SophieKat Knits

finishing out January . . .

2010-03-18T13:30:00.003-06:00

Yes, I realize it's mid-March. I will eventually catch up. (right? RIGHT????)

January 31, 2010

One of the many fleur-de-lis accents around our home. Excitement for the Super Bowl is building! GEAUX SAINTS!

January 30, 2010

My current knitting project, rescued from the depths of UFO's (UnFinished Objects).

Clapotis in Sundara Yarn's aran silky merino, Cherry Blossom colourway.

January 29, 2010

This is about as far outside as Sophie gets these days. We're all ready for spring!

January 28, 2010

Our new TV experiment.

photo dump, part deux

2010-02-07T19:29:00.002-07:00

January 25

Dear Target,

Since when do brontosauruses breathe fire?

January 24

A sleep smile from baby Z. Taken with my phone, as it was all I could reach.

January 23

I am SO ready for spring. I cannot wait to have fresh herbs growing in here again!

January 22

Chocolate stout cake, made with Guinness. Yum.

January 21

Showing off my current favourite outfit. And the wrapping paper stash.

photo dump!

2010-02-07T17:00:00.003-07:00

January 20

The "Januaries" -- everything is gray, dreary, & generally blah.

January 19

A new visitor to our yard. Can you spot him?

January 19, enhanced

Can you see him now? (click to make big)

January 18

We are starting to plan a getaway weekend for our anniversary -- can't believe this picture was taken almost 5 years ago!

January 17

The workhorse of our household. I love this thing!

in which

2010-01-17T15:51:00.005-07:00

I realize the lighting in our house sucks.

I played around a lot this week with flash vs. no flash on the auto settings (still trying to wrap my brain around manual).

January 10, 2010

Zachary is one month old!

This is his "what 'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" face.

January 11, 2010

no flash vs. flash. yikes, we need better lighting in our family room!

January 12, 2010

Ellie's most favourite thing is trying to figure out how to tie a knot or bow.

January 13, 2010

AJ in one of her random giggle fits. She'll start laughing out of nowhere and tell whomever is closest to her "you're cracking me up!"

January 14, 2010

my new system for keeping the family on track. 2 dry erase calendars and a bulletin board to keep track of preschool happenings, birthday parties, gymnastics schedule, and the chore & getting ready charts. The girls have far busier social lives than either dh or I!

January 15, 2010

a washed out (no flash) AJ, rolling around on the cat's bed & sporting peanut butter sandwich remnants on her face.

January 16, 2010

a typical evening these days at chez sophiekat. fussy baby being bounced on my knees, dh checking email in the background. glamourous, isn't it? (taken with my laptop)

Thanks for all the comments so far! If you'd like to comment, click the "people are talking to me" text below the post. ;)

hit by the sickies

2010-01-10T14:22:00.002-07:00

A lovely cold accompanied AJ home from preschool this week. Just what we needed.

January 7, 2010

Art produced by AJ & E, trying to keep themselves entertained while it's too cold to play outside & mumma is busy nursing baby Z.

January 8, 2010

E, having a snack after drawing on her chin with marker. Wanting me to put the camera down so she can watch Dinosaur Train in peace.

January 9, 2010

Baby Z watching a local news report on our Broncos. Horrified at how badly their season ended. Right after this we introduced him to the phrase maybe next year.

why we need stock in johnson & johnson

2010-01-06T19:57:00.002-07:00

no more tangles spray comes in by the case here.

E, with her usual wicked case of bedhead. She moves so much in her sleep that her hair literally felts together.

you know . . .

2010-01-05T15:10:00.002-07:00

you know you have toddlers in the house when the cat is festively decorated with leftover Christmas ribbon.

and you know you have a baby in the house when bottles, implements of caffeination, and piles of towels are everywhere!

two days in one

2010-01-03T20:55:00.002-07:00

January 2, 2010

Pizza night. Next time we'll flatten the dough a bit more.

January 3, 2010

Cat, contemplating.

contemplating what?

no doubt a plot to take over the world. or a plan to get more canned food.

oh hai.

2010-01-01T22:49:00.002-07:00

long time no post.

baby has arrived.

Zachary Anderson, born 9 December.

big sisters are enamoured, for the most part. They do keep asking how long we get to keep him.

I am going to be attempting to participate in Project 365 this year. It's taking one picture per day, every day for a year. Otherwise known as trying to improve my mad photography skillz.

Here's January 1:

You know the holidays are over when thank you notes take over every available surface.

Happy New Year, all!

update

2009-06-18T14:39:00.001-06:00

surgery went well. hooray, it's over!

good vibes, please

2009-06-16T16:35:00.002-06:00

my AJ is having surgery tomorrow morning to correct a lazy eye. While it's a relatively simple procedure, I'm still a nervous wreck and would really appreciate any "easy surgery, quick healing" vibes/thoughts/prayers you could spare.

Oh hai.

2009-06-09T23:33:00.002-06:00

We can haz bebe brudder or sista?

Why yes. Anticipated arrival around New Year's. Further bulletins as events warrant.

quite the way to punctuate a statement.

2009-04-10T10:43:00.002-06:00

AJ: "mumma, my tummy feels dizzy."

me: "dizzy?"

AJ: "yeah, it's dizzy. and whirly and swirly and . . . . BARF."

barf goes all over my lap, all over her, all over the floor between us. lovely. after we're both cleaned up and I've cleaned the floor,

me: "is your tummy feeling better now?"

AJ: "yep! can I go jump on your bed?"

a PSA, courtesy of your fellow shoppers

2009-04-06T19:51:00.002-06:00

Perhaps Target is not the ideal place to conduct a loud, drawn out argument with your significant other regarding the threesome he participated in with another couple. Especially if, in the course of the conversation, you reveal 1. the particular type of anti-crazy meds you are on and how you're in the middle of adjusting the dose and the various gastro-intestinal issues involved; 2. your own history of threesomes with the couple in question; and 3. your desire to make either of said threesomes into a foursome.

I'm just saying.

bliss

2008-11-25T16:43:00.002-07:00

is sitting with a purring kitty on your lap, your favourite starbucks drink next to you, the fireplace going, knitting and listening to your husband play with your girls upstairs.

I hope this Thanksgiving week finds all of you finding your bliss!

an open letter

2008-11-09T22:07:00.002-07:00

to the sore-loser, cowardly twatwaffles who tore down and stole our Obama/Biden sign,

1. neener neener neener, OUR GUYS WON!

and 2. even your stupid act of vandalism can't dampen our enthusiasm, OR erase the evidence that we had a sign. Here, the Bean shows her excitement for the change coming.

so there.

hey you!

2008-11-04T10:42:00.002-07:00

GO VOTE!

I'm so nervous -- I'm hoping to harness some of the jittery energy into cleaning (ha) and knitting whilst waiting for polls to close and results to come in.

oh, and

GOBAMA!

swiped from frog

2008-10-16T14:50:00.001-06:00

If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now (even if we don't speak often or ever), please post a comment with a completely made up, fictional memory of you and me.

It can be anything you want - good or bad - but it has to be fake.

When you're finished, post this little paragraph in your blog and see what your friends come up with.

thanks frog!

I am being irrational and childish

2008-10-08T14:12:00.003-06:00

I'm really fighting the urge right now to stomp my feet and yell "mine, mine, mine, MINE!"

AJ has a fantastic godmother, L. She seriously is a dream -- sends cards & presents (she lives elsewhere), comes up for visits, just adores her. Spoils her rotten. And she wants to get AJ an American Girl "bitty baby" for Christmas. Fantastic, right?

Except I've been working on making both girls Waldorf dolls for their gifts. I don't want to be ungrateful, or ruin the gift L is planning, but I want this Christmas to be about the dolls from ME, that I made. I feel like I should be gracious and just accept the gift and let AJ decide if she likes one better, but at the same time I don't WANT to. I know I can point L. towards other things AJ will like, and in truth will probably end up telling her that I'd already gotten (the branch of the family L. resides in does not understand making things when you can GO SHOPPING! and BUY THINGS IN A STORE! and GET A PRETTY SHOPPING BAG THAT WE WILL FOLD UP AND SAVE UNTIL TIME IMMEMORIAL BEHIND THE WASHING MACHINE!) a doll for AJ and maybe if she wanted to get her a cradle or something that'd be fantastic. Is that evil?

Oh, and is anyone interested in doing a study on approximately 17 females (it might be 18, we're waiting on a birth) from the same family to see where in our DNA it's coded that 1. we should save old shopping bags and 2. their proper storage spot is behind the washing machine?

How Well Do You Know Me?

2008-10-01T09:46:00.001-06:00

Sophiekat's Query
1) How many kidlets call me mumma?
		2, a boy and a girl.
		2, both girls.
		5
		1

Make A Quiz - Take This Quiz - View Scoreboard

the mommy tool box features an huge "guilt" hammer

2008-09-23T22:39:00.002-06:00

so I just dropped about $50 on parenting books from amazon.com.

Lately I've been feeling like I don't really understand toddler development as well as I need to in order to parent AJ effectively. In plain English, I think I yell too much and get frustrated with things are developmentally normal -- tantrums, potty learning setbacks, and general contrariety. More days than not I lay in bed feeling like I could be doing this parenting-a-toddler-thing a whole lot better. And then I pass out from sheer exhaustion.

I'm not entirely sure when I'm going to find time to actually *read* these books, mind you, though I'm thinking perhaps I'll employ the hope-for-the-best-via-osmosis-technique that allowed me to (barely) pass geometry in high school.

temp reg

2008-09-18T14:46:00.002-06:00

i cannot for the life of me get my house to the right temperature. it's just hot enough outside that we need the air conditioning on, but not to the same level we did when it was REALLY hot outside. but if i try to raise the thermostat even just one degree then our upstairs is way too hot. but leaving it where it is makes the downstairs too cold. such issues.

not much time to write, the bean has another tooth coming in and is not sleeping, which of course means i'm not either.

the 3 R's

2008-09-16T14:13:00.002-06:00

I'm a bit worried about AJ's school.

She goes to preschool two mornings a week, the same school she went to last year. She has different teachers this year, and I'm not sure I like them. And I don't know if my misgivings about it/them are merely a result of my own dislike of change and nervousness surrounding it, or if my instincts are giving me a nudge that maybe this isn't the best situation for her.

For the two mornings there are 3 teachers, P, L, and K. K is there both mornings, this is her first year teaching at the school (though she is a long time friend of the director and attends the church the school is housed in). P is there one morning, and is the one I like the best so far. She has the most teaching experience with AJ's age group. L is there one morning as a temporary sub until the school can find someone long term. She has a lot of teaching experience, but mostly with older kids ("older" being relative, as in 5 or 6).

I haven't gotten the warm feeling from these 3 (except from P) that AJ's teachers had last year. You could just tell that they were excited to be there, they really loved & wanted to work with kids of AJ's age, and were really committed to making sure every child felt welcome and valued in the class.

This year, it seems like from the beginning the attitude hasn't been the same. At the open house for the kids to see their room & meet the teachers, the *first*(I mean first, right after I'd introduced myself and AJ) thing K said was "oh, there's another [kid with AJ's name] in our class. AJ will have to be called something else." So I offered that she might be ok with being called AJ, BUT I didn't have time to ask AJ how she felt about that, or if they could just call her AJ Lastname/AJ First initial of our last name. Well, AJ doesn't want to be called AJ there. She prefers that it's just her nickname that Daddy & mumma call her. And I wasn't that impressed that the very first thing was to say "there's a problem" rather than meeting my kid, kwim?

