Christmas at the Gunns

He looks more like a little boy than a baby.


Put me down! I wanna play!





After Christmas nap




The ladies in my life


It gets COLD up here! Even Alan is wearing a coat.

Christmas Knitting

I'm typing out the blanket pattern at the bottom, but
DO NOT START THE ENTRELAC PATTERN UNTIL I CAN TRY IT AND MAKE SURE I DIDN'T MISTYPE IT! Something doesn't look right and I can't figure out what until I've had a chance to actually stitch the thing.

I'm excited to be able to post the pictures of the blankets I've been working on for the past few months.

This is the one I made my mom for Christmas. It's made out of Noro Silk Garden and the squares are 16 x 16 stitches wide on a US9 needle. It's lined on the back with satin.



This is the one I made Kiwi for her baby shower. It's more a Mommy Blanket than a Baby Blanket!
It's made out of I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby and the squares are 20 x 20 stitches wide on a US6 needle.


I made this cable scarf for my Mother-in-Law


ENTRELAC PATTERN FOR BLANKET

Pass 1, Starting Triangles

Cast on 24 stitches - any way you like. We’re going to do a swatch comprised of three blocks - each of which is 8 stitches wide. To begin:

Row 1: Purl 2, turn
Row 2: Knit 2, turn
Row 3: P3, turn
Row 4: K3, turn

Continue, adding a stitch with each row until you have P8 and K8. Then start the next triangle with Row 1 - 4. Do this 3 times.

The triangles are going to look very funny on the cable. Don't worry about it. They will straighten up on the next pass.

Pass 2 - Side Triangles and blocks
This pass will have a triangle on each end with two blocks in the middle.

Pass 2 - 1st Triangle
Attach your second color.
Row 1: K2, turn
Row 2: P2, turn
Row 3: K in the front and back of first stitch (Kfb), SSK, turn
Row 4: P3, turn
Row 5: Kfb, K1, SSK, turn
Row 6: P4, turn
Row 7: Kfb, K2, SSK, turn
Row 8: P5, turn
Row 9: Kfb, K3, SSK, turn
Row 10: P6, turn
Row 11: Kfb, K4, SSK, turn
Row 12: P7, turn
Row 13: Kfb, K5, SSK, turn
Do not turn and purl back!

Pass 2 - 1st Square
Now it's time to make our 1st square. Pick up 8 stitches on your LEFT needle from here:
PHOTO COMING SOON!!!

Row 1: *(K7, SSK) *repeat 7 more times

Pass 2 - Second Square
Pick up 8 stitches and knit just like the 1st square.

Pass 2 - 2nd Triangle
Pick up 8 stitches on LEFT needle.
Row 1: P2tog, P7
Row 2: K8
Row 3: P2tog, P6
Row 4: K7
Row 5: P2tog, P5
Row 6: K6
Row 7: P2tog, P4
Row 8: K5
Row 9: P2tog, P3
Row 10: K4
Row 11: P2tog, P2
Row 12: K3
Row 13:P2tog, P1
Row 14: K2
Row 15: P2tog
Row 16: K1
You will end with 1 little stitch on the RIGHT needle.

Pass 3 - Blocks Only

Pass 3 - 1st Square
Pick up 7 stitches on LEFT needle.
Row 1: P6, P2tog
Row 2: K8
Row 3: P7, P2tog
Row 4: K8
Rows 5 - ??? repeat rows 3 - 4 until all of the stitches from the square in pass 2 are eaten up.

Pass 3 - 2nd and 3rd Square
Pick up 8 stitches on LEFT needle
Repeat rows 3 - 4 of pattern for Pass 3 - 1st Square above.

Pass 4 - Side Triangles and Blocks
Repeat instructions for Pass 2.

Last Pass - Just Triangles

Pass 4 - 1st Triangle
You should have one little stitch on the RIGHT needle after finishing Pass 4.
Pick up 7 stitches on LEFT needle.

