We are now at 38 weeks

Thank you to everyone for the encouraging words and supportive comments. It helps.
Okay, I had breakfast at Soda Fountain Square with Toni and Alan today, then Alan and I went back to the house and played Katamari Damacy for a while. I love that game. Alan loves the part where the winner of the round gets to drop bottlecaps on the loser's head.
I attended the ARRG board meeting and left with my derby bag literally and figuratively empty. I am very confident that everything will be taken care of while I am out of commission. Now I just need to have the actual baby so I can get on with my life.
My sister has informed me that she will be coming to town next weekend for three days. I am so happy that Annie will be here, I almost don't care if the kid comes before or after her visit.
Kate will be arriving tomorrow night. I really feel like everything is falling into place.
I am almost finished with the Socks That Rock socks for me and plan to start immediately on the baby version as soon as they are done. I will put up pictures of the socks tomorrow.
Okay. I will now attempt, once again, to sleep.
Et, voila! For your derby enjoyment, the ARRG Season 2 Schedule!

Eight, nine, ten.

Okay, so the pictures from Columbia didn't turn out so great. Luckily we had such a good time that it really doesn't matter. The Destruction Junction Derby Dames were great and I can't wait to see how they come together as a league. The folks at Empire Rink were wonderful to host us again and we look forward to having other bouts there in the future. I think our rookies enjoyed their debuts and I'm very proud of Fraulein for blocking her butt off.
Now, knitting.

Three more blocks for Lizard Ridge. This whole not working thing makes for lots of knitting time. I finished two and a half blocks in the past two days. Number ten, on the right there, is being knit with the leftover ends from the previous nine blocks. It is not a new Noro color combo available. Sorry. I am enjoying the garishness of the blueish-purple against the peachy-yellow. I think I'll do the next repeat in a turquoise-to-orange shade I have left. This blanket is going to be so colorful that the Sprout's eyes will be permanantly crossed. Just kidding. Sprout will have perfect eyes and no vision issues like Mama and Daddy.
Speaking of Sprout, I have been having irregular contractions (totally normal, do not panic), and am suffering from ever-shrinking-bladder-syndrome, so you all know it is just a matter of time...

Saturday Only!

That's right ladies and gentlemen, ARRG will be holding our second annual Columbia Demonstration Derby Bout this Saturday, 3/10 at the lovely Empire Roller Rink. Tickets are $12 and the doors open at 9pm! I'll be announcing with the lovely and talented Grave Danger as the ARRG Pink Vixens take on the Black Angels for down and derby action!

In knitting news, I had tea at Shugga's with Ann this morning and she gave me yarn! I love Ann! She is also making Lizard Ridge, but wants to stick with earthy-non-yellow tones so I gve her one ball of Kureyon I had and she generously gave me two. And some Socks That Rock Highway 30! Thanks Ann!

On the baby front, I went to the OB today. Everything is fine and normal. Sprout is healthy and strong and coming soon. This baby is very active, recently started getting hiccups, and takes after Daddy in his or her preference for acting in a night-owl fashion. I am just about ready to pop. Many of you have offered suggestions on how to get labor jumpstarted. I am taking them all to heart. Here is a brief list:
eat something spicy
walk up and down the street with one foot in the gutter, one on the curb
jump on a trampoline
climb stairs
lift furniture
plan to do something you've really been looking forward to and will never have the oppurtunity to do again

It looks like I'll be busy for the next couple of weeks.

P.S. Hey April, we will announce our second season dates next week. We are finalizing our contract with the venue on Sunday. You don't need to use Derby as an excuse to visit, just tell Ryan you are racking up frequent flyer miles.

I have been neglectful.

But that all will change now. I am officially on maternity leave! I have tons to do still, but at least now I have a bit more time to do it in. I feel like I have replaced working with going to the doctor. I was working four days a week, now I am at various appointments four days a week. In short, I have more time to blog. So starting today, I resolve to make a concerted effort to post every day until the Sprout arrives. You charming readers are going to be bored out of your heads by my mindless prattle, I promise.
So without further ado, let's get caught up, shall we?

My mother (left) and her sweet friends Beth (center), Chris (right) and Marbie (not pictured), threw me an absolutely georgous baby shower on the 24th.
It was at Chris's house, which is just the most beautiful Victorian rehab in the Shaw neighborhood. I hadn't been there since I was a kid and let me tell you, this woman has done an amazing job. I would kill for her kitchen. They spent so much time on the decorations and the food, everything was beautiful and delicious! Here's a peek at the desert display. I ate most of that. Heh.


