Yep, there's never enough time. Not enough time to focus on my kids individually enough for them not to somewhat act out. Not enough time to knit. Not enough time to spin. Certainly not enough time to keep up with cleaning, laundry, and shopping enough to be good enough to be on a diet to lose some freaking weight before I am in the 2 weddings next fall. Yeaaaaahhhhhh.
Ah well. My little girl got better with swim class. Till halfway through. Then she tackle hugged the other girl so much to play with her, she ended up tackle hugging her face down in the water. Lovely. I profusely apologized to the parents, who were way cooler about it than I probably would have been had it been my kid, and that little girl wanted nothing to do with her all class, I don't blame her...but 3 year olds don't really get 'personal space'. So she just kept on trying to play with her, saying sorry, giving her hugs, all the stuff she does at home, and the girl practically fled the pool every time. That was it. Done with swimming. Maybe she can try swimming after we get her into a preschool or something where she can learn listening and accountability and stuff in a structured environment where she can't accidentally drown another child. THEN maybe we can put her into another swim class. Maybe she'll listen a little better then if she's gotten a structured preschool environment. I just don't know. Half the time I feel like I'm not cut out to be a mom. Like I should be more equipped to handle this and somehow be able to figure it out, and I just don't. I just don't.
The wee man has a tooth that came through, but he's normally such a happy little guy. Completely sleeps through the night. We're hopefully going to be moving next month, so home has been in an upheaval. Of course, right around the holidays. And because of that I have spent all my spare time on things concerning that. So there has been no crafting time. I can barely keep up with crafting for my HPKCHC class turn-ins that I have to do because of time shortage. I wish I could bake and submit a class. I would have gotten that. That my girl can be a part of and it's mommy time and we work well together. Harumph.
I so want to knit for the holiday. I went from wanting to knit like 10 things to parring down that I wanted to spin 1 skein and knit just 3-4 things...to OMB, I better finish these pants I started 2 months ago for the wee man before he grows out of them, and I just want to knit 2 things for Christmas, and I don't know if I can even do that!!! So frustrating! That's my outlet and I can't do it. So I've got all this pent up crafty energy and I can't relax cause I don't have time to craft and relax at all. Not like I expected to relax with a 3 year old and a 5 month old, that's not it, but at least at night or something, a little extra time, maybe if they napped on the weekends I'd get 4 hours, 2 on Saturday 2 on Sunday....not even 1 on each day do I get where they are napping at the same time. Wee man doesn't even really nap. He sleeps through the night and takes little cat naps unless he's sick, but otherwise, not much. So that's really a no go. Ugh. This will pass, I will craft again. I just want him to wear the pants. I'm going to have to do a little at lunch every day or something...when I'm not working on transcripts at lunch sometimes. Grrr.
Anyway, hopefully we will have a good Halloween next week. I can't believe it's almost Halloween. This is nuts. But I'll post pics of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf after Trick or Treating next week :)
My musings about daily life, family, crafting...and anything else that pops into my head!
Friday, October 25, 2013
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
That kid, really? Lovely.
So I love my kids. And the Little Caim is a hard nut. We have had our share of troubling times with her behavior, she's definitely an independent one. Doesn't help that she's smart and gets bored easily. It's constant, constant vigilance and positive attention we have to give her, but the moment we stop, she's throwing a baseball around the house. Like last night.
We've tried spankings, time outs, reward system, allowance, taken away a majority of her toys...nothing consistently works. She's ever evolving with discipline and trying to get out of things. Yes, my 3 year old. Am I one of those parents? One that never should have had kids cause I can't hack it? I truly don't feel properly equipped for her. She is beyond my parenting realm and capability, this is how I feel. And that seems like a cop out, but I am at a total loss.
Let me share what prompted this little bit. Last night was our first tots swim class. Now, I am fortunate enough to have a husband who works a different shift...not so fortunate for communication always, but fortunate that he can watch our children in the morning. I also have the blessing of my dad who is retired and can watch the kids in the interim every day until I get home from work. This is a lovely and lucky thing to have. I am grateful, beyond grateful for all the family help I get. But I feel she is not socialized enough. She has cousin socialization, and at holidays and parties there are 7 of them between my 3 cousins children that are ages 2-9, so this is perfect. She gets along well with them, plays well, but is still kind of the loner kid. That's what happens I guess. But she makes her way.
