Two months in bullets

It's been a while since I posted anything of anything, so I think I'll just hit the highlights. Thanks to AmpuTeeHee for the idea!

Here it goes...ready?

* GI consults resulting in crash course in remedial toilet training for one boy with negligible success, leading to CHOP consult next week (hoping for the best and trying to avoid a breakdown (mine));

* a fabu 38th birthday celebration (mine) with great knitting swag and awesome party favors!;

* a disputed case of head lice based on purported evidence in one child 5 days before vacation resulting in all children being sent home from school and generalized but contained hysteria and chaos in the house, with the attendant shampooing of children, and washing and vacuuming of every toy and surface and bedding in the house. End result: no head lice in any child including the alleged patient by evening, and three boys with buzz cuts;

* a low blood sugar episode rolling into panic episode while traveling at highway speeds on the New Jersey Turnpike three days later. (Every time I get that damn anxiety under control it leaks out another way);

* a call from the police the day before vacation regarding what turned out to be a non-incident but raised anxiety levels of entire family;

* the discovery 22 hours before takeoff that previously packed suitcases are too heavy and damaged to take on trip resulting in crazed trip to purchase new luggage and repack same;

* a successful 10-day family vacation (husband around weekends only). Yes, I can wear high heels and take a fish off a hook. Three loads of laundry per day. Wake up 2-3 times per night for disoriented children/children who have fallen out of bed/children who are annoyed by the sibling who is sharing his/her room. Put in request for second vacation...alone;

* return from vacation one week before day camp begins and immediately call nursery school director to see if triplets can attend nursery school camp for one week (starting next day) until day camp starts;

* raging case of pinkeye (mine) following our association pool's season-opening pool party last Friday. Run halls of house screaming "Noooooooo!" and examining children's eyes (without touching them) to see who else is infected and would be unable to start camp;

* three head lice-free and pinkeye-free boys successfully start day camp on the bus;

* day 2 of camp = day 1 of toilet training for smart and completely uninterested two-year-old daughter;

* battle with insurance company and collection agency over unpaid bills medical bills from three years ago. Yes, I am the only one who has a clue about what's gone on for the past three years and the only party involved who is not in violation of the Fair Claims Processing Act (a specialty of mine prior to triplets) and the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (as per husband) is me. Apparently, doctors do not know how to bill appropriately and insurance company does not know how to process claims properly and collection agency does not care. You will find my head exploded and my eyeballs stuck to the ceiling by tomorrow morning;

* repeat mantra of "take two steps away from your brother," "keep your hands to yourself," "we don't call names in this family" every five minutes until children are turned over to school/resort camp program/pre-school camp program/day camp bus counselors, and resume no later than five minutes after children are returned;

* Oh, some knitting and crochet:

The Topsy Turvy Doll (details can also be found here on Ravelry):




The picture of the purple dress shows the doll before I made the bonnet tie and hair--I'll post those when I can do another shoot.

I also finished the Loop garter stitch koigu scarf:




Who knew taking self photos in the bathroom mirror would be so hard? It doesn't help that I'm breaking out like a teenager for some unknown reason (what did I say about stress earlier?), so the position of the camera relative to my face is equal in importance to capturing the scarf.

In casting-on news, last month, Mom and I started our own Funky Monkey knitalong. In the race to the finish (because we're competitive in a non-competitive way), I made a crucial error:



Yes, in my race to get ahead of Mom while she was at work, I put the tail on the front of the body instead of the back. Apparently, my competitiveness overwhelmed my common sense, resulting in lost time ripping out. Here is the monkey now:



Now that I finished the Topsy Turvy Doll, I think this is the next on the list to finish. Oh, and I used the monkey as an excuse to learn Magic Loop (from the pamphlet, of course).

And, I joined Summer of Socks again. I received some great sock club yarns, just haven't been able to cast on yet (it takes more time than I thought to pack three camp bags and make three camp lunches every night). It's almost 9 p.m., so time to pack, then shower, then maybe wind yarn for first pair of SOS socks.