A lazy summer Sunday...

 

I have thoroughly enjoyed the last three days, and am taking today to get stuff done here around home. This weekend has been the Summer's Last Blast Yarn Crawl over in St. Louis and here in IL, and I went to all 12 yarn shops in the past three days. I spent a bit of money, although not as much as I could have, and am well satisfied with my purchases:

I got 7 skeins of yarn; the yellow is 1600 yds of laceweight for a big shawl; some pattern books and patterns; some door prizes; and a few accessories I needed. 

I was very proud of myself for driving to 5 of the 12 shops all by myself on Friday, in the 100+ degree heat, with no air conditioning, and using only my gps on my phone for back up directions.  I had a lot of fun and met some lovely people.  The other 7 shops I did with Eric in the air conditioned Pilot, and we had a lovely time together, including a nice dinner and bottle of wine at a winery in St. Charles, MO after our 4th stop. I have found a couple more places I would love to return to as needed (although they are a bit of a hike to get to), and one shop I adore is closing in October and moving to Colorado.  I also got an invitation to join the Gateway Knitters Group, which meets in Kirkwood, a western/southwestern suburb of St. Louis, and I may try to get there once in a while as time and family obligations permit.  It was lovely to be asked!

Stitch markers I made myself



I have been very productive in my crafts this summer, and have really enjoyed not having studying to compete with it. Skye likes being by me, so there are things I can easily accomplish while she plays happily by me, and others that I do using the playpen as a safety zone for her (we put on music and dance while I move between the cutting table, sewing machine, and ironing board). As long as she is by me she is content, and I don't leave her there for extended periods of time. I try to alternate activities so her attention span and muscles get appropriate levels of stimulation.

At left is a picture of some of the stitch markers I made for myself out of wire, o-rings, and beads. I didn't do a great job of tightening the wire down on itself (it was a first attempt after all), but they came out pretty and they don't snag the fibers, which is what matters most.  There is also a picture of the rest of them in use, on a Mmystery Shawl I am knitting (a play on the designer's name: MMario). I love the way it is coming out so far! Oh, and I also bought one tool NOT pictured: strip magnets glued to ribbon to form self-sticking placement holders on graphic patterns!  I paid $15 for the set of them, then realized as I studying them here at home how easy they would be to make myself...  sometimes the simplest things are the most useful! 

Stitch markers in use.





Summery sundress I made recently.



Completed peacock, Misty Morning Vineyard.























Homemade stitch markers in use.



Summery outfit I made.



I am getting really frustrated with blogger!  Grrrrr!  I am trying to put my photos into the order I want them and they are not cooperating and moving to where I want them to be!  Oh well, they are on here and I guess that is what is important.  I just wanted to show that I have been sewing garments for myself, cross stitching, and knitting, along with taking care of Skye and the rest of the family.

Skye is walking now; she started taking steps just before she turned 11 months old, and she walks subconsciously quite well until she realizes she is walking and seats herself back down.  It makes us laugh. She is such fun these days, trying hard to talk and making a wide range of facial expressions.  I do wish she would nap better at times, but I liked her going down at 7:30 to 8 pm for the night.  Now that her momma is home things are a little less predictable with regard to bedtime especially.

There are things to get done, and I am still fuming over blogger not cooperating, so I guess I will go for now.







It's a hot and sticky thursday!

But things are fairly cool here in the house, and babycakes is down for a nap, so I am free to blog for a few minutes.  I have been working on sewing the past few days, as well as finishing up some things. I got a summer dress all sewn that I have been wanting to make for close to 2 years now, and was amazed that even at the size suggested by the pattern it was too big, so I had to cut the pieces down and resew. It turned out amazing and I am so pleased with it!  I have cut the patterns apart for 2 more outfits, a dress, and an skirt/jacket combo in nice summery fabrics, and I have reviewed the fall/winter fabrics too to see what else I want to be working on.  I put together my dressmaker's dummy, in my measurements, and it has been a god-send for working on clothes for me. I actually need to take the measurements in just a bit (ribs/bust) as the dress I just finished fits the dummy perfectly but is still a teensy bit loose on me, even after the revamp. I am so pleased with my weight watcher's plan.  I haven't been as honest with it this past week, despite my good intentions, as I had wanted to be, but it is working none-the-less and I am content.

