zoomed to the top 10 after a couple people used it. Of course, this name watching requires almost no effort on my part because my family likes to call and tell me for fun! Not to mention my friends who email me! (Am I the only one who does this?) Although once again we have chosen a very traditional name, so I seriously doubt that it will be used! (Although the boys name we had chosen the first time was used in the Friend's finale). Although I don't think I would suddenly change this time, we are pretty committed to the name we have. But still....
For instance, I have hit the must RUN to the restroom only to wonder why when I get there....
But the weirdest thing has to be the swollen toes. Mine are not huge or painful, just bigger and hot, and just at night. So I started with my toes sticking out of the blankets, then it was up to the ankles, and then mid-calf, but now we are approaching the the up to the knees point. And over a month left. I am so thankful for the ceiling fan above our bed and the big window!
And the memory loss is of course always funny - usually more so to my family. The best one so far was when I was replanting my beans, again. And decided to fertilize them. While I was at it I decided to fertilize the tomatoes and cucumbers too. I COMPLETELY forgot that Mr. Pear had fertilized the tomatoes 3 weeks earlier. Needless to say, a bumper crop of almost scary proportions is on the way! We will be over run with roma, snacker, and grape tomatoes. I foresee a lot of crushed tomatoes in veggie soup in our future!
Of course, I am also very interested in what celebrities are naming their children - not that I am looking for ideas or am a celebrity watcher, just to make sure that no one steals our name! Not that it would really matter, but it would launch it to the top of the name popularity. Of course after Miss Pear was born, after her name being nice and unpopular, it zoomed to the top 10 after a couple people used it. Of course, this name watching requires almost no effort on my part because my family likes to call and tell me for fun! Not to mention my friends who email me! (Am I the only one who does this?) Although once again we have chosen a very traditional name, so I seriously doubt that it will be used! (Although the boys name we had chosen the first time was used in the Friend's finale). Although I don't think I would suddenly change this time, we are pretty committed to the name we have. But still....
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Squeak Squeak
According to Miss Pear we had a squeak squeak this morning - that translates into an earthquake.
And of course the news coverage blew it into a huge story without narrowing down the coverage area from "Southern California", so we called the parents to let them know we are okay...yes, the house shook and made a bit of noise. We have had worse. Miss Pear could really not have cared much less, except that she was curious about the noise.
At which point I realized that we sound like natives.....
And of course the news coverage blew it into a huge story without narrowing down the coverage area from "Southern California", so we called the parents to let them know we are okay...yes, the house shook and made a bit of noise. We have had worse. Miss Pear could really not have cared much less, except that she was curious about the noise.
At which point I realized that we sound like natives.....
Monday, July 28, 2008
Happy Monday Morning to you
Thank you for all the wonderful birthday wishes, kind words after our doctor's appointment, and tips on where to find a good toilet paper sale! (Although unfortunately our Walgreens is forever sold out of the deals. I have a Costco coupon I will check out when we are there Tuesday night, and Target and CVS are running sales close to my target price, so I might just suck it up to be done).
It was definitely a whirl wind weekend.
We spent Friday evening preparing to paint up a storm. And then when Miss Pear was in bed I worked hard cutting stuff for my thank you cards! My new cutter that I was given for my birthday works great!
The plan was hit Costco Saturday morning, but it was too hot, and it seems like Tuesday evening is a better time to go crowd-wise (I don't know about where you live, but in Southern California, unless you are there at store opening Saturdays at Costco are to be avoided, and Sundays are not even to be considered at any time, I can feel the headache coming on just contemplating the thought!) So instead we launched right into painting. We got the paint that was safe for both Miss Pear and me, so we could be in there, and everything was going wonderfully until Miss Pear banged her head on the corner of a piece of furniture - just hard enough to leave a mark and spoil the fun, not hard enough to do serious damage, except to mommy and daddy! So we spent the rest of the morning playing out of harms way and making part of the thank you cards while Mr. Pear painted.
In the afternoon Mr. Pear continued painting while Miss Pear and I made brownies, blueberry biscuits and supper. Yeah, I'm not sure what I was thinking either. (But I made two casseroles and put one in the freezer, plus there were enough leftovers for supper Sunday night, so it was a nice restorative day).
So needless to say Saturday night we were wiped out!
Sunday morning we went to church, came home for lunch and naps, and spent the rest of the day very quietly just puttering around and enjoying each other. We did a little work in the nursery, but that was more a case of wanting to see how furniture would fit that really needing to do it - curiosity is a deadly trait around here! And once the furniture was in place, first try at that, we were DONE.
It is nice to have the last of the big things done. On my must do list now are:
Plus I would like to finish the afghan. To that end I measured last night and have finished 9 and a half inches, or 3 inches this week. Not as much as the first week and a half of work, but pretty respectable considering the crazy week we had!
So our plans for this week are to
What is on your to do list this week?
It was definitely a whirl wind weekend.
We spent Friday evening preparing to paint up a storm. And then when Miss Pear was in bed I worked hard cutting stuff for my thank you cards! My new cutter that I was given for my birthday works great!
The plan was hit Costco Saturday morning, but it was too hot, and it seems like Tuesday evening is a better time to go crowd-wise (I don't know about where you live, but in Southern California, unless you are there at store opening Saturdays at Costco are to be avoided, and Sundays are not even to be considered at any time, I can feel the headache coming on just contemplating the thought!) So instead we launched right into painting. We got the paint that was safe for both Miss Pear and me, so we could be in there, and everything was going wonderfully until Miss Pear banged her head on the corner of a piece of furniture - just hard enough to leave a mark and spoil the fun, not hard enough to do serious damage, except to mommy and daddy! So we spent the rest of the morning playing out of harms way and making part of the thank you cards while Mr. Pear painted.
In the afternoon Mr. Pear continued painting while Miss Pear and I made brownies, blueberry biscuits and supper. Yeah, I'm not sure what I was thinking either. (But I made two casseroles and put one in the freezer, plus there were enough leftovers for supper Sunday night, so it was a nice restorative day).
So needless to say Saturday night we were wiped out!
Sunday morning we went to church, came home for lunch and naps, and spent the rest of the day very quietly just puttering around and enjoying each other. We did a little work in the nursery, but that was more a case of wanting to see how furniture would fit that really needing to do it - curiosity is a deadly trait around here! And once the furniture was in place, first try at that, we were DONE.
It is nice to have the last of the big things done. On my must do list now are:
- Strap baby furniture to the wall (don't ask about the time Miss Pear opened all the drawers in her dresser and tipped it. How it missed her is a mystery! It was the Lord's provision and protection!)
- Set up the crib
- Sort through the blankets
- Wash all the laundry
- Make the crib up
- Put the clothes away
- Write thank you notes for baby showers
Plus I would like to finish the afghan. To that end I measured last night and have finished 9 and a half inches, or 3 inches this week. Not as much as the first week and a half of work, but pretty respectable considering the crazy week we had!
So our plans for this week are to
- strap the furniture (we need to pick up two more sets of straps),
- shop Costco Tuesday night,
- finish the card bases and the cutting for the stamping part (don't worry, I am actually taking pictures!)
- continue to work on Miss Pear's homeschooling - we are trying to work on morning devotions, memory work, and read aloud. We are still hit and miss on these three, and never get all three on the same day. Although she now very proudly sings the Doxology at church. Any how, we view these three things as important foundations so we want to get them rolling in a more diligent manner
- continue working on the afghan
- work on baby books and brag books
- bake bread, raisin bread, banana bread and cookies
What is on your to do list this week?
Friday, July 25, 2008
Slight change of plans....
Well, not really, but I was in blissful denial.
Our C-section has been scheduled for September 10, so the little icon on the sidebar has been updated to reflect the new date. And when 9 days disappeared immediately I kind of hyperventilated, just a little bit. So needless to say, we will definitely be painting this weekend!
So there is now no need for a for fun baby pool because we know it's a girl, and we know when she will arrive, unless she decides she cannot wait of course.....
When the call arrived my to do list suddenly looked overwhelming, but then I realized two things, the only essentials on the list were to paint, organize the furniture, assemble the crib, do laundry, make up the crib, and organize the clothing. Everything else were projects that we have time on. (So what if the wrapping paper was still stored in baby's closet!) The second thing was that my MIL is arriving two weeks before, and she will roll up her sleeves and dig into the to do list with a vengeance.
Of course, one of the fun things I have planned is making my own Thank You notes, and that will just be fun! In fact, I think I should go work on that!
Our C-section has been scheduled for September 10, so the little icon on the sidebar has been updated to reflect the new date. And when 9 days disappeared immediately I kind of hyperventilated, just a little bit. So needless to say, we will definitely be painting this weekend!
So there is now no need for a for fun baby pool because we know it's a girl, and we know when she will arrive, unless she decides she cannot wait of course.....
