I am a cartoon....

I had been doing so well: A few weeks ago, I exercised every day, saw some weight go down. I felt great.

On a Tuesday morning I was leaving for work, the kids wanted to wave goodbye so I opened the blinds on the front window. Their cute little faces peering out, I took a step and thought, "life is pretty good." Unfortunately, I put my foot down on a patch of ice and slipped so that both feet flew out in front of me and I slammed against the concrete steps, then bounced to the sidewalk. I must have looked like a cartoon.

Everyone asked me later if time slowed down for me--nope, it was lightning fast until the moment I landed and could not stand up for several minutes while I waited for my body to stop feeling jarred from the direct hit my spine took. I am certain that parts of me went "SPROINNNNNNG" and those parts are not meant to sproing, under any circumstances.

As I sat there, in the cold, trying to breathe, I could only think, "Gosh, I hope the kids aren't scared or freaking out.'

And inside the house this is what happened.

My eight year old daughter calmly walked to the kitchen (which overlooks the backyard only) and said, "Daddy. Mommy fell down." Then she walked away.

My husband called after her, "Did she get up?"

Angie strolls back, "Huh?"

"Did she get up?"

Angie replied thoughtfully, "I'll go check." And wanders back to the living room.

She returns and casually says, "No. She's still on the ground."

At which point my husband races past her, flings the front door open, and starts to slip on the same patch of ice that brought me down. Fortunately, he catches himself or we would have had a pile of parents outside, in the cold, at the foot of the steps, and two kids alone inside.

At least Angie maintains her composure in the face of actual adversity.

For a few days afterwards, various parts of my body were in excruciating pain, from which I gather my nervous system was sending mayday signals randomly. And I learned that when you hit your spine, acetaminophen is too wimpy to handle the pain. I am okay. I had a mildly scary 24 hours in which my doctor thought I had fractured my spine and would need cement injected into the vertebrae. Fortunately, it's just a bad bruise.

The down side is that the gains I had been making stopped completely because I did not feel up to exercising. My doctor said that I could expect to be in a lot of pain for at least six weeks. Two weeks later, I'm managing a few sit ups, but I'm hesitant to yoga at the moment. If I'm really lucky, and Kian wakes from his nap soon, maybe we'll go to the gym. Maybe not.

I like cartoons, but I would really prefer not to be one!

because I'm forgetful

Second Grade started this week--I finished Angie's supply bags just in time. But of course there are no pictures. Hubby made a snide comment (I hope they fit) and I cut him off by saying, Are you really talking like that about what I just spent my entire afternoon working on?" Then dear daughter saw them and started to say "I like them..." in that tone that indicates there may be a but lurking. I repeated what I said to her father minutes before.

She promptly said, "Oh no Mommy. I like them."

Sometimes gratitude is spontaneous. Sometimes gratitude is earned. Sometimes gratitude is learned. And sometimes gratitude just has to be enforced with a stern tone of voice.

Also, just in case anyone still reads my blog and recalls our discovery of Kian's heart condition shortly after his birth (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here): We received great news from his last cardiology appointment! He has had no significant change since his procedure two years ago. This is a really good sign because babies with his problem usually require multiple procedures in a very short time. He has tripled his birth weight and we have only needed one procedure. The Doctor was actually a bit giddy--how often do you see a giddy specialist?

This does not mean that he is cured. She described it as, "He has a defect, but no disease." We will go to yearly monitoring and just watch for obvious signs of trouble. We can also expect something to happen when he is a teenager--the next big burst of growth.

For now, we are extraordinarily grateful and sometimes I just tear up when I watch him play with his sister.

I'm such a goofball I completely forgot to post (well didn't forget--life just got in the way). But I'm on a bit of a posting jag tonight so I thought I should tell you all. If you're still reading.

Thanks as always for the good thoughts and support.

Nary a February Unscathed

My husband has always hated February. Unpleasant stuff just seems to happen in that month. I'm sure other families have a particularly bad month, ours is February.

Warning--this post is not for the faint of stomach.

Last week Angie announced that her ear hurt--one trip to the doctor later we have an ear infection and pink antibiotics
Friday night, I look at Kian and see yellow goop in his eyes--one trip to the doctor later, we have pink eye and eye drops that Kian does not enjoy.
Saturday Morning (wee tiny early hours) Kian awakens vomiting, then hourly for the next several hours. One call to the nurse hotline and we are reassured that a trip to urgent care is not necessary. There is a nasty g-i bug rambling around. We're told it will get worse when the intestinal part kicks in. Oh and by the way, it is "highly contagious." Dandy.
I will not describe Sunday to you, except to say that Mommy and Kian had many clothing changes throughout the day. Sigh. The other thing I will tell you is that giving a child small sips of breastmilk directly from the source is very, very tricky. And regularly results in one very perturbed and expressive child.
Monday, Angie appears fine so she goes to school. I am weak from the nearly 24 hour care of Kian and feel the twinges of something g-i-ish so I stay home. Angie comes home from school pale, goes for a nap, and vomits over a large portion of her bed.
Monday night/wee early Tuesday morning, it is now my turn to join in the family fun. By daylight, I am so weak that I need to ask Chas to bring me things as I float in and out of consciousness.
Wednesday, still weak and having consumed no solid food, Angie and I remain home from school and work.

