He's Here!

Let me introduce the newest addition to our family: Connor Patrick. He arrived early Saturday morning, on his due date no less, at 8 pounds. So far he's been a delightful baby. He hardly ever cries and eats like a horse! Reilly has taken the role of big brother on without any hesitations, which relieved a lot of worries on my part. Right now we're just taking it easy and getting adjusted to our new life. I'll post as more things happen and leave you with a picture of my three boys together.

No Baby Yet

Well, the little one is holding out so far. I have to say that I was a complete nervous wreck all weekend. Everytime I felt a contraction or slightly not well, I went into a panic. But it's now Tuesday and I've gotten this far. My FIL arrived today much to my relief. Now if the baby wants to come, I don't care. For one, I'll have a ride to the hospital without waking up the entire building and then Reilly will have someone to stay with him in his own house. Honestly I was more concerned about Reilly than anything else. I can't imagine how scary it would be for a two year old to be awakened in the middle of the night only to be shuffled off to someone elses house to sleep on a couch. Then wake up the next day and not have his mom. I know kids are quite resilient, but I have those guilty mommy thoughts. My dear husband called this morning to let me know that he will be back in Germany tomorrow morning. Awesome! He's been stuck doing debriefing procedures and such. Too bad I won't be home when he gets here, I have an appointment and then a few errands that must be done in his due home time frame. Oh, well, I guess I can wait another hour or two. Besides it'll give him a chance to de-stink and wash his uniform. Anyone who has know anyone that's been in the desert for months on end can tell you about this... I do have some knitting news to report. I intended to finish the Tropical and Leaf Lace Socks this weekend. This did not happen. Reilly frogged the Leaf Lace for me and I can't figure out which size needle I used for the Tropical. I was so sure that I wrote this simple matter down, but it appears nowhere on my notes. Could I swatch? No, my gauge fluctuated throughout the first sock. I guess I'll be ripping these out and re-doing. It's okay. As much as they fit great, I wasn't totally happy with the ribbing. Frustrated, I started a new pair of socks, using the Esprit Print I recently received. All I need to do is finish the ribbing. They're not quite so lime green in person. Really. I also decided to finally make some blankets for charity. I've been meaning to do this for forever, but have gotten sidetracked by various other projects that I had to do now. Now's a good a time as ever. I'm crocheting them. Yeah, you read right. I do crochet on occasion. I love the fact that a baby blanket that is 37"square took a day and a half when it would have taken me at least a week if I had knit it. Though, I do not personally like the fabric crochet makes, it's not for me. Is that wrong? That I would do something I don't love for someone else? Anyway, here's a pic of one blanket completed. There's another in the works. Not very exciting, eh? Okay, one more thing. I have a major dilemma. I just got a shipment from Amazon. It's a few books I had put on my wish list and my sister got them for me. I know what's in there and I'm dying to look at Ann Budd's latest greatest book. They're a Christmas present. Do I open the box or do I put it in the basement and wait? Help!!!

Waiting Games

I hate waiting. It makes me anxious. I can't sit down or concentrate on anything. Instead I feel the urge to get up and do things to try to take my mind elsewhere. But that's the last thing I need to do. What am I waiting for, you ask? First, my husband to get home. They keep changing his arrival date and it's driving me crazy. Understandably he's in a place where life itself changes everyday. The rational side of me says it's okay-he'll be home when he can, it's out of his control. The emotional side of me is screaming that I just want him here. Granted he wasn't suppose to be coming home so soon, but now that it's so close, I'm positively antsy. Second, I had another OB appointment today. She asked if I wanted to be checked for progress and also warned me that she could not predict whether labor was emminent or not. I of course had to know. Well, she quickly changed her mind. Based on how far along I was last week to this week, I'm progressing very fast. She honestly believes that the baby will be here soon-within the weekend. Not what I wanted to hear. My FIL isn't here yet! So, I spent the rest of the day getting all of my emergency people notified. I think I'm set. Now, I'm just making sure everything in the house is set, the hospital bag is at a go and anything else I can think of. I need to be sitting down and relaxing-trying to enjoy this lull before the hurricane. I just can't seem to. Urghhh...

I Got Mine... Did You?

Just look what was waiting for me at the Post Office today: Why, that's fifteen balls of the Highland Wool in the loveliest shade of Tuscany Green and four balls of Sock it to Me Esprit Print sock yarn-two in Summer Meadow and two in Shades of Grey. Oh, such yummy yarn! Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do with it! So many possibilities... I was quite surprised to get it today. I only placed the order six days ago. Now I don't feel so bad about paying the $10 shipping. It's when I pay that or more and it takes a month to get to me that I get pissy. Elann has become a best friend. I wasn't going to show this, since it's a present, but I couldn't resist. This is the start of Clapotis III. I just love the colors of this one-it's being done in a merino wool from Rodel Wolle. It's so tempting to keep it for myself. I got the last four balls in this color, but they're really good about replenishing their stock. So I may just have to run down and get some more in a few days (provided baby boy doesn't show up!). One more thing: winter is here in Germany!!! IT'S SNOWING!!! Yay, I haven't seen snow since the winter of '99/'00 when I lived in Pennsylvania. I hope it keeps up so I can take Reilly out for his first romp in it ever. Ahhh, the simple joys of motherhood.

