Changes

3+ years of blogging at BAM's Zoo about knitting and such and it is time for a change. A few things have contributed to this:

1. My MBA studies providing limited time for knitting & blogging


2. Lack of knitting/spinning (only 3 finished projects in my gallery as of April...not a lot to talk about on that front)


3. Our new baby


4. Ravelry provides a good community for knitters

Hubbs and I have always had separate blogs, but have decided to do a family blog for our friends & family to keep track of us. So that we can feel safer about blogging freely with family pictures and such, only approved users will have access to our new site. We plan to discontinue our individual blogs. Knitters can find me on Ravelry as BAMsZoo. I also welcome you to send me a email and I will gladly add you to our approved users.

Considerations

In an effort to be more environmentally conscious, Hubbs keyed in on these: gDiapers! Thinking about how non-biodegradable regular diapers are kind of disgusts me and Hubbs hasn't been too excited about the idea of cloth diapers. Could this be the perfect solution for us? We have a local shop that is listed for carrying these that we will probably check out. I am particularly interested in g pants. I am now thinking about how I could adapt soaker patterns to work with the gDiapers...the g pants have a snap liner to fit the "flushable". Hmmmm....oh the possibilities.

Time to work those wrists

And you thought holding a baby was going to work these arms :) We had been watching our local Best Buy half-heartedly for a Wii. They never had any in stock and it became almost a game in itself to see if there were any ithere. And then yesterday, as we were walking by the video games, Hubbs cries out "YES!" as he spies MarioKart on the one that you can play there. While playing, a Best Buy associate comes up and asks if we need help with anything. I made some comment joking about never having any Wiis in stock (after having just looked in the aisle) and he replied "Actually we just got 16 in today for the MarioKart release"......Hubbs and I told him thanks and then took one look at eachother....how could we resist? :)

There were only 2 MarioKarts left....we of course snagged one, Mario Galaxy, and a Wii...they were holding the Wiis back behind the customer service desk. I would have never looked there!

Hubbs has been whomping me at MarioKart (who knew that he was unbeatable at this game) and been schooling me at Tennis (part of the Wii Sports that came with the system). I need to get my videogame skills back up to their former levels.

I do think that Wiis are definitely more for entertaining than to sit around by yourself and play. Looks like we will be having friends over soon for some game time!

Surprise! Baby Surprise that is

Wow, I just looked at my 2008 gallery of finished knits.....pretty bleak. Good news is I am ramping up the gallery with a finished Baby Surprise Jacket! I think our little girl will look lovely in this, don't you agree? It will be a little while before she can wear it, but I am very happy with the results nonetheless.
Project details are in the gallery (as well as on Ravelry), but this was a Christmas knit present from my sis....a kit from Blue Moon Fiber Arts to use their Sock Candy for this Elizabeth Zimmerman piece. This is such a popular knit....Ravelry has 2,763 projects going/finished of this and 1,622 in the queues for people to start. Crazy stuff.

Next on the list? Otto of course! And does anyone remember that at one point I was working on a project for me??? Indigo Ripples Skirt has been laying low for quite some time. With the Spring weather and baby bod disappearing it just may be time for the skirt work to resurface!

She's HERE!

After a rough night's sleep on Thursday (see post below), Friday night proved to be my last night of sleep pregnant :) Water broke bright and early Saturady morning, and mid-afternoon our little girl had arrived!

Born: Saturday, March 29 3:52 p.m.

5 lbs, 14 ounces

19.5 inches long

We are all doing well and adjusting to life as our new little family!

Winding Down....or up?

What to do when you can't sleep? Wonder around aimlessly in blogland of course :) As our due date approaches, schedules are becoming more hectic. Shouldn't it really be the other way around? Well, that was my intention really. My work (yeah, they treat me well) allows for up to 4 weeks off prior (paid, w/o a Dr's note) before the baby comes and our 12 week maternity leave starts. While I had no intention of taking all of this time, I did want to end a little early to give myself time to get into baby mode and wrap up any lose ends (not to mention calm the anxiety of my water breaking around work). Oh, and did I mention Otto and Baby Surprise still in progress?

Anyways, tomorrow is my last day at the office. I thought I would have access to email and my work items at home to at least check in from time to time and keep somewhat "in the know".....yesterday I found out....the answer is NO. Apparently those silly insurance companies like to screw up your pay and benefits if you access work in any way. Their point, "if you are even looking at email, how do they know that you are really disabled?" You are either working or disabled. They apparently don't float into the gray lines of people like me wanting some sanity when they go back to work and see their overloaded email box. Hmmm...let's see...I have to clear out about 250-300 emails after being gone a week....times at least 12......OUCH. And that is just emails, the smallest part of my universe. Se la vi, I suppose.

Well, back to lay down and see if I can clear my head of the list of things I want to get done tomorrow. er today. And this is EXACTLY why I am having a week off prior to the expected date....I need to clear out this clutter and stress (forcefully if I have to), so I can focus on the important things....giving birth to a healthy, adorable, little baby and addition to our family :)

Take care everyone, and sleep like a baby (what is with that expression anyways)
:)

Sneaky Sister, Wonderful Shower

Yesterday's Baby Shower was more than I could ask for. I have such wonderful family & friends, my mom & sister really outdid themselves putting it together. They had fun activities (decorating onesies, the purse game, the clothespin game) and lots of pretty sweet goodies to snack on. Not only did my sis throw one kickin' shower, but she did some sneaky baby knitting. How could she keep it from me? I was REALLY surprised as I thought she was working on other projects. I was wondering how she hadn't had time for spinning. Soooo sneaky...check out this Moderne Baby Blanket...in sophisticated colors, perfect for our soon to be. And I do believe that she is close to expert knitter status here with her finishing.

Let me get back to the sweet treats. One of the big hits were the Bon Bons that she made along with the help of her friend Candy. She got the idea from Girl Who Knits who had done these recently for a baby shower. As soon as she saw them on her blog, she knew that they needed to be at the shower. She quickly identified that they were made from 2 of my favorite things: Cream Cheese & Oreos. And wow, there were awesome! And adorable....did I mention that they did 3 batches and spent 8 hours making these? Now THAT is love :)

And I can't finish this post without showing you Julie's Masterpiece....her fabulous Diaper Cake. You really outdid yourself Julie....there are over 50 diapers here! I am going to take notes when we start deconstructing and using the diapers....I peaked inside and saw that part of it is being held up by knitting needles! Hehehehe!
Ah, baby bliss....I think that we are READY for her!