Camping

What a Weekend

I am currently at work, finding rest! This past weekend we went camping with friends to a family trailer park up by Ipperwash beach near Grand Bend. It was nuts. We had 6 children all under 4 yrs of age. Amberly was constantly a mess and dirty and eating dirt, leaves, heck, anything she got her hands on. Caleb had a blast playing with the other kids and going down the water slide that was at the park. We of course had to accompany him down the slide, so I guess that was fun. We were in a tent, and the kids did well sleeping at night. I was concerned about Amberly being cold, she never stays under the covers. But she was o.k. Caleb was excited about his sleeping bag and matress. But I must say now, long gone are the days where camping was relaxing. I need to wait maybe 10 years before I find rest camping! I'm just so tired, but I keep telling myself, we're making memories.... I will post pictures later.

Time still hasn't slowed down much. I am feeling frazzled with things. I still haven't been able to find my groove. I am really hoping that by September things will improve, otherwise there's a burn out just around the corner.

Better get to work....

Don't like this Reality.

My first week back to work was tough. Now that I'm into my second week, I find it even harder. In fact, I spent most of my day yesterday in tears. First of all, I'm in an office, cut off from socializing. I mean, it's nice to have the privilege to have the office, but it's too quiet for my liking. Second, my boss wanted to ease me in the last week, and I spent most of the week biding time, watching the minutes tick on. I was bored. Being bored really made me miss the kids and started me thinking about how I'm going to miss out on them and I just pray that I don't regret this one day. Guilt creeps in on me too. Third, I don't have my usual job back, I will be trained on a few new things and will be filling in for those away. But currently this isn't happening, so I have no work to do. It hit home yesterday and that's why I was so emotional. I felt that I was wasting my time. I come to work to do nothing, all the while I'm missing out on my children. I couldn't justify my reasons for being at work and I got upset. So I cried to my friend Lesa who then urged me to talk to my boss. I did, but I broke down crying to her as well. She understood where I was coming from and ended up giving me my usual work I used to do, by taking it away from some other ladies. I felt so much better once I was doing something I am capable of, and I felt like I was accomplishing things.

The kids are doing well. Last Friday I think Caleb realized that going to Christa's was happening every day because he cried when I had to leave. I hope we don't go through that again, because it just broke my heart. Amberly doesn't seem phased one bit, I guess that's a good thing? I don't know. I totally miss them.

This past weekend we had a big birthday bash for Amberly. My family and Dave's family were over, along with the Leibold's and the weather was awesome, we spent the whole party out on our new deck. We set out a couple of little pools for the kids and they had a blast in them. Amberly was spoiled, she's going to be one well dressed little girl, as most of her gifts were clothes. We bought her a fisher price tea set and the fisher price My First Doll House set. Both her and Caleb sit in her room and play with it. Caleb loves the fact that he can make the Mommy, Daddy and baby all use the toilet! We haven't got first steps from her yet, any day now it will happen. She often stands on her own holding toys and she hurries around the furniture, so I think she's going to be a runner rather than a walker. I better watch out! We also put in a flower bed behind our house this weekend complete with a lilac tree, a cedar tree and some perennials. I'm so happy with it.

The days ahead seem to be quiet ones. We don't even have baseball Thursday night, so I don't know what I'll do! I'm not working Thursday because I'm taking Amberly to her doctor's check up and needles (poor thing!) so that's nice. Tomorrow night I'm going with friends to see My Sister's Keeper, I'm looking forward to that.

Here are a few shots of the birthday girl, my gorgeous one!

Maternity Leave - Gone

Tomorrow I'm heading back to work. I'm overwhelmed with emotions right now. Mostly feeling sad and distant, but I do admit there's a twinge of joy for seeing my friends again. It's going to be really hard. It was hard when I returned to work after having Caleb, but at the same time, I was o.k. because I was pregnant with Amberly and knew there was an end in sight. This time I have no end in sight. Not yet anyway. I'm also feeling a bit of seperation anxiety happening with me and Amberly. She's my baby, my lovey dovey and I'm her comforter. I know she's going to do well with Christa, but there's a part of me who wants to be there for her constantly. I want to be there for both my kids. I know Caleb loves Christa, and this won't be a transition for him much, but it will be a big one for Amberly, Dave and I. I guess I feel a bit guilty for working. I don't know.

This past week we had a really busy week. Tuesday, my parents came for the day, and we enjoyed the morning at Waterloo Park and then my mom and I enjoyed our afternoon of spa pedicures while my Dad stayed with the kids. I played baseball both Monday and Tuesday night, and put myself in a great deal of pain for the rest of the week. We had our deck built on Tuesday as well. I don't really remember what I did on Wednesday. Thursday we got our air conditioning installed, and then I enjoyed every minute with the kids. That night there was baseball, which I didn't partipate in because of my leg, but I went to be the score keeper. Friday morning Caleb got a hair cut, then Dave's parents watched them while I shopped. I got a number of things for work (I guess one perk was getting new clothes!) and some birthday presents for Brooke and Mason. When Dave was home we went out again to a nursery and bought a lilac tree for our backyard, and then shopped in Walmart and Cdn. Tire. Saturday was crazy! I took the kids to a mom and tot's swimming party for the morning, and then got home to put them down for a nap. Then after nap, we were up and out the door again to Rob and Tammy's house (Dave's co-worker Rob) and went swimming again and had dinner. It was a great time, but turned out to be a long day. Today I had to teach the toddlers nursery at church, and then after naps were over we went and celebrated Mason's 4th birthday party. Now we're home, kids are in bed and I'm getting organized for tomorrow. I'll be heading out to water our tree and flowers, and Dave wants to put up our solor lights around the deck. But then it's off to bed.

Voila

Well here it is. The new do! I took the plunge and chopped it all off. It's gone! I like it though, it's light and cool. I will have to go out and purchase a hair dryer and some mousse, but I'm o.k. with that. She also used a straightener, but I don't think I'll need that after blow drying it. We'll see!

I think I want it to look different, because it's a style that is really popular right now, so I think I will also use a curling iron to make it curly sometimes. Originally I debated about getting it chopped like this and then permed, but it was too much money, and I don't want to suffer with the perm growing out. So I can handle a curling iron.

Hair

I'm getting my hair chopped off tomorrow morning. I'm a little uneasy at the thought of it, but at the same time I feel like I'm due for a change. I don't know why I've become so attached to my hair. I was trying to explain to Dave that it's kind of a comfort to me. I always have days where I feel ugly, but I'm resolved by the fact that I have my hair. So I'm a little worried that if getting it chopped off doesn't suit me, then on my "ugly days" I won't have anything at all going for me! I've had my share of "ugly days" the past week and a half, and my eyes are still black! They aren't as bad, but no amount of make-up is going to help the football paint disappear! So then I wonder if I should wait until my eyes are back to normal before I do something drastic with the hair. But with more time, means less chance I will do it in the end. Ahhhh, my mom always says it grows back, and it does. I just have to go with the flow. Stop worrying about! I'll post pictures (maybe)!

