I think my daughter has a crush on Jon Stewart. She's started doing this:

Every morning when I watch it. She even turns around and smiles and laughs occasionally like she is getting the jokes. She is a nutty, nutty little girl...

Knitting progress is happening in small bits around here so I wont bore you with another picture that displays barely perceptible progress. I have knitted a little on the firestarter socks and started the second sleeve of Rogue. I keep putting off knitting the body because I just cant stop waffling on whether it will be a cardigan or pullover. So...the second sleeve will allow me to put off that decision for at least a few more days....yay procrastination.

Looking for some contest prizes? Shut up, I'm Counting is having a 333rd post contest--go check it out. Mention moi and I'll get an extra entry. woohoo!

I'm closing in on contest time myself--once I get all my yarn unpacked from the move, I'll be culling out some stuff for prize giveaways! yay!

Posted by fruitychick at 09:41 AM | Permalink

Mr. Fruitychick is off in Seattle on business so I'm on day 2 (of 4) of "quality time" with the Munch. Shes generally a good baby but when we are alone, it's very hard to get things done around here and we quickly devolve into messiness.

There are, however, some things that can't be put off. Like potty breaks for me. Usually I just set her up with a toy and duck into the bathroom for a minute but she inevitably finds somethng to get into.

Like Cheezits.

sigh...its like she has some kind of radar that pulls her towards stuff she isnt supposed to get into. While I was cleaning up the jar of squash she pulled down onto the floor during lunch, the gravitational pull of the dog food overwhelmed her and she made a beeline right for the dish to partake in a few chunks. I dont get what about puppy chow looks so wonderfully tasty compared to the things I give her but she sees something irresistable in it.

Shes also spending a large part of her day topless these days since she makes such a mess eating now. Shes trying to learn how to feed herself with the spoon. I'd love to tell you what a genius my baby is but, in all honesty, she really stinks at the whole spoon thing. I know things will improve but, for now, she eats topless since skin is much easier to clean than t-shirts.

I have gotten very little knitting done lately though I did start a little project. Its far too hilarious to show you half completed, so I'll post a picture of the FO as soon as its done! (Probably tomorrow)

Posted by fruitychick at 06:36 PM | Permalink

I was hoping to get Icarus done before October so I could really throw myself into Socktoberfest but Icarus is still slowly coming along. I actually started the lacy bit the other day and I'm hoping to get through the first edging chart tonight but that might be a little optimistic. I have to pay attention to it a bit, so it makes for slow going.

I do not, however, have to concentrate on Icarus as much as Miss S concentrates on hitting Bill, the blue giraffe:

I just love the little tongue stuck out.

Posted by fruitychick at 06:25 PM | Permalink

I've been so absent lately. With Miss S to take care of and Mr. fruitychick working from home, my computer hours are significantly down from where they were a few months ago. I've been keeping up with everyone elses blog though--its good to see what everyone has been up to.

Icarus is growing though it still doesn't look any different. I have one or two more repeats of the column pattern and then the border to go. I have enough yarn to add at least one extra repeat to the pattern to make it a little bit of a larger shawl but I don't know if I have the willpower. I'm itching to start something new--especially because I got this:

That is one big huge honkin' bag of fleece artist and handmaiden yarn. Heres whats inside:

ahhh...Theres two shawl kits, a texture2 scarf kit, a silk sweater kit, two skeins of sock yarn and two skeins of sea silk. its delicious. My favorites are the two shawl kits:

I ordered from Colorsong Yarn. I've ordered from them before and they are really fast. The only problem I encountered was that I wanted the yarn shipped to an address other than my billing address and there isn't a way to do that on the form you order through, so I had to email them. Then, they ended up shipping it to my parents neighbor, who luckily recognized my first name and held it for me. I'd order from them again though.

I cannot believe I haven't dug into these yet. It helps that my swift is in storage (along with the rest of my yarn and belongings).

Speaking of which, my house in maryland is still on the market. I'm starting to get terribly nervous about it selling soon--we've had a lot of interest but both people who want to make an offer are still struggling to get approved for a loan. We are hopeful about one couple though--their problems are minimal and they should be able to get approved fairly soon. We've looked at a few houses around here and we are really excited about getting to do some serious shopping. The main issue we still have to work out though is school districts--the stuff (stores, malls, dining) are all in one county and the good schools are in another. Its important for me to be close to those things but then we are looking at private schools. Of course, thats a ways off, considering Miss S is only 10 weeks old, but its still something to consider.

I'll end with this--the first real picture of Miss S smiling (sorry for the bad photography, I was trying to get her to smile and then quickly snap a picture)

Posted by fruitychick at 07:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Its been a few days now and we are starting to settle into a little bit of a routine. Thanks so much for all the congratulations--I've had calls and emails aplenty and its been really wonderful to hear from everyone.

Miss S has turned out to be a really fabulous baby--she rarely cries and sleeps in blocks big enough for me to get a couple of hours of sleep between feedings. She likes to be held while she sleeps but has started getting used to her bassinet and swing.

The puppies have been adjusting well--Benny, who I thought would be much more of a problem, has barely given her a second glance. Petey is a little more aware of her and gets really concerned when she starts to fuss. He comes over and tries to lick her feet like it will somehow calm her down.

