A Life Less (Lifeless?) Ordinary

Husband's gallbladder surgery went fine. He was extremely nervous and worried but everything turned out fine. He'll be getting his gallstone at his appointment in a couple of weeks. Yes, he's going to keep his gallstone. Apparently, he thinks this is acceptable as he grew it all by himself.

As long as I don't have to look at it. Ew.

Other than that, things are going along just the same as they ever were. I'm working on the Giraffe for Little Man (the head, body, and two of the four legs are done...just need to finish the other two legs, ears, spots, and poms...and put it all together). I'm hoping to have it done in a few weeks. Things take much longer when you have small children around...or big children, as the case may be.

My house looks like a couple of hurricanes went through...I know, it's nothing to joke about. But there is crap *everywhere* around here. I picked up the living room on Tuesday as best as I could...and then my friend's daughter came over and basically took out every toy of Little Man's and was refusing to put them back. I was going to get the kitchen cleaned up but that didn't happen. I'm hoping to do that today.

So, aside from Husband's surgery and the house being a mess and knitting not getting done...we bought new fish for the freshwater tank. Our tank was looking a little sad so on Sunday, we went to Aqua Terra in Wauwatosa (Milwaukee) and got fish for the tank. We had five left...and now there are more. Of all the fish we got (and we got maybe fifteen or so), only one has died...a yellow Molly. I'm not tall enough to get it out of the tank without standing on a stool (and I don't know where the stool is). We also purchased a 55-gallon tank with stand (and the glass topper, lamp, filters, and heater) off of Craigslist for $200 (keep in mind that just the tank and stand would normally be anywhere from $800-$1000...and then you add in all the other stuff). It's not doing anything (yet). I'm hoping to clean it one of these days. We're planning to do a saltwater tank with it...

Oh, and this Saturday, we're going to pick up a 29-gallon tank and stand for $25 (something that would normally cost $150-$300). We really only want the stand because our stand, although sturdy, is easily grabable and we have a Little Man that likes to explore and grab everything and anything. I really don't fancy him pulling down a 30-gallon tank, full, plus the stand...it would literally kill him. The tank, plus water, fish, gravel, and other amenities, weighs at least 275 lbs, if not more...probably more. We're going to switch out the stands and re-sell the tank and stand on the aforementioned Craigslist.

Anyway, here's someone cute to get you through the week...

So, um...hi?

I've been quiet as of late. It's not that I don't have anything to post about but things have gotten hectic around here lately.

Husband is having surgery next week, pending that his gallbladder doesn't freak out too much before then. We don't know if they're going to do the deal with the little tube thing or if they're going to have to open him up and do it that way. What we do know is that he has a gallstone the size of a golf ball. He's in immense pain and crabby. I don't blame him.

Because of this, it means I really don't get a break from Little Man. And he's going through a growth spurt again..and he's got four (yes, that's 4) teeth coming in right now...putting the total to six teeth. He's biting and chewing everything. He's also discovered that he can roll all over the room so I can't just lay him down on the floor to go make him a bottle. I have to actually put him somewhere like his swing or the playpen. He's also started hitching his legs up under him and pushing up on his arms. Silly boy can't even sit up that well and he's already trying to crawl. *sigh* I'm not ready for a crawler yet!

On the knitting front, I'm still working on giraffe for Little Man. I have the head and body done (but not stitched together) and I finished the first leg last night. The legs really don't take me that long but I have to pay attention so I don't make them too long. I'm also working on my Skyp socks. I've finished the heel flap and turning the heel on the first sock...finally. I think I have other things going on, too but I'm brainfarting.

I'm participating in (or have recently participated in) several swaps. The most recent I've participated in was the Teacher swap. Unfortunately, I'm still waiting on my package...the person who had me sent me an e-mail that said she did send it and it should be here soon. That was ten days ago...and no package. She was also the person I had (it was a blind swap so you may not have had the person who had you)...and I don't know if she got her package either. I haven't heard anything from her and I've e-mailed her twice. Hrm.

The next swaps coming up are the Organized Knitting swap and the Doctor Who swap. I think they're both supposed to go out in August...I'll have to check. I think that's all I've got going on...I think I'll have to check that, too.

Anyway, my hum-drum life is calling me (laundry - how I hate thee!).

Oh, and before I forget......I have some new spinning (almost) done. I just have to wash the hank and let it dry. I should take pictures. Oh, and I need to finish plying the rest of it. It just wouldn't fit on one bobbin. *sigh* Such is my life...