Now Look At It!

Yes, it got worse. I ended up visiting emerg yesterday because of my eyes bruising. Telehealth said it was a cause for concern. But I'm fine. Just vain and don't like the way I look! I sure hope this is the worst part and will only get better today and on.

I don't look like it, BUT I feel like Warf from Star Trek!

Well, another baseball adventure to share with you all. This year I'm playing on two teams with Dave. The usual church league that happens Thursday nights, and a new team that consists of some of our church league team mates and some of Dave's Agfa co-workers and then some more! It's a slo-pitch team, we play either Monday or Wednesday nights at the RIM diamonds. This weekend was a tournament to seed our team in a division (we're hoping we'll be in the 'C' division!)

Friday night was our first game. It was the second inning and I was up to bat. I always am nervous at my first up to bat, mostly because I don't know all of my team mates, and I get an overwhelming feeling that I don't want to let them down. Plus I'm not sure I like slo-pitch because there is strikeouts, balls, and you can be patient to wait for your pitch, where as 3 pitch, you get three chances, and I usually take the first pitch as my chance! So I was patient for my first turn, and I was so proud of myself, I got walked! So I was on first base, waiting to run to second. Well the guy up behind me hit the ball towards the second baseman, and he got the ball and stepped on the base to get me out, I remember seeing all that happen. But the next thing I know is he threw the ball to first base, the only problem was he hit me smack dab in the middle of my forehead! I fell to the ground and sat there in shock while all the guys come running to me, I looked up and Dean (Dave's boss) was crouched down checking to see if I was o.k. and I said to him, "I'm o.k. but I'm going to cry now", he told that was o.k.! I got to the bench and man, my forehead ballooned up! I sat for the next inning with ice, but everytime someone asked how I was doing, I got teary eyed again. Once the game was over (we lost the game) another one of Dave's co-workers seriously told me to go and get looked at. But I didn't want to do that. So when I got home, I called telehealth, and after all the questions they asked, he just told me to be woken up every 4 hours for that night and the next night, and keep icing it. Then I called my mom and cried about it, because I never got to let out all my tears!

Saturday I woke up grateful that there wasn't a bruise, but my forehead was definately swollen, even today I still feel like I have a giant forehead, like Warf!

To end the story, I played great the last two games, I even got the winning hit on the last game, it was the bottom of the 7th inning, we had 2 outs, and 2 people on base, and we needed two runs to win the game, and it was my turn to bat. Well, I hit the ball so hard, and far, I got both runners home win the game! I was so proud of myself!

But really, I think I need to wear a helmet!

Happy Birthday Davey

Today is Dave's birthday. He's out this morning for a meeting at church, but then I've got my mom coming over to babysit, while I take him out to the movies to see Angels and Demons and then to Mongolian Grill for dinner. I'm really looking forward to going to the movies with Dave. We haven't done this in AGES!!

It's been a tough week, we lost Hockley! Or shall I say 'I' lost Hockley. I don't know when it happened, but she must of escaped the house at some point. I didn't realize she was gone until Wed. night. I do know the last time that I actually saw her was Monday morning. It's just strange that she is in fact gone, because out of the two cats, Sunshine is the one always looming around the doorways waiting for the chance to get out. But none the less, I do leave the door open when I'm loading up the van with the kids and their gear. So I don't know when she got out. I just feel extra sad because she's been out in this wet weather. She's a timid cat, and loud noises always scared her, so I can just imagine what she's going through. I talked to the neighbour, I rode the bike around the area, and we call for her out the back door throughout the day. I'm hoping that some kind stranger took her in and she basking in the love of someone else, this is all that is easing my mind!

Last weekend, Dave and I purchased a Chariot Cabriolet. It's used, 5 years old, but looks brand new. We LOVE it. It came only as the bike trailer, so we orderd the jogging kit to go with it. We were hoping it would come in this week, so we could use it on Monday (Dave is taking us to the zoo) but no such luck. We'll stick to the original plan of taking 2 strollers. Caleb loves riding in it, Amberly needs to get used to the helmet, she doesn't like it on so much, but with time I'm sure she'll get over it. It's nice to be able to just go for a leisure bike ride with the kids now. My butt needs to toughen up though!

Points

-Loving this warm weather. But oddly haven't been able to enjoy it all day long. Chores inside the house keep me from venturing outside.
-Last night Shannon and I took the kids on a walk to McD's for ice cream. Not such a great idea since we had to walk along busy roads to get there and the boys seem deaf to their mother's voice!
-Long weekend went by fast, spent a day at my parents, went out for breakfast with our friends, kept the kids happy
-I've been feeling kind of down lately, not sure why, maybe it's because I'm going back to work soon, I don't know. My boss was easy with my plans of work, I'm going to work full time for July and August and then only 3 days a week in September on since this is going work for Christa.
-Baseball is up and running, I've played 3 official games, my body hurt a bit, but I'm getting stronger so that is great.
-I didn't realize how much I missed playing baseball until I got back out there.
-Caleb gets to experience baby ducklings at the babysitter. Christa rescued abandoned eggs and 6 of them hatched. I have yet to see them, but I hope today I will.
-That's about all I have to say. Oh, but I'm looking forward to So You Think You Can Dance starting tonight, and was so happy the J.T. won Survivor!

My Adorable Babes

My handsome boy! He just loves being outside.

She loves it outside too, but she's so fast that she ate some grass on me!

I love this picture. He closes his eyes and everything when he goes in for the kiss.
There he is again!

I must admit I was one of those people who would look at a baby girl and think they looked silly with a little tuft of hair in an elastic, but when it's your own.....well, I'm just so excited she has enough hair for me to do this. Plus the front part is long into her eyes, and I don't want to trim it yet, she hardly has hair! So Pebbles she'll be and I think she looks pretty darn cute!

Come and Gone Just Like That

Our 5th wedding anniversary was wonderful. It was so nice to have a few days with just Dave. On top of that, we got to explore, and that made the time exciting. Thurs. morning we got up and got all our things in the van, then dropped the kids off at Dave's parents place. I got a little choked up leaving them. Caleb excitedly said goodbye, gave me big hugs and kisses and went on happily playing. Pulling out of their driveway I had to hold back the tears.
We started our journey to Ottawa. It was a nice drive and it didn't seem like we were in the van for hours, even though we were! Dave planned this whole trip so kuddo's to him and all his details. We spent our night in Ottawa in the beautiful Chateau Laurier. Our room had an amazing view of Parliment Hill. We wandered around the parliment buildings and then made our way down to the Byward Market and found a seafood restaurant to eat in and had beavertails for dessert. Then we kept walking and ended up at the National Gallery of Canada. Admission was free for the evening so we wandered around there for awhile. I really wanted to see Tom Thompson's work in person, so I got that chance. Then we headed back to the hotel and crashed.
The next morning we travelled on towards Quebec City. I love GARMIN!!! If it wasn't for GPS, I would have no idea how we would have found our hotel! We stayed our first two nights at the Hilton just outside the old city wall. Our room again was amazing, we had a corner room with windows every where, we had an awesome view of the old city and the parliment building. This was our anniversary day, so we were recommended a good steakhouse for dinner and we did that. It was lovely. Then we wandered around the old city for a bit before heading back to the hotel. The next day we spent entirely in the walls (of the city, not our room! he he he). We took a walking tour of the city, we looked in the shops, took lots of pictures, found meals and just enjoyed the atmosphere. I was a little overwhelmed with everything in french, but I think it was just because I couldn't understand people having their own conversations, but it's not about me! ha ha ha! We then made it back to our hotel and checked out their heated outdoor pool and then that was it.
On Sunday we found some breakfast then headed to the citadel, the largest fort in North America. I learned many historic facts and was reminded of things I was taught in history. Plus the citadel is on top of the hill so we had lots of great views of the city and the St. Lawrence. After that we checked out of the Hilton and checked into the Chateau Frontenac. Very exciting. We had a room over looking the river and it was just really neat being in that historic hotel. We did some more shopping and then I went back to the hotel and had a nap, while Dave ventured back up the hill to check out the Plains of Abraham. Then we found a nice restaurant for dinner and waited until dusk to board a ferry to see the city from the water. The ferry was just that, it took people back and forth between Quebec City and Levis on the other side. But it was really good to see everything from the water.
We were pretty tired, and I didn't sleep so good that night, I was eager to head home and see my kids. We were up at 5am to check out by 6am and be on the road. My parents were staying at our place with the kids since Saturday, so they were in their own beds, and were doing fine, but I just missed them so much. We arrived home around 4pm, and I was so happy to see my babies. They both have pretty bad colds, but Caleb was pretty happy to see us. So much so that this morning he's been my shadow and has asked about "Daddy" countless times.
I'm quickly back into routine with the kids, and although I truly enjoyed the last 5 days with no schedule and being able to do whatever I wanted without having to worry about times, naps, and bottles, I'm glad to be home.
With my trip gone, and only 2 months left before work starts, I want to make my time off count now. I just hope these next two months don't fly by!

Belt Me In

I have to wear that belt :( I was really out of wack today. The issue is my right hip, and pelvic area. She had a lot of adjusting to do today. To the point that she suggested that I don't run. But if I don't run, I can't play baseball. So in the end I managed to get the o.k. to try running with the belt and see how I do. I am feeling discouraged about it. It's not even May and the activity that I really enjoy hasn't even officially begun and I'm already being told that I may not be able to play. Grrrr.

On the bright side, the weather is amazing out there!

Am I Too Old?

Last night we had an "exhibition" game against the other Elmira ball team. It was the first time I full out played baseball since fall 2007. It was a test to see how my pelvis was going to take it all as well. I've been seeing a physiotherapist for the past 3 weeks now, she's been adjusting my pelvis and giving me exercises at stregthening my core muscles because this is what is causing my groin pain. She's recommended a belt for me to wear, but I'm vain. It's ugly, and you have to wear it around your butt. So I am determined to get these muscles stronger and avoid this belt. I thought I was doing well, last week she told me that I was getting stronger and because I've gone longer in between groin pain we thought it was working. Until last night. I don't know if it was when I hit the ball and turned to run to the base, or when I went to run for a ball in the taller grass, but by the time I got home I was in a lot of pain. I couldn't lift my left leg to get my sock off. I sat in a nice hot bath and then went to bed. As usual, I woke up this morning with no pain at all. It's bizarre. I have another appt. this morning, so I'm sure she's going to want me to have this belt. But my next game isn't until 2 weeks time, and I want to take those weeks and continue my exercises and have the game and then see. I probably will have my appt. the next day after the game, so I can get the belt then. Dave thinks I'm crazy and that I should just get this belt now.

On top of all that, my elbow and my shoulder is sore from throwing. I think 30 brings a bundle of life experiences that include broken down bodies!

Huh?

what is the big difference between Twitter and Facebook status??

Relief, Maybe?

I chatted again with Christa, told her all my anxeity and fears, and she told me that she was there once and knows exactly how I'm feeling. The way she left the conversation was she told me to stop worrying about it and leave it with her, she will see what she can do for us. I am just praying that this will work out, we love her, and she adores Caleb like crazy. Here's hoping.....

Fresh Air = Sleep

This past week has had some amazing weather. We have spent 2/3 of our days outdoors, and boy it tuckers out Caleb. All week he eagerly says goodbye to me when I take him to bed for his naps. We've had many trips to a variety of different parks, or we just hang out on the driveway while Caleb "mows" with his bubble mower. I'm trying to utilize this great weather before I have to return to work in July.

I've had a difficult week emotionally. Dave had to work overtime this week, so he wasn't home much at night, that makes for a long day. But I did o.k. with that, what I am focussed on and troubled by is our whole child care come September. My amazing baby sitter has always told us that she only has room for Caleb. July and August is o.k. because she loses a few kids, but come September they all return and we are stuck without care for our kids. We didn't think much about it, in hopes that something would work out. But nothing has changed. I mean we could leave Caleb with her and find something for Amberly, but I don't want to seperate them. On top of this, I want to switch to part time maybe. Everything is so up in the air, I haven't talked to my boss about it yet, and this week after a discussion with Christa (babysitter) about a few different scenarios, I have realized that we'll have to find someone else. I'm devastated over this. I can't sleep at night, and I've had a few good cries over it. For Dave, it's not a big deal, we find another person and move on. For me, I see how much Caleb loves Christa, and how much she loves her kids, and I don't want to take that away from him. It's our first decision that will greatly affect our children. Plus, if I do only part time, it may be hard to find someone who is willing to take on part time kids, especially if they really want to fill full time spots.

It's a huge dilema, and I'm really trying to leave it in God's hands. I mean we trusted him when it came time for me to go back after Caleb, and he totally provided with an amazing lady. I just need to trust that He will do the same this time around. I think it's even harder this time because there isn't an end of work in sight. I'm not going back pregnant this time. So it's really hard.

We've hit a few milestones lately. The biggest one being that Caleb has been a whole month in real underwear. He's gotten a special ribbon from Christa and he's just our big boy! He tells us if he has to poop, but he still doesn't tell us about pee. But he's a kid of routine and we rarely have accidents, we go to the potty as routine and he holds it until that time! We have had accidents of number two's during nap time, but I can count them on one hand, which is good for a whole month! Amberly is crawling all over, and is now pulling herself up on the couch and bookcase. Ahhh, she's a handful! But we love her to bits!

Today we're heading to Mike and Joy's for dinner to celebrate Mert's birthday. So I better go and get the kids up from nap and us ready to go.