Row 1: K7
Row 2: P2tog, K5, P2tog
Row 3:K6
Row 4:P2tog, K4, P2tog
Row 5:K6
Row 6:P2tog, K3, P2tog
Row 7:K5
Row 8:P2tog, K2, P2tog
Row 9:K4
Row 10:P2tog, K1, P2tog
Row 11: K3
Row 12: P2tog, P2tog
Row 13: K2
Row 14: P3tog

Pass 4 - 2nd and 3rd Triangles
Repeat instructions for Pass 4 - 1st Triangle

Christensen Christmas

Merry Christmas on the run!



Is this one mine?


More toys?


Grandma would show C how things worked while Daddy would unbox the next toy.


Grandma Marla and Kayla.


Daddy takes a second to smile at me, then back to work putting in more batteries.


Grandpa talking. For some reason in all of his pictures he's talking.


That toy said, "Hi, I'm Chuck the Dumptruck" before I put tape over the speaker. Now it says, "Miff, Miff, muff, fumphh, humfphhhh, mumphhhhmumphhh."


Uncle Rodney helping C with his new remote control car


Preston, Kayla, Elvis and Grace

Dear Santa, please bring me Xanax

This time of year is wonderful and hard at the same time. It's like clockwork, December roles around and I feel like I need an extra boost of drugs just to get through.

Cortland has entered the I Want To Do It MYSELF stage. Heaven help anyone who takes the remote or a cord or the phone or the million other dangerous or breakable items from that little angel. He turns into a siren. WHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

I have found that filling up the bath and laying in it with my head under water helps. It's not Xanax, but you do what you can with what you have.

Cortland pictures and videos

Baby Bears Chair


But I don't wanna be a lion!


Bathtime with Kayla


Alan and Grace


Bri giving C his bedtime snack


Elvis under the tree

Return of the Yodeling Pickle

Dustin and Kristin got this for Cortland for his birthday. As God is my witness, if/when they have kids this pickle will be shipped right back to them. It's as bad as the crazy doll my aunt and uncle got me when I was little that laughed and cried and drove my parents absolutely bonkers.

I would "lose" the batteries, but then it's just my son playing with a rather questionably shaped green, uhhhh, you know... uhhh.....

But as with all toys, the more annoying to the parents, the more the kid loooooves it and carries around everywhere. So for that, thank you Dustin and K. He loves his pickle.

PS - Tanya please don't kill me for posting you yodeling. heh. You do a very good job of it.

More Cortland Pics

Hello!


What do you need? I'm on the phone...


Helping mommy change the locks.



Yummy belt!

Scrubs

Remember when Mrs. Garrett and all of the girls moved to Peakesville and ran a candy store? That's how this new season of Scrubs feels.

Cortland's Newest Skill

New Baby in Memphis!

Jello-Kim had her baby! Meredith June was born yesterday around 5:15pm and weighs 7lbs 10oz. Both mom and baby are doing great.

Peek-a-Boo

Footie Jammies

One of C's favorite things to do is pull everything out of his boxes o the hearth. I finally got smart and put the no-no stuff in a zipper bag so he doesn't shove a thermometer up his nose or eat a handful of Vaseline.

It's the Great Pumpkin!

Grace Came Home a Little Lighter

Grace went to the vet for a teeth cleaning today and returned without her front right canine and the far back right tooth. She isn't feeling to good right now.

Grace

We were told by the vet that, without her front tooth, it might be impossible for her to keep her tongue in her mouth and may end up looking like this.

NOT Grace (yet)


WORST CASE SCENARIO

If that happens everyone has to promise not to laugh at her or tell her that she looks a little squirrely. It will hurt her precious princess feelings. (No worries, we can laugh when she leaves the room.)

A funny little thing happened when the vet came out to talk to me about removing her teeth. She handed me her pain meds and also a huge box of needles and a vial of B12 to inject, she said, for some colon issue. When I told her I wasn't aware of any colon issue she looked at me like I was a nut and said she would review the chart and be right back.

While she was gone I looked at the paperwork, felt all the blood rush from my head and loudly exclaimed, "Oh my God, this is the wrong pet!" Grayson/Grace Ann, Cat/Dog, Meh, close enough.

The front desk lady looked a little startled but handled it great. She went to the back and got the vet and everything was straightened out. It's not like they removed the wrong patient's kidney or anything.

When I left the vet said that she hoped to see us again and that I didn't call and request my pet see anyone but "that crazy blonde doctor".

