Still waiting

Well, hi! Our computer wasn't working all day yesterday, which meant I had no access to the internet. I didn't get online once in more than 24 hours. What's funny is after Keith fixed the computer and I got back online a few people had asked if I'd had the babies! :) We also missed our regular Mass this Sunday because we slept in, and I kept wondering if people would think I was in labor because we weren't there. These babies will be considered full term on Friday, which is crazy. But--they are still inside. :) I'm glad the computer was fixed today, because I think if I missed the yarn along of all things, that would truly be a sign of their arrival!

After a brief break to zip through The Sinner's Guide to Natural Family Planning (highly recommend it!), I am still chugging along with Anna Karenina. A friend stopped by today with my order of Usborne books, so I am reading those too, because they're awesome. :)

As for knitting, I am working on a little blue Milo for one of the twins. The newborn size knits up very quickly and I imagine I will finish it tomorrow. I've already knit another in brown.

See the owls??

I think I would've rather knit Puerperiums, but the amount of finishing (ie buttons) put me off. With Milo I just have two ends to weave in and its done. And I do love this pattern.

Speaking of finished, one of the things on my to-do-before-babies checklist was to knit a sweater for Michael. And I did it! He hates having it pulled over his head, but otherwise he loves it. Every time he saw me working on it, I told him I was making a sweater for Michael. So he loved to come up and play with the ball of yarn or touch the sweater and say "Knitting! Michael!"

Of course, now he seems to think that everything Mama knits is for Michael. And he wouldn't stand still for me to get a good picture, but I guess one can only expect so much of an 18-month-old! The sweater is a bit big, but that is good, as it will fit him still next year.

Head over to Ginny's to see what other people are knitting and reading.

Hanging by the yarn along ...

I write all sorts of posts in my head these days, but when it comes to having the mental energy to sit down at the computer and type them ... nope. Just not there. I have fallen miserably behind on my written correspondence for the same reason. 

Yesterday I spent most of the day at the hospital. I had one of my bi-weekly non-stress tests, and Baby A's heart rate decelerated a few times while they were listening, so I was sent downstairs to get an ultrasound and make sure his fluid levels were okay. Everything turned out to be fine, but ... it was a long day. 

I've been knitting the sleeves on Michael's Abate using the magic loop, since I don't have dpns in the right size. And that is probably the reason it's not finished yet. I hate the magic loop. One more sleeve, and then the collar, and then the finishing. And then ... babies??? Hehe. We'll see--I'm no longer confident in my ability to crank out two vests before they're born, even if they're tiny vests! (Right now I am leaning towards Milos instead of Puerperiums simply because Milo doesn't have any buttons.)

Still reading Anna Karenina. Last night I started The Sinner's Guide to NFP by Simcha Fisher because I needed a break from Russian literature, and it was next in line on my Kindle. So far I love it, but that's no surprise, because Simcha is pretty much awesome. IF I finish it before the babies come, IF I have the mental energy ... I will write more about it once I've finished!

Check out other yarn along posts at Ginny's blog!

Abate

I forgot to grab the books I'm reading for the photo, but it's much the same as last week. Anna Karenina is a surprisingly quick read now that I'm devoting more time to it than the five or ten minutes in bed before the light goes off.

The sweater is an Abate for Michael, knit in size 2T (the smallest). It will be a bit big for him, even though I'm knitting it on smaller needles than the pattern specifies. But that means it will fit him next year too, I hope. I'm using Quince & Co. yarn for the first time and enjoying it immensely!

I have this belief that the twins will not come until this sweater is finished and the skeins of Tosh I posted about last week are knit into two Milos/Puerperiums. Because they just aren't allowed. ;) Also, a friend of mine is throwing me a diaper shower next week, so clearly they can't arrive before that!

So many people have been predicting the first week of November that I think I'm starting to believe that's when they'll be born, myself. Insofar as I believe anything; in the end I'm clueless! I can't imagine still being pregnant by my due date, and yet I can't really imagine having two little babies in the house, either. We'll see!

Head over to Ginny's to see what other people are working on!

Living Room Tour!

I finally had a chance today to snap some pictures of the living room. Aside from Michael's room and the kitchen, this is the room that feels the most "settled." There are still some boxes, and there are no pictures on the walls yet. But it is cozy and homelike, and my favorite place in the house to be. 

This is the little reading/knitting corner. It makes me very happy. :) Sadly only half of our books fit on that shelf. We had another that didn't survive the move (it was cheap and falling apart and we don't miss it) so we need to get another one (or two). Some books were obvious choices to put out (as Keith says, some of our books just represent who we are), and others were easy choices to banish to the basement. But there were a lot of books that were really hard to look at and say, "I'm sorry, you'll just have to live downstairs for a while." (Actually, all of these books are still upstairs, in boxes, as you will see in a moment. But still.) 

The part of the house you can see through the window is our kitchen, which has a door to the outside. Sometimes when I sit in that chair Michael goes into the kitchen, looks out the door, and shouts hi. It's a fun game. :) 

That door goes out to our deck. (Pay no attention to the toddler "cave" sitting in front of it ... ;) ) The pink curtains were left here by the previous owner. They are weirdly waterproof in texture, a lot like shower curtains actually.There is so much pink in this house, there was no way this room could escape it. 