I will attempt to go to work tomorrow; we'll see if I am successful.

I was doing well on the quilt until we were hit with the various illnesses. I thought it wise to stop amidst the raging fluids though. Hopefully, I can get back on track this weekend. I couldn't bear it if I didn't get Angie's Class project finished in time.

In other news, I looked at a house this weekend. It is in our price range, but needs a lot of work. Realistically, everything in our price range will need work or is in not such a great neighborhood. I'll take work over not such a great neighborhood. I think Chas would like to hold out for little to no work and nice neighborhood because, as he reminds me, we just aren't that handy. The house has some quirks (like an attached garage that has no entrance into the home?????) and we would definitely need a home inspection. But it is full of possibility and may be a good chance for us to get a home this year.

Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed. We need a lot of things to fall into place for this to happen. And February just isn't our month.

Just to let you know....

I'm still here.

I have been in the midst of all sorts of things: First Grade Quilt (fabric purchased, cutting mostly done, assembling bits started), then Chas's Grandpa died, some discovery in our personal litigation, a Cinderella Ball for Angie and Chas (no I am not kidding), then we had all sorts of sick, car trouble (both cars) and more First Grade Quilt stuff.

Roll into all that the fact that this is Chas's busy work season and you have precious little time for much else here.

I did play along in the first HAED SAL in January but I still need to scan that in. Sigh.

So much fun stuff so little time.

I hope you are all well.

What a Day (or how I spent my winter vacation)

Just wanted to share a bit of good news with those of you still reading.

Last month was one of Kian's regular heart monitoring visits. Although I had hoped differently, he wanted absolutely nothing to do with being in a dark room with a stranger for an echocardiogram. Not even the Backyardigans could stop him from howling the minute the technician entered the room. Such behavior is typical of a 19 month old. Still, I had hoped he would be miraculously calm just so we could avoid a trip to the hospital for a sedated echo.

So today was the big day. I was up at roughly 3:30 a.m. to be certain Kian nursed one last time before 4:00 a.m. I had a quiet morning to myself while I got ready. We took Angie to an early morning play date with a Karate friend (I am everlastingly grateful to her mom for volunteering to help us with Angie) by 6:00 a.m. and Chas, Kian and I were at the hospital by 6:30 a.m. to go to the Pediatric Sedation Unit.

The Nurse gave us a brisk run down of what to expect then rubbed some numbing creme on Kian's hand and foot. The sedation used on Kian today is the same type used in war zones to treat then move the soldiers--it is really fast acting and gets out of the system quickly too. The best part was that we would be with Kian the entire time and he would remain in the same room throughout all stages of the procedure. She left to retrieve some toys which kept Kian reasonably amused but barely distracted from the numbing creme, which he tried to reach by lifting the band aid every so often. A Child Life Specialist came in to give us more details about what to expect. The Anesthesiologist arrived and told us to be prepared for certain physical reactions. ome parents can be disturbed by how quickly the child drops off so the hospital did a nice job of making us comfortable by having everyone who entered the room give us information that built upon what the previous person said. I'm sharing here so that I don't forget, and to inform any other parent in a similar situation who might happen to wander here.

Basically, we were told that once the drug went through the IV, Kian would lose consciousness in a matter of seconds. The child may cry and the pitch of his cry changes just before he completely loses consciousness. The sedative may burn so they also add lidocaine, which may or may not relieve the burning sensation. The sedation process takes approximately 30 seconds and he would truly be awake one second then asleep the very next. We were warned to becareful because the child may collapse in one direction and many unprepared parents have been cracked in the face with the full force of their sedated child's face. The child's eyes may remain open and there would be rapid eye movement whether the eyes were open, partially open or closed because the child is asleep. The child may also have some involuntary movements for a time. The Anesthesiologist and a special anesthesiology nurse would monitor Kian's blood oxygen levels, pulse and blood pressure throughout sedation. A towel would go under his shoulders to ensure that he was receiving maximum air and he would have oxygen tubes. We were told that once the IV was turned off, Kian would regain consciousness in about 15 minutes. As probably every parent before me, I said I'd like a little of that sedative to take home. The Nurse quipped back, "It will cost you."

Once the numbing creme took effect, nurses arrived to insert the IV needle. As you can imagine, Kian was not pleased with this, especially when they taped his hand to a cloth covered foam board. He did try to karate chop it off after they left and he pawed at it quite a bit. I gently and repeatedly brushed my hands over his chest and belly and that seemed to keep him calm.

At 8:00 a.m. the echo tech arrived and the Anesthesiologist returned for action. I held Kian as they prepared the sedative and added it to his IV. He screamed in pain and my mind checked off that this was probably due to the burning sensation. Chas came up behind me and enfolded me and Kian in his arms while giving me back support. Within seconds, the pitch of Kian's cry changed, the nurse said, "There we go" and Kian slumped down completely with his next breath and stopped crying.

I laid him down on the bed, eyes partially opened, and the tech started the echo. My hands never left Kian--I touched his head, his hair his shoulder. I made soothing noises when he briefly fussed in his sleep--mostly for my own sake I think, since I'm sure he couldn't hear me. It suddenly hit me that something might be wrong, although we had expected that this echo would just confirm that there had been no changes since the valvuloplasty.