Things haven't gotten much better the first 3 classes, it seems like all the kids, even the ones (like AJ) who've been at the school and had no problems being separated from parents last year are anxious about going into the room, even crying. The first day, L held one of the screaming, crying kids in the doorway (the teachers do the greet the kid at the door/keep parents out of the classroom thing) and tried to greet the other kids that way instead of asking K to tend to the crier or take over the greeting, which of course set everyone else off not wanting to go in. And another mum was there early one day and said that she heard K and L talking to the kids, saying things like "oh you guys are especially annoying today."

I just feel like with all the experience these teachers are supposed to have, you'd think that they'd know how to better deal with separation anxiety/be friendlier/not use language like that. And AJ just isn't excited for school -- last year she'd run out of her room saying "I had SO MUCH FUN today!" or ask when she could see her teachers & friends again, and this year it's a constant "I don't want to go to school" "I didn't have fun today."

Last week when I picked her up I saw her shoes were on the wrong feet. I asked AJ if she'd put her shoes on, and she said no, K did when she changed her. I asked AJ if she knew her shoes were on the wrong feet, she said yes and said she'd tried to tell K and L that her feet hurt, but they didn't help her. These aren't shoes that are easily mixed up, and I really don't like that AJ felt she was brushed off when she asked for help to fix them.

Ugh. I just don't know if we should keep trying, to see if it is just the newness, or what. I know that you don't need to LOVE every teacher or every school year, but I also feel like this is her second school experience, and I don't want her to have a bummer experience already. I'm also kind of freaked out that if I do pull her out that I won't find another program until next year -- there is another class she could move into, but it requires being potty trained, which we're still slowly getting to. And if I pull her from this program all together, most other programs have been filled. GAH!

Any advice?

a little more

2008-09-15T14:54:00.002-06:00

do you ever feel like your inner monologue/dialogue is an endless round of "I should/I should/I should"?

these days I'm constantly thinking that I need to

*plan & enforce nutrition

*sort through/weed out/organize piles upon piles of crap

*finish some of the eleventy-gazillion craft projects I've started

*play with my kids more

*read more

*knit more

*spend more time with my dh

just do more/be more/try more. and I don't quite know where the discontent is stemming from, because believe me if i did I'd not so gently remind it that I've slept a grand total of six hours over the past three days thanks to the Bean getting two more teeth in, and so the chances of me realizing any of these goals in a timely fashion are slim to none.

perhaps i should just give up sleep alltogether.

2008-09-14T15:15:00.002-06:00

i had a great post in my head last night as i was falling asleep and now of course i can't remember any of it. bah.

my new resolution to write is going pretty well, i did write the past two days but it was so random i decided to leave it as draft instead of subjecting everyone to it.

i'm going to be starting some part time legal work (mostly research and brief writing) for a new firm this week, and i'm having mixed feelings on it. it's kind of nice to have something adult & requiring thought on my list, but at the same time it's a bunch of real estate stuff, which i have a feeling may make me want to shove sharp objects in my eyes. there's a lot of growth potential, though -- this is a small firm that does a lot of environmental and international work and this is sort of my "tester" project to make sure that we all work well together.

truth be told, i'm kind of holding my nose with this jumping back into law. i feel like i *should* do it, because i went through the brain damage of law school and the bar exam, and really . . . . isn't it wasting all that to never do any legal work again? but at the same time, i don't *want* to. if i think about what i'd like to be doing after the girls are more independent, i can see myself teaching, or writing, but not practicing law. but i don't know if that's because my last experience in practice was SO bad, or if i really just don't like it.

so that's my main reason (besides the getting the old brain back in fighting form) for doing this -- to see if the formal practice of law is just not something i jive with, and if i need to start exploring ways to branch out into other areas. i keep telling dh it'd be much easier if he'd just win the lottery and we could both stay home and play all the time.

so i'm thinking of taking up spinning

2008-09-11T22:51:00.002-06:00

no, not like the drunk/high girls at grateful dead/phish concerts (not that i have personal experience or anything . . . . . )

let's repeat: i do not need another hobby. i do not need another hobby. i do not need another hobby. i especially don't need another hobby that requires storage space for materials and finished product.

short post tonight, it was a hell of a day today.

thirty one years of life lessons

2008-09-10T09:36:00.002-06:00

in honour of my birthday, i present some of the wisdom i've collected over the past thirty one years. enjoy.

*quitting a diet Coke habit can be more difficult than quitting smoking

*write thank you notes and RSVP to invitations

*ballet is murder on your body

*visit another country at least once

*capitalization and most punctuation are overrated, at least when you're nursing at keyboard or trying to keep children from taking a header off the sofa

*knit. it can keep you from killing people

*don't circumcise your children. if you wouldn't do it to a girl, you shouldn't do it to a boy.

*watch The Daily Show. but don't make it your only source for news/political information.

*go to New Orleans

*hug your kids. and your partner.

*doctors are human. very, very human. don't be afraid to do your own research or ask for second/third/sixty-third opinion.

*mac computers won't make you cry by crashing and losing all your pictures, writings, emails, and other stuff

*your brain will never be as sharp after being pregnant and having kids

profound, no?

birthday madness

2008-09-09T13:39:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow will end approximately three weeks of me spinning in circles, trying to direct friends and family members and recalcitrant children hither and yon whilst keeping up a celebratory facade and not losing my mind. It's otherwise known as the three weeks that encompass the bean's birthday, AJ's birthday, and my birthday.

The bean is now a big one year old, and around here, turning one is a VERY BIG DEAL. Not only does it mean that Daddy (dr. sophiekat) gives the OK for peanut butter, egg whites, and juice, but also a VERY BIG PARTY. The VERY BIG PARTY is partially my fault (oh, alright, it's all my fault), since we did an huge blowout for AJ's first birthday and so clearly we must not encourage any more sibling rivalry and have an huge blowout for the bean, too. Except AJ's birthday is only two weeks after, and I didn't really want to ask all our friends/family/playmates to trek out for festivities twice in two weeks, so clearly the only logical solution was a joint party.

It was great fun, despite a few of AJ's school mates not being able to make it at the last minute and a generally atrocious RSVP rate (seriously, people, is it that hard to do?). And since the party date was between the two actual birthdays, clearly we had to do smaller, family-only parties on each actual birthday.

So in the past two weeks, my in-laws have made the trek from Tulsa for the joint party and AJ's actual birthday (having a new roof put on their house prevented them from being here for the bean's big day), AJ's godmother and my aunt & uncle traveled from New Orleans 1. for the party and 2. to escape Hurricane Gustav, we consumed 4 cakes (plain chocolate for both the Bean's and AJ's big days, yellow with strawberry filling and chocolate with raspberry filling for the party), we've gone out to dinner six times, we made a trek across town to visit a petting zoo/restaurant for AJ's big day, sang "Happy Birthday" 5 times (twice for AJ because she insisted on singing it again for the bean at her family party), opened an entire toy store's worth of gifts, and blew up seventy-gazillion balloons (thank goodness for helium, that's all I have to say). Now, my "big" day is tomorrow, and I'm *tired*. I'm caked out, don't really want to bother trying to wrangle children at a restaurant, and am so behind on thank you notes that I really don't want presents, either. bah humbug, I know.

Next year we're definitely scaling down. Or so I say now -- I'll need to come back and re-read this to have a reminder!

writing

2008-09-08T13:39:00.002-06:00

i have a new goal. well, i have many new goals, but one that i'm really focused on and willing to share.

i want to spend ten minutes a day writing.

earth shattering, no?

i used to be a pretty good writer. i've been published, i received awards, i was the one all my sorority sisters came to for help on their papers. these days, though, i can barely compose an email (or a blog post, for that matter) without getting distracted and losing my train of thought at least five times. forget trying to write anything remotely intelligent.

but i miss writing. i miss trying to craft a perfect sentence. and when i look ahead to a time when i won't be knee-deep in diapers, Wonder Pets, and play-dough, i see writing as an option that will let me be with the girls.

so i need to practice. and if i can carve out ten minutes to play sudoku every day, surely i can write for ten minutes.

i'm not promising anything pulitzer-prize winning. i may not even post everything i write here. but i need to do something before more of my brain cells are slaughtered by child-rearing (mostly due to the aforementioned Wonder Pets, damn you Nick Jr.!). so hold me accountable, k?

diary of a potty learner, days 2 & 3 (condensed version)

2008-07-31T10:31:00.002-06:00

pairs of underpants gone through: 5 (considerably limited due to swimming on day 2 and the unleashing of a sure sign of the apocalypse by my mother, otherwise known as the introduction of disney-princess-themed pull-ups to the trainee and her obstinate insistence on wearing them despite mumma's explicit wishes to the contrary)

number of false alarms: 0 (see pull-ups, supra)

number of successful pees: too many to count, seeing as trainee wanted to sit on potty every two minutes and produce two or three drops, insist she was finished, and need to go again as soon as she'd washed her hands.

number of times little sister's nursing sessions were interrupted for mad dash to potty: 3 again

number of times little sister got peed on: zero. huzzah! she did, however, get wrapped up in toilet paper when mumma had to answer the door during a potty session.

number of times mumma considered starting to drink heavily: eh, no more than on a usual non-potty-learning day. i did, however, indulge a craving for doughnuts.

saving grace: at least the pull-ups weren't dora themed.

diary of a potty learner, day 1

2008-07-29T16:31:00.002-06:00

pairs of underpants gone through: 9

number of false alarms: 7

number of successful pees: 5

number of times little sister's nursing sessions were interrupted for mad dash to potty: 3

number of times little sister got peed on: 1

number of times mumma considered starting to drink heavily: 49823 (give or take a few)

if we both come through this experience with our sanity intact it will be nothing short of a miracle. off to put the underpants in the wash.

knitting content on a knitting blog? crazzzzzzzzzzy!

2008-07-03T13:36:00.002-06:00

i have knitting to show! (try not to faint, i know it's shocking).

these were my MIL's birthday socks, done in Yarn Love's "tuscany" colourway on their Elizabeth Bennett base. more details on my ravelry page here.

they were well received, i am happy to report!

psychedelic allergy meds

2008-06-12T18:37:00.003-06:00

i think i need to put a warning on all my posts and emails these days.

there is so much crap blowing around outside that my allergies are running wild. so i took some meds that claim to be non-drowsy. non-drowsy my ass.

i am practically comatose waiting for dh to get home and watching zoboomafoo with the girls. i tried to tell AJ to stop doing . . . . . something (shit, i don't even remember what) and couldn't get the sentence out.

why is spring so pretty yet so troublesome at the same time?

i know a song that'll get on your nerves . . .

2008-06-08T00:11:00.001-06:00

did you ever sing that as a kid?

this is the song currently stuck in my head. if you see me trying to stick dpn's in my ear you'll know why.

AJ is a Super Fan!

