2011 beach trip, in video.

I sat down to finally write about our beach vacation and started flipping through the 1300+ photos.  I quickly became overwhelmed by both the memories of such a fun trip as well as an artificial sense of pressure as to which ones to pick to post.  Silly, silly, I know.  So instead, I decided to try out a video scrapbook.  FYI, it's about 3 minutes long and there is music (Ingrid Michaelson's Sort Of).  Here is our vacation through my lens.

xoxo, Sandra

A bit of beach.

We are back from the beach.  Days ago, actually, and it was wonderful.  Of course it was also demanding.  But realizing that the boys will neither stay young long nor need me as much in a few years keeps things in perspective.  Deep breathing helps as well.  And chocolate.  Thank goodness I packed chocolate.

Truth be told, my boys did great.  Amazing, even--there were just challenges getting them to settle down each night to sleep as sharing the room with littlest one was a new frontier.  Will was like a hot potato, tossed back and forth by his brothers as to who would "get" to sleep with him.  It also wasn't ideal because, similar to last year, the vacation began with Team Parent down a man.  I drove up alone with the boys and Charlie came in at the end of the week.  But I really cannot complain about the trip up.  In fact, to describe the success of the outbound drive, I need only share with fellow parents that we drove 3.5 hours straight, no stopping--despite no one napping and one false start/turn around because I forgot something.  An entire suitcase, to be precise.  Of swimsuits!  When we were heading to the beach for goodness sake!!  How does one do that, exactly?

I took my new camera and took nearly 1,300 pictures--I blame the fast-fire mode as I averaged three frames for each shot when the kids were in motion on an amusement ride.  I still need to go through them and hope to post a beach recap this weekend.  That is my fair warning that it might contain a lot of pictures.  So if you are just here for the crafty, there are more project progress reports on the horizon for next week.  But this week--well, I've been busy trying to keep the closeness going.  It is semi-working.

Happy Friday!

Sandra

Pick, 2011

We go strawberry picking every year.  I love that it's become a tradition and it makes me wish I was blogging way back when it all started.  It's fun to look back and reread posts from 2009 and 2010.  Yes, I have many pictures from earlier years, but before I began blogging I never took the time to capture in words what our days were like.  I wish I could read an entry on the first berry picking outing wearing Max in a Babybjorn!

We usually go early in the season, with hopes of beating the heat.  But this year, for a variety of reasons, we did not find ourselves at a field until the end of May.  And it was hot.  So hot, in fact, that I hardly took pictures because I was dripping sweat and decided tucking my camera away for safe keeping seemed prudent.  Mental note:  research and purchase a backup point and shoot!

More proof that the heat was relentless:  both Leo and Will fell out almost immediately and retreated to the sandbox.  But not Max.  Heat does not affect our oldest child...never has.  He picked his share and then some.  Thank goodness, too, as he easily made up for his absentee brothers.  He even outpicked me.  And I'm happy to report that an 8 year-old's judgment concerning pick-worthy strawberries is leaps and bounds from a 7 year-old's...the difference a year makes both excites and saddens me, to be honest.

We went home with two flats and I did a quick batch of jam.  I used the same recipe as last year, though mixed things up by springing for some new jars I found at a hardware store. 

Aren't they cute?  I think so.  But I must say, I am not sure if I'll ever buy them again...their squatty aesthetic might be charming but it also makes them a pain to fish out of my deep pot.  Plus, my canner, which usually handles nearly a dozen jam jars, could barely afford the width of four of these jars and stacking was not exactly working out.  All of this matters, why?  Because, again, it was hot as blazes...and multiple batches of hot bath processing heating up my kitchen was not what the doctor ordered. 

On the bright side, since I had everything out and was cranky and hot anyway, I decided to can anything else available.  So when I spied some perfectly ripe champagne mangos in our fruit bowl, I chopped them up, added some sugar and cooked until syrupy.  I manage to get enough to fill and process three jars.  We are now huge fans of mango sauce with our pancakes, smoothies, and yogurt.  I will need to make more soon and will hopefully remember to write down a makeshift recipe.

 Sandra

p.s.  I almost forgot.  I also made strawberry syrup.  The boys have declared a certain pancake recipe "it" and this syrup is earmarked for the next several Breakfast for Dinner evenings we have planned throughout summer.  I love breakfast for dinner.

   

Memorial Day Waterfight, 2011.

To my handful of friends (and 3 readers) who have casually mentioned or emailed that they are waiting to see shots of a certain tradition; and to Max, who would like nothing more than to relive a certain epic day....here you go:

As Team Kid preps, they check their gear...

and Max is called to the center of the battlefield by Team Grown Ups for a handshake to kick things off...

someone yelled, "charge!" and off they went, squirt guns blazing...

As I snapped an obscene amount of pictures, Charlie worked the armory and fashioned some effective shields from gear left over from Halloween costumes...

