Moving Right Along

It’s been an eventful few weeks. We celebrated Iain’s second birthday party a few weeks early (on June 13th) so that the big event could be celebrated without A) me going into/being in labour and B) a brand new newborn. That plan went well as baby number two is still safely (though heavily…) contained within. Here are some shots of the big day.

The van's official introduction to 'Mommyhood':

The outdoor decorations (unfortunately, after a couple of rainy days, it was too wet to host most of the party outside. We moved out later in the afternoon):

Some of the guest shoe collection:

Iain loves balloons and so did all of his guests! These balloons provided endless entertainment and made it all around the house:

The finished cake. This was a bit of a coup. I like having a theme to plan a party around and Iain loves horses (which he calls 'neighs'). Therefore, the invitations I designed had a horse on them. I wanted to decorate a cake with a horse but the cake pan from Wilton was discontinued. I checked locally for a cake pan but wasn't willing to part with $30 for the only beaten up one I could find. Enter ebay (which I rarely use) and a $6 USD pan and here it is!

And here is the birthday boy!

I picked up Mudder from the airport this past Tuesday. Anyone who knows my mother will know that this was a big deal as she is terrified of flying. However, after considering her options (e.g. driving here by herself or taking the bus/ferry/bus which would take over two days), she decided that flying might be the best option of all. She seemed to do well or at least was feeling good enough about the whole one way experience (she will be returning to the island via ferry with us on July 24th) to give Iain lots of big waves and smiles as she came down the escalator to arrivals. For his part, once he saw ‘Gramma’, Iain didn’t stop smiling. He wasn’t quite brave enough to run into her arms however, one she bent down to give him a hug, he wanted ‘Up!’ immediately! They have, pretty much, been inseparable ever since. They are upstairs playing a rendition of golf/hockey as I type.

I am working on designing thank you cards for Iain’s birthday (I made his birthday invitations) and then getting onto the new baby announcement and thank you cards (designed already in my head which is a wonder). I am also doing some knitting. I finished a set of 100% Misti 2 ply chunky baby alpaca fingerless mittens (I got mine from Wool-Tyme online) from this Tangle pattern (and just realised that I have them upstairs, ready to send in the mail and forgot to take a final picture – argh!). It’s a really quick and fun pattern if you’re not me and want a quick and fun pattern. I may have started these this time last year and only finished them about a week ago. Ahem. Moving right along, I have another glove almost finished for another family recipient. Another late birthday gift but not as late as the ones above which were due in July. Of 2008…! I’d hang my head in fibre shame but I’m so pleased to have a genuine knitted FO that I’m too proud! Oh, the alpaca is gorgeous and I have leftovers from knitting two gloves - yeah! This is also a one skein project.

As for baby number two, there are no signs of an imminent release program apart from the fact that the baby has really dropped. S/he is giving me some cramps but not too many and, thankfully, I can eat again. In fact, since Mudder arrived and I’ve been put on a ‘nap at least once a day’ program, I’ve been feeling pretty good. Still tired but almost human. It’s been wonderful – my mother actually LOVES to do laundry. Seriously. She loves it and loves to hang it on the line, take it in and fold it. Too bad I didn’t inherit that gene! Then again, she also does not mind cleaning up after a meal one bit and I MUCH prefer for cook or bake and have someone else clean up after me. Therefore, we’re a great team.

DH has two weeks left in the Canadian Forces. He has mentioned that me having a baby early would help him retire ‘early’ but I’ve been ignoring his and Mudder’s offers for me to go and wash walls. After all, the baby isn’t due until July 4th and my recollection of the whole labour experience is just less than two years old (aka fresh in my mind). Regardless, I likely should get my hospital bag packed. Right now I have about three piles designated to go with me but really haven’t concentrated on getting too organised with putting it all in one bag.

Here’s a belly shot from June 7th. I know, I know, I’m overdue for a new one. I’ll keep that in mind for this week.

The Five Hour Sweater

You might want to sit down for this one because Fibreholic has an FO! A KNITTED FO no less!

After knitting three dishcloths, I decided I might be ready to commit to something a little more intense. I was taken with a sweater entitled ‘The Five Hour Sweater’ on Ravelry (love that site. Too bad I visit it so infrequently). I thought to myself,

“Self? Do you think you can dedicate five hours to pulling something together for the new baby?”

