Two Black Sheep

Gimme More

Since Ava is back to school, this really is our main place to communicate.  Especially during the first couple of weeks.  So here's a baby update, Ms. Ava.  I'll stop with the updates, but 20 weeks is a nice milestone.

The ultrasound confirmed our previous ultrasound beyond a grainy shadow of a baby.  We've got ourselves an all boy family!  The Doc said that he appears to be healthy & I will NOT be surprised with a girl come the end of January.  There's no denying that there's a boy kicking in there.

The Doc was very happy with our name choice, so of course I told Mom.  See, Mom hates the name we've chosen for TBA.  I've told Mom that she has one week to get her comments out & then I won't hear it any longer.  For a woman that scolded Ava & I for obvious jokes about Other Sister's name choices, she has been relentless & mean with TBA's name.  Even saying that she'll call him It when she watches him.  I know that she's joking, but I'm starting to not find the humor in her rants.  When I spoke with Other Sister & gave her the news, we discussed our mother's hatered.  Other Sister says, "Mom says that she's starting to like the name."  Why the fuck wouldn't she tell me this?! 

I've never released Gus' true identity & I'll call TBA a nickname on the blog.  Some people know the names, I'm not being secretive.  Naming a kid is rough.  Having a teacher in the family is horrible.  SK mentioned one name & she almost ripped his head off with tales of a horrible monster from last year's class.  But naming is more difficult when you come from an opinionated family.  This doesn't bother me because I politely remind them that they aren't raising the kid, but I know it was hell for Other Sister.  In our defensive, she came up with some shit-tacular names.  Brad & Ang couldn't have gotten away with what she wanted to name her kids.  And she's the more conservative one of the family.  So Mom can go on & on about what she'll call the kid, cause when we get a name, we stick with it!  We're strong-willed as she would say.  Everyone else points out that it's called stubborn.  Even if 3 people say, "Oh cute!  That's my dog's name" it will also be our kid's name.   

-L

Lifeline

I'm back without bug bites or a broken limb.  Camping was a good time, but I still had to cut it short.  Watching people play drinking games (yep, we still do) just isn't as much fun as one would imagine.  It was still a fabulous time outdoors and indoors watching the game.

I headed home to work on some projects.  I cranked out some more of the Tilted Duster.  I'm convinced that the yarn has human hair spun into it.  I'll be on a purl row & I catch myself thinking that it has some gray hairs twisted in the ply.  Then I throw up a little in my mouth & remind myself that I'm delusional.  Loose hair makes me sick.  Don't even ask about wet hair in the tub.  I'll throw up right here!  I need to pick up Honeybee again if I want to use it for a November wedding.  Pick-up Honeybee.  Pick-up Honeybee.

I also made great progress on my very first hand bound quilt.  With a little assistance from Denyse Schmidt's Quilts, I sewed the binding.  After a couple different stitches, I figured out how to sort of hide to stitches.  Ava & I were raised to hate hand-sewing.  On Wednesday, I told our mother what my plan was & she just shook her head with disgust.  I set myself some goals; finish one short side this weekend.  Surprisingly, I got into the groove & made it half-way round the quilt.  A little Mad Men marathon helped.

Today is bittersweet for me.  I hate Back-to-School season!  Hate it.  I used to love the blank notebooks.  Crisp folders with kitties & unicorns.  Fresh bottles of glue.  Pencil boxes begging for a little personalization.  But now I cringe when I see the sale flyers.  I know that my days are numbered.  Ava goes back to school too!  My lifeline is gone.  I've got to figure out my problems all on my own.  No one to call when I'm bored on the road.  No one to say, "Can you believe that Mom said that?"  Oh man, I'm going to cry right now so I'll move on to the sweet part of today.

This afternoon is our 20 week appointment.  I can't wait to see the little bugger.  Seeing the kid always helps get me into the mood; reminds me that I'm actually carrying a baby.  He (please still be a He) started to really move during the last couple days.  It's funny to feel the tiny movements again.  I'm so used to the big kicks from the last trimester of a pregnancy.  These tiny ones just feel like little taps that say, "I just want to introduce myself".

