Last night I got back to work on my blanket, same as I have done for the last 4 or 5 days. I am SO.CLOSE to finishing. I don’t know what was happening last night but I just couldn’t seem to get the very simple very repetitive pattern right. I would get to the end of a row and realize that I was a few stitches off, or that there was a hole in my work, or that I had just messed something up along the way. I knit and ripped out the same 3 rows 4 different times. Blergh. Time to give up. I put the SO.CLOSE to done blanket down and decided I would work on Aiman’s sweater for a bit.

So far so good, easy stockinette, no math or counting, I can handle this! Except … when I was finishing up for the night I realized that I had somehow mis-read the pattern and stitched an inch too few on the backside of the sweater (the part I thought was done). I’ll have to rip out my bind off and get it back on the needles. Not that big of a deal, but … annoying.

Which leads us to the dress … ugh. The consensus on my last post was that the dress is super cute and I must finish it. So … a few nights ago I sat down to do some of the finishing. It required me to pick up some stitches along the arm hole and knit around. I realized after I had picked up the stitches that I had picked them up from the wrong side so I need to pull them out and start over. I started again but I think I had over-worked the area and a few stitches somehow ripped out from the middle of my work. BLERGH! I ended up having to rip out almost the entire front side of the bodice. I’m sure if I were a more accomplished knitter I could have figured out how to fix the problem without undoing several hours of work, but I searched the internet and could not find anything to help me with this particular problem, so I just bit the bullet and pulled the dang thing apart. Sigh.

The other night I had a dream that my doctor was chastising me for not getting enough sleep and it was making me sick. In other words, I was asleep, dreaming about how I don’t sleep enough. A few days before that one of the ladies I work with who had been on vacation walked into my office and said, and I quote, “gosh … you look tired.” Thanks helpful co-worker. Thanks a lot.

I am going to go ahead and blame all my severe knitting failures in the last fews days on my lack of sleep. That’s legit right? It’s hard to count to 10 over and over when your kids woke you up 6 times the night before! Next week will be better.

Joining up with the Yarn Along. Though maybe we can re-name for this week. Joining up with the Stitch-Rip Along?

There were tears.

I did get my sister’s hand-me-down yellow ten-speed bike which was SO COOL so I ended up profiting from the destruction, but still, kids are mean.

Anyway, before the sad demise of the bike, I used to ride it with my big sister.  You could fit about six people on one of those banana seats so she used to ride in the back and pedal while I rode in the front and did the steering.  This once led to a very epic crash for which I still bear a nasty scar on my knee and I’m pretty sure Heather broke her wrist or something equally terrible. All I really remember was a lot of blood and many months of scab picking (I was gross).

This morning, I was taken back to those bike rides, when Aiman and Sofia did this:

Those two munchkins fight pretty much all the time,  but every once in a while I see this cute sibling love and cooperation and it makes me think that someday I may live in a house where the two smallest occupants are not constantly trying to fight to the death.  A girl can dream.

P.S.  Sofia likes to wear her helmet backwards.  It’s a fashion statement.

P.P.S. Around the 30 second mark Sofia hurts her hand and Aiman says, “Are you ok?” Best mom moment of the day. Hands down.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

The Christmas we spent in Costa Rica was awesome, but also a little strange.  I grew up in Alaska.  To me, Christmas is cold and snowy, dark and cozy – it involves rich and heavy foods and the smell of fresh baked cookies.  Without those things Christmas isn’t really Christmas, which means I haven’t had a real Christmas in a LONG time because I live in Los Angeles, this year it was 75 degrees and sunny on Christmas – it’s like blasphemy I tell ya.

Anyway, even though we were in Costa Rica and it was 700 degrees with 180% humidity, I really wanted to at least do something to commemorate the holiday.  Riaz was sent out on a mission to get some kind of yummy sea creature for dinner and I bought s’mores fixins for a Christmas bon fire on the beach.