Lax......and the trip :)

I know. I've been extremely lax in my postings as of late. I have pictures from our trip to Greensboro (NC) and Washington DC. There are more floating around but I don't have them. I'd have to get them off Husband's phone and he's not here right now.

So, on to the pictures and details of the trip.

We left on Tuesday, May 24th around noon-thirty.

This is the skein of yarn I brought with me to make socks.....actually, I wound the blue one next to it, as well. You know, just in case I finished an entire pair of socks during the drive to and from Washington D.C. The red/yellow/pink/orange is Blue Moon Fiber Arts' Socks That Rock (lightweight) in Bella Coola. The blue/green/yellow next to it is htNEVELE fingering in Parrotfish.

The socks I decided to make in the car were the Simple Skyp Socks (ravelry link).

This is what the sock looked like the day before we left. I worked on #1 Blackthorn DPNs. Actually, the sock made it through the beginning cuff before we even left the house. I didn't want to chance having to frog in the car and start over while the car was moving. So, I got about an inch in before we left.

We got through Chicago in about 45 minutes.....from the northwest suburbs to Gary, IN. We literally booked through Chicago because we didn't want to deal with rush hour. Luckily, Little Man slept until we got to Gary. We stopped outside Gary for lunch (for both us and Little Man) and continued on to Cincinnati, OH (okay, Wilder, KY was where we actually were but it's just outside Cincinnati). When we got to the hotel, my sock looked like this:

Obviously, I didn't knit the entire way to Cincinnati. That would have been 8 solid hours of knitting...and I just didn't do it. So, this was probably 4 hours of knitting...maybe not even that much. Anyway, this is what the sock looked like when we got to Cincinnati.

We stayed over night in Cincinnati and then drove down to Corbin, KY. Why? There's nothing in Corbin except bible thumpers...and the first and original Kentucky Fried Chicken. There's a little historical marker outside the original KFC and that's about it. They hate the Colonel down there. They all figure he was an idiot...long story. Anyway, we stopped at Waffle House and then went on our way. We drove by this along the way:

That is a really, big cross. Remember, we were in bible thumping country. My car got a lot of nasty looks. First of all, I drive a Volkswagon...which is only important because it's not an American car. Second of all, it's red. Thirdly, I have "satanic" license plates. They have "666" on them. *sigh* Whatever. But, Husband drove us by the big cross because it was so big. He's weird like that.

We drove from Cincinnati to Greensboro, NC on Wednesday. We had dinner there with Jeff & Kira. Jeff and Husband used to work together at the school district, both as contractors. Jeff was let go due to budget cuts. But, he's a "smoking gun." All he has to do is pick a city and he'll have a job. He was actually brought to Wisconsin by then-governor Jim Doyle to work for the state on internet and networking. He actually helped in the creation of broadband/DSL (and I mean overall, not just in Wisconsin). No, I'm not joking. Anyway, when Jeff was let go, he decided that he wanted to live in NC, as he had never lived there before...so they moved to Greensboro. Jeff now works for the University of North Carolina system doing networking. So, we had dinner with them. I went back to the hotel while Husband went out for drinks with Jeff. We were tired from driving.

On Thursday, we drove to Jefferson, MD to my brother-in-law's house. Pat and Carol have lived there since September-ish with their three-year old, Sweet Girl. We basically relaxed there for the rest of Thursday.

On Friday, we drove into Washington D.C. to see Matt & Trisha and their daughter, Cutie Pie. Matt was best man when we got married. Husband was best man when Matt & Trisha got married. Anyway, we went to the National Zoo and then to Matt & Trisha's house for a little while. When we got back, Husband made fajitas for dinner and we dinked around at Pat & Carol's.

Now, I have to break the "story" up a bit. Carol, Husband's sister-in-law, doesn't have a crafty bone in her body. When Husband and I were first together, Carol fussed over what to get me for Christmas. Husband said, "well, she started knitting a couple months ago." So, Carol found me a knitting book. Now, for someone that doesn't have a crafty bone in her entire body, she did quite well. She picked out AlterKnits...which is grand. I haven't done anything from it (yet) but it's a wonderful book. She did well.