But even as I accepted the challenge, I was not bold enough to assume I could actually knit this sweater in only five hours. And, I didn’t. However, I did start and finish it in 16 days. For me and my limited (and interrupted) knitting time, that really isn’t too shabby. Here are the details.

Five Hour Sweater pattern available for free here (and, before you get all excited, ignore the "Baby Boy Five Hour Sweater" title. I intentionally knit the sweater in a lovely neutral colour and happen to like buttons on the side I placed this one on because it is easier for this new Mommy to do up on a newborn! I still don't know more than you do...).

Materials Used:

Blue Sky Alpaca’s Organic Cotton

I used 1 skein plus a bit of another because I decided to make my sweater longer than the pattern called for. In fact, I believe the yarn I used is likely a larger worsted weight than called for in the pattern but the sweater seems proportionate to me.

Time to complete: May 19 to June 4th (yes, I was holding out on you. With so many unfinished objects in my house, I was too shy to say that I was starting something else new!).

I think it’s cute, soft, soft, soft and am thrilled that I will have something Mommy-made for the new baby!

Here's a little video of what Iain and Para were doing in our backyard yesterday afternoon to tide you over until I get a chance to post again. Enjoy!

Note: In case you really wanted to see Iain and his new words from this post, I finally managed to get it uploaded to YouTube. As I mentioned before, it is a long one.

More June News From Here

A few weekends ago, my neighbour had a great garage sale with lots of larger children’s play items. I went a little crazy but, hey, I’m getting too uncomfortable to be out at o’dark early scoping out garage sales. Getting up and over to her drive way within 15 minutes is much more my style! Amongst the loot collected were a Little Tikes kitchen set (Iain LOVES it and it even cut short his outdoor play time for the week as he kept wanting to come back in the house to cook!), a grocery cart, a doll and stroller, and a Little Tikes picnic table.

Here he is taking such good care of his new baby that my heart just melts.


The bear on top of the doll is his special bear put there because his baby needed it, according to Iain. DH and I figured him having a doll would be a great introduction to the concept of a real live baby living at our house. At just below two years of age, he does not understand everything that my expanding waistline entails. However, just today he strolled in with his baby and told me that he needed to wash her bottom, like we do with him for diaper changes. He is adorable (and I am truly biased!).

DH was away the week before we left for NL and he put me on a mission to catch pictures of Iain in a few of the variety of hats he has to play with. I fell short on that project (but you did get to see Iain in his Santa hat in the previous picture) but here he is showing off his ‘say cheese’ silly face in his ball cap.

He is really funny when he is wearing a ball cap or his sun hat as he insists on wearing it right down over his eyes. Therefore, you see him doing this a lot:

One event that DH missed (and greatly regretted) while he was away was an airshow held at CFB Greenwood dedicated to the Centennial of Flight celebrations this year. It was Iain’s first airshow and, as he is very taken with airplanes, I just had to take him. Despite the walk from the parking lot to the show itself, I managed alright with Iain usually contained in his stroller (he runs way too fast for me to catch right now and the crowds were big!).

Here he is flying his first airplane:

Iain and I sharing our picnic blanket with friends.

We watched The Snowbirds and the CF-18 show from this spot. The Snowbirds snuck up on us and were loud so Iain spent their show buried in my shoulder. However, I heard the fighter jets coming beforehand and was able to cover his ears in time for him to not be too startled and to watch the show, as long as my hands were clamped tight over his ears. I noticed other parents had brought big ear defenders for their children. A great idea for future airshows.

Iain and one of Daddy’s airplanes (an Aurora).

“Look! A helicopter!”

I didn't think I would fit in and out of the doorway of this aircraft (an older airplane called an Anson) so one of my friends took him in for me. It was all fun and games for Iain until he realised that he wasn't going to be able to go 'up in sky' for a ride! Luckily, with an airplane trip that Sunday, I was able to appease him by promising a trip 'up in sky' in the near future!

The aircraft that started it all: the replica of The Silver Dart.

