Friday Randomness

• The motel called us back last night, but to my work number. I logged in to my work e-mail this morning to hear an exasperated woman say we can stay for two nights. Nate called and they told him they cancelled the other people. We had booked first. Tomorrow, we are off to Waterton :) Supposedly they have a boat tour that lasts 2.5 hours. I'm pretty stoked. Oh, and a chocolate store that has old fashioned candy and icecream. Sounds like heaven
  
• When Grace was born our utmost concern was if she had any allergies, given Nate is anaphylactic to dairy. We thought we were scott free until last summer when she was bitten by mosquitoes. Her arm swelled up like a balloon, and we became dependant on bubble gum flavored Benadryl. We were doing pretty good this summer until this week. She was bit on the shoulder on Wednesday afternoon and by last night her arm was swollen from her shoulder to her elbow. Nate insisted I bring her to the Dr. We were told this morning it was indeed a mosquito bite again and that during the mosquito season we should be giving her Benadryl every night. She also was prescribed an antibiotic to reduce the swelling. We were concerned about dairy, peanut butter - food type allergies. Never would I have thought of mosquitoes. Makes me concerned if she ever gets bitten by a bee.


• I'm feeling like the cool kid on the block. Grace has been asking the past few days to sit at the table with us rather than in her highchair. Our portable booster seat stays at my Mom and Dad's so today I picked this up. I am in love with it. And this cool placemat. I can't wait for her to wakeup from her nap and see her new spot at the table.


• Came here to see some craft news? Clue 4 arrived for Henry last night. We are now up to 392 stitches for one round. Eek! We have two weeks to do Clue 4 before the last clue arrives. So far, I'm loving it. Here's some snapshots of completed Clue 3.



• I'm searching for a modern baby quilt pattern - something kind of funky. Anyone have any ideas?

Your turn, my turn

My husband planned our wedding night, I only figured out once we had left the city where we were headed. I loved the surprise and it started a little tradition of ours.

For our first anniversary, it was my turn to plan our weekend - a surprise for Nate. I got us a room for the weekend at a little lodge outside of Banff and we went white water rafting.

For our second anniversary it was Nate's turn. We went camping - it was glorious.

But somewhere along the line, at our 5th anniversary the first year Grace was born, I sort of took over. I like planning, Nate's pretty easy going, so we've done things like gone hiking, or stayed in town and gone to Cirque du Soleil. Nothing quite as exciting as the early days and heading out of town.

Until this year. I got the crazy idea to head to a small town in Alberta and explore a little, bringing our toddler with us. In June I found a motel online in Waterton and booked us in. Four glorious days over the August long weekend.

I called three days ago to confirm. Yep, booked in for three nights. I call tonight to ask if we can have a cot put in our room for our daughter.

The woman says "oh, did you get our message for you to call?"
Me "Um, no"
Her "Oh, well, we only have you booked in for one night"
Me "Pardon me? I made a reservation for three nights"
Her "We only have one marked down. It was a part time staff that took your reservation. She must have booked it wrong."
Me "I called three days ago and you told me I was booked for three"

This conversation continued for awhile. Perhaps she could find us a room for the a second night in Pincher Creek? Um, we were wanting to stay in Waterton, not in Pincher Creek. Perhaps we could come back some other time and get a really great deal? Um, we have made plans to come this weekend.

I asked if the people booked on the Sunday night in our room were expecting to also be there on Saturday. She didn't know. I asked who booked first, she said we booked the same day. Interesting.

I was REALLY looking forward to a weekend away. I'm hoping it still happens. I don't feel like driving 6 hours in a weekend with a toddler for a one night stay.

I'll be sitting here tonight, waiting for the phone to ring, and hoping Saturday we'll be celebrating 7 years of marriage by packing up our car and heading South.

Let's have a little fun shall we?

Look to the left. Yep! I've added a poll to my blog :) Next Thursday morning, August 6th, bright and early in the morning, Nate and I have our 2nd ultrasound where we hope our wee one will reveal to us their gender.

Care to play along? Cast your vote on the side bar. I'll put all the correct voters names into a draw to win something sweet, or something puppy dog tail'ish.

Here are some things to consider when voting:

The two hearbeats we've heard have been 150 bpm and 138 bpm. Grace's HB's were always over 150.