When the call arrived my to do list suddenly looked overwhelming, but then I realized two things, the only essentials on the list were to paint, organize the furniture, assemble the crib, do laundry, make up the crib, and organize the clothing. Everything else were projects that we have time on. (So what if the wrapping paper was still stored in baby's closet!) The second thing was that my MIL is arriving two weeks before, and she will roll up her sleeves and dig into the to do list with a vengeance.
Of course, one of the fun things I have planned is making my own Thank You notes, and that will just be fun! In fact, I think I should go work on that!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Money related changes
This past weekend there were a couple articles in the local papers in Southern California that caught me by surprise. One said that economists were claiming that they have not seen these kinds of spending shifts since the 70's and another said that marketing gurus were wondering which of these changes would stick. A final article that caught my attention said that groceries in my region of the country had gone up 8.5% quarter over quarter.
So all that being said, I got to thinking.
First off, I am SO grateful that the Lord prompted me to begin shopping with coupons and sales over a year ago. It left me nicely stocked up and better prepared to deal with these increases. We have yet to increase our grocery/household budget, and all the diapers I have bought in anticipation of baby's arrival have fit into that budget (3 jumbo packs of NB, 5 jumbo packs of size 1, and 2 x 192 count boxes of size 1-2, all Pampers, plus wipes). I say this and note that my household goods are well stocked, except for toilet paper which I am watching for a sale on, and that my pantry is relatively well stocked. My freezer needs a bit of help, but I have not been to Costco yet this month for grocery shopping. (And I don't feel the need to do a huge freezer stock up before baby arrives as my MIL will be here to help, and will take over kitchen duties, when she leaves our church will bring meals every second day for two weeks, and then my mom will be here.)
Will I take a small break from CVS and my multiple store shopping for a month or two when baby arrives? Probably, but I am guessing that on most household items I could go well into November without making a purchase at this point, something I have been working hard on. The only exceptions I see are toilet paper, Kleenex, and possibly dishwasher detergent, but they are on my watch list for the rest of July and August.
The changes we have made in the past year and half in our spending habits have included:
However, we did not need experts to tell us to make these changes, we were already making them when all the talking heads started expounding on the changes we should all make!
Unfortunately I see lots of families in our area who do not have any interest in making these kinds of changes. They just make do now trusting that the markets will recover and they will be able to pay of the debt they are racking up now, if their rebate check is already gone.
So do I think that these changes are lasting for us? Definitely!
Do I think that the majority of people will stick to the changes they are making now? Probably not, especially in Southern California.
What big changes have you made in your spending habits? Do you think they will be permanent changes?
Do you think people will stick to these new spending habits overall, or just a few of us?
For great Frugal Friday ideas, head on over to Crystal's!
So all that being said, I got to thinking.
First off, I am SO grateful that the Lord prompted me to begin shopping with coupons and sales over a year ago. It left me nicely stocked up and better prepared to deal with these increases. We have yet to increase our grocery/household budget, and all the diapers I have bought in anticipation of baby's arrival have fit into that budget (3 jumbo packs of NB, 5 jumbo packs of size 1, and 2 x 192 count boxes of size 1-2, all Pampers, plus wipes). I say this and note that my household goods are well stocked, except for toilet paper which I am watching for a sale on, and that my pantry is relatively well stocked. My freezer needs a bit of help, but I have not been to Costco yet this month for grocery shopping. (And I don't feel the need to do a huge freezer stock up before baby arrives as my MIL will be here to help, and will take over kitchen duties, when she leaves our church will bring meals every second day for two weeks, and then my mom will be here.)
Will I take a small break from CVS and my multiple store shopping for a month or two when baby arrives? Probably, but I am guessing that on most household items I could go well into November without making a purchase at this point, something I have been working hard on. The only exceptions I see are toilet paper, Kleenex, and possibly dishwasher detergent, but they are on my watch list for the rest of July and August.
The changes we have made in the past year and half in our spending habits have included:
- a set grocery budget each month, and stick to it!
- getting all our household (except diapers) to fit in there each month in addition to our groceries
- rigorously shopping sales and combining coupons (including CVS)
- doing without if it is not on sale (within reason, I will still always buy milk!)
- doing without in general on some items that were not as essential as we thought
- making all our own baked goods (except for when we are sick and need a little help, but I still try to have a stash in our freezer)
- not "stretching" when we bought our new home - we bought what we could afford.
- praying more diligently about our finances
- planting a garden of what we use the most and trying to learn about canning (I am hoping to learn how to make pickles this year!)
- being cautious in how we use our water etc, including collection the water that would just go down the sink when waiting for hot water for dishes - I give our fruit trees extra water this way!
- really focusing on using what we have rather than needing new or just running out and buying what strikes my fancy because we have the money.
- making better use of our leftovers and focusing on what we are throwing out so that we know where we are being wasteful.
- sharing and borrowing non-consumable goods with my neighbor rather than buying our own.
However, we did not need experts to tell us to make these changes, we were already making them when all the talking heads started expounding on the changes we should all make!
Unfortunately I see lots of families in our area who do not have any interest in making these kinds of changes. They just make do now trusting that the markets will recover and they will be able to pay of the debt they are racking up now, if their rebate check is already gone.
So do I think that these changes are lasting for us? Definitely!
Do I think that the majority of people will stick to the changes they are making now? Probably not, especially in Southern California.
What big changes have you made in your spending habits? Do you think they will be permanent changes?
Do you think people will stick to these new spending habits overall, or just a few of us?
For great Frugal Friday ideas, head on over to Crystal's!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Happy Birthday...
...to me!
Today is my birthday, I think I am getting old (33), but I don't really care, each year has brought such special blessings my way, so I would not give up any of those years!
I am very funny about my birthday. All I really want each year is to have a quiet day enjoying my family. If we go out for supper that is fun, if we eat at home and Mr. Pear BBQ's, that is fun too. But I just want to be together.
I will never forget the year we moved into our town home. Mr. Pear had to be out of the country for his visa, and I flew home from a business trip, on my birthday, arriving home after 11PM to a dark empty home. It really changed my perspective on birthdays. I no longer care about all the hoopla. All I care about is having the people I love near me. And that is exactly what I am getting today!
I woke up to birthday greetings and cuddles. I got all my cards in bed. I am drinking my favorite coffee (in moderation of course!), and am spending the day doing only things I enjoy with Miss Pear. When Mr. Pear comes home we will go out for supper, and then enjoy a quiet rest of the evening with my two favorite people. Although I guess now I can say my three favorite people as a little one is definitely making her presence felt! Throughout the day our family will call to wish me happy birthday, and I love that. And there will be emails and calls from friends too - I love that!
So I am having the exact birthday I love!
If you are stopping by on my birthday, please leave a comment! I would love to know you popped in on this fun day! (Yeah, I am definitely high maintenance!)
Today is my birthday, I think I am getting old (33), but I don't really care, each year has brought such special blessings my way, so I would not give up any of those years!
I am very funny about my birthday. All I really want each year is to have a quiet day enjoying my family. If we go out for supper that is fun, if we eat at home and Mr. Pear BBQ's, that is fun too. But I just want to be together.
I will never forget the year we moved into our town home. Mr. Pear had to be out of the country for his visa, and I flew home from a business trip, on my birthday, arriving home after 11PM to a dark empty home. It really changed my perspective on birthdays. I no longer care about all the hoopla. All I care about is having the people I love near me. And that is exactly what I am getting today!
I woke up to birthday greetings and cuddles. I got all my cards in bed. I am drinking my favorite coffee (in moderation of course!), and am spending the day doing only things I enjoy with Miss Pear. When Mr. Pear comes home we will go out for supper, and then enjoy a quiet rest of the evening with my two favorite people. Although I guess now I can say my three favorite people as a little one is definitely making her presence felt! Throughout the day our family will call to wish me happy birthday, and I love that. And there will be emails and calls from friends too - I love that!
So I am having the exact birthday I love!
If you are stopping by on my birthday, please leave a comment! I would love to know you popped in on this fun day! (Yeah, I am definitely high maintenance!)
Geography for Hockey Fans
This may seem out of season, talking about hockey in July and all, but the NHL has a tradition where the winning team of the oldest trophy in North American sports, the Stanley Cup spends a day with each member of the team. And they can take it anywhere in the world they want - most return to their home town, and pretty much do whatever they want. (The keepers of the cup accompany the trophy, keep it safe and shiny (never mind the dings and dents, they get those out), and move it from player to player).
This turns out to be an excellent geography assignment! So far the cup has toured parts of the US and Canada, and it will spend time overseas. (The NHL boasts lots of European players).