So I put her in the tot swim class. We've been talking it up, very excited, and she also has to listen to the teacher. Yes. We have to listen to the teacher. Well, one her butt hit the water, all bets were off. She literally did not listen to anything the teacher said. I am not exaggerating. She was even put in a time out and didn't listen. Lovely. I was actually hoping she could test into the advanced tots class, she already does all the things they want her to do in this class, but she can't test out if she's an utter beast. She has to show she can listen, not just do the required things they have to do. And that sucks. She is bored, she does all this stuff already at my parents' pool, has all summer long. But instead of just listening and taking her turn and doing it so she can be better engaged, no, we have to just literally run up and down, pick up toys when we're not supposed to, swim out with stuff we're not supposed to on our own, not listen to anything. Then when the teacher says, okay, we're going to use this brick floaty thing that she's been trying to play with, it gets thrown, and instead of going and retrieving it, she stands there with her arms crossed and another kid from another class goes and gets it. Lovely. I have the defiant, won't listen to anyone, do what I want, pain in the ass kid. The one that she went home and complained to her family about, I know it by the look on her face. I have THAT kid. The one the other parents look at and go, what the hell? Why the hell can't her parents reign her in? What's wrong with her? What:'s wrong with them? Yeah. THAT kid. I HATE having that kid. I never thought I would be that parent. And I know, this is only one class. And there is no "oh, she's only 3 years old." excuse, because there sat another girl in her class, who did everything the teacher said, sat all nice, didn't even get up for anything, and turned and waved to her parents nicely, they waved back, meanwhile my Beast is off galavanting and playing with water pipes and things. Lovely.
I can try to reward her. She gets no more of her TV shows or the pool at my parents' house, which sucks cause it's finally friggin hot out again, but I can't do it. She gets those taken away and will have to earn them back by behaving in class tomorrow. I can't take her out just now after one class because I want her to realize that she has to be in that setting, whether she's used to it or not, and she's going to have to get used to it and following some rules. Right now we use incentive of a sticker chart at night for cleaning up our toys and we get a dollar allowance every week after we fill up the week. Pretty much half the days she says she doesn't care what we do or take away, doesn't care that she sees the money sitting there on the fridge and she can't have it, she doesn't want to clean up. Fantastic. We do 3 strikes and time out. If she gets up from time out we start the time all over again. She was earning back toys for being good, but that stopped cause I would say, hey, don't you want such and such back? You can't have it unless you behave or unless you do such and such. The response I repeatedly get is, "that's fine." And she moves on. Really??? We're talking prized toy possessions....nothing makes a dent. I don't keep the television on at night. She plays ABC Mouse and she's been learning with that, and I take that away and it stings for a minute and then she says she doesn't care. She just doesn't care. Could care less if she finds a piece of string and paper to play with, she'll make it into whatever. Doesn't make a hill of beans difference to her.
So how the hell do I get her to listen? I know she needs tons of stimulation. But that's not life. Life is not always what you want or need. She has to learn early that she's got to account for herself and she's got to follow direction and rules. That's how the fucking world works, dammit. Maybe some day she'll have a teacher that can get through, but that's at least 2 years off with her only being 3, so what am I supposed to do. Maybe when we move I will be able to get her in a preschool thing at night. I can't do too many things at night now only because I have my own sanity to think of, my job, I can't have so many nights that I have commitments when I have to be in court late some days. That just won't work. So I have to make do. But until then, what? I just let her do whatever? I can't do that. She just won't listen. I don't know. Someone said, oh, were you there and was she constantly looking at you during the class. Good thought, but she only even saw me the last 10 minutes of the class. I can't be around, and that's fine with me, for any other classes except for the first and last...but that doesn't make a different. I wholly believe that. Hopefully the reward and incentive of the pool at the 'rents on Thursday will make Wednesday's class a little better. I was thinking of taking the kids to the zoo on Saturday, maybe that will be an incentive. But I don't want too many incentives and then what about next week? What do I do then? I'm just baffled. I truly cannot tame the Beast. I have tried little tricks. A friend of mine, Amy, told me to get her to be good in a store, have her 'make' her own list, help get stuff off the shelves, cross stuff off while we shop....that worked like magic. What the hell can I do in this instance? I am a lost mamma who can't figure out what the hell to do for my own kid. Fanfriggintastic.
I don't care how cute she is....
it doesn't make up for her horrid attitude. She's highly embarrassing, I am mortified, horrified, and furious.
We've tried spankings, time outs, reward system, allowance, taken away a majority of her toys...nothing consistently works. She's ever evolving with discipline and trying to get out of things. Yes, my 3 year old. Am I one of those parents? One that never should have had kids cause I can't hack it? I truly don't feel properly equipped for her. She is beyond my parenting realm and capability, this is how I feel. And that seems like a cop out, but I am at a total loss.
Let me share what prompted this little bit. Last night was our first tots swim class. Now, I am fortunate enough to have a husband who works a different shift...not so fortunate for communication always, but fortunate that he can watch our children in the morning. I also have the blessing of my dad who is retired and can watch the kids in the interim every day until I get home from work. This is a lovely and lucky thing to have. I am grateful, beyond grateful for all the family help I get. But I feel she is not socialized enough. She has cousin socialization, and at holidays and parties there are 7 of them between my 3 cousins children that are ages 2-9, so this is perfect. She gets along well with them, plays well, but is still kind of the loner kid. That's what happens I guess. But she makes her way.
