Chipping Away

Goin' defunct

Hi all, I'm letting this blog go dormant till our next baby makin' try (who knows when that will be).  I'm still logging all of my knitting projects, but I'm doing it on Ravelry under the user name twinspiration.  There's already a few projects posted, and such great resources otherwise, so if you aren't already on that site, check it out! 

I'm still blogging sporatically about the boys and life at Grunt n' Squeak.  We'd love to have visitors over there!

Adoption Day!

Ben and Grayson have two mommies! Well, we already knew that, and so
did y'all, but now its officially on record as legal and binding. So
if Amy ever tries to claim she doesn't have to pay for their college
tuition, don't let her weasel out of it. He he.

We had an 8:45 am court appearance (don't these schedulers know how
hard it is to get twin boys out the door before 11 in the
morning?!?). Our lawyer wasn't there any too early to give us a
heads up of what to expect, but her assistant called us the night
before to let us know that she would be asking us a lot of questions
and it would be more involved than the guardianship hearing. This
made us a little nervous, but we knew we would do fine. We even had
to swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth so help us God. There was a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo
requesting the adoption, under which Nevada laws, blah blah. We
couldn't help but feel a little maverick mom-ish, since there are no
actual Nevada laws specifically allowing same-sex parent adoptions.
But there aren't any that prohibit it, either. So to cover our legal
tooshies, there were lots of questions for us, going on record,
stating that we do in fact have a real relationship, that we clearly
planned to have these children and raise them together, and that Amy
is the best darn mommy two cute boys could ever ask for (ya know,
along with their other best darn mommy), so lets just make sure the
rest of the world is on the same page too.

We are very grateful to our Family Court Judge, as she had to
personally decide that she would grant these kinds of adoptions, when
her other colleagues had chosen not to (not based on moral grounds,
but their interpretation of the vague Nevada statutes). We were
again given the chance to say whatever we wanted on official court
record, and the only thing I could think of was just "Thank You".
And of course I cried through the whole thing. While we face a daily
uphill battle against unfair social and legal policy, it's not very
often that people get to go on record in front of God and everyone
(and a judge, bailiff, lawyer, and court reporter) more than once to
state that you love your family, you are committed to your wife, you
are blessed to have your children, and that you are truly happy.
Then you get to hear her say it in return. Pretty cool.

After all the legal and obligatory stuff was completed, the judge
came down off the bench to hold the boys and tell us how cute they
were. She even gave each of them a little kiss, and granted us some
pictures (which unfortunately all turned out a little blurry, cuz if
you want it done right you just gotta take the pics yourself, ha
ha). Ben and Grayson wore their cool new big boy outfits, and played
very quietly through the proceedings. They were charming and smiley
at all the right times, and made it very easy for Amy to decide that
when it came right down to it, she still wanted to be their mom. :)

Thanks for all the love and support from all of you, we are grateful
for all of our wonderful friends and family that have always treated
our little family with respect. You have all been so kind and made
us feel so...boring. Ha! We really are just the family down the
street with two cute kids, and bills to pay, and lawns to mow, and
play dates to attend, and that's really all we ever wanted.

Whew, some FO's!

So I did promise pictures, didn't I? 

Well, first up, there are new pics posted at Grunt N' Squeak...just a few, but one of them is my favorite of  the boys together, if you care at all about the family portion of our lives...

And now for something completely different:

I'm designing the Scarves to Throws over at Jimmy Beans Wool, and have finished two of them.  Months three and four are my designs, so check out the pics and patterns there.  Month five is shaping up nicely, and I can't wait to unveil it to the public when the next newsletter comes out!

As for my major knitting accomplishment, I still don't have a picture of that.  But I have to get one soon!  The Peacock Feathers shawl is done!!! As in completely finished AND blocked!  I was giddy with excitement when it came off the needles, and when I pulled it off the floor when it was done blocking all Amy could say was "are you going to put it on and twirl again?"  What can I say, I twirl like a little girl when I'm wrapped in beautiful sea silk, and when I've accomplished something that I'm so proud of.

But here are some other pics:

Here's the hat I made for Amy for Christmas, and her donning it proudly on Christmas day.  Of course I can't remember the name of the pattern (What can I say, it's midnight?), but it's from interweave knits, maybe the summer 2007 issue?  Syncopated hats?  Something like that?

A few modifications, including the yarn and some colors switcheroo up near the top that's hard to see in this pic, but you get the idea.  The yarn is Jaeger Matchmaker DK.  I was worried the hat would be too big, but it worked, and fit just fine.

Next we have some cool fingerless gloves, the pattern is "Dashing" from knitty.com, and I made a few modifications in length.  The yarn is Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed, which worked up nice, and I loved using.  These were a gift for someone special, and she loved them as much as I did, so Yay!

And here is the sister pattern to Dashing, "Fetching" also on knitty.com.  I made these from Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran, and loved the way they turned out.  These ones were for myself (what? I never knit for myself!) and I couldn't be happier with them.  They've already seen a lot of love.

