Clark was three months old last week.

(That’s Clark and my brother at the Mariners game last Tuesday).

He’s trying to talk a lot now. We’re not a quiet family by any means, and he tries to get in on the noise making too. Olivia did that a lot. It’s really cute.

The 4th was great.

And everyone still has all their limbs, although it took forever to get through all those fireworks.

I’m still trying to get it together for the Christmas stocking knit-along. Knit Picks is out of their color cards for the Wool of the Andes, so I need to order a bunch of colors. It looks like they have some good, inexpensive needles now too, so I’m also going to order a couple 32 inchers to try my hand at the magic loop method of sock making. And then I’ll need to Google to find some instructions, or pick up the little book, or call the lady in my church congregation that does it and ask her to show me.

So much to do.

My plans for today, after swim lessons (which are rapidly approaching, I need to get off the computer and get dressed) is to hit Costco real quick and then clean my house.

Hi there!

Once again, I’m happy to say I exercised very well. And once again, I’m sorry to say, I ate like a pig. I think my body is trying to maintain its sick sense of “balance”, because even I can’t believe how much crap I’m eating.

But enough of that.

Monday I did my 35 minutes of treadmill.
Tuesday I spent celebrating the fourth of July, and didn’t do my weights and physical therapy, but I picked up the PT on Wednesday and still got in Wednesday’s treadmill.
Thursday I did weights and physical therapy.
Friday I did my treadmill, and was even going to push it to 40 or 45 minutes, but for some reason my hip started hurting really bad. I had to slow down to finish the 35 minutes I’m used to and had a hard time walking the rest of the day. Today, it’s touchy.

I have no idea why or how. I wasn’t jogging. I haven’t done anything stupid. I’m doing my physical therapy, which includes some modest hip exercises and stretches.

Whatever.

I’m really hoping that it corrects itself by Monday so I can get on the treadmill again. I’ve got momentum. I don’t want to stop because my stupid hip hurts.

Today I need to fit in weights and PT and I’ll have another solid week of exercise behind me, bringing it to a total of three consecutive weeks!

I’m saying it again. Three weeks!!!!! Yay me!!!

I’m still up at 226 on the scale, and I don’t wonder. Even with as open and shameless as I am to publicize my weaknesses and goof ups on my blog, I can’t bring myself to tell you just how bad my food consumption has been.

So, now that I’m in a good exercising habit at the moment (ignoring the hip and thinking positive), I’m going to work on my diet next week.

Really, I am. My clothes are pathetic again. Either they’ve lost their shape, don’t work with my nursing bra, or are stained and spotted. So I need new ones, and I want to hold out buying them until I drop a size. Or get more desperate than I am now.

All in all, I’m happy to be doing better than I have in over a year.

How was your week?

It’s raining this morning. After all the sweltering heat we’ve had the past two weeks, on the 4th, it’s raining. Of course. But I see breaks in the clouds, so I still have hope.

We’re in for a fun day. Nate bought tickets to the Mariners game at Safeco Field for this afternoon.

Afterwards, we’re stopping home to pick up food and such on our way to my brother-in–law’s house for a barbecue like last year, because it was a really good time.

Last night, on the way back from taking my brother home, we stopped off at a Fireworks stand so Nate could buy some for the festivities and street show at the barbecue. The kids and I waited in the car, and were shocked when he came back with this.

Street show fireworks make me nervous. I think it’s because my biological father was always so afraid of someone blowing off an appendage in the process, he wouldn’t even let us stay and watch. We always went home from whatever social gathering we were attending once they broke out the fireworks.

I’m not as neurotic. I enjoy watching them very much, but I get uneasy when my own family is lighting them off.

However, it is not very often I get to see “that” expression on my sweet husband’s face. His eyes light up and he smiles in such a way that makes me see the little boy in him very easily. The first time I saw “that” expression is when we were in Israel and he and his brothers were floating in the Dead Sea.

Wait a minute. Where did that resort come from? All that was there 8 1/2 years ago was sand, water, and a couple of open air concrete showers. Wow. And for those of you who don’t know, you can’t sink in the dead sea. You just go out into the water and sit down. No floatation devices, just sit in the water. Or if you’re Nate and his brothers, do everything you can to TRY to sink, or make one of your brothers sink, and laugh like a child when you can’t.

Yes, so, “that” expression. He doesn’t even get that way at Christmas. But lighting fireworks, now, that’s excitement.

It’s really cute. And I can hardly deny him that. But mercy. That’s a huge box of fireworks.

This morning I woke up to the sound of the garbage truck coming down the street. I didn’t figure they picked up trash on the 4th, so we hadn’t put our trash out. I jumped out of bed and ran outside to put the garbage can on the sidewalk and smashed my big toe in the process. Dangit. It really hurts. I came face to face with the garbage man, actually the yard waste man, in my pj’s and bra-less. I hate it when that happens.

