Look What She Can Do!

Look at me!  Standing all by myself!


*Note to self...buy tiny helmet for Christmas!**

Controlling An Octopus

Last night we finally had th chance to try to snap some decent Christmas pics of our girl.  You see, we've been holding off on our Christmas cards to family and friends in hopes that we might be able to include a couple of pics.  Thus began the fun.

Dress baby in pretty red dress and shiny black shoes
Place baby on floor in front of tree
Santa hat on baby
Santa hat ripped off baby
Baby crawling away
Baby back in front of tree
One shiny black shoe falls off
Pic of the back of baby's head
Pic of baby's bum
Santa hat back on baby
Mommy removes other shiny black shoe
Baby rearranged for a nice shot
Santa hat covering baby's face entirely
Headless Santa baby pic
Santa hat half off baby in pic
Shiny black shoes thrown at the camera
Baby turning Christmas tree lights off and on
Pull new sled over near the tree
Baby arranged in sled (maybe that'll contain her)
Baby twisted backwards in exorcist-like move
Baby rearranged again
Santa hat thrown off again
Santa hat idea scrapped
Baby lunging off of sled
Several pics snapped in succession - all of baby in awkward lungeing poses
Sled moved aside
Wooden horse pulled close
Baby *might* be interested enough to stay still
Horse flung around by baby
Baby attacking camera
Baby attacking mommy "Don't bite!"
Baby crawling over mommy and camera to escape
Baby rearranged back in front of the tree
Baby launches self the other way
Daddy sweating in all of the rearranging mess
Dogs jumping into pictures
Mommy lays on floor with camera and wonders where the wine is
Maybe next year.

PS - we did get a couple of cute pics but you don't get to peek at those just yet!  

Happy Ho Ho!

Where's the Snow?

Bring on Winter!  I live in the second coldest capital city in the world.  We normally have several centimeters of snow by mid November...sometimes we even have snow at Halloween.  So I ask...where is it?

We've had 2 significant snowfalls so far - the first melted within two days (not before I shovelled it all though!) and the second was last week.  Here is a pic of the first snowfall...

And the most recent one last week - love the way the snowflakes look!

There is still some on the ground but it's mostly blown away or melted as well.  It's December and it's about time - come on snow!

We went to visit my Grandma today - she was happy to hear we would be coming so off we went.  Miss Jillian wore her birthday coat and hat for the first time.  She wasn't super keen on the hat but we got a few pics.

This one is when she first got dressed - she didn't quite know she had something different on.

Realization sets in 

"What the heck am I wearing???"

Once at Grandma's, she was a bit shy but not too bad, eyeing poor Grandma as if to say, "You're okay, but don't come too close!"   I guess at Thanksgiving we forgot her pink ball there, so once she found it she was in fine form throwing it, rolling it, crawling after it and then lunging on it with her teeth out, as if to pounce on her prey.  At one point Grandma brought out a funny Christmas apron and while the hubster and I laughed, Jillian suddenly belted out a 'hahaha' from her gut.  It was great timing and we all laughed at her, which made her giggle more.

Although she's not yet walking, she is so close, and will pull herself up with one hand using my pant leg or a piece of furniture.  Right now I think she's more cautious than anything, and when she does decide to get somewhere, she gracefully drops to her knees and off she goes.  It's much better than when she first learned to stand and she would drop to her bum rather forcefully causing us to cringe...thank goodness for puffy diapers!

Photos

I am a bad mom.  Well, I don't really think I am but I feel like it about this one area.  Pictures.  Ever since the Hubster's surgery, I have been remiss about taking pics.  I realized that my baby girl's first birthday is the last time I really took pics.  I also went back to work in this time so it's just been so busy.  I have taken one or two here or there, but really want to pick up the pace and snap some shots.

Digital photography is wonderful, because you can take a thousand shots and keep only the ones you like.  If I only take four shots I am somewhat limited in my choices...not that I always only keep the best pics, but I can have a choice.

I am committing to myself to get my camera out of the back of the closet this weekend, dust it off and get it fired up.  It's about time I got back in the swing of things.