I have been plugging away at some cross stitching too, and am quite pleased with my progress on those projects as well.  It has been nice to have things to work on when the baby is sleeping because I have very little time without her during the day--she has decided napping is for sissys, and she has taken only the briefest of naps the past few days.  I am hoping today will be a good nap as her eyes were really heavy after lunch. Skye has taken her first independent steps--took them on Monday accidently/unintentionally; then on Tuesday she actually walked to me from the couch, about 4 steps.  Each day since then she has been practicing and getting better and steadier on her little feet.  It's such a joy to watch her figure things out!  Today she cracked me up because she found the tv remote on the floor next to Rei, who was sleeping.  She started pushing buttons, then looking expectantly at the tv (it was off); she'd push more buttons and look at it again; still nothing.  Finally she got frustrated and threw it down in disgust cuz it wasn't doing anything!  She sure knew what it was for though!

Eric has this weekend off but it's already jam-packed.  Aurora has a gateway tournament this weekend over in St. Louis, and that takes up much of each day Saturday and Sunday; Brie is supposed to be home sometime Sunday too. Eric wanted to focus on our room (moving some things around/decluttering) but I just don't see that being got to too easily between Skye and the bowling alley, and he has part 2 of a major project due Monday that will need some focusing on also...  Aurora got her books in the mail today for her classes, and she is happy about that. I think she is looking forward to college starting, even if it does start before the high school does.

I had Rei and Aurora at the orthodontist on Wednesday.  They both need braces for similar issues, but Aurora is going to need 6 teeth removed (4 wisdom teeth and 2 on the top due to crowding), while Rei's wisdom teeth can wait til after he is done with his braces. Both treatment plans will take about 2 years to complete, and insurance is supposed to cover part of the cost. We will need to figure out how we are going to cover the rest of it.  Aurora's oral surgery consult is not scheduled until Sept. 13th (the first available appt), so we will be scheduling the surgery after than; early October will be when she gets her braces (I think), while Rei's we can set up anytime.  Eric has to look through the budget, as will I, and then we will make the appointments.  Always something!

I am waiting on edge to hear back from Liisa. She had a horrid sore throat (on just one side) that started Tuesday evening/Wed. morning.  She went to urgent care for it this morning after being in such terrible pain last night that she called me at 1 am, and they said she needed to go to the emergency room: her tonsil, tongue, and jaw were all inflammed and it looked like she may have an abcess on her tonsil that is in rough shape and may need lancing.  She called me in tears because it hurt and she was scared. Her dad has gone with her to the emergency room and I know one of them will call me when she is done.  My poor girl!  Especially since she is concerned she may not have health insurance right now (given she was fired the end of June she doesn't know if July was covered or not--I believe it is). Anyway, I am praying for her.

We haven't heard much from Patrick of late, nor from Brianne, so the assumption is things must be going fine in their respective activities.  I will be glad to have Brie home so I can have some "me" time again.  Little one is fussing off and on in her bed; I am not sure if she has actually slept or not (haven't peeked in there) but she's been down for an hour, so I guess I should get her up.  The only real blessing to her not napping much is she has been going down for the night between 7 and 8 each night this week so far!

Vacation is over... Back to reality!

Skye in her 4th of July bloomers and bows!

 And what a hot day it is--102-106 degrees depending on where you are living!  I put Skye down for another nap (she only napped a half hour this morning) and then we are gonna go to the pool for awhile. It really makes me miss the lakes near my mother's house, although the pool is sounding awfully good after she wakes up.  Here are a few pictures from our Vacation in MN:

Liisa and Skye in Lake Calhoun, Thomas beach.

My mother, Sylvia, and us 4 kids: Me, Neal, Erik, and Kristi.

The Heikkila-Soulak-Mazes, minus Tony and Brie.

This is Skye meeting her daddy, Dalton,and her paternal grandmother, Regina, for the first time.



Minneaha Falls, July 2011, taken by Liisa on her cell phone.  Love this photo!


Today is getting back to normal, whatever that is. Eric went back to work this morning and will be going to class tonight after work. I am looking at the list of chores to do, phone calls to make for appointments, and everyday stuff that needs to be dealt with. Brie is in Indiana at AT for 2 weeks, so I have Skye full time; Aurora is enjoying her summer, as is Rei, and Patrick stopped home this afternoon for a bit--was nice to see him!