This baby does not like chocolate but is a fan of hard candy - Bottle Caps, Jawbreakers, you get the idea. It is not a fan of fruit juice, but loves kettle corn and frozen lemonade.

I have been physically ill since week 5 of the PG, tapering off to just nausea around 13 weeks. I'm still nauseous. I stopped being nauseous with Grace at 16 weeks. I'm now 18 weeks.

I was 29 when we conceived this baby and it would have been in April (just if you want to reserach the Chinese Calendar!).

Looking forward to seeing your answers!

A realization

I've come to a realization about myself these past few days. In large part it's because we moved Grace into her new room this past Friday night. One room over from the nursery (seems strange saying that given I always just called it 'Grace's Room'). She's in a single bed, in a room that is completely girlified. Pink walls, butterflies, curtains that tie with ribbons. Her old room (the nursery) was painted a periwinkle blue. We knew she was going to be a girl, but what if they were wrong? I picked a middle colour - one I could make look more purple, or one that could easily be blue. It makes it easy this time. Nothing to change, except a few girly items I added. But that will be easy, because that room (the nursery) is eerily empty right now. It actually looks bizarre to me. But I'm getting off tangent.

What I realized, after I peered into her new room, watching her little body sleep in a single bed that all of a sudden appeared huge, is that I take a long time to make decisions. But by the time I get to actually putting that decision into action, I find it really easy. Like ripping a bandaid off. I would compare it to staring at a bandaid for a really long time, getting up the gusto to rip that thing off, knowing it might be painful but for the best. Then you rip quickly, and it's done.

So far, I've witnessed it with:

Taking away her soother (it could have been done way before I got up the guts).
Potty training (she was ready at least 3 weeks before I finally started).
Moving her to her new room (it's been ready for weeks).

I'm sure as I continue on this parenting journey, my kids are going to teach me way more things about myself than just this one little glimpse into a personality trait of mine. I'm glad I'm a 'rip it off' kind of person. I have found the above transitions relatively easy - meaning I don't cry hysterically when they happen because I'm 'letting go'. I must move past that somewhere along that long decision line of mine, because those moments all have made me smile. Smiling at Grace thinking "wow, she's growing up" and "she's such a cool little person". Not to mention I'm smashing proud of her.

What glimpses into your personality has your parenting shown you?

Fun in the sun!

I have had one of those weekends where time seems to creep by at a snail's pace... and it's been glorious! Usually when you are having too much fun, time seems to fly. I'm glad I've just been able to enjoy these past few days and soak it all in.

Yesterday we were invited over to friends of ours for lunch. We ended up staying til 7 pm when we had to get Grace home to bed.

We spent our day with our feet hanging in a kiddies pool while our daughters played.



And over the course of the day we managed to eat an entire pie. Ridiculously delicious.



Today Nate and I headed to the Zoo with Grace.

Train rides, elephants, frogs, flamingos... what a wonderful way to spend a morning.

She enjoyed this way more than this picture lets on...


18 weeks today!

Not to mention we got to see these visitors. How cute is he?



I hope you've had as wonderful as a weekend as we have!

Summertime

I wasn't sure it was actually going to arrive. I heard on the radio, that had June ended on a Thursday, it would have been the coldest June in our cities history. I guess Friday was a tad too warm and changed that. For about the past week and a half, we have had temps in the 20's, sometimes nearing the 30's. It's glorious. And I'm not going to complain that my feet are swollen, or that Grace now has the fan in her room and I'm not sure how I'll sleep, because I know these hot days will only be here for another 5 weeks before Fall starts creeping in. Bring on the hot, the days spent at the pool, the lazing about in the hammock, and the walks to the slurpee store. I'm soaking it all in.

And I'm knitting. Lazing about creates lots of knitting time.

I finished the blanket last night. All that frustration quickly disappeared once it was washed and blocked. It is so soft (100% baby alpaca) I was tempted to keep it on my lap all day at work (yes, despite the temps).

I'm taking a few days off of knitting though, to just laze and not do anything. That's a brilliant idea I think and a fairly new concept for me. I'm hoping I can do it.

Check out all the other WIPsters here :)

Simple Math

I read two posts yesterday about knitters needing to frog their work. I felt their pain. This one even had a re-dramatization of how it made her feel. It was much more sane than the re-enactment I could create.

