It's Always the Computer

Well our favorite computer has died. I have to take it downtown to get the apple guys to take a look. Eventually. It only comes up with a grey screen and nothing else. This means some sort of operating system issue. And of course having moved twice in 18mos means we have NO clue where any of that type of stuff is.

Other than that there's new news on the flat front. M put the pressure on the estate agents last week and they came up trumps (if that doesn't mean they did well then have a laugh at my expense;). One viewing on Friday, and three on Saturday and we have one offer and one second viewing request! And two more viewings tomorrow. This is a perfect example of forcing your estate agents to DO THEIR JOB! Good news because now we have a bigger stick to hit the house guys with. We've resigned ourselves to the fact that we're going to be here until near the end of the summer. Ugh. I strongly dislike that fact. But for a few months I'll suffer for the next 7-10 years of the right house.

On the knitting front, I've almost finished the first sleeve to the stripey sweater. I've not had that much time to knit lately so it's been a row here and there but it's getting there. I'm so tempted to finish the ballerina sweater or to start blocking what is already done on both but I'm staying strong.

So my next post will hopefully be from our Newwwww computer!!! should be here by the end of the week. We were hoping to buy one once we were moved. But our computer had other thoughts.

Anyhow, so rather than stay hunched over this computer which is broken and has to be propped up because the display has no hinges, I'm going to knit.

More and hopefully a FO or two when I next check in...
Later:)

Proof

Normally I wouldn't have bothered to post again today but I realised some of you thousands (ha!) of readers might be concerned for poor Jamie. So to allay any fears for the poor lad, here's proof that he's juuuust fine. He cares not that he upsets poor mommy and daddy and keeps us up all night. Oh and he slept the better portion of the day to add insult to injury... So here he is in all his glory!



He was smiling at me whilst I was making faces and not looking thru the lens. Hence the camera dropping just too low for the top of his head...











An action shot of the lovely young lad.












And now he's sleeping. and now I'm going to go knit.

I did the deed and ordered the wool from Posh for my twist-T sweater. Dee was lovely and is going to hold the wool once dyed for a few weeks so I don't get side tracked. I can't wait!

So if I don't knit, I can't get more yarn. Is this addiction?
I'm going. Really.
night:)

We've learned about titles...

Well it was a pretty awful weekend. Jamie hasn't been sleeping well - teething and congestion from that means he wakes up and basically just wants to sleep in my arms. So my back is killing me. And I'm not sleeping well. This means I'm not exactly the nicest of people right now. And the potty training, well let's just say she's back in nappies at the moment. Because Jamie was in such a state I sort of left it to M. And, well, as well meaning as he was, he's, ah, Useless. Ladies and mummies out there, if you want something done right, do it yourself.

Now I don't know that much about potty training. Actually that's not totally true, I've just gotten Gina Ford's book. And altho she is usually a little overzealous for my taste, I think potty training IS a cut and dry thing. But before that, well even I knew that the whole first day you put them in panties you follow them round and make the potty a fun thing, get them to sit on it all the time, etc. To start with we had to go out to get the stuff. Then she had a nap - a 4 hr nap. So we tried to start a little beforehand and after naptime. And M would leave and go and do something else and then she'd pee. I'm sitting in the glider with Jamie so I can't exactly make it to her on time. And I yell M! She's peeing! And he yells back, 'well what am I supposed to do?' So went the day. By Sunday he just gave up and put her in those pull ups that you can feel when they get wet.

Bottom line, the whole thing was a disaster. But I've now read Gina's advice and so this week is all talk about the potty. I've got her nursery in on the bandwagon - I've asked that any time one of the other kiddies in her class who is potty trained goes to the potty that Maddie goes with them to get the idea. Even if it means all day the whole week she's watching people on the pot, lol. She's a smart girl (maybe too smart for her own good sometimes) so she'll eventually get it. And THEN first thing Sat morning, we're going to start the proper potty stuff. I don't care if M has to be strapped to the glider with Jamie, I'm going to give it my all Sat and Sun. I'll crack this if it's the last thing I ever do!!!!!!

I hope.

Last night was particularly bad. Jamie screamed and cried all evening long from the moment we all got home from getting Maddie from the nursery. Oh and we locked outselves out of the flat and the porter had to break in. M said isn't it nice that the head porter that taught the porters this trick was an ex crim? I say who cares it meant I wasn't stranded waiting for a husband who was never going to show because he didn't check his messages or email.

