The end is near!

Today my hubby returned from his ski trip with his dad & sister. As always they had a great time. (Soon I'm sure I'll hear all the juicy stories from the trip!) I watched my hubby's ski video from the trip & it's definitely the best one yet. He really has a knack for selecting the right music & getting the timing just right.


The day he left, my son came down with a fever & fatigue. The next day my daughter developed her own fever & became very fussy (probably teething). At the doctor's, our son was diagnosed with strep throat which threw me completely off. I just started to laugh with tears in my eyes & thought, "What could happen next?" Luckily I had company all day to help me out & keep me sane. Dinner actually really cheered me up to the point where I became giddy just to have other adults around to talk to. Sunday our son was seemed to be better emotionally & physically with the exception that his cough got seriously worse. Sunday night, he crawled into bed with me just a few hours after I put him to bed & slept awful. He took a long time getting settled & back to sleep. Once he did manage to get comfortable, he woke up every 30 minutes ALL NIGHT! Needless to say, he was so crabby & coughing up a lung or two that we stayed home inside all day. Today he woke up screaming for Daddy at 7 am. After all my attempts to calm him failed, the only thing that worked was talking to Daddy which also took some time. Although his cough had improved somewhat, he had bathroom issues that included several changes of clothes, doing two loads of laundry immediately & required us to stay at home inside again all day. In the evening, my mom came to visit bringing me some beautiful roses. Then my hubby returned home from his ski trip & we were so glad to have him back home (even if he does have a cold which will be the next health chapter I'm sure in all of us). Our son stayed glued to Daddy's hip the rest of the night. I have a feeling he won't be cuddling up to me anytime soon while Daddy's around but I'll get my turn eventually.


For now, I'm glad my hubby is back home safe & happy where he belongs.

Another setback

Our son has been doing very well with part of his potty training. Although he still wets his diaper constantly (just doesn't seem to mind being wet), he will go potty in the toilet sometimes. On the other hand, he's been doing very well going poop in the potty until this weekend. Now it's all another setback to work through. I'm hoping we'll get back on track after he gets better. Last night he was tossing & turning all night, even once he crawled into bed with us. Today we're going to take it easy because I have a feeling it's going to be an interesting day with him.

Waiting for the gods to smite me....

Friday afternoon my son started getting a fever & got extra tired enough to ask to take a second nap. Then yesterday morning I woke up to our son jumping onto my stomach & boy was I not happy! Needless to say, he got in trouble for it but obviously he we feeling better. Since we were informed that there was fifth disease going around, I wanted to get it checked out immediately. So my youngest sister & her boyfriend helped me out & watched the kids while I took our son to the doctor’s & then ran some errands. Right before we left for the doctor & my sister arrived, my daughter also developed a fever & was fussy. Luckily I think it’s just teething because it’s becoming an occasional occurrence. So the doctor looked at our son only to test him & tell me that our son had strep throat . He hasn’t even mentioned a sore throat so it was completely unexpected. On the other hand, we were informed that there have 30 cases in the area that are similar but not fifth disease.


Later when I went to get more formula (because we’re on our last can), the store I made a special trip to for it was completely out of the special kind my daughter needs. I just stood in the aisle shaking my head, waiting for the gods to smite me. I mean, really… it was all I needed with the day I’d had.


Luckily the day got better & so my mood improved significantly after clearing off the driveway completely & watching my son play ‘pirate’ & dig for ‘treasure’ in the snow. I would mark a spot in the snow with an X & he would dig around with his toy shovel. It was so cute.


In the evening, her boyfriend helped me with dinner. He cooked (for all our sakes) while I did the prep work using these incredible knives we got for Christmas on sale through Spoofee. Now I’d like to get three of the steak knife sets to replace our other knives. Maybe I’ll get it for Mother’s Day??? We made two boxes of this new Kung Pao Chicken dinner my hubby & I found at the grocery store. I swear it’s even better than any Chinese restaurant (take-out or dine-in) that we’ve ever had. It contains everything but the chicken (& you could also use shrimp, beef, etc.) & easy to use the dried chili peppers to make as spicy as you like.