The NHL has established the Stanley Cup's own blog which is updated with the Cup's exploits. And while large quantities of champagne and beer have been consumed from the Cup, many of the players are husbands and fathers, so the day of celebration often involves eating cereal out of the cup for breakfast (and later on ice cream) with the kids and sweet family moments.
So a map of the US and Europe, and some stickers, along with the blog, and you have yourself a geography project as you track the Cup around the world! (If you have a AAA membership be sure to get your maps there for free!)
Plus, a lot of the players focus on sharing the cup with those who helped get them there, so you have some pretty inspiring stories too!
Hockey, the Cup, and geography - works for me!
(Plus the Cup has a very long and rich history - just think of all the homeschooling lessons this one trophy can help teach!)
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
31 1/2 week Dr. Appointment
I am happy to report that our doctor's visit went very well! We are now into the every two week appointments.
The highlights were that baby is definitely still breech, and she is measuring a bit a head of schedule (thank you Mr. Pear - your family and their blue ribbon babies! My family makes nice petite things! Sorry, long standing family joke that I could not resist throwing in!). Although size of babies is a very inexact science, especially this early, and so much can change between now and then, I will not be investing in more 0-3 month clothes!
Also, my fundus height is also a bit ahead of schedule (how high the womb is) which explains the return of nausea and heart burn! But it is also the constant reminder that all is good. It also explains why I feel hugely pregnant, but I try not to grin about that too much!
The heart beat is nice and strong, and all my lab work is lovely. (Except for the part where they actually draw the blood - that part is NEVER lovely!)
I think the best news was when we talked about the pain I was having in my hips, and the doctor assured me that it was not something I just had to endure for 8-9 more weeks (this is more than just the regular pregnant aches and pains). We talked about stretches I can do, and if that does not work she will refer me to physical therapy. Just knowing that this was something we can work on made me feel so wonderful!
The summary is that baby is healthy, I am healthy, and my C-section is being scheduled.
I am happily pregnant, enjoying this sweet time with my family, and am just trusting the whole delivery to God.
And did I mention that I CANNOT WAIT to meet this baby!
The highlights were that baby is definitely still breech, and she is measuring a bit a head of schedule (thank you Mr. Pear - your family and their blue ribbon babies! My family makes nice petite things! Sorry, long standing family joke that I could not resist throwing in!). Although size of babies is a very inexact science, especially this early, and so much can change between now and then, I will not be investing in more 0-3 month clothes!
Also, my fundus height is also a bit ahead of schedule (how high the womb is) which explains the return of nausea and heart burn! But it is also the constant reminder that all is good. It also explains why I feel hugely pregnant, but I try not to grin about that too much!
The heart beat is nice and strong, and all my lab work is lovely. (Except for the part where they actually draw the blood - that part is NEVER lovely!)
I think the best news was when we talked about the pain I was having in my hips, and the doctor assured me that it was not something I just had to endure for 8-9 more weeks (this is more than just the regular pregnant aches and pains). We talked about stretches I can do, and if that does not work she will refer me to physical therapy. Just knowing that this was something we can work on made me feel so wonderful!
The summary is that baby is healthy, I am healthy, and my C-section is being scheduled.
I am happily pregnant, enjoying this sweet time with my family, and am just trusting the whole delivery to God.
And did I mention that I CANNOT WAIT to meet this baby!
Pancakes Please!
Saturday morning I sent Miss Pear upstairs to ask Mr. Pear what he would like for lunch. He was not feeling good, and I was not sure what he could eat.
Apparently Miss Pear went up the stairs and asked Daddy if he would like pancakes for lunch - he said yes. There was not time to make pancakes before nap time (I was thinking would he like sandwiches, toast, or soup the way he had been feeling!)
Saturday night, after running errands the question was again, what would you like for lunch - again Miss Pear chimed in Pancakes! We had a different plan.
So finally Sunday night we had to make pancakes before Miss Pear's one track mind exploded!
Miss Pear loves pancakes, but sometimes the whole ones are a little too big for her, but she thinks "silver dollars" are great!
So for
I thought I would share my tip for making silver dollar pancakes (the little guys) that are all the same size and very little mess!
I make my regular pancake batter (Either the Buttermilk one from Better Homes and Gardens, or the More with Less one from the Baking Mix).
I use my big griddle, even though I am making small pancakes so that I can get 7 or 8 to a batch.
To transfer the batter to the griddle I use a small ice cream scoop (instead of the soup ladle I use for regular pancakes). I use one where you can squeeze it to force the batter out, and it works great! I also rub the bottom of it against the batter bowl as I take the scoop out so that it cannot drip!
This really works well as I do not have drips all over the place, and all the pancakes are the same size so they look more like silver dollars, and cook evenly, which is important when your pancakes are so small!
Head on over to Tammy's for more great tips!
Apparently Miss Pear went up the stairs and asked Daddy if he would like pancakes for lunch - he said yes. There was not time to make pancakes before nap time (I was thinking would he like sandwiches, toast, or soup the way he had been feeling!)
Saturday night, after running errands the question was again, what would you like for lunch - again Miss Pear chimed in Pancakes! We had a different plan.
So finally Sunday night we had to make pancakes before Miss Pear's one track mind exploded!
Miss Pear loves pancakes, but sometimes the whole ones are a little too big for her, but she thinks "silver dollars" are great!
So for
I thought I would share my tip for making silver dollar pancakes (the little guys) that are all the same size and very little mess!
I make my regular pancake batter (Either the Buttermilk one from Better Homes and Gardens, or the More with Less one from the Baking Mix).
I use my big griddle, even though I am making small pancakes so that I can get 7 or 8 to a batch.
To transfer the batter to the griddle I use a small ice cream scoop (instead of the soup ladle I use for regular pancakes). I use one where you can squeeze it to force the batter out, and it works great! I also rub the bottom of it against the batter bowl as I take the scoop out so that it cannot drip!
This really works well as I do not have drips all over the place, and all the pancakes are the same size so they look more like silver dollars, and cook evenly, which is important when your pancakes are so small!
Head on over to Tammy's for more great tips!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Baby's Afghan Update #1
I figured if I updated you on the progress of my afghan for baby I would be super inspired to knit like a fiend and get it done in time! But it turns out I am making fairly good progress. Plus some of you are so sweet to me that I figured you would honestly be interested!
I posted about my advanced math here when I was trying to figure the resizing out so I would know how much wool to buy and how many stitches to cast on.
The original Honeycomb Lace pattern can be found here.
As with most free patterns it had some errors in it. And while that slowed me down tremendously at first, I got it figured out (with only one distress call). If you make this afghan, substitute the following lines for where it says lines 1-8 (starting and ending each row with 7 stitches in moss stitch of course).
After knitting for about a week and a half I have completed 6 and a half inches of the afghan, and it is approximately 35 inches wide (I will know better once more is knitted, but with the cast on problem it is a bit wider than I had anticipated...oh well, it will keep baby nice and warm.)
Regardless of the initial problems, I am very pleased with how it is knitting up and how it looks. I have figured out the markers of the pattern (so I know if I am off at all by how the stitches line up - in lines 1 and 5 the k1 in the sequence will be over the stitch that appears pearled), so that helps a lot. And the picture that accompanies the pattern does not do it justice in the least! Once I am done I will post a completed picture!
Knitting Goal: Completed in time to pack it in my hospital suitcase to use as a nursing cover in the hospital and coming home blanket if needed. (Back up plan - finished in time to be used once we pass the swaddling stage!)
I posted about my advanced math here when I was trying to figure the resizing out so I would know how much wool to buy and how many stitches to cast on.
The original Honeycomb Lace pattern can be found here.
As with most free patterns it had some errors in it. And while that slowed me down tremendously at first, I got it figured out (with only one distress call). If you make this afghan, substitute the following lines for where it says lines 1-8 (starting and ending each row with 7 stitches in moss stitch of course).
Pattern Stitch:The other problem I had was that the cast on adjustments did not work, but apparently neither would the numbers they gave me, because I did increase by a multiple of 6. I think the cast on math should be 15 + 6 x (number of times through sequence to get desired width).
Row 1: p1, *k2 together, yo, k1, yo, s1, k1, psso, p1; rep from *
Row 2: k1, *p5, k1; rep from *
Row 3: p1, *k5, p1; rep from *
Row 4: Rep Row 2
Row 5: k1, yo, s1, k1, psso, *p1, k2 together, yo, k1, yo, s1, k1, psso; rep from * ending p1, k2 together, yo, k1
Row 6: p3, *k1, p5; rep from * ending k1, p3
Row 7: k3, *p1, k5; rep from * ending p1, k3
Row 8: Rep Row 6
After knitting for about a week and a half I have completed 6 and a half inches of the afghan, and it is approximately 35 inches wide (I will know better once more is knitted, but with the cast on problem it is a bit wider than I had anticipated...oh well, it will keep baby nice and warm.)
