Movin On Up...

Okay sorry if you now have the Jeffferson's theme song stuck in your head too, but that's what has been keeping me super busy and away from here: We're moving. I know some of you are scratching your head in confusion thinking "Didn't we just read about her moving?". Well yes you did but we're moving again. Yes, you heard me right but its not as bad as you might think. We finally found a house! *dancing around the room in excitement

Seriously though, I'm beyond thrilled. Not to say that I am not super thankful that my sister in law was nice enough to let us stay with her for the past few weeks but I am so glad to have a place of our own again.

It's not a big move as the house is just down the street. I can actually step out on the front porch here and see our house. We've been working on a few things this past week or so and the propane people are down there right now hooking up our new tank so we will be able to move in this weeked. Yea *insert more dancing here

Its a pretty cute little house it just needs a bit of a facelift. I've been working my booty off getting the Sweet Pea's bedroom ready and can't wait to show you all pictures of it. It is turning out pretty well and I can't wait for her to be in it. Of course its weird designing a big girl room instead of a nursery. Sigh. She's getting too big too fast. But I should have pictures of her room for you by the first part of next week. I need to get the pictures taken before she really gets in there and destroys it.

When its been too cold to be down there working on the house I've been working like mad to get Christmas gifts finished. Its getting close and I still have a lot of work to do on them. Unfortunately I've mostly been working on projects I can't post yet. I've been working on things for the Holiday Swap on Crochetville and an awesome winter set for a family member that I can't post because she would immediately recognize it as being for her. But I have a few things that I can post between now and then.

One of them is this adorable Moses Basket that I got to test for Navymomx2 on the ville.

This pattern was so much fun to make and it turned out so cute. I really don't think I did it justice. You should head over to her Etsy shop and check out her other patterns. She has a cradle purse on there that is to die for. I really need to make one for the Sweet Pea. She would love it.

Christmas Is Coming

And that is why its been so quiet here lately. Well that and the fact that my laptop decided to die on me. Ugh. I know, I'm a bad blogger. Seriously though I've been working really hard on Christmas gifts and gifts for the Holiday Exchange on the 'ville. In fact I've been sewing my fingers to the bone all day working on two bags. Yep I said sewing. I can't believe it. All I have to do is sew in the lining and I'll have my first ever completed sewing project. Yea me!

But I've also being crocheting up a storm. I've been working like mad on Christmas gifts hoping to get them done in time. Here is an awesome set I made for one of my cousins...sorry not telling which one.

I made this set from the incredible Oluchi Ribbed Hat and Scarflette pattern you can find on MsSunflwr's etsy shop. If you haven't been to her shop get over there and check it out. She has some beautiful designs. This pattern was so easy to understand and quick to make, not to mention the results are spectacular. I used I Love This Yarn in Hot Rose for the hat and Angel Fleece in Ladybug for the Scarflette and couldn't be happier about how it turned out. I have made several more hats from this pattern and am going to start more scarflettes very soon. This has quickly become my favorite hat and scarf pattern, especially because it is so warm and its beginning to get very cold here.

Rock~N~Roll

Okay I guess I'll just go with these tiny thumbnails until I can figure out how to fix my pictures. Here are some pictures from Sweet Pea's first time to trick or treat. She was less than thrilled to get dressed up and have to go. Actually we thought about calling the whole thing off but we decided to try it out for a minute and see how she did. We went to Nana & Papa's house first and between the truck and the house she threw down her bag three times and kept fussing. Well we got up to the door and I just put the bag in her hand then Papa gave her the candy. This is what happened after that.

This is her excited face when she realized that if she held up her bag she would get candy. You could not believe how excited she got. She started grinning and clapping and running around. It was the best thing to see her having such a blast.

She kept pulling out her candy and showing it to me. She was beyond excited and from that moment on she was a trick or treat pro. She refused to let go of her bag for the rest of the night. So we went downtown and did the trick or treat scene there and then out to grandma & grandpa's house. It was clear that Halloween had become her very favorite holiday!

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween Everyone! We're getting ready to head out to take the Sweet Pea trick-or-treating for the very first time but I wanted to post a couple pics of my crochet projects for the holiday. I made these little treat bags from this pattern on the LionBrand website. They were so quick and easy to make. I definitely think I'll make more for next year.

