Shew...sit down with me for five minutes..please. Bring drinks...those that require an ID if you've got them!
We got the keys to the house about 8 p.m. on Thursday. We made a beeline for it. While waiting for laundry to dry, Peanut and I spent some waterless time in the new master bath tub. This thing is massive and humongeous all at the same time! Needless to say Thursday night was a late night.
On the way home from the house, it all just gets to me and I reach a point where I need to be heavily drinking or be in the vicinity of comfort food. I spot the golden arches and it goes down hill from there. We're sitting in the drive thru (it's nearly midnight) and Mister turns to look at me and says, "I don't see how you could be hungry." We then enter into a discussion about how I sometimes have to use french fries to medicate myself to deal with the stress and considering we've been married several years now, you'd think he'd have noticed this already. He then has the audacity to say to me, "You should really find a better way to handle your stress, it's not healthy". Mister is a former pack and a half a day smoker. If he's had a bad day, 6-8 beers magically disappear from the fridge. THIS from the man who has gained 35 pounds in 2 1/2 months!!! I mustered up all of my self-control and looked at him to say quietly, "Well, I used to have time to knit but since we're moving and it's my responsibility to secure the house, all utilities, money to pay for it, pack all items, clean all areas, cook, arrange for movers AND work 50 hours a week..I haven't had time. So we're going with the french fries tonight". His response was, "Well when things quiet down you should go back to knitting and I should probably stop complaining about it, huh?" Yeah..that might be a good idea.
So on Friday, I wake up to a sore throat. It gets worse as the day progresses. It's another late night and I just ignore it because I don't have time to be sick. Saturday, I'm up at 5:30 and off to the grocery store to pick up cough drops and cereal. Peanut needs breakfast and I need some help with the sore throat. Friends start arriving at the apartment at 9 a.m. We're so not ready to move. I'm totally mortified...I'm moving at the speed of light (well, as close as I get) to pack and organize. By 11, we have three pick up trucks and a trailer full of stuff. I go to pick up pizza's and find the first little ceasars I stop at to be closed. Closed on a Saturday??!! I had to go way out of the way to hit the one by our old, old apartment. I'm getting progressively sicker as the day goes. I get to the house to find the three cleanest women I know have found mice droppings under the kitchen sink and in the adjacent cupboards. Loverly. I'm now running a fever and experiencing aches in my legs. I can't deal with anymore and send them all home at 4 p.m. I resist their protests of wanting to stay and help, but I just can't do it. By 5, Peanut & Mister were on their way to the store and I was in bed with a fever. Sunday, I spent 5 hrs at the apartment cleaning, packing & loading the car. Still running a fever and feeling horrible. I got home and Mister unloaded the car. I find that while I've been gone, he's made friends with the longnecks in the fridge and has come to a realization that he sucks. He FINALLY admitted that he should have helped me pack and move. Thanks, buddy. We decide that Peanut and I should both stay home on Monday to chill out and rest up as we think she's now running a fever.
Despite needing the rest, my mental health depended upon the state of chaos our kitchen was in. I spent the day cleaning, arranging, rearranging and chasing Peanut...but feeling better (finally!). Mister came home and gave Peanut a bath (photos to come soon) but neglected to notice dinner needed to be put away while I was at the grocery store. Another late night..but I'm feeling better.
That brings us to today. My first day in the office with my boss being gone. My first day taking Peanut to her new day care provider. My first day in 2 years since I've had a commute all to myself! Peanut surprised me a bit and was hesitant to hang out with the new sitter. We distracted her with a bouncy furry beast in a cage wanting nothing more than to get out and smother her in puppy kisses. I snuck out while she was checking out the toy room. Did I mention our new sitter is also our next door neighbor? When I called to check on Miss Thing, she invited us to her son's birthday party and trick-or-treating with the other neighbors. THIS is why we moved. THIS is why we'll be a bit chilly this winter scrimping to pay the gas bill. THIS is why we'll be cutting back on everything. A happy Peanut in a nice neighborhood is worth it's weight in something much more expensive and precious than gold.
**NOTE: Sorry about the lack of knitting content. There really isn't anything to talk about. I can't remember the last stitch I made. I'm hoping that will change soon. A blog is cheaper than therapy, but I know life will be back to "normal" soon. Hang in there with me.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Can a girl get a beer??
It's 11:08. Mister and Peanut are asleep. I'm sitting in the middle of chaos. Boxes, newspaper and mess...Lord help us prepare for Saturday. We FINALLY sign the paperwork tomorrow. 3 p.m. today it seemed as if we weren't going to have a place to move to on Saturday, but my excellent people skills have smoothed that over. Let's just hope I didn't just buy our way into a disaster. Oy.
