Getting crafty. Or not.

When my friends and I get together to be crafty, we often just waste a lot of time chatting and drooling over hot movie-type guys. Tonight (well, last night really) was no exception. We watched Dear Frankie (still getting our fill of Gerard!) and then the Kiera Knightly version of Pride & Prejudice.

But I actually got something done. Not as much as I would like, but I did do something. See, when I posted the picture of my slocks, they weren't quite finished. They were a bit big around my feet and I hadn't finished the tops. Tonight I sewed in closer around the toes so they are a perfect fit, and I sewed in elastic at the tops.

I've decided I want to make them for other people too, but I'm a little unsure how to size them. You see, I'd love to be able to mass market them, but since they're such fitted things, I may have to make them out of stretchy material. Maybe I could take generic measurements. Not really a bad idea, but I may have to practice by having some select friends/relatives send me some numbers and seeing if I can get them at all close to the right size. What do you think? Are you interested in your very own pair of slocks? :)

Lis generously let me leave everything over at her house (lugging around my sewing machine is the one thing I don't like about our crafty parties - that thing is heavy!) and we're going to regroup on Monday. I have a few pillows to sew (that I don't know what I'll do with once they're done) and more slocks to make. I need to figure out if I can make them for Felix. That kid gets the iciest cold feet! I'll post pics Monday if we actually accomplish anything. I'm going to experiment by taking Felix with me. Not sure how that'll work, but Brent has been so patient and understanding, I'd love to give him the evening to play video games or whatever. Wish me luck!

sleeping in

I don't know what it is really, but given the opportunity I can sleep in like a champion sleeper-inner. Maybe it's the fact that Felix wakes up a couple of times a night and I can't sleep to the sounds of crying baby. Or maybe it's that years after being diagnosed, the drugs I take for my restless legs don't work all that well. I don't know.

What I do know is that every morning I wake up usually around 6, feeling like I've been run over by a truck. I go to the bathroom and stumble back to bed to fall back into a sleep plagued with the strangest of dreams. I can't tell you about all of those dreams (freaky!), but this morning's doozy was about some vacation I was on. It must have been San Francisco because I was in a car going down a hill that really reminded me of that unique city. There was other stuff that was really strange, but it has faded.

I'm actually a fan of recording dreams, and amazingly, I've never had what I would consider to be a nightmare. My mom suggested that maybe the reason Felix wakes up in the middle of the night screaming bloody murder is because of night terrors. She thought I should look it up on the internet to see how young they might start. That would surprise me quite a bit, and I'm not sure if knowing would comfort me or not. I mean, I don't know how to react really since I've never had anything similar.

But when Felix wakes up, you can tell that there are different reasons. Sometimes he wakes up because he's hungry and he gets mad if we don't get the bottle in his mouth soon enough. But sometimes he just screams and there's nothing we can do to comfort him. It's really unpleasant when it's at 4 in the morning (otherwise known as "the buttcrack of dawn") and it lasts for an hour.

So, because I have the best husband in the world, by about 8 am, Brent gets up and takes Felix with him to the libroffice and I go back to sleep again. I can typically get in another 2 hours or so before needing to get up for real, but if it was an especially bad night, I can sleep in till noon easily.

I feel guilty about this sometimes, but not usually. I get really ineffective sleep. I just thank my lucky stars (and the big guy upstairs... He's awesome! ... winks in Michelle's direction) that I have an understanding husband and a really flexible work.

New Year (everything else is the same)

Shannon - I hereby officially "tag" you. I want to see your list!

After caring for a sick baby for a week and trying to care for a new puppy at the same time, we decided it was more than we wanted to handle at the moment and we sold the puppy. I guess we could have kept Dusty and sold Felix, but Felix is cuter. :)

I've been going in to work now for a while and I really enjoy it. Most of what I enjoy is the social aspect of it all. I like being around people and Brent and Felix apparently don't count. Maybe that's because although Brent can say words, he's normally a very quiet person (unless you're talking politics, which I hate, or comic books, which don't really interest me). Felix, while being far from quiet, doesn't say anything coherent. He tries though.

