Whew!

I cannot believe that it is almost the end of October.  It was a crazy month–visitors, tons of writing and knitting, ballet and swimming classes for the girls, lia sophia parties, and now, Halloween.  It’s no wonder we’re ending the month a bit under the weather, what with all we’ve done.  Erica had a cough, which she promptly gave to me, and it mutated into a fevered variation by the time Samantha caught it.  Sigh.

But, November is going to bring with it a whole new set of excitement–and hopefully, a healthy household to go along with it.  I have SIX lia sophia parties this month, which is awesome.  I have a monetary goal in mind that may be a bit ambitious, but I’m hoping it works out.  Cross your fingers! 

Not only that, but we’ll still have ballet lessons for Samantha and swimming classes for Erica. They are both just too cute!

We’re also planning on a few fun activities for Thanksgiving week–our first Thanksgiving in the states since 2005!  It’ll be weird to be surrounded by people who actually celebrate this holiday!  Of course, we’ll miss our traditions–inviting our British neighbors over, the girls having school in the morning, and picking up the fresh turkey from the butcher (and running any additional errands) that day because everything is still open.  But, we’re excited to be surrounded by family.

It’s going to be another fast month…isn’t it?

And on that note, take a look at how big baby Jessica is getting!

 

Snobs (Me) and Husbands (Him)

So, I posted on Sunday about how I sent Marcus out on a mission.  He was headed to Trader Joe’s, which was right next to Joanne’s.  I desperately needed (wanted) the correct size needles so that I could re-start Entrechat.

So, I sent him into the store with a note detailing exactly what he needed.  He was to give it to a salesperson and ask for help.

Well…he came home with one set of the desired two sets of needles.  He explained that they didn’t have the one size (no surprise) so he bought the other size.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear this.  Until, that is, I looked at them.

They are these hideous Boye plastic needles…like old ladies and toddlers knit with.  Straight, too, which will work but aren’t my preference.  I am a needle snob, as well as a yarn snob.

I sighed.  And then it struck me.

“Marcus,” I said.  “Did the lady at the store help you with these?”

He paused.  “No.  They had just opened and everyone was busy.”

It all starts to make sense.

“Gosh, I’m really surprised that they didn’t have any circulars in the size I needed.  Or any US 10.5 (6.5 mm). “

“You didn’t say you wanted mm sized needles.  You wrote US.  So that’s what I got.”

“Marcus, did they have needles that were only sized in mm?  Usually needles list both sizes, and I just wrote the US size since I had the pattern in front of me.”

“I wasn’t about to get things that weren’t on the list.”

Sigh.

I suppose I should be thankful he went at all…after all, not all husbands would have.  I just shouldn’t be surprised with the results.  Plastic straight needles in one of the two sizes I needed (and apparently, the only ones in the store that were only sized in US sizes).

 

The Sniffles.

The sniffles…the girls have them.  Poor things.  Luckily, I have (miraculously) wound up with two girls who handle getting sick pretty well, and they are simply getting on with life and ignoring their colds.  I am fairly certain that they did not get this from me.

Of course, Marcus and I have them too–not from a cold or the weather, but because Anne and Phil’s time with us is up.  They left yesterday for a few days in NYC before they’ll return to the UK on Saturday.  We are both really, really sad to see them go.  Marcus and I were talking last night about how we would have liked to have met them earlier on in our stay overseas…but of course, we can’t go back.

We had a great time while they were here though!  We took them to Deep Creek, where we hiked and generally just hung out and relaxed.  They saw downtown Annapolis as it prepared for the boat show.  They got to play with the girls (they’re exhausted now, by the way).  Anne and I knitted, and Marcus and Phil played video games.

And when they left, Marcus commented about how we’ll really have to try to get me out there next year…so at least that’s something.

Cheers, Anne and Phil!  We miss you already!

 

The Pre Stage

First it was preschool, and now it’s pre-ballet classes.  Once a week for 12 weeks, Samantha is getting in touch with her inner ballerina.  She’s been asking for this since we left England and was enrolled in the Baby Ballet program, so I knew it was something she really wanted.

Of course, I’m sure there’s some of “me” in the decision…I’m not the most coordinated, and my dancing ability certainly leaves something to be desired.  So if this is something she wants, I’d like to support it.  Not to mention that long and lean, I suspect she’s got the body of a dancer on her hands.

It was hard to find somewhere that had what we were looking for–solely ballet, but not a yearlong commitment in case she changes her mind.  Luckily, the county offered a pre-ballet class for 5-6 year olds that seemed ideal.

Right now, Samantha is the only child in the class, but they’ll still run it.  And she get individual attention and the teacher says they’ll be able to do a lot more.  And she certainly loved her first class.

In just a month we’ve added preschool and pre-ballet to my oldest daughter’s schedule.  She’s certainly a busy bee.

 

Collision

Sometimes my worlds collide, and you get a peek at some knitting AND the kids, all in one picture.

Samantha, Chunky Dean Street Hat, Malabrigo Chunky Paris Night

Five year old attitude at its best, right?