So I put her in the tot swim class. We've been talking it up, very excited, and she also has to listen to the teacher. Yes. We have to listen to the teacher. Well, one her butt hit the water, all bets were off. She literally did not listen to anything the teacher said. I am not exaggerating. She was even put in a time out and didn't listen. Lovely. I was actually hoping she could test into the advanced tots class, she already does all the things they want her to do in this class, but she can't test out if she's an utter beast. She has to show she can listen, not just do the required things they have to do. And that sucks. She is bored, she does all this stuff already at my parents' pool, has all summer long. But instead of just listening and taking her turn and doing it so she can be better engaged, no, we have to just literally run up and down, pick up toys when we're not supposed to, swim out with stuff we're not supposed to on our own, not listen to anything. Then when the teacher says, okay, we're going to use this brick floaty thing that she's been trying to play with, it gets thrown, and instead of going and retrieving it, she stands there with her arms crossed and another kid from another class goes and gets it. Lovely. I have the defiant, won't listen to anyone, do what I want, pain in the ass kid. The one that she went home and complained to her family about, I know it by the look on her face. I have THAT kid. The one the other parents look at and go, what the hell? Why the hell can't her parents reign her in? What's wrong with her? What:'s wrong with them? Yeah. THAT kid. I HATE having that kid. I never thought I would be that parent. And I know, this is only one class. And there is no "oh, she's only 3 years old." excuse, because there sat another girl in her class, who did everything the teacher said, sat all nice, didn't even get up for anything, and turned and waved to her parents nicely, they waved back, meanwhile my Beast is off galavanting and playing with water pipes and things. Lovely.
I can try to reward her. She gets no more of her TV shows or the pool at my parents' house, which sucks cause it's finally friggin hot out again, but I can't do it. She gets those taken away and will have to earn them back by behaving in class tomorrow. I can't take her out just now after one class because I want her to realize that she has to be in that setting, whether she's used to it or not, and she's going to have to get used to it and following some rules. Right now we use incentive of a sticker chart at night for cleaning up our toys and we get a dollar allowance every week after we fill up the week. Pretty much half the days she says she doesn't care what we do or take away, doesn't care that she sees the money sitting there on the fridge and she can't have it, she doesn't want to clean up. Fantastic. We do 3 strikes and time out. If she gets up from time out we start the time all over again. She was earning back toys for being good, but that stopped cause I would say, hey, don't you want such and such back? You can't have it unless you behave or unless you do such and such. The response I repeatedly get is, "that's fine." And she moves on. Really??? We're talking prized toy possessions....nothing makes a dent. I don't keep the television on at night. She plays ABC Mouse and she's been learning with that, and I take that away and it stings for a minute and then she says she doesn't care. She just doesn't care. Could care less if she finds a piece of string and paper to play with, she'll make it into whatever. Doesn't make a hill of beans difference to her.
So how the hell do I get her to listen? I know she needs tons of stimulation. But that's not life. Life is not always what you want or need. She has to learn early that she's got to account for herself and she's got to follow direction and rules. That's how the fucking world works, dammit. Maybe some day she'll have a teacher that can get through, but that's at least 2 years off with her only being 3, so what am I supposed to do. Maybe when we move I will be able to get her in a preschool thing at night. I can't do too many things at night now only because I have my own sanity to think of, my job, I can't have so many nights that I have commitments when I have to be in court late some days. That just won't work. So I have to make do. But until then, what? I just let her do whatever? I can't do that. She just won't listen. I don't know. Someone said, oh, were you there and was she constantly looking at you during the class. Good thought, but she only even saw me the last 10 minutes of the class. I can't be around, and that's fine with me, for any other classes except for the first and last...but that doesn't make a different. I wholly believe that. Hopefully the reward and incentive of the pool at the 'rents on Thursday will make Wednesday's class a little better. I was thinking of taking the kids to the zoo on Saturday, maybe that will be an incentive. But I don't want too many incentives and then what about next week? What do I do then? I'm just baffled. I truly cannot tame the Beast. I have tried little tricks. A friend of mine, Amy, told me to get her to be good in a store, have her 'make' her own list, help get stuff off the shelves, cross stuff off while we shop....that worked like magic. What the hell can I do in this instance? I am a lost mamma who can't figure out what the hell to do for my own kid. Fanfriggintastic.
I don't care how cute she is....
it doesn't make up for her horrid attitude. She's highly embarrassing, I am mortified, horrified, and furious.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Life, death, and Ravelry
So it's been a little bit. I'm not going to apologize for that. Life happens. LOTS of life. And some endings of life.
When I last wrote it was March, I was pregnant.
On April 11th we tragically lost my sister in law, Karla, to a horridly mutant strain of cancer, we don't even know what type of cancer it was so rapid growing. And the mutant part? The doctors coined it that, not us. She went in for pneumonia and died within 2 weeks. They said if they had seen her 2 months previous, she wouldn't have even had signs on a cellular level. Utterly tragic to lose someone so vibrant and young, only 30.
Well, on Cinco de Mayo my BABY BOY was born!
He was 6 lb, 8 oz, and though I have an easier time than most in not having to push much and having only several hours of pain, when an epidural doesn't work and you have high blood pressure normally...I give MASSIVE kudos to anyone who does that naturally. Although, I think had I not had Pitocin with this birth it would have different, a little more easy going like my daughter. But that is life.
