Lost tooth

Maxim aged 6 and a half years lost his first tooth today in the playground at school. He is very pleased with himself as he has been waiting for this big life event. He is one of the last in his class to cross this line. We have a very strict no sugar for the kids policy some people (aka the grandparents) think we are too strict but it does save their teeth.

Jonathan and Jonathan

Yes that is right - they are in front of Grand Central Station in New York City!

Baby.

This is baby Jonathan Adrian Siegel our fifth boy born Feb 20th 2010.

who is coming for dinner?

This is the new enlarged Siegel Family dinner table - just us! This was Sunday 21st and the new baby's first day home. Eoin (2 yrs) was particularly delighted with the new baby's arrival that morning now asked "So, so daddy where did you find the new baby?"
He had evidently been thinking about this all day and I know he hadn't understood the pregnancy and when I said there was a baby in my tummy he thought it was all a bit far fetched and we were joking with him.

Race Car Day

So last Sunday Lex cashed in his Race Car Day ticket and the boys had a full day of fast furious fun. Uncle Andrew came by for a circuit or two as well. These tracks have been shipped from Germany to Santa Barbara and back to Ireland but they are worth it. Much fun was had and we can't wait for the next Race Car Day.

Zoe learning to talk

We are always anxious for our children learn to walk and talk. All of mine have been at the later end of the spectrum achieving these mile stones. Zoe is the learning to talk now and I just love it. She is very keen to communicate and is trying hard to keep up with her four big brothers. In just a few days we will know if she will have a sister or another brother to partner up with. Either way she is going to love being a big sister.

Eye candy

I got this wool about a year ago and I have been looking at it since. It brings me great joy just to contemplate this color and the potential it has. So far I have not been able to come up with a plan for it but this morning I felt the need to do something urgent. This maybe a sign that baby is coming because I got up an hour early and cleaned my closet too. But now I am going to cast on with this wool and see what happens. Exactly one week until the due date.

Baby Bump No. Six

Here is my self portrait taken today. I am 38 weeks pregnant with baby number six.

Shag carpet

Ok so the yarn harlot has mentioned about the risk of intarsia becoming a shag carpet but I think I out did myself with this one. See above pic.
I was using Rowan Big Wool which I like because it is such a fast knit but this time that advantage worked against me and I had finished the entire front of the sweater before I noticed it was all wrong in just so many ways - color, shape and size.
Luckily I have little boys just looking for any chance to cause destruction so I instructed them to go to it and rip back. I told them they were helping me "frog" and they loved it even more jumping around the room like, you guessed, frogs!
The problem only started when we got to the intarsia part which I have now given up on and will have to resort to using as stuffing in the future.
This is one knitting project I am glad to see the back of and hopefully I will have something better to show you soon.

Snow In Dublin

We had enough snow for snowmen and snowball fights after the holidays. It has been cold here but now it is improving and all we have to contend with horizontal rain again.

London at Christmas

Visiting London over the holidays with a friend was the best present. We had such fun and for an extra treat went to see "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" the play at the Novello Theater - it was fantastic.

New Year morning 2010

Just a little glimpse of life in the Siegel Family kitchen on New Years morning. We didn't make it to midnight as all our days start early regardless of bedtimes! But we did have a glass of champagne at nine with family. Hope 2010 brings lots of good times we are certainly off to a sweet start.

Fair Isle

This is my first attempt at Fair Isle and I love it. I made a few mistakes with the sizing I wanted to make the smallest size but ended up with the larger one pure human error. Also the button holes are a little too small in fact I can't even find them! Oh well it is fine without buttons.
Finished just in time for the New Year roll on 2010.

Hair - cruel or cool.

We had a little issue with hair in our house and so there has been a transformation. As you can see we went from the long haired surfer look to the crew cut. The fact is the boys love their new cut and in school the other kids want to follow the Siegel trend. Sure if we had only shaved one head it would be cruel but all five kids makes it cool.

Christmas Vest

I finished a little knitting as I have been very sick for two weeks and haven't been able to leave the house. Let me state I do not go in for deadline knitting and so if knitting happens to get finished in or around christmas it gets labeled christmas knitting. This vest was made in a week and so will be given said label. Due to being stuck inside I now have a dozen other things on the needles and hope to have lots done by the time New Year rolls around. Sometimes there is a silver linning to feeling rotten!

The coming holidays

We have decided that this year (and hopefully forever after) we are going to buy only consumables or things made of paper, wood or materials that will decompose rapidly. It is going to be our effort to reduce the mass of "things" that end up in the land fill. This will hopefully make for very creative holiday gifts and we invite you to join us in this effort. Please pass on any good ideas you have for gifts that don't "cost". We would love to hear what you are doing.

Knitting done

It has suddenly turned quiet cold here and so I have been inspired to finish up some projects. This sweater was intended for Eoin but turned out big enough for Liam so he can pass it down when he is done. This is the great advantage of having four boys age range from six to two I don't have to be too careful about guage - it will fit someone!
The second is an Elizabeth Zimmerman hat that I love she is genius. It is a Norwegian design I think but it taught me how to use two different colors at once. I can't wait to try it in a sweater.

Cauldron cakes

These are the best cakes in the world. Jonathan makes them without sugar but with the darkest richest chocolate available. He is only allowed make them once every few months as they are just to good to have around:) Intoxication is the word for these.

Stripes

This little sailor sweater for Eoin turned out even better than I hoped for. I think I will stick to making stuff for the kids it turns out better than adult projects and they get done quicker too. The wool is a very soft cashmere mix which is lovely to work with but I suspect won't stand up to wear and tear. We will see.

Halloween

Liam took these photos of our Pumpkins. He is only three so I miss calculated and thought he would be able to get closer to the floor than me. Obviously not!
Being six months pregnant I am not able to bend over easily any more.
We had a great Halloween - Maxim declared it the best day ever. I mean what is better for little boys than getting to dress up and go out in the dark with a flash light AND everyone gives you candy. Wonderful holiday maybe a little too much sugar for us moms but other than that very entertaining.