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Originally published at The-A-TEAM. You can comment here or there.

This was our trick or treat! I was prompted to test by my dream. This wasn't even first morning pee.. more like third or fourth! It was a strange cycle, so I have no idea of even the week I should be due, but I am going to say June to July 2008 we will have a baby!

I tested yesterday afternoon, but I wanted to tell K before the world wide web. :) I wrote TRICK OR TREAT!! on it & sat it on the bathroom counter where he'd see it right away. Then I herded him into the bathroom & he smiled as he saw it.

Originally published at The-A-TEAM. You can comment here or there.

I had the ODDEST dream last night.. there were two parts to it. The first part was me taking a pregnancy test & it coming out a very vivid positive just as the urine hit the strip. I remember watching the line develop before my eyes in my dream. Then suddenly I was in some sort of voice coaching class because I was getting ready to try out for American Idol. I tried out & made it to Hollywood after singing only one verse of "Little Wonders" (a song in the movie Meet the Robinsons- I guess I've watched it a lot the last few days, *lol* ).

Craziest thing is.. I REALLY have entertained thoughts of trying out for Idol.. even as much as I dislike the show! In case you're wondering, I can sing (I can really wail if I am in "the mood"), although I'm sure I would be too freaked to go for it. I've never been comfortable singing in front of crowds.

Pregnancy & American Idol.. *wtf*

Originally published at The-A-TEAM. You can comment here or there.

Last week, I purchased some very lovely Japanese felt food craft books from Etsy. They arrived yesterday & the kids & I can't stop looking at all the YUM! I had thought that these books may be over my head since I wouldn't be able to understand much in them, but there are descriptive illustrations in the book about how to sew & assemble each piece, as well as the templates needed for achieving the appropriate size for the food items. If you've even felt like getting one of the Japanese felt books but didn't know how easy it would be to understand what was in them- well wonder no more because even just by glancing over the diagrams, I already know how to create most of the food items featured in the books! So if you've wanted to try- give it a shot because there's nothing to be afraid of.

Oh, how I love Etsy!

Originally published at The-A-TEAM. You can comment here or there.

Last week, I purchased some very lovely Japanese felt food craft books from Etsy. They arrived yesterday & the kids & I can't stop looking at all the YUM! I had thought that these books may be over my head since I wouldn't be able to understand much in them, but there are descriptive illustrations in the book about how to sew & assemble each piece, as well as the templates needed for achieving the appropriate size for the food items. If you've even felt like getting one of the Japanese felt books but didn't know how easy it would be to understand what was in them- well wonder no more because even just by glancing over the diagrams, I already know how to create most of the food items featured in the books! So if you've wanted to try- give it a shot because there's nothing to be afraid of.

Oh, how I love Etsy!

Originally published at The-A-TEAM. You can comment here or there.

I just posted Volume 2 of my gift-making series over at Comfortable Green. Although I do not have extensive explanations on HOW to create these gifts, I did link my bath recipes, soap making article, a enough good links to get you going. :)

Next week's (or the second week of November, depending on my work load) volume will be about knitting.

Originally published at The-A-TEAM. You can comment here or there.

We don't watch a whole lot of television around here. We're big into gaming & the internet, of course- but the dummy box is something that I have successfully weaned my family from being so dependent upon. Since we moved into the country, we don't have cable. This was my idea & i am glad I came up with it! I do let the kids watch some PBS Kids programs (Gosh, I LOVE PBS, but I'm kind of a geek like that . :nerd: ) as well as movies since somehow we own hundreds of DVDs. Some of most recent movie acquisitions are:

Transformers
This was a good one. It would have been MUCH better without the whole "teenage romance" but what ya gonna do? The effects are amazing & realistic.

Monster House
My darling N is like his momma- a scary film buff. Another cute one, although you may not want to let small children (littles- 3 & under) watch it as it can get a little bit frightening!

Blades of Glory
Okay, not for kids, but a HILARIOUS movie that you really shouldn't miss. John Heder & Will Farrel are a totally riotous figure skate pair in this well scripted comedy. The secretary from The Office is Heder's love interest, & who doesn't love the Office?

The Curse of the Golden Flower
I have owned this one for some time, but it's a favorite of mine & it's SUCH glorious eye candy that I have to blog a little about it! I highly suggest not watching the English language version- the original Chinese with subtitles is much better because the subtitles have better information & having watched it in English the first time, I was confused by the need because I had missed out on a few important tidbits.

I will admit however, to be addicted to Days of Our Lives (although I don't watch it daily), Lost, & Heroes. I like House a lot also. :cheery:

Originally published at The-A-TEAM. You can comment here or there.