2008-06-05T21:59:00.002-06:00

my little AJ is famous!

as most of you know, she has quite the love for kitties. it doesn't matter if they are ours, as long as it's furry and of the feline persuasion she loves it.

there is one kitty (well, besides Sophie), though, that has absolutely captured her attention/imagination and heart. Lucy, the ragdoll princess companion to Wendy (ravelry link), is her special kitty friend. every afternoon after her nap she climbs on my lap to snuggle (she is slow to wake up like her mumma) and demands to see "woo-sea." thankfully Wendy is a better blogger than i and actually updates on a regular basis, so there are always new pictures. AJ likes for me to tell her about Lucy's adventures and to look at the knitting her "mummy" does. she especially loves the pictures of Lucy showing off her fuzzy tummy, since Sophie tries to keep hers hidden and out of reach of exploratory toddler fingers.

on ravelry there is a group for those of us who love Wendy's book, blog, and patterns, and this week there was a contest to launch Lucy's official fan club. both Sophie and AJ sent messages to Miss Lucy explaining why they were her number one fan, and i'm proud to say that the message AJ dictated to me won! so now AJ will get a picture (autographed, or "pawtographed") of her favourite non-resident cat. and most exciting for me, i get some beautiful sock patterns by Wendy! huzzah! (her patterns are also available at the greatest yarn store on the internetz, The Loopy Ewe.)

so thank you, Wendy and "Woo-sea", we are so thrilled!

it gets more brilliant every time you watch

2008-06-03T22:16:00.001-06:00

this is the damn funniest thing i've seen in a long time. and especially apropos today, don'tcha think?

thanks

2008-06-01T23:08:00.001-06:00

thanks, everyone, for your hugs and kind words.

a catnip patch, christmas boxes, and microwaved ice cream

2008-05-30T08:27:00.005-06:00

i first met Cinzi when she was a 7 week old kitten and i was going into 7th grade. at the dumb friends league there were two kittens that my dad and i looked at, trying to decide which would come home with us to be my "dad's house" cat, since my mom had moved out and taken my other cat with her. we chose the black and white one with the pencil tip tail because she had more personality.

i (somewhat unfortunately) christened her "Cinzano Lou" (Cinzi for short) -- Cinzano because our neighbours across the greenbelt had an outdoor umbrella with that liquer's name on it and in my pre-teen desperation i thought it would make me seem worldly and sophisticated. she pretty quickly became "lou-lee," though her regal attitude would have been better suited to a name such as Cleopatra or Queenie.

soon the other cat and myself had moved back in with my dad full-time, and cinzi was cemented into my heart for taking a big shit in the back seat of my mom's new mercedes. it perfectly expressed how i felt at the time. even though she was the smallest in the household of a hundred pound yellow lab and twenty pound orange tiger tomcat, she gave everyone a run for their money. even after we made the biggest mistake ever of having her declawed (which i will never, ever have done to another cat), she was tough as nails. my dad and i would joke that were she human she would be a tough biker chick clad in black leather, zooming about town on the back of a harley davidson.

we had a large catnip patch in the back yard, and all the other cats in the neighbourhood would try to get in our yard to capture their own slice of kitty heaven. cinzi would hide herself among the stalks and lie in wait for the intrepid feline trespassors, bursting out from hiding like a heat-seeking missile to scare the bejeezus out of them. after they would run yowling from our yard, she would swagger back to her catnip, and i swear she would be smiling.

She would take walks with the dog, trotting right along under his feet and getting out of the way when he would stop to mark a tree. We were quite a sight, the three of us – having a merry jaunt round the greenbelt. I can’t tell you the number of times a passing car would stop and the driver would ask if I knew there was a cat walking under the dog.

Cinzi always had her own way of doing things. Her most favourite place to sleep was any spot that was just a bit too small – shoeboxes especially. She’d look like a bread loaf bursting out over top of whatever box she could find.

And if ever a cat loved boxes, it was Cinzi. Christmas was made for her. Boxes, wrapping paper, ribbon – it all was fair game, and what a game it was. I think our family photo albums have more Christmas pictures of Cinzi in, under, and around the wrapping paraphernalia than of any of the actual gifts. The best, though, was when my can’t-pass-up-a-bargain dad found a tree stand that rotated the tree whilst playing various carols. It was her own personal merry-go-round, and she was in heaven. You’d look at the tree turning round and all of a sudden these big green eyes would be staring at you, tucked in amongst the lights and ornaments.

Dad and Cinzi had a special relationship, especially after I moved out of state for university. She slept under his blankets every night, in a special cave of pillows he would carefully build for her. He made sure she got plenty of special treats, which for Cinzi was breyer’s vanilla bean ice cream, microwaved for precisely seven seconds to take the chill off. Regular vanilla wouldn’t suffice – the little vanilla bean bits must’ve tasted extra good to those picky feline taste buds. And heaven forbid you try to give her another brand – she’d turn her nose up, whip around, and give a very curt “mow” to express her displeasure. Needless to say, she grew a bit plump on this special diet!

She was a mostly happy cat, only hating a few things – the smell of the menthol rub I would slather on my dance- or soccer- ravaged body to relieve aches & pains, being picked up, and having her front paws touched. She would give her trademark short “mow” and glare, her pencil-tip tail whipping back and forth like a metronome to express exactly how peeved she was to be assaulted (even if only olfactorily) in such a manner.

We “inherited” Cinzi back when my dad moved from Colorado to Texas, after I’d finished law school and moved back and in with my now-dh. Dad thought that Cinzi, being 14 at the time, wouldn’t fare well in the Texas heat, or with the dogs he was moving in with. And so she joined dh, myself, and Sophie. She and Sophie got along ok, as Cinzi mellowed with age and gave Soph free reign of everything except our bed. She was even fairly blasé when Bogart joined us, as long as her special spot on the grape arbour remained uncontaminated by the other kitties.

When I fell pregnant with AJ, Cinzi knew something was up right away. As the baby gear started to trickle in, she explored every single piece. She loved all the soft fluffy blankets, and thought the moses basket was meant to be her special bed. She continued to sleep right next to me as my belly grew, even though she had to move over more and more. One night as we prepared for sleep she was resting half on my belly and AJ gave a mighty kick. Cinzi started up with a shocked “meow”, giving dh and I a look like “what the heck was that?”

With the arrival of AJ and now the bean poor Cinzi has been the target (since Sophie is faster, able to jump higher, and all around less tolerant) of much vigorous petting and enthusiastic shouts of “cat! Cat! Cat!” I have no doubt that “cat” being AJ’s first word is partially due to her. Even when the bean has tried to grab her ears, whiskers, or tail (and then try to chew on them), she’s never so much as growled. Occasionally if she’s really bothered she’ll give a soft meow, asking me to remove the small bothers, but mostly she just purrs.

As I write this, I am sitting with my friend of 19 years. She is crippled by arthritis brought on by being declawed. She’s lost both her canine teeth. This past week she’s had a respiratory infection that we thought was getting better, but even though she’s not labouring to breathe right now she’s lost most of the use of her back legs. I’m writing this, and petting her, and dreading the morning coming because then it will be time to take her to the vet and send her on her journey to whatever lies beyond this life. I’ve told her over and over what a good kitty she is, how much we all love her, what an important part of our family she’s been and that we’ll never forget her. I’ve thanked her for laying with that yellow lab as he passed on, for being so patient with the girls. I’ve told her that there’s a big catnip patch waiting for her. And even though I’m second guessing myself, wondering if perhaps there are any more good days left, she’s purring.

I love you Cinzi. You are such a good kitty. Peaceful journey my friend.

wherein sophiekat sees the futility of trying to control the chaos

2008-05-09T15:25:00.004-06:00

so i let the blog die for a while there. again. sorry 'bout that.

things are getting exponentially nuttier around here as the bean is now crawling (well, more executing moves eerily reminiscent of "the caterpillar" from the 80's break dance craze). almost all of my computer time comes in spurts whilst nursing, and (rather sadly) is mostly my only interaction with the "real" world. i try to read the newspaper or magazine or even the exotic non-junk mail, but typically these days i only get a word or two in before one of the girls (human or feline) is either laying on it, running off with it, or trying to eat it.

we won't even talk about the (lack of) knitting occurring.

and now i have two screaming children to tend to plus a yowling cat so i'll cut this short. more (hopefully) to follow.

give them enough rope . . .

2008-04-21T22:45:00.002-06:00

courtesy of the new york post:

KINKY NEWS NETWORK
CNN'S QUEST A VERY 'KNOTTY' BOY
By DAREH GREGORIAN and PHILIP MESSING

TYING ONE ON: CNN broadcaster Richard Quest was busted in the wee hours in Central Park yesterday with a rope tied to his neck and genitals. "I've got some meth in my pocket," he helpfully told the arresting officer.

April 19, 2008 --
This is CNN? Kinky!
CNN personality Richard Quest was busted in Central Park early yesterday with some drugs in his pocket, a rope around his neck that was tied to his genitals, and a sex toy in his boot, law-enforcement sources said.
Quest, 46, was arrested at around 3:40 a.m. after a cop spotted him and another man inside the park near 64th Street, a police source said.
The criminal complaint against Quest said the park was closed at the time - something Quest should have known because of all the signs saying "Park Closed 1 a.m. to 6 a.m."
Quest was initially busted for loitering, the source said. Aside from the oddly configured rope, the search also turned up a sex toy inside of his boot, and a small bag of methamphetamine in his left jacket pocket.

It wasn't immediately clear what the rope was for. (bolding mine)

. . . story continues here:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04192008/news/regionalnews/kinky_news_networkcnns_quest_a_very_knot_107174.htm

really, do we want to know what the rope was for?

because i can't keep it in anymore

2008-03-07T11:27:00.002-07:00

if you wouldn't consider giving your newborn a nose job so they can "match" their father, WHY would you consider doing it to their genitals?????

previous rants on circumcision here and here.

weird comments

2008-03-06T20:47:00.002-07:00

if you're going to leave a comment on the blog, especially if its a weird one, at least have the decency to leave a name or an email address so i can figure out what you're talking about. kthanxbai.

and just for fun, a cat.

Enter the ICHC online Poker Cats Contest!

a Public Service Announcement

2008-03-05T15:41:00.002-07:00

should you walk upstairs after changing out the laundry and see your toddler playing with and possibly feeding your infant something that looks scarily similar to cat poop, before shrieking and starting to have a complete hissy fit that includes seriously considering calling your husband to come home and deal with things because the idea of your child eating cat poop is just too disgusting to fall into the realm of things-a-mom-should-do, make sure that your toddler is not playing with black play-doh. it'll save some time (not to mention some sanity).

and then you can have a chat about not feeding the baby things found on the floor.

go gently down that slippery slope

2008-03-04T10:30:00.003-07:00

idealism is a wonderful thing. except when it isn't.

i belong to an attachment parenting/"natural living" forum. it's quite well known. i generally like it, because the posters there are all against circumcision, environmentally conscious, pro- babywearing and breastfeeding and co-sleeping. the board itself backs up these ideals by discouraging or outright banning talk of non-religious circumcision, formula feeding absent medical necessity, sleep training/"cry it out" methods, and other non-AP practices. there are also many posts about how best to advocate for the things we believe in.

in a recent post about advocating breastfeeding, a mama mentioned that making snarky comments about how "evil" formula is doesn't win any fans to a lactivist's side and may in fact alienate someone. turns out this mama has a little one with special needs who is unable to tolerate breastmilk and must be on prescribed elemental formula. she's had people tell her that she's "poisoning" her child by giving him the only food he can tolerate. which is bad enough in and of itself, but when she posted her experience she was told that she can only mention that her child is on formula in the "special needs parenting" forum. and then had it "suggested" "gently" that she was either making up her son's medical problems or was merely using them to encourage formula feeding by choice. and when this mama attempted to point out that stating the fact that her son requires medically-prescribed elemental formula does not in *any* world equal advocating formula feeding by choice for every mother, she was banned.

what.the.FUCK. seriously.

my brain is just boggled.

first, because the mods claim to speak "gently" but are far from it. don't patronize people by denying her child's problems exist and prohibiting her from talking about how her family deals with it, then claim to be doing it "gently." no matter how many times you use the word "gentle" in your message, there is no.bloody.way that accusing someone of using her child's health as a way to violate a board's user agreement is gentle.

second, gain some perspective! just because there are a few instances of medically necessary formula does not mean that every mama who reads those posts are going to trot down a slippery slope of deciding to formula feed to keep their boobs nice and perky. or do the powers that be think so low of its members that all nuance in discussion should be quashed? not that there's a lot of nuance here, though -- even the most strident lactivist SHOULD be able to realise that if a child is going to DIE without formula, the kid should get the formula. the number of situations where that's really the case are few and far between, but they do exist. and the mamas of those kids shouldn't be beaten into submission and silence.

i am thankful every day that i was and am able to nurse my girls. i hope every mother can have a wonderful nursing relationship with her child and i have and will continue to advocate breastfeeding as the best way possible to feed a child. but i would never want to make another mother feel badly if her child has a medical need that prevents it. and i'm ashamed to be lumped together with women who do.

