On and on the crafting goes.

As of tonight I will be officially done with my holiday knitting that is being mailed out to family back east. Which leaves me with a sweater sleeve to finish for Ivan, a couple small items for the man of the house, a mitten for Erik, and then if I have time I'd like to make some baby booties and a hat.

Next year I will start earlier ( I say this every year, but every year I do start a little earlier than last so it must be working).

I am so excited though that all my projects for loved ones have come out better than I expected. This season I have learned how to cable, do short rows, and have gotten much more proficient with double pointed needles.

I wish I could share pictures in this space but since family reads it I will have to wait until after Christmas. I can however share the coming home outfit I finished for baby.

It is a soft and snuggly blend of wool, linen, and silk. I have enough leftover to make some matching booties and a hat to complete the outfit. I can't wait to put a squishy baby inside this outfit! 4 weeks and counting.

St. Nick

One of the things that continues to amaze me about America is how it can differ so much regionally based on cultural influence.

This morning Erik was devastated that St. Nick did not put anything in his stocking last night, and while waiting in line at school he began to get the wiggly lip that leads to tears listening to his classmates share what St. Nick left for them.

While I have heard of St. Nick I had no clue that there was an actual holiday where he leaves treats, ooops!

One of the parents at the school filled me in a bit and said that it is traditional on December 5th that St. Nickolas who is apparently Santa's brother (?) visits and leaves a small toy or treat in children's stockings. This is all news to me....so as soon as I got home I decided to do some research. Celebrating Christmas is a relatively new tradition for my family but I thought I had the traditions down.

I found that St. Nick's day is today December 6th and it is celebrated in mostly Northern Europe and in (drumroll please)......Wisconsin! Who knew? Certainly not this New England girl. It makes sense with so much of Wisconsin's heritage coming from German and Northern European influences that there would be similar traditions to those home countries. It just surprised me that I had never even heard of this particular holiday.

I found this article about St. Nick's day in Wisconsin. It's a few years old but it gives a good idea of just how big a deal it is here.

So now that we have decided to make Wisconsin home I guess we had better start making its traditions ours as well.

St. Nick will be visiting our house while the boys are at school today, his white horse (thank you internet for the info) hurt his hoof last night, he is feeling much better now but was running late. St. Nick did not want to arrive this morning and be spotted by anyone so he waited until we had left to go to school and then came in and left some treats in the boys stockings, along with an apology note for being late.

Whew, embellished fairy tale created and now I know for next year the night of December 5th St. Nick will be making a visit!

This moment.....a day late

I wanted to start joining in with Amanda at Soulemama in her Friday ritual of a single picture capturing a precious moment. So here I am a day late......

Little Boy Love

I don't usually choose to rant in this space but I feel compelled to just a bit today.

Anyone who has been pregnant can attest to the fact that people just love to talk about that belly, whether it is family, friends, co-workers, or random strangers at the grocery store.

This is my third baby so I'm used to that by now, and it really doesn't bother me. I usually smile and answer the typical questions; " When are you due?", " Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?" , " Is this your first?".

The answers are; January 9th, yes it's a boy, no it's not it's my third- to which the response is always " Oh do you have boys or girls at home?". Boys, this is my third boy.

Up to this point the conversation is fine, but then once people hear this is my third little boy the comments start to roll. About how I must have been disappointed, I must have been trying for a girl, or maybe I'll have better luck next time. What!!!!????

I can't stand this assumption that every mother just wishes and wishes for a girl. All I was hoping for was a healthy baby, and according the the ultrasounds I've had that is just what I am having. I have never for a moment felt the least bit "unlucky" for having my two sons or that I'm expecting another one.....on the contrary I feel extremely lucky to be mom to two fabulous little boys and I can't wait to add a third to the mix. I don't need a daughter to feel complete, and I'm tired of people assuming I do.

I don't know if I would hear the same type of comments if I was expecting my third girl, maybe I would but I somehow think not as much. Either way I'm just tired of my children's gender being thought of as lucky or not.

I'd say getting to be mom to these two little boys makes me the luckiest woman on the planet!

I can't wait to meet their little brother and feel even luckier!

Sweet Moments

We are celebrating our small Thanksgiving together today since Daddy had to work on Thursday. I just put the turkey in the oven after we finished our pancake breakfast, it already smells divine!

Early this morning as the first morning light started to trickle through the trees I was greeted by a little boy asking if he could snuggle.

This sweet little six year old, he brings me so much joy! My youngest child who in a few short weeks will become my middle child. He is so excited to meet his little brother, he kisses my belly good morning and good night each day and loves to talk to the baby. At the same time though I can tell he knows life is about to change, his role in this family will change. He will go from littlest brother to being somebody's big brother. I think he knows that snuggle time will be different. He knows that he will have to share me with this new baby, that the baby will have needs only I can meet. This boy is so loving and easy going, he rolls so easily with what life throws his way, I hope this transition is just as smooth for him. He is going to be a wonderful big brother!

As I get ready to make cranberry orange relish he is with his big brother and daddy finding the Christmas lights and getting ready to put up the tree. My heart is full, and later on today our stomachs will be too. A perfect Thanksgiving, two days late.

Holiday preparations

It's that time of year again.....my favorite time! I really do love winter; the snow, the sweaters, the cold air, and Christmas just makes it that much more enjoyable. I grew up not celebrating holidays due to my family's (now defunct) religious beliefs, so being able to participate in and share the holidays with my family is extra special to me. Even though they are new traditions for me it feels like they were always there hiding under the surface. I love the lights, the music, the food, and all that goes into preparing. Thanksgiving seems to be a good time to kick off all the preparations.

This year my goal is to do all handmade gifts for my loved ones. As usual I'm starting late but I think with some quick knits I will attain my goal. Of course I also have to devote some of that knitting time to baby knits. I can hardly believe we are at the 7 weeks and counting point of this little ones arrival.

This morning the boys and I finished our grocery shopping for Thanksgiving and for the next 3 weeks. I've come to the realization I really could use a chest freezer!

Our Thanksgiving is small this year, usually we would all be sitting around the long table at my mom and step-dad's house but being so close to the end of this pregnancy I've decided doing that much flying and driving is just not in the cards. So it will just be the four of us this year. I'm keeping it simple and yummy; turkey, cranberry-orange relish, green beans, garlic mashed potatoes, and acorn squash. Oh and of course pumpkin pie!

Friday the weather is supposed to take a cold turn and stay that way over the weekend. I'm looking forward to snuggle time, turkey stew, putting up the Christmas tree, and then on Sunday going to our new town's old fashioned Christmas celebration for the parade and tree lighting!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone and please enjoy the weekend with your most loved of loved ones!

First finished baby knit: newborn vertebrae, and mittens for Ivan.

We began the holiday baking by surprising Daddy with the Swedish Spritz cookies his grandma used to bake. The boys loved using the cookie press.

I had to make this pumpkin bread, and who could resist the forest animal gingerbread cookie cutters?

Settling in

Well we made it!

The last few weeks have been quite the adventure. We had a smooth journey here, amazingly the boys only asked twice, " Are we there yet?".

After a slight delay in the moving truck getting here and a more than slight delay on the delivery of my car we are finally starting to settle in.

There are still boxes to be unpacked, items to be organized, and artwork to hang but it is starting to feel like home.

Once we are a bit more organized I'll post more about our move and pictures too!

For now I'm off to organize the pantry.