reality bites

there are a lot of reality shows on tv.  i don't watch many - jon and kate, table for 12, little couple, and real world/road rules.  sometimes supernanny.  i'd rather watch a crime or medical serial or craft show.  reality shows are the networks excuse for laziness.

anyway, i find it amazing how many people want to be on these shows.  apparently the balloon boy's family was angling for a show.  why would someone want to be on tv at their child's expense?  look at what happened to the gosselins.  there has to be a better way to make a buck than being on a tv show.  i wouldn't want my kids on tv.  we don't need the money that bad to sell their souls to the devil.

i'm starting another prayer shawl for MIL.   i tidied up the stash over the past few days, and found skeins of red lion brand homespun that i used for different projects (originally bought to make my dad a stole, i started making a small blanket before i frogged it.  now it's going to be a shawl.  anything to stash bust).  i need to make the boy a winter cap.  i like VH's feel good beanie (i made my KDO hat with this pattern).  i found black yarn, and i'll use avocado green and the rust yarns from the pumpkin cap to make the stripes.  the boy's new coat is black and green, so the hat will look really cute.

after i finished the poppin blankets and the pumpkin hat, i was at a loss as to what to knit next.  i should really tackle my WIPs.  i have 2 panels left on the tree skirt plus about a dozen flowers and a few pairs of socks.  i bought yarn at michael's to make sock monkeys for the twins.  i also got fluffy yarn to make their bug toys.  cottonease was on sale at michael's last week, and the yarn knit up so nicely for the VSKP squares that i went and bought more yarn in different colors.  at first i thought i'd make the squares for warm weather blankets for the twins, but then thought how cool it would be to make log cabin blankets for them instead.

so much yarn to knit, no time to actually do it.

the babies have been especially fussy this week.  yesterday i fed them every 2 hours (and naturally not at the same time).  i held them, put them in swings, in bouncers, gave them pacis, and nothing helped.   since they were born 5 weeks early, some of the developmental milestones are arriving later (technically they would be 6 weeks old if they went full term).  so a normal 6 week old baby would have this fussiness.  it's not easy when 2 babies are fussing, but we deal.

last night we went to title 1 reading night at the boy's school.  i thought it was a discussion about the reading program.  turns out it's a new program for students who need extra help with reading.  WHY DON'T THEY JUST CALL IT WHAT IT IS...REMEDIAL READING.  so hubby and i are totally freaking out - how could we NOT know that the boy was in special reading?  not that there's anything wrong with that, but for a kid who went to library since he was a year old, was read to, and has a mother and grandfather who devour books with gusto, how could he have trouble reading?  turns out, the event was more like an open house, with all students and parents invited.  we talked to the reading teacher who assured that the boy was merely tested and NOT enrolled, and secondly, the majority of kindergarteners CAN'T read and won't officially start this program (should they require it) until later in the school year.  it was a load off our minds, and the event was interesting, but had i known it was for remedial reading, we would not have gone.  with the babies fussing so much, we were pretty exhausted.  but the program does sound pretty promising.  and we did get to suck up to talk to the principal for a while, and even scored a free pizza.

today i got my doll porn american girl doll catalog.  i can't wait to order the twin dolls for the pixie and monkey ears.  i have one criticism.  for the price of these dolls, you think you'd have more choice in designing the doll.  the twins only come in either blonde or brunette hair, dark or light skin.  the boy will be easy - brown hair, brown eyes.  the pixie has red hair - don't they think that twins can have red hair too?  i'll prolly have to order a brown haired girl.  we have no idear how the pixie's hair will develop.  but right now it's strawberry blond.

the bigger dolls are worse.  i wanted to order a doll with my specs - dark reddish brown hair, brown eyes, freckles.   i can order a brown hair/eyed doll with light or medium skin, or a blond/red head with freckles.  actually, if i remember correctly, i can't even order a dark brown haired/light skin doll.  dark brown hair is for only medium/dark skin.  and i won't go there with straight/curly/wavy hair.  the doll i'd want would have dark reddish brown wavy hair/freckles/brown eyes.  i guess i'm not an american girl after all.  international mutt, perhaps?