Regardless of the initial problems, I am very pleased with how it is knitting up and how it looks. I have figured out the markers of the pattern (so I know if I am off at all by how the stitches line up - in lines 1 and 5 the k1 in the sequence will be over the stitch that appears pearled), so that helps a lot. And the picture that accompanies the pattern does not do it justice in the least! Once I am done I will post a completed picture!
Knitting Goal: Completed in time to pack it in my hospital suitcase to use as a nursing cover in the hospital and coming home blanket if needed. (Back up plan - finished in time to be used once we pass the swaddling stage!)
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Did I really just say that????
I love being a mom, and one of the things that amuses me is the things that come out of my mouth.
Tonight at supper as Miss Pear's soup was in a bowl shaped like a heart this little gem came out of my mouth, "If you are going to drink your soup, be sure to drink from the pointy end."
Yup, definitely up for mom of the year....
What do you find yourself saying and then trying not to laugh at yourself?
Tonight at supper as Miss Pear's soup was in a bowl shaped like a heart this little gem came out of my mouth, "If you are going to drink your soup, be sure to drink from the pointy end."
Yup, definitely up for mom of the year....
What do you find yourself saying and then trying not to laugh at yourself?
Hmmmm...a little to the left....
I am wondering how many times it is possible to move three pieces of furniture around. The hide a bed love seat which replaces the futon that was in baby's room arrived, (which should answer the questions of what we did with our rebate check - we made sure the grandmas had a place to sleep) and was placed in the living room. I immediately moved it, not lifting it, just gently shoved it about 6 inches. Then Mr. Pear came home and we moved it again. That was Tuesday.
Yesterday we moved the love seat, pre-existing chair and couch. Plus an end table and the toy basket.
We agreed to leave it over night to see what we think.
I think it is growing on me, but I am not sure I am done moving things around.
So how many times can we realistically move stuff around? I'm not sure, I'll let you know...
And if the living room does not win the award for most revised plans, I think the nursery might. I had it all figured out. And then I changed my mind. And then I revised me plan. And now I am not sure. It is crib placement that is the problem, on one wall I think the vent will blow on it, but on the other workable wall the morning sun will shine right on it, and in my experience kids get up with the light. So I debate and digress. The real problem is finding a place to hang our laundry to dry. We used to do that in the guest room, but we don't have a guest room anymore, it is becoming the nursery, and have I mentioned that I am REALLY excited about that?
I had been hoping to post about the hope chest finally, and the gardening project and the baby afghan, but Mr. Pear was home sick yesterday, and again today, so we will see.
Yesterday we moved the love seat, pre-existing chair and couch. Plus an end table and the toy basket.
We agreed to leave it over night to see what we think.
I think it is growing on me, but I am not sure I am done moving things around.
So how many times can we realistically move stuff around? I'm not sure, I'll let you know...
And if the living room does not win the award for most revised plans, I think the nursery might. I had it all figured out. And then I changed my mind. And then I revised me plan. And now I am not sure. It is crib placement that is the problem, on one wall I think the vent will blow on it, but on the other workable wall the morning sun will shine right on it, and in my experience kids get up with the light. So I debate and digress. The real problem is finding a place to hang our laundry to dry. We used to do that in the guest room, but we don't have a guest room anymore, it is becoming the nursery, and have I mentioned that I am REALLY excited about that?
I had been hoping to post about the hope chest finally, and the gardening project and the baby afghan, but Mr. Pear was home sick yesterday, and again today, so we will see.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Pictures, Pictures Everywhere...
...and not a print in sight.
Can you please help me out? I am so frustrated!
We started using snapfish when Miss Pear was born three years ago - we ordered our birth announcements from them. They came great! We were trilled.
That year we ordered our Christmas cards from them - they had to be reshipped twice as they were just shipped in flimsy paper envelopes like you mail cards in, and kept getting damaged.
The next Christmas we sent regular cards because frankly I just could not face the whole mess. Somewhere in there I again ordered prints and it was not great.
Last Christmas we again sent snapfish cards, and it was okay.
I just placed a large order for 69 prints of assorted sizes two weeks ago, and approximately 23 are missing when the order arrived today. I called, and they are reissuing the order, I think. I could not understand the customer service person, and I don't think they could understand me.
So while I like the prices, it is not worth it to me if it takes me over a month to get my order. Plus I am trying to find a place to do birth announcements in the fall.
So can you help me out? What service to you use for printing digital pictures and ordering picture cards? Are you happy with them? Do they play nice with Macs?
Can you please help me out? I am so frustrated!
We started using snapfish when Miss Pear was born three years ago - we ordered our birth announcements from them. They came great! We were trilled.
That year we ordered our Christmas cards from them - they had to be reshipped twice as they were just shipped in flimsy paper envelopes like you mail cards in, and kept getting damaged.
The next Christmas we sent regular cards because frankly I just could not face the whole mess. Somewhere in there I again ordered prints and it was not great.
Last Christmas we again sent snapfish cards, and it was okay.
I just placed a large order for 69 prints of assorted sizes two weeks ago, and approximately 23 are missing when the order arrived today. I called, and they are reissuing the order, I think. I could not understand the customer service person, and I don't think they could understand me.
So while I like the prices, it is not worth it to me if it takes me over a month to get my order. Plus I am trying to find a place to do birth announcements in the fall.
So can you help me out? What service to you use for printing digital pictures and ordering picture cards? Are you happy with them? Do they play nice with Macs?
Happy Wednesday
So yet another general post!
The TV situation has been resolved - for the cost of what repair would be we got a new one. (Good deal at Costco after shopping around). If you factor in that the bulb is scheduled to blow in the spring and how much one of those cost, this is actually cheaper. While we are not thrilled to be spending extra money right now, we are thrilled with the TV - it fits better in this house, is a better TV, and at the risk of being labeled a wimp - being in my third trimester and having trouble finding things and amounts I can eat that don't make me sick and having very hot weather, a TV is a very nice luxury. (And by the way, I am one of those weird women who are happy to have pregnancy symptoms that make us feel not the best - it reminds me that the little one inside me is doing well, and how grateful I am to be carrying her. Whenever I feel yucky I just think about the why, and smile with thanks. Then I steal a kiss and hug from Miss Pear - a favorite game.)
While I was kind of annoyed and complaining about the TV, a reality check made me feel much differently. In this fire season in California we have set a record for most acres burned - and it is only July. From the big fires last fall, in some areas, the first people are just now getting their rebuilding permit. I was without a TV - big deal! They were without their home!
Nothing like a little perspective.
A dear friend sent me some of her extra kefir grains, so while we were at Costco I picked up more milk so I could continue reviving them. I am hoping that I will be able to have healthy smoothies for breakfasts! They have always been a favorite breakfast of mine during the hot summers, so I am hoping that this will work well. And I am one of those weird people who are happy with just milk and bananas - although with kefir I might add a bit of honey. I am looking forward to experimenting with this healthy treat.
She will also be hopefully able to send some water kefir grains, she was going to try, but they are also moving, so we will see what happens. Water grains are a little different and make fruit juice into an almost carbonated beverage. I am excited to try that!
Other than that, we are just plodding through our week trying to get some things done, spend extra time in prayer and the Word, work on baby's afghan, and read lots.
My motto lately is, "Plod, plod, plod...I think it's a plodder!"
Bonus points if you can tell me what children's book I have been reading to get that quote from...
Thank you for all your kind words of encouragement this week - they mean so much to me, and helped. My Monday blah's are over, but I will continue to do the work they prompted me to. This week also showed me just how much work God has to do on me.
The TV situation has been resolved - for the cost of what repair would be we got a new one. (Good deal at Costco after shopping around). If you factor in that the bulb is scheduled to blow in the spring and how much one of those cost, this is actually cheaper. While we are not thrilled to be spending extra money right now, we are thrilled with the TV - it fits better in this house, is a better TV, and at the risk of being labeled a wimp - being in my third trimester and having trouble finding things and amounts I can eat that don't make me sick and having very hot weather, a TV is a very nice luxury. (And by the way, I am one of those weird women who are happy to have pregnancy symptoms that make us feel not the best - it reminds me that the little one inside me is doing well, and how grateful I am to be carrying her. Whenever I feel yucky I just think about the why, and smile with thanks. Then I steal a kiss and hug from Miss Pear - a favorite game.)
While I was kind of annoyed and complaining about the TV, a reality check made me feel much differently. In this fire season in California we have set a record for most acres burned - and it is only July. From the big fires last fall, in some areas, the first people are just now getting their rebuilding permit. I was without a TV - big deal! They were without their home!
Nothing like a little perspective.