Birthday

Cortland's party was wonderful but we only got a few pictures. If anyone has some could you please email them to me so I don't look like a negligent scrapbooker?

Painting

The yellow room is painted! So am I, but that's par for the course. I always seem to get my hands covered and my ponytail against a wall. When we did Alan's office I had blue hair for weeks.

ETA: Just finished the dining room, too!

Don Sharp House Painting and Wood Repair Memphis Review

The guys who painted our house were amazing. Carlos, Mario and Phillipe were polite and respectful of our property, and, to top it off, they did excellent work. (Isn't it a sad sign of the times the bonus is if the actual work is done well?) It was beyond what I expected. Don was around every day to see how things were progressing and he always had a brush in his hand, too. I don't know why that impressed me so much, but it did.

We had all of the trim (windows, doors, baseboards and crown molding) and ceilings painted. It was a job neither Alan or I was willing to tackle. Basically all the time consuming icky work.

Not only was the work done beyond my expectations, but the crew was on time every single day, and they came back a fourth day just to scrub floors and dust. And I have to mention that my windows have never been cleaner. When they scraped them clean they also cleaned up the mess the previous painters had left.

Call him if you need painting done in Memphis. (901) 335-4325

And just because Don and I had a running debate going and I LOVE to have the last word; Don Sharp is an artist! He says he's just creative but creativity put into action doth an artist does make. and he is just a sweetie-pie on top of all of his other qualities. Last word! I win!

Don Sharp House Painting and Wood Repair Memphis Review (for the spider-bots)

Febrile Seizure a.k.a Fever Induced Seizure

I just wanted to let other mothers out there know that this is a horrible thing to have happen, but rarely a dangerous thing. It's scary and awful and terrible, but not life threatening. If anyone stressed this to me, or even told me about it I don't remember. I was caught completely off-guard.

This was our Tuesday night.
Febrile Seizure a.k.a Fever Induced Seizure

An excerpt from the link along with my comments in blue.

"The first febrile seizure is a frightening moment for parents. Ummm, yeah. No kidding. Most parents are afraid that their child will die or have brain damage. I wasn't thinking about the brain damage part. Just the dying part. One of the most awful experiences I have ever had. Ever. EEEEVVVVVEEEEERRRRR. However, simple febrile seizures are harmless. There is no evidence that they cause death, brain damage, epilepsy, mental retardation, a decrease in IQ, or learning difficulties."

Thank goodness I have such wonderful neighbors. Thank you especially to Tanya, Martha and Frank. After many tests the Dr. said everything came back negative and it was fever induced due to a virus. No damage done - just very scary.

It was the nurse who gave me back my freedom to sleep. She said that she has never seen a child die from one of these seizures. Phew. It was going to be a long 4 years staying awake to stare at a sleeping Cortland because no way was I going to let my baby sleep without my eyeballs glued to his every move if this caused death. Alan and I would figure out staring shifts.

Oh, I almost forgot, the doctor said he sees 5-6 of these a week. A week! The article says only 3-5% of children experience this. Those figures don't add up for me, but it's late and I'm tired.

Painting

How do painters not feel nauseous 100% of the time?

We're having our ceilings and trim painted and just sitting in the living room for 20 minutes I feel like hurling all over the floor. Thankfully Cortland's room is a stink-free zone.

Sullied Record

Today I got my 1st ticket and it was for expired tags. 10 hrs past the expiration date tags. I drink milk one day past the expiration. I've eaten eggs past their expiration. Heck, until about 6 months ago I didn't even know they had an expiration! But there is apparently no grace period for expired tags in Memphis.

I asked for a warning since I just got the car out of the shop yesterday. And I asked because I have never had a ticket before. I said I couldn't take my baby to the courthouse, it isn't safe for him there. And then I started crying - not on purpose - and asked to be forgiven because my husband was going to laugh and tease me for getting my 1st ever ticket.

The officer was very sweet and kept saying, "please stop crying sweetie." And then he handed me my ticket.

Cortland and his friends

PSA: CHILDRENS TYLENOL RECALL

Go HERE for a list of the recalled medicines.

Oops

I broke my Murano last week. I hit the wrought iron gate that goes into the backyard with my back tire. After I was finished it was flat and the wheel was turned at a 30 degree angle. Utterly broken.