Breastfeeding is slow going--I'm having a hard time keeping her awake long enough to get a decent feeding and she sleeps a little long between them as well. We've been supplementing with bottles since I'm afraid I might not be making enough milk for her. I had a breast reduction done about 5 years ago and even after a long feeding, she stills seems hungry. I've started pumping and taking a few herbal supplements to increase my supply and I think its starting to help but only time will tell. I'm only five days into this whole thing so its early to make judgements...

Its also hard to breastfeed when Miss S is so in love with her hands:

She spends most of her day like this. I need to grow a third arm to have enough hands to hold her, me and move her hands out of the way....

Posted by fruitychick at 01:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Shes finally here!

Miss S. born Monday, June 26th, 2006
6 lbs, 12 oz

Posted by fruitychick at 03:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

From the Desk of Fruitychick
Sunday, June 25th, 2006

Dear Miss S,

It has been a pleasure to have you as a tenant for the last few months. You've been quiet, considerate of others, and a source of great amusement to both me and Mr. Fruitychick. However, during the past few weeks, I have grown to realize the space is just not large enough for the both of us. I have checked with the authorities and you are hereby evicted from the premises as of tomorrow morning.

I know this may come as a shock to you as we will be 8 days shy of our agreed upon lease of 40 complete weeks. Because of the early termination, I have already arranged for you to have temporary as well as permanent accomodations in which I am sure you will be more than comfortable.

You will also be provided with other amenities such as your new brothers, Benny and Petey, who, despite their current state of sleepiness, are very excited to have someone new to lick.

You will also be presented with my best knitted accomplishment to date: your very own Dale of Norway sweater. After many months, its finally finished (even after a mishap that caused the sewing machine cord to have to be repaired at the last minute.) It won't fit you yet but you'll be ready for it by fall.

The Specs:
Pattern 13901 from Dalegarn book 139 (9 month size)
Knit in Baby Ull on addi size 0 and 2.
Changes: I made the sleeves a little shorter by skipping some of the bottom ribbing and I used snap tape instead of buttons.
Comments: This sweater was many firsts for me (snap tape, steeking, colorwork, etc) but I think it came out really well. The yarn started out soft but became incredibly soft after a good blocking (which also evened out my somewhat uneven colorwork tension). I like it so much I already have the yarn for another Dale.

I hope you like it.

Posted by fruitychick at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

After having contractions all day yesterday that were something around 4-7 minutes apart, I finally called the doctor last night around 8 pm. They weren't terribly painful but they were as regular as they get, so I went in to be checked. He had me walk around for an hour and my contractions got a little stronger and closer (2-3 minutes) but I just wasn't making good progress as far as dilation, so he sent me home a little after midnight with some ambien and told me to get some rest and come back when "they were more intense." I'm a little bummed because I really thought I would be admitted last night (since the nurses all thought so) but I wasn't really ready to argue.

I actually got more sleep than I thought I would but now I'm up and ready to head back to the hospital as soon as I feel them coming on strong again. I'm hoping maybe I can wait long enough to have a different doctor on call who will admit me even if they aren't screamingly painful this time. I'm tired of waiting and I'm ready to have this baby. Looks like its time to take the puppies for a nice long walk to jump start things again.

While I was there walking laps, a woman came in fully complete and pushing--it was nutty. All the nurses were scrambling and and she delivered within about 10 minutes of being there. I don't think there is any way I could wait that long at home.

Posted by fruitychick at 09:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

After the carpet was finally finished yesterday evening, we started putting the house back together just in case someone came to have a look today. I have not really been a whole lot of help since it doesn't take much activity to send me into contraction land. I have my next appointment tomorrow morning and I'm hoping he will tell me the end is even nearer than I think.

I did finally get a picture of the Noro Silk Garden Lite socks I finished the other day.

The Specs:

Noro Silk Garden Lite (2 skeins)
Toe Up on a 40 inch Addi size 2

I like them so much I ordered 4 more skeins for two more pairs. You can clearly see the ocean-like amount of water that is being held onto by my legs and ankles with a deathly ninja-grip. I'm definately going to wait until I return to my normal non-cankle state before I make another pair. I'm wondering if I might not end up having to felt this pair in the end.

Sorry for the relative crappiness of the picture--you probably have no idea how hard it is to take a decent picture of your own feet over a GIANT belly. Heres the view from my perspective (I cannot even convey to you how much I miss seeing my feet on a daily basis) and a slighly cock-eyed side view:

(taken today: 37 weeks, 5 days pregnant)

Terrance: I never, ever, ever want to hear you complain about your "big belly" again.

Posted by fruitychick at 06:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I've been away for a long, long time--so I guess this is more like starting the blog over than anything. I've unpublished all my old posts going back to 2004 because of the ridiculus amount of spam comments. Once I take care of all 28000 or so of them, I might republish all the old stuff.

At this morning's doctor's appointment, I heard I'll be induced when I reach 39 weeks--which will be the tuesday after next. I couldn't be happier. I know there are a lot of people out there who want some kind of natural childbirth. But really, whats more natural than an IV of pitocin to get labor going? In all serious though, this pregnancy has been long and hard enough and I am more than ready to get it over with. Not that I won't miss the lovely cankles I've developed over the past few weeks due to water retention. I've gained about 25 pounds so far and I swear my feet have gobbled up at least 6 of those pounds.

So, unless I go into labor before next tuesday, little miss s will make her grand entrance then.

I'm off work now, though I have a few things to go in and finish up next week. I'm spending my days watching world cup (I dont even like the sport but there really just isn't much else on during the day), the news and trying to finish up a few knitting projects that I have going.

Posted by fruitychick at 07:50 PM | Permalink