cute kids · life · yarn

This Place

This fall, Isaac took a class here called “Life on the farm”. It is a beautiful and special place.

Where they can run and jump and shout…

And try to catch the frogs in the pond…

Or swing on the tire swing.

There is always an opportunity to be chased by the farm’s alpha rooster, Eagle.

(Seriously, that rooster is stalking me. Not long after I took that last picture, he decided I had no business taking his picture like some obnoxious paparazzi, and, just as the rock star (of the barn yard) he his, he chased me down and I had to flee for my life.)

Still, this place makes me long for a simpler time.

And my favorite part?

Yup. They make yarn there, too.

life

Anniversary

Today was our 8th wedding anniversary.

I can hardly believe it’s been that long.

Our marriage has weathered its share of storms, but my life is better with him in it.

We celebrated

with balloons on the ceiling

and chocolate chip cookies.

life

Busy!

So, here’s the thing. I have a couple of huge posts I want to share. But the house is trashed. And I need to install a sink sprayer. And fix a bathtub drain. And do 500 other things today. Including stop at Trader Joe’s on the way to a play date. And again on the way back. Please hang in there with me–better posts are on the way. I promise.

In the mean time, please enjoy this YouTube video. (Thanks, Jess!)

PS–> I finished knitting the secret project last night, with yarn to spare (whoo-hoo!). Now I just need to steam and seam!

life

Before & After

Isaac had two baby teeth extracted today, to make way for the adult tooth which has been waiting to descend.

Afterward we got him this:

Best reward ever!

Knitting · life

Waiting Time is Knitting Time

Yesterday, we woke early–4:30 a.m.–and drove to the new children’s hospital at the Westchester Medical Center. E was scheduled for surgery to repair two small hernias above his belly button.

The children’s hospital and grounds are beautiful. There’s a massive fish tank in the lobby, the kind you might expect to see at an Aquarium. Everything is beautifully decorated and kid-oriented. I wish I’d brought my camera. Of course, at the time we got there, it was also deserted and therefore very peaceful and quiet.

We checked in at Admitting and headed over to Pediatric Surgery to wait. We were early so we waited a long time. I tried to knit, but E was having too much fun climbing all over the furniture, so I had to be vigilant lest he crack his head open on the floor.

Finally it was our turn. The nurse took us to the back where E’s vitals were checked and he was given a cute hospital gown and some little socks (again, why didn’t I bring my camera?). He played with the curtain and explored the hospital crib. They gave me a disposable white jumpsuit to wear, a blue hair cover, and a surgical mask. I felt utterly ridiculous (Thank heavens I didn’t bring my camera!).

It wasn’t long before the anesthesiologists came to take us to the OR. We went in and E sat on my lap while they got the operating table ready. Then, the anesthesiologist had me hold E while he put the gas mask over his nose and mouth. He fought the mask for a moment, then got a few deep breaths and was out, gone, unconscious. I was escorted from the OR back to the waiting room.

It’s hard not to worry about your little baby, even while trusting that the doctors are perfectly capable and skilled and that they have all the necessary equipment and monitors to keep him alive. So, I waited and knitted and tried not to worry. I thought a little about what I did to wait before I discovered knitting. I smoked (a lot, but not anymore). I read (I remember reading). I wandered. Now, I knit.

The doctor came in after an hour and a half. The surgery was done and E came through with flying colors! I went back to recovery and nursed him. Then he slept. I knitted some more and chatted with the nice nurse who was monitoring him. Then, he was awake and that was that. We were checked out and sent on our merry way.

During all my waiting time yesterday, I’d knitted about 2 inches of this (I’d already done the ribbing, so it was 2 inches in the stitch pattern). I’ll post pictures another day.

life

Irony

I created a yahoo account for the specific purpose of being my “public” contact. You know, when “registering” for websites, for my blogger business, etc. I get dozens of emails a day on that email address, not including the ones that are automatically filtered by the spam blocker. (I think the new term for all the mail you want, just not now is Bacn.) Now I almost never get any email on my home address. :-(

Knitting · life · Summer of Socks

Summer Fun

Last Sunday, we went to Lake Compounce. It was miserably hot that day, and dreadfully crowded (a surge of humanity). Mostly I stayed with my sister and one or both of the kids on the beach by the lake while my DH and her BF went on roller coaster rides (I’m just not a roller coaster person). I tried to knit. Here are my SIPs watching the children fight over who gets to own the patch of dirt we were sitting on build sand “castles”.

