Bean Before and After

I don't usually post family pictures here, but this is Bean on Friday morning before the surgery...




And this is Bean this morning...

She is actually smiling. A little.

There is very little bruising, but a lot of swelling (obviously).


She is actually feeling pretty good. We have been eating a LOT of soft foods. She ate all of the celery soup I made yesterday so I'm making a double batch tomorrow.

We spent all of today lounging around in bed watching '80's movies... 16 Candles was a favorite. She had never seen the entire movie before. ("Oh sexy girlfriend!!")

I got no knitting at all done today, because the Fabulous Michelle told me about a game called Chocolatier. IT IS SO MUCH FUN!!! It's a cross between Lemonade Stand and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego... only with chocolate.

I am on the gusset decreases on the On Your Toes socks and I predict that they will be done by Wednesday.

All is well...

Bean was out of surgery in 45 minutes and has been a real trooper all day. Having ten (yes, ten) teeth pulled was more difficult than she thought it would be. The stepmother was a great help as well.

We had several visitors and her dad came after work and stayed for three hours just talking to her - which was really great.

I'll write more later when I'm not so tired!!

Thanks to everyone who expressed support and concern.

The Truth

There was a commercial on a few minutes ago. The cold medicine one with the little frog ("I've got a me in my throat"). In the commercial the mommy frog knows exactly what to do and the little frog feels better in an instant.

I know that tomorrow is going to be fine. I know that the surgery is routine and the doctor knows what he's doing and she is going to be fine.

But I also know how miserable I was when I had my wisdom teeth removed... and I know she is going to feel something fairly similar. I can give her pain meds and ibuprofen and Jello and soup, but what if she is hurting and I really can't help? What if I give her all of that and she is still miserable?

Logically I know that there are going to be times in her life when she feels bad and I can't fix it... but what defense is logic to a mother?!?

The truth is:
I am scared and sad.
I would take on all of the pain for her if I could and never think twice about it.
I am already angry at the doctor who said we should do this and at the doctor who is going to do it.
I wish I could pack up and throw her in the car and just drive and drive and drive. Away from surgeries and crazy step-parents and hurt and disappointment and sadness.
I feel powerless that I can't.
I feel pathetic that a stupid froggy cold medicine commercial has reduced me to tears.
I know that I am going to be emotional tomorrow when they call her back and I can't go with her and I hate that the stepmother is going to be there to see it.
I wish it was all already over.

Deep breath.

Puffy-cheeked pictures and socks tomorrow!

Crap Day

So let's focus on the good things, shall we?

I am working the heel flap of my socks. This 2 socks thing kicks total one-sock ass. Seriously. (And I am teaching a class on this magic goodness at Twist in March. You should come and learn to do it too).

Except, not if you are using a reinforcing thread in the heel of the sock. Because then suddenly you have two needles and a cable, two balls of yarn and two spools of thread. Not good. Unless you are willing to sit completely still and finish the heel in one sitting. Which I am not. Because the heel flap is boring. I would much rather be turning that heel and moving on down the foot. After every row of heel flap I knit I think, "Am I done, can I turn it now? No? Fifteen more times? Damn." So every time take my socks out of the bag I have to untangle everything. No more reinforced heels for me. I only did it because the nice producers of Jawoll are kind enough to include the thread in the skein of yarn. It seemed like something I should do since they went to all of that trouble and all.

I am going to try to swing by Twist to divide my newest shipment from Blue moon into two equal balls... much better to knit two of you at once, my dear!! (Shelly has a handy scale for ensuring an equal divide). I am hoping that I will have a lot of knitting time during Bean's convalescence.

Also good today? Jack Johnson's new album. I love that guy. Also recently downloaded into my iPod: the new Sheryl Crow.
Wow.
Get thee to iTunes and download some folksy goodness.

We had some serious weather last night. When I got to the station last night (for Super Tuesday coverage) it was sort of rainy. When I left a few hours later my car was covered and the streets were slick. It wasn't too bad, as long as you didn't have to stop or turn. Forward worked pretty well. Though my truck tends to get a little dramatic when it comes to moving forward from a complete stop on ice. I call it Automotive Jazz Hands. The rear of the truck is all about moving sideways and the front of the truck prefers to remain still... the result is a gyrating shimmy. The rear of the truck also gets a little overzealous when it is time to turn.
I got home safe and I didn't fall down anywhere... so that was good.

I know it's only February, but I finally took my Christmas tree down. I know. But if I were an organized person who did everything in a timely way I wouldn't NEED the magic of the 2-at-a-time sock, now would I?

