New Yarn....Yes, I do need MORE!

But first, Arizona Idol at Arizona Mills Mall.

This is the view from the front of the food court. Just a mass of people.


And the back side of Simon, Hubby & Hannah watching one of the contestants. The mall was not quite as busy as I thought it would be due to the Idol tryouts.

So, we go to see Dad and of course, end up spending money on the kids. Some dresses, tights ($0.30 each!!!) for Hannah. The tights were a steal, even though a couple of them ended up being about $1.50 each, because those microfiber tights don't last more than 1-3 wearings. The get holes or snagged or something so I bought a bunch in her current size and some in the next size!



Simon was obsessed with the crocodile at the Rain Forest Cafe and we had to check out the tree frog.

The kids are now napping, which gives me time for blogging. The Prince whined his litte heart out that he wasn't tired but he is out like a light.

The Princess also needs at least one nap during the weekend or she gets all tuckered out early in the following week. She swears she doesn't need a nap but it really does help her disposition!

Speaking of which, she just got up because she can't stop thinking about something fun she wants to do...ok, nap tomorrow!

I feel incredibly lucky that hubby & I have the opportunity to have one parent home a majority of the time with our little ones.

I was offered a full time job, working out of my house, recently and I turned it down. The only thing that making more money and working longer would change is that, I work more and our quality of life would go down....the money really wasn't that much when you factor in additional daycare and all of that stuff. You can't put a price on quality of life.

I told them that I would work more consulting time (I love creative working situations and I was willing to do what it took to make it work but on my own terms) for them but that I could not put a price on flexibility and time with my little ones. Case in point, being able to pick up the Prince at 11:30 am on Thursday and take off Friday with very little guilt!

Funny, when I told my contact at the company that they could not pay me enough for the flexibility, he said when he told the CEO my reason for not taking the job, the CEO said, "that's not a good reason!". Of course, they also knew what my answer would be before they asked but it never hurts to ask and I was flattered they asked.

All you Mom's out there know it is a good reason! Like I said, we are fortunate that I can still work part time (while paying off my student loans), out of my house and be available for sick days, to chaperone school field trips go to school recitals or events during the day and anything else that comes up. Plus, I get to drop my daughter off at school, finish my work day at 1:45 pm every day so I can pick her up.

Ok, Ok, I am off my soapbox about how great my life is....yeah, just ask Heather what was going on when I talked to her this morning....sounded like my kids were KILLING each other. Yeah, my life is perfect (utter chaos)!!!!!! OH YEAH...in what dream world do I live? Fantasy land but with LOTS of yarn.

Now for the yarn porn. I will let Heather show you hers all by herself!

This is hand dyed merino fingering weight wool from Mystical Creation Yarns in New Mexico. They have great prices on this type of yarn. It was about $22, including shipping & insurance (because I split it with Heather), for 8 oz which is approximately 1300 yards!

I am going to make this shawl with my yarn.

I bought the shawl pattern from the Knitting Zone. It was a downloadable pattern which is great because there is no additional shipping cost! I LOVE NO SHIPPING FEES FOR A PIECE OF PAPER!

Mary (at the Knitting Zone) said they would have more Heart Strings Fiber Arts patterns available by download next week since she just got about 30 more via email.

My kids are obsessed with my swift and ball winder! They love winding yarn. The problem with this yarn is that they don't always have good tension when winding and they end up getting the yarn all mucked up in the winder....hence two balls instead of one!

I do love having a swift and ball winder! I have been knitting for almost 20 years and only thought I needed one this past year. I love it! I don't think I would have had the patience to wind the ~1300 yards of yarn by hand using hubby's hands or the back of the chair as a swift!

I really want to start my new project but I have to finish the scarf before I start!

And to all of you worried about the little Prince yesterday, he is better today. He wasn't too bad yesterday but clingy and a mild fever so he spent a nice day with me on the couch. I have to admit, it was nice to have my little boy home by himself. That doesn't seem to happen much and it sure was nice to just have my baby....since he too will grow up all too fast!

Good god, shoot me now.......I am all nostalgic! Damn, that parenting makes you get all weepy. I swear it wasn't in the handbook. Oh yeah, there was no handbook, they make you wing this whole parenting thing! Can you believe it?