Mmmm.. Food Post

Chicken Pot Pie. Yummy...    It always makes me bloated and gassy (TMI?...), but I still love it. I made this for dinner last night. I had three pieces of chicken in the freezer (not enough for a family of 5).  So I thought "Chicken Pot Pie". I love Chicken Tettrazini, but my husband "hates" it. Our 18 year old "hates" Chicken Pot Pie. Oh well. I can't please everyone..   Oh, note to self: Do not buy the combo packs of chicken anymore. The "three" pieces of chicken had two backs (?). Like one tiny scrap of meat on each. I know they put those in there just to add poundage to the package and make money off you for nothing!! It's so irritating. So I only technically had one piece of chicken.  Anyway~ I had three bags of frozen (yuck, I hate frozen vegetables) green beans, so I used up a little of those, in this... I just put whatever vegetables that would work, in there. Corn, carrots..  Make all the vegetables, meat..  Then I make the sauce, saute onions and make a Veloute (?) sauce (which you should be able to find anywhere online? It's basically, butter, put in flour to thicken, then add chicken broth. That's how I make mine). Then I make the crusts. Put the chicken on the bottom, then the onions, then the vegetables. Then the sauce. Put the top crust on. I also put an egg yolk mixed w/ a Tablespoon of water brushed on the crust.  Eon (the 7 year old) said last night "Is this a 'Pie pie' or a dinner pie?"  Funny boy..  He loves to eat the leftover pie crust. He loves it so much; he was scraping it off the rolling pin. I kid you not. :P

Anyway.  I am crocheting an Ami for an Ami Swap I am in on Crochetville. I don't know if it's technically an official swap, or not. It's in the Friendshipghan CAL thread..  We're just sending an Ami. That's all I can say. But I am done with the head and I think it turned out SOOO cool!! I'm going to have to keep it hidden from my kids. I know they'll be like "Are you making that for me?" "Can I have it?"..  And then I'll say "No, it's for a Swap I'm in".  Then they'll be all mopey and walk around like, "poor me, I never get anything"... lol (This is not true, you should SEE all the toys I have crocheted them. I should set them all up and take a picture of them someday just cuz..)  Anyway. I'm glad it turned out good. The head is the part I worry about the most. I almost got panicky because I couldn't remember for nothing where I packed my eyes (the little lock on eyes). I can only get them at Hobby Lobby. (We have a new Hobby Lobby here, did I mention? I haven't been there yet and don't know how to get there but maybe my husband could take me there someday..)  Anyway. I looked everywhere! In every single bag and box I have in the closet. Nothing. Took everything out of my sewing box. Nope. I have three big Rubbermaid totes. Took everything out of those (twice!). Nadda...  Well today I went over by my bookshelf for some reason and looked down, and there they were!! In a hat. ?? I have been making cards since we've moved here, I've been there like 20 times. Sigh...  Oh well. I'm just glad I found them, and I could finish the head now. :D (That was what I wanted them for.)  I just the past couple weeks had been looking for something else I couldn't find; since we moved. I couldn't find that anywhere, either (the Barbie Doll furniture, since I finished the tent.) I was getting really upset, because there was NO WAY I was going to re-do all that Barbie Doll furniture.  I found that by "accident", too. It was underneath the pile of clothes we have had sitting there for the "garage sale". (Which we are probably never going to have... sigh) I can never find anything when I'm looking for it.  Only when I am looking for something else, totally unrelated (which I almost never find, until I am looking for something else, another time...) :P  Oh well. We need to stop moving so much, and get an extra bedroom so I can put all my craft stuff in it. Then maybe I could get totally organized.    Wow, I said a lot for that being "all I can say", huh? ...  :P   I hope everyone has a great weekend,if anyone even reads my blog... :P  Almost TGIF, yay!!  (Get to sleep in!...) 

Crocheted Coffee Cup

Well since my Bookmark Swap partner received her package, I guess I can post the coffee cup I crocheted her. (I also crocheted three bookmarks, and knitted a catnip mouse for her cat).  This is from the June 2008 Crochet World issue. I was "supposed" to use cotton. But I didn't have "cobalt blue" looking cotton. So this Red Heart was the closest I could come to it.  :)  There is some goodies in there, too. (The catnip mouse was in there, you just can't see it. It was the same color blue, too~ but in wool.)   Anyway~~ I should post a picture of all the stuff she sent me! I loved it all. And still am. :P She sent lots of yummy teas, and some Instant Hazelnut coffee "tubes".  I had one the other day. It was yummy.  Since I still can't figure out how to post more than one picture here...  I don't know what to do. She sent me a lot. Here is my Crochetville Thank You post, though. :P   Oh, and while I'm at it, here's hers! You can see the bookmarks I sent. :P  I think the one of her cat getting into the box is so funny. He (she?--oh, it is a she--just read on her blog..) must have smelled the catnip mouse! I sent one to my sister's cat a while back, Oliver's was green.  If you really want to see the cat w/ the mouse, Jackie posted a picture on her blog.