I was called in for jury duty last week. Sat there most of the day. They finally came on to say that the defendant for the case had "fled" and we were free to go home. One more day to call and then I'll be done with my civic duty for a while.
Peanut was 2 on Sunday. 2. Yep, have to say that again: 2. I can't believe it. I kept watching her at Chuck E Cheese and thinking how tiny and fragile she'd been. How at 4 lbs 6 ozs I was terrified to hold her because the monitors would rat me out if I wasn't doing it right...and she'd been through enough, she didn't need an incompetent mother on top of it all. Man, she's a great kid. What a blessing. I'm not a deeply religious person, heck..not even casually religious really...but I do throw a shout out thank you to the Lord every once in a while for gracing our lives with the blond wonder.
Here's the teeny tiny miss at a few hours old with her namesake. Aunt Jack was just 4 days shy of the big 5 - 0 and was a little bummed we couldn't hold off. Sorry, wasn't my decision.
And here she is on Sunday...
And this was before the party..
Notice the look of excitement over Bob the Builder...Happy birthday Lainey-bug!!
I was called in for jury duty last week. Sat there most of the day. They finally came on to say that the defendant for the case had "fled" and we were free to go home. One more day to call and then I'll be done with my civic duty for a while.
Peanut was 2 on Sunday. 2. Yep, have to say that again: 2. I can't believe it. I kept watching her at Chuck E Cheese and thinking how tiny and fragile she'd been. How at 4 lbs 6 ozs I was terrified to hold her because the monitors would rat me out if I wasn't doing it right...and she'd been through enough, she didn't need an incompetent mother on top of it all. Man, she's a great kid. What a blessing. I'm not a deeply religious person, heck..not even casually religious really...but I do throw a shout out thank you to the Lord every once in a while for gracing our lives with the blond wonder.
Here's the teeny tiny miss at a few hours old with her namesake. Aunt Jack was just 4 days shy of the big 5 - 0 and was a little bummed we couldn't hold off. Sorry, wasn't my decision.
And here she is on Sunday...
And this was before the party..
Notice the look of excitement over Bob the Builder...Happy birthday Lainey-bug!!
Friday, September 23, 2005
10 days gone...
Sorry about that, I didn't realize it'd been 10 days since I last visited. We're deep in the throes of packing a new Fall Television. These two items do not play well together. Knitting and Fall Television do, but packing seems to be a selfish activity that requires all of my attention. Good news is that the Mister finally got it together enough to pack FOUR boxes! Mind you they were all of our DVDs, Tapes and CDs..but still he did it. Our biggest problem is that once we have boxes packed, we don't really have a place to put them. Right now we're lining our short hallway with them, but that can only last so long. The house is starting to feel a little bit bare...just a smidge, really. I don't think I'll be sad to leave this place like I was with our Plymouth apartment. Way too much drama and riff-raff in the complex for me.
Peanut's 2nd birthday is quickly approaching. It's actually just a few days before we move. Shhh..don't tell her that, though. We plan on celebrating after we've moved in and settled. She'll never know the difference. There's talk of a toddler bed being her big present along with Dora the Explorer bedding. Can never had too much Dora in the house. I'm also going to try and track down a Laurie Berkner CD or Video locally. If you don't know Laurie Berkner, definitely get to know her! She's great. She's made a living making kids music that fun for parents to listen to. Peanut adores her. Last night she was watching her music special on Noggin On Demand. She was singing about "a song in her tummy" and for the very first time, I saw Peanut react and pat her tummy! Actually put down the sippy cup to dance along with the song. Child magazine had a great article with her a few months back. It just reinforced why I'm happy my kid likes her.
Mister's 28th birthday is Saturday. I had to argue with him the other day that he would be 28 and not, 29 like he thought. We celebrated last Saturday by going out to see the new Reese Witherspoon movie, Just Like Heaven. I liked it a lot. Somewhat predictable, but sweet. Prior to being married and dispensing the child, I was a HUGE Cure fan. So, I was pretty excited to hear the new versions (not by the Cure) in the movie. That song was huge for me in high school, so I think I was kind of sentimental about it and like the movie more because of it. Sigh, I really need to work in some quality time with the CD collection. Oh! Peanut gave Mister a present that made him tear up. Now, if you know my Mister, this isn't the hardest thing to get him to do...but still worth mentioning. I had insomnia Labor Day weekend and found myself up watching HSN at 2 a.m. I think they put hypnotic messages in the broadcast because it was almost as if I could not turn it..but anyway. Mister made out well because he got this for his birthday. (Note - in case you don't know, Mister is a transplant from Atlanta to Michigan. DIE HARD Falcon's fan) I caught him wearing it in the bathroom checking himself out in it...too bad he only had his boxers on with it. It was quite a sight and I had to walk away to laugh. I couldn't ruin his moment. Prior to dating me, he always said his birthday was unimportant...now it's probably his favorite day of the year. And yes, he will have a butter flavor recipe cake for breakfast on Saturday. It's the least I can do.