Here is the water slide we were sitting under. Isn’t the sky a beautiful shade a blue?

Afterward, we were all hot and dirty but decided to go out for pizza anyway. I tried my hand at Kinnearing my sister and her boyfriend. How come it looks like I said, “pretend I’m not taking a picture”? I totally didn’t.

Finally, here are my SIPs today. I’ll be turning the heels. How about a haiku?

knitting socks toe-up
goes faster if you can do
two at the same time

life

Where did the time go?

I haven’t posted since Wednesday. Sorry dear readers, I guess it’s been a crazy week. Tuesday was Grocery Shopping day, Wednesday we went to the AMNH museum in Manhattan.

(I-6 is mad because I interrupted his picture taking to take this picture. E is proud of himself because he can say “cheese”.)

Yesterday was Library Day. Today is Knitting Group (with a quick stop at the LYS‘s sidewalk sale). It’s a whirlwind! (I know it doesn’t seem like grocery shopping or going to the library should take all day, but with two small children in tow, the simplest of errands often become the grandest of all-day adventures.)

I haven’t even done much knitting. I’ve been waiting for my MIL to send me my FIL’s arm measurement. I was only reunited with my MIL’s Jaywalker on Wednesday. The days of knitting while strolling leisurely among the dinosaur bones are long gone. Yesterday I was reading. Whew!

life · random

WTF?

I woke up yesterday, feeling slightly nauseous and was, two hours later, in the throes of a vicious stomach flu. I can’t believe the ferocity with which this virus kicked my @$$. Seriously, I was too sick to knit. TOO SICK TO KNIT! It sucked.

This morning I am feeling better. Not 100%, but better. I’m going to take it easy. I’m going to lie on the couch and sip some tea and knit.

life

We’re Back

We’re home from our trip to Florida. I must say that in spite of my husband’s granddad being ill and dying, we had a wonderful time. Please say a quick prayer for him as he will be greatly missed by his grandson who has many funny stories of him.

While we were there, we stayed with my hubby’s grandmother. She lives in this beautiful condo/retirement community in Juno Beach which has rental units for visiting families. This is the information sheet we found in our room:

Note at the top what they have to say about children. We had fun anyway. There was a lovely pool. Well 3, actually–a spa, a lap pool, and one they called a walking pool which had a gentle current that carried you round and round. Here’s my oldest next to the walking pool:

It was too cold for the Floridians to go to the pool, so we pretty much had them to ourselves (awesome). In fact, when I mentioned to grandma that people could do like they do in the arctic and jump back and forth from the cooler (85 degree) pool to the hot tub, her reply was “This is a place of old people.” I laughed.

In addition to the pools, they had a library, an art room, a dining room where hotel/buffet style meals are served 3 times a day, and a game room, et al. It’s a fancy hotel for old people–a way to retire in style, provided you have enough money.

Speaking of old people, our children were a constant source of entertainment for them. Everyone we passed in the hallways or in the dining room or strolling along outside just loved smiling at the baby and watching my 5 year old’s antics. All in all, we felt very welcome and enjoyed our visit very much.

Here I am with E on the Juno Beach pier–very lovely.

We took a two day, three night break from the old people, and headed up to Disney World. Now, I have lived in California, not too far from Anaheim, and I have been a stubborn fan of Disney Land ever since. I have many, many happy memories of Disney Land, as we went almost every year we lived there–sometimes more than once. That being said, Disney Land sucks ass compared to Disney World. I’m sorry, it just does. It’s bigger–the streets are wider, even Cinderella’s Castle is bigger, the monorail is longer (and more usefull). Here is Isaac in front of the castle:

Yes, he is wearing his winter coat. It was very cold that day. But we had fun anyway. Here’s the baby, asleep in the stroller on Main Street:

It was a great day, even though it was so cold. The kids had a blast going on the rides–sometimes more than once–and we grown-ups had fun watching them have fun.

Finally, I didn’t do as much knitting as I’d hoped to. I made some progress on E’s sweater and finished my Jan mid-month dishcloth. Isn’t it pretty?