We Do Things

FTF: MY NEW JOB

A few months ago, I went through the process of finding myself a job. It seems this SAHM thing has an actual expiration date.

Or so it felt like to me.

The Kids are mostly independent little beings who stay away from the house for at least six hours a day Monday thru Friday.

This left me a lot of time to realize that I was no longer needed.

Don't get me wrong, I know I'm needed. It's just that during those hours? Not so much.

Which is exactly the way it's supposed to be. That's how I know I've done a good job as a SAHM.

Isn't that the sign of a wonderful employee? One who works themselves out of a job? It seems that I do my best work at those kinds of jobs. Pre-The Kids, I worked with adults with Developmental Disabilities, Autism mostly. My most important job duty then, was helping adults, and some teenagers, to be able to live independently, to learn not to rely on people like me. To work myself out of a job.

As I was waiting for that perfect job to come to my doorstep, I thought several times about returning to the program I used to work for. Most likely, I could have walked right back in. Something kept me from doing so. My heart was no longer there. We did some wonderful things the years I spent working there. We helped support people who had no where else to go when California decided to close their institutions, not quite caring there were not enough places to support the people who still needed support. We, as an agency, closed down our group homes and moved to Supported Living.

The main thing I was looking for in a job was the ability to still be available for The Boy. He's only 10. He still needs me to be there for him when he gets home from school.

Then, TGFFMom called me.

The School District was hiring Paraeducators. Even better, they were hiring for substitute positions. This meant that if I needed to be home for The Boy, I could be.

I put together the old resume, which was quite dusty after 13 years of not working, making sure to include all that volunteer work I did at the school for the past 9 years. Don't ever undervalue your volunteer work. I'm convinced that beyond my experience with adults with Autism, being involved in almost every level of The Kids' school gave me that extra wide opening to the door.

The week before The Kids went out on their three week winter break, I received a phone call being offered a long term substitute position in a class for severely autistic children in grades K-3rd. The thing about long term substitute positions is that they don't really tell you how long is long term?

I nervously headed off for my first day of work and quickly fell in love with each and everyone of the 11 K-3rd graders that are in the class. The ladies I worked with are wonderful as well. It was a perfect situation. Which looked to last about 3 weeks. My job ends today.

As I spoke with the teacher the other day, letting her know that I would really appreciate staying in her class and just how much I've enjoyed my position, she was a little shocked that I may or may not be returning. She asked if I would like to stay. I made sure she knew exactly how much I would LOVE to stay.

Yesterday morning, I received another call, being offered the position permanently. After trying to sound ultra professional and cool as a cucumber, I hung up with the Human Resources person and did a happy dance around my kitchen.

I get to stay. Permanently.

Well, with The School District, that means at least until June. But the good news is, I will have a job next school year as well. I am now a full fledged working mom.

The best part is that after 13 years of sitting on my bum on the couch, watching Oprah, and eating bon bons, I get to gradually work myself back into the workforce.

The job is three hours in the afternoon, I don't work minimum days, and I'm off the same days as The Boy is.

Dreams do come true.

Please be sure to check out some other Favourites!

 

F4F & FAVORITE THINGS FRIDAY

I'm pretty sure I'm soon going to run out of ways to combine my two favorite weekly events, but I think I can drag it along just a little further.  It sure beats having to come up with enough intelligent thoughts to write up two seperate posts every Friday.

The last of the homemade Christmas gifts.

Phoebe's Sweater, for The Littlest Niece.

I finally put buttons on! Phoebe is officially finished.

As is the matching sweater for TLN. Sources have told me that this is a much beloved gift. So glad to hear it.

This was a most beloved project, although knitting a heavy wool sweater on my lap in 90+ degree heat was perhaps not my most brilliant piece of planning.

Next time I will spend more effort on the button process. I think they look lovely on TLN's sweater, but not such a great match for Phoebe's.

