8 is Great!!

My youngest just celebrated his 8th birthday & has proclaimed it to be "the best birthday ever!". I can see why - the end of school year, a birthday celebration with school buddies, another birthday BBQ with neighbors & family friends; what's not to like?

I can't believe my youngest is 8. Wow. I remember when my oldest son turned 8. I remember witnessing the transformation from little kid into big kid. The sassiness, appreciation of potty humor, demand for more independence. I truly believe these changes occurred at 4:56am - the moment of his birth. I'm hoping my youngest takes a little time before the transformation takes hold. So far, so good.... he still likes to cuddle, sleeps with his lovies "Hippo & Puddles", and can charm the pants of Attila the Hun. Granted - he's only been 8 since 6:19am.

To celebrate, all he wanted to do was to invite a few of his school buddies to see the latest Shrek movie (it's cute!) & have a sleepover. Pretty simple. We were fortunate that the weather was spectacular. It helped me feel less guilty about having 5 8-year olds inside for 2 hours knowing that they could all run around outside until late into the evening. Alaska summers are great like that.


Like the goggles? We're all about safety here at Chez Arctic Knitter. During the ultimate Nerf Gun wars between adults, older siblings, neighbors & the gaggle of 8-year olds safety goggles are a must. While I'm sort of sad that my youngest is getting older and marching toward independence, I do appreciate that at this age I don't need to constantly entertain. The extent of birthday party planning involves making sure there's enough food (pizza!) and candles for the cake. 8-year old boys can entertain themselves for hours with Nerf guns, Wii, Nintendo DS, a trip to the park, and numerous outdoor toys.

We capped off the birthday weekend this afternoon with a BBQ for our close friends & neighbors. Certainly I'd have to agree with little IJ, this was the "best birthday ever!"

More craftiness soon..... Ciao~

Out of the Mouth of Babes...

From my youngest this morning: "Happy Birthday, Mom! How old are you?" When I told him, he said, "Man, you're old...". Yup - better old than dead! :0) Not over the hill, yet - but I can sure see the summit! :0)

On this day many, many, years ago:

1) Richard Nixon was President of the United States

2) Mini Skirts & Bell-bottoms were in fashion.

3) "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)" by Three Dog Night was on top of the billboard charts

4) Gasoline cost .36 per gallon (not sure in which city...)

5) According to HistoryOrb.com, in 1040 - Lady Godiva rides naked on horseback to force her husband, the Earl of Mercia, to lower taxes. Let's hear it for strong women! :0)

The following celebrities & I share the same birthday:

• Adam Hills, Australian comedian
• Gary LeVox, American singer (Rascal Flatts)
• Jason Orange, UK pop singer and dancer (Take That)
• John Simm a British actor

DH is out of town, so we had a mini-celebration and early presents (cute dress) last week. The boys gave me a Starbucks gift card (feeding my addiction), but probably what I'm most excited about is this:

Before:
After:
A new insulated garage door! Fancy windows (although the jury is out as to whether or not I should call the company and ask to have 2 more installed. What do you think? The angle of the garage frame doesn't cut of the corners as much as we thought they might, but my dad thinks adding additional windows will cause a greater gap near the brush border.) - Supposedly this new fangled garage will increase our energy efficiency (R-value of old garage door: maybe 3 - 4. R-value of new door: probably 12!) Whoot!!! The increased energy value and the fact the entire house won't shudder as the door opens & closes is exciting indeed.

Tonight's plans include a BBQ at my dear friend (BKFF - Best Knitting Friend Forever), Winston's Mom. Since the kids aren't at the age where cooking is really an option, having great friends willing to do something special is great. I'm certainly lucky!

On the knitting front, Ishbel is not yet done, but I'm ready to move into chart C. To be honest, knitting charts A & B multiple times has lost it's charm. I'm ready for something 'new'. Hopefully I'll have a FO to share soon.

Until then - happy knitting! Ciao~

6 Year Old Kidney Stone

That's what I thought it was when the pains began on May 22, 2002. I'd had kidney stones before & my OB had told me the afternoon before that I was "tight as a drum" and to make another appointment for 2 weeks later.

Yeah - shows you how much modern medicine can predict. I had emailed our school secretary that I needed to go home - that I wasn't in labor but was afraid I was having a kidney stone attack. I didn't feel any contractions in my abdomen (although later after being placed on a monitor, they were off the chart) - I was having all of my labor in my back. That "kidney stone" turned out to be little ( 7lb 8 oz) Iain Joseph born at 6:19am on May 23. Isn't he just the cutest? The secretary and I always laugh about that email & she likes to ask how my kidney stone is doing.