To everyone heading back to the books: No talking, stand in line, don't pass the note & be nice to everyone.
-Lola

p.s.

Here's a picture to give you some insight into the type of bar that we watch the game in each year.  Sorry this picture is a little dark, but I think you can guess what's in the player's mouth.   

Space Oddity

When I woke up this morning, the room was actually chilly as in "Hmmm, I should have worn a pair of socks to bed last night" chilly. Our family is plagued with sleeping problems, but usually I am okay unless the girls keep me awake making hummus at 12:30 AM or the college kids across the street throw yet another kegger. Getting a good night's sleep last night was lovely . . . and hopefully enough to get me through Tuesday. For some unknown reason, I never can sleep more than two hours the night before school starts. Paranoia? No, probably just the fear that I won't wake up with the alarm.

I've been back in school mode since cheerleading started. These girls I actually like; you can have a conversation with them without wondering if they will trip you given half a chance. Here is once such conversation from Wednesday, one that made me nearly fall off the bleachers. To start with, I was wearing my Hollister flip-flops, the only item of anything I own from that dreadful store. If you've never been to a Hollister, stay away. Anyway, here goes:

Cheerleader one (upon noticing said flip-flops): I love your shoes, Coach. Are they your daughters?
Me: No, I needed to buy a pair of shoes when my flats were giving me blisters. We were in Hollister and luckily the shoes fit me. Nothing else would in that shop.
Cheerleader one: You could try to squeeze into a shirt. They are really cool.
Me: Umm, no, that's okay.
Cheerleader two: But you're beautiful, Coach.
Me (wondering if I borrowed a dollar from her yesterday and forgot to pay it back): Thanks, but I still can't wear the clothes.
Cheerleader two: I hate it when people are self-conscious about their weight and think they are fat.
Me (more than a little shocked): Did I ever say I thought I was fat?
Cheerleader two: I shouldn't have said that out loud, should I.

I finished off the first of the socks I was working on. For some reason, I thought I would be all "look at me" and attempt to "design" a sock, but I gave up in record time. However, I am calling this set "Space Oddity "for several reasons: the yarn reminds me of astronaut ice-cream (a true delicacy if you've never tried it), the quartrefoil eyelet pattern looks like stars, and we were talking about David Bowie at the time. Probably should call it "Everything But the Kitchen Sink" since I used Judy's Magic Cast-On for the toe, Wendy's basic toe-up gusset, and EZ's sewn bind-off (which failed me this time . . . I may have to rip it out and redo the bind-off as it is too tight . . . could be I was cranked on Starbucks since it just opened in our little burg).

Yesterday marked the start of the Persuasion Project for Ravelry's Jane Austen group. I chose to knit Ariann in Cascade 220 wool whilst listening to the book on the iPod. When Cara knit this sweater up, I liked it but never gave it a passing glance. After the "let's find wool for Katherine Hepburn" debacle, I settled on a lacy cardigan in red. The theme for the knit-along is British Militia, but it is flexible.  I figure it's red, kind of coat like - really a cardigan (did you know the inventor of the cardi was the earl of Cardigan who wanted his soldiers to have a sweater which was easily removed?), and the lead character's name is Anne. And for those of you who want to correct me about the whole red coat thing since the branch of the military featured in this book is the navy and they wore, well, navy, I know . . . and I alerted the moderator of the group to this and felt like a complete ass.

Enjoy what's left of the weekend. I guess this means summer is coming to a close. For some reason, I suspect that we will get one more heat wave in before the leaves change. Seriously, what would going back to work in an unairconditioned building be without sweating at least five days in front of students. At least I know to wear a pair of socks to bed tonight.

Ava

PS - Did you see this  in Texas? Usually, I am okay with spiders, but this makes me rethink that position. Hopefully Lola was safe in her camp site this weekend!