Our neighbor's visiting son is such a trooper to do this for the kids.  But I think (and hope) he enjoys it too...

As littlest one isn't into getting wet these days, he quickly retreated to watch from inside.  We think he'll join the ranks again next year.

Speaking of, at the conclusion of the battle, I was surprised to see Max looking a tad sad, shoulders slumped, his faced settled into a thoughtful pout. 

"What's wrong, buddy?"  I asked.  "You guys won, right?" 

"Yeah," Max said, shrugging.  "But right now...this second...it's my least favorite time of the whole year." 

"Why's that?"

"Because it's the furthest in time from the next water fight.  It's so long to wait."

Oh Max, my little worrier.  Trust me when I tell you that these days are flying by. 

Much, much too fast. 

Sandra

Paging Mr. Mojo.

"Sandra's Mojo, please report to the front.  Your party is waiting."

If only it were that easy.  I have been off of my game for a few weeks.  This may or may not explain my lack of posting.  It's rather defeating to make a record of flops so I thought one summation would do.  Wondering if I'm exaggerating?  Well, that's fair, but I don't think so.  And I'm pretty sure anyone who attended our casual birthday/promotion celebration wouldn't think so either.  A few highlights:  I turned the stuffed flank into a shriveled piece of jerky and made rubberized mashed potatoes.  And the birthday cake crumbled to bits when I flipped it from the pan, requiring creative use of frosting as spackle.  By the way, it's worth mentioning that these were tried and true recipes, so no blame there.  Just me. 

Luckily, only close friends and family were in attendance and hopefully through the years I've established that I can cook.  If it had been a different crowd...well...shudder...I can't even imagine.  As it was, our guests were kind enough to pretend to be happy dining from a bucket of fried chicken (oh yes I did send Charlie to get a bucket of chicken) and potato pancakes (rubbery mashed potatoes make awesome potato pancakes, fyi). 

And at least we ended on a happy note celebrating Charlie's recent promotion.   My father is a retired Army Colonel, so he performed the oath.  My brother is a Coast Guard officer, so we asked him to read the warrant.  And our three eager helpers invented a new game we're calling:  pin the shiny/distracting/sharp rank on the Lt. Colonel.  I am certain this little ceremony happened without incident because--and only because--I had nothing to do with it, other than being obnoxiously proud.

I have had a lot on my mind and plate so I suppose some FAILS shouldn't be a surprise--but they are.  Oh, and just when I thought it was safe to bury my head in a therapeutic knit, guess who knit an entire cuff of one Monkey on the wrong size needles?  I finally looked at what I was doing, slid it on and realized it fits like a legwarmer.  Nice.

Sandra

p.s.  I know I promised a fabo cookie recipe and I will post it.  But I wanted to write this first--a disclaimer of sorts.   Please take my "it's a great cookie recipe"  endorsement with a grain of salt.  Odds are even that it'll turn out a meatloaf.

p.p.s.  Today is the annual water fight.  The boys are beyond excited.  Happy Memorial Day!

Maryland Wool & Sheep Festival 2011, recap.

As part of my Mother's Day treat, I got to spend part of the weekend with a couple of my favorite people. 

Both of these pretty ladies were my roomies and bridesmaids... they continue to be the dearest of friends, have families I adore...and the fact that they are into wool, too, is almost too good to be true. 

We had a great time just walking around, stopping here and there to pet yarn, deliberating where to spend our dollars.  I thought I'd share some of the sights we enjoyed.  There was, of course, a lot of yarn.  I confirmed I am very drawn to semi-solid colorways.

I may print some of these shots for my craft space.  The colors are so inspiring.  And I am officially interested in learning how to dye...

There was even an area where you could pick up your freshly shorn fleece.   I found it incredibly odd that this rather charming process was alongside the food vendors selling lamb sandwiches. 

A funny thing about the group picture posted above.  When looking around to ask someone to snap a shot, we stopped a nice looking fella because his yarn carrier caught our attention--the extremely popular fish hat from Knitty Winter 2008.  He merely pinned it and made a makeshift handle, turning it into the cutest bag I've seen.

I will write another post detailing the lovely skeins that made it home with me.  I am on a mission to organize my stash and get everything photographed and posted on Ravelry so I can better plan my queue.  I am afraid to see what I've amassed in such a short time but it's not like I collect anything else.*

Sandra

*fabric and other craft supplies do not count.  Nor do baking supplies.  Or craft books.  Or cookbooks or handbags.  But that's all because no, we are not going to talk about camera gear as I think Charlie reads my blog.

Back in the saddle.

Well, sort of.  I am all about moving forward these days, so I'll just pick up where I left off.  And thanks to you nice readers who emailed me to check on me, worried because of my blog break.  I've always loved that even though my blog isn't a big comment generator, I get a fair amount of emails about this or that from friendly folks I've never met. 

So, moving along...

