My first knitted object for myself

I can't believe I've been knitting for over a year and I've never actually made anything for myself. I've always been making little gifts that are quick knits so I don't get too bored or frustrated. With Mama N's help in choosing a pattern, I decided to make a Shalom cardigan. This pattern has been done hundreds of times on ravelry.com so it was nice to be able to see if I'd like sleeves or more buttons. I went with the sleeveless one button closure.

I picked up some yarn at a Patricia's Yarns, a yarn shop I found in Hoboken near my office, and started knitting. Mama N started work on the same pattern so she spurred me along so I finished much more quickly than I anticipated. It only took me about two weeks. Of course, Mama N finished quite a long time before me and was on to other projects but it was fun to work on it together. I miss running to Mama N's with a question and knitting with both Mama N and Mama H with the little ones running around.

The sweater was an easy knit and I was excited that it was one of the few projects I was able to get through without having to rip it out and start again. Since this spring isn't shaping up to be all that warm, I should get some use out of it.

The best cake pan!

I've been meaning to post on my new favorite thing for cakes- my Wilton 3D train pan. As it is all about the choo-choo in our house, I knew for Master A's 2nd birthday, I wanted a train cake. When I was looking online, I saw a lot of cute cakes that required sawing up several sheet cakes and I felt that could only end in disappointment (for me and Master A). Then, I found this great train pan- which has nine car molds with amazing detail on it. I did balk at paying $32 for a cake pan but I reasoned with myself that with two boys, it will get some use.

The day before Master A's birthday party with some family, I mixed up a snickerdoodle cake (great recipe on the pan) greased the pan well and prayed! After reading some reviews, I bypassed flouring the pan and did not tap the pan when taking the train cars out. Shockingly, all nine cars sprang right out of the pan. Decorating was fun- though I had problems finding the candies I wanted around town. In the end, I used animal crackers to make a circus car, small tootsie rolls for logs, snow caps for coal and smoke and M&M's for the wheels. Next time, I'll get gel icing so I can decorate more neatly.

I see many uses for the pan- whether for a polar express gingerbread train for the holidays, jello train, or having his buddies over to decorate their own car. I think I may make a train for our next book club meeting- though with all of the kids- I'll probably go easy on the icing :)

Farewell my Stokke

With a small lump in my throat I must announce that I have sold my beloved kelly green Stokke stroller. For months Mister T has been asking me to sell it. I must admit that it had been sitting in the garage unused since we moved to San Francisco. We recently purchased the Phil & Ted's Sport double stroller which can easily be taken up and down the stairs to our front entryway. And of course, a double stroller makes sense for Master Q and Miss V. Mama G recently sent me a link to the new toddler board that just became available for the Stokke and I felt a strong urge to return the Phil & Ted's and keep the Stokke just a little longer, but deep down I knew it was time to part with it.

I sold the Stokke to a nice couple who is expecting their first child. It is their "dream" stroller so I feel good that it went to someone who would appreciate it as much as I did. I actually couldn't bear watching someone take it away, so I made Mister T handle the transaction while I hid in the house. It's kind of silly that I became so attached to a stroller, but I think I understand why. My stroller was such an integral part of my life in New York. Wherever I went in lower Manhattan, I was pushing my green stroller with Miss L riding along. So parting with it is finally coming to grips with moving on from that part of my life. When I have a tough day I longingly look back to strolling along the Hudson or up that weird alley street with Mama J to Thursday playgroup.

But enough wallowing. I'm going to embrace my Phil & Ted's and look forward to pushing it around with all three children (two strolled and one carried to start with!) to get to know my new city better and make new friends.

On the bright side I pocketed some cash that I can spend frivolously on myself. I decided to put it to good use and I've purchased private Pilates sessions. I had my first private this morning, working on both the Reformer and Tower. I've decided it's time to get myself back out there, and I'm determined to get my old body back too. I want to wear pants that zip and button rather than pull up, and I miss my Steven Alan shirts! More on the Reformer for my next post...

