8.30.2008

August Favorites 2008


August Favorites 2008, originally uploaded by gonzomama.

Wish I'd thought of it first



I am loving this tattoo.


(oh, and if you are a non-knitter, WIP stands for work in progress. which may or may not have needed the explanation, but just in case.)

8.29.2008

photo friday.10

8.28.2008

Spidey



Henry has been very into Spider-man lately. We have the first two movies and though he's not picky, they get requested quite a bit if we watch a movie. The more I see of them, the less I like them. Let me rephrase that. They are really terrible movies. I cringe at the thought of watching them again. I'm also discovering that I am not a big Tobey Macguire fan (except in Wonderboys, I love that movie), or maybe it's just the Spider-man role. Anyway, I digress.

Since the introduction to Spidey, Henry likes to pretend he is climbing the walls and shooting webs. The other day I turned from the kitchen sink to find him walking on his hands and feet with his shirt pulled up to under his eyes. I asked him if was a bug (this was the bug walk), he said "no, miy-man(spiderman)". Okay, then. He drives cars up the wall and says miy-man. Spiders are referred to as Spiderman now.
Now, not that this needs explaining, but this boy's Papa is into comics. It was his major in college (well, actually Sequential Art, but saying comics is the best way to describe it). So, needless to say, this is all being encouraged.




So we were playing in the driveway the other day and Matt brings out a 'mask' for Henry. Henry doesn't quite get it (I think we need to dye the mask red). So what does Papa do? He shows Henry it's a Spider-man mask. Then he really gets into it. I'm talking sound effects while web shooting and everything. Oh, I love this Papa. I hope our neighbors were watching.





To be fair, I told him those pictures would probably wind up on the internet. There was no argument, so here they are.

8.26.2008

little drummer boy





The past few days, the boy has loved telling people he's 2. We had his Mimi, aunt Amanda, and cousin Amaya over for a birthday dinner Friday, so he's been in 'party' mode ever since. Amaya had her birthday party Saturday morning (Amaya turns 5 today -HAPPY BIRTHDAY!). Sunday we saved the 'big' gift for Henry's real day of celebration. Let's just say it was well received.
It has been non-stop jammin' around this house. I swear he would sleep with the drumsticks if I let him. He mastered the kick pedal yesterday, now he's working on coordinating the use of arms and legs to produce sound. If it's not working for him he'll just squat and use the drum sticks on the bass drum(? - i know nothing of drums, so that's a guess as to which drum that actually is). We have had these drums stored up in the attic for well over a year now waiting for the right time to give them to the boy (we got them for such a deal, but he was so little). I have to say I think our timing was right on.



The rest of his day was spent by all of us lounging in our pj's until about 2:00 in the afternoon. I took a nap while the boys played with Henry's new toys and watched some the Olympics. It was a nice, relaxing day. Just what we all needed. Later, H. and I took Matt to the airport. He had to go out of town for some work this week. So far I am hanging in there okay. By the end of the week . . . who knows. Before he left, Matt got all the baby clothes from the attic. I'm a little excited about pulling out all those teeny little clothes and remembering H. wearing them. I'm also excited about finding the things we didn't use much and putting them in a pile of things to go (as in, leave this house).

With Matt gone for the week, my friend Pamela offered to take Henry for an afternoon and evening. I had some reservations about this. Not because of Pamela. Not. At. All. I just don't know how well I will cope having both of my guys gone at one time. That's never happened before. On the other hand, I keep thinking to myself that it is going to be a loooooonnng time before I get that many hours to myself again and I should take complete advantage of this opportunity. So, Henry is off to his first sleep over this afternoon. I know he will have so much fun. He loves Pamela and her two boys, Alex and Greyson.



Pamela, thank you. I am truly grateful for this, even though I have butterflies in my stomach. I'm gonna miss my (big) boy.

8.25.2008

Really?


Yes. Really. A finished object. Yes. I do knit on occasion (hence, gonzomama knits). I just do not knit as fast as I would like to.
Be warned though. I had to take pictures in a hurry, so I took many, which means I will post many because I am a horrible editor. Also, it is not totally finished because it needs to be blocked. You will note I have chosen to hide the areas I deemed unfit to show.



This is the Sorry My Child Broke (ate?) Your Handmade By You Paper Lampshade Scarf. The shorter title would be the Noro Striped Scarf, inspired by b r o o k l y n t w e e d and many others over at Ravelry.



I used three colorways throughout the scarf. I used two skeins of Noro Silk Garden 245 which is striped the entire length of the scarf, and one skein each of Noro Silk Garden 279 and 221 (4 skeins total) using a size 7 needle. I basically followed b r o o k l y n t w e e d 's recipe and cast on 39 stitches in a 1x1 ribbing (therefore no curling). Then I took his cue and manually striped the yarn alternating skeins every two rows. I also did the slipped stitch edge (purlwise) at the end of every second row, which I highly recommend as it adds such a nice finish to the edging. I had never before done a slipped stitch edge and that's why I need to block the scarf. The first quarter of the scarf has a slight curve on the side the yarn was carried up because I was pulling the yarn a bit too tight. Once I realized this though, the problem was easily solved by loosening up a tad. My hope is that blocking the scarf will even that out.



