More Foolishness from the Mouths of Babes

N: These boys were fooling around, and (name) kicked (other name) in the tentacles.

******

Me: Oh @!?! I forgot to call my Dad for Father's Day.

T: Maybe you could just call today and tell him Happy Melated Father's Day.

*****

(Waking up. Z puts her hands over my eyes, then removes them)

Z (big grin, sing-song voice): Boo-boo!

Hmmm. I love Italian.

Scene: Our living room. The girls are looking at a book N has brought home from the library.

Miss N: Hey Z, wanna learn about the cannoli-al days?

Me: What?

N: The cannoli-al days?

Me (looking at the cover): Can you try that again?

N: Oh. (exaggerated pronunciation): The colonial days.

Totally Silly, but Really Neat

Boy-O sent me the link to BrowserBall. Very fun for the non-athletes among us (i.e., me, me and also me).

Hot Air

Okay - am I the only one who hasn't heard of the Air Car?? Coming in as soon as 2011???
Dudes. If they make a minivan I am sold!

I've fallen into Facebook...

...and I can't get out. More later: I'm on a quest to beat my genius pen pal at Word Challenge.

Valentine's Recap

7:50: Shove DH and oldest children out of door. Feel smug that they don't really need you, they just like it. Remember that floral delivery is expected today.

7:51-8:49: Try to settle baby down for first nap. Tempt her with offers of fully paid college tuition and ice sculptures for her wedding.

8:49: Congratulate yourself on getting babe into bassinet without waking her. You injure arm while patting yourself on the back.

8:50: Realize that day would go more smoothly if you put some clothes on. Put on t-shirt. Look for underpants.

8:52: Decide to steal DH's underpants, since pregnancy plumpness is still present and all of yours are tight.

8:53: Forget task at hand; check email.

8:55: Doorbell rings, sending dogs into frenzy. You see florist guy through picture window and wave frantically with one hand while attempting to restrain both dogs with other.

8:59: Fling open door to florist. Allow sneaky dog to lick florist while locking other dog in laundry room.

9:00: Sneaky dog escapes when transfer of flowers is made. Curse bitterly. Start out door to chase dog, but stop as you realize you are wearing a t-shirt and DH's underpants.

9:01: Florist guy chases dog while you search desperately for normal, adult woman pants.

9:02: Florist guy returns your sneaky dog, who strolls in nonchalantly. Realize you cannot even tip very deserving florist guy/dog wrangler, as you are still standing there with pants in hand and your wallet is in an entirely different part of house. He politely waves you off.

9:03 Die of shame.

And how was your holiday?

There and Back Again

Popping in for a quick update. The last few weeks have been quite full with family and friends and food (oh, Thanksgiving, how I love you). Though there is still quite a bit of sadness at the loss of my grandma, there are things for which I am grateful:

• My mama - she's so determined not to be "one of those mothers" (bossy, interfering, etc.).
  It completely cracks me up.
• Finally getting my cornbread dressing just the way I want it. Perfection has eluded me for the past five years - and now it's mine. (Mwa-ha-ha!)
  
• Pork (specifically bacon, prosciutto, and Speck). It has been a lifesaver over the last 8 1/2 months. Sometimes it's the only thing I can eat.
• Being very close to my due date! I am so excited to meet this kid.
• Dear, sweet Boy-O. The look on his face when he realizes anew just how close we are to parenthood is unbeatable.
  (Having watched him with the niece and nephew for the past six months, I have far more faith in him than I think he does in himself. He will rock as Daddy-O.)
  
• Friends who like yarn as much as I do. Last Saturday, I got some grownup hang time with a lovely woman I don't see nearly enough of. It was wonderful. Must remember to schedule more of that!

I'm happy to be back, and will try to keep the yarn-related content first and foremost.
Right now, I'm so grateful for the joy in this very full life.

Proof of a Saturday Well Spent

All thanks to the charms of the Pacific Ocean and Cannon Beach.

"Oh, we're halfway there..."

(I just loved the band Bon Jovi. Ok, ok -- really I loved Richie Sambora, but then he turned out to be all tacky and slutty in the end... too bad.)

At any rate, we have reached the (theoretical) halfway point in our pregnancy!
If it lasts the expected 40 weeks, the little one should show up in early December. Whoo!

So far, so good. I mostly feel fine (though I still have bouts of morning sickness - ugh!), and have lost a little bit of weight, which I attribute to chasing after the kiddos and our tendency to take mile-long walks with them.
My Doc isn't worried, so neither am I. As she says, babies tend to take what they need, and you can't force-feed yourself. Staying hydrated is the most important thing, and that's not been a problem.

