Shore!

Enjoy!

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Vacation snapshots

Well, no pictures yet...

I am so happy we are here! I have not been to this part of the jersey shore in at least 12 years and it's been 4 years since I've seen the Atlantic Ocean. Words fail me as to just how much it means to me - the ocean is a mere two blocks away!

I took the kids down to the boardwalk for a quick visit so John could decompress. Michael talked me into heading out onto the beach. He was so happy. The shoes came off and he kept dropping down to touch the sand and to make "sand angels" The actual ocean really spooked him and he wants nothing to do with the water, he kept whimpering about it until we left to head back to the hotel.

Right now, the kids are asleep and we have a bucket of fresh caramel popcorn that is still warm. Lift doesn't get much better than this.

Oh wait - it does, Michael pooped in the toilet for the first time today!

Only in my world

On the night before vacation would I be spending the last moments before going to bed uploading a disc of Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation into iTunes so I can put it on my iPod so we can have it playing on continuous loop in the hotel room while Michael sleeps. Since I spent many, many nights camped out on an air mattress sleeping next to him I chose something that I wanted to listen to and Sarah Vowell got the most air time. For easily the past year he's been listening to Assassination Vacation exclusively and demands that we "put Sarah on" each night before he goes to bed. So yes - anything you might want to know about the Lincoln, Garfield or McKinley assassinations - I'm your gal and Michael probably is too.

John, who has been doing night time wakings for at least the past year, says I have a lot to answer for.

Random happenings...

Never, ever tell anyone how happy you are that it's 7pm, the kids are both asleep, and the husband isn't due home for two hours. Five, count them, five times I had to go back into the room to get Alex back to sleep - and these weren't just pop the pacifier in and bounce him in the amby trips but full on have to nurse for ten minutes EACH FLIPPIN TIME.

Slacker mom moments - Michael turned four two weeks ago and Alex is now five months old. Where did the time go? I did make up a photo montage for Michael but I kept having to tweak it to get things right and I just gave up after the umpteenth time, it'll get up at some point. It's a good thing that Alex looks almost exactly like Michael at this age - the disturbing lack of pictures chronicling his infancy won't look so apparent. But Alex has all the hand knits so it does balance out.

Wore Alex in the Kozy that H lent me and I'm not completely sold. My lower back is very happy with me, but the straps kept creeping closer to my neck and putting pressure on the exact wrong spots on my shoulders. Alex also does not seem to be a big fan of it and only tolerates it. We'll see - after the vacation I'll probably design my own with wider, more wrap-like shoulders and see how that works for us.

Two weeks ago I bought blue semi-permanent hair dye (yes - I aspire to be *that* mother) and have not mustered the gumption to use it. I think tonight may be the night.

Vacation prep continues. Not much else doing. I'm off to try and knit for a bit before bed. 'Night all.

Vacation Countdown

On the 25th, we will be leaving with my best friend and her family to go on my first vacation in four years. We're just starting to talk about what we are going to do and need to pack, when I remembered - MUSIC! Back in those days of $.99/gallon gas and when cigarettes were $2.50 a pack we spent hours just driving around in my Ford Tempo listening to mix tapes. Here's just a sampling of the mix that I'm starting to make for us...

• Jane says, Jane's Addiction


• Blue Cars, Dishwalla


• Hell, Squirrel Nut Zippers


• Devil's Haircut, Beck


• Laid, James


• I Kissed a Girl, Jill Sobule


• A song by Garbage from Romeo & Juliette that I can't remember the name of but I remember that it was one of S's favorites


• Female of the Species, Space


• Peaches, The Presidents of the United States

Seriously - this vacation is going to rock!

At long last - Craft Update!

It's a quick one 'cause I should have been in bed a half-hour ago.

Jitterbugging Monkey from the Toe-up

This is my version of Cookie A's Monkey Sock from Knitty rewritten for toe-up, magic loop, and with a gusset/rounded heel/shortrow heel flap. I just can't seem to do things the easy way. The next time I come up for air I'll post my pattern modifications.

Green Thread Sock







Yet another Cookie A. Pattern - her Red Thread Sock. John bought me the pattern for Mother's Day. I like it, but not quite as much as some of her other designs - M1P are a major PITA to do. Once I get to the cable lace on the cuff I should be happier. I haven't added it to my Ravelry notebook yet, but I'll probably get the stats up there sometime this week.


Elf Chicks Need to Keep Warm Too



This is in fact the Woodland Shawl lace pattern done up as a scarf in some of the Kureyon Sock that John got me for Christmas. It's my first *real* lace pattern, although I'm sure my Green Scaley Sock has to count for something. The pattern itself is quite lovely, my picture of it under the glare of an incandescent bulb however is not.

I have a few other things in the works - a bucket/sailor hat for Alex that I'm planning on knitting up in some Debbie Bliss DK cotton and a cotton bag for Michael that I'd like to have ready for our trip to the shore at the end of the month - we'll have to see about that.

There is oh so much more going on, but my two-handed computer time is very limited (hell, one handed isn't happening all that much either), so posts will continue to stew about in my brain. Needless to say, "I still aten't dead!"

I'm at CHOP, it must be Tuesday

Alex has a ton of doctor's appointments this week. This morning we had his 4 month well visit - 24.25" and 13lbs 11oz. Tomorrow I have the distinct pleasure of waking up at 4:45 to nurse him because he has to be NPO for his upper GI at 8.15 - I'm sure the other people traveling to University City by bus are just going to love us. I', praying that I can keep him asleep in the pouch or sling for most of that so the screaming will be kept to a minimum. After the Upper GI we are heading across town for La Leche League and then we get to go back to CHOP for his GI appointment at 12.40. On Thursday I get to do it all over again since he has an ENT appointment at 9.30 and I have my therapy appointment in Center City at 1pm.

Wish me luck.

My Future's So Bright...

shades

Enjoy!