The tow truck driver had to carefully drive my broken car onto the flatbed because he said he couldn't get his truck through our gate. I chuckled and said that I apparently couldn't drive my truck through the gate either.

The Fish Have Joined the Circus

Tanya is watching the fish while we're out and this is the email I recently received:

Did i tell you about one of your fish? The little clown fish? He was SO CUTE!!!
When i feed them i like to sit on the bench and watch them for about ten minutes
making sure everybody is A L I V E and everything.
I was watching them all dart around and i noticed this one teeny tiny little guy darting
back and forth but do you know what? He had a Big Orange Ball on top of his nose!
He did!
I kept watching wondering if it was a growth or something but it would float above him
now and then and then back it went on his nose.
He finally abandoned it when he went after a smaller piece of food. It was just one of the
larger fish food balls he had been toting around.
He was SO CUTE! I want to make him a little outfit to wear when he does his act again.
Do you think it would be hard to keep a pointy hat on his little head? There is no real chin
to hold the elastic strap. Hmmm. I'll have to think about this.

And the next day I received this picture:

Skye Day

Alan took Cortland to Grandma's today and I get to have a Skye Day all to myself to do with what I want. Ahhhh! I feel lighter already without a diaper bag hooked to my shoulder.

Granted, the most amazing thing is to wake up to a little face smiling because he sees his mommy and wants to snuggle and play. But now they are gone and I have a vast day ahead of me of doing whatever I want.

I had breakfast with the most amazing man. His name is Andy and he's from the UK. He is a engineer of DNA equipment ad owns his own business. He he used to be a truck driver, but it was such a boring life and, he said, as he watched many of the other drivers have heart attacks and die at 60, he did not want his life to pass like that.

Andy said that the TX heat is much like India.

The rest of my day is going to be filled with playing with my girlfriends, but for the next hour I'm going to revel in silence and the lack of responsibility for another human life.

Lost People

About the time I feel like an adult I get hit with old insecurities that I had as a kid.

I wonder if I'm a good enough friend to people who have supported me through so many good and bad things. I wonder if I listen with the impartial ear that others have given me. I hope I have given advice only when asked and been non-judgmental when everyone else has judged.

My mom once told me that no matter what she is ALWAYS on my side. Always. That's the kind of person I try to be to my friends. Right or wrong I am always going to be on their side.

I've lost touch with so many friends that played a huge part in my life at one time or another. Scott Hobson and Erin Turner were my best friends for many years, but I don't talk to them anymore. Life has a way of going on and people seem to get lost in the shuffle. I think of them every day and wonder what they are doing and thinking. What they would think of the adult I've become.

I recently called an old friend and we're going to see each other this weekend. I can't wait to see her and her wonderful family. I don't know how we lost our relationship so long ago.

I'm not feeling regret so much today as hope that maybe some of the people I lost still think fondly of me and that bridges haven't been permanently burned.

We are Family

I was so lucky that my cousin Sherry grabbed my camera and recorded my mom and I dancing at my cousins wedding. Lucky not because we are such great dancers, but because my mom is the best family a girl could ever choose. I'm getting teary right now. It hits me so hard sometimes how close I came to never getting moments like this ever again.

I feel so incredibly lucky.

Things from my Childhood

YODA YODA YODA

Video

Video

Cortland

Thank you Grammy Jeannie for my cool new hat!

Good, Bad, Ugly

The Good: Cortland passed his physical therapy assessment for gross motor skills.

The Bad: The therapist noticed that he is a bit behind on fine motor skills and that his little tongue sticking out may be an indication that he's tongue-tied. She also said that his difficulty keeping food in his mouth and his lack of verbal sounds are other indications of being tongue-tied.

The Ugly: Not so ugly; Cortland will start having speech therapy and more in-depth physical therapy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Good: I found the book I loved so much when I was a kid. It's called The Terrible Troll-Bird. I must have checked it out of my elementary school library a hundred times. I love Amazon and their used book sale place!


The Bad: It's (a lot) more violent than I remember.

The Ugly: Regardless, we will still read the hell out of it. I love this book!

Sushi

Cortland's favorite was the Caterpillar Roll and the tofu in the miso soup.