A dear friend sent me some of her extra kefir grains, so while we were at Costco I picked up more milk so I could continue reviving them. I am hoping that I will be able to have healthy smoothies for breakfasts! They have always been a favorite breakfast of mine during the hot summers, so I am hoping that this will work well. And I am one of those weird people who are happy with just milk and bananas - although with kefir I might add a bit of honey. I am looking forward to experimenting with this healthy treat.
She will also be hopefully able to send some water kefir grains, she was going to try, but they are also moving, so we will see what happens. Water grains are a little different and make fruit juice into an almost carbonated beverage. I am excited to try that!
Other than that, we are just plodding through our week trying to get some things done, spend extra time in prayer and the Word, work on baby's afghan, and read lots.
My motto lately is, "Plod, plod, plod...I think it's a plodder!"
Bonus points if you can tell me what children's book I have been reading to get that quote from...
Thank you for all your kind words of encouragement this week - they mean so much to me, and helped. My Monday blah's are over, but I will continue to do the work they prompted me to. This week also showed me just how much work God has to do on me.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Morning Devotional Time
We try to have morning devotions around here - usually during the week it is just Miss Pear and I.
We read a page out of a preschool devotional, read a chapter from our Bible (we are in Acts) and then read a couple books that teach about God.
This morning we were reading a children's book about prayer, and it talked about being close to God.
Miss Pear said that she did not want to be close to Him because she would bump into him and have to say sorry.
I started explaining that the book meant close as in close to snuggle, not bump into, but then I thought about it and realized that she was taking what she had learned about saying sorry and applying it. So I assured her that God did not mind when we bumped into Him.
We read a page out of a preschool devotional, read a chapter from our Bible (we are in Acts) and then read a couple books that teach about God.
This morning we were reading a children's book about prayer, and it talked about being close to God.
Miss Pear said that she did not want to be close to Him because she would bump into him and have to say sorry.
I started explaining that the book meant close as in close to snuggle, not bump into, but then I thought about it and realized that she was taking what she had learned about saying sorry and applying it. So I assured her that God did not mind when we bumped into Him.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Monday Morning Blah's
I would like to convince you that each Monday morning I hit the ground running, but that would be a lie. And I expect that this week will be even slower. I had such high hopes for this past weekend, after all, it was Mr. Pear's birthday weekend! Yet sciatica made it necessary for me to ask him for help grocery shopping, on his birthday. And then our T.V. died a painful death (I am praying that it can be fixed relatively inexpensively, and that will be a miracle). It is frustrating to have these unexpected expenses when we had budgeted so carefully for our needs and are working so hard to make our money go further!
Plus we were playing outside and Miss Pear climbed up on a chair that tipped and she grazed her cheek on the raised flower bed wall. It could have been so much worse, but my heart broke all the same. She has a small graze and bruise, about the size of a quarter, but we will see how the bruise looks tomorrow. A kiss, a cuddle, and an ice cream cone made everything better as far as she was concerned! She is just fine, and mommy's heart rate has returned to normal.
Plus it seems the more I pray for things on my heart the more things go wrong and the exact opposite happens! I have no idea what is going on. And then just to make things fun Sunday morning I woke up so stiff and achy with sciatica that we did not make it to church, which probably did not help the whole situation or at least my outlook on it. (I hate to complain about any pregnancy symptoms or aches and pains because I am so grateful and thankful to be carrying a healthy baby! If you wonder why I am particularly grateful you can check the archive to see why I started blogging, and I knew a lady who could say nothing good about being pregnant or about being a new mom, and I think of that everything I am tempted to whine.)
On the plus side, at least the angel food cake we made for the birthday supper turned out great, and Miss Pear did a great job on the sprinkles!
So the plan this week is to play outside lots (especially in the cool of the morning), bake lots, and spend lots of time praying and in God's Word. So if I fall off the face of the earth a bit you know why.
Although I did want to post about the gardening experiment that we are trying!
Plus we were playing outside and Miss Pear climbed up on a chair that tipped and she grazed her cheek on the raised flower bed wall. It could have been so much worse, but my heart broke all the same. She has a small graze and bruise, about the size of a quarter, but we will see how the bruise looks tomorrow. A kiss, a cuddle, and an ice cream cone made everything better as far as she was concerned! She is just fine, and mommy's heart rate has returned to normal.
Plus it seems the more I pray for things on my heart the more things go wrong and the exact opposite happens! I have no idea what is going on. And then just to make things fun Sunday morning I woke up so stiff and achy with sciatica that we did not make it to church, which probably did not help the whole situation or at least my outlook on it. (I hate to complain about any pregnancy symptoms or aches and pains because I am so grateful and thankful to be carrying a healthy baby! If you wonder why I am particularly grateful you can check the archive to see why I started blogging, and I knew a lady who could say nothing good about being pregnant or about being a new mom, and I think of that everything I am tempted to whine.)
On the plus side, at least the angel food cake we made for the birthday supper turned out great, and Miss Pear did a great job on the sprinkles!
So the plan this week is to play outside lots (especially in the cool of the morning), bake lots, and spend lots of time praying and in God's Word. So if I fall off the face of the earth a bit you know why.
Although I did want to post about the gardening experiment that we are trying!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Friday Evening???
I have to confess, I am not certain how it is already Friday evening - although I am very thankful because for some reason I really missed Mr. Pear extra this week while he was at work.
I am more than thrilled to say that I finished Miss Pear's purple heart afghan and she loves it. As suspected it turned out wider than it is long, but it covers her and assorted animals beside her, which is important. Plus the wool was losing its fuzz so I am not certain how long it will last and do not want to invest in more wool at $6 a ball full price. The important thing is that it works for now, she loves it, and knows I love her.
Speaking of Miss Pear, she climbed into a pile of clean blankets on the bed, arranged them and said she was a birdie and it was her nest. Later she referred to her habitat. The bigger the words the happier she is!
We made a very quick run to Target after supper to take advantage of the phenomenal diaper deal. I am thrilled to say that potty training continues to go very well. Miss Pear does great, but still needs a diaper when sleeping, and we use Easy Ups when out as she does not like the big toilets in the public restrooms (any ideas on this one?). So the diapers we bought were in anticipation of baby's arrival.
While at Target Mr Pear found a composter for $27 that was over 75% marked down and is small enough to fit in our backyard! So that was such a blessing for us as I had been praying for one that would fit and that would easily fit into our budget even with the baby preparations!
I am also happy to say that with those last two packages of diapers I can officially say that I am done the needs list for baby (unless I cannot figure out the lighting in the nursery, then I need a light as there is no ceiling light). There are some odds and ends that will have to eventually be picked up, but it can be after. It was really important to us to have this done early as it gets so hot here, and we want to enjoy the last weeks of pregnancy not be sweltering in the heat as run tons of errands! This always results in Miss Pear and I being wiped out! So now, in the hottest summer heat, we just have our usual grocery shopping!
Also, I was just counting the wipes situation, and with the Target deals of having to buy wipes to get the $5 off, and the Babies R Us running a similar deal, I figure we have about 26 wipes refills. So needless to say, we are more than sufficiently stocked up! A very unexpected blessing for which I am grateful!
Other than that it was a very quiet week as some of the aches and pains of the third trimester caught up to me. It could be that all of a sudden the kicks got a lot stronger too! (And still 10 weeks to go! But SO worth it! I cannot wait to meet and snuggle this baby!) So with the heat around here it was a nice quiet week, and I am hoping the weekend will be the same!
I am more than thrilled to say that I finished Miss Pear's purple heart afghan and she loves it. As suspected it turned out wider than it is long, but it covers her and assorted animals beside her, which is important. Plus the wool was losing its fuzz so I am not certain how long it will last and do not want to invest in more wool at $6 a ball full price. The important thing is that it works for now, she loves it, and knows I love her.
Speaking of Miss Pear, she climbed into a pile of clean blankets on the bed, arranged them and said she was a birdie and it was her nest. Later she referred to her habitat. The bigger the words the happier she is!
We made a very quick run to Target after supper to take advantage of the phenomenal diaper deal. I am thrilled to say that potty training continues to go very well. Miss Pear does great, but still needs a diaper when sleeping, and we use Easy Ups when out as she does not like the big toilets in the public restrooms (any ideas on this one?). So the diapers we bought were in anticipation of baby's arrival.
While at Target Mr Pear found a composter for $27 that was over 75% marked down and is small enough to fit in our backyard! So that was such a blessing for us as I had been praying for one that would fit and that would easily fit into our budget even with the baby preparations!
I am also happy to say that with those last two packages of diapers I can officially say that I am done the needs list for baby (unless I cannot figure out the lighting in the nursery, then I need a light as there is no ceiling light). There are some odds and ends that will have to eventually be picked up, but it can be after. It was really important to us to have this done early as it gets so hot here, and we want to enjoy the last weeks of pregnancy not be sweltering in the heat as run tons of errands! This always results in Miss Pear and I being wiped out! So now, in the hottest summer heat, we just have our usual grocery shopping!
