Yarn Along

So this week I haven't been doing much reading but I've been knitting! I volunteered to test a pattern for one of the Divas and spent the weekend doing just that. I got this lovely yarn at NE Fabrics b/c I didn't have enough chunky yarn at home and then I set right to work. The pattern is Ella's Errand Sweater by Shonny Isley. I knit the whole sweater in one weekend so I am a fan! I'd never really worked with chunky yarn before so I was amazed at how fast it knit up. It came out as a really cute little sweater that fit James really well. Most everything that I have knit up till this point has been huge so it was nice to have something that fit just right! You can see more details on my raverly page here.

James' 1st trip to the OR

This morning I took James to have his first (and hopefully last) set of PE tubes placed and his adenoids removed. My mom came and stayed with Xander so I could takes James by myself and Frank could still go to work. We weren't the first case this time which really surprised me given that Xander was first both times and he was older both times. So we didn't have to be there quite as early which would have been nice if James had slept slightly later but of course today he decided to get up at the butt crack of dawn. I needed a bulletproof vest this morning! Trying to keep James from nursing for like 3 hours was the most challenging thing about today. So we got there, got checked in, hurried up and waited for the anesthesiologist to come so I could sign consent for the surgery. We gave him his versed to relax him and then he snuggled up in my lap and got all googly eyed. I was able to just hand him over to the nurse with no fuss or muss! I had a slight moment of panic after I went to the waiting room and they paged the pediatrician stat to the recovery room but it was the case before James that had some problems and they seemed to everything under control once I got back to the recovery room. Everything went well with his surgery and Dr Wilson brought me back to the recovery room and we beat James there! So I was waiting for him when they wheeled him out and I was able to pick him right up and snuggle him. He was starting to get fussy so I just put him to breast and he calmed right down. He nursed the whole time while he was in that twilight zone and then he just sort of looked up at me and was like "hi mommy." And then we went home. It was amazingly painless relatively speaking. We even stopped at Wal-Mart on the way home. He fell asleep on the way home and did take a good long nap this afternoon but now he's wrestling with Xander so I am guessing he is back to his old self!

Xander's 3 yr appointment

Xander had his 3 year well child visit this morning. It went well. All in all he is a pretty healthy guy so... He weighed in at 29lbs and was 35 in tall. Which puts him in about the 5-10th percentile for both and at a good height to weight ratio. I go back and forth about worrying about his size. If he is going to be short there isn't much I can do about it! But sometimes when I am folding laundry (as I folded more laundry than I would like to discuss this weekend...) I get anxious that his size 2s are still too big on him for the most part! And when he is multiple kids his own age it is really striking how really tiny he is but he holds his own so I guess I need to let it go. He is eating and except for his speech he is developing normally. He is plenty active that is for sure!

Speech is going well. He is on a hiatus from speech until school starts in the fall but we still see the speech therapist weekly for James so he is kinda getting it anyway! It probably helps that most days now he can actually hear us talking to him. He has another ear infection in the left ear today. He's been averaging about 1 infection a month since his 2nd set of tubes in March, which I guess is a lot but is such a vast improvement over then near constant infections before. These seem to respond well to antibiotic ear drops and clear up quickly. The biggest problem really is keeping the drainage from causing breakdown on his ear lobe. Xander still hates the ear drops but he submits a little bit easier these days b/c he knows it's coming no matter what. I found that if I told him it was time for drops he screams bloody murder but he'll lay down and take it. I hate to hear him scream but I don't think it is fair to sneak up on him with them either- that just makes it worse! He does seem to hve a constant clear running nose so we are going to go see an allergis for him. Given my history and his constant running nose plus the ear infections that haven't really cleared up with multiple sets of PE tubes and an adenoidectomy it's time to explore other avenues for "fixing" his ears. I am not looking forward to skin testing on him or the possibility of having to majorly alter his diet but if it will prevent ear infections then we'll do what it takes... Can you imagine how bad his ears would be if we did any of the things that supposedly make ear infection worse (formula, smoking, not vaccinating, etc...)

