Itty Bitty Birthday Cake {crochet pattern}

I freely admit I am a lover of things with no real purpose. Perfectly ordered kitchen drawers. Miniatures. Sparkly clean windows. Books arranged neatly from largest to smallest. Purple hair.

A tiny crocheted birthday cake.

I'm sure you could think of someone whose special day would be brightened by this. Maybe. Probably.

Especially if you add a few dolla dolla billz to the equation.

I used some crochet thread I had laying around (sorry for the incredible specificity) and a size 1 steel hook.

Oh, so that's how many kids I have.

Things change when you add munchkins.

Of course they do.

Your house gets messier. Your free time dwindles. You wish fervently for the days when everyone will be able to wipe their own ass.

Your heart grows a few sizes.

And taking your brood out in public is just kind of ... sad.

We Live With Our Parents and We Like It

Sooo ... I've been trying to think of a "socially acceptable" way to talk about our living arrangements for ages. There isn't one. Because it's not socially acceptable.

I'll just say it.

We live with my parents (and my three younger brothers) in a house owned by my grandparents (who live about half a mile down the road).

That was a mouthful.

When we tell people this (or they come over and we have to explain why there are seven cars in the driveway), we get some pretty interesting looks.

Surprise.

 Bewilderment.

Disgust.

Technically, we could be classified as pesky millenials who have returned to the nest. Our situation is a bit different than the typical failure to launch, however. For one thing, we aren't buried under masses of debt (credit cards, student loans, a brand spanking new car). Grover has a job. We pay all our own bills. We have been married almost five years. Annnd we have three kids.

SHE DOESN'T EVEN GO HERE!

Yesterday I completed the 7x7 Challenge thrown down by Jen of Conversion Diary.

I'm pretty sure I am the only non-catholic blogger who signed up (anyone else? *echo, echo, echo*). It doesn't matter to me in the slightest, mind you. But I did have a fleeting moment wondering if any of the 12 people who visited from the blog carnival were like:

If they did, I apologize for crashing a (mostly?) Catholic mommy blog hop. I found many of the other bloggers who participated quite entertaining.

I also learned a lot about myself. 

For instance, if I make the mistake of sitting down at my computer, I can expect to be there for at least two hours farting around on the Internet. 

I have the self-control of an 11 year old, apparently.

For links to the other bloggers who participated in this challenge, click here.

7x7 Post #7: Spring Crochet Patterns

Well, there you have it. Seven posts in seven days. No one died. The children got fed. The house didn't explode (depending on your definition of "explode", that is). I did it!

*happy dance*

I really wanted to get a crochet pattern written for y'all for this last post, but that didn't happen, so here's a round up of some of the projects I've been wanting to make in my "spare time". If somebody out there is crocheting this adorableness, I'll sleep better at night knowing the world is a slightly cuter place.

Actually, I probably won't because I have an eight week old baby, but still ...

Click the link below each photo to get the FREE pattern!

7x7 Post #6: A Day in the Life

Yesterday I wrote out a play by play of the day. Now I see why people rarely do DITL posts. They are a pain. It probably would have been much easier if I wasn't attempting the blogging challenge, buuuut ... yeah. I technically failed that because I'm posting this at 1:02 a.m. on March 2. Dang it.

This is messy. Are you ready? I recorded it a little too well, I think, and as I read back through my notes I was just like, "Dayum, girl. You need some extra arms!" It reminded me of a crazy version of the book, "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" with a lot of bodily fluids thrown in.

I fully understand if you think this post is the most boring thing in the history of blogdom. Please feel free to skip it. I just think it will be fun to be able to go back and read it again in a year or two ... or five or ten.

I didn't have enough time to edit the photos, so they are SOOC. Some are from my Nikon and some are from my phone. If you're looking for amazing photography, avert your eyes.

*deep breath* Here we go.