It's a Shawl Kinda Day

Well, I guess it is more turning into a shawl sort of week.


I finished this puppy a few weeks back (I took the lace pattern from a shirt that I had done once before, and just altered it enough to make it flow nicely). It was boring, and black, and acrylic, but I am fairly pleased with the end product.

I would have preferred a nicer yarn to work with, but I didn’t really have a choice. The girl this was for is allergic to many materials, and specifically asked that I make it in acrylic. And she doesn’t do colour. At all. So it was black, blue or white. All of which are colours I like and wear a lot…but they are not the most exciting colours in the universe.

Sadly, with this acrylic, the pattern doesn't show overly well:



Anywho, I am thinking this has started my current love of lace. It is fun to do, and I love watching the patterns appear out of a hole. Beauty from chaos. One of my favourite things ever!

I have since started on this (which is to one day be a shawl for one of my bosses). She inadvertently picked it out herself. She is a bit of a fashionista, and so when I was looking at various patterns to do for her, I figured, hey, what the heck...sent her several and asked her opinion. She knows that I have family coming out to visit me in July, so believes it is a birthday gift for one of them. :)

I am sure that she has some inkling this might be for her, but really, who is going to be crass enough to ask someone if they are making something for them? She is a classy and refined kinda gal, so I can't imagine that she would ever think to ask me outright.

The yarn for it is from Yarntopia Treasures (Bacon, I love eBay). It is a 100% bamboo yarn, so has a wonderfully soft and silky feel. It's just in its baby stages (I did it originally on size 3.25, as called for, and found it to be a little too small for my liking. There wasn't the drape and hand that I knew this pattern and yarn could do.

So anywho, here she is so far:



The yarn is called "he loves me not"...which is a really nice blend of red, pink, blue and purple, and all the multitude of shades in between.

I thought that I would try to bring some colour to her wardrobe. Like many professional women, she has fallen into the "black and gray and all the shades in between" style.

Anyway, that is all that is going on for the moment. Will update when my life becomes more exciting, or I start making progress on the Tongue of Fire and want to show it off. hehe

ttfn
k

It's Not Like You Are Going to Wear It!?!

Well, I am pleased to say that I am rockin' it out as far as knitting is concerned. So far this year (a measley 20 days in) I have completed my tunic (such an awesome thing and I have already worn it to work a few times), a baby blanket (will post pictures soon), and 2 hats. I am also planning out an "I just had surgery and this is my ruby slipper" sock for my dear sweet Frannie. :)

AND, I am over half way through Season 2 of Merlin. Love it! Good thing I am not a die hard Authurian or I am sure I would hate it...but as it is, young Merlin is totally up there with bacon.

But now for my happiest thing. I am getting my deep freezer this weekend!!! Yes, I am that much of a geek that I am super excited about that. I just hate that there are often times these great sales on roasts and other such frozen animal bits, and I can't really "stock up" because we only have the little freezer on the top of our fridge. So I am stuck with only grabbing one or two, and lamenting the fact that I could have gotten 8 or 9 for about $20. And that is soon to be no more.

I love kijiji for the simple fact that you can find some things on there that you wouldn't have ever thought about. I mean, a chest freezer just didn't really occur to me before. I don't know why. We have friends out here with them. But it just didn't occur to me. And then one day, we were at Canadian Tire (there was a coffee maker tragedy in our house...all better now, but it was a rough and scary couple of days), and I saw the little mini freezers (about 3 cubic feet). But good lord...$200. So the one that I found is less than half that price, and 3 times the size. Wee!! And when I was telling the husbeast about the dimensions of it, one of his comments was "but it only comes up to just about my thigh". Um, seriously? Are you planning on wearing the damn thing?

Anywho, I am getting my freezer. Then I am going to start shopping around at the local butchers for the best meat for price deal. :p

Wee!!!

ttfn
k.

For Many Happy Feeties

I don't know why, but lately I have been on a little bit of a sock kick. hehehe...wow, that wasn't even intentional.

I am not entirely sure why, but socks have been a bit of an obsession lately. Mayhaps it is because they are so wee. I finished the baby blankie for one of my co-workers a few weeks back (and, as a side note, she gave birth to a beautiful little boy last saturday afternoon). I was really happy with how it turned out:

But good lord did it take much more thought than I had hoped (damn lacy bits followed by damn cable-y bits).

I also finished up a couple of scarves (yes, when it is 30 degrees outside, this is the perfect time to knit scarves, dammit).



And then the sock rampage began:



I LOVE LOVE LOVE the pattern for these baby socks. (Ok, 18 mo - 2 years...close enough to baby.) They took about 2 days on my daily commute to do. So great. Thinking I will have to make up a few pairs before the colder weather hits. (Yes, I am cruel and evil and already considering the colder weather...fak off.)

Anywho, I am now deciding what I want to do with the lovely halloween-y yarn that I picked up on my honeymoon. I am thinking maybe monkey. I don't know yet.

For those who haven't seen Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog...see it. SEEEIIITTTT!!!! I have a great big, fat and juicy hard on for NPH - come on, how can you not love this:


Now go...waste away your life watching internet shows...go, do it....do it now...

I, however, am off to knit.

Oh, and maybe pack a little. :S Maybe.

ttfn
kb

Seeming to be on the ball...

