Erica’s Blog

It’s been a hectic week with Hubby gone.  Wednesday morning, I ended up in the chiropractor’s office w/a last-minute appointment b/c I was in such pain.  [Note to Self:  DON'T sit in the desk chair for more than a few minutes at a time.  It's broken!  Remember, this is how you ended up at the chiropractor's in the first place!]  That night was Thing One’s technical rehearsal for Saturday’s Nutcracker performance, and the first couple of people I asked to watch Thing Two couldn’t, so I had to rush her over to MarkyMark & Bobcat’s house.

Last night was the school’s 3rd grade & 5th grade Christmas…excuuuuuse me, Holiday program.  Only in California will you find a Mexican kid doing an Irish jig, a black kid doing Tinikling, the Bible-banger’s kid dancing the Hora, and a Chinese kid part of a Kwanzaa presentation!    Thing One did a great job with her dance (though I seem to remember the Hora being a bit more complicated than what they were doing), and she remembered all the words to all the songs.  I had trouble with the video camera, though, and wasn’t able to tape any of it for Hubby, which had her practically in tears.  What a bummer!  The teachers did a “surprise” bell choir performance, which brought down the house.  All six of them were up there in their Christmassy outfits, with sunglasses and silly hats on, and they did “Jingle Bells” and a classic hymn whose melody I know, but I don’t know the name (one of those really old ones you see in movies sometimes, very Episcopal; even Nana knows it, and that’s sayin’ somethin’).

Tonight is the dress rehearsal, and I’m still not sure what I’m doing with Thing Two.  I’ve asked a couple of people, but so far no one’s able to watch her.  I may have to drop Thing One off, then go back & check on how it’s going, etc.  Hubby’s plane is due in around 8:00, and I’m hoping it won’t be late.  Tomorrow morning, I get my hair cut (yippee!), then the performance is at 2:00.  The Things will spend the night @ Poppa & Nana’s while we go to Hubby’s work Christmas party.  Not thrilled w/my limited options of what to wear, but when you’re fat and broke, what can ya do?  Next year will be better.

Sunday, we get Andrei after church for a couple of days while MarkyMark & Bobcat head off to celebrate their 10th anniversary.  Then, we head up to Poppa & Nana’s to get the Things and head over to Rick/Adri’s for Steven’s 13th birthday party.  13.  When I first met this kid, he was only 9 or 10 months old.  Wow.

Through all this, I’ve wrapped ALL the Christmas presents this week.  This includes not just the ones we’re giving, but also the ones from Grandma Ruthie.  It seemed silly for her to have stuff shipped to her, have her wrap it, then have her ship it here.  Why pay for shipping twice, and why make her take the time to wrap stuff during her busiest time of the year at work?   So, she’s having the stuff she’s ordered shipped directly here.  The fun part is that I know what everyone’s getting for Christmas.  The bummer is that I know what I’m getting for Christmas.  Oh, well.  Guess that’s just part of the whole mom schtick, eh?  Believe it or not, I’m actually making a decent dent in all our Christmas wrapping paper.  Wow.  Amazing. 

I’ll post pictures from Hubby’s trip tomorrow or so.  Off to shower, hit Costco and Target (Thing One needs a white camisole and a black hairnet for tonight).  Oh, and clean the house b/c Hubby’s coming home!

OK, I don’t have any pictures b/c Hubby took the camera w/him on his trip, but here’s the non-illustrated update:

• I finished the sweater for Baby Ian.  It’s very cute, very soft, and very stripey.
• I started on Girlfriend’s School Spirit Sweater for Thing Two.  So far, it’s really easy, and I’m likin’ it a lot.  This is the first of Wendy’s patterns I’ve actually gotten around to making (though I’ve bought one or two of them before).  The main color is navy blue Peaches & Creme.  Since I wanted to make sure that she would actually wear this thing, I told Thing Two that she could pick the contrasting color from all my cottons.  I had my ideas of what would be good and gave her a few to choose from.  She, however, spotted the variegated blue Bernat Handicrafter Cotton I’d bought for baby stuff and decided she wanted that.  This after her crazy ideas about using about eight different colors on the whole thing.  I got a headache thinking about it!  Oh, to be five again…
• I’m using some bibs & bobs of leftover dishcloth cotton to make a log cabin doll blanket for the Things for Christmas.  Some of my “losers” are ending up as a gift for them for their dolls/bears — the baby sweater that was size 18 months with preemie armholes, the weird-looking bib, etc.
• Remember the yarn from Knitting Magic Girl?  Well, the other night I broke out the food coloring, vinegar, and even a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon, and had at it.  I was going for a bright purple/pink/blue look, but it turned out more of a muted purples & pinks.  It’s not what I expected or was looking for, but it looks really good.  It’s currently hanging up in the shower, and I keep burying my face in it b/c it’s so soft and wonderful.  Now, to figure out what to make with it.  I think I’ll have to get out my yardstick when it’s all dry and figure out the yardage, though, so I have a sense of what’s even an option for it.

Pictures of all this after Hubby returns (tonight!).

…like The Mighty Quinn!

Yes, folks, all of us who have been praying for Suzanne and baby Quinn can now heave a big sigh of relief.  The Mighty Quinn made his appearance at approximately 9:20 a.m. on Wednesday.  I can’t wait to hear the story of the delivery from Suzanne b/c I know the labor must have been a doozy since she was admitted and induced on Monday night and didn’t deliver until Wednesday.

Though Quinn was delivered a few weeks early, he weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs, hence his nickname.  I’d hate to think how big he would have been if Suzanne had had to go full-term!

Mazel Tov, Suzanne!  Expect a visit from me (bearing a meal) on Monday or Tuesday.

I don’t know how to say it in Japanese or Tagalog, so “Welcome” will have to do.

Miss Keiko arrived on the scene on Tuesday via c-section, as planned.  She’s a wee one — only weighed in at 5 lbs, 7 ounces — but she and Sonoko are both doing fine.

I do believe that a little cotton baby kimono is in order, yes?  I’m scheduled to take them a meal on the 23rd, so I’ll plan to deliver it then.