Almost There

I am blaming the winter doldrums and blahs! for my absence. I really enjoy being here, blogging, but have been feeling such a lack of inspiration lately. Well, that's not completely true. I have had lots of ideas for new, spring inspired toys (cough! see carrots below cough!) but as far as writing... So here it is; we've been sick. Zoe, me, Zoe, the baby, Zoe, me, Kaiya and now Zoe again. Poor girl, she just can't seem to shake this. I've been congested for a month or more, River is still teething like the devil and the girls are sick of being cooped up and are constantly at each others throats. Sigh! To say that I am sick of winter and ready for (consistent) warmth and sunshine and COLOR! would be an understatement.

So, there it is. Nothing original or inspiring. Just a dash or two of complaining, and I really hate to complain. Today I will clean my house and knit up some more carrots, tomorrow I will buy myself a big bouquet of flowers and at some point this week I will get some seeds started.

Goodbye February, you will not be missed.
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Well, now I feel badly, I'm sure you have feelings, too. You are worthwhile, in your own way, just like the heat of a scorching August. You bring us the holiday of love and you brought me my middle daughter, for which I am forever grateful. OK, just goodbye, then, and see you next year.

Mama's In Over Her Head

I was happy to capture this rare peaceful moment with River. Here she is enjoying a snack and resting on some stuffed animals while I cleaned her sisters' room. This one really keeps me on my toes. I don't think I've ever said 'NO!' so much in my life. If she's not taking things out of the freezer or bathroom cabinet or any number of places she's dragging chairs around the house so she can climb. Climbing on the toilet to get onto the sink, climbing on top of my desk and bedside table. It's really a wonder she hasn't really hurt herself yet.

She is exhausting to keep up with. And yet, so terribly amusing at the same time. She is forever making her sisters and I laugh with her oh, so mischievous ways.
We went to story time at the library today and she had so much fun dancing and running back and forth between mama and the window, which, of course, she had to climb up onto the windowsill. She is so full of life and spirit. She just brings so much joy to our lives.

I'm making a point to stop and savor these moments as they come. This littleness is so fleeting.

What's not to love?

Turning Four

My Zoe turned four on Tuesday. I didn't get a chance to spend much time making gifts, unfortunately. My shop workload is keeping me pretty busy at the moment. I did make time to make this pouch and three little wooden peg dolls to fit inside (keep scrolling for a better picture of the dolls). This was her "morning gift". Each birthday is started off with one small gift the birthday girl gets to open as soon as she wakes up. I started doing this on Kaiya's first birthday and they just love it, of course. Who doesn't love starting the day with presents?

My mom and I (mostly my mom) also made her a birthday crown. A lion, perfect for my animal lover. Mom did such a great job on that lion.

The past couple of weeks have been full of me working hard to get orders out and sickness passed back and forth between me and Zoe. I also must admit that I am so over winter and have been in a bit of a funk. While I am at heart a cold weather gal, eventually enough is enough and is it not spring already? I don't know about where you are but we've been enjoying several warm and sunny days this week. I know we'll probably have another (hopefully, should be, short-lived) cold spell. But this weather is making me eager to break out the warm weather clothes and get the garden started and let's not forget our first spring shearing!!
I will hopefully have a shop update tomorrow (spring inspired, of course) and have a flubbed crown to add to the Hand Knit Hand Me Down pool. Til then, keep thinking warm thoughts, we're almost there.

Benny and Rose

We've added some new, woolly friends to the family. Meet Benny and Rose. They're both French Angora rabbits.

Obviously, neither is in full coat at the moment but I can't wait til they are! Benny (the white one) is a neutered buck and he's almost one year old. Rose is only a few months old.
They'll both be staying indoors with us and we're working with litter training them. Anyone have experience with litter training rabbits? Tips?

The girls are thoroughly enchanted with them and are being pretty gentle when petting them. Zoe did get nipped by Rose, nothing serious and now she understands she shouldn't try to pick them up.

We currently don't have any in-the-house-pets, so I'm really happy to have some new companions around here. They're so incredibly soft, I could just sit and pet them for hours.

In other news, I didn't participate in the Yarn Along this week because I've actually not been knitting. Several days ago I began experiencing some terrible pain in my right wrist and hand. I'm afraid I may have developed a case of carpal tunnel syndrome. I'm so bummed about this. The thought of not being able to knit is just awful. I did buy a wrist brace and I ceased knitting and cut back on computer time for about 4 days, till the pain was mostly gone. Now I'm just being careful, wearing my brace when knitting and using the computer, exercising my wrists. I just hope it doesn't get any worse. A life without knitting is like a life without sunshine! OK, a bit dramatic, I know. But you get the point.

By the way, check out the new knits that are up for grabs in the Hand Knit Hand Me Down group. If you're a knitter and you haven't joined you really should!