Pictures of the scarves:
The first one I made using Lion Brand Fun Fur:

This is the Firenze (lovely yarn!) Hard to get the detail in this picture:

This is the one I just started using Fun Fur again:

Knit knit knit

I was babysitting for Ash. She said she and G would be home at 10. Then she called at 10 and said they would be "a little bit longer" but she was being evasive so I knew they would not be home anytime soon. They arrived home at 11:35pm. So basically I had all evening long to knit. I finished the second scarf and started on the third.

Another glitch with our green cards application. Aaargh! Actually, it is the same glitch that has come up again. Stephen is trying to track down info from the U of MN and other places. All this because in 1992 an INS agent checked the wrong box on his VISA. His fault for not catching it at the time I guess but honestly, how is he supposed to know the job of the INS agent? We'll see what happens next...

Dex has his friend over for a playdate. They usually get along pretty well but I can hear them arguing upstairs. I guess the constant yelling is an age thing and not just Dex...

I made Baker, Baker for dessert tonight. I found a link to the recipe posted in Katiefleck's blog. It was yummy. It is a keeper.

Off to knit.

Friggin Riggin Briggin!

Last night while knitting, I had a problem when I started a new skein of yarn and the friggin thing started to fall apart. No problem! I'll just rip out a few rows, hook them back on my needles and start again. No luck! I could not for the life of me see the rows because of the type of yarn I was using. So I had to rip out the whole scarf and start again. And YES I think knitting is hard.

Then today Ash asked me to teach her to knit. She said that if I can knit a scarf up in 8 hours then she could do it in maybe 10. Ok. Anyway, I'll start teaching her next week.

Outlaws are coming Oct 21-28th. Last time they came I went crazy. Literally. Lord help me.

Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Aggunaryd (IKEA for short). LOVE IT! We spent two hours there today. The older kids went in the ball pit for an hour (man, they need to extend that play time). Then we had lunch in the marketplace (Swedish Meatballs of course). We were looking for a new unit to house the cd's and dvd's since Stephen took a sledge hammer to the top of ours to fit the new tv. Anyway, they did not have exactly what I was looking for but I did buy a new coat hook for the front hall and a new chair in red

It is nice to have Stephen home. I don't realize how much he does with the kids until he is gone. Time to appreciate him more! :)

Haven't heard from Marc and Marlene since Hurricane Jeanne hit. I think the power must be out. I know that Marlene took the girls to the hotel to ride this one out since Marc had to be at the hotel since it was full.

Ok, off to do more knitting.

Yeah! He's home!!

Ok, I think I have the ornament swap stuff all figured out. Now just need to recheck it then send out individual emails with addresses. That will be sooooo time consuming. I don't think I ever want organize this again! lol

Stephen will be home tomorrow night. The boys are excited. They really miss him and I can see that their behaviour reflects that things are out of sorts. :
I finished one scarf and started a new one. The yarn for this new one is so pretty. I think I might need to keep it for myself.

Three days down...two to go.

I bought the Star Wars Trilogy today. I bought the widescreen edition. The boys will be so excited when I give it to them. Hell, I am excited about it! Friday night will be Star Wars Movie Night!

Nanny just called. She was to babysit for me tomorrow evening while I go to cirriculum night at the school but her ex-dh is dying and she has to go seem him one last time before he passes away (she got the call tonight from his current dw). I hope I can get the teen across the street to sit for me. I'll try to catch her tomorrow morning before she gets on the bus (at 7:15!!). Anyway, so no Nanny on Friday either.

I have almost finished my first fancy scarf. I think it will be for Leah Ann for Christmas. Next one I'll do is for Ramona. I am so pleased with it. Easy knitting scarves - just 18 stitches/row.

Today was another day. Not perfect but better...

I found out on the weekend that when I was a teenager, my cat, who I thought had just disappeared one night, was taken to the pound by my mom and put to sleep. I guess he had been sick and she figured it would be cheaper to euthanize him than it would be to take him to the vet. So I spent 22 years thinking he had run away from home. I missed him terribly, spent weeks looking for him. And she led me to believe these things. I am stunned still to find out that she did that. And this sounds completely juvenile but I am pissed off at her! ~shaking head~

I was a horrible mother today. I yell. F*ck I hate that about me.

