Our Vacation in Mendocino

This past Memorial Day weekend we took a family vacation up the North Coast to Mendocino. 

We stayed in a vacation rental house with gorgeous ocean views, redwood decks and a hot tub (and perhaps the last place on earth with no internet or cell phone access)! 

We went hiking on the headlands, visited a lighthouse and beach, and yes, even a local yarn store.   We saw the local flora and fauna, all while keeping the mood lowkey and relaxed. 

Emma felt sand underneath her little bare toes for the first time:

She rode around in the Ergo:

We all had a great time, and I will put up some more pictures soon!

My Foray into Crochet

Here's Emma in my Cheri crocheted cap: 

It's got a little brim and a crocheted flower on the side: 

I wanted to make Emma a cotton sun hat for the summer months.  I really like the result (it's a little big on her) but I think I will also make something with a floppier brim. 

I learned how to crochet before I learned how to knit, and I find that crocheted items are a lot faster to create than knitted items, but I still like knitting more.  My mother, an excellent crocheter and knitter herself, helped me make this hat.  Having not crocheted in years and years, but skills were rusty!

I actually think this hat could be made for a boy, too, just remove the flower and use a different color, and it would look sort of like a newsboy cap.

Hey, You!

Hey! Yea, hey, you!  Come over here.

 Last night, grandma made delicious sukiyaki.   And last week, my doctor told me I could eat most of what mommy and daddy eat, so I got to try some, too. 

But, this morning, I felt a litle strange, and I thought, "What could this be?"

So, that's why I am calling you over here, to tell you, that "Oops, I did it again, I pooped my pants."

But, don't be mad at me, I'm just a baby!

It FILED!

My life can somewhat return to normal, at least for a little while.  After a long series of fits and starts, the IPO that I was working on filed today at market close.

Oh, the Irony!

I have been working like a madwoman for the past 10 days.  In fact, while I had this morning "off," as a "reward" for my good behavior, I have to go back to work again tonight, most likely until dawn.  What makes this particularly difficult is that right now, the work is located offsite, about an hour's drive from San Francisco.  So for the last 10 days, I have been working about 16-18 hours straight, not counting the 2 hours drive time to and from the site.  So if you calcuate: very little sleep+very little family time+ very little Emma viewings = very bitter woman.

The irony of all of this lies in the fact that last month, I asked if I could move to a part-time schedule so that I would be able to have more time for Emma and family duties.  Ha!  So here I am, being paid for part time, but doing more than full-time work.  And having to cancel plans, and having my first mother's day as a mother myself being ruined, since I have already been told that we will be working all this weekend from morning till dawn.

I know this post sounds so complainy, but honestly, I can't help but feel this way at the moment.  I know that others say that this is the profession I have chosen, and it comes with the territory.  Hell, I tell myself the same thing, too.  But, somewhere, there has got to actually exist this elusive notion of balance between work and life.  I guess the good news is that this is only temporary and the end is in sight.  Once this passes, I will (I hope) be on my part-time schedule and have more sanity in life.  I am crossing my fingers.