He's not so small now, he's also allergic to soy and lactose at this point, he's got colitis so he's on a special astronomically expensive formula, too bad my body quit on me and I couldn't have kept breastfeeding, cause I would have been even more exhausted, but I would have lost a bunch of weight and it wouldn't cost like the formula does. Eh. It happens, I guess. He's got reflux, so he's on Zantac, and when he gets to the point where he's put on too much weight and he needs a dosage uppage? You can tell. He can't hold formula down and it's rough. So it's a good thing we went to the doctor yesterday.
Little miss turned 3 in June. My goodness how time flies. She will start a swim class the end of the month. She's sooo looking forward to it. I kind of hope they test them and we can move her up to the advanced tots, because she does what they ask already, but since she learned it with me and not through them, they won't allow us to just put her in there. She's so big! And with curly hair to boot. What a stitch she can be.
I've started back to work, so that's an adjustment. The hardest part was going back after spending 3 months with my Little girl and her personality. I started Thursday Aug. 1, so on Friday she looked me up and down and said, where are you going? I said, I have to go to work again. She burst out crying. That's the hardest part. I really got to know her and finally got into a good routine. Ah, such is life, I guess.
We're hopefully going to be moving to St. Charles were schools are better in late fall/early winter. There's many things in the works, so it's been an exhaustive 3 months off, although enjoyable, tons more than the last maternity leave.
And although it doesn't mean anything to anyone NOT on Ravelry, I am a Charms Professor for the HPKCHC. I LOVE it. I truly do. I have been a Slytherin in the cup on the knitting group in Rav for 3 'terms' now. Each term is 3 months, with a month in-between. So I guess I've put in a full year. I was a '2nd year' and decided I wanted to be part of the Slytherin Staff, and joined the Slytherin Sunshine Committee. And if you know me, you know that although it sounds like it's an oxymoron, it's not. At least I think so. I think I am pretty sunny most of the time. Blunt and I swear, but I laugh and smile a lot....so I consider that sunny. And I LOVE the Slytherins. We're a fantastic group of people, if I do say so myself.
And so I started May 1st with my first term as a professor. I figured if I could do it while on maternity leave with things in the works at home and also having to do some work on the side with a brand new baby and a toddler? I could do anything with the cup. Maybe not ANYthing at THIS point, but eventually. Maybe. But at this point being head of the big swap in Slytherin and a Professor for the cup is good for me. I'd love to be a middle snake for a nest, but I LOVE my Anaconda nest, so unless I'm staying with them, I'm not going anywhere. I don't know if I'll be a Charms Professor again, but I am still going to be a Professor for next term. At least I asked to be :)
I haven't had much time to spin or knit. I so want to. It's my relaxation. But that will come in time when things get more settled. So until then, I'll just have to look at my yarn and fiber longingly and maybe get in a little here and there at lunch or when Hubs is driving the car and I can knit. Seeing as I'm in the middle of a pair of pants for the Wee Man, though, I should finish those so I don't finish them when he's too big for them and Little Miss has a big pair of pants for a dolly.
So I'll update as I finish that stuff. But as of now I've only spun up 1 skein of orange Merino/Silk blend, started on an art batt from Jazz Turtle which is awesome, but I don't have time to sit and spin more of, knit a pacifier buddy that keeps the pacifier attached to the car seat so I can grab the rope and stick it in Wee Man's mouth when I'm driving without hunting around for a lost pacifier, and I knit 1 blanket square the month that Wee Man was born. That was a lot and it was simple stockinette stitch. But hey, you do what you can, right? Right.
When I last wrote it was March, I was pregnant.
On April 11th we tragically lost my sister in law, Karla, to a horridly mutant strain of cancer, we don't even know what type of cancer it was so rapid growing. And the mutant part? The doctors coined it that, not us. She went in for pneumonia and died within 2 weeks. They said if they had seen her 2 months previous, she wouldn't have even had signs on a cellular level. Utterly tragic to lose someone so vibrant and young, only 30.
Well, on Cinco de Mayo my BABY BOY was born!
He's not so small now, he's also allergic to soy and lactose at this point, he's got colitis so he's on a special astronomically expensive formula, too bad my body quit on me and I couldn't have kept breastfeeding, cause I would have been even more exhausted, but I would have lost a bunch of weight and it wouldn't cost like the formula does. Eh. It happens, I guess. He's got reflux, so he's on Zantac, and when he gets to the point where he's put on too much weight and he needs a dosage uppage? You can tell. He can't hold formula down and it's rough. So it's a good thing we went to the doctor yesterday.
Little miss turned 3 in June. My goodness how time flies. She will start a swim class the end of the month. She's sooo looking forward to it. I kind of hope they test them and we can move her up to the advanced tots, because she does what they ask already, but since she learned it with me and not through them, they won't allow us to just put her in there. She's so big! And with curly hair to boot. What a stitch she can be.
I've started back to work, so that's an adjustment. The hardest part was going back after spending 3 months with my Little girl and her personality. I started Thursday Aug. 1, so on Friday she looked me up and down and said, where are you going? I said, I have to go to work again. She burst out crying. That's the hardest part. I really got to know her and finally got into a good routine. Ah, such is life, I guess.
