Zen and the art of being Mama

A whole lotta mama searching for a little zen

wow! twice in one week! February 28, 2006

Filed under: Uncategorized — mamazen @ 10:57 am

Look at me go! It’s like I am a real blogger again…. but dont get exctied, I’m sure I’ll dissappear again soon.

This morning, as I sat down to eat breakfast and have some hot tea, Oscar (#1 annoying cat) wanted on my lap. I wasn’t in the mood, as my sinuses were cranky from all the construction dust we STILL have around our house…. so I pushed him to the ottoman. He then took up residence with Mik (#1 quiet and sweet cat)

where instead of wrassling (which they do quite often) then proceeded to groom eachother.

Aw… brotherly love.

And yes.. They are sleeping on a kitty themed blanket, I am wearing kitty themed pjs, and my fantastic felted clogs. No… I’m not a cat freak, it’s just how the day turned out.

 

Knitting content!!!! February 26, 2006

Filed under: Uncategorized — mamazen @ 8:58 pm

I’ve been knitting!!! Finally! We’ll I’ve been doing a little knitting off and on for a while, but now I’m finally getting ready to post some of it.
I made some DELICIOUS wrist warmers for my dear friend Lyn for her birthday, and guess what, I gave them to her without taking a pix. Argh! They were made with Cascades Di.ve Tesseo in a lovely shade of turquois and blue.. the colors of the hawaiian ocean! I put a 6/8 cable down the middle, and they turned out great! Tesseo is a really nice yarn to knit with, very soft and easy to work with.

Ok, you say.. enough about the project you didn’t photograph! What else you got??


How about a baby sweater! Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in Grass, using the top down cardi pattern from Knitting pure and simple. Great yarn, great pattern. Fun and easy :) Of course It still needs to be finished, and needs buttons…. but I’ll get to that eventually.


How about some matching baby oh’ alls? Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in Grass using the LTK Oh’Alls pattern. I’m not sure I like how they turned out.. but we’ll make a final decision after we have a baby to put them on. I think the look a bit like fly fishing waders, so I’m going to (hopefully) have my mom the expert at embroidery do some cute flys or something on them :)

Here is a little treat for me I’m working on…


The pattern is the cabled shrug from IK (winter I think) in Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in winter night. (yeah I did some knitpicks shopping recently!) I was hoping to have it done before my vacation next week to wear on cool nights, but I’m not even half done, and at the rate I’m knitting, I doubt I’ll finish that soon! I love the pattern so far, it’s pretty easy, and if i were knitting like I used to, it would have been done!


Can you spot the mistake? I sure can, but don’t care enough to frog it all the way back… so I’ll live with it.

One of my infertility survivor buddies is having TRIPLETS! Three baby girls….and she’s going to cloth diaper them all!

So several of us IF survivors are banding together to knit soakers for them! yes.. very girly colors, but I had pink wool in my stash, so baby A will be getting a pink and purple soaker with the 80’s infused in it! I’ll have to sing a little Duran Duran and Thompson Twins (or triplets!) while I’m knitting it!

And finally… belly pix! you can see more by seeing my baby blog… just click the blogger profile :)

i think my tattoo is finally starting to grow… we’ll see! since I’m only 25 weeks… I’m pretty sure we’ll see a bit more growth before this is all over!

Ok now i’m off to cast on another pair of wrist warmers for my friend Andrea (who gives amazing pregnancy massage!) who’s birthday is today also! I’m hoping she’s not allergic to Alpaca, as she’s allergic to wool. I’m using Plymouth baby alpaca brush… which is soooo soft, and I think I’ll do a baby cable. She’s giving me a massage tuesday morning, so I hope to finsh them by then!

Oh yes… congrats to all the Knitting Olympians who achieved their goals… I have been cheering you all on… and am so glad I didn’t attempt to join you!

 

Painting.. day 2… the lorax lives! February 20, 2006

Filed under: Uncategorized — mamazen @ 9:02 pm

So, I went to work this morning, feeling pretty crappy. Felt like allergies, but after a while, I just decided to throw in the towel and go home. I had a slow afternoon, so I rescheduled everyone for tomorrow, and came home to rest. Ryan had the day off, so we spent the afternoon hanging out and doing projects. He primered the dining room, and I worked on the mural.


I added some brown barbaloots and some hummingfish!