So, back to the story...when we got there, she said, "We need to go to a yarn shop." Okay. No arguments or complaints from me. She got online and looked up Kiparoo Farm. Apparently, it was a whole five miles from their house. It's a farm with a Middletown, MD address but it's between Jefferson, Frederick, and Middletown, MD. Anyway, she said that we needed to go there. That was our plan for Saturday.

We got up early, Sweet Girl threw up a few times (we don't think the fajitas agreed with her - she'd never had anything like them), and off we went.

Here's Little Man, just outside the gate. He was sunscreened up, hat on, and ready to go. 

This is a view of the field of the farm and Sweet Girl. In the background, where you can't see much of anything, there are a couple of sheep roaming around. 

Here's a better picture of Sweet Girl. Doesn't look a bit sick, does she?

The shop itself, is an old farmhouse. Based on the architecture and the growth of the area, it was built sometime around the beginning of the 1800s. It's a gorgeous house, original leaded glass and brickwork...just lovely. I wish I had taken more pictures inside but I didn't. The woodwork was almost entirely original. The electricity was rigged into the house. Obviously the house was built before the advent of electricity.

Here's a better view of the front of the house.

And the sign on the door.

The shop was lovely. They spin from their own sheep, obviously and they sell their wares. The house is much larger than the shop but I think they live in the house, as well. I'm not entirely sure.

The lady that owns the shop and the farm is originally from Wisconsin. She was born in Madison and grew up in Milwaukee.

I purchased only four skeins of yarn...but they totaled over 2400 yds. of workable yarn. I bought two skeins of fingerweight (each over 600 yds) and two skeins of a Celtic cotton. You wouldn't believe how soft this yarn is! Actually, the two skeins of fingerweight yarn are incredibly soft, as well. I can't even begin to describe it. Also, I haven't photographed it yet... I picked up a pattern, as well, for the Celtic cotton. Oh, and some soaps made from cow's milk (from their cows)...and some hand cream.

After that, we went into Frederick, MD for some shopping in the old part of town. The German word is "altstadt," which means "old city." That's basically what part of Frederick we were in. The houses were all connected, no yards...loved the architecture. The shops, too, were old. We went to a toy store/gift shop and picked up some things for Little Man...a bird house that has shapes for birds and you put them in the right holes, a stuffed Aloysius Snuffleupagus (yes, that Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street - did you know he had a first name?), and a Doug & Melissa wooden train. Pat & Carol picked up some pool and sandbox toys for Sweet Girl. After that, we ate lunch at a little coffee shop nearby and then continued down on the street. While we were walking, we came upon another yarn store!

It was called Eleganza Yarns. I only made it to the first floor...and I managed to spend $100+ on yarn. It took me less than 10 minutes. I should mention that I also spent $100+ at the other place. Anyway, part of what I picked up were for Sweet Girl. I've been making the giraffe from Susan B. Anderson's Itty-Bitty Toys. I decided that I would make Sweet Girl something, too, probably for Christmas...maybe a little after. I had her pick out a pattern. She picked out the hippo...and wants her to be pink and purple. So, two skeins of the yarn I picked up were for the hippo. Sweet Girl approved the yarn, too, so that helped.

After that, we started to get a little worn out so we headed back to Pat & Carol's. We at at Macaroni Grill for dinner that night and that was that. We left on Sunday morning for Cleveland, OH. It was about a 5 hour drive to Cleveland. We got stuck in one hell of a nasty storm that night. We were out to dinner at Bonefish Grill and it was horrible. No tornado warnings or anything like that...just an extremely nasty storm.

We were going to drive home from Cleveland but we decided we didn't want to put Little Man through that long of a drive again so we decided to stop overnight in South Bend, IN.

Did I mention that South Bend is the home of Notre Dame?

Husband walking toward the bookstore at Notre Dame. Yes, that's the bookstore...the whole building is the bookstore. The. Whole. Thing! HUGE! I picked up some shirts for Little Man and Husband and I. It was grand. We didn't stay on campus long...it was getting hot and we still had a 6 hour drive home.

The statue outside the bookstore. Don't ask me what it was...no idea.

This was the sign outside the bookstore. I just focused on the part where it said the University of Notre Dame.

We got stuck in rush hour in Chicago...sort of. It wasn't as horrible as we were expecting but it was Tuesday.

I haven't photographed my sock...but I did get to the heel-flap. That's where I've stopped. I'm still on the flap for now. I'll photograph it sometime.

