Life, the Universe & Knitting Things

How about some pics of Connor?

2009-07-18T15:02:00.005-05:00

Connor is now Three months, one week and three days old. Here are a few pics of his journey to this age.

Wow, it's been a while!

2009-05-25T11:01:00.004-05:00

Hello! Sorry to have made you all wait for so long for a post. Mommyhood and finishing law school are quite a time suck! There are a few things I want to accomplish with this post the first being that I'd like to get the birth story down, while I can remember most of the details.

At my 41 week check up, my midwife did her usual things and told me that I was still not dilated and that Connor was still at -2 station. I took one look at Ry and, as we discussed I asked if I could be induced, explaining that I had law school finals coming up and I was so tired and swollen and bloated from being pregnant that I was ready. My midwife explained that usually they wait until 42 weeks to induce unless someone requested it earlier than that. She said it was no problem and called the hospital and the other midwife on call. I wasn't expecting to be induced that night, but they had space available so they scheduled me to check in at 7:00pm. Ry and I went home and packed some last minute things into my hospital bag, called K to come up and look after the dogs and we were off. We checked in and at about 8:00pm The on-call midwife, J, came in and explained what they were going to do, firt they were going to put in some cervadil to "ripen" and soften my cervix, and they they were going to give me some prostoglandin (sp?) to put me into labor. J explained that every once in a while cervadil will put a woman into labor, but it rarely happens with new mothers. So she put in the cervadil at about 8:15 and it was to be left in for 12 hours. RY and I chatted and talked about how nervous we were to become parents. The nurses and I told him to go get a stiff drink somewhere, he checked the convenience store across the way to see if they had some beer, but had no luck. When he came back we chatted some more, I got a shot to help me sleep around eleven thirty and then we went to sleep.

At about 3:00am, I woke up and felt a little funny. I kept having this aching pressure that would come and go and it was pretty intense. So I started breathing through it and timing myself. One minute long and about four minutes apart. I was in labor. I didn't want to wake Ry until it got a little more intense so I stayed in bed and kept timing things. The night nurse came in and asked if I was on my cell phone (which is not allowed in the labor & delivery rooms), I told her no, I was timing myself because I thought I was in labor. She smiled, and I think didn't really believe me until I had a contraction right in front of her and then we woke Ry and she went to get J. J checked on me and said that yes I was having contractions and hooked me up to a contraction/heart rate monitor, and things got into gear. RYan was great, he held my hand and reminded me to count and breathe through each contraction. J kept monitoring me, and Connor's heart rate, she kept me on the monitor because she didn't really like what his heart was doing the heartbeat wasn;t reading the way she wanted it to, so she gave me some juice to see if she could perk him up. It worked for a bit and then it went right back to what it was doing. At about 6:00am the contractions were a minute long and only a minute apart and I asked if I could go into the jacuzzi tub. My nurse and midwife got the tub ready and Ry helped me to it. He sat next to me and held my hand when he could (when I could) and talked to me and reassured me...at some point I looked at Ryan and told him I didn't think I could handle it anymore. I was so tired, I hadn't gotten any sleep that night and the night before I had barely slept. I was crying a little at the end of each contraction, I told Ry I felt like I wanted an epidural, but that I felt guilty about it. I had so wanted a natural labor, but I was just too overwhelmed. Ry reassured me and reminded me that it is ok to have an epidural and that if I wanted one and felt like I couldn't handle anymore, then I should get one. SO I talked to J about it and she kept telling me I was doing so well without and to keep thinking about it. it kind of made me feel worse, but then there was a shift change and Midwife P came on...Ry and I talked about it again, between contractions and told P I wanted an epidural. She said fine and I got out of the tub. They still had me on the monitor and did not like what was going on with Connor's heart rate. P checked me too see where I was for dilation and she said I was at about 5 1/2cm, but then my water broke and I was only at 4cm ("but a stretchy 4"). P also did not like what was going on with Connor;s heart rate. It was dipping after each contraction instead of during each contraction and it was concerning them.

So finally the anesthesiologist came down to do the epidural, while he was doing that some nurses came in to do my blood. He was working on my back and this nurse came in and she jabbed my arm, removed the needle part way jabbed it in again and moved it around, meanwhile I'm balling, it was painful what she was doing to my arm and he was hurting me in my back, I was weeping uncontrollably. The nurse working on my arm gave a nasty sigh and said "I can;t get it from her" and looked at the nurse holding me still for the epidural. My nurse told her to come back in about 20 minutes, after the epidural was done. The doc finished up, but not before I had more jabbing in the back and felt blood running down my back. RY kept trying to get me to visualize the grand canyon and our vacation in AZ, but I asked him to stop, I'm not a visualization type person, and I fear I was a little short with him, but Ry was a trooper and took it fine. The doc hooked me up to an automated machine to regulate my epidural and was off. It was sweet sweet relief and I really wanted to take a nap, but P kept talking to me about Connor's heart rate, and then after about a half hour or forty-five minutes I mentioned that I could feel a pinch when I was having a contraction, then after a little bit I could feel a little cramp. Right around that time she called the anesthesiologist to come down and give me a little button to deliver more meds if I was uncomfortable, so another doc came down and did that. After that P had talked with the OB and they decided that due to my lack of progression with dilation and Connor's heart rate, I should have a c-section. They talked and explained to both of us and Ry and I said we would do whatever was best for Connor. Our focus was on our ultimate goal of having a healthy baby. So we agreed to a C-section. Those pinches and cramps I mentioned earlier? It became full-blown labor contractions. I kept pressing that little button that was installed, but ti wasn't working. P kept calling for an Anesthesiologist to fix it, but since we were going into the OR, no one was really in a rush to fix it. BY the time they wheeled me into the OR I was shaking with contractions and felt like I needed to push. When I got in the new Anesthesiologist checked the machine I was hooked up to for the epidural and it turns out it was broken and not delivering any medicine, that why I could feel the contractions again. Anyway he administered the c-section meds and numbed me from the chest down, they set up the sheets around me and the Ryan came in. He sat with me and held my hand and then P told him to come see Connor being delivered. the moment I heard his little wail, I started crying. i remember thinking "How is the Doctor going to stitch me up? I'm shaking so hard with my crying!" Finally, after he was weighed and cleaned I got to see him. It was the best moment of my life. (I mean aside from marrying Ry, obviously)

