People, I can't breathe.
No, this isn't a metaphor or anything. I literally cannot breathe. My sinuses seem to be permanently swollen. I feel like there are sandbags in my head. I fear that I will harm myself soon as I cannot stop rubbing and scratching at my eyes. They're red and swollen (well, the eyelids anyway), and I look like I belong in a scary, scary movie. My whole face itches. My throat even itches. On the inside. Gaaaahhh.
Can you die from allergies? Because I may be the next casualty.
eta: I would SO take a pill, except that I have thyroid disease too. If you check your allergy med boxes, they all say "do not take if you have thyroid disease..." Waaaaahhh! So it's nose spray and eye drops (which don't do anything)...oh, and ice cream for the itchy throat. Luckily the baby likes ice cream.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Saturday, April 29, 2006
More than you wanted to know about my boring Saturday
You know those days when you just have to get out of your flippin' house, and even though you love your family desperately you just have to get away? Yeah, that was today. It was close to 70 degrees and the sun was blazing. I pondered taking Daughter to the beach (not that our Lake Erie beaches are too snazzy or anything, we're mostly talking about a strip of gravel at the water's edge), but eh, I didn't really feel like it.
So, since I've been feeling better pregnancy-wise, I decided to head out on my own. I wanted to wander around a craft shop, so I did. I got two jar candles at A.C. Moore ($3 each and they're almost as good as Yankee in my opinion) as well as some very pretty blue Patons Classic Merino to make a baby gift (my girlfriend is having her 3rd son in June). I got enough for a sweater and possibly a hat, per her request, and I was going to do a blanket as well. We'll see, because in addition I have to whip up something for my husband's co-worker, whose wife is also set to deliver in June. Does anyone know of a pretty baby blanket pattern (to knit) that's done in one piece, but is complex? I can't do a whole blanket of one repeated stitch...too boring. I need something with cables or different motifs or something.
Then I decided to mosey on to the grocery store. I haven't done the shopping in a month, and though my husband is pretty good at it, he always comes home without a few of the things on my list. Like the chewy Chips Ahoy cookies I've been asking for. Well, we've got 'em now.
I also got the cutest thing in the produce department. It's called a Salad Bouquet, and it comes in a plastic wrap like a floral bouquet, except it's various lettuces. They're organic, grown locally in greenhouses (in Ithaca, NY for those familiar with the area), and come with the root clumps still attached to the little bunches of greens. And they were only $1.99! I'm a sucker for clever packaging and display, so I had to get one. And it's delicious. I would have taken a photo but thought my husband would find that rather strange.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go inhale some cappucino chip ice cream. The baby wants some.
So, since I've been feeling better pregnancy-wise, I decided to head out on my own. I wanted to wander around a craft shop, so I did. I got two jar candles at A.C. Moore ($3 each and they're almost as good as Yankee in my opinion) as well as some very pretty blue Patons Classic Merino to make a baby gift (my girlfriend is having her 3rd son in June). I got enough for a sweater and possibly a hat, per her request, and I was going to do a blanket as well. We'll see, because in addition I have to whip up something for my husband's co-worker, whose wife is also set to deliver in June. Does anyone know of a pretty baby blanket pattern (to knit) that's done in one piece, but is complex? I can't do a whole blanket of one repeated stitch...too boring. I need something with cables or different motifs or something.
Then I decided to mosey on to the grocery store. I haven't done the shopping in a month, and though my husband is pretty good at it, he always comes home without a few of the things on my list. Like the chewy Chips Ahoy cookies I've been asking for. Well, we've got 'em now.
I also got the cutest thing in the produce department. It's called a Salad Bouquet, and it comes in a plastic wrap like a floral bouquet, except it's various lettuces. They're organic, grown locally in greenhouses (in Ithaca, NY for those familiar with the area), and come with the root clumps still attached to the little bunches of greens. And they were only $1.99! I'm a sucker for clever packaging and display, so I had to get one. And it's delicious. I would have taken a photo but thought my husband would find that rather strange.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go inhale some cappucino chip ice cream. The baby wants some.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Lolo!
So my kid is obsessed with Elmo. When we watch Sesame she is marginally interested until that dorky Elmo's World music starts. Then her head whips around, she points to the screen and squeals, "Lolo!" I am a little disappointed as Elmo is my least favorite Sesame character, and I would be much happier if she loved, say, Grover or Ernie or Big Bird. However, I do love hearing her screech "Lolo!" every morning. It's totally adorable and I'll be a little sad when she starts pronouncing it correctly.
So I went to my OB appointment today and everything is looking good. We've had no bleeding to speak of since Tuesday and the babe's growth continues apace. I've gained 10 lbs. and my belly has suddenly "popped," though I don't know that it's obvious to the casual observer yet. The wee one's heart rate is 150, which is good, mine is 70, which is very good, and my blood pressure is normal. This is all great news because it means my medicine is controlling that aspect of the hyperthyroidism (heart racing/palpitations). I'm kind of hoping my next round of bloodwork will show that the medication is working wonderfully and I don't need to have surgery right now after all, but that's probably a pipe dream.
Thank you all for your continued thoughts, prayers, and good wishes. We appreciate it so much!
So I went to my OB appointment today and everything is looking good. We've had no bleeding to speak of since Tuesday and the babe's growth continues apace. I've gained 10 lbs. and my belly has suddenly "popped," though I don't know that it's obvious to the casual observer yet. The wee one's heart rate is 150, which is good, mine is 70, which is very good, and my blood pressure is normal. This is all great news because it means my medicine is controlling that aspect of the hyperthyroidism (heart racing/palpitations). I'm kind of hoping my next round of bloodwork will show that the medication is working wonderfully and I don't need to have surgery right now after all, but that's probably a pipe dream.
Thank you all for your continued thoughts, prayers, and good wishes. We appreciate it so much!
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Breathing Right
I'm here today to tell you that Breathe Right strips WORK, peeps. Between my regular spring allergies and the pregnancy boogies, I've been having a rough time sleeping through the night. So I splurged (ten bucks for a box of 30 at Tarzhay). And I had an awesome night of sleep. It kind of hurts a little to rip the strip off in the morning (kind of like those pore strips we all used a few years back, remember those?), but it is totally worth it. I offered one to my husband to help with his snoring (which he vehemently denies), but he said "no thanks, breathe right strips are NOT sexy" ...as if snoring is.
So I guess I'm not sexy, but at least now I can get oxygen to my brain all night long.
So I guess I'm not sexy, but at least now I can get oxygen to my brain all night long.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
A buncha stuff
I am happy to say that the snow stopped before any could accumulate yesterday. And today temps are supposed to return to a somewhat seasonal 60-ish. It's not often we get snow quite this late in the season, and I think that's the last of it. This morning the sun is shining for all its worth and the rabbits and squirrels and birds are romping around outside...it's like that Disney movie, you know, the one they don't show anymore because it's racist. The one with Zippety-doo-dah. Song of the South? Is that what it's called? I know I saw it once when I was a little kid. Anyway, the point is that it's a beautiful day! Zippety-doo-dah!
It's also a beautiful day because...24 hours have passed with no bleeding. People, this feels like a miracle. Please, oh please, let it be over.
And, the babe has announced his or her presence to me via somersaults or something. I thought I felt movement a couple of days ago, but told myself it was too soon to tell, it must be gas, etc. But last night I was sitting here quietly and felt that unmistakable burble of baby kickage. Hallelujah. This baby can beat me up all it wants, as long as it's ok in there.
My only real 'problem' now (which is not really so much a problem) is that I have just about outgrown all my regular pants, but my maternity clothes still fall down. I'm not sure if I should order a bella band or just make do for now. Last time I took a wide piece of elastic (like 1") and cut a buttonhole in one end and sewed a button to the other. That's how I fastened my pants during the in-between. I'm not sure it's worth the $25 for the band. Plus, my nose is really stuffy and my knees hurt. Wah wah boo hoo.
Mmmmm-kay, enough baby talk. I also have to report on my sockapaloooza socks - this is a crafty blog after all. Here they are in all their finished glory:
still life with socks and unshaved legs
first sock...some weird pooling
second sock...more weird pooling
Now I just have to get a Buffalo postcard and some fun stuff to put in the package, and these can wing their way across the country. Oh, and they will be washed and blocked first! I'm just hoping these will fit my sock pal...she wears the same shoe size I do, so I made them to fit my feet. You know, I was just thinking that I don't even know where to get a postcard featuring my fair city. I've never bought one before because I live here...huh. Maybe a bookstore?
Here's a tangent about that - we don't have any bookstores here. No, I'm serious! The area where we live is rather "blue collar," if you will. We're really close to all the old steel mills and this has always been a very working-class area (except for the gorgeous lake front mansions where all the steel barons lived). We have lots of other stuff, but not one single Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc. I guess the bookstore companies believe people who work in factories don't read books. I'm not even sure there's a Waldenbooks in the mall or anything. It's depressing! I'll have to go to the ritzy "white collar" suburb where our parents live to hit a bookstore. SAD!! Luckily my OB is out there so I'll be in the area on Friday. I'll have to stop in to the B&N to seek postcards.
End tangent. Hope you're all having as beautiful a day as we are!
It's also a beautiful day because...24 hours have passed with no bleeding. People, this feels like a miracle. Please, oh please, let it be over.
And, the babe has announced his or her presence to me via somersaults or something. I thought I felt movement a couple of days ago, but told myself it was too soon to tell, it must be gas, etc. But last night I was sitting here quietly and felt that unmistakable burble of baby kickage. Hallelujah. This baby can beat me up all it wants, as long as it's ok in there.
My only real 'problem' now (which is not really so much a problem) is that I have just about outgrown all my regular pants, but my maternity clothes still fall down. I'm not sure if I should order a bella band or just make do for now. Last time I took a wide piece of elastic (like 1") and cut a buttonhole in one end and sewed a button to the other. That's how I fastened my pants during the in-between. I'm not sure it's worth the $25 for the band. Plus, my nose is really stuffy and my knees hurt. Wah wah boo hoo.
Mmmmm-kay, enough baby talk. I also have to report on my sockapaloooza socks - this is a crafty blog after all. Here they are in all their finished glory:
still life with socks and unshaved legs
first sock...some weird pooling
second sock...more weird pooling
Now I just have to get a Buffalo postcard and some fun stuff to put in the package, and these can wing their way across the country. Oh, and they will be washed and blocked first! I'm just hoping these will fit my sock pal...she wears the same shoe size I do, so I made them to fit my feet. You know, I was just thinking that I don't even know where to get a postcard featuring my fair city. I've never bought one before because I live here...huh. Maybe a bookstore?
Here's a tangent about that - we don't have any bookstores here. No, I'm serious! The area where we live is rather "blue collar," if you will. We're really close to all the old steel mills and this has always been a very working-class area (except for the gorgeous lake front mansions where all the steel barons lived). We have lots of other stuff, but not one single Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc. I guess the bookstore companies believe people who work in factories don't read books. I'm not even sure there's a Waldenbooks in the mall or anything. It's depressing! I'll have to go to the ritzy "white collar" suburb where our parents live to hit a bookstore. SAD!! Luckily my OB is out there so I'll be in the area on Friday. I'll have to stop in to the B&N to seek postcards.
End tangent. Hope you're all having as beautiful a day as we are!
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
You have got to be kidding me
People, I am looking out my family room window right now, and the stuff coming out of the sky is NOT rain.
It is, in fact, SNOW.
I'm sorry Mother Nature, did you not get the memo? It's April 25. APRIL.
It is, in fact, SNOW.
I'm sorry Mother Nature, did you not get the memo? It's April 25. APRIL.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
A word of thanks and a cry for (knitting) help
Many of you have left me very encouraging comments and/or sent thoughtful emails over the past 2 weeks. I want you to know I hang on every word and firmly believe your thoughts, prayers, and positive energy are helping me to heal. The weekend was very good - the pregnancy is feeling more "normal" and I think the only funkiness I feel is a braxton-hicks contraction now and again (I had them quite often with #1). At the risk of heading into too-much-information land, I'll say that the bleeding has slowed to a tiny bit of spotting over the last 2 days (holy moly do I feel like I'm jinxing myself by saying that). We go to the doctor on Friday. Please keep praying! Every day I wake up and thank God I'm still pregnant. That probably sounds weird, but it's what my brain is doing to cope.
I also want to say that I am trying hard to stay positive. In that vein I've been saying "NO" to google (as per Ruth's instructions!) and not looking up "bleeding during pregnancy." Dudes, THAT is a depressing search. I prefer to stick to the stories people tell me of very successful pregnancies that resulted in fat happy babies despite bleeding and other problems. Google-ing the problem only led to me weeping pitifully at midnight as I read sad, sad stories. Not a good idea.
Anyway, it's funny, but I feel in my heart that the baby is going to be ok. Maybe this is just a problem I'm going to have on and off throughout the pregnancy, or maybe the baby and I will grow out of it (my doctor says this is often what happens). But I have had one healthy, perfect baby, and we are at almost 16 weeks now. The risks are reduced with each passing day...which I suppose is why I do the thanking God thing when I wake up every day. I guess I just refuse to give up and get all depressed because I can't fathom not having another healthy baby. So. I pray and try to be positive.
End Pregnancy Talk/Begin Knitting Talk
I have a burning knitting question for those of you who have made Secret Garden (Alice Starmore, The Childrens' Collection), or who at least have the book.
Ok. I am making the 2-3 year size. I have just completed chart C, one time through. But I am confused by the next set of directions. It appears that you are supposed to repeat chart C for all sizes (confusing because you only repeat the other charts for the two larger sizes). BUT, you are instructed to work row 1 and eliminate the decreases. Does that mean you also eliminate the yarn-overs to compensate? Then it says to continue as set, completing chart C. Do you eliminate the decreases and YOs for the rest of the chart?
