In baby news!!!

I am doing some catch up posting! I have been waiting for pictures, but I can't wait any longer! On Friday early morning our friends Kelly and Brian Stinson and brother Jack welcomed baby Ty William to their family! Congratulations!!!



Ty William

12 hours later my sister-in-law Missy and brother Mark welcomed their first baby, Gabriel Charles to there family. I am so happy for them! Yippeee!!! (I am still waiting for a picture of this little man! Please, please send one soon!

Both babies were due on July 10th and 11th, so the moms were both lucky and the babies both healthy!!!

Donna's having a baby!

One of my friends in my MOMS Club is having a baby in September. Donna Rugg is pregnant with her 3rd little girl and is very excited about her arrival. Yesterday I attended a celebration for her and her unborn. It was a really neat concept. It was a party called Bouquet of Blessings.

Now for me to plug something like this it has to be pretty neat because it definitely is a Christian concept, but it was such a great idea I thought I would share. The woman who started the Bouquet of Blessing was a really neat person and she explained that her grandmother inspired her to start this business. She makes these beautiful flowers out of clay. When I was first told about these flowers I thought, how pretty could they really be?, but they were gorgeous! We had a little quiz about the flowers along with learning what each flower means, plus a verse from the bible was read that represented each flower. At the end we were to figure out which flower described our personalities. I really couldn't figure out which flower I was most like, but my friend Hallie thought I was a Magnolia, so I became Ms. Magnolia. Magnolia means nobility and perserverence. What do you think, am I Ms. Magnolia??

By the tears that were shed at the shower I am sure Donna had a great time! We are looking forward to the delivery of her baby girl!

A week-end with the Nebraska Grandparents

Angus and Gemma with their Papa Steve!

This past Thursday my parents were in town from Nebraska. My mom was coming to see Angus for the first time and my dad was coming to see the little man because I don't think my dad can get enough of him. I have to say he is awfully cute! Unfortunately my dad caught a cold right before he arrived and felt pretty miserable the whole time he was here, but he persevered and rolled up the sleeves and kept the kids entertained for 4 days solid. My mom and I were MIA most of the week-end shopping for things for the kids. You can totally tell that my Mom is the grandmother of 4 boys, she went crazy buying skirts and dresses for Miss Gemma!



On Saturday night we took my parents to the Sizzling 7's rugby tournament in Mesa. It was a perfect evening and they got a great education on rugby. If I had a dime for every time my mother made a noise and flinched as a man was pummeled on the field I would be a rich woman!

On Sunday before my parents left we took some family pictures in our backyard.





It was nice to see my parents, but I think the best part of the whole week-end was seeing my parents with our kids! You can tell they are all in love with each other!

Quick Update

I haven't had much time for blogging lately. I am really missing reading everyone's blogs more thoroughly and adding comments. We have been gone the last 2 week-ends and now I am heading to the airport to pick up my parents who are flying in from Nebraska.

Last night we had a scary one, Angus had a fever over 103.5. We called the nurse twice and the second time they sent us to the ER. Poor little man has a urinary tract infection. He was poked and prodded some many time it was sad. I am glad I was the one to take him to the ER because I don't think my poor husband could have handled all of the test. (He is known to get a little faint.) After all of his horrible shots I think our man is on the mend. Whew! It is really stressful to be a parent especially when you little one is sick.

Anyway, this week-end we should have loads more pictures with the Grandparents + we will be going to the Sizzling 7's rugby tournament this week-end.

I've been tagged

1. Total number of books I own?

I actually own around 300 books. That includes my books, Jonny's books and the kids books. Most of the books are my kids books. That is because I am not the type of person to re-read books, so I usually give them away.

2. The last book I bought?

The Time Traveler's Wife by Anita Niffenegger

3. The last book I read?
Discipline, The Brazelton Way by Dr. T Berry Brazelton and Dr. Joshua Sparrow

4. Five books that mean a lot to me?

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser - Because it made me stop eating fast food

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - Because it was so moving.

The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans - Because it was the only romance novel I ever liked.

Discipline, The Brazelton Way by Dr. T Berry Brazelton and Dr. Joshua Sparrow - Because it is helping me become a more patience parent and a better parent.

Stitch 'n Bitch Nation by Debbie Stoller - Because my little article is in there.

I am tagging Phoenix Knitter, Miz Peg, SquareSlant, Mac Attack, and JenKnits. Please answer the above questions and post them on your blog!

Graduation in Carlsbad

Gemma and Angus ready for their road trip!

