Ta-Da!

They're finished! After much ripping out of the ribbing because I kept forgetting which round I was on, I finally got the second toe done last night, and M.M. is wearing them as we speak. The photos I took didn't come out very crisp, so you can't see the detail too well, but trust me, I'm quite pleased with myself.

I've already cast on for yet another pair of socks, for my brother's Christmas present. These are in worsted weight yarn (Cascade 220, a heathered blue color) on size 3 needles, and it all feels huge compared with the teeny tiny gauges I've been working with for the past 3 projects.

Things I've Learned

Some things I've learned about parenting a 2 year old. It's all a cliché, but there's no such thing as a cliché when it's happening to me:

1. Don't worry, it will all change before I finish typing this.

2. Changing sleep patterns takes a looooong time, but it can be done (my apologies to Elizabeth Pantley, who I doubted here).

3. It takes consistency, nay, rigidity, in sticking to nap and bedtimes. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

4. If the child is so tired she's already falling asleep before you finish the whole bedtime routine, so you decide to skip part of it, the disruption will wake her right up, and she'll be awake far longer (and it will be far less pleasant) than just doing the whole damn thing in the first place.

5. Power struggles are not worth it. And unwinnable anyway.

6. Cut food up into smaller pieces that you think you need to.

7. Smaller portions ironically result in more food intake.

8. There is no end to the guilt and worry.

9. Crying will always happen at the exact moment that the NPR commentator is finally saying the one thing you want to hear.

10. New human beings learn an amazing amount every day.

11. There's still a lot they don't understand.

12. The first unsolicited "I love you Mama" is better than sex, chocolate, drugs, and an hourlong swedish massage all put together.

Toddler Sock Progress

The colors are not true, but here is the sock-and-a-half. My sister sort of bummed me out this weekend by telling me the colors reminded her of camouflage, but I'm trying to put that out of my mind. I love these socks, because they look fancy to me, even though the pattern is an easy one. I'm very proud. And hoping against hope to finish them in the next day or two.

I wish I'd made less cuff and more leg. The pattern (from Knit Socks! ) calls for fuzzy novelty yarn on the cuff, from which I've politely abstained, but using the main color yarn makes the cuff too long and plain. Next time I'll know better.

�The AntiCraft!

"Where are the sweaters to enshroud our dark hearts? Where are the afghans to blanket our angst? Where is the macabre? The dark sensuality? We've brandished our needles in defiance. "

This is a seriously funny little magazine. But don't tell them, because I think they want to be taken very, very seriously.