Motherhood

Well, I've survived my first week home w/Shannon. So far, motherhood is easy but I know that once I go back to work and once Wig & I get our own place it's going to become a lot harder. But it turns out I'm a natural born mother. I adapted to having to take care of a newborn almost instantly. I thought it'd take a few days or even weeks to get used to the sleep deprivation, clean up a particularly messy poop without gagging, and learn the different cues and types of cries for hungry, dirty, tired or plain cranky, but from day one none of that was a problem. Shannon is a perfectly healthy and happy baby, and my family has been a very big help. I don't try to take too much advantage of their help because A) they work full-time and have their own things to worry about, they can't watch a newborn all the time and 2) I don't want to get spoiled or complacent and be unprepared once I move out. But when they're home they'll gladly take her long enough to let me shower and eat or take a nap or get some important chore done. My dad who's usually so serious, stoic and strict turns to mush when he holds Shannon. The man who said he wanted to be called "Sir" when we were discussing grandparent nicknames is now a self-proclaimed Grampy and he'll hold her and talk baby talk to her. He's quick to give her back the second she needs to be changed though. And my mom insists on getting in some quality time with her before she leaves or as soon as she gets home for work. Even my sister has to take her for a little bit. But she won't feed or change her either. She just likes to hold her until she starts to get cranky - or starts farting too much.
Wig comes by whenever he can and helps me out, but he's still getting used to the reality of fatherhood. He feels insecure in his ability to be a good father and feels uncomfortable holding Shannon or feeding or changing her. But he is making an effort and soon enough he'll realize he's doing a good job. I feel he'll connect better once she's a little older and more interactive - sitting up, cooing and smiling. Wig takes care of me, though, and that's just as big a help. But for most of the day once my dad leaves for work it's just me and Shannon and I've learned to adapt to doing a lot of things w/just one hand or to work quickly before she wakes up. Once she has a little more neck strength I can put her in the carrier and just strap her to my chest so I have both hands free. I wanted one of those baby slings but they're all either really expensive or really ugly. I think it's a more comfortable and intimate way to carry the baby than the traditional carriers, so hopefully I can find one that works for me at a reasonable price.
Shannon's slowly starting to get on a schedule. She's almost predictable. She'll eat every 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours and usually nap the entire time between. Every so often she gets the urge to cluster feed & want to eat an hour or hour and a half later, but she's more or less predictable. She rarely gets cranky or overtired; she almost only cries when she's hungry or needs to be changed or is being changed or bathed - she hates being naked.
They say to sleep when the baby sleeps, but I can only really do that at night. I have too much of a second wind and running on pure adrenaline to nap during the day. Plus it's the only time I can keep up with housework and other stuff. I'm slowly getting back into crocheting and am working on new amigurumi when I have the free time. Right now I'm working on Pac-man, Ms Pac-man and the ghosts, Chain Chomps from Super Mario and Kirby. I also want to do Metroids and try to make hat versions of some of my amigurumi, particularly the Brain Slug. I also want to make replicas of the kids from South Park's hats, although I know Kenny's is going to be a problem since it's actually a hood. I want to branch out and do actual craft fairs this year. It's going to be a matter of money and balancing it with taking care of Shannon. But I'd probably sell a lot more than I do at the conventions so it could be worth the investment and I can make extra cash to put away in a savings account.
But I'm loving every minute of motherhood so far. Sometimes it's frustrating and tiresome when she wants to eat again, or won't sleep and wants to be held indefinately, but it's worth it for that look she gives me when I'm holding her. A working schedule is developing and will be in place within weeks and I'll have a normal life again - just with added baby.

