An unplanned blog hiatus! Between sheer busy-ness, and the unreliability of Verizon DSL (omg, how many times do you have to reboot the modem in one day?) I had to go on hiatus.

The good news however is that roadrunner was installed this morning (YAHOO!) So we're back to maximum speed, and with no connection hiccups (so far!)

The flood waters have receded. The lake in the yard has now sunk into the ground and more importantly, our basement is dry. Ok, not DRY sort of dry, it is a dirt and stone basement afterall, which sat for days filled with water. It will take a while for the "moisture" to finally go away. Though we now have a pump here permanently, so if it happens again this spring, we'll be ready!

On the kid front...

Cassidy is learning (or was learning) to ride her bike without training wheels. She has since gotten frustrated in typical Cassidy fashion and given up.

here is a series of pics...

Look Ma! No training wheels!

Just posing (or taking a break from falling!)

And there it is. I have about 20 of these shots on the digital camera,  all blurry shots of her taking a dive.

Really though, that first day, she was SO determined and would not give up. But by sundown she was spent and sick of falling. Training wheels went back on, at least for now.

Alex and Dylan are totally psyched to be going to the Family Fun Center on Fridays for playgroup. They had a BLAST last week and of course, melted down when it was time to leave. We met some new mamas and kiddos....fun was had by all.

Connor, FINALLY has some teeth showing. Man are they taking forever or what? He is still not crawling, but only belly creeping. And although he can jet through the house in his walker, he will not try to walk if I stand him up and hold his hands. He isnt rolling from back to belly either. Only belly to back (and never on purpose!)

I realized at the playgroup last week just how different a baby he is. NO one could believe he is going to be one in a few weeks, but rather assumed he was 8 or 9 months.

Granted he does do lots of things, like saying dada, pointing, can pick up a cheerio, waves,  dances on command (yeah..I gotta get that one on video and stream it here!) But in the back of my mind, I worry about the issues that may come up due to the really high bilirubin level when he was a newborn (brain damage) So talk me down fellow mamas

Other than the never ending list of mama duties, I have only ONE Holy Sheep! custom order to finish (and its in a holding pattern until my brown acid dye arrives in the mail) After that one is done, I'm on HSY vacation at least until the summer, unless a creative vibe strikes. Then again, I'm imagining all the socks I can knit with some time off. Not to mention a new neice coming in June (or sooner!) A friend having her first boy (after two girls) in October. I'd love to have Rogue v.2 done by next fall (LOL!) And oh yeah....Richard REALLY wants me to finish his felted mocs (better take those to the top of the list!)

Lastly, I visited both yarn stores in Ithaca. Now people told me Ithaca was SO much like Madison, I just didn't believe it. Well let me tell you....prior to last week, I hadn't even scratched the surface of Ithaca! We went on a jaunt last week, merely for something "to do" since Tracy was visiting for the day. I was amazed that Ithaca's State Street (and the Commons) were a small twin of Madison's State Street! I nearly screamed with joy (really..I did! And Tracy just laughed at me!)

Anyway..Homespun is the yarn store just off of the Commons. Its a nice little store. Really good selection for its size, and it even doubles as a quilting store as well. I was disappointed that again...no addi turbos. Just Susan Bates (hurl!) and regular Inox. I did find some size 0 Inox Express needles hidden behind the regulars. I'm not crazy about the cord (reminds me of the stiffness and curliness of Susan Bates needles) But I'll reserve final judgement after I try them out (of course I bought them!)

I will visit there again (nothing like an EXCUSE to buy yarn AND visit Ithaca!)

The next one, Knitting Machines Etc. Really I wasn't expecting much by its name. I'm not a machine knitter, but I read that they carried Rowan and some others. Oh My what a fab store. Again really small, but jam packed (Its no Lakeside Fibers by any means!) I'll DEFINITELY go back to this one. Just an amazing selection and...(drumroll please) Addi Turbos! ( I know I know..I'm an addi addict) Woolpak, Elsebeth Lavold yarns, Rowan, Dale, Cascade, full line of Brown Sheep and oh my...just too many to name really!

Knitting Machines etc leads me into a dilemma. I joined the Nothin' But A T Shirt-along (see right sidebar) all the while dealing with this inner struggle over the cost of 8 balls of Rowan Calmer. I had never felt the stuff and only read the raves and was hoping to find an alternative. Now that I've felt the stuff (they carry it at Knitting Machines Etc) I can't see using any other yarn. Yes the stuff is fabulously soft and springy...its really heaven in a yarn if you ask me. BUT...I'm also the mama of four small children, which means, I'll probably never wear the thing in the fear that it will get spit up on, juice spilled on it, or something worse (use your imagination!) Alas, for now, I am indeed hunting for an alternate yarn for this pattern if I even follow through with the knit-a-long at all. It will never be as comfy, I'm sure of that. But my marriage could be in jeopardy  if Richard found out I layed out nearly 100 bucks on yarn for this sweater.

Around a year ago on this day..

• Bad Mood Friday - 2008
• And even more lace - 2007

Posted in family, knitting

we’re back home

Downtime

Good thoughts needed!