We're hopefully going to be moving to St. Charles were schools are better in late fall/early winter. There's many things in the works, so it's been an exhaustive 3 months off, although enjoyable, tons more than the last maternity leave.
And although it doesn't mean anything to anyone NOT on Ravelry, I am a Charms Professor for the HPKCHC. I LOVE it. I truly do. I have been a Slytherin in the cup on the knitting group in Rav for 3 'terms' now. Each term is 3 months, with a month in-between. So I guess I've put in a full year. I was a '2nd year' and decided I wanted to be part of the Slytherin Staff, and joined the Slytherin Sunshine Committee. And if you know me, you know that although it sounds like it's an oxymoron, it's not. At least I think so. I think I am pretty sunny most of the time. Blunt and I swear, but I laugh and smile a lot....so I consider that sunny. And I LOVE the Slytherins. We're a fantastic group of people, if I do say so myself.
And so I started May 1st with my first term as a professor. I figured if I could do it while on maternity leave with things in the works at home and also having to do some work on the side with a brand new baby and a toddler? I could do anything with the cup. Maybe not ANYthing at THIS point, but eventually. Maybe. But at this point being head of the big swap in Slytherin and a Professor for the cup is good for me. I'd love to be a middle snake for a nest, but I LOVE my Anaconda nest, so unless I'm staying with them, I'm not going anywhere. I don't know if I'll be a Charms Professor again, but I am still going to be a Professor for next term. At least I asked to be :)
I haven't had much time to spin or knit. I so want to. It's my relaxation. But that will come in time when things get more settled. So until then, I'll just have to look at my yarn and fiber longingly and maybe get in a little here and there at lunch or when Hubs is driving the car and I can knit. Seeing as I'm in the middle of a pair of pants for the Wee Man, though, I should finish those so I don't finish them when he's too big for them and Little Miss has a big pair of pants for a dolly.
So I'll update as I finish that stuff. But as of now I've only spun up 1 skein of orange Merino/Silk blend, started on an art batt from Jazz Turtle which is awesome, but I don't have time to sit and spin more of, knit a pacifier buddy that keeps the pacifier attached to the car seat so I can grab the rope and stick it in Wee Man's mouth when I'm driving without hunting around for a lost pacifier, and I knit 1 blanket square the month that Wee Man was born. That was a lot and it was simple stockinette stitch. But hey, you do what you can, right? Right.
So till I have more to write about, my new knitting endeavors, moving, the kiddos
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Miracles
So I've been knitting and spinning and just doing my thing. Haven't really come on to add anything as of late. Had good holidays, my daughter has only now just got out of her full-on beast mode of the 2 year old that she is and is actually having SOME good days. We've been super busy with real life dilemmas and things, but things for the better for us as a family. The pregnancy is just moving along, less than 8 weeks to go now.
But there is a story that I just have to share, I can't not. When you watch a miracle unfold before your eyes, you just have to share it.
So *R at work, her daughter has been going through some major stuff, ever since she had and beat Leukemia when she was 21. It was a heck of a battle, and at the time she was with some guy, she didn't know if she'd end up marrying him, and they didn't offer freezing eggs, only embryos. So she didn't freeze embryos with that guy...thank goodness. She didn't end up marrying him, she ended up with this awesome, amazing guy, and they are just those people that no one dislikes, the 'special people' put in this world, I say.
So we get a new girl at work in November, Terri. She's the president of a maternity house to help with girls who are 12-18 and have no where to go and no one to help them. Me and *R are talking in the back one day about stuff that's going on with her daughter, who decided that so she can have the joy of carrying a child, she would give up having it be hers and had gone through a whole process to find an egg donor. While going through everything to see if she could have even found out if she could have her own babies, she found out she has didelphys, which is a uterus that has a wall in the middle, so it's split in two. So she was in the process of going through a very iffy surgery to get that wall removed for a better pregnancy eventually.
Terri pipes in about not wanting to interrupt, but hey, what's happening? Would her daughter ever be interested in adoption? This could be an option because some girls don't keep their babies...blah, blah, blah.
In 2 weeks, no lie, 2 weeks, they get a call from a girl who is 19, technically out of their age range for the maternity house, but she had such a great personality and wanted to adopt out her child, was 8 month pregnant, shamed, would be shunned in her home country and with her family, she needed help. They just couldn't turn her away. So a phone call to *R and calls to the daughter and a ball rolling.....they met, they loved her, she loved them, the daughter's a labor and delivery nurse, she wants to be a nurse, they get along great...and March 1st her baby was born. After the bonding with the daughter and taking her to her doctor's appointments and hospital visits, she signed off on the adoption and didn't look back. And neither did they. He's so friggin cute, it's not even a joke.
And that's the story of fate in my work office that changed these families forever.
And here's a picture of the blanket I knitted up, power knitting, for that little cutie.