Here is a picture of the treat bag that I made for Sweet Pea to carry with her. Everything in the stores seemed way too big for her to handle so I whipped this up really quickly. Of course I'll probably end up carrying it anyway. But hey that way I'll be able to sneak some candy!

Off topic I was wondering if any of you other bloggers are having trouble with your pictures all of a sudden. I can either get HUGE pictures or these tiny thumbnails. I don't know what happened to the normal size pictures. Any help?

Happy Birthday To You, Happy Birthday To You

That's right, my little Sweet Pea is an entire year old now. Time has certainly flown by. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital trying to figure out what we were going to do with a newborn and now we're trying to figure out what to do with a toddler. How we've gone from this:

To This:

Is far beyond me. She learns so much and grows so much everyday. It is so excited to watch her world expand as she discovers something new. There is something magical about experiencing the world through a child's eyes. It has definitely been a wild ride but I'm looking forward to the next year and many more to come. Here are a few shots of her party. We had a luau theme and everyone had a great time. I think it turned out pretty well.

We're Home!

I am happy to report that we survived the trip and have all arrived safe and sound in Oklahoma. Yea! I would post a picture showing the key to surviving a 12 hour drive with an almost 1 year old but everytime I try to upload a picture it comes up HUGE. Any helpful hints as to why this is happening?

What Mom? I'm helping, really.

See mom, I'm helping get the crochet sorted out so you can get it all packed up.

See? Here I am opening the box so we can put it away...
Okay so maybe I really just wanted to try stuff on. But its soooo soft...
This is what it looks like when the Sweet Pea decides to help get things packed for the move. I swear she unpacks things quicker than I can get them packed. But we're making progress anyway. We're picking up the moving truck tomorrow and then we'll be on our way. Hooray!

Anyone Want Some Sno Cone?

Seriously. Because I'm pretty sure she'd share with ya if you want some. Okay, maybe she wouldn't she's a little stingy with her special treats sometimes. Besides even after making these terrible, but hilarious faces she still kept coming back for more and more...
In the midst of all the packing chaos I have been steadily, okay sporadically, working on some craftiness for Halloween. I'm working on some mini treat bags, a warm snuggly hat for dd in case its cold, and 2 (yes 2) outfits for dd to wear. Hopefully I'll have some pics to show you soon. But for now its time to leave work behind (where I'm sitting and playing on the computer shhh...) and head to the house to finish packing. Ugh.

Another Thermal

Here's another thermal blanket that I whipped up. Did I mention before that I love this stitch? Okay well I just wanted to make sure. Trying something new today and putting the picture up before I do any typing. Not sure how I feel about it but I'm going to let it go for now.

Other half of the swap

I just realized I forgot to post the picture of what I sent my swap partner in the Favorite Color Swap on Crochetville. I had such a great time shopping for her and she was such an awesome partner. We are definitely going to be keeping in touch.I will admit though that it was hard to find enough sage green to fill a box. I'm not really sure this is even sage green! Welll the yarn said sage green so I just tried to match everything else to it.

Thermal Preemie Blankets

I've made some blankets with this pattern before and I just can not express how much I love this stitch pattern. It works up so quickly and produces the warmest pretty little blankets. I actually really want to make an adult afghan out of this stitch. I think it would be great.
These are all a small preemie size. I had the exact measurements but of course have misplaced that paper and already packed up the blankets. I made them small to fit inside the incubators at the hospital as I will be donating them to the NICU.
I love this size because it will be a perfect fit and they used 1 skein of Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn. They turned out really soft as well. I hope they will be well received and loved.

It's been too long...