Also, I was just counting the wipes situation, and with the Target deals of having to buy wipes to get the $5 off, and the Babies R Us running a similar deal, I figure we have about 26 wipes refills. So needless to say, we are more than sufficiently stocked up! A very unexpected blessing for which I am grateful!
Other than that it was a very quiet week as some of the aches and pains of the third trimester caught up to me. It could be that all of a sudden the kicks got a lot stronger too! (And still 10 weeks to go! But SO worth it! I cannot wait to meet and snuggle this baby!) So with the heat around here it was a nice quiet week, and I am hoping the weekend will be the same!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Garden Update
I realized that it has been a long time since I talked about our garden! While I don't have pictures, I can still update you!
The blueberries are almost done - one bush decided to give us a second crop. They were so delicious and such a treat. Miss Pear loved harvesting her snacks!
Most of the fruit trees will not produce fruit this year, despite the plethora of blooms. This is actually good as it establishes the trees better. It does appear that we will get mandarins though! And our lemon tree is working hard on a few little lemons, but no hints of yellow yet!
Our beans and cucumbers got off to a very rough start due to snails and slugs. Cucumbers required three replantings and beans at least 5. I finally found a snail and slug bait that works, so we are not actually seeing progress!
Our tomatoes are now over 3 feet tall except for one variety that is not doing so well. There are lots of blooms and small green tomatoes so I am looking forward to tomatoes in a few weeks. (And hopefully a bumper crop when my MIL is here with her expert canning knowledge!)
We are looking forward to carrots very soon too!
Our peppers are off to a rough start, but we may have some by the end of the season keeping in mind that September is the peak of our heat, and we will have warm weather into October and even early November.
So I have learned that:
The blueberries are almost done - one bush decided to give us a second crop. They were so delicious and such a treat. Miss Pear loved harvesting her snacks!
Most of the fruit trees will not produce fruit this year, despite the plethora of blooms. This is actually good as it establishes the trees better. It does appear that we will get mandarins though! And our lemon tree is working hard on a few little lemons, but no hints of yellow yet!
Our beans and cucumbers got off to a very rough start due to snails and slugs. Cucumbers required three replantings and beans at least 5. I finally found a snail and slug bait that works, so we are not actually seeing progress!
Our tomatoes are now over 3 feet tall except for one variety that is not doing so well. There are lots of blooms and small green tomatoes so I am looking forward to tomatoes in a few weeks. (And hopefully a bumper crop when my MIL is here with her expert canning knowledge!)
We are looking forward to carrots very soon too!
Our peppers are off to a rough start, but we may have some by the end of the season keeping in mind that September is the peak of our heat, and we will have warm weather into October and even early November.
So I have learned that:
- Our soil is very poor and needs lots of compost this winter - fortunately because we do the yard waste material bins on garbage day we can get free compost if we just go pick it up.
- Our yard is shadier than I realized making the growing season start a bit later than anticipated
- Snails and slugs out eat any teenage boy I have ever met, and cannot be shown mercy of removing them as they just return and ravage what they missed the first time!
- I will not grow lettuce again because even though it is doing very well it is encouraging snails and slugs to visit.
- I will try again next year and hopefully do better!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
A Concerned Big Sister
Yesterday we had furniture for baby's room delivered - dresser, chest of drawers and night stand (Miss Pear calls them side table drawers). And upon inspection Miss Pear announced in her saddest voice, "Baby's side table drawer only has one drawer!" as opposed to hers that has two. It was so sweet. I reassured her it would be okay.
After a hug and kiss, and another look Miss Pear ran off to her room to look for books to be put in baby's side table drawer.
Do you think someone is excited?
After a hug and kiss, and another look Miss Pear ran off to her room to look for books to be put in baby's side table drawer.
Do you think someone is excited?
Baby's Afghan
Somehow along the lines this has become a blog all about our pregnancy, preparations and the like. I promise to get back to the hope chest series - even though that is about kids too. But then again, it is what is going on in our house!
It appears that I will finish Miss Pear's Heart Afghan tomorrow, and will eagerly launch straight into baby's afghan.
For baby I will be knitting the Honeycomb Lace Baby Blanket.
I chose this this pattern because it was:
I was shooting for about 30-35 inches by about 40.
So it was time for advanced math.
The wool called for was a gauge of 5 stitches per inch, or 20 stitches per 4 inches. The wool I got is 22 stitches per 4 inches, so just a shade smaller. Therefore I am calculating out my cast on stitches using 5 stitches per inch but 35 inches across, even though it will be a bit smaller.
Using 5 stitches per inch because it was easier and assuming 35 inches I figured out that I would need to cast on 175 stitches, but reading the pattern I figured out that the pattern can only be adjusted increments of 6 (Row 2 says knit 1 then do a repeating pattern of pearl 5 knit 1, so this means that the 6 pattern is repeating.) Therefore I adjusted to a cast on of 174.
To figure out how much wool I needed I relied on old fashioned area - not exact, but close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades.
The area for the original pattern was 832 square inches requiring 5 x 50 gram balls of wool.
Mine would be 30 x 40 or 1200 square inches, and my wool came in 160 gram balls. So I bought 3 balls, which is fine because they were on sale, I had a 10% off your entire order whether on sale or not, and it is always best to have a little extra than run out because knitting math never works as well in reality as in theory! Plus, leftovers can always be knit into a little hat and booties set!
As I work I can adjust. If it turns out that the blanket is indeed wider than expected, that can become the length and I can just knit until I am the width I would like for the length as this pattern will work either way and is forgiving in that sense!
So I have my pattern, my wool, my knitting needles, and a baby kicking to keep me focused! I think I am set as soon as I knit those last 4 rows of Miss Pear's afghan and cast off!
It appears that I will finish Miss Pear's Heart Afghan tomorrow, and will eagerly launch straight into baby's afghan.
For baby I will be knitting the Honeycomb Lace Baby Blanket.
I chose this this pattern because it was:
- beautiful,
- within my knitting ability,
- had lots of holes in the pattern which makes it perfect for a first blanket once we pass the swaddling stage. If baby somehow manages to get it over her face she can still easily breath - a question we asked our pediatrician when Miss Pear would no longer stay swaddled and we were debating about blankets! He responded by tossing her blanket over her face and showing us that as a crochet blanket with lots of holes the one we had with her was perfect to use because no matter what she could breath! (I did not like the sleep sacks because I felt like I was putting my baby in a potato sack! Not reasonable but how I felt.)
I was shooting for about 30-35 inches by about 40.
So it was time for advanced math.
The wool called for was a gauge of 5 stitches per inch, or 20 stitches per 4 inches. The wool I got is 22 stitches per 4 inches, so just a shade smaller. Therefore I am calculating out my cast on stitches using 5 stitches per inch but 35 inches across, even though it will be a bit smaller.
Using 5 stitches per inch because it was easier and assuming 35 inches I figured out that I would need to cast on 175 stitches, but reading the pattern I figured out that the pattern can only be adjusted increments of 6 (Row 2 says knit 1 then do a repeating pattern of pearl 5 knit 1, so this means that the 6 pattern is repeating.) Therefore I adjusted to a cast on of 174.
To figure out how much wool I needed I relied on old fashioned area - not exact, but close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades.
The area for the original pattern was 832 square inches requiring 5 x 50 gram balls of wool.
Mine would be 30 x 40 or 1200 square inches, and my wool came in 160 gram balls. So I bought 3 balls, which is fine because they were on sale, I had a 10% off your entire order whether on sale or not, and it is always best to have a little extra than run out because knitting math never works as well in reality as in theory! Plus, leftovers can always be knit into a little hat and booties set!
As I work I can adjust. If it turns out that the blanket is indeed wider than expected, that can become the length and I can just knit until I am the width I would like for the length as this pattern will work either way and is forgiving in that sense!
So I have my pattern, my wool, my knitting needles, and a baby kicking to keep me focused! I think I am set as soon as I knit those last 4 rows of Miss Pear's afghan and cast off!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Using Fresh from the Garden Cilantro
Today for Kitchen Tip Tuesday I thought I would share a valuable lesson I learned.
We had planted fresh cilantro in our garden, and when I went to use it in chili I was disappointed to see that I only had about half of what I would usually use when I bought fresh from the store. But I put it in and hoped for the best. I was shocked to discover that it was REALLY strong, almost too strong, and had killed a lot of the chili flavor, so I added more chili seasoning.
The lesson I learned is that when using fresh cilantro from your garden start with a quarter of what you usually need and slowly add. It is much more potent than the fresh stuff you buy in the store.
Trust me, your family will thank me on this one!