Just a tad big for little Phoebe. I think I am also going to walk away from embroidering faces on my knitted animals (I will still do it on my real animals though) and start using plastic eyes. TLN is definitely old enough now to be trusted with not sucking the eyeballs off of her toys. Oh so I would think.

This was such a fun gift to knit and I absolutely adore that it's a combination gift. When The Girl was so very into her My Twinn doll, matching clothing was a big hit with her.

As I was knitting up Phoebe, I kept thinking what a shame it is that these sort of things aren't made for boys. I felt like I was leaving The Littlest Nephew out. My Auntie guilt starting getting to me. I should have known that my friends over at Phoebe on the Road would not leave me to toil long in my guilt.

My Favourite Thing, this lovely Friday is Freddie's Blanket! A soon to be released storybook with knits for the boy crowd.

You can preorder yours on Amazon now. I can't wait to get my hands on my version.

 

F4F: HALLOWEEN GOODIES

I have been working on some Halloween goodies. Knitted, and not.

I had wanted to knit some tiny Candy Corns and just couldn't find a pattern that suited me. I found plenty of wonderful patterns for large Candy Corns. I wanted mine tiny. As I was spending a few days working through one of the patterns for the large Candy Corns, one of my most favorite knitters posted THE.BEST.THING.EVER!

And even though she was in the middle of THE.BIGGEST.BEST.THING.EVER! enough of us begged, pleaded, and bribed that she made the pattern public.

Not only public. But FREE!

So, I spent a few days making tiny Candy Corn. Mine aren't quite as small as hers because I just used yarn I had on hand.

I know I've already mentioned how much I enjoy Anna's work, but she moved into hero worship category with her generosity.

 Another craft that I've been dabbling in is Embroidery. I have found that I enjoy it quite a bit.

One of the artists that I have come to adore is Mollie Johanson at Wild Olive. She sells the cutest patterns and other goodies in her Etsy shop.

For the month of October, she is donating her proceeds to World Vision's Care Giver kits.

This prompted me to finally purchase some patterns I had been eyeing.

I knew I wanted to embroider this pattern, but what to do with it?

How about a new Trick or Treat bag for The Girl?

I think it's a winner.

I used leftover wool from my recent pillow cover re-dos, which shall appear on this blog at a later date.

I found a wonderful tutorial for the Halloween Bag and set to work. I may have mentioned once or twice that my sewing machine and I don't always see eye to eye.

This week, we bonded. And by bonded, I mean we became soul sisters.

I am entirely in love with this bag. It is near perfection.

I even had to adjust the pattern to make a messanger bag type strap instead of the two straps to carry the bag.

She didn't want to be bogged down on Halloween by a heavy candy bag.

Now if she could only figure out what she is going to be for Halloween.

F4F: SOME EARLY CHRISTMAS GIFTS

I thought I would get an early start this year on my holiday knitting. I'm happy to report, I'm way ahead of where I thought I would be, so now I just have to make sure I don't get so full of myself that I add more projects to my pile!

Teddy Bear for TLNephew.

Bear Face.

I'm slowly getting better at embroidering faces. At least the wonky faces prove these babies are homemade!

I am so very happy and proud. I knitted my very first sweater and while it still needs blocking, it is perfect.

The Placket sweater. Also for TLNephew.

This was such a quick and easy knit. I could see myself knitting a few more of these beauties.

I also managed the first of another knitted garment! I have to keep this one to myself unfortunately because one of my dearest friends who shall be receiving this ocassionally reads my blog.

Here's a sneak peek though. It also awaits blocking. Can you tell I'm a little nervous about blocking?

Toasty, for The Girl. The first pair I knitted were way too large on her. I made a decrease at the wrist and shortened the length a bit. Another proud moment for me that I can now adjust patterns to get better fits.

The Girl knows about these as I had her choose the yarn and approve the pattern. I would not have wanted to put all that work into it (not so much actually, but she doesn't need to know how easy these are!) only to have her almost 13 year old self proclaim them uncool.

