Category Archives: Knitting


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playgroup and knitting

It’s been a really hectic week! We are part of a playgroup that meets every Thursday at a different mom’s house. This week was our turn. With a baby you don’t want to leave stuff for the last minute, so on Tuesday I made my lists of what I needed, and picked up all my groceries. On Wednesday after the movies (we saw The Feast of Love…it was a tearjerker but which was totally NOT for kids…lots of nudity and sex and stuff…) I went home and began to prepare whatever I could prepare in advance. Finally, on Thursday at lunch time, everything was ready. We’d locked Sam in the basement, vacuumed, cleaned, set out the food, arranged all the furniture and toys for maximum space, and voila- this was how my house looked:

This is the view of our dining room from standing in the living room. Normally the table is in the middle of the room and there aren’t any toys in there.

Each mom who hosts provides the food so no one has to bring anything. We usually provide finger foods because it’s a bit unweildly to wrangle a baby and a knife and fork. I put out pasta, Caesar salad, cold pizzas, veggies and dip, nachos and salsa, and 3 different kinds of cheeses, cubed, with crackers.

This was the “dessert” area, LOL. In the bowls there are Smarties, tropical dried fruits and Ringolos, then popcorn, then a platter with 3 different kinds of cookies.

This is the view going the other way, looking into the living room.

And this is how that same view looked a few hours later! In this photo there are 11 moms and 12 babies, and by the end of the day there were a total of 15 moms and 17 babies (2 sets of twins). Whew!

It was a lot of work to get ready, it probably doesn’t look that way but each time I’d get in the middle of something, like slicing veggies or boiling water for the pasta, Jakob would cry and need to be held, or fed, or changed, or I had to make dinner for Yannick and I…it’s a lot of “stops” and “starts” with a baby around, but in the end it was all worth it. I love to entertain so we had a really good time having a house full of people. Plus I’d invited my neighbor (literally 2 doors over) who has twins 6 months older than Jakob, and it was the first time we’d gotten together since we’ve moved here, so it was nice to get a chance to get to know her a bit more.

On Wednesday I’d finished the Montego Bay Scarf. Yay! I was really, really happy with how it came out, and needed only to wash it and it would be ready to give away.

Here’s a closeup of the stitch pattern.

Finally, on Thursday night I started swatching for the Hallowe’en costume. No one has guessed it yet… 🙂


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so close i can taste it

I finally have a chance to sit down at the computer! I’ve been using my snatches of time to catch up on your blogs and read my emails, so this is the first time I’ve had a small block of time where I can actually post. I’m not going to catch up any more, because, quite frankly, my days are boring and just blurs of more errands and more taking care of Jakob. I’ll still post photos, because if I didn’t I wouldn’t have anything to blog about!

We did do something different and special last week, though. On Friday we had Jakob’s first music class. There were about 25 or so moms and kids, ranging in age (the babies) from about 2 months until about a year. The class was hosted by a guy with a guitar, I think he called himself Loony Lorne or something. It was like “Sing-along with Raffi”…he played songs and sang and we all sang along and “danced” with our kids. At one point they all got toys and Jakob shook a maraca while I tried to keep it out of his mouth. Each week has a theme, and this week’s theme was the Beatles which was funny because we’d just seen the Beatles’ movie two days earlier, and Jakob really seems to like their songs.


Mommy with Jakob at 19 (!) weeks. Like his shirt? It says “I Only Cry When Ugly People Hold Me”. :]
Here’s my progress on the Montego Bay scarf. Since Yannick is sleeping in the other room and I’ve been tired lately, instead of watching TV until late, I’ve been getting into bed as soon as Jakob is down for the night. I loaded up my iPod with some new podcasts, and have been knitting like mad until my eyes get too heavy.

All that is left of this to knit is that little ball hanging below the needle holder. I’m going to try and finish it today, because I have this
Smooth DK that needs swatching! I’m going to try to beat the clock and knit Jakob a Hallowe’en costume this year. Any guesses as to what he’ll be dressed as?


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and finally…today!

Whee! I’m all caught up! (for now….)