All Jammed Out

I like making homemade jam.  I had taken a few years off from making it - I just kept missing the strawberry and raspberry seasons, but this year I was determined that I was going to buckle down and finally get back to making jam.  I went and bought a large amount of strawberries and raspberries when they were ripe and got to work sterilizing jars, boiling fruit, and jaminating.  I know that probably isn't a word but don't you thinkit ought to be?  Jaminate - the art of preparing homemade jam.

As I was making Ryan's daily PB&J sanwiches...he eats one for breakfast and one for lunch...don't get me started (he's 17 and while the thought of eating the same thing twice a day every day is unfathomable to me, I let it go)...I realized we had no jam in the fridge.  Down to the basement pantry I went to grab another jar and found that we only have 3 jars left.  3?!?  I made over 30 jars of jam.  Just 6 months ago!  How is that even possible????

I myself am not a jam eater...I have a 1/2 tsp very rarely mixed into a sugar free plain yogurt but otherwise find it way too sweet.  That leaves the Hubster, the trash compacter...ummm I mean Ryan, and my little Jilly, who at one is hardly a contender in a jam-off.

Seriously...how does one family go through 30 jars of jam in 6 months?  And how the heck could we have afforded to buy it at the grocery store - that stuff's $4 or $5 a jar!  OMG!  Of the three we have left, I opened the large jar of raspberry, we have a small jar of raspberry and we have a large jar of cherry jam...which Ryan doesn't like, so we'll be running out of jam in the next week.  Holy bananas!

Tonight I will spend more time reorganizing the pantry because I just cannot believe that we have no more jars hiding somewhere.  If not, I'll be scouring the flyers for sales and will stock up when the price is right...clearly next year I need to make twice what I did this year! Sheesh!

All Shopped Out

Well, we went, we shopped, we dropped.  We spent 8 hours on Thursday and seven hours on Friday shopping, shopping shopping to complete our Christmas list.  In the end, we purchased all but 2 gifts...one because we had a good idea that was more expensive than we realized, and the other because we have a couple of thoughts and didn't see anything that jumped out at us for that person.  We will be trying to complete all shopping by the end of the weekend next week...then the wrapping begins.

I realized that I often shop for similar things for people.  It's not super exciting but I guess I figure out what works and just keep on going with those ideas.  Do people like that?  I don't know - I hope so.  I know for me, if I get gifts that I like and the person buys the same kind of thing year after year then I am more than happy.  If it is something that I have no use for and I keep getting it...well, I say thank you and appreciate the thought.

So I guess I answered my own question -if I know the person well enough that I buy something they like...like earrings, they won't mind getting them year after year.  This is why Christmas is so stressful!

I do love to give gifts that I think the person will like - it's fun to watch their faces, although I am a little too invested sometimes and reactions don't always line up to my expectations - that's my issue though!

Do you stick to a budget?  We don't have a grand total budget but we do budget a certain amount per person and try to stick to that...it's still a lot but we don't go crazy the rest of the year so it all works out!

My little bean is awake from her nap so I must go!

Happy shopping...I just might be finished before Dec 1st - that would be AMAZING!

Shhhh....The Holidays Are Coming!

First of all, to all of my US friends

I hope it's a wonderful day and weekend with family, friends, good food and good times.

Now, seeing as I am in Canada, I normally would just go to work and do my thing and know nothing about the US holiday, Black Friday or...Cyber Monday, buuuuuut the internet and media have ensured that not only do I know more about them, I can partake!  Yep, right here in Canada we now have Black Friday sales...some pretty good ones too.  Do I think it's a bit ridonkulous to adopt a US shopping day for no reason at all...well, yeah I do.  That said, if I can find cheaper items for my Christmas list, why the heck not?!?

The hubster and I both dislike crowds.  The last music concert we went to was Blue Rodeo about a decade or so ago!  We stay away from Walmart on a Saturday afternoon if we can at all avoid it because the insanity is too much!  To get Christmas shopping done and avoid crowds is a lofty goal, so we started something about 5 years ago that works for us and provides some 'us' time too.  We book off 2 days in November, make a giant list, map out our stops and do all of our shopping in 2 days.  Yep - it's insane and tiring but the feeling of getting home on day 2 and dropping everything and knowing that we are 99% done (we always forget something small!) is incredible!