It took me about four weeks to come to terms with the fact that I'd had major surgery. Ryan, my mom, my MIL, everyone kept telling me that, but I just could not get it through my head. I was a little sad that things didn't go the way I'd wanted. i wanted a natural and normal childbirth, but I'd caved and had an epidural and then had to have a C-section. One of my midwives, R, told me that it was natural to grieve a little for having that option of childbirth taken away from me by having to have a c-section. In all though, I recognize the fact that I got exactly what I wanted a happy, healthy, beautiful baby boy. I couldn't be happier.

Connor At Easter

2009-04-12T19:28:00.005-05:00

We made sure that Connor was in his Easter finest for the 1st drive home!

Introducing Connor George

2009-04-12T19:11:00.003-05:00

J's hubby Ry posting here. Without further ado, here is the story of Connor's birth. After waiting a week and no baby, we went to the Midwifes for the check. Knowing that we could have waited another week before they would induce, J and I asked, why not do it today? That was at 4:30 on Tuesday the 7th, at 7:00 PM that night, we were checked in, by 7:30 the nurse induced J. Fast forward to 3:30 AM on Wednesday, and the contractions started. No matter how hard we wished, Connor refused to budge. At 9:00 J got an epidural. Later that morning, the team knew that he was not budging and we all agreed on a C-section. At exactly 12:01 on Wednesday, he came out yelling at the top of his lungs. I cut the cord, and the nurses and doctors took a bunch of pictures. J had minimum side effects, Connor needed some lights for jaundice, and we all came home on Easter Sunday, which turned out to be the best Easter present J or I could have hoped for.

Hi All,

Not yet

2009-04-02T14:52:00.000-05:00

No baby yet. Will keep you posted.

Baby's room

2009-03-24T15:29:00.004-05:00

So we've been trying to finsh things up around the house before the bambino arrives, the first thing that we finished was the baby's room. I sewed up some black gingham curtains and loaded up the shelves organized the clothes by size, etc. Ry painted the room and assembled the furniture and we together we got it finished about a week or so ago. So here are some pics of the room.

The dogs love hanging out in there, I think it's their favorite spot in the house!

Meanwhile, I'm STILL pregnant and am really wishing that this little boy is not late. We'll see, but I am so done, lugging this extra weight around is no fun! I am also really looking forward to the next phase, so hopefully he'll pick up on the fact that his new place is so much better and more fun that his place now, and he'll join us sooner rather than later. In the meantime, here's a pic of my almost 39 week baby belly:

Huge, right? To be fair I took the picture with my camera that's built in to the Mac, and I was reclining, but I'd say it's pretty accurate for size.

Hello Again

2009-03-04T16:08:00.005-05:00

Well, hello there. I'm sorry it's been so long, a lot has been going on since I last posted. First, I was, in fact, laid off from work. So I spent much of February finishing things up for work and getting all my files in order for the people that will be taking on my workload. All in all, despite most of the people there, it wasn't a bad job. I enjoyed the work but not the various and sundry people that i worked with. The was The Pervert Sleeper (he liked to take naps at his desk and look at porn, before they put the regulators onto the internet system), The Butt Shaking Nail Clipper (he liked to shake the rug out in front of the receptionist by bending over at the waist and shaking his behind at her while straightening the rug, and he clipped his nails everyday at his desk), there was Dog Breath (his breath smelled as though he munched on dog feces while sitting in his office) and of course there was Useless (a woman who was employed there solely because of her brother's pull, because she is in fact completely useless and has no idea how to work or what to do, she's only there an hour a day to eat her lunch and then she goes home). So it will be a complete joy to not have to ever be near those four again!

I also had my baby shower, hosted by my MIL and SIL. They did an absolutely wonderful job and really went out of their way to make it nice. The food was amazing my SIL prepared a lot of the apps and I believe she and my MIL prepared the lunch. A good friend of the family made cupcakes (the only thing I asked for), and they were perfection! Tasty little pieces of heaven! So here's a few pics of the shower:

We received a lot of really lovely gifts and it was a wonderful time.

