Changes and Other Events

Well, the wedding went great. Ok, our JP thought it was at 4, so didn't show up until 3:30 (the wedding was supposed to be at 3). BUT, the weather turned out to be great...not too hot, not too cold, and not a raincloud in the sky (after 1:00 p.m.).

Both the children were wonderful! Ammy looked adorable:


As did Riley:


And I realized that that was 2 weeks ago. But good lawd it has been a very busy two weeks.

After the wedding, we ended up staying down at the Royal York (won a free room from a 680 prize pack that my husband won). And we had room service. It was awesome. Sadly, though, my fries were undercooked and unedible. Really, that was extremely sad, given where we were. But the Alberta Steak Sandwich we had was amazing. As was the french onion soup (I love me some french onion soup).

Riley ended up being off his oxygen from the Wednesday before the wedding to the Tuesday after. We put him back on since we didn't want to get into any trouble with our RT about how long he'd been off (and he did awesome the entire time...especially with all the man-handling he was subjected to the night of the wedding). And then, to boot, our RT didn't come by...she called instead. I told her about Riley and how long he'd been off and that the only reason we put him back on was to avoid getting in trouble with her. She decided that we should give him a break for 24 hours, and take him back off for a week, if we were comfortable. So we left him on until Wednesday morning, and promptly took him back off. Which is how he still is right now. Off his oxygen, and rocking it.

And, of course, Ammy started Grade 1 on Tuesday. That was a little bit of a heartbreaker for me. She couldn't have cared less. But thankfully she remembered to turn and wave at me while she disappeared through the doors that would carry her on to her future. *sniff**sniff*

I discovered that, while I always just thought that it was normal with her, since we read a lot and all, she is "very advanced and ahead of all the other children" in her class given that she has the ability to read on her own. And not just "Dick and Jane" type books, but actual books. We got to the library at least once every 2 weeks and take out a bunch of books. Ones that she reads. Usually ones like the Little Miss books, and Dora books. She likes books. But hey, bonus if that makes her advanced. At least I know that she won't be struggling with it (touch wood).

Today we start jazz. Yes, jazz. I decided that she is now old enough to handle more than one weekend activity, and since I am still in the SAHM phase, I have the time and energy too. So I signed her up for Beginner Jazz at Futures Gymnastics (about 5 minutes up the road). I spoke with the lady who works there about which dance would be best for her, since she is high energy, but easily distracted, so I was thinking that ballet *might* not be the best choice for her (what, with the discipline and slow, repetitive movements), and we talked about jazz. She told me that it will likely be ideal for her, since it is a very high energy genre, but that at this stage, it wouldn't matter overmuch. Still, jazz it is.

My daughter's school also does the typical "we are looking for parent volunteers" thing. I was looking into it since, well, I do have time. Well, they sent home a notice about it the other day, and apparently I would have to pay for one of the long form criminal record checks in order to apply (I understand why they want them, but if I am reading this correctly, these are the ones that are, like, $55...seriously, I am a SAHM...where am I going to come up with the $55 just so I can volunteer to help them out??).

Also, Peel Region (I understand it is the entire region, and not just our school) has swtiched to a "two nutrition breaks" thing instead of a morning and afternoon recess and a lunch hour. I hate this. I really do. And it seems like there are so many conflicting reasons floating around about why. First off, I hate that they are given these 2 40 minute breaks. One is at 10:30 a.m. and the other is at 12:55 p.m. 10:30 a.m. is too early for a full lunch, and by 12:55 p.m., my daughter is starving. She is confused by this completely, as am I. One of the apparent reasons for the change is that "kids learn better when they eat periodically through the day". Um, so getting rid of the 2 different snacking times that are evenly spaced through the day is the way to achieve this??? Yes, I plan on finding out from the region what the basis was for this change and if they are only doing it as a trial. I personally think it is beyond asinine. Seriously...show me the work place where you get 2 lunch hours. If school is supposed to be about prepping kids for the future, show me the work place that does that, please.

Anywho, that is about all. I have to go get my little dancer fed, cleaned and dressed.

ttfn
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6 Year Anniversary of the Ontario/New York Black Out

Yes, yes it is. How do I know this so certainly, you may be asking? Well, my little girl is 6 today. I know exactly where I was the day of the blackout. Do you remember where you were and what you were doing?