Riaz came home with three very fresh lobsters, which he cooked on the bar-b-que.   I made up some potato salad and cole slaw (I think those were the sides, it’s been over a year!  All I really remember are the delicious lobsters …. mmmmm …. lobsters.)  Anyway, we had an early dinner that was fabulous and then we set off to the beach to build a Christmas Fire.

In no time we had a nice blaze going on our completely deserted beach.  It was really amazing and probably would have been semi-romantic but for the 18 month old in our midst.

I got the s’mores ingredients laid out on a rock and got ready to show Riaz the beauty that is graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate (s’mores is an American thing and Riaz had never had them – more blasphemy!)

I cooked up a marshmallow, laid it carefully on a graham cracker, smooshed the whole thing with chocolate and sandwiched it all up with another cracker.  I took it over to Riaz and watched as he took his first bite.  Delicious.

It was dark at that point and I had probably been away from the s’more fixin’ rock-table for approximately 45 seconds.  I turned from Riaz to get back to work on dessert for Aiman and I when I noticed the ground kind of moving.  Huh?  Weird.

I shined my flashlight on the s’more table and found that there were approximately 70 billion hermit crabs on and around my chocolate.

Me:   AHHHHHHH!  CRABS!

Riaz:  What?

Me:  CRABS!  CRABS!  CRABS!  THE CHOCOLATE!  NOOOOOOO!

Riaz:  What?

Aiman:  Mommy?

Me:  Go away!  Shoo!  Go Away!  Get off!  Ack!  Oh God!  It’s on my foot!  GET OFF GET OFF GET OFF!

Riaz:  You ok?

I was finally able to shoo all the crabs off my chocolate and scoop up all the graham crackers and marshmallows.  Even though everything probably had some kind of gross crabby germs all over it, I decided that the heat from the fire would kill anything off and I should just go ahead and continue to make the s’mores (plus I really wanted one – they are s’mores people!  So good!  No crab will come between me and my chocolaty goodness!)

Riaz had to form a protective barrier between myself and the hordes of attacking hermit crabs, but I was able to get a few more s’mores made.  The rest of the night was a bit of a bust.  At that point the crabs had smelled my fear and were in attack mode.  It was more than a little disconcerting feeling little crabs scurrying over my feet every 20 seconds.

Despite the Great-Crab-Attack of 2010, the s’more cookout was totally worth it, though I could do without the reoccurring crab nightmares I now have.

That’s right, I have become a convert to the oil cleansing method and I absolutely love it.

I have always (ALWAYS!) had trouble with my skin.  It’s not really dry, it’s not really oily, I’m not totally covered with acne, but I’m never totally clear.  I have old acne scars, giant pores and lots of blackheads.  Am I too critical of my face?  OF COURSE I AM, but I’m a girl and I do what I do.

A couple of months ago I spent a metric ton of money on a bunch of Keihl’s products thinking that I would just plunk down the money and finally get control of my skin.  Fast forward 1.5 days and my skin totally revolted.  My face was so messed up I didn’t want to leave the house.  Probably didn’t help that my pregnancy hormones were all out of whack, but the fact remained that I was disgusting and no one could stand to look at me (at least that’s what I assume everyone was thinking).

Then I somehow stumbled upon this website, and then this one.  And I just thought what the heck?  I’ll start cleaning my face with oil!  Let’s fight fire with fire.

The first few days I just rubbed olive oil into my face, but I knew that wasn’t really the right way so I decided to make a trip to the local Whole Foods for the real deal oils.

I currently “wash” my face with a mixture of equal parts castor, avocado and jojoba oils.  The “washing” consists of rubbing about a teaspoon of oil into my face, soaking a washcloth with hot water then draping it over my face for a mini-steam bath then gently wiping the oil away.*  The I use a small amount of this rosehip and vitamin E oil mixture I found with a little drop of lavender essential oil as my moisturizer.  It is the best smelling thing you can imagine – if you like lavender that is.**

The Goods!

Oil cleansing is nothing new and (I think?) lots of people do it.  It’s based on the idea that water won’t break down oil, only oil can break down oil.  I think its physics or something.

