Random Friday

Since I can't remember which day is the "random" day for blog posting, I'm doing it on Friday. As I've never bothered to do an "eye-candy" post on a Friday, I'm not breaking any of my own traditions. Besides, I have a lot on my mind.

Enter the Mouse.
Ask The Yarn Sniffer what he wants to be when he grows up and he'll give you a one-word answer followed by a single caveat: "Steve. But I don't want to get stabbed in the heart by a stingray." TYS has a ferocious love of animals fueled by intense emotion that is incredibly endearing. I could tell you multiple stories about it -- how he cried when he released a lightning bug because he was happy the bug would be returning to his family, about "Erik Taylor" the snake, Sammy the hermit crab, etc. So I'm in a quandary. This morning, I was sitting in the bathroom when a mouse came in through the crack on the hing-side of the door. He saw me and fled -- he had an easier time getting in than getting out, and it was comical to watch. I now have to figure out how to deal with this mouse humanely and, if possible, without alerting the Sniffer. A regular trap won't do (ew!) and a sticky trap would make TYS quite upset. Please chime in.

Supreme Court Integration Decision
Forty years ago, race was a huge issue in the United States. It still is, though I often feel that basing certain decisions on race (i.e. affirmative action) are being outgrown and outdated. In my own opinion (and it's my own, remember this is my blog and my opinions and I'm not trying to piss anyone off here, just making statements), some of these practices have let folks to make decisions for specious reasons. I'd be very interested in a social scientist's opinion on this, as well as seeing some data on racial breakdowns vs. full socioeconomic breakdowns for the school districts in question. Integration and affirmative action are true milestones in civil rights, but few people seem to have addressed the full socioeconomic profile as an alternative. It doesn't matter whether you're white, black, yellow, brown or purple -- kids are kids and deserve equal opportunities. I suspect the results could be quite interesting if you look at it this way.

Life's Catastrophe
Over the past month, it's been one crisis after another at Chez Spinneas. The non-baby related crises have resolved so far, and all that remains are baby issues. It started with a bad protein level in a urine dip that resulted in a bad 24-hour urine test (that was a blast, let me tell you). Then a failed one-hour glucose tolerance test turned into a failed three-hour glucose tolerance test that has resulted in a "we're going to treat you like a gestational diabetic" approach to my pregnancy. Factor in the fact that I tend to have five-pound infants (this is actually quite normal in my family), and the fact that I am with a new OBGYN practice this time around who does not feel a need to review my past records, and all of a sudden, I'm a high-risk pregnancy even though I feel quite fine, thank you very much. The only thing different about this pregnancy is that I'm older this time around, I have a higher-stress job, and I feel like my uterus has worse suspension than a pair of worn out truck shocks.

So what does this mean? Well, it means I've been checking my sugar levels with a glucometer for the past week (first with a cheap-o that I picked up to make myself feel like I was in control over the weekend, now with a OneTouch Ultra that insurance paid for that seems to be giving me more accurate numbers), eating three meals a day plus snacks (as opposed to the five or six smaller meals that make me feel better and more consistent), and freaking myself out on a regular basis. Having gestational diabetes does not scare me. Pricking my finger constantly doesn't bother me. What does bother me is the fact that this "official" meal pattern is driving L'il I nuts. For the first four days (while I was using the cheap-o monitor), I was doing as much as I could to keep my sugars in line and probably over-tested myself. Problem was, every time I felt like I was starving and needed to eat, it showed a high glucose level that indicated that I needed to exercise and bring it down. I'd go take a walk and then be even more hungry with a high level. The baby got very quiet, too. Once I got the OneTouch on Wednesday, the numbers seem to be more in line with how my body feels ... when I'm starving, it's low, when I'm ready to curl up and sleep, they're high. Makes more sense to me, so I'm tossing out those other numbers (not just for this reason, but for the fact that I tested the same blood sample on both meters on Wednesday and found that the OneTouch was FIFTY points lower than the other. No wonder I felt like I've been starving myself. It's been much easier since -- and I hope that the dietician I have to see on Tuesday will concur!

Today I head out for an appointment at a perinatal center, where I will undergo a level III ultrasound of L'il I because of the urine dip issue (keep in mind that I dipped clear at my last OB appointment, and my own personal feeling is that they should have checked levels further before initiating this referral -- especially since I have sought opinions of three urologists who tell me that the numbers are only slightly elevated and worth observation, not necessarily intervention). Good news is that I get to see L'il I today -- pictures are always great and as long as nothing is wrong, I hope to post one this weekend so everyone can see him.

Not All Things are Equal

My apologies for the long absence from blogging. Remember that post about my life being a catastrophe? Well, more crap kept getting piled on top of the existing crap and, well, for about a week now I have been fairly consumed with it and haven't done much knitting, despite the commencement of Summer of Socks last Thursday.

I'll try to share some of the trials and tribulations in an update later today, but I wanted to make sure everyone knew I was still alive (and still pregnant).

Catastrophe (Part 2) and Partial Resolution

I suppose that no comment means no happy vibe. I flunked the glucose test, as well as the protein "dip" on Friday. What does that mean? Well, not to give too much information or anything, but suffice it to say that I had to do a 24-hour urine collection and now have to suffer the four-hour glucose test ... which is absolute torture. I don't have the urine results yet, but at least I'm not showing any of the other signs of pre-eclampsia. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that it all works out ... I'm taking a very Scarlet O'Hara approach to the whole thing, namely because we're heading out for an unexpected four days at the beach starting tonight. Hubby and I figure that we need to do this soon for the boys ... in case I end up delivering early or ending up on bedrest.

