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Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Ranting Lunatic

The Crafty Conservative

Blogger has been making me super mad this week! I've written three posts just to have them be lost forever because Blogger times out. Stupid blogger.

But, my main rant is about stupid things people say about adoption. I think that our having a multi-racial family makes people feel more justified in making comments to us (not just mean comments, but ones that they think are nice or productive...they're not!).

1. We did not adopt out of the goodness of our hearts to take in the "poor, unwanted" children. We did it because we wanted a family and the more traditional way to have a family just wasn't working out for us.

2. We know you don't understand how those young girls could just "give away" their children. You will never understand. It takes a special kind of person to be a birthmother. One that is self-less. One that is thinking about the well-being of her child above her own. I hope that the people that make these comments never have to be in the position to actually make this kind of decision.

3. To go through the adoption process, you want to really have kids. So, this next comment is probably the most absurd and the worst of its kind. "Well, now you're just going to get pregnant", "My third cousin's sister in-law's babysitter adopted and then found out the next month she was pregnant", etc... Now, really. What purpose do these comments serve? How am I supposed to respond to that? "Oh no! I better not adopt this child since I could get pregnant now that I've started the process since EVERYONE else gets pregnant after adopting. I wouldn't want MORE kids!" "So, you're saying that even after having unprotected sex for 6 1/2 years and using major fertility medication for at least one of those years isn't what is going to get me pregnant? It's adopting? Why didn't we do this years ago?" So, please, I'm begging you. Even if you really do know someone that got pregnant after adopting, we don't care.

4. "Where did they come from?" Okay, this one isn't too bad. I know you're curious. Heck, maybe you're thinking about adopting and just want some information. But, when my kids get older and can understand, quit asking in front of them! I don't go up to you and ask the details of how you got your children. "So, which position did you use to conceive?" "Was this one an accident?" "She doesn't look anything like your husband, did you sleep around, or something?" I think I've made my point.

5. I don't have any more, but I needed a number 5. I can't help it. I do want to mention this...I don't mind at all speaking about our adoption journey. I just don't share things I don't want to. These are just things that I've been noticing again now that we've got our Big Apple. As long as I've saved one potential adoptive family the horror of hearing comment #3, this post has served its purpose.

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Down Time

The Crafty Conservative

I had absolutely NO down time yesterday! It was go go go all day. Big Apple was a little fussy (we are blaming gas and promptly bought some gas drops) and Frog was resisting all nappage. He did finally go down at 5pm. At 5:03pm I got out my knitting, desperate to work a little on it. It is SO relaxing! At 5:03 and 20 seconds, Big Apple started squawking. By the time she went back to sleep, Frog was up and at 'em. Sugar Daddy is busy with his thesis (he has to give it to his professor for final review on Thursday) so he came home long enough to eat and give me about a 20 minute break. He left again and I was alone w/ the kids until 10pm. We all got to bed pretty soon after that and I did have a good night's sleep. So, I can't complain too much. But, it was definitely a busy day.

Once SD gets his thesis in, he's not going to have a lot to do. This makes me SUPER happy. There's even talk of having a visit from his brother this weekend. It's always good having another set of hands around...plus it's fun to have him (you can visit anytime, Eric!). I'm confident that I'll be able to finish Clapotis by the end of the weekend. Wahoo!

I also just found out that I don't have school April 7th or April 15th. One is for an inservice. The other is for a snow make-up day that we didn't have to take this year. Having been both a teacher and a student, I am confident in saying that teachers look forward to the days off more than the students do.

Sunday, March 27, 2005

Happy Easter

The Crafty Conservative

Earlier this morning I wrote a post with this same title. It was a heartfelt, sincere post about how much I love Easter and what it stands for. Then, my computer timed out while it was uploading. So...no more post. Frankly, I don't have the time right now (or the desire) to recreate that lovely, sure to be destined a classic, post (ha ha).

So, I'll leave you with a picture of my lovely Big Apple dressed up to go to a church activity earlier this week. It was a production of "Women at the Well". A lot of my friends participated in it. It was truly inspiring.

Big Apple ready for her night on the town. Outfit courtesy of Nino and Mary. She was extremely well behaved and only cried during the prayer. She was a good sleeper for the rest of the production. Posted by Hello

Friday, March 25, 2005

All My Children

Frog is starting to really take to his "esther" (translation: sister). Big Apple deals with multiple hugs and slobbery kisses like a champ. I love All My Children.