Other than that, we're home. Oh, I forgot to mention...while we were at the hotel in South Bend, Little Man took it as an opportunity to roll himself off the bed. Up until that point, he had only been rolling himself from his back to his belly and only in one direction. So, at the hotel, he decided he could roll and roll...and he did, right off the bed. I was washing bottles in the bathroom and Husband was laying in the bed, near Little Man (but not right next to him - he could grab him but not too well, apparently). I think it scared him more than anything. He cried and cried but he was okay. Not a scratch, bump, or bruise on him.

Anyway, I'll end with something cute :)

Round and round we go....you spin me :)

I know, I know, I promised a post with knitting and pictures and such like that and it's just not going to happen today. I need to hook my iPhone up to the computer and upload the pictures I've taken but I need to find the cord.

I also need to take some more photographs of the item I received in the Brown Bag Exchange...I'm not telling you what it is yet :)

I had planned to do some of this over the weekend but, really, I have a good reason for not getting any of it done. No, really, it's really good...

Little Man landed himself in Children's Hospital again. He had his cardiologist appointment about a week and a half ago...he had an EKG and she listened to him. This past week, he had his ECG (which was fine) and a 24-hour heart monitor (which I assume was fine, too, though I haven't heard). He also had his 6-month appointment with his regular pediatrician...which means shots. Poor kid. All the shots he had were ones he has had before...just not all of them at the same time. He had a huge welt on one of his legs (the side that got two shots) from the shots. Other than that, he was fine...or so I thought. I knew he had a little baby cold but it didn't seem to be bothering him.

And then Friday night happened. We had to fight him for over an hour just to get him to take two ounces of his bottle...usually, he grabs the bottle out of my hand and chugs away, finishing 4.5 oz. at a time. Not so. Seriously, an hour of fighting...and only half of what he normally has.

He didn't drink well over night either, when I woke him up. He coughed so much that he threw up his 4 oz. from 2am...and then he didn't want to drink much more throughout the morning hours. We called his metabolic doctor in the morning and we decided that we should probably take him in to the ER. Thankfully, we learned from the mistakes and stupidity from last time...we were only in the ER for a total of 2 hours, instead of waiting over 2 hours to get the damn IV started.

We stayed over night, until we could see what he was going to do...we discovered when we got upstairs to his room that he had an ear infection. No wonder he was cranky and didn't want to eat. Poor kid. This is his first ear infection. We got to hear a new cry out of him, too.....the "pain" cry. It sounds so pitiful and it really got to Husband...kind of like the face he makes when he sticks his little lip out, frowns, and starts to cry. That's the one that gets to me.

Saturday night was a rough night. Little Man did not want to sleep in the crib. He insisted on sleeping on mommy...except he wouldn't sleep more than a half-hour at a time. He kept either kicking or bobbing his head and I'd wake up, then he'd wake up more, then he'd get fussy. It didn't help that I was sleeping in a recliner...and either my arms will fall asleep or my feet will fall asleep (I don't fit very well). It just was not a fun night.

Luckily, we came home yesterday afternoon...so it was just an overnight stint. He's on amoxicillin for the ear infection, an alteration of Tylenol and Motrin for the pain (in his ears and for his teeth), and eating whenever he wants (but no longer than 8 hours during the day and 4 hours at night). He's already feeling much better. I don't have to fight him to get him to eat, which is nice. He's also acting much more like himself :)

With that said, it's caused me to do some thinking. This is only the second time he's ever been sick...and both times landed him in Children's Hospital. I'm supposed to be student teaching in the fall...working in a germ factory, late nights, etc. If he's going to wind up in the hospital every time he gets sick, student teaching is not going to work. I cannot take time off during student teaching, even if it's for a family/medical emergency...well, I can but it means I'll have to work longer. There's a little give during first semester because they don't have a fall break but spring semester gets tricky because of spring break and Easter break. So, I think I've made the decision that I'm going to wait...now I just have to withdraw from classes and let the placement coordinator know.

Hrm.

But, in knitting news, I started the giraffe from Susan B. Anderson's Itty-Bitty Toys...except I'm making it green for Little Man. I'm almost done with the body and that's a good portion of the whole thing. I may make another one for Little Man's cousin, Sweet Girl. I won't have it done by the time we go to visit in a couple of weeks but I'm thinking Christmas/birthday (her birthday is about a week and a half before Christmas). Maybe. We'll have to see how the one for Little Man goes first...

Anyway, I promise that I'll post pictures from Brown Bag Exchange and other adventures soon...