Tackle

Easter has come and gone already. The time is flying by and I'm really not looking forward to July. We had a busy weekend, we went to Orangeville on Friday and spent the day with my family. We got an early start and attended the 9am service at the Baptist church. It was great, the kids did great in unfamiliar territory. The service was much different than other years, but I still really enjoyed it. Then afterwards I met up with friends I haven't seen in awhile, one being Deb which was a nice surprise. Benji and I hid eggs out around my parents property and once Caleb woke up from his nap, he and the girls went on the hunt. It was so much fun, the girls were great with Caleb and helped him experience the joy of finding eggs for the first time. Saturday we had Steve and Christa with Cara over for dinner. After dinner Christa and I thought it would be fun to decorate eggs with the kids. Lesson learned....don't decorate eggs with 2 year olds! Then on Sunday we went to church and then had Mike, Joy, Fern and Mert over for lunch and the afternoon. Amberly is so active now. It's exhausting! I can't sit on the floor without the two of them tackling me and wanting my attention. And everything Caleb does, Amberly tries to do it as well! It's funny! They both are sleeping and I get a bit of "me" time. Gonna go and enjoy it!

Amazing

It's official, Amberly is now crawling. I find it so amazing how it just clicks in their brains. Yesterday she took 3 paces forward. Then stopped. Then started up again and never looked back. She's going everywhere. This new found independence is taking a toll on Caleb. He thinks because she's mobile means freedom to tackle her, boss her around and push her down if need be. This will be another mountain I must climb. Teaching them that they need to love one another gently, not rough!

Caleb Truckin' in the Muddy Waters

This is what Caleb spent most of the morning doing yesterday. He was completely soaked! He had a blast!

Just Daily Discussion

More of my cuties.

Sibling Rivalry

I know I know, it's not good that you hear me laugh, I was just shocked that he actually did that while I was filming and it caught me off gaurd!

Things to Look Forward To.

With July coming, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and stressed out. But to avoid thinking of that, I get to look forward to our trip to Quebec City which is only one month away today! AND U2! Yes, I am going to see U2! I'm so thrilled about this, I've always wanted to see them live, and in September I finally will! Exciting times!

Recent Photo's

Tackling Caleb. She'll hold her own, I'm certain of it. My adorable, handsome boy.She's almost crawling. Today she took one pace forward....

"Mommy, I don't feel so good." Again, trying to crawl.

Sucky when sick, gotta love the comfort of the soother. Caleb's bed turned into the toddler bed. He was so excited about his new bedding. Ahh, teething. getting out and enjoying the spring weather. Caleb circled the driveway with this lawn mower for a very long time. Super cool babes!

Ewww, the Flu.

The flu arrived unwelcomed in our house Thursday night. All was normal, no one saw it coming. Caleb went to bed at his usual time, and an hour into his sleep he woke up crying. I went into his room only to discover he had thrown up big time everywhere. We got him changed into new jammies, and Dave was cuddling him while I changed his bed. He threw up again on himself, so we then put him in the bath. He was shivering the whole time in the tub and threw up again in there. Finally after all was cleaned and laundry started we finally got back to bed past 11pm. He then woke up with the runs in the morning. So we called Christa and told her that Caleb wasn't coming that day. I had made sugar cookies and everything for Caleb to take because it was a Tea Party for Stuffy's that day. Oh well. He had no energy, refused to eat anything, and I barely got liquid in him. He threw up a few times that day, and Saturday morning. But then it seemed to be leaving. Until last night, when Amberly threw up big time at Fern and Mert's. We have never seen her throw up that bad before. She was even choking on it. It was awful. After a chat to a health nurse on Telehealth, Dave went out and bought Pedialite, with instructions to give her 1-2 tsp's every 5 mins for the next 8 hours! CRAZY!! Thank goodness it was bed time, we got maybe about 10 tsp's in her before bed time. Then she slept wonderfully. This morning she woke up and in an hour drank her normal bottle, and I'm keeping fingers crossed, no throw up so far. A few runny diapers, but I rather deal with that then vomit.

We did have a good week last week. Nothing too exciting happened. My parents came on Tuesday for the day. It was great weather, so we did get outdoors a lot. This meant awesome sleeping for the kids!

Saturday, Dave and I did a few things that needed to be done a while ago. We lowered the mattress in Amberly's crib. Then we finally turned Caleb's crib into the toddler bed. That night he did fall out of bed. But so far, he hasn't realized that he can actually get out of bed. He stays there until we come and get him. I'm hoping this lasts long!

Sunday, we had church. I had to teach toddler nursery, and normally this is o.k. But I had a terrible hour. Amberly is making strange now, and she wouldn't settle in her nursery, so I ended up having to take care of her on top of teach 4 toddler boys! Caleb was still a bit out of sorts and was crying all the time, I think he was afraid I was going to leave him. It was just nuts. My helper, who is a full time missionary, attends our church and even fills in on the preaching from time to time was not having a good time either. First of all I felt a little intimidated with him there, then 20 mins. into all the chaos, he says to me "Yep, I rather spend 10 hours preparing a sermon then spend an hour in this craziness!" HA HA HA! He's a father of 2 toddler boys, so that's why he is recruited to help sometimes.

After church we left our kiddies with Dave's parents while we went out to lunch to Montana's with Steve and Christa (we haven't done this without kids in a very long time) Then we wandered around the Superstore. Christa and I had an extremely good laugh when we discovered the book The Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed. We were so excited about it, that we took it to our husbands. But oddly they didn't see the humour in it. We then headed to a bowling alley where we attended a 30th birthday party for our friend Darcy. It was so much fun. I haven't bowled in such a long time. It was so refreshing to do that again and had good laughs and met up with old friends.

Not much on for this week. Friday I have to go to a Physiotherapist. I've been having a lot of pain with my groin, it's been ruled out that there is no hernias, so next step is to do some physio. I'm nervous that I won't be able to play baseball. The pain is really bad some days. It's disabling sometimes. I did have pelvic pain when I carried Amberly, so I don't know if it's all related or what. But I'm hoping I'll get things better sooner than later. Plus this Sunday, Amberly is being dedicated at church. I'm looking forward to that. My family is all coming for the day, lets just pray that the flu leaves our house completely this week!

Crazy Weekend!