I cast off the body of the Honeycomb Blanket on Friday night. I thought doing the border would be a snap. Um, wrong.

Each night since Friday night (it's now Tuesday) I have been knitting, and frogging, that dang border. At first I attempted a rib border like the pattern suggested. I ripped it out. The long sides were just fine, but the short top end.... it just wouldn't not curl. I thought "ok, I just need to loosen up my cast off". I went up 5 needle sizes to help that issue. Still didn't work (insert serious frustration on Sunday night here).

Monday I came up with a new plan after looking at finished blankets on Ravelry. I'll do a stockinette stitch with a mitered corner. Perfect. Ripped out all the rib stitches and did the stockinette. Long sides were great. That dang short end - still pulling. ARG!

Insert my brilliant husband here (who is not a knitter). "Um, honey, the stitches are too far apart, and the cast off edge is too close" (*he did not say cast off... that would be too knitterly... he used some plain English term I can't recall). "You need your stitches to be closer or the cast off edge to be furthur apart". I ignored his comments. Until....

I was laying in bed and it hit me. The pattern said, for the long sides, to pick up 106 stitches. That meant I was picking up every 2nd stitch. I just assumed (here in lies the problem) that I would therefore pick up every 2nd stitch along the top. Wrong. The pattern says to pick up 86 stitches along the top. That is every stitch. Crap. Nate was right. Insert apology here.

Simple Math Carmen. Simple Math.

Lesson learned. Don't jump to your own conclusions too quickly. Read the dang pattern and save yourself the headache.

Now to finish off that blanket.... (and pray the extra stitches solve the problem).

Cat out of the bag!

Remember this post?

I can finally talk about it! And I'm so excited about this reveal that I'm not even going to wait until next Wednesday (because, by then, I will probably have more knitting to show you!) ;)

Many moons ago when I joined the Pay it Forward, one of the people to respond to my post was Sophie. For each of my recipients I have tried to pay close attention to sending them something that would be meaningful for them. I searched a long time for what to make for Sophie. As she's a busy Mom, I wanted her gift to be something JUST for her. Not for her family, but for her. Crazily enough, I wanted to sew her something. As I wrapped up her gift to send to her, it hit me I was sending a very talented sewer, something sewn. Eek!

First, I tested out the Craft Apple pattern on a handbag for me. I love it and carry it everywhere.

Once I had that one done, and was feeling more confidant, I moved onto Soph's.

I'm glad to hear that she likes it!

I'm thinking of making a few to sell. Good or bad idea?

A tad distracted by a new obsession....

I have been a tad distracted from Blogger lately..... I have turned into a yarn junkie, and spend far too much time perusing Ravelry.

Remember that post about wanting to get Christmas gifts done by October? And about the bit about loving handmade. Um yep. It has turned me into an obsessive yarn purchaser. I think for many weeks ahead my WIP's will be something knit (hope you don't mind?!)

To start things off, as mentioned, this past weekend in Craven I knit up a cowl. My goal is to do four - two different patterns, two different colours. One for each of my midwives after the babe is born as a wee thankyou. I have fallen in love with the idea of a cowl. Something to keep your neck warm without the need to wrap it like a scarf. Perfect.

For more pictures of the cowl, follow the link on my side bar to my Flickr account.

The latest yarn distraction yesterday (which was the reason no WIP was posted on Wednesday) was 'Henry'.

Henry is the name of the yarn I chose to use for the Unique Sheep Secret Garden Knit Along. He arrived in the mail yesterday, and clue 2 will be e-mailed out tomorrow. I'm already falling behind! It is a gradiance colorway. It starts with knitting with Skein 1 (bottom left) and going clockwise, will finish up with Skein 6 (bottom right). I think the colours will be gorgeous in the fall.

Nate says if I develop carpal tunnel from all my knitting, that the mocking will be endless......

Craven

Ha! All you silly people thinking I went and slept in a panel van with Nate and Grace. Oh no. That would have been craziness. I escaped to Saskatchewan the past five days with my girlfriend Erin. And with all the mud and cold weather we had, we were so thankful we weren't in a tent, and were at least above the ground.

