Turtle-Brownies and Geysernose.

Mini Monster snarfed formula again. I think "Geyser nose" is going to have to go on his list of nicknames, though aside from being gross, he seems to be ok. Just offended at having his nose cleaned out as a result.

The visit from relatives went well, and we got some fun pictures and a little video of Mini Monster and his Grandfather. My husband also got some pictures using some forced perspective and one of his bibs.
Nothing like a little forced perspective, right? I love the outfit that goes with the bib too, it even has little dino booties, but he doesn't stay in booties very long, and the main part was dirty. We put the bib on him to try and keep him, and everyone else, a little cleaner for the visit.

Also I need to get some pictures taken: Some people my sister and I know on Gaia sent me some awesome gifts, including a really lovely vest, an shawl, and a blue cardigan. Also an Audio Book of Dr Seuss for MM.

They however remain stubbornly anonymous. Damn ninja gifters, damn hard to return fire upon. I'll find a way... just wait and see.

Rockin' Out in Old Blue Jeans

It's been an eventful morning and it's only ten thirty. Mini Monster kept everyone ((well probably mostly me since his dad made the mistake of sitting on our new couch and promptly fell asleep. I don't blame him)) Since around three in the morning. He himself (the Monster) was content to sleep in though.

Anyway since my folks are coming by (this will be my fathers first visit to the house) we decided to give the Monster his first bath at home. That went... about as well as you'd probably expect. LOTS of yelling. Lots of really impressive attempts to wiggle, slide, or squirm off his bath seat, and a drenched Dad. Hopefully it'll get easier on everyone as time goes by, though after a good cleaning his extremely thick hair was even poofier.
He didn't mind being wrapped up in a towel though, so that was something.

I got the chance afterward to go try on my old "Pre-Mini-Monster jeans", and I was pretty sure I wouldn't even be able to close them, but lo and behold, I fit them again! Ok they're slightly snug around the hips, but not in an majorly uncomfortable way. My mother is actually bringing over an older, larger pair, so those should fit perfectly comfortably. Anyway, it feels fantastic to be back in my jeans again.

Foo Dogs steaming up the Windows

It's brutally cold outside today, mostly because of the wind, though we've got some warnings that there might be an really intensive storm moving in? I'm not really sure if it will hit us or not though.

I'm back working on the Yvonne sweater. On the one hand I'm going through the balls of yarn fairly fast, on the other hand, I still have six left. Probably five before the end of the night. Really makes you boggle if you stop to think about the yardage involved. I mean thats a LOT of yarn.

We also actually have living room furniture now: An really handsome end table, a couch and a chair. The TV/entertainment equiptment is one of my husbands metal stands. I'm not sure if this one was from a bakery or if it was purchased from a closing clothing store, but it works well for the task. Down the road we'll have to contain the wires and stuff, but it's a good jumping off point, and it's nice to be able to sit in the Living room and look out the big bay window.

One of the other tasks planned is to replace or cover the destroyed wood on the bay window, which has taken quite a lot of damage over time. We have the stuff to do it, it just needs a little time.

Also one of the epic moments of the night was Mini Monster deciding to -growl- in his sleep. Not snore. GROWL. He was snoozing away and we suddenly hear: "errrrRRRRRRRRRRrrr." in an angry little voice. He was fine (we checked.) but it was comical as hell.

Monster: Champion of the Universe

So I got out today for a while to go do some nessisary shopping, a lot of it in bulk, for the Mini Monster. It was nice to get out (I got to try the Frosty-chino at Wendy's. It was pretty tasty.)
And realized it's amazing how much you can actually miss someone who's poopy diaper you change at two in the morning.
Anyway, we got a bunch of stuff we needed in quantity, including wipes and formula, and I got a pretty good deal on a thermometer. I also wandered over to the Bookstore, and got some books. Most of them were for Mini Monster, except for the first manga for "Natsube and the Book of Friends". ((I'm already familiar with the series, it's pretty awesome. I want a plush of Nyanko-Sensei. <3
I also bought:
"Danny, Champion of the Universe", "Du'lares Book of Greek Myths", "Aesop's Fables" <-- WITH Morals. Not without. Annnnnnd "Odd and the Frost Giants". I'm only unfamiliar with the last one, but it's a new Gaiman kids book.
I realize Mini Monster is still really young, but he enjoys the sound of peoples voices, and my parents started reading to me early, so I thought I'd continue the tradition, and it will be much more fun for my Husband and I will enjoy reading them more.
Just gotta get a copy of "Hounds of the Morrigan" by Pat O'Shea. Had one before but that belongs to my sister, and the copy was in pretty rough shape as it is. Oh and "Everyone Knows What a Dragon Looks Like". Why is it so hard to find awesome old books these days?