Yes Folks, Dave and I were out galavanting again! We left our little ones with Fern and Mert for the weekend, while we headed to Toronto for the World Baseball Classic. This wasn't really my cup of tea, I mean, to watch 3 baseball games in two days, isn't exactly what I call "get away!" However, this is something Dave was looking forward to, and I didn't mind getting away with him. I went expecting what I have normally experienced at a live Blue Jay game, where I would spend a few innings wandering around the dome, and a few innings people watching. To my complete surprise, this was an all together different experience. The first game was Saturday afternoon where Canada played the USA. Dave had amazing seats, we were only 20 rows behind home plate. The Dome was filled. I haven't seen it that full in a very long time. Over 42,000 people attended this game. Who would have thought?! People were decked out in the Canada Jerseys, and the US Jersey's with flags and face paint. The cheering alone was entertaining. Nearing the end of an inning the fans would rise to their feet claping, chanting, and yelling, just hoping for the final out. It was so exciting. Mind you, we were surrounded by drunks. Drunks with lots of money. One cup of beer cost $9.25, and the guys in front of us atleast had 5 rounds! The guys behind us were a little late, probably drinking before they arrived, because they were just out of control with terrible language and really discusting conversations! Canada gave the US a challenge but lost in the end 6-5.
Dave took me to Canyon Creek for dinner, which is almost like the Keg, it was really yummy. Then we were back to the Dome for the Italy and Venezuela game. The dome was not full at all for this one. But there were Venezuelian fans everywhere. They not only came in with the jerseys, flags and face paint, they also had noise makers, crazy hats and wigs. After this game we headed to the hotel and crashed.

Sunday we had to wait around for the 8pm game. So we slept in (but did we? since we lost an hour) and then walked to the Eaton's Centre. We had lunch there, and spent a few hours wandering around the mall. Walked up and down Younge St. and then looked for a movie theatre, at Queen and John but came up empty. We walked and walked and walked. My feet were tired. We walked back to the van after 4:00 and then decided to go up the CN tower. This was the 2nd time I have ever done this. The first time was fun and exciting, I wasn't married, no children. This time, I thought I was going to fall over. Going up that elevator completely freaked me out. I am typically afraid of heights, but knowing I'm secure usually alleviates that fear. It didn't this time. It took me a few seconds once on top to calm down and relax. Once I was relax, I enjoyed every minute. Don't know why I felt this way, Dave told me it was because of my kids and him, I have attachments now that I didn't before! ha ha ha. Even walked out on the glass floor. After that experience we had some dinner and headed to the Dome. We watched the US take on Venezuela. This time we were only 10 rows behind home plate. (Dave taped the game and we watched it today and saw ourselves quite a bit, it was neat!) It was a slow game to start off, but then the crowds chanting and cheering made up for that. By the 6th inning, the game was over, the US took a huge lead. It was 10:45pm by then, so we packed it in and headed for home. By the time we got home and into bed, it was 1am. Jeepers, 7am rolled around fast!

Here are a few shots of the weekend.

The CBC Building on Front St.The Gardiner and LakeshoreMe, just peering over the side!

Dave and I outside where is was totally cold and windy!Ahhh yes, the glass floor!

Dave, in our best seats ever!

Overall, it was the best baseball I have ever seen, and it was a lot of fun. Dave is still watching the games up until Wednesday when it is finished in Toronto. I told him I would tag along to the next World Classic, probably in the next 3 years, where ever he might have to go.....Mexico???

burrrrrr, I'm cold

Although I loved hearing the pooring rain in the middle of the night hitting the roof top, I don't enjoy a dull and dreary day. Especially when it's cold and wet at the same time. So to remedy this, I'm boiling some water and I'm going to have a nice cup of hot chocolate.

This week has gone by so quickly. I was out most evenings but Tuesday. Monday night I attended two babies showers for Dave's cousins. (it was only one party) Then Wednesday night I was out at my small group, we're looking at a book about women saying yes to God, and it's interesting. Last night, Dave and I had volleyball. The last game of our season. It was the first night of play offs and we were playing the number one team, and yes, we were like lambs being lead to the slaughter. They killed us, however, I do feel quite proud of the amazing serves I had, (especially when I got praised for them from the other team....) and the amazing blocks my Davey had. Because of our loss, we were eliminated. But that's alright, there's always next year.

Tonight is a regular night. Friday nights have become somewhat of a "date" night for Dave and I. Once the kids are in bed, we pop the popcorn, and settle in for some Lost which we tape on Wednesdays. We sometimes add The Office or Corner Gas to the selection as well. And if we're still awake, we'll pop in Planet Earth and watch an episode of that.

Caleb is a lucky boy, Dave's parents are taking him out for dinner. Last week they took him for Chinese food, mmmm, how I want to eat Chinese food. I don't know where they are taking him tonight, but he's lucky!

Not much is planned this weekend. Just another quiet one.

Well, as I typed this, I enjoyed my hot chocolate, it warmed the bones! You should have one too!

Quiet Day

It's dull outside, and it seems pretty dull inside too. Caleb is with Christa today, and Amberly is currently napping. I hear the hum of the dryer going, and that's about it. It's nice to have days like this, but in the moment, I'm lost as to what to do.

This past weekend was a long one. Not only was Monday Family Day, Saturday was Valentine's Day. Friday I packed up my children and took them to my parents. They were going to stay a couple of nights with them. It was a long quiet drive home when I left them there. And I was sad that they were gone. I even called after their bedtime that night to see how my mom made out with that. Saturday, Dave and I slept in! It was so nice not having to get out of bed and rush around making a bottle, getting juice and cereal before seeing the kids! I could actually get out of bed and go pee before doing anything else! It was wonderful! Dave and I walked uptown to the eye place because I have a new prescription, so I picked out new glasses and ordered new contacts too. Then we just went up and down the main street and checked out a few stores. In the afternoon we left at 3:00 for Red Lobster for an early dinner. It was good that we left that early, because when we were finished and on our way out, (4:20pm) the lobby was so packed and people were waiting outside! We enjoyed our meal there. Now normally, I don't like seafood, but I really love their shrimp trio meal. Afterwards we were going to check out the movies, but there wasn't anything worth watching, so we came home and watched Iron Man. It wasn't so bad.

Sunday again, I slept in! And I skipped church this week. I sat in my jammies and watched Coronation Street all morning, something I haven't done in ages! It was great! Once I got ready and finished watching that, I walked over to church to join the Faith Steps group I am in. We're going through a series called Effective Parenting in a Defective World. After church and lunch we headed out to my parents to retrieve the kids! We stayed for the day.

Monday we got together with Steve and Christa and we went skating on an empty lot on our street. It sounds funny, but it was such great ice and we put bob skates on Cara and Caleb. It was cute to watch them. After warming up with hot chocolate we went to Wendy's for lunch. It was good! After lunch we parted ways and our family headed to Dave's parents place to celebrate Joy's birthday.

I didn't take any pictures at all this weekend. That's different! hmmm.

Not much happening this week.

Spiders On Drugs

Ahhhh Dear. The things that amuse me!

Crazy Busy Day

I wasn't expecting today to be busy. In fact, I was looking forward to a day of nothing exciting. Things changed a wee bit when I was asked to watch Cara for a bit while Christa went for a doctor's appt. I had no problems doing that. Cara is one of the most laid back kids I know (besides my own!). It threw a wrench into my daily routine, I didn't think much of it, but as the day progressed, I came to the realization that not only do my kids thrive on routine, but I do as well. After Christa got back, she came in for a bit and we had a nice visit. Once she left, I started my routine mode, trying to catch up on things that I would have normally accomplished. This was at 10:30 in the morning. In my hurry, I fell down our basement stairs. I'm all good, no broken limbs, but I'm pretty sure that I'll be in pain tomorrow. When I think about it now, it must have been hilarious to see, if only I could watch myself do it again.