Anyway, the long and the short of it is that I LOVE IT.  Seriously, I love it.  My face looks so much better.  I still have some red spots and I do still get little pimples every now and then, but they are much smaller than they used to be and seem to just disappear as soon as I notice them.  Plus, my skin is so much softer and I get to smell like a lavender field every night before bed.  It is totally relaxing y’all.

I don’t know you guys.  It seems to work.

I have been known to take on some seriously crazy hippie shenanigans in my day, and this may be my most hippiest of shenanigan, but I cannot imagine ever going back to regular soap.  My life has been changed (and by “my life” I mean the super superficial aspect of the skin on my face).  Gah, next thing you know I will be burning sage and saying namaste instead of goodbye!  Send help, but leave my oils!

* Go check out either of the websites I linked above if you are interested in trying this yourself.  I am totally not an expert, but these sites give good tutorials on how to slather oil all over yourself.

** In case anyone is wondering, I think I spent about $60 at Whole Foods and that included a little glass bottle with a dropper to hold my oil mixture.  Based on the rate I am going it should last me about 6 months before I have to buy anything new, which I think is relatively economical considering a I spent $60 on a TEENY TINY 4 oz jar of lotion that made zits the size of Mount Everest erupt on my cheeks!

P.S.  This is the reality of my house … While I was trying to take a picture of my oils, the kids were hovering around screaming CHEESE!!  CHEESE MOMMY!  CHEEEESSSEEE MOOOOMMMMY!  Until I finally had to take a picture with them in it and then bribe them to get them out of the shot.  Couple of little hams.

Cheese!

First up, Sofia’s dress.

See, we cancelled their big birthday party because 1) I am a horrible mother; 2) they are 4 and 2 and won’t know the difference; 3) I’m tired; and 4) I am a horrible mother.  So, I didn’t have this looming deadline to finish her dress so … I just didn’t.  This dress is basically done, I just have to do the finishing, but the finishing requires some new techniques and therefore concentration and therefore more than 30 minutes of sleep a night so I just haven’t gotten around to it.

I shot these with my iPhone, they looked crappy so I put them though Instagram – presto – hipster knitting at its finest.

Next up … Aiman’s sweater.  This is a winter sweater and its summer so there is no urgency.  Plus, I just couldn’t do another row of stockinette.  I COULD NOT!

Aiman’s sweater + Sofia’s feet.

Finally, I just started a blanket for my co-worker’s baby that is due in August.  This is a VERY fast knit and so satisfying since you can see the cool chevron pattern emerge almost immediately.  I can basically get through one color a night and there are seven colors planned so I should be able to finish this by the end of the week.  I (currently) love this blanket so (maybe) I will finish it?

Chevrons!

So there you have it.  I’m a beginning knitter who can’t finish a project.  There must be a name for people like us.

Connecting up with Small Things Yarn Along.

She is stubborn and goofy, she’s a tomboy and loves her dolls, where Aiman is whip quick and spry, she is brute strength and aggression, she loves dressing up in Aiman’s clothes and also wearing her tutu around the house.  She loves to watch rugby on Saturday sitting on Riaz’s lap with a bottle and her finger stuck in her belly button (I have to get a picture of that someday!)  She makes funny faces whenever a camera is pointed in her direction.  When she doesn’t get her way she screams like a banshee then jumps up and down pounding her little fists.  Her temper is truly epic.  But, she is also such a little love bug.  She comes into our room in the morning, climbs into bed, wraps her little arms around my neck and asks for kisses.

She is SO smart.  I’m not just saying that because I’m her mom.  It is a verifiable fact!  She understands everything, speaks in complete sentences and has memorized her favorite books and likes to “read” them back to me at night.

Sofia absolutely loves her afternoon nap and rarely fights it, but it is a battle for the ages every night to get her to sleep.  She knows her dad is weak when it comes to her so she will stand by her bedroom door and call out for her daddy after I have put her down for the night.  She’s got about a 25% success rate.  At least once a week, Riaz lets her out of the room to hang out with the adults while we watch TV.  She has him wrapped around her little finger!