Yes, it really seems like I am. Or rather, that we are. There are definite changes going on...everything from the supremely non-family friendly truck being sold (YAH!!!) to having a doctor lined up to take over our care.

I am so happy that things are going smoothly (touch wood...and then touch it again for good measure). It feels as if our lives for the past year have been one giant game of snakes and ladders...we get a little bit ahead, only to slide back past where we were in the first place. But it seems like it is all working out with this. I mean, yes, we have had a few hiccups along the way, but all in all, it seems to be going along great.

We have our appointment now for getting our family picture done. I am excited about this. I have never had a family portrait done...well, at least not since I was a kid. But nothing that has my family in it.

Yesterday was a super productive day. But man, are my legs sore. I walked so very, very much. And then walked some more. I suppose that I should get used to that, since that is going to be my life from here on out. But still, made for some very sore me. Nothing that a long soak in the tub couldn't fix, though.

And I did manage to get some work done on a scarf that is now overdue. (Ok, I realize that winter is still months away...but it is overdue in the sense that it was a birthday gift, and that birthday has passed.)

Anywho, I suppose I must get back to this work type of stuff that I am expected to do.

ttfn
k

Bits and Bobs and OMG, I have to go back

Seriously, I have a week and one day left of my leave. (Technically, I have been off of mat leave since the 1st, but I don't go back until next Tuesday.) I'm hating the impending doom of working 9-5 again. I know, I have done it for many years now, but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. And as much as I would love to just quit and stay home with the little ones, I can't. We have plans. We have plans that need me to have a steady income in order to achieve. (Moving ain't cheap, ya know.)

So with one week left, you would almost assume that I would be able to take the week to relax. Almost. But that would be wrong. I can't. We have 3 doctor appointments and one O/T appointment crammed into this week, in addition to a big school event on Thursday night. :S Just no rest for the wicked, I suppose.

It's eerie, too. In the last few weeks, Riley has become much more mobile. He's finally learned to lift his bum, and we are full on crawling...everywhere. We've barricaded the livingroom off so that he has a great big playpen, but that doesn't mean that he wants to stay there. No, no. He wants to roam farther than that. Always farther than what he has been given. And it is hard to say no, since we want him to develop and work the motor skills that he has fought so hard to develop. He is such a little scam artist, and will lay face down on the ground right in front of the pillow barricade crying...like he has no room to play...every time.

On an upbeat note, we stopped by at the new sitter's place earlier this week, and I was delighted to find out that one of her children was actually a preemie (not to the degree that Riley was, but she understands the "corrected age" thing, and gets that he is over a year, but functions at a 9 month old level). That put me very much at ease. I like that I don't have to explain all of that, and try to make someone understand that he isn't slow, he is just working at the pace that he should be. I had interviewed one sitter, and she flat out stated "he seems to be a little on the slow side...shouldn't he be standing and trying to walk now?" Um, no. Did you not hear me say that he was a corrected age of 8 months...and that his development was a little behind? Making the mother and father feel like they have done something wrong, and that their child is slow and behind is not particularly the way to enamor yourself to them.

Anywho, that is besides the point. I like the girl we have. She is very nice, and was asking a thousand and one questions about both the kids. She watches two other girls that Am is in school with, so that is nice too. She will have others to play with. And she is completely cool with the cloth diapers. For some reason, they still freak some people out.

And, because of the time crunch with me going back to work, I am also going to lose some of my precious knitting time. *Sniff* I am desperately trying to finish off some of the loose end projects that I have. I am currently designing a sweater for myself. I love the vintage sweaters (something akin to this), so am working up a pattern for myself. I found some absolutely fabulous wool at the thrift shop the last time I was there, so I am working with that (it is gloriously soft and feel divine next to the skin). Not sure how it will turn out, but will post pictures when I have made some headway (currently, I have just a little of the back done, and a whole lot of numbers written out...lol...and I am not an artist in any way, shape, or form).

Well, that is all that is really going on. So far, on the moving front, everything seems to be coming together quite nicely (touch wood). So hopefully there will only be a few more months, and we will be off for greener pastures. :)

ttfn,
k

Walking In A Winter Wonderland

Holy delay batman! Sorry, this past week has been one of catch up. But all I gotta say is wow. Just wow. We had such an amazing weekend. Our little person is, of course, the one who took up the most room for the trip to Granny and Grampa's, but such is to be expected, I suppose.

We arrived just in time for check in (4:00 p.m.), and it was beautiful. There was snow on the ground, but it was relatively warm. The cabin was so picturesque:

And this is what greeted us in our room:

The place was so amazingly beautiful. So quiet. We had birds on our deck...even in the snow. From our deck, we overlooked the water. Complete with an ice rink, an igloo (impromptu memento from kidlings who had been up the week before) and an ice fishing hut. The weather was amazing, too. Absolutely everything was amazing about the place. (Yes, I need a thesaurus.)