I also finished the Baby Surprise Jacket by EZ. I think I already told you that? Did I? Well, in any event I actually finished it, I blocked it, sewed buttons on and did a crochet edge to make it look more finished. it ended up being Newborn size so the baby will only be in it for about a half second if what every one tells me is true. It looks fine, I just found it to be a terribly boring and unenjoyable knit. Either way,here's a pic of it:

I'm going to finish this post with a belly shot, mainly because my heart's not really into blogging today, I've been sick with a cold and Sam the Dog is really bothering me to play with him. So here's the belly:

Bugger

2009-02-09T18:29:00.000-05:00

I caught that bug, that nasty stomach bug that's been going around the area for weeks now. Normally, for whatever reason, my immune system is awesome and I wouldn't catch that nasty bug, or I would but it would be far less severe that what other people got, but not this time. This time I caught it and it had me down for the count for at least two days, and while yesterday I was feeling a bit better, by the time I went to bed that night I felt like garbage all over again. I eventually decided, upon Ry's brilliant suggestion, that I should sleep sitting up for two reasons the first was to avoid vomiting and the second was to avoid aspirating on said vomit...just in case. Luckily, I was able to avoid both, and by 3:30am I could lay propped up on pillows on my side and sleep until the alarm rang at 6:00am. I still, however had to go to work and class today. It's the first time I've left the house since Thursday. I could skip class tonight, but truthfully, I volunteered to cover a case for my second class and my Prof in my first class said all information relevant to the final would be covered in February, and let's not forget about that little thing of saving up my absences so I can miss classes after the baby makes his way into the world. So, as you can see, I just have to suck it up and deal. (However,I still don't feel good and I definitely would rather be in my pj's lying in bed until I feel better, but it would violate The Rule. The Rule is that if there's no fever and/or no vomit, then there's no staying home. Too bad! Deal with it, that's The Rule!)

That's why its been so quiet around these parts, sickness. Ry first, then me and hopefully that'll be all. Due to The Sickness, I have not been knitting for fear of infecting my knits with The Sickness. I also realized last night that I should soak my toothbrush in boiling water in order to avoid further infecting myself with the The Sickness. I didn't do it, but I did use the scalding, burning almost boiling hot water from the sink to rinse my brush off with this morning. Hopefully that will suffice. It occurred to me that toothbrush may be affecting my recovery, that and the fact that my blood volume has doubled but my immune system has not, so it's a lot harder for my body to fight off The Sickness.

That's all I've got for you. Sorry it's all about being sick.

...One more thing, I decided that I will try to replace my swears with "bugger" because of the little guy. I figure "bugger" is only offensive to the Brits and since i don't live there, i wouldn't really be offending anyone. It also prevents me from teaching the bambino swears inadvertently. So it's a win-win.

Lay-offs

2009-01-29T14:51:00.004-05:00

Lay-offs are coming people, layoffs are coming. Even if I survive this round, there will be another when even more of our state aid is cut off in July. The upside? I get to be home with the baby and collect a check and because we were preparing for a period of time when my maternity leave would be unpaid, we have enough money put away to account for two months worth of my regular pay. (Thank God.) There is also a great state health insurance plan that we’ll qualify for that will either be free or have such a low premium that we’ll be paying less than what we are now, but getting better insurance.

All that said, it’s still massively scary, and will require some definite adjustments in our lives. Things will work out, though. Why? Because things always work out, one way or another.

I haven't forgotten

2009-01-28T16:01:00.003-05:00

I haven’t forgotten you. I just haven’t wanted to bore you with the mundane details of my life recently. Basically, I have been knitting, reading, nesting, baking a baby, going to classes and working. I know it’s dull, but try to stay awake. I finished this:

and have been knitting up the Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman. I’m going to say it, although you may not want to hear it, I don’t like it at all. It’s a tedious and boring pattern, the only thing that is keeping me from ripping the whole thing out and calling it a day is that at the end it folds up like origami and you sew two seams on either sleeve and you’re done. I do love me some paper foldin’, and that is what pushes me forward, the faux origami at the end. Other than that I’d have set fire to the pattern by now and donated the nearly finished blob of knitting that it currently is to good will. I feel guilty just saying it, just mentioning that I do not like the BSJ. I know that if anyone form the knitting world reads it, I’ll be black-listed, banned from Ravelry and avoided like a plague. Even with all of that looming, I could not keep it to myself any longer, never again will I knit this pattern. (Unless someone specifically asks for it, and I love them enough to acquiesce, but only then.) What’s currently calming me and keeping me knitting is the fact that, once I realized that I did not like the pattern, I prevented my self from working on anything else until it is done. It’s very difficult considering I have several more baby sweaters in the wings and a baby hat, as well as a shawl and some socks…you see? I am self motivating to finish it, so that I can do something better. It’s like eating all the brussel sprouts on your plate first so you can get to the good stuff. Yep, the BSJ is my equivalent of brussel sprouts, not deadly, not hated, just a bit yucky and something to get over with.
The only monkey wrench in the whole deal is that I got distracted by a book. So instead of knitting the darn thing for the past few nights, I've been hungrily reading The Commoner it's written by John Burnham Scwartz, the same gentleman who wrote Reservation Road, which is now a movie with Jennifer Connelly and Joaquin Phoenix. In any event it is a beautifully written story, set in Japan. The book is quietly complex, like the country and culture it depicts. It is simple and engaging yet full of depth in the way that he expresses the main characters voice. Thoroughly satisfying and well worth the read, even if I didn't finish the BSJ.

Real Life Begins Again

2009-01-16T09:08:00.011-05:00

Well, the holidays are over, which means my vacation from the blog and real life is over. Not that I wanted to vacation away from the blog, but you know how it is during the holidays...you'd rather be with family and friends eating pie that sitting in front of a cold laptop, typing away...at least I would rather be doing that. In any event, much knitting has been done in my absence from you. I knitted Stevie a bulky hat of my own design (to be posted shortly),

a bulky cowl and matching hat for my mom (photo quality's awful, I was in a rush taking the photos literally as we were walking out the door to the airport),

a February Baby Sweater in a pretty, rustic green color and began a pair of socks for Stevie for his b-day. (He knows, so the only surprise will be the color.)
I also got to get a picture (finally) of the hat that I knit for Stevie last year, apparently its his favorite hat, knit with his favorite blues. I am so glad he likes it and wears it!