Sofia as a teenager strikes fear into the heart of her dad and I, but I am so grateful that she is such a strong, smart, outgoing little person who is so full of personality it bursts out of her.  She will always be one to follow her own mind and I can already tell that whatever she decides to do (odds are currently on professional boxer) she will be the absolute best at it.

We love you Boss.  Happy Birthday!

This isn’t a great shot, but her face cracks me up!

But I thought it was pretty good for my first real pattern.

Now I’m working on two projects. First up is this dress for Sofia that I hope to have finished by her birthday party in two weeks. I’m not doing the polka dots because that seemed like a bridge too far, but I got this really pretty pink yarn made out of sugar cane of all things and it is knitting up beautifully.  Its got blue and grey stripes at the bottom, waist and top.  I’ve finished the front and it looks awesome, I really hope it comes together ok.  I would have taken a picture, but ya know, I have a full time job, and two kids and I’m pregnant so … I didn’t get around to it.

And I’m also working on this sweater for Aiman. It’s more of a winter sweater so I’m not rushing it, but Aiman keeps pestering me about when I will knit something for him so I’m going to try to finish it soon. We don’t want him jealous. I’ve got the front and the very beginning of the back done so I’m getting there!

I recently spent … some money, on yarn for a little newborn sweater and for two baby blankets (one for me and one for my co-worker who is due around the same time as me) that I will start on as soon as I am done with Sofia’s dress and Aiman’s sweater. I don’t think it is an understatement to say that knitting has taken over my evenings. I find it so relaxing and it’s also nice to create something. I’m about as far away from a creative person as you can get, but knitting makes me feel just a little bit like Martha Stewart and aren’t we all striving to be more like Martha?

So there you have it. My name is Kristina, and I knit. Who needs a sweater?

I went to his first parent-teacher conference at his preschool two weeks ago and his two teachers had one thing to say … SPORTS! You are going to get him into sports right? What sports are you thinking? You should really consider sports. No seriously, let him do sports! We always thought that Aiman was a slightly ahead of the curve when it came to physical activity, but his teachers let me know that no, he isn’t ahead of the curve; he is officially a little freak. Riaz is so proud he can hardly see straight.

Aiman has been making friends at school and at the park. He is still a little shy, but he always opens up after a few minutes. He’s a bit of a mama’s boy, which I LOVE. He has started telling me that I am the best, most pretty mom around and it completely melts my heart. He is the sweetest little guy.

He and Sofia are such typical siblings, one minute they are playing and talking and having fun and the next minute they are trying to gouge each other’s eyes out. Sofia can hold her own and often instigates the violence, so we’re starting to just let them work it out. It usually ends in tears, and then hugs and kisses and then back to the room to play cars. Sofia got a toddler bed about a month ago, but she still would rather sleep with Aiman. She sleeps on one end and Aiman sleeps at the other and they kick their feet at each other all night. It’s the cutest thing.

We really started to see the kind of person Aiman is going to be this year. He is reserved around strangers, protective of his friends and his sister, he is sweet and thoughtful, he is so strong, quick and active. In a word Aiman is the best and we love him so much.

Happy Birthday Aiman – I know four is going to be the best year yet!

An Aiman Update:  Aiman started preschool a few weeks ago.  The first 10 minutes of the first day were (apparently) very teary, but he pulled himself together, made friends using the time-honored tradition of Spider-Man coloring books and stuffed monkeys and had a great day.  He informed me that first day that school was fine, but that he did not feel he needed to go back because he “already did that.”  Clever boy.   I took him back though because I am a horrible heartless monster.  On the way there he asked me to stay at school with him because he didn’t want to cry (he kills me), but once we got there, he did just fine, he had a bit of fear in his eyes, but he did not cry, gave me a sweet hug and kiss and said with authority “Bye, Mom.”  He likes school now, his teachers inform us that he is good at writing (witness my heart swell with pride!) and that he enjoys protecting the little girls when the other little boys pretend to be mosters (witness my abject fear of having a teenage Aiman running around saving damsels in distress with those eyelashes and those lips!)