I think I finally caught my son's cold. (His cold just keeps hanging on, by the way.. He doesn't sound too good. He's got this cough that sounds like a barking Seal.)  Although I have been feeling like I have been fighting it off for three weeks now. Last night I felt pretty horrible. My nose was stuffed up. I made some lemon tea~ not the tea Jackie sent me, though :( since it has caffeine in it..  I didn't even finish it though; I was so tired, I just went to bed. 

My "Afghan With No Name" afghan is almost done!!!!  I am on the edging. It's all crocheted together. It's been laid out on the Living Room floor for about a week. I knew my husband was going to start complaining about it. (Plus I was getting sick of it being there/worrying someone was going to step on it/spill something on it/mess up my rows..) So yesterday I just finished crocheting all the rows together.  And last night, I started the edging. I need one more skein of the off-white now. So, stay tuned for a picture of the afghan. I need to come up with a better name for it. Hmmm...  "Aunt Mary Afghan"?..  "Flower Garden Afghan"? (The scrap squares are supposed to be "flowers")..  I don't know.  :P

Scrap Yarn Love..

I got an RAOK today! Look at the box of scrap yarns that Crochetmouse and her Mom sent me, from Oregon!! (Her Mom paid for the mailing of the box~ Thank you, Mom! :D)  I already divided all the yarns into: Scrap Afghan yarn, Yo Yo yarn, Baby Stuff yarn, Sock yarn (yay!!), and Miscellaneous yarn. :P   I was really running low on colors for scrap projects. I keep a freezer bag of  scrap balls and a hook in my car for while waiting in car pool for the kids. I had one ball of light blue left. So you can see how low I was getting!  And I LOVE the "Yarn Cakes"! They're so cool! I am not going to want to ruin them by crocheting with them. :P  Thank you so much, Crochetmouse and Mom. You don't know how much you brightened up my whole week!! 

Afghan Progress...

These are all the squares for my "Afghan With No Name"; the afghan which my husbands' Aunt sent me a diagram/graph of the squares (and instructions on how she did each square); all laid out. The scrap squares are supposed to be "flowers"; with the light green & darker green the buds and leaves.  Some of the squares turned out smaller than the others. I don't know why, but I don't have the same amount of stitches on each edge. And, I ended up with two extra green squares, and an extra "flower" square. Which isn't a problem, since I'm in the Friendship Square RAOK CAL at Crochetville. :D  Anyway, this afghan is going to one of the elders I send things to at Pine Ridge. I also have another afghan I am about halfway done with, that I wanted to send to the other elder I send things to.  I am going to crochet the squares together on this one, with the wrong sides together and in the back loops. So there will be a "ridge" on the top. I already have two rows crocheted together. My husband is working again (he's had to work every Saturday for I don't know how long-- I shouldn't complain, but I miss him)  :(   ....so, I worked on it a lot today.

Friendship Squares

Here are all of the Friendshipghan Squares I have received so far. I layed them all out & took a picture of them.  I wanted to edge them in black. But I'm not so sure now. I'm so indecisive.. lol.  I have a couple squares to mail out. I didn't have an updated list. (Now I have one.) I have been finishing up things for the Bookmark Swap I am in. I completely finished all the projects for that, today. Now I need to finish the Lamb Sweater for my nephew. (Sigh.) I thought I was done with the neck. But it looked really tight. So I tried finding the end to unravel it. That didn't work and now I have a big mess.  :(  I hope I can undo it. I hate picking up stitches around necklines.  Maybe I can just sew up the sides/sleeves meanwhile.  I want to mail it to my sister before it is too small for him.  I am getting really burned out on knitting and crocheting. I think it's because of things I "have" to do...  Oh well. I haven't started any new projects. So that's good.  

I hope everyone is having a nice three day weekend. Back to the grind, tomorrow...  :/ 

I Crocheted a Tent (Yes, a Tent :P)

And a sleeping bag. I wanted to crochet something for my friends' son, since I had crocheted her daughter some Barbie Doll Furniture (which you can see in this post). So he wouldn't feel left out, you know?  :)   Well, the thing I crocheted for him so he wouldn't be jealous of his sisters thing turned out to be "bigger" than his sisters thing... So, now I am going to have to make his sister something else, too. I am thinking about something like a cupcake purse maybe. (I am burned out on Barbie doll furniture, and tents.. ) And our 7 year old wants one now, too. (Sigh.. I still have to finish his Gary the Snail first!..) Anyway, I had more pictures but as usual I could not figure out how to upload more than one picture. So I will just "tell" you how the tent door opens. You roll the tent door up and tie it to keep it open, and you can unroll it and tie it to keep it closed. Pretty cool.  (I am so glad this thing is finished, though!! You do not know!...)   

Good News!