We had planted fresh cilantro in our garden, and when I went to use it in chili I was disappointed to see that I only had about half of what I would usually use when I bought fresh from the store. But I put it in and hoped for the best. I was shocked to discover that it was REALLY strong, almost too strong, and had killed a lot of the chili flavor, so I added more chili seasoning.
The lesson I learned is that when using fresh cilantro from your garden start with a quarter of what you usually need and slowly add. It is much more potent than the fresh stuff you buy in the store.
Trust me, your family will thank me on this one!
Happy Tuesday!
As Cheri pointed out, it appears that we neglected to rest much on the long weekend. I think I needed her to email me that on Saturday afternoon, but it was hard for her to do so when I did not post about our weekend until Monday morning! :-) She was very right!
Needless to say that after the picnic at Church Sunday for lunch, we came home and all rested (I don't think I even rolled around!)
So Monday was a very quiet day. My accomplishments consist of making muffins so that we could have breakfast the rest of the week, working on an afghan (forced to sit in a recliner and knit), and uploading all the pictures I needed to finish Miss Pear's baby book up to current, and send her 3 year pictures out which was a fun project with Mr. Pear after our little one finally stayed in bed. (Not a hardship as I have a lap top and am skilled at typing laying down with the laptop on my knees).
All the dishes went in the dishwasher - even the muffin tins.
I napped when Miss Pear did, and we played lots.
The only hardish thing about the day was that baby was practicing karate. I had been saying soccer up until now, but this morning had me upgrade! :-)
But even the kicks that hurt make me smile, right after the wince, because they confirm that all is okay and my baby is growing well.
Oh, and I made two phone calls to schedule stuff that was no big deal.
It was a wonderful weekend followed by a restful day, and a lesson learned in the kitchen, but I will be saving that lesson learned for Kitchen Tip Tuesday later on! It was not horrible, just I could do a much better job next time....
And today baby's furniture gets delivered! (we got the carpet washed just in time!)
Needless to say that after the picnic at Church Sunday for lunch, we came home and all rested (I don't think I even rolled around!)
So Monday was a very quiet day. My accomplishments consist of making muffins so that we could have breakfast the rest of the week, working on an afghan (forced to sit in a recliner and knit), and uploading all the pictures I needed to finish Miss Pear's baby book up to current, and send her 3 year pictures out which was a fun project with Mr. Pear after our little one finally stayed in bed. (Not a hardship as I have a lap top and am skilled at typing laying down with the laptop on my knees).
All the dishes went in the dishwasher - even the muffin tins.
I napped when Miss Pear did, and we played lots.
The only hardish thing about the day was that baby was practicing karate. I had been saying soccer up until now, but this morning had me upgrade! :-)
But even the kicks that hurt make me smile, right after the wince, because they confirm that all is okay and my baby is growing well.
Oh, and I made two phone calls to schedule stuff that was no big deal.
It was a wonderful weekend followed by a restful day, and a lesson learned in the kitchen, but I will be saving that lesson learned for Kitchen Tip Tuesday later on! It was not horrible, just I could do a much better job next time....
And today baby's furniture gets delivered! (we got the carpet washed just in time!)
Monday, July 7, 2008
July Long Weekend Baby Preparations
Happy Monday Morning to you!
It was so hot here this weekend, and the festivities so expensive that we decided to spend time this weekend resting and taking care of some necessary task for baby's arrival, of course the fact that there was no close parade (that did not involve horrid traffic) and Miss Pear does not like the sound of fire works helped a lot.
Plus there were lots of good sales, plus there were some tasks that I could easily be working on with just picking up a couple things, so here is what we got done just this weekend:
Shopping stuff:
And I made and iced 2 dozen cupcakes for the church picnic.
So there was no reason for me to be completely exhausted Saturday night was there?
While it might seem like we have so much done very early, it is very hot here, and getting hotter as we get into August and September, so it is nice to have the shopping done early and on the good long weekend sales. Also, I think the nesting bug hit me like a ton of bricks after a really bad night sleep Thursday because I could not get comfortable, and that will also get worse, so to have all this done, and now just have mostly around the house preparations to do makes me feel so good, and so on top of things. It is like a huge relief! Especially when I realized how hard it was going to be to find the things I needed in colors etc that I actually liked and get good deals on them, which we were able to do!
Plus, I keep thinking this baby is coming early, don't ask me why, but that motivates me to get moving too.
Plus we have a lot of birthday's and events this month, again. (But one birthday is Mr. Pear's so that is exciting!)
Then again, we are 29 weeks and counting, and I always remember our first Ob/Gyn saying that 4 weeks early or 2 weeks late are considered perfectly on time and saying to myself so it is a due target month, not a due date! Yeah, nothing like children to knock some of that type A+ personality out of you!
But the real reason I am eager to get things done is that I am just so excited. For those of you who have more than one, did you get just as excited the second time around too or am I just nuts?
It was so hot here this weekend, and the festivities so expensive that we decided to spend time this weekend resting and taking care of some necessary task for baby's arrival, of course the fact that there was no close parade (that did not involve horrid traffic) and Miss Pear does not like the sound of fire works helped a lot.
Plus there were lots of good sales, plus there were some tasks that I could easily be working on with just picking up a couple things, so here is what we got done just this weekend:
Shopping stuff:
- Thursday night I quickly ran to Target to take advantage of the deal where after coupons you got 3 x 12 packs of drinks and bucket of ice cream for $5, and was thrilled to see the 192 pack of size 1-2 Baby Dry diapers on for $27! So I used my coupon for $5 off when you buy Pampers diapers and wipes and got a 3 pack of wipes for $1. Best price on both that I have seen in a long time! This leaves me fully stocked on diapers except for probably 2 more packages of NB, and then will wait and see until baby is born if 3 packs of NB are enough before moving to the size 1's I already have stashed (I am keeping all the receipts so that I can exchange if need be and bought at the CVS near out house right next to the grocery store, so an exchange will be painless and likely unnecessary. Babies in our families have little tushies.)
- At Babies R Us we found a cute baby book with matching grandparent brag books on clearance, 2 snap down the front Carter's onesies on sale and a new contour change pad and covers that will work with the dresser.
- Picked up wool to make a baby blanket (another great deal! I could not buy a fleece blanket for what I paid for the wool, and this will be a nice fall weight, not too hot, plus I get to make something special for my baby girl as soon as I finish the something special afghan for my girl! almost done!) More on this in another post....
- Ordered the crib sheets and mattress cover on sale (a deal even with shipping)
- Ordered a sweet sleeper and matching hat to bring baby home from the hospital in, plus a second hat to wear in the hospital (we really don't like the hospital hats). Even though it will be hotter than blazes, hats are needed for the air conditioning around here! This was all from Gymboree and deeply discounted, and was a better price than the sales at Babies R Us even after shipping! (Both hats and the sleeper will be put in baby's hope chest when she out grows them, along with the afghan I am making.)
- Remembered to pick up cotton balls at CVS, and they were free after coupon.
- Ordered the hide a bed to replace the futon that was in the baby room. Not the best deal, but as good as we were going to be able to do this summer. Plus it looks great, matches out living room and is scotch guarded.....
- Sorted through all the 0-3 and 3-6 month clothing that we had from Miss Pear to determine what, if anything, we still needed, and made the very short list that was taken care of with the shopping above. Even though I could lose my mind and buy all the sweet girl stuff I am sticking to just what we NEED. (Miss Pear was a mystery until the delivery room so except for a few things bought after she was born, her 0-3 was all white, yellow and green)
- Got more paint chips and decided on the room color.
- All but finalized the birth announcement list and decided that I was not ordering more than 60, so if there were any surprises, they would get a lovely thank you note and a 4x6 picture. For some reason this was very complicated either due to lack of sleep, hormones, or family dynamics or some weird combination!
- Reviewed the baby prep shopping list after running all the errands above and realized that aside from some more diapers and minor items, and a few things that are wants and not necessities, and can therefore be left if need be (either until after or all together), we are done shopping (hallelujah!) Although we do still have to order baby's Bible, but that is online and part of the library budget so I think of it separately even though it is very important!
- Washed the carpet in the baby room. (our carpet cleaner has completely paid for itself!)
- Decided on a name. (Praise the Lord, and we love it and the grandparents love it!)
- Tentatively figured out furniture placement.
- Firmly decided on afghan pattern and how much wool I needed (advanced math if ever there was!) so that I could complete #2 above with the good sales.
- Mostly figured out the dates of the first grandma's visit to help before and after the delivery (I guess there are some good things about a planned C-section) Final dates will depend on prices as they can easily swing over $200 if you are not careful! Apparently Canada to the US is international.....
- Figured out the last of the stamping supplies I will need to make the thank you cards, plus picked out the basic design. (Just need to review with my stamping friend before Thursday's class)
- Finally took a pregnant tummy picture (I would post it, but I cannot cut out Miss Pear as it is the two of us together, just to make my tummy look bigger...Note to self: Do not take these pictures in the evening...).