The in-laws are in town to celebrate the Boy-O's birthday, and we have had a blast. They generously offered to baby-sit so that my husband and I could have an actual date.
(I won't mention that the hot date in question started with a big ol' nap!)

In knitting news, the weather's been completely wet for the last few days, and I want to be knitting again. Though I have several projects in the works, all of them are boring me right now, and I'm dying to work something for the Bean. So I started swatching for this blanket:


It's from Vogue Knitting on the Go Baby Blankets, which I guess from the price on Amazon is out of print. The little blips of texture are sheep! Hee. So cute.

My kid must have the most tense mama in the world: I'm using Swish DK (Shameless work-related plug: New! Lighter weight! Just as soft!) but am consistently getting 6 sts/in. Sigh.
Perhaps I need to take relaxation lessons from Xena.
(Yes, that's me and my giant preggo bosom in the picture.)

Now, for a garment, I'd wash and block my swatch so that I'd know the gauge for sure -- gauge tends to change once you've treated the swatch the way you plan to treat the actual item --
but I'm just not prepared to be so uptight about something that's likely to be covered in spit up and breastmilk. So Uptight Mama is going to switch needle size and go with the flow.
We'll see what happens. Hopefully this cool-ish weather will stick around long enough to encourage some actual progress!

Dipping a toe into the waters

Goodness! No one ever mentioned how hard this parenting stuff could be. We're okay, to be sure, but the level of intensity with two kids, close in age, (and the insufficiency of a two bedroom house to contain said intensity) is a whole world we knew nothing about. I cannot imagine how people do it without going crazy. (Fortunately, we are halfway to nuts already, so we haven't much sanity to miss.)

Add to that a project at work that I need to get done ASAP, the strangeness of the pregnant belly (how weird is it that I'm developing an outie? Seriously, that's freaky) and I'm more than a little beside myself. I look forward to bedtime with a seriousness that frightens me.

But there is knitting. And new yarns to talk about very soon, I promise. Shiny new colors and one brand new line, which always make me squee a little bit.
More later. Right now, a speedy supper, bath time and story time are in the cards.

Coming Up For Air

Hello, sadly neglected blog! I know I've been completely AWOL, but I've got a good excuse, I do!

I've spent the past week with these folks:

Yes, people: proof positive that my mama can indeed be convinced to leave Chicago if the price is right (i.e., she gets to drop off the munchkins, hang out at Powell's and attempt to photograph the entire city in three days).

We had a blast; I miss her already.

Making friends in the park.


Getting soaked at Jamison Square.


BBQ'ing on the deck.


Practicing reading with Uncle Boy-O.

Dim sum at House of Louie, Oswego Lake and even the incredibly large Whole Foods in Tigard were other highlights of the trip (Mom was quite pleased with the sushi bar and the wine selection!).

Not a stitch was knit, and I didn't even have the decency to miss it. I'm so pleased that I got to show Mom my favorite city. She's already threatening to come back just to visit Powell's again.

I went in to work yesterday, and had some serious culture shock. ("What do I do again?")
Fortunately, day camp starts next week, so the kiddos will be occupied and we'll try to remember what it's like to be grown ups again. Not nearly as fun, but necessary.

Reasons to Have Children

As the knitting has slowed down a bit, I will distract you with our first, tentative purchases for the little Bean.
One, a copy of Vera Williams' More More More said the Baby, which came highly recommended by the fella who sold it to me and online as well.

And the other, a little onesie from the sale rack at Target:

Just barely. Baby's not due til 'end of the year!

Tiny and Adorable

Although looking at the size of that cranium, I am immediately reminded of Mike Myers' best movie:
"HEED! Pants! Now!"

Going, going, gone

Things that are (were) gone:

Me:
A sudden re-arrangement of the schedule found me in Chicago this weekend , visiting my sick grandma. Happily, Mama D is doing better than expected and her prognosis is good.

Waistlines:
I also got to see my dearest, sweetest sister, who is suddenly (how can I put this politely?) more woman than she used to be. I did get a picture, but she threatened to disembowel me if I posted it. So you'll just have to trust me when I say 8 months along is really impressive.
(I am deeply afraid. Unlike my sis, I started out on the fluffy side - my poor husband's gonna have to roll me around in a wheelbarrow!)