Well first off, this is my sister's cat Oliver with his catnip mouse I knitted him. It looks like he totally destroyed it. Look at his eyes. He's like "What was that stuff? Can I have some more?"  lol  Believe me, this cat does NOT need catnip. He's crazy enough without it. I would have loved to see him with the mouse. But at least my sister sent me this picture. :P 

Back to the title of this post...  I am SOOO happy!! After not knowing what to do, and going back and forth about what should I do?... I got a phone call earlier this week from the principal of our youngest sons school saying I had to come in and fill out some forms?  I don't even remember what for, this time. I asked her, "Well can't I just sign a permit or some form that would allow our son to continue going to your school?" (When we lived in Michigan, and in Colorado, we could..)  She said yes, and that she would approve it. (When I went in later that day, the secretary behind the desk (long story short) said the principal never does that. [Approves a variance form].  Really?  Well she told me to come in and fill one out.) And yesterday being the Ice Cream Social for both schools, and still not knowing which school he was going to go to, I finally just called and asked if anyone knew..  And found out that it is most likely approved. Both principals have signed it, the only person left to sign is the superintendent. And if both principals signed, the chances of the superintendent *not* signing would be extremely rare..  So, we went to his (old) school for the Ice Cream Social. (All the ice cream was melted, it was so hot out, but it was still nice for the kids to get ice cream..)  I went into his old classroom to say hi to his old teacher, and he is still going to be with his teacher from last year. Which makes me even more happy, because I really, really like her!!  YES!!!!  (He will be with another teacher for half the day [or something], too.)  Today we went and got haircuts for them both. And then we went to Walmart. and I got them a couple more things for school. I think we are all set.  ~~Yay!!~~  Now if I can just get up in time for school. I have been trying for two weeks (set my alarm and everything) and I cannot drag myself out of bed in the morning...  Oh well. We'll get used to the new schedule soon enough.     

I'm Still Here...

This is one of the baby hamsters we kept. One of the "Wickett twins" :P There were two darker babies, with black, tan/red, and white. We kept both of the Wickett twins. Her (her name is Cocoa) and, you guessed it, Wickett (male). There were also the "Rhino twins" (a male and female they both looked like Rhino, the Dad). And the "Mia twins" (even though there were four of them~ Two sets of twins?).  I took all the rest of them up to the pet store here in town (it's more like a "Feed Store"; with some bunnies, hamsters, guinea pigs, real pigs, sometimes kittens (free with purchase of a bag of food), lizards, baby turtles, fish, goats, ducks, chickens, turkeys...  In the back room there's also rats, mice... (I think they are for "Snake food" :( He said they also sell them for pets, too. ) He traded us 6 baby hamsters, for a big bag of bedding.  Let's see: 6 x $15.95 (what he sells them for)= $96 he will be making off of us. We got a $9.99 bag of bedding..  I really, honestly don't care. ;) I didn't want to try and find homes for all those babies!!!  I was thinking he would just take them off our hands. So, it was nice of him to give us a bag of bedding.  And, we are done "breeding" hamsters! 

I guess I can only post one picture per blog post with my new "updated" blog. (Which, have I mentioned, I hate? And I want my "old blog" back?...)  I can't figure anything out. (This is the fifth time I have tried posting this; and had another picture I was trying to put in here, but it just disappeared..)  Sheesh. 

I had to take the two younger boys in to their doctor to get their shots updated. (Sheesh, again!! How many forms do I have to fill out just to get their shots updated?... Are they not patients there?...)  The "new" school informed me that they needed their shot record updated. (Insert rolling eyes smiley here...)  I had to enroll our youngest son in a different school since we moved. Which I don't know if I am happy about or not. There were things I didn't like about the "old" school. But. Now I'm beginning to think the "old" school was the better choice.  I don't think I have a choice, though. In Colorado, or Michigan, if you wanted your child to go to a school that wasn't in your school attendance area, you just had to sign some papers (saying I dont know what..)   The thing is, I homeschooled the kids. (The 7 year old had never been in public school.) Well by April of this year, I had had it. They were soooo lazy!! Sleeping til noon (the 13 year old), getting up around one in the afternoon. Not starting schoolwork until almost 2...  Then, "I did two hours"... "Um, two hours is not enough.."  (I am still going through this with the 18 year old btw, which is a whole other [irritating!!!!] story..)  Anyway.  So, I brought their books they were working on, into the school. Signed some papers saying they were homeschooled and what their grades were. (?)  The 13 year old basically got to skip all of 7th grade.  Well the 7 year old was going to be put into 2nd grade (in the "old" school); and they were going to work with him. Well, apparently, this ("new") school doesn't "honor that arrangement".  Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!  So, I don't know what to do. Or what I want to do. (As I may not have a choice?..)  If I could sign some papers and have him go to the old school, maybe he would catch up. Or have him go to the "new" school, and be a year behind.    Inicidentally, I threw the homeschool books away, thinking I no longer needed them now they were in public school, everything was "good"...    Why does everything have to be so complicated, and such a pain?  :/    Thank goodness crocheting/knitting hasn't "upgraded" or changed. Sheesh!... ;)

Goodbye, Oak :(

This early afternoon Eli said, "Oak doesn't look so good." This is what she was doing. Just laying there. She wouldn't move. I got a soft towel (rag) for her to lay on. [I had a feeling she wasn't going to get any better :(  ]  It wasn't long after I took this picture, she squeaked at Eli. Not longer after that, she died.  I can't believe it. I know hamsters don't live long. And I don't know how old she was when we got her. It's just so sad. 

