Everybody can breathe a sigh of relief...

...my Downton Abbey Season 3 DVD set has shipped. If it hadn't by the time I left for home tonight, I would have become convinced that my beloved Amazon hated me, was trying to smite me, and generally was trying to ruin my life. I would have contemplated another panic-stricken phone call to customer service. But happily, that is all avoided now. Really though, this tested my patience. I've never had to wait this long for a pre-ordered item to ship before. Even Amazon is human, I suppose.

In the mean time, Mike and I have been watching another BBC show in the evenings, Call the Midwife, about a small group of Anglican nuns and lay nurses who serve some of London's poorest women in the late 1950's. It's quite good. I definitely get emotional watching this show, and nightly I tell Mike exactly when I'll next be fertile so that we can make another adorable baby like the ones we're seeing on this show. Oh wait, I'm digressing again.

Anyway, this is a very thought-provoking show. Can I just say that I'm extremely grateful that certain dated childbirth practices are no longer in current usage? Holy smokes. On the positive side, I do think the show sends a good message about home births. An uncomplicated pregnancy can very much result in an uncomplicated home birth for many, many women.

Good stuff. Some of the story lines are heartbreaking though, and this is based on a true story.

*sniffles*

We'll be done watching Season 1 tomorrow. I'm hoping that Downton arrives for a grand viewing Saturday night, but I don't know. You can bet that I'll be obsessively taking advantage of the tracking number between now and then.

Potty time

My Downton Abbey discs still haven't shipped. MEWING!

*sighs*

I may or may not have just gone into my order and changed the shipping speed, hence paying for shipping anyway even after the order changing shenanigans of yesterday (we don't have a Prime membership. Yet). I'm denying everything. But hey, sometimes $2.98 is just worth it.

UPDATE: This morning my shipping speed moved back from "Shipping Soon!" to "Not Yet Shipped," hence my agony. In the *5 minutes* since I upped my shipping speed, it's now once again "Shipping Soon!" and the delivery date is set solidly for Monday, rather than late next week. It's very obvious to me that Amazon loves me, and knows how much I want Downton Abbey. That is all.

Anyway, potty training wasn't expected to be on my radar screen at this stage of Anne's life considering Henry would have rather died than sit on a potty until he turned 3 years old. And even then he wasn't all that crazy about it. But Anne is a completely different child. She's been coming up to me, saying "Potty!" with pleading eyes and pantless legs for at least a month now. But when I take her into the bathroom she shrinks in terror from the Big Bad Toilet. I can't really blame her. She's tiny. She could realistically fall in.

I kept putting off looking for a new potty chair, but this past week she's been bringing me one of her little "Learn New Words!" board books and pointing to the picture of the potty that is in there. Obviously, she's ready to start trying to learn.

So the hunt begins for a potty chair. I spent the quiet portions of my morning reference shift carefully examining the current potty market and looking at adorable pictures of chubby toddlers sitting on a potty while reading a book. I looked at potties shaped like frogs. I looked at potties that played music and offered a real flushing sound. I looked at potties that cheered for the baby when a "deposit" is made. Finally, I settled on a simple Baby Bjorn potty in Anne's favorite color of pink. It looks very much like the potty in her little book, so I think she'll be pleased.

I ordered it right on Amazon. It actually cost less on there than I even dreamed of spending, and it saves me from stopping at our scary Toys R Us on the way home from work today. It's due to arrive next week. We'll see how this goes.

Wilting

I am TIRED. And I actually slept good last night. Shocking, I know. But I taught my biggest class of the semester this morning and that always drains me. At least, that is what I'm telling myself is the reason I'm contemplating a nap in my office.

The class went really well, I wish I just wasn't shot now for the remainder of the day. At least I have enough energy to obsessively check on the status of my Amazon order of Downton Abbey Season 3.

It's release date is today, and as of yesterday afternoon my order status changed from "Not Yet Shipped" to "Shipping Soon." Glorious day! They usually get those pre-orders out real fast.

But then I checked the order again this morning, full expecting to see the happy "Shipped!" notice, and there was none. Still "Shipping Soon." And the culprit appeared to be the second DVD I'd ordered (a gift for Henry) which was also due to be released today, but which is now saying it won't ship for another several days.

I panic.

