Been a while...

So, DD is having big problems at school and the principal told us that we wouldn't be wasting our time if we got her evaluated for ADD/ADHD. Legally, no one in the school system can tell us they think she's got ADD/ADHD, because it's a medical diagnosis and none of them are doctors...but she did say that she's noticed DD showing alot of the signs they look for when they are asked to help evaluate a kid's behavior as part of the diagnosis process....so today DD should be bringing home some forms for DH and I to fill out to get the ball rolling on getting her evaluated....things have been very stressful lately...

DH was in Jersey over the weekend for our SIL's fund raiser, and it was a huge success, so that's good...but we're still very worried about our SIL and her health...it's day by day.....

I actually have been so stressed out lately that I did not crochet all weekend...I went 3 whole days without touching yarn or hooks at all...didn't even look at patterns!! When I told DH that, he checked my pulse and touched my forehead to make sure I wasn't sick LOL....but last night I just stood and looked at my stash until a yarn jumped out at me, then I gathered all the skeins of that yarn I have (4 total) and grabbed a hook...didn't really know what I was going to do, just started working on it...and it's turning out pretty well, I think...still not sure if it's going to be a square that I will make multiples of to make a blanket, or if what I've got is just the center of a blanket...but I'm going to continue working on it and we'll see how it turns out...I did have the sense to write out what I was doing, once I realized it was looking pretty, so I should be able to duplicate it again, so that's good....

We finally got snow that stayed on the ground last night. DH had to clean off the cars this morning and the streets in the apartment complex are kind of crummy....but the main roads are clear, so I might venture out tonight in search of the yarn I need to make the second baby set for my mom....depends on how the day goes though I think...

I'm off to work on my new project and maybe translate some of my graphs into line counts....

Poking along...

So, I've got everything for the preemie finished..just have to take a few pics, and a friend I'm visiting tomorrow wants to see some stuff I've made, so I'll bring them with to show her..then the package is off to Mom....

I've done a total of 4 more of my quilt squares, just have to take pics and then I can list them on my etsy site (www.shopjlc.etsy.com) and see what happens with them...I think now that I've got the traditional 9 patch square done, I might list it with the variation square (same thing only with the squares on their points) and adjust the price...it would be my first package offer LOL...I'm already planning on doing a few package deals, but I want to get all the squares up there first....I have 5 more already typed up and ready to test, but I really want to work on something else for a bit....

I've still got the back of that pillow for my friend to do...but honestly, right now I'm a little irked with her and don't really want to do anything for her....she's marrying a very dear friend of mine in November. We've met once and I've been emailing with her on & off since June....but she only emails me when she's upset with him and wants my take on why he's doing something the way he's doing it...I found out she crochets and I had seen this beautiful headpiece that I thought she would like as it's very Pagan and SGA-ish (and she's both!) and it's completely crocheted!! (http://www.theanticraft.com/archive/beltane06/maidensglory.htm) So I emailed her the link...she said she loved it, but isn't up to making that yet as she's just started...I offered to make it for her and mentioned that someone on the 'Ville had said something about using it for the bridal party...and she loved the idea and said she wished she could make them...so I offered to make it for her bridal party....she snapped up the idea, so I told her I'd make a sample one so that she could see it in person before we come down for the wedding, just in case it doesn't work for her in person as well as it does in the picture....so I made one, to fit my own head, using blue for the flowers (she wanted purples for hers) and I told her that this one was mine and a sample for her and to let me know when she got it....several days later I dropped her another email asking did she receive the box?? Still haven't heard from her...I spoke with my very dear friend (her fiance) a few nights ago and asked did she get the box and he said yes....but there was something wrong in his tone, so I asked what was wrong...and he said that she doesn't want them for the wedding...no problem!! Means I don't have to make 5 more of them! I think he was worried that I'd be offended or something, but I'm not...it's her wedding and she should have what she wants. That was the whole point in me making a sample for her first. But the fact that she got it, talked to him about it, apparently showed it to the other gals in the bridal party, and told him what she thought...but didn't bother to contact me...that bugs me. I get that she might have been unsure how to tell me, and I do know him a lot better than I know her...but she asked me to do this and then she put him in the position of having to tell me that she doesn't want it. Just cowardly IMO, and I don't appreciate that she pulled him into it...before this, he had no clue that I was even going to make these things...but when she doesn't want it, she gets him to do the dirty work...not cool...

Yeah, I'm irked....but at the same time, there is yarn that I've used to make this pillow, and there is yarn sitting in the bag for me to make the back from that I won't take to use for anything else til the back is finished...and there is a hook that is attached to the back piece so that I don't have to worry about remembering what size hook I used...I really should just either make the back and finish the darned thing or frog the back piece and do something else with the top piece....just can't think of what else to do with it though.... but I'm not going to work on it now cause I want to do something fun, something other than sc'ing back & forth like I've been doing with these squares of mine!

