Knittens

Busy busy!

DH and I have been busy little bees this week.  On Friday and Sunday we went to the NCAA tournament at The Meadowlands.  It was amazing!

The games on Friday were a lot of fun.  We saw Georgetown beat Vanderbilt and we stayed for a little bit of the USC vs. NC game.  The second game didn't start until about 10 something, so we ended up leaving early. 

You may be thinking, "Gee, Meg, you look a little tired in that picture."  Well, I am.   If you had to climb  300 stairs to get to your seat  at 8 months pregnant, you'd be tired too.  You'd be even more tired if you had a stent  and had to  climb those stairs every 1/2 hr to use the bathroom!!!

Look at those stairs.  We were 4 rows from the top.  I seriously need to take a nap from thinking about them.

Friday's game was even more amazing.  We couldn't believe the excitement.  Georgetown was down the entire game and then came back to tie it by the end of the game and then shut out NC  in overtime.  IT WAS AMAZING!  We can't wait to see the Final Four game on Saturday (on TV... no tickets to that one).

In baby news, my belly is getting large.  VERY VERY large.  Last week I measured my belly and I was at 42" around.  I was thinking that maybe I gained an inch... maybe.  Yea right. Check this out...

Are you kidding?! 46 in?  I hope she comes out soon :)

Mommy doesn't know if she can get much bigger!!

In other other news, the Pinwheel sweater is almost done.  I'm concerned about a few things.

First, I didn't check my gauge once.  I dont have the right needles up a size or down a size and so it is what it is.

 

Second, I'm just a little concerned about the sleeves.  Every other direction has me knitting a certain amount of rows, not to a measurement.  The sleeves have me knitting to 12" and I think they are going to be really out of proportion.  I'll have to measure on some of my other sweaters to see how they turned out.

Well, another busy weekend is coming up.  My MIL and FIL are coming tomorrow and we are kicking off my DH's "birthday week extravaganza".  So, there is cleaning that needs to be done, baking that needs to be done, and laundry.  And what am I doing?  Hanging out in bed, watching TV and surfing the net.  Go figure.

Oh, one more thing.  I'm making a website for the baby!  I just started it, so it needs to develope a little more (just like my sweet pea!) so keep checking back!  I'll also put a link on the side :)

Sad...

I'm kinda sad. 

It's ok, don't worry too much.  It's not a "I can't get out of bed" sad (although I haven't really been far out of bed in the past few weeks), it's more of a pouty "but I want to go to the fun knitting thing" sad.

I'll be missing the fun in NYC tomorrow.  I know that there is a good reason for this.  First of all, I'm 8 complete months pregnant, the baby has dropped, I have kidney stones, and I haven't been out of bed for more than 4 hours at a stretch for awhile.  Walking around NYC and then attending a knit function afterwards probably isn't the best idea.  Also, we're going to the NCAA East Regional Championship on Friday to see 2 Sweet Sixteen games (read: 10 hrs of non-stop, over-the-top, send-me-into-labor fun), we have our Childbirth Preparation class on Saturday (read: 8:30 - 5:30 of breathing and "pushing".  Too bad this won't be before the labor inducing basketball game), and then back to the Meadowlands for the Elite Eight game (which will be sure to put me into labor if the two days prior did not).

So, you see... it is just too much for me to go into NYC to have the most fun of my life and represent and support the knitting community.  So, I won't be there.  I'll knit at home and think of the cool books and yarn and tours that people young and old from far and wide will be enjoying... without me... sniffle.

Second, I'm sad because I'm missing Maryland Sheep and Wool.  Why?  It's complicated.  Very complicated - as in:
I'm-having-a-baby-two-weeks-before complicated.  Which, really I don't think is an issue.  They are so easy to travel with when they are little.  But, that isn't all. 

It is also my-cousin-is-getting-married-that-weekend complicated.  Why does that make it complicated?  Because, he lives in MD.  Because, we are planning on toasting with family, not fellow knitters, spinners, and weavers from around the globe.  Because if there is going to be any purchansing for the weekend it is going to be off of a registry, not from a farm.

It is also my-family-is-flying-in-from-all-over-the-county-and-are-expecting-to-visit-with-us-after-the-wedding complicated.  It would be kinda tacky if they arrived to find a note on the door saying "buying wool, come back later".  I'm tempted, but will make the right choice.

To make myself a little less sad, I ordered Peruvian Highland Wool from Elann.com in the same colorway as Anny Purls to make a Pinwheel Sweater for Thaya.  That lifted my spirits a bit.

My friends at work also threw me a mini shower last night.  It was so much fun. 

My one co-worker made a delicious cake for us.  Look, it has polka dots on the sides like the room, and it has little ABC blocks and the baby's name on it!  Oooh I love it, thank you Theresa!!

I also received some really cute things.  I love this little blue dress.  I don't have anything in this color, and the best part is, it doesn't need to be ironed.  The peach dress is just lovely.  It came with a matching hat and socks.  Another iron free dress! I love it!  Holy crap, look at my girls in this picture!  Oooh the joy of pregnancy...