One last pic, here's the Selbu mittens I made for my swap partner this year.

So that's my knitting, except for the FBS which is blocking as we speak, and waiting for it's little toggle buttons to be sewn on. The Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ) is fun knitting, but I like the FBS a lot better. Maybe I'll change my mind as I get closer to the end, we'll see.

In regular life news, I started my last semester of classes (FOREVER) this week. The classes are all pretty interesting and I'm looking forward to what this semester holds for me. Quite a few people think I'm a little crazy for not taking this semester off because of the impending bambino, but I figure since I'll be on maternity leave, it will actually be better to finish up than to take a semester off and have to work and care for a baby and go to classes in the fall. Just makes more sense to only deal with baby and class, and not have to worry about work too. Anyway, I talked to all of my professors and talked to some people about note taking for me in my absence and everybody’s been very happy and excited for me, my prof’s told me not to worry about missing classes, and I’ve found some willing note-takers for me, so I’m pretty much set for the semester!

In other news, did anyone watch the Globes on Sunday? We only watched a portion of it because my main interest is in what they wear. So I was perusing the best and worst dressed lists and found that these two were put on several worst dressed lists, even though they look gorgeous: (Drew was on them mostly for her hair and Banks was on them for the dress, which I think is elegant and quite lovely.)

And THIS one was put on ALL the best dressed lists!

Am I crazy? Or is that the most UNFLATTERING dress you've ever seen? It's like a sliver sack tied in the middle, it does nothing for her shape! And, I'm sorry, if you've nursed 3 babies, you need a bra. That's just all there is to it. Sigh. I saw those lists and fell like I was living an world where everyone was drinking the kool-aid except for me. I know why she was on it, it's because apparently Hollywood thinks she's some kind of saint, never mind the fact that she can't raise her kids without a nanny for each one of them, nor can she take a vacation short two nannies, oh no, they had to call in the other two, apparently a one-to-one ratio on those kids is just not enough. God forbid you parent them for five minutes. Ok, sorry, for the rant, I'm just so sick of them and the fact that each time they reproduce its like the second coming or something.

Moving on, Ry's Mom & sister volunteered to have a baby shower for me, which I thought was very sweet. We're still working out the scheduling, but I think it'll be the 2nd to last weekend in February, so that will give us about a month to see what we still need and assemble anything big we may receive. Although, i get these e-mails telling me what this week's activities should be, and this week (week 29) they say I should be assembling the baby furniture. What furniture? I gotta tell, ya, we haven't bought a darn thing yet except for a few onesies for the little guy, and a cute little pair of baby sneakers for $2.50 at TJ Maxx. We may get that room organized and painted this weekend though, considering it'll be so cold outside it just won't be worth going to any of the place we'd wanted to for the long weekend. I wonder how long it would take for us to get to 60 degree weather from here?? I guess I shouldn't complain though, I heard on NPR yesterday that in North Dakota with the windchill factor it was 70 below. It's so cold there that they can't do field sobriety tests outdoors. On the flip side, the crime rate goes down, apparently criminals hate being out stealing cars and wallets in that kind of weather. Either way, I am VERY grateful that I do NOT live there.

Baby's Gender Revealed!

2008-12-25T10:00:00.002-05:00

It's a BOY!

Merry Christmas!

Astra!

2008-11-25T17:03:00.000-05:00

Well, we finally did it. We traded in our beater for a new car. At first i was not so keen on the new car payment that we would also be acquiring, but sine the old Saturn's door handles fell off and two of the four windows stopped rolling down and it’s iffy starting issue, we decided it was time. With Ry’s long commute every day and a baby on the way we thought two safe cars are better than one safe car and one death trap. So, with that in mind, we heard an excellent deal on the Saturn Astra being offered and we dove right in. What I love about it, is that even though it’s a Saturn, it’s a German engineered/German made car AND it has a huge sun roof that goes all the way to the back seat. Ry loves that it handles really well for inner city driving (great for where Ry works) and has a stick shift. So all in all we’re pretty pleased. Ry picked it up last night, so I haven’t had a chance to take a picture of it, but here’s a picture I pulled up on Google images. (Ours is the same silver color.)

Query

2008-11-25T15:30:00.004-05:00

Why are there so many books, articles, Internet sites devoted to how you should let your baby sleep? I'm not talking about the "never let a baby sleep on it's tummy" kind of directions. I'm talking about the let your baby cry it out, put your baby on a sleep schedule, never let your baby cry it out, wake and feed your baby every 2-4 hours, co-sleep, don't co-sleep kind of crap. What the heck IS all of this? Why does every need all these instructions? Can't we just do whatever is convenient? I doubt that using a reasonable method that works for us is going to seriously mentally damage our child. Something in me thinks that perhaps John Wayne Gacy's issues can not, in fact, be traced back to the fact that he slept in his parents room until he was 8 months old or that Son of Sam was allowed to cry it out and that caused him to become a serial killer. I mean, really, do we need a book for every little thing? Can't we just get a book for the hard stuff that you probably wouldn't just naturally figure out? Like how much tummy time a baby should have and when to start, or when exactly do they start solid foods? Those things seem so much less intuitive than figuring out a sleep method that works for you & your baby. Perhaps it is just me, maybe it will be harder than I think when I have my baby, but I think the sleeping thing (aside from being sleep deprived), should be relatively low on the totem pole of difficult baby-rearing techniques.