Smile!! You think this smile meant he was just the happiest kid around. Not so much - he never hesitated to let you know when he was unhappy, wet, hungry, dirty, or just wanted some attention. The smile just melts your heart.

Unlike his older brother who used the butt-scoot as a preferred mode of transport, IJ zipped around using the traditional crawling method. He figured, hey - if it worked for millions of infants before him, why change it? I wish the photo had better detail of his lower chin & the drool that was always hanging from it. A droolier kid you'll never meet. His pediatrician was always very kind. She said that just meant he was well hydrated.

Out for a stroll at a beach-side park in San Diego at about 14 months. Don't you love the bow legs?

Here's my "kidney stone" now:

Sporting his new summer 'do. He just completed kindergarten (vomiting on the playground during recess on the last day - what a fantastic way to end the year!) and is very excited for our upcoming road trip. He loves to play soccer, his Game Boy, read (!!! - yes, my children won't be illiterate!), knit (of course) and sing. Right now his favorite song to sing is "Kindergarten Wall" - search for it on iTunes; it's very sweet.


We love you!!!

Temporarily Insane

What was I thinking when I agreed to letting my son invite 9 other 8-year olds to our home for a sleep over in honor of his 8th birthday? Egads! Ever have those moments when something seems like a good idea at the time? Yeah - this was one of those moments. To try to steer my child away from a Chuck E. Cheese fiasco or a reenactment of the 80's at a local skating rink, I thought (I must stop doing that) having a sleep over might be more fun. Sure - if there were perhaps only a couple of other children, not 9! What was I thinking?

Orion is fabulous - such a sweet kid and a friend to everyone. He didn't want anyone to feel left out. I think if he had his druthers, he would have invited every kid from school and his soccer team. I told him he had to narrow it down, so he narrowed it down to 9. Being the great mom I try to be, I agreed. What was I thinking?

What's a party without a few party favors? After all, a sleep-over should be fairly low-key and low budget. When I spied the whoopee cushions at buy 2 - get 1 free, I thought (there I go again) perfect - just what every 8-year old boy needs. I threw some super balls in for good measure, hackey-sacks, plastic bubbles, and soccer stickers rounded out the loot. Then something happened on my way to aisle 8. I think I dropped my brain and other shoppers didn't quite know how to respond. (It's like when you've just met someone and they have a great big gob of green spinach stuck between their two front teeth - how do you politely point it out?) What happened while my brain took leave of my body? I picked up 12 party horns. What was I thinking?

Imagine how much noise 9 8-year olds can make. Now imagine 9 of them blowing with all of their 8-year old might into party horns simultaneously. If any of you were startled from a peaceful sleep - I wholeheartedly apologize. I swear those were the party horns that could be heard around the world.

After cake, ice-cream and the 5-minutes of ear piercing horns, we adjourned outside for the party poppers. At least I had the common sense to have the boys do these outside. The kids loved pulling the cords & watching the confetti burst out with a bang.

Poor Orion - he's so short, you can barely see him behind the railing. The orange behind the white lattice is his shirt.

The fabulous thing about inviting a gaggle of boys for a party is that they pretty much entertain themselves. Wade took them to the park before sundown to play soccer, football, and capture the flag. The weather was nice - a balmy 35°F (spring is here!) and the sun was shining. Keeping boys happy is pretty easy - feed them! We ate homemade pizza, cake, chips, and homemade milkshakes. In the morning they scarfed down homemade Belgian waffles. The boys were happy building legos, playing Wii sports, and then settling down in their sleeping bags for movies (Pokemon & Chicken Little). Finally sleep overtook them around midnight.

What was I thinking? Well - that I love Orion & wanted him to have a happy 8th birthday. Mission accomplished!

Mountain Life

Arghhh matey! Who's the leader of my club? Love the Disney ears - no? Yes - we do get a bit silly in our old age. Can't resist the ears when you go to Disney land. These are one of my sons' hat - I did not get one for me, although in hind sight perhaps I should have. However - our school has a "No Hat" policy for students AND staff, so wearing the ears while I'm teaching would not only make it more difficult for my students to pay attention, but it would also be a big "no-no" according to school policy. Party poopers..