And if you want to check out the Maternity House of Fox Valley, here's the link...http://www.mhfv.org/
But there is a story that I just have to share, I can't not. When you watch a miracle unfold before your eyes, you just have to share it.
So *R at work, her daughter has been going through some major stuff, ever since she had and beat Leukemia when she was 21. It was a heck of a battle, and at the time she was with some guy, she didn't know if she'd end up marrying him, and they didn't offer freezing eggs, only embryos. So she didn't freeze embryos with that guy...thank goodness. She didn't end up marrying him, she ended up with this awesome, amazing guy, and they are just those people that no one dislikes, the 'special people' put in this world, I say.
So we get a new girl at work in November, Terri. She's the president of a maternity house to help with girls who are 12-18 and have no where to go and no one to help them. Me and *R are talking in the back one day about stuff that's going on with her daughter, who decided that so she can have the joy of carrying a child, she would give up having it be hers and had gone through a whole process to find an egg donor. While going through everything to see if she could have even found out if she could have her own babies, she found out she has didelphys, which is a uterus that has a wall in the middle, so it's split in two. So she was in the process of going through a very iffy surgery to get that wall removed for a better pregnancy eventually.
Terri pipes in about not wanting to interrupt, but hey, what's happening? Would her daughter ever be interested in adoption? This could be an option because some girls don't keep their babies...blah, blah, blah.
In 2 weeks, no lie, 2 weeks, they get a call from a girl who is 19, technically out of their age range for the maternity house, but she had such a great personality and wanted to adopt out her child, was 8 month pregnant, shamed, would be shunned in her home country and with her family, she needed help. They just couldn't turn her away. So a phone call to *R and calls to the daughter and a ball rolling.....they met, they loved her, she loved them, the daughter's a labor and delivery nurse, she wants to be a nurse, they get along great...and March 1st her baby was born. After the bonding with the daughter and taking her to her doctor's appointments and hospital visits, she signed off on the adoption and didn't look back. And neither did they. He's so friggin cute, it's not even a joke.
And that's the story of fate in my work office that changed these families forever.
And here's a picture of the blanket I knitted up, power knitting, for that little cutie.
And if you want to check out the Maternity House of Fox Valley, here's the link...http://www.mhfv.org/
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Knitting, Spinning...and Pregnancy
Well, I didn't quite meet my once a month. Last month was a doozy for me. I found out I'm pregnant! Yay! Due May 16th as of right now, so about a month before Caim turns 3. Right as she is a tiny beast too, fun, fun, fun. This too shall pass. This too shall pass. This too shall pass. Right? Right? Oh, God, I hope so.
I finally got sorted into the HPKCHC, which for you nonRavelers out there, it's the Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup. And I love it! I'm in Slytherin. I love my house, my nest, my mates...it's fantastic. But I am finding an issue. I have to put in one project, not detention, so a brand new project, for a minimum of 1 class each month. Shouldn't be hard, right? Well, I'm having the same issue with this pregnancy I had with the last one. Last time I had a hard time scrapbooking because it made me ill. And I'm having the same issue with knitting. Ridiculous. I actually have to push myself to do it. I have hats I'm doing for my cousin's daughters, hopefully matching doll hats for them as well. But it's got to be actually knitted! Hello! I've cast on after talking to the designer about sizing issues and I have yet to do another row. I got my loom all set up, now I just need to put my butt into gear.
That leads my to my homework. Yes, homework. Not the work from work, cause I'm choosing to take it a little easy there right now. I am just so exhausted all the time, I can't push myself more than I have to, and that's a choice I'm making for me and my baby. I could definitely use the money. Couldn't we all? Sure we could. But it's not worth my health right now, which is wreaking havoc. My stomach, constant nausea, migraines galore. It's fantabulous. But for an Anniversary present, Jeff told me he wanted to buy me a spinning wheel! My very own spinning wheel! I've dreamt of one since I started getting fiber to spindle spin. So I got a Kromski Sonata on 10-13. It's beautiful. I don't have a pic of my wheel, but I have taken a pic off of New Voyager's website to show you what it looks like. I'll put a pic of mine soon enough.
So the guy who sold it to me from Wool, Warp & Wheel in Richmond, IL was super nice. I treadled on it for a bit. A few other wheels as well. This one felt the best for me, best distance in treadles, best feel, it was wonderful. So I took it home. He showed me maintenance, how to break it down (cause it's portable), how to put it back up, but not how to spin any fiber. I figured I could watch some videos online, like I did with the spindle. Yeah, it was just not working. So I just happened to go to the site I saw TLD Design Studio and see if they had classes...sure enough they had one that started last Saturday! So I signed up and it was spindle spinning last Saturday and it's wheel spinning this Saturday! I'm so excited to learn how to finally get that fiber onto my wheel. But my homework. Yep, I'm coming back around. I have to spin at least 10 minutes a day and I'll bring in what I spun to show Betty Burian Kirk...who is amazing and a really good teacher, by the way. So I've had to take what little time I have at home at night to knit and spin to I can really, really get my drafting down as much as possible before the wheel class. So it's put a bit of a hindrance on my knitting. So now I really have to bust out some knitting this weekend. And we're going to head to he Boo at the Zoo at Brookfield on Sunday and Saturday I have the class. Doesn't leave me much time. Send some happy knitting vibes my way so I can ease myself and just knit a little bit every night and bust out this hat before Halloween! Yet again, maybe I should just knit up something really quick, if I can, and put it into a class and not worry about whether I get the hat done. Ugh, I don't know.
