This week has been a roller coaster of emotional news but I am happy to say, that today, Thursday, we FINALLY got some good news regarding Noby!! The results from the blood test we took on Monday came back and they are good!!! Actually they are GREAT! Noby’s lead level went from a 17 to an 8!!! 8 is considered in the normal range (0-10). We believe that this means that all the work we’ve done (painting, washing walls, new baby gates, new hepa filters and the twice a day meds) really worked. We still need to do the meds for the next couple months but it looks like he is no longer getting lead in his system!!! YEAH!! Ichiro and I really needed this news this week! We are VERY excited!
Last weekend Noby and I headed down to CT for a little Memere/Grandpa-time. Both Noby and I needed it! It was great to go and just hang out. We had nothing planned and no running around that had to be done, it was great to just chill with them.
Noby had a great time hanging out with Memere and Grandpa!
Saturday Mom and I got some scrap-booking done with Aunt Judee!
Yesterday Noby turned 16 months!!! I can’t even believe that my little baby is 16 months!!! I guess I can’t call him a baby anymore. He is such a little boy! Everyday he wants to do more and more by himself. I’m trying to deal with the messiness that comes along with this new independence. It’s hard not to smile when you see how happy he is when he’s accomplished something!
Eating yogurt all by himself!
I love that smile!
Noby and I have spent most of the week at Lizzy’s house. I’ve offered to help her get the boys room together (ie take wall paper down and paint) before the new addition to the family arrives! At Lizzy’s house, I’m not sure why, but I am so much more relaxed with Noby. Yesterday Noby, for the first time, had M&Ms!!! And I can’t even explain to you how much he loved them. It was so funny to watch him drool all over Lizzy’s house! I tried to get a good picture of him but he could not stand still! hahahahah
M&M high!! (and drool!)
"Is there more in there?"
Last night I was up till 2:30am finishing the last book in the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn. The 754 page book was just as good as the first 3 books. I can’t believe I’ve finished this series in such a short amount of time. This must tell you all something!!! Go get them and read them. DO IT!
Here’s one last picture of Noby, just cause I love it!
Ok, I know I’m a little overdue for a post. People actually started asking for pictures of Noby! hahaha Not much is really going on here on Cedar Cliff Terrace. We spent a few days this week with Lizzy and the boys. One of the days we even ventured down to Ikea to look for new storage options for the playroom. That was… an adventure, to say the least! Lizzy seems brings out my domestic side even more. She makes all her own bread and keeps telling me how easy it was going to be. haha This week I tried and the first attempt was NOT a success. The loaf of bread was a heavy and as hard as a brick. We never even tried it. At least the salmon I cooked that night came out perfect!!
New storage for the playroom!
I think they are going to work out great. I plan to tape picture on the outside of the container so show what is inside.
At least I thought it was a good idea. Haha Noby still found a way to freak me out.
My very sad loaf of bread. lol
The very yummy salmon!
Our plans fell through for both Friday and Saturday so I have had plenty of time to read. I’ve finished the second AND third books in the Twilight series, New Moon and Eclipse. Each book is over 500 pages and I can’t seem to put them down. I wouldn’t say that I was obsessed or anything BUT I would say that I am very enthralled. Stephenie Meyer’s writing draws you in. I will say it again, Katie and Jo were right!! And I apologies to Katie, it’s not that I was ignoring you and your blog, cause I read it. It was more that I just didn’t take your suggestion, stupid on my part. And I vow, the next time you blog with a book suggestion that I will read it (ok I will look into it!)
And now I will leave you all with a few random pictures of Noby, just like you asked for….
Before we installed the new storage units in the playroom, Noby would climb on the bench and put his legs over the sides. Only fell twice!!!!
So last night Joanna and I went to see the movie Twilight!! From the moment I finished the book I couldn’t stop thinking about going to see it. I have such a great husband that he said once again he would put Noby to bed. I wanted to see how they were going to portray each of the characters, what they would look like, how they were going to sound. I wanted to compare my image of scenes to theirs. I was so excited to go! This would be Jo’s 4th time seeing it but she said she really didn’t mind. The movie was good! Not fantastic like the book but it was good. Some of the characters were NOTHING like I pictured and I thought they rushed some of the scenes. Overall I say… Read the book then go to the movie!!
