Happy Mother’s Day to all you mommies out there! I hope you have a great day! My day is starting out great because it is 7:45 and Connor is still sleeping.

Connor made a lovely sign at pre-school for me to hang up. The background is his handprints and there is a poem that reads, “My little hands saved for Mom, here forever more, my little hands you’ll someday miss, my little hands that grab you tight when you tuck me in to say goodnight, my little hands that send love your way on this and every Mother’s Day.” Love, Connor 2008 Isn’t that cute? I cried. I’ve been overly emotional this week, but I loved it. He also planted a seed a while back at school and it has started to grow already, so that was the other part of the gift for me. He can’t remember if he chose a flower or a bean though. I love that kid, he is too cute. He says he’ll ask his teacher on his next school day!

Today we are having a yummy lasagna dinner with my mom and dad (who has been sick with pneumonia, the poor guy!) and my sister and nephew. It’s supposed to be a beautiful day, so I think we’ll head out for a walk to the park too. I hope everyone has a terrific day!

(Connor’s favorite springtime activity)

The world lost a beautiful person today.  My uncle died about two hours ago after a long and painful battle with cancer.  He suffered tremendously toward the end and even though I know he’s in a better place now, it still hurts like hell.  I’m sure I’ll never understand why some people are taken from us when they are too young to leave.  I suppose that’s one of those questions that we aren’t supposed to know the answer to.  The picture above is the first time my aunt and uncle celebrated a happy occasion after my uncle was sick the first time.  It was taken three and a half years ago.  His first battle with cancer was long, about two years.  There were surgeries, chemotherapy treatments, radiation treatments, and pain.  Lots of pain.  Then he got better.  This time there was just pain.  The first tumor was discovered in January and they just kept coming.  They were everywhere and nothing could be done.  The pain was unbearable-in a physical and emotional sense.  My cousin expecting her first baby in August certainly adds to the emotional pain.  My aunt and uncle are some of the best people you could ever meet.  They are so happy and laugh all the time.  It’s so hard to keep that in mind through the pain.  Now, we somehow have to find a way to heal.  For me, that’s where I get lost.  My uncle’s younger brother lost a battle to cancer a few years ago.  I can find some comfort in knowing that tonight he was reunited with him, and also with his father.  I guess that’s a good place to start.

I know that tonight he will be able to sleep without feeling any pain too, for the first time in a long time.  Sleep well, Uncle, I love you.

(This post is a mess, not an example of my finest writing, for sure.  But, I needed to get it out.  Oh well.)

It’s been a crazy week.  I’ve been working, mommying, being sick (with bronchitis-yuck), dealing with sad family stuff and actually knitting (very little).  I’ve got a blog post in my head.  But, I’m too tired to write it.  I am not, however, too tired to share with someone my little bit of excitement.  It’s not that exciting to anyone but me.  But, I’m home alone and I need to share it with someone.

I just bought size 8 jeans.

I know, totally superficial.  But I’m excited anyways, in a proud way, not a bragging way.  I haven’t been in the single digits since high school and that was 9 years ago.  Five months ago, the jeans were a fourteen.   So, I’m allowing myself to take a few minutes to be just as excited as I would have been in high school, maybe even a little more though because high school Kristin never had a baby!

Time to go back to dancing around in front of the mirror.  Shhh…don’t tell. 

Seriously though, a crafty post is coming soon.  Promise.  I’m almost done with a sock that really looks like a sock. 

Remember this? Well, someday, it will fit her! Isn’t she perfect? I love her! Joanna Grace was born on April 7, 2008, at
11:52am. She weighed 7lb.6oz. and was 18 1/2 in long. I have an ever growing list of things to knit her in my head!

Congratulations Melissa and Joe! I love you guys!

Life around here has changed a lot in the past few months. It’s been hard: some of it great, some good, some not so good, some just plain crappy. Some because of me, some because of others. But, I really believe that everything is a lesson. I’ve lost some friends that I thought were good ones, I’ve gained some really great new friends that were previously just acquaintances. I got this in an e-mail today from someone that I haven’t spoken to in years and it really touched my heart. I wanted to pass it along to as many people as possible because I think that there are so many beautiful words in it. Take a look see. It’s worth it. Pass it along if you want to.

I BELIEVE

A birth certificate shows that we were born; a death certificate shows that we died; pictures show that we lived.

Have a seat. Relax. And read this slowly.

I believe - That we don’t have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I believe - That no matter how good a friend is, they’re going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I believe - That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance.