One of the things that I really like about Iain is that he always wants to help. One of the things that drives me the craziest about Iain is that he always wants to help! On another day a couple of weeks ago, he decided to brush up the ‘mink’ (his word for ‘pink’. He was running around that morning, in his PJ’s no less, crying “Mink fall! Mink fall!”) blossoms from our apple tree.

Note the ever present dishcloth in his hand…

I had to add this one. Proof that Iain does get dressed when he is outside on occasion. My little Sunshine Boy!

There, you are now up to date.

Homeless

Things have been rapidly moving along here even if you have not heard much about it. Another catch up post and I’m afraid it’s going to be picture heavy!

We got back on Sunday after a week in Newfoundland trying to find ourselves a new house. Here is what Checkers thought of us leaving.

Checkers and Tobi stayed at a cattery while we were away. The house is still for sale and we felt it was too much to ask a friend to cat sit for us and ensure the house was kept up to spec for showings. I was lucky enough to find The Valley Cat Hotel online and was very pleased with the lovely owner and the facilities. Unfortunately, Checkers and Tobi did not want to come home with us… Para stayed at her usual kennel and seemed to fare alright. We requested that she be groomed while we were away and she came back to us more gorgeous than ever! That reminds me – I must get a picture of her gorgeousness.

Before we left, I had been trying to get Iain to repeat the word ‘Grandma’ and ‘Grandpa’ for several weeks to no avail. The minute we drove up to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, Iain said,

“Grandma!” just like that! He says ‘Grandpa’ too. Well, he says an Iain rendition of ‘Grandpa’ which is ‘Grumpa’. Grumpa doesn’t seem to mind.

Iain and Mudder had such fun this past week. Iain has started to parrot everything and will point at things so we will say what they are and he can repeat the word(s) (as an aside, DH was reading him a book on Kwanzaa last night and he kept hearing Iain saying ‘Kwanzaa’ over and over on the monitor after he put him to bed – too cute!). They visited the ‘osheay’ daily and even went to a sandy beach and to visit ducks on some days. We also beat Grandma out and left her with a cold that we brought (sorry, Mudder!) that I thought was allergies before we left Nova Scotia. Despite all of that, she is still coming to help us out on June 16th until we move.

Unfortunately, you will not be seeing any new house pictures in this post. We did not find our dream house. Prices in the St. John’s area have gone through the roof and we were not comfortable spending a lot of money on something that made us go ‘Meh.’ It looks as though we will be staying at my parents for at least the first few weeks and, perhaps, renting for awhile. Our material possessions will be moved into storage and, likely, we will start looking for a piece of land to build on. We had two criteria on our trip 1) to live right in the heart of the city with all its amenities and, hopefully, a gorgeous historic house or 2) to live just outside the city with a gorgeous view. Here is a sample of why we know there are gorgeous views out there – the view from my parents kitchen and dining room.

Apparently we are too picky so will keep looking.

I have booked our trip from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland on Marine Atlantic. We will be sailing back to Newfoundland for good on July 24, 2009 with three adults (Mudder will be with us), a toddler, a newborn, two cats and a dog.

Our other news is the latest addition to the automotive side of our family – our new 2009 Volkswagen Routan.

Here is a picture of DH driving it off the lot

(I will be driving it most of the time so I thought he would enjoy the thrill of driving one of the few brand new vehicles we will likely ever own off a lot.

He did enjoy himself too and has spent the last two nights in the driveway worshiping it! Mind you, he would likely say that he is not worshiping it but is going through the users manuels ;)). We are taking both vans on our trip home. Without moving into our own house as soon as we arrive, DH and I are anticipating having the vans loaded with excess to make settling in wherever we end up as smooth as possible.

Now that we are home and over the stress of trying to find a house in a week and flying with a toddler (the Canadian Forces, bless them, paid for Iain to have his own seat.

It made things SO much easier. Mommy doesn’t have much in the way of a lap these days), I am settling down to the joy of anticipating a new baby. Not that that means I’m not busy. We have planned Iain’s second birthday party well in advance and that will occur on the 13th. On the 14th, friends are hosting a new baby shower for us. Mudder arrives on the 16th and Iain, my belly and I are having a photo shoot on the 18th. Baby number two has really suffered from a lack of appropriate attention with everything else going on and I thought a partial family portrait would be a nice touch. S/he is already low on the ultrasound pictures (one compared to five or so for Iain) so I wanted to do something extra special for this particular child. I really hope they turn out and have every confidence in the photographer.

