Benjamin's First Trip to the Playground

Last weekend we took Benjamin for his first visit to the neighborhood playground. We figured that since he could now sit up, there was no reason he couldn't do so on a slide or a jungle gym. We did get odd looks from some of the other parents there. I suppose it was because their kids were old enough to get on and off of the park equipment themselves, whereas we had to strategically position Benjamin's floppy little baby body in a manner that would allow him to stay propped upright. Even so, he seemed to have a good time.

We were especially excited to see if he'd like the swings. Vince plopped him into a rubber seat and gave him a gentle push. Benjamin began to sway to and fro, a gentle breeze ruffling his mohawk. Suddenly, he ducked his head down towards his knees. Was he getting airsick? Had we overestimated his ability to sit upright? Was he suffering from swing-induced narcolepsy? Was he scared and crying? Alarmed, I dropped to my knees to get a better view of him.

Benjamin's face was visible through the leg holes of the baby swing, and his eyes were busily watching the shadows shift as he moved through the air. In fact, he was so riveted that he didn't even notice I was crouched there anxiously gazing up at him. I breathed a sigh of relief and fondly watched my balled-up baby continue to swing back and forth like a chubby pendulum. Or a Popple. Or a turtle. Which reminds me... I need to get back to my knitting!

My Three Kids

It was a landmark weekend... For one thing, I finished the first of what I hope to be many knitted items for our unborn baby boy - a little Sheldon I lovingly knit in shades of green and blue. You can see that Pug Baby has taken quite a shine to Unborn Baby's new toy, so I think it might be a good idea to knit a slobber-proof, gnaw-proof Sheldon next.

It was a landmark weekend for the hubby, too. Ever since we got hooked on Guitar Hero last year, it's been his dream to rock that plastic guitar in front of a crowd of adoring fans... at Best Buy. It seems that every Best Buy store has a Guitar Hero station set up in a prominent location, and there's always some snotty brat hogging it and showing off his GH skills. Vince won't admit it, but it's obvious by his hovering and lingering glances that he longs to be one of those snotty brats. Well, he finally got his moment in the sun this weekend when we went to a Best Buy and - lo and behold - the GH station was unoccupied. I have to say that Vince did me proud, and I got to be his groupie for three minutes that day.

In the last of my landmark news, I'd like to announce that after a tumultuous on-again, off-again relationship for the past ten months, Lady E and I are finally through. Actually, I was done with the byatch several weeks ago, but I'm only just now getting around to letting the world know about it. The emotions were too raw, you know? And after all that trouble, I realized that she's not even my style. Go figure.

20 Down, 20 to Go

Yesterday marked the end of the first half of my pregnancy. Hip hip hooray! Above, you can see evidence of my burgeoning zaftig-ness. I think most of it can be attributed to the wee Chan, but I'll be honest - some of it might be all of the celebratory eating we've been doing. We're pregnant! Let's eat! We closed escrow on the new place! Let's eat! We closed escrow on the old place! Let's eat! We're done with the first trimester! Let's eat! It's a boy! Let's eat! In fact, to celebrate the halfway point of our pregnancy, guess what we did? That's right, we treated ourselves to a gluttonous feast at Chicago for Ribs. Good thing I took that 20-week picture before dinner.
..I marked the halfway point in my own way by starting a Sheldon for Vince Jr. Oliver seemed to sense that this was a special turtle. As you may recall, the pug has exhibited turtle-cidal behavior in the past, but he left this one in peace. Perhaps it's because Vince made me promise to knit him a turtle of his own.

This morning, we got a chance to say "hi" to Vince Jr. at my Level II Ultrasound, AKA Structure Check. I'd been feeling him move around since my 14th week, but man, was he a squirmy little bugger while the doc was trying to get a look at him! I'm surprised he was able to get any measurements at all. According to Babycenter.com, he's about 10 inches and 10.5 oz now, but he feels much bigger when he kicks me sometimes. I want to tell him to calm down, but I'm so rotund now, I can't get my mouth close enough to my belly to do so. I just end up looking like a crazy person. Instead, I have Vince do it. Somehow, when a man talks to his wife's pregnant belly, it looks cute rather than crazy.
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The Friday Knitting Group Turns ONE!

Friday, we celebrated the One Year Anniversary of the Friday Knitting Group! We marked the special event with a fantastic spread of vegan and non-vegan delicacies, some boisterous yarn-swapping, and - of course - knitting. Here's to another year!

Sunday, we paid a visit to my friend James, his wife Kelly, and their new baby Jayden. Of course, I went bearing (knitted) gifts. As you can see, Jayden and Sheldon got along famously. To be honest, it was a little trippy meeting little Jayden. I've known James since we were about 7 or so, and it doesn't seem like it's been THAT long since the scrappy fights, scraped knees, and name-calling. As I stood gazing at James' beautiful new son, all I could think was, "You made him? THIS adorable creature came from YOU?" Guess I just need to have a little girl for Jayden to pick on in a few years, and the circle will be complete.

