Sunday, November 30, 2008

Out of the Frog Pond a Finished Object Arises (and a mini-rant)

I can't tell you how many times I started this scarf and then frogged it. This happened at least 5 times, at LEAST. It's not that I didn't like the yarn or the pattern but my interest in it waned. The yarn is Misti Baby Alpaca Grande Bulky in a pink and grey colorway. I had only one skein of this color so the Ribs and Ruffles pattern that Misti puts out specifically for the yarn was perfect. The scarf is not very long measuring in at 46" or so but perfect the wrap around my neck and keep it cozy warm. Baby Alpaca is as soft as cashmere and some say its even softer. I absolutely love alpaca and especially when its mixed with other fibers like merino wool and silk.

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Notice my little wooly friend sneaking his little head there in the first picture? I think he is jealous because it's alpaca yarn and not wool that I used. Silly sheep! That Folkmanis Sheep Puppet came from the first NY Sheep and Wool Festival my family & I attended in October of 2006. My son wanted the big sheep puppet and my daughter got a lamb puppet. They play with them and pretend and have puppet shows all the time along with the other hundred stuffed animals in their rooms! LOL Ever since I was a little girl I have collected stuffed animals and love to play with them with my kids. I own a few Build a Bear stuffed animals that reside on my bed. I knit & crochet clothes for them all the time. The Build A Bear animals we have are: The Black Lab (the first one that came out, not the new one thats out now), The Beagle, Boxer, Border Collie, Pink Poodle, 2 Cheetahs, 2 Brown Bears, Rudolph & Clarice, The Groundhog, The Orange Cat, & the Pink Breast Cancer Bear. I think that's it but I could be missing some. The minute Build A Bear makes a dachshund I will be the first in line to buy one or two!

An update on my son: He was admitted on Wednesday to the hospital for severe dehydration due non-stop vomiting from a bad gastroenteritis infection (both viral and bacterial). The doctors said it was most likely one of the Norwalk Viruses that are highly contagious and hit you really fast. They usually last anywhere from 12-24 hours but the bad thing about them is that you do not feel better after you vomit like your typical stomach bug, but worse, and you continue to puke which is a vicious cycle. He is feeling much better and my Mom brought up Thanksgiving leftovers yesterday so we all had our fill of turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie.

The next few weeks leading up to Christmas and New Years are going to be crazy busy for me. I am hoping to blog as much as I can because there is going to be a lot to talk about. We are going to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in a couple of weeks. The kids have been begging us to go every time the commercials come on TV. They are at perfect ages to appreciate it now. I was in the 2nd grade when my school took us to see the show for a class trip. I went to Catholic School most of my life and that must have been a pricey trip even back then. If you want to see the show on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday the prices go through the roof but drop considerably if the show is on a weekday. Hey, its the same show whenever you go see it so it doesnt matter to me. Plus, I would much rather avoid the city and Rockefeller Center on a weekend! Talk about crowds in NYC, they are CRAZY during the holidays and especially after the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is lit! Speaking of the HUGE tree, we are going to see it after the show. My kids have only seen it when they have the special where they light it live on TV. That show used to be 30 minutes when I was little because back then it wasn't so commercialized with all these Hollywood movie stars, singers, reality show jerks and everyone who has already earned their 15 minutes of fame. Anyway, (sorry for that tangent), I cant wait to see their faces when they get a glimpse of this HUGE tree!

Christmas shopping this year should not be to difficult. I am planning on making gifts for my Mom, Dad (maybe, not sure yet) my Aunt, teachers at my kids school, the mailman, sanitation workers, and whomever else I am forgetting. People love handmade gifts because they mean so much when they come from the heart.