So got in, Jamie fussed the entire evening but thankfully M came home early enough to give the monster her bath and bed routine. Jamie fussed thru most of it so I'm not sure how it would have worked had he not come home aside from me just leaving Jamie to scream it out. I've had to do it before... By 9, just as I was thinking about bed, Jamie woke up again. By this time I was frazzled and sternly talking to Jamie. I do this when I get to the end of my tether and need to vent, usually Jamie's face crumbles, he cries, and I calm down. M sat on the couch and was just staring whilst I grew angry and Jamie cried. There is nothing, dear readers, worse than knowing you need help and someone just watching you and doing nothing. So being me, I screamed at him that he needed to get out or something and he was like oh should I take the baby? Needless to say after a few choice words, he left, I calmed down, and Jamie went to sleep.

After this episode you can imagine how, at 2am, I was past my tether. After several tries to nurse, with Jamie screaming and snuffly and just awful, I marched into the living room, turned on the light, and plonked him on daddy's chest, and walked out. Must have been a sight because when I went to the loo afterwards I realised my hair was really crazy, my nightgown was half opened and buttoned wrong... you get the picture.

Poor M, he didn't really know what hit him. However he did rise to the occasion. When I could hear Jamie calming down and starting up again I was able to think straight (him not being in front of me) and realised that Calpol was needed as was a bottle of something to calm him. I delivered these items to M and went back into the bedroom where I knitted one round of sock to calm down, and went to sleep. M, who now is at the top of my favorite list, and should probably be nominated for hubby of the year, brought back the monster at 6am. He fed like a champ and passed out for another quiet two hours beside me.

Have made the smart decision to take him to the osteopath tomorrow after my dental appt. M, whose nomination grows stronger by the second, is coming to sit with Jamie whilst I get my teeth re-sealed, a process with makes the teeth somewhat impervious to rotting. So fingers crossed it wouldn't be painful... Hopefully the osteopath can work her magic on poor teething Jamie. Who, by the way, has been a sleeping angel this morning so far. Just have to remember to keep the calpol in his system and we Should be OK.

On the knitting front I've managed in my needing to calm down-ness, to finish the other front of Jamie's stripey sweater. I'm working on the first sleeve at the moment. When I finish the other sleeve I will allow myself to finish the final front on Maddie's ballet wrap. And because I haven't shown any piccies lately hopefully I'll manage to post stripey sweater and ballet wrap piccies here:
the ballet wrap - only one front and the edging to go!

Love this color which is the same one as in the picture. First time I've made the exact sweater as the pattern, color and all. And I love the yarn - RYC Cashcotton. Lovely and warm but not too warm yet not enough to make you sweaty. Perfect for summer!




the stripey sweater which now has two front panels finished and much progress made on the sleeve...

I love the colors and feel of the fabric. But I dislike knitting with the yarn as it's so - strandy. I keep getting one tiny strand caught as I knit. SO annoying...




So the push is on to finish these two sweaters and finish finishing the yellow one (it's somewhere below in one of the other posts). THEN I can get my posh yarn. M thinks the Bluebell would look good on me. I dunno... I love all the colors! The bluebell is nice and deep and would be 'useful' in my wardrobe. So we'll see. Any other ideas? I kind of like the greens but M said they were a little too acid. I wish I could see them in person but they don't sell in the shops and I'm an instant gratification type of person.

Ok, well that's this weekend. Jamie's fussing again and if I can catch it, he'll go sleep again. Stay tuned for more progress...

Well what a weekend here. Maddie decided last night that she wanted to be potty trained. It's been coming this whole week... taking her nappy off when she doesn't like the wet, watching mommy on the potty (my favorite) and cheering when mommy tinkles, flushing the toilet... And the Big Sign - last night she came home, and took off her bottom clothing. I figured she was wet, put on a new pull up nappy, then 5 minutes later she's pulled off new nappy, set it aside, and peed on the floor and on the carpet. And plays in it quite happily, delighting in how it splashes about. Hmm. Can't ignore or hold it off any longer. She only just turned two in April and we were hoping to wait til we moved to a house...

So this morning mommy and Maddie trundled out to mothercare and picked out all the accoutrements for potty training. And so far... it's not going well. To start with she HATES her potty. Isn't that fond of the one on the main toilet either. but she likes the stool and she likes climbing. The most progress we have gotten is when mommy tried to sit on the potty to show Maddie... and Maddie sat on the stool and peed. Nice. Stay tuned for more potty fun.

M and I finally made it out of the house alone to a pub last night and ate a meal and had a drink. Some knitting went - more of the felted bag project so I could knit and not think. I've got around 54 more rows to go but I'm enjoying not having to think too much about what I'm doing. I believe it's actually called pub knitting... something you can knit at a pub whilst you imbibe unknown quantities of alcohol and not worry about missing stitches, etc. I could be wrong and pub knitting is simply anything that's knit whilst in a pub, drinking or no. Whichever.