Last Saturday I got together with some friends (I don't think it's possible to praise my friends enough - seriously, I'm constantly in awe of them, whether I get to spend lots of time with them or not) for a girls' outting. We decided we needed a shopping trip (and while I thought it would just be funny to tag along to Victoria's Secret - like they would ever carry my size! - I actually found some fun new eye shadow there), a chick flick, and some dinner. There were 6 of us (yes, Lis, there were 6). We met in the afternoon and went to see P.S. I Love You. I think we settled on that one because of Gerard Butler, but I'm pretty sure we all loved the movie for more than just him. It was moving and inspiring and was a good portrayal of love and loss and recovery. I was happy that the obvious couple didn't end up together because they didn't really fit in my mind. And the movie ended with hope. I cried throughout the whole thing. Darn those puffy eyes of mine!

After the movie we walked through The Riverwoods and stopped in William Sonoma (one of my favorite window shopping stores ever!), Gymboree (cute but very expensive kids clothes), and Vic's Secret. Then we went to dinner at Macaroni Grill. Yummy food!!!!

While I was sitting at dinner a girl came up and asked if I had gone to the Vermont 3rd Ward. Turns out we not only attended at the same time, but we were friends and even went on a road trip together to her grandma's house in San Francisco. I love love love catching up with old friends! (check her out at the Tran & Jeff blog - she's such a cutie!)

After dinner we made our way back to my house where we were thinking we would watch some more Gerard, but I couldn't find my copy of Dear Frankie. Sad. We ended up watching Music & Lyrics, and while that's a fun 80's flashback chick flick, it's just not the same.

Anyway, today at work there wasn't much to do so I got to come home early. I figure catching up on the blog is a good cause, but it's also helping me avoid cleaning my house (desperately needed!). Hooray for avoidance!

Brent and I took some time a couple days ago and actually made up a sort of budget. We made it just tight enough to pay all our bills every month, but left ourselves some good breathing room. I stink at things like this, but hopefully the breathing room will keep me from feeling constricted, which usually makes me want to go shopping. I gotta get this under control. We also figured out how much Brent would need to make at another job if I wasn't going to work, and how much he would need to make if we had to move out of my parents' house. Man, it's going to be tough growing up! I wish grown-up-ness didn't carry such a heavy financial responsibility with it...

So, the new year. I wonder how long it's going to take me to write 2008 on things. I guess it's a good thing that I don't have to write the date much. There's really nothing super interesting going on lately. Felix is finally starting to get over the rota junk. We still don't have insurance, and if we're correct that Brent does have diabetes, we'll only ever get coverage through group insurance. Stupid insurance racket! We're more or less healthy. We're more (not less) happy. We're more or less stable. I guess that's all I need to be a grown up, right?

Being "tagged"

I hate emails or games that require someone to participate before they even know about it. And since I'm relatively naive about the whole blogging thing and have only sort of heard of the whole tagging thing, I don't know much about the game even though I've been tagged. Good thing I like the tagger! ;)

Anyway, I like the "questions" so I'll answer. I don't know much about how it works, so I'm not going to try to tag anyone else though...


Five things I Was Doing Ten Years Ago
1. working a job I both hated and loved
2. trying to figure out how to get guys to like me
3. attending BYU full time while working
4. chasing after boys
5. gaining weight

Five things on my Life To Do List
1. get married sometime soon
2. travel some more
3. pick a major
4. make lots of money
5. have lots of kids

Five things I'd do if I was a Millionaire
1. pay off my parents' house and then buy it from them
2. pay off all of my debts (and Brent's debts too)
3. hire a mother's helper (yeah, I know, I only have one kid)
4. buy a houseboat and put it in a harbor in Alaska
5. vacation (long one) in Italy

Five Things I'd Never Do Again
1. abuse my body with long-term sleep deprivation
2. go into debt for stupid things
3. be offended because of someone's ignorance
4. put off financial management
5. compromise myself because of desperation

Five Favorite Toys
1. computer
2. digital camera
3. Kinder toys!
4. toys that entertain my infant
5. Mr Potato Head

Five Things I've Read Recently
1. blogs
2. Peter and the Starcatchers
3. Pickle Chiffon Pie
4. lots of other kids books
5. internet news stories

Five of My Favorite Smells
1. mom's homemade bread right out of the oven
2. cinnamon
3. rain
4. forest
5. freshly bathed husband and baby

A big to do about very little

As I get older, I spend less and less time thinking about Christmas.

Truth is that as a new mom and still relatively newly wed person, I find that there are just a lot of other things to think about. Because we're coming up on the end of the year, I will re-cap.

January 30 - Put on bed rest and started working from home to finish a couple of big projects. It worked out so nicely I asked work if we could do "home" work permanently. They graciously agreed, but I think they were just desperate.