Mostly, I'm just impressed

2008-11-25T07:04:00.000-05:00

I regularly go to the Craftzine blog to check on what is new out there in knit land. It's a fun little thing to do and often you have the leg up on the Ravelry world, like with the February Lady Sweater. I heard of it and cast on for it before it set the Ravelry world afire. (I still count my elf as being ahead of the curve on that one even though it's languishing in my knitting bag half done.) When I checked Craftzine they were featuring sculptural knits by Sandra Backlund. Here's a sampling of her work:

I admire the amount of work that was put into each piece she's designed and knit, the final production is, of course, gorgeous and something to behold. Would I wear them? Maybe the pom-pom one...maybe, but only if I had those legs. (In fact, I'd probably walk around in a long t-shirt and high heels all day if I had those legs.) Mostly though, I am impressed with Backlund's creativity and the way her knitting has translated into these stunning architectural knits.

Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow. ~ Unknown

2008-11-18T19:02:00.001-05:00

Hello, there people. Things have been busy and a little stressful for me these days. About three weeks ago I had a quad-screen done to test for various things like spina bifidia, neural tube defects, trisomy 18 and downs syndrome. Well, they drew the blood on a Saturday and I got a call the following Tuesday. For those of you that aren’t familiar with ‘Jenn’s Medical Testing Theory’ (to be renamed something more awesome later), it goes like this: The longer it takes to get a phone call from the doctor, the less likely it is that there is something wrong and vice versa. Thus by my Theory, a Tuesday notification of a Saturday blood test is indicative of the fact that something came back in the test that raised a red flag. True to my theory, the midwife told me that my test came back with a higher than average chance that my baby would have downs. She explained to me that for my age I should have a 1/700 chance but my blood screen came back with a 1/180 chance. So she set me up for the following week for a level II ultrasound and an amniocentesis if I wanted it. She also explained that an amnio was the only diagnostic test, so the only way to determine for certain whether anything was wrong with the baby. Meanwhile Ry and I had to wait a week, in that time I cried in the bathroom at school and spent much of Halloween night in tears. I read information and did the math (a 1/700 chance equals a .14% chance and a 1/180 chance equals a .55% chance), and did my best to try to make myself feel better by reading boards on baby center and the stats in What to Expect When You’re Expecting that explained 90% of women who have positive blood screen results go on to have healthy, normal babies. It was helpful to some degree, but it was still just information unrelated to ME and MY baby. Ry, I found out later, was doing his best “I have to be strong for you” routine trying not to get too upset around me or too worried. Although I appreciated it, I told him not to do that anymore. I prefer Ry as the loving and emotional person that he is, not the strong silent type. So on the 4th we wnet to the hospital for the ultrasound and in our anxiety, arrived an hour early. So we hung around for a half hour and then went in. They saw us right away and I went in for the ultrasound. The tech said everything looked normal for a baby at that gestational age, no abnormalities, but the doctor would have to look at them to be sure. Then we went to genetic counseling, the girl was very nice, but she kept saying over and over again that an amnio was the only way to know for sure about the baby. The doctor came in and said everything looked fine and perfectly normal and we told him that we weren’t going to get the amnio. Well, Ryan was pensive and quiet and we had a little talk and he told me he’d just feel better with the amnio, but he didn’t want to force me. I told him I would, because I didn’t want him worrying throughout the entire pregnancy. Let me tell you, it hurt. Not bad, but like getting an IV or drawing blood, except it was in my abdomen. It hurt more afterwards. I had muscle pain in my abdomen for a few days after the procedure, even with being on bed rest for two days. It was not fun and on the second day I was alone for a long time because Ry had to work. Being on bed rest and trying to take two dogs outside for a potty break is no fun and they proved to be wiled that day, chasing after another dog in the neighborhood. I wrestled them back into the house and then was terrified I had done something wrong and something bad would happen. It didn’t everything was fine, but it was a difficult week. On Friday we got the preliminary results of the amnio, everything came back fine, no abnormalities, and the baby is fine. Last week we got the final results which confirmed the preliminary ones and it has been a relief. Lately, I have been feeling the baby move around in there. Little taps and flutters, reassuring me that things are okay. In the meantime, I’m just so glad that everything thing came back normal. I know that for a lot of people that does not happen, so I am just happy to be counting my blessings and hoping that for those whose tests did not come back normal, that they will be okay.

Hope and Change, People, Hope and Change

2008-11-06T16:56:00.002-05:00

I just want to take a moment to say that although I do my best to keep this blog free from any political ideology, I think this past election was far too momentous in our lives as Americans to fail to say anything. Whatever your political leanings may be, I hope you at least fell proud of this country for basing its political decisions not on race, but on qualifications. Not on skin color but on basic political ideologies and reasons. I know that some people out there did vote based on race, but I think its apparent that those who did were in the minority. considering that it was not that long ago that African Americans could not drink from the same fountains, could not ride the same elevators and could not even go to the same school as others, I think we can say, as Americans, we achieved something important this election year. To be honest, I wasn't sure this was something I would see in my lifetime, but I am so glad that I have been a part of history.

Then (1956):

Now(2008):

We had two outstanding presidential candidates this year, and for the most part they acted with grace and dignity throughout their campaigns. They are both devoted to our nation and devoted to getting our country back on track, even if it means they have to "reach across the aisle". I was unable to see Obama's acceptance speech on Tuesday, but I was able to watch McCain's concession speech. We should all be proud of the graciousness with which he delivered that speech and the kind and decent words he had to say. Congratulations to us all, Republican, Democrat, Independent, libertarian and the rest. We should all be proud of what we and our nation has achieved this election year.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T14:43:00.005-05:00

Just a quick note to say Happy Halloween! Hope you have a good one, whatever you decide to do!

