This is one for Nancy Drew, or the Hardy Boys

Remember the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew

mystery series that was on tv in the late 70's? I had such a crush on Parker Stevenson & Shaun Cassidy. Where are they now when I need them?

Take a look at this picture. I received a package in the mail the other day. No return address & a post mark from Keswick, VA. Hmmm, I dont know anyone near Keswick. Lovely penmanship on the puffy but no return address.

So I rip open the puffy & out falls this pretty Patons SWS, a pretty rose sachet & the note pad/stickynote pack. That's it. No note saying who it's from, no note saying "George Clooney asked me to send this to you", no nothing.

So, "Thank you" whoever you are! It was a very sweet gesture!

It does my little heart good. . .

to know that Kate (the mom from "Jon & Kate Plus 8 on TLC) raises her voice at her kids.

I'm like my Dad in that I have a quick temper. I've toned down my colorful language (at one time the Navy was heavily recruiting me to teach the sailors how to swear.) since the Wee One came along. I dont see swearing as the sign as a limited vocabulary the way some people suggest, rather I like to think that at one point I had elevated it to an art form.

But if I'm tired or sick I can get angry with the Wee One or Libby easily & that bothers me. I know no one is perfect (and not even Kate!) & I know that as a SAHM & a temporarily single parent I'm tested more than people who don't spend 24/7/365 with their child.

I joke that both my dog & child have selective hearing because I KNOW I say "leave the dog alone" at least 298 times a day. The first is usually a gentle "Wee One, please leave Libby alone. She doesn't like it when you put a scarf on her & call her Jesus" True story! She put a scarf on Libby last week & said "look Mommy, Libby eessss Jesussssssss" I just about died laughing.

The 298th time I tell her to leave the dog alone things are ugly. I'm sick of the dog barking, growling, whining & running away & let's be real----a 10 lb dog is no match for a 38lb toddler. If I had a large dog I dont think I'd be so protective of Libby. And bless her little doggie heart---she has never bitten the Wee One. She's a great great dog & if you are considering a dog to have in a home w/ small children, miniature schnauzers are a wonderful breed. They don't shed & are very smart & easy to train & are just so sweet & adorable. But I digress.

The 298th time I say "leave the dog alone" it's akin to what the eruption of Mt Vesuvius must have been like. Of course this usually produces tears & I feel like absolute crap for making my child cry. I shouldn't yell but, *sigh*, I do.

Today my dog Libby was driving me INSANE. I couldn't walk anywhere w/out her being underfoot. The weather was a factor as she couldn't go out for her daily "Puppy Bowl" (fetch w/ the ball on the tennis court) but a 10 lb dog is easy to trip over.

So tonight when Kate got a little short w/ the kids I admit I giggled. She IS human. I love that woman!

The Wee One's ready to go back to school after 6 days straight w/ Mommy. She had her first movie experience today! We bit the bullet & went to see The Bee Movie. It was great b/c there were only 6 people in the theater w/ us. She did great considering there was 20 minutes worth of ads & previews before the movie even started. Yes, I looked at my watch! I can deal w/ a few previews but ads for Sierra Mist, Coke, Honda etc, I can do without those. After the movie we went into the arcade area & rode the train & carousel.

So back to school tomorrow for her & back to the gym for Mommy. YAY!

Happy Black Friday one & all!

Hope everyone is either out braving the crowds or safely tucked away at home smugly giggling about the crowds at the stores.

I HATE Black Friday with the fire of 1,000 suns. Maybe it's from working too many of them, maybe it's the fact that the media proclaims it the busiest shopping day of the year (guess what, it's not! The Saturday before Christmas is. Really. Would I lie to you?!), maybe it's the fact that even I, as someone truly blessed with the shopping gene, won't venture out on this day. I feel the same about shopping on Black Friday as I do about drinking on New Year's Eve. Amateur Day I like to call it. But anway. . .If you ventured out, I hope you got great deals on whatever it was you were looking for!


I made my 1st ever pair of mittens this week for the wee one. They were insanely easy & Im chuckling to myself that I was ever intimidated by doing the thumb! Laugh, it's okay! I was the same way when I did my 1st pr of socks. The idea of turning the heel was very intimidating. When I finally did it I was amazed by how easy &fun it was. Same w/ the thumbs.

The downside of these mittens is that by the time I was done the ribbing on the 1st one I hated the yarn & needles I was using! Same TLC Amore as the Wee One's hat & my lone set of LionBrand DPN's. I never thought I would admit this but I am a needle snob. I LOVE my Addi's & I love my Crystal Palace & Britney DPN's. The yarn just glides over the CP's so much easier. The yarn, being a boucle type, made seeing stitches difficult & as a result, counting rows was tricky. The pattern is easy peasy as they say & I will make another pair (along with a hat to match) in another yarn. The pattern is Child's Stripe Mittens. If you look on my ravelry page you'll find the link.


This is the Party Lace Scarf from Magknits & is being made w/ Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in color #27 (I call it periwinkle). This is for the Wee One's teacher. I originally was going to use this yarn for the Laurie Scarf for myself but then didn't "feel" the pattern as I was knitting it so I switched & decided to make it for someone else.