February 21 - Felix Stephen Webster arrived all sorts of unexpectedly. With lots of nervousness about breathing issues, he stayed in the hospital for 9 days and then went home on oxygen. We discovered quickly that he was much more uncomfortable with it off than on. Doc said it was okay to leave him off.
(Felix at the library in December)
March 25 - 1-year anniversary. Marriage still feels surreal and sometimes I have to remind myself that I really am married. I mean, I spent 32 years single, and now this! Brent continues to astound and impress me in many ways.

April something - my little sister finally married her long-time sweetheart. Both families gave huge sighs of relief.

Um, summer happened. I can't remember much. I know there were family things. Brent and I were entertained greatly by the growth and development of our offspring.
October - I got strep. Then Felix got it. Never mind that it's extremely unusual for infants to get it. He also got a super duper nasty yeast diaper rash that took forever to heal.

November - I got a kidney infection and cysts on my ovaries that disguised themselves as possible appendicitis. The day they removed my healthy appendix, Brent took Felix to the doctor because he had croup and could hardly breathe. That was a miserable couple of weeks. Thank goodness for steroids that open breathing passages or Brent and I might never have slept again!
(new play place for Felix this winter)

Also in November - fun times with family for Thanksgiving. I started working more from home. We started realizing the scope of the medical bills.

December - I think I started my important Christmas shopping the Thursday before Christmas. Oh, our internet went down for about 3 weeks and as a result I started going back to the office to work. I actually kind of like it but it does put a strain on Brent. We finally switched internet providers and got wireless internet (which, for some reason, doesn't function on my work computer so I still have to go to the office to work).

more December - Brent begins to get very suspicious of his health. He recognizes that he is always thirsty and always has to go to the bathroom. He has inexplicably lost 10 or 15 pounds recently. One Sunday he borrows my dad's blood sugar tester. 375 isn't a good number. We're worried and a little scared, and still trying to figure out how to get insurance. Brent is in the process of trying to apply for the company where my brother Jared recently started. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

December 24 - I finally do some wrapping. We try to go see a movie and see someone selling puppies in the parking lot. Movie was sold out, and after deliberating for too long, the puppy we liked best was sold out too. But they had a different puppy we could look at if we wanted. We did. We liked it. We purchased it. I wouldn't say that I actually regret it, but it really is just as annoying to train a puppy as I remembered. I'm finding my socks all over the house and everything that's even near the floor is fair game for chewing. Plus, he's not house trained. Gah! I hate picking up puppy poo!

December 25 - We go over to my sister's because I love being around lots of little kids on Christmas morning. Felix throws up on me before we leave, as we arrive, and then all day long. We figured it wasn't a big deal because he does occasionally throw up (very different from spit-up, as any parent could attest). But we left after just an hour or two because Felix was totally listless and cuddly. If you know Felix, you will know that he's not cuddly. He loves being held, but he wants to be active at the same time. Not that day. He slept for most of the day and kept down the pedialyte for a maximum of about half an hour (the couple of sips he would take) but most of the time for only about 10 minutes. Brent and I changed clothes a lot.

later on Dec 25 - I left the boys (Brent, Felix, and DustBunny aka Dusty) at home to rest and went back to Anne's for a family shindig. By then everyone had already been exposed and I still didn't think it was necessarily contagious.

December 26 - my granola sis-in-law says she can smell rota virus and that's probably what Felix has. Not a good thing because she and my bro are staying in the same house as us and have lots of contact, it's extremely contagious, and their youngest has serious health issues that could mean hospitalization with rota virus. Felix starts the day off with diarrhea and, well, he still has it. But then I get sick too. Mostly it's just sick to my stomach and the runs. Karin assures me that it's rare for adults to get rota. We still make it to the Hyatt extended family Christmas party. I really hope they don't all get sick too. The clubhouse where we had the party had a pool... (Abish, Andy, Zeke, Hannah, Rachel)

December 28 - impromptu get-together at my sister's again. It was really nice to see some long-distance family and talk to them. Two cousins had invaluable advice on the diabetes front because they are both young and have been diagnosed in the past couple of years. Brent and I decided to catch a movie, so we went to National Treasure. Kind of hokey but fun. We picked up some toasted subs from Arby's beforehand (in my opinion, they are the best fast food sandwiches around at the moment) and left Felix with Anne and Denny. Felix apparently terrorized them all night with his mad diarrhea and vomiting skills. When we left he was in a pretty good mood, but turns out that after a short nap (that should have been going to bed for good), he screamed for an hour, till my sister buckled him in his car seat and locked him in her bedroom, shortly after which he fell right asleep. Poor kid. Poor Anne.