See, there is a reason for everything.

Oh... and celery is not from the devil. Anything that tastes good with either Ranch dressing, cream cheese or peanut butter can't be evil.

Deloused

I think we have done it.
Bean has been obsessively going through her hair with the combs and we have washed everything in hot water... and then washed her bedding again after last night. She still had some icky eggs this morning, so I did not take her to school. As of about 6pm she was egg free and good to go.

Fingers crossed for school tomorrow.

In knitting news...

Look at me knitting 2 at once!!

These are the February socks for Twist's On Your Toes sock club... I am enchanted by the pattern, Charade, by Sandra Park. Of course, in the picture you can't see how charming the pattern is because my camera (and camera skills) are crap... but trust me, the stitches are lovely. The yarn is Jawoll, and while it is a bit scratchy at first, it softens as you work with it and it is great for this pattern.

I also have received some Noro sock yarn... le sigh, le pant, le heave.

More on that later.

Things at home are good-ish. 24 days to go and we're more or less staying out of each other's way. He has made a couple of shitty comments here and there, but I figure he's entitled to some shittiness right now. As long as Bean isn't exposed to it I'm fine.

I am making a huge surgery shopping list... Popsicles, soup ingredients, bananas, frozen peas (for use as ice packs). I'm making two kinds of soup initially-potato soup and this really good celery soup that we love. It is easy to make and can easily become vegetarian or vegan...

Celery Soup
Clean and chop one bunch of celery (including the leaves)
In a large-ish pot boil the celery in chicken broth with a little bit of mild curry
Once the celery is very tender puree with 8 oz. of cream cheese
Can be served hot or cold

I love this soup. And more importantly, Bean loves this soup and there is no chewing involved.

So is everyone's weather screwy right now or is it just here? Yesterday temperatures were in the upper 60's. Last night there was a HUGE thunderstorm, complete with serious lighting and hail. This morning was foggy and now it's snowing and we're supposed to get 3 - 4 inches by tomorrow night.

The weather needs Cymbalta. And Xanax, apparently.

Itchy

This was going to be a post with lots of pictures of my first pair of 2-at-a-time socks.
This was going to be a post with lots of funny stories about my fantastic weekend of massage and friends and knitting.
This was going to be a post about anything except what it's actually about.

Bean spent the weekend with my parents. My mom brought her home at 7 this morning and she took a shower. Then she came in and woke me up, saying that she thought she had lice.

Oh yes ma'am. Lice.

I have never had lice (and I don't now, thank you very much). My sister had lice dozens of times and I never did. So we're thinking that my nephew had it and brought it to my mom's house and then Bean picked it up.

I ran right on over to Walgreens and bought a kit and extra combs. She shampooed with the anti-lice shampoo and then we used this gel stuff to comb through and then she rinsed that out. Meanwhile I stripped her bed, sprayed it down and put new sheets on it. Now we're running everything through the washing machine. I'm going to spray the couches and stuff just in case... but I think we have it under control

I checked my entire head and found nothing... but I'm still itchy. I called Kerri to let her know I wouldn't be at work today and she was itchy over the phone. If you're itchy now, too I'm sorry.

In knitting news...
I did finish my first pair of 2-at-a-time socks. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this method. They are short socks (the cuff is about an inch and a half long), but they only took me a week. I have started the February "On Your Toes" socks from Twist using the same method and they are fairly addictive.

O-kaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy. Come Onnnnnnnnnnnn.

I have been accused of being impatient.
I know. This seems harsh and unfair, but it's true. There are people in this world who think I should just relax and let things unfold naturally.

But now that I get the whole 2-at-a-time sock thing I want to be DONE with this pair so that I can move on to my new STR shipment. Or some of the bajillion other skeins of sock yarn I have accumulated. There are Lucy socks to be knit! And Numma Numma Grape Jelly socks! And two different colors of Dream in Colour. And some Yarn Lust!! (And that's just what's in my car).

I want to surround myself with hand-knit socks.
I want to roll around on them in delight.
I want this process to go faster!

Two things:
1) Since Saturday - that's just five days - I have knit more than half of two socks. I am past the gusset decreases and am on the long stockinette foot part. A few more inches and I'll be decreasing again. That's pretty damn fast.
2) If I were knitting now, instead of playing around on the internet... tossing hamsters around... I'd get more done.

In other news... Check out my friend K's blog here... I ordered one of her cool rings. She is the nicest gal in the world. She is about seventeen-and-a-half months pregnant and still crafting away!