After dinner & the kids were in bed, we watched TV & talked while I worked on homemade valentines for my son’s preschool valentine party. Later in the middle of the night, my son woke up wanting to sleep with me in our bed. He was so cute wanting to cuddle…

Near misses

Last week I was making a run to the pharmacy run for my hubby & stopped to refill the gas tank on the way home. As I started to pump the gas into the car, I realized there was a leak between the hose & nozzle part which had quickly made a small gas puddle on the ground. I had to tighten the hose attachment to stop the leak & fill the tank. The entire time I kept hoping someone wouldn’t come into the other side & accidentally thrown out a lit cigarette butt in the gasoline puddle. I so did not want to be blown up! Afterwards I told the gas station attendant who luckily took it seriously. Maybe because he didn’t want to blown up either! That night I snuggled into my warm flannel sheets thankful for everything I have & not being in a freak accident that you hear about in the news these days. Life was good & I was very happy not to be in an article that was one of the most viewed news articles of the day.

At least I didn't have to worry about my cell phone around the gas pump!

A bit chilly...

So... the new year is maintaining the busy pace, keeping our life very busy & the weather cold. Can you believe it was -12 below the other day ALL DAY with only a high of -6 below??? Obviously I don't get on the computer very much these days between kids, preschool, swim lessons, working out & housework. I am trying though. I know how much people we know enjoy the pictures I post so they can keep up with our life & how much the kids are growing.

Lately I’ve been thinking about the impact we have on our kids. It’s amazing to think how everything our kids see, hear & learn now will shape their personalities & their future. I could see how the idea of raising a child for any unexpected parent could be quite daunting. I think all you can really do as a parent is do your best & hope they become the best people they can be.

On that note, my hubby & I have been exercising more (although not nearly as much as we’d like). Since then, my son’s has been having his ‘people’ exercise with his imagination. It’s actually really cool to here; either way, it’s definitely something good for him to learn early.

My son has also become very cuddly with me lately. Since he’s such a daddy’s boy, it’s nice to be the one he wants to spend time with. The challenge is trying to carry my three-year-old son & five-month-old daughter at the same time. I can't even imagine what it would be like with twins or more! We're lucky enough to have been blessed with two great kids who we love to cuddle with.

We have a surprise!

During my hubby’s last business trip, my mom & sister (thanks for all your hard work) stayed with me helping me with some surprises for Matt & taking care of the kids. In only half a week the garage was ENTIRELY cleaned & organized (now we can fit two cars in during this cold winter), my hubby’s nice desk was brought upstairs where we set up his work desk even better than before (he loves having more space & better professional feel to it during his work day), the laundry cabinet was put together & mounted, the bedroom lamp set was put together, the key racks were mounted (which has been extremely helpful on a daily basis) & boxes carried to the basement for storage. He was VERY surprised by it all!

Since then I’ve managed to catch up on laundry (although that always keeps me running in circles), pack up my daughter’s 0-3 month clothes, set out her six-month clothes & this weekend (with my youngest sister's boyfriend's help) we also scraped the driveway clear of snow & ice.

I've had a surprise of my own. Unexpectedly someone has come back into my life again. I believe we’re both trying to put the past behind us. Her hubby is facing some health issues & there are a lot of questions & no clear answers right now. It’s rotten when you have to face life's uncertainty; but that's when it’s more important to move past your differences & be there for the ones you care about. It’s what I’m trying to do.

Fun center, dinners, swimming & playdates

Since I've posted last, we took the kids to a family fun center, had dinner with my in-laws, started my son's swimming lessons (on his own), had a play date yummy making cinnamon rolls, visited with my parents & browsed at the mall. Below is a slide show of the various activities we've done since I last posted. Hope you enjoy!