On Thursday evening we headed to Carlsbad, CA for my cousin Steven's high school graduation. We were looking forward to seeing my Uncle, Aunt, cousins and Grandpa!



Angus and Jonny at graduation.



Over 600 kids graduation from La Costa High School in Carlsbad.



Uncle Rich, Aunt Ellen, Steven and Evan. 3 more years Evan!



Steven and Me



Steven and Grandpa



Gemma and Ellen's mom Clare



Grandpa George with his great grandkids Gemma and Angus.



Gemma playing Evan's drums. She is a future Meg White!

We had a great visit with the family. We spent the Saturday hanging out an my Aunt and Uncle's house. We also ate at my very favorite restaurant El Special Norte in Leucadia. They have the best Chicken Soup and tostadas!!!

I was also lucky enough to visit the LYS in Encinitas called The Black Sheep. I bought a couple of balls of Crystal Palace Dragonfly to make a purse for Gemma. They had a great selection of yarn! Tons and tons of Noro for all you fans and the Manos selection was to die for! I highly recommend a trip to this shop if you are trying to beat the heat this summer.

On a knitting note I was able to get tons of knitting done this weekend while we were driving. Below is the test knit sweater I am doing for SWTC. It is for a 6 year old girl and is in bamboo.




The pattern is purl 5, knit 1. I like working with the bamboo, but it is a bit hard for my liking.



Here is the baby blanket for my sister-in-law who is due in July.

Gemma watching a movie on her way back from Carlsbad.

Minnesota visitor

Last night Auntie Pam's Daddy (as Gemma calls him) and Auntie Pam came over for dessert. Jerry and his wife Harriet have a place in Sun Lakes where they started snow birding a couple of years ago. We try and get together with them as much as possible and even spent Christmas with them the last two years. We are very fond of them and they make us feel like part of their family. Jerry came over to hear all about our possibilities of moving to China this fall. He also treated Gemma to some new princess books!

Tonight I am headed to Coffee Rush to get some knitting in. I am really on a role with my blanket and test knit for SWTC. I wanted to go to Mama Javas on Wednesday, but it is just too much since we are leaving for Carlsbad on Thursday.

Rocky Point Week-end

On Friday afternoon we packed up the van and headed on our first road trip to Rocky Point, Mexico. We went with our friends Shannon, Hallie and their two boys Carson (3 on Thursday) and Harrison (10 months). Hallie's parents have a condo on Sandy Beach and here is a view from the patio.



Friday night we arrived in Rocky Point just in time for the kids to hit the swimming pool and check out the beach. Hallie and I went for a drive to pick up dinner at a little chicken restaurant in town. We had a fabulous dinner of the most amazing chicken I have ever had, hot salsa, fresh homemade tortillas, shredded cabbage, and limes. We were able to get the kiddos to bed and then have a nice evening on the patio drinking adult beverages and talking about a wide range of topics like college, politics, etc.



In the morning we woke up and Jonny made us his famous Ulster Fry breakfast. If you have not had this Irish delight please ask Jonny to make it for you sometime. It is a must have! We got everyone ready and headed down to the beach. The water was suprisingly warm and the sand was very course. You could actually see that the sand was made up of broken up seashells.



After our beach excursion we headed back up to the pool. Here is Gemma posing in front of one of the pools at the resort.



Me, Angus, Gemma, Hallie, and Harrison basking in the sun. I am having a very yummy and much needed tropical drink.

After we baked in the sun for a few hours Hallie and I headed to the spa for massages and a pedicure. I generally do not get massages because I am not able to relax, but I think the combination of the sea air and warm ocean water helped me wind down. After our trip to the spa we headed down to the fish market for some fresh seafood. We bought some small and large shrimp, oysters, and huge scallops for dinner.



Carson and Gemma by the fish market.



Our family by the fish market.

On Sunday we got up and Shannon made breakfast. We headed down to the beach again and the water was even warmer. It was just a beautiful day. I have to say I really relaxed and enjoyed myself at the beach.



Angus paddling in the water.



Gemma, Angus, and me sitting on the beach.



Gemma striking a pose!



Daddy and Angus taking a stroll on the beach.



Angus and Mommy



Jonny, Angus, Shannon and Harrison



Shannon and Jonny taking a banana boat ride.



Hallie and Harrison



Gemma sacked out on the way home from Rocky Point. Do you think she wore herself out?

On the knitting front I started to knit a baby blanket for my sister-in-law. It is turning out beautifully! I got the idea from my friend Donna R. who is making her grandmother a shawl in the same pattern. I also had a chance to work on my test knit for Southwest Trading Company. I will take pictures of my projects soon!

