Isn't It Ironic

Okay, now I have that song stuck in my head... ugh, it's going to be one of those days. You see, today is Saturday. I know what you're thinking and yes, we aren't going to be doing much of anything today but that isn't the point of this post... no, the point of this post is about how ironic that I can't get Hobbit up during the week but on Saturday mornings she is up an entire hour earlier than usual.

Now ever since school started two weeks ago, Hobbit has been singing the praises of Saturday and how she will be able to sleep in... and yet, here we are at the butt crack of dawn watching Playhouse Disney with our Fruit Loops. What happened to sleeping in?

Typical weekday morning is met with grumbles and groans. Typical weekday afternoon is met with whining and tiredness. Logically speaking, you would think I would have to march up there around 9 or 10 in the morning on Saturdays to wake children up... but that is not the case at all. Instead, Hobbit is wandering downstairs before I have even pondered what creamer to put in my coffee... to make matters worse, she's 'chipper' which, to those of us who require a warming up period to the day, is rather annoying.

I think it's only fair that when she becomes one of those sleepy teenagers that refuse to get out of bed, I go in to her room and return the favor... after my first cup of coffee of course.

So You See... Well, I Just Had To...

I had to go and have blood work done this morning and I didn't really have a 'no brainer portable project' on my needles... what was I gonna do in the waiting room?!?! So I printed out my Retro Stocking Knit Cap, put it in it's protective geek sleeve, cast on my 112 stitches (called for 96 but Peanut has a big head... lol... she said that the last hat I made was too tight so I upped it in increments of 8... plus the 2x2 ribbing will keep it snug) and shoved it in one of my super cool canvas totes - Hats4Heroes.org one actually.

Anywho... all the while I'm doing this my sweet angel of a hubby is looking at me with his head cocked to the side and a look of complete wonderment across his face. I asked him what was up and he said, very sweetly, "I'm trying to figure out why you're starting another project. You've got that really complicated one in pink. You've got that one that's going to be complicated in fluffy reds and pinks. I'm guessing you want one that you don't have think about but I'm not sure." Isn't he precious... lol. I smiled at him and explained that I needed something to do in the doctor's office or waiting in the car line that I could stop at any minute and with this project being in the round, I could do just that - he chimed in with "if you stop in the middle of a row, you'll get a hole, okay" - so this hat was going to be my carry along project for the very reasons that he worked out.

Pokey turned to go back to the kitchen for more coffee (cruel when you think about since I had to wait for my first cup until I got home) and he looked very proud... then I heard him mumble, "I'm getting pretty good at this knitting stuff"... that's my baby.

So you see... well, I just had to start another project... LOL.

It's A...

and it couldn't come at a better time... Hobbit is working my last nerve and Peanut has become more zombie-like than usual for a teenager... get them out of the house... let us all rejoice in the morning when we hear the school bell ring!

Orientation Day!

Oh my goodness, it is Hobbit's orientation day for Kindergarten and she is so excited. She woke up and hollered down the stairs "Mama, is today a Kindergarten day?", to which I responded with a resounding yes - then the true Hobbit shone through ~ "Mama, should I wear the butterflies or the Hello Kitty?".

Hobbit is such a fashionista and I adore her for it. Her outfits speak so clearly towards her moods that it is uncanny. She's excited today so we are debating on weather to don our bright rainbow colored and sparkly outfit or if we should wear our shocking hot pink and black ensemble. Since I got a vote, as did her father, the butterflies will be fluttering to orientation today because I think the Hello Kitty outfit is going to make the perfect back to school statement (or I guess it would be simply 'to school' since she's never been before) with the hot pink and black contrast and her sparkling hot pink sneakers (and yes, I do wish those shoes came in my size - and double yes, I would own a pair).

The confidence level that Hobbit finds in her clothing is amazing. The old adage of "If you look good, you feel good" is so very true with her... and she is looking amazing today.

Insulting Beyond Belief

I have this "friend". He was a true friend of mine when I was a Disney cast member. He was always sweet, understanding, supportive and jovial. Lately, he has been going through some tough times (separation from wife, loss of job, attempts at dating) and apparently he feels that I have not been around for him. He even sent me an email that stated how he 'got the message'... and what message might that be exactly?

I'm sorry but just because my 'title' says "Stay At Home" doesn't mean that that is what I do - quite the contrary to be sure! Between endless errands and appointments, play dates and outings - you better believe that home is the last place I am on a regular basis.

To send such a message without thought is ridiculous. I am sorry that my friend's life is not the way that he wishes it would be right now. I am sorry that our schedules don't coincide for ease of communication but to jump off the deep end and make the thinly veiled accusation that I am somehow behaving like a middle school child is out of line.

I apologize for not being at your beck and call dear friend but you can take comfort in knowing that you will not have to worry with my apparent inconsiderate ways any longer. I have enough children to raise - I don't need any more and it is obvious that you have no respect for me and what I do... so I wish you well in all you do but please note that I have a life and it requires attention... sorry if it doesn't fit in your single bachelorhood kid-free schedule.

Heaven Help Me... Seriously!

Hobbit is my test from Heaven above. She was given to me to teach me patience, understanding and temperance. She is what some would call "a precocious child" ~ personal, I will call her a mouthy, stubborn and opinionated child.