So...um, yeah..knitting. I've done a bit here and there. I gave up on the booties for the Sunshine sweater. They're just not happening. The buttons need to be chosen and placed on it before being sent out. I finally figured out the pattern I was using for the CMU sweater. How much work do I do on the pattern before it becomes my pattern? What a mess that was. Good news is that it's coming along quite well and I'm pleased with the colors. It's the first time I've used Caron Simply Soft and it's wonderful. Cheap, soft and washes well...what more could you ask for?
The Preemie Project is coming along well without me. Jan and Laura are doing an excellent job picking up for my slack. The group is busily working on Halloween related items. I've also done up three cloths for Cloths for Katrina. I can do the cloths on my lunch and not worry about getting them dirty, since they're wash cloths! Love how that works.
Peanut's 2nd birthday is quickly approaching. It's actually just a few days before we move. Shhh..don't tell her that, though. We plan on celebrating after we've moved in and settled. She'll never know the difference. There's talk of a toddler bed being her big present along with Dora the Explorer bedding. Can never had too much Dora in the house. I'm also going to try and track down a Laurie Berkner CD or Video locally. If you don't know Laurie Berkner, definitely get to know her! She's great. She's made a living making kids music that fun for parents to listen to. Peanut adores her. Last night she was watching her music special on Noggin On Demand. She was singing about "a song in her tummy" and for the very first time, I saw Peanut react and pat her tummy! Actually put down the sippy cup to dance along with the song. Child magazine had a great article with her a few months back. It just reinforced why I'm happy my kid likes her.
Mister's 28th birthday is Saturday. I had to argue with him the other day that he would be 28 and not, 29 like he thought. We celebrated last Saturday by going out to see the new Reese Witherspoon movie, Just Like Heaven. I liked it a lot. Somewhat predictable, but sweet. Prior to being married and dispensing the child, I was a HUGE Cure fan. So, I was pretty excited to hear the new versions (not by the Cure) in the movie. That song was huge for me in high school, so I think I was kind of sentimental about it and like the movie more because of it. Sigh, I really need to work in some quality time with the CD collection. Oh! Peanut gave Mister a present that made him tear up. Now, if you know my Mister, this isn't the hardest thing to get him to do...but still worth mentioning. I had insomnia Labor Day weekend and found myself up watching HSN at 2 a.m. I think they put hypnotic messages in the broadcast because it was almost as if I could not turn it..but anyway. Mister made out well because he got this for his birthday. (Note - in case you don't know, Mister is a transplant from Atlanta to Michigan. DIE HARD Falcon's fan) I caught him wearing it in the bathroom checking himself out in it...too bad he only had his boxers on with it. It was quite a sight and I had to walk away to laugh. I couldn't ruin his moment. Prior to dating me, he always said his birthday was unimportant...now it's probably his favorite day of the year. And yes, he will have a butter flavor recipe cake for breakfast on Saturday. It's the least I can do.
So...um, yeah..knitting. I've done a bit here and there. I gave up on the booties for the Sunshine sweater. They're just not happening. The buttons need to be chosen and placed on it before being sent out. I finally figured out the pattern I was using for the CMU sweater. How much work do I do on the pattern before it becomes my pattern? What a mess that was. Good news is that it's coming along quite well and I'm pleased with the colors. It's the first time I've used Caron Simply Soft and it's wonderful. Cheap, soft and washes well...what more could you ask for?
The Preemie Project is coming along well without me. Jan and Laura are doing an excellent job picking up for my slack. The group is busily working on Halloween related items. I've also done up three cloths for Cloths for Katrina. I can do the cloths on my lunch and not worry about getting them dirty, since they're wash cloths! Love how that works.
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Short post...
Sorry I've been MIA, but man, life sure gets in the way sometimes doesn't it?
