My cousin Lola is having TWINS (insert happy squeal here) and so of course I now have babies on the brain. The best thing about someone else having babies is that I can spoil them and send them home. Thus far I'm the only kid in my generation on my Dad's side to spawn children, and on my Mom's side only my cousin M has a couple of little girls, but he lives in Nova Scotia so I never see them. My kids are well past the baby stage and tragically I can not have any more (although when I am most honest with myself, I don't want any more). My hubby's side is equally bereft of little poop machines, so naturally I am pretty damn excited about this.

So I have been scouring Ravelry for some patterns, and wouldn't you know it, I am knee-deep in cuteness. Ravelry links you to the site where the patterns in question can be found, so here are a few I've been eyeing up.

Viking Baby Cap! (Some people have actually added on little yellow braids on each side to make a girlie viking cap - very cute)

Little Devil Baby Hat

Sakicho Kimono Sweater

Hoodie Baby Blanket

Cardigen for Merry(For you Tolkien nuts)

Kiddie Cadet Hat

Felted Baby Yoda Hat

Bernat Baby Hoodie (you have to register free on Bernat site to access pattern)

Crochet Top (you may have to register with Lion Brand [it's free yo] to access this pattern)

Five Fruits Sweater (sorry dudes you need to be on ravelry to see this one - magknits went bu-bye)

Jive Turkey Baby Hat

Leg Warmies

Ruby (I got a chuckle out of this)

Seed sticth jacket

Ok that's enough, I'm starting to see double again. Ugh.

So because I'm crazy and also still not feeling well, watched V for Vendetta last night. After the brief power outage, that is.

Lights went off, the kids went a bit squirrely, and insisted we all camp out in my bedroom (I got a new bedroom set, by the by, and it is ten different kinds of awesome. S & I painted the room as well and now it feels like a refuge, which is incredibly important to me in ways you cannot imagine).

It's fucking SNOWING. Ugh. Ugh ugh ugh. I am so not prepared for this crap already. Sent the kids to school in winter jackets, hats & mitts, but lo and behold their boots simply do NOT fit. So guess who's shopping for boots this week? Not an easy feat when your daughter fits into a ladies' size 7 boot. Thank god flats seem to be in this season, I could not imagine spending a zillion dollars on flat boots simply because the only kind available are the super expensive sporty kind (which is almost what happened last year).

I want to go knitting shopping this weekend, although my darling S would say that it is crazy talk, and why do I have to have all this damn yarn, etc. Except that this mission is actually a mission to help Hammer learn to knit fair isle style, and therefore this is a purchase for the greater good. Is it my fault that in the process I will end up with a kick-ass skirt at the end of it? The greater good.

S really loves it when I rationalize things like that. Our conversations like these usually ends up with him laughing at me because I say it so seriously, like our life is a sit-com and I'm just churning out the lines. And he's my personal laugh-track. I haven't taught him to go "Awwwww" at the really sweet moments yet, but I'm sure we'll get there.

My cousin Lola just called & my uncle is doing much better, though he's hardly back to par, there's a long way to go there. I miss her.

Ok time to go do... stuff...

Too. Funny.

In other news, I have strep throat and have been sick all week. No talk = no work, unfortunately, since like uh, 99% of my job is talking on the phone all day.

My uncle is really sick. Hospital sick. I can't really go into details because 1) I only know vague information at this point and 2) there is no 2, #1 sums it up basically.

My cousin Lola seems to be taking it ok (it's her daddy) but then she's had all week to sort of process it. I am hoping this is an eye opener for my uncle, mostly because I'm selfish and want him to keep living or some nonsense like that.

Ok I'm going back to bed or somesuch.

C is going through a funny stage in her life right now. She had finally started to get comfortable in her own skin, happy with friends, playful, good. Now puberty is hitting our little home fast and furious, and she's all a mess again. Singing along to Avril Lavigne (champion of the adolescent & teenage girl) and moping about. Crying at the drop of the hat one day, giddy as a 4 year old the next. Ah, me, I wasn't expecting this to happen so soon.

I can't say I'm surprised though. I've been anticipating this. It happened early to me as well, albeit in different ways and likely for different reasons.

K is such a little ham. FIL took me out with the kids last night for a belated birthday dinner for me, and K had to go to the bathroom. Against my inner hyperventilating "everyone is out to get my kids" self, I let him go on his own, with the proviso that he had "five minutes, and then I'm coming to get you if you aren't back". He took a little longer than that, so FIL went to see what was going on, and was back in 30 seconds with a proud little K. K said that there was a dude in the stall and that he told him that he only had 5 minutes or mom was coming in after him, so hurry up man. The dude apparently laughed and hurried up so that K would make it back in good time.

Tonight I'm going out with the wedding party as a pre-wedding bash of sorts, avoiding the whole bachelor/bachelorette regime. That's fine by me, and if it's fine by the bride and groom, it's all good. I feel kind of odd being invited out, since I'm only the MC for this thing, but I guess the bride and groom decided because I helped out a lot with things they wanted to include me and thank me for it. Who am I to disagree to a night out?

School is just around the corner. My good gravy. Where did the summer go???

Sunday I go out for dinner with Lola, I'm so excited!!!!