Apart from that, I have one more cooking show scheduled for Sunday afternoon. I also have two catalogue shows running currently but they are so easy as I simply accept the orders, punch them into my little ordering program and send them off. The orders are couriered to the hosts and I just get on the telephone after the deliveries are made to see if everyone is pleased/not pleased with their products. Even a nine month pregnant woman can handle that.

Yes, nine months. I have just crossed the threshold to a larger belly (believe it) and weekly OBY appointments. Here is a shot from last Saturday evening.

Mudder cannot believe I still have a little over a month to go still.

Mother's Day Fun

When DH asked me Mother’s Day morning what I wanted to do that day, the only thing I could think of was running away from home. With the house on the market and the continual upkeep, I wanted to get in our camper van and just go. I especially wanted to go to a beach, a nice sandy beach. Now, if you live in the Annapolis Valley area, you may remember that Mother’s Day was not a particularly nice day to go to the beach. However, if you like beaches and dress appropriately, the Mother’s Day weather guaranteed that we were the only visitors to Rissers Beach, one of the most popular beaches in Nova Scotia in the summer.

I have no idea how my gore-tex coat fit around my belly as it’s been too small for me for months. However, with some ‘sucking in’ to get it done up, I managed. Thank goodness or I would have frozen my arse off! We were prepared for the weather with respect to Iain, however. He was dressed head to toe in his rain gear (including his beloved ‘froggie’ boots which are never far from his feet if he is outside, no matter what the temperature!) and fared quite well. He also showed us that he does know how to say ‘ocean’. In Iain terms that means ‘oceay’ and he yelled that he wanted ‘more oceay!’ most of the way home.

Naturally, Para enjoyed herself as well. We kept her on the leash for most of the visit, as per beach regulations, but have to admit it came off for some stick throwing. Having her on a leash is not such a trial these days as it ensures she isn’t as stiff from over exertion days after an outing.

As for what else is new around here, our new 2009 VW Routan van should be in our driveway within the week. DH heads to NL on Monday for meetings with his new job (he will be on leave from work here) and will return next weekend to assist me getting Iain, the pets and the house ready (for hopeful showings while we’re away) for us to go on our house hunting trip to NL from the 24th to this 31st. As is usual for military house hunting trips, we have five days to find and purchase a house. No pressure there! Is it any wonder I wanted to run away from home on Mother’s Day?

I am now knitting dishcloth number three. However, I think I’m being lured into something else, fickle creature that I am! I will keep you posted!

And here’s my latest belly photo taken last week (week 31).

Here is a comparison picture – this is me at week 39, just two weeks before Iain was born.



People, I still have two months to go. I am very, very afraid. However, I am not as scared as my maternity pants are! BTW, I haven't heard from anyone guessing the gender of baby number two. Hmm. I sense a contest coming up...

The Latest From Here

“What do you mean, you’re leaving in July?!?”

“We’re going home!” I exclaim to another Newfoundlander in the post office. She stares at me.

“Really? Can you please take me with you?” This was from a woman whose immediate family (children and grand-children) all live in the local area. Yet, she would still prefer to ‘go home’.

How many times have I heard similar sentiments from other Newfoundland/Labradorians? It’s sad really. So many of us live outside the province, generally due to needing employment, yet so many of us would choose to live ‘at home’ given the opportunity. Another lady I was speaking with described heaven as taking her friends and house from here and transplanting them/it all in Newfoundland. The fact that I am now returning is almost making me feel a bit guilty…almost!

We had our first house showing this week. Conveniently, Iain was up at 5:30 AM which meant he was tired enough to nap at 10:15, giving Mommy ample time to run around the house opening doors, turning on lights and generally spot cleaning anything that seemed out of order before 11:00 AM. Selling a house is very stressful and, unfortunately, being followed by a toddler bent on ‘helping’ is even more stressful. To compound things, DH was away (back now for a week) which means I got to do the nightly vacuuming, mopping, dusting, wiping, etc. The housing market in Middleton is not nearly as busy as it was in Ottawa so having half the house barred up and having to continue being anal with the cleaning could go on for some time. Sigh. I prefer our sloth-like, pre-house selling existence!