Crocheting and [adult swim] Obsessions

So a couple more new listings on Etsy. Finally relisted the red Mario mushrooms and the mini-brain slugs are finally available on Etsy.
Linkies:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=41318384

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=41124388

Going to be stocking up on amugurmi for AnimeBoston, the first convention of the season. It's the first weekend of April, so I only have 4 weeks to make as many amigurumi as possible. Also gonna make some jewelry, but I'm not as concerned w/my stock cuz they don't sell as well as the amgurumi. I did sell a fair amount of guitar pick earrings though. Starting to shy away from the hemp and friendship bracelets, although I'll probably make a handful of Harry Potter house color friendship and beaded bracelets because those sell well at the conventions (actually got a custom order for beaded house bracelets last summer, I was very happy)

I also did some internet sleuthing last week that I'm kind of proud of in a nerdy way. [adult swim] prides themselves on their guerrilla style of advertisement (except that one time in Boston...) and lately they've had a series of mural-style graffitti advertisements in major cities all around the US. On the bumps they'd show a picture of one w/the city and say "Go find this" and one of three murals which I will title "the viewer graph," "series flow-chart," and "what to expect in 2010 pie chart." So I started my search for the Boston ones looking for clues to their locations on the interwebs. Naturally, I started on the [adult swim] message boards where I discovered viewer graph was already painted over. Using the picture posted by a sad viewer, I was able to zoom in and see it was on a street that intersected Cambridge St. Another viewer posted finding series flow chart on the side of a Russian shop on the border of Brookline. I then checked out flickr to see if anyone has found them yet. User walknboston had found viewer graph before it was painted over, and by his tags I found that it was specifically in Brighton, which narrowed down its location further. Later, I found a picture of an older mural ("Do you still care?") on Gordon St. A second picture of said mural revealed that this mural was in the same location as viewer graph (an electrical box with a tell-tale graffitti located in both pictures clued me in) therefore I learned that this former mural was on the corner of Gordon and Cambridge in Brighton. More flickr searching found other shots of series flow-chart that showed the block of stores that it was on the side of. I was barely able to make out "Babushka's Deli" and did a Google search. It's on Washington St in Brighton. Checked out MBTA for closest T stops, they're both on the Green Line "B" BOOSH. ("B" line doesn't stand for BOOSH, BOOSH is just the exclaimation I make to punctuate moments of success or one-upping). Wig and I were going to go into Boston Wednesday but of course it was raining buckets. We'll be heading in this Wednesday instead. Although they've already been found and posted by other people we have to see them for ourselves. Also, I believe that all three murals are in each city and if that is true, the pie chart hasn't been accounted for in Boston and I could still be the first to find it.

Sources:

http://boards.adultswim.com/adultswim/board/message?board.id=bumps&thread.id=37775&jump=true

http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkn/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/adultswimphotos/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffesposito/

New items in the Etsy shop

For all you Tenacious D fans out there, I got some Pick of Destiny earrings. Now even regular joes can harness the awesome power of the Pick of Destiny.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=40788270

Also updated the Dragon Quest slime amigurumi. The pupils are now made of safety eyes. They're also listed on Esty for the first time EVAR!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=41003457

Check 'em out.

Countdown to the first convention of the season:
AnimeBoston April 2nd

So things had been pretty much the same old for a while, until a couple weeks ago it was decided my mom needed a hysterectomy because of the fibroids in her uterus. They weren't causing any problems until a month ago when she started bleeding excessively. She went in for surgery today and everything went fine. She was understandably loopy from the morphine when we went to visit her earlier but other than that she's doing well. She should be home Friday at the latest. It's up to me, my dad and Heather to keep up with the housework for the next 4-6 weeks, so we're gonna have our hands full. It'll be good for my mom to not do anything for once, cuz she overworks herself. We weren't too overly worried about the surgery, hysertectomies are more or less routine and we were all joking even after my mom came out of surgery. Like last night before she went to bed I told her to have fun and when she told me she was gonna have to have a blood transfusion too I told her "Don't get AIDS." Today when we went to visit her my dad was ripping on her the whole time. She was on the same floor as the pediatric ward and joked she was up there because she had the IQ of a child. LOL. That's just how our family is. Besides, laughter is a great way to get through stressful moments even if it seems in bad taste.

