I have to admit I'm tired and a little bit jealous.

What am I jealous of ? Maybe jealous isn't the word to use. Envious, thats the one I want. I'm envious of all those couples I know (or read about) who seem to be on the same page as each other. You know the ones, she says lets have twelve kids and live in the woods and he say okay. Or he says lets I wanna be no impact man and she goes along with it (even though it means giving up he daily latte).

I love my man but I'm so tired of being at odds with him. We have entireley different ways of seeing the world. We work in completly different manners. Even our approach to cleaning is pretty much opposite.
He's currently in the midst of a big project. A project he's made even bigger than it needs to be. He can't seem to do anything just a little bit. Every thing has to be the biggest, the most outrageous. Me, I like moderate....

I grow weary of feeling like every minute of every day has to be compromised. I'd like to drasticly reduce the amout of sugar in my household but that won't fly due to his Mt. Dew habit. I'd like to have a bit of time every week to work on my projects (crafting, sewing, whatever) without the kids underfoot and in my hair. I'd like a little more fairness.

I read so many blogs about lovely families that work well together and seem to be on the same path together and I wish so badly that I could be like them. I realize they aren't posting arguements and dirty laundry, but they still seem more, well, together then we manage most of the time. I realize it requires effort but, seriously, is it that hard?

Baby knits so far:
4.5 pairs of "hunca munca" socks in leftover sock yarns
"baby boy vest" from Sock Yarn one Skein Wonders (with altered cable) in yellowy orange wool
"Saartjes bootees" to match vest
"Shoaker" in blue-green wool
"Hello baby cardigan" in red tweedy wool
"baby booties" to match
"just a little undershirt" in cashmere blend (still in progress)

Handmade Holidays

In an effort to organize myself a little I'm posting lists and links for gifts I hope to make this holiday season. With 3 boys ranging from 2 to 15 and an oversized husband I've got my work cut out for me!

Victor
Mooshy Belly Bunny here http://chezbeeperbebe.blogspot.com/2010/03/tutorial-and-pattern-recycled-mooshy.html
comet ball
crochet hungry caterpilar (ravelry link) http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/very-hungry-catterpillar
PJ pants
knitted animals (Ravelry links) duck http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/duck-5
sheep http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/love-ewe Update: I've knit (but not sewn up) one sheep from A Childs First Book of Knitting


Wiley
Dragon! http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/toothless
comet ball
PJ pants
fingerless gloves (Ravelry link) http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/easy-fingerless-mitts-2
crayon roll with a sketch book pocket
book pocket seen in Family fun magazine


Phelan
PJ pants
bed pockets-wall pockets
crochet frisbee (Ravelry link) here http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/glow-in-the-dark-frisbee
or here (Ravelry link) http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/frisbee-flyer

Phill
steering wheel cover (Ravlery link) http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wheel-kmitten
or this one http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/PATTwheelie.html
hat
PJ pants

Various friends
T-shirt potholders
comet balls
felted coin purses
homemade vanilla
clementine jam

Wow! All typed out that looks like an enormous amount of crafting. Thankfully they are mostly small projects that shouldn't take too much time individually!

I never cease to be amazed by knitting. Isn't it wonderful that a sock is actually made up of a single piece of yarn?

Sleeping baby

Why does everybody ask if the baby sleeps through the night? It seems to be the question everyone (including random strangers at the grocery store) wants answered. I like to respond that he doesn't sleep through the night and he's not designed to do so. Sometimes I simply say No. Seriously, I'd like some insight about where this question comes from and why people expect a 4 month old breastfed infant to sleep for more than a few hours at a time. Who came up with that idea? It seems to be almost universal.
An old friend of mine has twins the same age as my little one. It seems his goal is to get them to sleep all night long. I guess the big difference between him and I is that I simply don't expect to sleep all night. My expectation is that I will wake up several times to feed my son. If I went to bed thinking that I wouldn't wake untill the sun was up I would be sorely dissapointed and probably frustrated. I would be a very disgruntled mama!
It was really satisfying to read Mothering magazine's articles "Who wants to sleep alone" and "The science of sharing sleep". I was reassured that I should expect to be woken up and it does make sense to keep my baby in bed with me. It was nice to see doctors and other professionals take an interest and provide some research. part of me want to send the article to my old friend with the twins but I wonder if it's value would be appreciated...