My Aidez is long done.  I even got to wear it a couple of times before the weather warmed.  Just need to take some FO shots and post--then I will tuck it away.  But I will warn my friends that I will be living in this thing come fall...I love, love, love it.  I might even make another, which is utter nonsense considering how many other sweaters are waiting in my knitting queue.

I plan to put up two new sections on the side bar--an "on the needles" and an "off the needles" to better organize my knits (maybe my sewing too if I can ever manage to get back to it).  Right now, "on my needles" would include a simple, smooshy garter cardigan that I hope will be perfect for spring...

And a sunny shawlette.  I think this colorway looks like scrambled eggs so it's fitting as we lead up to Easter.  But in the end, I may need to rerack "how to overdye yarn" as a priority on my fibre skills list...it's a little too 'Hello Yellow!' for my tastes.  I think.  No, I'm pretty sure...

And socks.  I've decided it's time to tackle the knitterly milestone of knitting a pair of socks.  No picture yet.  But yarn is selected and research has commenced...

Sandra

Toasty.

I am back from my business conference.  It would be a lie to say I did not enjoy staying in a top hotel, networking at cocktail and dinner parties, and attending seminars that required different brain neurons firing.  But of course I fretted about the boys the entire three days.  They were in perfect hands--Charlie and my folks tag teamed--but still.  You know how it is.

I ambitiously packed my Aidez, thinking I'd have lots of down time--alone down time--to knit in my hotel room.  Nope.  I returned to my room quite late each evening and woke by 6:00 a.m. each morning to get in a workout.  And there was no down time whatsoever during the day.  I've attended lots of conferences in my working life.  The pace of this one was remarkable.  But I liked it.  I'm not interested in leaving my family for any sort of boondoggle. 

I have one sleeve left to go on Aidez.  But then the entire thing has to be seamed!  I've done one other seamed project (to be posted), and I can't say I like it much.  But perhaps it's because my seaming could use some practice, so this will be good.  I did recently finish up a pair of fingerless gloves. 

I knit a pair exactly like these last fall, but they have gone missing so I knit another set.  I used the leftover yarn from my first scarf project.  I can't believe it is still cold enough to wear these, but it certainly is.  This week anyways--that's Northern Virginia whiplash weather for you.  The pattern is Toasty by Leslie at A Friend to Knit With.  A perfect first project for double point needles, I'd say (it was mine).

Sandra

Off the couch, finally.

So much to share...birthdays and knitting and finally getting around to playing with iron-on vinyl (!) and organizing like a fiend...oh I've been busy.  But I am off for another conference for a few days, so I'll have to wait a bit.  Can you believe I have to wear business suits over the next few days?  Business suits.  When I unearthed them from my closet and tried them on, I felt like one of the boys playing dress up.  This new part-time gig I've got going (which I feel incredibly fortunate to have fallen into) is going to require some new time-management strategies on my part if I hope to keep all the balls in the air. 

But this week, I can't really fault the "work"...honestly, what took up every spare second was littlest one and the most rotten stomach bug I've encountered in my eight years of mommahood.  Now that's saying something, right?  I will spare you the details except this one:  each floor of our three level home was hit.  Literally.  As you can imagine, there were lots of pajama days and couch time, trying to keep him still to rest.  He was not a fan.

 

He is better now.  And I am thankful that cuddles from yours truly seemed to be an important part of the cure.  It has been ever so long since I've had him attached to my hip or in my lap nonstop.  I miss it. 

Miss blogging, too.  If I don't write it here, I forget.  And of course, as I always say, I don't want to forget these days.  (Well, except last Wednesday--don't need to relive that one.  Ewww.)

Sandra

Around the house.

Another reason I love spring?  The cleaning.  I'd think it strange how much I like spring cleaning but the other night, when I had some girlfriends over, it was all the talk so I know I am not alone.  That, or I have strange friends--but I don't think that's the case.  More likely, we all lead similar lives and the annual purge is very much welcomed.

The evening was so nice.  Some tea, girltalk, a new cookie recipe, some knitting...it was such a treat.

I need to write out the recipe for the keepers that filled my new cookie jar.  I picked it up to reward my severe editing of serviceware.  Perhaps that's why I like spring cleaning.  It gives me permission to buy pretty housewares because of newfound space.  Yes, that sounds about right.

This particular jar probably should have stayed put at the store, however.  It has done me no favors.  I think it's the cutest thing but it begs to be filled with freshly baked cookies.  And then the cookies call my name all day.  And night.  Not good.

I did a little work on my Aidez.  I should be done by the time it's too hot to wear wool. 

To wrap our knit night, one friend even brought over a new toy to give us paraffin treatments.  It felt fancy.                

It was a big change from how I usually spend my evenings--lately, my boys think that tackling me at bedtime is the funniest thing on earth.  It sort of is.

Speaking of tackling, tomorrow I tackle the garage!  And yes, I am so excited...

Sandra