The cardiologist arrived to review the images captured thus far. He asked for some additional images, and the tech said, "you want that even though it's not stenotic?" I wracked my brain to remember what that word meant, but I had been awake for six hours on very little sleep so I was starting to feel a bit woozy myself.

The Doctor finally indicated that there has been no change since July of last year. He said there is some slight leakage, but nothing dangerous. The heart has not thickened (that would be the stenosis issue duh) any more and the aorta is not blocked--actually, the doctor said that his (the doctor's) aorta was probably more significantly blocked as a healthy adult than Kian's aorta. Kian's blockage was identified in the echo at a 7 and the Doctor said they don't worry until it gets around 40. Also, what they thought was a slight hole between chambers last year (which no one told us about at the time-grrrr) has appeared to close. We saw the valve directly and were told (for what we both believe to be the first time), that Kian has the outlines of three flaps, but two of them fused together creating the bi-cuspid aortic valve.

Really, as exhausting as it was, the procedure was confirmation that Kian is doing well at this time, though we still need to monitor, we may not need to do so as intensively as we have been doing. Yay Kian and yay us.

They took Kian off the sedation and he woke up immediately, although he needed my arms to support him for a while. And he willingly rested on the pillow while we changed his diaper (a big difference from the olympic wrestling matches of recent diaper changes).

Kian played with the pedialyte and didn't really drink it. The Nurse said it was okay to breastfeed anyway, however, Kian, refreshed from his deep nap, was more in an exploring frame of mind. He finally nursed for a few minutes and we alerted the nurses that we were successful. He walked out of his room on his own, then I carried him down to the toy bin. He did not want the pelican, the spider, the bears or the duck. When I mentioned the Koala, he pointed at it and smiled, so Kian took home a mini gray koala beanie baby.

We went to a local bakery and ate a small breakfast (by now it was 10:00 a.m.) Chas had a cinnamon croissant, I had an oatmeal and raisin scone and Kian had a toasted wheat bagel. We all shared but Kian seemed most fond of the bagel and my scone (Excellent taste the boy has--those were my favorites too). He sat on the wide window ledge, rather than the highchair I had grabbed. Other than the hospital tags on his ankle, casual observers would have not guessed that he had just been released from the hospital having been sedated only an hour before. He was cheerful and curious and had a healthy appetite.

We retrieved Angie from her playdate and arrived home. Chas and I had a brief doze this afternoon and that helped refresh us. Kian has been a bit more clingy than usual, and a bit more moody, but he is mostly himself tonight. Hopefully, he will be completely normal again tomorrow. Kian was quite a trooper today and I'm so proud of both he and Angie. Angie lost her tooth tonight--she was already in bed, but I think she was still wobbling it. She got up and her dad finished the job--out came a lovely little tooth. I think there is still enough time for the tooth fairy to come here tonight.

Getting up so early and having so many medical people working on Kian has given a surreal cast to the day. It's strange to acknowledge, that in some ways, this is our normal, though it isn't really normal at all.

I am deeply grateful to everyone who helped us today. We are tremendously blessed.

Oh dear, what have I done now????

Angie's class project is a quilt. The kids draw on squares, then it is assembled into a quilt and auctioned at a fund raiser for the school.

Guess who volunteered to assemble the quilt?

I was feeling pretty confident. But now I'm sort of panicking.

I can do this right? I can sew. I had quilted a queen size quilt twenty years ago.

I don't need to pick the theme, the Homeroom Mom is doing that.

I can do this? *Gulp* Right?

(Moral support would be most excellent and tremendously appreciated at this time.)

Just as a funny aside: When I told Chas I volunteered, he looked at me for moment then commented, "Well, it's coming out of your cross stitch time...."

Hallooooooo! Anyone still reading?

Sorry about that, was distracted by RL for quite a bit of time.

First there was the appointment (Kian is good--thanks everyone).

Then we rolled into wrapping up the school year and preparing for Angie's birthday.

Then we all caught a variety of illnesses the duration of all family ickiness lasted roughly a month.

Then Hubby's work season started picking up.

I owe some posts that are drafted hereabouts, but that will be for another day.

I started poking around the world wide stitching world on the net a few weeks ago and what did I find?

1. HAED's home (the owner's house) was destroyed by a tornado--luckily no one was hurt beyond the stress you would expect. Awful.
2. Mindy of SMF was robbed through the internet and abruptly closed up shop forever or at least so it appears. Terrible.
2. Dragon Dreams will cease producing cross stitch patterns on a regular basis and San Man has as well. Good Heavens.

So in the interest of generating a little fun, I revived the Chatelaine Stitching Olympics for the summer games. If you have Chatelaine projects and you want to join in the fun, you only have until the end of the night to sign up.

I'll try to post more than once every two months. Just wait until you see some of my stitching WIPS.

Happy Sixth Birthday Beautiful Girl

Happy Birthday Angie.

You amaze and delight us, our wonderful child. Your baby brother just adores you. Stay kind and loving and happy.

You brighten our days.

Some Anxiety.

For the past six months, I've puttered along, trying to push the mommy worries aside and just enjoy the kids.