A close up of the BrownBarbaloots – yeah they look a little creepy with no eyes, but I’l get to them.


A close up of the Hummingfish. They make me sooooooo happy.

And… He’s shortish and oldish and brownish and mossy……

And he spoke with a voice that was sharpish and bossy!

Don’t you just love him?

 

So.. it’s not knitting, but there are pix! and it’s crafty! February 19, 2006

Filed under: Uncategorized — mamazen @ 10:09 pm

I’m 24 weeks pregnant, and figured it was time to do something with the room that will house all the the baby stuff. The baby will actually be sleeping with us, but we wouldn’t mind a cute place for all of his/her gear/diapers/clothes.

Here are a few ‘before’ pix. It’s a small room – about 7-13, and it’s got the angled wall, but heck, the kids gonna be pretty short for a while, so it should work out for a few years. Besides, it’s not like the goon is going to be sleeping in there! This little room is just off of our room, so all stuff will be within reach. Someday, when the kidlets are grown and ready to be in their own rooms downstairs, this little oasis will be my craft room. Someday… many many moons from now!


This is the big wall where most of the mural will be. Brown Barbaloots, Hummingfish, and SwameeSwans. Oh my!

Yes, it looks like Ryan is about to attack the stool, but he’s not, he’s describing where some piece of unbought furniture will be.

And here is a veiw from the door, where you can see the angled wall, and the crawl space. We’re ( this should read : RYAN) is going to build some cubbies into the wall next to the crawl space that we can put baskets in for diapers and clothes and such. Since the room is small, we need all the space we can get, so one less dresser/shelf would be good. Also, it will be a good hide and seek place in a few years. ;)

Now… after a few hours of work…. No this wasn’t free handed. We scanned the pix, and then used a power point projector to sketch it onto the walls. Before you say “oh it looks great!”… wait and see what it ends up like.. I could easily mess it up at the end!


Here is the Lorax pix after one coat of paint. He can’t speak for the trees yet since we haven’t actually given him a face.


Here’s that big blank wall that will soon house hummingfish and whatnot!… now just a lake and some tree outlines.


And… after a snack and some more paint… The lorax lives!

So we’re at 24 weeks. All is well, baby loves kicking, oreos (ok that may just be me), and loves when dad says “heeeeeey Goonie!” Still have nightly took-a took-a sessions, and enjoy the belly olympics before sleep. In a couple of weeks we’re off to Playa del Carmen (about an hour south of Cancun) for a weeks vacation in the sun. It’s a much needed trip, as we’ve had some heavy times as of late.
A very dear friend of mine, Joan (my friend Lyn’s mother) died of cancer yesterday. She was ill for quite some time, and the last few weeks have been very difficult for all involved. She passed peacfully and beautifully surrounded by those who loved her yesterday morning, as the sun streamed through the windows. It was a sad, yet beautiful day of stories, singing, and laughter as we said good bye. We will miss her dearly, but are all so glad she is no longer suffering. Good bye Joan! You were one FAR OUT WOMAN. I’m blessed to have known you.

I have been knitting.. and when I actually finish something, I’ll post a pix.. I promise.

 

Blog help! February 11, 2006

Filed under: Uncategorized — mamazen @ 10:15 pm

Man! I haven’t really looked at my blog in a while.. it so needs some updating, eh? time to clean up the side bar and some stuff… i’ll get to it.. really, I will. really. Anyone wanna do it for me? ;)

 

olympics! February 11, 2006

Filed under: Uncategorized — mamazen @ 9:59 pm

Well, no I didn’t join the knitting Olympics… i just dont’ have the time or energy for it. With things crazy at work, and the whole ‘growing a baby’ thing… I just haven’t been knitting much at all! It’s sad but true. I’m working on a cabled shrug for myself, and have some plans for baby things, I just havent’ gotten to it. So If I can finish something ANYTHING during the olympics, I’ll give myself a medal!
I also have a close friend who’s mom is dying, and have been helping her as much as I can. It’s a hard time, but also so very touching and beautiful. I feel blessed to witness it all.

Soon (hopefully soon) i’ll start painting the nursery – doing a mural of the Lorax in there… I hope i’m clever enough to pull it off! I looked at paint colors today, and I’m super excited! We’re also finally painting the hallway and bedroom that were just renovated… will post pix as it comes along.

So…long story short, pregnant (23 weeks!), not knitting much, enjoying the games!