So, a few weeks ago, I picked up the Knifty Knitter loom sets, both the round & the long ones...today I started a little hat, which I'm hoping is big enough for DD2...if not, I'll just donate it or give it to someone with a younger child than me....I just want to actually MAKE something with them, since I spent the money and they're just sitting there...I love the look & fell of knit but most of the time I just don't have the patience to fight with it, and it is usually a fight for me...maybe when the kids are older I'll have more time to improve my knitting skills, but until then, I think the KK is pretty much the only hope LOL!!

I'm off to make my lunch and then fight with this KK thing....

Still going...

So, I've completed one of the patterns Mom picked out for the preemie...it's so tiny!! Looks too small even for DD's dolls, though I guess when I think of it, the baby IS smaller than the dolls are...but I have to say that seeing so many of these preemie patterns making reference to 'this pattern would be appropriate for burial' just breaks my heart...I know it happens, but it hurts to see it stated so clearly...does that make sense??

We had a scare with my SIL last night, but it turned out to be nothing more than some doctor in the rehab hospital deciding that he wanted her to take up a bed somewhere else...we were given the impression that we'd be lucky if my BIL got to see her alive again, and it was pretty much a false alarm...gotta love people, huh? My BIL has a lawyer who has been doing work for them pro bono if it pertains to my SIL's condition, injury, treatment, whatever...so he'll be contacting the lawyer and then the AMA about this...

Got to play with my yarn yesterday...got most of it still in the box, but I now have all my thread in one bag, all the cotton yarn in another, all the non-acrylic (wool, thick & thin, mohair) in another bag, and all the Pound of Love yarn in another bag...I had no idea I had so much PoL!! I've got at least half a skein of each color (except the purple) that I've seen in my local AC Moore! How did that happen???? Maybe I should just pick up the purple to complete the collection?

I'm expecting to have all the preemie stuff done by the end of the weekend...then I'll send it all off to Momma...along with the regular baby stuff I made for this little one and the scarves I've made in between the baby stuff....I'm just not a scarf person really, and I didn't have enough of these thick & thin yarns for anything else...so Mom & Dad gave me the yarn for Xmas, and now I'm giving Mom the scarves I made from it LOL!!!

I'm very much looking forward to this weekend...the 15th is 7 years to the day that I met DH...and his mother has offered to take the girls for the 3 day weekend...so we'll have DH's game in Jersey, then do our holiday gift exchange with our friends, drop the girls off at Nana's, and come home just the two of us!! Then we can play for a day & a half before going to pick them up again!! I love my kids, but I also really enjoy the time DH and I get to have together just us two...I got preggers so quickly that we really didn't have much time as just a couple before we were a full family and these weekends are like a way to catch up on that couple time...we might even do something crazy like...go see a movie in the movie theater!! GASP!! The last movie we went to see was the 2nd Lord of the Rings movie!!!

Back..

OK, so I'm back to health..at least physically...mentally, I've got no hope!!

Found out yesterday evening that the baby girl whose gifts I've been working on was born early...about 4 months early. Amazingly, she's doing very well. She's basically just tiny. They've even taken her off the ventilator, so she's just breathing the regular room air, which is terrific.

The incredibly brilliant brainstorm I had about making her smock with a bigger yarn...yeah, that didn't work out too well...I got most of the way through making the back of the smock and realized that when I finished it, I would probably be able to get myself into it...not exactly sized for a little one, especially now that she's been born so early.

So, I've got a bunch of preemie patterns bookmarked and will be sending those off to Mom today for her to pick out which she wants me to make from her, and then I'm also going to make at least a couple of hats from me as well...I can't imagine having to leave the hospital no longer pregnant and without your baby in your arms...my heart breaks for her...but the alternative would be so very much worse...

ANYWAY! I've got a few more of my original quilt square type patterns listed this morning on my etsy site (www.shopjlc.etsy.com) and I've got another one already done, just have to take a pic and then I can list that one too...and I'm working on more today...I'll be working on my squares until Mom gets back to me about the preemie patterns. My goal is to get all the quilt-inspired squares done and listed before the summer, so that I can design more stuff. Not letting myself design til all the squares are listed...even if the ideas are keeping me up at night!!

I've told DH that at some point over the next year or so, for one of the holiday/birthday/anniversary events, I'd love for him to get a collection going amongst our family members and have them all buy me an adjustable dress maker's dummy. Cause I'd really love to write out some patterns for clothing that just give the numbers, instead of a million different calculations so that anyone can make the pattern fit themselves....we'll have to see how that works out though...