6...wow...where did the time go. She is going to be starting grade 1 in a few weeks. What the heck is that? I don't know if I am prepared for that yet. But, whether we are prepared for it or not, life tends to move forward.

We finally got Riley's monitor in yesterday. What fun. The thing doesn't particularly like to hold a signal too long, but it was like that in the hospital too. Once the baby moves, even the slightest, you tend to lose the signal. But, he has been doing great on it. High (and I mean 97-99) saturation. So, 4 p.m. today, we will get to remove the horrible prongs and tape and tubing from his little wee face...that will be so nice.

Wish us luck.

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Busy Beaver Says...

So Riley had his first pediatrician appointment yesterday. Everything went well. He gained 2 oz. over the weekend since he has been home, so no worries on that front. Everything else seems AOK with his health, other than the oxygen, of course. And, since I have been playing around with the new photo thingy on the computer, I thought I would yet again insert loverly pictures of my little man (all prepped out):

In two weeks, my two week old will be going for his four month old shots. Yeah, that sounds really messed up. It was really interesting to hear our pediatrician trying to explain to someone who is shadowing him that although Riley is two weeks old corrected, he was born in April, and is therefore three and half months old.

Ammy came home from a super fun filled weekend with Granny and Gramps.


These are both from the petting zoo...baby piglet and camel...sweet! (They had a llama, but alas, she did not even get me any llama hair to make into wool...some people!)



Swimming like a superstar:


In other news, my shoes died. Ok, maybe fell apart and died a disgraceful death would be more appropriate. They soles of them have been falling apart for a while (damn rain puddles), and the straps no longer velcroed together...and now the tongue completely came out AND the small strip of sole that kept the water from poring in has come out. So, sneaking around on eBay, I found these:

They are slip ons (see the small back part on the heel??), and they appear super comfy. I have heard some good things about volatile, with the exception that they tend to size a little small, so I got one size larger. These ones were actually on clearance in one of the eBay stores, so even after conversion and shipping, they cost me less than $20.00. Perfect. Cheap, comfy, slip ons. What more could I ask for?

And since I get bored without things to do, and love trying new things (plus the fact that I cannot ever seem to just pop on to eBay for just one thing without looking around and ogling a thousand other things), I got myself this:

For those of you who know what this is, kudos, and I am sure that you will delight in reading my loverly upcoming frustrations in connection with it. For those who don't, this is a drop spindle and fibre. I am going to teach myself how to spin wool. :) I love the colour combo of the "pumpkin patch" bag, which is what this is. I don't know, there is just something awesome about greens and oranges and browns and yellows.

Anywho, that is about all. Currently working on my PLAR portfolio, which will help me to obtain credits for personal life experience, as I am planning on returning to school next year (hopefully).

Tis all, and till next time.
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Frustrations and General Crud

What an interesting last little while. For starters, I still hate EI and their inability to process an application even AFTER they have given themselves a 10 day grace period. Seriously...we are now on day 46 of the 28 day processing period. Fun, eh? I suppose different areas of the government will always remain a part of the government and I shouldn't expect overmuch with them. Side note, really interesting article that I think everyone should read here. There is a lot about this proposed HST that most people are completely unaware of...like the fact that services we don't currently pay the PST on (i.e. gas, home heating fuel, water, hydro, used cars, government and city services, real estate fees and many other professional services) will now have the 8% PST tacked on by default under the 13% HST. Yes, this bothers me. I am not one to discuss politics or the government, as I honestly believe that they are all as bad as one another (seriously, if I am raising my children not to lie and steal and cheat, why the hell would I support any entity or group of persons who have such a long history of lying, stealing and cheating - "better health care"; "shorter wait times"; "more support for families" - any of these ring a bell??), but I think that everyone should be made aware of these goings on, as we do have a tendency to bend over and take it when the government announces some new tax, or any sort of cut to services, because we feel we can't do anything to change it.