After all that, I couldn’t get back to sleep. Didn’t even try. So I took the opportunity to finish up my socks.

They’re awesome. I’m so happy! I used Austermann’s Step sock yarn. I looked it up on the internet to get links and it looks like the colors have changed since I bought my yarn. Either that or the pictures online REALLY suck.

Yesterday, I went back to the yarn store that was closed in the middle of a Wednesday (I found out later she had a knee replacement surgery, and I guess didn’t get anyone to fill in for her) to pick up another sock bag and to look at one or two circular needles to start another pair of socks.

They were closed.

I was so irritated. So, they’re closed on Mondays too I guess.

Anyway, Happy Fourth of July! I’m so grateful to live in this wonderful country. I haven’t seen much of it, but I’m completely in love with my little corner of the nation. And I’m reverently grateful to the people that sacrificed so much to build and protect it.

Have a great holiday.

Yesterday I had an unexpected opportunity. Veronica woke up with a bad, seal-bark cough, so I stayed home from church with her and Clark, leaving me with a very quiet house, and nothing that I HAD to do. No place I HAD to go.

So I cuddled Clark to sleep and laid him in my bed.

Then I quickly made my way to the couch and picked up the long lost green sock.

That’s not a joke. It took me quite awhile to find it. And you will note that in my enthusiasm to actually knit, I didn’t even clean up the background before snapping the picture. (Don’t tell my mom).

And guess how much I got done? 1/2 a round, baby! Half of one, stinking round before he started fussing. So I let him fuss while I knit a total of two rounds before picking him up.

Then we tried to read a couple blogs. Something else I haven’t had the opportunity to do much of. I gave up after he ripped out those tender little hairs on the back of my neck, at the bottom of my hairline while fussing.

So I nursed him. Again. Which put him back to sleep. I seized another potential opportunity and did this.

Baby bundle.

Back to the sock.

I didn’t even take the opportunity to pee.

Well, at first anyway.

I came out of my room to see poor little Veronica on the couch, bored out of her gourd, with her “angry face” on.

Which really is the cutest thing ever. I wish you could see it better.

So I picked her up and put her downstairs with a cold fruit nectar and a straw, and Pink Panther.

Things went well. He stayed asleep. She was entertained. I finished the first sock to the toe shaping and started on the second.

Junior slept most of the day. He’s probably fighting off whatever Veronica has. When the girls got home from church, they headed down to the basement to watch Pink Panther with V. Nate and I spent a very quiet afternoon, and I finished the foot on the second sock!

Whew! That’s a lot for one day. I have more to show, but it’ll have to wait. I’ve got swim lessons and brother visits ahead of me, and I don’t yet know if Veronica is healthy.

Before I sign off, I wanted to share something with our American readers. This is the coolest thing ever, and you all should see it. If you’ve seen it already, see it again. We happened upon it on PBS a number of years ago. Nate, who has always loved that period in history, was very excited. I was wary. We were both enthralled. It is fantastic. Even if you aren’t into that sort of thing (which I’m not). It’s fascinating. It’s engaging. It’s suspenseful. It is cast with many recognizable “character” actors. It’s moving. It’s inspiring. We watch it every July.

You must see it.

Please.

Good morning! I had another good week with the exercise, but I’m still struggling with food.

Monday- 35 minutes of treadmill.
Tuesday- didn’t have the opportunity to do anything, but we DID get to see Superman at the drive in.
Wednesday- I did the 35 minutes of treadmill and picked up the physical therapy from Tuesday
Thursday- weights and physical therapy
Friday- I snuck the treadmill in, 35 minutes again, right before midnight.

Today I will do my weights and physical therapy.

The scale did a weird thing this week. I’ve been between 221 and 223 for a couple months, and then out of the blue, I jumped up to 227 one morning. The next day, I was 226. The next day, 223.5, which is where I was this morning as well.

I don’t know what that’s about, but whatever. I know I’m gaining muscle already, because I can see it in my quads and my biceps.

How was your week?

We were visiting with friends in our living room last night when I felt something watching me. So I turned towards the window and saw this.

Well, his eyes weren’t glowing from a camera flash when I first saw him, but I did turn to see a face staring at me through the glass wall in our living room. I gasped as it took me by surprise, and the kids were delighted. So onto the upper deck we all went, about eye level, and 6 or so feet away from a raccoon.

Upon being discovered, it started climbing down the tree.

And I followed him down (figuratively) with my camera until I gasped again, when through my camera, I saw this.

There were four for sure, possibly five smallish raccoons on my lower deck, and the trees growing out of it. They scurried down the smaller tree, and climbed around on the railings before deciding to go back up the bigger trunk of the maple.