The current house news - so apparently both the lawyer and the estate agents of the people selling the house we sort-of-still-want-to-buy had serious conversations with the idiots. Told them that they WERE going to have to give us something back or suffer the reality that no one might buy from them. So they conceded and offered us a rebate. Our initial proposal was for 35,000. We should not have to eat the total cost of out of date roofing, wiring, plumbing and guttering. And what did they offer us? 2200. Where they came up with that is beyond us. And both the estate agent and the lawyers for the lovely couple have assured us they will work some more on the IdIOTS. We'll see. I still want to meet them in a dark alley with a big stick. Or maybe even a phone call to tell them what I think. Preferably After we've gotten what we want and all is said and done.

To give a more complete picture to all of this hilarity, I offer this image: in one of the first floor bedrooms of this million dollar home is a fishtank which clearly at some point in the last 6 months or so had fish and plants. But no more. And instead of emptying said fishtank, they have left it there to moulder and rot. I hope they're taking it with them, is all I can say. Now WHO in their right minds shows a house with a dead fish tank? Anne the House Doctor would be mortified. And so am I.

Well, dear readers, I have a toddler running around grabbing her bottom. And a baby wriggling around in a stinky nappy. I think I can safely say, goodbye and good night from the house of poo...:)

Dentist today. Ugh. It was not the happiest of times. I've not been to an adult dentist ever. Up until I left the states I went to the same dentist that I'd been seeing since I was 5. I know it sounds silly, an adult in those kiddie chairs, etc, but there you have it. My parents had also been bugging me to go see a dentist when I left, so now that I've thought about it, it could have been as much as 7 or 8 years.

So they used that little drill thingy on me. The one that grinds down the plaque on your teeth. And she scraped. Alot. And now I'm sore. And already having flashbacks of that drill thingy. Needless to say I'm not in any hurry to go back. and my next appointment is next week with the dentist. Yikes!

But Jamie was a good baby. He had a small bottle when we got there because he was fussy. Fell straight to sleep and woke up near the very end of my appointment. Unfortunately this meant he had to cry it out until we were done. By the time I picked the poor little man up he was beside himself and completely drenched in sweat even though there were no blankets on him:( Ah well it was nothing a good cuddle didn't fix.

I've made a Decision. I'm desperate to start knitting something for myself. I really really want to make the twisty T from this springs knitty. But I have loads of other projects and they're much faster and more urgent for something which may or may not fit for myself. and I don't have very much space so I shouldn't buy the wool until I'm ready to knit. So... I'm going to finish Maddie's ballet wrap, Jamie's stripey sweater, and sew up the yellow sweater my MIL made. THEN I'll allow myself to buy this yarn to make it. At least I think it's that yarn... and then deciding on color... oh boy I am just crap at chosing for myself!

And not to insult her but I dislike all the Debbie Bliss yarns I've used. I've had the cotton silk aran (still have loads left!) that is now discontinued and now the cathay. My problem is the way the yarn is not that well twisted. It means the way I knit I get lots of one strand of the yarn that dangles because I didn't catch it with the needle. I hated the silk I knitted with and now I'm not loving the Cathay for the same reason. Being stripes it looks especially bad to see one tiny strand of another color on the next stitch. Or dangling off the front end.

The only thing that makes me knit it and not throw the whole thing out the window is that the fabric it makes is really lovely and the colors are great, especially if I do say so myself the colors I put together for the stripes. And Jamie will look really good in the sweater when it's done. I'm just trying to figure if I should be lazy and knit a shawl collar or make it like the book says with a hood. And I know from my big bird sweater experience that hoods take a long while to knit. BUT I like the whole hood concept. Hmmm, a tough one.

At least Maddie's ballet wrap will be easy peasy (famous last words) to finish off. Just one front and then block it, put it together and knit the picot trim - et voila!!! And no I don't speak French as anyone who does can see:) But I want to finish both sleeves on Jamie's sweater before I do the one front on Maddie's sweater because he's growing Much faster than she is, the longer I wait the less likely he is to be able to wear the darned thing when I actually DO finish it.

So finally the house situation. We've officially started the search again for a new house. We're going to use Garrington, which not many people know but phil and kirstie actually work for them. It'll be a hell of alot easier to have someone else do all the mind-boggling legwork. I'll still have to do all the initial viewings etc but I'll know that there is SOMEONE out there who knows what they are doing, cuz it sure as heck aint us. And we desperately want to be out of this flat ASAP. So if you know anyone looking for a 2 bed flat in central London...

That's today's news.

Bad news. The people who own the house we want to buy have decided that they aren't going to consider any financial re-negotiations like they promised when they accepted our offer. We had a proposal drawn up saying what the survey had turned up and what we would pay for and expect them to reimburse us for. Stuff that is not even up to code on the house. Like the rotten window frames on an extension that isn't even 10yrs old.