Sorry, now that that rant is over, let's move on to nicer things (and some not so nice things). In the world of Riley, this has been one of the more frustrating weeks. Our little man is a lazy boy. I fully acknowledge that. If you read this blog regularly, you know that he was listed as being biphasic dependent for ages before our primary nurse decided that she didn't care if he sent his saturation bells and whistles off, he could handle it, and was being lazy and just not wanting to. She shut his biphasic off, and yes, he complained and alarmed for a day before settling himself when no one would provide him with the part of the CPAP that would breath for him. The last two weeks, the o2 on his CPAP has remained between 30 and 35. None of the nurses would give him a chance to do anything lower than what he had been on the day before, even if he was saturating high on what they had him at. And he wasn't being allowed to try the low flow again, since the RN we had one day decided to try him on it while no one was around (he sats higher when being held) and he didn't do so well...which also put a minimum 2 day lapse on his next try, which put us into the weekend when no RT was around. The boy should have started NNS already, which he can't do on CPAP.

And we kept being told he was "supposed" to be at 34, 35, etc. Well, where the hell did this "supposed to" come from? No one could answer. And it became even more frustrating when we came in on Tuesday and his RN was changing the bedding and had accidentally knocked the o2 down to 24. I didn't say anything, as he was holding his own at that level. After about 10 minutes, the other half came in and commented about him being down to 24. Of course, the nurse immediately jacked him up to 35 because he was "supposed to be at that level". When I asked what she meant by he was supposed to be at that level, she just kept repeating it, and telling me he couldn't handle any lower. Um, I just stood here for 10 minutes watching him handle 24%, so don't tell me he can't handle it. But fine, whatever. I am not going to get into an argument with yet another new nurse this week. Then, as I am sitting there thumbing through his charts to see what is going on and if the results have come in from his follow up head ultrasound, I noticed that the drs have listed him as being "CPAP dependent". Um, why? Because the nurses don't know him (he had a new one every day for the last 7 days at that point in time), so they just kept him on what he had been on, and didn't give him any time to recover before turning the o2 up? Also noticed that along with the head ultrasound, they did an abdominal one, and he would have to see a surgeon after discharge for a urachal remnant. What?? I didn't even know that he was getting an abdominal ultrasound.

So, of course, I did what any parent in the NICU would have done. I asked to speak with a dr. Unfortunately, they were all in recess. So, we asked that a note be left for them to call us, as we wanted to speak with one ASAP. When we called in later that evening, no note had been left. And, of course, Riley had started to desat, so he was now up to 35% o2. I ended up going in the following morning first thing, and had a long, long talk with our dr. He explained the urachal remnant that Riley had (which was something he had never even heard of...not the U.R. itself, but the type of one that Riley has developed...a failure of one of the tubes attached to the umbilicus to dissolve so it is still supplying blood to the outer belly button - which is why his belly button hasn't fallen off yet) and that the surgeon was just a precaution...they want to see if it will dry up on its own, but if not, they may have to operate on his belly button to remove the tube. His brain bleeds, though, seem to have been reabsorbed into his brain, with trace amounts of blood in his occipital lobe. Then we got to the breathing issue.

Thankfully, as he is Riley's actual dr, he knows what he is like. He completely agreed that if he is holding his own, there is no reason for the nurses to bump his o2 up, and he would mention that at rounds and to the other fellows in case we ever argued with the nurses regarding protocol vs. what our son is like. He also agreed that since the window for the time that Riley should be starting the NNS is coming near its end, getting him onto something other than the CPAP so that he can start doing that is a necessity...even if it means flipping him to high flow as opposed to low flow. So, starting Monday, I will be able to start the NNS. :)

Here is the latest picture of our little tank (2600 grams...an 85 gram gain from yesterday - approximately 5 lbs 10 ounces):


In other news, and on the topic of the little ones, my daughter recently wanted to chop her hair off, since she cannot stand getting it brushed (she has very curly hair, and it gets knotted very easily) and it often ends up in tears, even with a half a bottle of detangler. The final result (here's a before and after):



FABULOUS!!

And, in the world of knitting, I am almost done the second sock for the big man. I can't believe that it didn't take me months this time...lol...(last pair of socks I made him started in August of last year and finished about a month ago...yeah, I am bad like that). Anywho, here is the updated in progress picture (which will hopefully become a finished product by the end of the week):


I've also started making some headway on Riley's sweater (the skull sweater is not going to fit him when he finally gets out of hospital at the rate he is growing...guess I will have to make another one):


That is really all that is new and exciting. It is damn early, as I was up with the yellow beastie (my lovely medela pump, that is) at 5 this morning. Definitely time for coffee (oh, that reminds me...last picture...this is what happens to concrete when Timmies is spilled on it:


On that delicious note, ttfn
k.