And I made and iced 2 dozen cupcakes for the church picnic.
So there was no reason for me to be completely exhausted Saturday night was there?
While it might seem like we have so much done very early, it is very hot here, and getting hotter as we get into August and September, so it is nice to have the shopping done early and on the good long weekend sales. Also, I think the nesting bug hit me like a ton of bricks after a really bad night sleep Thursday because I could not get comfortable, and that will also get worse, so to have all this done, and now just have mostly around the house preparations to do makes me feel so good, and so on top of things. It is like a huge relief! Especially when I realized how hard it was going to be to find the things I needed in colors etc that I actually liked and get good deals on them, which we were able to do!
Plus, I keep thinking this baby is coming early, don't ask me why, but that motivates me to get moving too.
Plus we have a lot of birthday's and events this month, again. (But one birthday is Mr. Pear's so that is exciting!)
Then again, we are 29 weeks and counting, and I always remember our first Ob/Gyn saying that 4 weeks early or 2 weeks late are considered perfectly on time and saying to myself so it is a due target month, not a due date! Yeah, nothing like children to knock some of that type A+ personality out of you!
But the real reason I am eager to get things done is that I am just so excited. For those of you who have more than one, did you get just as excited the second time around too or am I just nuts?
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Thinking About Laundry
It has been an eventful two weeks on our street. We have had two dryer fires, the latest was yesterday afternoon at our immediate neighbors!
What was the most shocking is that she is rigorous about emptying the lint tray each time and vacuuming in the hole. Yet when the fireman pulled the front panel off the dryer it was lined in lint! The problem was not in the lint tray or the exhaust vent, it was in the dryer!
Needless to say that any time I had set aside to write the next hope chest post was consumed by the desire to help and the sheer panic of realizing that she takes better care of her dryer than I do! So my goal today is to find out how to properly and thoroughly clean the inside of my dryer! In my searching so far all I have been able to find is instruction about what I already do - clean the lint trap (including vacuuming inside that area), clean around the dryer, leave room around the dryer for air flow, and check the exhaust vent annually. Oh, and don't run it when you are not home! But how do you clean inside the dryer?
Any good tips? (Yes, I do empty the lint tray and vacuum inside, and no, I never run the dryer when I am not home!)
What was the most shocking is that she is rigorous about emptying the lint tray each time and vacuuming in the hole. Yet when the fireman pulled the front panel off the dryer it was lined in lint! The problem was not in the lint tray or the exhaust vent, it was in the dryer!
Needless to say that any time I had set aside to write the next hope chest post was consumed by the desire to help and the sheer panic of realizing that she takes better care of her dryer than I do! So my goal today is to find out how to properly and thoroughly clean the inside of my dryer! In my searching so far all I have been able to find is instruction about what I already do - clean the lint trap (including vacuuming inside that area), clean around the dryer, leave room around the dryer for air flow, and check the exhaust vent annually. Oh, and don't run it when you are not home! But how do you clean inside the dryer?
Any good tips? (Yes, I do empty the lint tray and vacuum inside, and no, I never run the dryer when I am not home!)
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Results of our 28 Week Appointment
Our appointment went so well yesterday, even if we did end up seeing a different doctor because ours was out delivering a baby!
I passed the glucose test with flying colors (praise the Lord!)
And most shockingly - baby fully cooperated with the ultrasound! Baby is measuring perfectly, and is developing exactly as they would like.
And the big news is, it's a GIRL!!!!!
While I had no preference for a girl or a boy, and have been praying for a healthy baby, Miss Pear has a definite preference for a girl and has been praying that way, so I am happy that at this young age she is seeing the Lord answer her prayers! (And if it was a boy, I would still be thrilled, but would not want to be the one explaining it to Miss Pear, she has been very insistent about a sister!)
Which leads to the question, what should our sweet baby girl's blog name be?
I passed the glucose test with flying colors (praise the Lord!)
And most shockingly - baby fully cooperated with the ultrasound! Baby is measuring perfectly, and is developing exactly as they would like.
And the big news is, it's a GIRL!!!!!
While I had no preference for a girl or a boy, and have been praying for a healthy baby, Miss Pear has a definite preference for a girl and has been praying that way, so I am happy that at this young age she is seeing the Lord answer her prayers! (And if it was a boy, I would still be thrilled, but would not want to be the one explaining it to Miss Pear, she has been very insistent about a sister!)
Which leads to the question, what should our sweet baby girl's blog name be?
Mrs. Pear's Hope Chest Methods - Part 1
As I mentioned here, part of what got us started on a hope chest for our daughter so early was the special things we wanted to save, which were numerous in her first year! While my goal is to set aside things that are valuable to our family, I do hope to avoid the problem the DHM of the Common Room finds herself in so I have shown more restraint in the second and third years!
We also had a strong desire to do something special for Miss Pear's first birthday, but all the keepsake ideas just seemed like more clutter we did not need! Plus we knew a move was in our near future at the time, so more clutter was not in order! I am not sure exactly when it occurred to us, but as soon as the idea of starting a hope chest came to us we both knew it was the right idea for us!
The idea of a hope chest had a few immediate benefits as far as we were concerned:
So when I decide to save things I ask myself if I will really regret it if I don't save it, if it is really so special that I cannot bear to part with it. I also ask myself if it will be really meaningful years from now or be useful. Just because it is fun or nice now does not mean it will be 20 years from now!
And when we are selecting things to put away each year we definitely consider how large it is. There will come a time when larger things are added, but that is not now. There will also come a time where I add more each year, but again, that time is not now either!
Even if your kids are older, it really is not too late to start, and if you have boys, you can always put away a few special things because one day they will have families too and I am sure their future wives will appreciate your forethought!
Do you have hope chests started for your kids? What kinds of things are you saving?
Note: The methods part is clearly going to be a series, so I set up a hope chest label so that you can find it all later if you would like.
We also had a strong desire to do something special for Miss Pear's first birthday, but all the keepsake ideas just seemed like more clutter we did not need! Plus we knew a move was in our near future at the time, so more clutter was not in order! I am not sure exactly when it occurred to us, but as soon as the idea of starting a hope chest came to us we both knew it was the right idea for us!
The idea of a hope chest had a few immediate benefits as far as we were concerned:
- it gave us a way of saving stuff that was special that we felt Miss Pear would need or want one day
- it gave us a way of doing something special for not only her first birthday but each birthday
- it was part of an answer to prayer, or at least the seeds of it - I will eventually talk more about this as God is really showing me lots in this area, but I am still figuring it out.
- it was a way to slowly start accumulating stuff for when Miss Pear has a home of her own (I try to include nice linens at this point because stuff like that is rare when you first move to a home of your own!)
- it was is a place to store projects she makes as I eventually teach her the arts of knitting, sewing, quilting, cross stitching, and ribbon embroidery just to name a few! (I would love to learn to crochet and make lace too and then pass those skills on too!)
- it marks special times in Miss Pear's life that would likely not be saved if we waited until she was older.
- it keeps me faithful in storing up a special gift for her one day.
- it keeps keepsakes safe - who knows if mugs put away now would survive if they were just tucked into a corner of a closet!
So when I decide to save things I ask myself if I will really regret it if I don't save it, if it is really so special that I cannot bear to part with it. I also ask myself if it will be really meaningful years from now or be useful. Just because it is fun or nice now does not mean it will be 20 years from now!
And when we are selecting things to put away each year we definitely consider how large it is. There will come a time when larger things are added, but that is not now. There will also come a time where I add more each year, but again, that time is not now either!
Even if your kids are older, it really is not too late to start, and if you have boys, you can always put away a few special things because one day they will have families too and I am sure their future wives will appreciate your forethought!
Do you have hope chests started for your kids? What kinds of things are you saving?
Note: The methods part is clearly going to be a series, so I set up a hope chest label so that you can find it all later if you would like.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
28 Week Appointment Today
Well, today is our 28 week appointment, complete with ultrasound. If we don't find out today if baby is a boy or girl, we are going to say that we don't want to know until the delivery room. That should keep me from feeling like I should just wait until the next appointment to chose the paint color (although I am now leaning towards a light blue regardless), and picking up the few clothing items we need, especially when we will be at a Carter's outlet store in a couple weeks!
So, what do you think, will I be announcing that we are:
a) having a baby boy
b) having a baby girl
c) having the mystery child and will let you know in September?
I have the dreaded glucose test today too, and that is never fun. Oh well. Seeing the baby on screen will make up for it!
So, what do you think, will I be announcing that we are:
a) having a baby boy
b) having a baby girl
c) having the mystery child and will let you know in September?
I have the dreaded glucose test today too, and that is never fun. Oh well. Seeing the baby on screen will make up for it!
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