We're a go for the house (still!) so some packing and sorting has been going on. We recently found out that the Mister may only have a job for 60 more days. For now he'll be going down to 4 - 10 hr days a week to help his company save on gas. We thought this would be great because we would save on day care. I provider decided to change price rates on us and it's actually just $10 more to keep her full time. Well, this move has forced us to consider a new provider near our new home rather than accommodating our current provider. I don't have a clue as to how I'm going to break the news to her without her causing a ruckus. Sometimes it's just no fun to be an adult.
Peanut went poop in the potty Thursday night. I never thought I'd be so excited about poop in the potty! Friday I went out and picked up a Dora potty seat, Dora feel & learn pants and Dora stickers for a reward. Despite being put on the potty every 30 mins, there's been no activity to warrant the opening of the stickers. I certainly don't expect her to be potty trained in just one day, but way to tease a mom!! She'll get it eventually, I know.
Knitting..what is this blog about knitting? Oh, yeah..guess it is. Well in knit related news, my very first baby sweater has been posted for sale via a donation to the Red Cross or any charity helping out the victims of Hurricane Katrina. You can find it here. I've also joined the Cloths For Katrina yahoo group. Their goal is to get a handmade cloth and a bar of soap to each victim. You knit a cloth and send $.50 with each one to one of the list moms. They take the change and buy the soap (cheaper than shipping it) and pass along a bar for each cloth to their contacts in each of the states taking in victims. Nothing feels better than a nice bath after being dirty...so it's the least we can do for these people. We can't afford to send cash, but I can bust some of my stash and send it to people who could really use it. We also contributed 3 boxes of food to a local drive going down to Mississippi. It's our way of feeling like we're doing something.
I still have 1/3 of a bootie left to finish the Sunshine set. I just can't seem to finish it. It's killing me. I've started a CMU sweater for another friend. This is a different patter than I normally use and I've been using some sailor words while trying to work through it. I've frogged it and started over 3 times now. It'll be awesome when it's done, I just need to get it there. I found basketball and football buttons for it. I finished a cloth for Katrina this morning. I'm hoping to do up three or four and then send them. Thanks so much to Erica for posting about the group on her blog.
The amazing Laura has the Preemie Project up to 60 members. How awesome is that?
We're a go for the house (still!) so some packing and sorting has been going on. We recently found out that the Mister may only have a job for 60 more days. For now he'll be going down to 4 - 10 hr days a week to help his company save on gas. We thought this would be great because we would save on day care. I provider decided to change price rates on us and it's actually just $10 more to keep her full time. Well, this move has forced us to consider a new provider near our new home rather than accommodating our current provider. I don't have a clue as to how I'm going to break the news to her without her causing a ruckus. Sometimes it's just no fun to be an adult.
Peanut went poop in the potty Thursday night. I never thought I'd be so excited about poop in the potty! Friday I went out and picked up a Dora potty seat, Dora feel & learn pants and Dora stickers for a reward. Despite being put on the potty every 30 mins, there's been no activity to warrant the opening of the stickers. I certainly don't expect her to be potty trained in just one day, but way to tease a mom!! She'll get it eventually, I know.
Knitting..what is this blog about knitting? Oh, yeah..guess it is. Well in knit related news, my very first baby sweater has been posted for sale via a donation to the Red Cross or any charity helping out the victims of Hurricane Katrina. You can find it here. I've also joined the Cloths For Katrina yahoo group. Their goal is to get a handmade cloth and a bar of soap to each victim. You knit a cloth and send $.50 with each one to one of the list moms. They take the change and buy the soap (cheaper than shipping it) and pass along a bar for each cloth to their contacts in each of the states taking in victims. Nothing feels better than a nice bath after being dirty...so it's the least we can do for these people. We can't afford to send cash, but I can bust some of my stash and send it to people who could really use it. We also contributed 3 boxes of food to a local drive going down to Mississippi. It's our way of feeling like we're doing something.
I still have 1/3 of a bootie left to finish the Sunshine set. I just can't seem to finish it. It's killing me. I've started a CMU sweater for another friend. This is a different patter than I normally use and I've been using some sailor words while trying to work through it. I've frogged it and started over 3 times now. It'll be awesome when it's done, I just need to get it there. I found basketball and football buttons for it. I finished a cloth for Katrina this morning. I'm hoping to do up three or four and then send them. Thanks so much to Erica for posting about the group on her blog.
The amazing Laura has the Preemie Project up to 60 members. How awesome is that?
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Checklist for a cruddy day...