I call Amazon. I confused the very sweet customer service representative who kept offering to change my shipping speed for me, but that's not what I was asking. I just wanted to make sure that my order was in fact set to leave the warehouse today. If not, then I would break up the order.

He assured me that my order was being packed. I thanked him and went back to obsessively checking the order status. Suddenly:

"Not Yet Shipped."

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! Obviously, Hotel Transylvania was conspiring to ruin my life. I immediately axe it from the order. I can order it separately when it arrives in stock in a few days. Downton Abbey sat there innocently until I got back from teaching. Then it told me once again that it was "Shipping Soon" and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Just checked again. Still "Shipping Soon." Mew.

I'll combine Hotel Transylvania with some other things so that I can get free shipping. I've got my eye on some Easter gifts for the kids. I tend to spoil the children at Easter, but I love Easter, I can't help it. I'm on the hunt for a baby music player for Anne since she loves to listen to music and dance and begs me to play my iPod music for her at every opportunity. Unfortunately, the only song that she wants played over and over and OVER again for her to dance to is "Moves Like Jagger."

Sigh.

Oh, I've decided on one fun Lent project for this year. The Catholic knitters/crocheters on Ravelry are hosting a Lenten shawl knit-along and I'm going to take part. You knit any shawl pattern that you like, but by Easter you give the shawl to someone or donate it. I'm going to aim to donate my shawl to the Theme Tray auction at Hank's school, as I know that is the fundraiser that they rely on the most each year. I'm excited. I'm choosing my pattern and yarn now.

Going to sign off now before I fall asleep over my keyboard.

Thinking about Lent

I had Children's Liturgy of the Word this past Sunday (a very small, sedate group) and we spent some time talking about upcoming items on the Church calendar. I find this stuff fascinating, so I can only hope the children aren't just humoring me. We have Candlemass on February 2nd, so we talked about blessed candles, and then the feast of St. Blase next Sunday with the blessing of the throats, one of my favorite of the year. The children seemed quite taken with the St. Blase/fish bone story.

*pats self on back*

We also broached on Lent, since there are only a few weeks left until Ash Wednesday. And I'll be with them the First Sunday of Lent, happily, breaking out the purple cloth. We got to talking: what will we each be doing/giving up for Lent this year?

The answer is that I have absolutely no idea. But I LOVE thinking about it! I adore this part of the liturgical calendar, so much fodder!

Anybody want to offer in a comment what you will be doing for Lent this year?

Our Downton Abbey obsession

That's the start of my Lady Edith Shawl, very much still on the needles. I work on it diligently each night as we re-watch Seasons 1 and 2 of what may be our favorite show of all time, Downton Abbey. It's taking quite a while, but I don't mind. Come spring, I'll have a lovely new shawl.

I'm also still doing the mystery knit-along, and after this week I think we'll have the first glove done. I can post a picture after that. :) Mike is all confused:

"If it's a mystery, how come you know what you're knitting?"

Which is indeed a very good question, no?

I too was a hair disappointed to know what we were knitting from the very first clue, but the designer needed to give a lot of sizing information up front so that everyone would be happy with the way their finished item fit. And man oh man, I can see why.

Ravelry has been abuzz about this knit-along, with lots of demanding knitters wanting additional clues and help along the way. From requests for how to knit both gloves at the same time, to critiques about how the lace pattern is working up on the suggested variegated yarn, the designer has been shepherding quite an opinionated group. Before we knew that our mystery item was gauntlets, I was amused by a few people who posted that they would NOT be participating if the mystery item was _____ (fill in the blank). A purse, a hat, you name it. If there was even a possibility that it was one of those things, they weren't knitting it. They were taking their needles and playing elsewhere.

I mean, really. This is a *knit-along*. Let's not take ourselves too seriously. As well, it IS supposed to be a mystery, that's part of the fun. If you're not willing to live dangerously, then this is not the project for you.

At any rate, the end design is the only mystery that remains at this point, but I'm enjoying it very much all the same. And the show.

*swoons*

I love this show. And their hats!!! My God, the hats. I wish women still wore hats like that. The music, the clothing, the plots, everything is just so SWEEPING on that show. I'm so, so enjoying it.