Too long since I've posted a picture of the kiddo. Okay so I know some of you are saying otherwise but I don't get tired of her pictures so too bad! lol Here are some pictures of her from our trip to the National Ranching Heritage Museum a couple weeks ago. We were looking for something to do for the weekend and thought we'd try it out. After we finally found the place (should've used mapquest first) we questioned our decision a bit because it looked pretty small from the outside. After we got into the building we questioned it even more. Don't get me wrong, it had some pretty neat exhibits but it was not as expansive as I had imagined. Then we were given a map to the outside section of the museum. Ahh, now we get it. So we stepped outside and there it was. I couldn't believe how much there was to see. There was an old school house, bunkhouses, barns, windmills, a huge train and so much more I couldn't even begin to list it. It turned out to be a 30 acre facility. Yeah it was huge, but it was so much fun. The kiddo had a great time running around and even got to chase some jackrabbits. I swear they were as big as she was!
She got to climb up on this huge train. Seriously, I said huge. I know she's a pretty little kid but this train really was huge. I should have gotten a picture of the hubby standing there too so you can really tell how big it was.
She even got to sit on a horse. So its not a real horse but she doesn't know the difference and I think it was still a pretty cute picture. And don't worry, the hubby was standing right there conveniently out of camera sight just in case she decided to jump!This last shot I just couldn't resist. It had such an old timey feel that I just knew it needed to be in black and white. She was having such a fun time running around and climbing all the stairs to every building but by the time she finished climbing these she needed to take a break. Poor little thing her little legs were exhausted by the time we were finished. We went to eat after this and she ate more food than I did and then just laid back in the highchair and chilled until we were ready to go. Then she slept pretty much the whole way home. She wore herself out. I definitely recommend making a trip to this museum if you are ever in the area. It is more than worth it. Just wear your walking shoes and be sure to bring your camera.

Swappin It Up!

I just received my package from the favorite color swap on Crochetville and I couldn't be more pleased. In case you couldn't tell my favorite color is purple and my partner Lillibet sent me the best package. Probably because she is just great, head on over to her blog and check her out. I'm sure you'll love her work too.
Aren't I a lucky girl? I received so many wonderful goodies that I don't even know where to start. From the socks to the scrunchies, to the smell goods, the notebook, adress book and bookmark. Not to mention the chocolate and the adorable bear with the outfit she crocheted for her. Of course it won't take long for dd to see that bear today and snatch it up! And check out all the great yarn. There are 2 Skeins of Moda Dea Tutu in grape, 2 Lion Boucle in Snow Cone and 2 Yarn Bee Frosting in Frosted Gold. I can't wait to figure out what I'm going to make with them. Although I can already tell you that the Snow Cone yarn is going to be a scarf for myself. Yes, you heard that right I'm actually making something for myself. I can't wait! I can't post a picture of what I sent her yet since unfortunately she still hasn't received her box. But I'm hoping it will get there today.

Boys and Their Toys!

What's that saying? Men are just little boys the only difference is the price of their toys. Well I am here today to tell you that is a true statement. Okay in hubby's defense it isn't really a toy. This is the new truck that he's going to be using for work. Afterall, you can't be part of a new trucking company without a new truck right? Right? Well that's what he told me anyway!

Isn't she a beauty? That's a 2008 Chevy 3500 4x4 you're looking at there. I think hubby is pretty pleased to say the very least. Now if he could just pack it up and head back north already he'd be about the happiest man on the planet. But I must say when you have to stand across the street in your neighbor's yard to get the whole truck to fit into a picture you know you've got a monster on your hands.

And yes this is my super handsome hubby in this last picture. Shhh...don't tell him. Doesn't he look happy to be in this picture? lol We're at the point in our marriage where he knows I'm gonna do it so he just goes along in an effort to get things like this over with as quickly as possible. Gotta love him.

What a find!

We went to some yard sales this weekend and stumbled across a great find. Well, my sister is the one who found it. I was mostly just trying to keep the kiddo from grabbing everything she could reach. My sis got everything in the picture for a mere $3.00. Not bad huh? Especially for my sister since she had decided the day before that she wanted to learn to crochet. Now she has plenty of supplies to get her started. And an afghan that has already been started for her even.
But don't worry, I didn't get left out of the deal. I managed to come away with the great set of boye hooks in the case and the pattern books. Definitely not a bad deal for either of us, wouldn't you say? So what was your best yard sale find?

Say Cheese!