Apple Picking and Bun Baking

2008-10-23T17:35:00.005-05:00

I told Ry a while back that I really wanted to go apple picking. Having lived mostly in the south and southwest, this is not something you participate in as a child, so I thought 'when in Rome...' and told Ry many times over several weeks that I wanted to put apple picking on our weekend agenda. Finally, I had a little let up in my school work and Ry was feeling less allergenic so we decided to go. I can't remember the name of the farm we went to, but it had a little stand with veggies and fruits and an inner store serving sandwiches and selling apple cookbooks and apple based goods as well as a deli with pork products from a nearby farm. It was all very quaint and very cute. I felt like those new yorkers that go the the general store in Baby Boom, kind of obnoxious, kind of admiring. The way it works there is that for something like $18.00 you get a bag and get to fill it to the top with your apples. So we got our bag and I commented to Ryan "Wow, that's a little pricey for apples..." and we went across the street to the orchard. There were so many trees at the beginning of the orchard that were just picked clean, as we went down the rows we saw trees with tons of apples, but they were all at the top and out of reach.

We got down a little further and finally there were some apples both of us could reach, so we started merrily picking away. We deftly avoided obnoxious college kids, annoying pre-teens and weird parents with kids named Kennedy and Reagan that refused to behave. We had a nice conversation with a man from Ohio about African Lady Beetles (thanks mom) and saw some cute families that had the apple picking process down. (Older kids climbed the trees for the top most apples and the little ones in carriers got to reach for apples at a grown-up's level.) Ry and I had a lot of fun and filled our bag to near overflowing before deciding to call it quits.

We put the heavy bag into the car and went into the farm stand for a sandwich and soda, both of which were thoroughly enjoyed. Then we headed home. When we got there the bag was so heavy I asked Ry to take it in for me and set it on the counter. It was only then that I noticed the bag is a half bushel size! I remember thinking to myself that a half bushel seems like a lot of apples so I looked it up, a bushel of apples weighs about 48lbs. We have TWENTY FOUR POUNDS of apples at my house people! I have made apple bread, apple muffins, apple crisp, apple sauce, I have been eating an apple everyday and I still have half the bag left! My Gramma suggested that perhaps if I parboil them I could freeze them , which I still have to look into, and I suppose, I could make some pies and freeze them for Thanksgiving. Still...that's a whole lot of apple. Next year I'm getting a smaller bag or I'm getting some basics so that I'll be able to can some apple sauce.

In other news, Ryan and I got married. Well, we eloped to be precise, with a wedding ceremony and reception tp follow for September of next year. There were a number of reasons we did it, the first was we just wanted to be married already, another was that he needed health insurance and we couldn't afford to not have it or to individually cover him through the state's insurance and that was the only way to get him on my insurance and finally when we were thinking about getting married in Mexico it was recommended that we marry before hand because the process for legal marriage in Mexico is very intrusive, expensive and ridiculous.

Now that I've got your head spinning a little, the other big news is that we're expecting a baby on March 31st.

It's okay, sit down, take a breath, I understand how you feel. This is a lot of information to digest.

I am 18 weeks along this week and starting to show.
(See? That's my bump.)

The first trimester was filled with nausea but no vomiting (thank the Lord) and I now have a well developed aversion to chicken. Not turkey, not duck, just chicken...and greasy food. I crave oranges like you'd not believe and fruit is my new best friend. (I love it!) I'm also not digging sweet desserts or any junk food. We decided on this wonderful place for prenatal care and will be going to their birthing center. I am so pleased we are using a midwife instead of the awful ob-gyn my doctor referred me too. The midwives take the time to get to know Ryan and I, and every time we go in there they are all smiling, pleasant and happy to be at their place of work. Such a change from the other place we went to, where they barely answered my questions and gave me a copy of a diet for pregnant women with heart and blood pressure problems (I have neither). The diet basically said all I could eat was boiled chicken and steamed broccoli with a dessert of air-popped unbuttered popcorn. Yum! So we heard about Cooley and decided to try them out. I've never been happier. Everything is progressing nicely and I have another appointment this week. It's absolutely shocking to think I'm going to be a mama soon. I barely feel capable of being an adult!

So, that's how things are going. I'm still attending law school and I still intend on finishing in May and taking the bar in July. It will be challenging, but so is everything worth doing. Well, that's it. That's my news. I'll probably start a baby blog for the out of town family & friends to keep up with, perhaps I'll start it by Christmas, we'll see how the demands on my time are. I may just keep putting baby updates and pictures here rather than a new blog. We'll see how things go.

Quickly

2008-09-30T18:44:00.001-05:00

Quick post for your reading pleasure, many exciting things have been happening that I need to update you all about, but it will have to wait until next week. (Are you waiting in suspense? You should be.) Something I was thinking about the other day was how disappointed I am when some of my favorite bloggers don't post every day or even every week. I always think to myself "Hey, I'm trying to keep up with you and your creative life here. Throw me a bone!" Then I realized what a hypocrite I was being! I don't post weekly, though I try, and I definitely don't post daily! Who am I to judge? I always have a rationalization for it though, "I'm in law school, I'm busy" "I'm too tired to post after classes" "I'm always on the computer for school and work, I just want time to knit/sew/relax" So if those are all my excuses, what do you suppose a mother of three's excuses are? Or a photographer with baby's excuses are? Or anyone elses excuses are? Surely they are at least as good as, if not better than mine! In that vein, I have decided to be less of a judgy-judgerson until I can get my act together. No promises, but I will attempt to be a bit better about the old blog here. Even if it's just a quick update. Well, I'm off! Two big projects due for two big classes!