After feeding Amberly I took her to my work place, I wanted to buy some movie passes, and see my friends. I was there for a bit visiting. Then once I got home, I fed Amberly her lunch and put her down for her nap. I then had lunch and then started on more tasks that needed to be accomplished. I was so tired when 3:00 rolled around. And this weather didn't help at all, only fueled my sleepiness.

Caleb was at Christa's today. They had a big Valentine's party this morning, so he would have had a good time. He took little valentines to hand out to all the other little kids. It reminded me of my school days!

Tonight I have my women's small group. It's my turn to lead this week. I'm not nervous about it at all, I've gone through the material, and I'm prepared. It's odd, but I get more nervous when I have to teach the toddler class at church. Makes me go, hmmmm.

Well, I better go and get some cuddle and play time in with the kids before I head out. This weekend my parents are taking the kids for us. Dave and I will get the house to ourselves. I think we'll get bored really fast! Saturday, being Valentine's Day, we are going on a date, for dinner and a movie. I'm looking forward to that.

Gotta go.

The Office - Fire Drill. (Best Opening)

This was absolutely the funniest thing I have ever seen on a t.v. sitcom! I LOVE this show!

Into February

It's February, and I keep writing January.

Amberly is napping, and Caleb is busy playing with "Bear" and "Thumper". He's adopted Thumper into his family, and now all 3 have to do things together, eat, sleep, watch a movie, pee. It's quite entertaining.

I've been having issues with Amberly and her bottles. She's not really interested in them much, and it worries me. I talked to Deb on the phone a couple of days ago to get her opinion, and she eased my mind. At Amberly's age she requires at least 18oz's a day, and she is getting that, and more. But it was in a span of a week where she would drink 28oz a day and now I can just barely get 23-24oz in her. I would get so frustrated over it, and poor Amberly, she went through my emotions not wanting to, but I inflicted it on her. Now typing this out, it completely seems ridiculous. I was getting so upset when she wouldn't finish her bottles, and how silly am I?!

The other odd thing I go through is, I get so excited when I get them both down for their naps. I think to myself "yes, I get some quiet, alone time" and yet, I sit there, anticipating when I get to get them up, I'm excited to see them after their naps. I get them into bed at night and feel a sense of relief, but after an hour, I really miss them. I go in and look at them, and wish I could just crawl in with them and hold them, and I look forward to being with them in the morning.

Crazy! Motherhood is nuts! There are days where I'm so frustrated and upset that I say, "Never Again" and then there's days (like today) where I feel like I would be letting myself down if we didn't have another. Who knows.

Anyway, I better continue doing my work. Folding the laundry and getting a snack together for my little guy!

Hooray

I got everything accomplished today that I wanted to! Now the house is clean and my kids are happily entertained upstairs, so I can start making some dinner.

Supposed To

I really should be cleaning the house right now, but I find other distractions to turn my attention from the vacuum. The sun is currently shining, it makes the world so bright and beautiful with all the snow on the ground, and yet you can see the cold in the air. Amberly is in the exersaucer making noises, she is so noisey! Her baby babble isn't babble at all, it's full of grunts and squeals and screams! Caleb went to Christa's for the day. I want to accomplish the house cleaning today as well as run out to the bank and grocery store for a few items. But I'm wasting time. After I give Amberly her bottle, I'll do the running around, and I keep telling myself, during her afternoon nap, I'll get everything done I want to. I really should have gotten most of it done this morning, so I could use the afternoon for my time, but no.

Amberly is growing in leaps and bounds. We went to her 6 month appt. last week, and she surprised the doctor in her growth. She is now at 19.5 lbs, and 27 inches long. She jumped from the 70th percentile of growth into the 90th with in 2 months. The doctor said that was unusual, that most babies maintain their growth in a percentile not jump completely out of that range! So she's caught up to her big brother. Caleb at 6 months weighed 21 lbs. and was 28 inches long.

Caleb was sick on Saturday, everytime he ate a meal, he would throw up. He threw up 4 times, after breakfast, out at IGA with me, after lunch and after dinner. He was never fevered, nothing else pointed to him being sick, he even acted normal in between. Sunday we had no puke, but he didn't have much of an appetite. But I think he's getting back to normal because the first thing he said to me this morning was "snack".

Not much on the plate this week. Caleb goes to Christa's again on Thursday. Dave will be out tonight and tomorrow night helping people with computer things, I go out on Wednesday for my women's small group. I'm skipping volleyball this Thursday because it's a late game, and I don't think I would have the energy to play past 9pm! Ohhhh, we'll watch Lost too, love it! Friday night we may have a couple over from church. Sunday we may go out to Hockley for church for a change. I think that's about all.

I better go and do something.....

My Angel Girl

Pretend

How is it, that a child just wakes up one day and decides to play pretend with an old stuffed bear that belonged to their mother, and they never had played with before? Well that is what happened in our household yesterday. Just before lunch Caleb carried down this old white bear that used to be mine as a kid, and put it in his booster chair. Then he wanted the bib on him, and then he found his sippy cup and decided to give the bear a drink. Once his lunch was ready, I was helping him eat it when he would then point to the bear and say "eat eat" so I had to feed the bear too!

After lunch I told Caleb that we were going to go pee pee on the potty then nite nite, and he ran to the toilet with the bear and wanted the bear to go pee pee first. I took the bear from his hands before Caleb managed to throw it in the toilet! I pretended to make the bear pee, and then Caleb went and he made bear sleep with him.

This continued for most of the day, from trying to get the bear to play catch to feeding him snack to dinner time and so on. It was so funny. This morning he woke up with nothing different. He got the bear to go potty again, "shared" his morning snack and wanted to find boots to put on him to got to Christa's. The bear went to day care with him.

I'm interested to see if we were to get him to switch from the bear to a boy cabbage patch doll. I think Dave still has his from a kid, I should try and find it!

Cherish

Tonight, as I sat and watched little Amberly jump in her jolly jumper, watching her little legs dangle from the harness, and seeing her expressions, her chubby cheeks, big blue eyes, it made me realize just how much I love babies. I don't particularily like the tiny infant stage, but once Amberly hit 3 months, I started to take every moment and cherish them. Children grow up way too fast, and what a blessing we as parents receive to watch the milestones roll by so steady and readily. I look at how quickly Amberly is changing and I see how creative and smart Caleb is becoming, and it makes me want more! Dave thinks I'm nuts, because I do have many bad days where I want to run away, but this past week, I haven't had many of those moments. Dare I say I'm getting better at patience? I don't know. But to nip those feelings of wanting another baby in the bud, I started looking at the possibility of getting a puppy! HA HA HA. Another idea Dave thinks is crazy! I know one day the Snyder household will have a dog in the family, but I don't think 2009 will be the year that will happen. Maybe not even 2010! As much as I love puppies, I don't think I want one. I think I will start first at looking at breeders and see if there are any adults they want to retire. But we'll see, I'm very much a "get the exact kind I want" kind of girl. Right now, I'm liking the Great Dane, but their life expectancy isn't long, and I don't want to lose something so dear, after only 5-9 years.