Really, I love All My Children. My grandpa (yes, grandPA) used to watch AMC (yes, the soap opera on ABC) everyday. You see, he trains race horses (so does my dad), and he would come in the house after the morning feeding, eat lunch, drink a 7up, and watch AMC. I was usually right there with him. I grew up with Tad and Erica and Adam. I took a break when I was in school but once I got into college, I picked it back up again. It only takes about a week to get caught up. Soaps are amazing like that. I took 18 months off for my mission to Mexico and then off and on between then and now. But, I usually try and catch it at least once or twice a week. Any more than that is just too slow and drawn out for me. Really, how long can it take for someone to finally come around and tell the truth or get out of the hospital? They just killed off a character a couple of weeks ago. Edmund's dead. I think he's really dead. But, in a couple of years, he'll probably come back miraculously (even though they actually have his dead body...unlike most other soap "deaths").

I can't believe I just wrote a post about a soap opera. If I hadn't banned myself from my Sims game, you'd probably be reading about how Oprah Winfrey keeps coming over to my house uninvited and Neil Diamond is desperately trying to woo Britney Spears.

Knitting news: I'm decreasing on my Clapotis. As soon as it's done I'm casting on for a Hogwarts scarf. Still plugging away on the socks (if that means thinking about them but not actually taking them out of the knitting bag).

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

Interview Updates

The Crafty Conservative

Sugar Daddy is back from his last scheduled on-site interview. There are a couple of other universities that may try and send him out later next month but as of right now, he's done. Judging from his reactions after each interview it looks like we may be on our way to living in Lincoln, NE.

"Lincoln, Nebraska, has earned a reputation as one of the Midwest's most beloved cities. Home to fine culinary and artistic treasures; a budding live music scene; breathtaking parks, golf courses, and trails; and a friendly Midwestern attitude, Lincoln offers the exhilaration of a big city and the serenity of the countryside all in one place." courtesy of www.lincoln.org

I especially like the link "Where is Lincoln?". Exactly. Where the heck is Lincoln? In the middle of NOWHERE!!! But, you know what? I think I'll really like it there. I'm such a sucker for fine culinary and artistic treasures.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Adoption Benefits

The Crafty Conservative

In response to Tiffany's comment about being put together well enough to take a family pic when the baby is so new, I've decided to come up with a short list of adoption benefits (from my point of view).

1. I didn't have to be pregnant. I have not doubt that I would be horrible at it. I would whine and complain. I'm a notorious puker. Everything makes me gag. I can only imagine it would be worse if I was pg.

2. No labor. No pain. I should say, no physical pain. I still get a lot of the emotional stuff. I mean, you guys read my posts while I was waiting. But I'm sure even that is better than labor. Included in this one is no recovery time.

3. Eric...you may want to skip this one. My boobs could not take it. I'm sure of it. They don't need to get any bigger and the thought of breastfeeding isn't appealing to me at all! But, if I were pg, I'm sure I'd do it because I am aware of the benefits (aside from being cheaper than formula!).

4. Our kids are more beautiful than anything we could have produced ourselves. I'm sure of that! Sugar Daddy and I were cute kids, of course, but I don't know what putting us together could produce. A crafting, engineering musical genius? Or, more likely, a bossy skinny uni-browed nerd.

5. We can blame nature for some of the crazy things our kids do. It certainly isn't nurture! I mean, we're doing everything right!

Monday, March 21, 2005

Back to Work

The Crafty Conservative

Spring Break is over. It was back to work for me today. So, I only teach 2 class periods each day so it's not so bad...but I can't help the fact that I didn't want to go back. High school students are oblivious to the fact that the teachers are the ones that really need the breaks, not them! My students were a little rowdy. I was a little distracted (thinking about my brood back at the house). *Can I call them a brood now that I have two?* I'm really behind. But, I guess I'll get back into the swing of things soon enough. My Spanish II kids made commercials and I collected them today. Maybe I'll watch them this afternoon. One promises to be a "classic". It's about irritable bowel syndrome (remember, 10th graders made these!). They were practicing using commands. What better way then to try and sell me something?