Meanwhile, I applied and took the test for census taker the other day. If I'm hired it's, like, $20 an hour part-time which will really help, even though it's only for a few months. Sure, I have to go door-to-door or call up strangers to ask personal questions about their home and family, but it's still a decent government stint. Wig applied too but he hit a snag since his driver's license is expired and he needs a valid ID. He'll be getting it renewed soon and also has an interview sometime this week for a job on kitchen staff in a nursing home. Someone his father knows works there.

I got to go out to Ludlow and visit the Flav and Ricky a couple weeks ago. We had a helluva time. I drove out Saturday morning and breezed in in under an hour and a half and we went to Northampton. I got to try Thai Garden finally and it was better than Tom Yum Koong although Tom Yum Koong comes incredibly close. Northampton's got so many fun little shops. Then later, an old friend of Ricky's and her husband came by for Simpsons Scene It and we all filled up on chips and Mountain Dew Throwback and talked for hours. Then we watched Sleepaway Camp, which is probably one of the most bizarre thrillers I've ever seen. Before I left on Sunday we ate at Peppa's in East Longmeadow and had a pizza that had french fries and bacon on it w/ranch dressing. It was almost like a potato skin pizza. I had a great time and can't wait to go back out there, which I guess will be when I go to see Finntroll w/them in April! Too awesome.

The other night a handful of TRU night crew people went out to Fridays. It was supposed to be a huge reunion event at Kowloons but first it got delayed a week so people'd have money, then it got switched to Fridays, then a bunch of people couldn't go for various reasons. So it ended up being only me, Wig, Dan, Mikey, Charlene, Hillary and Hillary's boyfriend. It was fun. Dan and I kept making Dayjob Orchestra references all night (look them up on YouTube. They're a Canadian prog rock band, but their most popular thing is their overdub videos where they take clips of Star Trek or politicians and redo the dialogue so it's the most bizarre shit but it matches the lips perfectly!) The best thing was I was the only one with a Give Me More Stripes card, so I got ALL the points :)

Finally finished the baby blanket for little Seamus. Pictures will be on Flickr later. Then I'll be getting cracking on amigurumi for the conventions. I'm also having a special promotion for Facebook fans and Twitter followers only. So become a fan at www.facebook.com/StringTheory101 and follow twitter.com/StringTheory101.

Popping in

Just popping in so the blogosphere doesn't think I'm dead. Lately I've been busy with work or being in pain because of work. If it's not my back it's one of my knees. Or my feet. Or my arm. I've been constantly getting headaches too and while they're not severe I hope it's not a sign that I could end up getting cluster headaches like my dad. Plus I've started getting panic attacks at work, something which none of my coworkers have any sympathy for. It took them 15-20 minutes to get someone to cover for me so I could go to the break room to calm down. And yesterday my manager Steve told me I should just quit. The only people seemingly on my side and willing to help me out at work are my other managers Ed and Aaron, who actually produce helpful solutions. Ed has recruited not one but three people to work RZone overnights with me and on nights I'm not there so more stuff is getting done. And the other day Aaron actually ran over to Shaws to buy my Advil when my backache was unbearable. Aaron also almost looks like Rick Astley so whenever he's working I have Never Gonna Give You Up stuck in my head the whole time. This time of year's always horrible and there's always some things that get worse and some that get better. I try to remind myself that there's only 3 weeks left, but those are going to be three loooong weeks.

When I'm not working or in a stupor trying to recover from work, I'm working on 3 crochet projects - 2 scarves, one for Wig's sister and one for his mom, and a blanket for our friends Katie and Fetus' baby. They found out they're having a boy and are naming him Seamus Joseph Conley. Fetus is fiercely proud of his Irish heritage. I have a feeling the middle name Joseph is for our friend Joe Tilton who died last September. Fetus was really close to him. All three are made up of granny squares so I'm seeing granny squares in my sleep right now. Other than that most of my Christmas shopping is done. I have a few more people I need to get gifts for and I don't know what to get them yet. My dad finally broke down and got a Wii for my mom so me and Heather are going to get Wii Fit Plus so now she doesn't have to complain that I won't move the system into the living room. Me and Heather are getting dad an iPod Nano and I got Wig a Nintendo DSi bundle that we had on Black Friday because it was too good to pass up and his DS is broken. Heather asked for Aquasaurs, these prehistoric fish you hatch in an aquarium.