The original pair, which shall be gifted to another, larger hand, but no less deserving person.

I had the great opportunity to help out TheGoodFriendsFamilyBoy with his Halloween costume this year. He is going to be Harry Potter and I begged TGFFMom to let me make his Gryffindor scarf. She graciously consented and I worked to make every detail just so. I love how easy the age of the internet makes things. Free pattern, Gryffindor patch, and accuracy check, all available through my friend Google.

I did have direct supervision while knitting. This is a very important piece for a very important kid. This project could not be trusted to just any knitter. TGFFMom put The Dog on the case. He took his job very seriously, overseeing construction of said garment and I had to submit it to his office for final approval.

After much scrutiny and some mild criticism, I received THE WINK OF APPROVAL!

This scarf is The Dog approved Harry Potter Gryffindor scarf.

TGFFBoy is said to be thrilled.

Thanks for joining me on another F4F adventure. Make sure you check out what those other talented bloggers have accomplished this week.

 

 

FAVOURITE THINGS FRIDAY

I know, no posting for almost a month, then a week straight, and then two in one day?

Yes, the world has gone crazy. More importantly though, two of my most favorite fellow bloggers both hold their special days on Friday and I want to participate in both.

I'm greedy like that.

I'm supposed to share one of my favorite things with you. How do I get it down to just one?

Skipping over The Kids, The Dad, The Family, TGFF, etc. I shall stay on target and pick a thing.

This thing, or several things that go together to make one thing would also fit into the F4F category, but that post then would have been two pages long and I doubt you all would have stuck around. By splitting it up I trick you!

A few months ago I came across this website that had me screaming with joy. I could not wait to get my hands on this book.

Phoebe's Sweater is a lovely picture book that tells the story of a mouse and the sweater that her momma mouse knits for her.

The best part though is in the back of the book. There are knitting patterns for Phoebe,

Her dress,

and her sweater,

which is still awaiting blocking and buttons...

To come together as one of the best Christmas gifts I've knitted thus far.

The pattern that I put off and have just finished, but have no pictures of yet, is the matching sweater for a sweet little girl. I think TLNiece is going to LOVE this.

It's all so girly and sweet and perfect. Thus far, it is my favorite knitting excursion yet.

OWL PAPERCRAFT

Even though The Kids, for the most part have outgrown the need for me to have miscellaneous activities around the house during Summer to combat their boredom, I still find myself heading to the crafty blogs I've used during the years to ready myself for their whines.

One such site is Skip To My Lou. She always has such perfectly appropriate kids' crafts. In June, she ran a Craft "camp" with 30 different bloggers doing guest posts.

That is where I came upon Larissa from mmmcrafts. She shared a 3D Owl Papercraft. It is so simple, quick, and beautiful that I knew I had to do it. I had most of the supplies laying around from my scrapbooking days.

 

She had such a great response that she has made a Frog in the Woods 3D papercraft as well. Since I'm still waiting to buy a shadow frame for my owl, I think it might take me a while to get to the Frog. The Frog is apparently more geared towards adults, but I think the owl was just perfect for me to start with.

F4F: DRY ERASE BOARD

Now that I am *ahem* a teacher, I need the tools of the trade. I told The Dad, as 4th grade winded down that it would be really helpful to have a dry erase board for teaching the math and the writing.

Since I am only temporarily teaching, I don't want The Boy to get too disconnected from the classroom environment. We already have a tough enough time getting him out of his pajamas every day.

As I began my search for dry erase boards, I was kind of blown away by how expensive they are. I mean, it's not like it's exactly going to add that special something to a room in my house right?

Luckily, we are garage sale pros. We found one towards the end of a Saturday for $1.

Saving me at least $24.

The only problem was the frame was ugly.

Office silver.

So, in all my brilliance, I decided to use my 50% off coupon at Michaels and get myself some spray paint.

The Dad chose Khaki. See, he is scared of color.

So, I set out to painting my frame.

I laid in the supplies.