Today and tomorrow are those days for us.  We made our list last night and are aiming to hit 6 stores and a mall today in the east end of the city.  Tomorrow, we head west to another mall, 2 more stores and anything we missed in between.  We think we know what we are getting each person and that's the hard part so cross your finger for us that all we have to do is find the specific items and hand over our money!

Fashionista Anyone?

Let me start by saying that if you know me well, you are probably laughing that I am posting anything about fashion.  Yep I am that mom who wears long underwear under dress pants for work because I get cold.  I wear ear muffs even though they look ridiculous.  I wear t shirts everywhere!  Until recently nothing fit me properly in my closet...now some stuff does fit (although not all!)

Anyways, I came across the coolest video last night and upon watching it in awe, I looked at the website it came from.  It's called Wendy's Look Book and can be found here.  Let me say this girl has got style - and even I can see that and admire it!

The video is about wearing a scarf - specifically 25 Ways To Wear a Scarf.  Scarves are very popular right now and even I have a few of them.  I always wear them the same way and sometimes wish I could 'dress them up' or do something different.  In addition to being very informative, the video is kind of entertaining and cool to watch.  There is sound but it's not absolutely necessary.  Enjoy!

**runs off to find a scarf to practice**

Ring Around The Roseola!

You have to love childhood.  I am sure we all block it out eventually but my gosh, kids get sick a lot while developing their immune systems!  The Hubster, my son and I all have rockin' immune systems.  I am not trying to tempt fate here, but we rarely get sick and when we do it's usually mild or a quick thing (knock on wood).  On the other hand, my poor Jilly has been sick off and on for almost 7 weeks.

Last night I got a glimpse into what's up with her now.  She had a fever all weekend of 103, mild diarrhea, rubbing her eyes, her eyes rolling slightly up, runny nose and not wanting to drink or eat much.  Dougie Howser was not helpful but we know that kids get viruses and as long as that was what it was, we would keep on doing what we were doing (you know, not sleeping, getting slimed and pulling out our hair...normal stuff)

When I picked her up from daycare last night she had been about 36 hours fever-free.  She was still quite fussy, so once dinner was on we sat and rocked.  I tickled her belly and noticed slight bumps.  Upon looking I found a very light rash covering her entire front and back.  Oh boy.  Being the search-queen that I am off I went to my friend Google to type in 'baby, high fever, rash'.  The very first thing that popped up was 

Roseola

Here are the symptoms.

The time between becoming infected and the beginning of symptoms (incubation period) is 5 to 15 days.

The first symptoms include:

• Eye redness
• Irritability
• Runny nose
• Sore throat
• High fever, that comes on quickly and may be as high as 105° Fahrenheit and can last 3 to 7 days

About 2-4 days after becoming sick, the child's fever lowers and a rash appears. This rash usually:

• Starts on the middle of the body and spreads to the arms, legs, neck, and face.
• Pink or rose-colored,
• Has small sores that are slightly raised

The rash lasts from a few hours to 2 - 3 days. It usually does not itch.

I have to say it is almost IDENTICAL to Jillian's symptomology.  I am part of on online Mommy Group and went off to post that I think Jilly has Roseola.  As soon as I opened the group page I found a post by an online friend who I'd recently met.  Her daughter was diagnosed with roseola...the same day!  The girls had been feeding each other Cheerios 7 days before that.  According to everything we have both read the icubation period should have been longer (since both girls developed fever within three days) but I don't think it's a coincidence...I think they shared more than lunch!  Ah childhood...when it is still socially acceptable to stick your fingers in someone else's mouth! ;)

The plus side is that once the rash appears, it is no longer contagious and the rash is not known to be itchy or uncomfortable (thank goodness for small blessings!)  So while she still has a bit of a cough and runny nose, I am hoping that this is the first step towards her finally getting healthy...fingers crossed!

My Princess Turned One (awhile ago...)

At the end of September, my sweet girl turned one.  I thought I'd share a few pics of that today since she's so gosh darn cute.

First off, the star of the day wearing the tutu and hair bow that I made along with the onesie that I decorated just for her!  


