Hey Mr. DJ

It was a regular dance party at our house today. Aine, Eamon and Benton wiggled, jiggled, sang and danced around the room. They stood on the ottoman dancing. With the music cranked way up, Aine picked the songs. Practicing his air guitar rendition, Eamon strummed the banjo while Benton took over lead vocals. Then they each switched spots and began the whole thing all over again.

(Somehow I missed Aine dancing. I was a bit slow with the camera!)

Friends

Some days these two amaze me. Their relationship ebbs and flows like a river. The first person they look for in the morning after mama is each other. Eamon can make Aine laugh like no other and vice versa. He can also make her scream in frustration. Aine seeks her big brother's help with reading, and he begrudgingly gives it. Of course, he will later show her his special book and read to her. A few days ago Eamon defended Aine from a perceived injustice. Lately they have been collaborating on a game. He has been seeking her help. Seeing them work together makes me pause. I love my children, and I am so glad they enjoy each other.

Intrepid Explorers

Today while getting ready to leave for Girl Scouts with Aine, I asked Dave what he had on his agenda today. He said he would like to take a day trip. Just the words made me a bit antsy. I am a planner. I am not good at last minute. I reminded him that we wouldn't be home until noon, but he was nonplussed.

When Aine and I arrived home, the adventure was set into motion. Dave said we would head out to the Gila Bend area. I mentioned that there were severe wind advisories along the interstates, but he wasn't worried. We piled into the car and set out. I was still a bit apprehensive, but I was not driving. With Dave at the wheel, I started an audiobook and began to knit.

Our first stop was a drug store to pick up motion sickness bands for Aine. Unfortunately she has inherited her mother's queasy stomach. She is not comforted by the fact that I have mostly outgrown it.

The weather was weird as we drove out of town. Our destination was Painted Rock Petroglyph site. The sky was very overcast and the blowing dust caused limited visibility in some spots.

Everyone jumped out of the car to explore the petroglyphs. We immediately encountered heavy winds which almost blew us away! We read about the rock markings and were amazed at the abundance. A lot of the rocks were covered with petroglyphs. The kids helped point out the two types, archaic and gila, based on what we read on the signs.

As we walked around the site, we were struck by the lack of petroglyphs on the north side on the rock pile. the reason was not clear. Why were the petroglyphs concentrated on one side? We also talked about the Gila River and its absence from the landscape. At one point in history the area we visited was a vibrant landscape with a flowing river. Now with dams and diverted waterways, the vegetation and wildlife has changed.

Leaving the petroglyph site, we ventured to the Painted Rock Dam. While driving on dirt backroads to hit a couple other historic sites along the way, Dave and I screeched, "There's a spider in the road!" We turned around and climbed out of the car to look at the giant spider. Everyone enjoyed the jaywalker. The spider crawled under the car and curled up by our wheel. Dave didn't want to crush it, so I climbed out to direct his driving to avoid the spider!

A historic pioneer cemetary was on our route as well as old historic homes made of stones. We encountered a detour on the way to the dam. Dave had wanted to view another site along the way, but we were told the road ended and was not open. Following our GPS,we set out for the dam. Little did we know, but we were driving in a huge circle. We ended up back at the Petroglyphs!

Undeterred our family continued on to the dam. As we drove, we saw volcanic rock. Eamon wanted to  touch and examine some of the lava rocks, so we stopped.

 Once we were back on the highway, we realized that we would need to postpone our trip to view the dam. The sky was starting to quicker darken as the sun went down, and we decided it would not be much fun in the dark. We headed home with images of giant spiders and ancient writings. I am excited to start our day trips again even if they may be last minute. I think I may just be moving out of my comfort zone (heck, did you see that spider!)

Socktober Wrap-up

I bet you didn't know that October is known as Socktober to knitting enthusiasts. It is, and this year I joined in yet again. Usually I knit a mystery sock written by Kristen Kapur of Through the Loops. This year, she had to postpone her design. Let on my own, I decided to knit one of her other designs. I also wanted to finish Aine's stocking.