I believe - That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I believe - That it’s taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I believe - That you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I believe - That you can keep going long after you think you can’t.

I believe - That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I believe - That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe - That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I believe - That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe - That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you’re down will be the ones to help you get back up.

I believe - That sometimes when I’m angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.

I believe - That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you’ve had and what you’ve learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you’ve celebrated.

I believe - That it isn’t always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe - That no matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn’t stop for your grief.

I believe - That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe - Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I believe - That your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don’t even know you.

I believe - That even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you - you will find the strength to help.

I believe - That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I believe - That the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

I believe - The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

I spent the other night, while watching The Biggest Loser (when I wasn’t bawling-I can’t believe the ladies actually did it!!!!  Everyone lost so much weight, it was awesome, but I’m pulling for the ladies!), organizing my giant craft closet/computer/office stuff closet.  I took some pictures and I thought I’d share them.  I threw out a bunch of crap and I can’t believe how great it looks.  I wish I had taken a “before” shot.  It was a GIANT disaster.  You’ll have to trust me.  It’s an awesome closet.  There’s an outlet, so I can leave stuff plugged it and the desk has a light built into it, so I can even see when I’m sitting at it.  Pretty neat.  There are lights in the ceiling too, and I have one pointed at the closet for extra lighting as well.

Here’s what it looks like when the doors are closed.  Not too exciting. 

And when the doors are opened…I have a bigger bookcase and I think I’m going to use that instead of the plastic bins.  It’ll be prettier and it’s really tall and it will fit next to the desk so there will be more usable space for, um, expansion.  That’s always a good thing! But this is good for now.

Here’s a shot of my yarn stash, it’s on the left.  Connor’s art cart and paint set are on the right.  It’s not all yarn!  (I wish!)

I finally have a spot for my printer and sewing machine too.  YAY! I was so sick of moving them around and having to plug them in all the time, although I haven’t bothered to plug the sewing machine in yet.  Just knowing I can and leave it that way it comforting enough!

I really cut back on my fabric stash when I cleaned.  I had a lot of little bits of junk that I tossed.  I feel better about it and it looks neat enough for a shelf now.  I only have 2 WIPs and they are out too.  I like it.  When stuff is neat it actually makes me want to work on it, so I’m happy!

In case you were wondering, the WIPs are the Misty Garden scarf because I was in need of something seriously easy and a sock because I decided to give it a go again.  And I am just realizing that they are both pink.  Yikes.  What does that say? I am not a pink sort of a girl.  I must be knitting gifts and I didn’t even realize it.  Onto my favorite part of the week…

GOODIES!!

These are from Erin.  I knew of her from a Ravelry forum and I won a contest on her blog.  I had the great pleasure of meeting her on Wednesday at Knit Night, that I finally got a chance to go to.  I knew ahead of time that I won the contest and that she was bringing the prize, but I was not expecting so much yarn in a million years!  AWESOME!!  Connor is so psyched because he has been begging me for a new sweater and he wanted a green one!  My cousin Carrie just found out she is having a baby girl and I’m going to make her something with the light purple one and I will need to find something extra special for the beautiful skein of handspun!  I AM SO EXCITED.  Thank you so much Erin!!!  And, let me just say, I loved knit night.  I had never been to one, but it was a lovely group of people.  It was so great to get out and meet some people and chat.  I had tons of fun and I cannot wait for next week!

**This post contains absolutely no knitting content whatsoever!**

My life is changing a lot right now and I haven’t been blogging a lot, except for quick FO posts, but I realized the other night, as I was leaving a comment for Holly Jo, that I haven’t posted a picture of Connor in months. Being the super proud mama that I am, here comes one giant post, mostly in pictures.

Connor got this fancy new “big boy” bike from Santa this year. It’s a little too big still, but he loves trying to ride it around and he does a pretty good job. There is a really nice park down a side street that is right across the street from us, so it will be nice to be able to fit in some good riding time this spring!

For Christmas, some of Connor’s other favorite things were his “doggie doctor kit”, his new snowshoes, and some of his new firefighter gear. I LOVE the doggie doctor stuff. He gets SO into it. He has a little pup that the kit came with and a few little stuffed animals and he lines them all up and plays doctor. Some might have a cold or a boo boo, but he concentrates so hard and takes such good care of them. I love it!! The snowshoes are wonderful! I have a pair too and while we weren’t able to go this winter, I can’t wait to take him out for hikes next winter. I’m so lucky that he is so into that sort of stuff! If you remember from here, Connor has been into firefighters for quite some time and he has had quite a bit of gear for a while, but got even more from Santa. He still dresses up and goes on a least a few “calls” every day! And, YAY, Accordion still fits! He wore it on Christmas Day!