Here comes a rant which I have to get off my chest/
My sister is not getting a gift because she refuses to acknowledge the existence of my children, her godchildren. Now, whatever her beef with me is thats fine and dandy but by ignoring my children she has gone to far and her behavior is more than unacceptable, it atrocious and despicable. She never called my son on his birthday which was in October and never gave him his gift after she asked him what he wanted. He then obsessed over it and talked about it every day. With all the ways people can communicate these days (cell, regular phone, answering machines, voice mail, snail mail, e-mail, etc) there is no excuse for her not to contact my son. He is a little boy and its just not right to do that to him. Should I expect anything but this type of behavior from a person who actually said to me after my son was born on the same day that she was born, "Did you HAVE to have him on MY birthday??" She said this with an attitude and not only said it to me but to my parents and my Aunt who couldn't believe someone would actually say that. Number one, most people are honored when a child that they are related to is born on the same day they were. Its an honor to share your birthday with a child, in my opinion and most other NORMAL human beings opinions. My cousin is due with her first child in April and I would be honored if she had that little boy on the same day I was born. Notice I didn't call it MY birth DAY? Because (number two) millions of people share that birthday and not just my sister so get a life idiot. You are not the only person in the world who has that birthday. By the way, jerk for brains, I had no choice when my baby was coming out of my body just like most other women who have babies and give birth! My due date was originally 10/31 then it changed to the 20th. My doctor was going away on the 17th for 2 weeks and didn't want me to wait and go past my due date. By this point the baby was big enough, plus she wanted to deliver me and not have another doctor in the group do it. Sorry to make this a long story but I have held in my anger for quite some time and I have had it. The straw that broke the camels back (and believe me there was many of them but this was the last and final one) was when my son was in the hospital for Thanksgiving. My Dad and my great Aunt went to visit him at the hospital. He asked my Dad, "When is Aunt____ going to give me my birthday present?" My Dad didn't have an answer for him but he told my sister when he got home that my son was asking for his birthday present. She didn't say anything to him but according to my Mom she has it and she is waiting to see him. The same thing happened last year and she didn't give him his birthday present until January!! That is totally uncalled for and not right at all. I could care less if I ever get a gift from her but I can say with 100% of certainty that she will never get another gift from me EVER again. Once you mess with my family and ignore the existence of my children you are nothing but the scum of the earth in my book. God forbid she pick up the phone and call my son at the hospital! No, she rather leave the family, just like she left my dying Nana when she was on hospice to go and be with her boyfriend and his dad, who was ill at the time but not on his deathbed like my Nana. Totally disrespectful and an immature little prick who is such a narcissist that I will never understand her and why she treats people like shit. Well, I have news for her. When I go to my parents on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, she will be there. I told my Mom that if she says one thing out of order I will not hesitate to embarrass her in front of people and make her feel 2 inches tall. My kids right now are very forgiving and whenever they see her they always are excited and happy and want to spend time with her. She, on the other hand, cant wait to get out of the house and away from them as quickly as possible. Friends of mine that have nieces and nephews usually dont mind spending time with them or even offering to watch them a few hours while the parents go out to dinner and a movie. This is something that has never happened to me and never will. She wants nothing to do with me, my kids or anyone in the family and its not right at all because we (the family) have been nothing but good to her all her life. If anything she is a spoiled brat and needs to grow up. Let's see where her friends will be when she really needs them because I can almost guarantee they wont be anywhere to be found. /end of rant-thanks for listening The holidays are usually difficult because I am forced to remember how much she hates me and it hurts. It really hurts. :(

Happy stuff: I am working on an baby sweater for my friends brother who just had a baby girl last month. Lots of babies coming so there will be lots of baby knits and crocheted stuff to show off (keep your fingers crossed, LOL). I am finishing a silk scarf/wrap which I was supposed to be done with Thanksgiving but obviously not, also a crocheted shawl which I am embellishing but not in a rush to finish. A tank top I never finished last summer for when we go to Florida, lots of socks that are always in the works and a sweater which I keep trying to start but havent yet. Hopefully I will have pics in the near future of some of these FO's.

Quote of the Day (I just felt like adding this): Stand for something or you will fall for anything.

Beam me up Scotty.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The Most Important Thing in this World

Last night I was up most of the night with my son who was vomiting his guts up. The minute he finished vomiting he would feel a little better, fall asleep for a half hour or an hour then wake up and vomit again. This started at one in the morning and my husband and I didn't get much sleep. I felt so bad for my son because he couldn't stop even with the anti-nausea medications I was giving him.

He last vomited this morning at around 6 am and of course stayed home from school. We were giving him little sips of Coke and Gatorade to keep him hydrated and he was actually able to hold down some Tylenol to get his temp down. Then at 1pm he vomited everything up that he had taken in from this morning. He was so lethargic he couldn't even move off the couch if he wanted to and if anyone knows my son he is extremely active and NEVER sits still unless something is really wrong.