Sigh.

So we have two options.
1. Say okay yes we'll eat all the costs and give you (the owners) whatever you want (basically bendong over)

2. Walk away and find something else and the heck (LL) with them. These people were obviously going to screw us at some point anyways, better now than the day before keys are exchanged, with everything packed and ready to go... As they've said from the beginning... they don't NEED to sell. Whatever.

You can see which option I'm game for. They won't even READ the proposal. Idiots. I REALLY wish I could have a conversation with these people. They're arrogant beyond belief. The estate agent is less than happy. They have a time waster for a client, they've put in 8 months of their time and the owners don't even want to sell.

Ah well.

On a personal level, I'm feeling as near as normal as I have in weeks. Thank GOD for antibiotics. I'll just scarf down yoghurt with Maddie every night since she has one or two a day as her normal diet, and hopefully my gut won't be too affected. Boobie is even doing loads better. I can almost see a day where I'll actually be nursing pain free - fingers crossed on that one!

Haven't knitted today. Instead started Maddie's Christmas stocking. It's a Jolly Red kit, the Angel one. I made M one a year ago as he didn't have one, the alphabet one, and so I figured Maddie being 2 and 8 months at Christmas, well she needs one. I'm going to attempt to do Jamie's as well since he'll be one, but if it ain't done by the end of August then it'll wait til next year. The place I had M's and my own from my childhood finished is in the states and next and only time I'll be there is August so that gives me a definite deadline. deadlines afterall are Good things.

I figure I'm not setting aside my knitting, I was just in the mood for something new. Y'all know how it gets!

Right, I'm off to bed. Tomorrow is my first dentist appointment in this country and the first one in over 5 years. Yeah yeah I know I shouldn't have waited. I made the appt when I was there yesterday because M's been bugging me and he promised the dentist is really good and very nice. Uh huh. We'll see. When I was little there was a space from when I was about 9-12 when I would go to the dentist to get a baby tooth removed because the adult ones would be coming in on top and the baby teeth weren't loose. That pretty much did it for me. Well... that and 4 years of orthodonture which they should call orthotorture. And I won't even get into wisdom teeth removal or the jaw realignment surgery I had when I was 17. I have nice straight adult teeth that even meet in the back, but it ain't because I wanted em. Needless to say the dentist will never be my favorite person to see in my free time.

nuf said. night:)

So have been to the docs and gotten meds for the sinus infection. And more than likely the ear infection. Same antibiotic will take care of both. Also discovered that I've got ALOT of pain from the infection, making my whole head feel like it's about to explode. Nice. But on a good note boobie is better. Or as I said to someone I'm not sure it's better but it hurts less than my head.

I'm a little happy because I've just taken nurofen plus. And it' s WORKING. I've not felt this pain free in over 24hrs. Boy it's bliss. After this post I"m going to go back to sleep and hopefully wake up much more rested.

On the knitting front I'm proud to say I made it thru the 16 rounds of ribbing. Because I don't hold the wool like you're supposed to I have alot of trouble when doing ribbing... it's K1, place yarn in back, P1, pull yarn to front, K1 (you get the picture). My MIL has tried to teach me how to have the yarn in your hand properly so you control the tension etc... but after nearly 10 years of developing my own wrong way, it's just easier for me to pick up an place the yarn instead of carrying it in my hand the whole time. Someday I will get someone to teach me correctly. They'll have to have the patience of a saint...

So originally I was going to knit up one of the basic socks from 'knitting vintage socks'. I LOVE that book. But after my last frogged attempt which was supposed to be the lichen ribbed sock, I remembered how much I hated any ribbing and decided to make them from the pattern only without the ribbing. I HAVE to get through actually making a sock before I"m prepared to deal with the pain of knitting ribbing. God help me when I decide I want to make even more fancy socks and I will because there are some really cool ones in that book!

Really I should sleep. Today I'm back on my own... M was kind enough to see that his wife was completely out of it yesterday and worked from home so he could take Mads to school and watch Jamie whilst I was at the drs. He really can be sweet sometimes.

Night, or should I say good morning!

Ugh. I have a sinus infection with a lovely sinus headache. and ANOTHER blocked duct on the same poor boobie. Poor boobie. Ouch. And I've got spots (zits) on my face. Oh joy. I am having a bad time of it lately.

On the knitting front...

I managed 5 rows on my socks.

At this rate they'll be done sometime in December.

night:)

So now the pressure is on. Oh and sorry about the big font in the last post... it was a test. And I write too much most of the time to have big font...

As I was saying... the pressure is on. Because now there are people I KNOW reading this. Hmm. Now I have to watch what I say...