And finally, my baby dress made for my friend Michelle, and her soon-to-be-born daughter Maddie, made from the Blue Sky Alpaca pattern Baby Dress, and the BSA Alpaca Silk.  It was lovely, and I even made Grayson model it, but he looked so silly I didn't take a picture.  I didn't want the dress haunting him forever more.  I also didn't want to leave him alone with the dress for the 10 seconds it would have take to get the picture, as I'm sure half of it would have been stuffed in his mouth before the shutter snapped. He he.

See? I do finish stuff!  And even take photos!  Wohoo!

The year of the FO

So wow, it has been a while since I've posted anything on my blogs!  This doesn't mean there is nothing going on, however.  I actually can't believe how much knitting I've done in the last little while.

I have a whole list of finished objects that I need to post pictures of, including two pairs of fingerless gloves, two sweaters, one for each boy, one scarf for the shop, which can be seen here, and one hat for Amy, which I'm really proud of.  I'll post pictures some time in the next little while (meaning some time before the boys graduate from college).  Just a reminder you can read about the boys here , btw, if you are here for the mom stuff.  I really have been busy, back to work at Jimmy Beans both at the shop and from home.  Can I say, I just love love love my job, the shop, and our fearless leader, Jimmy?

So I have been thinking a lot about being a Fearless Knitter, as proposed by the lovely folks at Knitting Daily.  I truly believed that I was a fearless knitter, not afraid to try anything, and pretty sure that I could make anything I set my heart on.  But then I began thinking about that just a little more, and realized that I really do have one gigantic knitting monster looming in my closet: the sweater.  I'm not talking sweaters for my boys.  Children's clothes I can do.  I am deathly afraid of finishing a sweater for myself.  I'm afraid I will put all the time into it, and it won't fit.  I'm afraid it will look beautiful while blocking, and then fit like total shit.  That's usually the case with all my clothes, though.  I tend to have a hard time finding clothes that fit my plus-sized body, and I want to knit cute little sweaters and look cute and little in them myself.  I do not want to knit tents and look like a frump after all that work.  Knitting a sweater for myself and having it work out means that I have to measure my own fat self.  And I have to knit the tent.  But hopefully it will be a stylish and beautiful tent.

I have at least three sweaters for myself that I have begun and given up on.  One of them has been cannibalized for sweaters for the boys.  One of them has been ripped back to a pile of kinky yarn, as I believe that I have to make a larger size for my fat self.  One languishes half finished because I lost my  place in the line-up and I'm not so sure I'll be able to figure out where to start again.  The goal for 2008 is to finish at least one sweater for myself.  I believe the one I ripped out and will have to start over from the beginning will be the one. 

In other goals for 2008, I'm going to actually work more on finishing projects I've begun, rather than starting new projects that will just languish.  This means that by the end of the year I should have finished one stripy sweater for the boys, one silk shawl for myself, one silk wrap for myself, and again, that one sweater.  On top of that I should finish at least 4 pairs of socks.  Do you believe it can be done?  With all of the babysitting I have to do, all of the keeping up with work and my house, and all of the blogging (ha ha) there is to be done?  I think I can...I just need a list and a goal.

Up next, the list of things to get finished, and pictures of those things that I have actually completed.  Wohoo!

Traveling, and a good driver

I have a finished project!!!

I finished the Knitting Pure and Simple Children's Bolero for my niece, and delivered it to my sister.  The pictures we got of it were crap, but I'll share them anyway.  You can't get a two year old to model when there are games to be played and pianos to be banged.  And you can't get a sweater to look nice when there is too much texture to see the shape.  But trust me, it's cute.

In other knitting news, we went to Salt Lake last week, drove there and back, and when you have a great partner who is willing to drive the whole way, you can get a lot of knitting done.

I started another Knitting Pure and Simple pattern...just a pull-over for the boys, with some cotton yarn that I tore out of a sweater I was making for myself, but decided that I didn't want to finish.  The most exciting part of this project was using the beautiful new stitch markers that were lovingly made for me by my good friends Otter and Vikki (who also has a blog, I just don't have the link handy at the moment) for my baby shower.  Aren't they purty?

I finished one sweater on the trip, and have a second one just two sleeves away from being finished.  And yes, they nearly match.  I wasn't going to make my boys match, but what do you do when you have ten balls of yarn, and one sweater only takes up one and a half?  You make the sweaters match, that's what you do.  Pictures of the sweaters to come, when both are finished and washed.  If you want pictures of the trip, with cute cute babies, go to the kids blog here.

Cutest things ever

So it IS possible to have children, and still knit, so long as you are motivated enough.  The hats were fun and easy to make, although they didn't go fast since I had to stop to take care of a baby every other round.

Thing 1 and 2 Hats:
Yarn: Karabella Aurora 4 and Crystal Palace Fizz held together, one ball of each.
Pattern: My own basic baby hat, CO 70 stitches, work some ribbing, switch to stocking stitch to desired length, decrease every other round, blah blah blah.
Needles: Lantern Moon wooden double points, US 4.