- You go out to your car to go to work to find it's been egged over night
- 22 month old eats leftover egg shell while you survey the damage
- Use last $5 for car wash
- Accidently open door (not thinking) while man sprays down car
- Go home for lunch, find 3 spots on car where paint is damaged
- Eat frozen burrito for lunch that comes back to haunt you later
- Husband calls to say you are being subpoenaed to court
- Husband re-reads letter to say no, it's just jury duty summons
- Jury duty is in downtown Detroit
- Sitter lined up to watch Peanut tomorrow calls to say they now can't
Yeah...that's it. I give up and I'm going home.
When I got home, I opened the summons and found this on the list of items not allowed in the Courthouse:
- Weapons, laptops, cellphones, knives, knitting needles or crochet hooks
Yeah..I just can't win.
Quiet Purchases and Katrina Help
I can't believe the images I see on my TV. I'm thankful for the life the Lord has allowed us to lead, no matter how hard and stressful I think it is at times. I have the luxury of sitting on our couch (be it broken down and kitty christened) and viewing Katrina's wrath, I couldn't imagine living in it. This was posted to the CIC yahoo group I belong to. I have my first baby sweater and a few odd FOs sitting around the house that I'm going package up and send to them. I also have some really old yarn I inherited that I know I'll never use and it's not appropriate for the Preemie Project. I'll have that wing it's way there to be made into something warm and useful. It's the least I can do.
I bought these yesterday:
http://www.chiagu.com/ - The Crumpets pattern
http://knitandtonic.typepad.com/knitandtonic/2005/08/draft_7.html - GF Swing Coat
I've been coveting each for a while and now Peanut will have both! I think she'll get the GF Swing Coat in CMU colors for the Fall. Her friend Katie might just find one for herself for her birthday too. If Katie's mom reads this...it could be late, but you knew that didn't you?
I'm still working on the Sunshine sweater set. That last bootie is tinking itself when I'm not looking, I just know it! The lace burial gown is coming along too. I'm hoping it'll soften up once it's washed. It's plenty soft in the skein but it knits up quite a bit differently. I had the same thing happen with the WoolEase I used in the Marina set.
I bought these yesterday:
http://www.chiagu.com/ - The Crumpets pattern
http://knitandtonic.typepad.com/knitandtonic/2005/08/draft_7.html - GF Swing Coat
I've been coveting each for a while and now Peanut will have both! I think she'll get the GF Swing Coat in CMU colors for the Fall. Her friend Katie might just find one for herself for her birthday too. If Katie's mom reads this...it could be late, but you knew that didn't you?
I'm still working on the Sunshine sweater set. That last bootie is tinking itself when I'm not looking, I just know it! The lace burial gown is coming along too. I'm hoping it'll soften up once it's washed. It's plenty soft in the skein but it knits up quite a bit differently. I had the same thing happen with the WoolEase I used in the Marina set.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Pumpkin Hat Pattern
Since I've had requests, here's the pattern from memory. If someone tries it, please let me know if it's not correct.
Worsted weight yarn (I used Cotton Ease in pumpkin and Kitchen Cotton in dark green) The kitchen cotton isn't as soft, but it never touches the baby's skin since it's on the foldup edge of the hat.
Size 6 needles
Should make a hat to fit a 1-3 lb baby - it's about 10" across. You could easily adjust the size by casting on more (in a multiple of three) and working a longer hat body.
Using the dark green, cast on 183 stitches - do not join
Row 1 - K1 BO2 across - this creates the lacy ruffle
Row 2 - K across
Row 3 - change to the orange and knit across
Row 4 - K1 P1 across
Repeat row 4 for 2" - 3" depending on how much rib you'd like on the hat. Keeping in mind it will be folded in half when you're finished.
You'll want to look at the lacy edge and color change row and determine the WRONG side of the piece so far. From here on out, the WRONG side of the lace edge with be the RIGHT side for the stockinette. When the edge is folded up, the wrong side of the edging will be hidden in the fold.
Begin stockinette work until the piece is about 4" long. This will make a hat with 1" cuff (2" in half) and 3" body of the hat.
Decrease row (right side)- K5 K2tog across the row (Don't worry if you're off, just be sure to match the decreases in the next rows to create the line pattern on top)
Purl across
Decrease row 2 - K4 K2tog across row, matching up decreases
Purl across
Decrease row 3 - K3 k2tog across row, matching again
Purl Across
Decrease row 4 - Switch back to green - K2 k2tog...again, matching
Purl Decrease row 5 - K1 k2tog, matching
Purl
Decrease row 6 - K2 together across
Purl
Keep decreasing across the knit rows with K2 together until you're down to 3 stitches (keeping wrong side rows in purl)
Knit a 3 stitch i-chord to the desired length. I think mine was long enough to where I could have tied it into a knotSew up the side and flip the cuff.
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