Although she looks very happy here, I can tell you that that tutu stayed on for precisely 3.5 minutes and she spent the rest of the afternoon in her onesie.  A prima ballerina she is not!

Here is my second attempt at a fondant cake - it's definitely not perfect but I was pretty darn pleased with it and it tasted AMAZING!  The top layer was cherry chip and the bottom layer was chocolate. The icing was homemade marshmallow fondant over top of homemade buttercream icing...not calories there!

My darling girl got her very own buttercream/cheery chip cake to do with as she pleased.  

She started tentatively...

And then said "What the heck..."

Nom Nom Nom 

It was a great day.  We had lots of laughs, Jillian didn't vomit (after all that icing I thought it was a distinct possibility) and she got to open some wonderful gifts.  (Okay I opened them - it's very awkward opeing a whole pile of gifts that aren't yours when the recipient has no interest in them at all...just sayin.)

Snot Shoulder and Other Sicko Randomness

Anyone with kids, especially young kids may know the phrase 'snot shoulder' and what it entails.  You don't really have to have uttered the phrase before to know the all too familiar crustiness that encompasses one or both of your shoulders at any given time.

My baby girl has been sick for 6 weeks.  She started off with a cold the week she started daycare.  I would have suspected it was daycare related except my son had previously been sick, infecting me who in turn infected my hubby and daughter.  Families share everything, no?

Anyways, my son eventually rid himself of the bug, and the hubster, who had still been recovering from surgery luckily beat it quickly.  I was sick for over 4 weeks, with it changing every five or sick days to remove one symptom but add another, like a sick version of a Mattel game.  My poor pricess however has gotten the worst of it.  I *think* she had the same bug we all had, but has since picked up more by being in the company of other drippy nosed, touchy feely kids - it happens and daycare and school are the prime breeding grounds no matter how clean they are!

She eventually was dx'd with an ear infection, got Amoxicillin for that, felt better for three days and then the nose faucet started up again.  I took her back to the doctor once more when she just seemed to be getting worse thinking maybe the ear infection hadn't totally cleared but they said it was just a virus and that her ears and chest looked/sounded fine...that was two weeks ago.  This past Friday I picked her up at daycare and she had just woken from her nap in a feverish state.  She fought a 103 fever all weekend, with us alternating tylenol and advil every four hours each.  She had moments where she was happy but spent a lot of time laying quietly in our arms.  We got the snot shoulder on every shirt we wore...I stopped trying to avoid the inevitable drench.

By yesterday, the tylenol and advil were no longer reducing the fever and she was lethargic with her eyes rolling upwards now and then.  Not a febrile seizure, but almost like she couldn't keep her eyes open at all...and the light seemed to bother her.  Off to the ER we went (since no clinics were open).  We only had to wait a total of 2 hrs (which is pretty good) to be told that she is just battling a virus.  The dr didn't even look in her mouth or at her throat.  Of course it didn't help that they upped her tylenol dose when we'd gotten there and that little boost was all she needed to be the happiest acrobat baby in the ER, flinging herself upside down and smiling for all.  Yep...good old Murphy had shown up to show us that even though she was ashen and lethargic at home, bring her out and she's a little clown.

I don't think the doctor took us too seriously, but it didn't help that he was Dougie Howser who felt it appropriate to lounge back on the exam table (like a full lounge backwards into the corner, legs up and head against the wall reclined) while talking to us.  We got the impression that he felt we were just overreacting to a low grade fever which pissed me off - We've been around the block - we know the signs of when a baby needs some medical attention or at least a thorough exam.  Anyways, long story short, no diagnosis, it's just a virus.  And a LOT of snot.

The plus side...I normally try to re-wear things a couple of times if they are still clean, but lately I don't even have to check them...they all go into the laundry basket!

Happy wiping!

Where Did The Time Go?

I found this post in my draft file today - clearly it was supposed to have been posted two months ago, but I guess it's better late than never!  (Actually now I saw that I had already posted a birthday post - oh well, now there are two!)

My darling bear turns one today.  One year old!  It seems like just last week I was going to the hospital, only to be sent home and then going back again.  At 10:08pm last Sept 28th, I got to meet the most beautiful girl in the world who then promptly crapped all over me.  My princess!