Books: I finished The Time Traveller's Wife. Apart from the aforementioned "f" words, I would highly recommend it. It might not be so "harsh" in the written word. But, hearing it over and over in my car (audiobook) got a little old. There are also some pretty graphic sex scenes (maybe they seemed more graphic than they actually are since my mom was in the car for at least one of them!). It's not something I would feel comfortable recommending to my book group as a whole, but I think a couple of the members would really like to read it. I just started another audiobook today. It's Peace Like a River. I've read it before but I couldn't remember much about it. I may just listen until I can remember the story. So many people have been talking about it lately and I couldn't remember most of the plot. I also got the Diary of Anne Frank. I've never read it before. There must have been something wrong with my high school.

Knitting: I finished the first of the socks for my mom. She tried it on and liked it. There's no way I'll get the other one done before she leaves. At least she knows I'm working on it! Clapotis is clippity clopping along. I don't think I'll get back up to the amount of time I was able to knit w/ just Frog around for a long, long time. But, I'll keep knitting at least a little each day (I hope!).

Saturday, March 19, 2005


Here's our family picture that we took just yesterday. And as promised...here's Eva's new blog name. She wants to "be a part of B-A Buenos Aires... BIG APPLE!" She's going to be our Big Apple. If you don't get the reference...go rent Evita. Posted by Hello

Friday, March 18, 2005

My first birthday present

The Crafty Conservative

My mom is here for the week helping out with the baby. She really is helping! I've been able to get all sorts of stuff done. Today we went to the mall to get pictures made at The Picture People. I wanted a matching picture of one we got of Frog when he was just a week old. They delivered! It's gorgeous. We also got an updated family pic. As soon as I scan them, I'll post them. I've been busy. Oh, yeah, taking care of a new baby. Here's my other reason:

My mom gave me my birthday present. It's an iPod Shuffle. I've been adding songs to my playlist for the past hour. I'm not neglecting my family too badly...Eva's sleeping, Caleb's playing nicely, and Mom and SD are chilling on the couch. Is Pepsi still doing the iTunes free song thing on their bottles? I may have to try my luck and see if I can get a "free" song or two.

I'm going to get back to my iPoddy goodness now. Here's a little tease for tomorrow...introducing Eva's new blog name.

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Non knitting day

The Crafty Conservative

This is probably only the 2nd or 3rd day this year that I haven't knit a stitch. I spent the time getting used to having Eva in the house and I picked up my mom from the airport.

Nothing else to report.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

She's home!

The Crafty Conservative

After holding our baby "hostage" all day, the Dr. finally came around to do the 48-hour check and discharge the baby. We got home at 10pm. So far so good. I've gotta get ready for bed while I can (next feeding 2am). My mom is coming to visit for a week starting tomorrow. That'll be fun.

Knitting news: Well, what did you expect? It is a knitting blog. I'm ALMOST to the decrease rows on my Clapotis. I have about 2 inches left before I start the toe shaping on the socks for my mom. I'm about to frog the hat. I've just inherited so many 0-6month outfits from friends that I'm rethinking the jacket for Eva and might make a bigger size later.

Books: The Time Traveller's Wife. Love it. It has lots of "f" words in it which is kind of annoying. But, the story is really good. I'm almost done.

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

One more night of sleep

The Crafty Conservative

We're back at home again tonight without the baby. It's a little sad. But, we're looking at the bright side. One more night of sleep for us.

Everything went well today up at the hospital. The social worker from yesterday was a real pill. She wasn't too nice or accomodating to us. But, she wasn't there today. The one on duty today was SO NICE! She was bending over backwards to help us out. The nurses have been fabulous. All of them have been really helpful and that has really helped me feel better about having to leave Eva in their capable hands when we're not there. We finally met the lawyer today. He's funny. All of the paperwork was signed by the birthmother and she requested not to see us again (she did request to see the baby again if we would let her...of course, we did!). She said her goodbyes to the baby. I really hope she can feel at peace for her decision. There really are so few people that can make this kind of decision.