I actually did even better than I had planned. I finished two pairs of socks and Aine's stocking in October. I also knit through the cuff on another pair of socks. Here are a few photos of what I made this month (oh, and mums the word, because most are gifts).

Crazy Socks 10/17/11

Reverse Socks 10/30/11

Next Stocking Completed 10/30/11

Mama...

take a picture of me...

Holiday Knitting

November 1st marks the start of holiday knitting for my children. I have named this the year of the sweater. Last year was the year of the quilt, and each kiddo received a mama-made quilt for Christmas. This year I hope to give will be giving each of them a mama-made sweater.

The decision to knit each of my children a sweater was an easy one. This year I have made four sweaters for myself with relative ease. I figure three child-sized sweaters would be a piece of cake. The hard part has been selecting the pattern and yarn. For Aine, I have selected the Tiny Tea Leaves pattern. I really like the simple lines of this cardigan. The adult version has been in my knitting queue for some time. A pattern for the boys has been harder. Would a hoodie be best? Or a sweater with a pouch pocket? Or a cardigan? Or what about a Harry Potter initial sweater? With all the choices muddled in my head, I think I have finally settled on a simple raglan pullover following Elizabeth Zimmerman's pithy instructions. My knitting skills should be good enough to face up to the task. Of course, this may change as the month progresses.

The next issue is yarn. I am really trying to only use yarn that I already have. The problem is finding a sweater's worth of yarn in my collection. I have quite a bit of sock yarn and single skeins. When I reviewed my inventory, I realized I could definitely make Aine's sweater with four skeins of Dream in Color Classy that I have. The color is Chinatown Apple and a bit darker than she likes, but I think it will work with her coloring and current wardrobe. There isn't enough yarn for the other two sweaters, so I will need to buy it. I think both sweaters will also be in the red family. Eamon and Benton both call red one of their favorite colors. I think I will stripe Eamon's sweater with black which is another of his top colors. Since Benton's other favorite is green, he may just get a solid sweater.

Aine's sweater is first in the queue, and I cast-on today. My gauge was spot on, so I was able to proceed without needing to change needles several times. While we were at the park, I was able to knit about 15 rows between swing pushing, sand mountain surveying and game refereeing.

Following along with Ginny's Yarn Along - Tiny Tea Leaves Sweater 

While knitting, I haven't been reading much besides patterns and reviews. My constant companion lately has been Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmerman. EZ is the quintessential mother of knitting. Her straight-forward instructions are brief and scare me a bit. I like a little hand-holding in my patterns. Her style is refreshing and encouraging though, so I think it will all work out.

Happy Halloween

Shaun of the Dead, Puppy, Scarecrow and Princess

Nothing like the last minute

This morning was filled with a flurry of Halloween costume assembly. In years past, the kiddos have changed their minds up until the last minute. This year, they each remained strong about their costume ideas. We had the supplies for each costume, but some assembly was still required.

I pulled out a sewing machine (yes, I own more than one and love each of them). Benton and I worked on his design. He is a puppy this year. Some of you may remember when he was a dog a few years ago.

Halloween 2008 

This year we used black sweats coupled with a black knit hat. I added brown spots and ears. Benton showed me where to put his belly and decided his legs didn't need spots. I found the cat/dog tail in our dress-up bin and attached it to the ensemble. The whole assembly process took under 30 minutes.

The result:

Eamon's costume was a little trickier. He needed a scarecrow head. Burlap was his fabric of choice, but he decided felt was more practical when he felt the burlap on his face. He helped me fashion the hood. Paint was added and the whole outfit is rather macabre. We worked a bit more on it after he posed in the background for this shot.

Aine didn't need any help with her costume today. While the others were involved in a creative fashion, she pulled out the felt scraps to make a crown. She decorated it with paint, ribbon and buttons.

More photos later when we embark on our Halloween 2011 adventures.