If you do that I think it throws the pattern off. You end up without the little "holes" in the design. But if you do the YOs without the decreases, you end up with too many stitches. Right?
Because then when you do chart D, the stitch count you want to end up with only happens if you skip the increases and decreases in chart C the second time you do it.
That probably doesn't make any sense. It's hard to explain. Am I just dumb? Is there something I'm missing in the directions? I can't find anything about this on the web, so I'm assuming it's me. If my explanation made any sense to you, please help!
**Edited to add: Thanks to the talented and patient Kathleen of WIP Insanity (she has lots of WIPS! It's insane! Whee!) I have the answer to my Secret Garden chart questions. As it turns out, I don't think it's a matter of me being dumb. Once the concept was explained to me, I realized it's just my pregnancy and stress-addled brain that was preventing me from properly analyzing the charts and instructions.
I also want to say that I am trying hard to stay positive. In that vein I've been saying "NO" to google (as per Ruth's instructions!) and not looking up "bleeding during pregnancy." Dudes, THAT is a depressing search. I prefer to stick to the stories people tell me of very successful pregnancies that resulted in fat happy babies despite bleeding and other problems. Google-ing the problem only led to me weeping pitifully at midnight as I read sad, sad stories. Not a good idea.
Anyway, it's funny, but I feel in my heart that the baby is going to be ok. Maybe this is just a problem I'm going to have on and off throughout the pregnancy, or maybe the baby and I will grow out of it (my doctor says this is often what happens). But I have had one healthy, perfect baby, and we are at almost 16 weeks now. The risks are reduced with each passing day...which I suppose is why I do the thanking God thing when I wake up every day. I guess I just refuse to give up and get all depressed because I can't fathom not having another healthy baby. So. I pray and try to be positive.
End Pregnancy Talk/Begin Knitting Talk
I have a burning knitting question for those of you who have made Secret Garden (Alice Starmore, The Childrens' Collection), or who at least have the book.
Ok. I am making the 2-3 year size. I have just completed chart C, one time through. But I am confused by the next set of directions. It appears that you are supposed to repeat chart C for all sizes (confusing because you only repeat the other charts for the two larger sizes). BUT, you are instructed to work row 1 and eliminate the decreases. Does that mean you also eliminate the yarn-overs to compensate? Then it says to continue as set, completing chart C. Do you eliminate the decreases and YOs for the rest of the chart?
If you do that I think it throws the pattern off. You end up without the little "holes" in the design. But if you do the YOs without the decreases, you end up with too many stitches. Right?
Because then when you do chart D, the stitch count you want to end up with only happens if you skip the increases and decreases in chart C the second time you do it.
That probably doesn't make any sense. It's hard to explain. Am I just dumb? Is there something I'm missing in the directions? I can't find anything about this on the web, so I'm assuming it's me. If my explanation made any sense to you, please help!
**Edited to add: Thanks to the talented and patient Kathleen of WIP Insanity (she has lots of WIPS! It's insane! Whee!) I have the answer to my Secret Garden chart questions. As it turns out, I don't think it's a matter of me being dumb. Once the concept was explained to me, I realized it's just my pregnancy and stress-addled brain that was preventing me from properly analyzing the charts and instructions.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Food Network
I'm big into the Food Network. And now that I'm basically housebound and my butt is growing roots in the couch, I've been watching it more than ever.
If you're like me (ok, except for the housebound thing) and you love watching Food Network but also occasionally find yourself hurling snarky comments at the cooks or picking your jaw up off the floor after Paula Deen puts yet another stick of butter into a recipe, check out Armchair Cook.
I promise you'll just about pee your pants laughing.
If you're like me (ok, except for the housebound thing) and you love watching Food Network but also occasionally find yourself hurling snarky comments at the cooks or picking your jaw up off the floor after Paula Deen puts yet another stick of butter into a recipe, check out Armchair Cook.
I promise you'll just about pee your pants laughing.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Stuff
There has been knitting:
Sockapaloooza sock #2 just needs a toe!
Still plugging away on Secret Garden for Daughter (no major rush - it is for fall). I don't think I'm in danger of becoming a photo stylist anytime soon. Don't you love my creative use of the sugar bowl to hold the sweater down while I stretch out the pattern? Tres professional.
There has been ickiness:
I ask for your continued thoughts and prayers as I am still experiencing cramps and bleeding. At our last visit to the doctor (last Tuesday) the baby looked fine, but of course I've been reading stuff on the internet that scares the bejeebers out of me...so I'm not yet convinced that everything will be fine. I am trying to pray, rest, pray some more, and have faith that there is a plan. Right now the only thing that seems to relieve the pain/pressure/bleeding is lying flat on my back. Which is not too swell since I have to somehow care for my 1 year old. My mom has been a trooper, driving the 45 minutes each way to care for us, but I'm on my own today and hoping to stay flat out as much as possible. Luckily Daughter is good at entertaining herself by playing on the family room floor.
Sockapaloooza sock #2 just needs a toe!
Still plugging away on Secret Garden for Daughter (no major rush - it is for fall). I don't think I'm in danger of becoming a photo stylist anytime soon. Don't you love my creative use of the sugar bowl to hold the sweater down while I stretch out the pattern? Tres professional.
There has been ickiness:
I ask for your continued thoughts and prayers as I am still experiencing cramps and bleeding. At our last visit to the doctor (last Tuesday) the baby looked fine, but of course I've been reading stuff on the internet that scares the bejeebers out of me...so I'm not yet convinced that everything will be fine. I am trying to pray, rest, pray some more, and have faith that there is a plan. Right now the only thing that seems to relieve the pain/pressure/bleeding is lying flat on my back. Which is not too swell since I have to somehow care for my 1 year old. My mom has been a trooper, driving the 45 minutes each way to care for us, but I'm on my own today and hoping to stay flat out as much as possible. Luckily Daughter is good at entertaining herself by playing on the family room floor.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Happy Easter
I want to thank you all once again for your supportive comments this week. Things continue to improve.
May you have a blessed, joyful Easter!
May you have a blessed, joyful Easter!
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Improvement
I am so bored.
But bedrest is good for one thing - my sockapaloooza socks are almost done. I will have pictures soon (when I am allowed to stand up for more than bathroom trips).
Thank you all for your good wishes and prayers. There has definitely been improvement in my condition over the last two days. Hopefully this was a one-time fluke occurrence and everything will be boring and normal from here on out. Except for the thyroid surgery thing. Yeesh.
I credit my healing in large part to the Miraculous Medal given to my mother by her good friend (with instructions to pass it on to me). The medal has been blessed; I have worn it for the last couple of days and prayed a lot. Yesterday I changed my clothes and forgot to grab the medal out of my pants pocket, and I immediately felt worse and bled again. Today I pinned the medal to my PJs in the morning, my clothes after I got dressed, and now my PJs again, and I have felt great all day. There has been no actual bleeding since I got up this morning. I will wear this medal for the duration of the pregnancy. I'm hoping that tomorrow will be even better, and though I will continue to rest over the weekend, I could maybe return to light activity on Monday.
I miss holding my baby and can't wait to scoop her up and snuggle her again.
But bedrest is good for one thing - my sockapaloooza socks are almost done. I will have pictures soon (when I am allowed to stand up for more than bathroom trips).
Thank you all for your good wishes and prayers. There has definitely been improvement in my condition over the last two days. Hopefully this was a one-time fluke occurrence and everything will be boring and normal from here on out. Except for the thyroid surgery thing. Yeesh.
I credit my healing in large part to the Miraculous Medal given to my mother by her good friend (with instructions to pass it on to me). The medal has been blessed; I have worn it for the last couple of days and prayed a lot. Yesterday I changed my clothes and forgot to grab the medal out of my pants pocket, and I immediately felt worse and bled again. Today I pinned the medal to my PJs in the morning, my clothes after I got dressed, and now my PJs again, and I have felt great all day. There has been no actual bleeding since I got up this morning. I will wear this medal for the duration of the pregnancy. I'm hoping that tomorrow will be even better, and though I will continue to rest over the weekend, I could maybe return to light activity on Monday.
I miss holding my baby and can't wait to scoop her up and snuggle her again.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Complication
Thank you, Ann-Marie, for claiming the cross stitch kit. It's on its way to you as soon as I have your address.
I may or may not be around much this week. We spent last night at the ER due to some serious bleeding and cramping, and I am on bed rest until there is no more bleeding at all. The baby is ok, and there are professionals monitoring the situation, though no one seems to know what is causing the problem. My first pregnancy was completely uneventful (except for morning sickness) so this has come as a major shock.
Quite frankly, I'm frightened.
If you are the praying type, I sure could use some right about now.
I may or may not be around much this week. We spent last night at the ER due to some serious bleeding and cramping, and I am on bed rest until there is no more bleeding at all. The baby is ok, and there are professionals monitoring the situation, though no one seems to know what is causing the problem. My first pregnancy was completely uneventful (except for morning sickness) so this has come as a major shock.
Quite frankly, I'm frightened.
If you are the praying type, I sure could use some right about now.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Free to a good home
Hey cross stitchers! I know you're out there!
I have here a Bucilla kit for a family tree counted cross stitch. Its official name is "Through the Years." The finished piece of stitching measures 16" X 18", and is on 14 count white aida cloth. I began this project about 7 years ago (I think I intended it for my parents' 25th anniversary), but I wasn't enjoying it so it got shoved in a bin and put away. All I did was a bit of the greenery and the two hearts in the center of the design. The aida cloth is taped around all edges with masking tape.
The kit includes the aida cloth (with a little stitching already done), cotton floss wound on bobbins, silk ribbon, gold metallic thread, pearlescent blending filament and full color chart. There might even be a needle stuck in there somewhere...I'll have to check. I will also throw in the sterlite bin with handle that it's been living in for the last 7 years. All you have to supply is an embroidery hoop. And possibly a needle if there isn't one in there.
This kit has been kept in a non-smoking, clean home and is in great shape. It just needs someone to actually finish stitching it. Plus, it's free, people. I'll even pay shipping in the continental US. Please take it off my hands so I can have more room in my craft cabinet. If you're interested please email me: momwhoknits AT yahoo DOT com. I'll need your name and mailing address, which I promise to delete the instant I finish addressing the package. Believe me, I don't want to stalk you.
sorry for the cruddy picture. what can I tell you? free is free, peeps.
see? fambly tree! Obviously, your family name goes in the middle.
all this...for free!
Disclaimer: If you decide you want this and I send it to you (free, remember), you can't send it back if you decide you don't like it after all. I don't want it so it's up to you to figure out what to do with it! Pass it on, sell it on ebay, chuck it...whatever. The same goes for if you discover I frigged up any of the stitching. I don't want to hear about it! Ok? Cool. Now please, please take it away. :)
I have here a Bucilla kit for a family tree counted cross stitch. Its official name is "Through the Years." The finished piece of stitching measures 16" X 18", and is on 14 count white aida cloth. I began this project about 7 years ago (I think I intended it for my parents' 25th anniversary), but I wasn't enjoying it so it got shoved in a bin and put away. All I did was a bit of the greenery and the two hearts in the center of the design. The aida cloth is taped around all edges with masking tape.
The kit includes the aida cloth (with a little stitching already done), cotton floss wound on bobbins, silk ribbon, gold metallic thread, pearlescent blending filament and full color chart. There might even be a needle stuck in there somewhere...I'll have to check. I will also throw in the sterlite bin with handle that it's been living in for the last 7 years. All you have to supply is an embroidery hoop. And possibly a needle if there isn't one in there.
This kit has been kept in a non-smoking, clean home and is in great shape. It just needs someone to actually finish stitching it. Plus, it's free, people. I'll even pay shipping in the continental US. Please take it off my hands so I can have more room in my craft cabinet. If you're interested please email me: momwhoknits AT yahoo DOT com. I'll need your name and mailing address, which I promise to delete the instant I finish addressing the package. Believe me, I don't want to stalk you.
sorry for the cruddy picture. what can I tell you? free is free, peeps.
see? fambly tree! Obviously, your family name goes in the middle.
all this...for free!
Disclaimer: If you decide you want this and I send it to you (free, remember), you can't send it back if you decide you don't like it after all. I don't want it so it's up to you to figure out what to do with it! Pass it on, sell it on ebay, chuck it...whatever. The same goes for if you discover I frigged up any of the stitching. I don't want to hear about it! Ok? Cool. Now please, please take it away. :)
Saturday, April 08, 2006
New and Improved: Now with Actual Photos!
The sun is shining! I took some pictures! And thank goodness 'cause this blog was getting a little boring to look at.
Sockapaloooza sock hangin' with some bunnies. It's coming along, and I'm much happier with this version than the last attempt. I knitted all that foot part through Walk the Line last night. Have you seen it? I mostly thought it was sad and, as my husband said, "man, this guy just keeps doing uncomfortable stuff." I thought it was extremely well acted, and kudos to Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix for learning to sing and play like that, but in the end I just thought June Carter was out of her mind for agreeing to marry Johnny Cash. He was a train wreck! And I know it worked out and they did love each other desperately, but it was a long, hard, hurtful road to get there. Yikes.
It's hard to take a photo on a beautiful day. The sun is streaming in the front window and it makes the rest of the room look dark. This is my (not so much decorated) dining room, which is currently home to my sweat shop, er, sewing stuff. I'm in the middle of two (identical and therefore boring) quilts for the shop that involve nursery rhyme-type embroidery on the main squares and a fiddly border of nine-patches. I'll show more when I get more done. It's really not a cute project so I can't say I'm too enthused, but I have big car repairs to pay for, and also maternity clothes, so I do what I'm told. Side note: I own the mechanical sewing machine in the upper left but definitely not the top-of-the-line embroidery machine at the bottom right ($7000, enough said). Side note #2: I don't bother to move my funky fiesta ware candlesticks and vase when I work. Which is dumb.