Daddy and his girl the day before we left for the surgery - not a great pic of either of them but I wanted to get one last shot of him holding his princess.  He now has to wait 6 weeks to hold her again! :(

"Mommy thinks she's brilliant letting me play with this ketchup bottle.  hehehe What the hell is she thinking?!?"

"Yepper's - lookit what I did!  Isn't it pretty?"

The very first time Miss Jillian pulled herself up to a toy.  She's a bit of a late bloomer since this didn't happen until she was 11 1/2 months old, but that just means mommy had more time to relax without having to fully chase after her.  Now she's on the go and I suspect that as soon as she starts daycare (in 6 days!) she'll be walking, reading and doing mathematical equations within days!

Sad

I'm sad today.  A lot has happened this week and we are still in Toronto.  The surgery went well and my hubby is still recovering.  I am at the hotel and it's my kiddo's 17th birthday.  I'm not going to see him today and it makes me so sad.  I have never missed a birthday...ever.

I know he's old enough to understand, but I'm not.  I talked with him last night and will call again tonight but it's just not the same.  Luckily I thought this might happen and had already bought and wrapped his gifts so he'll have something to open.  I felt guilty last night so I went out and bought him another gift - funny how guilt makes you do stuff like that!

On the plus side, my honey is recovering slowly but surely.  They had problems finding pain meds to help him without making him nauseous etc.  They had tried something new called a tap-block, which is basically like a front epidural.  They inserted two thin tubes into the sides of his abdomen during the surgery and the tubes have a plastic piece on the ends that allow the doctor to inject medication directly into the belly.  Unfortunately, the incision on my hubby is a long, vertical one that seems to be just too long to allow the meds to work for long before they dissipate.  It's supposed to offer 12 hr relief and seems to only help him for 1-3 hours.

They moved him to a regular room yesterday which is nice, and took out some of his cords and wires which is nicer.  He's currently in a private room with a view of the CN Tower - not sure who he paid to get that since we don't have private coverage but we're not complaining!  He was up walking last night and was going to try again after I left in the evening.  The more he walks the sooner he can be sprung from that joint!

My princess is with Grandma and doing alright.  She had a fussy day yesterday - Grandma thinks it's because they stayed up late to have an early birthday dinner with my kiddo.  She's in a good routine and who knows if she'll even want to come home.  I was sad last night and today thinking about the fact that since Sunday (5 days and counting) all four members of my immediate family have been separated.  I hate that.  I talked on the phone with my kiddo last night, and as soon as I hung up I wanted to call my hubby to tell him - but I couldn't.  I miss my best friend.  I see him all day every day and wouldn't have it any other way, but I miss chatting with him (he's too tired to talk much) and being able to properly hug him and sleeping beside him...I miss it all.  Oh well - suck it up I guess!  The good thing is that he's on the mend and going to be coming home soon.  It's all going to get better day by day from here!  On that note, I must go get ready to go and see him.  Today I am bringing him some Tim Horton's coffee - not sure if he's up to a sip, but I suspect he can be convinced!

Today We Head Off

Getting ready to take the train to get my hubby's surgery done tomorrow.  Nervous and anxious would be the mood around here.  It's all for a good end result, but organ donation is one of the only surgery's where there is no physical health benefit to the donor.  But the other benefits make it worthwhile.

We were sad dropping off our little princess last night at Gramma's!  We know she'll be well taken care of and well fed but it was particularly sad knowing daddy won't be able to hold his princess for quite some time - likely sometime in November.  Sigh.  Gramma said baby girl slept well last night though - 11 hours!  Gramma was very worried and deliberately woke her this morning - lol...crazy lady!

I will end this with some pics I got done for my hubby for after surgery - not sure yet if I'll post from the hotel or not...perhaps over a glass of wine one night!

Two Days in a Row!