We had to make a trip to Valpo (about 20 min away from the hospital) to sign some documents and get the court order requesting the baby's release to us. Our lawyer just happens to be the mayor of the town. I swear he knew every single person that we ran into on the street. It was kind of neat...a local celebrity. But, the paperwork has been filed and we have a court date for finalization (May 24th). Unless the birthmother can prove that we bribed her (ha ha....we didn't...how could we????) or that we both have AIDS and we didn't tell her (we don't...but if we did, we would have), she can't revoke her termination of parental rights. Indiana's laws are very pro-adoptive parents.

Thanks everyone for the comments! I really appreciate it. More tomorrow!

Monday, March 14, 2005


IT'S A GIRL!!!! Eva Claire came into the world at 3:36am at a whopping 8 lbs. 14 oz. More to come... Posted by Hello

Sunday, March 13, 2005

It's TIME!!!

The Crafty Conservative

We're off to the hospital! Wahoo. It's about darn time. I probably won't be back to blog until we're home safe and sound.

Saturday, March 12, 2005

Yarn Spree

The Crafty Conservative

To compensate for the fact that we don't have a baby yet, I went shopping for yarn. First, I went to Hobby Lobby. I just needed some cheap acrylic for a couple of Hogwart's Gryffindor scarves. Mission accomplished. I got Caron Simply Soft in Autumn Red and Mango. I also bought a circular needle (size 8--16 in.). It's one of those interchangeable ones. We'll see if that works well for me. I found a really cute tote bag as well. I don't really need another tote bag but I can never seem to find one availabe when I need it. I also took a trip over to my LYS, River Knits. I wasn't expecting to buy anything (yeah, right). Let's just say that I didn't have a project in mind. I found some sock yarn 20% off and I found some really interesting yarn that is cotton/elastic. The owner told me it washes up really great and ends up feeling like your favorite t-shirt. She said it would be good for socks or a hat...accessory type knits. I bought 3 balls of earth-tone variegated. I think it may end up being a pair of socks someday.

Well, SD is waiting for me. We're going to watch The Lizzie McGuire Movie. We can't wait! :) I should get quite a bit done on my socks. Frog is sleeping (poor kid has a runny nose). Lucky for me, that'll mean I probably won't have to go to church tomorrow. I love church, I just don't want to have to face everybody and explain that we don't have a baby yet. Oh well. Off to see the movie. Hey now, hey now, this is what dreams are made of!

Update: The Lizzie McGuire Movie. Pointless for anyone not a girl between the ages of 6-11. We borrowed it from the library so the only thing we lost on watching it was time. I did get several rows done on my socks, not a total waste.

Friday, March 11, 2005

False Alarm

The Crafty Conservative

I spent all day having physical pains waiting for THE phone call. It never came. At 3:30pm I started to freak out. I called the birthmother. No answer. I called the lawyer. The social worker at the hospital was going to call the lawyer as soon as the birthmother was admitted. No call. Okay. She's not at the hospital. She's not answering her phone. I have babysitters lined up for the next 48 hours. What should I do? I call the sitters. No news. Sorry. I call the birthmother every hour for 4 hours. No answer. I give up. Sugar Daddy calls from Tampa. He's had airline delays all week and problems with taxis and shuttles. I feel bad for him, but not as bad as I feel for myself. I'm lonely. My only company is the Frog. I don't really want company, but I do. Know what I mean? I wish SD was home. I try one last time to call birthmother before I go to bed. She answers. She apologizes for not answering the other times (her family was all around and she couldn't talk privately). Have I mentioned how great this girl is? She explains what happened at the doctor. He decided that he'd rather wait another week to see if she can deliver naturally. She told me that she gave him the evil eye and said not to mess with her. But, apparently, it didn't work. She went back home. She's more upset than I am (understandably so---she's got a little person living inside of her). So, the new deadline is March 17th. She said that the Dr. said for sure he won't let her go past that date. I really hope she doesn't have to wait that long. The good news: SD should be here for the birth. I was really feeling bad about him missing it (selfishly, actually. I need the help!). Bad news: everyone keeps calling me for news. I have to keep explaining. Small price to pay, I guess. I'll have a baby eventually. It can't stay in there forever.