I just love this one!

I can’t believe that in less than 3 months Connor will be 5. FIVE. Yikes. If that’s not enough to freak me out, I had to go register him for Kindergarten. What kept me from freaking out is that he was accepted to the full day program, which is a lottery, and he will go to a wonderful school in a wonderful town. He couldn’t possibly be more excited to start. A few months ago, he also started in a new Pre-K program. The picture above is from his first day. He LOVES the school. The program is so wonderful. They hire only certified teachers for their pre-k and kindergarten program, and as a certified teacher that was huge for me. He has learned so much since he started there, I am blown away on a weekly basis. He loves both of his teachers and classmates and he has been invited to 2 birthday parties already. I’m so glad he isn’t shy like I was as a kid!

Also, to try and freak me out again, Connor got his teeth cleaned yesterday and the hygienist said that one of his bottom teeth is very, very, slightly wiggly. WHAT? He’s only 4!! I hope it stays in there for a while longer! But, he did cut those two bottom teeth at 3 1/2 months and had a full set, including 2 year molars at 18 months. He got his teeth VERY early. I guess that means he’ll lose them early…

I have 5 more pictures I wanted to post. Is that crazy? Are your computers going to blow up or anything? Sorry if they do. Should I make the pictures smaller next time?

Connor got a Spiderman umbrella and a Batman rain coat, along with a few other things, from the Easter bunny. Pretty good for a mommy who doesn’t like commercial characters. But what do you do when your kid says, ” I hope the Easter bunny only brings me a little M&Ms. I don’t really like candy.” Hmmm…sticks to your guns on the characters and give CANDY to a kid who specifically said he DOESN’T want it? Or give in and get him what he’s into? I think I, I mean, the Easter Bunny, made the right decision…and he tossed in some Hershey Kisses for me.

Now THAT is my boy!!!

Now, these are a series that I call “Monkey the Tree Climber” or “Child Trying to Give Mommy a Heart Attack”. Connor discovered today that he loves to climb trees. I did not put him into these positions and then take the picture. He got into all of them all by himself. He was SO proud. I was very proud of him too. I was even prouder of me for letting him do it without freaking out. In my head the ambulance was called, there was blood, bones were broken. But, he was fine and he had a blast. That is what counts.

Ok, that’s all I have. He’s really grown so much over the past few months I can hardly believe it. Turning 5 is such a huge milestone to me. He’s a little boy now, not a baby anymore. But, he’ll always be my baby. Man, I love that little guy more than anything in the world!

So, I had a whole post planned, complete with cute pictures of Connor discovering his Easter basket, but my day took a dramatic turn for the worst when I got home tonight.

I decided to nix the Easter post and put in a call for some extra thoughts and prayers for a dear friend of mine. This is really hard, and frankly, it sucks.

My friend Bill and I have been friends since we were in our mommy’s bellies. My mom and his dad went to high school together. I am older by ten weeks, but he’s always been much bigger than me. We are only 27. Actually, he is still 26. His birthday is March 31.
Today I found out that Bill was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkins Lymphoma, with some bone involvement. I’m not too sure of all this technical stuff, but I do know that Bill, his family, and everyone who loves him is sad, scared, and speechless. Bill is one of the most amazing people I know. He is super funny, has the biggest heart in the world and is the best friend one could ever ask for, no matter what stupid things you may do. He would go out of his way to help even a stranger, and there isn’t anything in the world that he wouldn’t do for his family and friends. I stumbled through the conversation unable to form a complete sentence without lots of stammering, and he was so upbeat and just his regular awesome self. Bill starts chemo on Wednesday.

Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Please. We need to pull out a miracle here. Every little bit will help.

Thanks everyone!

Since I loved Katherine’s and I happen to have a skein of Malabrigo (even in the same color used in the pattern) that I didn’t know what to do with, I decided to give it a shot. It’s really cute and it was easy peasy and super fast to knit up. And, let me just say I LOVE MALABRIGO!!! I had never knit with it before, but I certainly will again!

Oh, and here’s a link to the pattern…

This was a quick and easy knit from Magknits. I used up every last bit of the scraps I had laying around in the two colors of Cascade 220 pictured. It felted a little bit smaller than I would have like, but it’s still a really cute little bag!