Here are some pictures from the latest photo shoot we had here at the house. I couldn't resist snapping some pictures of her all dressed up. Really I was just trying to get her to wear some of her clothes before she either outgrows them or the weather changes. She was having a particularly flirty day and just cheesed for the camera all afternoon these are some of my favorite pictures that resulted from her silliness.
I really like this one with her looking out the back door. I wish I had photoshop so that I could edit the toys out of the background. *hint, hint
Okay don't ask how this picture happened because I don't know. There is no way I could have gotten her to pose like this, not in a million years. We just plopped her down on the couch and that's how she decided to sit. She stayed like that long enough for me to snap a couple pictures like this. I couldn't believe it, and still wouldn't if I didn't have this picture for proof that I wasn't dreaming it up.
And you know I have to throw in a little of her just being her silly little self. This picture is proof that she is her daddy's baby. Although I'm told his chew toy of choice was a stick when he was little. Sorry honey, but I couldn't resist. Don't worry no one will ever know. *wink

No Honey, I didn't go shopping Today.

What makes you think that? lol Okay so I'm busted. The ladies on Crochetville had to talk about the great deal they were finding on Bernat Berella 4 at Michaels and it was too tempting for me to pass up. So guess what I spent my lunch break doing? Yep, spending way too much money. But for 99cents a skein I couldn't pass it up. Especially since I had been buying it for $1.49 thinking it was a good deal. I've spent my yarn budget for pretty much the rest of the year though. I'd say it was worth it!

Now before you all start ranting and raving about the fact that I said I was done buying yarn just because it was on sale let me explain that I do have a project for each and every skein of this yarn. The pink and grey are for a sweater that I'm making for the kiddo to go with her halloween costume but most everything else is for gifts that I hope to have completed by Christmas. Of course now I have to get busy and get my hook moving in a hurry if I plan to get done by the holidays. Where's the caffeine? It's gonna be a long night.

How does your garden grow?

With this little angel as a gardener of course. She has decided that she loves to help her grandpa with the watering. The only problem is sometimes she forgets she's supposed to be watering the plants. But I bet they have the fastest growing sidewalk in the whole town with as much watering as it gets.
And what does she do when she is finished watering the sidewalk? Why she goes to the hose to get more water of course! Afterall, they do live in the desert so we can never water too much!

Testing, Testing...

Okay so I know I said I was going to post pictures of the kitchen set I made for my MIL but then I learned that she learned about my blog so never mind on that one. Can't ruin the surprise. So instead I'm showing off the square that I just tested for SmoothFox. This is her Heart of a Hippie Square and she was lovely enough to let me test it for her. The pattern works up really quickly and her instructions are super easy to follow. I used a variegated yarn from my stash but you could use a solid color too and I think it would turn out great. This square would be great for a baby blanket...gonna add it to my list for sure. I really need to try out some of her other patterns now. And yes that is my bed that the picture is taken on because it is waaaay past my bedtime now but I just had to post this before I could go to sleep. So now that it's done...zzz...zzzzzzzz

Rain, Rain, Go Away

But don't come back another day! This has been ridiculous. All week I was sitting at work listening to the rain just POURING down. Today was the first day in a while it hasn't rained. Everything has just been flooded and wet. You couldn't even walk outside without stepping in a puddle halfway up to your knees. I fully expected to see little woodland creatures rowing by the window in a little canoe. These are the kind of days you want to be at home snuggled under a blanket crocheting away. Not sitting at work thinking maybe you should be building an ark.

I have been crocheting up a storm lately although I know you can't tell that from the lack of pictures and posts here on the blog. The problem is that I can't keep focused on one project long enough to get it completed. I keep getting distracted by new ideas. I have to make myself focus and start getting things completed. I have a ton of crocheting that I have to finish before Christmas and its only a couple of months away now. Wanna know how much trouble I'm in? I have 12 kitchen sets, 21 scarves, hats, mittens and even a couple of afghans that need to be done before Christmas. Oh and a sweater and some things for the kiddo. Yep, I'm screwed. But at least all the things I'm working on are gifts.

