Caps, Caps, CAPS!!!

Last week we had the extreme pleasure (and honor, for that matter) to be invited to attend a Caps game and sit in a corporate box/suite!!! We rushed home from school as quickly as possible, walked the dog and jumped onto our nearest metro stop. It's was Baby A's first metro ride and she had a blast! But then, what local doesn't love the metro? It's awesome!

(This last picture is actually a very non traditional family portrait that is my new favorite. See if you can find D in there!)

We got to the game a little bit late but not too late for D to plant himself in a seat and introduce Baby A to the joy that is watching ice hockey live! She's easily a hockey fan in the making. Like father like daughter...

(Pardon the editing on the above image. The people who were pixelated are not Ellwoods and decline to be included on the blog. What are they nuts? Ellwoods are awesome!!!)

Anyway, a fun time was had by all and the Caps won on top of it all!!! C-A-P-S, CAPS, CAPS, CAPS!!! Go Caps!

The Little Engine that almost did me in

It's done!!! It's hard to believe it but it's FINALLY done!!!

After five straight days and countless drafts and makeshift patterning and crocheting until my fingers hurt and ripping out row after row after seam and starting over again and again... I give you (my interpretation of) Thomas the Tank Engine...


I made this for Baby A's little friend from daycare. When we found out that Friday was his last day, we were all so sad and wanted to give him something because he's just the sweetest little boy ever. Since we money is tight, the best I could come up with was to make him something (on behalf of Baby A, of course). I found out that Thomas the Tank Engine is one of his most favorite things and I scoured the net for a pattern to crochet from. Would you believe that I couldn't find any place that had a pattern that I could even adapt to make a Thomas??? Crazy! I really couldn't believe it. But I was not willing to give up so easily.

I looked at as many versions of Thomas as I could find via trusty Google image search and drew up about five different drafts before finally being able to break the whole idea down into manageable pieces. This was my last draft that I went from and was the closest thing to a pattern as I was able to come up with:

I am so anal that I went as far as to even map out a timeline of when I needed each separate piece done by. Despite my best efforts and meticulous planning, I didn't make it by this past Friday (my deadline).

For those that know me well, I am notorious for making things without patterns - costumes, kid-sized play teepees, watermelon bassinets for baby showers - so my eventual success was inevitable. It was just a matter of time until I was able to actually finish it to my own satisfaction. It's a little bit lumpier than I would have liked it but I am my own worst critic and most all of the details have been attended to so carefully that I bet even the most knowledgable of the Thomas line would agree that I did a pretty swell job and creating Thomas. And since I am such a fan of personalizing things, I went ahead and made it so that nobody could say that this little Thomas is his other than the little boy who he rightfully belongs to.

Not sure what my next project will be but I definitely need to get cracking on less complicated things for stuffies to donate to our upcoming fundraiser at church.

Doing the Squinchy face

Wow! It's been almost a full week since I've posted anything!!! It's actually not been for lack of things to post. Really it's been because I've been too busy driving myself out of my skull trying to tackle my latest crochet project - making a Thomas the Tank Engine stuffy WITHOUT A PATTERN! (yes - you read that right *big sigh*) for Baby A's best buddy at daycare who's last day is tomorrow. Sadly, I think it's defeating me. This is not to say it's not working out but more that it's not going to be done by my deadline of tomorrow.

I've been up until at least midnight every night for the past week crocheting until my fingers are sore and very tender. I might be almost 3/4 of the way there but tonight I think I'm going to stop killing myself, throw in the proverbial towel, and just mail it snail mail when it's done. Many parts of my life have literally been put on hold because of this ridiculous endeavor that I've embarked on. I am my own worst enemy. (But I promise to post pictures of it ASAP when I do finish it. Because I WILL finish it because it's basically become a vendetta of sorts.)

Anyway, I needed a pick-me-up to lighten my defeated mood and just backed up my camera phone files. Thought you all might enjoy checking out my two recent favorites of Baby A. They are of her watching one of her favorite youtube videos of the opening of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Playhouse video. She LOVES the music and all of the little characters dancing around!! She would watch it 20 times over and again if we let her. And how do I know she lovesm it so much? Well... she does this thing that I call the "squinchy face" when she gets really excited about something. It used to be that she started clapping (well, she still does that I guess) but now she's added this thing where she squinches her face all up, squints her eyes real small and opens and closes her mouth repeatedly. It sounds crazy but I think it's the cutest thing in the world. Check it out...

She does it once at the end in this one.



She does it repeatedly in this one.

Isn't that great??? I love that face!!!! And she doesn't do it all the time, just when she gets super excited.

Pinky

A couple of months ago I rediscovered crocheting by way of the art of Amigurumi. I've actually tried to learn to crochet at least two times before but it just never worked out. I think it's because I can't handle the long-term projects like big afghans or things that can be worn. Little hand held stuffies though? They are just enough fun to hold my attention and keep me coming back for more!

Late last evening I finally finished my first Amigurumi ever!!! I have collected tons of patterns and pattern books since my interest in making them was peaked but this one was actually made from a free pattern off of the LionBrand.com site. It was super easy and much faster than most of the patterns that I have been trying to work my way through. I would have done it in a more traditional style/color but the only yarn I had on hand was pink! It could have turned out obnoxiously funky but I'm pretty pleased with it...






I'm going to try and stitch up a whole menagerie of all different types of little creatures! Our church is having a fundraiser on Easter Sunday to help the teens finance a mission trip and all of the ladies at Sewing Circle (where I go every other Saturday) are telling me that some Amigurumi would go like hot cakes and really bring in some money!!! I'm excited to make as many more as I can and help the church out as well! My next finished one is probably going to be a red and black ladybug and I'll post pictures of it when it's finished.

The many faces of Baby A

A couple of weeks back, Shutterfly was running a promotion for a FREE 8x8 bound book. It was completely serendipitous because I had just had a conversation with Baby A's daycare about how her new thing was books of pictures of baby!!!

I took advantage of the promotion and compiled 20 pages of Baby A's most memorable faces. As most of you would agree, she's a VERY expressive little gal so I had lots of pictures to choose from...

Click here to view this photo book.

I just received a postal slip yesterday that UPS tried to deliver our finished book so it will be in my hot little hands soonSoonSOON!!! We were supposed to have gotten it weeks ago but it got lost in the mail. Since Shutterfly is so very wonderful, they printed another book up and dropped it into the mail for next-day delivery at no additional cost to me! Shutterfly is THE BEST!!!!