Painter's tape, spray paint, exacto knife (for my less than stellar taping abilities, newspaper, and more tape, to tape down the newspaper.

 

All taped off with the Sunday ads.

Oh lookie, golf clubs are on sale.

Then, outside to paint. And you thought I was going to paint in the kitchen.

 

A few coats later and voila!

It's painted and nearly perfect. Perfect enough for The Homeschool anyway.

It's already getting used.

Yes, that's me. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to take a picture of a dry erase board without the flash reflecting off it? Further proof nobody would pay me to do my job.

Now, head on over to Lit & Laundry. She's hosting a contest this week and you get to learn about some great authors. A few I know I'll be checking out.

Also, she's undergoing some pretty intensive hip surgery today, so I know a few well wishes would be appreciated.

F4F: LOTS O' KNITTING

It's Friday, again. Which must mean that once again, you all are going to be subjected to the crappy stuff I've knitted and will be sending off to my unsuspecting relatives who will feel obliged to ooh and ahh over it all.

First up, a simple summer dress for TheLittlestNiece. I am not so pleased with this one, but seeing as how I needed a success after struggling through Elenka, this was it.

This pattern was found on the Lion Brand site and was a really quick knit. I thought the top needed just a little something, so decided a flower would be it. Unfortunately, I only found free patterns for giant, mutant flowers. Luckily, TLN has no idea that her flower was intended to be a corsage for a giant.

I am sure she will love it.

 

The back. I used Lion Brand Cotton Ease (love that yarn). I like the plum with grey. With her dark hair, TLN will rock this dress. Now I just need to get it to her before she outgrows it.

The pockets pushed me over the edge. Too cute.

My next Finished Object is...wait for it...ELENKA!!!

Yes, I did it and I am in love. Complete and total admiration. I may just stare at this dress and never send it off to TLN.

I took so many pictures of this dress that I really feel like it deserves its own post. I have a few toys to share and I really don't want to bog you all down with pictures.
Okay, I'll share the toys later, Elenka is too gorgeous to be put off. She is speaking to me and wondering why, after all the struggling I did, I would put her pictures off any longer.

Elenka from front. See how she hangs in the air like she knows she's all that. She is a dream dress and she knows it.

Her daisy pattern on the bodice was well worth the carpel tunnel surgery I'm sure to need in the near future. K3tog without dropping sts from left needle; yo, k same 3 sts together again and drop from left needle. As much as you made my wrists cry in agony, I adore your beauty and your absolute brilliance.

 

Even The Evil Bunny can't resist her charms. TEB tries to ignore her siren call, but can't resist the beauty of Elenka. Neither could I Bunny, neither could I.

The way you hold onto the ribbon, just adding that extra "girly" touch to yourself. Beauty in motion.

See? Pretty, feminine ribbon, held by pretty little girly loops. Brilliant.

Also? The edging, double crochet. I was certain that I, not knowing a thing about crochet, could just knit the edging and no one would know the difference. Oh, how very wrong I was. After knitting the neckline, I knew Elenka deserved better. I mean, why put in all those hours, just to have Elenka get upset with me by not giving her what she needed. Luckily, in this world of easy internet learning, I found a great video tutorial on YouTube and taught myself double crochet right then and there. Please ignore it if it's completely messed up, it is perfect for her, Elenka.

 

After all that work she did during the photo shoot, I just let her have some time to herself, blowing in the breeze. She thoroughly enjoyed the break and is eagerly awaiting being sent off to TheLittlestNiece where I am sure she will do justice to TLN's beauty as well as her own.

Check out what the really talented people have finished for Friday, over at Lit & Laundry.

F4F: THIS BLANKET

Remember when I bragged about how awesome I was? How incredibly talented I am? Oh, which time?

This time.

I have been pondering pretty much since the day after I posted that whether or not I should come clean with you all.

Since I strive for nothing but honesty in my journalism (and it's kind of freaking hilarious how inept I am)

I shall now tell you all that it has fallen apart no less than 10 times. I am constantly answering calls of "The blanket is coming apart Mom!"

