Month: December 2012 (Page 2 of 2)

Ben asked what the “part II” was for in my last post.  I told him I had done a “Treat yo self” post before.  He did a search and the results were sad.  One post about buying yarn with Miranda in July.  The other was my salon visit in February.  Almost one year ago.  That erases my guilt.

Speaking of buying yarn, I’m going crazy knitting this year!  I have six projects on needles right now.  I won’t post my Ravelry page, because there are Christmas surprises there.  But I need to tell you about my sock craze.

It started with my Steffi.  Steffi is my pen-pal in Germany.  We have been writing since I was in the third grade, about 1991.  Thanks to email we have been able to keep in touch over the years with minimal effort.  Isn’t it incredible that my pen pal and I still write??  Anyway, she had her first baby this year; a beautiful girl named Sophie.  I sent her an Aden & Anais blanket and a bonnet made out of my new favorite yarn, Anzula Squishy.  It’s a gorgeous blend of cashmere and merino wool with a touch of nylon – and it’s machine washable!  Steffi loved it and sent a photo of it in action.  Oh how it tickles me to see this!  (Then I got a photo from my friend Miranda of Cedar wearing the other bonnet I made.  So many babies! So much cuteness!) In thanks she sent me a package with undies for Jack (perfect timing!) and hand knit socks made by her mother.

You guys.  Socks. Hand-knit.  By my German pen-pal’s mother.  Does it get any more precious than that?

I always thought I would hate wearing/knitting socks.  Too hot, itchy, and bulky.  My lands, was I ever wrong.  It’s like walking around with your feet gently swaddled in downy quilts.  Not too hot, not at all itchy, and so comforting.  Thus I decided I HAD to knit socks.

I spent a ton of time on Ravelry searching for a good pattern.  Then I had to stop and start the toe three times and the heel twice, because I wasn’t satisfied with how it was going.  After all that experimentation the second sock is going super fast!  I even started to make Christmas stockings with a similar pattern. 

 Can’t wait to wear them! 

Speaking of socks, it’s another night of Hanukkah, and it’s almost bed time for Jack.  We better open our socks now.  Good night!

This cold is still festering in my sinuses.  Another day of wearing a mask for hours in the hospital.  Gah.  It makes my jaw hurt for no logical reason.  I clench up and can’t stop.

Luckily!  We only had a half day of patients.  After running them and doing all the chores I skipped out the door at 1:30.  Now I could have gone straight home and reheated the pot roast for lunch.  But hey, I have a nanny already, what’s the hurry?  Why don’t I take Tommy’s advice and Treat Yo Self?

 And once you don’t that, you HAVE to do this. Am I right?

Ahh.  Warm food and a full belly.  Now some knitting and mindless TV while Jack naps.  Just what the doctor nurse ordered.

This week would be kind of nice if we all weren’t sick.  I got to leave work early yesterday and went straight to be with a head cold.  Then Ben woke up sick this morning and we all lazily grumped around the house.  I somehow managed to make it to Bailey to teach the kids a dance number.  On the way home the altitude change put such tremendous pressure in my head, I’m amazed I was able to drive.  I had to lay down for 30 minutes while waiting for the pain to subside.  Jack put up well with grouchy, tired parents today.  Good thing he likes to watch TV and play puzzles on tablets so much. 

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Old chair, new purpose, originally uploaded by rachelsmason.

It’s like clockwork. We take Jack to nursery at church. Late that afternoon he develops a runny nose. The rest of the week is spent spreading toddler illness around various adults. Ben and I got mild versions. Jack got a little sicker and even threw up with the nanny yesterday.

Thus the nanny called in sick today. Thus Ben had to juggle working at home with a hyper AND sick kid who wouldn’t take a nap. Thus Jack got to watch a lot of TV.

Earlier this week I retired his booster seat at the dinner table. He’s tall enough, and was spending most of his time wiggling absentmindedly, with many near falls as he twisted around in the seat. Today I see that he put it to use as a TV watching chair. He loves sitting at the ottoman, but it’s always been an odd height for him-too low to stand, too high to sit. Problem solved!

Another request for video of Jack talking about dinosaurs.

I had a request for video of Jack singing “Soft Kitty” from the Big Bang Theory. It really is a good lullaby.

I decided to go with picture hosting from Flickr. It’s an extra step for me, and I had to renew my pro account to make everything visible again. But it seemed like the smoothest transition to keeping my blog. I have an extra step for posting photos now, but it’s the best I can do.

Anyway! Here is a link to the whole slew of photos I took over Thanksgiving break. Below you will see some of the best pictures, and a video bonus! Videos seem easier through flickr than youtube, I like that. Let me know if you have trouble seeing any of these so I can try to fix it.

UPDATE:  It seems the flickr video does not work in iOS (iphones, ipad).  Must be a flash program.  Sorry.   Also, Pro Tip: Don’t show your toddler a video of him blowing out lights right after he eats his advent calendar chocolate.  He WILL blow chocolatey spittle all over your computer screen.

Monday I met up with Brian, Mavi, Jeff (back in the lower 48!), Katie, and Joe for good old trivia. 

“Congrats to Satisfaction Train for getting 93 points, the highest score at Teller’s to date.”

Yes, that would be our team.  Boo ya!  I had a few good answers that the others on our team didn’t know.  What two cheese get their white rind from penicillin blooms? Brie and Camembert of course.  But I’m ashamed I knew which love interest from Twilight once voiced a Disney Channel cartoon (Taylor Lautner, obviously) and I remember the terrible name that Bella and Edward gave their “freak baby.” (Renesmee).  I haven’t even read Twilight, I SWEAR.  And I’ve read a lot of young adult fiction, I would fess up to that.  I guess it was worth knowing.