Speaking of maternity clothes...I love Old Navy! Look at this rainbow of fruit flavors:
These t-shirts are awesome! Only $9 each and they're nice and long so they actually cover the belly. I hate some of the styles out there that barely cover you up - and I actually like maternity pants with the panel, especially around the 8th month, so I need shirts that cover me and the top of my pants. Also, normally I am a pretty boring dresser, but I try to perk it up in the summer. And since I was pregnant all winter last time, I had to get all new stuff this time - thus the rainbow of new t-shirts and pants. I got jeans (super bargain at $25 or $30 since most maternity jeans are around $50 or $60), some denim capris, and bright pink cargo pants that button up or down to make capris or not, depending on the day. Fantastic! I'm returning a denim skirt (clownishly big) and some khaki capris as I think the fabric is not nice. They remind me of nothing so much as army pants - you know, the khaki uniform? Yeah, not so cute and feminine for summer. So instead I am ordering awesome shoes! It'll be like they're free, since I'm returning two items that are worth more than the price of the shoes. Right? Oh yes.
(Image swiped shamelessly from LLBean.com)
These are Adventure Cross-Straps. I'm getting them in the color shown (yep, pale aloe...too lazy to photoshop those words out), and they are to replace my stinky old beat up Birkenstocks. Which I love and am sad to see go, but they are 'round about 5 or 6 years old now, they seriously smell when I wear them, and they look like hell to boot. So R.I.P Birks, and welcome to the summer wardrobe, Adventure shoes! I am hoping these will be easy to jam on my feet when I turn into Large Marge and I'm trying to corral Daughter as she runs off.
Speaking of stinky, I really must hit the shower whilst Daughter is napping. Have a great weekend, all!
Sockapaloooza sock hangin' with some bunnies. It's coming along, and I'm much happier with this version than the last attempt. I knitted all that foot part through Walk the Line last night. Have you seen it? I mostly thought it was sad and, as my husband said, "man, this guy just keeps doing uncomfortable stuff." I thought it was extremely well acted, and kudos to Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix for learning to sing and play like that, but in the end I just thought June Carter was out of her mind for agreeing to marry Johnny Cash. He was a train wreck! And I know it worked out and they did love each other desperately, but it was a long, hard, hurtful road to get there. Yikes.
It's hard to take a photo on a beautiful day. The sun is streaming in the front window and it makes the rest of the room look dark. This is my (not so much decorated) dining room, which is currently home to my sweat shop, er, sewing stuff. I'm in the middle of two (identical and therefore boring) quilts for the shop that involve nursery rhyme-type embroidery on the main squares and a fiddly border of nine-patches. I'll show more when I get more done. It's really not a cute project so I can't say I'm too enthused, but I have big car repairs to pay for, and also maternity clothes, so I do what I'm told. Side note: I own the mechanical sewing machine in the upper left but definitely not the top-of-the-line embroidery machine at the bottom right ($7000, enough said). Side note #2: I don't bother to move my funky fiesta ware candlesticks and vase when I work. Which is dumb.
Speaking of maternity clothes...I love Old Navy! Look at this rainbow of fruit flavors:
These t-shirts are awesome! Only $9 each and they're nice and long so they actually cover the belly. I hate some of the styles out there that barely cover you up - and I actually like maternity pants with the panel, especially around the 8th month, so I need shirts that cover me and the top of my pants. Also, normally I am a pretty boring dresser, but I try to perk it up in the summer. And since I was pregnant all winter last time, I had to get all new stuff this time - thus the rainbow of new t-shirts and pants. I got jeans (super bargain at $25 or $30 since most maternity jeans are around $50 or $60), some denim capris, and bright pink cargo pants that button up or down to make capris or not, depending on the day. Fantastic! I'm returning a denim skirt (clownishly big) and some khaki capris as I think the fabric is not nice. They remind me of nothing so much as army pants - you know, the khaki uniform? Yeah, not so cute and feminine for summer. So instead I am ordering awesome shoes! It'll be like they're free, since I'm returning two items that are worth more than the price of the shoes. Right? Oh yes.
(Image swiped shamelessly from LLBean.com)
These are Adventure Cross-Straps. I'm getting them in the color shown (yep, pale aloe...too lazy to photoshop those words out), and they are to replace my stinky old beat up Birkenstocks. Which I love and am sad to see go, but they are 'round about 5 or 6 years old now, they seriously smell when I wear them, and they look like hell to boot. So R.I.P Birks, and welcome to the summer wardrobe, Adventure shoes! I am hoping these will be easy to jam on my feet when I turn into Large Marge and I'm trying to corral Daughter as she runs off.
Speaking of stinky, I really must hit the shower whilst Daughter is napping. Have a great weekend, all!
Friday, April 07, 2006
Random stuff
It's so dark, gray and wet here today it looks like a fall evening, not a spring morning. I have recently come to terms with the fact that my moods are almost 100% caused by the weather and so today will be a slow, low-energy day. Yesterday was gorgeous and sunny, and Daughter & I ran errands. Then she took her afternoon nap and I was so productive! I got sewing projects cut out and ready to go, and I made two new throw pillows for my sofa. I even knitted a bit on my sockapaloooza socks before bed. I hope I have turned the first-to-second trimester corner and my energy will be coming back. I mean, yesterday I didn't sit down on the couch in a stupor even once...a miracle! Usually 2 pm rolls around and all I want to do is go to sleep.
So anyway, no photos because it's too dark, but soon you will see the fruits of my labor. I hope to get some more done this afternoon. Well, if I ever get moving, as it's already 11 am, Daughter will be waking up in about 20 minutes, I haven't showered, and the breakfast dishes are congealing on the table. The mornings just evaporate around here.
In exciting child news, we have a tooth! The first bottom tooth officially cut through on the 31st and its mate is on the way soon. Thankfully this has not caused any night-waking and/or obvious misery for any of us (so far). It's such a cute, tiny little tooth. I am so proud.
However, in questionable child news, I have discovered that my baby has no balance. I mean it, we stand her up and she just falls right over. We prop her against her little FP noisemaking, button-pushing table and she can sort of stand there for a few seconds but then - if we don't hold her or hover close enough to catch her - kaboom. She's down. And even when she is sitting, she flops over backwards much of the time. (To clarify, she is perfectly capable of sitting up for like, an hour...she just always ends up flopping down eventually, like when she gets tired.) We still have to put a pillow behind her to protect her head. Is this at all normal for a kid who's almost 1? I'll be checking it out with the pediatrician at her 1-year checkup. I mean, what can you do for balance? I don't know.
In financial child news, I discovered yesterday that Luvs (my favorite diapers) actually become cheaper than generic diapers if you buy a big enough box. We were shopping at BJs (like Sam's or Costco for those who don't know) with our free 60 day trial membership (yay free stuff!) and I compared diaper prices for like, 15 minutes. I'm sure the other shoppers thought I was crazy. But it's true, the 174 pack of Luvs cost less per diaper than the store brand. Shazam! I love a deal. And now we have enough diapers for the apocalypse. It makes me feel so secure to know we won't run out for a long, long time. I'm a dork.
Thanks for your thoughts and stories involving surgery and pregnancy, girls. I do appreciate it and would love to hear all the success stories you have about this issue! I'm nervous about it, and will have to do horrible stuff like "get my affairs in order" and probably sign a form saying that if something happens to my unborn child it isn't the hospital's or doctor's fault, but still I feel pretty ok. I think there are much worse situations that people have gone through.
Oh crap. Kid's awake in her crib - I have to take the world's fastest shower while she's still happy playing in there!
So anyway, no photos because it's too dark, but soon you will see the fruits of my labor. I hope to get some more done this afternoon. Well, if I ever get moving, as it's already 11 am, Daughter will be waking up in about 20 minutes, I haven't showered, and the breakfast dishes are congealing on the table. The mornings just evaporate around here.
In exciting child news, we have a tooth! The first bottom tooth officially cut through on the 31st and its mate is on the way soon. Thankfully this has not caused any night-waking and/or obvious misery for any of us (so far). It's such a cute, tiny little tooth. I am so proud.
However, in questionable child news, I have discovered that my baby has no balance. I mean it, we stand her up and she just falls right over. We prop her against her little FP noisemaking, button-pushing table and she can sort of stand there for a few seconds but then - if we don't hold her or hover close enough to catch her - kaboom. She's down. And even when she is sitting, she flops over backwards much of the time. (To clarify, she is perfectly capable of sitting up for like, an hour...she just always ends up flopping down eventually, like when she gets tired.) We still have to put a pillow behind her to protect her head. Is this at all normal for a kid who's almost 1? I'll be checking it out with the pediatrician at her 1-year checkup. I mean, what can you do for balance? I don't know.
In financial child news, I discovered yesterday that Luvs (my favorite diapers) actually become cheaper than generic diapers if you buy a big enough box. We were shopping at BJs (like Sam's or Costco for those who don't know) with our free 60 day trial membership (yay free stuff!) and I compared diaper prices for like, 15 minutes. I'm sure the other shoppers thought I was crazy. But it's true, the 174 pack of Luvs cost less per diaper than the store brand. Shazam! I love a deal. And now we have enough diapers for the apocalypse. It makes me feel so secure to know we won't run out for a long, long time. I'm a dork.
Thanks for your thoughts and stories involving surgery and pregnancy, girls. I do appreciate it and would love to hear all the success stories you have about this issue! I'm nervous about it, and will have to do horrible stuff like "get my affairs in order" and probably sign a form saying that if something happens to my unborn child it isn't the hospital's or doctor's fault, but still I feel pretty ok. I think there are much worse situations that people have gone through.
Oh crap. Kid's awake in her crib - I have to take the world's fastest shower while she's still happy playing in there!
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Some stuff about my pregnancy (or, More than you probably wanted to know)
Great thoughts on the baby/sleep issue, ladies. Thank you for your input - indeed, we are all different and our babes are all different, and some of us have had events take place that changed our original intentions. I just think it's important for women in general to support each other in their decisions (breastfeed or not, co-sleep or not, etc.) and not cut each other down. Though I would personally not allow my daughter to sleep in our bed, I don't disrespect anyone who can't imagine leaving a baby in a crib in another room. We are all different and our ideas are all correct for our own families.
Anyway. I am super tired, and frankly I'm getting tired of being tired. I go to bed around 10 and get up around 8, and that's a good amount of sleep...so why do I feel like a limp rag all day? My husband keeps accusing me of being in a bad mood, but I swear I'm not. I just don't have the energy to talk much by the time he gets home at night. Bleh. Just. No. Energy.
We had a sonogram yesterday at the hospital, where they have super kick-ass equipment. It is simply astonishing to see so much detail on the screen at 13 weeks. The baby weighs about 2 oz and is only a couple of inches long, and yet EVERYTHING is there. We saw all the bones we needed to see - perfect little hands and feet, long straight legs, beautifully round skull, nasal bone (often missing in babies with chromosomal abnormalities), jaw full of teeth, spine, ribcage...and the little arms were waving and the legs were crossing and uncrossing. It is too early to tell the sex (we should hopefully be able to see that at our 18 week sono) but that's ok - this sono was primarily to determine whether or not the baby's growth and development are on track. They are, thank goodness, and the babe even measured up bigger than expected. Our due date has moved up one day (Oct. 10 now).
Why is this such good news? Well, besides the obvious (we all want our babes to be on-track and perfect!), I am extremely, severely hyperthyroid. The phrase my doctor used is "out-of-control." This started up right after Daughter was born (we think, though perhaps before her birth as she was slightly underweight and it would explain a lot), and I lost massive weight (40 pounds). I ended up about 20 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight (and I was not overweight to begin with or anything) by the time Daughter was 3 months old, which I couldn't believe was due to breastfeeding alone. So then I developed a very s-e-x-y goiter (just a swelling in the thyroid gland) which no one has really noticed till I point it out, but I think it's pretty obvious because I've been so thin.
Anyway, my thyroid has been producing about twice the amount of hormone it should, so I was put on medication in January to block the production of any more hormone. This medicine can pass through breastmilk, so we were a little paranoid about Daughter, but it doesn't seem to have affected her at all. Then, whoops, I got pregnant again when I really should not have been able to, but - pay attention ladies! - thyroid disorders affect all your hormones and that includes your reproductive system. So, whoops, I ovulated out of sync with my normal cycle and ta-da! So. We are very happy to be having a second baby...we always wanted another one and we don't ever want this child to think he or she was "unplanned." This was always the plan...just not quite so soon. Ideally, we would have taken care of this thyroid situation first, and then had another baby. But we are choosing to believe that God wanted us to have this baby now for some reason (perhaps later we would not be able to or something), so we are now dealing with some issues. The medication I am taking is definitely not considered ideal for a developing fetus. It can cause low birth weight and premature delivery. It can also (quite rarely) cause a goiter to develop in the baby. Scary! So my endocrinologist wants me to have surgery in the next 4-6 weeks to remove my thyroid entirely, which would mean general anesthesia, which scares the crap out of me.
Thus the sonogram yesterday. We needed to see if the medication and/or my condition in general is having any effect on the babe as of right now, and the answer appears to be no. Hallelujah. If the medicine is controlling my thyroid sufficiently (and it's really not) we could ride out the pregnancy and the baby will probably be born just fine. However, the safer option is actually to have the operation. According to the awesome specialist I spoke with yesterday, the anesthesia does make the baby sleepy, but as long as the blood flow is maintained and my body temperature stays up, there is almost zero risk. But it still scares the crap out of me.
So that is probably why I'm tired and not exactly bubbly and cheerful. It's really stressful feeling like you have no control over your body, and knowing you should not really have gotten pregnant right now, and praying all the time that things will work out fine. Exhausting, I tell you.