Tomorrow is another day.

JP and Marilyn were here for a day. We had a great time last night playing Rummoli and like last month when we played poker, I kicked ass. Too bad we were just playing with chips, not money.

Stephen left a couple of hours ago to the airport. He has a red-eye to New Orleans with a stop somewhere along the way. He'll be back on Friday.

Cars' cold is not getting any better. I am covered in snot. *sigh*

Jax has an inhaler now. Allergist was worried about a cough he has. She said there was no real "wheeze" but the cough was bad enough. Anyway, Albuterol completely wires him up for about 1/2 hour after he takes it...so I did not give it to him tonight. I hope he sleeps ok.

Tomorrow morning Stephen and I are going to a baptism class. We need to take it before the church will baptize Cars. Stephen is livid because he thinks it is a waste of time, you know the whole "I was raised a Catholic, why do I need to go?!" and "They just want our money". Cripes, if I could go alone I would. Anyway, it is a whole 2.5 hours out of his life and another hour for the mass while Cars is baptized. I am a little upset with him at the moment about this.

Dex had a great first day of preschool at the new school. The drop-off/pick-up worked out well (although it was a bit of a wait at the drop-off). The school has a rule that if the child is not in a car seat they will not take them out of the car. The parent must go and park the car on the road and walk the child into the school. I saw one dad being told to park because the child was STANDING in the back seat as the dad drove in.

Cars has another cold. Poor boy.

Ok, JP and Marilyn are coming this weekend. Good because I need my SMARTIE fix. JP said they bought 6 bags of the mini boxes. Jax will be happy too because he has been asking for chocolate.

Hurricane Ivan spared New Orleans so Stephen is flying there on Sunday for a week. I wonder if I can get a babysitter one or two evenings while he is gone...

I think I popped a vein in my leg...is that possible? I was sitting down when suddenly I felt a bump in my leg and it hurt. I stood up and the bump when away but it looks kind of bruised and it hurts! Shit, getting old sucks.

Nanny comes tomorrow! Yippee! Four hours of freedom.

HDTV cable is in and Stephen has fallen in love with the tv. Nymphe said in my previous comments that big tvs scare her. This one scares me. It is freaking HUGE and since I can see it out of the corner of my eye while I am on the computer, I am very distracted by it. Jax has not stopped talking about this thing. They played N64 on it last night and I thought he was going to cry he was so happy.

Dex met his new teachers today at the new preschool. I am so excited about him going to this new place. Tonight was the parent info night and they could not stress the NO NUTS policy enough. Of course I have the wrong child going there for that policy but it makes me realize that the other preschool was a joke with their claim to be "Peanut Free". This new place has sent home snacks if they are not sure if they are safe whereas the other place would serve them and maybe suggest to the parent not to bring them in again.

The most exciting thing about this school is that I do not have to get out of the car to walk Dex to his class. Last year, trudging in and out of the preschool with three kids was enough to drive me crazy (and it did!). This will be so nice. I drive up, the teachers open the door, Dex jumps out, I sign the clipboard that they pass to me and then I close the door and drive off. Picking him up, they open the door, I sign the clip board, they buckle him in and then off I go. Love it!

I made a kick-ass dinner tonight! Baked Parmesan chicken breasts (one thing I do not screw up usually), and a purchased bag of salad greens. I added some purple onion, peppered feta cheese and balsamic/oil dressing. YUM-MY! Perhaps there is some hope for me after all.

What happens when you send a men out to replace a television that is on the fritz? You end up with this in your family room:


Stephen took the rubber mallet and took off the top part of our entertainment centre to accommodate this 50 inch tv. So at least he saved us some money by not having to buy the stand, right?

I cannot believe he bought it.

I cannot believe he bought it.