I'm on a roll and getting back into the swing of things.  Again please bear with me as I will not have a computer next week...I may find one to tap out some posts but am not certain that will happen.  My poor sweet girl is not yet crawling but does what I call the "slither", where she uses one or both forearms and one foot or big toe to push herself across the floor.  I'd call it an army crawl but she really doesn't use both feet most of the time.  As a result, she got a blister on her big toe - a giant, raging blister.  I covered her feet with socks for a couple of days, and then when it started to heal I stopped using the socks, and low and behold, another blister just below the first.  It was like she knew it hurt in that one spot so she changed the way she pushed off.  Who said babies aren't smart?

She now points at things...primarily light fixtures and trees/flowers, and says something that sounds like "dussaa". Her daddy and I have decided that it sounds just enough like "What's that?" that it might officially be her first word.  Yes my baby is a genius.  A Genius I tell you!  (yeah yeah I know your kid is smart too)

My son will be 17 next week.  Where does the time go?  I remember him being so little, and sweet with a giant dimple in his cheek.  Now he shaves!  And drives!  And wears shoes big enough for both of my feet...really.

Sigh.  Oh well, I guess they all have to grow up sometime.  I just wish you could rewind once in awhile.

Knock Knock Knock...Hello? *creeps in slowly*

Hello if anyone is out there!  If not, I don't blame you because I have been missing for almost 2 months...sorry 'bout that!  Let me fill you in. We have been going through some stuff that has been kind of big and overwhelming, and my dear hubby didn't really want to have it public until it was actually going to happen (confusing I know, but just wait and I'll explain!)  I tried to blog a couple of times but this series of events was so big in my mind that I just felt weird blogging and not mentioning it so I just stepped away from the blog for awhile.  I debated a couple of times putting a post in but it felt almost...dishonest to myself to have something so huge hanging in my mind but not able to be put to the keyboard.  So, with my dear hubby's blessing, I will fill you in!

But first, look at how my sweet princess has grown!  She is just over 11 months and we are gearing up for her first birthday!  She is slithering (getting around very quickly but not quite on her knees yet), pulling up to stand, and has four whole teeth!

Okay, back to the story!  My dear hubby (DH) has a family member who needs a liver transplant and was put onto the transplant list in the spring.  We were told the wait list for his blood type can be 3-4 yrs, so it's not a good scene when someone needs a liver.  Along the way, we learned a lot about the liver and what it does (I had no idea!)  I will dumb it down a bit because that's the only way I understand it all.  The liver makes bile which helps digest food, it creates the clotting factor so that blood clots can form, it cleans toxins out of the body, and it helps you absorb many vitamins...it does other stuff too, but let me tell you, when your liver does not function properly, you get very, very sick.  Very sick.

When the option was presented for family and friends to get tested, my dear hubby did so.  I have always been a huge believer in organ donation and always said that if it were my sister, I'd do it in a heartbeat.  It is however a very big surgery, and a very big deal.  We talked a LOT about the implications of every outcome, and all of the bumps in the road that we could foresee.  At the end of the day, my DH was a blood match and was sent to Toronto for two days of intensive testing.  I went with him and let me tell you, they were long days with appointments scheduled so tightly that we had no time for lunch either day and my poor hubby had to fast both days so we were RAVENOUS by the end of the day!

The testing involved 15 vials of blood (in addition to the 12 they took in May), a CT scan, MRI, ultrasound, Xray, meeting with a transplant surgeon as well as a third party surgeon, meeting with the coordinator and to cap off our two days, a one hour meeting with the psychiatrist to make sure we weren't cuckoo!

We finally got word that it was a "go" and a date was set.  It is Sept 12...in 5 days.  We have to travel to TO for the surgery, and he will have to remain in hospital for 5-7 days (maybe more depending on complications).  Little Miss will go to Grandma's house to feast on ice cream and french fries for all that time, and my son will stay...gulp...alone with the dogs at home!  We have no clue as to how we will get home from TO (We're taking the train up but it's too much for him to take it back) but we'll worry about that once we know when we're coming back.

You would think this was big news, very overwhelming and stressful, and you would be right.  Now let's add in some more fun stuff.  My gov't subsidy for maternity leave will run out on Sept 17...yep right after the surgery.  I figured we could survive for a couple of weeks with no money (that's what Visa is for, isn't it?).  Then the kicker...we got a call from our amazing daycare lady a couple of weeks ago.  She needs 6 weeks off starting right when Little Miss was to start daycare.  I almost cried.  Then I asked her why and found out she had found a lump in her breast and requires surgery.  My added stress while real, took a backburner to this woman's very real health scare and I wished her only the best - I cannot imagine the fear and anxiety she is going through.