The hardest part of the cabin to leave:

And I got to go snow shoeing!!!! It was amazingly fun. I thought that we had only been out for about 20-30 minutes...we had been out for 1.5 hours! It was great. And there were so many stars! I was in heaven. But damn did my legs hurt afterwards. And that is why I loved coming back to a jacuzzi tub. So nice. And probably saved my legs (and the rest of me, for that matter). Here's one of the only pictures of the two of us out together...lol...and of course, it was after we both made snow angels after dropping while shoeing:

Saturday we had a pretty relaxed day...went out for a walk, skated (I hadn't been in about 14 years...and it didn't help my nerves any that some lady had fallen the night before, so there was a hefty patch of blood on the ice), went to a small yarn shop (yes, my hubby knows me so damn well) and went out ice fishing. That evening, after a nap (a NAP!!!), we went tubing. That was great. It was pure ice. And since it was, there were very few people there. In the course of 2 hours, we went down at least 30-40 times. And fast. The manager clocked us at 80 kms. Weeee! (To those interested, yes, my tailbone was bruised and swollen from hitting the ice...apparently I am light and the guys there were physically lifting me up to spin me down the hill.)

Sunday we were greeted with our much missed little ones (who barely registered that we were gone) and a nice family meal. It seems that they were bigger when we got back:
...and one just wouldn't stay still.

All in all, the weekend was phenomenal.

So, what is new in the world of knitting, you may ask (or you may not, in which case, I am going to tell you anyway)?

Well, this is the wonderful sock yarn that I picked up while up north:

It's like halloween in yarn form!

I'm still working on my Zelda, but I did manage to get some work done on it:

My current addiction, Midsomer Murders, is helping with getting some of my knitting done (I am doing a few smaller things that require little to no thought...and only one colour at a time), so poor Zelda keeps moving to the back burner. :(

Well, hope everyone is doing well...

ttfn
k

Drumroll Please

That's right...two more medals for little KB.

I also have finished all the knitting for my long neglected cardigan. The sleeves are currently drying and I will be sewing them on later today. Then...dare I say it...the cardi will be complete. (I already bought these sweet wood buttons from, of all places, the convenience store across the road.)

I am thinking, since I now only have left the OpArt blanket left (seriously, only one WIP...what is that???), I am going to start the designing of Riley's sweater. That should be a fun one.

For all the knit-like-type-people out there, you may find this interesting. My nan and I are pretty close. We talk at least once a week (she is a snowbird). The other day, I got a call from her completely out of the blue (usually we talk Sunday afternoons). Her first (and only) question when I answered the phone: "What gauge do you get when you knit Riley a sweater in yarn that's a 4?" She had just casted on a sweater and it seemed a little off. So she asks me the average gauge that I use on a sweater for Riley, and we had this long conversation with me converting her gauge based on other items I have made for Riley. Definitely one of our more interesting conversations.

In other news, I finally got my new stroller. Ever since Riley has grown out of his car seat (which was a long while back), I have had a huge hate on for our stroller. It is big, bulky, awkward, and I have to split in two pieces to get it to fit in the trunk, where it then takes up all the space in the trunk. HATE. IT. So I have been looking around for a new one. Wanted a good one, with a basket and cup holder for me, and 5 point harness and reclining for Riley. Those were really my only requirements. I looked around, read opinions, etc., etc. I finally found one the other day that I really liked. I like the colour (red), I liked the look of it, I loved how easily it maneuvered. It was wonderful. (For those who are interested, it is the Bily Kingston Stroller - oddly I couldn't really find anything about it, despite looking high and low, except that Bily stands for Because I Love You.)

It was a fair price ($70, on sale from $110 - go Zellers go), and folds up pretty compactly. It feels very sturdy, and Riley loved the one I put him in at the store. The assembly was pretty easy (the wheels and brakes...that's all...just the wheels and brakes), so it took no time at all, relatively speaking.

Then I noticed this:


Does anyone else notice the phallic nature of the handles? I mean, ok, I understand they were going for a cute "antennae" sort of handle, but come on! Did no one notice this during production? (and yes, I am going to have to knit some ribbed handles...lol...)
ttfn
k

Sweet Success

It is amazing how much more I can get accomplished when I have some sort of preconceived deadline. Well, sometimes. But the ravelympics have definitely put me in a "let's get this finished" mood.
My jacket (yes, I still need to get buttons...I guess a trip to Walmart is in order):

My little girl's socks:

I'm thinking that I am going to finally be able to finish the cardigan that has been hanging out on my side there (the brown one that has been just a sad little vest for the last, what, 4 months). I started the sleeves last night. WooHoo!!!
And my medals:






I should be getting the ones for the Sock Hockey event and the Sweaterboard Cross event shortly, considering both were finished yesterday. Just wanna get the one for at least one WIP-dancing, and I will be a happy, happy girl. :)
Not much else going on right now. I went for my ultrasound the other day, and have an appointment with my doctor on Wednesday to see what that revealed. And the end of this week, of course, is my honeymoon. WEEEE!!! I am super stoked about that. 3 days and nights childless with my hubby. And a real wood fire. And a whirlpool bath. And a log cabin.
I can't wait! (Thankfully, Ammy is super excited about getting to spend some time with Granny and Grampa, so she is doing the countdown, too.) Just gotta make it through the cleaning and packing of this week, now...
ttfn,
k

Ravelympics 2010

Well, with the start of the Olympics last week, so begins the start of Ravelympics. I have actually been making damn good progress with the items I am doing for my team (GO TEAM BKG!). So far, I have finished one toy (Toadstool Rattle for Riley):


My coat is coming along really well (thanks to an unhealthy dose of insomnia):


I have also gotten one sock done for Ammy (to be entered in the Sock Hockey category), and the second one is even cast on already, too!!!

Plus, I have somehow managed to find time to finish off one of the behbeh sweaters I am doing for a friend. I still have to sew it, but it is done and waiting for that.