Today - Felix is still going through many changes of clothes per day. He's still throwing up, and his diarrhea shows no sign of stopping. Karin said it's normal for it to last a week. We're giving Felix gatorade a couple of times a day. He doesn't really like it though, but we don't want him to get dehydrated.

Brent gave me a camera for Christmas (I gave him rootbeer), so I finally have some good pictures to put up.

Oh, two more things. My awesome friend CarrieAnne invited me to sew/craft with her sister and another friend and we've done it twice now. I'm in love with all of them. Soooooooooo cool to have good new friends that are so interesting and entertaining! And... I made myself some sock/slippers yesterday. They are knee high and are fitted to my feet and calves. My ankles are always cold, but no longer! I might have to try to market them somehow because they are awesomeness!

I'm back

Sort of. Our internet is still out of whack, but that should finally be resolved on Friday. Sheesh. It's been three weeks and I feel like the world has gone on and I've stayed in one place.

I've started going in to work because I can't do any at home without internet. It's actually nice to go in because I'm a lot more productive without a baby poking my bum and crying because he wants to be picked up.

Thankfully, even without internet, I've been able to entertain myself. Friends have helped. I've discovered an afinity for sewing. (wait, does afinity mean that I like it or that I'm good at it? I really mean that I like it. I'm getting better at it but it'll take a while before I'm good)

Brent tested his blood sugar on Sunday and it was super high. He's convinced he has diabetes so we're trying to figure out how we can get insurance. Plus, his bosses told him they'll have a lot less work for him starting in January so he may want to find something else. We're thinking of having me go back to work full time so we can have income and insurance. blah. I hate stuff like this.

We've been putting Felix to bed in his crib every night and he's starting to sleep through the night. It's sooooo nice! Of course, before falling asleep he has to cry so hard he throws up, so the floor surrounding the crib is, well, kind of gross. I'm thinking I need to put a washable rug in front of the crib. One night after working late I checked on him and found him in this lovely position. He slept that way for about 7 hours. I can't imagine it was very comfortable, but he didn't seem especially unhappy with it.

Internet issues, Billy Joel, Donny Osmond, and snow!

The items are not related, except that they all "happened" this last week. On Tuesday we stopped getting internet access at home and Brent and I have felt cut off from the world ever since. While we've gotten lots of other things accomplished (like lots of new levels in Final Fantasy 12 for Brent, and lots of sleeping for me), it has actually been a nice little break.

Our internet is still down, but since we felt completely isolated, we are at this moment borrowing my sister's wireless connections so we can catch up with everything. I apologize to those of you who have missed me during our absense. :)

On Thursday night Brent and I dropped Felix off with my sister (who went to work and left Felix with her generous and wonderful husband Denny) and went to Salt Lake. We met up with our friends Ian and Amy, went to dinner at Squatters (super yummy food, by the way), and then went to the Billy Joel concert. It. Was. Amazing.

Billy Joel played for 2 1/2 hours straight, no opener. He did take one quick break. He introduced it by saying that he was going to let one of his rodies sing a religious song. He recommended we think of its important message and words during our drive home. This big fat guy in a crew t-shirt and shorts got up (he also introduced the guy by the name "Chainsaw") and sang "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC. The guy actually did a really good job. It was funny to see all the old people look mildly annoyed or perplexed and all the young people singing along.

There was a wide variety of people there at the concert. All ages and types. Awesome music. It reminded me of just how talented Billy Joel is. He even poked fun of himself and his recent problems with car accidents by saying thanks to people for buying the nosebleed seats, since he needed the money now that he has outrageous car insurance.

Yesterday Brent and I went to Costco and while we were there Donny Osmond came in. Brent said hi (after I pointed him out) and Donny said hi back and patted him on the shoulder. He's kind of a small man. With a larger head. But he looks great!

This morning we woke up early to head up to Logan for a baptism, but the weather was not with us. It snowed over night and was still snowing. In fact, it's still snowing. Although we left with enough time to make it in good weather, the roads were super messy and terrifying, and we made it to south Salt Lake valley before deciding it was better to come home.

So here we are, catching up on emails and blogs. Reconnecting to the world. It's been an interesting week...