Totally unrelated:
this is why browsing etsy is fun, even if I (virtually) never buy anything.

Slowest Mitten Knit in History

It's kind of amazing just how much everything else slows down or comes to a halt when you have a week old baby in the house. It's been a couple days and I still haven't managed to re-do the second mitten. Well. Thats not to say I haven't been working on it, I'm sneaking in a row here and there, ((wow a whole 24 stitch row... ))
He's not even Colicky. God that would just destroy us I think. Last night was about the closest he came. He let us get to sleep for an hour or two, then woke up demanding loudly that the bottomless pit of Mini Monster tummy be filled. Which, at least last night, started to look like an impossible task. Partially because he was just especially hungry; partially because once he got a little bit of food in him, he'd remember that yes he was fairly awake, and OH. Wasn't -that- cool; whatever that was... and start staring at things in that Baby-doing-memorization way until he fell asleep again. Only if you tried to move him: He'd wake up. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Then around one-ish in the morning, he finally decided his tank was full and his diapers were going to stay empty for a little while, and zonked out with my Husband and I until this morning. So at the moment I'm chilling in our room trying to get a little knitting in ((and blogging)) while watching Mini Monster. Mini Monster is sort of half asleep but fascinated by the patterns on the bed-spread we got. I think it's supposed to be Crown Vetch.

Crown Vetch is an interesting plant, IMHO. It's one of those insanely fast growing kind that has interconnected roots, so you practically have to back hoe and put new soil down to get rid of it, but it will also grow where a lot of other plants can't. ((My dad still resists the concept of trying to put it between the barns at my folks place.)) It's really pretty much a weed, but it's actually a very pretty weed. Just insidious if it gets where you DON'T want it.
It's one of those things that always reminds me of Dad's occasional garden failures. ((He's actually a really good gardener, but these things happen.))
I remember at least one time where we all argued for one plant to be left ((which he killed)) and insisted another was superior and 'not a weed'. The 'Not a weed' had the ugliest looking... and smelling, blooms we had ever seen, and tried to blast it's way through the garden like Napoleon on the march. It was eventually removed.
Just a random drabble since it always makes me wonder, to this day, how some things become 'weeds' and some things become 'flowers'.

Dr. Pepper, Thumbless Mittens, Knitted fish and Baby Snarf

Well the title about summarizes everything I think;
Though the Dr Pepper bit IS kind of random. ((I happen to be enjoying some. Damn it's nice to be able to have a Soda without worrying if I'm drinking too much sugar for Mini Monster.))
Mini has also, in addition to his Diaper shedding skills (We think we've got that managed for now with an alternate brand of baby diapers.) He also tosses off socks and booties with reckless abandon... ((I think he got that from his father, given how many times I've recovered socks from the foot of the bed.)) and looses mittens. I dug up an quick pattern for Thumbless Mittens and I've made one, the second however, should probably have been closed with slightly more sleep, since I didn't close it quite properly and it's already trying to come unknitted. Good practice anyway, and a pretty quick knit. The first one ((Which is holding together)) was knitted from an earthy sort of rainbow colorway sock yarn, and has an red-orangey fade, which makes it look like shrimp sushi.
That made his father and I start debating weather or not I could make a knitted fish, with purl stitching to make the 'scales'. ((Purl looks like dragon or fish scales to me, especially in certain colors.)), and so that got put on thee 'hey I should try this' knitting schedule.
The Baby Snarf is also, obviously, a Mini Monster event. He's been dominating the headlines of the household. He's an extremely impatient feeder, which tends to cause us frustration, and him a few issues. Like drinking too fast, burping in the middle of one of his exuberant slurps, and resultant firing formula out his nose. All over his Dad. Twice. At four in the morning.
Fortunately none seems to have stayed in there, and he's doing fine after some light mopping. Dad too, and thank god for him since I've been wiped out the last couple nights, and that shreds my patience, which tends to make me be crabby, and then get crabby at myself for being crabby. It's a self feeding cycle of crabby.
Everyone says it's normal, but I'm still working to get past it. I don't like me when I'm angry, to paraphrase certain Comic Icons....

Hopefully I'll have pictures up soon of the mittens, and at some point pictures of the Yvonne vest, which got put on hold for a little while. It's still in the works though, really!