Thursday, March 10, 2005


Gratuitous picture of our little Frog playing the piano. We hope this is the last day that he'll be an only child. We love this kid so much and want him to have a brother or sister. I'll keep y'all posted (reverting to my Oklahoma ways).  Posted by Hello

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Too stressed to come up with a title

The Crafty Conservative

Here's my post for today. I'm cranky. I'm tired. And, I don't even have a newborn yet to blame for it! Oh no! I running around trying to get everything arranged for the impending birth. Frog is being pretty darn good about it all. I thought I hurt him really bad yesterday. He decided on the way to the changing table that he wanted to jump and flop out. I had a really good hold on his wrist. It popped. He cried. A lot. He stopped crying. He wouldn't use his arm for anything. Not even clapping (one of his favorite activites!). He wouldn't hold his juice in that hand. I was worried. Sugar Daddy was gone. Would I need to take him to the dr.? Oh no! Well, at around 4pm, he was healed. All of a sudden, he started shaking my diet cherry coke cans violently. Two-handed. Then, he started clapping. I was saved! No dr. trip. More importantly, no guilt trip. He also got a splinter from our wood floors. AND...he has two bloody lips from falling down repeatedly and biting them (and a carpet burn from nursery on Sunday). They keep cracking and bleeding throughout the day. But, it doesn't seem to bother him. I wipe him up, balm him, and we're good to go. Back to clapping and jumping.

This post wasn't really going to be about Frog's "mis"adventures. Oh well. I'm trying to get ready for tomorrow. But, how much can I really plan for? I don't know. I'm still worried. The cut-off time is 3:30pm tomorrow if we want to take the baby home on Saturday. Otherwise, it's an extra 2 day hospital stay and coming home on Monday. Yuck. We're praying praying praying for a quick delivery.

I probably won't post for a while. I won't have access to a computer at the hospital. You'll have to come back Saturday or Monday to see the latest!

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Still Waiting...part 2

The Crafty Conservative

The birthmother called me yesterday. It seems like they are going to have her induced on Thursday. There will be an end to this waiting!!! I've been so much more calm since we spoke. I'm not freaking out every time the phone rings anymore. I have a "plan". Well, kind of. SD's going to be out of town still but I have a good group of people that are going to be passing around Frog (to share the "burden") while I'm at the hospital. SD gets in Friday night, he'll pick up Frog, get a good night's sleep, and then come up to the hospital on Saturday. If the timing is right, we'll be able to take the baby home that day. If it's not, we'll have to wait until Monday. It all depends on the time of birth. If it's too late to file the paperwork on Friday (24 hours after the birth), then it will have to wait until Monday and we won't legally have guardianship of the baby until then. The lawyer is supposed to let me know this morning if there is some way that we'll be able to avoid this, but I doubt it. Oh well. Maybe she'll deliver really quickly.

I haven't been knitting too much. I'm on my 5th repeat of the straight rows on Clapotis. It's starting to drag along. But, the novelty of dropping stitches is still there so I just keep plugging along...I live for row 8!

My mom's birthday is the 15th of March so I need to get cracking on those socks. She's planning a visit on the 17th so I have a couple of extra days but I don't know if that will help. I better put away Clapotis and start working on those while I can, I guess. Clapotis will be a good hospital project.

I haven't cast on for the baby jacket yet. I don't think I will until after the birth. Especially since SD is going to be gone all this week. I won't get as much evening knitting in as I do when he's here to run interference with the yarn-loving Frog.

Books: Started listening to The Time Traveller's Wife. I had to stop it for a while because I felt I hadn't paid particular attention in some parts so I think I may have to rewind a bit so I don't miss anything important. I don't know if this is going to be a good "car" book. I usually listen to young adult fiction in the car. We'll see how it works. I'm taking SD to the airport today so at least on the way home I'll have some uninterrupted time to listen.
Still plugging away on Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I decided to take it with me to the hospital and see how far I get. I may just have to put it on hold again at the library so I can get it again to finish it. I have to have it turned in by the end of this month to avoid a fine.

I think that's it from here...

Monday, March 07, 2005

Still Waiting!

The Crafty Conservative

No baby news yet. Maybe today? She's only 4 days overdue so I shouldn't be so impatient. But, I can't help myself.

Sugar Daddy leaves tomorrow morning for an interview. He'll be gone until late Friday night. We thought we may try to reschedule his trip but decided against it. We don't know when the baby is going to decide to come and it would be kind of worthless for him to sit around and wait and then have the baby be even later. So, if the baby is born this week, I'm going to be one busy "single mom".

