Right away I am a bit distracted while I am writing this. George and I are watching Slumdog Millionaire and It’s really good…..I’ll try my best to write something that isn’t just a jumble of words. Isla is all tucked into bed and hopefully asleep…I havn’t heard a peep from her yet So I am sure she is. Speaking of sleeping as you can see by the pictures Isla is now in a big girl bed.  Tonight is her 5th night and she is doing great! The first night was funny. We were sure Isla was going to get out of her bed and it was going to be alot of work but it was not as bad as we though. It took her and hour and a half to fall asleep but she didn’t get out of the bed once. She did call me alot and I know it must of felt strange but she eventually fell asleep with a couple of visits from George and I for reassurance. Now nap the next day was a different story. It took Isla, once more, an hour and half to fall asleep but this time she got out of bed at least 60 times. I kept going in to check on her and at first she was getting books off the shelf and reading in bed and then eventually she moved to the couch to read. Then I would catch her tip toeing across the room and and when caught by me she would say “hi mommy” and go running across the room and throw herself in bed. This went on for about 45 minutes, her getting up about every 3 minutes. eventually I just stood by her door and every time she got up I would tell her it was time for bed and to get back in bed and go to sleep. Of course she didn’t really like it and got frustrated till finally she ended up just crying herself to sleep. But it did work and five days later we can stick her in bed and she takes a bit longer to go to sleep but she doesn’t get out of the bed. I fact she doesn’t even get out in the morning….she just calls for us to come and get her. It is very cute! I can tell Isla really likes the bed because she climbs into it often during the day and says “new bed Isla” and snuggles under the blankets. We are pretty proud of our big girl and are looking forward to potty training starting Monday….I’ll keep you all posted. Okay, the movie is getting really good and I can hear some Ben and Jerry’s Rocky Road beckoning to me.

It’s 9 pm and I am sitting here at my desk sipping a hot cup of tea and feeling inspired to get on my web page for a change. I’m sorry to all those out there that check to see if there are new updates and have been sadly disappointed to never see anything new. I am beginning to feel in the mood again so please keep checking…..don’t give up on me yet! To tell you the truth I have been going through alot in the last couple of months and I have just been more tired than I can explain. The great news is I feel like a new person this week. I know it is because I have just had a break from work and life for the last couple of weeks. I was so worn down that I was beginning to loose it a bit. But thankfully summer came just in the nick of time and saved the day. I now feel like a new person…..happy for a change! George probably loves the new me. It has been so wonderful to be home everyday with Isla. God, she amazes me….I can’t believe that I can love her more everyday because everyday I feel like I love her so much I could explode yet there is always room for more.  Cheesy I know …but very true. I have been finally getting on top of the house work and loving it. Not only is the house staying clean for a change but I have been organizing and purging us of clutter. Maybe that is contributing to the new Nellie. Anyways I am having a great summer and will keep you posted on things but now I realize I should be writing about my dad’s birthday since that is what this blog was suppose to be about.

Well before my parents left for the mainland we had a very nice birthday bash for my dad.  While my parents were at church on Sunday, my sister and brother and their better halves and George and Gabe and Isla all set up for the party. It was fun and entertaining as everything with the Poulson family is. We sipped mimosas, strung lanterns, taped things down, hung signs, cooked food(okay, George did that),laughed and tried not to get tangled up in streamers. Two hours and couple of mimosas later we had a not too shabby party put together. Seeing how happy it made my dad was the best bit. He is an amazing man who always helps others and never asks for much and it was great to give him something he more than deserves. George’s food was of course the hit. He made BBQ-ed pork sandwiches with homemade coleslaw and orange jello(my dads favorite). It was deeeeeeeelicious! My mom and I, the week earlier, had gone through a bunch of old photos and found 60 wonderful pictures of my dad from when he was a baby to now and then a friend of ours made it into a video that everyone watched.  I thought that was the best bit! So it was great day and very special since it was all about one of my most favorite guys in the world……I love you dad!

It was an amazing beach day on Sunday. I think almost everyone I know went to the beach this weekend. We met Toby, Jeanne and Jasmine over at Thousand Peaks. I havn’t ventured over to that side in a while. I must say, it was quite a treat. Isla loves being at the beach. She has a great time playing in the sand but is not fond of the water. George and I have tried many a time to entice her in but she just cries and sounds miserable. Hopefully a little time this summer down at mellow Babies Beach will cure that.  Isla is growing like a weed and changing daily before our eyes. She now has all her teeth in…..finally! Isla is talking up a storm. She comes up with new words everyday, some of them I don’t even know where she learns them from. She talks in 3 and 4 word sentences…..it’s amazing.

