Day at the beach

LD has always been afraid of the ocean but for the past few weekends we've driven there to spend an afternoon one day a weekend and i finally coaxed him into touching the water. Here's a few pictures of the afternoon...

First we dug in the sand which he has always loved. While digging a moat for our castle we dug up this creature. Thought it was a crab but had no idea after looking at it good.

I finally got him to the water where he'd run from the waves. I convinced him by showing how fun it was to splash along the edge. Once he warmed up to it he really loved the water and we couldn't get him to leave. I was beginning to worry he wasn't my son because the ocean has always been my favorite place to be. I was never afraid of the water.

Searching for seashells is how we spend most of our time at the beach but this was the first time he would touch the wet sand and water. Before he would be carried and tell us which ones to pick up.

We went late in the afternoon so the beach had started clearing out. The seagulls were busy catching and eating dinner and were bringing huge crabs and mussels to the shore, eating the insides and leaving the shells behind. We had a ton of fun collecting the shells. In tact and unbroken. How they caught them perplexed us - they were so huge. And how they opened them without breaking is curious too.

Pail half full of dead jellyfish.

"Squishy mommy squishy te he he!"


We then passed the hand sanitizer around, washed our hands, ate dinner, went to the boardwalk and then a long drive home where we hit construction and all slept like babies. This was one of the further beaches but nicer than the others we've been to. Definately will be going there for a whole weekend sometime.

little dude cuteness

Lately LD calls me "Honey," "Sweetie" and/or "Bud."


You can imagine how funny i think it is when we are doing something and he says "Come on honey." while taking me by the hand. Or "come on Bud, let's play." He used to call us "family" as in "come on family" there for a while.


Two going on three has got to be the cutest age ever. He amazes me with his thoughts and words. It's a very annoying age too with stubborness, bossiness and know-it-all-ness too. But such is life. Yin Yang.

Win a gorgeous quilt!

I'm glad i heard about this contest today since it's the last day. Look at the beautiful quilt being given away at Old Red Barn Co! I'm been very excited to see the new fabric collections from designer Sandi Henderson in person and would love this to be the way i get to see them. Isn't it gorgeous???

Swap packages

So, finally i'm posting pictures of the awesome swap package Gulnari sent me. I went through it several times a day for about 3 days imagining what to make with each. I have ideas but haven't sewn for almost 2 months. Sad sad sad. Anyhow, here's the great package!













And everything together. She had wrapped everything in cute fabric with fabric ties which i will use too. What a great package! I love the pin cushion she made. So much bigger and fuller than the one i have. Love the tablecloth too. The work that went into that! That was the thrifted item (if you remember it was a thrifted, gifted and made swap...one thing made, one thing thrifted or gifted and then whatever craft supplies you wanted to pass on). I love the fabric and there's so much more there that you can't see. I have a few more photo's in my flikr but the kiddo won't let me do anything anymore (grandparents spoiled him with attention and now he won't spend two minutes alone). I have him "washing dishes" right now. Which means i have a big mess to go clean up once i hit publish. Thanks Gulnari! I love everything you sent and once i find out what i'm having i'm gonna start sewing! You are a sweety!

I also got a swap package from Amy. That post will have to come in a few days because i hear chaos coming from the kitchen. :-)

catching up...

My inlaws left this morning. I always think i'll have more time to do some things and was hoping to get some projects finished up but it's never the case. I don't know where the last three weeks went. A scary thing is that i have to finish this book which i have barely started and have it reviewed by the end of August. 700 pages! And it's non-fiction and very scholarly which means it takes 3 times as long to read as a novel. Why on Earth did i agree to it? It sounded (and is) fascinating.

What's weird with me and my procrastination is the extent of it. I haven't read a novel for fun in i don't know how long BUT did i find the time recently? Of course. I read "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life". Yeah, i know plaguerism was involved and plan on reading those to see the extent...just out of curiousity. I love Indian fiction though and it was cute and a very quick read. The way i look at this is the way i look at Indian movies. Every time i watch one i see three American films they took/stole/got ideas from. I'm curious to see how much she plaguerized though. I read an interview from a past magazine before the story broke and it was funny to read a year after the exposure.

What else is new? I got my swap package and what a lovely package it was. I'm posting photos later i hope. I actually got two because another friend sent me a package too as i plan to do if i can ever get back into the sewing room. On a good note i finally put the binding on Little Dude's quilt. The color thing had me stuck but i went with my gut and did red and he loves it, and i love it. So cute. I love that when i make something for him he wants to put it in use right away. What a sweety.

Okay, that's it. Got lots of catching up to do and lots of reading to avoid, er, do. :-)

Cloth diaper contest

I'm wanting to give cloth diapers a go this time around. There's a great contest to win a great starter kit. I hope i win! Or that my friend Amy wins. :-) She's been making some great cloth diapers and i know she'll be entering this contest too once she sees it.

Win a Bum Genius 3.0 Starter Kit from Nature's Child - Wholesome Goods for Mothers and Babies

Surprise!

Been busy over here. Inlaws here. LD is pretty much potty trained. Wasn't as bad as i thought. A few days of messes but now he even tells us if he has to go and is wearing a diaper. A whole drive to NYC and back too. Number 2 is an issue but it looks like overall i won't be changing diapers for about 6 months. Why 6 months? Well, that's when our newest little family member will insh'Allah join the family.

Yep, after a long wait and some issues we are finally having another. Little Dude couldn't be more happy, but only if it's a girl. He really really wants a girl and if i even bring up a boy, he says "no, mommy. a little sister. Little sister!" We'll see lol.

Kinda of a surprise this one. My doctor had told me it was impossible to get pregnant on our own and if I did I would probably lose it. Two weeks later I realized I was pregnant. Goes to show the power of prayer and God's will and how little man knows about these things alhamdulillah. I was afraid of losing it so have kept mum but now that the skirmy little one is moving about and sucking its thumb so contentedly I feel much better. I have been so sick with this one and eating the weirdest things - pineapple and jalapeno pizza and mayo and pickle sandwiches to name a few.

I figured I'd share my pregnancy this time...last time we kept it secret until Little Dude entered the world afraid of evil eye but we're more relaxed this time. Please do prayers for our family. Please also do some prayers for Lubna's mom who is not well.