Attack of the 1-Foot Pug: Part 2!

The good news is that Sheldon #6 is done and ready to be be adopted by my friend James' new baby Jayden. The bad news is that the Pug seems to have developed an intense hatred of knitted turtles. You might recall a previous incident involving another hapless Sheldon. Or, perhaps it's a case of nurture over nature, and he's somehow been conditioned to attack Sheldons on sight. Witness the telltale hand in the lower left corner, below. You can see Oliver go from minding his own business to becoming mildly interested to launching a full-scale lunatic pug attack on Sheldon's turtle ass. What happens next is too gruesome and too tragic to show in pictures.
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Celebrating KIP with Fart Art

When my grand plans to stage a Knitting in Public Day gathering fell through, I realized I would have to make do and KIP in whatever P place I was in. On the day of, we went to the Getty Museum to check out Tim Hawkinson's Zoopsia exhibit, so while there, I busted out my needles and did a little K-ing in P on one of the museum's cush benches. I have to admit that this is the most pathetic display of KIP ever captured on film. I look so forlorn and my lone witness was a very distracted hubby. His distraction? Tim Hawkinson's gargantuan Uberorgan, an installation in the Getty rotunda.
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What in the Sam Hill is an Uberorgan?? As the Getty's website explains, Uberorgan is "a massive construction of balloons and horns," which, once an hour, on the hour, plays a musical score consisting of a "250-foot-long scroll" of "black dots and dashes." So basically, it's a giant organ-bagpipe thing. And you know what? That's exactly what it sounded like. When the scroll started rolling at exactly 2:00 pm, the Getty rotunda was filled with a sound that could only be described as a beached whale with a flatulence problem. I think the reaction shot I got of Vince sums it up better than words ever could.

So I suppose it was a sad day for both the world of knitting and the world of contemporary art. It was unfortunate for knitting that the only witness to my KIP devotion was my hubby. And it was unfortunate for art that he didn't quite appreciate Uberorgan. As we walked away, he pronounced, "That was a fart, not art."

In less unfortunate news, I was finally able to capture on film the visage of the elusive Godfather of Knitting, AKA the Loch Knit Monster, AKA Jenny. Below, you can see her in the flesh, knitting away with Lisa. And to the right, witness the delight on Annie's face as she teaches newcomer Jessica the ropes - or the yarn, as it were.

On the turtle front, Sheldon #6 has reached tadpole stage. Here, he does a little shell-swapping with Sheldon's #4 and #5. Then after getting naked, all three Sheldons stop to ogle the emerging turtle butt of Yvonne's Sheldon. Those dirty, dirty Sheldons!

Filet Pugnon, Medium Rare?

Lisa, demonstrating her helpfulness to Dina and Leonor.

Now that our home is on the market, we've been faced with the problem of what to do with El Puggo when our real estate agent wants to conduct an all-important open house. Thankfully, the lovely and helpful Ms. Lisa agreed to watch him for us if need be. When I excitedly told the Hubby that I'd found Oliver a sitter, instead of jumping for joy, he gave me a very serious, very grave look, and started asking questions. Lisa, eh? Does she have a dog? Has she ever owned a pet? Is her home pug-proof? See, Vince's knowledge of Lisa extends to only a few things... She's a knitter. She's my friend. And - most profoundly puzzling to Vince's steak-loving mind - she's a vegan. After a few more moments of pondering her abilities to care for his precious pug, he finally said, "Well, at least she won't eat him."


In other exciting news, Sheldon #5 is done, and ready to be shipped off to Italy to join my friends Pierluigi, Roberta, and their soon-to-be little 'un. Below, you can see that even though Lisa won't eat Oliver, Sheldon #5 wants to eat her vegan lunch.

Picky Eaters

It was a momentous weekend (drum roll, please)... I convinced Vince to try vegan food! The hubby is a real meat-n-potatoes, sushi, and Panda Express kinda guy, so this was a big, BIG deal. I had to do a fair bit of bargaining to get him to even set foot inside The Vegan Joint, the restaurant where it all went down; in exchange for one vegan lunch, I agreed to let him choose what/where we eat for the next two weekends in a row, PLUS allow him to play Xbox or Playstation for the rest of the day (until 7 pm), PLUS refrain from watching Sex and the City within earshot of him for the rest of the day (again, up until 7 pm). Desperate times call for desperate measures. But as you can see from the pictures below, Vince rather enjoyed the vegan pad thai he ordered. Though he'd never in a million years admit it to me.

The Pug, on the other hand, is not nearly as picky as the Hubby when it comes to what he will eat.