I know that picture is blurry, but it was so cute seeing the two of them cheek to cheek, staring in at us.

I would never have guessed we had ‘coons. They were small, and all exactly the same size, so I’m guessing it was an adolescent litter or something. Not being a raccoon expert, it’s just a guess. I hope they’re just passing through. I have a goldfish pond back there, and I don’t want them getting any ideas.

We went yarn shopping on Tuesday and didn’t come up with much. Except, some of the yarn at the second store we hit that I had admired this past winter was on sale. So I bought it.

Along with something that may or may not work for my friend’s chemo cap…

…which was also on sale, and either way, it was a good buy.

Thank you for the yarn suggestions. I’m going to go back through the comments and write them down for when I go into Seattle, which it looks like I’m going to need to do, to find yarn.

As for the stockings… I couldn’t find anything I liked, with the possible exception of Silky Tweed. It comes in the color diversity I’m looking for, but silk Christmas stockings????

I don’t know.

I have some in the stash already, I could start working on a mockup to see how it goes. But I’m going to continue looking.

Yays! to those of you who are having your family knit their stockings! I think it’s great! If this actually pans out in my family, I’m going to take a picture of each of them as they’re knitting it to keep in the stocking year after year, so as they grow up, they (in truth, I) can enjoy looking back and seeing how little they were when they made it. Fun, no?

Today was the first day of five weeks of daily swim lessons for the girls. They have had almost no water experience their entire lives, and I thought it was time they learned. Plus, Olivia’s boredom and restlessness had already set in.

It was cute. Veronica is very nervous in the water, and even though she is signed up for a “class”, she’s the only one in it, so she was 1 on 1 with the instructor, a cuteish, curly haired kid that obviously lifts weights. She was clinging to him for her life, and he very politely asked her to “please stop pulling (his) hair.” By the end, she was doing better, but I’m hoping she starts enjoying herself so this doesn’t end up being expensive, parent-afflicted torture for her.

The other two did well in their class.

We were going to go to another yarn store today after lessons to look for stocking and chemo cap yarn, but I pushed that off ’til tomorrow so I could do other important things like lunch, laundry, and kitchen cleaning. I hope to have something yummy to show you from the yarn store after tomorrow.

HA! HaHA! HAhahaha. Hahahahahaha. Haha.

I kicked butt this week.

THIS is the type of Health Group entry that I’ve wanted to post for the last year or more. So let’s get to it, shall we?

Monday- 35 minutes of treadmill
Tuesday- weights and physical therapy
Wednesday- 35 minutes of treadmill
Thursday- weights and physical therapy
Friday- …

Well, Friday would have been the 35 minutes of treadmill, but I got roped into taking the kids to the zoo unexpectedly with my sister-in-law and her kids first thing in the morning. We were there all day, hit the grocery store on the way back, made dinner…

Another aside, I made up the most excellent BBQ sauce yesterday. Fortunately, I wrote it all down. It was incredibly good. Nate gushed and gushed. We grilled chicken drumsticks. Mmmmm.

Ok, back to Friday. Immediately following dinner, Nate decided he wanted to take the girls to the drive in to see Cars. We didn’t get home until midnight, and I had NO time to exercise, however I did walk the zoo for 4 hours carrying the babe in the sling as well as a very heavy day pack with food, diapering necessities, camera, phone, wallet/Franklin, and an ample supply of water.

Like I said, heavy.

So I am content to say that I picked up Friday’s treadmill this morning, and still did the weights and physical therapy for the day.

I’m so proud. I’m so excited. I’m not even bugged that I jumped up a few pounds to 223. It’s muscle. I swear it is. And it feels great.

How was your week?

Well, I did. It just took some prompting.

Yesterday, I went to my LYS, which was closed. That is frustrating. Do you know how much energy and effort it takes to take 4 kids anywhere? But I guess this yarn store closes at 2 on Wednesdays for some reason, so I loaded, unloaded, and re-loaded all those munchkins for nothing. BUT, on the way there, Liv started up about how much she wants to knit again. This would mean buying her new needles, because hers are either missing or broken. (I can’t remember, but it’s one of those). It occurred to me at that moment that what I ought to do is let the girls knit THEIR OWN Christmas stockings. Yes?

So, that is what we’re going to try. Thus, about the only patterning we can do is stripes. But I think it’d be really cute to have stockings that the girls knit themselves. Maybe I can even get Veronica to knit? I’ll do the heel turning and gusset of course, but the rest, on a circular needle ought to be easy.

I still need to find yarn. From a yarn store that stays open during business hours.

I think we’re going to have the knitalong right here on Fridays. It works for me. I’m not sure about a start date yet, but if you’re already going on it and are dying to show or tell me about it, feel free.