Holy crap.

Well, not quite yet as I wasn’t born until the afternoon, but for all intents and purposes I. Am. THIRTY.

But I’ll still think of myself as 20 something because that’s what I’ve been the past 10 years. Somewhere around 34 or 35 I’ll realize that I’m NOT 20 anymore and have to make the swith.

There’s no dread in turning 30 for me. I have had the feeling for a few years that 30 is going to be a great decade for me.

The weather has been beautiful here. Fall is coming. I’m sure we’ll have a hot spell or to between now and then, but it feels so nice to have the windows open and to wake up cold now and then. ;o) Somethting that doesn’t happen in the summer time at all.

Emily seems to have adjusted to first grade now and we’re settling into a routine that is likely to be disturbed with Miss Cadie’s entrance, but it’s good so far. She’s doing well and lamenting less about the “good old days when I stayed home with you.” She has been fairly reluctant to sleep in her bed, though, which is odd and we have her in our room a few nights a week. I’m not sure if it’s related to school or Cadence. If she’s jealous or something that Cadence has a bed set up in our room or if she just misses us during the day. Both are likely.

I am plugging away on all of my pre-Cadence projects.

The list now looks like this:

1) Knit Cadence’s coming home outfit
2) Knit booties for Cadence’s coming home outfit
3) Knit bonnet for Cadence’s coming home outfit
4) Sew Cadence’s diaper bag
5) Sew the lining for moses basket
6) Sew Cadence’s nightie
7) Sew Emily’s nightie
Sew Emily’s robe
9) Make wallet albums for “special” people ;o)
10) Make last canvast for Emily’s room
11) Make canvases for Cadence’s room
12) Finish off quilt for Cadence’s room
13) Make cap and bootie sets for Cadence’s time in the hospital
14) do mending

Thus far i have the lining for the moses basket underway (meaning cut out) and one of the caps for Cadence’s hospital time nearly finished.

and on that note, I shall take an aside. I want some cute hat and bootie sets for Cadence in the hospital. I mean, I knit. Why shouldn’t my baby be decked out. I’ve been searching around for hats and booties that meet my criteria of “cute”. I have found many. Yeserday, I found this pattern and thought it would be perfect. It would tie in with our bear thing and be precious as all get out.

So, I climb into bed last night with needles and yarn and start knitting.

1) I’m using bulkier yarn than the pattern calls for, so I realize I’m going to knit half as many rows. I cast on the original stitch amount of 28. I do the ribbing and change the needle size. I then realize that no way in hell is 28 stitches going to fit a full term baby head and I’m totally perplexed because I’m using heavier yarn which should yield a bigger gauge (aka larger finished project)

2) Thhe pattern states to knit the ribbing, change needle size and knit 20 stitches.

WTH happened to the other 8?? This is supposed to be “easy” to make and witht the number of skills invlved (garter stitch, ribbing and seaming) it really should be, but the size is wrong unless it’s for a preemie and is unstated and the pattern is confusing.

So, i decided to forget that and figure it out myself. I cast on 36 stitches, in the round (who really wants to seam if they don’t have to??) with the larger size needles, ribbed for a bit, knit for a bit and Kitchenered the top. I’ll use the pattern for the darn ears and that’s it (and won’t review the patternw ell because the sizing is poor and thte pattern is useless and confusing and I don’t consider myself a new knittter).

So, admittedly, knitting Cadence’s coming home dress has been a bit of a farce. I cast on for it, oh, nearly a month and a half ago. On vacation, I realized that I actually managed to twist my stitches making the dress totally unwearable and I ripped the whole darn thing out sitting on the porch of the cabin on a rainy afternoon in Eagle River.

So, obviously, the coming home dress is a big player on my “to-do” before baby list–she needs it to come home, right? So, last week, I sit down and cast that sucker back on again. I’m making great progress. Yesterday, I had about…oh…three or four more inches on the skirt. stockinette in the round. Super easy.

I ran out of yarn, joined my new, white yarn, bought out of hte same bin, from the same store on the same day. Knit two inches. Pull out knitting this morning while Eric is still sleeping and Emily is watching Cartoons.

Yeah, that white yarn?

Cream. The new skein at least. ARGH.

So, all of yesterday’s work was ripped out again this morning. I found the third ball of yarn I bought that day, and it matches the first, thank goodness, so tomorrow, I’ll spend my day finishing up those last three or four inches on the dress and hopefully will get to the booties tomorrow as well. Then, it’s just buying ribbon and knitting the bonnet and that project will be finished. I’m toying with knitting a blanket, but that’s just crazy.

In other news, the Holiday Grand Plan starts this week. For those not in the know, it’s an eighteen week plan to get yourself and your household ready for the holidays. I’m not sure that the entire program will be useful, because I’m not sure scrubbing grout with a toothbrush will make the list with a new baby, but I’m all for being more organized considering the new baby. Check it out. It’s pretty anal, but helpful. For those less anal, Organized Christmas features a shorter, six week plan. But whatever works for you, right?

I alluded to the fact that I have a dozen projects I would like to do before Cadence arrives. Since most of these projects will take more than a day, the pace seems a bit crazy and probably totally unrealistic, but a girl has to have goals, right?

The list looks like this

1) Knit Cadence’s coming home outfit
2) Knit booties for Cadence’s coming home outfit
3) Knit bonnet for Cadence’s coming home outfit
4) Sew Cadence’s diaper bag
5) Sew the lining for moses basket
6) Sew Cadence’s nightie
7) Sew Emily’s nightie
Sew Emily’s robe
9) Make wallet albums for “special” people ;o)
10) Make last canvast for Emily’s room
11) Make canvases for Cadence’s room
12) Finish off quilt for Cadence’s room
13) Make cap and bootie sets for Cadence’s time in the hospital
14) do mending

And I’m sure I’m missing a couple. As soon as I find my size five circsI’ll be casting on for Cadie’s dress and while I saw it in the very recent past, it’s alluding me now (which is seriously annoying).

But, I have made some progress since I started that list….

Cadie Cadoo’s Glamtastic Diaper Bag

Wallet albums for special people…

SO, the list is down to a even dozen. ;o) Yeah, it’s probably crazy, but that’s pretty much me. :O)

Oh yeah, we’ve been out of comission.

Hackers suck.
Hackers before vacation suck.
Worrying about vacation suck.

Vacation rocks.

OUr sites have been up for about two weeks now, but this one was the last one to get any attention. I’m glad things are back because thigns shall start to get rather exciting around the house VERY soon. Just one month to little missy’s due date and one week until slighty bigger little missy starts first grade. It’s an exciting time for us. Big and frightening and fun and insane. THe baby things are starting pile up. T he school supplies are starting to pile up.

Interesting to be at such different points that today at Target I bought school supplies and new born diapers.

I’m feeling okay. I’m ready to be done being pregnant now. It’d been a long eight months and with the end in sight, I’m ready to hit the fast forward button to help things a long a little bit. My last ultrasound (what’s that now 6?) is this friday and we’ll get a picture of Cadence’s size.

I haven’t been doing much crafty things. My motivation has been very low. I should make a list of what things I feel I must get done before Cadence comes, but I can’t bring myself to do it. I’m hoping to have a week or two with Emily in school to finish things up. We’ll see.