53 questions

2008-02-13T21:35:00.002-07:00

courtesy of Dawn

53 Things You Possibly Didn't Know About Me:

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now?

*crap. juice cups, random toys, empty water bottles, a couple of jackets, and the spare diaper bag

2. When was the last time you threw up?

*when i was pregnant with the bean, i think it was at 24 weeks.

3. What's your favourite curse word?

*bloody f-ing hell

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today?

*my husband, AJ, and the bean

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning?

*wishing i was asleep

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?

*reading AJ the 200th rendition of "Olivia" before she went to bed

7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now?

*sleeping, i hope. probably nursing the bean, too.

8. Have you ever been to a strip club?

*yep

9. What is the last thing you said aloud?

*"please be quiet and go to sleep"

10. What is the best ice cream flavour?

*chocolate peanut butter

11. What was the last thing you had to drink?

*milk

12. What are you wearing right now?

*black fleece yoga pants, a white nursing cami, and a gray henley tunic

13. What was the last thing you ate?

*chocolate chip cookies

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?

*yep. a couple t shirts from old navy when i got the girls some summer stuff at their baby sale. exciting stuff.

15. When was the last time you ran?

*this morning i had to run across the room to try to stop AJ from fishing raisins out of the toilet, does that count?

16. What was the last sporting event you watched?

*besides highlights of the last Avs game on the news, the Super Bowl (yay Eli!)

17. Who is the last person you emailed?

*sadly blogless Sara

18. Ever go camping?

*yep, and can't wait to go again!

19. Do you have a tan?

*nope. i'm pretty glow in the dark white right about now.

20. Do you drink your soda from a straw?

*only if it has ice in it and is from a fast food place

21. What did your last IM say?

*i don't remember, its been so long since my stupid MSN chat has worked.

22. Are you someone's best friend?

*according to AJ i'm hers. :) and yes, i hope so.

23. What are you doing tomorrow?

*trying to clean, taking AJ to her dance class, getting ready for DH to be back from his conference tomorrow night.

24. Where is your mom right now?

*i think she's at home

25. Look to your left, what do you see?

*my milk glass, a reading lamp, and the bean protesting her confinement in the swing

26. What colour is your watch?

*stainless steel

27. What do you think of when you think of Australia?

*the Sydney Opera House.

28. Would you consider plastic surgery?

*consider it? sure. actually go through with it? nope.

29. What is your birthstone?

*sapphire

30. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive through?

*drive through -- too much trouble trying to get both girls in and out without major meltdowns

31. How many kids do you want?

*if i don't have to be pregnant with all of them, 5 or 6. if i do, i think 3 will be good.

32. Do you have a dog?

*not yet

33. Last person you talked to on the phone?

*DH

34. Have you met anyone famous?

*yep. quite a few people, actually.

35. Any plans today?

*well, i had grand plans to clean, finish sewing some slipcovers, shower, get some knitting in, watch Project Runway and paint my toenails, but its 10 pm and none of that has yet happened.

36. How many states have you lived in?

*3. Colorado, Washington, and Louisiana.

37. Ever go to college?

*yep.

38. Where are you right now?

*on the couch in the den.

39. Biggest annoyance in your life right now?

*the clutter that is slowly invading my house and choking off my will to be organized and tidy.

40. Last song you listened to?

*besides Backyardigans? i think it was Van Morrison "moondance"

41. Are you allergic to anything?

*chalk, sulfa drugs

42. Favourite pair of shoes you wear all the time?

*slippers from target like these

43. Are you jealous of anyone?

*yep.

44. Is anyone jealous of you?

*i don't think so.

45. What time is it?

*10:05 pm

46. Do any of your friends have children?

*most of them

47. Do you eat healthy?

*um, aside from my raging sweet tooth? most of the time.

48. What do you usually do during the day?

*toddler wrangling, cat herding, baby nursing, diaper changing, and damage control.

49. Do you hate anyone right now?

*no.

50. Do you use the word 'hello' daily?

*i think so?

51. How old will you be on your next birthday?

*31

52. Have you ever been to Six Flags?

*yes.

53. How did you get one of your scars?

*i fell whilst carrying a chain saw and cut the pinky finger of my left hand badly. not only do i have a scar my pinky finger's top knuckle is now non-functional

i need to go back to new orleans

2008-02-12T21:53:00.002-07:00

its funny, new orleans.

no one ever tells you when you go, whether for a visit or for an extended stay, that it's a place that'll get into your blood. that you'll be back in your real life, going about your daily business, when a longing will hit you out of the blue. a longing to hear the streetcar rumble past, its bell clanging as it chugs along the tracks on St. Charles Avenue, or to be sitting at Cafe du Monde, a plate of hot beignets mounded with sticky powdered sugar and a cup of cafe au lait (made with chicory coffee, naturally) hearing the chatter of tourists mingling with the occasional blast of a jazz band or tap dancers begging for change permeating the air.

its not just any longing, either. i have twinges now and then for Vienna, to walk down Kartnerstrasse and hear the tap tap tap of my boots on the cobblestone street, and for London, to come up out of the tube station in front of the building my internship was in and catch a glimpse of the sun glinting off the shiny glass, and even Seattle, to see Mount Rainier emerge from the fog and feel the dampness rolling in even as the spring flowers fill the air with the scent of lilacs.

but the longing to be back in New Orleans courses through your blood until you can taste the muffeletta from Central Grocery, tart with its olive salad mixing with the richness of the meats on the crusty bread, or smell the smell of the French Quarter, a hint of sour urine mixed with stale alcohol and the top note of musty-ness that lets you know you are surrounded by an old city.

i want to see the spanish moss hanging from the trees over the swamps, and feel the grass in Audubon Park, thick blades nearly matted into a green carpet that is so different from the thin, elegant, sharp blades of the kentucky bluegrass that forms all the lawns here in colorado. i want to hear every cashier, waitress, secretary, and delivery person call me "baby" in their so-southern-it-sounds-brooklyn-esque-drawl. i want to feel the humidity envelop me like a blanket as i step outside, to know by the heavyness of the air that the rain is approaching and know how severe the storm is expected to be when cars start parking on the neutral ground to avoid flooding. i want to be around people who know when crawfish season is and how best to celebrate the first great crop. i want to be in a city that shuts down to have a party (or twenty).

i haven't been back since Katrina. and i know that when i do go back that many of the things i loved, the places i lived, the people i knew are gone. but the thing about new orleans is that it is always and never the same. the details change, but the lifeblood is always there. and that's what gets into you and is impossible to ever shake free.

even though this is a christmas song, it for me captures the longing to go back there, the necessity to continue to support the rebuilding efforts and the long proud history of the place and the people. enjoy.

so i pretty much suck as a friend right now

2008-02-10T22:40:00.001-07:00

i have a whole laundry list of excuses as to why, but it really doesn't matter -- bottom line is that i pretty much suck as a friend right now.

i've left people hanging that i should have gotten back to, i haven't been as excited about exciting news as i should have been, i haven't bothered to really bother with anything the past couple of weeks except to lurk and read posts on some message boards, occasionally post a couple words or a smiley. its not just online, either -- i'm kind of blah about pretty much everything right now and i can't really figure out why. i'm tired, yeah, but no more so than usual. i'm busy, but no more so than usual.

so, if i've left you hanging or otherwise sucked, mea culpa. i have a swift kick in the pants arriving tomorrow morning.

a "super tuesday" funny

2008-02-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

for all the Americans -- happy caucusing!

moar funny pictures

because i love me some Eli Manning

2008-02-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

GO GIANTS!

i am a true crime junkie

2008-01-31T13:31:00.000-07:00

maybe its to be expected since i'm a lawyer, but i am a true crime junkie. if there's a true crime show on tv, i will watch it. in fact, i've probably seen them all two or three times.

i can give you biographies of most serial killers and many other murderers and thieves, as well as their lawyers, the prosecutors, and the judges in their cases. if there is a God, and i go to heaven when i die, one of the first things i'm going to do is find out 1. who killed JFK, 2. who the Zodiac Killer was, 3. if OJ is really guilty, and 4. who Jack the Ripper was. i used to have a 5., who was Deep Throat, but that one has been solved.

funnily enough, though, criminal law held no appeal for me as an area of practice. go figure.

i'm off to finish watching "20 most shocking hollywood murders" (for the fourth time) while AJ naps.

we have weird cats

2008-01-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

so i walk into the bathroom dr. sophiekat and i share today to find this:

"damn it" i think, "i have told AJ over and over again to stay out of the cabinets. lets hope she hasn't put my makeup brushes in the toilet again."

but then, i hear what sounds like a motor buzzing. "hmmmmmm" i mutter out loud to myself "i wonder if she's put her pat pat rocket in here." i open both cabinet doors.

nope, not pat pat rocket.

in fact, it wasn't even AJ who made the mess.

this is a very happy Cinzi in her newest hiding spot. the "motor" i heard was her very loud purring. after i took this picture she meowed at me as if to say "close the door, woman! i'm trying to nap here!"

so i did.

confidential to sadly-blogless-Sara

2008-01-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

woman! i emailed you -- i hope it was the right address. EMAIL ME! :)

a haiku for my headache

2008-01-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

migraine hell

ow ow ow ow ow

make it stop

just.go.to.SLEEP!

2008-01-23T14:35:00.001-07:00

ugh.

my children are conspiring against me.

i thought i'd have at least another year before they started ganging up on me. sadly, i am mistaken.

eldest is currently quarantined in her crib under the guise of naptime. she's not buying it. she's been talking, singing, banging the rails, playing with her binky, blanket, and gray kitty, calling for me, discovering new noises to make with her mouth . . . . . pretty much everything BUT going to sleep.

youngest has been imprisoned in her swing, also (ostensibly) for a nap, which she desperately needs (stupid teething). she is trying to shove her entire fist in her mouth and whingeing at a pitch that is eerily reminiscent of the howler monkeys we saw on a nature program a few days ago. again, pretty much everything BUT going to sleep.

i am battling the last vestiges of a cold that AJ so kindly shared with me, severe lack of sleep brought on by the bean's all-night nursing marathons of the past 3 days (stupid teething), a headache that is threatening to become a migraine, and an upset tummy courtesy of a few bites of AJ's macaroni cheese from lunch, and i would sell my soul to the highest bidder for ten minutes of quiet, a break from changing diapers, someone to clean my kitchen, and a shower.

why is it that when we actually have plans (preschool, AJ's dance class, errands, etc.) both of them are impossible to wake up, but when i need them to sleep nothing short of drugging them (i'm only kidding . . . . sort of) will knock them out?

yawn

2008-01-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

it's a quiet day around chez sophiekat.

both girls are asleep, mercifully, since the bean wanted to nurse all.night.long and AJ was up bright and early at 6. she usually sleeps until 8 or so, so this was not a welcome development. she didn't have school today. both feline girls are snoozing, too, after negotiating a shaky peace regarding the prime real estate in front of the fireplace. cinzi won. sophie is sulking on the couch next to me as i work on a sock.

it is freezing cold here (literally, our current temp is below zero) and snowing lightly, so we're just going to laze about with the fire going, i'll make something hot and yummy for dinner once dh gets home (i think i'll do baked tortellini -- nothing better than warm melty cheese on a cold night), then make some hot chocolate.

i love cold snowy days like this (especially when i don't have to get dressed and go anywhere). though i have to admit to a bit of envy when my mom told me she and my stepdad are headed to their house in Miami this weekend (hello, 80 degree temperatures!).

i'm going to go pour myself a(nother) cup of coffee -- the last of our starbucks christmas blend, which i'll be sad to see go. and maybe today a couple of yarn goodies that i ordered from the fantastic Jen at woolgirl will arrive -- she is always so speedy with shipping and writes the nicest notes. and the Miss Babs yummy sock yarn is soooooooooooo soft and squishy and dyed in such beautiful colours!

what do you like to do when its cold out?

we have a winner!