I finally got sorted into the HPKCHC, which for you nonRavelers out there, it's the Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup. And I love it! I'm in Slytherin. I love my house, my nest, my mates...it's fantastic. But I am finding an issue. I have to put in one project, not detention, so a brand new project, for a minimum of 1 class each month. Shouldn't be hard, right? Well, I'm having the same issue with this pregnancy I had with the last one. Last time I had a hard time scrapbooking because it made me ill. And I'm having the same issue with knitting. Ridiculous. I actually have to push myself to do it. I have hats I'm doing for my cousin's daughters, hopefully matching doll hats for them as well. But it's got to be actually knitted! Hello! I've cast on after talking to the designer about sizing issues and I have yet to do another row. I got my loom all set up, now I just need to put my butt into gear.
That leads my to my homework. Yes, homework. Not the work from work, cause I'm choosing to take it a little easy there right now. I am just so exhausted all the time, I can't push myself more than I have to, and that's a choice I'm making for me and my baby. I could definitely use the money. Couldn't we all? Sure we could. But it's not worth my health right now, which is wreaking havoc. My stomach, constant nausea, migraines galore. It's fantabulous. But for an Anniversary present, Jeff told me he wanted to buy me a spinning wheel! My very own spinning wheel! I've dreamt of one since I started getting fiber to spindle spin. So I got a Kromski Sonata on 10-13. It's beautiful. I don't have a pic of my wheel, but I have taken a pic off of New Voyager's website to show you what it looks like. I'll put a pic of mine soon enough.
Friday, August 17, 2012
LeakyCon 2012
Well, I did my LeakyCon last week. It was fantastic....but sooooo tiring. Let me say, if I did it again? If it was ever local again, I would just suck it up and stay on location. There's no way I'd commute again. I missed the night stuff so I could see my girl at home and so I could make trains. I also had such pain in my knees and feet from all the walking and standing, and the train-to-hotel walks did not help matters. What can you do?
Plus, if I were to go to the ball, I would have had to carry those clothes with me back and forth and lug even more stuff. Not worth the killing of my shoulders.
Overall, it was a fantastic experience. I hugged Evanna Lynch **SQUEE** she's beautiful in person, even more so than on screen. If you don't know who she is? She's Luna Lovegood in the HP movies. If you still don't know? IMDB.
I got to be 6 feet away from Darren Criss and smile and wave cause he was saying hi to all the volunteers after the really LONG but also AWESOME "A Very Potter Musical: A Very Senior Year 3D"
There were some perks, though it sucked that I had to make a train and had to miss the Lit signing that I wanted to go to with all the authors on Saturday evening....which I was late to getting into line for because of the volunteering at the AVPM show. I don't regret volunteering or watching it, but I really wanted signatures of some of the authors that I didn't have a chance to get earlier. Oh well, life goes on, I guess. Maybe another time.
The HP Actors panel was fantastic! They are awesome people, talk so genuinely and just hang out with us all. It was fabulous. Got a picture in a group with the 4 of them after, but as of last time I checked it was not posted yet to the LeakyCon Flickr page. But that puppy is getting saved to the computer and printed out. How can I not??
Unfortunately, I highly doubt I can go to the LeakyCon 2013 in London, amazing as that would be. I also doubt I'll go to the Portland one next year either, unless we decide to make a vacation out of it and I don't volunteer, just do programming, so I could spend time with my family.
I enjoyed the programming. I enjoyed all but 1 member of the staff. I don't know her name, I know what she looks like, but we're busting our asses, and if your badge is flipped and I don't know you? Don't yell at me for not knowing you're staff and can skip the lines and go in early. They should just throw the volunteers a little bit of slack for doing their jobs, which most of them did. But 1 bad apple makes a sour taste in your mouth for the whole thing.
I did make friends with so many wonderful people. They're amazing people, a great fandom, a great expansion into things encompassing all books and genres, it's fantastic. I loved it. And it was great how many regular attendees kept telling us we were doing so great and thanks for doing it, they couldn't imagine what we were dealing with (like getting yelled at by hotel management...yep, I sure did. For what? Um, a gigantic line of 4,000 people that were lined up through their whole hallway that had to cross the main thoroughfare of the hotel the same night that people were shuttling out for a Bears game. Right...I could realllllly control that. But hey, you can't win 'em all). And I got so many thank yous, hugs, high-fives, it was a great experience. And even with the extra crabby stuff thrown in, I would volunteer again, but like I said, only if I'm not commuting.
Plus, if I were to go to the ball, I would have had to carry those clothes with me back and forth and lug even more stuff. Not worth the killing of my shoulders.
