made it myself

I'm going to be lazy this morning, and just post some pictures of things I've made:

This is M's "ice cream cone" Halloween costume, which she wore for the last two years. I got the idea from a Family Fun magazine. It was cute, but the headpiece wouldn't stay on.

This is a top-down sweater I knit this last Winter/Spring. I LOVE the color! Unfortunately, I did have to wash it, and yup, one sleeve came out longer than the other! But since they both "scrunch," I'm going to wear it anyway! (in about 6 months . . .) [

Here's my Alaskan Sampler quilt, which covers my bed in the winter. Unfortunately, I decided that I do NOT like the extra row, allowing for a pillow cover (that's not the right term, but I'm blank right now.) So this quilt may be donated somewhere soon.

This was the top for my niece's graduation quilt. She chose the fabric two years before she graduated, and it was actually done in time! (Although forgotten at home when we went up for the party. Hey, I'd just returned from China with a baby!)

sweet and red

Ah, Saturdays! Okay, I'm more or less off work during the summer, but still, gotta love Saturdays. After battling M to eat her medicine-laced applesauce (that's another story), we finally set off for the hardware store, because a) it's only a couple blocks away, and b) they carry the laundry detergent I like. Fast forward: come back, start up washer, leave for the farmer's market. But because my dear daughter can't eat anything for an hour after taking her medicine, we decided to put in some time at a playground first. THEN farmer's market (tomato, pepper, jam, Guatemalan hand-woven scarf, and cookies), and then up to the food co-op, where we found good friends to sit and chat with for a while.
Later, we drove to LaCrosse to meet my mom and dad for lunch, did a little shopping, and on the way home, stopped at a strawberry farm to pick (oh why didn't I have my camera along?). I suggested they weigh the kids before and after picking! I'm not sure yet what I will do with the berries. I've never canned or frozen (in bulk) before, but those are on my "to learn" list ("to try" list?). We don't have a separate freezer, and my memories of my mom canning (steaming kitchen with no AC) don't exactly tempt me much, even though I do have AC.

So, after all this, when asked what she did today, the child says, "I played with my balloons."

and so it begins

Yes, I'm jumping into the world of blogging. I've been reading a lot of other blogs (mainly "mom blogs") lately and, while I don't presume to think mine will compare at all, I find myself thinking of things to blog! (I'm sure that will dry up like, tomorrow.)

I'm a 44-year-old single mom, choosing motherhood by adoption. My four-year-old daughter, M, was born in China; we became a family a little over three years ago. Recently, we began the process of adding another child to our family--a five-year-old girl from Haiti. The main focus of this blog is to document our family life. Let it begin!