*sigh*

Apparently a kid in Jax's class is obsessed with him. I am a little disturbed by the whole thing but I think I will just sit tight and see what the teacher does next. Details can be found here.

Cars broke out in hives today at lunch. I had given him Kraft dinner and a cup of milk (which I knew he would not drink but I can dream, right?). Anyway, after a few minutes he threw it on the floor and when I looked at him I noticed the hives all under his chin and across his cheeks. I have an appointment now with the allergist on the 5th of October. I am assuming it is from milk but maybe the soy in the margarine from the Kraft dinner? Dunno...

Ok, tv is finally working so I am off to bed. Shit this thing is huge.

This weekend was painful. Stephen had a golf tournament all day yesterday and the kids had cabin fever but I had a headache and did not want to take them outside. So we watched movies all day long.

Today I took two hours to myself and spent most of the time at Sears, looking at things I wasn't buying. I really wanted to buy this jacket in red but decided it was impractical because I really need a rain coat which is much more useful here in the Pacific Northwest.

I did buy myself a fridge magnet today. It reads "Good mothers have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids". I hope my kids are happy because I have to justify the floors and oven.

A few weeks after 9/11, my friend DeniSe called me to tell me that she was pregnant. I feel horrible saying this but I was not happy for her at all! I kept thinking that people had to be insane to want to bring children into this world after what had happened. Didn't she realize that the world as we knew it was changing? Why on earth would she want to subject a child to it?

I held this believe for a couple of years...until I got pregnant with Cars. Actually, from time to time I still doubted that I was doing the right thing. There were people who would want to KILL my children because of the country of their birth and here I was bringing another target into this very scary world.

But here we are, three years after the event and 13 months after Cars's birth. Despite the uncertainty, I know we made the best decision. My life is not filled with dread but with hope for the future. The future for my children and for the world.

One a day. Just like the vitamins. That is how often people are going on IGNORE. Hostile, indeed!

Today was the "Return to School Barbeque" at Jax's school. They needed to know how many people in advance because it was "catered" by a bbq place north of here. The bbq (beef ribs, pork ribs, chicken) is supposed to be the best around. It smelled so good, smoking away in the parking lot. There were 650 tickets sold ($10/adults, $4/children). There were 650 tickets sold and there were 2 people serving dinner. Let me rephrase... There were 2 people serving dinner to 650 people. So I stood in line for an hour while Stephen watched the kids on the playground. At least I was standing close to Ash and I met two very nice women, one of whom is the mom of a kid in Jax's class. Finally we got our food and it was incredibly mediocre. And it was also nearly bedtime for the boys.

JP and Marilyn were to come again this weekend but have pushed it out another weekend. I have no Smarties! What shall I do?

I am getting cranky in my old age. Chalk up another person for the ignore list.

Dex started back at swim lessons today. He was excited that he got to swim with CJ rather than the Swim Nazi (CJ is her son). Dex needs practice kicking his legs. Seems he forgot how over the summer.

I signed Dex up for sports sampler too which starts at the end of the month. I am bummed though because the 10 o'clock class is full and that is the class that his friend, Ramsey is signed up for. So we are in the 11 o'clock class. Ramsey's mom said she might move the the 11 class because the son of another friend of hers is in it. I hope so.

Ok, time to go clean the kitchen. Have to shine my sink before bed. (right - I am just going to scrap the big pieces of food off the floor).

Migraine hangover today. Which does not mean I have a migraine from a hangover. ;) It means I had a migraine and today I have a migraine hangover.

Slow, dull, limp. That is me today.

We took the boys to the driving range today. Dex is good! He connects with the ball everytime. Jax swings like me. He pulls up and hits the top of the ball (if at all!). LOL They had a blast and it was so fun to watch them.

Tonight when I took the boys to bed Jax wanted to read from his science book that I bought for him from Costco. He is getting so good at reading. And he is excited about reading which is so great.

While Jax was reading, Dex asked me to help him write his name. I wrote it in upper then lower case letters. A few minutes later he wrote a 4 but it looked a little wonky. I told him that it looked almost like a 4 and he announced that it was a "lower case 4" and that was why it looked different.