I'm off to pop my entry from Publisher's Clearing House in the mail and then frog that smock...I'll probably be able to use this same yarn for a preemie pattern or two LOL!!

Still sick

I've been sick for the last 2 days...DH stayed home to take care of the wee ones...and I've been in bed hacking up a lung. Right now, I'm up with the kids, but DH is out doing the laundry and will be sending me back to bed as soon as he's home again...

Crochet-wise, I've been pretty productive...I finished the little blanket for DD2..she's now got it wrapped around her legs while she plays, yesterday she wore it like a cape for hours. I also worked with thick & thin yarn for the first time 2 days ago and made a scarf that will probably go to my mom when I finish the baby set, cause I'm just not a scarf person. But she is and I'm sure she'll love it. I have to take pics yet, but will post them when I do.

So, I have a bit of a decision to make...there is a gal that I have known for about 2 years online, as part of my stay at home mommy group. It's a small group and we had all grown really close for a while, but lately the group seems to have petered off. Well, going back to October or so, this one gal, K, asked me would I make something for her newborn niece, for her to give as a gift. I said of course! What would you like me to make...blanket, jacket, hat, dress, what??? It took about a month to get any sort of reply from her, and when I did the reply was Would you still be willing to make something?...not what she wanted made...so I sent her about 15 different links to patterns online for her to chose from...getting her to decide what she wanted was like pulling teeth, but as soon as she made the decision, I told her a ball park number for what it would cost me to buy the yarn and hit the stores to pick it up...I actually got a better price than I quoted her, so I messaged her again and told her what I'd spent and asked her to paypal it to me, plus $3 for shipping..and I asked her where it was being mailed to. That same day, I made the entire sweater and the hat she wanted, because it was now nearly Thanksgiving and I knew she wanted it for a holiday gift. Messaged her when I finished, asked for the addy again and reminded her about the paypal....and she had offered to pay me for my time too, but I told her just to cover my expenses and the postage and I'd be happy....two weeks went by, and I posted pics of the finished set on the mommy's group to try and nudge her, in case she'd forgotten, without being a nag. She emailed me with her sister's addy for me to mail to...I told her I couldn't mail it out without her paypaling me...she said she understood....I pointed out that at this point I wasn't sure the package would arrive in time for the holiday...a few days later she told me she paypaled me, that her cc was charged, but that the transaction, when she looks it up, shows as unclaimed. So I contacted paypal and was told that I can't claim an unclaimed payment, that I have to wait 30 days for the transaction to automatically reverse itself, and then she can pay me again. OK...so I did mail out the present, and I paid for the rush shipping needed to get it there for the holiday...and I told her I would wait for the payment so that she didn't have to pay for it twice....OK, fine. About a week after Xmas, I emailed her and asked if the package arrived in time for the holiday. I still haven't heard back from her....not even a thank you for doing this for me! I'm more than a bit upset by her rudeness and her being so lazy about getting back to me when I was doing this for her....and she's just now posted on the group that she's expecting. Now, every one of the babies born to the mommies in the group have something that I made...at least the ones that have been born since the group started. And I have always included a little something for the older sibs of the new baby too, just to make sure no one gets left out. I made matching halter tops for all the daughters in the group this past summer. Do I still have to make something for K's new baby?? I really don't ever want to make anything for her again....actually I've been thinking about leaving the group since no one seems to be posting lately, but I don't want to leave the group until I actually get paid for this sweater set!! Do I have to make something for this woman's baby?? I can't decide...maybe I will offer just to keep the peace, but I really don't want to!!!

Ah HA!!

I had a great idea last night!! This smock is mocking me...I don't want to work on it, therefore I probably will never actually finish it...at least not before the baby is actually born. Then I thought to use DH yarn with a C hook, as per the directions for the jacket I just made for the same baby!! WONDERFUL!!!! By using the bigger yarn & hook, and following the directions as written for the smaller size (0-5 months) for the smock, I'll wind up with a finished smock roughly sized for 6-12 months or so....and it's working up SOOO much faster!!! I've worked on it using the new yarn for 2 hrs and 40 minutes today...and I'm nearly half done with the back already!! And I spoke with Mom today about this change .... I thought she might be upset about it, but she said I was clever to think of it....and we've gone over the patterns for the second baby set I'll be making for her and we've figured out how I can make them all in WW yarn!! I love it!! Those won't take me but a week to make, start to finish!! Yippee!!!