Updates and the Late Birthday Gift

Well, haven't I just been a busy beaver...lol.

Had an amazing weekend just past. Saturday, spent the day at Bronte Provincial Park with my bud Christina, her son and my daughter. They have this amazing barn for kids to play in...jumping things, and tire swings...just awesome. Sadly, they also have a great big sign posted "Adults Not Permitted" by all the fun stuff. :( Seriously, we need a Dave and Busters up here, stat!

Sunday was a nice quiet day. Sadly, the little one seems to have picked up a cold, so Sunday was spent in pjs and bed watching movies. I, of course, spent the day cooking...made this kick ass apple cinnamon bread....yummy!

This week itself, I am slightly on tenderhooks waiting for all my goodies from eBay to arrive...including my new phone (cuz the one I have is becoming crap), my wedding cake topper (go Jack & Sally go), a new calendar (just because) and needles (which are a gift for a friend of mine...her birthday is only a few weeks away).

Speaking of Mononica's birthday, we had a loverly chat last night. I recently got her into knitting, and she has been enjoying it (even though she does it in some backassward way that I couldn't understand or explain even if I tried...it appears that she goes through the back loops all the time...both knitting and purling). She is very ambitious and has decided (well, decided a while ago...during the weekend of needles) that she wants to make socks. She has been working on the same purse for the last few months, and a dog's sweater (from a library book that she has yet to return) for the last about 3 months. But, I don't doubt that she will eventually make socks. Even though I can see her making one, and being happy and proud of that. (Yeah, I keep telling the boy that if he only had one foot, I would be done his socks by now.) So last night came the discussion of "ok, I know you want yarn for your birthday...what kind and colour? What are you planning on making? What do you want to make that I can supply the yarn for so you have no excuse?" Of course, no straight answer was ever provided...I think I might just take her out with me, and make things easier on myself. I still have a few weeks, so I am not going to worry overmuch...yet.

And last night, lo and behold, I finished the sweater for the boy. The fit is amazing. I still have to do the zipper, but we are going to head out to pick that up tonight.

That is about all...gotta start on the leg warmers for the cheesy ass retro slumber party...really gotta start that soon...I guess the boy's other sock will go back on to the backburner for now...hehe

ttfn
k.

Unexpected Hiatus

Well, time flies. It feels like we just returned yesterday from our vacation, and here I was promising to update this site with all my loverly pictures. Sorry for the delay. :S

Seems sometimes that time just gets away from you. Between work (where we are currently moving offices, so that has been absolutely insane), birthdays (not including planning my little girl's one, there have been 3 since our return), weddings (some ours, some others), time has just gotten away from me.

On the knitting/crochetting side of life: currently working on an afghan for Am (crochet - I admit I am a little scared). It is, of course, pink and purple. Setting a goal of September for that one. Finishing up a few pairs of mittens (got a great book from the local library with tons of patterns...), too. Just waiting for the arrival of my order from KnitPicks. Got a really nice Black silk-wool blend for a sweater I plan on doing for the boy. Also waiting on a Cotton Linen blend so that I can knit up Zelda for myself. Not sure how well that will go, as I have never used a CotLin blend, but we will see.

On the wedding side of things: it would seem that we are making good headway on our own nuptials. Got Ammy's flowergirl dress. I know it really should be her choice, but she is an affable one, and the dress is a great mix of cute and pretty. And most of the big details all taken care of, too. Now it will just be a matter of the small ones. Got my dress all picked out, going out with the girls in a few weeks to get their dresses picked out. Still have to get around to my ma, as she wants me to help her pick a dress and do her hair and makeup and so on...she really is going kinda crazy over it. It is cute. Oh, and we finally decided on our song. :)

Well, that is about all.

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k.

I Feel Accomplished

So, despite feeling horribly ill over the last few days (sinuses have decided to kick my bum), I have accomplished so much. Made the curtains for our livingroom, put a backer curtain on my daughter's bright pink ones (her bedroom faces the afternoon/evening sun, so bedtime has become an impossibility at the moment). Well...I will let the photos do the typing for me. So, without further ado:
Summer fun with Cherries!!!