We just returned from our three day trip to the family cabin on Palomar mountain. Great relaxing time. The temperatures cooperated for once - very pleasant. Now if only the biting flies would just buzz off. I can't decide if I'd rather have Alaska mosquitoes, or California biting flies. I'm thinking mosquitoes on this one - their bites don't last nor itch as long. Also, the mosquitoes are slow - they don't stand a chance against our Ninja-like reflexes. These CA biting flies are quick buggers.

When up at Palomar, you have the opportunity to do lots of things, such as:

Baseball: Orion & Iain were thrilled w/new gloves from their Uncle Ryan. Orion predicts he'll be a pitcher w/the Padres when he grows up. How is he going to balance that w/a career in the EPL (English Premiere League) or the MLS (Major League Soccer)? I love his ambition! Can't you tell from the photo that he already has a wicked fast ball? Just ask him how many times he struck me out.

Enjoying a good beverage. I know it's hard to believe - but this last birthday just tipped me past the legal drinking age. I know, I know - hard to believe. Hush Margaret, that's enough out of you. Cheers!

Reading a good novel. I think Orion here is finishing up The Box Car Children #2. The Box Car Children series was a favorite of mine when I was a youngster (not that many years ago...). I finished The Friday Night Knitting Club. This book is as much about knitting as the movie "Bend It Like Beckham" was about soccer. Good read - great story of how wonderful friendships can develop from knitting. Friends & I would like to start a weekly or monthly knitting group - Alaska knitters/bloggers, I'll keep you posted.

Here's my father-in-law, Ron, falling under the reading spell.

Of course - quiet relaxing time = KNITTING! I finished Monkey sock #1. I used Lorna's Laces sock yarn in the Somerset colorway. The way the colors popped out reminded me of a sunset - appropriately named yarn & perfect for this pattern. For the pattern, go here. Again, my needle & method of choice is Addi Turbo #2 & Magic Loop. I changed the pattern ever so slightly by using a star toe as found w/the Embossed Leave sock in Interweaves Favorite Socks book. I really like the fact that I don't have to graft the stitches together at the end & think the star pattern is pretty cool.

Here's another peek of the sock. You can kind of see the star pattern.

Photography. My husband is quite the shutter bug. I rib him a little about it, however, when you take over 300 photos, certainly one is bound to come out. See below - a beautiful sunset over Palomar. Great view from the cabin. I told Wade it was certainly "blog worthy" (as are several other photos) & he'd get full credit.

Photo by Wade J. Roach, July 2007, All Rights Reserved.

I need to upload the other photos & make a slide show. Too many to put on one blog.

Oh yes, I almost forgot - the day prior to departing for Palomar was my birthday (as well as Jessica Simpson's & Bella Fleck) - the one that tipped me past the legal drinking age. Fun Day - Started off w/a little knitting and coffee and then:

The Beach - Can't go to So. Cal w/out visiting the beach. As my birthday was on Tuesday, we didn't have to fight the typical beach crowds & were able to find a parking spot. I can easily explain the lack of a tan: I'm from Alaska & of course wear SPF 50 sunscreen to protect the skin. It couldn't possibly be because my melanocytes don't produce much melanin. :-)
The boys were happy as clams to build sand castles in the surf & catch sand crabs. They don't go to the beach to swim - you can do that in a pool. They are all about the sand & shovels.
Later that evening Wade & I met up w/my college roommate & matron of honor, Hilarey. She & her S.O., George live in a very cool Loft apt. w/a view of Petco Park. Now you can't see a baseball game from their place, but it's in a pretty neat location downtown. I love how we can get together & chat & laugh as if we had just seen each other yesterday. She was also my adult companion on my first trip to Europe w/students back in 1997.

After a great dinner at a local Thai restaurant (I love Thai food - Thai Kitchen, back in Anchorage is our fave), we had dessert at "Extraordinary Desserts". OMG - You name it, they've got it. Almost too many choices, it's overwhelming. I finally decided on something akin to death by chocolate. Ahhh - heaven. Death by chocolate is not an exaggeration - I literally fell out of my chair as we were leaving. Never underestimate the power of chocolate. A bit embarrassing as I wasn't even drinking. I blame the chocolate. Never underestimate the power of chocolate.


As you can see here - another year definitely added to my maturity.
Fun times..

Tonight we're off to see the new HP movie. Can't wait for the book. Knitting & blogging might have to be put on hold after next Saturday until I've finished the book. Would hate to run into any spoilers.

Ciao