This morning we went for a stroller walk with Robyn & Sean, and a mom (Bonnie) from my Thursday playgroup. We walked for around an hour and a half and it felt good to get in even a minimal workout!

Jakob woke up towards the end of the walk and once we were done we put the strollers side by side so he could see his cousin.
He was in such a great mood! He didn’t stop giggling and talking…its too bad that we had to upset him again today.

We decided that Yannick would give him a bottle every day at the 7:00pm feed. That way Jakob would (eventually!) get used to having a bottle, but it wasn’t the last one before bed so he’d still get a good feeding to help him sleep. Unfortunately Yannick has bowling on Tuesdays, but so that we wouldn’t miss a day, he came home at lunch time to do the lunch time feeding. It didn’t go well. After an hour of crying, resisting and passing out from exhaustion, Yannick had to go back to work and there was still 1 oz of an original 3 oz of breastmilk in the bottle. What little he had drunk was by accident as it spilled into his mouth and he swallowed so he wouldn’t choke. He finally calmed down when I held him and I got him to at least accept the bottle in his mouth. He didn’t drink it, but he chewed it like it was a teething ring, and ended up getting the rest of the milk without realizing it. It’s going to be really tough until he takes it, because his crying is really hard to take. He looks and acts as if we don’t love him and are torturing him. I think tomorrow night I will physically leave the house when Yannick tries to feed him, both so that he can’t smell me (or the milk) and so I won’t have to hear him cry. I might give Yannick a new pillow to rest him against and have him sit somewhere different so he won’t have the familiarity of my usual breastfeeding pillow and spot with the unfamiliarity of Yannick giving him the bottle.

Robyn brought me the Jitterbug I’d eyed at Effiloche. I *must* stop buying yarn! I couldn’t resist this one though, the colors just catch my eye. It reminds both of a bird of paradise flower, and those glowing neon Tetra fish you see at pet stores.

Isn’t it pretty? I think these will become just plain stockinette stitch socks for me me me. I think the colors stand out enough that I wouldn’t need anything fancy to have some pretty funky feet! (Uh…that’s funky in a GOOD way).

Look- I have been knitting! This is the progress so far on the Montego Bay scarf. I decided not to frog it after all (thanks Maaike!) and am slogging away. It’s a very easy pattern to memorize and I wouldn’t have to pay too much attention to it except that I’m knitting it on addi turbos and the points aren’t sharp enough to do the k2togs without looking. I’d advise someone else knitting this to use a sharper needle.

Something about Jakob’s pose in that photo just cracks me up. It looks like he’s saying “hey- check ME out!”


My aunt Mimi came over before driving back to Toronto today, and she brought Jakob a really soft sweatsuit. We put it on him to see if it fit and couldn’t resist giving him a cuddle while he was so warm and snuggly. Could you resist this face?

Now I’m done. Fini. Caput. I’ve done laundry, exercised, showered, taken care of Jakob, fed him and he’s currently crying is bum off in bed. I think I’m going to take him out and let him sleep in my lap until the next feed at 10:00 while I watch Big Brother and Law & Order. I’ll try and get some knitting in, then can’t wait to hit the sack!


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Elphie Custom Camera/Phone Case

Update: see end of post for information about a downloadable pattern pdf

Hey guys! Even with my hands usually full of baby lol I managed to finish and write up a pattern!

After my son Jakob was born I told my husband we had no choice but to buy a new camera.  Our existing camera was huge- larger than an 80’s cell phone!  It was the kind of camera I couldn’t even bring to social events like a wedding or shower as it would have required its own carrying bag and I would have looked like overdressed paparazzi.  Now that we had a child, I insisted, we needed a camera small enough to keep in the diaper bag or in my pocket.  There was no way I would miss those special first moments!

Buying the camera didn’t solve all of my problems, however.  The camera didn’t come with a case- only a thin tufted slip of paper that it fell out of easily.  Friends and family of mine have knitted themselves camera cozies, but all had the same basic design; a tube with one closed end and one ribbed end.  While you could knit it as tightly as you’d like, there was nothing to officially stop the camera from falling out.

I was determined to remedy that.  Buttons and Velcro were out.  I knew the camera would end up in my pocket and with my luck the flap wouldn’t be properly closed and the rough Velcro side would scratch the screen, or the button would cause worse damage.  There had to be a better way…

And there is!

Elphie!

Presenting Elphie– a camera case that will fit any flat camera.  Don’t worry about knitting to a particular gauge- this worksheet will accommodate any yarn and any size needles.  The case has built-in, double-layer protection over your camera’s exposed screen area and a cover that stays on and CAN’T come off, all without any snaps, ties or Velcro.  Oh, and did I mention that it’s seamless?  Mine were designed to fit my Canon Digital Elph camera- hence the name.

Want to make one for yourself? Here’s how!

The first thing you’ll need to do is measure your camera, so get a measuring tape and paper and pencil/pen. And the camera of course! On the paper write “A”, “B”, “C”, “S” and “R” with a dash after each. We’ll be filling in those values as we go.

Step 1

Measure your camera and fill in the values for A, B and C on your paper, in inches.

Knit a 4″ x 4″ gauge swatch with your desired yarn and needles. Measure the swatch and figure out the number of stitches (S) and number of rows (R) for 1 (one) inch. Fill in the values on your paper.

Step 2

Multiply your stitch gauge by the width (C) of your case.

S_____ x C_____ = CO_____ sts. (If this results in an even number, add 1 to get an odd number of sts.

Begin knitting:

The case starts at the flap, knitted flat in Moss Stitch, then stitches are cast on for the body of the case which is knit in the round in ribbing.

Cast on the resulting CO value you obtained above.

Multiply your row gauge by the depth (A) of your case.

R_____ x A_____ = D_____ rows.

Work in Moss stitch for half this number of rows (D_____/2).

Next row: work in Moss Stitch until halfway across the row, BO 2 sts, then continue in Moss Stitch (paying attention to the pattern as established) to the end of the row.

Next row: Work in Moss Stitch until the gap created by the bound-off stitches, CO 2 sts, then continue in Moss Stitch (paying attention to the pattern as established) to the end of the row.

Continue working in Moss Stitch until your knitting reaches the length of A+B+A.

A_____ + B_____ + A_____ = _____inches.

Multiply your stitch gauge by the full measurement of your case.

S_____ x (C_____ + A_____ + C_____ + A_____) = M_____

Adjust this new number to the closest lower number that is a multiple of 4. AM=____

(For example, if your M = 28, the closest lower number below that which is divisible by 4 is 24, so your AM would = 24).

Subtract the number of sts you cast on from the adjusted measurement.

AM_____ – CO_____ = _____

Place a marker at the beginning of the next row, work in Moss Stitch across the row, then CO the resulting number of sts you just got after the last equation. Your total stitch count should now equal AM_____

NOTE: if you prefer a snugger case, subtract 4, 8 or 12 from the number of sts to cast on in the previous instruction.

Join in the round, being careful not to twist. Your stitch marker will serve as the beginning of each round.

Work in 2×2 rib until the tube portion of the case measures the length of B and half of A.

B_____ + (A_____/2) = _____ inches.

Make sure your stitches are evenly arranged on 4 needles, with 1/4 of the sts on each needle. (For example, if your AM = 24 sts, then you would have 6 sts on each of the 4 needles).

Decrease round: Ndl 1: ssk, k to 1 st before the end of needle, BO 1 st. Ndl 2: BO 1 st, k to 2 sts before end of needle, k2tog. Ndl 3: ssk, k to end of needle. Ndl 4: k to 2 sts before end of needle, k2tog.

Next round: Ndl 1: k to the end of the needle, CO 2 sts, Ndls 2-4: knit across

Continue in stockinette stitch until, counting from the decrease round, you have knit 2 rows less than D_____/2.

Finishing

Turn your work inside out and work a 3-Needle Bind-Off on the remaining stitches. Weave in all ends.

How To Use

To place the camera in the case, pull your camera’s strap through the hole at the bottom. Insert camera fully into case positioned so that the long flap folds over the screen area of your camera, providing it with a double layer of protection. Pull the camera strap through the hole in the flap to secure the flap shut.

And there you have it!

Feel free to knit as many of these as you like, and you can even sell items made from this pattern as long as you credit me as the designer of the pattern.

Update!

This pattern is on Ravelry here.

This pattern is provided free above, but if you’d prefer an easy-to-print PDF version, I have made it available here for a very small fee. The PDF includes the full instructions in an easy-to-follow worksheet, the definition of all abbreviations used in the pattern, yardage requirements, as well as instructions on the Moss Stitch, Ribbing and 3-Needle Bind-Off used in the pattern.

*Updated January 2020


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tues, sept 11 – my birthday

Ok, truthfully my birthday started at midnight, when I opened up my first card. I was confused because there was no name on the outside, but it was all explained when the card turned out to be from our cat, Sam. He didn’t write my name on the outside of the card, since, DUH, cats can’t write. (Silly readers).

I signed up with a stroller walking group and since it was raining outside they were meeting at a local mall, so I packed up Jakob and went for some much-needed exercise. We were finished right about the time the stores were opening, so I went to go visit my brother at his work.

He took this lovely photo of us. Ignore my crazy-flat hair…I’d been sweating up a storm. Still…this is the only photo taken on my birthday that has ME in it, so here you go.
For the first time ever I took advantage of my brother’s managerial discount to treat myself to something for my birthday. I keep hearing people praising Crocs (the real foam ones, not plastic knock-offs) and had been admiring the Mary-Jane style, so I picked up a pair of them in black. They are SO comfy! I wish I’d bought them earlier in the summer!

From Fairview Jakob and I went to the video game store to trade in the sucky game we’d bought that Saturday night a few weeks ago. I traded it for the 2 games I’m missing in the SpongeBob SquarePants series. Don’t laugh- the one I already have, The Battle For Bikini Bottom is a lot of fun, and not too hard that I can’t play it on my own. I picked up SpongeBob SquarePants: the Movie Game and Lights, Camera, Pants!. The first one is supposed to be similar to the one I have already, the second one is 30 mini-games that you can compete against others for “auditions” for a movie being filmed in Bikini Bottom.

We came home and spent the afternoon sewing in ends on my Knitty submission. (Well, I did. Jakob didn’t really help that much). Yannick has bowling every Tuesday so I didn’t feel guilty going to my first Knitting Guild meeting of the year. I didn’t think to ask my mom to babysit, so Jakob came with me.

He helped Norma teach the proper way of doing an SSK…

…and obediently modeled my Montego Bay Scarf-in-progress.

We left in time to put him to bed, and just as I’d sat down on the couch to relax, Yannick walked in with a little treat for me:


A Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard cake from Dairy Queen! YUM. As much as I can’t wait to dig in, I DON’T want the temptation of eating the whole thing, so we put it right into the freezer and will cut it Wed night after dinner at my parents’ house.

We watched the Big Brother episode that I’d taped earlier (bye bye Jameka!) and FINALLY saw some footage from the Jury house! I’d been wondering when we were going to see the evicted houseguests again…

In sad news, we tried the 2 SpongeBob games, and the Lights, Camera, Pants! one was defective. 😦 Yannick will return it for me on Wed and pick up something new.


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can someone pay me to knit all day?

I keep having so many design ideas but have no time to do anything about them! I keep filling pages in my notebook with knitting plans…and ask me if I’ve ever knit anything of my own design. Well, ok, I have knit a few things, but I haven’t really pushed to publish anything. I think that will be my goal for the new year (and by new year, I’m saying “starting in September, at Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year”)-to try and make something from my knitting, if not money then at least recognition.

I don’t think I would charge for my camera case design, I think I’d rather offer it for free. So far I have 2 free patterns available in my sidebar, the Knitting Game and the Bowling Socks, only one of those (the Game) that was of my design. The Knitting Game was in the 2006 Pattern-a-Day calendar and I have a new (never before seen, even on this blog) pattern being published in Stitch ‘n Bitch’s 2008 Pattern-a-Day calendar.

I think I’m going to try to expand and see what happens. I’ll try to offer up a few more free patterns, like the Sweetheart Mittens I designed a few years ago. I’m also thinking of submitting a few things to Knitty.

The only real thing holding me back, and I think I’ve mentioned this before, is the sizing issue. I feel confident to say that I can design anything and make it fit me. Where I have a problem is making sure it will fit you. I know that it is not a simple case of applying the same changes to all measurements (like adding 20 or whatever). I will have to take into account stuff like the fact that arm lengths won’t change that much, but shoulder-to-hip lengths might change more when going up in sizes. Or whatever. I’m scared to try and work out the math without actually knitting a sample in every size and having someone of each size try it on. I know that real designers don’t do it that way. I just need to learn how they DO do it. Is it all just using software, then designing in the details? I know there is design software out there…and that there are just as many flaky ones as there are good ones (or maybe more sucky ones).

I don’t know. I have to work on this. I think I’ll start by making up a few designs for me…I can always offer the patterns in my size only. 🙂

This morning I took Jakob for a walk in his stroller. It was really hot out and the sun was very strong, so I got to play the “I Get to Embarass You While You’re Young” mommy card and have Jakob in his safari hat and sunglasses. I was going to walk him over to a nearby government building to sign him up for a Social Insurance Number card, but we stopped at Maaike’s house first to pick up the sock needle holders that she’d received for us (we’d placed a joint order) and to borrow her Heart to Heart sling. I have a Snugli for Jakob but want to see if he might prefer the sling instead. It was so hot out that I gave up on the rest of our walk and came home to relish in our air conditioning. I am SO not a summer person! Give me a cool, breezy, rainy Fall any day!

After Jakob’s first afternoon nap he woke up in such a good mood I decided to try working on his sitting. He’s not tall enough to see over the bars but he was able to lean quite well without slumping over. He is really good at leaning backwards to sit against something so I thought I’d give this a try. It’s probably not a skill he needs but I thought it would make a cute photo. I love the little feet sticking through the bars!

Finally I brought Jakob to my parents’ house so they could babysit while Yannick and I went to see Stardust, for real this time (unlike Friday’s cancelled date). Jakob was so tired by the time we got there that I was able to swaddle him and put him on his Elmo sofa/bed. This thing is so cute, it folds up into a couch and folds down like this for the bed.

Yannick enjoyed the movie, it is very much like The Princess Bride in spirit but with better special effects. I didn’t get any knitting done but I did finish typing up my camera case pattern! I’m really happy with how it came out and I am just working through it once myself before having it test knit. I’m glad I decided to work it myself first because there are some things that worked in my head that didn’t translate too well onto paper. By following the pattern step by step I can find things I forgot to elaborate on because I’d assumed it would be done, and make any changes I need. Then I’ll edit the pattern and sent it out, and if it works well I’ll offer it up here.

It should be cool…it’s a camera case pattern worksheet, which means you can use any yarn and any size needles you want. You can use it for any size flat camera and it even has built-in double layer protection around the exposed screen area. Plus a cover that stays on and CAN’T come off, all without any snaps, ties or velcro. Oh, and did I mention that it’s seamless?


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catching up wed, thurs, fri and today (sat) and YES i talk about knitting

I don’t know where the time goes. I blink and it is a few days after I said I would post. Sorry, loyal reader(s)! 🙂
On Wednesday my mom, her friend Esther and I took Jakob to go see the movie Stardust. I loved it! They took a while to get the story, but I caught on right away and thought it was amazing. If you like The Princess Bride, you’ll like Stardust!

That afternoon we were supposed to have a playdate with Maaike and her daughter, and Robyn and her son, but they both cancelled on me so Jakob and I spent the afternoon making beef jerky for Yannick with our food dehydrator. I like beef jerky too but this time I used the “hot and spicy” spice mix, and it is WAY too hot for me.

On Thursday we spent the morning play around in bed.

We worked on some tummy time, which he is getting much better at. He’s always been good at holding his head up, but usually starts to fuss after a few minutes. He is now able to go much longer before getting frustrated or sore (holding up his head).

 

Thursday afternoon we were invited to join a friend’s playgroup. It was so much fun! Her daughter is only 1 day older than Jakob, and they were the two oldest kids there. There were 11 moms and kids total, and the youngest baby is two-and-a-half weeks old. I gave that mom great “props”- I certainly didn’t have the energy to go out that early! It was a riot watching all of these babies- just imagine all 11 together once they start to crawl! Right now they’re not doing much, but it is more for the mommies to get a chance to socialize. After the playgroup a few of us took our kids out with their strollers for a walk, then I went to the pharmacy then to my parents’ house. I had invited myself, Jakob and Yannick over for supper because I was going to go to my friend Jackie’s to watch Big Brother at 8:00pm, but Jackie had to cancel so I made sure I was home in time. I fed Jakob and spent the night working on the JCA project some more.

Friday we played around some more then went and did a few errands. I wanted to exchange one of the breastfeeding tops I’d bought at Thyme for a different one that was more flattering, and also wanted to return a toy I’d bought for Jakob since I wasn’t happy with it. Luckily both stores were in the same mall so I didn’t have to run around too much. Friday night we brought Jakob to my parents’ house to babysit and Yannick and I were going to see Stardust (I knew Yannick would love it) but last minute something came up so I came home alone to get a good chunk of knitting done, and Yannick went to help my parents clear out their backyard for a pool they are going to put in. (Yay!) The other good news is: I finished the JCA project! I just have a few ends to weave in, but those suckers are done! I’m very excited because I want to start new things already!

Today we went to Robyn’s dad’s store and I got my new digital camera. It is the Canon PowerShot SD1000 Digital Elph and I am so excited to finally have a camera small enough to throw into my purse or diaper bag. Our current Canon (PowerShot S2 lS) is wonderful but SO bulky! Robyn’s sister, my (wonderful, amazing, awesome, great) cousin Amy was working that day and not only gave us great service but made Jakob laugh and smile. After the store we had a playdate walk in the park with my grad date of all people! He had married his high school sweetheart (we had gone to grad as friends, with her permission) and they’d moved to the West Island and had a daughter just 2 months before Jakob was born. We went to Centennial Park and hung out at the dog park for a bit before going to sit by the lake and catch up. I can’t believe it- I haven’t seen him in 13 years! We found each other on Facebook of all places.

From there we went to my parents’ house for a short visit, then came home. We just finished supper and Jakob is napping so I’m going to weave in those ends so I can start working on my next project:

That’s the Montego Bay Scarf from this summer’s Interweave Knits. It is scarf 1 of my (hopefully) 3 items that I will be donating for my friend’s fundraiser auction.

This photo sucks but shows the color of the yarn a bit more true to life. Each strand of color is plied with black. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.


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Happy Birthday Laura!

I can’t believe it. Today my baby sister, the youngest of us 4 kids, is 20 years old. We are 10 years apart…which means I’m going to be…30 next month. Man.

When did she get to grow up? Why isn’t she still playing with dolls and letting me stick colored dot stickers all over our faces and letting me put garish makeup on her and dress her up?

Happy Birthday Laura!


Jakob had a rough night last night. He went from 9:30pm to 8:00am without eating, but he woke up at least 5 times through the night. Each time he’d be folded in half almost flipping onto his stomach again. I’m guessing that he is getting bigger and the dose of Zantac we give him for acid-reflux isn’t strong enough for his current weight. I left a message for his doctor to find out if we can raise the dosage. I’m pretty sure that it’s his poor tummy hurting that keeps waking him up.

I took him to the movies again today, we went just the two of us and saw The Simpsons. It was a great movie! I like the cartoon, so I really enjoyed the movie. Lots of inside jokes and bits of sly humor (although the one part I can’t stop repeating was shown in the commercials…”Spider-pig… Spider-pig… does whatever a Spider-pig does…” He slept through the beginning of the movie and I had a chance to knit up a swatch I needed to have done. My LYS was clearing out some yarns and had a heavy cotton/acrylic blend on sale for about $2 CAD/ball so I bought them to make a sweater. The LYS owner told me she’d use her computer program to design me a pattern and I needed to have the swatch done for that.

After the movie I brought Jakob to the LYS and had the pattern made. There wasn’t enough white for a whole sweater so I bought some navy too and will have to get creative with the color.

Later I brought Jakob home and fed him, then changed him to bring over to my parents’ house for my sister’s non-surprise surprise party (her friend leaked the news but Laura pretended not to know, and didn’t know that we knew she knew).

Like his tank?
Can you read it? It says “Dad thinks he’s in charge”. 🙂

We had a great barbeque over at my parents’ house and Laura had a blast showing Jakob off to her friends. It was weird seeing my sister and her friends hanging out, surrounded by cigarettes (not hers) and beers (also not hers). My mom had provided wine coolers and sangria, and they thought it was quaint. Instead they drank down their beers. I watched them all horse around and can’t help but remember hanging out with my friends at that age. You feel like you have no cares and your whole life ahead of you…and now I’m almost years older and feel like I have a lifetime behind me.

Ok, enough melodrama. I just put Jakob to bed and will go knit while Yannick reads the next chapter of Harry Potter #7 to me. (Yes, we read out loud to each other when we want to share the same book, we’ve been doing it since we started dating, although I usually end up reading since Yannick’s reading out loud isn’t the best. No, I haven’t read any spoilers online so if you know who dies or anything DON’T tell me!)

p.s. Today is also my brother-in-law’s birthday, so Happy Birthday Mathieu!


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one down…

Today was a lazy day. We stayed indoors most of the day, only venturing out to check the mailbox. Jakob slept a wonderful 8 hours last night from his 9:00 feed/bedtime, then another 4 hours after that.
I managed to get a few photos of Jakob playing on the entrelac blankie I knit for him. I didn’t remember to take our weekly photo, since today is 12 weeks, but I’ll take one tomorrow.

I kept meaning to knit all day, but somehow, as seems to be the routine with a baby, stuff always happened. The few times he’d go down for a nap I ended up eating a meal, tidying up, soothing him from crying…I finally managed to knit at around 3:30 in the afternoon. I had a minor success as I finished the first sock of the pair. I just need to graft the toes shut and then I can start on the second sock.


We went out for a bit tonight with Yannick and my mom. We are finally taking care of having our wedding album made (it’s going to be a years since our wedding on Sept 3rd) so we went to meet with the photographer and get a refresher on how many photos to choose, which album style, etc…

Now I’ve just given Jakob a bath and put him into bed. He’s protesting loudly from the other room, so I’m going to see to him then try and get the cuff done from the next sock. Goodnight!


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soooooo far behind

I can’t believe I’m a week behind on posts again. Let’s see if I can sum up (it’s going to be a long post so I’ll try not to be too wordy):

Last Wed (Aug 1st) my mom came over and we took Jakob over to my aunt’s pool for his first swimming lesson.
He was mostly asleep when I brought him into the water, and since the pool is heated there wasn’t much of a difference between the temperature of the water and of the air, so I’m not quite sure at what point he realized something was different.

You’re not allowed to put sunscreen on babies under 6 months old, so to protect him from the sun I had him in a tshirt and hat, plus I brought him in after the sun had started to go down.

Right before we got out of the pool I decided to dunk him. I’m so proud- he cried for a split second when I tilted him forwards to put his face in the water but not at all when I dunked him completely under. I think he was in too much shock. 🙂 My mom captured the whole day on video so Yannick was able to watch it later and see what he missed.
He clearly wasn’t traumatized, as the moment he was bundled and warm he began “talking” and smiling at my aunt and cousins.

Thurs (Aug 2) I brought Jakob to the CLSC to be weighed. My big boy now weighs 12 lbs, 3.5 oz. We didn’t stay to hang out this time, instead I brought him to my mom’s so she could watch him while I went to Spa Lyne Giroux to have a polish change done on my finger and toe nails. I have to say I wasn’t too happy with the job that was done. I had my eyebrows waxed too while I was there. I have fair eyebrows and I only need to get them done about twice a year, but I always wonder why I don’t go more often. I find that a nice shaped eyebrow really brightens up my face and almost makes me look like I have makeup on. It’s a wierd thing to say, I know, but it makes me feel more “done” somehow. I did all the pampering because we had a wedding on Saturday and my polish was all chipped. I figured it would be cheaper to have a polish change done than a full manicure but it was expensive there. I wouldn’t go back there for that, I heard there’s a better place on Pierrefonds blvd so I’ll try them next time.

Thursday night we had supper at my mom’s then came home to work on unpacking some of my clothes while Yannick went to bring a cot to my grandmother’s so my aunt (coming in from TO) would have somewhere to sleep, since we took their old bedroom set for our new house.

Fri (Aug 3) I…shoot, I can’t remember what I did during the day, so I’m going to guess that Jakob and I slept in until noon then hung out until supper time, when Julie and Rich came over for supper. Yannick and Rich went to pick up some food from New Kam Shing and it was so good! Cashew chicken, crispy noodles, General Tao chicken and some tempura veggies…yum!

Sat (Aug 4) We left in the morning and drove up north to Yannick’s parents’ house. It was crazy- we had assumed that since NASCAR was in town there would be no one driving OUT of town but the traffic was terrible! Plus there was construction so for the first time ever it took over 2 hours for us to get there. It’s too bad we had the wedding that day because we were offered NASCAR tickets. That would have been fun- Jakob’s first racing event! We got to his parents’ house with just enough time to feed Jakob, change and leave for the wedding, which was taking place up at Mont Tremblant. The wedding was at a little chapel at the base of the hill, right in the resort, and the reception was at a nearby lodge. I videotaped the whole wedding as a favor for the bride and groom, then we left to go back to Yannick’s parents’ so I could feed Jakob. He was sleeping but I couldn’t go all night the way I was so I pumped and then we left for the reception. We had a really good time but left by around 11:00- I was full and sore and Yannick was tired, plus we had to be up early with Jakob. I pumped again when we got home and Jakob didn’t wake to feed until 5am which was nice.

Sun (Aug 5) We had a lazy day. Jakob took long naps in his car seat outside (gotta love northern fresh air!) so I relaxed in a chair near him and worked on the knitting for JCA. I was zooming along but hit a snag in the pattern so I had to wait until I got back to send an email and get some help. That night Yannick’s sister came up with her hubby and kids and we had a birthday supper for them (Brigitte’s bday was earlier in the week and Matthieu’s is next week, the same day as my sister Laura). After supper we took off and came home.

Mon (Aug 6) I called my doctor first thing in the morning to get an appointment. Last week Yannick had been a bit sick and he gave it to me, and I’d spent over 6 days with a very sore through and very dry, hacking cough. The nights were the worst, my coughing would even wake Jakob up. I knew it was just a virus but the pharmacist said there was nothing I could take and I wanted to see what my doctor said. I had to bring Jakob with me ‘cus my mom was busy but we went to her house after and visited for a bit. Later I went to the park with my friend Maaike and her daughter. Didn’t get any knitting done, but it was great to get out and talk to an adult! Plus her daughter is adorable! That night I had a late dinner with Yannick and watched the finale (part 1) of Hell’s Kitchen.

Yesterday- I couldn’t believe it- Jakob slept for 8hrs 15 minutes Monday night! The longest ever! I took him to my uncle’s store to get some computer stuff, then we went to my LYS and to the post office. I finally finished every thank-you card that was outstanding…from my wedding to the bris to gifts people come by and drop off, everything is done and sent! What a load off my mind! When we got home my aunt Mimi (from TO) came over with a girl she is fostering (sp?) and then they brought Jakob and I over to my mom’s so she could watch Jakob for the night. Yannick picked me up from there and we went to see Harry Potter #5 together. It was a great movie, and nice to get out, but I really miss Jakob every minute we’re apart. I couldn’t wait to get back and pick him up. When we got home I fed him, put him to bed, then worked on unpacking more clothes. It is taking me a long time because I’m going through everything and giving away a lot of stuff. Moving is fun- it’s giving me a chance to purge.

Today- I can’t believe it…Jakob slept for 8 hrs 30 min last night! Then after feeding he took a 2 hr nap, then stayed in his crib, awake and playing for almost an hour. I feel so rested! I’m hoping he stays good today…my mom and I are taking him to go see Hairspray with my cousin Robyn, Amy and my aunt.

Later I’m hoping to unpack more and get some knitting done too since I have a deadline!