We used our wood-burning fireplace for the first time a few days ago. Someday we want to build shelves above the mantel. (You can see the boxes of books that still live up here with us.)

The Moroccan wedding rug was a gift from one of Keith's groomsmen who spent time in the Peace Corps; I'm so glad we finally have a place to put it, although I worry a bit about whether it should be in such a high-traffic area. And the couches were given to us by a family friend. A huge step up from Ikea! :) We love them. Although we will need to invest in some slip covers as soon as possible ... white upholstery does NOT mix well with little boys, especially ones who like to shake out the contents of their cups when their mamas aren't looking. 

The view out our window. Isn't it lovely? This room gets a lot of light because the windows are so big. 

The last shot is kind of fuzzy. To the left of the couch is the hallway that leads to our front door. On the right you can catch a glimpse of our (very pink plaid-wallpapered) dining room.

And that is our living room so far!

Puffing (and still settling ...)

I finished my birthday socks--not quite in time for my birthday, alas. I was about ten rounds short. But they are complete and I am wearing them now. I would post pictures but socks are remarkably hard to photograph when they're on your own feet. ;) 

I am waiting for yarn to come in for a sweater for Michael, and have finished a sweater and blanket apiece for the twins, so for the past few days I've been knitting hexipuffs from the leftover sock yarn.

Surprisingly, I am still reading Anna Karenina. Perhaps I will stick with it after all. I didn't want to be in the middle of a massive Russian novel when the twins were born, but who knows? Maybe I'll finish it before then. (Probably not.) The other two books are These Beautiful Bones  by Emily Stimpson and Small Steps for Catholic Moms by Danielle Bean and Elizabeth Foss. I won both of these in giveaways--one on Goodreads, one through Ginny's blog--and am excited about both of them, particularly since I probably would have bought These Beautiful Bones anyway.

Both those skeins are Tosh DK--one in Antler, one in Betty Draper's Blues--and I am not sure what to do with them. Originally they were intended for a Milo for Michael. Now I am wondering if they should go into Milos or Puerperiums for the twins. What do you think?

In case you're wondering why that last picture was blurry ... I had to work fast.

 My stash is officially unpacked, as are all the books that will fit on our bookshelf, so our little reading/knitting nook is complete. We are getting new couches tonight, so when the room is more together I will show you pictures.

Linking up with Ginny for her yarn along!

Bugs

One thing about living out of the city, and particularly living around a lot of trees: there are a lot more bugs.

Thanks in part to the warm spell we've been having, there have been a LOT of stink bugs in our house. A lot. They're getting in through the window a/c units (which we need to take out at some point), and the room they like most is Michael's. I've never been able to smell stink bugs before, but one day Keith vacuumed about fifty out of Michael's windowsill, and it's hard not to smell that many.

Michael doesn't mind them when they're just crawling around, but when they buzz around drunkenly and bump into things they scare him. Part of our routine before naps and bedtime now includes reassuring him there are no bugs (and removing them if there are any). More than once he has woken up from a nap crying and when I go in he looks at me with big eyes and says, "Bugs!" Poor guy!

It's not just stink bugs, of course. We've had a praying mantis on our back deck, spiders of various sorts both inside and out, beetles, and most notably there was a wheel bug on our porch. We took pictures, but I am not putting them up in the post, because seriously? Wheel bugs are not for the faint of heart. You can click to look if you want. These things, they just aren't ... terrestrial. They look like they belong in outer space, or a horror movie, or maybe both. We discovered ours right as the delivery many showed up with a pizza, so the three of us (plus Michael) stood around gawking at it until it started waving its arms at us, at which point we all sort of slowly backed away.

It hasn't showed up since then, but I have visions of coming onto my porch with an armful of toddler and groceries and things, fumbling for my keys, and suddenly ... nose to nose with the ugliest bug you've ever seen.

But, apparently, wheel bugs are one of the only things that eat stink bugs. So I guess it's our friend?

Birthday Socks

Last year, I knit myself a pair of birthday socks out of Koigu yarn. They were beautiful (although a bit baggy about the ankles), and I decided that knitting myself a pair of new socks to wear on my birthday each year would be a fine tradition. So yesterday, after jumping the car battery (AGAIN), Michael and I drove to Knit One and met up with a friend, and I bought myself some yarn. 

This yarn is by Richard Devrieze, who used to work for Koigu. It's called "Oz Opal," a fitting name. I just love the speckles.

Recently I won a copy of Big Foot Knits and I was excited to use it to knit my birthday socks. I figured this yarn was pretty enough to be knit into a nice "vanilla" sock that fit perfectly, and all that stockinette would fly by so I could wear these on my birthday (Saturday).

So! Last night Keith helped me take all my measurements and determine my foot shape. Then I started reading the directions ... and as of now, I don't really have the time or energy to knit and measure two swatches (one of ribbing, one of stockinette) and do the math. It's not all that hard, really; but I just ... can't.

So I am casting on for a pair of Froot Loop socks instead. (I think Katie suggested this pattern to me?) Whether or not I will finish them by Saturday is anybody's guess ... maybe I'll just walk around wearing one sock all day. ;)

Still reading Dappled Things, just one more issue to go! The books are packed away (still ... sigh), so I started reading Anna Karenina a few days ago because it was what I had on my Kindle. I'm not sure a massive Russian novel is appropriate reading at the moment for me, but we'll see!