Speaking of which Heather's actually STILL working despite threatening to quit when the manager failed to have the schedule out on time and then told her last minute she had to work when she already had plans. Instead the manager apologized and said it was all his fault. She's actually going to stick out through the whole Season and however long into January ToyZAM is open for. She might even transfer to Spencer's once it closes (they're owned by the same company) but that's a might. She jokes that she's going to work for three months every 19 years.

So after seeing many Etsy CreateCrochet Teammates and a few of my close friends make fan pages for their Etsys (Etsies?) I jumped on the bandwagon and made one too. I'm planning on some fun Fan-only promotions in the future. I've spent a lot of time in the past couple weeks networking and connecting with everyone on the CreatCrochet team- following any blogs or Twitters they have, favoriting their shops, and becoming fans on FaceBook. The more connections, the more word spreads. The CreateCrochet team is a great community. We recently did a swap where we were matched up and got to know our partner through convos and we had to make a secret gift for each other. I was matched with a woman from Vermont and it was fun getting to know her. I felt bad because she had a mild stroke and it's crazy because she's only in her late 20s. But she's doing OK now. She made me a reuseable Swiffer pad and a scrubbie and I made her a set of regular-sized and mini brain slugs (Mommy and Baby to represent her and her 2-year old daughter) in the same variegrated pink I made Flav's out of. I'm aiming to join a couple more teams, one for my jewelry and hopefully find some local ones. If you're on Etsy and not on a team yet look it up. It's a great way to network, get your items some more views, get tips and support and have fun doing your craft.

Tonight I'm getting together with a group of former Toys R Us Medford coworkers. It's something we do 2 or 3 times a year to catch up, have some drinks and have fun. We'll be going to Border Cafe in Burlington. Jill usually orchestrates the plans and other regulars always include Lynnette, Noelle, Joanne Ellard, Amy Struppa, and Melissa Cashman. Last time we got together Aimee Walkup was back in the area after moving the North Carolina and getting married. It was funny because a lot of us were wondering whatever happend to her after she quit and boom there she was. LOL. But I look forward to getting buzzed on margaritas before pulling an overnight LOL.

I wonder when we're putting up our tree. Probably this weekend or next weekend. My dad has a reputation as a Scrooge or a Grinch because he hates Christmas decorations. He just doesn't like the hassle of digging them out, putting them up, and then having to clean them up after the holidays. I'll admit the tree is a bit of a pain in the ass, hauling it upstairs, putting it together. (I'm allergic to pine so we can't have a real tree. Real trees are a hassle too though. Cutting it down or going to the lot and picking one out, hauling it back home, trimming it, watering it, sweeping up shed needles) And of course our cat Wyatt always has to try to climb it, and we have no idea what the new one, Frankenstein, is going to do when he first sees the tree. But I can't wrap any gifts until the tree is up because I have nowhere else to put them. If I try to shove them back in the back of my closet while they're wrapped, the wrapping could get ripped. So, no wrapping until I can put them under a tree.

Beating up a zombie to Queen's Don't Stop Me Now is one of the greatest moments in cinema history. Why don't I own Shaun of the Dead on DVD? Watching it edited on Comedy Central is subpar.

Etsy Weekend Sale

The CreateCrochet Team is having a 10% off sale this weekend. Search for the tag crochet10percent from today, November 13, to Sunday November 15. In addition, my free shipping deal is still going on until the end of the month. So 10% off AND free shipping, you can't go wrong!

Etsy Updates

New item in my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34228859

Free shipping on all items until Nov 30th

New Twitter: @stringtheory101

Check it out!