Our power went out today. Well I called the electric company. She told me what to do. (Flip the breaker switch.. Okay I don't know anything, all right?.)  Well I noticed it was not getting any cooler... Then, it was really, really warm... I called the electric company again. They sent someone out. (It's HOT here!)  Well, apparently our AC unit is broken. (Although, somehow I still think it has something to do with the power going out.)  I called the landlord, she said to call an AC place... OF COURSE, they were closed. Not only do they close at 5, they close at 3???  Ugh!! Well I'm sorry my AC went out after business hours.    I figured out fast which windows have screens in them. :/  I hope someone can come out and fix it tomorrow. I don't know how we are going to pay for it though!!?  :(  Why does everything have to be such a pain?   I hope they can figure something out. It's supposed to get up to 109 later on... 

Snickerdoodles

While I was unpacking a couple boxes the other day, I got the cookie jar out. I saw Eon look inside it for cookies. :P Then a little while later, Eli looked inside... So, today I asked Eon if he wanted to make cookies with me. He said yes. I asked him, "What kind? Peanut butter, oatmeal?"... "What about Snickerdoodles?" "What are sickerdoodles?" :P "The kind with cinnamon & sugar on 'em" "Yeah". So I got a stick of butter out to let it soften. Then when I was going to make them, I said "Do you wanna make cookies now?" "No" ??? :( "Oh, you just want me to make them, so you can eat them?" "Yeah". :/ It's okay. Here's some rolled into balls waiting... :D

Here they are cooling off. One other thing the woman who used to live here left behind, was this cooling rack. I don't know if it's technically a cookie rack. But, it fits a whole pan of cookies and it works for me, so... Now I feel like a "real" baker. ;P

Here they all are in the cookie jar. I had to take a picture so it will last longer. :P Or is it, I had to take a picture because they won't last long?... 
Did I mention I want my "old" blog back? I don't understand how the pictures work for this one. :(  I hope they all turn out in the order I want them posted.. Kind of annoying.   

Olivia's Sweater

I finished Olivia's sweater! I don't believe it myself. I started it July 12th. Finished it August 5th. That's less than a month. :0 And, in between moving and packing, cleaning, unpacking, cleaning some more... (what a nightmare..)  How come I can't finish any of my other projects this fast? :P   I wanted to get this done before school started, and/or Fall..  (AND, before it didn't fit her anymore!... Which is the story of my life..)   I think it turned out pretty cute.  I'm kinda thinking about making one in my size. :P  

The baby hamsters are getting bigger. And CUTE!!! There were 13 babies. But, sadly 5 died...  :( It was so sad. I felt so awful for them. I tried to feed a couple some milk in a dropper. But it wasn't any help.  There may have been something wrong with them. Plus, 13 babies is too many. Especially for a first litter!  The remaining 8 seem to be doing fine, though. There are two black/tan and white ones (one boy, one girl). (They're SOOOO cute! I want to keep one of those- I think Eli wants to keep one, he's named it Wickett already. :P Like the Ewok from Star Wars..) Two "Rhino Juniors"~ they look like Rhino, the dad-one boy, one girl. We want to keep the boy. I said they are "Rhino Jr. and Rhinette". (Ugh... bad name for the girl.) And four tannish colored, with some white on a couple. A couple have red eyes, like Mia. I'm not going to want to give them away. :(  I want to make sure they will be going to good homes. I guess I can't think about that. We want to keep two of them, but I don't know if that will happen, either. (We already have three~Mia, Oak, and Rhino...)    The kids have been taking the babies out of the cage. (Drives me nuts- I'm afraid they will drop one. They move super fast, and you can barely hold on to them sometimes..)  Oh, the two Rhino Jrs. and black/tan ones look like they are going to be long haired! (I wanted at least one long haired... Yay..)