2008-01-18T21:19:00.000-07:00

Thanks Ruby!

Sophie won the "daintiest bunny thumpers" in KitKatKnit's contest!

Sophie, as you can see, is thrilled speechless at the honour. Not bad for a 6 pound cat, eh?

bunny thumpers

2008-01-17T17:56:00.000-07:00

my cats think i've lost it.

Ruby over at KitKatKnits is curious about the size of other kitties' "bunny thumpers" (back feet). since i am always up for new and interesting ~~methods of feline torture~~ challenges, i dug out the camera and my black sheep tape measure (no ruler, AJ has squirrelled it away in the depths of her playroom) and found the first ~~victim~~ subject.

you want to measure my what? this is *so* undignified.

Cinzi's are 3.75" (you'll have to take my word for it, since her foot blends in to her tummy overhang and the blanket she's laying on).

Then, it was Sophie's turn.

i'm sleeping. go away.

no, seriously, go away.

what the heck is this thing?

measurements? you don't need no stinkin' measurements! i'll show you, sheep!

after some ~~bribing with rubs~~ negotiations, i was able to get Sophie's delicate toe toes measured to 3.4" (well, i think -- even after rubs she still wasn't thrilled with letting me anywhere near her feet so i'm guesstimating).

i'm happy to report that sheep survived the mauling.
so there you go Ruby!

new year, new obsessions

2008-01-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

have you ever found a blog that you wish you could update constantly?

i'm not talking about general i-like-your-posts-and-wish-you'd-post-more kind of blogs, though i do have some of those -- the Yarn Harlot, WendyKnits, CrazyAuntPurl, pretty much all the ones in my blogroll over there

<-----

plus some others *cough Kristy & Cathi i think you both have fallen off the face of the earth cough*

but i've found one that i seriously wish was like the CNN ticker, just scrolling through updates all day, every day. oh, French Laundry at Home, where have you been all my life?

i've made the mistake of reading it right before bed a couple of times, and then have been tortured in my dreams with visions of truffles, butter-poached lobster, and toasted brioche. after reading it the first time, i immediately added The French Laundry Cookbook to my amazon wishlist.

what blogs do you like? i'm sure there are some other fabulous ones out there that i'm missing, so please share!

invasion

2008-01-10T14:13:00.000-07:00

Houston, we have . . . . . .

sparkly butterfly stickers. everywhere.

i'm stepping on them

finding them on the cats.

and the baby, who doesn't seem to mind so much.

even on the appliances (that's the oven, above). and the laundry. do you know how long it takes to scrape the remains of a sparkly butterfly sticker (or 30) off the inside of the dryer?

a long.freaking.time.

thanks, mom, for providing such beautiful decorating accents to my toddler. really, i can't tell you how much i appreciate it. wanna come over and scrape out the dryer with me?

oh my dear lord

2008-01-05T14:12:00.000-07:00

aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

that sound, friends, is Kat exhaling deeply. the past few weeks have been *insane* what with the holidays, my in-laws coming to visit, running the raffles for Jess' family, having my darling husband home (and driving me insane), and now trying to get everything back in some semblance of order before he starts call shifts again this week. basically i'm pretty proud i haven't lost my bloody mind.

how were your holidays?

we had a blast -- this was the first year AJ really "got" Santa/Christmas = presents and she was so much fun to watch opening everything and thoroughly enjoying her new stuff.

i'm trying to finish up some knitting that will be a present for my sister for her birthday -- and after that i'm determined to finish a pair of socks!

raffles end today!

2008-01-04T09:04:00.000-07:00

there are some incredible items that we've had donated for Jessica's family -- please check it out!

http://hyenacart.com/Charity_raffles/

raffles have started!

2007-12-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

please check out the raffles to benefit Jess' family on hyena cart

http://hyenacart.com/Charity_raffles/

there's a couple skeins of zen string sock yarn courtesy of yours truly plus lots of other neat goodies!

sad

2007-12-21T09:13:00.000-07:00

it is with a heavy, heavy heart that i have to tell you Jess passed away last night.

for the past few days an Irish blessing we used to sing has been going through my head.

may the road rise up to meet you,

may the wind be always at your back.

may the sun shine warm upon you,

and the rain fall softly on your fields.

until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Jess, I am glad you are free of pain now. I am glad you are back with your dear sister Amy. I pray that God will hold you both and give you the comfort of knowing that your families will be taken care of.

OK, kids, i need your help

2007-12-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

I told you last week about my friend Jess (mighty-mama) from MDC who is battling cancer. As of friday last she is home with her family receiving hospice care. We are going to be holding an auction/raffle event on Hyena Cart from 28 December through 4 January to raise money for her family. I will be donating some skeins of sock yarn.

Here's where you come in: if you would like to donate, PLEASE email me or comment here. When it's time to start bidding/buying tickets I'll let you know. :)

And as always, thoughts and prayers for Jess, her husband Jack, and their boys are appreciated!

i was stuck in hell today

2007-12-17T21:57:00.000-07:00

i had a dentist appointment this morning.

i *loathe* the dentist.

not dislike. not hate. loathe. like to the point i could never be a spy because were i ever captured by the enemy all they would have to do is threaten me with a teeth cleaning and i'd spill whatever they wanted to know kind of loathing. i'd rather have a pap smear done by a first year resident kind of loathing.

but alas, it had to be done.

so, after dropping AJ at school and the bean with my mom, off i went to be

~~summarily tortured~~ examined. no cavities, thus preserving my perfect record thankyouverymuch, but i did have to suffer through a cleaning.

as i'm laying there, mouth cranked open at an unnatural angle, closing my eyes to avoid seeing the sharp picks glinting under the glare of the exam light, trying to breathe deeply and imagine myself on a beach in hawaii with a cabana boy bearing a remarkable resemblance to matt damon (sadly, it didn't work to lessen my anxiety *or* transport me there) . . . . . and it gets worse.

how? you ask. how could a visit to the dentist get any worse?

remember my rant about the radio station that started playing christmas music on november 1st? all christmas music, all the time?

yep. that's what station the dentist had on.

and it even gets better from there.

not only was the christmas music station on, it was playing by far the most annoying, most-likely-to-get-stuck-in-your-head-for-years-requiring-~~a lobotomy~~ -~~singing many rounds of "i'm henry the eighth" (cue scene from "ghost") until *that* song is stuck in your head instead~~ - years of therapy - to-recover-from: "feliz navidad." go on, sing it to yourself. i dare you.

and then, the ultimate add-insult-to-injury, evidence that the Divine was having fun (in that sick, twisted sort of way) with my suffering, fact that bumped the experience from one of the upper levels firmly down to the ninth . . . . . .

Celine Dion was singing it.

now, perhaps my history with Celine is colouring my hatred. after all, my junior year at university i lived in a quad in my sorority house with a roommate who not only threw our stuff out the window (we lived on the top floor) if she was mad, but played the "Titanic" song on an endless loop. and sang along. and was tone-deaf.

but i think it'd be a pretty horrendous song even without the sordid past -- after all, having a native french speaker attempt to sing in spanish and english (neither of which she speaks well, judging from her pronunciation here), AND perform all her dips, scoops, and other musical feats (that frankly bug the crap out of me) is just not bound to be successful.

and there i was, stuck listening to it.

in the dentist's chair.

at least now i can say i have been in hell and survived.

WHY must everything be salacious?

2007-12-13T10:11:00.000-07:00

so Jodie Foster came out last week.

i was under the impression that she had been out for a while, but i think it was one of those everyone-knows-but-no-one-KNOWS, kwim?

so, yay. i love JF, i've really admired her career and how she's dealt with the Hinckley/Regan stuff.

and of course this story makes the news. but not in a "Jodie Foster thanks wife (or partner, whichever) in award acceptance speech" kind of way. oh no. it has to be "Jodie Foster thanks gay lover."

(*note: CNN has now changed their headline to read "Jodie Foster thanks gay partner." i guess that's a start.)

this seriously bugs me. you'd never see "Ben Affleck thanks heterosexual lover" or "Matt Damon thanks woman lover" headlines.

why the double standard? why must the "gay" be married to the "lover"? is it any of our business what they do in their bedroom? and why the implication that JF is doing something that merits public attention & scrutiny simply because she's fallen in love with and chosen to spend her life with another woman, and thanked that woman for her support? why does our society still see sexual orientation (i hate that term) as something to be ashamed of and kept secret if it falls outside the perceived norm?

in fact, i'd bet if JF was in a relationship with a man and thanked him for his support of her career, it wouldn't be news at all.

in other news, at 5 pm local time on Monday (the 17th), please light a candle and send good thoughts & prayers to Jess and her family. its not much. but at least we can send some positive energy her way.

i rarely post twice in one day

2007-12-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

there's only been a couple times i've posted twice in a day. basically, whatever comes second has to be really, really important.

and this is.

a friend at one of the message boards i post on is dying of cancer.

you have no idea how much i hate typing those words. Jess, known to us as mighty-mama, had a little boy a week before my Ellie was born. we went through our pregnancies together, and towards the end we commiserated with one another because we were both miserable, busy chasing toddlers around when we should have been resting, and ended up delivering early. also during our pregnancies, Jess lost her sister Amy to breast cancer. and helped her mother battle it. and did i mention she was in remission from breast cancer herself?

once our kids were born she nursed her Gavin from one breast. and she started to have pain in her neck. she went to her chiropractor, who sent her to her doctor, where they found that not only had her breast cancer returned, it had metastasized to her brain.

we've been trying to do what we can for Jess and her family. moms have donated breast milk since Gavin had to be weaned so Jess could receive chemo. there was a benefit dinner to raise money for medical bills. and a foundation has been started to continue to help with medical bills, hospice costs, and necessities for Jess' family.

i wish there was something else to do.

please, if you can donate something to help Jess, her paypal is jackmightyquinn@yahoo.com or can be sent to

Jessica Quinn Family Foundation

c/o Bobbi McGoldrick

2 Homestead Road

Lake Hopatcong, NJ 07849

please keep Jess, her husband Jack, and their boys Noah and Gavin in your prayers.

i want to be a two year old for the day

2007-12-12T11:15:00.001-07:00

i am tired and cranky today. so is the two year old.

i want to throw myself on the floor and kick and scream and cry when i don't get my way.

i want someone to make me yummy food and cut it up in bite sized pieces.

i want to snuggle and watch my favourite shows on TV.

i want to take a nap.

i don't want to worry about cleaning up, making eye doctor appointments, addressing holiday cards, taking care of the baby, what to make for dinner, whether the cats have food in their bowls, wrapping the rest of the christmas presents, planning a baby shower, returning two emails, shoveling the sidewalk/driveway, and figuring out why the coffee maker is making noises like a dying hippopotamus and thinking that whatever the reason it won't be good.

seriously?