Knit happens

Yes, even though I'm trying to take care of twin babies, I have no clue what I'm doing, and I get no sleep, knit still happens.  Yay!

Two wonderful knitty things to report.  First, I am still working on my nieces sweater, I have it down to just a sleeve and a half left.  It's looking cute, although I don't think it will actually fit my niece until next year, as I made it a size larger than she is now.  Or maybe her mom will put her in it anyway, because oversized sweaters look damn cute on kids (I think). 

The other thing I'm working on are Halloween costumes for the boys.  We have decided to stick with the Thing 1 and Thing 2 theme, and I'm making them fuzzy blue hats to serve for their hair.  I've got one nearly done, and have tried the work in progress on Ben and holy crap!  It's going to be freakin' adorable.  Photos will follow when they are finished and are on the boys in full costume. 

Finally, I made it out of the house to knit night on Thursday!  Major accomplishment, I think.  I took the boys with me because Amy was working late that night anyway, and we went to show them off at Deluxe Yarns.  I worked on their fuzzy hats, and they behaved beautifully, staying asleep and angelic the whole time I was there.  They were wonderful, and I had a great time getting out with them.  The knitting starts early with them!

New Blog, and some yarny stuff

Okay, there is no more maybe baby.  It's true, I have become a parent, and there is no going back.  While I love my children to death and think that they are the most fascinating creatures around, I'm sure some of you may not agree, so I have decided to move the child-related stuff to a blog of its own.  You can find it here.  Otherwise I will try to stick to the knitting stuff on this website.

And despite having no sleep and two new babies to care for, I am working on some knitting.  We ventured out to the shop to show off the babies, while my sister is here to help me out.  She is only a rudimentary crocheter, and hadn't knit anything before, but she picked out a fluffy yarn to make her own daughter a hat with, and something to make this sweater for her.  I'm making the sweater, and I taught her enough to make a seamed hat.  My sis caught on so quick with the knitting the hat that I'm pretty sure she should just give up the hook and knit instead.  She took off like a pro, made the hat, and it looks great.  I'll get a picture of it.  For a first object, it can't be beat. 

I don't know how much kntting I will actually get done, but I have big plans for trying to finish old works in progress slowly but surely.  And I will try to actually get pictures up, too.

Worth a thousand words, worn a thousand diapers

Born as scheduled on September 10th

Benjamin: 7 lbs. 2 oz; 19.25 inches

Grayson: 6 lbs. 5 oz; 19 inches

New Carpet, and 2 more days

The carpet guys are here as I type this, with my computer set up in my kitchen, getting rid of the matted poodle floor!  Yay!  I haven't seen the new carpet come in yet, so I don't know what to expect yet.  Damn, I just realized that both of my bathrooms are out of commission!  Furniture blocking both of them...You can't block a pregnant woman from both of her bathrooms!  Oy, I may be making a personal call to the neighbor's house before long.  Luckily I don't need one yet, but you never know, and the fact that I can't use my own makes me need to go just thinking about it.

Getting ready for this carpet thing last night was miserable.  I did as much as I could yesterday, which frankly, wasn't much.  But still, I took stuff off shelves, and boxed stuff up, and moved as much light-weight stuff as I could.  Poor Amy still spent all night working on stuff after she got off work, and we made it into bed around 1 am.  I couldn't believe how much a little light packing took out of me, and I didn't want to wake up for anything when the alarm went off, but at least the install guys are here early, and hopefully will be done early, and I will be napping by 2 pm, surrounded by a sea of lovely new flooring. 

So I can't believe that I have less than two days left of this pregnancy.  It feels like I have been preggers my whole life...there was nothing before this, just this being pregnant business.  I think I'm really going to miss having these little guys inside where I can feel them, and know exactly where they are and what they are up to at all times.  At the same time, I can't wait to have my body back, and hopefully be a functioning human being again. 

I'm afraid of the surgery.  I had a little bit of a surprise realization that I have never spent the night in the hospital before.  I have had surgeries before, and the anesthesia was miserable.  It makes me so sick I wish I could just die right there in the recovery room to end the nausea.  I know that an epideral or spinal block may not effect me the same way, but I still hate the drugged feeling, nonetheless.  And I don't hold out hope that I'm not going to get sick.  Then after all that I don't get to go home and hang out in my own bed with my own pj's, I will be in a hospital for 4 days.  At least after the first day or two I should be in my own pj's at least, right?  On top of that, I expect my own body to be pretty foreign to me, as well as my surroundings.  I don't know what my post-pregnancy body is going to look or feel like.  It's gonna do all sorts of things it's never done before, and despite all the reading and net surfing I've done to be prepared, you never know what's going to happen until it does. 

And then there are the two brand new little lives we get to take home with us.  It's a good thing that you don't think about this stuff until you are already committed to it.  Mostly the how these guys are gonna get out of there part. Wow, and we are gonna be mommas in two days!!!  Wish us luck!  I'll try and post here some time after we get to the other side...maybe with pics and everything.  Hell, I'll probably be posting here this afternoon when I get bored again, to give a carpet update first.  Then baby update later on next week.