I'm debating bringing the Wee One to the Bee movie today. I'm wondering if everyone's going to have the same idea & bring their kids too? She's never been to the movies before so I thought an early matinee might be a good idea. We'll see how the morning goes. We may just go to the park instead!

Disney on Ice

The wee one & I went to Albany, GA (hometown of Paula Deen) to see Disney on Ice, Princess Classics today. I splurged & got rinkside seats---they were GREAT! As you can see, the Wee One wore her Snow White costume & got to shake hands w/ her after the show (we also shook hands w/ Minnie Mouse, Cinderalla & her Fairy Godmother, Ariel & Sleeping Beauty. Mommy got a surprise when the Genie from Aladin jumped off the ice (there was a riser to our left on the ice & sat down next to me (the Wee One was on my lap) & put his arm around me.

The Wee One wanted a Gus stuffed doll (one of the mice in Cinderalla) so when he skated out in the 2nd half she went NUTS. I mean nutty cuckoo! Jumped down off my lap & was jumping up & down waving her doll when he skated by. It was a wonderful wonderful show & we both had a blast.

FO & a great quote

Here's the wee one's first hat of the year. It's the Modified Tam & she prefers to wear it as a regular hat. *sigh* Oh well. I'm going to CO some mittens this afternoon. She's got gloves (store bought) but anyone who has put gloves on a 3 yr old knows mittens are much easier! I used TLC Amore in white for the hat & will use hte same for the mittens.

My ILS came down this past weekend. We had a nice time despite it only being a couple days. So today I was updating my Myspace page & wanted a new quote. I found this one & it made me giggle over something that happened this weekend. The quote is:

The art of mothering is to teach the art of living to children. (Elain Heffner O Magazine 2003)

So this weekend the wee one was having nachos for dinner & was allowed to eat them in the living room at the coffee table. Well, a tomato & green pepper hit the floor. MIL sprang into action. I dont want to say she flipped out b/c she didn't really. Let's say her ideas of toddler cleanliness while eating is different than mine. I'm not being critical or snarky---we've joked about our differences & I dont want you guys to think I'm badmouthing her. I adore the woman & am SO LUCKY that she's my MIL!

The wee one is 3 1/2 & sometimes misses her mouth if she's eating in the living room. I'm lax in that department & that's that. I've accepted it & if you can't then I'm sorry!

So I grab a napkin & clean up the cubed veggies. Accidents happen & she's only 3. It's not as if she dumped her entire plate out on the carpet.

So this morning when I was changing my quote & came across the "art of mothering" it made me think of that incident. I want to raise the wee one to enjoy life & look for the good in it---not to be afraid of making a mistake or a mess. We all make mistakes & we all make messes. It happens. Obviously I dont let her spill food all over the place & take an "oh well, la di dah" approach but if something gets spilled by accident I want her to know that it IS fixable & cleanable. Same goes for playing---a few weeks ago she was painting & literally got water color paint from Michaels all over the place. The kitchen table, the chair she was sitting in, on her pants, shirt, stomach (thru the shirt!!), hands, face, feet. You name it, there was paint on it. Do I tell her that she needs to be neater? She's 3 & learning how to use things. No, I cleaned up the table & chair, got her clothes off her, wiped the paint off her & found a long soak in the bath tub got her feet & hands clean. The shirt had to be washed 3x!

Reading the quote today hit home that I want my daughter to enjoy life & realize that there are bumps in the road but there is always a solution.

Tomorrow is Disney on Ice! I dont know which one of us is more excited! It just might be me!! We have awesome seats (on the ice!!) & the wee one will be dressed like Snow White again. Will update & post pics!

Veterans Day

Here's my favorite Veteran (who called this morning!) & a poem that I found.

They Did Their Share

On Veteran’s Day we honor Soldiers who protect our nation.

For their service as our warriors,

They deserve our admiration.

Some of them were drafted;

Some were volunteers;

For some it was just yesterday;

For some it’s been many years;

In the jungle or the desert,

On land or on the sea,

They did whatever was assigned

To produce a victory.

Some came back;

some didn’t.

They defended us everywhere.

Some saw combat;

some rode a desk;

All of them did their share.

No matter what the duty,

For low pay and little glory,

These soldiers gave up normal lives,

For duties mundane and gory.

Let every veteran be honored;

Don’t let politics get in the way.

Without them, freedom would have died;

What they did, we can’t repay.

We owe so much to them,

Who kept us safe from terror,

So when we see a uniform,

Let’s say "thank you" to every wearer.

By Joanna Fuchs

Halloween cuteness

The wee one wanted to be Sleeping Beauty this year so Sleeping Beauty she was! The costume was worn twice--once to a party last Thurs. with our FRG group & the hem got ripped. So Mommy tried to fix it. Then on Tuesday night we had our neighborhood party.

Again, hem got ripped on the inflatable jumperoo. So the costume is in a ball in Mommy's closet awaiting its fate. I'm thinking about getting a wide gold ribbon & attaching it to the skirt w/ some stitch witchery. My plan was for her to wear this to Disney on Ice later this month (early Christmas pressie) but now she can't. Grrrrrr!