He had a blast playing with other kids at the family fun center climbing through tunnels. Then he recruited me (giving me quite the workout) when he wanted to climb through the higher tunnels. It was a huge tunnel system up to four or five stories high! I’m not a fan of heights & it definitely made me nervous climbing up there. Somewhere in the mess, is a tunnel about 5 feet long that you crawl through four stories up. As I was crawling through VERY carefully & slowly, our son looked back & said, “What’s wrong, Mommy?” “I’m just a little nervous,” I replied while looking down. “Oh,” he said. Then he knelt down, smiled mischievously & started to SHAKE THE TUNNEL! What a punk! “Please stop that honey,” I asked. He topped, smiled again & moved on. That’s just what his father would have done I thought! And oh… how true it is! While I kept crawling after him, he would stop every time we saw other kids, point at me & say, “Look! It’s my Mommy!” as if I were show-and-tell. At least he had a good time & it gave me a good workout too.

Dinner with my in-laws & parents (separately) was fun as always.

Our son was so brave & absolutely loved his first swimming lesson. He truly lives the meaning to 'like a fish in the water'. It's so important to my hubby & I that our kids enjoy the water & have strong swimming skills.

We also had a play date with our neighbor making yummy making cinnamon rolls. The kids had such a great time & the girls were eager to hold the baby.

We're growing up!

Last week we celebrated my sister-in-law’s (who’s always been a sister to me) birthday. It’s hard to believe we’re all so grown-up!



Friday I was still down for the count with some improvement so Daddy took our son to play with some kids at the mall. They had such a good time. We finally found something to motivate our son in the potty training process. Temporary tattoos! He absolutely loves them & as you can see he is making progress. Doesn’t he look like a Hell’s Angel? Once he’s got it down pat, we’ll have to start phasing them out but for now I’m not concerned.



Saturday our son had a blast playing with other kids climbing through tunnels. Then he recruited me (giving me quite the workout) when he wanted to climb through the higher tunnels. It was a huge tunnel system up to four or five stories high! I’m not a fan of heights & it definitely made me nervous climbing up there. Somewhere in the mess, is a tunnel about 5 feet long that you crawl through four stories up. As I was crawling through VERY carefully & slowly, our son looked back & said, “What’s wrong, Mommy?” “I’m just a little nervous,” I replied while looking down. “Oh,” he said. Then he kneeled down, smiled mischievously & started to SHAKE THE TUNNEL! What a punk! “Please stop that honey,” I asked. He topped, smiled again & moved on. That’s just what his father would have done I thought! And oh… how true it is! While I kept crawling after him, he would stop every time we saw other kids, point at me & say, “Look! It’s my Mommy!” as if I were show-and-tell. At least he had a good time & it gave me a good workout too.

Alphabet adventure

I thought this video was so cool & our son got such a kick out of it!

Out of sorts

This week we've been trying to get back into the swing of things & man, has it been hard! Our son got so used to staying up late so trying to get him back on schedule is hard as heck. Bedtime has begun a trial of sorts. Half the time, we're falling asleep before he does! Imagine that.

In the meantime, I'm battling a cold & have been out of sorts today after the doctor's. Hopefully things will get better before the end of this weekend. No doubt partly caused by the crazy weather this weekend. How often do you go start in the single digits, go to seventy degrees & then back to thirty degrees again... all in one week???

No matter what, I'm thrilled with how last year ended & this year has begun. So here I come 2008!

Starting the year right!

Okay folks! Now that the winter holidays have passed & things are finally settling down, I finally found time to update photos for everyone.



I took our son (with a friend & her kids) to see the Imagination Movers show to celebrate New Years Eve kid-style. We had amazing seats (second row) where the guys came down several times & my son got to go right up to the stage! Afterwards they really took the time with us to take pictures. These were our favorites.





We went downtown last minute & spent New Year’s Eve partying at a club with my sister-in-law & her friends. We had such a blast!!! Just don’t ask how long it took us to walk home to the apartment!!!