Up next a trip to Carlsbad, CA to my cousin's high school graduation and to see the family. I should have some more great pics of the kids!

More after school drama...

After Tuesday's library incident I made one decision, Gemma still needs a nap. I thought Gemma had out grown her nap. 5 days in a row prior to trying no naps it was taking her at least 2 hours to fall asleep. So yesterday I thought I was so smart and I would take Gemma and Angus to the gym after Gemma got out of school and then have her take her nap around 2:30 pm (2 hours after she normally takes a nap.).

I dropped the kids off at the child care and went upstairs to start my work-out. After about 10 minutes of abs I was paged by the child care. I thought it was just Angus with a monstrous diaper for me to change, but unfortunately not. Gemma went to see Angus in the infant area and decided to take bite Angus on his hand. I didn't know quite how to react. I know that she shouldn't bite Angus, but I am sure that she was just copying her Mommy and Daddy as we are always sticking Angus' hands and feet in our mouth pretending to eat him up. I asked Gemma what had happened and she told me that she bit Angus. I went to the locker room to call Jonny to consult on what I should do, but he wasn't answering. I thought about it for a minute and decide to remove Gemma from the situation. I went back in the child care and she was not happy that we were leaving. I told her that she needed to calm herself down. Luckily she was able to calm herself much quicker than our Tuesday drama.



We went home and she went right down for her nap. After her nap we had plans to have the Barkats over for dinner. Jill, Peyton, and Landon came over for a swim while we waited for the husbands to return from work. We had such a great time! We had rotisserie chicken and rump roast, grilled veggies, garlic new potatoes, Jill's scrummy spinach salad and the most delicious caramel brownies.

Today went much better. I took Gemma to school, went to the gym, picked Gemma up and took her immediately home for her nap. She really needed it and slept almost 3 hours. After she woke up Auntie Pam came over for a swim. All and all a much better day for Gemma!

Tomorrow we are leaving for Rocky Point with our friends Shannon, Hallie, Carson and Harrison. We are really looking forward to it as we haven't ever been to there!

She's off the school, all by herself!

Gemma has been wanting to go to school 'All by herself' ever since she started her Mommy and Me preschool last September, so I was very excited to hear that her preschool offered a summer program for kids 3 and up as long as they were potty trained. Gemma went on her first adventure in school by herself and it was a very successful day. I dropped her off and she was just beside herself with excitement. She was very happy to wear her new backpack that her Daddy bought her in China and have her own lunch box. I would be lying if I said I was sad, but my feelings were more like confident that Gemma would do fine without me and that I was comfortable enough to trust the school with my child's life.



Angus and Gemma before school.

While Gemma was at school Angus and I headed for the gym. I had a nice work-out and Angus had a cry free morning in the child care. When I picked Angus up, I felt like something was missing. We went out to he van and I loaded him up and that is when I felt a little lonely without Miss Gemma around. Even Angus wasn't enjoying the ride in the van as much, he is so used to his sister smiling at him and entertaining him.



Another snap of Gemma, for the Grandparents!

We picked Gemma up from school and she was so excited to see us and tell us about her day. She had a great time and Mrs. Pohlit said she did great.

On another note, Gemma has seemed to outgrow her naps. The past 5 days we have struggled to get her to go down for her afternoon nap. It usually takes her 2 hours to settle down. I have tried a nap at noon, a nap at 1, 2, and 3, but every time she doesn't seem to want to sleep for almost 2 hours after we first put her down. Jonny and I agreed, much to my disappointment, that she had outgrown her naps. So yesterday, (yes, call me stupid because I thought I would try this on her first day of school 'all by herself'!) I thought I would give the no nap thing a try. Big mistake!!! I took the kids to Gap to pick up a t-shirt and they both seemed to be fine. Then it was off the the library to pick up my book that was on hold. Gemma and I had a talk before she went in discussing the importance of her listened to me while we were in the library. We got in the library and I picked up my book and we headed over to the kids section. Gemma wanted to pick out a DVD and I wasn't opposed, although I almost never let her watch TV. As we were trying to find a DVD a nice man were admiring the kids saying how cute they were. There were no DVD's in the library, I think because they were all checked out due to school being out for the summer. There were tons of videos, but we do not own a vcr anymore, so I explained to Gemma that we couldn't check them out because we didn't have the player. Gemma seemed to understand and then that 'nice' man came up to her and handed her a Minnie and Mickey Mouse video. She was sure she was going to get it! She even ran away from me with the video in tow. When I caught up to her she started screaming, hitting, kicking and whaling that she wanted the video. I told her that she didn't listen and we had to leave the library. She walked with me to the front of the library crying away and then ran away again screaming she wanted to get her books, I chased her down again and she wailed some more. I quickly checked out my book and we were off.