Amberly is currently asleep. I've yet to master her schedule. Especially now that I've thrown more food into her life. She used to sleep a little bit after supper, but lately she hasn't done that, and she now falls asleep on her bottle at 7pm. So I've put her down last night and tonight right away, in fear that she won't go until 7am. Now this morning she was awake at 6:30, but she was quiet and not complaining, so I just left her there. We'll see how tonight goes. We've had squash this week and carrots, tomorrow we'll venture down the sweet potato road!

Caleb is watching one of the baby Einstein dvd's before bed. It relaxes him and he's happy. I don't mind watching them either, this one is Baby Noah, and it's a mini National Geographic show really. I'm thinking I may have to take him back to the doctors, he's not sick or anything, but he still tugs on his ears during bath and at random times. So I don't know if there is still something bothering him or not.

Well, it's been a quiet weekend. It's snowing out right now, looks like shoveling will be in my near future. Something else that is in my near future is Dave and I are going to watch The Dark Knight after Caleb's in bed. I'm looking forward to that. Another thing I'm looking forward to is tomorrow. I'm going out! Val, Lesa, Cindy and I are going to go and watch Bride Wars, then we're going to eat dinner at the Mongolian Grill. I'm so anticipating this, it's been awhile since I've been out with the girls.

Well, looks like the dvd is almost over. I think I will get our snacks together.

refreshed

Yep, got a good little nap in. Feel great now!

All is quiet

My kids are sleeping. I think I may join in, just after a few moments here!

Yesterday was a big day for Amberly. She tried butternut squash. She gagged her way through it, but we got some into her tummy. She's not like Caleb when it comes to food. Caleb was a bird and always had his mouth open looking for more. Not Amberly, I basically try and force the spoon in her mouth. For dinner, she had her normal rice cereal, then I let her chew on a rice cracker. She did really well with that, she seemed to enjoy it too. Day two of the squash was just hours ago, and this time, she really seemed to enjoy it. No gagging this time. So that's a good sign.

Things are back to normal in the house. Well almost. I still have to take down the Christmas tree, but I think I'll do that tomorrow while Caleb is at Christa's. Routine is nice to have. I'm glad that my kids thrive on routine, because otherwise, I have no idea how I could get through a day!

This is Amberly trying out real food.Even attepting to use the spoon herself.The mess in the end.The next two are pictures I took with my new camera for Amberly's 6 month pictures. I was pretty happy with the turn out. I think I took maybe 100 pictures, I have plenty to chose from before developing!

Well I think I may venture up to bed and see if I can catch a bit of a nap!

Jan. 3, 2009

Christmas and News Years is gone. Sadly, I'm actually glad they are over. I had a rough holiday season. I still feel pretty sad as I type this out. Not sure why I'm in the sad mood, but I am. Christmas we were all sick. Caleb was on the mend, so he seem to really enjoy the whole Christmas thing (despite the melt down Christmas dinner at my parents). But Amberly caught a cold and suffered pretty good with it. This meant I suffered too. I endured countless nights with no sleep and burdened with worry. She never got fevered, but she was so congested that she would often choke on flem. It was awful. Then New Years Eve arrived, and she seemed to be better, so we went to a friends place for dinner. I had originally hoped to leave by 8pm, to get home and put the kids to bed in good time. But we ended up letting Amberly sleep in her car seat and waited for tired signs from Caleb, which didn't come until after 10pm. We got home sometime after 11pm. After putting things away and such, I sat down and waited to ring in the New Year. What is so grand about doing that by the way? I don't get it. I haven't ever really experienced excitment at bringing in a new year.

Then 5am that New Year morning, Dave tells me that he's sick. He throws up in the garbage can beside our bed. So in the morning, I alone, get myself and the kids ready to spend another day with my family. It was fun there, but again, my mind was thinking about Dave and whether or not I should have stayed home to help him through the day. I mean, if it were me, that's what I would have wanted. But he seemed fine when we got home that evening.

I am so grouchy right now, it just sucks. I'm banished to the office because Dave has his brother over and watching hockey together. Not the way I wanted to spend my Saturday night. I was hoping for a nice movie to watch. But nope, I'll probably spend time on the computer then head to bed.

How is that for a depressing read?!


O.K. well, I guess it wasn't all so bad. I was spoiled for Christmas, Dave bought me a new digital slr camera for Christmas. I love it, and it's compatible with my other lenses from my old camera which is great. I also got a couple of frames and pj's and socks from him too. This year my sister had my name. She got me the new narnia movie, the ox and goat for my nativity scene, a willow tree christmas ornament and a Kutless cd. Fern and Mert bought Dave and I a really nice wall mirror for our hallway. The kids were super spoiled. There is so many new toys in our house! Yikes!

Today Amberly is 6 months old. I can't believe it. Every day I see more and more changes in her. She's way more vocal then Caleb ever was. She chatters with "da da da da" and "ya ya ya ya's" constantly and she also squeals and screams a lot too. She has her two bottom teeth already. And I'm just waiting for those top ones to pop through. I've been feeding her cereal for a good month and a half now, but I haven't ventured to the real food yet. Probably will start with sweet potatoes this week. Maybe even a sippy cup. Looking back at Caleb's 6 months, he was already on many types of foods and drinking from a sippy cup, as you can see, I'm proving to be a little more lazy with the second child. Definately in the photo department. Not that I'm not taking pictures of her, I am doing that lots, but as for getting them developed at all, that's definately not happening. I'm months and months behind in developing photos.

Caleb this past month has really changed. He's saying or shall I say, repeating more and more words. And he's so smart. I will tell Caleb things, and Dave will say to me "he doesn't understand you" but oh how he does. He wanted a hershey's kiss in the middle of supper and refused to eat anymore dinner. So I told him that he needed to finish atleast 3 more bits before I would give him one. Well those 3 bites took a good 15 mins. to get in him, but on his third bite, he turned around and pointed to the kisses. Dave didn't think he would get it. But he knows what I'm saying! He knows how to put a dvd into the player and play it. Which freaks me out! My baby is growing up so fast!

I think I'm running out of things to write, that's if anyone reads all the way down to here, since the start was so pathetic! I'm going to spend some time reading old posts now. That's always fun, to look back.

Two More Sleeps!

Christmas is almost here, it's coming, it's coming! Wow, I can't believe how the time has just flown by! I think we're practically ready. I have to start the first steps of a trifle I'm making for Christmas day dessert, and together tonight, Dave and I will make the cheese dip we're taking tomorrow for our Christmas eve party at my parents.