And that is also why you haven't seen much creativity happening here lately. I'm plodding along on my sockapaloooza socks, and staring longingly at the fabric and patterns I intend to use for sundresses for Daughter, and sort of ignoring the paid project I have to do; my brain and body are too wiped out to do much. It's times like this I wish I had a cook. And a maid.
Anyway. I am super tired, and frankly I'm getting tired of being tired. I go to bed around 10 and get up around 8, and that's a good amount of sleep...so why do I feel like a limp rag all day? My husband keeps accusing me of being in a bad mood, but I swear I'm not. I just don't have the energy to talk much by the time he gets home at night. Bleh. Just. No. Energy.
We had a sonogram yesterday at the hospital, where they have super kick-ass equipment. It is simply astonishing to see so much detail on the screen at 13 weeks. The baby weighs about 2 oz and is only a couple of inches long, and yet EVERYTHING is there. We saw all the bones we needed to see - perfect little hands and feet, long straight legs, beautifully round skull, nasal bone (often missing in babies with chromosomal abnormalities), jaw full of teeth, spine, ribcage...and the little arms were waving and the legs were crossing and uncrossing. It is too early to tell the sex (we should hopefully be able to see that at our 18 week sono) but that's ok - this sono was primarily to determine whether or not the baby's growth and development are on track. They are, thank goodness, and the babe even measured up bigger than expected. Our due date has moved up one day (Oct. 10 now).
Why is this such good news? Well, besides the obvious (we all want our babes to be on-track and perfect!), I am extremely, severely hyperthyroid. The phrase my doctor used is "out-of-control." This started up right after Daughter was born (we think, though perhaps before her birth as she was slightly underweight and it would explain a lot), and I lost massive weight (40 pounds). I ended up about 20 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight (and I was not overweight to begin with or anything) by the time Daughter was 3 months old, which I couldn't believe was due to breastfeeding alone. So then I developed a very s-e-x-y goiter (just a swelling in the thyroid gland) which no one has really noticed till I point it out, but I think it's pretty obvious because I've been so thin.
Anyway, my thyroid has been producing about twice the amount of hormone it should, so I was put on medication in January to block the production of any more hormone. This medicine can pass through breastmilk, so we were a little paranoid about Daughter, but it doesn't seem to have affected her at all. Then, whoops, I got pregnant again when I really should not have been able to, but - pay attention ladies! - thyroid disorders affect all your hormones and that includes your reproductive system. So, whoops, I ovulated out of sync with my normal cycle and ta-da! So. We are very happy to be having a second baby...we always wanted another one and we don't ever want this child to think he or she was "unplanned." This was always the plan...just not quite so soon. Ideally, we would have taken care of this thyroid situation first, and then had another baby. But we are choosing to believe that God wanted us to have this baby now for some reason (perhaps later we would not be able to or something), so we are now dealing with some issues. The medication I am taking is definitely not considered ideal for a developing fetus. It can cause low birth weight and premature delivery. It can also (quite rarely) cause a goiter to develop in the baby. Scary! So my endocrinologist wants me to have surgery in the next 4-6 weeks to remove my thyroid entirely, which would mean general anesthesia, which scares the crap out of me.
Thus the sonogram yesterday. We needed to see if the medication and/or my condition in general is having any effect on the babe as of right now, and the answer appears to be no. Hallelujah. If the medicine is controlling my thyroid sufficiently (and it's really not) we could ride out the pregnancy and the baby will probably be born just fine. However, the safer option is actually to have the operation. According to the awesome specialist I spoke with yesterday, the anesthesia does make the baby sleepy, but as long as the blood flow is maintained and my body temperature stays up, there is almost zero risk. But it still scares the crap out of me.
So that is probably why I'm tired and not exactly bubbly and cheerful. It's really stressful feeling like you have no control over your body, and knowing you should not really have gotten pregnant right now, and praying all the time that things will work out fine. Exhausting, I tell you.
And that is also why you haven't seen much creativity happening here lately. I'm plodding along on my sockapaloooza socks, and staring longingly at the fabric and patterns I intend to use for sundresses for Daughter, and sort of ignoring the paid project I have to do; my brain and body are too wiped out to do much. It's times like this I wish I had a cook. And a maid.
Monday, April 03, 2006
catching zzzzzzzzzz's
Jeeeeeeezzzz...did you all read Dooce the last few days? And the comments? Holy crow. I have nothing crafty to show as the last several days have been all about MD appointments and broken car stuff, so maybe I'll talk about my daughter and sleep.
There are almost 500 comments as of right now (1:30 pm, Monday) on Heather's post about how they got their daughter to sleep through the night and how the process pushed her over the edge to the psych hospital admission...many of you have read back and know about that, I assume. I refuse to leave a comment and get into the fray of nastiness that's been going on since about comment #400. If you don't have anything better to do, go read some of the comments - but take several deep, cleansing breaths first because it'll probably rile you up.
I don't know how to make a baby sleep more or better. I breastfed Daughter from birth on-demand, I think, though I don't have the definitions of BF methods memorized. She was underweight at birth so I did have to be sure she was fed approximately every 2-2.5 hours during the day (yessiree, all we did was breastfeed in those days), but the doctor said I could let her sleep as long as possible at night. Here is what I did in the pm:
Daughter stayed up with us till about 10 each night, at which time I would change her diaper, wrap her up tightly, and lay her in the crib. She would generally sleep from 2.5 - 4 hours right off the bat, but would then wake for a change & feed. The poor kid had horrible reflux for the first couple months, so I'd feed her and then have to keep her body upright for at least 20 minutes. Usually during this time we'd fall asleep on the couch together and sleep for another 3 hours or so. When I woke up I'd carefully lay her back in the crib. Sometimes she'd sleep a few more hours, but usually she'd wake up within 1 hour for another feeding. At that time she would nap 3X each day, usually for 2-3 hours each time.
By 8 weeks she started lengthening the time she'd stay in the crib initially - I made it a point to ALWAYS start out by laying her in the crib so she would learn that was where she would sleep. As she gained weight she'd go longer during the night till we finally got to one middle-of-the-night feeding. Sometimes she'd wake up and cry a little bit, and we'd lay in bed holding our breath...but she managed to get herself back to sleep most of the time. One of us always crept in to check, though, as we were terrified of sids. We never had to let her "cry it out" or anything, which I guess was lucky, though Hub and I agreed if it came to that, we'd start between 3 and 4 months of age and no sooner (even the books we read advocated waiting until that point).
We'll see how it goes with the second one, but it seems that maintaining consistency with Daughter (always starting in the crib, keeping the lights off during night feedings, speaking quietly if at all, making diaper changes quick and uneventful, holding her till she fell back to sleep) helped a lot. There were a few nights when she cried a bit when put down, but by 10 weeks she could pretty much be put down awake and she'd go to sleep on her own, sleeping for about 8 hours, then 10, and now anywhere from 10-12. She still takes 2 naps per day.
The thing is, it's so irritating to a new mom when all people want to know is, "does she sleep?" Man, I swear. It's the RARE baby that sleeps anywhere near through the night from birth. By the time Daughter was 7 or 8 weeks, people - including, surprisingly, my own mother - were recommending books and methods to get Daughter to sleep more during the night. The thing was, I had accepted the fact that she would sleep through the night when she was ready, and I could only help her learn by doing the things mentioned above. Now, here is a disclaimer: I was not going back to work outside my home, so I didn't feel the push to get her to sleep through right away. Obviously, I needed and craved and desired more sleep for myself, but I leapt out of bed at Daughter's cries, and would have continued to do so for a longer time if I'd had to.
I will say that I would not continue to do this beyond 10-12 months, when weaning would take place. A baby of that age does not need to be fed during the night and is looking for comfort and attention. I'd certainly be trying to teach the child to comfort him/herself at that point. Mama does need her sleep and will be more effective at doing her job if she gets it. Also, it's just healthier for a child to have a night of uninterrupted sleep. However, this is MY point of view only (which is why I'm babbling about it here as opposed to in someone else's comments), and I feel terrible for the moms out there who are struggling with sleep issues right now. I don't know what advice to give so I cannot and will not give any. This is just a post about my experience with one child (and I'm sure I will be screwed when the second one comes as s/he will probably wake up 50 times each night and want to breastfeed till college).
But I am curious. Comment, if you wish, about what worked for you and your children. It's an interesting issue as every baby is different and every family is different.
There are almost 500 comments as of right now (1:30 pm, Monday) on Heather's post about how they got their daughter to sleep through the night and how the process pushed her over the edge to the psych hospital admission...many of you have read back and know about that, I assume. I refuse to leave a comment and get into the fray of nastiness that's been going on since about comment #400. If you don't have anything better to do, go read some of the comments - but take several deep, cleansing breaths first because it'll probably rile you up.
I don't know how to make a baby sleep more or better. I breastfed Daughter from birth on-demand, I think, though I don't have the definitions of BF methods memorized. She was underweight at birth so I did have to be sure she was fed approximately every 2-2.5 hours during the day (yessiree, all we did was breastfeed in those days), but the doctor said I could let her sleep as long as possible at night. Here is what I did in the pm:
Daughter stayed up with us till about 10 each night, at which time I would change her diaper, wrap her up tightly, and lay her in the crib. She would generally sleep from 2.5 - 4 hours right off the bat, but would then wake for a change & feed. The poor kid had horrible reflux for the first couple months, so I'd feed her and then have to keep her body upright for at least 20 minutes. Usually during this time we'd fall asleep on the couch together and sleep for another 3 hours or so. When I woke up I'd carefully lay her back in the crib. Sometimes she'd sleep a few more hours, but usually she'd wake up within 1 hour for another feeding. At that time she would nap 3X each day, usually for 2-3 hours each time.
By 8 weeks she started lengthening the time she'd stay in the crib initially - I made it a point to ALWAYS start out by laying her in the crib so she would learn that was where she would sleep. As she gained weight she'd go longer during the night till we finally got to one middle-of-the-night feeding. Sometimes she'd wake up and cry a little bit, and we'd lay in bed holding our breath...but she managed to get herself back to sleep most of the time. One of us always crept in to check, though, as we were terrified of sids. We never had to let her "cry it out" or anything, which I guess was lucky, though Hub and I agreed if it came to that, we'd start between 3 and 4 months of age and no sooner (even the books we read advocated waiting until that point).
We'll see how it goes with the second one, but it seems that maintaining consistency with Daughter (always starting in the crib, keeping the lights off during night feedings, speaking quietly if at all, making diaper changes quick and uneventful, holding her till she fell back to sleep) helped a lot. There were a few nights when she cried a bit when put down, but by 10 weeks she could pretty much be put down awake and she'd go to sleep on her own, sleeping for about 8 hours, then 10, and now anywhere from 10-12. She still takes 2 naps per day.
The thing is, it's so irritating to a new mom when all people want to know is, "does she sleep?" Man, I swear. It's the RARE baby that sleeps anywhere near through the night from birth. By the time Daughter was 7 or 8 weeks, people - including, surprisingly, my own mother - were recommending books and methods to get Daughter to sleep more during the night. The thing was, I had accepted the fact that she would sleep through the night when she was ready, and I could only help her learn by doing the things mentioned above. Now, here is a disclaimer: I was not going back to work outside my home, so I didn't feel the push to get her to sleep through right away. Obviously, I needed and craved and desired more sleep for myself, but I leapt out of bed at Daughter's cries, and would have continued to do so for a longer time if I'd had to.
I will say that I would not continue to do this beyond 10-12 months, when weaning would take place. A baby of that age does not need to be fed during the night and is looking for comfort and attention. I'd certainly be trying to teach the child to comfort him/herself at that point. Mama does need her sleep and will be more effective at doing her job if she gets it. Also, it's just healthier for a child to have a night of uninterrupted sleep. However, this is MY point of view only (which is why I'm babbling about it here as opposed to in someone else's comments), and I feel terrible for the moms out there who are struggling with sleep issues right now. I don't know what advice to give so I cannot and will not give any. This is just a post about my experience with one child (and I'm sure I will be screwed when the second one comes as s/he will probably wake up 50 times each night and want to breastfeed till college).
But I am curious. Comment, if you wish, about what worked for you and your children. It's an interesting issue as every baby is different and every family is different.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
reason number twelve bazillion why my mom is cool
the Lorna's Laces I talked about yesterday
a better shot of the colors - gorgeous!
Thanks, Mom!!
Friday, March 31, 2006
Proof that my car hates me and wants me to be unhappy (and poor)
Holy cow...do you know how much an ignition coil and 6 spark plugs cost?
$411.66
Dude! My car hates me!
Here is the quick story (if you are interested): yesterday Daughter and I went to the little town where we lived before buying our house in the sticks (stix? styx?). We dropped off some paid sewing and met up with a friend and her son (who is 6 days older than Daughter) for some coffee and a long walk. It was somewhere around 70 degrees so we wanted to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible. And we did. To the point where I was very tired indeed (pregnant, remember?). So we parted ways at about 3:15 or so, and Daughter and I scooted through the McD's drive thru on our way out of town so I could have a little salty goodness on the ride home. About 50 yards down the road my car started shaking wildly and making a wub-wub-wub noise. It also felt like it was going to stall, and the check engine light started flashing. I've seen the engine light go on before, but never a flash.
We pulled off into the parking lot of a Goodyear place (which we used for various car needs back when we lived there, conveniently enough), and I called the Hubster. He had me look under the hood (like THAT was going to accomplish anything) and then told me to head into the Goodyear and ask someone to check it out.