After he puked at 1pm I put a call into the doctors office which was closed for the holiday weekend. I had the Dr. paged and she called me back within a half an hour. I told her what was happening and she told me to bring him in to the office right away. My husband took him and called me just a little while ago with an update. They are going to admit him to the hospital due to extreme dehydration. They did a finger stick to see what his hemoglobin (O2 in the blood) & hematocrit (the ratio of the volume of red blood cells in the blood) was. Normal hematocit for his age is anywhere from 35% to 45% and his measured in at 65% which means he is very dehydrated and needs fluids immediately. As soon as they admit him they will start and IV to get him hydrated and will continue to monitor and hydrate him throughout the night. In the morning they will see if he is able to hold down any liquids and then go from there.

We were supposed to go to my Mom's for Thanksgiving Dinner tomorrow but it looks like thats not going to happen. I am more upset that my son is in the hospital then not being able to attend Thanksgiving dinner. I have always said that the most important thing in this world is your health. No matter how much money you have, how many cars, TV's, computers, phones, gadgets, toys, whatever, THEY DONT MATTER. I am thankful that my son is getting the medical treatment he needs right now, I am thankfull that I am alive and able to be a wife and mother to my family and I am thankful that God has shown me the things that really matter in this life and how everything else is not really as important as I thought it was.

Its a shame that there are people who don't know what these important things are and are always bitching, complaining or unhappy at something that's wrong in their life. There are always going to be others in this world that have it much worse than you, that are suffering more than you, that are in more pain that you are. We all need to remember these things and be thankful for all that we have and no matter how difficult we think it is, it could be a lot worse.

Have a Healthy and Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Better Late Than Never

I know posts in these parts have been scarce but I haven't really had to much to talk about and have been busy with the everyday goings on of life. Well, I do have stuff to talk about but don't want to share them at the moment for fear of furthering my acid reflux into a full blown bleeding ulcer. So, lets move on to something that makes every knitter happy, a FINISHED PROJECT!! Can I hear a Woohooo!!! This should have been completed by the end of the October but better late than never! It is my Breast Cancer Awareness Beret made with Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Heavyweight that I bought at the New York Sheep and Wool Festival (Rhinebeck). The color is absolutely fabulous and is called Hot Flash. Its an assortment of pinks that range from pale to BRIGHT hot pink. Pink is my favorite color so I love it and its something I will definitely wear and actually wore it today to take the kids to school. So without further ado:
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That's my daughter modeling for me. I have a small noggin so it fits us similarly and its kind of hard to get a picture of it on my head!

On another subject I reached a goal with my weight loss! A few weeks ago I received my 10% weight loss goal award and I am so happy! Back when I joined WW in July I couldn't even think of reaching this goal. I set my goals small and slowly but surely I reached them one by one and there it was! Another great side effect of the weight loss was dropping my cholesterol and triglycerides to a normal level. High cholesterol runs in my family on both sides so I have to be very careful. My triglycerides were at dangerously high levels. Levels high enough to double a persons risk of stroke. My risk is even higher then a normal persons because I am a woman, I suffer from migraines and I have had cancer. When I started WW in July I was a size 14 and now I am wearing a size 10!! Can I get a Whoohoo!!! The size 10 is actually loose on me so thats even better! Thanksgiving is around the corner and I told my Mom I am making a healthy dessert. The dessert is called Black Bean Brownies and I got it out of one of my WW meetings. All you have to do is mix one package of brownie mix with a can of black beans that have been pureed in a blender. Follow the directions on the box of brownies and watch them. They will take a bit longer to cook but they are fabulous! I fooled my family and even my Dad. Lets see if I can fool them all on Thanksgiving!

One last super exciting thing I have to mention is that we booked a vacation to DisneyWorld!!! Our family has not been on a vacation since 2004 when we last went to DisneyWorld. My daughter was 4 and my son was only 18 months so its going to be a whole new and exciting experience for both of them. When I was going through chemotherapy for breast cancer 2 years ago my Mom had said that when I was all better she wanted to take the whole family on vacation. At that moment I couldn't even think of what it would be like to go away on a vacation because I wasn't sure what the future was going to bring. I told her when I was ready to go I would let her know. Well, we desperately need a vacation. Especially after all we have been through. Not only me but my husband and our 2 kids deserve to go away and have fun. Our Christmas present from my parents is the trip to Disney. We couldn't be happier or more thankful. We're going to DisneyWorld!!

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