The Toddler Effect

Most of us start each new year with the intent to do all of the stuff that we meant to do but didn't in the previous year. We'll pull some awesome prank for April Fools Day. We'll host a fabulous barbecue and not for get to put out the smores at the end. We'll send out our holiday cards on time. We will remember ALL of the family birthdays. More often than not it goes wrong somewhere along the way and we make the same promises again the next year. If you'd like to break the cycle I have a suggestion.  Add a small person to the mix - a toddler or preschooler perhaps.

People constantly ask me about the changes that Miss M has brought to our lives. Usually this is followed by these words - "I could never do it." But I have to say that aside from the obvious changes - changing diapers, worrying about babysitters, and cleaning crayon off the walls, etc - there is one that is more basic. You have another chance and a new reason to do all of those things that you put off before.



So this year as the Jewish holiday of Purim approached, instead of saying that we really should make hamantashen - we did it. Hamantashen are cookies that are filled with fruit, nuts, chocolate, or whatever else you like and shaped like a three cornered hat. Usually you give them to friends and family as gifts. They are yummy.



I'm not sure why we never get around to making them most years. We're probably too busy with other stuff.  But this year we made up for it with 3 batches. I made a test batch with one dough and then I used another dough to make some with the girl scouts and more with my family. Most of them are long gone.



And that's not the only thing that we did for Purim this year rather than just thinking about it. We dressed up. Purim is a holiday that is celebrated loudly with treats and fun and costume. For this reason it's usully described as the Jewish version of Halloween. It' really not but I see where the impression comes from. Costumes and treats. And this year we did both.

What made this year different?  Why did we get dressed up? Right now we've got a preschooler in the house who is obsessed with Minions and princesses and her joy and excitement is infectious.  What you see here in the form of Princess M and her Minions is the toddler effect.

First Things First

It should come as no surprise that today, the day after I told you all about our little sock photo shoot, I'm sharing a pair of recently completed socks.

These are the Through the Loops Mystery Socks from 2013. I really love doing the mystery socks, I just have a problem finishing them. I start off strong but somewhere along the way life happens and suddenly I'm behind. And once I'm behind and there's no feeling of urgency it's way too easy to put a project down in for a minute.... that stretches into a year or so.

So when I saw the information posted for this years mystery sock I felt like I really ought to finish one of the previous mystery socks first. In the interest of full disclosure I should admit that the 2012 mystery socks are still languishing too. But at least I got these done and I did so before I started the new one. 

As with so many things, now that I'm finished with these socks I find myself wondering what took me so long. I really love them. The pattern in the front and in the back are lovely.

There's another reason why I wish that I'd finished these a year ago and not put them in time out.  My tension when I started them and when I finished them is not the same. It's not your imagination or a trick of photography - one sock is a bit shorter than the other.

Fortunately I have daughters who will take hand knit socks any way they can get them. 

A Sock Model is Born

Yesterday the sun was shining and the air was fresh and, most importantly, one of my daughters was available for a little photo shoot. So I grabbed my camera and two pairs of finished socks and we went out to take a few pictures.



Miss M came with us. Initially she was happy riding around on her tricycle and playing with her ball. But then she noticed what Stink and I were doing and that there was a CAMERA involved.  Woohoo! A CAMERA! And just like that - her shoes and socks were off.



Then I had 2 girls getting silly outside in my hand knit socks. Of course they fit one of them better than the other but that will change. Most importantly, I got a few nice pictures and we laughed a lot.