Oh, I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay

I sleep all night and I work all day

I don't know how the rest of you are feeling, but I'm ready to tear down the holiday trappings and wrap up 2006.

Christmas here was extremely low key. The girls each received roller skates from Santa so they've been in and out of the house ever since. My DH and I didn't exchange gifts because we're just thrilled to be in a new house. The girls were told ahead of time that we didn't have much money for presents, but none of them complained, whined or were otherwise ungrateful.

I always try to make something for them for Christmas. This year A1, A2 and A3 each chose what they wanted.

A1 is the fashion authority and resident clothes horse. And because a girl can never have too many accessories she requested a hat and fingerless mitt set. Here she is "working it." Oh, to be 10 and so self-assured.

A3 is a true girly girl. She adores anything pink and her passions fluctuate between My Little Pony and Strawberry Shortcake. Several toys must accompany us where ever we go, no matter how short the errand or trip. These toys are often left in the van, my purse or just plain lost . Now A3 has a pink backpack made just for her toys and there is a magnetic snap closure for added security.

As I blogged about last week, A2 requested a dolphin. Hours were spent searching for a knitted dolphin pattern, but to no avail. In desperation I even drove down to some Portland yarn (I hate driving, especially in heavy traffic). Then Fitknit sent me an email with a link to a knitted whale pattern with the idea that I could modify the whale and make a dolphin. The site, Aussie Jean's Toy Knitting , beheld many delightful patterns. And who should wander in while I was admiring her patterns but A2 herself. A2 thought the whale was okay, but she became enamoured with the dragon. As a result, gears were switched and this reptilian fantasy was began. Whew, it was quite a challenge to knit this in the allotted time. A2 fretted and "supervised" throughout the process. The dragon turned out much larger than I expected, but she loves it. Jean's patterns were easy to follow and very reasonably priced. Thank you Fitknit!

Now off to the grocery store. These people just won't stop eating! Thank heavens my parents loaned us a vehicle while we're waiting to get our transmission replaced. Cheers!