George and me have been busy at work. I have 11 1/2 days left till summer and I CAN’T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been so exhausted this past week. I just can’t seem to get enough sleep or catch up on everything that needs be done. I suppose that is the life of a mother….and I am that……and I LOVE it……I wouldn’t change it for a thing!

Okay, I can longer put it off….updating the web page that is. Not that I want to put it off put I always have a million and one things to do before I tell myself I can sit down and get on the computer. I’m screwing it all tonight and being wild. So here I am. It’s about 8:30 pm. Isla went to bed at 7:15 tonight and she is still talking in bed. Basically she has tried everything tonight to get me in the room……”drink?”, “poo-poo?”, “hold mamma?”, “daddy read?”. I’ve been in a few times but had to get a bit firm with her and tell her to “GO TO BED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Now Isla is singing to herself in there. She loves to sing “The ABC’s” and “Twinkle Twinkle”. I am hoping she will sing herself right to sleep like she should of and hour ago. I have a bunch of pictures to put on but not tonight…..this week I promise.

I had a great Mother’s Day. The only thing I asked for is to sleep in a bit and I got my wish. George got up with Isla at 6am and I snuggled back into bed and although I didn’t really go back to sleep I kind of drifted in and out. It was so relaxing because I new I didn’t have to worry about a thing. I did finally get up when George and Isla brought me a cup of tea around 7:30. I’m not sure I remember the last time I did that so it was definitely a treat. We then all wandered down to Sugar Cove around 8:00 and enjoyed the lovely , peaceful beach to ourselves for an hour. The rest of the morning was mellow and for lunch we met my family at Haliimaile to eat. So it was a great day and I couldn’t be more thankful to be a mom!

Work is slowly winding down for me. Summer is quickly approaching….though not fast enough. I have about 3 and 1/2 weeks left so I am excited. I have a lot of plans for the summer as usual but mostly I just want to spend some time with Isla. Every morning I wake up to beautiful summer weather yet I feel I can’t quite enjoy fully…..but soon!

Well all seems quiet in the next room. Isla must have drifted off into dreamland. I would like to be headed there myself very soon. I think I will grab a quick shower and crawl into bed and if I am lucky I might get a paragraph read in my book tonight. Sweet dreams moms!

It’s Monday night and Isla is tucked cozily in bed. Holly is snuggled up next to me on the couch and George is practicing his guitar. He is getting better and better and I find it very relaxing to hear him strumming away. It is drizzling outside right now and I am about ready to make a cup of tea and eat some chocolate. It is a nice way to end a long, tiring Monday. It has been a fairly mellow week back at work after spring break. This time of the year always flies by. I think I really only have about 7 or so weeks left till summer break…..can’t wait!

On  Wednesday night the Bethams, Shipmans, and Isla and I had dinner at the cafe since George was working. It was delicious as usual and Isla loved playing in the gravel. Friday night we went up to Toby and Jeannes for a homemade lasagna dinner complements of Toby. It was great to see them. Isla and Jasmine ran to each other and hugged when we first got there but it didn’t take them long to start pushing and grabbing. Jasmine can now hold her own and was deffintly fighting back, maybe because it was her territory this time. Yet I’m sure really do enjoy each others company.

We had a nice Easter Sunday. I never really celebrated Easter growing up so it worked out well that our neighbors set up a little Easter egg hunt in their yard. George and I helped Isla gather eggs. It was funny to watch her find them and not really know what to do with them. She would put the eggs in the other children’s bags and every once in a while would find one that excited her and then we would hear a big “wow” and she would drop it in her bag and off she would go to the next one. It was very cute. That evening Bill and George put together a feast of sushi of every kind for a few friends. It was so delicious, much better than any sushi I’ve eaten in a restaurant!The Bethams trip is winding to a close. They all leave Thursday this week. I will be very sad to see them go since we are not sure when they will be back next but I am also looking forward to having the house back to ourselves since it has been a really REALLY long time. We are hoping maybe to get back to England this coming winter around Christmas so maybe we will see everyone sooner than we think.

Last Friday we Spreckelsville people(Isla and me) ventured up the mountain to the Lavender Farm. Gabe and my mom came along. The weather was a bit iffy but it turned out to be perfect lavender farm weather. It was gray and overcast with a bite in the air but not a drop of rain. We meandered around and patiently let Isla climb every stair and point at every plant and water fountain. We then stopped off for a nice cup of coffee and a lavender scone. To finish off the morning we all trudged up the hill and lounged on the grass while soaking up the lovely englishy weather. Some day I will have a house where I can enjoy that kind of weather everyday….much more my kind of climate!

That evening us Fosters headed headed over to Haiku to enjoy Mia’s three year birthday celebration. It was a festive occasion with food, lots of kids and great company!