I hate this stocking.

What stocking, you ask? This one: 

Last year, around Thanksgiving I decided that I was going to knit Lily a stocking. That's what crafty moms do, right? I'm a knitter, I thought. I got this. I had the yarn, I found a pattern online, and started working on it. And then Christmas stuff got in the way, and it turns out it's hard to knit with a 4 month old around that only sleeps while sitting on your lap. So it never got finished. Yes, my daughter spent her first Christmas without a stocking. I'm a horrible mother. 

Then I forgot all about it until a couple of weeks ago. So I dug out the half finished stocking, the rest of the yarn, and the pattern. I've been diligently working on it in the evenings after Lily goes to bed. And now it's finally finished. Well, the main part. There was going to be a cuff with a different color, her name, and some stars or snowflakes as decoration. But it's too ugly to live. 

I have no idea what went wrong. I am NOT a bad knitter. I know how to follow a pattern. I've made sweaters, scarves, mittens, hats, cat toys, baby toys, blankets, and a bunch of other stuff I'm too angry to remember right now. The pattern was not written well, but I also wasn't paying attention enough to realize that it was not working. Ugh. I loathe this stocking. 

My plan is to use it as is this year so she at least has a stocking with presents in it, even if it looks like a moray eel. Then I will probably pull out the stitches so the yarn isn't a waste and make a pretty scarf from it or something. I don't know what I'll do about a stocking next year for Lily, but I have a strong feeling it may be purchased. 

The Day After

The day after Thanksgiving is my favorite day of the whole year. Well, the whole weekend really. I've done the crazy Black Friday shopping thing, but that's not it. After having a big family get together, it's nice to come back to just our little family. Usually this is the weekend we put up the Christmas tree, start thinking about gifts for everybody, and eat lots of leftovers. I like the overlap of the two holidays as well. While still thinking about how grateful we are for things, the excitement of Christmas is really starting to build. It feels festive, yet relaxed. I love it. 


I didn't realize how much I actually loved it until it's very existence was put in jeopardy. Originally, I was scheduled to work at the bakery on Friday, and Joe had a ton of school work to do on Saturday and Sunday. I was unexpectedly really upset. We don't have that many traditions yet, and I was crushed. It wasn't even like we could just push it back one day. The whole weekend was ruined. Ruined, I say! But then the clouds parted, and the sunshine returned. I didn't have to work after all, Joe was able to do some work, and we got to play! 


One of the things we really like to do is go to the Art Institute of Chicago's Annual Wreathing of the Lions. Last year it was bitterly cold. This year it was 60*F! There's music, and crowds, and the actual wreathing is rather anti-climactic, but it makes for a great photo op. And THEN if you have kids, you get to go inside the Ryan Education Center and make a wreath. Each year they have a different theme. I forget what last year's was, it was something like classical painting. Or something. This year it was the Chagall Windows. So lovely. And Lily actually helped this year! So fun. 


Here we are in front of the lion. The light is a little funny, it kind of looks like a light shining down on us from the heavens or something photo-shopped, but it was just the sun. 

We brought the umbrella stroller, but Lily couldn't really see what was happening so I carried her on my shoulders. There was a gospel choir singing Christmas carols on the steps behind us. She thought it was fantastic. She was bouncing and clapping, and when they stopped singing she shouted 'Yay!' and clapped her hands loudly. At one point she did that and the whole choir shouted 'Yay!' and clapped back at her. So then, encouraged by this response, Lily did it again. This time a significant portion of the crowd turned and did the same thing. We clearly have the cutest baby ever. 

And finally the crafting. Personally, my favorite part. Lily thought it was hilarious to look through the blue cellophane and she loved crinkling up the tissue paper. She was less of a fan of sticking it on the wreath, but we did it. 

If you look closely in all of these pictures, there is masking tape holding my glasses together. Classy, I know. Lily broke them last week. But I just picked up a new pair from Costco! Hooray for new glasses. I don't have a picture of the finished wreath because we hung it in our window and it is completely backlit and does not photograph well at all. But it doesn't really matter. It was the process that was important, not the end product, right? 

We actually did not end up putting up our Christmas tree because we all got sick Saturday evening pretty much through Monday morning. Family colds are miserable, but family stomach flu is my own personal circle of hell. But it's done now, and we survived. We will definitely be putting it up sometime this weekend though. This week I got a good chunk of present shopping done and I'm excited to start wrapping them and putting them under the tree. For me, that's half the fun. 

Now if only there were a little bit of snow to really make it feel like Christmastime...