Well, I can't believe that's all the news since we have moved?...  School starts here pretty soon. We already found out the 7 year olds new teacher this year (yesterday). Yay..  I told Eon who his teacher was going to be. I said "Do you know who that is?" Yup...  Is in the classroom right next to last year's teacher, matter of fact. I asked what does she look like...  :P   I have to find out if we are still in the school attendance area. I think we would be, we are closer now than we were before. But, who knows..  Our 13 year old will be in 8th grade. I can't believe it. He'll be in high school next year!!! And driving in a couple years...  :((((       Let's see, what else? I closed my own finger in my dresser drawer. I scraped the skin off my knuckle, and hurt it farther up. Oh well. I'll be okay....  :P    I've made muffins twice, since we've moved to the new house. Coffee Shop Corn Muffins, and Chocolate Banana Muffins.  :P  I have about 20 bananas in the freezer again. Going to have crank out the muffin machine (aka: Me... making them..:P)  The woman who we are renting the house from, left a few things here. One of those "things" was a muffin pan!!  I was SO happy. (No, it doesn't take much to make me happy... :P) It's only a 6 muffin-muffin pan, but it's enough. I have two "big" jumbo muffin pans, and two or three "mini" muffin pans. But only one "regular" sized muffin pan. So, if I made a double batch, or had more muffin batter than one panful, I had to wait til the muffins were done baking & cooled, wash the pan, do again...  Now, I won't always have to. (Unless I make a double batch.) Yes, I know, I could buy another muffin pan... But, with everything else, it's kinda the last thing on our list, you know?  Anyway. My husband's work schedule also changed since we moved. He's working "Swing Shift".  :(  Which is less crazy of hours, so how come it's messed me up so much?  Well, I think it is "messing him" up, too. He got a cold. :(  Bad one.  Then, he was supposed to work today at 4 in the morning! :0  (He doesn't even get off work until 11 at night. That means he would have to drive home for an hour and 15 minutes, sleep for two hours, turn around and drive back to work..) Fortunately, they changed his work time to 10 am. So he got some sleep last night. Poor guy.  I made him homemade chicken noodle soup last night. He got some Nyquil, Dayquil, and Honey Lemon Cough Drops on his way home from work, too.  Eli said "Why don't you just buy him a can of soup?"  :P  I said "Because it's not the same. Your Dad likes homemade chicken noodle soup".  Plus, he likes huge pieces of carrots, celery, onions, and chicken. I was almost tempted to put whole carrots and celery in there (for a joke). The first thing he said when he took the soup out of the fridge was "Mmm big pieces"...       Anyway. This new work schedule is only for about four weeks. After that, my husband might get laid off. So...  I shouldn't complain about the new schedule.  :/  (Not that I'm complaining, but...)   Well stay tuned. I'll try to get some good pictures of the baby hamsters. They move around so fast, though; it's hard to get a good one.

Random Stuff...

I haven't been able to get a good picture of the baby hamsters yet. But the other day (was it yesterday?), I went in there to check on them all. And four of the babies had fallen (or crawled) out of the wheel. So I ran and grabbed my phone. I had to tap on the wheel to wake Mia up so she could come down and get them. I had to do that for each one; because she would come down and get one then, go back up there and just stay there. I think she is exhausted... :( 

Here is another shot of them.  You can't tell very well in the picture, but I think they are starting to get their fur. One looked reddish. :D  A couple of them looked really dark. Which is strange. We'll see how all their fur comes out.

And here is my finished Spongebob. I just finished him this morning. I used the Spongebob Pillow Pal pattern for the body. And for the arms and legs, I used this pattern. Now I have to crochet Gary the Snail.  :P

And look at this. :)  TurtlLvr framed the card/picture Eli drew!! That is just so cool. It made my day. I showed Eli the picture, and he smiled. (Imagine that~ a smile.. :P)    Well I guess it's back to packing... 

A New Blog... And Some Cards We Have Made

Well I changed my blog... "Updated" it so I could add the follower button. I have NO idea what I am doing, so I probably just made a big mess of my blog. :( Now I am going to have to go back in and add all my blog buttons in my sidebar again cuz they all disappeared. Sigh... I like the new background though it looks a lot cuter. :) Anyway~~ I am not feeling well. I think all the stress I have been under wore me down and I got a virus. (Who knows...) Yesterday and today I feel yucky. After I finish this post I think I am going to go lay back down. But I wanted to show the cards I have made, and the kids, too. This one is from "Simply Beautiful Greeting Cards" by Heidi Boyd. I need to get that book someday. I saved my "templates" of the tea cup, saucer, and handle and wing the rest from what I remember. Then I added the flowers & brads, and the glitter edge to the top of the cup.

You can see the glitter a little better in this picture:

Maybe if you click on it, you can.. It fits two tea bags. (Can you guess what my new favorite tea is?... :P) In fact, chai tea sounds good right now... My throat hurts. :(

On the inside, I was thinking about doing a "Thinking of You" stamp. But, I didn't want to mess up what I already had done. (I usually do any stamping first, that way if I mess up, I can start a new one..) Then I remembered my Calligraphy book that I have had like since our 18 year old was a baby... I haven't done calligraphy in years!... So, I kind of did it in pencil first, as a guide; then with the calligraphy marker. (I need a new one, mine is almost dried out..)

Then I wanted to do a turtle card, for someone. But... I don't have anything "turtle", at all. So, I asked Eli (the 13 year old) if he would PLEEEEEASE draw me a picture of a turtle?... So, he did. Then I said, "Can you draw a beach, and water, underneath the turtle?" :P This is what he did. He gave it to me and said "Now you owe me $75." Ha ha!! I laughed, and said "Here's some clean clothes, how about that?" (I just finished folding a bunch of laundry while I was waiting...) I did tell him thank you, though. He used to LOVE drawing, and is really good at it. But he has gotten away from it for a long time. So I always try to get him to draw me things. :P He was accepted at his old school (when he was in 4th grade) out of the whole school, him and one other kid, to go to an Art School. But, we couldn't afford it. :( I wish we could have. And now he "doesn't like to draw..." I hope he is just going through a phase, and will pick it back up again.

