Evening playtime

No fancy Photoshop tricks yet. Someday I'll get around to it, but I'm still just enjoying my family and the nice weather. We took a trip to the park tonight – after dinner! I love all this extra daylight. It feels so good to get outside in the evenings. The long winter break from the playground equipment has made Walter a little more timid about the slides, but he's more courageous about climbing. I'm guessing he'll get past any fears he has quickly. He's going to have to. Daddy doesn't fit so well through the slides!

I'm still here!

I just spent a few days in Orlando for the 2010 Photoshop World Conference. I had the good company of two co-workers/friends and we had a great time. We learned a ton of new things, got inspired, and didn't get nearly enough sleep. As much fun as we had, I am so happy to be home with my boys. It's hard to be away from them for so long! It's amazing how much Walter changed in just a few days – he is speaking so much clearer and even putting words together. I got suckered into "one more" book about 5 times tonight before putting him to bed. Not that I minded. I was ready for some extra snuggle time. I'll have more of an update on the conference once I settle back into my routine. Right now, bedtime.

A good morning

It was one of those mornings. I slept badly. I hit the snooze button a few too many times. I was rushing around, trying to get out the door quickly. Then Walter said – totally unprompted – "Love you!" It sounded more like "wuv-woo," but I'll take it! You made my Monday, little man!

My husband is awesome

My sister and I have been trying to figure out how to wind a nice, neat, center-pull ball of yarn, without spending all kinds of money on equipment. Typical ball-winding requires a ball winder (duh) and a swift. The two of these things together can cost around $100. Not an outrageous amount, considering these are things we can share, but we like to do things on the cheap when we can. Lucky us – we were able to borrow a ball winder from our mom and Nate built us a swift! Yup, there’s the part where he’s awesome. He followed some plans that Kristin had found and, viola! A swift that helped turn this giant mass of wool:

into a neatly wound ball in just a few minutes.

Thanks Nate! You’re the best! It’s so great to have a handy husband who supports my hobbies.

I’m planning to get this yarn on the needles soon. No mysteries this time. I’m going to give the Shalom Cardigan a try, with a few modifications – more buttons, maybe some sleeves. Something like what SouleMama did here. I don’t know how much knitting I’ll be doing over the summer. Playing in the sunshine will be my top priority. (Walter’s too!) But, with any luck, I’ll have a sweater by the time fall arrives.

Ta-da!

Here it is. The big reveal. The mystery project is... (cue drumroll) the Razor Cami – pattern by Katie Marcus of OhMyStars Craft!

This was my first attempt at knitting adult-sized apparel (hats don’t count) and I’m really happy with how it turned out.

The pattern was very easy to follow. I made a few modifications that slowed me down a little. Who knew knitting involved so much math? But I figured it out and I have a fun new top just in time for spring. Hooray!

Race Day

Today was Shamrock Shuffle day!

It was a beautiful day for a leisurely run - 5k in 38:09. We had a great time, but next time, I could do without the bagpipes on the race course. As if the Observatory Drive hill wasn't bad enough. Ouch!

Almost done!

The mystery project is almost done. I'm blocking it now and I'm hoping for some nice weather this week so we can get outside and take some pictures. Yippee! A finished project is such a good feeling!

Pizza night

We made pizza a couple of nights ago. This was the first time Walter actually helped make dinner. He had tons of fun, but I think he took more toppings off the pizza than he put on. He's got a thing for black olives, apparently.

A whole new ballgame

Oh, Walter. You make me laugh.

Kristin knits

When my sister was pregnant with Finn and on bed rest, I brought her some knitting needles, a ball of yarn and a how-to book with some patterns to help her pass the time. By the time she was done with her maternity leave, Kristin had knit this dress for Kyla:

Holy cow! I spent my first few years of knitting making tiny little hats – projects that required very little skill or math or bravery. But she jumped right in, tackling the tough stuff on her first try. And now she's got the knitting bug even worse than me. Many nights she sacrifices sleep for knitting. With two kids! There's that bravery I was talking about. But check out the AWESOME projects she's finished. This adorable Neighborly Vest for Kyla:

And her latest creation, the February Lady Sweater:

Oh man, I'm impressed! (Now, Kristin, get some sleep!)

And let me just say how wonderful it was to get outside in the sunshine to take these photos. I've been craving weather like this for far too long. Kyla was enjoying it, too. Those boots! A girl after my own heart...

Hat head

While I was having trouble making up my mind on my knitting project (I'm almost done! Updates soon!), I decided to make another hat for Walter. It's the Pompom Bear hat from "Baby Beanies." The yarn – "Dragon's Den" – is from the sheep at the Sun Valley Fiber Farm, just a few miles away in Mount Horeb. The hat is a tad big, but it's almost spring, right? I sure hope so, anyway. And I'm hoping this hat will fit him just perfectly next winter.

ps - I'm still feeling good after that run. Looks like Walter's keeping me in good shape!

Running fool

I've joked before that Walter gives me my daily workout. Now it's time to see if he's really been keeping me in shape. My friend, Becky, asked me to run the Shamrock Shuffle with her on March 14. I just signed up, with a whopping 11 days to get my butt in gear. I just did my first training run. (If you can call it that this late in the game!) Two miles on the treadmill and I'm feeling great! The true test will be how I feel when I'm getting out of bed tomorrow morning. Let's hope that my little personal trainer has done a good job!