Now that that elephant is out of the closet or something like that, I feel like I can maybe blog again.  I apologize if it's not super regular right now as we'll be out of town for a bit but I am excited to be back and able to share our craziness with you all!

I Wanna Be A Millionaire, So Friggin Bad...

Yep I said it.  Show me the money!  I once told a friend, many, many years ago that I believed that one day, I would win the lottery.  I believed it.  I still do to some degree although the fact that I now rarely buy tickets probably works against me!

If I won the millions I would...(insert dreamy face here)

• not go back to work!!!
• renovate my entire house floor to ceiling
• rip out our small deck and patio and have it all professionally landscaped
• lay around eating bon bons
• buy a new car - nothing fancy
• buy my honey the Jaguar he dreams about
• pay off the mortgages of my family members
• donate to a charitable cause
• go back to school
• take a few vacations

Those are the big ones.  I also would not indulge my children so much that they get an entitled mentality.  You see that far too often and it really does the child no favours.  I'd rather see kids work hard to get where they want to be than sit around hoping for money to fall into their laps...ummm *blush* oh...so anyways...ahem

I like Him, I Really Like Him

Although my son may drive me drink (copious amounts) some days, he is a really, really good kid.   I don't know how it happened, but he is considerate, helpful, respectful and sociable.  He is not only able to talk to adults, he is actually social and easy to talk to, so most adults that meet him don't mind spending time with him.

He's certainly not perfect (as no one is) but I often feel so lucky that somehow he turned out so well.  I thought I'd blog about it now before he does something to irritate the holy crap out of me and all I want to blog about is what a rotten, ungrateful, sleeping in, texting teenager he is.

So back to sunshine and roses!  He loves his little sister - not so much that he has ever changed a diaper but who can blame him there?  He will watch her for a short while if I need him to and gets down on the floor to play at her level.  Her face lights up when he walks in the room!  I think that gives him a big high too, to see how happy she is when she sees him - it's so sweet!  Yesterday he was holding her and said to me "Do you realize that without you (me), we wouldn't be here?"  I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so I laughed and asked if he'd just figured that out.  then he took Little Miss in to the bathroom mirror and said, "Without mommy, the mirror would be empty."  Awwww

Earlier in the week, I was having friends over for a swim with their little girl which I told my Kiddo about that morning.  At some point, and without drawing attention to it, he went and tidied his bathroom (as much as a 16 yr old boy can - the inside of the toilet was disease inducing but he made the effort) and put fresh towels and hand towels out.  He also cleaned his room.  There was no need for this but he knew that it would be nice on the off chance they wanted to use the upstairs bathroom.  What an awesome, fabulous kid!  You are always going to love your kids no matter what, but I really, truly like my son...and it's an awesome thing!

She's Getting There

Little Miss is doing her best to get herself mobile, if only to grab at things that she doesn't currently have access too like the remote control, DVD's, newspaper etc.  She's at the point now where she will launch forward at something...kind of dangerous but she doesn't care.  She's also starting to move backwards just a teeny bit, like a backward army crawl.  It doesn't look easy or comfortable but what do ya do?

She occupied herself in the yard yesterday by first trying to eat a crunchy leaf, and then when she decided it was nearly as good as a fig newton, she took time in ripping it to tiny little pieces.  When I picked her up she looked like she had tree confetti all over her.  She was happy though!  Clearly she will not be a tree hugger when she gets older.  If Daddy has his way she'll be a belching, meat eating, swearing machine who doesn't date until she's 40.  She'll wear clothing covering her from her earlobes to her toes and of course they'll be four sizes too big.  She'll study very hard to become a doctor or lawyer, earn a good paycheck and invest wisely so she can retire by 35 and take care of dear old mom and dad.

Who am I kidding - I'd be okay if that last sentence came true!