And what's a party without fancy out-of-town guests? That's right folks, the amazing and talented Kiki was in town for the weekend from NOLA and graced us with her pressence, (she graced Sprout with an awesome set of crocheted Wizard of Oz finger puppets.) and for once actually let me take her picture without making a snarky face. You may also notice the elusive Annie Buckles in the background there, she too came to town for the weekend and brought her future niece or nephew a bunch of beautiful, thoughtful gifts. It's gonna be no contest, Princess Anne will be one of this baby's favorite people. She did bring Penny the Peanut with her, but I was unable to photograph Little Miss Pugsalot due to my father's utter and total hogging of the dog. Daddy loves him some Penny.
All in all, it was a wonderful shower, the Sprout and I were spoiled beyond belief, and I was once again reminded that my mother has the best girlfriends anyone could hope for.


On the 5th, Melicious of the Texas Rollergirls came to St. Louis to sign her new book Rollergirl and ARRG was in attendance! The Hel-Kat was my date for this event and she had a blast. Melicious was so sweet to her, answering all of her questions and posing for pictures with her after signing her copy of the book. I truly believe the Hel-Kat was star struck. Not only did she get to meet a famous out-of-town rollergirl, but she got to sit next to Miss Lippy during the signing. She wasted no time getting down to business.

She started reading while waiting for her mom to come pick her up!

The rollergirls threw me a really fun shower on the Saturday the 3rd. We conviened at Cid's house for treats and pressent opening. This little Sprout now has an amazing wardrobe, complete with tons of cool socks. I got so many beautiful gifts, I'm going to be writing thank you notes until my fingers fall off. I didn't take any pictures. I was too overwhelmed by the generosity of the women in the league.
On Sunday I worked my last shift at Duff's. I said "goodbye til May" to my regulars, ate some banana pancakes and promised to bring the Sprout in as soon as s/he gets here. I went home and got ready for the First Annual ARRG Awards Banquet at the Venice Cafe. We had a good time, everyone got all gussied up and brought all kinds of great food. Pictures? Sure, I got pictures! Some of them are slightly inappropriate for this blog, so I will just post the cute ones and leave the drunken Rollergirl shots for our private photo collections. Don't want to slander anyone.
As you can see, we all were dressed to the nines and having a great time. Polly Lop made one of here famous ice cream cakes
which didn't even have time to melt because it was scarfed so quickly.

Many awards were handed out and drinking and dancing continued to the wee hours. You should have seen Grave Danger slinking around in that dress she had on, it was like she was an entirely different person. A scary, super sexy, vampy person. Magnum actually lost the power of speach when she said "Hi" to him.

This week hasn't been very blogworthy, I've mostly been washing and putting away baby clothes

that sprout got from the showers. I have knitting group tonight and I am going to post pictures of Lizard Ridge's progress tomorrow morning. I should have two new blocks to show you by then. Whee! Okay, enough for now. Back to writing thank you notes and folding baby blankets.

Updates.

Since this is actually a knitting blog, or at least that's what I intended when I started it way back in 2005, here is the latest knitting progress. What you see here is my fourth completed segment of Lizard Ridge, and the skein of Kureyon I will begin on tonight. I am loving knitting this blanket. I had to take a hiatus for a few weeks while I recovered from the nasty abraded (abraised? braised?) cornea, but I am back on track and moving right along. I don't know if the blanket will be finished for the Sprout's arrival, but I am optimistic.
I am so glad that my eye has healed. My doctor ended up putting a contact lens in my left eye and leaving it in for five days. This helped the abrasion to heal (Doctor actually used the words "tissue knitting together") and protected the scratch from becoming irritated by my incessant blinking. I still have to put non-medicated drops in my eye three times a day to prevent this from happening again. I hope none of you ever has to go through something like this, and if you do, you have my sympathies. Tearing a ligament in my ankle was less painful and less of a pain in the behind. I am once again fully capable of reading, knitting, driving and emerging from the house during daylight hours.

Here's a new shot of Sweet V, with her Mama. They came to visit this week. V is laughing and smiling all the time now.
I cannot believe she is almost 4 months old. The changes she has made and growing she has done in such a short time is incredible. People always say "Oh, they grow so fast!" but it is true. I know the Sprout will be the same way once he or she gets here.

Speaking of Sprout, I wanted to share with you the adorable burp cloths Miss Enya Nightmare had made for me. Aren't they cute? I love that she had them trimmed in the league colors too. This baby is going to be such a spoiled derby baby.