PS:  This is a Dean Street Hat in Chunky Paris Night, one that you may select if you win the blog contest I posted about yesterday.  I’m also knitting some up for the girls…how awesome is this hat?

 

Off they go!

Today, the girls are off to their new preschool!  After a LONG summer vacation (really, starting in April and lasting until September) I think we were all ready for school to bring us back to the routine that the three of us crave.

Samantha will be going to Pre-K daily from 9 AM until 2 PM.  Erica will go on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

Today, Marcus and I plopped them in the car and dropped them off.  I had prepared myself for the tears that took so long to grow out of at the preschool in England (which we all loved dearly).  In fact, I’d even prepared their teachers for the fact that my girls each have a bit of separation anxiety, and that it might be a rough transition.

I needn’t have worried.  They looked like this when we went to Open House last week

and when I dropped them off today, it was nothing but smiles and good-byes.  They didn’t even glance at the door as Marcus and I made our escapes!

We couldn’t believe it, and I’m not sure if I’m happy or sad about it!

On to the next chapter of our lives…

 

More Baby Knits

The baby knitting continues, much to Marcus’ dismay.  With every baby item, his sweater gets pushed back just a little bit further.  Ah well…

One of the most recent completions was this wool soaker, a cover for a cloth diaper (or even a disposable, if you have a heavy wetter at night).  It’s knit in Malabrigo Worsted, the Sauterne colorway.  I knit the newborn size, so I know I’ll need to do the next size up since we aren’t going to start cloth diapering until after the first month or two.  Still, it’s just too cute…imagine a little baby heiney in there!

Baby Jessica's First Soaker

Then, I just finished up a pattern called The Little Sister Dress.  Of course, in our case, it’s the littlest sister’s dress.  This photo was taken while it was still a work in progress, but it’s completed now and just awaiting buttons.  It’s knit in Malabrigo Sock, the Archangel colorway.

The Littlest Sister's Dress

Now, in fact, I don’t have a baby knit on the needles.  OK, that’s not entirely true.  I’m knitting a baby blanket for someone special, but I keep forgetting to take a picture of it.  But there’s nothing on the needles for Jessica.

What’s next, I wonder?

I’ll get back to the Big Brown Blob one of these days.  At least I’ve finished one sleeve now.

 

And now for something completely different…

I’m trying this new domestic goddess thing.

OK, that might be a bit of an exaggeration.

What I mean is, I’m trying to keep up a little better with the house and the girls.  I’m not saying my house is always spotless, and I’m not saying we are cutting out television completely (heaven forbid!), but I’m trying to be a bit better about staying active and involved with the girls and keeping the house together at the same time.

I have the feeling it has something to do with the move home, with the energy from the second trimester of pregnancy, and the fact that my hormones don’t seem as out of whack as normal.  In fact, for someone who suffers from severe depression, I’ve been feeling pretty alright lately.  I might as well take advantage of it, right?

At any rate, a friend in England bakes with her girls on Fridays before dad gets home from work.  They make cookies, brownies, or something fun to celebrate the weekend.

Why the heck not, right?

So, the girls and I decided to try it out on Friday.  They loved it!

Well, they loved part of it.

In keeping with this whole domestic goddess thing, it was one less bowl for me to clean.

 

I’m not a princess.

You will regret it if you don’t turn up the volume on your computer and watch this video.

It’s my daughter.

Singing Taylor Swift’s “I’m not a princess.”

While wearing a princess dress.

And climbing a tree.

I just regret that I didn’t get the camera in time to record the duet between both girls that happened just prior to this.

 

Pre-Baby Projects

One of the things we have been working on accomplishing before baby arrives in January (you know, other than moving, unpacking, getting settled, etc) is getting the girls out of our bed.

We knew this would be a big project, and had always intended to start it when we moved back home and got into our house.  The hope was that once we were settled, we’d be able to help them feel settled.

They go to bed in their beds, but always end up with us early in the morning.  This wouldn’t be so bad if we could always all sleep in.  But Samantha is an early riser, which wakes up Erica.  And the minute Marcus gets up for work, they both wake up, ready or not.

So, we know this situation isn’t practical or desireable.  And once baby arrives, it just plain won’t work.

So last night I woke at 4:30 am to realize that Erica (whom Marcus calls the “Nighttime Ninja”) had snuggled into bed with us.  We returned her to bed.  About 20 minutes later, both she AND her sister were at the bed, wanting to get it.  Marcus and I took them back to their own beds.

Repeat.  Again.  And again.

At about 5:30 I decided I was tired (Hello!  Pregnant woman here!) so I pulled my pillow and comforter off of the bed, took them back to their room, and slept in the doorway until 6:15.

Clearly, this will not work.

We’ll try again tonight.  Mostly, what Marcus and I need is the resolve to see this through.  They go to bed so well, but when they wake in the middle of the night, they just won’t stay there.  They aren’t upset; they want to sleep with us.

And they are so snuggly, sometimes it’s easy to forget why we need to return them to their rooms and their beds.

But we know it’s for the best.

I need a nap.