Woohoo...busy, busy, busy. :) And loving every moment of it. (Yes, I know that I am going to crash soon...but after a nice 10-12 hour nap, I should be fine again...lol)

ttfn
k.

I Wonder If Winter Looks Different From the Treetops

So the hubby and I have decided to celebrate the fact that *if* February had 29 days this year, we would be celebrating our 6 month anniversary. How have we decided to celebrate? By taking our honeymoon. Yes, that is right. 3 days and 3 nights with just the two of us. We've actually decided that we are going to go up north. I know, I know, why not do the Niagara Falls thing, since that would be just as close and hotels often have the "Romantic Getaway" packages which include a bottle of wine and one dinner. Well, quite frankly, if we wanted loudness and people and more people and all that jazz, we would save ourselves the money and just stay home. Plus, if you factor in the $50-$80 that most things in Niagara cost to do, we'd be spending a whole boatload, or end up staying in our hotel room, never venturing out the whole time.

We wanted something more than that. We wanted something to be remembered (and not in the 9 months later sort of way).

So we are heading up north. We are renting a cabin at one of the all year round places. I'm not one for much outdoors stuff, especially during the winter, but we have decided on a few things that we would like to do. We are going to hit up this sweet Treetop Adventures place on the way up there. They actually take you through this giant trail 40 feet up in the trees. It is all connected by bridges and ziplines. I'm super excited about that. We also plan on going night tubing at one of the places that have the snow tube runs nearby where we are staying.

The cabin that we are staying in has not only a jacuzzi tub but a hot tub on the deck! Plus, they have a huge games room (with pool tables, ping pong tables and an arcade), and they have snowshoe trails that you can go on all around the place (I have always wanted to go snowshoeing...I don't know why, just always have). And three square meals a day are included with the package.

So yes, I may not be a big one for winter and cold, but the hot tub/jacuzzi tub will make up for that. And if all else fails, the cabin has a real wood fireplace that we can snuggle up in front of.

In other news, I have finally got all the yarn that I need for the breeders I know. I have one sweater done already (red one akin to the sweater I made for Riley in green), and plan to do one more blue and one more pink. That should cover everyone expecting during the month. I swear, May was a popular month for copulation. :S

Tis all.
ttfn
k

Why doesn't my meatloaf look like the picture?

Seriously, why does my food never look like it does in the cookbook? I guess that is a mystery for the ages.

Anywho, this past week Am started swimming on a weeknight (gotta say, I love it...she is nice and tired and easy to get to bed that night). It is a repeat of the Swimmer 1, but she still has issues with jumping in the water, and with getting her face wet. She is doing better, since she is starting to cup water to her face in the bath, so I am hoping that we won't see as much of the resistance to certain activities this time around that we saw in the fall program. She is also super excited that her sweater is almost all done. At every stage of it, she has wanted to try it on, even when it was in pieces. Here it is looking almost completely like a sweater:

Only thing left to do is put the buttons on. And block it. I usually leave blocking until the very end, as I find there to be no point in blocking it while it is still in pieces. Shapes change when the seaming is done. Meh...is my opinion.

I've also gotten about halfway done the red version of the cabled sweater for Riley. This picture was taken a few days ago, but I love how bright the red is. So much brighter than what it seems all wound up in a ball:


The Ravolympics start in a few weeks time, and I think I have figured out what I plan on making for that. Wanna do my BKG team proud. :) So, the militia coat that I have been talking about for a while is what I plan on entering. The rules are that you can't start until the torch is lit. I have swatched (which is allowed), and have everything ready to go. Now just to figure out what I will do until then. I mean, I have been doing really good with the finishing up UFOs lately, and only really have one or two small things left, i.e., the match to this (which is at the heel now):


In non-knitting related news, I have to say that I still find it very amusing that everyone seems to get differing advice and on differing degrees. As Riley is a preemie, I find myself often reading the blogs of other preemie mothers (not that I am saying those preemies don't have dads, but I haven't ever seen a blog by a preemie father in which they discuss the challenges and such of dealing with a preemie). And it endlessly amuses me, and would endlessly confuse me if I took everything everyone's doctor said to heart, that everyone seems to get different feedback about similar or even identical things. For sure, there are things that are baby specific. For example, I know many preemie parents who don't have to deal with the breathing and lung issues, or the kidney issue, or any issues at all. I know others who deal with brain bleeds and heart problems. It is a smorgasbord of health issues.

But I find it interesting that certain specialists that preemie parents all see (i.e. the neonatalogists at the follow ups), ones that you would figure would all agree on things, don't. I was reading through various blogs today, and in the course of reading 4 different ones, I came across the following opinions respecting exersaucers, bumbo chairs and bath chairs:

- Our doctor says they are fine in moderation, as they help our daughter with stretching and reaching;
- Our neonatalogist would kick our ass if we dared to put our daughter in an exersaucer, but she is fine with the bumbo chair;
- The people at the follow up said not to put him in any of those types of contraptions, at all;

and our follow up, we got the "all of these things are bad and horrible and will stunt him in learning to walk and/or hold himself up". This wasn't just their theory with Riley, but with all children, preterm or not. Now, personally speaking *only*, I used the exersaucer with my daughter. She didn't want anything at all to do with the bouncy chairs. She loved the exersaucer, and it was wonderful for me to actually be able to get things done (i.e. I could put her in it with me while I was in the kitchen doing dishes...she was happy and amused, and I got to eat off clean dishes for another few days). And the other day, just since I desperately needed to get in and organize Riley's room, I stuck him in the one that I have for him. Well, lo and behold, he loved it. There are objects above him, so he was actually reaching up to play with them. He was interacting with the music pieces, and was actually holding himself up (meaning that he had his feet flat on the bottom of it and was actively turning himself around AND holding his body weight up to the degree that those items allow them to). With Riley's torso muscle issues, he already has issues with holding himself up, and even if we are there to support him, he still finds it difficult, especially if you try to get him to grab at things or interact with anything at all. Truthfully, he was only in it for maybe an hour, but in that hour, he did more of his OT therapies than I can usually get him through in an hour on our mats.