I was thrilled to get a wedding invitation to a former day care child's wedding, but man does it make me feel old!  In my minds eye she is still a little tiny tow-headed peanut who snuggled on my lap and cuddled dish towels!  I would love to surprise her and her mother by going out for the wedding, but we'll have to see.  Life has a way of getting complicated when one least wants it to be so!

Enjoy the photos and try to stay cool!  I sure am!

Eric is ON VACATION!!!

Thus, so am I!  We decided to go ahead and go to Minneapolis for the first part of it, leaving tomorrow morning and coming back on Tuesday. I am looking forward to a low-key time there of visiting, enjoying the lakes, and spending time with family and friends.

Last week went very well. Dalton is a very nice young man, and he seemed to really enjoy getting to know Skye as a person and not just a picture or a concept. She came to really accept him too, although it took a little time for her to initially warm up to him, and he soon mastered the art of feeding her a bottle and playing with her. He even changed a diaper! His mother is a lovely person and I really enjoyed getting to know her. His sister is very nice as well, and she was here a few days too. They stayed at the hotel up the street by the interstate. I spent quite a bit of time with all of them initially, then eased my way out as people got more comfortable with each other (I didn't want to be a distraction for Skye). It was fun to see her responding to her family members and to see similarities in traits and expressions. The headed back home on Sunday, and I am sure we will be seeing them again at some point relatively soon.

Brie is getting ready for her two week trip to AT at the end of next week. I am sure things will go fine, and I think Skye will do well with the change. She is cutting more teeth, and has a mouthful already. She is also starting to toddle--walks behind her walker-toy, and she travels along furniture quite well. She also stands alone until she realizes she is doing so, then she grabs on quick. I don't think it'll be too long before she is going at will. Brie made the dean's list for her term and we are very proud of her. She got the letter about it yesterday.

I am enjoying my time away from school. I was quite disappointed to get a C for the term, despite an A on the final paper, and A's throughout most of the term. I flubbed up the week between Mother's day and Graduation because I just couldn't do it all, so I turned in some assignments late (she said zero tolerance for late assignments and by God, she meant it!) I just felt badly for myself that she dropped me 2 grades for the late assignments, when I had run consistent 98-99% on everything else.  I had been expecting a B.  Oh well, I still passed and I know the material really well.  I am in the process of getting financial aid stuff re-done so I can get registered for summer session (Starts July 11th, so I need to get going on it).

Quick update on the kids:

Aurora is bowling on a summer league, and she is enjoying her summer, spending time primarily with her boyfriend.

Patrick hasn't been around much, nor has he touched base lately, so I am not sure what he's up to. He is suppose to be coming to MN with us, so I will know more then I am thinking.

Reimond is running with friends as well, and doing some hanging out with Aurora and her boyfriend. Typical summer for the kids.

My Minneapolis babies are now 6 (Justin) and 4(Alexis) as both had birthdays this month. Justin has mastered riding his bike with no training wheels.  I can't wait to see them!

Everyone else is doing ok. Liisa lost her job on Monday but had an interview with a new place today that went well, and she isn't wasting any time trying to find employment ASAP. Tony is home for the time being as well, so he is working steadily and juggling kids and home with Andrea. They are doing fine.

Sounds like my laundry is ready to change over!  Yay!  Then I can finish packing!

Today is the day!

Today is the day that Skye gets to meet her dad and some of his family members. I am looking forward to finally meeting them as well, and it is my hope and prayer that things go smoothly while they are here, for everyone's sake. It's going to be an interesting week I think!

I got my paper done, including a restart on Thursday night at 7 p.m. after realizing that I had misread the directions and had already written 11 pages over the course of 8 hours or so...  I was able to recycle a little of what I had previously written into the final draft, albeit in a slightly different form, but most of the paper was "fresh" and new rather than a re-write.  I have to say, I really sweated it, because I had worked so hard on what was initially written, and thought it was well done. Oh well, live and learn. I am just thankful I reread the instructions before I finished it and sent it off into the interweb to the instructor! I ended up with a 92/100 because apparently "there continued to be problems" with my APA formatting.  This bothers me, because I wrote with the APA manual open and next to me.  Oh well, I did my best.  I am curious about what my final grade will look like because I missed 2 discussion questions during the graduation preparations and I also didn't turn in the two prep assignments for the paper (also due during that week between mother's day and graduation), but the rest of my grades were 98-99%.  I get so nervous when waiting, although if I get a B for the term I will be satisfied (a C would disappoint me though, and I don't think an A is in the running right now--the instructor just isn't that generous, despite my being in constant contact with her over what was going on).