2007-12-10T15:06:00.000-07:00

i give you a title like the one on the previous post and only one person comments? (thank you, Tam, for validating my existence, btw). i was quite proud of myself for coming up with it.

so there are about ten news trucks with their ginormous satellite-thingies parked on my street right now. no, not because of the neighbour's flashing dildos, but because apparently the guy who shot the people at the church in colorado springs yesterday used to live in one of these houses. its never a dull moment around here, i tell you. i'm kind of hoping Anderson Cooper will want to cover the story! ;)

it's Christmas! nothing says "happy holidays" like a row of flashing dildos in my neighbour's yard

2007-12-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

wow, i'm glad my blog doesn't show up on google -- i don't wanna know what kind of readers i'd get with a title like this.

my neighbours have put up their Christmas decorations.

lights? check. on the roof, on the garage, around every window, on every bush, and on every tree.

blow up Santa on front lawn? check.

light up Santa and reindeer on roof next to chimney? check.

row of red and green flashing poles with bulbous heads lined up in a path to the front door? yep, got those too.

i wasn't aware that the designers of Christmas decorations were getting inspiration from marital aids these days. and i kinda wish i hadn't found out.

i'm stealing another meme

2007-12-06T20:19:00.000-07:00

once again i'm indebted to frog -- she gets the best meme's!

1. what did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?

*went into premature labour? that's about all i can come up with.

2. did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

*no (since i was supposed to be knitting from my stash, HA!), and of course -- why not give myself more unreachable goals?

3. did anyone close to you give birth?

*do i count? LOL. otherwise, the closest person to give birth would be a friend from university

4. did anyone close to you die?

*yes, my uncle killed himself this past spring.

5. what countries did you visit?

*besides barfy, contractionland, and the republic of notenoughhoursintheday? just the good ol' USofA.

6. what would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?

*sex? (sorry, that's probably TMI)

7. what dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

*21 August, when the bean joined us

8. what was your biggest achievement of the year?

*carrying the bean to 35 weeks, not losing my mind

9. what was your biggest failure?

*not yelling when i'm frustrated, keeping the house clean

10. did you suffer illness or injury?

*yes

11. what was the biggest thing you bought?

*a house

12. whose behaviour merited celebration?

*my sister's -- she's growing in to such an amazing young lady that i really like to be around

13. whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

*the President's, Britney Spears

14. where did most of your money go?

*chez sophiekat, the furniture store, gymboree, and the gap

15. what did you get really, really, really excited about?

*being in labour, buying our house, AJ using the potty for the first time

16. what song will always remind you of 2007?

*Coldplay's "Fix You"

17. compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? um . . . . about the same?

b) thinner or fatter? fatter. hmmpf.

c) richer or poorer? poorer. but now we have equity.

18. what do you wish you'd done more of?

*playing with AJ

19. what do you wish you'd done less of?

*worrying, watching TV (stupid bedrest)

20. how will you be spending christmas?

*christmas eve is gumbo and presents at my mom's. christmas morning is cinnamon rolls and Santa at our house, then christmas dinner back over at my mom's. my in laws come in the 26th.

21. did you fall in love in 2007?

*yes, with the bean

22. how many one-night stands?

*um, none

23. what was your favourite tv programme?

*top chef

24. do you hate anyone now that didn't hate this time last year?

*nope

25. what was the best book you read?

*how sad is it that i read ZERO books this year? (besides books for AJ, i mean)

26. what was your greatest musical discovery?

*that if i bring my ipod places i can listen to music that i actually like!

27. what did you want and get?

*a healthy baby

28. what did you want and not get?

*a new car

29. what was your favourite film of this year?

*um . . . . the only one i remember seeing this year is "bourne supremacy" (so not even the most recent one). again, sad.

30. what did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

*on the actual day we went out for sushi. i turned 30. a week before my mom and husband threw a surprise party for me (two weeks after giving birth)

31. what one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

*not being on bedrest, not puking for weeks on end, you know, stuff like that.

32. how would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?

*maternity un-chic. namely, yoga pants and a cami most days.

33. what kept you sane?

*when did i ever claim to be sane?

34. which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

*as always, matt damon, taye diggs, and eli manning

35. what political issue stirred you the most?

*reproductive rights, as always

36. who did you miss?

*my grandpa

37. who was the best new person you met?

*the bean

38. tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007

*zofran rocks. phenergan, not so much.

39. quote a song lyric that sums up your year

when you get what you want but not what you need

randoms

2007-12-05T22:15:00.000-07:00

ok, first of all -- seriously? the news has just reported that they found the rightful owner of a greeting card found on a downtown street that contained some money.

nevermind that 9 people were shot at a mall in omaha, or there's a war in iraq, or our brilliant commander in chief can't pronounce either the name of the president of iran or the word nuclear -- nooooooooooooooooo, all is right in the world because "thane" has his birthday money from grandma. further bulletins as events warrant -- they'll break in when he's written the thank you note and again when he decides what to use it on. (smacks self in head)

second, i want to drive a zamboni. preferably on the rink with some hot avalanche players. but it looks like fun.

and lastly, i bring you this exchange between myself and AJ, standing by the refrigerator this morning:

me: would you like some juice?

AJ: yes please

(i start to pour her usual diluted cranberry-raspberry juice)

AJ: no mumma, not that juice!

me (confused, as this is the only juice we have): what kind of juice would you like then?

AJ: the opaque juice!

me (staring, confused as to what "opaque juice" might be and a bit stunned that the two year old knows the word "opaque"): what's that? can you point to it in the fridge?

AJ points to the milk.

alrighty then. opaque juice it is!

i don't have anything to write about

2007-12-03T22:27:00.000-07:00

we used to do writing exercises in my AP English Literature class in high school where we'd get a sheet of blank paper (no lines) and have to write constantly for 5 minutes -- whatever was in our heads, even if it meant "i don't have anything to write about" over and over. we weren't supposed to worry about punctuation, sentences, legibility, or even making a coherent thought. just write. after that, then we would start writing on our essays or whatever project we were currently working on. i think the theory was to get the brain working in the "writing" mode and to clear all the crap out so that the good stuff could come through.

i think i need to do that. not only with writing (though i'm sure you readers would appreciate it, and maybe i'd get something going over at associated content), but with everything else i'm trying to accomplish these days. maybe if i can get the crap out -- literally and figuratively -- then i won't spend so much time worrying about it and can actually get something accomplished.

meh.

2007-12-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

i'm wiped -- ran errands all day (though thankfully with no children, though that development was precipitated by a lovely row with dh), which included single-handedly getting our christmas tree. and if you think its easy for a 5' 3" person to haul a 6' tree to the top of her isuzu trooper and tie it in place, well, i (and a mouth full of tree needles) would like to tell you otherwise. i'm sure i was a source of amusement for both the tree sellers and the peanut gallery in the parking lot, though. i'm happy to oblige. really, i am.

NaBloPoMo wrap up

2007-11-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

so i guess my join-up-itis actually worked this time.

i posted almost every day (sorry about yesterday, we had a dinner to go to for my mom and i was wiped when we got back) with only a couple cop-outs (hey, LOLcats have to be good for something, right? ;) ). and i had a lot of fun doing it, though at times i did feel like i should re-title it "sophiekat vents" rather than "sophiekat knits." so i firmly resolve to post more!

i also had great fun reading the posts of others who participated. i don't know how you keep up with blogs, but i don't subscribe to a feed -- i have my list bookmarked and i scroll down it every day to see if anything new is up. so its always nice to see new posts!

now i am desperately trying to get our house in order for our grand housewarming/annual holiday party, christmas, my in-laws visit after, new year's and then twelfth night. i love, love, love the whole holiday season, what with the cooking, family togetherness, shopping for presents for people (and cats) i love, the near-guarantee of cold weather, and the general sense of camaraderie and good cheer. but it is overwhelming trying to get ready for it! and, on a side note, while i love me some christmas carols, WHY, for the love of everything holy, is there a radio station here that started playing nothing but holiday music on NOVEMBER FIRST!!!!! talk about overdoing it -- its bad enough when stores start after thanksgiving, but that's just bloody ridiculous.

tune in for my next post, where i'll finally get around to responding to comments!

murphy's laws of motherhood

2007-11-28T14:51:00.000-07:00

*your children will barf on you only after you have showered and put on clean clothes.

*your toddler will refuse to nap on the day you planned to make an important phone call during her nap time.

*your baby will have a big poopy blow out the one time you forget to pack an extra outfit in the diaper bag

*the baby will want to nurse every 5 minutes the day you have planned on running errands/cleaning house/doing things other than sitting on the couch all day nursing

*the cat (she's like a child, ok? ;) ) will cough up a hairball on the bed only after you've put clean sheets on

got any to share? :)

validation

2007-11-27T23:08:00.000-07:00

i have finally found someone else who is afraid of the bread dough/cinnamon roll/biscuit cans that explode when you unwrap the paper.

i *knew* i wasn't the only one!

thank you and goodnight.

another day, another sock yarn purchase

2007-11-26T21:22:00.000-07:00

since AJ is pukey again today (and christened both dh and i's bed AND the den carpet), i took advantage of The Loopy Ewe's stocking and bought myself another skein of sock yarn. or 4. but who's counting? (and apparently its not me, since i originally typed 3)

let's play show and tell, shall we?

Dream in Color smooshy in "chinatown apple" (darn you, Wendy, for tempting me with these gorgeous socks that i'll be anxiously awaiting the pattern for! ;) )

Yarn Love in "shipwreck" in their divine-sounding "Elizabeth Bennett" yarn base (65% superfine merino, 20% bamboo, 15% silk)

Lime N Violet in "monopoly"

and finally (HA) Lime N Violet in "yahtzee" (both LNV are their sasquatch sock yarn)

i seriously can't say enough good things about shopping with Sheri (the ~~enabler~~ ~~crack dealer~~

proprietess of TLE) -- she's a pleasure to buy from, and not just because she includes candy with your packages!

i'm fairly certain i'm hauling AJ off to the doctor in the morning, wish me luck (and no-pukey-in-the-car vibes).

ugh.

2007-11-25T18:29:00.000-07:00

AJ is pukey again.

i did buy myself some sock yarn today.

this Dream in Color Smooshy in gothic rose:

and two other skeins that i can't get pictures of since they're now sold out (LOL). i shopped with the magnificent Jen of Woolgirl -- she puts in some awesome extras when you order from her! ;)

of course, now i just need to find some time to knit . . . .

in process

2007-11-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

so i'm in the midst of putting up the christmas decorations here at chez sophiekat. generally i have everything but the tree up the day after thanksgiving (tree goes up december 1st), but was interrupted by AJ's pukies yesterday. in order to put up the decorations properly (and yes, once again i will attempt to out-martha martha stewart, its just the way i roll) i have to finish unpacking the rest of the boxes from our move, since i was still in process with that, too.

no, "in process" is *not* a euphemism for "procrastinating", thankyouverymuch.

of course, i'm also in process of getting the bean's nursery finished (since her early arrival and subsequent needing to be taken care of interrupted that process), her birth announcements finished and mailed (that one is total procrastination), the house decorating completed, the christmas card digitally scrapped, printed, and mailed, the grandparents' gifts made and ordered (photo calendars), and our holiday party planned and executed. all whilst in process of all the normal everyday stuff. sigh.

on one hand i feel like i'm overwhelmed with all this stuff to do, but on the other i feel like i'm not doing enough -- that i should be doing a better job of keeping the house clean, playing with the kids, keeping up with friends, staying current with the legal & political worlds should i ever go back to work, volunteering, knitting, scrapbooking, sewing, reading . . . . it goes on and on and on and on. so i'm always in process of deciding when i'm doing enough and what else i should be doing. which, frankly, i kind of wish i'd figured out by now.

but then i think that once again i'm just putting too much pressure on myself and i should relax and live in the moment and not worry about all this stuff. so i'm also in process of deciding when to live in the moment and when to actually get myself in gear to accomplish all these things.

at this moment, i've had enough of pondering the great philosophical questions of adulthood and will return to my process of christmas decorating!

today was one of those days it sucks to be a mom

2007-11-23T21:53:00.000-07:00

AJ woke up puking at 5 am.

i don't think there's anything worse than when your kids are sick. her pitiful little voice calling out "mumma, i spit" woke me from what was really more of a short nap than a restful nights sleep thanks to Ellie wanting to nurse every hour on the hour.

being a champion thrower-upper myself (lots of practice whilst pregnant with the bean), it was really hard for me to try to coach her in letting it out rather than trying to swallow it back down (ick ick ick ick ick), and then to get her to lean over the toilet or sink. let's just say i've been doing lots of laundry today.

it was an overall bummer of a day, what with LSU losing in triple overtime by 2 lousy points. boys must have eaten too much yesterday, grrrrrrrrrrrr.

i'm barely keeping my eyes open at this point, so i'm off to bed. i think i may buy myself some sock yarn tomorrow to make up for such a sucky day (lol, any excuse will do).

pop culture references

2007-11-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

do you listen to "Alice's restaurant" on Thanksgiving?

my husband has never heard the song. nor has he heard of Arlo Guthrie. he only knows Woody because they sang "this land is your land" in grade school.

many of my monty python references go over his head (though, to his credit, he does get most of the animaniacs ones). and forget the muppet movie, fraggle rock, or sesame street (pretty much any part of the muppet genre). and most of the 80's.

i am still trying to puzzle out how i ended up with someone with almost zero interest in pop culture, especially since i think i could do pretty well on VH1's World Series of Pop Culture. should i ever compete, would it be evil of me to leave him off the team?