So tonight is Tamsin's night to come and watch Jamie so I can rest without him for a night. M and I were supposed to go out for a drink when he got home from his gazillionth business trip of the week (okay 4th but that's a gazillion for those of us who haven't flown to Moscow, Helsinki or Zurich lately). But instead his plane got re-routed to Stanstead instead of Heathrow due to 'freak electrical storms in the area' which apparently is code for securite emergency that we're not going to televise. Very boring story short he got home at 1130. But it IS Friday night and travel is difficult at the best of times on Friday nights.

Instead Tamsin and I chattered away about stuff. She's a really lovely woman but has had alot of difficult times in the past 6 or 7 years. And I mean Difficult -how did you survive that? times. Also she's the proper English person I've gotten to know in this country. I mean M's English but she's from the opposite type of family (Mark's family is fairly Conservative (repulican to you Americans) and her family is dyed-in-the-wool Labour (socialist some people would say or Democrat. Think of all those staunch Clintonians out there and you'll know exactly what I mean). So I find it very interesting knowing someone whose point of view on MOST things is completely different from mine. And not only is it different but she is sooo not afraid to tell you what she thinks about something if her opinion is different.

Well tonight we had a very interesting conversation. She said a few things that I'm still nto quite sure how to take and I'm sure she's probably wondering if she should have said them. But still it's her opinion and how she feels and there was some truth to what she said so I don't feel I have to run back and whinge about it. And funnily enough she had an opinion on things with M - and anyone who knows us knows you'll see us fight and things are 'strained' at the moment - and most of what she said M and I had a talk about last weekend and have decided to work on. Okay so everything won't go away immediately but I've vowed to change things becuase we weren't on a good path and a good part of that was my fault. So to hear someone that doesn't know us that well saying how uncomfortable she was, well it just drove home the obvious.

I guess I'm finding this so unusual because it's not very often (I can't even remember the last time) that someone you're becoming friends with sort of passes judgement on you. It wasn't a personal attack. It was a 'this is how you seem to me and this is how you make me feel'.

E-Gads.

How deep is that on a Friday night? Which is interesting because at the same time she's revealing more about herself. I know a HUGE amount of personal information, probably more than I've told her. Nor do I imagine she tells this same information to every Tom, Dick or Harry. And I guess what I've taken away from the whole chat is that I complain. alot. BUt she does like me. I'm not going to triple guess myself now, I'm on a roll. Which is fair enough because she's come to work for us on the tail end of an extremely difficult time in our lives in which things are rocky. And the reason she's here to help is what I'm complaining about (the things which i have a problem with, not that she's here if you see what I mean.). Things that we're working on.

Anyhow, I've rambled on enough about my personal life. Are you supposed to be this personal on a blog? Oh well if not, I am so there. It's now time for beddy bye. I've done about 10 rounds on the new pair of socks from the dreaded but loved wool from my MIL. I WILL WILL MAKE SOCKS.

I'm off to bed. Nighty night.

ps. I'm still weirded out.

So today is UFO day. This is my first sock. It's not very good and a small admission - it's been frogged. SO why show it? eh, well, why not? plus I wanted to show the wool my MIL was kind enough to get me whilst on a trip in Germany. She picked it up (it's a double ball of regia 4ply) in a post office and it was on sale. 2 euros! I really really want to make socks. And the trouble I'm having with them... is that I really dislike strongly this wool and these colors. So I'm trying to force myself thru this first pair of socks so I can get the experience and then give them as a present to my MIL. She said she liked the colors and thought I would too. Bless her. I NEVER look a gift horse in the mouth.. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it when people give me wool. (yes that's a hint to anyone who's listening) I'm a process person really and it's the act of picking out the yarn and knitting it that I love so much. So the idea that people GIVE me wool means they understand this. That they went IN a yarn store and thought hmmm what can I get for Kate? So that leads to THIS Ufo...

My mom's got a friend who has sheep and she spins and dyes the wool herself. This is some sort of sheep wool starting with L... it said so on the label and well anyhow I got two generous hanks of it plus a tester freebie (dunno what to do with it, prolly edging somewhere). And the nice lady friend of my mom's makes felted (okay, fulled) things with the wool and sells them. So what better to do than to make a booga bag? AND the pattern's free!


So c'ommon, gimme gimme wool. And no this isn't to you lovely but total strangers out there. It's for those people I know out there who might be reading this saying, 'gee, I never know what to get her'... or 'she only likes expensive stuff'. Well that's partially right, I'd blanche if someone gave me some worsted/aran weight acrylic stuff which I loathe. But I'd still cherish the thought. And since I might even make you something with it, make sure it's something YOU like!