We are planning to go up to Minneapolis after all over 4th of July weekend. Eric did get the extra time off for Friday and Saturday, so we will go up Thursday the 30th and be there thru the 5th, driving home that morning sometime. I am very excited. I was talking to Andrea today about having a birthday party for the kids, perhaps at Liisa's on that Saturday, and inviting the family to it. I don't think it would be too much work, especially if the weather is good and we can do it outside, or maybe we could go down to the falls and do it there. Just have cake, ice cream, and sodas.

Eric and Aurora have started running most mornings that he's off to get her ready for the cross country season, and he is enjoying that. I am pleased to say I am back on track too with my weight loss and have lost a total of 14 lbs as of today.  I am doing well! I have tried to get out walking or biking on a regular basis and I am being mindful of the points program so I eat healthy.

Sounds like the baby is up--she went down for a nap around 8 after getting up around 6ish this morning again.  Time to feed her, finish the dishes, and get some vaccuuming done.  It's gonna be a hectic next few days!

Just a quick note...

to free up my brain cells before I return to the world of non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors (NSSI for short) in adolescents, the theme of my final project.  Research in this subject has come a long way since I first looked into it about 5 to 8 years ago.

We got the van fixed, to the tune of $139. Eric was not thrilled with the cost, but given he couldn't get the broken hose off, and it was moving the heater core in the process, he felt it was better to have a pro do it, and I agree. It is back on the road now, and I have begged and pleaded that it be driven gently, with an eye on the thermostat (because the hose that was broken had dry-rotted and cracked from age; there may be others that will fail with one new one on).  I have my fingers crossed.

I still have a sore throat, now heading on the third day of it, and it sucks. It isn't allergies; it's more in/around my glands, and feels like lower tonsils, primarily on the left side.  I don't think it's strep as I haven't had a fever. It's just a constant ache when I swallow.  I am keeping the pain at bay with naprosyn (generic aleve), as I don't have time to indulge in being sick right now. I am on a very tight schedule this week!

The younger kids seem to be enjoying their summer break: lots of hanging out with friends and doing a lot of very little (if that makes sense--lots of hanging out, watching movies on netflix, running the roads, etc; very little chores or helping ME out...) I get help when I ask specifically for it, but it generally falls under the rubric of just enough to say it's done.  Oyvay!

Eric started his new term last night and it looks like it may be a challenging one for him. Certainly hours-wise it's gonna take a toll. Brie is off at class right now, and it looks like she's gonna have tuesdays and thursdays off for school, but then work every weekend plus monday, wednesday, and friday. Patrick has started moving his belongings out to the apartment in the middle of town. He came home for breakfast yesterday, which made me laugh, then worked on packing up more things. I do hope he is able to find a job soon, or his savings won't last too terribly long and he'll be back where he started from.  I give him credit for trying though, and support his intentions!

As much as I hate grey, gloomy days, I have to admit I am grateful for the rain and thunderstorms today. It keeps me in the house and focused rather than tempted to be outdoors doing other things. I am thrilled to report I lost 1.6 lbs this week, bringing my total loss back to 12.6 lbs, and .6 lbs represents a new loss over the initial yoyo loss between April and now.  So happy! I rode my bike last night. Didn't go terribly far, but it felt good to get on it, and I am sure, with practice, my confidence will improve (not to mention my thigh muscles--I was feelin' it!)

Ok, back to the books!  7 articles to annotate, then the two assignments for this week to write (so that I can focus on my paper the rest of the week). I CAN DO IT!!!!!

When it rains, it pours!