I did actually crochet everything for my MIL's Kitchen Set but I didn't weave in the ends so I can't even count it as finished yet. Then I found a pattern for some hotpads that I thought would be perfect for my cousin's set so of course I had to start them. Then I made a couple of dishcloths for my mom and sister. And just when I was trying to get focused I found the pattern for this H Bag and of course I put everything else down and had to start it. I just finished assembling the purse but still have to make the straps. I left the yarn for the straps at work though so I can't finish it until I decide to get motivated enough to drive over there and get it. See how hard it is for me to stay on track? I promise that tomorrow I will sit down and weave in all the ends on my MIL's gift and I will post it. You can be my witnesses.

That Explains It!

Well I haven't made another post even though I said I would be better about it. The Kiddo has been having a rough few days but I think we've gotten past it for a little bit anyway. Her third tooth just poked through today. Yea! She's been a very cranky little girl the last few days and I thought that might be why. Now she has three teeth on the bottom. I would post a picture but she refuses to let anyone look at her teeth.

I've been crocheting up a storm but unfortunately I've been working on Christmas gifts and something for the favorite color swap on the 'ville so I don't want to ruin the surprise. I've almost finished my MIL's kitchen set and I'll go ahead and post a picture of it since she doesn't check the blog. And I'll post what I made for the swap once she gets the package.

Gotta go now and play blocks.

No I wasn't abducted by aliens...

But it sort of felt like it. I know I've been MIA for a while now but I have a good excuse, really I do. Okay so I know you don't believe me but for what it's worth I'm sorry. I don't even know where to start with an update. Everyone knows I left my job to stay home with the kiddo and that is about where I left off. Since then things have changed in a big way but I'll skip all the little details and give you the Reader's Digest version. Basically I left my job, dh lost his job we weren't getting anywhere besides in a hole and so we packed up and moved 12 hours away from home and are way out in West Texas now. How's that for short and sweet? So we left the beautiful countryside and our little house in rural Oklahoma and are living in town, in the desert and with my family until we find something for ourselves here in Texas. Fun huh?

Dh and I are both working now and saving money and paying off debt. We are hoping to be completely debt free sooner rather than later. So far its been a pretty big adjustment, especially for dh. How many men would willingly move in with their MIL? I think he deserves a cookie for that one! But of course its only a temporary move until we got settled in and had a chance to look for somewhere to live. That's what family is for right?

Other than that things are pretty much the norm. When I'm not at work I spend my time chasing after the kiddo. And I do mean chasing now. She learned to walk quite a while back, well actually she mostly runs and I'll tell you now she's quick for someone so small. Currently her favorite activity is to hand you whatever she happens to be holding and wait for you to tell her thank you. Then she gives you her best grin, takes it back and says thank you back. Its really a very cute game, until she has something you don't give back. That ruins the fun in a hurry!

I have a lot of pictures to throw at you but for now I'll just start with this one. She got caught just about to climb on the table to mess in things she knows she's not supposed to touch. It's hard to be too mad at her though. Just look at that face.

I can't believe she's almost 10 months old now. Time really does fly by and it seems like every day she's learned something new.

I've actually managed to squeeze in some crocheting too believe it or not. I've gotten a good jump on my Christmas projects and made a ton of baby blankets. I love that thermal stitch pattern and just kept making those blankets. I'll post some pics of them in the next couple of days. I have to actually take them first!

That's all the update for now because I know morning will be coming all too soon and I will not want to get up if I don't get to bed.

I've been RAOK'd!

I was so excited when I received this little package in the mail. My hubby called me at work to ask me if I mailed myself a penguin. What? He said he was calling to make fun of me for putting my address on both the mailing and return address. He thought I was crazy. It took me a minute to realize what he was talking about but when I did I couldn't wait to get home and see!

I am so touched that someone would take the time to send me such a wonderful package. It means so much and really brightened my day. The yarn is 100% bamboo and it is so incredibly soft. I have never used anything like it before and I am now looking for the perfect project. The little penguin has certainly made himself right at home amongst my daughter's toys. It was so neat to see him and so fitting because she loves the penguins in Happy Feet. What a perfect gift.

Thank you so much to my Fairy Godmother (whoever you are) for the wonderful gift and sweet card. You have really made my day.