Back in August, Katie blogged about reading Twilight, the first book in a series, in just a few hours. She raved about it and suggested everyone run out to read it. I was intrigued but ended up ignoring her. Over the next few months she blogged about reading the next few books in the series. She reviewed each book, mostly raving about them, and telling everyone to go out and read the series. Again I was interested but ignored her. Recently Joanna read Twilight and then the next books in the series. All withing days of each other! She raved and raved and told me I had to read them. Last time we were at her house she even lent me the first book to read. It was sitting on our coffee table for about a week, maybe longer. On Sunday, waiting for the snow to start, I picked it up. I thought I would read a little before I started to clean. Well I could NOT put the book down. I couldn’t believe how fast the reading was and before I knew it I was more than half way done. I had ignored my husband and son all day, only getting up to make them food. I forced myself to go to bed and got up this morning to finish the book. Now I can’t rave enough about it. Read it! Do it!
So not much has been going on in the Ashihara household lately! We’ve had a pretty low key this past week, getting ready for all the BIG storms. On Saturday I did spend a couple of house at Brenda’s working on my Christmas scrapbook. I not only found a few more pictures from past holidays but we recieved a few more cards. So check out my pages that were redone….
So Brenda called me today saying she was mad at me because I started my Christmas photo scrapbook without her. A project that we agreed to do together after seeings moms. Well we decided a last minute craft night was in order! Ichiro is home with Noby and I am here at Brendas. I have to say she has the BEST table to work on. The table twists and turns and opens to twice it’s size! It truly is fabulous! Brenda’s scrapbook is coming out amazing, I think finally found her craft! As you can see I am finally working on my Christmas quilt. Better late then never! It will be my 2009 Christmas quilt!
So I know why Santa (I mean my mom!) knows me so well… it’s because I’m just like her! The older I get (and becoming a mom) has really shown me it’s true. And you know what? I love it! Last night we talked on the phone for 30 minutes discussing our new craft project. “New craft project?” you ask. YES, the new craft project! My mom came up with this great idea for all the photo Christmas cards she receives every year. Now my mom receives a TON of photo Christmas cards each year, running a daycare for 30+ years will do that to you. She didn’t have the heart to throw these cards away at the end of the Christmas season and has been storing them with the Christmas stuff for years now, all the way back to 1990! Well last year she started a project to scrapbook all of these cards. When I saw her book I was inspired. I loved the idea that you could see how each of the kids have grown from year to year. My favorite family to show this was the Simisons. They have been sending her cards forever and it was amazing to see how the girls have grown. I have been saving all my Christmas photo cards for the past few years, I just didn’t have the heart to toss them. After seeing my moms book at Christmas I knew it was something I wanted to do. So like any project I’m working on, I get obsessed with it and end up finishing in a few days. Ignoring Ichiro at night and not going to bed at a normal time. Believe it or not, Ichiro went to bed before me the past two nights!! Anyway I wanted to show my mom how far I have gotten in a couple of days and thought I should share with everyone.
Remember it’s not 100% done yet…
Inside first page...
These are my oldest pages, I don't have many pictures from these year. The left is 2003 and the right is 2005. Not really sure what happened in 2004. lol I need to make tags with the years on them for each page.
2006, you can see I had to cut some of the cards to make them fit, I just moved the name part to the side a little.
2006, if you look carefully you can see my 3 years of the Simisons!
2007
2007
2008
2008
There were so many great regular Christmas cards too this year that I took some of them, cut them up, and added them as details on the pages!
As most of you know I have a soft spot in my heart for kitchen stuff! I love any type of small gadget that isn’t really necessary to work in a kitchen and I just LOVE serving platters! I’m sure Ichiro will unhappily agree with both of these points. Well every year Santa sticks some type of small gadget into my stocking. Some years it’s a holiday cookie cutter, other years it new wooden spoons, one year it was pool ball shaped corn on the cob holders. What ever it is I look forward to what Santa picks out.
This year I got a strawberry huller!! I had no idea I needed one till it turned up in my stocking!!
Today at Costco, Noby and I picked up some strawberries and at lunch we tried out the huller. My review of the huller is that it’s fabulous!! The huller only removes the stem of the strawberry, not wasting any of the strawberry goodness. Noby’s review of strawberries in general was not as favorable.
Our yummy Costco strawberries!
Strawberry ready to have its stem removed!
Very quickly the stem is removed!
Perfect!
Check it out!! My tuna can strainer doubles as a mini colander! Boy do I love Santa!!
Although he loved them in the past, today Noby wasn’t feeling the strawberries!
"What do you want me to do with this??"
"Inu, where are you?"
Noby was very happy giving all his strawberries to Inu. Inu was VERY happy eating them all!
