Things I Got Done This Week

1. Went through the whole house, purged un-needed stuff (my goodness, it feels so wonderful to do that) and got everything either donated to Goodwill or organized and priced for a garage sale. Too bad it wasn't ready for yesterday - the weather was perfect! Instead we'll be doing it next weekend - not sure how that will work out since Phil still wants to fit in a hike with the boys.
2. Attended the church picnic. (Yes, I consider getting four kids ready to go anywhere an accomplishment - bonus points for remembering a sweatshirt for each one because it was really cold for an August afternoon.)
3. Finished spinning the Allspunup summer SAL fiber in "A Somewhat Seussish Trout":

Yes, I am still making time for spinning - it is my meditation and I do it whenever I can... which is usually after the kids go to the bed. I spun this Polworth on my Hansen miniSpinner and it came out to about 300 yds of what I thought was going to be fingering-to-dk weight. The interesting thing about Polworth though is that it puffs up quite a bit after washing, so it is actually more like a dk-to-worsted weight single. Either way, I like it very much. It's so very soft.
4. I also finished knitting with the other SAL colorway "Goldfish With a Tutu" (also in Polworth) and made some adorable soaker shorts for Alice:

As you can see, she is already on the move - pulling herself up on furniture and walking with support. It makes for one nervous mama... How do you prevent a toddler from bumping themselves or falling when that's what toddlers do? All the time! Alice took quite a tumble a couple of days ago and it made my heart stop I was so scared she had broken a bone. After feeling her all over though she seemed fine, and after calling the nurse at Children's and seeing her get right back up to cause havoc with her sister, I knew she would be alright... but it sure isn't easy when I know I've got to keep a constant close eye on her. I keep telling myself that she will not be a baby forever and sooner or later she will learn what her limits are and be able to understand her own responsibility when it comes to taking risks. In the meantime, I may go gray with worry...
Thankfully, Alice is eating more and definitely growing. She has also grown more comfortable with her new siblings and really pours the love on Nathan with her sloppy baby kisses. Jamie loves to play "copy me" games with her, and Evelyn... well, she loves to boss Alice around. Unfortunately that has led to some episodes of hair-pulling and tears... Ah, reminds me of my sister and myself when we were their ages.
5. Finally pulled the last of the peas and radishes out of the veggie garden, got the weeds out, and inspected what was actually still growing there. I picked two decent-sized zucchinis, some green beans, lettuce, and several nice carrots - not bad considering I neglected this work for most of the summer.

Today I noticed there were some tomatoes starting to grow (hopefully the weather holds out for them) and my cucumber plants have somehow revived themselves... Glad I didn't rip those up earlier!
6. We celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary - it's hard to believe Phil and I have been married that long... that means we've been together for about 16 years if you count the years we were dating... and that means that I've now been in love with this guy for more than half of my life! Pretty amazing. :) We didn't really plan anything special just for us since Alice isn't anywhere near ready to be left with a sitter, but some old friends came down for a visit and we went to the Everett Children's Museum and had dinner with them. It was really nice.