So Operation: Crazy Go Nuts was this weekend. It was fun but I wasn't feeling well, and didn't get much sleep on Friday night because K was sick and I wasn't even going to go but he managed to bounce back the next day so I went.

Drove to my cousin Lola's house first, had a bit of lunch and then the two of us drove the rest of the way. There were drinks and games and the usual craziness, and a Fantasia party somewhere in the mix. Yeah. Because nothing says family gathering quite like fondling sex toys.

There was fun to be had, but I'm too tired to jot it all down here.

Sunday morning we took our time driving back to Lola's then I stayed and soaked in the sun for about an hour before making the rest of the trip home. Got home and lay like a lump on the couch until S dragged me over to his folks' house for leftovers from his supper the night before. His parents had a birthday dinner for him Saturday night while I was away. That was fine by me.

I still feel like crap and I was wide awake at 6 am, ugh ugh ugh.

I think I hear the shower calling.

No idea where the title came from. My Noggin, I guess.

Spent the weekend at my cousin Lola's house, and we brought the Wii. I'm pretty sure her hubby is now enamored with the system. S and I are comtemplating just how long he'll go without one - I'm figuring one more visit with the system may push him over the edge.

There has been a lot of introspection going on with me of late. Perhaps its the season shifting that is causing the tectonic shift in my thought processes. I don't know.

This weekend is Easter weekend of course, and with it brings a whole new set of problems: how do you make egg trails when you own a cat that loves to bat things around?

C actually made hazardous mention of the idea that maybe Mr. Bunny and his mate S. Claus don't exist. Nobody at school has been saying anything - she just drew up the conclusion on her own. I asked her why. Then she mulled it over and recanted. She said there is probably for sure a Santa, because she was sure there wasn't but then he brought her exactly what she asked for at Christmas and there was no possible way that S & I would have got these obscure requests. So if Mr. Claus exists, maybe E. Bunny does too. We had a talk about faith - believing in what you can't see. We also had talks about Jesus - I think the religious aspect of these holidays is what is causing the counter-point of "why do these figments exist?"

This whole scandalous conversation thankfully went down without K in our presence. But it got me thinking - I mean, I can't really pinpoint the time that I stopped believing. I think it just happened slowly, in increments, until that last bastion of magic in my life crawled away when I wasn't looking. Sad really when you think on it. I figure if I'm lucky, if I'm very lucky, C will believe for one more year, and then she'll be done. That's just the way C is, but is it silly that I find that just a wee bit heartbreaking?

Doug: "Steve, slow down."
Steve: "I can't help it man, it's hottie overload!"
Doug: "Just pace yourself."
Steve: "Ok... What's up? ...2, 3, 4. What's up? ...2, 3, 4..."
(A Night at the Roxbury)

So after much cajoling on the parts of quite a few people, I joined up facebook.

As a result, I've come across people I haven't seen in years and years. Kind of spooky, kind of awesome. Kind of addicting, mostly because as I said, I've come across people that require a lot of catching up with. But even with the people I see more regularly, it's a nice feature, with a messaging system that allows for short notes rather than lengthy emails (though I still love writing those).

Being completely bored last night, facebook amused me greatly. More specifically, messaging on facebook. You know who you are.

Sister in law is coming over tonight, we're going to drink and bake. Girl's had a rough week.

Tomorrow S the kids and I are going to my cousin Lola's. It's been a while since we've visited her and her hubby, so I'm looking forward to it. Initially we had planned for it to be just S and I, but the way the week's gone we're better off taking the kids too.

I need to look into getting a new blowdryer. My hair was a scary tousled mess yesterday. Strangely enough I got compliments on it? I didn't realize the bed-head look was a good one for me. I'd ask for S's opinion but he's a smarmster.

S & I were invited to take a trip with Hammer & her hubby - unfortunately it's a no-go, but for a brief flickering minute it was a possibility. Damnit. For once it has nothing to do with funds, so much as being able to take time off. Le sigh. Were it not for my previous issues, this wouldn't be a problem.

Ok I have a million things to do before work (as usual) so I'm off!

Yesterday went w/my company to a "Bowl for Kids Sake" fundraiser for Big Brothers & Big Sisters. We managed to raise over 12,000 dollars, which is pretty good if you ask me.

My time was great because we were all there to have fun rather than score high. Many goofy antics were had; I confess I was the instigator of most. They included dancing up the lane, bowling blindfolded, rolling them between the legs kiddie-style, bowling backwards, etc. We got an award for team spirit so it was all good. Afterwards we all went to the Parlour where they had munchies & drinks for us. It was a pleasant evening out and I'm glad I went.

M is doing well and is back in town now, however she's more or less stuck in a hospital until the baby is born. That really sucks and especially for her as she's got 4 boys at home needing her, but J has been really good with them. Her ex is also pitching in, which is good.

S was a bit cranky last night, no idea why. I don't think he's been getting much sleep; this is usually due to weather change. He's not the stressed out type, so it isn't that. Or maybe everything that's happened recently is finally catching up to him. I don't know. I do know however not to press him - he usually tells me within a day or so when something's bothering him, but he needs that day or so to sort it out in his brain first. It's just the way he operates, and I respect that.

I'm so sleepy suddenly. It's probably the weather.

A lot of things are probably the weather.

PS: Lola, here's a link to the time I blogged the chili recipe.