Monday Ramblings

Well...it's Monday.  Yep.  I have not been a good blogger lately - I am still enjoying so much sunshine and as well, Little Miss has hit an age where she demands a LOT more attention...like if you're walking through a snake pit and you have to keep an eye on the big ones for fear they might attack when you're not looking...kind of like that!

That said, I uploaded the pics on my camera today and laughed at all of the ones I took to blog about...so here goes!

I came downstairs one day and my Kiddo says "Guess what I did?"  I said "What?" and he runs to get the camera to show me that he'd made his own breakfast.  Yes he is almost 17.  To clarify, he always gets his own breakfast, but the difference is that if he wants fresh berries his laziness prevails and he asks me to wash them.  This particular day he...gasp...washed and cut them himself.  I'll wait while you marvel at your computer screen and inwardly applaud.

Alright now - in all honesty for a 17 yr old boy to wash and cut up raspberries, strawberries and banana to go on his cereal seems a pretty big feat, so bravo Kiddo!  (It looks yummy doesn't it?)

Self portrait.  Strange angle.  You're welcome.

Another sort of 'self portrait' when my dear hubby let Little Miss press camera buttons...kinda cute though!

This is a highly unflattering picture of me on the trampoline.  Why am I posting it you ask?  Well, quite frankly I have no clue.  I guess it kind of makes me smile and feel like a kid again for a moment.  (And yes I do have a bathing suit on under that VERY SHORT cover up)

"My mommy says I'm cute...I don't know what that means but she smiles when she says it.  She also smiles when I fart though so who knows?"

Lookit what I grew!!!  Okay, there was no effort - the plants came with the house but I love them!  We get fresh raspberries every day - this is the first one this year!  Yummy!

Ah yes, the exploding ketchup bottle.  As you can see the ketchup is almost empty and someone turned it upside down.  My Kiddo opened it and BAM it went everywhere!

The next two pictures are of a little food storage area I just located, secretive like Area 51 but I found it.  You see, we have a wine rack in our dining room with this wooden statue on it.  I often find that my Kiddo has decided to place his stuff on it (although I have no idea why because it's not in the area of traffic flow from room to room).  the other day I laughed when I saw that something was placed behind the little wooden people.  Upon closer inspection...

I found this.  Mr. Noodles was just hanging out behind the wooden people.  (A little addendum - today I found a box of Vinta Crackers there too.  Mr. Noodles and the blue cup are still there.  I think he's storing up for winter or something, but I'm leaving it all there to see how much crap he can accumulate before he picks it up!)

***

Ahh yes.  So our car was squealing very loudly for a few days.  It got worse and worse.  I decided to take it to a mechanic when it got to a point that I was slouched down in my seat with a ball cap tilted so people couldn't see my face as I drove.  It was that bad.  I was going to book it an appt, but first decided to check with some other folks - my facebook friends.  I posted a message on FB asking what could be making that terrible front end squealing.  Within minutes I had 5 women respond (yes all women!) that it could be the brakes, rotors or a belt.  I knew the tires needed replacing and the brakes would be needing replacement soon, however it didn't make the sound when braking.  I was informed that brakes come with 'squealers" (Not sure if that's the name for it but whatever) that squeal when you need new brakes.  Ummmm isn't that what grinding is for?  I never replaced brakes before until they'd start grinding and shuddering while braking.  Apparently that's not cool.  No wonder my cars fell apart.  Sooo this weekend my hubby bought new brake pads and rotors and replaced ours.  Here is the pic of the old with the new (you figure out which is which).  The thickness of the pad on the top is crazy compared with the tiny sliver left on the bottom one.  I am happy to report that the squeal is gone and we no longer have to pound on the brake petal.  In fact my seatbelt came in handy when I almost went through the windshield when stopping at a light.  Thanks honey!

Just a cute pic of my little patootie.  You can see she's actually getting hair.  Real hair!  Unfortunately it's coming in in a bit of a mohawk, but I've decided to let her rock the mohawk and get some gel (or sweet potatoes - they have the same effect) and spike her hawk!  Pics to come!

"I may not be crawling yet but I'm getting close!"

That ends our brief, chaotic slideshow of my recent photo taking!  Please exit to the right and watch your step.  Thank you for joining us on this journey!