In other momentous news, Lisa's almost done with her second Sheldon!

Below (top left), check out the beatific expression on her face as she happily k's, ssk's, and k2tog's away. And you can see Andrea at work in the background. Also, we got another new member to our Friday Knitting Group, Kim (top right). On the bottom you can see the two resident crazies: Me (with my Lady E) and Ms. Annie.

I desperately tried to take a picture of the elusive Godfather, AKA Jenny, but she refused to let herself be captured on film. If I don't get a snap of her face soon, people are going to think she doesn't exist! Then again, that might only boost her legendary knitting status - she'll become the Loch Ness Monster of knitting!

Lettin' It All Hang Out, Turtle-Style

I've decided that I'm a knittin' ho whose tricks are for sale; I've put Marge up for adoption on Etsy. Apparently, Marge is a ho, too. Above, you can see her takin' it aaaaalll off for online viewers. What's wrong with my children? Anyway, it's come down to this: If I'm going to keep knitting these turtles, pretty soon, our home will be overrun with them, and the hubby don't like that. Below, you can see that Marge has already started nosing around in his business and is examining his recent traffic ticket.

Here, you can see that Lisa's turtle is quickly coming to turtle fruition. Marge offers him some encouragement: "You can do it! You'll get there!"

Lisa's only got her i-cord edging to go, and she's all done. Next time you check this blog, there should be a picture of her completed turtle to show off. No pressure, Lisa. NO PRESSURE!

Attack of the 1-Foot Pug!!

The time: Last night. The setting: Our living room. The scene: Sheldon #4/Marge #2 had reached tadpole stage, and I was happily knitting her shell. Husband was sitting next me. Pug was lazing about on one of his many beds. The tadpole was on the coffee table. All was well.

Suddenly.... CHAOS!!! Husband was using the Marge tadpole to bonk Pug on the head, and the furious Pug was trying to get the tadpole away from him. After a brief struggle, Pug triumphed, and Marge was in his puggy clutches. What the hell is wrong with my husband?! I immediately pried apart Pug's jaws and extricated Marge. I then grabbed my husband by the scruff of his neck, shoved his face in the now-soggy Marge, and sharply rebuked, "NO!"

If this tactic works, I'll have to try it when he leaves his dirty socks on the bathroom floor.

The Pug's at Large after he Takes Charge and Barges in on Marge

(Sorry... I got a little carried away with the whole rhyming thing.)

I just completed Turtle #3, and her name is Marge. Since she's a turtle-ette for a little girl (Tracy Jr., due to Best Man Wes and wife Tracy), I thought it would be appropriate to give her a turtle-ette-y name. So Marge it was.

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Oliver developed a turtle fetish and tried to stalk Marge. I guess love is blind!

A Testament to TRUE Knitting Devotion

I'm getting married in in 37 hours, so I have to keep this short. I just wanted to show you what true knitting devotion looks like. Five days ago, I started Sheldon the Turtle #2 with the intention of giving him as a gift to my ring bearer Ryan at our rehearsal dinner, which was earlier tonight. This morning at 11:30 am, I finished him!

Ok, now I have to go write a million thank you cards.

Sheldon the Strumpet

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'll be giving Sheldon up for adoption to my flower girl Hana. Hana is from Modesto, Cali, where there might not be the same type of good times that can be found here in the City of Angels. So before handing him over, I figured I should show him a good time. Above, you'll see Sheldon get friendly with some of the Friday Knitting Group ladies. Below, you'll see him get really friendly with Annie. Guess gentlemen really DO prefer blondes!

And lest we forget that this is a knitting blog and not a site for "Turtles Gone Wild," check out my Lady E project. Though she's been somewhat neglected in the face of turtle mania, she is getting longer!

The Saga of Sheldon

First of all, I owe you an apology: I know it's been a while since my last post, but with the wedding a mere 10 days away, I've been otherwise occupied. Witness the Pug assessing a mountain of wedding gifts that arrived just the other night.

My fiance's absolutely adorable niece Hana is going to be our little flower girl, and instead of buying her a gift in some toy store, I decided that I'd make her a little friend. That friend is Sheldon the Turtle. He's a darling creature dreamed up by Ruth Homrighaus, and I found her pattern for him on my fave site, Knitty. Sheldon knit up fairly quickly, but he had humble beginnings; check out his little turtle butt on my size 3 dpns.

A day or two later, Sheldon developed into a tadpole. I'll bet you didn't know turtles did that, huh??

And about a week after that, Sheldon reached full maturity as my assistant. Here he is helping me out in the office.

I did make some modifications to Ruth's original pattern for the shell attachment panel. I found that the panel which resulted from her pattern was a wee bit too snug. Email me if you're interested in working from my modified pattern.

More to come later. Perhaps much later... After we've recovered from wedding madness!