It has not been as hard as I expected to keep Iain in one part of the house. The kitchen and play room are our most accessible rooms during the day and, as long as it’s nice enough outside for Iain to also get outside (that means, anything less than torrential rain as he is thrilled by puddles and rain), he has usually been pretty content.

Spring is here and we are loving being outside. We had a 30 degree day last week (No, I’m not exaggerating. We set a new temperature record). The flowers are out, the grass has already been cut once and the birds are back in force. I love this time of year before it gets too hot!

A friend of mine keeps asking about our pets and how they are doing. Sadly, our pets are quite neglected these days.

Due to my bad hip, Para has not had her usual daily walk in ages and ages. That being said, her weakening back seems to be doing well with only exercising in the back yard (she and the neighbour’s dog run back and forth the back fence to play together) and she is rarely limping anymore. She is also doing well getting up and down the stairs. Her spring ‘elbows’ (incessant licking causing open sores on her elbows) are back so I have to find the jean jacket I made for her last year to both give her elbows some padding and to limit her licking access.

The cats, on the other hand, are able to get their needs met quite well. Demanding would likely be the right word.

I think Tobi is reacting to the move stress around here. Both she and Para have been through every move that DH and I have experienced as a couple (this is location number five) and, that cat in particular, seems to have a very upset tummy by the turmoil and ‘lock down’ on parts of the house. I think she knows exactly what is going on. Poor kitty!

Checkers, on the other hand, benefits from being oblivious to things like stress or understanding that there is another move coming, compounded by a new human for her to get used to. Her only complaint is that we will not let her outside (I'm sure you can tell how hard done by she is by her photograph!)! She keeps waiting by the door in hopes of getting out (and does, occasionally, make a run for it, which is a real pain in the arse as I cannot run to catch her). However, seeing a dead cat next to the road on Thursday (who looked alarmingly like Checkers) has only reconfirmed our decision that our cats remain indoor cats either A) forever or B) until we have a property big enough and out of the way enough to allow them to roam. Checkers’ lawyer is still fighting this part of her adoption contract….

In knitting news, I have been knitting (don’t faint!). I’ve chosen a project that fits in with my stress level (thus the need to get back to knitting!) and toddler induced/pregnancy influenced attention span: dish cloths. Iain is thrilled as I finished a predominantly ‘blue’ one for him (‘blue’ being his colour of choice, partially because it is one of two colours he can say and partially because he just seems to love blue). He still loves playing with dish cloths. AND, he said ‘knitting’ yesterday for the first time! I’m so proud! I’m working on number two now. Too bad I don’t like the colours (green, turquoise and yellow) as I went and bought a super-sized ball of dishcloth cotton for it. Luckily, I did the same with Iain’s blue so I can go back and forth between the balls with each dishcloth without causing too much eye twitching. I should go through my downloaded patterns for market bags as I’m pretty sure my friend Alisha over at Tales of a Self Taught Knitter has made a bunch of them using dish cloth yarn and they always look gorgeous. That would use up the colour I don’t like pretty quick…

In other news, Iain has gone from hardly any talking (two months ago) to talking up a blue streak! He is learning words daily and consistently surprises me by the words he mimics and then proceeds to remember days later! Wish I could learn a new language like a toddler. Here’s a video (warning: it’s a long one) of him and I reading Tails by Matthew van Fleet. Iain loves all of the animals and had just learned how to say one special animal on the day I videoed:



‘Bush baby’ in his wee voice sounds just adorable to me! Tails is a great book too, by the way. The variety of different animals is huge and I’m still looking up where some of the animals are from or what they are as there were a few I had never heard of such as a ‘pangolin’.

Welcome Back to My Ghost Blog!