Now I am very much an "if they are happy, there is nothing wrong with what you are doing" type of parent, so I am thinking that so long as he is happy and it is working him (meaning he is still doing all the stretching and reaching and he is actively placing his feet on the ground instead of letting the seat hold him up 100%), I am giving up on the various reports that I see/hear/read. If he wants his exersaucer and to use it too, he can. No, he won't live in it, and yes, we will still get down and do the OT exercises, but it is a nice sub, especially since I am terrified that he will bounce himself over in the chair (which he seems to hate with a passion now and bounces that thing to the point that it actually comes off the ground...yep, no more bouncy chair for you, little man).

Tis all.
ttfn
k.

Well, um, Happy New Year (less 8 days)

Yeah, I am a bit behind in the new year wishes. But I don't mind. (If you do, so sorry to hear.)

It really and truly has been such a busy past few weeks. My little angel, yet again, broke a pair of glasses on the last day of school. What wonderful luck 2009 had for us! I can honestly say that I am not unhappy to see it go in the least. While it did give me much to be thankful for, I think I would prefer to have a quiet, dull, uneventful year this time.

Our little critters had a blast on Christmas. Am loved all the goodies Santa bestowed upon her:

And Riley, well, he enjoyed the paper...and the boxes:

We actually (somehow) had a relaxing holiday break. Not overly sure how the heck we pulled that one off, but it was great.

Other than that, things have just been motoring along as per the norm. We picked up Am's new glasses yesterday. They are cute as all sin. Little pink wire frames. She no longer looks completely like my clone, but I think I will survive.

And in the world of needles and yarn, I have been having a blast going through my stash. In the last few weeks, I made four staggered rib scarves for the men in my life. Five non-scarf scarves for the ladies in my life. A coffee mug cozie. A matching sleeve to fit my Timmies cups (extra large...I'm a pansy and always find that the cup is too hot).
A second mexican wrestling mask (Brian has been bugging me for one ever since I finished Tony's - and yes, that is Brian in it):

A few hats and booties for my local hospital's preemie group. This sweater which I am now completely and utterly in love with (and not just because of the handsome young man in it):

Who'da thunk he could pull off lime green? I am thinking that I will likely have to make a few more of these, since it took all of about 2 days to make this up, and less than 2 balls of yarn (Bernat Softee Chunky - on sale at Walmart - for those who are interested).

I am currently working on a super sweet sweater for Am (pink and purple...what a shock), which I haven't yet taken any pictures of, and cannot seem to find a link for anywhere. It's just a simple cardi, anywho, with a few zippered pockets.

I also decided that with all this "other person" knitting I have been doing lately, I am finally going to start something for myself. So, hopefully, later today I will be casting on the Militia Coat. Wee...I love something big for myself. (I admit, I haven't been completely altruistic lately...there was a hat for myself, and the coffee related stuff.)

Anywho, little man is calling. Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday time.

ttfn
k.

16 Days to Christmas...

Wow...that seems odd. What happened to November? Where did it go? I could swear there used to be a month between October and December...but alas, it doesn't appear to be the case this year.

Actually, I am sitting in a pretty ok position right now as far as making and getting all the gifties in order. I have finished all the scarves for the girlies in my life, and have finished almost 3 of the scarves for the boys in my life (I have about 2 more repeats of the pattern to finish the third scarf). The kidlings are all taken care of, and even wrapped (of course, I had no choice but to wrap them the same day that we got them, since certain little persons are nosy and would likely have stumbled upon the gifts, thus ruining the surprise)! The other kidlings (nieces and nephews) are all finished, too. They were done the same time as mine own. Gawd, I love Samko Miko. That place is a godsend for anyone with children or children like persons to buy for. We walked out of there with gifts for 14 kids for less than $200. And I know, it is very tacky to mention money, but seriously, dude, that is less than I spent on the gifts when there were only 6 kids to buy for.

In other news, I am sure that we have all seen the various "make your own decoration" things. They're everywhere. And I have to admit, I am intrigued by this: a yarn-wrapped wreath. Sadly, I know myself well enough to know that I would want to unwrap it and start knitting...or would buy the yarn and immediately hide it so that it did not end up being used for a wreath. Especially if it were green. I love green. (I am very much an autumn person...green, yellow, orange (not blindingly bright), deep reds, browns...yeah, I love those colours.) I am very weak when it comes to those hues. I wonder if it would look tacky in rainbow brights?

