I Know, I Know

I honestly can't believe that it has been almost 2 months since I have posted - that must mean there is nothing new going on...hah! Not in my little corner of the world. Tonight finds me at my MB's house, listening to the frogs croak away and finishing up an icy cold G&T. YUM!

The past 2 months have been a complete and utter whirlwind of activity. We started off the month of March by deciding that our time in Fort Defiance was done and it was time to move on. We started to pack up the house and we officially hit the road on April 2nd. We meandered our way up to the Pacific Northwest in 5 days and about 1700 miles. We stopped at any hotspring we could find along the way and I spent my birthday in a "hotpot" in the middle of Utah. It was fantastic. Staying at MB's has been restful and seeing the interactions between O and the family just melts my heart.

O "helping" us pack

Just Call Me Rocky

This afternoon found Eric and O walking around outside waiting for me to come home for lunch. Watching them on my bike from down the block I yelled out a big "hello!" O looked up and was walking with his push walker so fast that he couldn't catch himself. The walker hit a rock and O "endo'ed" over the handlebar. My ohh my...I shudder to think what other injuries he has in store for me.

Kale Chips

I know it sounds crazy but they are soooo good. I found the recipe here and tried it last night. They were fantastic. Cruncy and salty (maybe a little bit too salty...is that possible?) but heck you only use olive oil and some type of vinegar. The recipe calls for apple cider but I bet they would be great with basalmic or even red wine. You could also use sesame oil...YUM. All the possibilities made me put kale on the shopping list.

Home-made Goodness

I love homemade things. They don’t have to be fancy or complicated or take a lot of skill to do. I just like things that people have taken the time to make. What got me to thinking about this was making the bed last weekend. I like to have a nicely made bed and Eric had taken our quilts to the Laundromat to use the industrial size washer and dryer – he had put the mattress pad back on but the bed needed to be made. I started putting the sheets on (flannel cause it’s so damn cold here) and then pulled on the quilts. One quilt was made by my mom – it’s got a plain ivory background and a star like pattern on it. I can’t remember why we got it from her – a Christmas gift maybe? And my mom doesn’t quilt a ton so I always think it’s great that we have something from her that she doesn’t “do” a lot of. I don’t recognize any of the fabrics in the quilt – though I am sure she made it with scraps. The second quilt is a crazy looking quilt that my grandma made. It is made of all flannel material cut in a various shapes and sizes and I am pretty sure it’s really called a crazy quilt. This quilt has a solid red and white striped backing and I think I got it when I was about 15 and loved the color red. It is heavy and warm. I recognize many of the fabrics in the quilt – a nightgown here and an Easter bunny there. My cousins each have a similar quilt and they call theirs a “gully gully”. For the past month or two I have been working on 2 projects; one a growth chart for O made out of wood and the other a play kitchen for him that I found on this great website called http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ you should really check it out. I finally finished the growth chart and am pretty happy with how it turned out – though I used an old can of clear coat and it turned the white paint a kind of aged yellow looking. It doesn’t look bad just not as good as it did before the clear coat. The kitchen is still a work in progress…

To Cut or Not to Cut?

We have been discussing cutting O's hair for the past month. I like it longer so does Eric. Who knows...how does one decide to cut their child's hair?

Sun and Fun

Last week I was not feeling well. I think it was a combination of stress, too much snow and cold and an all around bad attitude. I called in sick with what I was sure was another sinus infection. Before moving to the Southwest desert at an elevation of 7,000 feet, I had never had a sinus infection in my life. Here it seems that any little cold just gets stuck upstairs. Nasal steroids are a miracle. So after calling in sick we started talking about going away for a weekend. Usually in the winter we head south into "the valley of the sun" but its high season right now and our favorite hotels to stay in up their prices so we were hemming and hawing about spending money like that. Well, Eric goes on-line to check the cheapest price and low and behold...they are having a one day sale for $44 per night. I have never heard of hotels offering one day sales...it reminds me of something you would see on telly on an advertisement for Macy's. We pack up and head south for some warmth and pool time. There is nothing like 75 degrees and time in the pool to restore ones sense of health.

First Steps

Woo hooo. Big news in the Ali Family. O took his first steps Monday 02/01/2010. He didn’t start jogging down the hallway or anything but the first 4 hesitant steps were enough to send his mom and dad into whoops of joy. We were sitting at the dining room and O was sitting on my lap watching Eric finish lunch. As all good things do, my lunch time was coming to an end, so I stood up and put O down in standing position and as I walked past him I said “come on let’s go” and holy mackerel he came. On his wobbly little toddler legs he propelled himself forward until he could reach the chair. It was enough to make my heart swoon.

Here You Go Mamma Bear

Upset that he can't have the camera! Hysterical!
"See my teeth"

I can't believe how long it has been since I typed something longer then one sentence. Crazy how busy a person can get. I got an email from my MB yesterday that said it had been a while since she had seen new pictures of O - and "while I know you have a lot going on..." does it take a guilty note from my mamma to get me to type and post? YES!

Life here is good and I really try to count my blessings everyday. We have had an amazing amount of snow and while the roads are pretty much clear there are 4 foot mounds everywhere. The blue skies have reappeared and my mood has brightened.

O's newest trick is pushing any button he can find (and not just those that are built into his mamma and pappa) he loves the remote control, the phone, the stereo and the TV. Is this just a boy thing? or just a toddler thing? He is not walking yet but standing and cruising and crawling like the wild man of Borneo. He likes to say ba-ba which sounds like bottle - which is a word we have never used - when he says it that usually means water. He knows the sign for "more" which he does for everything. He likes his monkey blanket and the farm book (which I think both Eric and I know by heart..."early in the morning the farmer feeds and milks his cows")

My New Lion Towel!

Thanks Aunt Sandy...I love my new lion towel. xoxo O

Wagon Master

Little O got a wagon for Christmas. Not just any wagon but a radio flyer super de-luxe model - with all terrain wheels and wooden sides. It is a monster wagon - one that I am sure he will get years worth out of play with. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa.