which do you like better for a button?

well, now that we've all had a chance to settle down

You know, not only is he a knee-jerk, know nothing about kids, idiot, he's sexist. Seriously, Hubby sat down with director-guy this morning and they might move Billy to another room (after Hubby laid out all the negatives associated with the current classroom, including staff being on their cell phones when they're supposed to be watching the kids), he's also going to call a related center in another town (Hubby could take a direct train into NY) about placing him. See, Billy's a great kid and director-guy related to Hubby when Hubby asked why he was letting a hysterical woman run his business. Me, I'm pissed 8-ways to Sunday and have 8 appointments scheduled for next week. Granted, I'd prefer not to completely disrupt Billy by shipping him off to a completely new center (the other classroom has two aides from his previous room), but I'm not so sure these are the people I want to trust with my kid. You know?

I laid in bed last night convincing myself that there has to be a way we could live on one salary (preferably Hubby's) so we wouldn't have to depend on anyone else for day care. I still think I'm going to run that spread sheet. The working mom guilt was in over drive.

Okay, back to the blog's raison d'etre, knitting. I was rather productive last night watching TV with hubby (and on the quick bus ride home). I finished that 3x3 section and have 1 and a half pattern repeats done. I think I only need two more to get to the shoulder shaping. I did look at the finished front this morning, but I can't remember if I had cabled three or four times. Maybe I have a picture somewhere.

Oh yeah, in my exhaustion, I left the camera at home. No progress pic today. Maybe tomorrow, if the weather and/or transit strike don't prevent my being with my camera cable (of course I could just take the cable home with me).

To sum up, bleaahh.

um, hi, mini-crisis mode over here

Last night I went to pick up Billy after being trapped on a bus for over an hour. A bus that felt like the tropics; I couldn't keep my eyes open much less knit. I don't know how the bus driver stayed awake. Anyway, the aide in the room had me sign two incident reports and said that the co-director wanted to talk to me. Billy has to leave at the end of the month. Apparently the mom of the frequent victim of my son's only acting-out behavior has threatened to pull her kid and director-guy can't have that and be left with "the biter." Whatever. Meanwhile, we've been told that things were improving since anyone last really mentioned biting back in early October. The aides stopped keeping a log of attempts weeks ago. There have been a couple of "incidents" since Thanksgiving, but no one said, gee maybe we need to re-evaluate what's geen going on. Then director-guy decided, unilaterally without discussing it with the staff that works directly with the kids, that Billy had to go. I was so mad last night that we had been so poorly informed and that this had been sprung on us. I was also really anxious about how hubby would react. He reacts poorly to change and being inconvenienced and it takes a lot out of me to weather his moods until he's acclimated. (Granted, it's karma at this point right? After what I put him through last week.) So, I've called 17 places, made appointments for five tours and have four places to call back. The real kicker is when Billy's lead caretaker calls me and tells me how they found out from the mom with the mouth and that they'd not been consulted at all and offers to nanny for us because she loves Billy so much. Oh, and director-guy says Billy's not a bad kid and we're not bad parents. Whatever, former Wall Street guy who barely ever interacts with the kids and is so busy opening another center. Bite me. I can't wait to get my kid out of there.

So, didn't knit at all last night after making a list of possible facilities with Hubby, but did get three rows done this morning. Only 5 more to get to finish the ribbing. Here's a progress pic, just cuz you read through my rant.

you know you've got the guilts when...

...you want a bacon cheeseburger with hot crispy fries for lunch and you have the lemon yogurt and fruit you brown bagged in stead. Or maybe it's not guilt. Maybe it's that you've only got $8 and you hate to spend those outrageous ATM fees. Maybe it's that it's so cold out (feels like 14 degrees farenheit) that you don't want to leave the office. Maybe it's that there's hershey kisses around for the taking (including an unopened bag of caramel kisses).

We have chest ribbing

Yep, I'm 10 rows into the 3x3 ribbing section, 16 more to go. Then it's a few cable repeats to the shoulder shaping. I feel productive.

I'm surprised by the Elann Highland Wool. It's much softer than I thought it would. Yeah, I did buy a bunch last year to make a ribby, but it's still in the bag. I started fiddling with the gray stuff from yesterday to start to work out some boring tube-style boot socks for Hubby and thought the yarn would feel really scratchy after working with the Lambswool, but it wasn't at all. I'm thinking of using some of my cork for the toes. Green or orange? Hubby won't like either of the colors, but I figure the acrylic/microfiber/whatever content in the cork will help with wear. Not to mention give them a bit of oomph.

Not too much to talk about otherwise. Hubby's still upset about my lack of judgement on Friday, and I'm wondering when he'll get over it. (I know it's only been three days, but I'm seriously contrite.) Billy's still as cute as a button, winning over hearts everywhere we take him. Work is work and we're all gearing up for the possibility of more snow on Thursday. If only I could take a snow day Friday.

elann rocks

I may joke that elann is my crack dealer, but they got me my shipment in less than a week (probably would have been here even sooner if I had been in the office on Saturday).

Now, this does not look like any gingerbread I've ever eaten (I've often thought that Rowanspun spiced orange looked more like gingerbread than their gingerbread did, and vice versa). But, it's definitely a gingerbread I'm going to wear.

Granted, it might take me fifteen years to knit up something at this gauge but for $2.75 a skein, you better believe I was gettin' some.
That gray stuff, for boot socks for hubby. He keeps asking about them.

I drink like I buy yarn, and neither has anything to do with moderation

You know how I buy yarn like they're going to stop making it tomorrow? Well, that's how I drink. Let's just leave it at Hubby decided to not be around me all day on Saturday after the state I was in on Friday night (I can be a wee bit feisty under the influence). Fortunately, he's coming around and I am not going to be such an effin idiot again. Next work function, it's diet cokes all around!

Also, to be filed under I'm an effin idiot, I won a copy of the Cork Collection on eBay 12/3. Sent payment out on Monday. Got the envelope back on Saturday because I never put an address on it. I had to re-sign up with PayPal to get payment off so my honor is not besmirched. Fortunately, seller is a good person. However, unsullied my eBay reputation may be, I am closing my account once I leave feedback on these last two things.

I did get the Christmas tree decorated while exiled at home on Saturday. It's not completely inundated with ornaments like usual. But I think it's sweet the way it is. If anyone doesn't like it, they can haul themselves up and down the step stool before I pack everything away. I want my living room back from these darn storage boxes!

Billy particularly likes that there are aaaah-pples (some really cute ornaments we got from Hubby's grandmother) on the tree now. I can't wait until he tries to eat one. (Just kidding. He wouldn't know to bite into one. His apples are always cut up or sauced.)

As for knitting, I did as much as I possibly could yesterday. I knit while Billy napped. I knit while he played after his nap. I knit after he went to bed. I'm nearly done the first, large section of cables. (10 repeats down) In 9 rows, I start the 3x3 rib that should cruise. Almost 2/3 done. I will have this thing blocking by the end of the week and Billy's cast on!

Kim tagged me for a meme.

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

Tourniquet, by Evanescence
Cold Hard Bitch, by JET
Friday I'm in Love, by the Cure
Crush with Eyeliner, by REM
Graceland, by Paul Simon
Walk the Line, by Johnny Cash
Christmas music on 106.7 FM (always on in the car and at home)

I tag Lolly, Labmom, and Yarngirl and anyone else who listens to music (I know that will narrow it down).

this pic's been on my desktop all week

I just had to share this pic. He's saying and signing more. After three servings of penne. I just love the hopeful and expectant look in his face. I also love that he likes my spaghetti sauce so much he can't get it into his mouth fast enough. What a little dude.

tote-me-along

I've joined up. I think Amy Butler will be up first. Now, to excavate the sewing machine.

just about 8

So, I've started the eighth repeat on Hubby's Christmas Cable. Yeah, so much for getting about two done everyday. I didn't get a knittable seat on the bus home and CBS was just to engrossing. (Although, I'm getting tired of shows treating post-partum psychosis as some sort of disease of psycho-killer moms.)

Looks like we might get just about 8" of snow. Fortunately, daycare was open this morning and the bus ride was only 20 minutes longer than normal. Hubby made it in okay, too. The good news is that the snow will have stopped by the time I leave for the party and the roads should be in good shape by evening rush.

That's about all I've got for an 8 theme.

Sorry to inundate you with the grossness of parenthood. The good news is that whatever the rash was that Miss J saw, it was temporary. Things were perfectly normal last night. Maybe he had a reaction to something he ate or it was a heat rash or something. Anyway, let me know if it's TMI.

Hubby and I hope to get the Christmas shopping done tomorrow and maybe I'll get around to decorating the house. I'm tired of bumping into the boxes of decorations that are strewn about the house. Maybe this winter wonderland will motivate me abit.

another one for "ew, gross"

Just got a call from day care, seems Billy's developed an atypical rash in the diaper-region. Now, Ms. J is a professional diaper-changer, so if she says it's not diaper rash, it's not diaper rash. I did some checking (thanks babycenter.com), and diapers are a great breeding ground for yeast infections. Fortunately, it just means using an over the counter topical cream for a few days before we have to take him to the doctor. All those darn antibiotics!

scratch what i said about Thursdays

LOST was a repeat last night.

S*** is flying from all directions.

Nothing good on sale at Herrschners.

I do have 6.5 repeats completed (4.5 more to the inches of 3x3). I've decided Billy's getting a top down, striped, ribbed raglan. Who says the sweaters have to be matchy-matchy?

Further to "ew, gross"

So, good news is Billy's ears are not infected. I repeat, no ear infection. The bad news is that the tubes are in the process of falling out. The reason he had discharge and blood out of one yesterday is that the tube in question is coming out crooked causing lots of irritation. (That explains the playing with the ears, no?) So, he's got drops to keep that ear lubricated and a follow-up appointment for next week. Hubby again will be doing the honors. Dr. ENT says that he's too young for us to be worried that he thinks "ears" and "eyes" refer to his ears, but that we could take him to an audiologist if we're concerned. I told Hubby not to bother (referrals and all that nonsense), but that we'll bring it up at his next physical. So, we wait for the tubes to pop out and hope that the next few months aren't one long ear infection.

progress, progress, progress

I've used that post title before. Thankfully, the Supremes have ruled you can't plagiarize yourself (it's the John Fogarty precedent).
I've almost completed 4 repeats on Hubby's Christmas Cables. I knit until I couldn't stand anymore last night watching the Devils get spanked by Detroit and then did not nap on the way in this morning so I could knit and knit some more. I didn't want to put it down to get started at work. Jobs are such bummers.

The good news is we have progress here at work, too. Lots and lots of issues making their way to the printer. Sanity could be just around the corner! (Editors crack me up. One just signed an e-mail I. Granted, his name starts with I, but that's just silly!)

Unfortunately, Christmas is just around the corner and the elves have made no progress on cleaning and decorating my house. I may have to replace them all.

I hope to be hearing from Hubby soon. He has his big adventure with Billy at the ENT today. He's only done a couple of doctor visits alone. This one should be easier for him, Billy's only getting checked from the head up.

Well, back to those darn issues. I'll let you know if I get any word on the boy.

I shouldn't have bought that cork last week

It's just re-opened the stash floodgates. I just ordered 21 balls of yarn from Elann.com. I couldn't resist this . It's rowanspun 4ply in gingerbread. Only $2.75 a skein. It's going fast. I got 18 of those. Then I got 3 skeins of plain old highland wool to make some boot socks for Hubby. He was nattering about those this morning. Then Kim had to go and mention the sale at Patternworks and I am seriously jonesing for some soy silk. Half-priced soy silk. Red, half-priced soy silk.

Obviously, I'm just not busy enough today. Or, I'm hell-bent on spending my Christmas bonus on yarn.

ew, gross

Just got a call from daycare. Seems Billy's ear was oozing quite a bit during a diaper change. And it was tinged with blood. Urgle. And he had a fit when they cleaned him off. Fortunately, no temperature. I did explain that his tube probably came out (the doc told us that there might be blood). Good thing Hubby's taking him to the ENT tomorrow. Of course, Hubby's ready to schedule a new surgery right away. That man.

a back begins

Yeah, I started the back for Hubby's Christmas Cables. Cast on last night on the bus. Because I'm stupid crazy (or because we had that purple bottle of Luna di Luna, Sangiovese and Merlot blend, at dinner), I decided to cable it. I've got through about 1 and a half repeats. Good thing I ordered some other stuff to put under the tree. (Of course the sweater may be a big flop as a gift so doubly good I decided to get some other giffs.) Actually, I decided to cable it because I realized that I've barely used any of the contrast colors and I'll have enough of those to work the 3" rib section on the chest of Billy's or even stripe his sleeves or something. Well, here's your photographic proof. I must say, I'll be happy to start working on something else.