I have also been getting back into the sewing. A lot. I think that after this Christmas, with all the yarny goodness that is going on, I just need to have that little creative break. I am currently working on an apron for myself, but have just recently finished doing a bedspread and sheet for my daughter's teacher (for her daughter for Christmas). I've also become the "go to" gal for shortening pants.

Am has also done an amazing job on her first report card (seriously...there are 3 terms in grade 1...who knew this??). One C (which at this level means she is doing good, but slightly below the provincial guideline) in writing, but other than that, everything was As and Bs. Woohoo.

And little mister is doing great, too. We have started his OT appointments, but he is starting to show improvement. I think he just likes having someone other than mom or dad mention that he should be doing certain things that he is not. I mean, 2 weeks ago he couldn't roll over. Even if we pushed his bum. Now, he is doing it on his own. Same with the feet. Didn't know he had them...never once seemed interested in them or playing with them. Now he constantly rolls himself up to get them. And he is starting to use the right side more. He actually managed to pass one of his toys left to right! WEEEE!!! Our OT believes that he will catch himself up by the time that he reaches his 8 month follow up. I hope so.

Anywho, I am outta here for now. I have a scarf that needs finishing, and a bath that needs someone to soak in it...I guess I can suck it up and suffer...you know, for the sake of the bath.

ttfn
k

Madness, I Say

Yeah, that is sort of how the last week or so has felt. Unfortunately, both my daughter and I got the flu last week. What a write off! I was horrible, but in typical motherly fashion, recovered after about 2 days of being completely useless. Thankfully, Riley managed not to get it (both Ammy and I avoided him like the plague during the first few days, and after that, I wore a mask and made sure to wash my hands about every 5 minutes or so). So, needless to say, my birthday went by very quietly. I spent the day and night at home with my little ones, catching up on some Christmas knitting.

So far, I have these done:


They are my little non-scarf scarves (Fourteen, by name). I am in lourve with this thing. Not only is it a quick knit, but it is really warm and comfy.

I also got around to doing/finishing a few other things while I had nowhere to go and nothing else to do:
Sheldon (the cutest little turtle):


New hat:


There are a few other odds and sods, but I haven't really gotten around to completely finishing them (i.e. they still need the ends weaved in...lawd how I hate weaving in ends).

Oh, and in very exciting news, last Tuesday, Riley's belly button fell off!!! Yes, this was a super exciting thing (7+ months in the making). It also means that he won't have to go for surgery for the urachal sinus, since it is no longer causing any problems. We are still waiting for urology to get back to us, as well as the infant development centre, but at the moment, things are looking up (touch wood). And we are now down to a somewhat normal regime of appointments. We have monthly RSV clinic from now until April, and our regular family doctor appointments (yes, we got him switched over), but other than that, I don't think we have any more crazy 6 appointments in 8 days type of weeks any time soon.

Well, off to make Christmas shopping lists (we are heading out to the samko meiko warehouse thing this weekend). Wish us luck with that. :S

ttfn

To Keep Myself Occupied

Well, I have found some wonderful things that I can do while I am sitting at home on mat leave right now. My daughter's teacher is big on reading (which I personally think all teachers of lower grade levels should be, but that is neither here nor there). Her and I got talking about knitting one day, and I mentioned that I do knit so she has asked me if I can make her some "props" for some of the books that she reads repeatedly.

At the moment, I am working on an oversized mitten for The Mitten. Her teacher has little fisher price animals that are all in the book, so she plans on using those for putting in the mitten. I will also be doing a regular sized one so that the kids can see the size difference before and after the animals move in, and can discuss why the mitten grew. :)

I found an amazing site that actually deals with this type of stuff (Children's Lit n' Knit). There are a few other books that she has asked me to work props for, if I have the time and inclination. I am sure that it will be fun (since she would like to have them to share with the other lower grade teachers at Ammy's school).

Also of note, I have finished Tony's muves. They look and fit him great! Seriously, they rock. I am thinking that I may have to look into a pair for myself. The only real "christmas knitting" that I am planning on doing this year is a pair of socks and a hat. Other than that, nothing. Both of those shouldn't take too long (so long as I try to remember that they are a gift, and therefore 1 sock is not an option).

That is all, really. Family is doing great. Currently I am just enjoying the calm before the storm that starts next week...

ttfn
k

Love These Things

So, it may just be a honeymoon phase, but I am super duper in love with these cloth diapers. We have also ordered a bunch of the KaWaii brand AIO pocket diapers which should arrive beginning of next week. Our total so far for all our diapers (which is - including the ones to arrive next week - 18 diapers and 40 inserts) is less than $300.

Beyond that, though, I love the feel and leak stoppageness of these things. Not only are they super cute, but they really do their job. They fit Riley wonderfully. And doubling the insert overnight has worked perfectly. So far (touch wood) we haven't had any leaks...at all.

And let me tell you, the softness of the microfleece lining is amazing. I am thinking I may have to start putting a microfleece lining in all my underwear! Damn kid is lucky as all sin to have that up against his little bottom all day. And it really does pull the moisture away from him and on to the insert.

Well, that is it for my raving. But check him out, being all happy with them:


I have also finished one of the glove/mittens for the hubby. (You know, the strange mittens with the first finger as a glove? Ya, those.) Ammy has been proudly sporting hers, and another little girl that I made them for has been declining to touch any one or thing with hers on, so I am guessing so far, so good. Oddly, I haven't even thought of making myself any. I am working on the sleeve for my cardigan (pictured below), and I guess I will make a pair for myself when that is done.