This is what I did to the envelope. My Aunt had sent me a letter one time, with an owl "thumbody" on the back of it. I LOVED it!! It was so cute. (I stole her idea..)

And, last, but not least! This is a card Eon made for Rhino. Yes, the hamster. :P It's so funny. He made this card for him the same day Mia had her babies. ("You're a father, Rhino!".. :P Of course, we didn't know til later that night..) Weird coincidence. (He should have made one for Mia, huh?) Anyway, these are some of the stickers that Marsha had sent me. He put some other rodent friends on there, and flowers on the other side. (My husband brought me some roses that day for our anniversary, maybe that's what the flowers are all about...)

A close-up of the stickers..

He made a little "couch" on the bed with all his blankets, and some friends for Rhino, and gave him his card... :P "Oh. A card for me?... Wait, is this a treat to eat, in here?..." LOL He was trying to eat the flowers..

I hope one of the babies (at least one-- Eli thinks she had 12 babies!!! I don't know how he can tell. They are all inside the wheel, and they all just kind of blend in together, to me..) First he said 10, then 11, no 10, then 12... So, we'll see when they get bigger (and out of the wheel!~ Hopefully soon). They are going to be too big to stay in there, for long. I think she is just "protecting them" right now. Which is probably a good thing. Shows she is a good mama. :) I just hope they all survive. That is a lot of baby hamsters, esp. for a first litter! And a Dwarf Hamster!!! :0 Oh, I forgot my first sentence. (See?) I hope at least one of the babies is a long haired boy. I just love Rhino, he's so friendly. Mia, too. But I want a long haired one. (They never have long haired ones at the Pet Store by us, and anyway now we have enough to choose from..) I am still trying to get a good picture of the babies, so stay tuned for that... Til next time~~

Hamster Babies Are Here!!

I couldn't get any good pictures of them yet. So I am posting pictures of Mom and Dad. :P Mia, in her Hamster Hut I made her when we first got her. And Rhino, I think when we first got him, too. Yesterday, (last night) I was talking to my brother on the phone. I went into Eon's bedroom to check on Mia. She was moving around really funny inside her wheel. I thought I saw something 'else' underneath her. Then she lifted up even more and I said "Oh my God!" my brother was like, "What?" "She had her babies!"... I didn't think she was supposed to have them until this coming weekend. I read that Syrian hamsters are pregnant for 15 days, and Dwarf hamsters are pregnant for 19-22 days. I guess she isn't a Dwarf hamster. Although I though she was. A Dwarf Teddy Bear Hamster. I don't know. I'm just so excited they are here. I tried counting them but I can't tell. Eli thinks there are 11. :0 That would be a lot, especially for (what I thought was) a Dwarf Hamster! I thought they were only supposed to have 5 or 6 babies. Well, we will see for sure, later; how many she had. I am kind of worried she had them in her wheel. I had been noticing her in her wheel sleeping a lot, and just earlier that day said "I hope she doesn't have her babies in her wheel." Well, she did... And, she blocked off the hole so no predators could get to her babies. :P She's such a good mama hamster. I am hoping she brings them out in a few days. They'll get too big to stay in there for too long. Plus, I hope there aren't any dead ones in there. :( (That's why I am worried about them being in there, mostly..)

I have been reading Kathy's Kritter Tales blog. She has a journal of her Hamster Babies. Her hamster had 13!!! :0 It's really neat, and she got some good pictures of the babies if you want to see what they look like. :) It's been really helpful for me. Well, stay tuned for adorable baby hamster pictures in the future... :) I can't wait til they get their fur and get bigger! Oh, coincidentally, she had them on mine and my husband's anniversary... How cool is that? :P

Spongebob Squarepants, and a Square :P

I finished Spongebob the other day. I had seen one someone had made, on Crochetville a while back. I finally got around to making one.. (When I showed Eon it, the first thing he said was, "Uh, where's it's arms and legs?".. Brat!... lol ;P) I want to make another one. (One for Eon, and one for Eli.. I also bought them some Spongebob 2011 calendars at Michaels, for $1 each.. And I am going to pick up some other goodies for them, too. Probably candy of some kind. )

This is a sign Eon made. It says "Krusty Krabs". :P

And, I got my first Friendship Square yesterday. I went to the Post Office; to mail out two squares, and a letter that was puffy. I thought "I might as well check my box while I'm here".. and I'm glad I did. I got my first square, from teakaycee's daughter, Jamie. :D Thank you, Jamie! (I don't know if she even reads my blog..) I said "bright colors" for my squares, and this is bright. I have been liking colors that "pop" lately. (Don't know if that makes any sense..) Like teal, pink, red... I am trying to decide what color to edge them with. Maybe black. It would be a nice contrast...

I am working on the other Spongebob doll (before summer is over) and Olivia's sweater, right now. I also NEED to get that tent finished. Well, til next time~~ Stay cool wherever you are! :)

18th Wedding Anniversary

Today is mine and my husband's 18th anniversary. :) Happy Anniversary, Hon!