Okay so another failed techie moment... Comments. I've faffed up how to have them post with each post that gets commented on. at one point I had them sent to my email which had a button to publish comments. The button DOES NOT WORK. So if you post a comment, (so far I've got 5 readers, yeay!!!) please be patient with me if it seems like I didn't respond. I am not rude - promise! I'm just tech-illiterate. A book is on the way from Amazon as we speak (for the HTML to make things fancier at least). And I'll eventually get the hang of it all.

So Jamie's in my arms again. He's been clingy the last few days. He'll only sleep for about an hour and then fusses because he's lonely or lost his dummy when he woke up. He's not quite able to get it in his mouth and his newest thing is that he can grab the leash sort of accidentally on purpose and then waves it around unconsciously all the while staring at it and screaming as if it were someone else's hand and not his own. It would be funny if he wasn't so upset about it. we'll get there eventually...

Typical man. Can't even make his own mind up. He also, while being clingy and waving his own dummy around, wants to be left to it to sleep on his own. Just beside me on the bed, mind you. Why don't they tell you that having kids is actually one big scientific experiment? Let's see if he's okay when this happens, or what does that cry mean - today? It's never the same and when you think you've got them all figured out they change. I'm sure parents of grown up kids will all tell you that never stops happening until they're like 30, but at least hopefully by the age of 3 they can articulate a little bit more. Cuz trust me, you mothers of 2yr olds, you can't trust what they're saying yet!

M's on his way to Moscow, visa and all tonight. At the moment he's actually in York. At one point he said he wasn't going and then realised he had to go to Moscow. And he'll also at some point be in Zurich and Helsinki at different points this week. Maddie probably won't see much of him during the next few weeks but especially this week... Jamie might - he's on a different schedule. We've agreed that I'll take over the morning and evening routines completely again. M has been in charge of Maddie by his own choice (and a little un-subtle encouragement from moi) since Jamie was born and I think it's fair enough I take the reins back. I'll have to learn the dance eventually anyways. Tonight is official night number two of the new regime. Maddie at nursery full time (a while nother story) and mommy in charge. M had a client dinner last night. Apparently his firm rented out the Tate Britian. Must be nice for some. He came in late and I'd just gotten Jamie down and wasn't in the mood for how great it was. And all I have to say is drunk men are about as quiet as a bull in a china shop. He meant well but dropped hangers, kicked boxes... I did mention this flat is tiny?

And thankfully, Tamsin is coming tonight. So I get a break from the piece of clingfilm I call Jamie. On the feeding front, those of you who are waiting with bated breath (I'm Sure that's all 0 of you...) I'm still struggling with my poor left boobie. That plugged milk duct really messed things up. And no one ever mentions how nearly impossible it is to heal nipples whilst still breastfeeding. Of course the traditional picture they like to show when ramming 'breast is best' down your throat is now good it is for the baby's health, the mother recovers quicker from childbirth, blah blah blah. Well. Nowhere in the literature so they mention the downsides. The exhaustion. the blocked ducts, sore breasts, even more sore nipples and tounge ties and lazy babies. oh, and how long it can take to get the hang of it. Huh. I still agree it's best. But damn it's hard work. And they should stop (in this country at least) making women feel guilty when they don't want to do it. and they SHOULD offer more support.

Okay, rant over.

Just talked to Tamsin who probably can't come tonight. Darnitall. And even worse just talked to Mark and the people who put the offer in on our flat have pulled out. Dammitall. THey said it was because of the lease, we're not quite sure how long the lease is for, but I think it's because we're in the middle of the chain and have no idea when we're going to be able to sell. We're waiting for these completely arrogant a#$holes to gett off their lazy butts and agree to lower their price or refund us some money back when we settle. Don't know how much I said about the house but it's turned out the ROOF is unsound and that's the easy bit. We're game for a project but not to pay outrageously for the privilege

I am beginning to strongly suspect that's going to fall thru as well:( and then I'll have to find something on my own this time.

On another but related note, I've decided we're taking Tamsin on full time (day, not night) as of June 1. I'm sure we won't have moved by then But on the chance I have to pound the pavement personally, I'll have someone to watch Jamie for a few hours here and there while I do so. Basically I'll have to be my own Phil or Kirstie. I'm going crazy with links today so see here if you have no idea who phil or kirstie is.

As everyone today has said... when it rains it pours. so far a crappy outcome for an otherwise okay day.

Yeay! I managed to figure out how to post the button. AND I managed to take a load of piccies of my FOs and UFOs. I figure the UFOs will encourage me to finish them. I'm a horrid finisher. More of a process person really. I love the actual act of knitting and imagining what it'll all look like. Then I get an idea through a finished piece and well the challange is sort of gone. Hence my stash of UFOs. I've got about 5 or 6 further projects in storage...