Now I know some are probably up in arms over this opening paragraph but if you knew Hobbit, you would be in agreement. Everything is an argument. She will learn your buttons and soon play Beethoven's 5th Symphony on them. She will work you down to your last nerve and then jump rope with it. Hobbit has these gifts and she uses them to their fullest extent on everyone she encounters.

I love her, I honestly do, but I am so tired of feeling like a horrible person because she has worn me down. By the end of the day, my throat is raw because she has taken to throwing a fit over some ridiculously mundane detail that the only way to be heard over her is to holler above her. My head is in a constant state of aching, my nerves are taunt and my attitude is rubbish. In short, I believe that I have somehow spawned the actual 'Rosemary's Baby' just over five years ago.

As a baby, she was so sweet. Hobbit had the best disposition and was always loving. This horrid change seems to have happened somewhere around 18 months. The supposed "terrible twos" have been hanging on to become the "threatening threes", the "ferocious fours" and now the "feisty fives"... I don't even want to think about what could happen at six.

Hobbit was even accepted, based off of a written request by her loving mother, as a child to appear on "SuperNanny"... pride got in the way of that one because I really think that JoJo could have helped. As it stands now, I have somehow raised a brat. I have done nothing different in raising Hobbit as I did in raising Peanut so I don't know what went wrong.

Peanut is a sweet, quiet, gentle, well mannered child. She is considerate of others, cares about people's feelings before her own and will bend over backwards to make others happy. I know that all children are different and I don't want Hobbit to be a clone of Peanut but it would be nice if she was... well... nice.

This entry is more of a rant caused by a seriously bad afternoon. I do love Hobbit and there are times when she lights up my world - lately though, she has been the darkness instead and I am simply worn out. Heaven help me... seriously.

Keeping Me In Stitches

I was just sitting here thinking about all my favorite places to get knitting patterns. I had posted the topic on my CafeMom group, Nutty Knitters. I shared how I generally get my patterns from Ravelry but if I wanted to put my hands on a tangible book then I would go to JoAnn or BooksAMillion.

I realized after I made my post that I left two really important sources - Debbie Macomber and Kate Jacobs. I adore these women. They write wonderful novels and incorporate the love of knitting into them. There is intrigue, romance, humor ~ all woven together with knitting. These are some very talented ladies who also honor us with the patterns in each of their books as well.

Generally, there is one pattern and one recipe in each of Kate Jacobs' novels. Debbie also gives you one pattern in her novel but she goes a step further. Debbie gives you complete pattern books that cover all the projects in her novels. It is wonderful to create the same beautiful pieces that you read about... I know I have made several and her patterns are so well written than you just can not mess them up!

I just wanted to pay tribute to two very talented women that keep me in stitches - in more ways than one.

Kindergarten Camp and Senior Suite Tomorrow!

We've got to go back to school - at least for
the morning so that Peanut can get her class
schedule and Hobbit can go to her much
awaited Kindergarten Camp.

I'll update y'all after we go but in the
meantime - wish us luck!

It's Sad - It's Necessary - It's Been Fun While It Lasted

I had to make a really tough decision today. Why are the ones that hurt the most always the ones we drag on to the longest? I have to pause my charity operations indefinitely and it breaks my heart. I founded Hats4Heroes.org back at the close of 2008 and it was wonderful. Our mission was clear - send warmth and wishes to our brave men and women in the Armed Forces. I worked for months to get guidelines and approval - I was even granted permission to ship to one of the best military hospitals in the world. Sadly, with this economy, our shipping donations dried up quickly. We tried to do it on our own but then what little pocket money we had was spent as well. Donations of items never slowed down, just donations of funds.

When we started averaging 100 items a week but only $5 for shipping, we knew we were in trouble. We tried suggesting that instead of purchasing yarn and shipping items, that they all donate that amount to the shipping fund - it would have been roughly $10 per person and with almost 1,000 members we were hoping to get our account back up but no such luck. All of these things left me with no other choice than to pause operations until further notice. This is the letter I had to send out view three different mediums to all of the members - and it breaks my heart...

"I have done all I can in order to keep Hats4Heroes.org alive and running. I am sorry to say that we will be going on hiatus until further notice due to lack of shipping funds to get out our backlog of items.

Please do not send any more items until further notice. We are hoping that this situation will be rectified by no later than the end of the year - fingers crossed. Since we are having to foot the shipping bill ourselves, it will be slow going but I am sure one day we will have it all out and will be able to restart operations.

Thank you to those of you who were able to make a donation. We truly appreciate all of your efforts. Good luck and God bless each and every one of you. We, as a group, have done all we can. Now it is time to halt operations. We knew that this day might come and it is actually here. I think almost 2 years is a great run - more than I could have ever hoped for really. So thank you all for helping me realize a dream. I appreciate it so very much."

Hopefully we will be able to work on getting the backlog of items out of the garage and into the hands of our soldiers so our operations can begin again. I just can't continue stock piling items that we are unable to ship in good conscious - it isn't fair to the crafters and it isn't fair to the soldiers. I just pray we are able to be up and running again soon - I love my charity.