Mmmm-kay. So we have an exhausted, hot 11 month old who needs her afternoon nap, a sweaty pregnant woman who needs her McD's filet-o-fish meal (shut up, I am addicted), and approximately $7000 worth of borrowed sewing equipment in the back of the car (all that fancy embroidery I've showed you? Yeah, I totally don't own the machine, they lend it to me to do the work).
So blah blah blah, long story shorter, they hook my car up to "the computer" to diagnose the problem (boom! $90 immediately), I call Hub and wait something like 1.5 hours for him to show up (because he can't just run out of the office, and the office was about 40 minutes away to boot), and I try to entertain Daughter by feeding her little bites of my McD's fish sandwich. Luckily she loves fish. Also, I might have let her eat two very small fries. But I didn't give her any root beer. I have some standards. Anyway, Hub finally gets there, the service tech dude comes out to try to explain what they think is wrong, and then tells us they were supposed to go home 1.5 hours ago but stayed because I had no ride so they figured they might as well try to fix my car (this was at 5 pm). Which is nice. I've always liked this place because when I go for an oil change, they just do it and don't try to get me to buy anything else. Decent guys, really. They asked to keep the car overnight so they could be sure of the problem and repair it properly. So we unloaded the sewing equipment, moved the carseat, and headed out. The night continued to be a bit of a circus, involving some dinner, looking at cars, and a loooooooooooooong drive home - we finally got home at 9:30 and Daughter was so tired I just took her sweater off and let her sleep in her clothes. I was contemplating doing the same thing myself.
I'm sorry, that was kind of a long story about nothing. The moral actually is this: if your check engine light starts flashing that is BAD. I guess it's good I pulled right off the road because one of my ignition coils wasn't firing (or something) so the engine was pumping gas right out the exhaust system. Which can permanently damage the exhaust system, not surprisingly. So if your engine light starts flashing? Pull over. Get help. There you go. The end.
But! We are so getting a new car tomorrow! I don't think I'll share what it is, because that leads to financial information which is private (as opposed to the cost of a repair, which can happen to any of us). I'll just say it's kind of like a small SUV or a big hatchback car, depending on how you look at it. It's got 4-doors and the carseats fit (won that battle) but sporty (Hub's concern). And it's black. It looks super cool. Also it's a brand new model so we decided to do a 27 month lease, just in case it ends up having problems. But Hub is so excited - he has never owned a brand new car in his life, and this one only has 25 miles on it from test drives. I doubt he'll be letting me behind the wheel any time soon.
And! My mom is awesome. For many, many reasons. She got back to town today after more than a week away, and volunteered to drive me to get my car back - we were at my parents' house because of my OB appointment this morning, as my father stayed with Daughter so I could go to the office unencumbered. And she is watching Daughter Monday morning at 8 am so I can go to another MD appointment (a specialist), and then volunteered - without me even asking - to come to my house and stay with Daughter on Tuesday afternoon when I have yet another freaking appointment at the fetal monitoring center in the hospital where I will deliver. Yes, there is a bit of a problem but it is with me, not the babe. At least we are hoping it is not affecting the babe. Not to worry, I will share when the time is right. Now it's just tests and stuff. As of this morning the babe is growing, the heart rate is normal, my heart rate is normal, and things are going about 90% well.
Anyway, not only is my mom tireless when it comes to helping us out, she also brought me two super gorgeous skeins of Lorna's Laces sock yarn from her trip. Shazam! I will take photos tomorrow (dark right now), but suffice it to say the colorway blew my mind. I would never buy this yarn for myself at $10 per skein but my mother knows things are a little weird for me right now and got it for me as a gift. She is amazing. Here I am trying to think of a way to thank her for helping us so much and she gets a gift for me. Oy. Maybe I should knit this yarn up into socks for her?
I've been working a little on my sockapaloooza socks, but had lots of sewing to finish so that took priority. I've been given another sewing project to work on, so I need to get going - have to pay for that car repair somehow. But that's about it. I want to start some sundresses for Daughter but I guess I have time. The temps are going back down into the 50s next week.
And finally, this is random, but are any of you being totally inundated with ladybugs? My goodness, they are EVERYWHERE! And they dive-bomb us! I vacuum up a zillion of them every couple of days. Crazy.
$411.66
Dude! My car hates me!
Here is the quick story (if you are interested): yesterday Daughter and I went to the little town where we lived before buying our house in the sticks (stix? styx?). We dropped off some paid sewing and met up with a friend and her son (who is 6 days older than Daughter) for some coffee and a long walk. It was somewhere around 70 degrees so we wanted to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible. And we did. To the point where I was very tired indeed (pregnant, remember?). So we parted ways at about 3:15 or so, and Daughter and I scooted through the McD's drive thru on our way out of town so I could have a little salty goodness on the ride home. About 50 yards down the road my car started shaking wildly and making a wub-wub-wub noise. It also felt like it was going to stall, and the check engine light started flashing. I've seen the engine light go on before, but never a flash.
We pulled off into the parking lot of a Goodyear place (which we used for various car needs back when we lived there, conveniently enough), and I called the Hubster. He had me look under the hood (like THAT was going to accomplish anything) and then told me to head into the Goodyear and ask someone to check it out.
Mmmm-kay. So we have an exhausted, hot 11 month old who needs her afternoon nap, a sweaty pregnant woman who needs her McD's filet-o-fish meal (shut up, I am addicted), and approximately $7000 worth of borrowed sewing equipment in the back of the car (all that fancy embroidery I've showed you? Yeah, I totally don't own the machine, they lend it to me to do the work).
So blah blah blah, long story shorter, they hook my car up to "the computer" to diagnose the problem (boom! $90 immediately), I call Hub and wait something like 1.5 hours for him to show up (because he can't just run out of the office, and the office was about 40 minutes away to boot), and I try to entertain Daughter by feeding her little bites of my McD's fish sandwich. Luckily she loves fish. Also, I might have let her eat two very small fries. But I didn't give her any root beer. I have some standards. Anyway, Hub finally gets there, the service tech dude comes out to try to explain what they think is wrong, and then tells us they were supposed to go home 1.5 hours ago but stayed because I had no ride so they figured they might as well try to fix my car (this was at 5 pm). Which is nice. I've always liked this place because when I go for an oil change, they just do it and don't try to get me to buy anything else. Decent guys, really. They asked to keep the car overnight so they could be sure of the problem and repair it properly. So we unloaded the sewing equipment, moved the carseat, and headed out. The night continued to be a bit of a circus, involving some dinner, looking at cars, and a loooooooooooooong drive home - we finally got home at 9:30 and Daughter was so tired I just took her sweater off and let her sleep in her clothes. I was contemplating doing the same thing myself.
I'm sorry, that was kind of a long story about nothing. The moral actually is this: if your check engine light starts flashing that is BAD. I guess it's good I pulled right off the road because one of my ignition coils wasn't firing (or something) so the engine was pumping gas right out the exhaust system. Which can permanently damage the exhaust system, not surprisingly. So if your engine light starts flashing? Pull over. Get help. There you go. The end.
But! We are so getting a new car tomorrow! I don't think I'll share what it is, because that leads to financial information which is private (as opposed to the cost of a repair, which can happen to any of us). I'll just say it's kind of like a small SUV or a big hatchback car, depending on how you look at it. It's got 4-doors and the carseats fit (won that battle) but sporty (Hub's concern). And it's black. It looks super cool. Also it's a brand new model so we decided to do a 27 month lease, just in case it ends up having problems. But Hub is so excited - he has never owned a brand new car in his life, and this one only has 25 miles on it from test drives. I doubt he'll be letting me behind the wheel any time soon.
And! My mom is awesome. For many, many reasons. She got back to town today after more than a week away, and volunteered to drive me to get my car back - we were at my parents' house because of my OB appointment this morning, as my father stayed with Daughter so I could go to the office unencumbered. And she is watching Daughter Monday morning at 8 am so I can go to another MD appointment (a specialist), and then volunteered - without me even asking - to come to my house and stay with Daughter on Tuesday afternoon when I have yet another freaking appointment at the fetal monitoring center in the hospital where I will deliver. Yes, there is a bit of a problem but it is with me, not the babe. At least we are hoping it is not affecting the babe. Not to worry, I will share when the time is right. Now it's just tests and stuff. As of this morning the babe is growing, the heart rate is normal, my heart rate is normal, and things are going about 90% well.
Anyway, not only is my mom tireless when it comes to helping us out, she also brought me two super gorgeous skeins of Lorna's Laces sock yarn from her trip. Shazam! I will take photos tomorrow (dark right now), but suffice it to say the colorway blew my mind. I would never buy this yarn for myself at $10 per skein but my mother knows things are a little weird for me right now and got it for me as a gift. She is amazing. Here I am trying to think of a way to thank her for helping us so much and she gets a gift for me. Oy. Maybe I should knit this yarn up into socks for her?
I've been working a little on my sockapaloooza socks, but had lots of sewing to finish so that took priority. I've been given another sewing project to work on, so I need to get going - have to pay for that car repair somehow. But that's about it. I want to start some sundresses for Daughter but I guess I have time. The temps are going back down into the 50s next week.
And finally, this is random, but are any of you being totally inundated with ladybugs? My goodness, they are EVERYWHERE! And they dive-bomb us! I vacuum up a zillion of them every couple of days. Crazy.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
drive by
Hi! I'm still here, just very busy. My car broke again (engine trouble) so it was a stressful day but hopefully it should be fixed tomorrow. It'll probably cost a bundle though. Damn!
Also, tonight we leased a new car - whoo! It's to replace Hub's car that has 90000 miles on it and is threatening to break in a billion places. Long story.
And tomorrow I have an OB appointment so I'll be on the go some more...I promise to be back soon.
Also, tonight we leased a new car - whoo! It's to replace Hub's car that has 90000 miles on it and is threatening to break in a billion places. Long story.
And tomorrow I have an OB appointment so I'll be on the go some more...I promise to be back soon.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
A little warning would have been nice...
So the kid and I are sitting on the couch this morning, reading books in our pajamas as usual, when the doorbell rings. We are not expecting any visitors or packages, so that's weird. I scoop up the child and answer the door, and it's a man from the water authority, here to read our meter.
Well for heaven's sake, the sink is packed with dishes (dishwasher was running last night so the dinner dishes never made it in) and our breakfast detritus is spread all over the table and counters. I am in all my greasy-haired, no bra, glasses-wearing, barefoot glory. And there is a strange man in my house. And the water meter is under the kitchen sink due to the weird construction of our house (and the fact that it has no basement). Jeez. I am so embarrassed. Couldn't they have somehow warned their customers that a meter reader was coming? At 9 am? I would have at least put on something besides baby-food splattered pj pants.
So. That's that.
The following is not for the faint of heart. I have received enough feedback on the sockapaloooza socks to know that my feeling was right - the lace pattern has to go.
here's where we were yesterday
first needle coming out
two needles out
no more needles...time to pull
going.....going.....
sniffle
Oh well. Better to rip and start over than to continue on with a project that sucks. I think I may go with a rib...like a 3X1? I was going to try to salvage the 1X1 ribbing I already had but figured by the time I got the needles back into all 60 stitches I might just as well spend the time starting over. This is to be a short sock, so what do you think? Shall I start right in with the 3X1 rib, or do an inch or so of 1X1 first?
I want to point out that I have made a billion socks, but never to anyone's specifications. Typically I decide I'm making socks for myself or a recipient of my choosing, and they get what I feel like making that day. But I'm all nervous to make socks for a stranger. And also, I feel compelled to make something "special," as opposed to just a basic ol' sock. Which is probably dumb, but I see so many people making such gorgeous socks for their sock pals, and I don't want my recipient to think I'm some sort of loser slouch who can't make a fancy, pretty sock. It's just that I LOVE a basic sock, for its look and for its rhythmic knitting qualities. It's tv knitting, waiting-room knitting, mindless knitting at its finest. But I'm really nervous about disappointing my pal.
Of course, she will probably be more disappointed if I don't finish socks for her at all, so I'd better stop whining and start knitting.
Well for heaven's sake, the sink is packed with dishes (dishwasher was running last night so the dinner dishes never made it in) and our breakfast detritus is spread all over the table and counters. I am in all my greasy-haired, no bra, glasses-wearing, barefoot glory. And there is a strange man in my house. And the water meter is under the kitchen sink due to the weird construction of our house (and the fact that it has no basement). Jeez. I am so embarrassed. Couldn't they have somehow warned their customers that a meter reader was coming? At 9 am? I would have at least put on something besides baby-food splattered pj pants.
So. That's that.
The following is not for the faint of heart. I have received enough feedback on the sockapaloooza socks to know that my feeling was right - the lace pattern has to go.
here's where we were yesterday
first needle coming out
two needles out
no more needles...time to pull
going.....going.....
sniffle
Oh well. Better to rip and start over than to continue on with a project that sucks. I think I may go with a rib...like a 3X1? I was going to try to salvage the 1X1 ribbing I already had but figured by the time I got the needles back into all 60 stitches I might just as well spend the time starting over. This is to be a short sock, so what do you think? Shall I start right in with the 3X1 rib, or do an inch or so of 1X1 first?
I want to point out that I have made a billion socks, but never to anyone's specifications. Typically I decide I'm making socks for myself or a recipient of my choosing, and they get what I feel like making that day. But I'm all nervous to make socks for a stranger. And also, I feel compelled to make something "special," as opposed to just a basic ol' sock. Which is probably dumb, but I see so many people making such gorgeous socks for their sock pals, and I don't want my recipient to think I'm some sort of loser slouch who can't make a fancy, pretty sock. It's just that I LOVE a basic sock, for its look and for its rhythmic knitting qualities. It's tv knitting, waiting-room knitting, mindless knitting at its finest. But I'm really nervous about disappointing my pal.
Of course, she will probably be more disappointed if I don't finish socks for her at all, so I'd better stop whining and start knitting.