Why Hello There!

2008-09-17T12:15:00.003-05:00

Oh my goodness! I can't believe I haven't posted since August! I will, of course, summarily blame school. Normally I wouldn't because I usually use class time to catch up on things like e-mail, blogging and ravelry. This year however, I've been shockingly engaged in my classes. Leave it to me, last year of law school and I'm finally taking classes that are engaging.

First things first, there's this young woman in one of my classes, she's well spoken, very pretty and as cute as a basket full of kittens. One day we were discussing a case involving arbitrary discrimination against women as corrections officers in jails and prisons. It was an arbitrary limitation not narrowly tailored for the particular business purpose. (Still following me? It gets better, I swear.) So this little Kitten speaks up and says that she feels the regulation is fine, and that she doesn’t believe that women should be corrections officers anyway. (WHAT!?!?!) When pressed why she thought that she stated it was because women are nton intimidating enough, nor are physically or emotionally equipped to handle the job. (Yeah, I know what you're thinking. I was thinking it too.) So when one of us suggested that perhaps, the state correctional facilities in question could impose rigorous strength and fitness tests, just as the fire department does, she said "I don't think women should be firefighters either." My school is very liberal and many of the women that teach and that attend are all subscribers to varying levels of feminism, but one of the mainstays is that nearly all of them believe at least, in equal pay for equal work and the right of a woman to have any job she can handle, regardless of her gender. So to come across someone that has had so much education and has even gotten to law school that feels that way is a bit, well, shocking. I'm not saying I would expect her to be a crazy left-wing feminist. I'm just saying that I would expect more from her than that.

Moving right along, Ry and I celebrated his 30-something birthday last week and one of his requests was a homemade yellow cake with berries, something light and summery. So I scrounged the internet and found a Strawberry meringue cake (I used a boxed yellow cake mix for the base. It was just a bit easier for me, this time.)
with homemade whipped cream frosting. Wow! What an endeavor, but I am happy to say that the meringue turned out and the whipped cream frosting was pretty easy to make. It was just a delightful cake.

I finished my Belle Cardigan, and I have to block it before I decide if I like it or not. I knit it in Rowan Spray, in a mottled red color way and it is very cute, but I need to see how it fits after blocking before I make my final decision. I'm still plugging away on the February Lady Sweater, although I'm a bit disenchanted with it at the moment. (Totally me and my yarn, not the pattern in the least.) I have to cast on for 3 pairs of mittens this weekend and I have a BSJ in the works as well. Whew! A lot of knitting to work on, it seems.

This weekend Ry and I are taking a trip up to Woodstock, VT for a special little outing and will be staying at a quaint little B&B. We are both very excited about this trip, and Ry's sister K will be looking after the dogs, so it'll be just us. It'll be a nice change to sleep in a bed that isn't full of dogs for a night!

No More HumDrum Mittens Questionnaire

2008-08-29T17:00:00.000-05:00

How long have you been knitting & how did you learn?

I am a self-taught knitter and have been knitting since 2006.

Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I would say I am an advanced intermediate.

What are your favorite colors? Any you dislike?

I love all colors especially purple, red and turquoise. I do not like mustard or olive colors.

Do you like Latvian type patterns? If so, what are your favorite patterns?

I do like latvian type patterns, although I have no favorites, they are all too lovely to decide on just one.

Do you desire mittens for yourself, your "special someone else" or your child?

For myself! (Selfish, I know!)

What is the measurement from your wrist to the tip of your longest finger?

About 7.25 inches

What is the circumference of your hand at it's widest point?

About 7.5 inches

What other things do you enjoy knitting?

Socks, sweaters, cardis, baby stuff (love those little booties!)

What sort of needles do you enjoy working with? (straights vs circs, bamboo vs aluminum)

I enjoy working with wooden needles the most, I ususally use DPNs for smaller things like mittens and socks and circulars for everthing else.

What’s one project you’ve not yet tried but are dying to make?

I really want to make the mittens from Fall Vogue that say "Let it Snow" on them. Other than that...I'm not really sure.

What’s one yarn you’ve not yet tried but are dying to work with?

I guess something cashmere based. I haven't worked with anything remotely like cashmere yet.

What other hobbies do you have? Do you spin? Sew? Garden? Cook?

I cook and sew and would like to get into spinning, but have decided i should wait until after I finish law school.

Besides yarn, do you collect anything?

I wouldn't say I "collect" anything, but I do love matroyshkas (nesting dolls) and nativities.

What kind of goodies do you enjoy? Sweets? Salty? Anything you hate or are allergic to?

I enjoy sweets and salties. I love choclate covered pretzels and peppermint bark!

Do you have any kids? Pets?

I have a finacee, two great dogs (Sam and Molly) and no kids (yet).

What is your favorite part of Winter?

The first snowfall, snuggling up under the covers with my sweetie, Christmas with family, you get the idea. Those warm precious momets that are so abundant in winter.

What is your least favorite part of Winter?

Getting dismissed from work in the middle of a blizzard and having to drive 30 miles to get home. When all the other places just cancelled work at the beginning of the day! (Can you tell that happened to me, more than once?) Driving on icy roads. That's it, other than those driving conditions that I love winter!