Anyhow, this afternoon I devoted some time while M had Jamie and Maddie was running around like a crazy person to photographing what stuff I could find. I'll try to do it in some sort of order... FO first, obviously.

Okay so after a LONG time getting the pictures to post and writing the blurbs, it's all in backwards order. and I'll post UFOs later. Ugh. Time for bed.

Knit by my wonderful MIL
Pattern from Tadpoles and Tiddlers (rowan, I think)
Jaeger Sienna 4ply in Buttermilk, and two others (have no idea which, lol)
Knit with 2.75 and 3.25mm
Started summer 2005
Finished (knitting) Nov 2005
Sewen up May 2006...
Love this sweater. Bought the cotton and gave it to MIL to knit for Mads since she kept saying she didn't know what to knit. Asked her to knit a size bigger as I knew it might take a while... it's now a perfect fit!

Big Bird. In the flesh (as it were)
Pattern from Zoe Mellor's Nursery knits
Lorna's Laces Superwash Worsted in Carrot and Poppy
Knit with 5mm needles
Started Nov 2005
Finished April 2006

Jelly beanie in cashsoft dk from RYC.
Pattern from Classic Bambino




4mm needles
started Feb 06
finished Feb 06
really really quick knit, even for me!



My FIRST ever sweater. Knit for Maddie when I was sure that if I knitted in Pink she's turn out a boy. I used to have purple ribbon round the collar but adapted it for Jamie. He wore it once. Ah well...
Rowan Babies Sweeten pattern
Rowan Soft 4ply in what color I have no clue
2.75 and 3.25mm needles
Started September 2003
Finished March 2004


And that's it for now.
nighty night

Whaaa - hey! I have one reader!! (hello Alice;)

I am not the techie person I used to be - I have joined this lovely knitting ring and for the life of me cannot figure out how to post the button in my blog. Once upon a time I actually wrote HTML webpages by hand and would have known how to do this... now? I have NO CLUE. My poor one brain cell cannot cope:(. Anyone out there know how? Where in the world to I fit in the code, is it in the template? Ugh I hate feeling like a dork. I want my blog to have those little columns with links and stuff.

So Alice asked where I find the time with a toddler and a baby. Well truth is I steal it. Life with a baby once you have a toddler and live in a teeny tiiiiiny (800sq ft) flat in the middle of a concrete jungle is about as stressful as it gets. Especially when your husband has a busy career and you don't have much family around...

And when I say steal, I mean baby fussing... knit knit okay baby crying, put knitting down. It's why I can type (like now) with a baby on one arm. Oh and of course knit with him as well altho he's getting bigger and more interested in the funny dancing string. Who the heck needs expensive baby toys? Computer screens and yarn are what they like! I've knitted while crying in waiting rooms (long story), I've knitted in taxis, last night I knit in a pub waiting for M who didn't show up. I used to stay up an extra 10mins after I expressed when Jamie couldn't b.feed at 2am then 4am...and knit... 10mins a few times a day add up!

Basically it's for my sanity. Even if I can only manage simple stockinette or stripes at the moment. In the future I aim to get back to more complex things... really...

And of course I still mean to do piccies. but that's getting the camera, the right light... hey actually I just realised that my FIL sent us a CD of Maddie piccies from her birthday day which was spent with them. AND there's a shot of her. With the sweater on (she demanded to wear it even though it clashed with her lovely outfit (see below for piccies of Maddie and the big bird cake)) AND with the beloved big bird (though you can't see his legs - everyone knows what they look like anyways!

without further ado...



Ahhhh there it is!

And as for Maddie - where is she while I knit? Well that's another story completely. She normally naps 2-3 hrs the days she's home. And up until now, she's in nursery school 3 days a week. But we're all seriously showing signs of strain lately due to being cooped up in this stupid flat. And I've noticed she's more and more bored and unhappy the days she's here. So against my better judgement - that'st he judgement of the sane person I once was... I've decided that until we move and Tamsin comes to work for us, she'll be at nursery 5 days a week (whoo hoo more time to knit! - yeah I wish). Once I made the decision, I've since realised that it really is the right thing. Until we move. Once we have a HOUSE, things will be Different. We'll have Tamsin, who will become our nanny and general other person around to keep me sane. Or in a normal world, to take on the role that M would play if he was a normal 9-5 working man. Which he's not. And that's fine, because we get Tamsin instead.

So finally, after a very tough start and very very very tough past year, we will hopefully start to work things out. A house, some help, and a healthier family life. That's the plan at least. I'm sure it won't go as smoothly as all of that. Honestly, this is ME. nothing is Ever smooth.