I also had a wonderful time hitting up the thrift shops this week. Riley is growing like a weed (is actually in 6 month clothing now), and Ammy seems to be in a new size every week. I bought her a pair of boots for winter (oddly enough, they are the "Riley" boot from walmart), and ended up getting the size 13. 13!!! Seriously? My main intent when I hit up the ValuVillage and local TS was to try to find a snow suit for Ammy (I don't want to spend $50 on something that will only last 1 season) and some warm winter sleepers for Riley. Ended up with several warm winter sleepers for Riley (the thick fleecey ones) for $2 each, and a few really cute outfits that I just couldn't resist (they were on sale at VV, and worked out to be about $3 each, so I can't complain in the least). I also got Am several pairs of pants, since we seem to have hit flood season. Couldn't find a snowsuit (apparently thrift shops understand that Christmas and Halloween stuff shouldn't be out at the same time) nor any pjs, but will likely go on another expedition in a few weeks time.

That is really all that is new and exciting, boys and girls.

ttfn
k.

Side Note: Most people don't realize this, and I know that I never noticed this before, but on the disposable diapers there is a notation that all fecal matter should be dumped into the toilet and flushed prior to throwing the diaper away. Do you do that? Do you know anyone who does?

Mittens Already?

Yeah, I broke and made a pair of mittens for Ammy already. But damn it is getting cold up here in the mornings. Seriously cold. I hate it. So, I have made the first pair of mittens of the season. I am sure that there will be more, many more, as the school has a "mitten tree" which I will be making several mittens for.

I'm also currently working on a new hat for Riley, since the ones that I have already made for him no longer fit his fat little head. (We are fifteen pounds now...just a side note.)

I'm also making great headway on the cropped cardigan I am making for myself. See:

I am hoping that I can get this finished sometime this week. The only things left, really, are the sleeves (and the collar, but that will be done when it is all put together so that I can judge it myself as to how big I want it).

And this, boys and girls, i why you shouldn't drink and drive:

(dont worry, no one was hurt). My sister and I were outside at my uncle`s place last weekend for the birthday party we held for all the nieces, and watched this happen. Buddy in the van took off down the road, until he realized that I was chasing him down the middle of it, and another girl was following from further up the road. Then he decided to come back, where he proceeded to fall over and claim that he couldn`t get any traction (though it had rained earlier in the day, everything was mostly dry by this point). Amazingly, when I took off, I threw the coffee cup I had in the middle of my uncle`s lawn, and somehow it didn`t break.

Well, that is really all that is new and wonderful in my world. Kinda slow, but that is okay. I am sure that it will get hectic soon enough. After much debating back and forth on the topic, we have decided that we are going to switch to cloth diapers for Riley. For starters, we are getting a trial package of 6 of them with 12 inserts, just to get us used to them, and will probably get another 6-10 of them as we see fit once we are used to them and ready to make the switch permanently. The cost for 12-16 in total with extra inserts will end up being about $350/400, which may seem like a lot, but while I was at my doctor's the other day, I found out that the average cost for diapers for a child until they are two and a half is $2,300. $2,300!!!! And that doesn't include pull up type of things. That is just purely diapers. Shocking, eh? Yeah, I think that I am okay with the extra effort and $350 vs. less effort and over $2,000. When I was younger, I babysat for a lady who had cloth diapers for her son. I remember what it was like with them. The ones that we are getting are super cute (Fuzzi Bunz, for those who are interested) and come with a pretty kick ass reputation.

I will likely update everyone on what an experience it is. :)

Until then, ttfn
k.

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.
ttfn
k

Please Sir, I Want Off This Ride

Well, it has been a rough ride, and still it is going. :( I hate that. Most of the people who we started our NICU journey with are home now. A few who we knew that had preterms after us are prepping to go home (the last of whom will be home this Saturday). We, however, can't even get moved closer to home.

Many of the friends we made while at the NICU have gone home now. The last of them left yesterday. Most of them were born after Riley (both gestational and actual). And still we are looking at July or August to get him home. And, as they have already discussed him coming home on oxygen, that is likely going to be the case. I hate this. I really and truly hate this. It is beyond frustrating and I hate that I feel like some hormonally charged, angst ridden teenager. It has been 12 weeks. Our due date is Sunday. And still we do not have a clue when our son is coming home.

Riley's breathing issues are getting better, slowly...very slowly. He is now down to low-flow 24/7. But that doesn't mean sweet jack at the moment, since he is still down in Toronto in the Annex, and still requiring enough oxygen that they haven't even bothered to discuss discharging him with us.

He makes these baby steps, that most of the preemies made weeks before him, gestationally speaking, and even though I get very excited about it because he is doing things better, or without intervention, to say the least, it is still a baby step that should have been taken weeks ago. Seriously, can I even call him a preemie anymore? I mean, he is past being "full term". He is over 8.5 lbs.

And I hate having to explain to people that yes, I did have a baby, but no, he is not home. Yes, I know I was due this month. No, I did not go full term. No, it is not a freaking vacation having a full term child who is not able to be home with us, so please stop making it seem like a dream that I don't have to wake up to screaming and dirty diapers several times over the course of the night.


I don't know when he started smiling. When did he learn this one? (I hate that I cannot just appreciate the smile, as my first thought AFTER "OMG, look how cute he is" was "I bet one of the nurses here was the first to see this miracle".)