Monday, March 27, 2006
Quick! We need a vote!
Whew, now that Sesame nostalgia and the weekend are over, I've got to ask you all what you think of my sockapaloooza socks. Because I don't think I like 'em.
side 1
side 2
First of all, I'm not enjoying this pattern (Simply Lovely Lace Socks from Spring '06 IK). There's absolutely nothing wrong with it from a technical standpoint, I'm just getting sick of all this ktbl stuff on every stinking round. Plus I really don't think the pattern and yarn are suited for each other. And I'm getting odd striping and pooling, especially on ye olde foote. I've never used this yarn before - it's Sock Landscape from Knitpicks - and it seems a tad heavy for a lacy pattern. It knits up into a slightly "bulkier" fabric than I think would be appropriate for lace. I'm probably answering my own question here, but should I rip this sucker and start over, maybe with just a traditional plain ol' stockinette ankle sock? A little 1X1 rib and then just knit away? I could knock those out in less than a week, as opposed to this little stinker which has already eaten up most of March (mostly because I don't enjoy working on it, so I let it sit on the coffee table and stew).
I am lazy and I don't think I have enough readers to merit a real blog poll, so please leave me a comment with your opinion (if you have one). I'm not knitting another stitch until I figure this out!
side 1
side 2
First of all, I'm not enjoying this pattern (Simply Lovely Lace Socks from Spring '06 IK). There's absolutely nothing wrong with it from a technical standpoint, I'm just getting sick of all this ktbl stuff on every stinking round. Plus I really don't think the pattern and yarn are suited for each other. And I'm getting odd striping and pooling, especially on ye olde foote. I've never used this yarn before - it's Sock Landscape from Knitpicks - and it seems a tad heavy for a lacy pattern. It knits up into a slightly "bulkier" fabric than I think would be appropriate for lace. I'm probably answering my own question here, but should I rip this sucker and start over, maybe with just a traditional plain ol' stockinette ankle sock? A little 1X1 rib and then just knit away? I could knock those out in less than a week, as opposed to this little stinker which has already eaten up most of March (mostly because I don't enjoy working on it, so I let it sit on the coffee table and stew).
I am lazy and I don't think I have enough readers to merit a real blog poll, so please leave me a comment with your opinion (if you have one). I'm not knitting another stitch until I figure this out!
Friday, March 24, 2006
Sesame Street Unpaved
This may just make me a giant loser, but I want to confess to the world that I love Sesame Street. We're talking old-school Sesame, of course, before the arrival of hip-hop and Elmo, back when "would ya' like to buy an 'O'," and "I can't hear you, I've got a banana in my ear," and "Monsterpiece Theater" were the order of the day. Back when Supergrover was a regular skit, and the show started with Barkley and the kids running behind that tree but not coming out the other side.
So while Daughter and I were watching the show this morning, I started looking up Sesame trivia on my laptop. And I discovered the existence of this book:
Yep, it's called Sesame Street Unpaved; Scripts, stories, secrets and songs. You guys, I am over the moon right now. I couldn't wait for Daughter to wake up from her morning nap so we could eat lunch and run to the library. This. Book. Is. Awesome.
Excuse me, please. I have to go curl up with my cup of tea and this incredible book of childhood memory crack.
Edited to add: I was reading and got to the part about when Mr. Hooper died...and I got crying so hard I couldn't see the pages anymore. I remember it - it was 1982, I was 6 years old, and I remember the sadness of it. Do you? Tell me this doesn't knock you over:
"I remember the last day I saw him. I thought, he is very ill, but he isn't talking about it. And so I put my arm around his shoulder - I had the bird feet on - and I said, 'I love you Mr. Looper.' And he said, 'And I love you, Caroll.' And that was our good-bye. He died four days later." (Caroll Spinney, who plays Big Bird)
So while Daughter and I were watching the show this morning, I started looking up Sesame trivia on my laptop. And I discovered the existence of this book:
Yep, it's called Sesame Street Unpaved; Scripts, stories, secrets and songs. You guys, I am over the moon right now. I couldn't wait for Daughter to wake up from her morning nap so we could eat lunch and run to the library. This. Book. Is. Awesome.
Excuse me, please. I have to go curl up with my cup of tea and this incredible book of childhood memory crack.
Edited to add: I was reading and got to the part about when Mr. Hooper died...and I got crying so hard I couldn't see the pages anymore. I remember it - it was 1982, I was 6 years old, and I remember the sadness of it. Do you? Tell me this doesn't knock you over:
"I remember the last day I saw him. I thought, he is very ill, but he isn't talking about it. And so I put my arm around his shoulder - I had the bird feet on - and I said, 'I love you Mr. Looper.' And he said, 'And I love you, Caroll.' And that was our good-bye. He died four days later." (Caroll Spinney, who plays Big Bird)
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Another finished object I don't get to keep
This is a pillow (cover) that I just finished for the shop. The embroidery is a hydrangea (?) and I surrounded it by making a sort-of pineapple block. As I've mentioned before, I don't pick the stuff out, I just put it together. I kind of like this one, though. It's about 18-19 inches finished, which will probably accomodate an 18" pillow form. The back is just two overlapping flaps of coordinating fabric. Not exciting enough to merit a photo.
*****
I haven't mentioned this because it didn't really seem blogworthy, but Husband and I are quite interested in selling our house. There are various reasons for this, many of them personal - one big reason being that with two babies I'll need some help from our moms and they live 45 minutes away. We'd like to get a little closer. Also we have no basement or garage which is starting to create a real storage problem (a problem exacerbated by the fact that I sew and knit, and husband is a computer-guy pack rat). Also, we have two bedrooms downstairs at one end of the house, and one upstairs at the opposite end. Right now we sleep in one of the downstairs bedrooms, and Daughter is in the room next to us. Both are quite small, but appropriate for children and child-sized furniture. We surely did not plan to have two children while living here (it was always meant to be temporary), but now we are. So we're facing a dilemma as to bedroom arrangement. As it stands, the new babe will have to be in with us...which will be cramped, but we can't put new babe in with Daughter till we've achieved sleeping-through-the-night consistently. I'm not dealing with TWO children waking up 4 times every night. Anyhoo, Husband and I could move upstairs, but then we'd be a mile away from the kids, separated by the front door and the kitchen (read: burglars/kidnappers and potential for fire), so that's not an option right now. We'd love to expand the first floor to make room for all of us to be comfy, but hahaha, we have no money.
Point is, we want out.
We tried to sell last fall, but had no takers. The problem is we can't really afford realtor fees so we had to jack up the selling price to do so. Which totally made the house over-priced. We are thinking of trying to sell on our own with America's Choice (so we'd get advertising and a company behind us, but save money).
I also have to mention that the area in which we live has NOTHING. I think there are two churches and a hardware store but that's all. You have to travel a serious distance to even hit a convenience store. Grocery shopping? The mall? It's a half-day experience by the time you drive there, shop, and come home. BUT! The whole point of all this rambling is that Hub and I feel we got some great news last night. There was a blurb in the paper indicating that the company Hub works for will be developing this old, burnt-out plaza and making it into a SUPER Wal-Mart, along with a bunch of other retail. This old crappy plaza is only a few miles up the main road from our house. Hallelujah! God has answered my prayers and is making this area attractive! I mean, I kind of loath Wal-Mart, but a hee-yooge new shopping plaza where you can get everything can only help us sell, right?
Please tell me I'm right so I can keep doing my happy dance.
Point is, we want out.
We tried to sell last fall, but had no takers. The problem is we can't really afford realtor fees so we had to jack up the selling price to do so. Which totally made the house over-priced. We are thinking of trying to sell on our own with America's Choice (so we'd get advertising and a company behind us, but save money).
I also have to mention that the area in which we live has NOTHING. I think there are two churches and a hardware store but that's all. You have to travel a serious distance to even hit a convenience store. Grocery shopping? The mall? It's a half-day experience by the time you drive there, shop, and come home. BUT! The whole point of all this rambling is that Hub and I feel we got some great news last night. There was a blurb in the paper indicating that the company Hub works for will be developing this old, burnt-out plaza and making it into a SUPER Wal-Mart, along with a bunch of other retail. This old crappy plaza is only a few miles up the main road from our house. Hallelujah! God has answered my prayers and is making this area attractive! I mean, I kind of loath Wal-Mart, but a hee-yooge new shopping plaza where you can get everything can only help us sell, right?
Please tell me I'm right so I can keep doing my happy dance.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
The Royal Quilt, Your Highness...
This is the more accurate photo as far as color is concerned. You can't see it here because I had lousy light, but the words "dream," "wish," "fairy godmother," and "love" are also embroidered.
The colors are garish here but you can see the embroidery placement better.
Extreme closeup of a corner, so you can see a design (frog prince) and one of the words I chose to embroider.
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Another closeup to show the little castle embroidery and some "happily ever after..."
Random Stuff
I will probably have a photo of the princess quilt later this morning. Thanks to those who commented with excellent suggestions!
Please go give Beth some support, as her beloved cat has passed on.
It is totally snowing like gangbusters here. It's March 22, so I'm all done with winter now. I guess Mother Nature didn't get the memo. This is, thankfully, light snow...unlike this time last year when it snowed buckets of wet, heavy mess that brought a neighbor's tree down into our yard. The tree is still there because our neighbors suck. We'll be removing it ourselves this spring, I guess. But we're totally tossing the cut pieces back into their yard.
We've got Daughter's birthday party pretty much under control. It's only going to be about 8-10 people, and it's the day before Easter so it'll be low-key. We're just doing a cold cut platter with fresh rolls and toppings, potato salad and probably fruit salad, and some cake and coffee. Done. This will undoubtedly disappoint my mother-in-law who wants a theme, lots of decorations, and probably also a pony. My decorations will most likely be a little happy birthday banner and some matchy cups and plates. Done and done.
Do any of you watch The Shield? Or have husbands who make you watch The Shield (that would be me)? If so, did you watch the season finale last night?? Criminy! I hated the ending. It's still kind of making me mad. Also, um, enough violence already. My kind of cop show is like, Law & Order or maybe CSI if nothing else is on. That's implied violence or maybe violence "lite," just enough so you get the idea of the crime. The Shield? Nuh-uh, man. Stuff blows up right in your face on that show. So do people. Ugh.
On the flip side, I love how Sesame Street still has some of the great little skits from the 70s and 80s worked into the new shows. This week the little cartoon stick figure girl trying to build a sand castle in the surf made me particularly happy. I'm sure some of you remember that one if you're old like me.
Daughter helped me knit my sockapaloooza socks this weekend. She helped by pulling out the needle holding the 30 instep stitches. Which were in a lace pattern. Thanks, Daughter! Sooooooo helpful! It's a good thing you're cute...
Finally, I am 11 weeks preg-o-nant today and besides being so tired I fall asleep sitting up, I feel really good. Other than that little stomach flu problem from a couple weeks ago, I've been in good shape. I cannot even describe the difference between pregnancy with morning sickness and pregnancy without. With Daughter, I was so cognizant of being pregnant from about 8 weeks because I was puking all the time, morning and night. This time I can get stuff done without being glued to the couch with crackers and ginger ale. It's kind of awesome.
That really was random, eh? Sorry for the disjointed-ness. That's just my brain this week.
Please go give Beth some support, as her beloved cat has passed on.
It is totally snowing like gangbusters here. It's March 22, so I'm all done with winter now. I guess Mother Nature didn't get the memo. This is, thankfully, light snow...unlike this time last year when it snowed buckets of wet, heavy mess that brought a neighbor's tree down into our yard. The tree is still there because our neighbors suck. We'll be removing it ourselves this spring, I guess. But we're totally tossing the cut pieces back into their yard.
We've got Daughter's birthday party pretty much under control. It's only going to be about 8-10 people, and it's the day before Easter so it'll be low-key. We're just doing a cold cut platter with fresh rolls and toppings, potato salad and probably fruit salad, and some cake and coffee. Done. This will undoubtedly disappoint my mother-in-law who wants a theme, lots of decorations, and probably also a pony. My decorations will most likely be a little happy birthday banner and some matchy cups and plates. Done and done.
Do any of you watch The Shield? Or have husbands who make you watch The Shield (that would be me)? If so, did you watch the season finale last night?? Criminy! I hated the ending. It's still kind of making me mad. Also, um, enough violence already. My kind of cop show is like, Law & Order or maybe CSI if nothing else is on. That's implied violence or maybe violence "lite," just enough so you get the idea of the crime. The Shield? Nuh-uh, man. Stuff blows up right in your face on that show. So do people. Ugh.
On the flip side, I love how Sesame Street still has some of the great little skits from the 70s and 80s worked into the new shows. This week the little cartoon stick figure girl trying to build a sand castle in the surf made me particularly happy. I'm sure some of you remember that one if you're old like me.
Daughter helped me knit my sockapaloooza socks this weekend. She helped by pulling out the needle holding the 30 instep stitches. Which were in a lace pattern. Thanks, Daughter! Sooooooo helpful! It's a good thing you're cute...
Finally, I am 11 weeks preg-o-nant today and besides being so tired I fall asleep sitting up, I feel really good. Other than that little stomach flu problem from a couple weeks ago, I've been in good shape. I cannot even describe the difference between pregnancy with morning sickness and pregnancy without. With Daughter, I was so cognizant of being pregnant from about 8 weeks because I was puking all the time, morning and night. This time I can get stuff done without being glued to the couch with crackers and ginger ale. It's kind of awesome.
That really was random, eh? Sorry for the disjointed-ness. That's just my brain this week.
Monday, March 20, 2006
I'll take "Things having to do with Princesses" for $200, Alex
Can I ask for some help from those of you with children into princess stuff? Or maybe you are really into princess stuff and can offer some suggestions (it's ok, no one needs to know). We are mercifully far away from loving all things Disney and princess-related, and I was never much into that stuff, so I'm at a loss and I need help to finish a project.