Little bunny egg cosy

In response to Mama V's question this is the bunny egg cosy. I have been meaning to blog about it but where does time go? I have been doing a lot of knitting and sewing lately but can't post anything because it's all gift knits. When the various recipients have received their respective gifts I'll post because there are some really sweet things!

This bunny was the cutest knit I've done to date. I plan on making a full set with different coloured jumpers/sweaters. The next one will have a pink striped jumper and then a green one.

Most weekends we have boiled eggs with soldiers so these will be so cute on top. Master R loves his "hase" and wants to eat "ei" (two words he always says in German) every morning now.

PS. Note the floral oilcloth table cloth. Since I don't have a girl I've started filling our house with pretty girly things including tea sets, cake plates, table cloths, oven mitts and tea towels.

Bolinas cowl

My mom's birthday was last Friday and I decided that I wanted to knit something for her. She knit a beautiful hooded scarf for my birthday last year. She even dyed the white yarn for the trim in earl grey tea to create a softer white!

I decided a cowl would be something I could realistically finish in time and also something that she could wear a lot on her daily hikes along the coast in the fog. I found a nice pattern on Ravelry for a Dolores Park Cowl, which happens to be named after a park here in San Francisco. So I renamed it the Bolinas Cowl for my mom's quaint little hippie town in Marin.

The pattern is really simple so I wanted to find a unique yarn to make it look more textured and patterned. When I went to Atelier Yarn in my neighborhood I could hear Mama N's voice warning me not to pick out one of those multi-colored granny yarns that comes out looking like a frumpy country mouse knit. I hope Mama N will approve of the yarn I chose.

I knit the cowl each night while Miss V took her 2:00 am feed and slept. Master Q only interrupted to feed on a few occasions. Last Friday we packed all three children in the car and took a day trip out to Bolinas to spend my mom's birthday with her. It was a beautiful day - sunny and warm. We spent the day lounging on the deck while Miss L chased after my my mom's dog and watered the flowers with her little water pail.

Currently I am trying to knit three little bunnies for Easter. The twins' bunnies will have jingle bells stuffed inside to make them into rattles. I have been inspired by Mama N's absolutely adorable bunny egg warmer. I hope my bunnies will turn out as cute!

Fire Truck Cake!

Months ago Master K and I discovered the joys of YouTube (and just this morning, gasp, he has worked out how to use the mouse, so he will soon be surfing all on his own!). Having multiple computer monitors, downtime on YouTube has meant that Mommy can simultaneously check email while Master K keeps up on the latest "diggers and dump trucks and fire trucks and cranes" (his requested YouTube search). And in the course of one such search, we found a video, an 8-minute wonder of domesticity. This video has repeatedly kept both my husband and son rapt, as they watch two women make a cake.

You see, it's not just any cake -- it's a scarlet red Fire Truck Cake: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuXQVAg4Cqk

Well we were pretty blue last weekend, so we decided to focus our energies on replicating the YouTubian wonders of this cake. Dad and son were the primary forces behind the baking; in the tradition of many moms before this one, I quietly kept the kitchen from falling apart during the experiment, laying out ingredients, setting up the mixer, and making a quick run to Duane Reade for off-the-shelf frosting when Mister A's butter-heavy homemade efforts resulted in a gooey glop not fit for any self-respecting firefighting vehicle.

The boys had fun mixing:

And, frosting:

You may notice that they did not quite achieve Betty Crocker's scarlet red hue -- this, despite squeezing an entire tube of red food dye into the frosting. Mister A realized we didn't have nearly enough frosting (or patience) to "crumb coat" the cake, as the video advises, which involves smoothing on a preliminary layer of frosting and refrigerating until it is hard enough for a second coat. We persevered with the production. The truck came out a kind of "hot salmon" color, but we were not deterred. We had some friends over and gorged on the fenders and rear. One friend was of the frank sort, and soon informed us that the cake was dry to the point of inedibility. We were not deterred. Our friend's son stripped the cake of its gummy-bear flashers and popped off two of its Oreo-wheels. But it was still beautiful, if a tad droopy, because it was our Fire Truck Cake. After several days (and no more dining invites to ingrates posing as friends), we had to retire the front-end of the cake to the trash, but only after solemnly eating the frosting windows and front wheels. Master K has continued to ask for more Fire Truck Cake, so I think Mister A has his work cut out for him come third birthday in September...