Thanks for checking up on me, Elizabeth! Everything is fine here. We just decided to make things a little busier for ourselves than usual. After all, adding a new baby to the mix just wasn’t challenge enough. We decided to add a couple of other fish to the fry. Here’s a list:

• Mid-February – I decided to start a home based business with The Pampered Chef (www.pamperedchef.biz/pattybrake) which meant 4 shows had to be completed within 30 days of signing up. I did it – yeah! And I’m continuing to do shows and loving it – yeah! However, owning your own business really cuts into your blogging time – boo!
• I am now in week 30 of this pregnancy and realise that baby number two syndrome (the syndrome of not getting as much face time on this blog as baby number one) has gotten ridiculous. I’m enclosing a couple of ultrasound pictures in an attempt to make up somewhat. I would have posted them sooner but I, um, kind of lost them…Poor baby number two. It is hoped this trend does not continue into her/his future. These are from ages and ages ago in week 12 but I think they are pretty cute regardless!

• We have decided that our Mazda Protegé simply isn’t going to fit four humans and a dog therefore we have been mini-van shopping. Ugh. My apologies to all you mini-van lovers out there but I’ve never been one of them. However, after renting one over the Christmas holidays when DH’s family were visiting, both DH and I were impressed with the roominess and convenience. Therefore, we could become mini-van owners over the next few months (if not weeks).

And, our biggest news of all apart from our latest Wee Kicker (who must be doing great as s/he has a very, very strong heartbeat, loves to kick her/his mother with alarming strength and has me puking regularly again which, I’m told, remains a good sign) is the following. July 4th is a big day at our house. We had our first baby on July 4, 2007. Baby number two is due July 4, 2009. And on July 4th, 2009, DH will have completed 20 years of service with the CF, and will be retiring shortly thereafter. He has found an excellent job in the aerospace field in St. Johns, NL and we will be headed East pretty much as soon as baby number two is born (we're kind of expecting s/he to be a week or so late like Iain was so are looking at moving mid-Julyish). Naturally, we are very excited about this huge change in our lives but, the stress! Whoo boy!

This change carries a lot of sadness too as I love being a CF family and am very proud that my husband wears the uniform. I am anticipating a lot of challenges in our future as we adjust to life as 'civilians' (I keep teasing DH that he's not going to be able to wear PJs (combats) to work anymore!) and I know that we will really, really miss our military family and the support the CF has always given us. However, that being said, the wonders of the modern electronic age (like email!) will continue to allow us to maintain great contact with all of our friends and family all over the world.

So, after 13 years of being away from 'home' this summer, my family and I will be returning to the province of Newfoundland/Labrador. This means that I will have to change part of the introductory header of this blog as Patty will no longer be homesick!

To add to the list of things happening in our lives above, we have just listed our house to sell (just, as in, this morning) and hope to be headed to Newfoundland to find a new abode sometime later in May.

I’m not really sure why I haven’t been blogging regularly. If you figure it out, please let me know.

Spring Fever

Para has it. She has me up at night almost as often as Iain. Since the time change, Iain has been taking longer and longer to get to sleep at night. However, he is also sleeping through the night more often so I’ll take the later bedtimes! Checkers, the cat, is tearing around the house like a mad thing. Our other ‘old lady’, 15 year old Tobi, is out and about to visit us more and more despite the fact that she had surgery two weeks ago (a cyst which was too close to her eye and some dental work).

Iain got his feet wet walking in puddles earlier in the month and I simply could not resist these.

Historically, Iain has not liked hard soled shoes AT ALL. Therefore, he has been wearing Robeez or Bobunz, heavily insulated children’s boots from MEC covered by Stonz slip-ons when we go outdoors (hmm, bit of baby wear advertising there…). Anyways, when we had a spring melt a couple of weeks ago (followed by winter), Iain had to visit every puddle he could find and, for the first time, his feet were a bit wet when we came inside. I thought these rubber boots were adorable and bought them big so that I could use wool socks inside them as it might be getting more Spring-like around here but it’s pretty cold still.

To my surprise and glee, Iain loves his boots! Here is a video of Iain wearing hard soled boots for the very first time.




Isn’t he pleased with himself? He is even saying ‘boots’! I love how he is sticking off his tummy and just strutting around!

And, the picture you’ve all been waiting for. The mommy-to-be at week 25 (last Thursday evening):

And with the proud big brother.

It’s interesting. I find that Iain looks like a very big boy when I take pictures of him by himself. However, when he is in a picture with either myself or DH, all of a sudden he looks so wee again. He is really growing up too fast.

Pregnancy Brain

I went to my regular obstetrician appointment by myself yesterday. It was a first. DH is away and he had never missed any of my obstetrics appointments with this pregnancy and attended all of them when I was carrying Iain. We consider ourselves very lucky.

