Whole Lot of Nothing Goin' On

There's been quite a bit going on here, but not a whole lot of knitting. I am further on my Kaw Kaw Monkey socks. But that's all the knitting I've done this week. Here's a poorly lit picture of my progress. Enjoy it; it's the only picture in a very wordy and mostly knitless post.

On Thursday and Friday, I subbed in my son's preschool classroom. This is the first time I've worked (paid work, that is) since I was about 6 months pregnant, 4 years ago. About 7 years ago I worked at his school as a Kindergarten Teacher. That's also how I managed to get him into such a great preschool. Honestly, getting your child into a good preschool here can be as hard as getting into college! It's absolutely dumbfounding. I have at least 2 friends who each applied to 10 different preschools and got into none of them. For our preschool, there were 200 applications (or so I've heard) for a class of 24 kids. But since a lot of those kids were legacy admissions or siblings, there were only about 4 open spots. I had a good time being in the classroom again. In fact, I'm going to continue subbing over the summer. I've even (briefly) considered going back to school to take the classes required to be a preschool teacher. The hours are good, the pay isn't bad, the kids are fun. But until BoyMonkey is in school full time, all day, it just isn't worth it for me.

Over the long weekend, we tried to get some stuff done around the house. We (okay, it was really Roger) cleared off the shelves in the office, tossed everything we don't need anymore, and put everything else back on the shelves in a much more organized manner. I was hoping to change a couple things in BoyMonkey's room, but we didn't get around to it. For the Fourth of July, we mostly stayed home and cleaned. We barbecued chicken and corn-on-the-cob for dinner, with watermelon and strawberries for dessert. The only fireworks we saw were some illegal ones being set off down the street, but we did watch fireworks on TV. Roger and I weren't very impressed, but BoyMonkey enjoyed it (and loved getting to stay up so far past his bedtime) and was glad we weren't too close to the noise. He didn't want to go see the fireworks in person because he was afraid they would be too loud and scary.

Yesterday we went swimming at the JCC. We had a great time. BoyMonkey and I especially love swimming. Since the pool was warm and indoors, the chilly weather outside didn't affect us. After swimming, we bought a couple toys at The Ark (awesome toy store, but nothing on their website yet) and then went for a lovely lunch at Ella's.

The past few days I've been noticing once again that BoyMonkey is a different kid. He's been so loving and affectionate lately. I hear "I love you Mommy, no matter what," many times a day. One of his favorite pre-nap and bedtime activities is to give me "so many kisses." There are normal kisses, eye kisses, ear kisses, cheek kisses, head kisses, hair kisses. The list can go on and on. He's so tall. When did that happen? All of the sudden, he can reach the doorbell without even having to reach. It seems like just last week he could barely touch it when he stood on his tip-toes. His vocabulary is constantly impressing me. His adorably incorrect pronunciations are still there (he is a boy, Mommy is a girler; he likes to play on the pinano). His ability to focus on one activity has greatly increased. He already knows our full address including city and state. I remember learning that in kindergarten. He's just growing up so fast! I have to write down all of this before it changes again. I wish I had kept better records when he was a baby. There is so much that I was sure I could never forget (he is my first and so far only child; how could I ever forget?!?). So many mannerisms and mispronunciations that he's grown out of (he used to say "aye" for yes). So much I know I've forgotten. I am especially loving this age and don't want to forget the magic that is 3 1/2.

It fits!

I restarted the Kaw Kaw Monkey sock on larger (2.5mm) needles. Instead of the Channel Island cast-on, which I thought turned out looking a little funny, I did the Twisted German cast-on. I really like it; it's very stretchy. After a couple of repeats, I tried it on and it fits! I don't tend to like tall socks so I just did 4 repeats. Now I've turned the heel, switched back to smaller needles (2.25mm), and am doing the gusset decreases. I'm really loving this sock. The colors are gorgeous. The more I look at it, the more I like the colors and the way they look together. The pattern, as most knitters know, is also fabulous. It's easy and beautiful. Much more exciting for me than a plain stockinette sock, but not so difficult that I need a pattern.

Over the weekend we went camping at Clearlake with a couple of friends. Oh my goodness it was hot. It didn't even cool down much at night. We swam in the lake some, which felt nice since it was so hot, but it wasn't too nice since there were a lot of people in a relatively small area (why is the swimming area so small in such a large lake?) and there was quite a bit of algae. Ewww. Overall it was a nice weekend. Maybe we'll go back next year, but in the spring before it's so hot.

This weekend is our 11th anniversary! We're sort of going away for the weekend, leaving BoyMonkey with my mom. It's only sort of going away since we're staying at a hotel in the city. We plan on seeing a show of some sort on Saturday (we'll get tickets that morning at the half-price booth), maybe going to a museum, eating at nice restaurants, and just relaxing. Ahhh, to be temporarily child-free..... Since our wedding was before the age of digital cameras, I don't have a wedding picture to post. If I get a chance I'll scan in a picture and post it soon.

Crap, thy name is Kaw Kaw

So I've finished the ribbing and 4 repeats of the first Monkey sock and decided to try it on. It's too small! Crap!! Actually, once I force it past my heel it fits just fine. I have huge insteps and often have this problem. But I really had to force it on, so once the whole sock is knitted, it will be nearly impossible to get on and I'll never wear them. What do I do now?

Option 1: Use larger needles for the leg. Maybe it will have enough extra give so I can get it on my foot and I can switch to smaller needles for the foot.

Option 2: Try to alter the Monkey pattern. It might work, but I hate to mess with it. I was thinking of adding 2 stitches to each repeat. After the purls and decrease, there's always a knit 3 before the yarn over. I could make that a knit 4. Hopefully the pattern would look mostly the same.

Option 3: Use the yarn for a different pattern and find another thicker yarn for Monkeys. But I really, really don't want to do this. The pattern and the yarn both have a sentimental significance for me. I really want the Kaw Kaw yarn to become Monkeys. This option is absolutely my last resort.

Any thoughts or opinions from those more experienced than me?

Love, Thy Name is Kaw Kaw

The May Rockin' Sock Club kit came a while ago, but I'm just now getting around to taking pictures and posting it on Ravelry. I love this color! The pattern, Cleopatra's Stockings (Ravelry link), is lovely and is near the top of my ever-growing queue.

Since finishing my Leafling socks, I haven't had any socks on the needles for myself. Unacceptable, I know. So I finally cast on for my Kaw Kaw Monkeys. I love, love, love this colorway. I've only knit the ribbing and one lace repeat, but it's going quickly and it's fantastic. Love the pattern too, of course(my first Monkeys!). Since these socks are all about sock camp, I used one of the cast ons from JC Briar's class. I did the Channel Island cast on and I think it worked okay. We'll see when I actually try it on.