Time's up--Friday we face our next cardiology appointment. I don't have much hope that he will be calm during the ultrasound. So we may be going for a sedated ultrasound/ECG at a later date. Mommy dread commences.

He's so busy and eager and full of joy, I fall in love every time I see him. Tonight, he toddled away from me, looked over his shoulder, paused, giggled at me, toddled again, looked over his shoulder paused and giggled, repeated the process until he fell on the floor just as he was moving out of my sight. He is an amazing little guy.

I don't want to ever smother him or his sister with my worries--and oh my goodness how I worry. Sometimes I'm incredibly hacked off that my beautiful little guy will have to deal with this for his entire life. And sometimes I wonder if I'm to blame somehow--was I so stressed after the fire that I caused this malformation.

Maybe it's the dread/anticipation of the appointment that makes the anxiety so strong.

Here's hoping for a good report on Friday.

Busy, busy, busy

You'll need to go over to my Mommy Monster blog to see how full our lives have been this week.

I did not get as much done on the Challenge piece as I would have liked. Angie's first tooth became extremely wobbly on Saturday and I had to shift gears to get the pocket for Angie's tooth fairy pillow completed and attached to what will become the pillow.

Work is still crazy and hectic thanks to the new program, but since we need the insurance and the money, I hope to remain employed, even though in my heart of hearts, I'd rather be home with the kids. There is some hope that by the end of the year, I will have some relief, although it may mean moving to a different building and paying for parking.

Taxes were very bad this year. Ugh. See previous paragraph.

I hope to accomplish some yard work and gardening this weekend. I hesitate to throw some seeds around as it may still snow, but the flower beds need cleared of weeds and leaves. The weather is gorgeous today. Unfortunately, Angie has a terrible cough and my throat is getting scratchy so this may just be another weekend lost to the sicks.

I hope your weekend is nice.

Happy Birthday Kian

Happy Birthday our beautiful little guy. You joined our little family one year ago and I am astounded and pleased and delighted and thrilled we made it through this crazy year together. Every moment since your birth has been incredibly precious to us.

You give us so much joy and love for such a small person. We are so lucky to have you. I love your big, cheery laugh when you are being tickled, or almost, very, nearly being tickled. I love you bright blue eyes that are radiant with love. I love the focus you give to a new toy or new discovery.

I love the way you knock down every tower I build, whether of soft blocks or Cheerios.

I love that you adore your big sister and always want to be where ever she is. She loves you too and calls you, "My baby boy."

I love the way you crawl when you are excited. I love the "OooooooOOOOoooooh" sound you make when you see something you like. I love that you like to cuddle with me.

I love, and am somewhat terrified, at your climbing skill. You delight us with nearly everything you do, although I will be grateful when you stop putting random things in your mouth.

You gave us a very big scare last year and I know that I will be worrying about you forever.

And as much as I am rambling here, there are not nearly enough words to describe how much we love you.

Stay well, stay happy our beloved boy.

You MUST Be Kidding!

Thanks for the kind words in your comments to the previous post. I apologize now for the crabbiness about to assail you.

So we get up to get ready for school and work today. I go into the bathroom with Angie for teethbrushing time. I glance at her as I'm grabbing the toothpaste and I do a quick double take.

"Angie, could you look up at me?"

Little face turns up at me, squinting. One eye is normal, the other eyelid is swollen and pink, the eye bloodshot. There is goo under the eye.

Insert me mentally cursing.

I go discreetly to my husband and whisper, "I think Angie has pink eye, you need to look at her."

He gives me this look as if saying, "Foolish woman, you are overreacting."

He loads Angie into the car and they go to school while I head to work, ruminating over the symptoms.

I double check pink eye symptoms at work and call Chas immediately. I tell him he needs to call the Doctor and the school. He is frustrated because it is 8:23 a.m., he hasn't even arrived home yet.

He calls me later to say that he had someone at the school look at her. They took poor Angie into the hallway and agreed that it looked like pink eye. Chas told the he'd be back out to pick her up, then he called the Doctor.

The Doctor confirms the pink eye and waffles on prescribing drops for the eye since she was already on antibiotics. In the end, he gives Chas the prescription, just to be safe.

Chas loses the prescription on the way to the pharmacy. Apparently, he put both kids in the car and closed the doors while he stood outside next to the car swaering profusely.

Back to the Doctor's Office at their lunchtime to get the prescription agian.

By the time I arrive home, both eyes are infected.

Sigh.

I know full well that worse things could happen, but seriously, enough. I just want everyone in my little family to be healthy again.

Angie is Child of the Week next week which means we have to plan a week of show an tell and she has to do a short presentation on an animal.

Don't mind me. I'll just be sitting in a corner running my fingers over my lips going, "bibbilty, bibbilty, bibbilty."

Slowly Emerging from the House of Yuck

In my last post, I indicated that some illnesses in our home slowed my stitching last month. I believe that I failed entirely to mention that I felt terrible and was definitely coming down with something. And I did not specify that both kids were sick. Angie spiked a high fever one night, but recovered after a day of rest at home. Kian was unlike himself and was unbelievably grumpy--or perhaps because he is normally so chipper, his general crabiness seemed worse than it was. We went to the Doctor and were told that although he had fluid in his ears, he had no infection therefore no medication was necessary. We just needed to keep a close eye on him. That led to working short days while I drove Angie to and from school--two hours of driving each day. It was exhausting and I became worse.

