Stalled out

I'm stuck. It's March 10. I have yet to cast on a sock for this month's Socktopia. I haven't been feeling it with anything in my stash (most of which has been acquired in the past few months). I finally bought fabulous yarn hand-dyed yarn that I was feeling--I LOVED the colorway and I got gauge first time out for Jaywalkers--except the dye came off on my hands, so I have to send it back for fixative treatment. So now my default is the Regia Bamboo with a pattern from a book I bought in February (I don't remember the name and it's not in front of me now) or this really cool Scarlet Fleece yarn in a pink/green colorway--it's gorgeous, I got in in the last Loopy Ewe update, it's great to knit with--but I got a weird gauge and am going to re-swatch on different needles.

While I was struggling with the socks, I decided to make something for Baby Girl: Knitting Pure and Simple's Bulky Hooded Vest for Children. Totally cute, and I bought the Lorna's Laces Shepherd Bulky in Bright Red, and it's gorgeous! If it's fun and easy, I may make three more for the boys. And ordering from Angelika is always a treat--fast shipping, beautifully packaged, great brochures to leaf through! Of course, I ran into trouble swatching: the swatch got wider as I knit! I guess swatching at 11:30 p.m. when I can hardly keep my eyes open is not the best idea. When I knit during the children's naptime, I got a consistent gauge (yay!) but then discovered my KnitPicks Options cable was separating from the join. Ack! KnitPicks is sending a new one out, no problem. Oh, and when I was winding the yarn, my new ball winder, on its third use, fell apart. KnitPicks took care of that, no problem, as well. It's a delight to deal with vendors who make things easy for you.

One the plus side, I'm making progress on the secret project I mentioned earlier. And I organized my dpns in this really cool Offhand Designs clutch I bought at the beginning of the year, and organized my crochet hooks in a really cool hook roll from Po-Ka-Dot.comthat I received as a holiday gift.

And, in the middle of this, I've had a nasty sinus infection for about two weeks that is not cured, and I finish antibiotics tomorrow. Looks like I'm back at the doctor on Monday. I've been to the pediatrician three times this week: two boys are sick. They're spiking fevers around 104-105F. It's unpleasant for all. I'm giving lots of lukewarm baths, forcing fluids, and letting almost all rules go out the window (fortunately/unfortunately, they're still moderately interested in the potty, although Boy J uses it to get out of the bath he so desperately needs for his fever). Their normal selves mostly reappear when the fever goes down. Unfortunately, my husband is sick, so he's out of commission. And I have to wake boys in the night for Motrin; I was so tired last night, I was nauseous. And I had a wake-up call at 6 a.m. from Boy J and had to take him straight from bed into the bath. Thank goodness for ear thermometers! And we're waiting for the other two to get it. The doctor says this bug lasts for 5-7 days. We just finished Day 2 for Boy E, and Day 1 for Boy J. And their third birthdays are Tuesday--poor guys!