Sockies (they are so warm, and are keeping my feeties warm even right now):

Sexy rocking skirt:

One fetus sweater:

Pasties made for my partner from the Bad Knit Girl pasties swap (pattern provided by Bohoknitterchic:


Alas...I am now down to only 2 projects on the go. What has the world come to???

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k.

Ugh!

So this has been one weird ass week. It started Wednesday, when I had a bit of a bump in the road and now have to deal with some pretty crappy stuff. :( But it will work out in the end (despite the nagging voice in the back of my head which is telling me otherwise, I have to believe this). However, this slight bump was somewhat alleviated by the fact that that same evening, I got home to not only have the delivery of Hogfather sitting on my table, but the delivery of pasties from the recent Pasties Swap on Ravelry there too!!!

Everything seemed to be hunky dorey, until yesterday. I finally found a sitter for my daughter for the day of the concert we are going to (June 18...a Wednesday, so it was difficult), only to find out that that is the same day as my daughter's graduation. I know that it isn't something massive, and it is, to paraphrase Mr. Incredible, another way to celebrate mediocrity, but I can't not go. The kid's all decorate the room for the graduation...they make it a huge event...all the families will be there...I just can't not go, nor can I keep her from it, since it will be the major focal point for her entire class for about a week before, and a week after.

So fine, I sucked up the fact that the tickets we have had for the last 3 months are now useless to me...when suddenly my sinuses decided to attack from the inside. We had running around to do...nothing major, but stuff that needs to be done before the out-laws arrive, and suddenly out of nowhere, I am almost blind from the pain.

It calmed down a hell of a lot, but egad...this week is truly a rollercoaster. Wonder what the weekend will bring...lol

Will post new pictures of the loverly stuff I actually managed to get done sometime this weekend...when I think of it.

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k.

Damn, some days I amaze myself...

haha...okay, well, the fact that I can understand the ramblings of others amazes me. With much sloppy wet thanks to Hellcat, I have progress bars!!! (I covetted hers, and she was nice enough to show me how/where/etc.)

On to business, as you can see, all my projects are coming along nicely...I am super amazed at how quickly and easily Intolerable Cruelty is coming along. And here I was thinking it would take me a while, so I would not have to put any effort into figuring out what ribbon I wanted to use...Alas, that doesn't seem to be the case (but considering it means that I will have it finished, I really can't complain overmuch).

Had to order Hogfather. I don't mind, though. It will be here by Monday, June 2...SO VERY EXCITED!!! I am hoping against hope that it comes before then (maybe this Friday), and then I can spend the weekend drooling over the special effects and artistry of Terry Pratchett and his Discworld.

In an effort to get the place a little more organized before the in-laws come out next week, I have actually started playing kindergartener, and cutting and pasting the thousand and one projects that I have sitting around on loose paper and putting them into my big spiral book of knitting (I play around with patterns a lot...a whole lot...). It is a thankless task, but eventually it has to be done (because I know that if I didn't, and just threw them out, I would never find the patterns again).

Weekend was awesome. Weather was gorgeous! And on that note, I will leave you with a little flying:

ttfn

k.

Look at Me...I'm Hooking Like a Pro

So, I have been forever interested in the bastard child of knitting, crocheting. But I could never seem to get my head around it...or rather my wrists. It was always awkward, and felt wrong...and normally I would end up pulling the yarn back out, and knitting up something sumptuous in it's stead. HOWEVER, that has all changed. :) I recently picked up The Happy Hooker (I like the way she writes...I find that it is actually interesting, and provides pictures when pictures are needed). Of course, the reason that I picked up this little beauty was because I also recently purchased an Amigurumi book (so darned cute...and I am utterly addicted to cute), so I had to learn.

Will have some pictures up soon of some of the stuff I plan on doing (starting with a tester set of pasties for the swap I have coming up...one pair is already done, just in the gaudy finalization stage...so I figured I would make a guinea pig of my partner...lol...sorry Winster).