I spent some time while dinner was cooking and my boys were running errands last night trying to get a decent shot of the ornament I made for Billy's class Christmas tree. It was hard to photograph. I took 15 shots and got this one by partially obscuring the flash. I tried taking flashless pics, but they all came out blurry. I'm kind of embarrased to be posting this, overall it's rather 70s looking, but I'm very proud of the garland. I didn't have a pattern and winged it based on some garland my grandmother had made. It's nice and ruffly, don't you think. I think the entire thing would have come out better if I'd had something besides construction paper to work with. Next time, I back it with paperboard or something. I will proudly hang it forever and ever (even though I might tell people Billy did the glueing).

In other news, we were fortunate with the snow. Cranford barely got anything and we had a nice quick ride in. Well, until a truck tapped the bus's side mirror and we spent time stopped at the exit of the Turnpike trying to get it re-adjusted.

Not much going on but work, work, work.

quick post to begin my even busier week

The good news, I have a couple of unexpected issues that should publish for our '05 budget; the bad news, I have a couple of unexpected issues to work on today.

My busy weekend is segueing rapidly into a busy week.

Quick recap:

Friday night found me with only a handful of increases left on the sleeve, but I couldn't finish it. Saturday the church bazaar was good (we only bought cookies, human and doggie), had fun at Devils game with church youth group, M-i-L made a great shrimp risotto for dinner, very little knitting done. Sunday was snow, lighting the second advent candle at church, a pancake breakfast, making an advent wreath, laundry, decorating an ornament for Billy's classroom tree, and finishing that second sleeve.

Here are pics of the sleeve and the wreath.

Now, where did I put my head?

Seriously, that's what this week's been like. I know I mentioned that we've all got the crazy busies here, but I want to be sure everyone has a full appreciation for the situation. This is what my desk are looks like:

That notepad under my mouse pad is supposed to contain all kinds of useful information that I'll probably need someday. Right now, I'm too busy doing final checks and compiling and re-compiling reports on how many issues still need to get to the printer.

Generally, I like to be sort of organized at work. But, lately, it's all I can do to keep up with the urgent tasks. Good thing there's only a week or so of this left. Then maybe I can get back to having a general idea of what the heck is going on.

In other news, Hubby's second sleeve's not much bigger. I had to stand on the bus home. I wasn't planning on it, I was supposed to get the last seat. Unfortunately, the only seat available was the middle seat in the last row and I was not fitting.

I had a good night, enjoyed the CSI repeat (I hadn't seen it before) and knit a few rows, but not much appreciable progress.

Yay for group daycare. It seems a kid in one of the other classrooms has chicken pox! I don't know if I could deal with that right now!

I'm looking forward to the weekend, maybe I can figure out where I put my head. Of course, the home front is ridiculously disorganized and cluttered as well. I still haven't unpacked from SC. (Yep, I'm a yarn glutton and a housework sloth. My two deadly sins!)

Thursdays seem a little bit better

I don't know if it's that tomorrow is Friday or that Herrschner's posts their new sales today, but Thursdays do seem to be one of the happier days of the week. (Just don't tell me it's because yesterday was a two pill day, we're trying to wean down, remember?)

Maybe it's because LOST was on last night *if you haven't seen it skip this paragraph, no actual spoilers, but I do discuss content*. Now, I don't think every episode was great and I sometimes get frustrated because I'm left with more questions than answers, but it's still a great ride. I do have one question last night, what made Wayne so inherently evil and repugnant to Kate? Ok, two questions, what's up with the horse? Ecko just keeps getting cooler and cooler. I like that he's a bit more skeptical than Locke, although we all know he's a man of great faith. Kudos to the casting director for that show.

Maybe it's because Hubby's going out tonight and I get the big TV for CBS. Oh, that's just so lame. But, CSI is much better on a 48".

Maybe it's because I don't have to drive on any highways tonight and can get the kid to bed at a decent time. Man, highway driving with a whiny toddler, in the dark, is just not a relaxing way to spend the evening.

Or maybe, it's not that it's Thursday, maybe it's that I've made mucho progress on Hubby's second sleeve. Okay, I know, crappy photo. The first sleeve took 6 days, I'm hoping to get this one done by the weekend. I've also pretty much decided that the back is going to be all 3x3 rib. For two reasons: time and yardage. I'm concerned I'l be running out of both. My goal this weekend is to get the back started.

Maybe it's because it's December 1 and I now give myself permission to get into the holiday spirit. And I know that this year of illness for my family is almost over and I have great hopes for '06 being healthier (at least we'll all know what meds we need to take this time around, especially me).

Maybe it's jsut that it's not rainy today and a sunny morning always makes things seem a bit more bearable.