Kansas Day

We are at the end of the first month of 2016. 1/12th of your year is OVER, how are your goals coming? For me the running is not so good, the knitting is on track and I'm rocking my reading goal. I wish my interests played nicer with each other.....
So Friday was Kansas Day, I had a big morning planned for Alex and I to celebrate our state's birthday! We really have to take advantage of the times we can celebrate KS these days. :-/
Alex and I headed out for a Kansas Day party at the community center, complete with craft and snack. Alex was so cute, he thought it was like school and wanted to wear his backpack! So we left and were super excited, then we were not. We got to the community center and the Kansas Day class had been cancelled. The staff was sure they had left a message on our phone. Since I was holding my three year old's hand I handled it really well. But when we turned to leave Alex said "But mommy why are we leaving?"
So I did what any mom would do who had been talking up a class for a week that was not going to happen I told him "We are going to Bonkers!"
Alex-"Are we going to play the games?"
Me-"We are going to play ALL the games!"
Alex-"Awesome!!!"

See the freezer in our dinning room? That's another blog post. 

Kansas Day at Bonkers rocks! 

Especially when you are one of three kids there. 

Live like you're broke!

During our journey to be debt free we got a great piece of advice from the man who set up Daryl's college fund. He said the best thing you can do for your kids is raise them like you are broke. He then explained that when his two boys were growing up their one summer vacation was always a long road trip, new toys were only for Christmas and birthdays and new clothes were only for the new school year.
At first we followed this advice out of necessity, we were squeezing debt payments out of every penny. The boys had Craigslists Christmases and the only eating out we did was to Wendy's. Now that we are finishing up our 3-6 month emergency fund we have extra disposable income, but our boys have NO IDEA. They still hear regularly, "that's not in the budget," and really whatever they are begging for is not in the budget. :-)
Kelly and I really didn't know the impact living like this has had on our young sons. Then it kinda of showed itself in an unexpected way.
For no reason other than Kelly and I were both craving wings last weekend we loaded the boys up in the car and took them to Buffalo Wild Wings. No special reason and no plan for it at the beginning of the week to reward for good behavior. First thing that struck them was all of the TVs, we only have one, so that was pretty cool to them. It didn't strike me as odd but when Kelly and I ordered an appetizer for all of us to share the boys got really excited. Their kid meals came and I told them if they finished their food they could each have ice cream. That did it, three course meal, they were over the moon. They ate all their food and all their ice cream. They flirted with the waitress and stayed in their seats the whole time.
Alex said it was the best night ever and they both talked about it days after. Kelly and I living below our means is paying off in ways we never anticipated. The boys will appreciate things others will take for granted. They will also understand how special treats are.
We will have to lay low for awhile again because they did have a treat again this weekend. Grandma Rosie took them bowling at Gage bowl. Alex loves bowling! At first Daryl was getting frustrated but by the end of the second game he had gotten the hang of it and was loving it too. He didn't like using the dinosaur so the second game he was throwing his ball down the lane.
It has been a great year so far!

A Sweater Story

So my Harvest Moon cardigan is more than a sweater, it's a creation that has happened over many years of my life! Don't get me wrong I didn't knit on it for any longer than it normally takes to knit a sweater. I just managed to stretch the whole process out.
Timeline:
On December 22nd of 2011 I saved the pattern because I thought it was cute. At that time I was working at the League of Kansas Municipalities and I know for a fact I printed the pattern at work. It was on really nice paper, Lawyer paper, not gov't office paper. :-)  I was two months pregnant with Alex and I'm sure I thought it would be a lovely sweater for that winter since it doesn't have buttons up the front. HA! Such a dreamer I am!
Reminder, 12/2011 is just when I saved the pattern. I didn't actually purchase it until June 2012!

So I bought the pattern in 2012, one month  before I had my second son. This makes sense because adding children to a family always makes for more knitting time, right? But wait a sec, in April of 2012 I decided that I wasn't just going to knit this sucker, I was going to spin the fiber to make the yarn to knit it! It must have been those pregnancy hormones that made me think crazy things like that.

So in April of 2012 I buy 5 bumps of Hello Yarn Shetland fiber in the Bristling color way. I would like to educate you on how it works to buy Hello Yarn fiber.
You join a group of people who all desperately want this fiber on the internet, then when someone who has it puts it up for sale all the people who want it try to be the first person to e-mail to say they will buy it. It's pretty crazy and it is worth it because the fiber is THAT GOOD.
So to procure five bumps I believe I got two from someone selling theirs, then I went to my internet group and begged and pleaded until two other people sold me some just to shut me up! I promised them I would spin it into yarn and knit it into a sweater and love my sweater forever! Good thing I never promised when that would all be done!