For most of my life, I remember being absolutely TERRIFIED of spiders (well, most bugs in general really). These last few years have been a bit different however. If I see a spider in my home, I no longer immediately kill them. I leave them be. This last summer I had a nice sized "pet" spider living in my kitchen window. He always watched me do dishes & I aimed any houseflies in the way of his web. Once he got to be where his body size was about an inch & a half in diameter, he left the window, I think he went outdoors. We had named him (Aragog *lol* ) lovingly & I was quite fond of looking at him as I went about my business in the kitchen.

Today I found one living on the wall in the master bath behind the toilet.. I found her (she looks female to me) as I gathered dirty laundry to bring to the laundry room.. she climbed on my hand. I wasn't the least it freaked, but looked at it in awe. I put him gently on the floor & let him be. I found a few hours later where his web is & called for N to take a look at it. We have no good name ideas.. yet.. but I like Charlotte.

Originally published at The-A-TEAM. You can comment here or there.

It's been a good while since I've had a site update- well, it's actually been awhile since I've done anything deserving of an entry. :wink: There are a few things underway, mostly behind the scenes. My Pageranks seems to have dropped from 4 to 3, I think I had so many links I may have been slightly penalized by Google for them- resulting in my PR drop. I have blogged before about displaying the sponsored links in my sidebar randomly & only about 10 or so at a time as to cut down on clutter, well this week I plan to implement that come hell or high water! I'm also hoping to get my random banner plugin working soon.

The PR drop upset me some until I checked Darlin' Niki & Comfortably Green- which are both also 3s as well. How THAT happened so quickly is totally beyond me- I'll never understand Google but I'm certainly not complaining. *hehe*

Originally published at The-A-TEAM. You can comment here or there.

I know there are a few people out there who I promised this pattern to, so I figured I'd blog a free pattern for everyone. This pattern will tell you how to make "sleepsacks" for cloth diapered small babies. I've modified my pattern twice & made my latest change just recently- kick room at the bottom which allows for those tiny feet to have some room to move without sacrificing the warmth found from these sleepsacks. This pattern is for a newborn sized sleepsack. Although it is "newborn" sized, you will get many months from this pattern. I will tell you in an addendum how to "size up" your sleepsacks, but for now- let's just get to the pattern!

You'll need: 4 ozs/ 200-220 yds of wool yarn (for the sleepsack featured in the photos, I used about three fourths of a skein of Marr Haven Merino) double pointed needles- sizes 3 & 5 16" circular needle size 7 stitch markers darning needle

To make the sleepsack:
Cast on 60 stitches on size 3 DPNs
Place your markers at start of round & again at 30 stitches
Knit for 2.5 inches in 2 knit 2 purl rib
Knit for one more inch on the size 3s, then change to 5s
Make two short rows (one set of two short rows)
Knit for one inch, then change to size 7s
Make two more short rows (one more set)
Knit for 5 inches
Increase every 5 stitches
Knit for 2 inches
Decrease every 12th & 13th stitches tog, knit rem stitches to the end of this round, then change to size 5s
Knit for 1-1.5 inch(es) in 1 knit 1 purl rib, eyelet ruffle, or really any style of your choosing!

This is not an exact science & it's really a very simple pattern. You could easily change the increase & decrease rounds to be knit higher in the sleepsack after about 3-4 inches or so, if needed & it will not effect the final outcome other than the "kick room" placement. For babies not in cloth, simply omit the short rounds- one set or both sets it's up to you. The lower amount of short rows will yield you a much narrower sleepsack in the bum area. If you find any mistakes in this pattern please let me know.
Since this is my original creation, this pattern is protected by the same copyright laws protecting this blog. You may create sleepsacks from this pattern (be they altered or unaltered from this as a base pattern) for personal or charity use, but please do not sell them. I offer a cottage license for this pattern, so email me if you would like to hear more details & pricing information.
I would love to see the sleepsacks created from my pattern, feel free to email me with photos of your sleepsacks!

Enjoy the pattern & happy sleepsack creating!

Originally published at The-A-TEAM. You can comment here or there.

N's "Jack Sparrow" finally completed. I think he's adorable, I might have to make one for ME!

E's Waldorf doll should be fully complete soon. I did however, get a few of the cute outfits I ordered for it..

The rest of the clothes are on the way with (I hope!) the mohair to finish out the hair. I hear people who style the hair then stitch down so that bald spots are covered, but I want her doll to have a full head of hair. :cheery: This weekend I'm going to the craft store to get items to make more accessories for the doll (barrette/hairpiece for the doll with a matching barrette for E & a little pearl necklace & bracelet for the doll) as well as another mermaid top (options are always good, right?).

I have the tea set about half done, a house to clean, & kids to wrangle. That's my exciting life in a nutshell.