We have not started watching Season 3 (so no spoilers!). We pre-ordered the DVD's from Amazon and they ship out on Tuesday. Then we'll savor each episode at our very own pace. Plus, we're usually asleep between 9 and 10 pm on Sundays nights, which is when the show actually airs. The children have drained the life out of us by that point.

We're nearly done with Season 2. I have belly dance tonight, so no Downton. We plan to watch the final episode, the Christmas special, tomorrow night.

*pulse races*

Henry's contest

"Mommy, there is a big contest at school for the Year of Faith, and the winner gets to have lunch with the bishop!"

"Well that sounds very exciting. What do you have to do?"

"Make a poster showing how a priest or nun helps everybody with their faith."

Uh oh. Art work is not our strong suit. Hank has inherited my utter lack of any artistic talent whatsoever. There are unspeakable past art projects to which I still repress the memories.

"Ok, Honey. What is your idea for your poster?"

"A priest baptizing somebody."

"Oh. Well, that's actually a really great idea. Let's start a sketch."

*sketching commences*

"Hum, well Hank I'd make the priest a bit bigger. People don't generally have heads that small."

"But if I erase it'll look bad."

"Let's get a fresh sheet of paper."

*sketching continues with just a hair of whining starting to come into play*

"Well, the people are better, Honey, but the baptismal font is, well, far too large. It's bigger than the priest, he wouldn't even be able to reach the top."

*Hank scowls*

"But I won't be able to make another one that looks this good."

"Well, I think we're going to have to take our chances. And while you're at it, re-draw the baby. Right now it looks like the priest is about to toss him into the font, and we can't have that."

It was a very long evening.

Oh Etsy, how you tempt me with your enticing ways...

I discovered Etsy several years ago, and it became my favorite spot for buying rosaries and headcoverings. But in the past year, I'm finding myself shopping on there more and more, and I have to admit that I'm quite addicted. I love the allure of handmade items, so I purchase quite a few gifts on there (for items that I can't make myself, like jewelry, soap, belly dance veils, and patterns) not to mention the yarn, my God the yarn. In fact, I have some self-striping Valentine's yarn on its way to me right now from the lovely Laurel of Spinning Fates.

At any rate, I thought I would review my most recent Etsy acquisition, an interchangeable knitting needle case from SouthernWoolies. This is the case that I bought (all photos from SouthernWoolies):

My situation was thus: I have (ah hem) a LOT of knitting needles. I no longer buy fixed circular needles (with the exception of 16" circulars that I use to make hats) and instead have a few interchangeable sets. Ok, *several* sets. So, I have tips in different sizes, and then cords that screw into the tips so that I can make them 24", or 32", or larger, depending on what I'm making. Theoretically, this should save you money, but naturally I have mostly offset this potential cost saving measure by acquiring interchangeable tips in multiple different materials. I have a wood set, because wood needles are my very favorite. But I also have tips in metal and some in acrylic. Each interact differently with different types of yarn, so I like to have options with whichever tip I choose for an individual project. I'm a compulsive knitter, I can't help it. And I love my needles.

My metal set has it's very own case that I tote around with me, but my other needles do not. So what I did last year was head to JoAnn's to find a solution, feeling all crafty and self-sufficient. I ended up buying this large plastic bin for art supplies, dividing it up into labeled slots that would fit my tips, and happily slapping them all in there. I also had some squares that I squeezed my fixed 16" circulars into, plus the other cables. The cables weren't too happy about this, but I told them that they had to manage.

PROS:

All my tips fit inside.

CONS:

The cables were very unhappy and uncoiled themselves every.single.time I opened the bin.

The 16" fixed circulars rebelled regularly and stuck out all akimbo.

When I added a needle sizer to the mix the bin refused to close.

The tips rolled around in their slots and made a giant racket every time I got the bin out.

The entire shebang was gigantic and took up precious shelf space in our guest room closet.

"What's that noise? Did it start to hail outside?"

"No, Mommy just got her knitting needles down."

As you can see, the cons far outweighed the pros. And like any good overachiever, I trudged on with my crappy needle bin, resenting it more and more every time I had to wrench it out from amongst my swift, yarn winder, and guest pillows and blankets that sit atop the single shelf in the guest room closet, listen to its grating rattle, and then wedge it back in. I so long for my own "craft room," but that dream is a far, far off one, dear reader. For the time being, I'm sharing space in the single room that is the guest quarters, Mike's office, the kids play area, and our general "not sure where else to put this" space like my belly dance sword, costumes, and our DVD collection.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I turned to Etsy.