It was an eight hour drive, and then a two hour wait to get 8 km furthur to the campsite.

Look at that crazy line up of cars!

It had been raining for a couple of days straight, and the grounds were almost complete mud. We almost got stuck in this debaucle.

The way the event works, is you have three days of country concerts straight. But to ensure the best seats, you need to get up early (5 am early) and wait in the "Gopher Run". At 11 am they open up the ground gates, and they allow the Gopher Run folks in with their lawn chairs to get the seats closest to the stage. Erin and I were thankful my Uncle was there and held spots for us in the line up. We benefited greatly from his 5 am wakeup, going to sit with him around 7 or 8 am instead.

If it wasn't for the insane amount of knitting that we did, it would have been easy to assume I had been transported back 12 years to University Residence. There was absurd amounts of drinking, garbage everywhere, and the scariest port a potties you will ever see. See all those shoes and garbage stuck in the mud? That was after just the first night of concert!

It was an absolute riot though, with all of the above just adding to the atmosphere - lol. We saw some amazing bands... here are just a few:

Kelly Pickler

Taylor Swift Doc Walker
Rodney Atkins

George Strait

There is so much more I could share. What a riot these past few days have been. We headed home today, and leaving the grounds there were port a potties knocked over, sofa couches abandoned (supposedly last year over 200 were left on the grounds), and seagulls waiting to start their very own festivities off of all the leftovers. Despite the disaster of the grounds, I would easily go to another event like this again. And I REALLY enjoyed my shower at home tonight :)

Prying one Eye Open

I'm feeling a little like I've been dragged ten feet this morning. I had Yoga last night. I have taken Yoga for a number of years, but never for the sake of JUST doing Yoga. There's always been a purpose. Running, I used Yoga for stretching. Pregnancy, I have used Yoga for..... not sure really... putting me in for a good nights sleep? But last night, she worked us. I had no idea you could be 'worked' in Yoga. It always felt great in comparison to the rest of the things I was doing to my body. But last night she focused on our shins, and our hamstrings. And they feel tired this morning. Therefore, so do I. It's a good thing I found this in my mailbox last night:

I think I actually may have squealed when seeing that.

Then inside...

JACKPOT! A Mini SB's card pre-loaded with $5!

I had signed up for a Starbucks VISA when I went on maternity leave with Grace. It seemed like a wise plan. I still needed to buy things, but I could help our budget with getting my coffee for free (ok, some of my coffee). The perk is every now and then, they send me sweet things like this, which just make my day. I'm going to use it this morning to try to pry my other eye open.

But it is WIP Wednesday. Would you like to see what I've been working on?

I have two knit projects in the works. The first is a honeycomb baby blanket for our next wee one. It's so close to being complete. A few more pattern repeats to go, then a border.

And my Pepe la Monkey socks. One done. I followed the pattern to the T, then went to put them on and realized they were too short (I think). (If you look at the picture below, notice how the heel flap comes slightly under the foot so the cup isn't flush with your heel edge? Anyone else knit Monkey socks? Do they just do this or are they truly too short for my foot?) Shoot! So, my lucky smaller footed friend Erin will be receiving them. It's a lucky day to have a 6.5 sized foot.

This is it for my posting for a bit as I'll be prepping for a road trip tonight. Heading off to Craven for a Country Music Festival tomorrow morning! Five days camping in a panel van (is that possible? Nate says it's not). I'm a little terrified of the idea, but also really excited to be doing something so out of my norm. I'll be back Monday night with lots of great stories and pictures to show you all (and hopefully more knitted projects!).

*Just stopped by Brandi's blog and she's posted up more photos from our photo session a couple weeks back. Feel free to pop on over and check out our family pics!

Please don't:

EDIT: Thank you all for telling me I'm not anything 'ubby'. Many of your comments made me giggle. And I'm glad to see you all feel like I do - they should SOD off, and it is OUR baby so why should they care when it arrives? Glad I have some people on my side of the court ;)

• Tell me that I'm looking tubby (thank you Grandma)
• That I'm looking chubby (thank you my dear manager at work)
• Perhaps given the above two items, nothing that ends in 'ubby'
• That we didn't time this baby very well

And please remember your body language. I don't appreciate:

• Groaning, eye rolling, feet shuffling, and looking away when I say the Due Date is Christmas.