Ok, have fiber, now I must spin it into yarn. I'm not sure when I started spinning my lovely fiber but I do know the yarn was not done until Sept. 29, 2014! OVER TWO YEARS LATER. My son I was pregnant with when I started this project is now two, I had a different job and even lived in a different house!

At this point you can understand why I laugh when people suggest I knit sweaters because its cheaper or easier than buying them. The fiber alone cost $115, (remember I got the good stuff) and that does not account for my time. Pay heed folks, spinning and knitting sweaters is an addiction. It doesn't make any sense but it feels so good when it's done!

I finally started knitting my Harvest Moon sweater in June of 2015. Again I waited a year to take the next step! After I finally started the knitting the project went quick. I had the goal to have it done to wear to my work's annual conference in October, then to have it done for Thanksgiving in November and finally wanted to have it for Christmas. Turns out it was finished to wear on a Wednesday for work!

So that is the story of this sweater. Four years and one month after I found the pattern I finally have the sweater. I'm no quitter!

Alex and I modeling the sweater I planned to wear pregnant with him!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Grandma Evelyn had her 93rd birthday party today. She was surrounded by her husband, kids, and cake. Can't think of a better way to celebrate! The boys really enjoyed the party too, Grandma's retirement home has an ice cream machine, fish and an elevator. What more could a kid want!

When we got home I put the finishing touches on my Harvest Moon cardigan! I still need to give it a bath but it is so great to have it all sewn up! Yay!! This does not count as one of my four 2016 sweaters, it was all done but the pockets in 2015.

Have a great week!

Happy Birthday Grandma! 

The cake was good! 

Carson liked it too. :-)

Sweater still needs a bath

I think the back is my favorite part.

Kelly is the Grinch that stole Christmas

Look how happy he is taking the Christmas decorations out
 of the bathroom! 

So today was the day, Kelly had enough of Christmas and at 7pm started taking everything down. As I write this he is putting the Christmas tree back in the box. :-( Kelly just doesn't understand that Christmas decorations can stay up as long as it's cold! Boo!

He probably wanted to take the Christmas decorations down last weekend but he got distracted in the boys' room. When we originally put Alex in Daryl's room we got them bunk beds. But they scared Alex and he wanted to see Daryl. So we unbunked them and they had two twin beds side by side. They have been spending more time in their room and didn't have much space so Kelly decided to bunk the beds again. This time around was a success. They both love the beds that way and they love being able to play on the floor.

Daryl went back to school on Tuesday, that morning was a roller coaster of emotions. He cried when he first got up and then about twenty minutes before it was time to go he wanted to drive to the school and just wait for it to open! I couldn't keep up with what the feelings were. He is happy to be back with his friends and was even happier he didn't have a spelling test this week. Oh the joys of first grade!

Purl and I had a lazy weekend! 

Bunk beds are fun! 

2016 Here We Come!

My help at Jan. Jamboree registration! 

It is already day 3 of the New Year. I wish I had a better reason that I didn't write a blog post on January 1st but there has been a lot of napping going on around here. There has also been some wrestling matches in the bouncy house, football games on TV and 4-H fun to participate in. A busy three days!
We needed all the naps to recover from 2015. I don't like resolutions so I always set goals for the New Year. I'm happy to say that I met my running and reading goals from 2015. I did not make my knitting goals or Kelly and I's date night goals. When I informed Kelly that we only had five date nights and we planned for six he was surprised we had five! We will shoot for that one again!
So 2016 Goals:
6 Date Nights (Same as last year)
Read 16 Books (Four more than last year)
Knit 4 Sweaters (Same as last year)
and run 1000 miles (300 more than last year's goal but I actually ran over 800 miles)

Now that I have that in writing I will get on it first thing tomorrow! So far I've made good progress on a new book. But recharge was the name of the game this weekend. And when I'm not busy I get pretty good stories too.
Alex was playing with some action figures on the floor while we were all watching football. Sometimes Al is kind of hard to understand but the third time one of the guys told the other guy "What the hell are you doing?" we caught it! Let him know that is not a nice thing for his guys to say to each other. Since Daryl knows all the bad words and Alex will too we really stress not using them over where did you hear that? More practical in the long run. :-)

The bouncy house plays havoc with my hair.