Ahhh, that's a bit better

2008-08-29T07:26:00.000-05:00

After having pinpointed the source of my melancholy, I'm feeling a bit better. Part of it was money woes, part of it was that weekend, and part of it is my job.I am completely disenchanted with my job, in fact I detest going in every day. It's not because it's uninteresting, believe me I could regale you with many, many interesting stories from my job. I dislike my job so much because in order to stay busy for the week I have to work at less than half of my ability. Which means that I often forget that and end up with an end of the week involving very little work. I know that seems like it would be luxurious to have free time at the end of the work week, but the reality is that it is no picnic being tied to your desk for eight hours everyday bored out of your tree trying to find something, anything, to do with your day.

In any event, I started classes this week and have found out that I only have ONE FINAL this semester!!!! I am soooooo happy about this, granted that means I have to write papers for my other two classes, but who cares? One FINAL! Awesome. Additionally I found out that the school has to readjust my tuition so I'm getting money back and we decided to resell our law books on-line and we're getting money back there too. When it rains it pours! Now we are fairly financially secure until Ry gets regular employment. What a weight off our minds, we were pretty concerned for a while, but are feeling much better about things now. AHHHHH, relief.

In knitting news I'm working on the February Lady Sweater and I hope to finish it before Rheinbeck this year, and I hope I can wear it over a brown turtle neck because it will be cold-ish and I am knitting it out of linen. (I began when it was hot and couldn't fathom knitting it in wool.) I am also working on the Belle Cardigan in wool, so that may be the way to go; although in order to finish it for Rhinebeck, I should probably pick it back up again! I am working on 2 pair of socks but I have kind of set them aside for a bit, my inspiration for them is at a bit of a standstill, but I am sure it will be recovered in time to finish them for the gift-giving season. I'm getting the mitten knitting itch again, so thank God for No More Hum-Drum Mitten Swap 3 and Deb's willingness to run it again. I guess I have a lot of projects coming up, now that it has gone back down to the low eighties here I feel like really hard-core knitting again, so this fall and winter season will be jam-packed with knitted goodness.

And in case you were wondering I am feeling better, thanks to good friends, Ry, the pooches and a little time to myself.

Sigh

2008-08-18T18:30:00.000-05:00

This weekend was difficult. I really can't say why, but it was hard for me and Ry this weekend. Sort of a lackluster and disappointing end to an otherwise uneventful week.

Something nice did happen in the week, though. Deb and Lexi, in my knitting group, brought me birthday presents. I was supposed to have gotten them on the 30th of July, but due to a massively bad migraine I missed that week. (It was BAD, people!) So this past week the Lovely Deb and the Cute-As-A-Button Lexi brought me two lovely and gorgeous skeins of sock yarn (which I do not currently have a picture of, but will post it as soon as I do.) That was a fun night, and I shared something personal with Deb that planted her ever more firmly in my heart. She is a wonderful person, and I am so glad I was fortunate enough to meet her.

In other news, classes start back up again next week. I'm so tired of law school, this is my last year and I can't wait for it to be over. It's not so much an excitement I feel about finishing, but just the gnawing wait for the inevitable conclusion. How's that for a positive attitude? :)

Lately, here I have been too tired to knit. I am fatigued and recently a bit too downtrodden to really want to work on any one of the four projects I have going. It makes me sad that I feel this way, but hopefully I'll snap out of my funk soon. I have so many projects lined up for Christmas gifts and I really want to be working on them, but I am just so tired and a little sad, which does not make for fun knitting. Perhaps I'll change up my projects and focus on something new for a little while, maybe that will cheer me. If nothing else, it will give me a small change of scenery! Well, best get going. Stay tuned for a more cheerful person in the coming weeks! (I hope.)

Birthday!

2008-07-31T06:37:00.000-05:00

Well, that was it. Saturday was the BIG "Three-Oh". My mom called and asked me how I felt, I said "Old." All in all it was a nice day though. I slept in a little, Ry bought us some breakfast, then I met up with my friend M and I went to lunch and a movie (she is such fun). I went over to whole foods afterwards to buy a bottle of wine for dinner and then headed home. When I got there Ry was done studying for the day and we ordered dinner,Indian food, yum! Afterwards he sent me upstairs with the dogs to hang out for a bit while he brought my presents downstairs. When I came down he sang me happy Birthday and had the candles on my cake lit. (only 3, not 30 thank goodness!) I blew them out and made a wish and chatted for a bit with Ry, when he left to get a knife and plates I noticed a bike! Ry had hunted down a pretty purple bicycle for me for my birthday! We didn't take it for a ride that weekend because of the rain and Ry's bar studies (almost done). The I got to open my gifts from Mom, she got me two great books, one knitting, one baking and a lovely flatbed scanner that can also scan my negatives! She also got me Friends Season 1, but I opened that earlier. My Dad got me a purse from Turkey and sent me a check which I promptly spent on clothes and yarn! My grandparents also sent me a little birthday moo-lah, which I am still hanging onto. I'm looking for that perfect thing to get with it, and Ry's parents chipped in on a plane ticket to get me out to see my Mom and my brother in August. I am so grateful to have such loving friends and family. My Dad even managed to call me from a castle in Austria where he was camping for a bit. I missed the call, but appreciate the fact that he made it! My dear friend Amy called me too, but I missed that call as well. I am so lucky to have such great family and friends. (And my knitting pals had something planned for me for Wednesday, but I went home from work early that day with a migraine. I'll see them next week though, and I feel terrible about ruining their plans! I'm so sorry, ladies! You wouldn't have wanted me there half blind, cranky and shushing you every five seconds, trust me!)

Thanks everyone, you made my birthday very special!