Visiting Vacation, days 6 and 7

about 10pm on the evening of day 5 my sister delivered my newest niece, so the next morning, I dropped my kids off at VBS and went by the hospital to see them. Bitchy Sis (yes, she is way way more bitchy than I am,) looked pretty good, she had a much easier labor and delivery with this baby than with her first, and she was up and moving around, and less than 12 hrs after the baby was born she was ready to go  home. Baby was very sleepy, and small compared to her first child, but over a pound bigger than either of my girls. I hung around and visited with her for a while… Princess (step)Sis came in, she is 7 months pregnant, and did little but whine that she is the only one left pregnant and what she can’t do or eat (she has gestational diabetes) and I quickly tired of listening to that. So I took off, and ran a bunch of errands..

I had to drop a replacement phone in the mail to Psycho Mother-in-law, as she managed to lose hers a couple of weeks ago. And since I only had an hour left until I had to go pick up the kids again, I pulled into McDonalds, and got an order of fries so that I could sit at a table and use their wi-fi connection to upload all of the blog entries I had typed up this week… Because the free tethering program I had on my Android wouldn’t let me access anything secure, and that meant no logging into WordPress. I played with it last night, trying to find free software that would allow it, and some how, I am not sure how, managed to have access to https again.

After I picked up the kids, I brought them back to my grandfather’s to play with my cousin’s 10yo boy who was spending the day here while his dad was at work, and they all played, they have been playing all week, and having a blast.

My kids had wanted to go to the hospital to see the baby, but I couldn’t take them, as the hospital has banned all non-immediate family children from visitation because of a huge number of repertory illnesses this year.

Bitchy Sis got out of the hospital this morning, so I took the kids to her house to see the baby this afternoon, we hung around and visited (and the kids played) for a couple of hours, before taking off.

I took the kids for snow cones today, I don’t think they had ever had them before, they have had slushes, but not shaved ice. They loved it, it was the worlds greatest treat to them.

Later this afternoon we took a walk, and walked about a half mile down the road to the local park, where they spent a while on the swings and bars and see-saws before we walked back.

We have had a good couple of days, Hubster may be back tomorrow, but more likely on Saturday, then we will head home. I am starting to get ready for my big bed at home, and my husband in bed next to me. I miss him.

baby blankets…

my sister is due with a baby in just 2 weeks, we didn’t know for most of her pregnancy what the sex was (the baby’s daddy didn’t want to know, so even though she found out at the U/S, she didn’t tell anyone, now the daddy is out of the picture, so the sex is public knowledge) so when I started the blanket, I used white, something basic, and yet gender neutral, I finished the blanket night before last, I love how it turned out.

It is done is a spider web pattern, the center panel from the Spider’s-web Shawls pattern in Victorian Lace Today.  Instead of the lace-weight yarn and size 6 needles that the book calls for I used a worsted weight cotton (it’s for a baby, it MUST be washable!!) and size 9 needles. If I hadn’t let it hibernate for several months on my end table, I probably would have finished it in about 3 weeks…

I got this huge rush as I cast off the last few stitches and wove in my tails, I had finished the blanket before the baby arrived!! And then I realized… my step-sister is due in just 6 weeks. I have another blanket to make, and fast this time.

So I searched. and looked and dug through my yarn stash. I found another cotton (yeah, I like cotton for baby blankets) this time in shades of pink (since I know at the point of casting on that this baby will be a girl) and I cast on… I have been knitting hard for the last 2 days,  and I am some where between 1/3 and 1/2 done with it. When I get it done, I will share pictures. I am pleased. it is turning out well.

Sleep? who needs sleep?

4 hrs is all the sleep I got last night. My 2 year old woke up at 10:30 crying. nothing would make him content but laying on my bed next to me. so we laid there and i read for a while. he dozed but never actually fell asleep, till at 12:45 he sat up and puked. So, 1am I am cleaning a 2 year old and changing the sheets on my bed. lay back down… he finally falls asleep. I get to sleep about 3 am. he woke up at 5, fussy and whiny and I just laid there with him. At 6 I heard my oldest daughter, who is 8,  get up, and I asked her to take him, watch cartoons with him, I only got 2 hrs sleep, let me get some rest (she is really good about watching him in the mornings, when all he wants to do is sit and watch tv anyway) so I was able to sleep till almost 8….

I am drained. and Hubby will be home this afternoon. The girls are working on cleaning up some, but I am not going to be up for a huge cleaning thing. Plus, the baby is still whiny and clingy.

shhh… don’t tell daddy.

my 8 year old decided to be very sweet this morning, she heard the 2 year old wake up first this morning.  and she went in, and took care of him, (he is in a toddler bed, so she doesn’t have to lift him out of the crib, just take down the baby gate in front of his bedroom door,) changed his diaper  and turned on the tv and entertained him, and kept him out of trouble for a while and let me sleep in. Only, she couldn’t find clean pants to put back on him after she changed his diaper. so she found an old skort of her sister’s and put that on him. Surprisingly enough, it fits. he is wandering around in it, and other than the skirt on a boy, there is no problems… hubby would not be happy about the skirt on a boy bit.. I think it is funny.

Sniff, Sniff… Sob!

My baby is now 2, today is his birthday. I am fairly certain he is my last baby, and he is officially out of babyhood an on to toddler.. such a poignant moment. No more itsy bitsy clothes, no more teeny tiny diapers, no more small snuggly baby to hold and watch with awe.

On the other hand… no more midnight feedings, and 2 am, and 4 am, and 6 am.. you get the hint. No more changing diapers every 20 minutes cause they are wet/dirty, again.  No  more 6 sets of clothes a day, cause this poop was especially explosive and went EVERYWHERE. No more 30 lb diaper bag that must be hauled every where we go… We also are losing a lot of the large baby toys and stuff, which I realize, only clears space for large toddler toys, which in time will be gone to clear space for large boy toys..

So, maybe the baby getting older is not such a bad thing. For the most point, this age is fun, although, I could live without the spontaneous jumping off of furniture… and the spontaneous running up to me, hugging my legs then biting the shit out of one of them (we are working on biting!) I do love the way he will run up and hug my legs like i have been gone for a year or two, no matter how briefly I have been gone.. Even if it was less than 30 seconds to walk to the street and check the mail. I love that he is starting to talk (finally!) and the way he speaks and bosses his sisters around, like he is making up for them trying to boss him around for the last 2 years.
On a third note, I consider how rough boys are.. my newly 2 year old has already had a few split lips, and lost one finger nail due to smashing his finger in a door, and he always has a number of bruises, scattered over his body from tripping, tumbling, climbing etc. It makes me wonder, if we have had these issues already, will he survive to reach adult hood? I know lots do, and he is no more rough than I was at his age. And now I realize why my father’s hair has all turned gray!

I just gave my 2 year old a tattoo

a temporary tattoo that is. And to make matters worse, it is Tinkerbelle. My husband will be SO pleased when he sees it. My older girls were wearing them and he felt left out. so I gave him one… if dh has too much of a fit about Tinkerbell, I will just tell him it is his first pin-up girl! lol