Mom's modesty:
My mother is extremely excited that we are having a baby. It scares me a little.
Seriously - the other day we were in the grocery store, and she approaches this very pregnant random stranger.

Mom: How far along are you?
Strange Girl: 5 months.
Mom: Oh, really? (pointing at me) She’s only three, but she’s already starting to show…
Me: (Dying of embarrassment)

I could tell you more, but I'm sure y'all understand.

Knitting Mojo:
It was horrendously hot whilst I was travelling, and the wool component in my current projects has not helped me deal. I spent most of the last five days reading instead.
I enjoy going places, but hate airports and planes. So I'm always looking for a great book that will make the experience less irritating. And it needs to be super thick, because I read like a maniac and can finish a novel pretty quickly. (On the trip out -- about 6 hours of flight time-- I read The Road. Big mistake. Finished it in about three hours, so then I was bored and depressed.)
For the trip back, I picked up Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. It's the perfect book for this kind of travel. Silly enough to pick up and put down, and large enough that I only got halfway through it on the plane. Fun, fun stuff.

Preggie Brain

In lieu of actual knitting content (my current projects are wool, and it is Far Too Hot to Knit here):

Wanda (check out her fabulous Horcrux socks, BTW) asked a couple of days ago how the pregnancy was progressing. I am pleased to report: pretty darned good thus far.
We had a brief ultrasound today, and both the tech and the doctor who reviewed the scan said that everything looked really good. It's so weird: the little thing actually looks like a person now.
(Last time we saw it, it was sort of a bouncing ball of blobby, vaguely humanoid tininess. Cute, but completely alien.)

So of course, the tech was kind enough to print a few pictures for us, and of course I took them to work and forced my co-workers to admire the adorable person-to-be who has taken up residence in my midsection, and of course I. Left. The. Bleeping. Roll. Of. Pictures. On. My. Desk.
(Grr. Arrgh.)

So no pics for y'all. Whoops.
I claim 'pregnancy brain.' It is a fabulous malady, causing no actual pain but guaranteeing you instant sympathy. Pretty sweet, n'est pas?
Perhaps tomorrow, if I can get my act together.

NVP'd

No, it's not a weird variation on a sports term, but among the many joys (?) of pregnancy.
See here for details.

As a result of said NVP, today's blog is somewhat light on the action.
Lacy Waves needs more brain power than I currently have, I screwed up the duplicate stitch on "Buster" and need to make a decision, and I've started a new unbloggable project because certain Sisters may or may not be visiting the blog and will thus ruin the surprise.

Instead, I'll have to offer up the old chestnut of seven random things about me. I don't know how random they'll turn out to be, but hey - that's the price you pay for genuine randomness, isn't it?

1) As I've previously mentioned, my family is huge. So large, in fact, that I wouldn't know some of them to see them. This point was brought home to me when it turned out that my 7th grade math teacher was my dad's cousin.

2) Of all the math classes I took, Algebra is the one I use most on a daily basis.

3) Boy-O and I have wildly divergent taste in music. When we moved in together, we discovered we had exactly one CD in common. (Mi Tierra, by Gloria Estefan)

4) Neither of us actually speaks Spanish, so we're mostly guessing what the songs are about.

5) I have never learned to drive. Not a car, not a boat, not a motorcycle: I have never held a license of any sort.

6) Except for a food handler's license (in both MN and IL).

7) If my life had gone according to the plan I made in 2002, I would currently be a restaurant chef. I'd arranged my entire life so that this could happen: moving to the north side of Chicago to be close to campus, gotten accepted at Kendall College, and started working in the natural foods industry. Instead, I knit for a living.

Random enough, eh? Now let's hear it from y'all.

The Best Kind of Creation

(cross-posted to the Create Along)

Confession time: I've been holding out on you all.
Which is the most difficult thing, because I am The Worst Secret Keeper in the World (tm).
(hee - I originally wrote Worsted. Knit much?)
So instead, I have posted less frequently, trying to keep the All Consuming Secret to myself.
Though there are other blog-worthy things going on in my life, not being able to share my little obsession has been challenging, since, being an obsession, it is all I can/want to think about.

Said secret has also made my participation in the CAL more difficult, since my original idea for my project is now inappropriate for my personal circumstances. So I've shuffled the knitting deck, rearranged my project queue and put off the necessary revamp of my Evergreen.
But now I think I'm ready to tackle it.

Despite the lack of posting, there's been plenty of creation going on.
This July, my baby sister (!) is having a baby.
And this December, so am I.