If anyone is friends with me on Facebook, you know this is my Profile Picture... It's my new favorite picture of us, and I have it in a frame on our fireplace. :D I can't believe we've been married for 18 years already...

Another Bear, and Sweater Progress...

I crocheted another of Becky's Crochet Teddies. I made this one bigger though. For the legs, I chained 11 instead of what the pattern said. Then did 12 rows instead of what the pattern said. Then, 12 rows of the body. Ch 11 for the arms, and did 8 rows. Then 30 rows for the head. I did a patchwork bear. :) My 7 year old said he doesn't like him. (I guess that's good, then he won't want to keep him, anyway).

Well, maybe some little kid might like him. I'm sending it (along with the bears in my last post) to the yahoo group I mentioned.

(I think he's cute.)

And I guess I got over not knowing what to do about the sweater. I looked up a bunch of different size four sweater patterns (mostly knit, but I thought it would still be the same no matter if it's crocheted or knit). Some were even bigger than this one. So... I decided to just keep going with it. (Even though I ripped a lot out.) It didn't take me long to catch back up. I really like this sweater so maybe that's why. Did the neck shaping on both sides.. The back is done.

And, started and finished the left front side! I took this at night, so it's not the greatest picture...

I meant to post about a tray I bought at the Goodwill a couple weeks ago. I've been trying to do things that I used to like doing. (Going to the Goodwill and just looking, is one of those things.) I made tea one night in a big teapot for my husband and I, to bring into our bedroom. (He was watching tv in there.) I put a towel on a baking pan for a tray. :P I thought, "I should see if I can't find a nice tray somewhere". I don't know if this is a "tea tray" or not. But. It works better than a cookie sheet with a towel on it. It's not exactly apples, or roosters. But I still really like it. Our 7 year old was with us, and he got a "mini" Lava Lamp that says Las Vegas on it. :P That's what he wanted.

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend. I'm feeling a little better than I was in my last post (which was earlier today, and off and on for the past two or three weeks..) Maybe I am going through something. I don't know. I usually don't talk about what I am feeling, on my blog. But.. I don't have any friends here at all. We've lived here for almost three years now. Well~ Til next time... :)

I Think I Am Going Crazy!!!... :(

I have finished up a few things I had on my list. I should feel better about "my list", but I don't. I can't stop starting new projects. I already feel scatterbrained enough with everything going on around here (long story short, my husband wants to move AGAIN~ I am NOT happy about it.) Plus, I already have been feeling like I am going crazy, or something. I don't know exactly why. I can't think straight, can't concentrate. I forget stuff all the time... :( Those are just off the top of my head. I can't think straight; so I can't think of any other reasons why I feel like I'm going crazy. Beside hating it in the desert, hating this town and the whole state I live in; and school is going to start back up again in another month, and I am dreading it.. (Although I will like the peace and quiet~ besides the 18 year old being here :/ Which is another whole story in itself... Grr!!) I know I shouldn't complain. I know a lot of people have things really hard right now. Health problems, etc..

So, anyway... here are things I have finished up.. The picture above is something that wasn't on "my list"~ I saw a minion that Tampa Doll had done, on Crochetville: Manny the Minion. She just made hers up, from a picture. But someone else said there was a pattern on Ravelry for one of these. So, I looked it up and made one. I don't even know why. :/ The kids had seen one in the machine at Walmart (you know the machine where you put 50c in and the claw comes down... Or is it a dollar?), and were talking about it. So I figured they would like one. (They always like the newest toy or movie, or the newest toy from the newest movie... So..) Anyways, it's done. Mamaoso made one from the same pattern, too. Hers is on the 3rd page, I think, same thread as Tampa Dolls... Here is the direct link to the pattern for the minion. From a blog, so in case you don't have a Ravelry account.

This is a bear that I had done forever. I just had to embroider the face on it. Then I thought it looked too plain, so I embroidered a heart on it. But then I thought "A black heart? That isn't good..." (Again, what was I thinking?...) So I filled it in with red. :P It's Becky's Crochet Teddy pattern. I have started another one of these, making it bigger and all different colors.. Why??? I don't know... I'm supposed to be working on my (Great?) Niece's sweater which I frogged some of, because I was going to make it smaller; but then looked up different patterns in magazines to see what a size four should be, then decided I would just keep going with it. But now, I ripped a lot out... Ugh... What is wrong with me? :(

Here are two more Scrappy Bears. I thought this pattern was gone online forever, but I just saw it on Ravelry yesterday (looking for the above bear pattern, cuz I couldn't remember where I got it...) I love Scrappy Bears. Oh, all these bears are for the "Don't Be Afraid, I am Here" Bears group I am in on Ravelry. (It's also a Yahoo Group.) The bear on the left wasn't completely done. I had to sew on the one leg, and finish the other leg and sew it on. Then crochet the two arms and sew them on, and sew on the ears and make the little tail (it's so cute), and sew that on. Then, because all the bears you send are supposed to have a smile on them, I embroidered smiles on them. (I think they look stupid. But.. At least they are "smiling"..) The bear on the left looks ok, the bear on the right looks a little goofy.