In the meantime, since it has been a while since I have updated this page, here ya go:

The boy's mexican wrestling mask (obviously not the boy in it):


Finished coat (without the buttons yet...sorry):


I am also currently working on two different baby sweaters. One is the Baby's First Tattoo Sweater from Stitch n' Bitch Nation...about 1/2 way done at the moment...will post pictures soon. The other is a simple Bernat hoodie sweater in Baby Softee white with pastel colours throughout. Although the one that this sweater is for thinks she is having a boy, I am thinking differently (thankfully I am not the only one), and either way, with the colour combo, I don't much have to worry...White is not gender specific...lol.

I have an excessively busy (translates to less knitting/crocheting - I can't believe I can finally write that - time :( )next few months. From this weekend on....mother's day golf gathering this weekend, 2 weddings, one of which is on the east coast, the accompanying showers for the weddings, camping trips (3 so far...geesh), 3 baby showers, family day at my daughter's school, birthday parties, random summer parties, housewarming parties...wonder if it would be rude to knit while at a party...hmmmm....

Also recently purchased new dpns (5"...which I am hoping will be much easier for me with my sockies...I have found that, while I love working with my dpns for most every circular object, they are long (12 inches), and therefore if it is something smaller, or if I get down to the point where the stitches are less...it is difficult to work with). They should be arriving this week.

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k.

And this, dear reader, is why you read first

I have recently been making good use of the whole "don't assume, because you only make an ass out of u and me" saying.

So, I have been diligently working on my Mod Coat. Ideally, I would like to have this finished for the spring weather that I am sure will eventually make an appearance. However...it would appear that I am a complete idiot worthy of being beaten with my knitting needles.

After having read through the entire design several times, I made the left side of the coat. Wonderful. Looks great. Even when I did the geeky "I am going to hold the left half that I have finished up to my body to see how it looks". The colour and shape rock.

So, very excited, thinking that I could definitely get this project done before spring weather, I casted on the right side...and proceeded to get about three quarters of the way through making a
SECOND
LEFT
SIDE!!!

le sigh. we live, we learn. but yes, the 40 some-odd minutes it took me to unravel that beast definitely drummed the whole "i must read a pattern *while* i am doing it" thing into my head...again...lol

all in all, though, it kind of went with the day. my daughter was burning up with a fever yesterday morning. she asked me if she could snuggle under my blankets and watch a movie. of course (there is nothing harder to say no to then a sick child). then she asked if she could draw too. no problem. she likes to use my bingo dabbers as stamps...along with many other things (i have the non-toxic ones, so when she dabs it all over her hand to make hand-prints, i don't have to worry about it or her). a little while later, i hear "oh no, oh no, MAMA!!!" i walk in to find my child, bed, floor, and many other things are an unnatural shade of bright pink! yes, she had somehow gotten the lid off of the dabber, and all over everything.

she was fine (a little traumatized by my stripping her and tossing her into the tub while I hosed her down with the showerhead). sadly, though, she is still a little pink...and due to my immediately checking her to make sure none was in her mouth or eyes or any other important extremity, a good portion of my arms and hands are pink as well. to which, of course, i got the standard response of "it is okay, mama. i like pink."

hope you all had a stellar weekend. i think after the events of yesterday, i am going to force the boy to come with us to the mall...i like walking with the option to purchase.

ttfn
k.

Fabulous, with a capital F

WEEE!!! I must say that I am feeling fabulous. Absolutely Fabulous (and yes, that deserves a capital F). I had a really great weekend. The weather on Saturday was horrible. It snowed...and snowed...and snowed. But I don't have a driveway to shovel, and with underground parking, I don't have to dig my car out, so really, I don't mind. Sat around watching the 6th season of Charmed and did my hair (which I lust...I will likely post pictures later, because I am that much in lust with the colour). Did nothing!!! It was wonderful.

Yesterday, I cleaned (I can still smell the cleaner on my hands, sadly enough), but made up for it by going out shopping. I love shopping. Especially when it is for my little girl. I got my taxes done nice and early (because I hate the mad scramble of doing them at the deadline), so with the sudden surge of funds in my bank account, out we went. Got her a bunch of clothes for the spring, which I am sure will EVENTUALLY come, and also got a new computer. Nothing big or fancy. I don't need big or fancy. Just something that would take less than an hour to boot up and open solitaire. I have found, however, that after the initial jubiliance of something new (something new, in this case, being Vista with its thousand and one "are you sure you want to do this" questions), it is getting a little harrowing. But such is life. It is shiny and new and mine. :) And I can boot it up in less than an hour. Also bought myself enough yarn in a colour I adore to make myself a nice coat for spring/summer. Will start on that tonight, since I am almost (just have the zipper to install) done the Cobra sweater, and just have the sleeves to complete on the Lil Red Riding Hoodie.