What is that old adage? If you have nothing nice to say, please don't say it.

We are ecstatic we are pregnant (actually beyond ecstatic). And all we want is our baby to be healthy. This baby has come when it was intended to. If that happens to be December 23rd, or December 25th, we are totally a ok with it. We frankly don't care if you aren't. But, we'd appreciate not hearing about it.

Thank you.

Phrmph.

(Just needed to get that OFF my chest)...

Welcome Home!

I came home Friday morning, after a visit with a friend, to find this on my doorstep.

I'm not sure if the message was for me, or for the new fridge I found in my living room. I'm going to say it's for the fridge. I'm over the moon it's in our home.

It's amazing how much excitement a new appliance can bring. And how much fun a fridge box can be.

Too much information

I have been inspired by a new commenter on my blog, to make a list of 100 things about me (at this point, I'm still not sure it is possible). But, when she left me a comment on my blog, and I headed over to hers to say hello, I really enjoyed reading more about her. So, if you are new here, or an old friend, perhaps you'll learn something new about moi. (Plus, I don't think you really want to hear about how I finished my first Pepe sock last night and that it doesn't fit... do you?)



1. I was born in 1979.
2. Yes, that means I am turning 30 this year. In two months yesterday.
3. I'm not scared about that number. I'm actually kind of excited.
4. I live in the same city I was born.
5. I was born in the Grace hospital. Fancy that that is now my daughter's name. No, we didn't even think of that when we named her.
6. I started playing the piano at the age of 3. I remember asking my Mom.
7. I started playing flute in Grade 7 and began private lessons in Grade 10.
8. My parents moved to an acreage when I was in Grade 9. I thought my world was ending.
9. After one year at a school in the country, I drove into a HighSchool in the city for Grade 11 and 12.
10. I will not live in the country again. I'm meant for the city.
11. I was baptized as a baby in a Lutheran church.
12. I was confirmed when I was in Grade 7.
13. I chose to be re-baptized when I was 19 before I left on a missions trip (much to the chagrin of my grandfather).
14. I spent a year living overseas in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania with Mennonite Central Committee.
15. I met my husband in youth group. I was his leader.
16. I was in 2nd year University, he was in Grade 12.
17. We started dating in 2000 when I moved home from Africa.
18. We dated for just over a year before he proposed.
19. He proposed on top of a mountain with champagne, at midnight.
20. I applied to two Universities after Grade 12. The University of Lethbridge and the University of Victoria.
21. I was accepted to both but chose to move to Victoria.
22. I had never been on a ferry before until I drove out to the coast that year. It fascinated me.
23. I have two brothers. One older, and one younger.
24. My older brother moved to Victoria when I was in third year. We lived together for two years before I moved home. I loved having that time with him.
25. I am the youngest Granddaughter on my Dad's side of the family.
26. He is the baby of 10 kids.
27. My Mom is one of 8 kids.
28. Needless to say I come from a large family.
29. Despite this, Nate and I only want two kids.
30. We already have our first. Grace was born in 2007.
31. We are working on our second. Babe #2 is due Christmas 2009.
32. This will be the 9th birthday for our family over the holidays.
33. I love pasta. Even plain with parmesan cheese is great.
34. My favorite candy in HighSchool was Skittles. Now it would be Starburst.
35. I am just under 5'4.
36. I love country music. Have since I was little.
37. I converted my husband to country after we'd only been married 2 years.
38. I don't miss the ocean (Nate would wince if he read that).
39. I may be the only person who loves the province of Saskatchewan. Acres and acres of prairie are just beautiful.
40. Nate and I were married in 2002 in a Lutheran church by a Non Denominational pastor who is a woman.
41. I was 21, Nate was 20.
42. We have been married 7 years this August. Time passes quickly.
43. For our first anniversary we went white water rafting.
44. For our sixth anniversary we took our then baby daughter for a hike.
45. I will never be a vegetarian. I love meat too much.
46. I started running in Grade 7 in track and field.
47. I remember running a track meet in Grade 9, and as I neared the finish line, I saw my Dad at the end in his business suit. I was struck with how much he loved me that he left work to saw me compete. It is such a beautiful memory for me.