And, here are the five hats I committed (sp?) to for the Hat Challenge at Crafting for a Cause. I am not doing any more. I wish I could but I just have way to much going on and need to start packing and dealing with all the crap that I know is ahead of us. :/ (Did I mention our landlord here is a pain to deal with?... I don't even want to deal with him..) Ugh...

It has been super hot lately. It was 114 one day this week. Today it's supposed to be 108... (I stay inside if I can.) Well, that's enough complaining for one day. :/ We should be having hamster babies this week, so stay tuned for pictures of them. :) (I hope nothing goes wrong with that!...) I hope she has at least one little long haired teddy bear hamster. I want to keep it. (The daddy is long haired, she's short haired..) :D

Mickey Mouse Pancakes & A New Project I Started

I have talked about Mickey Mouse pancakes before, I think. :P Almost every time I make pancakes, I make some for the youngest son. This time I actually took pictures of them. This is our new griddle. Which I love. And I'm glad my husband bought this. Right afterwards, one of our pans had to be thrown away. So I have used this instead, quite a bit.. For grilled cheese sandwiches, and stuff..

Here are the finished pancakes. I make a bunch (regular, not Mickey) each time so I can freeze them and then they can have pancakes whenever they want for breakfast. (Until they are all gone, of course..)

And, I started ANOTHER project!! Ugh... But this time, someone asked me to make their daughter a sweater. So, I am doing it for them. But, (and the reason I said "ugh") even though I am right on for my gauge, it's turning out to be the same measurements as the size 6. (I need to make a size 4--and I *was* making the size 4 pattern...). So... Now I have to find another pattern, and figure out/buy new yarn...

I really like this sweater. Now I don't know what to do. Maybe I should just get some more of the same yarn (in a different color maybe? She likes purple and pink.. Maybe I could just get pink) and make the same pattern, but use smaller hooks? I'm so confused... :(

Look, I am almost done with the whole back! (Well I wasn't in this picture, but I am now.) I just need to do the neck shaping.

What do you think? It's a pattern by Melissa Leapman. I saw another cute pattern I want to do on Ravelry, but I would have to get that book... It looks kind of similar to the sweater I am doing, don't ya think? I went to the library today, to see if they had any good crochet books. (Yeah, right~~ Not this library!...) I kinda wanted to make a hoodie/button-up sweater. [The little girl-who incidentally is my Great Niece?-- She's my niece's daughter. So that would make me her "Great" Aunt? Even though I am only 40... Now I feel so old.. :( Anyway, she lives in the U.P. in Michigan (U.P. stands for Upper Peninsula, and it gets cold up there!)] I have a child's hoodie pattern in an older magazine I have. But it calls for Bernat Satin. I tried doing the gauge with Red Heart, and it felt awful. So. I don't know what I am going to do. I thought I had it all figured it out.. ;) And, I want to get it done in time for Fall. So I don't have much time. I should work on some of my other projects, until I figure it out/can go somewhere to get yarn.. It's too hot to go outside and do anything, that's for sure.. Well, back to work I guess... ;)

Squares for Afghans

In my last post I mentioned an afghan I have been working on. I should have said "squares" for an afghan I have been working on. My husband's Aunt (who lives in Canada) writes me and she sent me a picture (drawing) of an afghan she was working on. (She later sent me a picture of it.. Duh~ I should have posted it here. Oh well. Maybe later, when mine is done..) I wanted to make one, too. :P (For Pine Ridge Indian Reservation) Every fall there is a blanket drive. I figured if I start some now, I might actually have some done by fall to send... Anyway, I had been meaning to make an afghan for every person I send things to there. I have two elders, and one teenage girl. I also send things to two grandkids of one of the elders. (She is raising them, so...) They are called elders on the reservation. I think it is just a respectful way of talking about the elderly. Anyway~~ This is what I had done. But, I have been working on it (them`the squares..) a lot. And this is the picture I took yesterday.

I am even farther than this now, though.. I have all but three of the yellow squares edged. Then, I just have to do all the "flower" squares (the scrap one, bottom left). Then put them all together and edge the whole thing. Yay!!

I also joined a Friendshipghan CAL (?) at Crochetville. I have been looking at wishlists and noticed a lot of people that I want to send things to have these squares on their list. I didn't want any squares myself, but I joined this CAL and so now I have them on my list. Even though I don't really want them. So anyway, this is one square I have done so far. Palms Square (?) I did mine wrong. I didn't read through the whole pattern first and just got the part where it said "The square is worked without the palms" so I figured you make the square and then sew the palm tree on. ?? I am too scatterbrained or something.. Anyway, it worked out okay. :) I made mine 10 inches wide. Well, that's about all for catching up, now... I want to go do something today. I have to go to the post office, and need to go to the store to get TP; since we forgot it the other day. (Gasp!!) And I wanted to just go looking for stuff. We have a thrift store here. I used to love going to the Goodwill. And garage sales.