To the tune of keeping my supplies at the ready on the coffee table to mend my horrible mattress stitch that I so rudely bragged about previously.

Friends and Family, I suck at seaming.

There it's out.

If you've received one of my well intentioned gifts and it has sadly fallen apart, I apologize.

This blanket has brought me to my knees...

I shall be repairing it until I'm 90 as penance for my bragging. Not even once I turned my head to God and tearfully claimed to have learned my lesson for bragging has this blanket given me a single break.

Unfortunately, it is so soft and comfy, it is worth all the hours of reseaming. The Boy is constantly wrapped in it while he does school. This blanket, unfortunately, is worth every single hour of the work.

I have now turned my attention to a new dress for The Littlest Niece. However, it too is mocking my new found knitting confidence. I have finished it twice only to rip it out twice already due to the lack of (yes, both times) a right arm hole.

Are you kidding me? Who possibly knits an entire dress and does not notice the lack of a finished arm hole? I mean, yes the hole is there, but I've managed twice to not bind off for the hole making one arm hole entirely lopsided. TWICE.

Not to mention the billions of other times I've gotten partially through the dress to notice that I have either, twisted my stitches when joining the round or messed up the pattern so obviously that I had no other choice but to rip it all out.

The Dress is Elenka and it is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. Twice I have knitted it to perfection. Perfection with the exception of that annoying arm hole issue.

To calm my poor knitting soul, I purchased another kit from one of my favorite animal designers.

Fuzzy Mitten. She is a balm to my troubled knitting soul.

She has never let me down. Not with my beloved owls (that link is not picturing my owls, just the pattern)  and not now, with my Mama and Baby Bunny.

 

Mama's apron is what pushed me over the edge. I had to have it.

 

I have never seen anything more adorable. Unless it is baby's nappy.

 

Are you kidding me? I am swooning.

 

And the ears and faces? I fell in love with those ears.

I embroidered faces on them, but both The Boy and myself loved them more without faces. There is something just so open about their lack of predetermined expressions.

 

Baby wants a hug.

 

These two are holding a special place of honor in my curio cabinet. They are so absolutely huggable and lovable. Soft and cuddly. Mmm...

They also change my Finished For Friday submission from announcing I'm finished knitting, to a calm and loving place of second (or 1,000th) chances.

Thanks Fuzzy Mitten. As always, I adore you.

Check out what everyone else is up to, perhaps a bit more successful than myself this week!

OLD BUILDINGS ON ALCATRAZ

Is it any surprise that I took a ton of pictures on Alcatraz?

Is it any surprise that most of them are of the buildings?

 

Did you know that the original lighthouse built on Alcatraz in 1853, was the first lighthouse built on the Pacific Coast? It was necessary to help guide all the traffic through the San Francisco Bay fog during the Gold Rush. It was torn down in 1909 to make room for the prison. The "new" lighthouse was built in 1909 and was manned until 1963, when it was automated.

 

The Warden's house once had 17 rooms, and is the original home of the Alcatraz military commander. When Alcatraz became a prison, James A. Johnston was the first warden to live here. Unfortunately, the house burned down in 1970.

Alcatraz was initially a military fortress in 1847, but 1850, they were beginning to use it as a prison, incarcerating military personnel. Alcatraz was closed as a prison in 1963, when it was declared to be too expensive to maintain.

In 1969, a group of Native Americans moved on to the island, claiming it as Indian Land. During this time, much damage was done to the buildings of Alcatraz, including the fire in 1970 that burned down the Warden's house.

 

18 months after they arrived, Federal Marshalls kicked the Native American's off the island.

In 1973, it was opened to the public as a National Park.

 

Over one million people from all over the world visit Alcatraz every year.

I can't wait to go back. This time, I think I'll leave All of The Kids with The CAGrandma &Grandpa and enjoy my audio tour sans the game of tag.