Kian seemed to recover and even began giggling again. After waiting a week, I went to my Doctor and was put on an antibiotic. That night Chas turned to me and said, "I've noticed that Kian is poking at his ears. What do you think we should do?" So we have another trip to the Doctor to learn that Kian has infections in both ears. Antibiotics, twice a day is the plan.

Over the weekend, my course of antibiotics ends, and though I feel less foggy, I'm definitely not cured. I become more ill and have trouble breathing at night. Kian despises his antibiotics and fight diaper changes as his poor bottom turms bright red. Then Chas turns to me again and says, I don't feel well. What were your symptoms?"

On Monday I stay home from work and place several calls to my Doctor to get another antibiotic. After the second call, the receptionist tells me that the order will be ready at the pharmacy between 2:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Chas and Angie, who is the only healthy person in the house, trek out to the pharmacy. No prescription. The pharmacy calls the Doctor and we learn that she has not even seen my message from 10:30 a.m. During my next chat with the receptionist, I am told that it should be soon, but her phones are cut off at 4:30 p.m. so she won't be available to help after that.

I finally hear from the nurse who informs me that "The Doctor will be calling in the prescription and oh by the way are you breastfeeding?" Yes. "Well you can't breastfeed while on this antibiotic so you'll need to pump and dump for the next ten days."

I almost cry.

Then I ask if there is anything else I can take because he is sick too and I'd like him to have the immunological benefits of breastfeeding in addition to his antibiotics. She tells me that he is probably getting my illness through the breastmilk and hints that I should stop for the duration. My husband is reminding me that we have plenty of frozen breastmilk so we wouldn't need to put him on formula.

I stand my ground, because while the young nurse (who has obviously never had to pump and dump around her own sick infant and who probably doesn't have kids yet) clearly thinks it's no big deal to pump and dump, I can imagine the horrors that await me if I have to push Kian, in need of milk and comfort, away for ten long days. Not to mention how uncomfortable pumping all day for ten days would be.

The nurse promises to check with the Doctor after she finishes with her patient. 4:30 p.m. comes and goes--we hear nothing. Dear Chas is annoyed. I'm searching KellyMom (bless them) and the LactMed Database for info on breastfeeding compatible antibiotics (and I'm horrified at the side effects of the proposed antibiotic--Psychosis? Hallucinations? Suicidal thoughts? I don't want to take it even if I'm not breastfeeding).

At 5:00 p.m. Chas has me call and I get the most unhelpful answering service for a Doctor ever. Apparently, I'm out of luck and they are gone for the day.

5:30 p.m. arrives with a call from the nurse, I propose an antibiotic, which is rejected, but a prescription for a breastfeeding friendly antibiotic will be called in immediately. We eat dinner quickly and Chas and Angie venture out once more.

I feel yucky, but vaguely victorious.

Chas decides to go to the Doctor the next day, so I stay home until lunchtime. Chas now has his own antibiotics, or he will when goes to another pharmacy later as I received the last of the antibiotics the previous night. Concerned about the kids (I saw Angie pulling at her ear before school and Kian's bottom is scarlet and painful to the touch) I call their doctor before I leave. We are to watch Angie, but bring Kian in. I go to work and call Chas later. Kian's ears are not much better, and certainly not enough to justify what the antibiotic is doing to his diaper region. So we get a new antibiotic (thankfully a smaller dose once a day) and a prescription for butt paste (nystatin, Aquaphor and minty Maalox).

Yes three of us are now on antibiotics but at least Angie stopped pulling on her ears and seems well.

Did I mention through this last week, I'm the hotline Magistrate who is on call 24hours a day, seven days a week? Or that the house is a disaster and Chas's parents will be arriving on Saturday?

Slowly, the antibiotics start working, the house is presentable and we're feeling human by Saturday. Yay family.

Sunday night, I'm thinking to myself that at least Angie is okay and we'll all be better soon.

At 3:00 a.m. today Angie wakes me tearfully to say that her ear hurts. We go to the Doctor today. Angie has an ear infection. Sigh. We have lunch with Chas's parents before they leave then we go fill yet another antibiotic prescription (if you're counting, we're up to six antibiotics since February commenced).

I have surfed the net to learn that Nicki and Janet both gave me an award. Thanks ladies--that was a sweet surprise. I'll post my favorite blogs later.

I've been slowly stiching Angie's Tooth Fairy pillow and hope to finish it by the end of the month. I put a few stitches in my HAED Challenge piece, but all other stitching has suffered greatly. I am inspired to stitch Paradigm Lost over one after seeing Nicki's The Token framed. I think I have just the fabric....

I hope February has been gentler to you.

Come on March!

End of the Month Update

Just brief bits from me:

I've been sick this week so no posting and very little stitching. Midi is not done, nor is Amethyst. Bummer. I did stitch two ornaments but I'm just not up to scanning or tinkering with photos (heck I can barely spell "photos" at the moment). I don't think I'll be able to stitch anything for the Holiday Bazaar which is next Thursday unless I have a remarkable recovery in the next twenty four hours.