Saturday night was spent trying to decide what to do so we could get out of the house. There isn't a lot to do in this town, especially with a 2 year old. We didn't go anywhere. I got too stir crazy and finally asked if I could go to Hobby Lobby to get some cotton for a baby jacket. SD stayed home with Frog and I was off. We picked out a pattern for a lace-edged baby jacket. It's rather cute. I was going to hold off making anything for a girl (so as not to jinx anything, I guess. I don't know what my problem is). I worked on the gauge last night. I'm just barely off using the needles I want to use. I think I'm still going to make it with those. The pattern is for size 6-12 months. I'd like it to be smaller, so it should work out okay. I'm using the Sugar & Cream 100% cotton in a sage green color. This sweater should only cost me (after I buy buttons) $7.50. I hope I enjoy knitting w/ cotton. I haven't done it before (except to get gauge and that wasn't too bad). I'm sure having a whole jacket in that will be a nice accessory for a baby. And, if we don't have a girl, I can pass it on to any of the numerous people I know that are pregnant and probably having girls.

I'm about to go in to work this morning. My students are going to be mad. They want me to be gone so they can watch Harry Potter en espaƱol. Every day last week they were upset when I was there. Oh well. One more day of actual Spanish instruction and then they can have their "break" before Spring Break. Whether the baby comes or not, I'm going to take at least the next 3 days off while SD is gone.

Friday, March 04, 2005

My Booty

The Crafty Conservative

Pretty good title, eh? I just wanted to let everyone know how the service auction went last night.

The dinner provided was really yummy. Or, I could have been really hungry (I don't know why I've been eating like a horse---I blame it on the stress of "waiting"). Anyway, it was hot dogs, nachos, homemade pretzels (salted and cinnamon sugar), cupcakes, and lemonade. Talk about health food! Mmmm.

The first thing we had to do before starting the auction is fill out our survey. I earned $770 this year. That seemed about average. Some others got up to $900 or so but I don't think anyone had over $1000.

The third thing up for auction was what I was there for. Another baby blanket. This one was a bunny. Frog's is a cow. They are so cute. I bid. I gave the evil eye to all around me. Some new lady bid against me! What? In the end, she had more money than me. I was prepared to spend it all on that blanket and then just sit around and knit and enjoy the atmosphere. Darn it all. She doesn't even have little kids! Oh well. I hatched a plan. The lady that made the blanket as the service sells them. I'm either going to have to buy one, or bribe her neice (who happens to be a student of mine) to give me one as a present. I'll tell her I'll give her an A. Which, I will! *disclaimer: I really am an ethical teacher. I would never allow a student to "buy" a grade with presents. This girl is getting an A anyway!*

Without getting the blanket, I was forced to pay attention the rest of the night and ignore my knitting. My fabulously knitted scarf went to a fabulously fashionable lady (Meg--for those of you that know who these people are). In the auction program it really was listed as #6 Fabulously Knitted Scarf. Funny. In the end, I spent my money on homemade bread ($150---a bargain---from Mindy) and babysitting ($300---also a bargain---from Marcie). I had quite a bit of money left over (you do the math) but I didn't get to spend it. Everyone was able to purchase at least one thing.

Other news: I've added a Works in Progress section. I've been wanting to do that since the beginning of my blog and have been lazy. So, it's finally up.

Baby news: STILL WAITING!!!!

Books: I'm almost done listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (book 4). I just got a new audio book from the library yesterday: The Time Traveller's Wife (on suggestion of Tiffany, thanks!). I'm still reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell but I've been kind of slow. I can't renew it b/c there are holds on the book and I don't think there is any way that I'm gonna finish by the time they start charging me. I still haven't decided what to do about that yet.

Thursday, March 03, 2005

Service Auction

The Crafty Conservative

Every year the women's group at our church holds a service auction. It is my MOST FAVORITE activity of the year! I was sad when I thought I might miss it (I did the year Frog was born) but it looks like I'll make it tonight. My phone still won't ring! Darn it. I guess he/she is waiting for 03/04/05 *wishful thinking*.

