Dad and Lacey Visit

My dad was here last weekend. It was really good to see him...... I don't see him often enough. We didn't do much but its just nice to have him around. Lacey was here this weekend. I don't see her enough either. We all live too far apart!! Lacey and I went shopping twice and watched 5 movies...that pretty much occupied our entire weekend. She only has 1 more term left until she graduates so hopefully she'll be able to visit more when she's done with school. Actually, I'm hoping she'll move to Portland soon so we can hang out all the time. That won't happen for at least a year though.

We finally got furniture for our den! We got a desk, chair, loveseat, and a desk lamp. We still need to get a few things to hang on the wall. Hopefully we'll get around to that next weekend. We also plan to get our downstairs bathroom painted next weekend. Knowing our procrastination habits, we'll see how much we actually accomplish. Joe's birthday is on Saturday so I know we'll be busy doing other things.

I think I'm finally over the lovely cold I've had the last couple weeks. Kasen's still a little stuffy and Joe's had a touch of it too. My dad was here last weekend and we seem to have sent all of the germs home with him. Sorry Dad!

We bought furniture for the den today! A desk and chair and a love seat. It is scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday....yay!!! We may still end up getting a bookcase at some point but we want to see how much room we have left with the two big pieces we got today in there. Its going to be great to be able to really enjoy that room since its basically been our "catch all" room since we moved in.

Kasen got a cold his first week in daycare. Then we both spent his second week sick. I already had to take a day off of work due to the cold from hell. We're both feeling much better now but still not completely over it.

Joe and I went on a date night Friday. We went out to dinner and then to Cirque du Soleil. It was a lot of fun...we don't get out without the baby much. Other than being packed in like sardines, the show was awesome. I'm already excited for the next time they come to town!

The Den is Done!

We finished the den today! We still need to get furniture but here are the pics of the room...

Here's a close up of the crown moulding...

Watch for more posts on our next project.... a bathroom!

Knit Baby Gift Projects

Just wanted to post pics of my baby afghan projects. Here's the one I just finished.




This is one I made last year but I made the same one in pink and already gifted it.




This is the third baby afghan. Obviously, it's still in progress.



Off to knit!

I made it through my first week back at work. I actually enjoyed it too. It was nice having some adult interaction for a few hours each day. When I'm at work, I'm happy I'm there (still missing Kasen, of course) but as soon as I see his little smiling face, I don't want to be anywhere else. I guess that's why they have thisransition back to work plan.
I've been spending all my free time - you know, those 5 minutes I have to spare while Kasen's napping :-) - finishing up my baby afghan and browsing around on Ravelry. That site is SO addicting! I have to actually tear myself away from the computer when I catch myself in a Ravelry zone.
I'm extremely tired - I'm not used to getting up early - and am looking forward to the weekend. All that's on the agenda is to put the final finishing touches on the den.....no, its still not done.....and get some rest so we can do this all over again next week!

Back to work

Well I'm officially back at work. Today was my second day. Its so hard to leave Kasen in the morning but I do have a good time once I get to work. We'll see if the excitement wears off after a week or two though. By the time noon rolls around I'm definitely ready to pick up my little man. It doesn't help that I'm out of the loop on pretty much everything...guess that's what taking 5 months off will do for you :-)I'll just keep plugging along for now. Only time will tell if I've made the right decision.

Today was another day of working on our den....we're finally just putting on the finishing touches! Tomorrow morning we are off to shop for furniture. I can't wait to have this room finished!

As for my knitting....I'm a few rows further on the baby afghan. I had to roll into balls two skeins of yarn which, if you are knitter you know, takes a long time. I recruited Joe to help me but it still took about an hour.
I'm also making a scarf using a new technique my MIL discovered. Its called entrelac and its very interesting. I really need to get the baby gifts done before I venture to other things but this project is calling me!
The last couple days all of my free time (like I have a lot :-) has been spent perusing the latest and greatest knitting website, Ravelry (another discovery by my wonderful MIL). Its a VERY comprehensive database of all things knitting. I love it!!

As I said yesterday, I head back to work Monday morning. I can't stop thinking about it and I can't decide if I'm excited or not. I love being with Kasen, of course, but I really do love my job and my friends there too. At least it will only be 4 hours a day. And I know that daycare will be good for him as soon as he is old enough to play with the other kids. I just have to remember if I end up hating this new arrangement, I can always become a SAHM. I have to stop worrying about it and know it will work out how its meant to be....right?

Well I finished the 2nd afghan and started on the 3rd. This is one is going much faster as the pattern is more simplistic. I will post pics tomorrow.

Today was bittersweet for me. I've been on maternity leave for 5 months and have to go back to work Monday. It will only be part time but will still be a hard transition. Kasen has been with me 24/7 since he was born so being away from him will really tear at my heart strings. Millions of mothers do it so I'll survive...right?

We are in the middle of what's turned out to be a rather large project, redecorating our den. Since we moved into this house - almost 3 years ago - it has been an office/a place to store random things we don't have a place for. We decided on maroon walls - this was before we knew you had to paint 100 layers when using red. Joe and his brother have been working tirelessly on getting the room painted and putting up crown moulding. They are putting up the last piece of moulding tonight then all that's left is touch-up....yay!! We are going shopping for new furniture tomorrow. I can't wait to have the room done!

Well, off to work on my blankie!

Jumping on the Blog Wagon

I guess I should start by introducing myself. My name is Marinda and I am a knitter and a quilter but jump at the chance to do any craft I can.

Ever since I began working with yarn and fabric I have been making baby gifts for friends who are expecting. This commitment has gotten a little out of control recently as I have 6 friends who have had/are having babies within a few months of each other. Each project is a bit time consuming on its own - so having many at once has made me a little crazy. Did I mention I had a baby myself 4 months ago? Yeah, things are a bit hectic. I must also mention that things are always a bit more challenging when you have a chihuahua glued to your lap :-)

Oddly enough, while I delivered a beautiful baby boy (left), all 6 of my friends have had/are having girls. As far as crafting goes, this was fine with me. I was able to find a plethora of cute colors and patterns for baby girls, not to mention I get to work with my favorite color - pink, pink, pink!

After pondering what I thought each of my friends would like, I decided to sew 3 baby quilts and knit 3 baby afghans. I have already completed and gifted away 2 of the quilts and 1 of the afghans. Unfortuantely, I didn't take pictures of any of them. How weird would it be to ask my friends to take pictures?

As for the final 3.... I will be finishing up one of the afghans tonight or tomorrow and will post pictures once I'm done. I have the materials and patterns for the final quilt and afghan and plan to get started on both of them within the next couple days.

With my procrastination habit, deadlines are the enemy so I have to say, it will be a relief to get all of these projects completed.

Well, I'm off to finish up project 4 of 6. Wish me luck!