Overall, it was a fantastic experience. I hugged Evanna Lynch **SQUEE** she's beautiful in person, even more so than on screen. If you don't know who she is? She's Luna Lovegood in the HP movies. If you still don't know? IMDB.
I got to be 6 feet away from Darren Criss and smile and wave cause he was saying hi to all the volunteers after the really LONG but also AWESOME "A Very Potter Musical: A Very Senior Year 3D"
There were some perks, though it sucked that I had to make a train and had to miss the Lit signing that I wanted to go to with all the authors on Saturday evening....which I was late to getting into line for because of the volunteering at the AVPM show. I don't regret volunteering or watching it, but I really wanted signatures of some of the authors that I didn't have a chance to get earlier. Oh well, life goes on, I guess. Maybe another time.
The HP Actors panel was fantastic! They are awesome people, talk so genuinely and just hang out with us all. It was fabulous. Got a picture in a group with the 4 of them after, but as of last time I checked it was not posted yet to the LeakyCon Flickr page. But that puppy is getting saved to the computer and printed out. How can I not??
Unfortunately, I highly doubt I can go to the LeakyCon 2013 in London, amazing as that would be. I also doubt I'll go to the Portland one next year either, unless we decide to make a vacation out of it and I don't volunteer, just do programming, so I could spend time with my family.
I enjoyed the programming. I enjoyed all but 1 member of the staff. I don't know her name, I know what she looks like, but we're busting our asses, and if your badge is flipped and I don't know you? Don't yell at me for not knowing you're staff and can skip the lines and go in early. They should just throw the volunteers a little bit of slack for doing their jobs, which most of them did. But 1 bad apple makes a sour taste in your mouth for the whole thing.
I did make friends with so many wonderful people. They're amazing people, a great fandom, a great expansion into things encompassing all books and genres, it's fantastic. I loved it. And it was great how many regular attendees kept telling us we were doing so great and thanks for doing it, they couldn't imagine what we were dealing with (like getting yelled at by hotel management...yep, I sure did. For what? Um, a gigantic line of 4,000 people that were lined up through their whole hallway that had to cross the main thoroughfare of the hotel the same night that people were shuttling out for a Bears game. Right...I could realllllly control that. But hey, you can't win 'em all). And I got so many thank yous, hugs, high-fives, it was a great experience. And even with the extra crabby stuff thrown in, I would volunteer again, but like I said, only if I'm not commuting.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Crafting
I'm going to try harder to post more often. This is the start. Dad's hip replacement was 2 days ago, he's doing all right. In pain, but this pain will dissipate as opposed to the pain he had from the bone-on-bone hip for months. That had to be horrendous.
My brother's birthday was yesterday, 27! Wow, I can't believe it! And of course there's just too much that's been going on, so I'm the bad only sister who will give him a birthday present late. Bad sister! What makes me even worse? I don't even know what to get him! I guess that's what happens when you don't live with someone anymore, you just don't see the every day things that they need and want and like to surprise them with. Blech.
And on crafting. I just have to say, I wish I could craft for a living. I love my job, don't get me wrong, although I'm slacking a tad right now writing this instead of doing a transcript. But as soon as I finish this, that transcript will have my full attention. I don't love the homework with my job. But that aside, I wish I could stay home, take care of Caim, have a schedule, make dinners that I can plan and have time to prep and make, keep up on the house stuff every day instead of late at night and on weekends, and craft: spin, knit, and scrap. I have so many thoughts and ideas and want to do so much....and I just don't have the time. Not a bit. And then I end up wiped out at work because I do this stuff late at night and it's just frustrating. I am not complaining, I have a job. A job that pays at that. Good insurance...as of now. A roof over my head, all that stuff. But let me tell you, if I could just stay home and do that with schedules and doing and making? I'd do it in a heartbeat. I would always find something to keep me busy.
With that, I will get back to my real life. The actual job and homework.
My brother's birthday was yesterday, 27! Wow, I can't believe it! And of course there's just too much that's been going on, so I'm the bad only sister who will give him a birthday present late. Bad sister! What makes me even worse? I don't even know what to get him! I guess that's what happens when you don't live with someone anymore, you just don't see the every day things that they need and want and like to surprise them with. Blech.
And on crafting. I just have to say, I wish I could craft for a living. I love my job, don't get me wrong, although I'm slacking a tad right now writing this instead of doing a transcript. But as soon as I finish this, that transcript will have my full attention. I don't love the homework with my job. But that aside, I wish I could stay home, take care of Caim, have a schedule, make dinners that I can plan and have time to prep and make, keep up on the house stuff every day instead of late at night and on weekends, and craft: spin, knit, and scrap. I have so many thoughts and ideas and want to do so much....and I just don't have the time. Not a bit. And then I end up wiped out at work because I do this stuff late at night and it's just frustrating. I am not complaining, I have a job. A job that pays at that. Good insurance...as of now. A roof over my head, all that stuff. But let me tell you, if I could just stay home and do that with schedules and doing and making? I'd do it in a heartbeat. I would always find something to keep me busy.
With that, I will get back to my real life. The actual job and homework.
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