Beautiful hand-sewn knitting cases abounded. I found several that I liked, but the ones featured on SouthernWoolies were my favorite, and the listing said that the tip slots were large enough to hold more than 1 set. Bingo! I ordered the fetching lime and black print that you see above.

It arrived yesterday. I immediately pounced on it, unwrapped it, and took out my awful needle bin one last time to get my tips. I slid everything inside.

*ANGELS SING*

I fit all of my wood and acrylic tips in, plus ALL of my 24", 32" and 40" cables (of which I have, you know, *many*). There is still more room for additional tip sizes should I acquire them. Even my needle sizer fits in with ease, along with my little tightener to screw the tips into the cables.

*bliss*

And the whole thing folds up, closes with a magnet, looks smashing, and is barely larger than my hand. I tell you, I never thought such a miracle was possible. My cables issued a personal thank-you, slipping into their nooks with ease and staying coiled like a dream. A flap folds down over everything so that nothing will slip out, and it sits on the shelf barely taking up any space at all. I have a small, separate pouch that I popped the 16" fixed circulars into so that they wouldn't look messy in my lovely new case, although they *would* fit if I put them in there. If I wanted, I could *easily* fit this case into my knitting bag and have all of my needle tips with me. Not only is it small, it's super light.

The seller offers iron on size labels which I didn't get (although I probably should have) and she also makes ereader covers and baby hats and bonnets. I'm very pleased with my new case. Definitely have a look at her shop if you are in the market for a handmade case, the prices are more than reasonable and my item is well made with care.

Hurray for Etsy!

A pleasant weekend, as Ordinary Time settles in

Isn't he precious? I made him over the long weekend for Hank. He's a snail, and his name is Milton. If you can think of anything cuter than a snail named Milton let me know, because I don't think it exists.

"Mommy, can I sleep with my new snail?"

"NO!! He's needed for photography, and for knitting group show-and-tell on Tuesday. I don't want him to get all squished up before then."

Because stuffed snails have such pressing media obligations...

Anyway, we had a glorious weekend. I brought both kids to Mass with me on Sunday and despite Anne being at a *really* tough age for such activities, I've been able to manage it (not always well, mind you, but I do what I can). Our garbage disposal gave out over the weekend and I wanted to leave Mike the time (and ability to hear the thoughts running through his own head, you parents know what I'm talking about :)) to work on that while all 3 of us were at Mass. I was chancing it a bit with Anne's nap, but I packed up a sippy cup, some crackers, her St. Joseph board books, and my resolve. I also put on a headcovering, which I haven't worn in a while to Mass due to sheer laziness, since wearing one always provides that physical reminder that I should strive to be prayerful. And not in a panic-stricken frenzy. We set off.

It went really well. I've already thinking about Lent, as I always do at this time of year. I love this little stretch of Ordinary Time between Advent and Ash Wednesday. Anne behaved very well. She always loses it a bit right around the consecration, but I can always distract her by taking her to examine the nearest stained glass window more closely. While we were over there, following communion, one of the ushers came over to praise Anne for her good behavior. Our parish has the best ushers. There is this flotilla of older men that wear suits and ties and just look so dapper.

After Mass, Henry wanted to attend the open house the parish was hosting at the old school building. The building has been converted into a parish center, hosting religious education classes, a food pantry, parish offices, and a daily Mass and Eucharistic Adoration chapel. I was very interested in the chapel, as daily Mass is one of my favorite things in the world. The chapel is adorable and cozy, and for Lent I'd like to attend daily Mass at least once per week. More on that in a future post.

The kids and I enjoyed refreshments in the old gym before heading home to find a new (and working) garbage disposal, hurray! I also realized that Anne had snatched a little prayer card from the chapel with the name of an upcoming first communicant on it for us to pray for. She ultimately destroyed the card, but let's all pray for little Louis C. :)

Oh John Paul...

"Good morning, Apple customer service, Dedrick speaking, how are you today?"

I don't know what it is about the customer service people I'm talking to this week, but they all have really interesting names.

"I'm good."

"Good to hear."