That's only part of the catastrophe that has been my life (though admittedly, things do work themselves out fairly well -- even though I stress uncontrollably). I'm not the most pious person out there, but I do believe that everything happens for a reason and sometimes it takes a bolt of lightening to get things done.

I honestly can't remember if I've shared the continuing saga of our 95 Honda, other than telling everyone how it overheated and gave us a fit last year just before Christmas (smack in the middle of the holiday season). Our friend the mechanic checked it out and unveiled a leaky water pump, which we nursed for as long as humanly possible before finally going in to get an estimate on repairs last Thursday after it overheated again. It wasn't just the water pump -- the crimps on the radiator were leaking and it was going to cost more than a grand to get the stupid thing fixed. Now keep in mind this is a two-door car that I was using to haul two growing boys around and it was really only a matter of time before we had to take the plunge into "we have a car payment again" territory. We bought the car on a lark from friends when they couldn't get a reasonable trade-in for it two years ago -- and we did it primarily so that I could finally learn to drive a manual transmission (something I've wanted to do since I learned to drive!). The car served its purpose, and it was time for it to go bye-bye.

So last Friday I left the world of "sporty mom with a stick shift coupe" to "elementary school mama with a minivan" ... It feels very odd to drive something so much larger, and stressful to have the burden of a car payment (and more expensive insurance), but we'll be OK. The yarn budget will likely suffer (though I've been building a nest in yarn, so this shouldn't be a tremendous buzz-kill for the knitting), but the van is lovely and I'm very happy. The best part was that my husband trusted me to handle the whole thing since he couldn't get out of work last week and knew it had to be done (he always trusts me, but this was a big purchase and I was very nervous).

Wanna see?

And on another note, before we found out that L'il I was on his way, we had discussed the possibility of getting new furniture for our living room. We decided against the purchase not for monetary reasons, but rather because babies are messy. In an odd twist of fate late last week and early this week, we've managed to procure yet another big thing:

Again, very lovely. It's a pretty green plaid, and it cost a song. It's new to me, and in my eyes, it's in perfect condition. It also looks great in our Cape Cod's living room and it complements the spinning wheel :)

Blogging on knitting will return next week after our beach trip -- the socks are progressing. First waving lace sock is complete and the second one coming along; I'm on the gussets for the first "Go with the Flow" sock, which I'm also quite happy with. I'm trying not to start another sock until the Summer of Socks starts next Thursday!

Four Weeks, Eight Socks (or, My Life, the Catastrophe)

It occurred to me that I never blogged to tell everyone that I actually made it home. Well, I did. The return trip was not without major drama, so I won't tell you how all flights (American Airlines) through Dallas were cancelled and how we had to order new tickets from Southwest (love them) and how we spent the day in the airport waiting for that flight, only to find that it was delayed more than 90 minutes and how we didn't get home until 3 a.m. Nope, not gonna explain any of that :)

Instead, I'll share some sock progress.

Ze Jaywalkers are done. Regia silk color on size 1 Pony Pearl needles (airline safe, you see):

And so are the #2 Monkeys, completed just yesterday. Colinette Jitterbug on my standard metal dpns, size 0. I bought this yarn before the trip and have absolutely fallen in love with it.


The Jitterbug is delightfully smooshy and sproingy, but the yardage is scant. These Monkeys are short one cuff repeat and one foot repeat for a size 5 foot. They're snug, but I love them. I've actually bought two more skeins of this yarn -- one in the "plum" colorway and one in the "olive" colorway. I haven't picked patterns specifically yet, but I will soon.

As soon as I finish the next two socks in progress.

I finally figured out what to do with that Fleece Artist Sea Wool ("Spring" colorway), as well as the Socks that Rock that I've been struggling to choose a pattern for.

Over the weekend, while I was laid up on the sofa with Achilles Tendonitis (still really bothering me) after a week that consisted of two trips to the Department of Motor Vehicles, one trip to the dentist (old filling jumped ship), a busted AC at work (that was Tuesday -- welcome back to work) and a trip to the internist (on Friday for the ankle), I struggled with the sea wool yet again, determined to pick a pattern that would showcase this lovely stuff. I finally opted for Evelyn Clark's Waving Lace sock from Interweave's "Favorite Socks" ... which I finally broke down and purchased. What you see on the left in the photo above is Sunday's sock progress. It's amazing what you can do when you're relegated to doing nothing. Another repeat and I'll be at the toe on the first sock. They're a bit longer than usual for me, but I'm really hoping the yardage holds for its mate. The yarn is light and airy and fun to knit, and I've no doubt that these will become nice Spring/Fall socks. Not too heavy and not too warm.

At this point, I need to issue a formal apology to two of my cousins -- my ankle rendered me unable to attend one's graduation party on Sunday, and to see his sister's new baby. I just couldn't walk and I feel horrible for not being there!
The sock on the right is also an Evelyn Clark -- the Go with the Flow pattern started in the Socks that Rock "Footzey Foo" colorway. I've completed the fourth pattern repeat on the leg (it calls for 20) and it's one of the fastest patterns around. What's even better is that the pattern is super easy to remember -- which makes this pattern a great one for carrying along on doctor's trips, DMV debacles and anything else that happens to come my way (today it will most likely be the mechanic ... I think my water pump is finally hosed).

Not to be outdone by the car, this week's announcement from L'il I is that we head off on Friday for our Rho-gam shot and one-hour glucose torture test. I've managed to fail by one point for the other pregnancies (which culminates in a four-hour hell), so I'm hoping this one will be better. Send happy vibes!