I'm frustrated. Seriously frustrated. And, as before, there is not a damn thing that I can do about it. I can suck it up, drive down to Toronto to spend a few hours with him (because with another child at home, I don't have the luxury of spending 24/7 with him down there), come back home, clean and cook and go through the motions of everyday, ordinary life, pump, and cry myself to sleep; only to repeat it all over again the next day. Just like I have the last 85 days.

A part of me cannot stand going down to that hospital anymore. There is nothing wrong with the hospital itself. Don't think that in the least. This is not like my experience with Women's where I despised the place because of the people I was dealing with and the "care" I received. I just can't stand going down there anymore and knowing that I have to leave that part of my heart there every night. And as much as I don't want to do this anymore, as much as I cannot stand even thinking of heading down there again, I know that I will, because I cannot stand to not go down to see him and be with him.


This is the blanket I mentioned in my previous post. I am about 1/2 way done now, but have become so lackadaisical in continuing it, because it seems to have become a bit symbolic in the downward spiral pattern. That is how this is starting to feel...and that is, sadly, the only thing that I can think of whenever I pick it up. (Yes, great big fie on the friend who pointed that one out to me.)

I won't apologize for the sullenness of this post. (You read it and no one forced you.) I got set off this morning when I received yet another "they are sending my son home on Saturday...I am no where near ready. Are you guys?" text message. Yes, I am freaking ready. I am more than ready...yes, we have all our furniture and all the accoutrements that babies come with and likely will never need.

Bah!

The Post In Which KnittyBitch Tries to See the Bright Side

Well dear readers, as you know, my son's breathing has been an uphill issue with the hubby and I. Earlier this week, after questioning if it might be related to the fact that I have an immune system disorder (my body fails to respond when I have a simple infection, and often times does not respond to infection in the "ordinary" course), or other medical problems which have occurred on both hubby's side of the family and mine, as well as questioning what I might have done wrong (if you are or know a preterm mother, the guilt is a common, though illogical, thing), we finally received a straight answer, of sorts. My son has been diagnosed with a chronic lung disease. It is gestationally related (he is over 36 weeks and still requires a fair amount of outside help with breathing), and sadly there is nothing that anyone can do to facilitate his recovery from it. This type of lung disease does not have any hard and fast rules for what can be done to make the child breath. Some things work for some children, some things work for others. But, there is nothing that is constant with any child, beyond time. So, at this moment in time, we are looking at "at least" another 3-4 weeks in the NICU. Because of how badly he responds to low-flow (i.e. the last time they tried him on it, he was at 600 oxygen on low-flow, and destated to 49% in less than 10 minutes), they want to give him more time before trying again. This has hit the point of frustration that is well beyond having anything left to say.

So the above was actually written last weekend. On Tuesday just past, we had our family meeting with the staff neonatalogist and the nurses, as well as the NICU coordinator and social worker at the hospital. At that meeting, we were advised that we were looking at at least 6-8 weeks of Riley remaining in the hospital, before they would look at sending him home on oxygen. They decided that they weren't going to even consider trying him on the low-flow again for another week. He just didn't get it. Both of us expressed our frustration at the fact that we honestly believe that he can do these things, but that he isn't being given a chance to try in circumstances that are optimal for success (i.e. every time that he was apparently tried on low-flow, we were never there for it, despite calling in to tell them when we would be). So on Wednesday, we arrive to be told that they are putting him on one hour low-flow during breastfeeding, and will keep him on the 9 hours of high flow as well. What? What happened to the statements of "he can't handle it, so we aren't even going to try"? Apparently our nurse for the day, who was one who had been there for many years, decided she also believed he could do it, so screw it, she was trying. The RTs agreed with her. So it was done. And he did amazing! They put him at 400, and for the entire hour, WHILE BREASTFEEDING, the lowest his saturation went was 96%. This is, I should mention, much better than he ever does on the CPAP. So the nurse charted how well he did, and decided that she would tell the Drs that he could handle the hour without issue. Thursday, same thing. One hour LF...they had to turn it down to 100 just to stop him from setting off his "over saturating" alarm. All this while breastfeeding. Amazing!

That evening, they moved Riley to the annex (which is a step between NICU and Level 2). It was agreed there that they would increase his breastfeeds and his low flow, since he appeared to be doing great with it. Since they are still operating under the assumption that he can't do it, though, they only increased it to 6 hours and completely got rid of the high flow, but what can you do. So, we are now doing 6 hours of low flow and 2 sessions of breastfeeding a day. Hopefully, since the nurses in the Annex are awesome and have seen how well he is doing and read his past charts (often times asking me "um, why is he still on the CPAP? I don't want to put him back on it, he hates it"), I am hoping that on Monday they will increase his low-flow time.

I must say, though, that I hate (and I mean deep down hate) that the doctors keep telling us that our son can't do things, and that he is not able to handle these things that we know he can, and finally agreeing with us. I have stopped attending the rounds for this reason. They piss me off. I know that they "have the child's best interest" at heart, but I am sick to death of fighting them, and it doesn't amount to anything, so...

In other news, I have started the OpArt blanket for Riley. Not too far into it, but after only a few rounds, you can already see the illusionary effect of it. I have also completely finished his sweater, and several more of the aviatrix hats.

I will post with pictures later, but for the moment, check out the chunky monkey: