“A popsicle? And you’re letting me hold it by myself?!?”
“…mmm…”
“…mmm…”
“…mmm…”
Question 10: Here’s an odd sort of question…What Olympic event would best describe your knitting/knitting style?
Gack- I don’t know all the events! Yannick and I have been watching each evening the last few nights, though, so if I would only be able to pick from the beach volleyball, swimming and gymnastics routines…
If I go over the list of Summer Olympic sports listed on the official website, I guess my knitting style would be “Artistic Gymnastics”.
Here’s an excerpt of the discipline’s origins, from the same website:
“When gymnastics began in ancient Greece more than 2000 years ago, the gymnasium was the centre of cultural activity. Men gathered there not only to practise sport, but to understand art, music and philosophy. The Greeks believed symmetry between the mind and body was possible only when physical exercise was coupled with intellectual activity.
Today, gymnastics is often termed the ultimate combination of sport and art, but the idea is nothing new. Plato, Aristotle and Homer heartily advocated the strengthening qualities of gymnastic activity. It is a philosophy that can be found in much of their work.”
A combination of sport and art where physical exercise is coupled with intellectual activity…sounds about right to me!
And since it has been a while, here’s a Jakob photo. I’m pretty sure I didn’t post this here, but if I did and you’ve seen it already…well…it’s still cute.
Three weeks ago my mom was watching Jakob for the day and she took this photo. Jakob spied the tv’s remote on her bed and turned right around to point it at the tv.
On a completely unrelated note, I saw something interesting this morning. I was waiting at a red light on my way to work, and there was a man waiting to cross the road. He was dressed ok; slacks, a t-shirt and a funky hat. What was odd was what he was carrying- no bag or satchel or anything, just a carton of Banana/Strawberry/Orange Oasis juice in one hand, and a 2/6ths completed Rubix cube in the other. (The blue and orange sides where complete). I couldn’t help but stare and try and figure out- where was he going? (Or where was he coming from?) I’ve never seen someone walking around with such disparate objects before!
I’d like to say I’m linking this so you all get a taste of the funny. But really, it’s so I have an easy place where I can watch it again.
Enjoy! Or, as yummy Kevin says, “Woooooo!”
Seriously.
You* can guess, if you want. Here’s a clue:
Have fun! I’d offer a substantial part of my stash to anyone who guessed correctly…if I thought you had a chance. ;]
*You can guess if you are not Maaike or anyone that Maaike might have told about what I am currently knitting. That means “anonymous” guesses are not allowed!
This week our question is about your knitting… In many communities, “the fair” is a great place to visit and spend time with your family. It’s also where many have entered one product or another (jams, cakes, even knitting)… Have you ever entered your knitting (or anything else) in the fair? Would you ever consider it?
I’ve never entered anything in a fair, but I did enter a pair of gloves I designed into my local guild’s mitten/glove contest. I won for the category of “mittens/gloves knit from an original design” but I think I was the only one who designed my own pattern, so I can’t claim I won due to talent alone.
Edited to add:
…for those of you who live in parts of the world w/o fairs…would you ever consider entering your knitting in a competition?
Yes! I wish we had fairs here, I’d love to enter competitions!!
Again, no photos for you. I’m about 2 inches away from finishing my knitting for Veronik, but can’t show you that, then I’m going to work on a little something for my secret pal, so I can’t show you that, and finally I’m going to be trying to get a design or two in by Knitty’s September 2nd deadline, so I can’t show you that. I’ll try to fill in the gaps with Jakob photos, but my camera battery is charging, so I can’t even upload something now.
Instead you get a baby update.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear I was in the first trimester. In actuality I’m almost 17 weeks along, but just feeling like I’m in the first.
The vomiting isn’t really much better. There was a week where I had 3 random days without, but mostly it varies from 1-6 times/day. I started Diclectin last Wednesday but am not seeing any results from it. My doctor was still on vacation, so I was given the rx by the “on call” doctor when I went in to check my sugars (all good). He said it should take 2-3 days to kick in, but I have friends who said it takes about 2 weeks, so I’m continuing to take it. I’m very doubtful it will work, though, because it seems to really be about stopping nausea, and I don’t have any. (I take that back-if I resist throwing up, THEN I feel like $h!t all day, but I don’t think that counts). In any case, I see my doctor next Wednesday so I’ll be able to tell her if the Diclectin worked after 2 weeks, and maybe she’ll have some better ideas. Its getting tough though- we had my cousin’s wedding this past Sunday night, and I had to run to the bathroom between every single course at the dinner. On the plus side- because I’m not nauseous, I get to eat. On the down side- most of what I eat comes back up.
And for some reason, I have been EXHAUSTED this past week! I don’t know if it is related to the fact that I have less food in me, but it is getting very hard to take. I would have had Veronik’s knitting finished last Thursday or Friday, I’m sure, if I hadn’t gone to bed as soon as I finished my supper. I couldn’t help it- I just couldn’t keep my eyes open. Yannick has been a huge help in the mornings; once Jakob wakes up, I go and get him and change his diaper, then bring him to bed, and Yannick plays with him and brings him downstairs for breakfast, then plays with him until I get up. So I’ve even been getting an extra hour of sleep every morning, and STILL all I want to do all day is nap.
(P.s. to any Montrealers- it’s not the weather. I know we’ve been having tons of rain lately- in fact as I write this it is 9:57 am and pouring and as black as a late afternoon outside. But that’s not it. I love rainy days and they energize and recharge me. If anything, bright sunny days make me just want to crawl back into bed in the central air conditioning!)
So all my complaining aside, I really do have good news. A while back I’d done a Triplescreen test. Note- that link isn’t really accurate for what they do here, I’ll describe what they do here in just a moment. I know I had started to post about it the I think I deleted it, so if this info is duplicate, forgive me. In any case, the Triplescreen is when you are around 12-13 weeks pregnant and go to a private clinic (it’s not covered by Medicare here, although it should be!) and do a blood test and ultrasound, then go back about 15 days later and do another blood test. They compile the results of different hormone levels in your blood and your baby’s measurements from the ultrasound (especially the nuchal translucency test) and they tell you how your results compare with other women’s results.
They do NOT tell you if your child will have Down Syndrome, Trisomy 18 or Spina Bifida. They only tell you what your odds are. For example, when I did the test when I was pregnant with Jakob, they said that when comparing my results with other women’s results, it showed that 1 in 27,000 women with my results had a child with Spina Bifida. 1 in 97,000 women with my results had a child with Trisomy 18. When you see numbers like that, you don’t need to worry.
However, sometimes they scare you for nothing. The tests have a 10% false-positive rate. Of the 10% who get a false-positive, only 2-3% (approx) will have a child with something wrong.
In Montreal the cut-off for notifying the parents is 270. So if I had a result of 1/271 chance of having a child with one of those 3 illnesses, they wouldn’t tell me. If I had a 1/269 chance, they would, and from there I would decide if I wanted to do an amnio to find out for sure.
With Jakob we were told that we had a 1 in 87 chance of having a child with Down Syndrome. With a number that “low”, every doctor I spoke with counselled us to have an amnio. Basically, if you’re not going to follow through and find out for sure- what’s the point in paying to do the Triplescreen in the first place? With Jakob we did the amnio. We were scared out of our wits, because the test itself has 1 in 200 odds of inducing a miscarriage, but we were very lucky and were told that everything with him was alright. We found out that he would be a boy, and that he was healthy, and in the end I didn’t end up with any complications from the amnio, and it all worked out.
So fast-forward to this pregnancy, and I have been so scared to find out the results from the test. I don’t know why I was so sure that if I had to have an amnio the first time, I’d have to have another one.
Well good news- the doctor called this morning and we don’t have to do one! My doctor said our results were “excellent”, and she does not see the need to do another amnio.
Whew!
I had so mentally prepared myself for the opposite outcome that it is taking me a little time to adjust and accept it, but beneath my surprise I am so incredibly relieved and we are so happy with this news.
Here is question 8! Enjoy!
What is your favorite supper for a hot summer evening? (For added “flavor”, post a photo or recipe link)
Well, I don’t really have a favorite supper these days- the vomiting has gotten somewhat better; instead of everything I eat, I’m now only doing it anywhere from 1-6 times a day. And I had 3 random days last week where I didn’t throw up at all.
Because it is so unpredictable, I don’t look at meals anymore as “hmm…what looks good to eat?” Instead I think “what is worth it?” For example, last night Yannick decided he wanted to order supper. A big criteria for choosing a place to order from was the price- I didn’t want to order something too expensive and not keep it down.
Plus I’m not a good one to talk about favorite suppers these days anyways, what with all the food aversions. Had you asked me this a few months ago I probably would have answered “ordering St-Hubert BBQ chicken” but now I have ZERO interest in eating chicken.
I have had no problems eating pasta though, so to make up for another crappy answer, let me share my easy rosé sauce recipe:
Cheese Tortellini with Rosé Sauce (really easy “recipe”)*
-Put a large pot of water on to boil.
-While you wait, melt about a tablespoon of margerine or butter in a medium pot, then add some chopped onion. I love onions, so I use at least 1 huge onion for a portion of pasta for 2-3 people, more if there is more pasta. I usually chop half, and thinly slice half. I don’t know if it tastes different after cooking, but I like the variation.
-Boil a package of fresh or frozen cheese tortellini. This usually takes about 9 minutes.
-Once the pasta is boiling, empty a small (125ml I think) can of Ayers tomato soup into the pot with the onions. Fill the empty can 2/3 of the way with cream, and add that to the pot too. If using milk, you can put a full can.
-Stir the sauce and let it simmer/heat until the cream and soup are well mixed. By this point the pasta should be ready.
-Drain the pasta, toss with the sauce, and serve. In the past I used to season the sauce with all kinds of spices and garlic, but as one of my favorite “comfort” foods, all I would add to this is some salt at the table.
It’s plain, but homey, and really good on a cold night. Or any night. And it reheats well too.
*Yes, you’re basically mixing store-bought pasta with tomato soup, cream and onions. I never said this was a Cordon-Bleu recipe. It’s still really tasty!
Check him out in his cut-off tank top! I don’t see a baby any more when I look at him, I see a little boy, and it makes me a little sad sometimes. He’s already grown up so much…I know he’s still young, but he’s such a “kid” already.
One afternoon when we were home during his Hand, Foot and Mouth contagious phase, I had to put him in his playpen so I could make a bathroom run. His retaliation was to throw EVERYTHING out. He’s tossed toys before, but this was the first time the playpen was literally empty around him. He was so proud of himself that he gave me a huge, toothy grin. (The funny thing is I have a photo somewhere of me around 2 years old making the EXACT same face).
Does this kid look sick to you? 🙂
He loves zooming around with his walker-toy. I’m too lazy to convert the video for the blog, but if you were watching this live, he is FAST! I know, I know, he could/should be walking already. He WAS walking already. Not just while holding on to stuff, but 2 weeks ago he was actually letting go of the walls or whatever and walking to whatever/whoever he wanted to go to. Then he got sick, and he hasn’t wanted to walk since, even though he’s better. I don’t know if he associated the weak/feverish feeling from being sick with walking, but he won’t do it any more. He’ll still be up in a second and cruise around holding onto walls or cabinets, but if you try and walk holding his hand, or stand him up to have him walk from one person to another like he used to, he’ll plop himself right down. If you try a few times in a row to get him to walk he’ll not only resist, but he’ll get really upset and start to cry. I’m not worried- we know he *can* walk, he’s just choosing *not* to. But still, it’s hard for us when we know he was right at the cusp of taking off and running.
He DID accomplish one big milestone while we were home sick, though. He now can eat his meals with a fork and his desserts with a spoon. I need to help him push the fork into his food with enough force to actually spear it, but once the food is stuck on the fork I let go and he brings it right to his mouth without error, and then back to the bowl. The spoon he does great too- although he doesn’t really “scoop” the food so much as he lets the yogurt or applesauce *coat* the spoon then he brings it to his mouth. It gets a little messy, but it’s been 2 weeks and no food has ended up on the floor or walls! That’s good enough for me!
jeloca.com 