Wafels & Dinges fun

As you all know I love food and since the boys, my quests for treats are those that are kid friendly. One day a few weeks ago, I read about a waffle truck online and was excited to see that it was parked in Hanover Square on Wednesdays. Since Mister R is home and it was freezing cold, I sent him out for the waffle expedition. No, the title is not spelled wrong, wafel is apparently the Belgium spelling and dinges are toppings.

There are two types of wafels sold- the Brussels and Liege. I prefer the Brussels- light and crispy (apparently first came to NY for the World's fair in 1964). My preferred toppings- Belgian chocolate fudge and strawberries. Mister R preferred the Liege waffle- light and chewy- with speukoloos spread & whipped cream (an awesome spread that tastes kind of like peanut butter with graham crackers). They will give you a taste of it to try.

If you check their blog before you go- and call the wafel hotline- they have a question or thing of the day (i.e. what is a curling stone made of- answer correctly and you get a free dinges). In case you are dying to know- a curling stone is made of a Scottish granite. Look for a big yellow truck- usually not much of a line (but a loyal following). It's all a bit quirky and fun.

The waffles are a bit pricey but they are delicious. I hate to say it, but the second time we got them, we debated whether to wait to eat them when Master A was napping, but we decided it would be too cruel. As you can see, Master A enjoyed quite a nutritious lunch. They travel well in cute little boxes.

I can see many a fun spring/summer outing spent with the boys running around Hanover Square covered in wafels and dinges. Let me know if you want to join us.

http://www.wafelsanddinges.com/

2 in 1

I am definitely no expert, but have been requested to share my experiences with 2 Masters sleeping in 1 room. There really is no trick to reaching the bliss that parents feel when their kids are sleeping soundly in their "own" room. Here in NYC, space is a premium, so we could not imagine both little ones in their own room. Knowing that in most places all over the world kids (and sometimes entire families) sleep in one room helped to ease my initial anxiety. I spoke to friends who had done it and posted on HRPMamas and the advice I remember the most was not to fall in to the trap of playing musical beds. In other words let the kids get used to each others sounds and do not be too quick to run in and save one from the others waking.

My desire was to have them in bed at the same time and up at the same time (ambitious but what the heck.) At that point Master D was sleeping roughly 7-7 and I planned to sleep train Master G and set his clock for the same hours.

Here is what we did...At 6 weeks I started G's night time routine (bath, book, bottle) and put him down at the same time Dorsey went down in our room. Over the next 3 months he went to bed around 7 and I would feed him on demand throughout the night. I attempted not to go to him at the first sign of him waking but allowed him to try to soothe himself but as we know its just too hard when mom and baby are sleeping in the same room. When he was 12 weeks old we put his crib (what he would be sleeping in his own room) in the TV/guest room. I continued to feed him on demand but I think it helped that I wasn't right there and he seemed to do a bit better and it took me a bit longer to get to the other room in the middle of the night so there was some delay. He was waking 2-3 times/night at that point and at 16 weeks we sleep trained via CIO. The first night was alot of up and down, the second once or twice and the third he slept 12 hours +/-. That was pretty consistent (luckily Master G is a finger sucker so he soothed himself quite well) so in 2 weeks we moved the crib to Master D's room and put them down together at 7. For those who do not have a third room to sleep train in it is advised you keep the baby in the room and Mom and Dad sleep in the living room for a few nights.