48. I started running marathons the year I was married.
49. I have now run six marathons and hope to run many more.
50. I'm addicted to running.
51. And coffee.
52. I started drinking coffee in 2003 when a co-worker introduced me to Starbucks.
53. Now I'm not sure what I'd do without it.
54. I'm not a big fan of chocolate. I like it, but I've rarely craved it.
55. I love peanut butter.
56. Especially on celery with raisins on top. Nothing beats ants on a log.
57. I have been to every Disneyland in the world except for the one in China.
58. I have preformed at each one as well.
59. I was in a Marching Band from Grade 7 to Grade 12.
60. I played the piccolo and flute.
61. Other than the Rose Bowl parade where I played the Alto Sax.
62. My favorite flower used to be the Sunflower. I carried them in my wedding bouquet.
63. I think now it would be Gerbera's.
64. I love Ben & Jerry's Ice cream. Especially New York Super Chunk Fudge.
65. I hate team sports.
66. I'm scared of objects flying towards me at high velocities, hence #65.
67. My dream job would be to be a stay at home Mom. There, I said it out loud.
68. I work downtown at the same job I have had since 2002. Different positions, same company.
69. I enjoy my job but still have a hard time finding that balance between being a Mom and being a career person.
70. I have a handful of great friends. I'd rather that than a million acquaintances.
71. I love to knit. It's a relatively new obsession.
72. When I was on maternity leave I took a whole bunch of crafty courses.
73. These included cake making (two classes), and knitting.
74. I am currently working on my third pair of knitted socks.
75. I'm excited to bring our next baby home in something hand knit by their Mama.
76. I love parades.
77. I hate the Calgary Stampede.
78. I'm a little fearful of horses.
79. I have had pets since I was a little girl.
80. My favorite was a cockatiel named Jodie. I taught him to talk. He used to say "Pretty bird Jodie!"
81. We had a cockerspaniel named Lisa. She was named after a crush my older brother had.
82. Nate and I own a red golden retriever named Clifford.
83. I was stung over 50 times in the skull by killer bees in Africa.
84. I still shriek when bugs fly by me.
85. Therefore, my daughter does too.
86. I love being outside and would happily spend my summers living in a hammock.
87. I hate being cold. This seems ridiculous given how long our winters are.
88. When I was little we moved two houses down. During that move I somehow lost my favorite stuffed animal "Monty the Moose"
89. My least favorite subject in school was English.
90. I can speak French and Kiswahili in addition to English (obviously).
91. I was in French Immersion. When I switched to an English school in Grade 10 I had to carry around a French English Dictionary with me for Science class.
92. My favorite subject in University was Calculus.
93. I'm an Art Major.
94. I specialized in painting and screen printing.
95. I screen printed each one of my wedding invitations by hand.
96. One of my dreams is to ride in a hot air balloon.
97. I once had my nose pierced but removed it prior to moving overseas.
98. I miss it. Nate won't let me get it re-pierced.
99. I love to bake. Especially squares and pies.
100. I'm surprised I made it to 100.

Did you get all of that? (Don't worry, there won't be a quiz).

Happy Birthday Canada!

Since the age of 12, I have spent almost every single Canada Day in Canmore. A small town nestled in the Rocky Mountains. I had joined a marching band and spent my Canada Day performing in the parade, doing a field performance, then heading to the next town over (Banff) to continue with the performances. I loved it. When I left the band when I was 17 I still went back almost every year to watch the parade. This was our first year bringing Grace, and her first parade.

Despite construction that slowed our usual 45 minute trip to almost 2 hours, we made it. (Notice our odometer says we were slowly crawling at 11 km/h?!).

The slow trip did allow for alot of knitting on babe #2's blanket.

We found a spot to perch on the road, and while we waited for the festivities to start, Nate took Grace to throw some rocks.

There were marching bands.



Lots of flag waving.

Candy.

Sled dogs, horses, and the Canadian Pacific Railway Train. And four emergency road side stops on the way home for the potty. It tuckered us all out. Especially Grace.

Happy Canada Day to all the Canucks out there!

*The best part today? As the mountains appeared on our way out, Nate and I heard from the backseat "Wow! Rocks!" :) Yes honey, those are BIG rocks. "Big Rocks!" It made both Nate and I laugh out loud :)