Additionally, I did not have Iain with me. Iain is at that interesting age when bringing him into new situations is usually charming and fun. However, I find both of those behaviours a bit much when it involves stirrups and medical garbage cans (ew!). Luckily, one of my very good friends here in town offered to take Iain for me while I drove all the way to Kentville for my appointment. Usually, I meet up with my doctor here in town but, with once a month appointments and him only in the local hospital the odd week, I occasionally do have to drive to Kentville (a 45 minute drive) to see him.

So, I dropped off Iain, complete with snack and a good mood, a bit of a miracle considering he had just woken up. Iain usually takes about 15 minutes to get accustomed to the harsh world of Not Napping. I was almost to Kentville when I noticed that the ‘you need gas now’ light was on. I also thought that perhaps that light had been on for awhile and I had only just noticed it. No problem. DH is always telling me that I have more gas than I think once the gas light turns on (he’d know. He is also the person in the family who has run out of gas more times than the other adult in the house but, I digress…) and I have to admit that I panic a little when I see that light come on. In fact, I was mad at myself for not checking the gas gauge before I’d even left Middleton but it was too late by then.

The exit I take for the doctor is at Coldbrook where, luckily, there is a plethora of gas stations to choose from. I pulled up to my choice station and that’s when it hit me. Because I had dropped Iain off, that meant that I had also dropped off his diaper bag (a knapsack that goes with us everywhere). And, if I’d dropped off his diaper bag that also meant that I’d inadvertently dropped off my wallet. So, there I am, sitting at the gas station with no money, no credit card, no driver’s licence and no cell phone. The credit card and cell phone were particularly important because not only could I not buy gas but I also could not call anyone for help as I do not know anyone personally in Coldbrook/Kentville and it is a long distance call from there to Middleton for help. I didn’t think that the gas station would let me call long distance and solicit help but, hey, I’m pregnant right? I might get a break?

Turns out that gas attendants in Nova Scotia do not offer special assistance to pregnant ladies who are out of gas. So much for East Coast friendliness and hospitality.

With my fingers crossed, I limped to my doctor’s office and appointment praying that I would make it there, at least, before I ran out of gas. After all, two doors up from the clinic is a gas station. I could walk a can of gas over from that distance, I figured.

I made it to the doctor’s parking lot.

I also made it all the way into my appointment where, after telling the receptionist/nurse about my predicament, the office staff managed to come up with $10 cash so that I could fill the car with enough gas to get me back home again.

Pregnancy brain. I’ve got it bad.

Remember Me?

Hi there! Remember me? I cannot believe I’ve missed more than a month before posting another blog post. For shame!

Here’s a little glimpse into some of the things we’ve been up to:

Playing with parts of Daddy’s uniform:

My Daddy is in the Air Force!

One of the reasons I’ve been so blog negligent – laundry. Yes, this is the clean pile and yes, I thought that a clean laundry pile this large deserved to be posted on the Internet.

Working hard to make Daddy a handmade Valentine’s pressie:

And going home to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Newfoundland for a week. Bliss!
Are you ready for some big news? Yes, Suzanne and Elizabeth’s suspicions were correct. On July 4, 2009, DH, Iain and I are expecting a new addition to the family. Yep, that would also be Iain’s second birthday. Yes, I’ve heard comments about my organisational abilities already, thank you.

I am now 23 weeks pregnant and I’m very slow posting about this pregnancy because A) I didn’t want to jinx it (we had many, many problems before Iain), B) there’s a significant case of ‘second child’ syndrome around here. That means, there are no pictures of me pregnant (yet) and only one ultrasound picture taken at 12 weeks and C) I was throwing up violently for the first four months. Feeling sick and writing eloquent (have I ever?) blog posts do not go hand in hand. This does not mean that we are not thrilled with this news. We are absolutely thrilled. My belly button became an ‘outie’ within days of becoming pregnant and, when I tell Iain and there’s a baby in there, he pulls up my shirt and presses on my belly button! He is too young to really understand what all of this means but we’re having fun with the concept just the same.

Alright, I promise, I will post a pregnancy pose soon. Just as soon as I take one…