My son Anthony surprised me with a visit this weekend.  He was under orders with the Army Reserve and was doing some advanced training over in KS, but they were given the weekend off. Rather than stay in the barracks and be bored to tears (or find mischief to get into) he decided to come to mom's, see the family, and play with his little brother.  It was great to have him here!  He was helpful too: he got Eric's harley all up and running (Eric went and got it licensed and insured on Friday) so we now have that for a backup vehicle (although as Eric says, he needs some practice on it before he takes it any distance); he checked out Brie's car and said "trash it" (if it was salvagable he would have told us, because he is a whiz with cars); and he diagnosed a blown radiator hose on my van (it has been leaking and overheating). The catch? The van has been the backup vehicle for Brie to use to get back and forth to work and school, and it cannot be driven as it is right now either...  Eric says he feels competent to replace the hose, but we have to get one first (Tony would have done it for me but he had to get on the road for his 6 hour drive back to the army base) and I am not sure we can get it done tonight. 

Then there is the week ahead.  Eric's new term starts and he'll have class monday, tuesday, and wednesday evenings (after work on the days he works), so he'll essentially be gone from 5 am til 10 pm on Monday and Tuesday of this week.  The car Brie was going to buy from a friend is no longer for sale, and she was not approved for a car loan so she can't get one through a dealership...  We are back to the drawing board on that front.  She is, however, getting the phone she has been salivating over: her replacement phone won't hold a charge, and because it is an insurance phone, and they don't have any of her phones left in stock, they are sending her the one she wanted as a replacement phone (using an upgrade on the plan to get it). From what she is saying, she is getting the new phone (it should have cost her close to $200) for free, along with the accessories, and it should be arriving on Monday.

I have my final paper to write this week, and have a lot to do to prep for it, along with my last two assignments. Brie had drill all weekend, so I have been babysitting, and she stayed last night at a friend's (whom she is riding back and forth with to drill), meaning I haven't had a lot of time to do schoolwork. Last night after Skye went to bed I did print off close to 200 pages worth of research article on my theme that I will start reading and annotating today. Eric has been gone the better part of the weekend despite it being his weekend off because Aurora has been in a gateway tournament (Bowling) in St. Louis, about an hour away. She made it to the semifinals today, and Eric said she is doing well--solidly in the middle of the pack at this point. But that limits my mobility dreadfully and we need groceries and stuff...  Not to mention getting the hose to repair the van...   I am feeling a little frantic.

The nice thing is Tony was no work at all.  He helped with the vehicles, he played with the baby so I could do a few chores, he entertained Patrick and Reimond (and it was wonderful to see him hanging with the boys, working on bikes, making Patrick his assistant as he repaired the harley and checked out the other vehicles). It meant the world to me to have him here.  We even dragged him to the pool to cool off yesterday after his repair jobs were done! Skye went to the pool for the first time (she seems over her cold for the most part, finally) and she loved it. And I am glad we are getting use out of the family plan!

I have relost one of the two pounds I had gained, and hopefully the second one will be gone when I weigh in on Tuesday. I have gotten back to being good. Lets just hope the stress of the coming week doesn't get to me too badly (along with PMS etc.).  Speaking of that, my sister's surgery went well, although it was more extensive than they had planned on, and she was in the hospital an extra day because of it. She is doing better though and is glad to be home. She even went up to the lake this weekend with her family and told mom she could sit on her backside as easily there as stay home, and it makes sense to me!

Patrick is back to job hunting as he lost his job at McDonalds early this past week. He was late one too many times.  He is bummed and relieved both. He is planning to move in with a friend to an apartment in Mascoutah proper and has been putting in applications at the businesses on Main Street. The apartment is centrally located between here and Main St. so he feels transportation (or the lack thereof) won't be as big an issue, and my guess is he will use his savings to cover his costs of moving. He is of the opinion that it won't be "forever" at this point; he just sees himself as helping out a friend for a few months, as well as helping himself be closer to the job market. Eric and I fully support this. My guess is this will happen sometime over the next few days.

I am hoping I am not getting sick. Yesterday I felt really run down and tired (although some late nights and early mornings this week helped to contribute), but I woke up with a sore throat/swollen glands. I do NOT need to be sick with everything going on this week!  So I am drinking my orange juice, taking my vitamin, and praying hard!

Skye is needing attention so I guess I will post!  Keep your fingers crossed for us this coming week goes smoothly!