I miss "Friends"

2007-11-22T00:25:00.000-07:00

we're watching one of the Thanksgiving episodes (where Rachel messes up the trifle and Ross tells his parents he smoked pot in college) and man, none of the sitcoms out now (with the exception of maybe The Office) come close to being that funny.

happy Thanksgiving to all, eat some pumpkin pie!

tivo is the greatest invention ever.

2007-11-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

a few of my current favourite things:
*tivo -- not only can i record enough Backyardigans and Little Einsteins to keep AJ occupied while i nurse the bean, i can record *my* shows too!
*take 5 candy bars: i bought one of those combo packs of candy for halloween and these were in there. i think i picked every single one out of the candy bowl (they were mini size, ok?). and i bought myself a full size one yesterday whilst grocery shopping (who knew it'd be a full-contact sport the monday before thanksgiving -- everyone had an overflowing basket, a handful of coupons, a screaming baby, and a bad attitude). chocolate, pretzels, caramel. yum.
*matt damon as people's sexiest man alive. again, yum.
*the fireplace in our house (gas). nothing better when its starting to snow.
*garnet hill. i've ordered a couple things for both myself and AJ and have been really impressed with the quality. their sales are great.

what are you loving right now?

a continuation of "totally freaking exhausted"

2007-11-19T14:52:00.001-07:00

i am currently watching "the princess diaries 2: royal engagement" and alternately laughing and crying my eyes out.

and i'm killing myself laughing at this:

moar funny pictures

(for some reason blogger isn't showing the whole caption -- it says "look how cute i iz . . no look at the mess. look at the cute.")
because it reminds me so much of life with a two year old.

exhausted.

2007-11-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

totally.freakin'.exhausted.

i cooked a birthday dinner for my mom tonight.

i'm going to bed now.

job description

2007-11-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

what chasing after a toddler whilst dealing with an infant is really like:

on gratitude

2007-11-15T11:17:00.001-07:00

from time to time we mothers have to perform unpleasant tasks.
this morning i had to clear an IBO (icky boogery object) from AJ's nose.
when i finished, she said "thank you."
"you're welcome" i replied.
"i didn't say 'thank you' to you mumma," she said. "i said 'thank you' to the boogie for getting out of my nose."

i think my head may explode

2007-11-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

so there are currently 3 things making me absolutely insane lately (toddler notwithstanding). like insane to the point that i can't even think about them for longer than a minute or two or i get so incredibly angry that i want to throw things.

and on the surface, its funny that its these 3 things, because on the surface they really don't have anything to do with one another other than being issues i particularly care about and thus ones that push my tolerance buttons rather quickly. but underneath, they actually are related more than you might think, and i think that's why they all push my buttons so effectively. and considering that all of them are currently featured in the media, tv watching and magazine reading have become somewhat dangerous (or highly amusing for my darling husband, who rather enjoys watching my face turn red and my hands clench and my teeth grit as my brain tries to process the stupidity emanating from those advocating).

so what am i all fired up about?
1. this attempt to define a fertilized egg as a "person" in Colorado's Constitution, and our Supreme Court's finding that the language of their proposed statute (with its express purpose of outlawing all abortion, regardless of rape or mother's health, as well as stem cell research and many forms of fertility treatments), which has no mention of purpose, is not misleading.

i can't say anything about this that hasn't already been said by NARAL. except that i hope that every person who supports this ridiculousness is reincarnated as a woman who will need or want an abortion in their next lifetime. is that petty of me?

2. the continued reporting in mainstream media of articles like this. Hold on to your hats, folks, Kat's riled up about circumcision again!
OK, on the surface this should be good, right? A mainstream article about parents choosing to keep their babies whole without attributing declining circ rates to immigrants and those who can't afford unnecessary and damaging cosmetic surgery on thier newborns since medicaid and some insurance companies no longer cover it?
But let's look closer.
The article claims that many parents still choose to circ because "Intact boys are at greater risk for kidney infection as infants, and for penile cancer, foreskin disorders, HIV and other STDs like human papillomavirus later in life, leaving female partners more likely to get cervical cancer." No citations to back up these claims. And why not? Because every.single.study. that posited these claims is seriously flawed and has been debunked. One by one:
*kidney infection: the "study" commonly referenced to support this claim compared premature, forcibly retracted intact infants to full term circumsized ones. first of all, preemies are more likely to have all kinds of infections due to their prematurity. and forcibly retracting the foreskin introduces bacteria to the area as well as damages the skin such that the bacteria can enter and flourish. sounds methodologically sound, does it not?
*penile cancer: read this. schoen will make an appearance here shortly.
*foreskin disorders: let's state the obvious, shall we? if one has a foreskin, he is more likely to have a "foreskin disorder" than one without a foreskin. kthxbai.
but when you look at the actual incidence of "foreskin disorders" like phimosis (a non-retractable foreskin) in countries where doctors are familiar with the intact penis (aka, not the US, where doctors are only taught how to cut the foreskin off), the incidence is almost nil.
a girl is more than ten times as likely to have issues that are commonly attributed to the foreskin, such as UTIs and cancer. so why does no one suggest removing their labia in the name of "cleanliness" or "prevention"? (for more information on common myths propagated in the name of circumcision, this article in Mothering magazine is excellent. and if you think that male circumcision is somehow different from female circumcision, read this.)
*HIV: ah, the ever-popular "circ prevents HIV/AIDS" myth. sorry, folks, those studies are quite possibly the most methodologically flawed ever. after all, most males who are sexually active in the US are circumcised. yet we have one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS infections and it continues to climb. if there's a "magic protective effect" against HIV by circumcising African males, why aren't American men experiencing it?
*other STD's: the US (the only country to routinely circumcise male infants) recently set a new record high for STD's. Over a million cases of chlamydia were reported last year. As well, the numbers of cases of gonorrhea and syphillus are rising. So much for circumcision "protecting" against STD's!
*cervical cancer: much like the HIV, STD, and UTI "studies," the "study" that allegedly found a lower rate of cervical cancer among partners of circumcised males was profoundly flawed.

Then Time goes on to say "The cost of prevention, proponents say, is the brief trauma of the procedure. Says Edgar Schoen, former pediatrics chief at Kaiser Permanente, who led the 1989 American Association of Pediatrics circumcision task force, which came out neutral on cutting: 'A newborn baby is programmed for stress and recovers quickly.'"
More inaccuracies; not to mention a bald-faced lie from a circ proponent who has recommended universal, unanesthetized infant circumcision -- which, as his colleagues have pointed out, would not even pass ethical review for animals. He even writes poetry about circumcision. Now, normally when an adult male is obsessed with infant's and children's penises, he is called a paedophile or a circumfetishist (yes, there are men out there who get off on thinking about and seeing baby boys be circumsized. they will even restore their own foreskins to be repeatedly re-circumcized.). yet if he has a medical degree, he is quoted in Time as an authority on the subject.
Again, lets review.
*brief trauma:
if my kids won't remember being traumatized, is it then ok to hit them? pull off their fingernails because i don't like the way they look?
*AAP statement: The American Academy of Paediatrics is "neutral" on circumcision. Yet, every other Paediatric medical association is against routine infant circumcision.
*"programmed for stress": i haven't the first clue as to where bullshit like this comes from. and "stress" isn't exactly the correct word to use for what a newborn boy feels as his foreskin is ripped from the glans (much like ripping your fingernail off its bed, but in a place with more nerve endings) and then cut off. in fact, many go into shock -- when you hear people say "he slept through it," they are referring to the newborn's only way of protecting himself from the incredible pain he is experiencing, by withdrawing into sleep. and "pain relief?" as the articles i just cited state, most are done with no pain relief at all. the small minority that are are usually not given enough time to be effective (not to mention that the EMLA numbing creme is actually contraindicated for use in infants), or is painful in and of itself (lidocaine injections).
*recovers quickly: i think any man who suffers life-long problems (not enough skin left to accomodate an erection, meatal stenosis, infection, and scar tissue, to name just a few) due to being circumcized would beg to differ that he's recovered quickly.

and finally, this: "Liz Arnaiz, 30, a Brooklyn architect whose son Lucas was circumcised when he was born last November, says her husband is circumcised, so it made sense for the boy to be like his dad. Besides, she adds, 'to imagine your kid in the locker room the odd man out is tough.'"
now, i don't mean to pick on her simply because she was quoted in this article, but gosh, i feel sorry for this woman if her husband's penis looks anything like her infant's.
and i'm kind of curious to know if they're nudists, or if they're just planning on having lots of penis-comparing parties. because i know some of my favourite childhood memories revolve around comparing my mother's breasts and vagina with mine.
Now, my husband has poor vision. He wears glasses. Should I make my child wear glasses so they'll look alike? Should I amputate an arm if my husband is missing one? And heaven forbid my kid not look like everyone else at school (which is a fallacy to begin with since the circ rate in the US is 41% and how much time did you spend looking at others genitals in school anyway?) -- i would *hate* for my child to have to learn that people have different eyes, hair colour, body shapes, or even *gasp* different looking genitals! the horror! the humanity!

and finally (yes, finally. and yes, i have more to say even though i've written a bloody novel already), the omnipresent, manipulative, and incredibly annoying flu vaccine commercials. i know you've seen them -- i go out of my way to avoid them and still i can't escape the propaganda.
i wonder if everyone who'll line up with their arm exposed knows that some of the preeminent doctors and scientists in the world have found that the flu vax is no more effective than a placebo? or that most flu vaccines still have a full dose of thimerosal in them? or that the reason there's such a push for people to get the vax is to keep the profit margins for vaccine manufacturers high?

see, the thing about all these is this: if you look at these things logically, you'll see that 1. granting a fertilized egg "inalienable rights" makes about as much sense as electing one of my cats as President; 2. circumcision is unnecessary, painful, and WRONG; and 3. the flu vax is not all that its been touted to be. but logic seems to be sorely lacking in so many areas these days, so much so that even when decisions are not in our (or our children's) best interests, we bury our heads and think "well all the 'experts' recommend this, so it must be ok" or, even worse we fail to apply logic at all and can end up in a situation where a fertilized egg could sue a woman for having a miscarriage. seriously, people, is our education system so inept that we don't know how to think for ourselves anymore? or do we just not want to? i don't know. but (as you can clearly see, if you've made it this far) it makes me nuts.

is there anything better

2007-11-14T20:27:00.000-07:00

than when your baby starts smiling at you?