I'm definately getting sick now...got that itchy feeling in my eyes that tells me I'm going to get a fever soon...my throat is all scratchy and my voice is nearly gone..I feel terrible...but at least now I know this smock will be finished much sooner than I originally thought!!!

Today I got a call from my daughter's school...apparently she cussed at another student and then called him stupid...and then gave the teacher attitude and refused to do her work...yeah, we're going to have a nice long chat when she gets home. DH also wants to have a talk with her when he gets home....and then he and I are going to make a very concerted effort to watch our language as well, just to be sure that she sees us not cussing either....I don't know what happened to my sweet little girl who used to charm everyone and was most concerned about getting everyone to like her....this kid this school year has just been in trouble for one thing after another...and we just don't know why...we talk to her about it every time, we explain why what she did is unacceptable, we tell her what she should do instead of what she did if she's ever in the same situation again...but her attitude has just gone thru the roof these last 4 or 5 months and nothing seems to work for longer than a week or so....

And to add to the fun, as soon as I was literally buried under yarn this morning (I was looking for a yarn I knew I had and had to dig thru my stash for it), the little one picked up the 1/4 full bag of cat food and dumped it all over my bedroom floor...so I got to fight with the vacuum too....I really can't wait til DH gets home tonight...he's already promised that he'd get the kids fed & in bed and then he's going to get me some medicine and I'm going to sleep....I could so just lay down right now and not move for a few days....but knowing me, I'll be back to crochet in another hour or so!!

The New Year

OK...so today I got a break...both DH and my older DD went back to their usual routines and I got to get back to mine. After getting DD off to school, I hit the grocery store with the little one, then back home...and I decided that I have to do something besides this smock for my mom's co-work...that yarn is just so little, it's making me crazy!! Of course, I'll still do it, but that doesn't mean I won't complain, just a little, while I do it. I've finished everything else for this baby set, but the smock seems to take forever just to see a bit of difference. Good thing I told Mom I'd have the set done before the end of January, cause this smock is going to take forever!!

So, to save my sanity and give myself some instant satisfaction, I worked on some of my own patterns...the quilt squares. I started with just over 60 classic quilt squares that I loved the look of and thought I could translate into crochet....love the look of quilts and the tradition of them, but my sewing machine has me completely intimidated, so now I think I can actually make quilt-looking things!! Yay me! OK, so I've got a few of the finished, tested, and completed squares up on my etsy shop....but I still have so many more that I have all written up, just have to actually make them to test the patterns and then take pics of them before I can list them....and I'm thinking that once I get them all ready to list, I'm going to offer groups of the patterns for themed blankets, or squares that look good together....but first I have to get them finished....

And I also know that unless I make myself focus on these squares, I will keep running with the ideas that pop into my head and keep me from sleeping...and then all the work I put into these squares will be for nothing...so I've given myself the goal of getting all the squares made up & ready for listing by the end of June. Then I will allow myself to work on the patterns that are becoming an obsession for me. I am going to continue to write down my ideas, sketch them up, jot down basic concept info...but that's it. I want to get the rest of the finished patterns worked up first.

So, today I got 2 squares worked up. Tonight I'll work on the smock. I'll probably stick with that sort of schedule...do the squares during the day and the smock at night...or vice versa....it's the only way I'll get things done...and the squares will help me feel that I'm actually accomplishing something cause that smock sure won't til I finish it!!

And today, even though I've now caught the cold the girls have been dealing with for the last 2 weeks, I started my workout program. I did the 1 Mile workout from Walk Away the Pounds, and then did the abdominal workout that DH set up for me. When he set up his own exercise program and actually stick with it, his results were amazing...so I'm hoping they at least help me with losing weight and toning up some...whatever I get, I'll be happy with cause it's better than what I'm doing now...or at least better than what I was doing up until today. I will be walking at least 1 mile a day, then doing a workout targeting one body area on every weekday. Weekends I have off. I'm aiming to lose 5 pounds a month...just about 75 pounds total I think....I've already lost 2.5 pounds and I'm determined to lose more and get in better shape...I've been saying this for years, but I'm just so tired of hurting and hating the way I look. I hate to see pictures of myself. I hate to look in the mirror. And I HATE shopping for clothes!!! With a passion!! I just want to get down to a 12/14 and I'll be thrilled...my brain can't really conceive of me being any smaller than that LOL!! The last time I wore a size 12, I was 12 years old. I have this outfit that I bought, just a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, but they're in size 12/14. This is my goal outfit. I am determined that I will be able to wear that outfit by November 2007...before my friend's wedding. I'd love to go back to North Carolina and just shock everyone with my new look!!

Anyway, enough babbling....suffice to say that I'm very proud of myself for getting started. I'm off to deal with the munchkins now and maybe start another of my squares....