What do you get when...

What do you get when you combine a pack of toddlers, a chocolate cake with plenty of sugary frosting, a pile of presents and many party favors? Mass birthday party chaos! We managed to survive Sydney's 3rd birthday party yesterday, barely. You can see the full photo album here, but I'll give you a few of the highlights.

Here are the birthday girl and her daddy, ready for the guests to arrive. Those are engineer hats, since the party was, of course Thomas the Tank Engine themed.


Here's a nice action shot of Sydney blowing the candles out.

She didn't get them all on the first go-round, but she does pretty well for a 3-year-old!

Birth control in party form, anyone?

My brother-in-law is in the red hat, sitting by the fireplace. He was a great sport to get up early and hang with all the parents and various offspring. It was great fun for those of us who are used to toddler chaos, but he went home and slept for 2-1/2 hours. He wasn't the only one who was exhausted...

Yes, that's Sydney asleep in the middle of her own party. It didn't help that she woke up at the crack of dawn, sat bolt upright and said "Let's go downstairs - it's my birthday party time!"

The ironic thing is that the house is actually much cleaner post-party than it was before I started preparations on Friday. Here's a little proof of how messy it was pre-party (I didn't take a full set of before-and-after shots, although I wish now that I would've). What happens when you leave a preschooler alone with a box of Kix so you can check your e-mail?

They sort of blend in with the (yes, I know, absolutely disgusting) carpet, but basically the entire box of Kix is spread out all over the floor. All evidence of this is now erased, so hopefully Bill won't burst a blood vessel when he sees this picture. He does NOT approve of how I allow Sydney to have cereal in our tv room (most of which ends up on the floor).

I had to include this picture because of the book that's open on the floor - that's Knitting On The Road, which is Sydney's new favorite book. Yup - she loves it. She'll sit and page through it repeatedly, pointing at each sock and saying "Mommy, are you going to knit that sock?" Sniff - I'm so proud! Yes, the kids like playing with my sock blockers, too.

I have sock updates galore, but first I'm going to make you suffer through an Olympic update. I'm making great progress on the Olympic Shrug - 5 repeats out of 8-1/2 total. Over halfway there, baby!

I have gotten pretty comfortable with the pattern, so I'm able to knit and still pay relatively close attention to the Olympics. Thank goodness for Tivo - Bill rewinds anything that I miss but need to see. Like Lindsey Jacobellis's agonizing snowboardcross final. Yes, it was probably not the best idea for her to do a method grab, but come on! The commentators ragging on her afterwards were too much. I thought she handled all the flak with dignity and grace - the journalists could learn a thing or two about the Olympic spirit from her!

Does anyone else get totally annoyed with some of the commentators and all of their negativity? Especially with figure skating - I think they're the worst. All of their snarky comments about costumes, lack of artistry, blah blah blah. It seems they are particularly biased against foreign athletes, but some of the US athletes become targets for their vile spew as well. I don't know why being nasty is considered to be expertise. Simon Cowell is not a role model, people!

Now that I've got that off my chest, I'm going to post a gazillion sock updates for some awesome inspiration. Just think if I was an Olympic skating commentator - "Nice execution of the cuff, but that heel turn is just terrible. And that yarn - what was she thinking?" I'll leave that to the folks at You Knit What (which I tune into occasionally, but get tired of pretty fast, especially when they're ragging on normal stuff like my Olympic Shrug pattern - I'd rather read y'all's blogs).

New knit-alonger Elizabeth finished some lovely lace socks which get her an F as well as a Knitting Olympics gold. Good going!

Rachel finished some radioactive F Jaywalkers in a funky green colorway. I likes!


Jennie finished some fine February socks and has a pie pic that is making me very hungry (I haven't eaten breakfast yet...).

Tina knit up some awesome green and grey socks for her F. Check out that heel! Love it!

Zonda finished some magical Magic Stripes socks. A perfect 10!

Nelda knit up an adorable teeny-tiny pair of baby brownie point socks.

Sherrill finshed some cozy-looking footies for her daughter. Makes my feet warmer just looking at them!

It is so cold here right now. Yes, I know, cold is relative, but after being away from MN for six years, I find this weather COLD. We were planning to go up to Mt. Hood for Sydney's first skiing expedition tomorrow, but we're all getting sick (again) and can't face that -4 windchill. Brr!