A Sofia Update:  I have created a master manipulator.  Seriously.  Picture bedtime at the Fredericks house, I put Sofia and Aiman down around 7:30, lots of reading, hugs, kisses, singing, tucking in … the usual.  I’ll leave the room and sit down on the couch with my knitting project (yes, I’m serious.  STOP JUDGING ME!)  About 5 minutes in I’ll hear this …. “MOOOOMMMYYYYY … I want to hug you!”  Not, I want a drink, which I can easily ignore.  Or, turn the lights on, which, I mean seriously, toughen up monkey.  No … “I want to hug you” is what I get.  How can I say no to that?  How can I go about knitting with abandon?  I can not I tell you!  She always gets me back in there at least once.  She knows I can’t say no.  I’m weak.  I admit it.

(Who me?  I’m just hanging out here in this tub.  Don’t worry about it)

A Family Update:  Well people, there is no going back now.  Baby Number 3 will be making his/her appearance sometime at the end of August/beginning of September.  To answer all the usual questions:  1) we’re waiting to find out the sex; 2) we have picked out names; 3) he/she was planned (and also, stop asking me that question weirdos!  It’s not nice for the new totally planned and not at all accidental baby!); 4) I AM having cravings, thank you for asking.  I want things that have been pickled (I’m weird) and also Chex Mix and nachos and eggs and also I could do with a corn dog.  I DO NOT want chicken or fish or anything else that has not been pickled, and is not Chex Mix, nachos, eggs and corn dogs.  Food aversions are strong with this pregnancy; 5) I feel terrible, but not as terrible as I did 3 weeks ago so … progress?

So here I sit, writing, deleting, re-writing, deleting, pausing, contemplating, writing and deleting some more – just trying to find the words to describe my perfect little girl.   They just won’t come … they just don’t exist. 

Sofia is something special.   

She smiles at everyone, she laughs at funny jokes, she can make even the most Emo of L.A. hipsters crack smiles and wave.  The grandmas at Costco are in love with her.  The checkout guys at Costco are also in love with her.  She yells “mama …MAMA … MAAAAMAAAAA!” when I come home from work.  She says “wa wa” when she wants to take a walk.  She knows the signs for more, hat, wash hands, milk and baby.  She gives great hugs and adorably sloppy kisses.  She is an amazing snuggler.  She throws the most epic tantrums.  She has been walking for three months and running at full pace for 2.  

She is getting hair!  It’s strawberry blonde. 

She and Aiman are getting much better at playing together.  He still wants to wrestle her to the ground, but whenever I step in to break it up, I usually find her with a smile on her face, laughing with her brother.  Aiman likes to hold her hand.  Sofia likes to pull his hair.  They love each other. 

She likes to hear me sing.  She loves Baby Signing Times.  She is learning Itsy Bitsy Spider.  She goes nuts when I sing the alphabet to Aiman. 

She prefers to be naked (but who doesn’t really).  

She is beautiful.  She has perfect rosebud lips, chubby cheeks, gorgeous olive skin and pretty brown eyes (which look green in the sun).  She has strong legs and a cute little bubble butt.  She can’t run as fast as Aiman, but she is trying. 

She is super mischievous.  She likes to do something naughty then look over at us with a funny little smile and squinty eyes.  She knows what she isn’t allowed to do, and that is exactly the thing she wants to do the most. 

At night before bed she usually wants to nurse for a few minutes and then stare up at me smacking her lips and laughing.  I cover her forehead with kisses and whisper over and over how much I love her.  It is the best part of my day – it is the best part of any day I’ve ever had.

She has filled my life with so much love and happiness.  It is impossible to be sad, depressed or upset when she is around.  She is pure light.  She makes me so proud. 

So here I am on Sofia’s birthday filled with love and wishing I had better words to commemorate her on this special day, because what I’ve written here really does not even scratch the surface of her awesomeness.  I promise to start now on her 2 year essay, maybe with a year to practice I’ll figure out how to do her justice.  She deserves at least that much for being such a spectacular little human being. 

We love you so much Sofia. 

Happy Birthday!