Woke up this morning to the loverly drunken text message "I am a pirate". Hehehehe....

And the day just keeps getting better. Got rid of an old debt that I have felt bad about having. It was a personal loan that a very wonderful soul was kind enough to provide to me when I needed it and had no one else to turn to. And I feel better for having that gone. Only one more left to go!!!

Well, that is all. So far, this month rocks!! (Touch wood)

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k.

A Hard Day

So Ophelia has definitely made herself at home. :) Not yet sure which of the two (Ammy or Ophelia) it is that is now running the household, but I know for certain that neither Tony nor I have that title.
And the best moment of the weekend:

This actually started with Ophelia making herself nice and comfortable on my daughter's head...not the most ideal sleeping arrangement.
And, thankfully, she has yet to attack my knitting. (Of course, one of the small balls which was left over from a previous project has become her play toy, which I am thinking is the main reason for this small mercy.)
ttfn.
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Need a Weekend to Recover...

First, despite the title, my weekend was amazing. It really was. Friday was a nice, low-key evening. Got home from work early, did the dinner thing and such with no problemo at all. Went to Walmart to scope out a new dresser for my daughter (figured now would be a good time to get it, since I wouldn't have to worry about unpacking it or anything else, just leave the box with the other things to be moved). While there, the bane of my existence, my daughter's hair (she despises having it brushed, and with all the curl that she has, it just meant that more and more it would become tangled and knotted and such...to the point that she would start crying and hiding the minute I picked up a hairbrush), was removed. As we were wandering around Walmart, I noticed that the Magicuts or whatever the hair place in there is called was still open. So, after putting it in terms Ammy could understand ("don't you want to have a cute little hairdo just like Dora??"), mission #1 for the weekend was accomplished. She looks adorable (yes, I am partial). And it is nice to actually be able to brush her hair now without having to figure out where she has hidden the brush, the hair ties or herself. Didn't get a dresser while we were there - but I did get decals for her new room, and managed to pick up some of the cheapie $4.99 art stuff that they have that is actually quite nice. Just all in all a good day.

Saturday was equally as good. My daughter and I spent the day grubbing about the house. Cleaned...vegetated...not much of anything. And I had a wonderful "date night" Saturday night. We went out for dinner, followed by Bingo. Yes, I said Bingo. :) And we won, too. It would appear that, despite the boy insisting on paying for everything during our date night, my winnings at bingo covered the entire cost, and then some...and that was after our splitting what we won. WEEEE!!!!

Yesterday, we painted my daughter's room. We move in 24 days, and I did tell my landlord that I would take care of the painting (all the paint was actually in the cubby under the stairs....just a matter of putting it on the walls - and the walls looked hideous from the state that the previous tenants left it in). So, in the morning, after being woken up at an hour that should not exist during the weekends by my loverly little angel and after getting a sufficient amount of liquid caffiene into my system to function in a somewhat normal manner, I set up the room to paint. That is when the boy woke up. And went to get coffees, as I had drained the pot. :) Between the two of us, the entire painting of her room took about an hour in total...not bad, if you ask me. And, well, this is my blog, so really, that is the only opinion that matters at the moment.

Then, one of my not-oft seen loves was mentioned...IKEA. We wandered, and played, and goofed off, and played, and wandered, and ended up getting a very nice, very cheap dresser for my daughter ($87) which I have promised her we will go to Home Depot and pick up some knobs (wholly unneccessary but she wants big pink ones) as well as a new TV stand (found the matching coffee table, but we don't really need one right now, so...). Since both of us were lazy (the boy and I, that is) and neither of us felt like cooking, we went to a restaurant for linner (had a very late breakfast, so this was sort of lunch/dinner) and somehow, on the way back to the car, my daugher and I sort of veered off course and ended up outside of Chapters. Honest, I have no clue how it happened. :p

So I now proudly own and will likely peruse and abuse with glee and joy, DomaKNITrix and Son of a Stitch n' Bitch. Wee!!!