Nuf said for now. really, tho, anyone know how to publish the ring button on this blog thing so I can play my part? It's not that I don't want to, honest...

Did I mention I've got a cold? And our fifth anniversary last night was ruined by my (bloody) hormones (another story for another day.) Good grief why doesn't anyone tell you it's going to be this hard? Well, why would they?

night:)

So I had to do an emergency re-knit and sewing of the seams on the big bird sweater for Maddie (in case I forgot to say why it's called this, well let's just say the colors of the stripes are the same as Big Birds' legs). The cuff was coming undone and the seams had undone themselves. I had the sweater in my room to be redone and Maddie kept bringing it to me to wear. Bless her. So I felt guilty and in light of my new seaming trick I completely fixed the one side. Now the other side looks like cr*p but I'll fix it. Eventually.

As a result this killed one day of knitting and reseaming. Am now reseamed out for the mo. So finished the 4 rows of the front of Maddie's ballet wrap. Now am feeling guilty as the wrap is almost done and I promised myself that I was going to do one piece of hers and one piece of Jamie's stripey sweater until both were done. Have discovered that I don't like stripes. Well now I know. It's the whole rejoining every other line OR carrying up the side bit that is soooo boring.

And have been online looking at new knitting books. Am ADDICTED to knitting books. And there are so many out there needing a new home. Am trying not to collect too many before the next move. It's not easy. Lucinda Guy has a new one out... I love the first one only this one doesn't look as good. More heavy on the accessories and lighter on the sweaters etc. But I always mean to make toys etc for all my relatives etc. Only they're not really the dolly types. Hmm. On the other hand Maddie's taken to the dolly I knit originally for someone else but got too lazy and had to send out the package and as a result Maddie got the doll instead. Lol. Someday when I don't have tiny children maybe I'll get to sit around all day and knit. Yeah right.

Mister snuffles is beside me again on the bed finally asleep. I had both monsters home today after a bank holiday weekend. Mads was bored out of her skull and Jamie was fussy because Maddie kept him awake most of the day. And M decided to forget to tell me that he wouldn't be home for the evening routine and so when he did make it thru the door as Mads was getting into the bath I sort of left him to it with her. For some reason M cannot and has NEVEr been able to tell me at the beginning of a work day when he will be home. Nor can he manage it midday. He will only know just before he walks out of the office door. He cannot understand why this infuriates me. I would only like to know if I'm going to be running things solo for the evening routine - it makes a HUGe difference in the planning ahead stage. It's not exactly easy to get a toddler's routine running while the baby is screaming bloody murder because he's not been fed and had there been someone else they would have been able to hold him and distract him OR I'd have been able to make sure he was fed before starting the routine. I'm sure my 0 readers are wondering why the routine is so important and I just say if you've had a toddler you'll know. With the possible exception of I can't remember, Maddie has her routine and has done for the past 18ish months. In the next 1-2 months somehow we've got to work Jamie's into it. Should be interesting.

So M came in right as the bath was ready and he finished with Mads and then threw the baby and nighttime bottle his way. GOD I needed a break from mister snuffles-and-fussy and everything else. I wanted to get the edging done on the other half of the front of the stripey sweater that I'd just cast on. Was almost done when I realised that I'd turned about halfway thru by accident - must have been distracted, and had to frog it and start again. But managed to get it thru the first stripe change and now it's just gone 1030 and I'm expressing before bed (look away if you don't like mummy stuff) because Jamie didn't want to b.feed when he got hungry earlier. And perhaps when I'm not exhausted and have nothing else to whinge about I'll tell you the fascinating saga of getting him to breastfeed. the short short short version is tounge tie snipped at 6wks, expert brought in at 11wks. Until 11wks I was basically expressing 5-7 times a day. I am in fact a human cow. Probably in some people's opinions for more than that reason alone.

But I'm extremely proud of the fact I WON the war against my newborn and he's breastfeeding with the exception of one or two bottles a day. Yeay! Up until Tamsin (our expert) came into the picture I thought I was going to go crazy. All my American friends and family were like why in the world are you bothering? Because it's better for him and me and because I want to - it's important. If babies were meant to drink formula then why on earth would we produce milk? This is NOT a rant about formula fed babies, it's a rant about the attitudes of certain countries towards b.feeding. I'm no earth mother but I believe natural is best when possible... I had so much guilt over not bfeeding Maddie for many many reasons and I wanted to make it work with Jamie and I did. Now if I can just get past the 'congested' ducts and sore nipples from a teething at 4 months baby then it'll be all rosy like it's supposed to be when you b.feed. Yeah right.

Hmmm. I think I've ranted enough for one day/night. Well not really but I'm tired and the b.milk needs to go in the fridge.

nighty night.