Countdown

A week and a half. That's it. Yup, my days of knitting marathons and exploring my new host country are quickly depleting. As I was staring at the calendar this morning, this realization washed over me. Ugh. Don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to the little ones arrival and can't wait for him to be a part of this family. It's just that I dread trying to get two little ones ready and pushing them around in that humongous double stroller. I foresee that it will be awhile before my only excursions include more than the weekly trips to the commissary and PX. So, what's a girl to do? Visit every store that carries yarn this morning. That's five of 'em. My poor son must think I'm crazy. After our three hours walking around, I came home with this. That's enough sock yarn for eight pairs of socks. Five as they are and three to dye. I didn't plan on that much, but I found all these great deals. I couldn't refuse. And wait! There's more! I just can't show it. I picked up some stuff for my SP and some yarn for yet another Clapotis that will be a gift. Yes, I am on a sock kick. Should I mention that along with some Highland Wool that I ordered from Elann, there's also four balls of sock yarn coming too? My justification in having all this in my stash is that whenever I see a pattern that I want to do, I'll have many options to choose from and won't feel too bad about not being able to run to the LYSs on a whim. And the nesting doesn't stop there. I went just about nuts cleaning my house this weekend. Not your normal cleaning. It was the under the bed, toothbrush scouring, Lysol fume sickening kind of cleaning. I feel better. Not that when you look around, one could tell anymore-my son quickly trashed everything again. But it's done, along with alot of other stuff I've been meaning to do around the house. So, not too much knitting got done. I did manage to finish the Lace Top Socks. The second sock turned out much better, on account that I was able to not let my gauge grow on me. I also started another sock. It's being knitted with the green yarn I dyed and is of my own design. If it turns out nice, I'll post a picture. I am avoiding the diaper bag. All I need to do is finish sewing it together and then felt it. But I'm hating the way it looks with the overcast stitch. I know once felted, I won't be able to tell... I just can't bring myself to do it! And I think that Reilly's Winter Set is completed sans mittens. The thumb is giving me problems. After ripping it out and trying four times, I went out and bought him some fleece mitten that match close enough. Maybe I'll try again. Maybe not. I'm tired. Everything aches. I need to some laundry, but it's going to have to wait. The rest of my day is going to include frozen pizza and ass planted on the couch. I can't wait!

For The Love of Knitters

Thanks to those who left me suggestions dealing with the figure 8 "looseness". I'm going to try all and see what works best for me. And look what I got yesterday: Nifty stitch markers courtesy of Jean. We met up at the Wurzburg PX for lunch yesterday. It was a short visit, but very nice. It's always wonderful to meet other knitters and talk. Great meeting you, Jean and thanks for the gift. This is why I love fellow knitters. It's like we all share something special and are so caring about others. In my own giving spirit, I sent a package out to Calissa today. I hope she likes it!

Sock Crazy

So... What do you do when one hasn't adjusted for the time change yet and yesterday was a German Holiday? Well, take a look: That's what. The first sock on top was started Sunday evening and finished at about 6am this morning. I'm using the Lace Top, Toe Up Sock courtesy of Socknitters. The one on the bottom is using my "Tropical" yarn I dyed using The Percentage-Based, Toe-Up, Garter-Stitch Short-Row Heel, Gauge-Less Socks from Stasia. I'd never done toe-up construction before and really wanted to see if it was better or not. It rocks! Granted, I've had to frog both socks after getting about three inches up, but it's better than almost a whole sock. I also tried two different toes-the provisional cast-on and the figure eight to see the differences there. I can't decide yet. The figure eight is so much smoother, but leaves a stretched out row. I even redid it with smaller needles. The result was a tighter stitch, but still not perfect. I have two more methods that I'm going to try out. But that will have to wait until I finish these two pairs. All this experimenting is leading up to my Regia socks. I figure if I'm going to make a $20 pair of socks, I better be very happy with the results. And I don't want to be trying out all this when I do them. Oh, and have you seen the Highland Wool at Elann??? I may just have to place my first order with them. There's other stuff from them I'd like to get, so I guess now's the time to go ahead and get it. Now I just have to figure out what colors I would like and what I'm going to do with it. Something for me, of course! And... I just got commissioned to do a poncho for my husbands cousin, Lori. My first! Well, the first that I'm actually going to do. When I worked at AC Moore, people were always trying to get me make things for them, but I never accepted. Partly because I didn't feel comfortable enough in my skills to make something well enough to sell and because they often balked at what it would actually cost. But, I'm not going to charge her for the labor. I just don't feel right taking the money from a close relative. It's nice that she offered though, often family members expect that I do it for free and pay for the materials. Only when it's present time, baby!