I'm embroidering (by machine) a quilt top with all kinds of princess-related junk, and I need some phrases/words having to do with princess life. I already have "princess," "fairy godmother," and "handsome prince." I could probably squeeze "once upon a time" in somewhere, but I need a few (maybe 2 or 3 more) shorter things to add.
The hitch is, I can't use "belle" or "cinderella" or anything from a specific story/movie. I went with "handsome prince" instead of "prince charming" for that reason.
You guys got any ideas? I'm hoping to finish this one up today and get on to other things, so I anxiously await your brilliance!! Thanks in advance, and I'll post a pic when it's done!
I'm embroidering (by machine) a quilt top with all kinds of princess-related junk, and I need some phrases/words having to do with princess life. I already have "princess," "fairy godmother," and "handsome prince." I could probably squeeze "once upon a time" in somewhere, but I need a few (maybe 2 or 3 more) shorter things to add.
The hitch is, I can't use "belle" or "cinderella" or anything from a specific story/movie. I went with "handsome prince" instead of "prince charming" for that reason.
You guys got any ideas? I'm hoping to finish this one up today and get on to other things, so I anxiously await your brilliance!! Thanks in advance, and I'll post a pic when it's done!
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Eleven
Daughter is 11 months old today.
In a month I'll have a one-year-old.
How can this be? Where did the year go? I'm sure she was just born a few days ago...
In a month I'll have a one-year-old.
How can this be? Where did the year go? I'm sure she was just born a few days ago...
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Me 'n Earl
So we left the house at about 8:30 this morning, which on a Saturday is like asking my husband to dunk himself in toxic waste, so that we could drop the dog at the groomer and meet my parents at about 9:00. Remember, we were heading out for the Maple Weekend Pancake Experience.
We drove
and drove
and drove
until we finally reached the sugar shack chosen by my parents. It was totally freezing out, and very windy. We got Daughter out of the car and started walking up to the shack only to find out there was a 1.5 hour wait. For pancakes, people. Pancakes.
So that was a bust. We ended up heading back to the nearest "town" and we pulled into the Earl's parking lot. Earl's is a 50 year-old diner type of place, famous (I found out today) for their pies, and named for this man:
It was packed, mostly with people who went to a sugar shack and freaked at the wait. This was our table - those are the table legs. With jeans and boots on them.
The most complicated thing anyone at our table ordered was steak and eggs (that was Hubby), and it took 50 minutes to arrive. That's fifty. 5-0.
My dad is funny - we are just alike. Quite tolerant of bullshit for a short time, but once we hit the wall we can't help but get mouthy. So Dad finally asked the waitress if there was a problem, and she gave us some line about how there were only two cooks. No apology or anything. A few minutes later Earl himself came to our table to say our breakfast was "just inches away." It finally came and it was good, but do you know what happens when you make an 11-month old baby sit in a high chair for that long? It's not so pretty. Thank god she's as good as she is or we'd have been in big trouble.
Anyway we cruised around some more after that to find a maple farm and buy syrup, which we did. But it was a really looooooooong morning, and Husband isn't about to let me live it down. Every time he asks me for something today I have to do it or he whines about how he drove for 5 hours this morning so I could buy some maple syrup.
Bah. Next year we'll drive straight to the maple farm and buy the syrup. Or just get it at the supermarket.
That was probably a really boring post. I'm sorry - stay tuned for something more interesting soon!
Ya'll, I stole those two photos from another website, but I can't find it now to give credit.
We drove
and drove
and drove
until we finally reached the sugar shack chosen by my parents. It was totally freezing out, and very windy. We got Daughter out of the car and started walking up to the shack only to find out there was a 1.5 hour wait. For pancakes, people. Pancakes.
So that was a bust. We ended up heading back to the nearest "town" and we pulled into the Earl's parking lot. Earl's is a 50 year-old diner type of place, famous (I found out today) for their pies, and named for this man:
It was packed, mostly with people who went to a sugar shack and freaked at the wait. This was our table - those are the table legs. With jeans and boots on them.
The most complicated thing anyone at our table ordered was steak and eggs (that was Hubby), and it took 50 minutes to arrive. That's fifty. 5-0.
My dad is funny - we are just alike. Quite tolerant of bullshit for a short time, but once we hit the wall we can't help but get mouthy. So Dad finally asked the waitress if there was a problem, and she gave us some line about how there were only two cooks. No apology or anything. A few minutes later Earl himself came to our table to say our breakfast was "just inches away." It finally came and it was good, but do you know what happens when you make an 11-month old baby sit in a high chair for that long? It's not so pretty. Thank god she's as good as she is or we'd have been in big trouble.
Anyway we cruised around some more after that to find a maple farm and buy syrup, which we did. But it was a really looooooooong morning, and Husband isn't about to let me live it down. Every time he asks me for something today I have to do it or he whines about how he drove for 5 hours this morning so I could buy some maple syrup.
Bah. Next year we'll drive straight to the maple farm and buy the syrup. Or just get it at the supermarket.
That was probably a really boring post. I'm sorry - stay tuned for something more interesting soon!
Ya'll, I stole those two photos from another website, but I can't find it now to give credit.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Apparently this is a post about food
I wish I had something interesting to say or show today. I feel like I've been in a holding pattern this week with nothing moving forward in my life. Which I guess makes sense in a week following a sickness...just cleaning up the detritus of a lost week.
Today is grocery day, and general straightening-up day.
Tomorrow begins Maple Weekend here - one of the most awesome things about living in New York State. Everywhere you go there are bazillions of maple buckets hanging from the trees as syrup makers tap away. The next two days will be a flurry of pancake breakfasts at all the local sugar shacks. You pay for a breakfast of your choice (bacon and eggs, or whatever) and they bring you unlimited pancakes to go with it. So you gorge yourself and then buy a big ol' jug of fresh maple syrup to (hopefully) last a year until next maple season. We're going with my mom and dad tomorrow morning. The dog will be dropped off at the groomer on our way, so she can get her hair cut whilst we stuff ourselves.
Sunday is St. Joseph's Day, for the eye-talians out there (and whomever else celebrates it, though I know we Italians really do it up). We're heading to my parents' house for that one, where we will again eat ourselves silly. If you've never had a sfingi, (pronounced sfeen-jee), I am so sorry. Find yourself an Italian friend and see if you can't score one of these awesome little treats this Sunday!
And of course today is St. Patrick's Day, so you all have fun drinking your green beer and partying, ok? I obviously won't be participating in that sort of revelry. We will be inhaling Irish soda bread though, that's for sure.
In between all these meals there is sewing and knitting to be done. If I can come out of my food coma we'll see what I can do.
Today is grocery day, and general straightening-up day.
Tomorrow begins Maple Weekend here - one of the most awesome things about living in New York State. Everywhere you go there are bazillions of maple buckets hanging from the trees as syrup makers tap away. The next two days will be a flurry of pancake breakfasts at all the local sugar shacks. You pay for a breakfast of your choice (bacon and eggs, or whatever) and they bring you unlimited pancakes to go with it. So you gorge yourself and then buy a big ol' jug of fresh maple syrup to (hopefully) last a year until next maple season. We're going with my mom and dad tomorrow morning. The dog will be dropped off at the groomer on our way, so she can get her hair cut whilst we stuff ourselves.
Sunday is St. Joseph's Day, for the eye-talians out there (and whomever else celebrates it, though I know we Italians really do it up). We're heading to my parents' house for that one, where we will again eat ourselves silly. If you've never had a sfingi, (pronounced sfeen-jee), I am so sorry. Find yourself an Italian friend and see if you can't score one of these awesome little treats this Sunday!
And of course today is St. Patrick's Day, so you all have fun drinking your green beer and partying, ok? I obviously won't be participating in that sort of revelry. We will be inhaling Irish soda bread though, that's for sure.
In between all these meals there is sewing and knitting to be done. If I can come out of my food coma we'll see what I can do.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
My baloney has a first name, it's b-l-o-g
I don't know if anyone read it, but I have removed yesterday's ranting post about my mortgage woes. No one needs to read that baloney. It's not what this blog is about and it's not why you come here, right?
On to the more fun stuff.
I have a to-do list that's twelve miles long (as I'm sure you do also). On it are:
Dulaan knits. Seriously...how long have the Olympics been over? And this pile still waits for end-weaving. The goal is to get them all done and in the mail by the weekend.
Two baby gift basket liners that need edge stitching, two wallhangings, and a little girl princess quilt that's just begging for a steam pressing. All paid projects, for which I will get some bucks if I ever finish and hand them in.
A purdy hydrangea embroidery that I'm turning into a pillow - needs one more purple before I can finish it, but for that I'll have to go to the shop tomorrow, turn in the rest of the projects, and pick something out.
My companion for the day. I took this photo 1/2 hour ago and already that sunshine is gone. Boo! That stinks! I'm starting to suffer from lack of sun - I don't care if it stays cold outside, just give me some sunshine!
So that's wazzup around here. Also I want to note this so I can write it down later: Daughter is suddenly very much into hugging everyone and even sometimes giving out one of her trademark goopy kisses. She has developed one heck of a throwing arm and uses it to chuck blocks at the keyboard when I'm typing. Also, she has taken some stabs at spearing food with her baby fork. We are so proud!
On to the more fun stuff.
I have a to-do list that's twelve miles long (as I'm sure you do also). On it are:
Dulaan knits. Seriously...how long have the Olympics been over? And this pile still waits for end-weaving. The goal is to get them all done and in the mail by the weekend.
Two baby gift basket liners that need edge stitching, two wallhangings, and a little girl princess quilt that's just begging for a steam pressing. All paid projects, for which I will get some bucks if I ever finish and hand them in.
A purdy hydrangea embroidery that I'm turning into a pillow - needs one more purple before I can finish it, but for that I'll have to go to the shop tomorrow, turn in the rest of the projects, and pick something out.
My companion for the day. I took this photo 1/2 hour ago and already that sunshine is gone. Boo! That stinks! I'm starting to suffer from lack of sun - I don't care if it stays cold outside, just give me some sunshine!
So that's wazzup around here. Also I want to note this so I can write it down later: Daughter is suddenly very much into hugging everyone and even sometimes giving out one of her trademark goopy kisses. She has developed one heck of a throwing arm and uses it to chuck blocks at the keyboard when I'm typing. Also, she has taken some stabs at spearing food with her baby fork. We are so proud!
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Drive by...
This is a drive by post to say we're very busy today! Hopefully I'll be back later after appointments and oil changes and errands to say something interesting...
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Sockapaloooza and a Recycling Dilemma
I meant to say thank you for all the nice comments over the last week. I was huddled on the couch with my computer, so I read them all. I kept up with all of your blogs though there was nothing pleasant to write on my own. Anyway, I'm sorry I haven't answered comments individually but after a week of sloth, my house...ummmm, yes, well...it looks like a crap hole. I'm just quickly posting and moving on to things like scraping up over a week's worth of accumulated grunge, mail/paperwork, bathroom mess, laundry, etc. That's the worst part about being the sick Mommy. Once you get better you're punished for having been sick in the first place!
So anyway, there has been some late-night knitting. Last night Hub and I watched a movie called The Great Raid. I hadn't heard of it but we both enjoy a good WWII movie so we checked it out. Plus it starred Benjamin Bratt, who is watchable under any circumstances. Can I get an amen?
It was a good story, focusing on the Pacific theater of WWII, which you don't usually see. But it was kind of slow, mainly showing the extensive military planning that went into the rescue/raid. So it made for some decent knitting time. I decided since we're almost halfway through March already it might be nice if I started my sockapaloooza socks. Though in my defense there was some confusion (mine) over the definition of "ankle socks" and I dilly-dallied about starting because I didn't know what kind of cuff my pal wanted. I still don't know the exact definition of "ankle sock" but we're going with a short-ish cuff.
simply lovely lace socks, from Spring 2006 IK
I'm hoping my pal likes a lace sock! This is such a total departure from my usual sock knitting. I live in freaking Buffalo, for pete's sake - I would knit my socks right up to my eyeballs if I could. The concept of ankle socks is so foreign to me! If you know anything about Buffalo you know we go from wooly knee socks weather to Birkenstock weather over about 2 days each "Spring." So there's never even time for a shorty sock 'round here.
Here's another view of the beginning of a cuff. I'm using part of my birthday haul - Knitpicks Sock Landscape in spring prairie, which I adore. I was planning to selfishly hoard this yarn but decided to go ahead and use it for my pal. I can always order it again.
I'm hoping the pattern will show up in this yarn. It will certainly look different in a multi than a solid. Also, I'm cheating with the yarn weight and needle size. Neither are what the pattern calls for, but I always knit my socks on size 2 needles with 60 stitches (which I am doing here), so I think these might work out fine.
attack of the giant hand!!!
And now, a dilemma. Do you have Panera where you live? We don't have one in our little 'burb, but in the much bigger, more affluent area where our parents live there are several. I learned to love Panera on my way back and forth to college, as there was one at a particularly nice highway rest stop. So yesterday after I got my car back (yay!) I stopped in there to get some celebratory bagels. Particularly cinnamon crunch bagels, for which I'm pretty sure I would sell my soul. But here is the problem. When you get the "bagel deal" (13 bagels and 2 spreads), you get this thing:
box o' bagels!
My crafty, recyling side just twitches when I think of throwing this awesome cardboard box in the garbage. It's huge! It's sturdy! It's cute! I feel like surely I could use it for something.
Oh well. It will probably end up in the recycling bin (if my husband has anything to do with it). Unless anyone has a better idea...(?)