I've had some trouble finding the Christmas spirit, mostly because Caleb came down with a bad cold on Thursday. He was miserable, and wouldn't sleep, which in turn meant I didn't sleep either. Finally I took him to see the doctor and it turns out he has an ear infection. Ahhh. So I'm glad because we have medication for him now, but I wish I had gone sooner, the poor kid.

To help find the Christmas spirit I've watched lots of Christmas specials. Dave and I watched A Christmas Story last night, and the night before we watched Christmas Vacation. Tonight I think I would like to watch The Polar Express. Then maybe tomorrow sometime we'll get Home Alone in there.

Jesus and Santa

Here's another little clip that I thought was kind of neat!

The Real Meaning of Christmas

I was watching this tonight on t.v. and this part got to me. I love it, the simplicity. We are always confused during this season, and we forget about the importance of this holiday. God sent us the Saviour.

The Weekend is Over!

I am tired. Plain and Simple. Last week was just nuts and Saturday, crazy! I wish I could have a break, but we have 2 more events with people coming to our house this week, so it doesn't slow down. Caleb's birthday was a blast, despite the chaos and stress! In the morning we attended my work's Kids Christmas party. Caleb has decided he doesn't like Santa (we discovered this Friday night when we took them to have pictures done, he flat out refused, like stiffness and kicking refused to sit on Santa's knee!) so when it came time to go to Santa for his present and picture, I got to bridge the gap between the two! He loved his gift, a John Deere tractor that rumbles and a fire truck. Amberly just chilled, got her picture with Santa, she got the fisher price fish bowl set.

Then Caleb's party started at home. My family all arrived first so we could celebrate Krista's birthday first. She did great, getting books and crafty things. Then at 4, Dave's family arrived, along with Kris and Shannon, and their 2 little ones, and Steve and Christa and Cara. We served up a big meal of pasta and cesar salad and garlic bread. It was a lot of work, I found I got so stressed out over everything, but it went off without a hitch. Caleb was spoiled. He got trucks, books, cars, a train set, clothes! He was so cute, watching him open up things. He was so hyper too! After everyone had left, we put him in a bath and that seemed to help him calm down. Then he went to bed without hesitation.

Sunday was so great, because he was so taken with all his new stuff, he happily played all by himself in his room, which in turn gave me a quiet morning to get ready at my own pace, instead of being rushed! Then after church we had a Christmas party to go to at 4pm. It was o.k. Because I was tired, it just seemed like a lot of work to be at the party with both kids. But they seemed to be happy, which made me happy.

This morning, I went to get groceries. After lunch I had a bath and slept a bit. But I feel just as tired as before. I have to pick up Caleb at Christa's at 4 and Dave is working late tonight, so I'm just throwing in a pizza in the oven, and hoping for a quiet evening.

Upset Rasberry Blower

Amberly has begun blowing "rasberries" But she seems upset when she does it. Then Caleb also joins in as well. It's hilarious!

Tackling the Little Stuff

Today Caleb spent the day with Christa. So I had the opportunity to run out and do some things. I went and ordered Caleb's cake and pick up a few things, then I stopped to get a prescription re-filled and bought wrapping paper. Then once home and baby fed, I thoroughly cleaned the basement, and wrapped Caleb's birthday presents. (We are giving him a tent thingy with a tunnel, and a little basketball net and from Amberly he gets the balls to go in the tent thingy). I took a nap while Amberly did, and it wasn't long enough, in fact, I wish I could just sleep a day away, I just want one day where I can just do absolutely nothing! Then after feeding Amberly again, we went to get Caleb. I chatted with Christa for a bit. Dave has already begun the discussion of July, and what to do. I want to go back to work part time. My boss has offered this to me, and I think 3 days a week would be perfect, but the biggest issue is Christa doesn't have room for Amberly right now. After chatting a bit, there may be a good chance she could take her. She can definately have the kids for July and August because she doesn't have some as their parents are teachers. As far as September is concerned, everything is up in the air. So we're really hoping that circumstances change and she can take both, otherwise, I may not go back. I know it sounds ridiculous that I'm basing it on my babysitter, but seriously, she is such an amazing lady, that I know, there is no one who could compare, so if we can't have her, then it's gonna be me!

Ahhh, it's getting late, and I want to go to sleep. Dave is playing volleyball on his own tonight. The game didn't start until 8:30pm, so I stayed home to be with the kids. After they were in bed, I made Krista some cupcakes. We're celebrating her birthday on Saturday as well. We thought we would do both her's and Caleb's the same day, since this time of year is insane. She'll be 7. Man, she's growing up so fast!

I was thinking of watching The Office, but I think I'll just go to bed.

Christmas is Coming! Hooray!

We're full blown into the Christmas season now. It's wonderful! I find myself getting excited more and more every day. I love this time of year. This year, however, I find that I'm easily stressing myself out over things. I don't know if it's the underlying economic times, but I get stressed out about money, and I feel like everything we needed has all come to surface this month. (why this month of all months!) I also stress over the sentimental aspect of my gifts. I think and think about Dave's Christmas present and how I can make is special and meaningful. But I have to remind myself, that to him, it's no big deal. Anything I get him, he will love. (well not everything) And there's so many things I want to do to make it memorable for me, that I think all I'll remember is the stress of trying to get everything done. I want to get the kids to a mall to see Santa, I want to get to Waterloo park to see all the lights, it seems never ending. It's Amberly's first Christmas, so I want it to memorable and it will be the first Christmas where Caleb will actually be excited opening presents.

This Christmas brings change too. This may be causing a bit of my stress too, since I don't deal with change so well. But this year is the first year where I won't be at my parents over night on Christmas eve. Dave and I decided that it would be easier on the kids and on us to come home after my extended family Christmas eve party, be at home Christmas morning to open up our gifts and then head back to my parents for the rest of the day.

Many gathering with friends happens this month too. Starting this week! Tomorrow night I'm helping out at a ladies function at my church where we'll be making Christmas cards. Tuesday, hopefully my parents are coming for the day to babysit while I attend my department Christmas lunch, then Tues. evening, I'm meeting with friends for dessert then going to see Australia the movie. Saturday is Caleb's 2nd birthday. It's a packed full day. In the morning we're going to my work's kids Christmas party, then my family is coming in the afternoon to celebrate Krista's 7th birthday, then at 4, Dave's family will be joining in and we'll start celebrating Caleb's. We have about 17 adults and 6 children to feed dinner to. Yikes! Then Sunday we have a friends Christmas party to attend. It's exhausting just thinking about it.

It's the little details that I'm a sucker for, I leave it all to last minute. I did finish my Christmas cards this weekend, now I have to remember to get stamps!

Ahhh I love this time of year.

Ho Ho Ho

Caleb came home on Monday with a letter for Santa Claus and knowing what Santa says!

Amberly's first try at cereal!

I was pretty amazed with how strong Amberly was with sitting up. I think she's going to be a very independant little girl when she gets older!