I did make some progress on Taj ( can I tell you how much I love Taj? Such beautiful colors and I love my fabric) and on the Christmas Mandala (hate the gates, hate the plain white fabric I'm using but I just want this one done) so I'm glad I did the Chatelaine SAL. I might see if anyone wants to join me at the end of December for another week long SAL.

My computer is really misbehaving so if you don't hear from me for even longer, you'll know this antique I use for internet is not cooperating.

In happy news:

My dear friend Cathy gave birth to the handsome, squeaky Myles. Yay!

And from our household: Kian had the "watershed" Cardiology appointment today (Doctor's words not mine). He had both an ECG and an ultrasound/echo thing (very cool--the ultrasound technician let me breastfeed him during the ultrasound to keep him calm. She told me that she had breastfed too and so she understood.) He is basically at the same level as he was immediately following surgery! At this stage, if things start to go wrong, it will most likely be a gradual change that we can detect by our monitoring appointments, instead of the rapid changes immediately after he was born. We will always need to monitor him, but for now, she is very pleased. We are overjoyed.

And from the crazy me file:

Because I am such a good wife, I'm allowing to go on the trip to see his friend this weekend (which was originally planned as a family trip to see his friend's family). I, in my current unhealthy state, will be staying behind with the kids. Heaven help me. I honestly don't know how hubby is going to make this one up to me.

That's it for now--I'm bone tired and need to brace myself for the coming weekend.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

I'm so good!

How evil are you?

I received that result even though I selected "lawyer"--amazing isn't it.

Thanks for the Birthday wishes. I had a nice day. Angie made me a card and drew a picture of me. Chas gave me the Heroes Season 1 on DVD and a Firefly graphic novel (see how well he knows me?) Kian gave me big smiles even though I had to take him to the nurse for a flu booster shot. And I received gift cards to Barnes and Noble and Amazon from my Mom and a good friend. We had salmon, salad, and rice for dinner and instead of cake (with all those milk proteins), I had a birthday soft pretzel (Beloved husband had a chocolate eclair in honor of my Birthday--golly that is so nice of him. I won't mention how long it is taking for him to eat the durn thing...).

A few posts ago, I asked whether I could stitch some freebies an give them to Angie's school to sell at their fundraising craft fair. Faye wisely suggested I contact the designer. The only problem is that the designs I want to stitch for the school are from this site. My French speaking and writing skills are no longer merely rusty, they are unintelligible. (And my French grammar books are lost somewhere between last year's flood and last year's house fire). I have no idea how to compose an e-mail in French explaining the situation and requesting permission to sell the stitched designs at the craft fair. I shudder to think what babelfish might do to such a request. Anyone know french well enough to help me write an e-mail?

If you haven't done so before, you really ought to peruse her site. The pickmachinchoses are incredible--I'm itching to stitch several of them for Angie. I think the kids at her school would just love them. Even if I can't get an e-mail posted in time for the holiday craft fair, I'll still try to obtain permission for the spring festival.

I was unable to finish Midi today. I need to frog some beads --I made a switcheroo that didn't work so I'll go back to the original beads. I have to finish a little more than half the sheaf stitches and all but one jessica window then only the beads remain. If I had to guess, I'd say that I'm under ten hours to completion. I can't wait to show her to you. I tried to take a few photos at work, but I don't have time to upload them tonight.

We are heading to PA to see my in-laws tomorrow and I will probably pack Midi for the trip, but I might not have a chance to stitch her. Beading really only works well at home or on my lunch hour.

I'm also packing Taj for the trip and I'm hoping to finish part 1--so please join me Janet (and anyone else)! I'm only a little farther along than the photos here. I think you can see the square shape. WG will go with me as well. Perhaps, JG and maybe Autumn for a start in the car. Maybe Tree of Hope as well. Do you see why I am having a Chatelaine SAL at the BB?

I won't have much time to post this week so I hope everyone has a wonderful week and a lovely Thanksgiving.

My Very Own Food Pyramid

Created just for me. Neato (thanks to Tanya at the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog). I'm struggling to get the pdf version to appear, but I'll just keep trying.

I don't post much about breastfeeding because this is primarily a stitching blog, and that is what most people come here to read.

However, breastfeeding has been one of the most enjoyable and profound experiences for me as a person. In my younger days, I thought it was yucky and I assumed I would feed any children I might have with formula. There were no nursing moms among my family or acquaintances when I was young. My first nephew nursed for a bit then his mom added in formula. My other sister in law breastfed her children and I suppose that is when the idea really took root in my mind.

When I became pregnant with Angie, I researched breastfeeding carefully and learned about all the health benefits for moms and babies. I took two breastfeeding classes while pregnant and decided to give breastfeeding a good try based on economic and health reasons. I hoped to manage two years, but decided not to put myself, as a first time mom, under too much pressure.

Angie and I had our struggles early on, but we persisted and I found the experience to be emotionally satisfying in addition to all the other benefits. Kian got the hang of breastfeeding immediately. I don't know how long we'll manage to breastfeed, but so far, we're doing well.

Like his sister, Kian has a milk protein intolerance so dairy products are out of my diet for the present. I wish there was more information about why this happens and when it goes away. I guess not much effort is put into studying this problem because it is assumed that moms stop nursing when the baby is age one (if not sooner--lots have people have suggested that we put him on formula).

