FO Friday: Just in time for Spring

Just in time for warm weather to come around, I finished my cabled wrist/armwarmers. Yes, these are the very same ones you read about Wednesday. They are that quick. Seeing as I don't know when I'll BO my next FO, enjoy fancy pictures of these mitts :)

I did a few rounds of st st on the thumbs before the 2x2 ribbing. I also only did 6 rounds of ribbing to keep it proportional-looking with the rest of the glove.

Tubular CO looks so good, so professional!

Don't forget to stop by Tami's for more lovely FOs!

WIPW: Sweet Georgia Cables!

 I am working on what is officially my second pair of wrist warmers. My first pair was little more than just a knitted tube with a thumb gusset. That's actually exactly what they were. There was some garter stitch at the beginning and end, but the rest was plain stockinette with no shaping at all. These are ever so much more delightful, both to knit and in appearance! The pattern is Vancouver Fog and the yarn is Sweet Georgia Yarn's worsted weight, colorway Boysenberry.

Technically there's not really any shaping with these gloves either, the difference though is that I know about gauge now. And these are supposed to be smaller and stretch to fit your hands. I did learn a new skill with these bad boys though: the tubular cast on. O. M. G. this is one of the most beautiful cast-ons that I have ever done. So professional-looking! I will confess that I did not bother to do the Surprisingly Stretchy BO because they're bottom-up, my fingers had plenty of space and didn't really need the extra stretch at the end.

They knit up sooooo quickly. And if the working mother of two children under two says something knits up quickly, you best believe it! I can manage to do nearly a whole mitt in a single weekend, a major feat at my house currently! The first mitt is finished and is now awaiting it's nearly-done mate. I'm on the thumb increases, the end is near! I'm almost sorry Spring and warmer weather are close and I won't be able to get much wear out of them...almost ;)

In other news, progress on the Classy Cardi continues. Slowly, but it continues. I'm hopeful to have it finished by May so I can CO another project either before we leave or in the car as we drive down to visit Theo :) I'll get more use out of this project than the mitts because the AC in my office is brutally cold in the Summer. This will definitely be a year-round FO, if I can ever manage to actually finish.

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget to hit up Tami's!

Ultra Mega Extreme Update!

It's been far too long since a proper update. This is mostly due to the fact that I dislike typing with one hand. I can do it, but the slower-than-normal pace frustrates me, especially on the touch-screen of the iPad.

Noah is getting so big!!! This picture is outdated because he had his 4 Month appointment last Friday (he'll actually be 4 months tomorrow). I need to do the next picture soon, before I know it 5mo will be here!

Noah is no longer a heathen! He was finally baptized on March 2nd, which was itself awesome, but what made it really unique was we held it on a "Popeless Saturday in Lent". Because Benedict XVI stepped down, at the time Noah was baptized the conclave had not met yet to start the election for the next Pope. Not a whole lot of sacraments happen during Lent, since we're supposed to be sacrificing and preparing ourselves for Easter, but babies are allowed to be baptized pretty much whenever, so Noah got his first sacrament during Lent. Our favorite priest Fr. Cibelli was able to come down and administer the sacrament for us again, he did Joey's and he con-celebrated our wedding so we have this wonderful tradition of priestly continuity as we've begun our family and as we've grown together in the faith.

Family picture!

Joey looked snazzy in his suit from Aunt Cheryl!

I can't believe how big the boys are getting! Joey has more teeth than I'm comfortable holding his mouth open so I can count and Noah can roll over from back to tummy! They are both really good together, though you can tell that Noah does things just to keep Joey from doing them (nom-noms anyone? Noah totally fusses so he can nurse instead of Joey). He's also on the verge of being able to sit on his own, he can sit propped but is oh-so-close to doing it all by himself. Joey just yesterday showed us that he knows what a train says. We were over at Dan's parents' house, he was playing with trains and we hear him going "choo-choo!", we had no idea he even know that was the sound they made! Sure he watches Thomas the Tank Engine, but they use the actual whistle sound effects and we say "trains", we don't say "choo-choos".

Oh and the running. The running everywhere. The running from one room to the other 3 feet away. The running around the corner. The running in place. Joey has two speeds: Fast and Faster. That's it. He simply must run EVERYWHERE. Except, thankfully, when we're out in public. He is currently very, very good at holding hands and walking right by me or Dan. We still don't trust him in parking lots, but we're slowly letting him walk next to us more and more.

Noah is wearing 6mo sized clothing, some stuff is even 6-9mo! He's right about where Joey was clothing-wise, but I keep telling Dan I think he's chubbier than J. It's hard working full time and being away from them so much, I really miss them and I'm glad that I can keep busy otherwise I would be absolutely miserable all the time!

Kind of a Good Hurt

Motherhood is painful.

For many the pain starts long before the child is in their arms. Whether it's another negative pregnancy test, morning sickness, or watching your child grow through pictures until the papers come through saying it's time to pick them up. The pain doesn't stop when you're holding them close, it only gets worse. Every news story takes on a whole new meaning, what if that had been MY child that was injured, or even worse, killed?

Sleepless nights don't stop when they get older. Toddlers cutting molars need comforting too. You're up rocking them when their ears hurt from infection and wishing to take their pain away, crying when you realize you're doing all you can and it's not enough. What parent wouldn't happily shoulder their child's pain to keep them from suffering?

Then there's pure, unadulterated joy. Your baby looks at you and smiles for the first time, and you know it's not gas, that smile is totally for you. The look of pride on your son's face when he takes his first steps. All that pain is washed away, if only for one perfect moment, when your child hugs you.

Motherhood hurts, but it's kind of a good hurt.

My breastfeeding tattoo.

My third tattoo is a modified version of the international breastfeeding symbol. I got it to pay tribute to the special relationship I have with my boys but also as a badge of honor for all that I've been through on my journey through. Tattoos are kind of like being a mom, they hurt for a while in the beginning, but when all is said and done, you're left with something beautiful that you can be proud of.