I have to say that maybe a week ago that sight would have freaked me out. I have been doing some reading on child discipline and I really think I handled the situation quite well. The books I am reading are by Dr. T. Berry Brazelton and I am loving them. They are helping me become a calmer more empathetic parent. It is also teaching me to control my emotions. We will see how this method works. So far, so good. Even though we definitely had drama yesterday, I do believe Gemma and I are learning to self-discipline ourselves.



My gorgeous little man!

Last night I headed to Changing Hands for knitting. We had a nice little group and I almost finished baby Aidan's baby blanket, but ran out of yarn!!! I need about 3 feet of yarn to finish the blanket. What a bummer!

A day of no plans

I have to say that I am a scheduleholic. I love to make plans, organize events/groups, and in general have a very full social calendar. When I looked at my calendar this week-end to see nothing planned, I didn't know what to do with myself. The rest of our summer looks crazy! We are going to Rocky Point, heading to Carlsbad, my parents are coming from Nebraska, our friends our coming from Tennessee, me and the kids are heading to Nebraska, and then finally we head to N. Ireland for a month for an even crazier itinerary. This all in the space of less than 3 months!

Having no plans was much needed this week-end. We had such a casual day, I really appreciated it. We headed to the gym for a work-out (Jonny and I are obsessed with dropping some lbs. before his college roommate's wedding this summer!) and lunch. While the kids napped Jonny and I worked on plans for our trip to N. Ireland and Scotland. We had dinner and ended the evening with a trip to Desert Breeze Park for a ride on the train and carousel. It was a nice, much needed planless day!

Fender Bender

Today was my free day. We had no playdates and I was dropping off the kids with Ann's house for a couple hours. I was planning on running errands, but Jen and Brooke so graciously rescheduled their lunch plans and met me at 98 South in downtown Chandler. We had a lovely lunch and they had a great area for us to knit.

I had to leave a little early to pick up the kids and then I was off to pick up Pam J. to take her to the airport. She was headed to Minneapolis to see her parents and attend her nephew's graduation. On our way home from the airport we were driving down the 202 minding our own business when the traffic started to back up and I was braking and BAM!!! We were rear ended by a older man in a Cadillac. Thank goodness the kids weren't hurt. (The van has a dent in the trunk and the bumper is all scratched up, so we will have to take it in next week to see about the damage.) We moved over into area between an on ramp and the freeway and he inspected the cars. I didn't feel comfortable getting out of the car, so he wrote down his insurance information and said he wanted to go. I said that would be ok, but I wanted to look at his insurance card. I noticed that his card expired on May 21st. Luckily DPS showed up and sighted him for driving too closely and no current insurance card.

We have nothing planned for the week-end except going to the gym. It should be a relaxing week-end as we are going to be very busy for the next few months!

Hippity Hop to the Kangaroo Shop!

Last night my knitting group met at Red Kangaroo Wines in Chandler. I would have to say it was our most successful meeting ever! Everyone was so happy to meet there and really seemed to enjoy the easy access to wine. Glasses of wine were 1/2 price and there were no corking charges on a bottle. Injy, one of the owners of Red Kangaroo, ran around the room all night making sure we were happy and our glasses were full. She was a total trooper, I told her we would be out of the shop by 8:30 pm, but we didn't leave until 9:30 pm! Everyone has requested meeting here again, so for those of you that missed it we will be meeting there again in July.



Jen, Marie, Becky, Michelle, and Barbara enjoying a little knitting and wine.

Sarah brought a couple new knitters with her, one of them my friend Marne (on the high chair). Michelle the photographer in the back!

Sarah and Martha, who we haven't seen in a long, long time. I guess wine brings out the best of us!

Nick, Melanie, and Pam having a glass and shopping for bottles!

Chris (Michelle's husband) and Damon (Marie's husband) picking up their ladies!

Note: Pam and Hallie some how the picture I took of you too was eaten by my computer! It was really good and I wanted to post it!

Good Housekeeping called!

A couple months ago Good Housekeeping called and wanted to interview me about the Stitch 'n Bitch AZ group. They are writing an article on stay-at-home Moms that do other things besides be a mom. There fact checker called today and a quote from me and a small photo of me should appear in the September issue. Whoopee!!! I bet many of you wouldn't have guessed that I would ever be in Good Housekeeping! I sure wouldn't have!