(by the way, feel free to leave me a comment telling me how cute she is)

apparently i am a short order cook.

2007-11-13T21:33:00.000-07:00

things i've cooked/made/served today:

*coffee
*yoghurt (one for me, one for AJ)
*cheerios, dry
*peanut butter & jelly (one for me, one cut into 4 triangles for AJ)
*6 sippy cups of diluted cranberry-raspberry juice
*one small orange, peeled, sectioned & white stuff removed
*banana, peeled
*2 eggs, over easy
*toast, cut into strips for dipping in egg yolk
*one coke
*one avacado, sliced, with salt & pepper

what did i eat? the coffee, a yoghurt, 3/4 of a pb&j, the coke, and the avacado.
what did AJ eat? the juice. 3 bites of yoghurt, which i had to feed her. 2 cheerios. 1 over easy egg. the pb&j she kept chewing up and spitting out. the rest she refused to touch, after demanding it and throwing huge screaming fits to get them.

having a sick toddler is no.fun.at.all.

i'm planning on having a chocolate donut in a few minutes when the bean is done nursing (oh, did i mention i've nursed all day too? and made dh's lunch for work? and will make him dinner when he gets home tonight?).

squeaking in under the wire

2007-11-12T23:25:00.000-07:00

wow, this NaBloPoMo is getting more difficult!
I'm barely making this post before the clock chimes midnight (*yawn*). I would've gone to bed 27 minutes ago (at 11), but dh and i are watching our newest tv addiction:
America's Most Smartest Model.
oh my word, this show is like crack. its even more addictive than Top Chef, Bizarre Foods, or Without a Trace.
unfortunately they've already voted off the porn star, but the deer-in-headlights vapidness of the rest of the contestants (as revealed by Ben Stein) keeps us tuning in. an example? their question of the day was "should vegetarians eat animal crackers?"
and one of the contestants is named Pickel. come on, you can't get better than that!

a little funny for your sunday

2007-11-11T12:15:00.000-07:00

this just cracks me up (sorry its blurry)

(click the title)

a nun meets two mormons walking down the street

2007-11-10T20:44:00.000-07:00

no, seriously.

in talking to my in-laws today dh reminded me of one of the funniest (for the sheer possibilities the moment presented) things i've ever seen. i was driving past one of the catholic churches that's still served by nuns. this particular order is rather traditional and chooses to still wear the full habit (like in Sister Act). the mother house is about a block from the church, and one of the nuns was walking from the church to the mother house.
at the end of the block (coincidentally next door to the mother house) were two mormon missionaries -- name tags, bike helmets, white shirts and ties. for some reason they were walking their bikes.
i wonder what happened when they met?

maybe its only funny to me (as dh thinks) because i have a strange fascination with both nuns and mormons. i dunno.

a puzzling week

2007-11-09T22:53:00.000-07:00

so first there was the "you look like a busy mom" comment. i'm still not exactly sure what to make of that, though i'm fairly sure it was not a complement.

and now, this.
today AJ got an invitation to a birthday party for one of the little boys in her preschool class. yay! we love birthday parties, what with the cake, singing "happy to your daddy" (her version of "happy birthday"), and did i mention the cake? (why yes, she *is* my child!).
so i called to RSVP, and asked what the birthday boy might need/want as a gift. his mom's answer: "something boyish and thought-provoking."

well alrighty then.

i was so flummoxed by her response that i couldn't get my brain together to ask exactly what would constitute a "thought-provoking" gift.
but i have a few ideas.

a lovely Disney princess tiara and magic wand, perhaps?
After all, it encompasses just about everything i would hate for my child to receive -- princesses, junky plastic crap, and it just *screams* boyish, does it not?

or maybe this:

a Barbie electronic purse with accessories! Complete with compact, since no little should be without powder, a car key to promote proper environmental stewardship, cell phone, and Barbie credit cards to encourage responsible money management and financial responsibility! Woo Hoo!

wow, my sarcasm filter really malfunctions when i'm short on sleep.

of course, i didn't go for either of those. i got him this:
a magnetic drawing thing.
i'm not even going to touch the "boyish enough" part of this -- my head hurts and i don't need it to come any closer to exploding, thankyouverymuch. hopefully it's thought-provoking enough. it'll be interesting to see if the party is, too.

multi tasking

2007-11-08T20:29:00.000-07:00

can you multi task?

i ask because someone near and dear to me (*ahem* dh) seems to lack this ability.
take now, for instance. currently, i am:
*blogging this
*nursing the bean
*watching CSI
*listening to AJ babble as she's supposed to be falling asleep
*thinking about how much i don't want to clean the kitchen
*staring at the target box on the table in front of me containing some christmas gifts and trying to decide what colours of
wrapping paper i should use for christmas this year and considering if we should invest in LED lights for the outside of the
house and trying to remember where our christmas stuff is since i haven't thought about it since we moved
*thinking about the overall decorating scheme we have going since we're thinking of throwing a holiday/housewarming party
*remembering that i need to call someone i want to invite to the party to get her email so i can send her an evite

this blows my husband's mind. when he watches tv, he watches tv. he finds it mind boggling that i can knit, read posts/blogs/boards and watch tv at the same time and not have my head explode. is it a gender thing? the only other guy i lived with couldn't multi task either. neither could my dad.

the downside, since there's always a downside, is that i have a hard time *not* doing ten things at once. i can't sit in a quiet room with nothing to do. i become a fidgety, nervous mess. meditation? sooooooooo out of the question its not even funny. i think that's why i like knitting so much -- i'm doing something, but i can do other things at the same time. well, most of the time -- i'm hoping following a charted pattern gets easier with practice so that i don't have to stop everything and count every repeat!

now that i've fulfilled my posting requirement for the day i'm off to keep considering wrapping, knit some more on the mighty socks (details to come), put a load of laundry in, think about where to hang a couple pictures, consider what to get my mom for her birthday, fix dinner for dh, clean the kitchen (i still don't want to though) and watch without a trace.

It's About Time

2007-11-07T22:32:00.001-07:00

pagoda lace sock, originally uploaded by sophiekat.

I had some knitting content!

pattern: pagoda lace sock by WendyKnits, available from ~~the crackhouse~~ The Loopy Ewe
yarn: The Knittery merino/cashmere in "passionfruit"
sock blockers: The Loopy Ewe

I saw these on Wendy's blog (or, as AJ refers to it, "woo-see's mommy's knitting friend" -- she's a big fan of Wendy's kitty Lucy) and fell in immediate must-knit-it-now lust. to the point i ordered the yarn that night and waited rather impatiently for Wendy to publish the pattern. there were a few surprises along the way, not least of which was the yarn colours looking *nothing* like what i saw on Wendy's blog (or on the Knittery's site, for that matter) -- to the point i emailed Wendy to ask if she was sure she had the colourway correct.
the pattern is brilliant -- challenging without being impossible, and very enjoyable to watch the lace form. knit toe-up on two circular needles (in this case, addi turbos, but if you've read my notes on ravelry you'll see i'd recommend using something pointier, like turbo lace or knitpicks since the yarn is a bit splitty). i like the yarn, the cashmere makes it ridiculously soft so its nice to knit with.
once i get around to knitting its mate (since the mighty socks are taking precedence now) i think i'll have happy feet!

more pictures are on flickr! :)

its been one of those days . . . .

2007-11-06T23:14:00.001-07:00

when i wish i still drank scotch. it was my drink of choice when i was practicing law and had to keep up with the boys. and damn, after a hellish day there's nothing better than a single malt (and a cigarette, but since i don't smoke any more that's out of the question).

AJ woke, screaming and inconsolable, at 5:45 this morning. it was one of those times i wished someone else was "mommymommymommymommy." she was horrendously cranky all day, and everything was tears and whining and tantrums. i put her down for a nap at 10:30 (she usually goes down at 1:30), when the bean decided her sister shouldn't have all the fun torturing mumma and commenced screaming and fussing that lasted the rest of the day. AJ wasn't in much better of a mood after her nap, so i spent the rest of the day bouncing/nursing/walking the bean, watching backyardigans, and wishing like hell that dh wasn't on call and was home to help me deal with our lovely offspring.
then i decided to go through AJ's papers from preschool on monday and discovered that i'd forgotten that the bake sale is tomorrow and i was expected to provide something. thank god for keeping my pantry stocked with random baking mixes. so the bean and i attempted to make pumpkin muffins, i didn't do a great job stirring since i had her in one arm but i think i got most of the lumps. then i mixed up the cream cheese frosting, but had to take a break to nurse. heard a very suspicious noise and discovered a very naughty sophie up on the counter investigating the bowl.
i'm sending the frosted muffins tomorrow, i think i caught sophie before she licked any, and if not, well, a little cat spit never hurt anyone, right?
(thankfully i don't think anyone i know from preschool reads the blog, so i think the secret's safe ;) ).

ugh. i'm off to bed, where i'll probably dream of stiff drinks.

"you look like a busy mom"

2007-11-05T13:33:00.000-07:00

when someone says this to you, is it supposed to be a complement?

i took the girls t the vet today after dropping AJ off at preschool -- imagine little old me with the bean in her bucket (since sophie first peed and then shit all over her carrier and it leaked out onto the wrap i was planning on putting her in), the diaper bag, and a very pissed (both literally and figuratively) sophie in her very stinky carrier on one arm, and cinzi in her carrier on the other, trying to open the door at the vets without dropping anyone or falling over myself, the bean screaming her head off and both cats yowling -- hilarity ensued and a fabulous time was had by all. a girl i knew in high school works there now, and we did a bit of catching up while we waited to be seen.

and that's what she said to me.

now, she had changed since i last saw her, to the point i didn't recognise her until she introduced herself. she'd lost a ton of weight and i think had a nose job, and i said something along the lines of "you look really great".

her response was "you look like a busy mom."

i'm (clearly) so puzzled by this.

did i look frumpy? (was wearing a gray t shirt with a nursing cami under, flared jeans and black sketchers -- so not mom jeans (shudders)). ugly? (hair was in its usual ponytail and i was wearing my usual mascara, lipgloss & powder). harried? (well, yes, i was that).

i'm trying to not read anything negative into it (and failing, but perhaps its my own insecurity), but i also can't think of a time when someone would say "you look great" and my response would be "you look like a busy mom."

anyone?

strange habits

2007-11-04T11:31:00.000-07:00

my darling husband is making fun of me.

he finds it hilarious that i lean over whilst pouring my coffee in an apparent attempt to help it come out. he's not buying my reason that i worship at the altar of the sweet brown elixer of life and the leaning is my way of showing reverence.

he also is amused by a habit i have whilst driving, which is to scratch the roof of the car if i go through a yellow light and to kiss my hand and smack the roof if it turns red. my high school friends and i started doing it when we got our licenses (i think the reasoning was to protect against tickets) and its so ingrained now that it seriously bothers me to *not* do it. like to the point i have to sit on my hand bothers me, which of course is not the best idea whilst driving. i think its uniquely a colorado thing, as i've never met anyone who does it from anywhere else (and explains why my oklahoma-raised husband finds it strange), but people i didn't know in high school from colorado do it too.

so, darling readers, (i'm trying to figure out who you are and just how many of you there are), do you have any unique habits? leave me a comment (please, fot the love of everything holy leave me a comment) and let me know! :)