There is a survey to fill out at the beginning of the night to determine how many "Bishop Bucks" you get. It includes things like: If you've ever ridden in a tractor you get $30, if you were born in Indiana you get $20, if you were born in any other state you get $25, etc... Everyone gets plenty of "$" to spend. A real auctioneer runs it for us. We have cards to hold up and everything. It's a blast. Here's an example of some of the services I've "bought" in the past few years: babysitting, sewing lessons, a baby blanket (Frog's favorite!), machine embroidery on any item. This year I'm contributing my Airy Scarf. Most people donate services to be rendered at a later date. But, this year, with the baby coming and all, I decided I could just donate a service I've already done (knitting that beautiful scarf) and be done with it. So, there you have it.

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Clippity Clapotis

The Crafty Conservative

Frog has the Fisher Price "old school" barn. You know the one that moos when you open the door? We got it wrapped up for Christmas from SD's parents. They found it in their garage. It is at least 30 years old. It's full of old toys (not necessarily that go with the barn). There's a really old plastic snail. Huh? Anyway, I'm digressing.

Back to the point of this post. There are a couple of horses in the barn. Frog loves to play with them like they are cars. We had a breakthrough the other day. I told him that they were horses and they go "clippity cloppity, clippity cloppity, neigh!" and I trotted them around the floor. It was a big hit, oh yeah. He got it and I caught him trotting his cars around. Oops. He's only two, right?

Anyway...I catch myself saying as I'm knitting, "clippity clapotis, clippity clapotis, yeah!!!". I'm really enjoying the process of knitting. I can't WAIT to get to the part where I can drop stitches.

Tuesday, March 01, 2005


This is the sweater vest being blocked. Pretty exciting, I know. Just scroll down and you'll be pleased (I hope!) to see the finished product, buttons and all! Posted by Hello

This is the final product of the "I'm Gonna Be a Professor" sweater vest. You can see where the button-hole band sneaks up compared to the rest. Oops. SD assures me that it is okay and that he'll wear it all of the time. Our marriage is safe! Whew. This is the first thing I've made for him. Next up: socks. Posted by Hello

Here's the SD "GQ" pose. Maybe this is how he will act if any of his future students give him any problems. Ha ha. The top buttons won't stay closed. Apparently, they are too close to his massive chest. :) Posted by Hello

I decided against making a baby afghan with the new Encore I got and decided to make a Clapotis. I know, I know. Peer pressure. I know you can't really tell what color it will be but it is a mix of pinks and greys. I'm gonna run out of stitch markers (it calls for 18!) so I may just take a page from the Yarn Harlot and purl the stitches to be dropped so I can tell where they are. Updates to come later... Posted by Hello

FO #9 The "I'm Gonna Be a Professor" Sweater Vest

The Crafty Conservative

I'll have a pic of this up on my blog later (once I can get Sugar Daddy to model). But, I had to announce that it is finally finished! It turned out nicely, though I wish I had picked up more stitches around for the button-hole band. It's kind of tight and even after blocking, it didn't stretch out as much as I had liked. So, it kind of hikes up in front. I think once I have my model, I can tweak it a little and it should be okay if he buttons up the bottom buttons. Well, y'all will see how it looks on him probably later tonight once I have him here to take a picture.

I made a trip to the LYS, River Knits. I picked up 4 more skeins of Cascade 220 so I can make some more hats. I also picked up 3 skeins of Encore in a variegated pink that I saw Cicely working with during our SnB meet-up last night. I don't think I would have given it a second look in the store had I not seen how nicely it looked knit into a baby afghan. I think that is what it may end up being for me, too.

Baby news: none yet. The birthmother is due on Thursday. While I would love to have the baby born right now, I was thinking it would be really cool if he/she was born on 03/04/05. I'm a sucker for numbers and that would be just awesome for me! SD's birthday is 07/06/76. I love that, too. Frog and I have the oddballs (01/29/03, and 04/11/75....you can probably figure out which is which, I hope!). Anyway, I have the cell phone on. It's in my pocket. RING PLEASE!!

Frog's favorite new saying: I farter (taught by SD, of course!).

Chocolate update: The 1 lb. box of See's Candies is GONE!!! It wouldn't be so bad if I had truly shared it with SD (who weighs a meager 125 lbs.), but I didn't. He got about 6 pieces total. I ate the rest. Gluttony. I admit it. But, it really hit the spot and I'm good to go for another year.