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. Although the weather turned a bit cold we had a wonderful day visiting with family and eating entirely too much food. I wanted to share some pictures of my daughter's first Easter. I looked for weeks trying to find the right dress and finally settled on this one. I’ll tell you that its not easy to get a good picture of her in a dress. I knew little girls liked to pull their dresses up over their heads but I didn’t realize it started at such a young age. I'm not sure she cared to much for most of the day but boy did she love that grass. I have a feeling I'll be finding it for weeks to come! Hubby's grandma gave each of her great-grandchildren a chocolate bunny and of course being responsible parents we couldn't let the baby have the chocolate right? So thinking only of her well being we were forced to eat the bunny. Tough job huh?

I also crocheted another hat for her. This hat is the same style as the St. Patrick's Day hat except instead of crocheting a flower, I decided to weave in a pink ribbon to match her dress. Enjoy.

St. Patty's Day, A Little Late...

Okay I know St. Patricks Day is already over but I've been traveling visiting family so I haven't had a chance to update the blog lately. We spent the day driving across Oklahoma to see family but made sure we were decked out in green, so dh wouldn't pinch us too much.

We found her this little green outfit at Old Navy but since it was rainy and a little cool I decided she needed a hat to match. So I crocheted this simple little hat before we left. Amazingly enough she actually left it on her head!

No More Paperclips For Me!

I discovered recently that I would have to drive over an hour away to get stitch markers that would work in my amigurumi. All the ones I could find locally had clasps that were too large to fit into the small stitches. Of course driving so far just to get them didn't seem like a reasonable idea so I was making do with a paperclip. However, the paperclip fell out one too many times and I decided I needed to make something with a clasp so I wouldn't lose my place. These are what I came up with.

I haven't gotten a chance to use them yet because I made them last night and have been at the office all day today. I made them using metal pins so they are pretty stiff. After I made them I wondered if they would be better with just beading wire so they have more flexibility. Of course then I thought the beads might get in the way if that was the case. Anyone with experience either way out there? I have a couple new patterns I want to try out though so I'll be putting these to the test soon. A few of these are going to make their way to a new home to someone on the ville, hopefully she will like them.

This is my kind of deer.

Those of you that know me are aware of the fact that my husband is an avid hunter. You've heard of the phrase "hunter's widow" right? Yep that's me. I consider myself lucky to see him for an hour a day during deer season. Unfortunately it doesn't stop there. During the off season there are deer to spot, feeders to fill and a million other things that are deer related. This includes driving around to see if there are any deer that travel through our area. The majority of the time these trips are pretty boring and we don't see much, but this trip was different. We spotted the cutest baby deer and we couldn't resist loading her up and bringing her home with us.
Okay you got me. She's not really a deer. But she is way cuter than any of the deer I've seen.

A good friend of my husband gave us this little outfit and I couldn't resist snapping a quick picture. So what do you think, would she make the cover of Field & Stream?

I've Been Tagged!

Angela tagged me! I've never been tagged before so here we go.

The tag rules are:
1. When tagged, place the name of the person and URL on your blog
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write 7 things about yourself
4. Name 7 of your favorite weblogs
5. Send an e-mail letting those bloggers know they have been tagged

Seven things about me huh? Lets see...

1. Mt. Dew is my favorite drink right now.
2. I think the funniest thing about my dd right now is she likes to sleep sideways in her bed.
3. Spiders scare the crap out of me.
4. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.
5. Dh and I have been married for almost 2 years.
6. I love all my online friends.
7. Cowboy boots are my favorite shoes.

These Birds of a Feather,

Really do flock together! I crocheted these this week for my dd to play with. All of her toys seem to have some type of plastic somewhere on them and when she plays she tends to get really excited. I thought these would hurt a lot less when she hits herself in the head with them! I based these birds off of Hannah's pattern but as you can see I made each one a little different. Her pattern is wondeful; It is super easy to follow, they work up really quickly and the result is obviously adorable. Dh had to stop me from making an entire flock!
I used I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby and embroidered the eyes and beak on so there wouldn't be any potential hazard to the baby. Then I stuffed them with fiberfill and inserted a small rattle into each one to keep them entertaining. After all, I have never seen a quiet bird. DD loves to throw them around (birds need to fly right?) and I love that she has a safe, soft toy that was made right here in the USA.