I knit until I ran out of yarn (although I did cut out a bright fuschia colored section of yarn on one skein). This was a simple project with a gorgeous end result. This will not be the last one of these I knit for sure. Especially because I'm not keeping this one (neither is Matt - we tend to share scarves). This one is being gifted to my very deserving cousin Jordan. It's more of a payback than a gift though.



Last Thanksgiving we were back in Illinois and Jordan generously gave up his room for the Lewis clan. One afternoon Henry was napping in there and when he awoke we found him in his pack n play surrounded by shredded paper from the shade of this lamp. Which Jordan made. By hand. Ergo, the long ass name of the scarf. Jordan was so gracious and understanding, so I figured the least I could do is make him something in return. Now if he really wants to even things out, he can let any children he decides to have in the future wash this scarf in some nice hot water :)

8.24.2008

a boy in the making


a boy in the making, originally uploaded by gonzomama.



Happy Birthday, my little man! I can't believe you are already two. Time flies when you are having fun they say. No doubt, because these two years whizzed by me.

Henry, my boy, you bring so much to the lives of those that know and love you. I've never met a goofier boy (although you have many tricked into thinking you are serious, but I know better). You make your papa and I laugh everyday, and touch us with your sweet tenderness. We love watching you grow and experience every new thing with such excitement and wonderment. It is because of our love for you and the love we feel from you that we took the leap of faith to start this journey anew.


We hope you enjoy your day, but you have been our greatest gift. We love you.

8.22.2008

photo friday.9



Friends, I don't mean to be absent so much lately. Lots going on and struggling just to keep up with the everyday stuff.
Not to mention, I am just t-i-r-e-d.

Things seem to be easing up (for now), hope to rejoin you more regularly in the near future.
With some FO's too!

8.18.2008

get it together



well, i got some of my act together over the weekend. of course nothing gets done around here lately without loads of help from Matt. by the way, that is a total understatement. but, the house is semi-clean, bills are seemingly paid for the moment, and i got a shower and a shave in.
oh, and a wee bit of knitting squeezed in there also (i've been trying to finish this project for what seems like a looong time).
i hope i can share it with you soon. really, really soon.



we are anxiously heading into september gearing up for the new arrival. the differences & similarities between this pregnancy and Henry's has amazed me. makes me a bit nervous for the delivery. Henry was easy from beginning to end. he still is most of the time. this babe has been physically more straining, but i take into consideration that i am chasing a little boy all over this go round. we did so much preparing for Henry too, and this time we are much more laid back. no room to ready (they will share a room eventually), no new blankets or clothes necessary (at least for now), no toys needed (thank goodness). no, this time we are just sitting back and waiting. waiting to meet this little person. waiting to introduce siblings. waiting to start another leg of this journey. waiting to fall in love again.

october 1, you will not be here soon enough. but we are trying to be patient.



6 weeks to go, originally uploaded by gonzomama.

8.15.2008

photo friday.8



sorry for the absence. it's been a bit of an 'off' week for me. i'll be spending the rest of the weekend trying to get my act together (on oh, so many levels).

8.12.2008

just beachy

while i'm getting back into the rhythm of things around here i'll just share some pictures.





8.11.2008

back to reality


on the road again, originally uploaded by gonzomama.



well, we survived the road trip, the first we have taken with Henry during daylight hours (he travelled amazingly well). i imagine i will regale you with some stories and many pictures through out the week, but for now i just wanted to say hello.

we are easing back into our 'real' life mode (as opposed to our 'vacation' life mode). lots of laundry, grocery shopping, and adjusting to be done. i go for what i hope will be my last ultrasound this afternoon. 7 weeks left (or so)!

more to come . . .

8.04.2008

my wordle thumbprint



Have youwordled yet?

8.02.2008



Well, friends, we are off on a much needed vacation. We are meeting up with most of my family on the coast of North Carolina. We (meaning my entire family) vacationed in this same town 23 summers ago, so it is a reunion of sorts, even though we all see each other about once a year.

Matt is looking forward to taking the surfboards off our office wall and actually putting them to use in some water. Its been quite some time. I'm relieved I don't have to make a fool of myself attempting to surf again (it's been over 7 years since I last tried). We are both eager to see Henry catch a wave - if he allows it (and if there are waves to be had).
I'm anticipating a relaxing week visiting aunts, uncles, cousins and my grandparents (aka, The Greats). I envision listening to the waves, lying on the beach, knitting, reading and sharing in the duties of wrangling the little ones that will be running around.
I'm excited about searching for sea shells with the boy(s), playing in the sand, and spending what's remaining of our last summer together before our little Henry becomes the Big Brother.

I feel so fortunate that we will all have this lazy week to spend together enjoying each others company.

I may pop in a bit over the next week and I look forward to sharing our stories on our return.


Here's hoping that all of you are enjoying what's remaining of these summer days. The days are flying by.

8.01.2008

photo friday.7