He verifies some personal identification information, including the serial number of my iPod, which is unfortunately etched in minute script on the device. This is NOT making me feel better following my traumatic eye doctor visit; I actually had to go get my new glasses in order to read it! *feels depressed* Next thing you know, I'm going to be one of those little old lady librarians who wears her hair in a bun and peers over her glasses at you.

"So how can I help you?"

"Well, I have a new 7th generation iPod Nano, and I'm concerned about the battery life. I'm not even getting 2 hours of power from it, and I'm only listening to music and podcasts, not using any of the video or Bluetooth features. That just doesn't seem normal."

"Oh no, Ma'am."

Ugh, I'm a "Ma'am" now.

"Let's go through the settings and see if we can identify anything."

We do, but we don't. Ha!

"Ok, the next thing we can try is to reset the iPod to factory settings and then reinstall the latest software. That *should* help the battery life. If it doesn't, then we'll know that the problem lies within the iPod itself."

Sounds fabulous to me. He walks me through resetting John Paul (which always sounded a little scary to me since it takes all the content off the device, but we put it back on) and tells me to keep an eye on him. If the battery continues to drain as quickly as it has been, call them back and they'll take it from there.

Happy day. I just took John Paul on my walk and I can already see a difference. Before, even that 20 minute voyage would result in a quarter of the battery life draining. Now, it was still fully charged upon arrival back at my office.

*happy sigh*

I have to admit, I'm regretting a bit not looking into getting a refurbished iPod Classic. Those have the old click wheels (how I miss thee! I HATE touch screens, which I know makes me a bit of a freak), have gigantic capacity, and are simply designed to play your music and podcasts, all with the old 30 pin system such that I wouldn't have needed that silly adapter. However, the new iPod Classics cost about $100 more than the Nanos, so they're not cheap. I *could* have looked into a refurbished or used one, like I mentioned, but who knows if I wouldn't have had problems with that as well. As long as John Paul behaves from here on out, I'll be happy.

I guess I expected this brand new iPod Nano to be much like my old one (a 3rd generation model) except with more capacity. It's not. It's much more newfangled (does using that word also make me sound old?!) and has features that I don't have any interest in using. It's biggest selling points are the 16GB capacity and its reasonable price.

We'll see. I'm feeling warmer toward him right now, let's hope this sticks.

Sigh

I had a bad feeling about last night. I couldn't totally put my finger on it, but I think that parents develop a fine tuned sense of the home environment and the level at any given time of their child's volatility in an attempt toward self preservation. I just *knew* that following 2 good nights, Anne was going to give us trouble last night.

12:30 am: I am awakened by the sound of Anne howling.

I close my eyes and pray for it to stop.

It does. For about 3 minutes. Then it starts back up again.

I give it a little time to see if she'll put herself back to sleep and get up to investigate. A peek through her keyhole reveals that she is laying down. When that is the case, she often will go back to sleep on her own. I tiptoe back to bed.

1 am: I am awakened by the sound of Anne howling.

I resolve that I am going to have to stay up for a bit. I go in, pick her up, change her diaper, and rock her for a bit. After a solid 15 minutes of rocking, I can tell that she is nowhere near sleepy. I, on the other hand, have a bladder that is about to burst. I rock for a few more minutes, and attempt a desperate put-down.

As expected, it fails miserably.

Anne begins to scream. I know that I'm going to have to go back to her, but I simply *need* to use the restroom. I hurry about my business, and in the 20 seconds that I am in the bathroom, I hear that sickening sound.

*Loud Thud*

*WAILING!!!!!!!!!!!*

Yep, Anne climbed out of her crib.

I run out of the bathroom and collide with Mike in the hallway. We rush into her room and find her waiting at the door, screaming, ducky blanket tucked under her arm. She's clearly unharmed, but seriously pissed off.

We try more rocking. I desperately take her down to the couch where we can at least lay down, but it gets bloody COLD down there at night and I am not happy. The instant she drifts off I carry her carefully upstairs, where she...

...wakes up and begins crying again.

I bring her into our bed. Several knees and elbows later, Mike offers to take her. He walks her to her room, holds her for approximately 3 minutes, and puts her down in her crib.

*silence*

Yes, our daughter is a master manipulator. She *knows* that she can get away with heart tugging at Mommy that she can't with Daddy. Next thing you knew, she was sound asleep.

*glares*