Yarn Along

So I finished the Hobby horse and decided to move onto some quicker smaller projects for awhile before I tackle the next "big" thing. Mostly I haven't decided what the next big thing is going to be yet so.... The two above are some charity hats for the hospital where I work. We are always woefully short of boy hats so I try to make boyee things whenever possible. I also knitted up a couple more Bel Cloche hats for my SIL and my friend's daughter. I still love that pattern- it is so cute! Next I am going to make some hats for Ginny's Knit for Japan campaign. I have a bunch of bulky yarn to use my from my stash to get those done but I need to get cracking b/c the deadline is fast approaching! All this while I decided what to do next. I want to make a vest for myself but I don't know that I am ready for something that big... so then I want to make some Milo vests for the boys but I also want to make a Twisted Tree pullover for Xander. I also love the pembroke vest and I want to knit up the whole Spud and Chloe on the farm so needless to say I think I need to find some more focus before I decide what to do next!

Reading wise I have been trying to be good about studying more for my IBCLC boards but I have to say I am having a hard time focusing on it. Learning about cranial nerves and innervation along with the fat/protein/casein composition of milk is just making me fall asleep! Helping mothers breastfeed in person I love but I'm feeling frustrated cramming all these facts into my head when I probably won't use them past my boards. That being said mixed in with all the factoids is some really great information that will help me in practice so I keep slogging. This book has tons of great pictures so it is a nice change from reading! Gotta go take a nap so I can make it though work tonight!

It's a Girl!

Lucy, our long overdue cow, had her calf early this morning (perhaps late, late last night). Another little girl for the farm! She is a very sweet little red angus/jersey cross who we decided to call Annabelle! Welcome!

Getaway to Lincoln, NH

So Tuesday we took off for a couple days to Lincoln, NH. Frank had a training there and since I wasn't working the boys and I joined him. We stayed at a very nice resort there in a one bedroom condo. Because we decided to go last minute we got a very reasonable rate and having a separate place for the boys and us to sleep was a blessing. I really enjoyed the condo stay b/c having the kitchen meant that we could eat in and save some money on restaurant meals and also keep the kiddos contained. The resort also had movie nights, a swimming pool, and a playground. All in all the hotel worked out very well. We were only going to stay one night and we ended up extending to 2 nights b/c we were having fun.

James had speech therapy Tuesday morning and I had a pair of pants that I was hemming for friend to wear to a job interview so despite my attempts to make an early start we really didn't get going till mid morning. I loaded up the car and installed the portable DVD player with the hopes of keeping the kids occupied on the almost 3 hour drive. Then I had to look all over the front pasture for Lucy b/c she is due any day with her calf and I needed to check on her before we left but I couldn't fin her. I had to walk practically the whole pasture before I finally found her tucked in a corner by the fence- without calf i might add! I finished the pants, James finished his speech therapy and off we headed. First stop was the post office to mail a package for a diva swap, then we stopped in Keene to drop off the aforementioned pants, then headed up Route 9. We made it almost to Hillsborough before James started to get really antsy so i stopped at the McDonalds there to get him some food, which did pacify him. Then we stopped at LL Bean in Concord and hit a 50% off kids sale so I got some shoes for $10- score! and a few $3 t-shirts for Xander who for some reason is woefully short of t-shirts. It might have something to do with the fact that he changes his clothing 3 times a day and gets every single outfit filthy dirty! Playing outside is wonderful but oh the laundry!!!!

After LL Bean we made a bee line for Lincoln, got to the hotel, checked in, and unloaded the car. By the time we finished that Frank had joined us so we had some snacks and then headed up to Franconia Notch State Park to go and hike the flume trail. These pictures are all from that hike. It's 2 miles round trip with maybe an extra 1/2 mile for some of the side trips we took. The flume is simply cool! It's a nice shady hike too so you don't get sunburned or too hot. Xander walked the first mile and a half or so and then he got tired so Frank carried him in the backpack the rest of the way. James was supposed to be riding in the backpack with daddy but he decided he wanted me to carry him instead of daddy so I carried him the whole way in my SSC- good thing I brought it! It was a pretty good workout all things considered and a beautiful hike.

After leaving the flume we headed up to Profile Lake to look at the where the Old Man on the Mountain used to be...I can't believe it has been almost 10 years since he fell. It totally doesn't seem that long ago. Frank never got to see hims till up on the mountain but they are in the process of doing a memorial so we got to see the beginning of that although Frank thought it was already completed and it looks like they have just started. So we walked the path around Profile Lake, saw what they have completed, dipped our toes in the lake and headed back to the hotel. We bought leftovers from Xander's party so we had kebobs and fruit for supper. We were going to head down for the movie but the boys were pretty much done by that point we bathed them and then we all fell into bed. James woke up at about 4:30 am but he snuggled into bed with me and went back to sleep so that was nice.

Wednesday Frank went to his training. The kids both slept late and so did mommy! After breakfast we headed down to the playground which the boys enjoyed but I think it was really meant for slightly bigger kids. After the playground we went to Clark's Trading Post, which would have been much more fun had it all been open. Just the general store was open which is really just a cheesy souvenir shop but we did get to look at the bears through a window. We'll have to go back sometime when the whole place is open b/c I am sure Xander will love the trains! After Clark's the kids were ready for a nap so we grabbed some lunch and headed back to the hotel. The boys napped- well Xander napped and James played in his pack n play while I took a bubble bath- yeah for jacuzzi tubs! Then James and I played until Frank got back and Xander woke up. We tried to go to the Lost River after that but they closed early that day b/c of a tornado watch- so lame! It was sunny and only a few clouds in sight. I'll admit it did rain a few drops but there were no tornadoes anywhere near by!

So we went back to the hotel very disappointed and decided to go for a swim. So we frolicked in the hotel pool for quite a while! After that we got some pizza and had dinner. Then went back to the playground and then went down to the lobby for movie night- it was Open Season II. Sadly the boys weren't wildly interested in the movie but they quite enjoyed the popcorn! James woke up again in the middle of the night and came to bed with us but after being really restless about the time that Frank left he fell back asleep and slept pretty soundly. Frank had to leave very early to make it back in time for work. Xander and I got up not too ling after and Xadner watched tv while I packed everything up and James slept. once James woke up and they had breakfast we headed home. We stopped in Tilton at the Tanger Outlets on the way home. I have never been there before but it was really quite nice. We got there a little before they opened so we made a bathroom pit stop and a playground stop and then went to gymboree- which was our original mission. I had a coupon for $5 off so I "needed" to use it! They actually had a really nice selection of things. The outlet in Kittery is always kinda bare but this one had tons of nice, well marked down things. So I got Xander a bunch of t-shirts and a couple for James too. I like gymboree b/c I find that their boy clothes are cuter than most and they are pretty durable, plus they have a good rewards program. They run huge but as long as you know that.. it doesn't really matter. I did get Xander mostly size 3 shirts though b/c I want them to last. I really need to spend some time weeding through their drawers soon! One of my least favorite mom chores but I need to move James into more 18 month stuff.

After Tilton we headed home. I dropped the boys off at daycare on the way and went home to take nap b/c I had to be at work at 5pm. I managed to get a couple hours of sleep so that was good and I made it through the night at work! All in all it was a fun little trip and we'll have to go again. I think the next time though we'll plan on going on a weekend or mid-week a little later in the season so that more of the attractions will actually be open!

ps- does anyone else think that James just looks a tiny little bit like me?!?!?!?!

Chillin with dad

Aren't they cute!?!?!?