Cars sprouted another tooth. I think he now has 8 or 9 in his mouth. He is so funny. He will not sit in the high chair anymore so it is going back in the garage. He sat at the table in a regular chair for two days until Stephen fished out the booster chair from the garage. He is quite happy to sit there with us. He insists on being outside when Jax and Dex are. He gets mad when I have ketchup or salsa to dip my food in if I have not given him any.

God I love my kids.

Once a year night on the town:

Babysitter for the evening: $40
Pre-movie beers and appetizers at an overpriced pub: $35
Two movie tickets: $17.50
One tub of popcorn and two drinks: $16

Sleeping through most of the movie: Priceless

(Stephen, not me). ;)

Eleven Years ago today.

1985

I love this song:

1985
Debbie just hit the wall
She never had it all
One prozac a day
Husband's a C.P.A.
Her dreams went out the door
When she turned 24
Only been with one man
What happened to her plans
She was gonna be an actress
She was gonna be a star
She was gonna shake her ass
On the hood of Whitesnake's car
Her yellow SUV is now the enemy
Looks at her average life
Nothing has been alright... since

Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana there was U2
And Blondie and music still on MTV
Her 2 kids in high school
They tell her that she's uncool
Cause she's still preoccupied
With 1985

She's seen all the classics
She knows every line
Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink,
Even St. Elmo's Fire
She rocked out to Wham!
Not a big Limp Bizkit fan
Thought she'd get a hand
On a member of Duran Duran
Where's the mini-skirt
Made of snake skin
And who's the other guy
Singing in Van Halen
When did reality
become tv
What ever happened ever happened to
Sitcoms, Game Shows
(on the radio)

Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana there was U2
And Blondie and music still on MTV
Her 2 kids in high school
They tell her that she's uncool
Cause she's still preoccupied
With 1985

She hates time - make it stop
When did Motley Crue become classic rock
When did Ozzy become an actor
Please make it stop stop stop
And bring back

Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana there was U2
And Blondie and music still on MTV
Her 2 kids in high school
They tell her that she's uncool
Cause she's still preoccupied
With 1985

I just watched the video on the official Bowling for Soup website. It is so very fun!

Hurricane Frances is huge and heading for Florida. I hope that it changes course or diminished its intensity. Scary stuff. Marc said this evening that he cannot evacuate his hotel because there is nowhere for anyone to go now that most shelters are full and no flights in/out. He will stay there during the storm while Marlene and the girls stay at home. I am so proud of Melis. She put up all of the storm shutters herself, drilling them all on. She just needed help from Marc when he got home from work with the ones for the sliding doors because they were just too big for her to manage.

More retail therapy for me today. It has got to stop!

Thunder and Lightening

Today could not decide if it wanted to be summer or fall. It pissed rain in the morning, then the sun came out. Then it clouded over - big, black clouds with lots of thunder (a rarity here).

Jax had another successful day at school today. He told dh tonight that he wanted to buy his lunch at school one day but then he quickly decided not to because he is saving his money! LOL Poor kid didn't realize that we would pay for his lunch.

Playgroup was here today. It was nice to meet everyone again at someone's home rather than at a park because at the park the kids are scattered and the mom's are distracted and it is harder to keep conversations going.

I made another cruddy dinner tonight. Yes, I know I had given up but decided to try again. This was Crock-pot "Fried" chicken. The "Fried" was in quotes so I should have realized. Anyway, it wasn't too bad, I guess. Just didn't have the texture I was expecting.

I have finally put someone on ignore at the forums. Finally as in finally that person's time...not that I haven't ignored someone before.

I had a friend at one forum who was "run off" by someone who had a pickle up her butt and the forum mods were less than supportive. I miss her. We have emailed back and forth but it is not quite the same thing as reading day-to-day stuff about what is going on in her life.

One last forums comment...I finally hit 10,000 posts at SAHP by September 1st. Now I can stop posting as much. lol