Still, I am pleased to have my very own food pyramid. Unfortunately I can't do dairy and it offers no substitutes. It is very hard to find food without milk protein these days. My diet is probably the healthiest ever, but I'd love more information about ensuring I'm consuming enough calcium. Maybe with time, the site will allow more factors to be considered when creating a personalized pyramid.

My pyramid also recommends three and a half ounces of whole grains each day. I guess I need to get more multi-grain bagels instead of my strawberry pop-tarts (which contain no dairy).

Oh well--it is totally worth it.

Being Random

It's been rough.

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Lots of sibling jealousy this week. Angie drew a picture of us holding hands--Mommy, Daddy, and Angie but no Kian. Many tantrums and even a little destructive behavior. I'm sure we'll laugh about it in the future. Right.

On the plus side, she did 'fess up to the destruction.

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The work week started with the discovery that one of the parents in a case permanently removed herself from the case and her child's life. That has been a little hard for me to handle as a person and a mom.

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Really, I think that is it for the rough. But it all happened on the same day and they were doozies, which made it a bit difficult to regain a good mood for the rest of the week.

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A little boy collapsed and died in gym class from a heart defect. He did not have the same problem as Kian, but still, it brings my worries to the surface.

Kian is in a great mood, but he is having some itchy patches and skin irritation so I worry, worry, worry. Though as Chas pointed out, the doctor didn't seem concerned at his check-up last week.

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This TMI so you can skip down to the next section if you want....

I'm breastfeeding Kian and sometimes it's a bit more active than I recall it being with Angie at the same age.

Is it at all possible to sprain a breast?

Just wondering.

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This site is oodles of fun. Thanks (I think) to Dana for posting the link. It will be appearing in the sidebar soon.

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On the stitching front, not much done this week as work was very hectic. However, I have just a few more sections of special stitches, then most of the beading to do. I had hoped to finish it this month, but that is unlikely as I am working on an ornament this weekend and will only be able to stitch at lunchtime next week.

Still, if I continue to focus on it, I could likely finish it by November 10th, give or take a day. I will certainly finish it before the big Chatelaine SAL next month.

Which reminds me....

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I'm hosting a long SAL at the Chatelaine Board from November 18th through the 30th. Please feel free to join in the fun (it's in the Olympics forum).

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I'm nearly finished with the ornament for this month. I was tempted to start something new from the JCS ornament issue, but I am being good and finishing a SWIP instead. It's a blackwork ornie and I will be so happy when it is done. Ugh. It feels tedious, but maybe I'm just annoyed to be distracted from Midi.

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I have most of what I need to stitch Autumn by Chatelaine. I may let myself start it in November if I finish Midi or Amethyst. I only need two crystals for Amethyst. I'm just not certain when I will get around to ordering them.

I'm under 40 projects in progress on the sidebar and I'd like to keep it that way. So no new starts until I finish something other than an ornament or bookmark.

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A copyright question:

Angie's school is having a craft fair in December. I was contemplating stitching some freebies for the school to sell. Is it legal to do so? We did not cover that dilemma in my intellectual property class in Law School.

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We had a great time at the fall festival at Angie's school last night. Angie loved the attention from us and had a great time playing all the games. Yes, all the games. My pockets were filled with little plastic bugs and spider rings.

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Kian has been resting on my lap for two+ hours now. Various body parts have gone numb, but at least my boy is with me and I've been able to blog.

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Steven Moffat should write more Doctor Who episodes. He just should. Darn creepy angels frightening the bejeebers out of me.

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Flash Gordon is mostly watchable if Flash and Dale have absolutely no scenes together.

Additionally. Ming the bureaucrat needs to be removed. It is bad when Ming menacingly threatens dire punishment for failure and both Chas and I shout, "He'll make you fill out forms in triplicate!"

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Little Kian is awake now so I'll end my ramblings for now.

I hope you all have a nice weekend.

Stitching Blurbs

I've had some bouts of frogging lately, but I've still stitched a bit on a few things.

I beaded Amethyst Mystery--quick and fun. I'm pleased with the substitutes (yes plural--I used two different delicas) Now I only need the right crystals to complete it. If I order them soon, I might receive them in time to finish it this month.

Last night I finished the Rose bookmark--scan to come soon. So that is my 18th finish in the Challenge and my UFO project from the monthly goals. I am mostly pleased with it, but I pulled the wrong thread as I finished it so I need to fix it.

I also stitched a bit on Japanese Garden. It's going to take a very long time to finish even one crane medallion. Or at least that is how it feels to me.

I stitched a bit on my HAED SAL Challenge project during the SAL last weekend, but not much. See:

There is a bit more done since last SAL, but it definitely isn't my best effort this month.

I've finished the herb names on the left side of Midi 1. I tried to work on some of the flowers, but that is where the frogs appeared so I didn't get far. I might be able to finish Midi this month if I focus on her for the rest of the month. I would really love a big finish, but I'm not sure my short attention span stitching style will allow me to focus on one thing for two weeks. Anyone want to try and motivate me with words of encouragement?

