The Log Cabin baby blanket is going well......

It is about 11 x 14 here - it will require some blocking but it is a very fast thing to knit. There is something really satisfying about picking up all of those stitches. This would be a really easy first *big* project for someone new to knitting. It's all garter stitch and there is a LOT of practice casting off and picking up stitches. And, for me, after several pairs of socks it's nice to use bigger needles for awhile!

Don't worry, the second Crusoe sock is coming soon...
Oh, and look how good I've been:


I sewed in some of the ends last night!! I never do that. There is a very nice baby blanket (whose very nice baby is coming any second now) that has about a zillion ends that still fly free...

In other news - we managed to make it through the night without anyone bleeding (dieu, merci). I'm still in a state of "Wha?!?" about the whole thing... we did have (what my friends used to call) a doopty-doo moment or two. For example, in the summer we have extended bedtime. Now she has to be invisible at 9 and lights out at 10. Understand that on Saturday and Sunday nights I have been awake since five in the morning and while I do get to rest in the afternoon I haven't had a proper nap and am so ready to remove the mom face and just be the blank, tv-watching slug that every nap lover wants to be! Here was our bedtime conversation:
(9 pm)
Me: Bean, it's 9 o'clock, time to get ready for bed!
Bean: Ok, mom
(9:45)
Me: Bean, fifteen more minutes
Bean: Ok, mom
(10:00)
Me: Time for bed, pumpkin head
Bean(not yet in pj's): Oh, I need to take a shower.
Me (sighing): Nope, it's 10. Take a shower in the morning
(10:05)
Bean: Mom, can I read for awhile?
Me: (growing decidedly more frustrated) It is 10:05, what do you think I'm going to say?
*(Note, she reads all of the time. Constantly. I am NOT discouraging her from reading).
Bean (sadly): No. (whining) I just didn't realize how late it was.
Me (twitch, twitch): Good night.

The XXX picks her up tonight for a week. You know I'm going to miss her terribly but for at LEAST 24 hours it will be nice to have a conversation that does not start with "Mom? Do we have clean towels? Like, a lot of clean towels?"

My birthday is coming (hip hooray, five sheep shop for the big, big day) - anyone remember that book? Just me? If you have kids, go find Sheep in a Shop (or Sheep in a Jeep, but I like the first one the best. There are others but these are the ones I know). "Sheep like beach balls, sheep try out of reach balls. Sheep fumble, boxes tumble, sheep fall in a great big jumble." It just kills me.
ANYWAY.
My friends and family always say I don't tell them what I want (despite my EXTENSIVE Amazon wish list) so I'm going to list a few things for them. This is not a "buy me stuff" list, this is a "well if you were already planning on buying something for me here are a few things to put you in the right direction" list.
-Big Girl Knits and/or Classic Knits for Real Women and/or any of the dozens of books on my Amazon list
-A Yarn Baller and swift
-Yarn or a gift certificate for a store that sells yarn or Knitpicks.com - I luuuuuuv Knitpicks.
-Rachel Ray's knives (or cheaper knives like them. I saw some at Target for, like, $25
-A subscription to The New Yorker
-One of those gel eye masks that you keep in the fridge
-Those manicure gloves that you wear to bed after you soak your hands in lotion
-A manicure
-A lunch date. Seriously. I rarely see anyone anymore - we're all so busy that I would just like some time with my friends.