And, of course, my friend Steph who drove me to and from the shower, handed me all the gifts, and gave me moral support throughout the event.  I just love her (and her sweater.  Its made with a chennile type material.  I wonder if I could find a pattern for it.  She got it on sale at Kohls)!

She's moving in July and getting married in September.  She always has the cutest shoes.

Update... (long)

My knitpicks finally arrived!  It came on Friday... I couldn't contain myself.  I mean... take a look at this yarn!

Mmmmm I LOVE IT!  Here, take a look at the projects I'm using it all for...

I am going to use Wisteria for the heart blanket, Watermelon for the little jumper (I'm thinking Christmas dress), and I'm going to do Trellis in Snapdragon.  I am making the Debbie Bliss Picot edged dress in Orchid.

 

See, look! I've already cast on and I'm knitting away! But, I need to tell you something.  It's a secret, so don't tell anyone else.  I'm really only working on this project when DH is around.  His birthday is coming up, and he has requested some pretty specific presents, but these presents will leave him with nothing to open on his birthday.  That sucks, and you can trust me, I'm someone who didn't have anything to open.  I did a few days later... but its kinda different.  So, since I'm home I've decided to do a few special things for him.  I can't tell you what though.

Ok, ok stop twisting my arm.  I'll give you 2 hints about one of the gifts.  1) It seems like everyone is making this project right now.

2) Here is a sneak peak of the swatch I *just* started.  I may post some more vague pictures of what I'm doing... but I'll be sure to show you once his birthday arrives.  His birthday is on April 8th... look how tiny those needles are!  I hope I finish...

And lastly, a not-so-knitting update.  DH and I went on a spontaneous trip into Philly on Saturday to see the King Tut show at the Franklin Institute. Of course, pictures weren't permitted, but here is a quick shot we took on the way in.

 

The picture is really crappy because we were afraid we were going to get yelled at for having the camera so we didn't put the flash on.  But, trust me... it's us and we're excited.

The show was pretty good.  We didn't realize that the death mask, mummy, etc. aren't allowed out of Egypt.  But, overall, it was really cool to see the many things that were pulled out of his tomb.  I also took a art history class that spent a lot of time on Egypt... it was REALLY neat to see the things in person that i spent so much time studying.  Anyway, I recommend seeing it if it comes to your area.  And, if you can see the IMAX on the mummies, it is a must see!

So, that's it, my update.  The baby is doing well right now, by the way.  I'm starting to show more signs that I'm approaching the delivery... but don't worry! My OB assures me that it can still be a few weeks away.

Once I hit 36 weeks, however, I'm walking this baby out.  I so want her to be born yesterday!

Fin!

Ok, so I finished the cabled baby blanket from Simply Baby.  I need to block it, and I also need to block another blanket, so I got out my trusty board to see if I could do both at once.  No such luck, but that's ok.  Also, no luck on finding my pins.  No pins makes it hard to block.  So, I guess I'll have to wait on the block party.  Or, I could just do a damp towel and iron.  Ugh, I don't know.  Maybe I can do it without the pins.

So, baby blanket 1 and baby blanket 2 will just have to wait.  Cause I don't feel like making and decisions right now.

I mean, I have an excuse, right?  I'm pregnant!

Here she is, 33 weeks.  I'm measuring about 41" around.  Can I get much bigger?  I think we all know the answer to that!  I think she dropped, or is dropping.  I've felt a lot down low, and when they did an u/s on Wed (yes, I was back at the hopspital for bleeding, but we think everything is ok) she was head down.  Makes things a little uncomfortable, but it means that things are moving along just right!  I wonder how long I'll make it. 

Every night I have dreams about delivering.  I'm a little anxious, probably just because it I've never experianced it before and I've been thinking about it for 8 months.  One thing is for sure though, I can just picture how darn cute she is!  I can't wait to snuggle with her!!

I'm finishing up a sweater for her, I'll post pictures as soon as its done (I'm pretty sure I don't have to block it hehe)...

She's coming...

Coolest ever

This is sorta knitting related not really but thats ok :)

A friend of mine sent me an email to join her at this site: Good Reads

Its so much fun, and of course they have knitting books there that you can rate and leave comments about.  Hey, get involved people... and add me as a friend. I want to know what you think about the books you have!!

Add me!  Megfahren at gmail dot com

Grrr...

Where the hell is my Knitpicks package?!

Must...

have...

more...

yarn...

An end is in sight...

Well I was back in the hospital on Wednesday.  I know, this is really starting to get old.  You're telling me!  It was for the kidney stones again.  OH my GOSH the pain was unreal.  I was in the hospital from Wednesday through Friday evening this time.

So I went from this on Tuesday (top) to this on Wednesday (bottom).  The pain started without warning on Wednesday morning.  I was in the hospital again by midday.  I didn't have anything to manage the pain until 4pm!  It was a very long day, which is why I look so exhausted in that picture.  Actually, I think that picture is on Thursday while I was waiting for the stent to be put in because I only started knitting after I was given pain medication.