For naps we have a Pack and Play in our bedroom so that Master G can nap in the afternoon in our bedroom and Master D in his crib. When Master G turned 1 year and the 2 were pretty consistently going down around 1 for their afternoon nap we tried to put them together to nap but because it was a novelty the wound up standing and laughing and fooling around so I went back to separating them for nap time.

There has never been any issue with the middle of the night. They do not wake up fully in the middle of the night. There are occasions when they cry out but quickly put themselves back to sleep. I can see on the video monitor that their eyes are closed and just feel around for their lovey and or suck their finger and go back off to sleep all while the other child sleeps soundly without even a flinch or a little roll to their other side and I am sure are unaware of it.

Back to my earlier point, I would hesitate to go in and scoop up the crying one so they don't wake the other because you get in to the habit of rotating beds, pack and play, cribs etc and makes for a disruptive night(s). In my experience the kids are completely used to one another and don't even notice.

In the morning it is a bit more tricky and this is where we have tried to adjust accordingly as sleep habits are ever changing in these little ones. For the most part Master G sleeps later, as he needs more rest than Master D even with his marathon naps. In the beginning we were able to go in and sneak Master D out in the AM and let the little guy sleep but now that he is just more alert he will pop up even when we go in as quietly as we can. We then shifted Master D's bedtime to 7:30, and unless he is sick, do not let him nap for more than 2 hours so that he sleeps a bit later in the morning. At this point Master D wakes up somewhere between 6 and 7, occasionally later and will wake up Master G. He yells for G and tells him to "come on" "what are you doing?" No one is screaming for me so I let them hang out for as long as possible. Often they stand up and "talk" to one another and lie back down and go to sleep.

For the most part they just get used to each other and you have to be on your toes to work out the best way to get them to both sleep the longest they can. I think if one gets less night time sleep than they need it is made up in the nap(s) theoretically.

It is working for my kids but of course everyone's situation and kids needs are so different. I do not know if there is a magic trick to making it work but I can say for us it was not as much drama as I thought it would be. And I know it has brought them together and closer which is the cutest thing.

I hope this is somewhat informative!

Am I bored?

Source: Isisthescientist

Now that I've sold my business and am officially a fulltime mum the question I get asked the most is "don't you get bored?". A working mother even asked me what I do all day (ha! She should try being at home all day and realise just how much more demanding it is than going into an office. Trust me I've done it). Just today I got asked if I get lonely for the 3rd time this week.

Until today I haven't had a chance to even think about being bored or lonely. But this evening Mr M is travelling, the kids are tucked up in bed and I'm working on an uninspiring knitting project. This has given me an opportunity to let my mind actually turn the cogs.

I can honestly say that I never ever feel bored. The last time I remember feeling bored was whining about it to my mother when I was about 12. With so much going on at all times it isn't a feeling I ever get. But loneliness? My days are filled with mothering and homemaking and I guess I haven't had a chance to think about this either.

The past week or so I had an urge to go and meet people. Not really for my sake but for Master T's. From the time Master R was 8 weeks old I was actively attending mama's groups around Battery Park. For Master T I've done nothing. He's never really had a play date. The problem is to find a group of mothers with babies the same age as Master T. Finding a group for your first child is relatively easy. Will the mothers relate to me with two kids? I'm not sure. I've started looking at music and "gym" classes. It might be a good place to start. I just hope I don't meet any more stalkers or drug dealers!

As a side story do you remember before you were a mum going to dinner parties or other events and meeting a new person. You pretty soon get to the question, so what do you do for a living? When the woman would respond, I'm a stay at home mum, my eyes would glaze and I'd start scanning the room for someone more exciting to talk to. I had to chuckle to myself. On Saturday night I was that mummy! A newly graduated MBA had just landed a fantastic job and was telling me all about it. When she asked what I do I told her and instantly saw the frozen smile and then the "oh, how nice for you". I just laughed and showed her the photo on my phone of my darlings. I'm proud to be a stay home mum and feel privileged to have the opportunity to just be mum.