Tess reads Pride & Prejudice!

Yes, you read that right. My two year-old daughter is getting a head start reading Austen. Okay, I stumbled upon this delightful board book at the library this past week. It's a counting book in which she can count fancy ball gowns, marriage proposals, English villages and more. I think I'm going to have to buy Tess her own copy just because it's so darling and well, funny too. This just might be my favorite board book in a very long time!

Pumpkin Pie Squares

Pumpkin Pie Squares were the featured dessert at my last book club. Of course, it wouldn't be a Fall Treat without pumpkins. These pumpkin pie squares were like combining  the best of both traditional pumpkin and pecan pies. It's easier to prepare than regular pie and it's just delicious warm served with some whipped cream on the side. I don't think that I will ever again make a pumpkin pie without the brown sugar, butter and pecan topping.

I followed the directions, but doubled all the ingredients for the toopping! I live at a really high altitude and I had to bake it longer, but that's not unusual here. I also added more Ginger and added some Allspice. I like it a little spicy!  Try it and taste Autumn!

The Irish Hiking Hat

                             This hat is the perfect introduction to cables. Details at Ravelry.

Autumn is here!

Delicious autumn!

My very soul is wedded to it,

and if I were a bird

I would fly about the earth

seeking the successive autumns.

- George Eliot

Yarn Along: Early Autumn Edition

 After weeks of unraveling projects, I managed two stash buster projects this week. Of course, they are both hats! They are going to be gifts for a friend's son and daughter. I used the yarn from the recently unraveled sweater to knit this hat (see below) and I used yarn in my stash to make this hat (see above).  I added a little Fair Isle to this hat. I have a lot to learn with Fair Isle knitting especially how to hold multiple yarns efficiently. This little hat made me want to explore more color and patterns. I'm pleased with how this colorful hat turned out. It's much warmer with the addition of the Fair Isle pattern. I alternated stitches using Spud and Chloe in Pollen with some variegated yarn. The effect is really whimsical. I am going to pursue more Fair Isle color work!

                  Liam is much happier wearing this yarn as a hat rather than the too-small-sweater!

As for reading, I'm trying to finish up these books:
Manning Up
Shiver
Little Bee

That's it for today. Please visit Ginny's for more yarn tales and books!

Yarn Along: Unraveled

 I haven't been knitting much lately. Actually, I take that back. I've started the same hat twice and taken it out twice because I couldn't find where I made an error that essentially derailed the entire pattern. I don't know what happened. Twice. It's an easy hat and it's one that I've knit before, but I think I'm just too tired right now. I want to knit, but I'm exhausted (the twins are waking up a lot  lately) and consequentially, I'm more unfocused than I realized. 

Other than my doomed hat, I unraveled two projects to reclaim the yarn. Do you remember this sweater? It was simply too small. It barely fit long enough for me to take pictures of Liam wearing it. I knew that I could donate it to a baby in need, but ultimately, I just wasn't that proud of this sweater and I proceeded to unravel it. Now, unraveling isn't as easy as I thought it would be. In the end, I had to let some of the yarn go, but I've reclaimed enough for a hat.

                                    How about this little sweater? Do you remember this one? I never finished it. I remember how much I wanted a little shrug to match that cute Hawaiian sundress, but I just never loved this yarn. It seemed too floppy. So, I unraveled this one too. Some of the yarn got way too tangled for me to spend precious time untangling (I really hate yarn waste), but I got enough for another project.
                                              Here's what that little shrug looks like now.

             I really don't consider it a huge loss. I know that I can always knit something else. I learn from every project that goes well and I learn from every project that eventually gets rewound into a nice little yarn ball. I always bite off way more than I can chew and this should be a lesson in finishing projects before moving onto new ones.
As for reading, I haven't finished a book in weeks. When I get into bed, I just want to sleep because I know one of the twins is going to wake up and I need all the sleep I can get. I do have  book club this week and of course, I'm behind, but we're reading Little Bee . I should wrap this up, hop in bed and read for a few minutes before sleep overtakes me.

Hopefully, I will have a more positive Yarn Along next week. Join Ginny for some inspiring yarn tales. 

11 Months already!

Look at those teeth! Look at those curls! Look at those smiles! They're so cute. You would hardly believe that those cute faces don't let me sleep much at night.

Hello September

Since Luke was 7, We've unofficially started our school year by reading Christopher's Harvest Time. This year was no different.  Even though he will be 12 in a few days, he still sat down with me to listen to me read this. This book ushers in our year and reminds us that summer is over. We eased into the day by baking chocolate chip muffins.  Luke did most of the work. He did a little reading, worked on one of his cartoons, and helped me with the twins. It doesn't sound like much, but I know there's a lot of learning going on even when it isn't super-structured. Like I said, we're easing into the new year. 

I enrolled Sam in first grade and it was a tough decision. It was so difficult that I didn't make the final decision until a couple of days before school started. I miss him every day. We work on our reading lessons together every evening before bed and I cherish that time with just him. I still want to be the one who teaches him to read.

 It's going to be an interesting year. Being mommy to 5 little people is stretching me, molding me and challenging me unlike any other challenge in my life. I have so much hope for this year. Sam is going to read. Tess will potty train and the twins are going to walk soon. There's a lot of learning ahead.