It was scary going to the OR again.  I saw the doctor who took out my appendix, he was so surprised to see me again.  I was awake for the whole procedure, they gave me a spinal block so I was aware of everything that was going on.  I even got to watch what was happening on a TV.  It was pretty cool.  I was worried that the spinal would hurt (which was stupid - I rated the kidney stone pain at a 10... the spinal was about a .5) but I hardly felt it at all.  I also felt nothing from the belly button down during the procedure, and I mean nothing.  Not even pressure.

The relief was almost instant, I've just been experiencing a lot of discomfort.  I was told it would be less and less each day.  I've been doing a lot of napping, laying around, knitting, sleeping... not much really.  I think its getting obvious that I need to really take a break.  I'm so exhausted.

I've been written out of work for 2 weeks and then my maternity starts, so that is a big weight off of my shoulders.  I'm just going to focus on me, and having the healthiest baby I can.  And of course, to get some more knitting done!

Hows DH dealing with all of this?  He's been a real trooper.  He has been with me through it all.

And now?  Now he is completely exhausted.  We've both been through it... now we've got to sleep as much as we can before princess arrives (which, hopefully will be in 5 weeks, no sooner!)

And, I just want to spend a special thanks to my mom and dad for coming to see me so much over the past few weeks and trying to help as much as possible.  Its been a help just having your support.  The same to DH's mom and dad.  It has been so nice to get your calls, and we appreciate your offers to come down and help out.  We really appreciate all of your concern.  And, of course thanks to all my friends and family for the "get well" wishes and the beautiful flowers!

Let the knitting commence! I'll be sure to keep you posted on progress with the baby, the knitting, and the home life. 

P.S. I should be getting a big package from knitpicks tomorrow.  I've got my fingers crossed!

Not so bad // Week 32

Here she is, 31 weeks and 3 days.  I can't believe how quickly she is growing.  But, that's a good thing!  I really can't wait to see her, I hope she comes soon, but at the same time I know in order for her to be healthy, happy, and safe she needs to be in her little home for at least 4 more weeks.

In other news, our baby now has a ride home from the hospital.  Right now Axle is keeping her spot nice and warm.  I love the color and the print on the carseat.  It came as a part of a travel system, so we have a base for both of our cars and a stroller.  This was the last big thing for her that we needed, so it really feels like we're ready now... although we still need a pump and sterilizer.  But thats ok... we'll get there.

So, in other news, work has been going okay, though they expect a lot from me before I leave.  I'm just about to that point where I feel like I've done so much that "it is what it is" on the 21st and that is that.  I'm also getting very very tired.  I have an OB appointment tomorrow... I'll ask my Dr. if she is able to tell the size and weight of the baby.  I'm also hoping for some more information on my induction. 

Finally, last night before I went to bed I spent a little time tending to my plants.

They've been a tad neglected because of how sick I was last week.  But, as you can see, they aren't holding it against me...

And, in knitting news, I am making progress on the cabled blanket and the baby shedir.  Not much to post about, and certainly not worth a picture at this point, but progress none the less.  I also ordered some Shine Sport and Worsted from Knitpicks for a variety of sweaters, dresses, blankets that I want to make.  That WILL be worth posting about, and I'll be sure to do so as soon as that package arrives! 

I'll be sure to keep you posted if there is any big news tomorrow.

Happy Knitting!

I jinxed myself

So, you know how I was half joking about what else could happen during this pregnancy? This is what...

I woke up at midnight on Tuesday and was so violently sick (think coming out both ends simultaneously) I had to go to the hospital.  I was there by about 2:30 am... yes, 2 straight hours of being very very sick.  I spent the night at the hospital hooked up to IVs so I wouldn't dehydrate (I've already been in the hospital another time for contractions from dehydration) and monitors so they could keep tabs on the baby.  I was, rather quickly, discharged in the morning.  That night I'm back at the doctor with blood pressure of 100/20 (read LOW) and my urine showing me as being dehydrated and starving (no crap).

She wanted to send me back to the hospital, but I begged (as best I could in my weakened state) to go home.  She made a deal with me.  If I went home and drank 3L of fluid and ate something she would be willing to check my stats again before deciding if I had to be admitted again.

So, I went home and did my best.  It was awful but I did it.

I went back and I checked out "OK".  Not great, but "OK" and that was good enough for me.  She gave me a sleeping pill and asked to see me in the AM.  I actually fell asleep before I could take the sleeping pill.  I slept a ton, woke up, ate a bagel, showered, and slept some more. 

I finally got to her office again, and to make a long story short, I am now going to be admitted to the hospital on April 19th to get induced.  We should have our baby by the 20th!  She also said if I get sick one more time shes taking me out of work.  As of now, however, my last day at work is March 21st.  13 more days of work.  I can do it, right?

So, what am I working on right now?  Right now I'm working on recovering so I can finish this

And more importantly, so I can finish this 

Next project: Baby Shedir