I've picked out my ornie for next weekend. hopefully I'll manage to finish it too as it is one of my more challenging ornies. I've stitched at least one ornie each SAL and I'd hate to miss one this late in the year. Of course, if it means I finish Midi, I guess I won't mind.

In other news, Kian is six months old today! He is fussing on my lap at the moment, but I'm just thrilled to have my big, beautiful boy. (Now if only that darn tooth would pop through!)

Last Day in Paradise

Tomorrow I return to work. I'll be jumping in deep straight away with a trial and a few other hearings. I'm not looking forward to seeing how things were scheduled in my absence.

Even with all the stress, I've loved being home with the kids ad Chas. I know I'll cry a little tomorrow though I know Kian will be fine with his Daddy.

I wish that I could be the one to stay home with the kids. I miss so much just seeing them for a few hours each day.

I hope the kids understand someday that I had to return to work. I hope they feel close to me and they don't feel abandoned. I don't want to be an outsider to my kids the way my Dad was when we were growing up.

Sigh. This is one of the parts of growing up that really stinks. Financially, I can't do what I really want to do. I must be responsible and go back to a job that I do love; I just don't love it nearly as much as my family.

Just a Little Update

I have managed to take photos of Tina's book so I present the cover, interior and spine.

I loved making the book. I almost had to pinch myself to believe I was actually finishing it all on my own. Once I jumped in and started the sewing, the directions became very clear to me. I was giddy with my success. Not bad for a first effort.

I am quite proud of the spine and how well it works as a book. I used a thin layer of batting to give the spine some body and it came together fairly easily. I will say that I cheated and used the sticky back mat board to attach the batting for each piece. Also, since I have small kids, I used Aleene's craft glue rather than a hot glue gun. Angie had fun helping me glue a second layer of batting.

I wish the ribbons would make a pretty bow, but they look nice, all the same. You can see closer scans of the interior designs here and here. I have a few of Judy Odell's books, I need a few more.

The masses found in Tina's brain are not more tumors, they are blood clots. I never thought I'd be relieved to hear that someone "just" had blood clots. She is feeling a bit better. My Mom gave me Tina's new address tonight so I'm hoping to mail it by Saturday.

I won't be able to enter the tuffet contest--I ran out of a Dinky Dyes silk and no one around here carries her silks. Oh well, I intend to finish it as soon as I get a new skein so I'll post pictures of it later. Since this was to be a quickie project and shouldn't have gone past August, I plan to acquire another skein somehow and finish it in September. I love my tuffet-to-be and hope you will too.

I managed to stitch two ornaments for this month's SAL. You can see them at the Ornament SAL blog. Let me just say again: that was a ridiculous amount of beads for an ornie. It is heavy.

It's been ages since I posted a scan of Frog Prince 3 so here it is. Look: she has face and hair! I'm hoping to finish it by the end of the year. I still have a long way to go though. I'm afraid to think about how much confetti that table has. I mean, she's eating peas for heaven's sake! Peas! The world's tiniest vegetable. Sigh. And this would be why I removed the Gustafson's from my wish list: I love the designs, but the confetti is both necessary and mind-boggling.

HAED is starting to post freebies and the very first one was the Pirate Dragon by Lisa Victoria. It's a mini portion of the QS so I was thinking of stitching it rather quickly for Kian. I know I don't need another start. But to my credit, I'll at least wait until I finish either my tuffet or a bookmark UFO. Any bets on whether I can go down to fewer than 30 WIPs, SWIPs and UFOs by the end of December. Yeah, I think it's unlikely as well.

I have faithfully stitched on my Love Quilt project a little bit each day. At my current rate, I should finish it by the end of September at the latest. I ran out of one thread (seems to be a theme this month) and the new DMC skein is clearly a different dyelot, so I'll need to tinker a bt to make it look acceptable.

I'm trying to develope a rotation for my return to work. I'm thinking of focusing on WG, JG, Midi 1, Santorini and the Japanese Angel at work with a full work week being devoted to each, except that the last two would share a week. Frog Prince would be the Wednesday SAL project as well as the Angie bath project and I would still do the HAED challenge and Ornie SALs. During the partial weeks, I could stitch something else.

We have been heavy into the start of Kindergarten this week so I've had little computer time. Angie is loving school thus far, but I think it is sinking in that, oh wow, this is an everyday kind of thing. The school has lots of variety throughout the week so she won't get bored: swimming one day, computers and music another, art, gym. She is still doing Gymboree as well so at night there is very little trouble getting her to fall asleep. For myself, I wonder if I should ask the teacher more questions about how Angie is doing or just assume all is well. I'm going to miss the excitement of picking her up from school when I return to work. She's bubbling over to tell us about the fun she's had. Today she met Mr. D and he taught them dancing. Very cool stuff for Angie.

Unfortunately, her allergies are flaring and I'm not certain we will be able to send her to school. She will be so disappointed.

Kian is as handsome as ever. He's outgrown most of his clothes already and is in the six to nine month range for clothes now. I'm getting great exercise just lifting and carrying him. He is very into studying hands (his and mine) at present.

I'm just trying to savor this last little bit of leave before I return to work. Chas told me today that he has enjoyed having me home these past few months. That was nice to hear. As stressful as it has been at times, spending time with my family has been a treasure and a blessing.