Joseph doesn't like Nursery

He really doesn't. Last week was his first "legal" week. (He was 18 months on the 13th.) I was in and out of the nursery the first hour. The 2nd hour they just held him. Once they got past singing time, it was snack time and then the lesson and an activity. He was OK once he had food in front of him. (Go figure.)

Today, I was asked to sub. Chad had taken him in because he'd had to chase him down after he escaped the chapel. Joseph was clinging to his Daddy with tight fists! Eventually, he was brave enough to wander and Chad headed on to Sunday School. Joseph returned to me often. When it was time for singing, he wouldn't sit in the chair, wouldn't let me help him with the actions and didn't want me singing in his ear. He spent the 15 minutes with his head on my shoulder.

BUT, snacks were next. He easily sat in his chair for that! I had to wrap my arms around him to keep him the chair for the lesson and eventually I was able to sit back. He did reach back and check that I was close enough once. He was happy enough coloring that I was able to make a quick trip to the bathroom and when I got back, he was entranced by the bubbles the other ladies were blowing. I guess that makes him my Bubble Boy.

This is my worst kid when it comes to transitioning to Nursery. Nathan and Rebekah hardly gave me a wave 'good-bye.' Rebekah and Leah still wish they could go back. I'm hoping that he will soon find some joy in the experience. I don't see myself as a patient parent sitting through nursery just so my kid will stay. I'm not that nice, I guess.


But is this sweet little face really hiding a tantrum-prone and strong-willed little soul?

You'd better believe it!

I told you I'd post some pictures of both afghans when I finished the second one. Here you go. I finished last week.

This is the blessing afghan. It gets used one whole day and then packed away with the dress/suit for 20-ish years.

Here is the Sunday afghan. It gets more use. I was nearly finished when I learned that the baby wasn't a 'he' after all. It's very pale blue, but looks white in the picture. I wasn't about to start over in pink!

(Oops! I photographed it upside-down. Just stand on your head to get a true view.)

I hope she likes blue!

I finished crocheting the baby's blessing afghan last week. I noticed my fingers going numb near the end of the project, so I was anxious to get the colored afghan finished before my pregnancy progressed too far. (I make an afghan to use at church while the babies are tiny. Then I pack it away to give to them when they are grown.)

So I was in a bit of dilemma. The baby MAY be a boy, but the doctor wasn't sure enough to get himself into trouble by saying anything definite. I watched the ultrasound video. I sure can see why he would think it could be a boy.

Well, I don't have a lot of patience and finally decided to get a nice, soft blue yarn and get started on that Sunday afghan. I want to get the blanket done before I have too much more numbness in my fingers. (I crocheted TONS of afghans - baby and regular sizes - when I was pregnant with Daniel. The numbness was so bad that I didn't get complete feeling back into my finger tips until months after Daniel was born.) I figured that a very pale blue would still work for a little girl. I mean, really. I LOVE blue. It's not just a boy color!

Then I was at Wal-Mart last night. I have been trying to find a blue flannel that didn't have little pictures all over it - just a calm, simple pattern. I found a gingham type print of dark blue and then chose a navy blue blanket trim. So if this baby ends up really being a girl, I hope she likes blue. If not, it will be a funny story about how she was once 80% boy.

Then again, I bought some pink flannel several months ago that I haven't washed yet. So if I can just hold on until the next ultrasound, and hope for a definite answer, I'll be prepared for either outcome.

I'll post pictures of both afghans when I finish the blue one.

Ho Hum

I feel like I'm supposed to blog and be witty, entertaining, insightful and purposeful at the same time. I think I'm going to miss on almost all points (except for the blogging part).

Don't think that I've snuck away for a chance to do this. I have all 3 little ones in the room with me. The girls keep asking me, "What does this say?" And I'm sure Joseph is aspiring to be a printer repairman. He just has to have a broken printer first, so that is what he's trying to achieve. Heck, maybe I should let him break it and then I can get a nicer printer to print up my scrapbook pages. Maybe I can hold him off until next year's tax refund comes so that I can actually buy a new printer.

We've got a wet, gloomy day outside today. October was beautiful (despite the freak snow on occasion), but November is slipping into a sort of depression. The least it could do is snow so that things could look cleaner and brighter!

I've recently taken on a task to sew, sew, sew and crochet. I'm trying to make up some things to hopefully make a little money. With Christmas in the air (or at least in the stores), I'm aiming for the gift-buyers. So between dish cloths, pillows (some in high school colors), aprons, and whatever else I can make quickly, I don't have much time for daydreaming. I'm hoping to find a craft fair soon or else I'll come up with some other way to get them out there.

Chad's mom came out on Wednesday afternoon to watch the kids for us while we went to a Stk. temple meeting and session. We hadn't been to the temple together since before Joseph was born. It was nice to get a chance to go back. We really appreciated her willingness to come for the night and the kids had fun with her!

We are currently down to 12 chickens. Both roosters have been butchered and slow cooked on Sunday afternoons. Thank goodness. I was tired of carrying a stick out to the coop to gather eggs. The last rooster was probably tired of my stick! Let this be a lesson for you all: I eat my enemies!

*In response to comment #2: I personally did not butcher the roosters. Chad has decided that warmer weather is better for cleaning out chickens.

Recent projects

I've spent some time in my sewing room lately.

I was working on the November quilt blocks. These two patterns use the same initial design. The first one is a circle on a constrasting fabric square, cut in quarters, combined with another circle on a fabric square (also quartered)- with the colors reversed. The second block is the same but the squares and circles are made smaller and you make two of each set.

Beg.: Drunkard's Path

Adv.: Robbing Peter to Pay Paul, Indiana Puzzle, Mill Wheel
I don't know why there are so many different names. I haven't been able to find this block online with any of these names.

Some of you may know that I was working on a crocheted lace edge for my bedskirt. I started it WAY before Rebekah was born. I finished it in September this year. I think it took a year and a half or so. I dyed it in tea and finally got it on the bed! Here is a close up and a shot of the bed.

This is a close up of some machine quilting I recently finished. I did 60 of these and 20 large leaves in the large red squares (you can barely see it in the lower right corner).













And because I can't finish a project without starting a new one, here are the first two (of many to come) blocks in a quilt that I'm making for a friend here for Christmas.