Hope you all had a productive and enjoyable weekend.

ttfn
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Boredom

So, I am currently covering the lunch break of our receptionist. I have found that I have a whole new level of respect for receptionists since starting this. (There are three girls in our office, and we all take turns covering the lunch.)

I have only filled in for her a few times, however I have had people become very disgruntled because I cannot magically tell them what time others in the office will be back, or know where they are, or know why they are not waiting around for their call. I have suffered utter boredom sitting around here doing nothing...absolutely nothing...for the entire time that I am here. I have had to attempt to make coffee, answer the phone, transfer calls, provide directions and make copies of documents all at once (apparently this is a skill unto itself - for now, I will call it java-call-drive-copy, or JCDC).

Today, however, is one of those days which I have sat here doing nothing. Not a thing. Thankfully, I thought ahead, and sent myself, via external email, of course, the link to a great site with many different hat, mitten and scarfs patterns...so I have browsed. And I have found a wonderfully simple pattern that I can get my daughter to do (she loves the Knifty Knitter Looms...and oddly enough, can work it pretty good...but so far, we have only had scarfs of the waste bits of yarn I have not used).

Now, if that is not what you call a productive day, I really don't know what is. :)

ttfn
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Tada!!!

Here is my little pumpkin in her sweater (and boots). :)

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That's Okay Mommy

So, I finally finished the pullover cable knit sweater I was working on for my daughter (can we say lazy??). Yeah, yeah. It was an excessively simple patterns, and really I took much longer than I should have to finish it. But quite frankly, I hate sewing seams....I really do. It is kinda like the dishes...I don't mind washing, I don't mind drying...but lord do I hate putting them away.

So anyways, yeah, the sweater finally made it from Frankenstein mode to actually looking like a sweater last night...complete with all the little hangy bits desperately in need of weaving. So this morning, while she was eating her breakfast, I decided to lay into that nasty little bit...actually, I shouldn't say that. I really don't mind the weaving. It becomes a game..."hide the yarn"...one player only...and there really is no great prize...ok, I find amusement where I can.

But as I am sitting there weaving in a loose end, my daughter turns to me and says "mama, I am going to wear my new sweater today". "Great babe, but it isn't finished yet". "That's okay. I don't mind".

I suppose blatent disregard for the words I have actually said is slightly better than yesterday's "you don't have to get all up in my face" (yes, apparently my 4 year old ghost white child is aiming to be gangster, yo).

Ah...but now I am down to just the one project...aghast...I will have to go home and change that ASAP.

ttfn
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On a train bound for nowhere

So, I was at my sister's house the other day for her middle child's birthday party...to which my nana, being the sweet little iron fisted ruler that she is (I love her, don't get me wrong, but her iron fistedness is part of what makes her so lovable), upon opening the bag that contained the back of the sweater for my daughter (post below) and the front (picture below), without taking the time to unravel them, sees the knitting inside and immediately asks me if I am giving her something to fix so it looks good...

Yeah, i love my family...sadly, despite having to endure about 30 minutes of being picked on, I really do love them...

Anyways, my daughter has actually decided for once to go to bed AND sleep the last week, so I have actually been able to have time to myself, which of course means that I have been working on her sweater (among other things). Below is the front, including details of the cable stitch down the front...

Wee...it is fall....

Okay, so I fully and completely admit that I am loving this fall, because it means I don't look half as crazy for knitting sweaters....wee.

I fully admit that I have been slacking on the knitting lately. I have had entirely too much going on for me to dedicate any time to knitting (as sad as that is). What is worse is that I admit I have stared at my yarn and played with it, sorted the needles (because for some reason I had a few that seemed to be missing their partners), and longed to work on a few of the projects I had earmarked for this fall....but alas, I could never find the time to start.

Between the new job (which I love), the new place (which is still in utter chaos), birthdays (my little girl is not 3 anymore *sniff*) and other silly life things which have gotten in the way, I just haven't had the time to do anything for me.

So finally...Monday, I sucked it up, and decided to take some me time...well deserved me time. I started the sweater below for my daughter. And yes, it is the same yarn as for the poncho I made her previously. She likes it because it is bright. I like it because it makes her smile.

ttfn