We began the New Year by going down with my folks to help my brother & sister-in-law move into their new home. Unfortunately there was a delay with their furniture arrival so we helped them set up blinds, put some furniture together & get some necessities. It wasn’t what we intended but productive & fun. It’s a great house. We got to spend time with them & my nephew & go swimming (our son’s really going to enjoy swimming lessons). Our son especially enjoyed playing with his cousin. They were so cute together!



When we got back we enjoyed some cuddle time with the kids. We’ve started preschool again & have added more days. Meanwhile we’re still trying to get bedtime back on track after our son has had so many late nights since the holidays.

Winter Moments

These are some of our favorite moments in November & December.



A rare moment when all the kids snuggled up to me, since I’m the one taking pictures most the time. Our little girl is definitely a thumb-sucker. I think I was one too, if I remember correctly. I’ll have to think about that one…

Our daughter was so tired that she fell sound asleep in her jumper!

Our son was so excited to go sledding on the big hill with Daddy!

Our son had so much fun at a small, casual brunch with Santa. We got some good family pictures there too. That definitely saved us what could have been a CRAZY trip to the mall for holiday pictures. We’ll have to keep this in mind for the future.

We made some cookies to get into a holiday mood & boy did he have fun. His favorite part is cleaning up. Can’t you tell?

Our wonderful weekend away right before Christmas!



Celebrating my mother-in-law’s birthday

He was so proud of the tower he made that was almost taller than him. We love seeing his creativity.

Tired baby girl!

Our son loves it when my hubby’s parents stop in for a visit.

My baby girl & I get ready for Christmas Eve festivities!

Let the festivities officially begin! We can’t wait for Santa to come!

Santa has arrived!

Santa came! We started the day opening our gifts at home my in-laws, then over to a mad rush at my parents’ house & then over to my aunt’s for a wonderful dinner & hilarious evening of games. Everyone was exhausted from all the fun Christmas festivities!

We had to dress nice & warm to go out because of all the snow & frigid temperatures we’ve been getting.



It was so nice of our friends to host a holiday party among friends where we all had a blast. How they did it with a baby younger than ours is beyond me!



We had a wonderful time playing games with my family while my brother was in town. Spoons became vicious but fun!!! Too bad we couldn't do it when my other brother was in town so they could join us too.

Men's confusion

UNDERSTANDING WOMEN (A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE)

I know I'm not going to understand women. I'll never understand how you can take boiling hot wax, pour it onto your upper thigh, rip the hair out by the roots, and still be afraid of a spider.

Famous Mothers

What do you think famous people were told by their mothers?

Mother's letter to Santa

If a Mom wrote a letter to Santa, it might sound something like this!

Web Addiction

A common disease these days... web addiction!

Thoughts to Ponder

Somebody's interesting thoughts about 2008 I found posted on the internet here.

Do you know what women really want?

Then of course, an oldie but goodie!

Everybody and Nobody

This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.

Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.

Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job.

Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realised that Everybody wouldn't do it.

It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

Who's the boss?

Thought couples out there would appreciate this one I read from my Laffaday daily email.

On the phone with a golf buddy who has asked him to play, a guy says: "I am the master of my home and can play golf whenever I want. But hold on a minute while I find out if I want to."

If you really want to be adventurous, check out this Saturday Night Live clip. Be forewarned though, it's for adults only!

Then there's this clever little video & song someone made about his kitten!

Bacon - The Other White Meat

Charles Schultz Philosophy

I received the following from a relative & it made me think. Success is important so always strive to do your best & reach your dreams. Remember though that the people you are truly close are even more important. Keeping that in mind, read on!

_______________________________________

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip. You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just read the e-mail straight through, and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do? The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier? The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care.

Time to start anew

Ever since Thanksgiving, life have been non-stop. There has been Thanksgiving, holiday shopping, visits with relatives, holiday parties, a long weekend away, Christmas with both families, NYE kids' concert & dancing on NYE. Yes, I have hundreds of pictures (actually more like 1400 in December alone) from all these events combined & am working on making a slide show for everyone to catch up with. Hope everyone had a great new years!