And speaking of Derby Babies, here we have Prima Basherina and her daughter G. I've known Prima for years, all the way back to when she was a Ballerina, not a Basherina, and was called Bean. When she told me she was joining up I was so excited to have her back in my life I almost squeaked. I am so happy she is a part of the league and I love the fact that she brings her daughter to practice. We seem to be growing an entire crop of next-generation derby girls already. If you go to my myspace page and look under comments for the one Shortkick left on February 14th, you can read how she feels about the famous Hel-Kat. I love that our league is somewhere the skaters feel comfortable bringing their children and that the kids I know have the chance to see female athletes in such a positive and supportive environment.

Okay, that's it for now. I need to take a nap. Sprout kept me up half the night with the rolling and kicking and playing bongos on my bladder. Maybe this kid will be a drummer like his or her Nonna. Only 6 1/2 weeks to go!

Snow day

snow day 049
Originally uploaded by archrivalrollergirls.

We skipped out on our obligations and skidded into the Royale. We holed up all afternoon and ate warm toasty things and drank yummies with the Rollergirl/Royale Snowday Commandos. I decided against sledding, since I plan on an April baby, not a February one. Many team names were bandied about, pink plastic religious icons were misused and a good time was had by all. Thanks to Sleaze McQueen for the pictures!

I'm still alive...

... but just barely.
We lost in Chicago, 74-11. Their blockers were amazing, the floor was atrociously slick,, our girls were tough and skated their hearts out. We'll get 'em next time. The rest of the weekend in Chicago with my sister was wonderful. I went out to eat, played with the pug and read a novel. Bliss.
I no longer have the pink eye. I have, however, managed to scratch my cornea. I still cannot see and tear up at any light stronger than ultra dim. My Opthamologist is really nice and helpful, but with the whole pregnant thing, he won't give me any antibiotics stronger than erythromycin or any painkillers at all. It hurts like, well, like a sharp stick to the eye. I feel really dumb and gross and look like something that should be hiding in a cave, crouched over and muttering about a "precious."
Alas, I have not been knitting. I missed knit night this week, but I plan to return next week. I have to order some more Noro for Lizard Ridge.
I left the house today, Matt and Zach and I went to see Adam (brother-in-law the youngest) in The Lion in Winter at the Kirkwood Theatre Guild. He was great, very regal, very loud. We were proud of him. It was one of the first out-of-the-house adventures for me in a long time. I rarely get out, what with the whole sensitivity to light thing.
Mostly I sleep. In fact, I think I'll get some sleep right now.

Knitting content only

To avoid jinxing the league, I will refrain from discussing my hopes and fears for our upcoming bout in Chicago.
To avoid grossing you out, gentle reader, I will avoid mentioning my continuing battle with eye disorders.
Because I am constantly being kicked from within, you all will understand that the sprout is healthy and growing.

On to knitting progress.

This is block #3 of Lizard Ridge in its finished glory. I started it at Knit Night at Knitorious. I had a great time, met some nice folks and plan on going back next week. Shanghai Lily and Gypsi Curse came with me, and maybe we can get Strawberry Shortkick to join us next week. If we can, I think we'll have all the knitters in the league with us. Rachel's head may explode.


Here is Lizard Ridge block #4, just started last night. This is the final ball of Kureyon I have in my possession. I may look for some other colors while I am in Chicago. There are two yarn stores I'd like to check out, but I'm reluctant to venture into uncharted territory, since I will be running the risk of encountering strange and beautiful new yarns that will want me to buy them and take them home with me. I am on a strict budget for this trip, and I really do not want to risk it.


Just for kicks and giggles, here are three small, plain hats all knit from one skein of Kara soysilk. I bought this yarn to make a new hat for Sweet V, but ended up with enough for V, her new cousin C and a tiny one for the sprout! What a good deal. Hats will be handed out soon to V and C.

Now back to the regularly scheduled laundry change outs and baggage packing routine.

Lost my last post.

It seems that blogger flushed the post I spent all afternoon working on. Sigh. Here's a couple photos to hold you over until I can dedicate another hour to setting up an interesting and informative post with lots of name dropping and links.

Come check out the Arch Rival Rollergirls travel team as they battle the Windy City Rollers at the Stadium, 1909 S. Laramie in Cicero Illinois on Saturday January 20th. Hopefully I'll be able to post from Chicago with all the derby info after the bout! Wish us luck as we take on the League responsible for our existence! If we can beat these ladies, we can conquer the world!

Here's my godson #2 wearing a hat that I made for him. He's cute.

Here is Lizard Ridge block #3, color 182. I was worried I would get bored with this project. Seriously, I plan on knitting twenty-five of the same pieces. Twenty-five! Talk about monotony. Fortunately, the amazing color changes in a single ball of Noro Kureyon are enough to keep me going. Still, just in case, I am planning on starting a sock tonight and finishing Penny the peanut's sweater on the plane on Saturday. If the sweater goes over well, I may write up the pattern and post it here. If.