So anyway, there has been some late-night knitting. Last night Hub and I watched a movie called The Great Raid. I hadn't heard of it but we both enjoy a good WWII movie so we checked it out. Plus it starred Benjamin Bratt, who is watchable under any circumstances. Can I get an amen?
It was a good story, focusing on the Pacific theater of WWII, which you don't usually see. But it was kind of slow, mainly showing the extensive military planning that went into the rescue/raid. So it made for some decent knitting time. I decided since we're almost halfway through March already it might be nice if I started my sockapaloooza socks. Though in my defense there was some confusion (mine) over the definition of "ankle socks" and I dilly-dallied about starting because I didn't know what kind of cuff my pal wanted. I still don't know the exact definition of "ankle sock" but we're going with a short-ish cuff.
simply lovely lace socks, from Spring 2006 IK
I'm hoping my pal likes a lace sock! This is such a total departure from my usual sock knitting. I live in freaking Buffalo, for pete's sake - I would knit my socks right up to my eyeballs if I could. The concept of ankle socks is so foreign to me! If you know anything about Buffalo you know we go from wooly knee socks weather to Birkenstock weather over about 2 days each "Spring." So there's never even time for a shorty sock 'round here.
Here's another view of the beginning of a cuff. I'm using part of my birthday haul - Knitpicks Sock Landscape in spring prairie, which I adore. I was planning to selfishly hoard this yarn but decided to go ahead and use it for my pal. I can always order it again.
I'm hoping the pattern will show up in this yarn. It will certainly look different in a multi than a solid. Also, I'm cheating with the yarn weight and needle size. Neither are what the pattern calls for, but I always knit my socks on size 2 needles with 60 stitches (which I am doing here), so I think these might work out fine.
attack of the giant hand!!!
And now, a dilemma. Do you have Panera where you live? We don't have one in our little 'burb, but in the much bigger, more affluent area where our parents live there are several. I learned to love Panera on my way back and forth to college, as there was one at a particularly nice highway rest stop. So yesterday after I got my car back (yay!) I stopped in there to get some celebratory bagels. Particularly cinnamon crunch bagels, for which I'm pretty sure I would sell my soul. But here is the problem. When you get the "bagel deal" (13 bagels and 2 spreads), you get this thing:
box o' bagels!
My crafty, recyling side just twitches when I think of throwing this awesome cardboard box in the garbage. It's huge! It's sturdy! It's cute! I feel like surely I could use it for something.
Oh well. It will probably end up in the recycling bin (if my husband has anything to do with it). Unless anyone has a better idea...(?)
Friday, March 10, 2006
I'm Baaaaaa-aaack
Hi! Hello there! I'm not dead! Which is a marked improvement over the past week or so, when I'm pretty sure I was, in fact, dead.
Do I still have readers? Or did you all decide I was never coming back?
Hot Knitting Action
Well, the amount of knitting I accomplished between Saturday and yesterday could be most accurately summed up as "zero." But I was feeling better yesterday so I got Secret Garden back out and worked a few more rows.
The color isn't too bad here
I made a mistake, though. And I was too tired last night to try fixing it. I missed a couple of yarn-overs on the last right side row. I know I can drop down and fix them, but not with tired brain.
see? whoops.
But just because my knitting production has stalled doesn't mean there isn't an amazing new FO around these parts!
check it out! my mom is awesome!
This is a little cotton cardigan from a Dale book - I'm sorry, I don't know which one as it's my mom's and it lives at her house. I also can't tell you what this flecked yarn is, though I do know it's cotton, and was knitted on US size 1 needles. The sweater is for my daughter, in the 12 month size. It's quite large though, and stretchy.
Look at those little stitches! I usually do more technically challenging patterns than my mom does, but she kicks my butt when it comes to actual stitch quality. Of course, she has patience, which I sadly lack. Also check out that crochet edging, which also forms the buttonholes. It's just perfect. Thanks, Mom! We love it!
Stuff that is not knitting
In other news, Daughter has made some advances over the last week or so. When I was really feeling sick I just couldn't nurse anymore so we stopped. It's been almost a week and we both seem to be fine. I also gave up on trying to give her formula because it wasn't worth the trauma for both of us. We've been working on milk instead, and I finally got her to drink it - in serious quantity - by putting in a little chocolate syrup. I KNOW, that's not great, but please don't leave me comments about how I'm ruining my child. I use the teeniest squirt you've ever seen and will decrease it as she gets used to drinking the milk. Also, Hershey makes a syrup now that has calcium and some other good stuff in it to offset the sugar & chocolate. And I know chocolate has caffeine. Don't worry, we're watching her like a hawk for any ill effects. Right now we're just happy she's drinking.
Also, she has started rolling around and playing in her crib when she wakes up. Yes, I realize many babies do this around 4-6 months, but we're a lazy bunch. This morning I thought she was sitting up at first, until I got all the way to the crib - she was on her tummy and pushing up on her arms, so all I saw was her head over the bumpers. I know it won't be long till she's sitting and standing in there.
I also have to share this cool thing I found in Parents magazine. Daughter's first birthday is around the corner, and I have wrestled control of the occasion back from my mother-in-law (a story for another day). I had been thinking cupcakes rather than a big cake for several reasons, and when I saw this I knew it would be awesome:
Isn't that adorable?!? And the best part is it uses mini cupcakes for the petals (notice the center cupcake is normal size). I know many people don't like a big piece of cake so this will be perfect. I probably won't use the watermelon laffy-taffy for the stem & leaves as I think it'll smell disgusting. Maybe fondant? Or almond paste? Or I could probably just pipe some green icing on the serving tray. Anyway, I'm thinking with some cute coordinating paper plates and napkins I'll be all set. My m-i-l wants a big old theme with decorations up, down, and sideways...and she has repeatedly offered to buy all the stuff. But that's just not my style. Plus the kid is only 1! She won't know the difference anyway, she'll just like smooshing the cupcake.
That's pretty much all the news 'round here. My car is still in the shop as they ended up having to replace the hood. I've been sans car for almost two full weeks now and it's driving me bananas. If I hadn't been so sick this week I'd probably be crazy by now instead, just from being cooped up. But I'm not barfy anymore, and that's all I really care about!
Do I still have readers? Or did you all decide I was never coming back?
Hot Knitting Action
Well, the amount of knitting I accomplished between Saturday and yesterday could be most accurately summed up as "zero." But I was feeling better yesterday so I got Secret Garden back out and worked a few more rows.
The color isn't too bad here
I made a mistake, though. And I was too tired last night to try fixing it. I missed a couple of yarn-overs on the last right side row. I know I can drop down and fix them, but not with tired brain.
see? whoops.
But just because my knitting production has stalled doesn't mean there isn't an amazing new FO around these parts!
check it out! my mom is awesome!
This is a little cotton cardigan from a Dale book - I'm sorry, I don't know which one as it's my mom's and it lives at her house. I also can't tell you what this flecked yarn is, though I do know it's cotton, and was knitted on US size 1 needles. The sweater is for my daughter, in the 12 month size. It's quite large though, and stretchy.
Look at those little stitches! I usually do more technically challenging patterns than my mom does, but she kicks my butt when it comes to actual stitch quality. Of course, she has patience, which I sadly lack. Also check out that crochet edging, which also forms the buttonholes. It's just perfect. Thanks, Mom! We love it!
Stuff that is not knitting
In other news, Daughter has made some advances over the last week or so. When I was really feeling sick I just couldn't nurse anymore so we stopped. It's been almost a week and we both seem to be fine. I also gave up on trying to give her formula because it wasn't worth the trauma for both of us. We've been working on milk instead, and I finally got her to drink it - in serious quantity - by putting in a little chocolate syrup. I KNOW, that's not great, but please don't leave me comments about how I'm ruining my child. I use the teeniest squirt you've ever seen and will decrease it as she gets used to drinking the milk. Also, Hershey makes a syrup now that has calcium and some other good stuff in it to offset the sugar & chocolate. And I know chocolate has caffeine. Don't worry, we're watching her like a hawk for any ill effects. Right now we're just happy she's drinking.
Also, she has started rolling around and playing in her crib when she wakes up. Yes, I realize many babies do this around 4-6 months, but we're a lazy bunch. This morning I thought she was sitting up at first, until I got all the way to the crib - she was on her tummy and pushing up on her arms, so all I saw was her head over the bumpers. I know it won't be long till she's sitting and standing in there.
I also have to share this cool thing I found in Parents magazine. Daughter's first birthday is around the corner, and I have wrestled control of the occasion back from my mother-in-law (a story for another day). I had been thinking cupcakes rather than a big cake for several reasons, and when I saw this I knew it would be awesome:
Isn't that adorable?!? And the best part is it uses mini cupcakes for the petals (notice the center cupcake is normal size). I know many people don't like a big piece of cake so this will be perfect. I probably won't use the watermelon laffy-taffy for the stem & leaves as I think it'll smell disgusting. Maybe fondant? Or almond paste? Or I could probably just pipe some green icing on the serving tray. Anyway, I'm thinking with some cute coordinating paper plates and napkins I'll be all set. My m-i-l wants a big old theme with decorations up, down, and sideways...and she has repeatedly offered to buy all the stuff. But that's just not my style. Plus the kid is only 1! She won't know the difference anyway, she'll just like smooshing the cupcake.
That's pretty much all the news 'round here. My car is still in the shop as they ended up having to replace the hood. I've been sans car for almost two full weeks now and it's driving me bananas. If I hadn't been so sick this week I'd probably be crazy by now instead, just from being cooped up. But I'm not barfy anymore, and that's all I really care about!
Monday, March 06, 2006
slight improvement
Starting to feel a little better...due to crippling stomach and intestinal pain (think twisting knife) we are pretty sure this is not good ol' morning sickness, but rather some sort of bug. The pain is ebbing, and I've just been sleeping when Daughter does. Other than being a little gross from lack of showering, I'm getting better here.
Obviously no crafting going on. :(
Off to sip more ginger ale and broth. And slurp popsicles, which my darling, darling husband will be bringing home tonight.
Obviously no crafting going on. :(
Off to sip more ginger ale and broth. And slurp popsicles, which my darling, darling husband will be bringing home tonight.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
A little sick
Hi! I'm not feeling so well. Morning sickness? Maybe. My doctor has also just adjusted the medication I take for my thyroid. So I'll be back soon, when I can sit up straight without barfing.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Cheater
Thank you for your kind comments re: the car hood incident. Everyone is fine, I calmed down pretty quickly (after taking a nap that afternoon) and the insurance company already has a check on the way for the repair and a rental car for me.
I had some pithy things to say about the closing ceremonies, but now...meh. It wouldn't sound right. Suffice it to say: Andrea Boccelli is amazing! But why were Avril Lavigne and Ricky Martin there? And also, that wheelchair flag-waving thing the mayor of Vancouver did was awesome and inspiring.
As for my Olympic performance, the knitting was finished on Friday or Saturday, but the pile o' stuff still sits here awaiting the weaving in of ends. I couldn't bear to do it over the weekend as my fingers just itched to make something else. I don't think there's a big rush anyway - the stuff won't make it overseas until July, I believe. So I have no picture...you don't want to see a bunch of loose ends wiggling around anyway.
So instead of weaving in ends, I made a good start on something new. Which one of the projects did I choose to start? Well...I gave a list of projects I wanted to do, and I've already cheated.
Do you know what this is? The color is horribly wrong here. :(
Secret Garden...enjoy this pic as I'll probably be arrested by the AS police for posting it.
I thought about the projects I have lined up in ye olde stash, and I realized I have two sweaters in mind for Daughter that are roughly 24 month size. Yikes! She is edging into some 18 month stuff now, so I decided I would whip up these two projects before starting something for myself. They shouldn't take long as they're both worsted weight on US size 7 needles. That's some fast knitting, baby! After that I'll most likely attack a shawl - also, I don't have a ballwinder, so I couldn't prepare the laceweight yarn. Once I can get together with my mom to use hers I'll be able to get going on one of the two patterns I talked about before (I haven't decided which to make yet). Jenn suggested that Sitcom Chic might be a good pattern to work on once baby #2 is here and my brain is mush, because it's lots of easy stockinette. She is quite right, so I think I'll leave that one for fall.
I had some pithy things to say about the closing ceremonies, but now...meh. It wouldn't sound right. Suffice it to say: Andrea Boccelli is amazing! But why were Avril Lavigne and Ricky Martin there? And also, that wheelchair flag-waving thing the mayor of Vancouver did was awesome and inspiring.
As for my Olympic performance, the knitting was finished on Friday or Saturday, but the pile o' stuff still sits here awaiting the weaving in of ends. I couldn't bear to do it over the weekend as my fingers just itched to make something else. I don't think there's a big rush anyway - the stuff won't make it overseas until July, I believe. So I have no picture...you don't want to see a bunch of loose ends wiggling around anyway.
So instead of weaving in ends, I made a good start on something new. Which one of the projects did I choose to start? Well...I gave a list of projects I wanted to do, and I've already cheated.
Do you know what this is? The color is horribly wrong here. :(
Secret Garden...enjoy this pic as I'll probably be arrested by the AS police for posting it.
I thought about the projects I have lined up in ye olde stash, and I realized I have two sweaters in mind for Daughter that are roughly 24 month size. Yikes! She is edging into some 18 month stuff now, so I decided I would whip up these two projects before starting something for myself. They shouldn't take long as they're both worsted weight on US size 7 needles. That's some fast knitting, baby! After that I'll most likely attack a shawl - also, I don't have a ballwinder, so I couldn't prepare the laceweight yarn. Once I can get together with my mom to use hers I'll be able to get going on one of the two patterns I talked about before (I haven't decided which to make yet). Jenn suggested that Sitcom Chic might be a good pattern to work on once baby #2 is here and my brain is mush, because it's lots of easy stockinette. She is quite right, so I think I'll leave that one for fall.
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