Life with Belly & Syd

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2006-06-28T22:08:00.000-06:00

But in case you aren't.... http://thisismylife.typepad.com/this_is_my_life/ Cheers.

Bye Bye Blogger...

2006-06-23T16:14:00.000-06:00

You have eaten my post for the last time... http://thisismylife.typepad.com/this_is_my_life/

Jungle Fever...

2006-06-06T22:25:00.000-06:00

Thank you Mimi and Papa, for giving us our jungle. This isn't even ALL of them. But I do love them. I just hope I won't kill them...

I had my last day of work today, and I was sooo busy, in a good fast kinda way. Received our first Wedding Present from my boss and his wife, a beautiful Crystal vase. People are so generous, it is amazing.

Poor Nana is on her way up. She has been super ill the last 3 days with food poisoning. She is halfway here, having made her first flight today and is overnighting for her flight tomorrow. I wish she had put off her travel for a day, but she wanted to come now as everything is all booked. It's too bad that my house will make her even more ill when she sees my measly attempt at cleanliness. I didn't fully realize to what extent not "deep" cleaning for a few months will do to a place, yikers.

Daddy has been a "stay at home Mommy" for the last days, and has fared pretty darned well. I did interrupt a few "catnaps" with my "rude" whatcha doin' phone calls, but the kids are still alive, and were clean and happy when they picked me up after work.

Sydney and I will be visiting the doctor tomorrow for a quick ear check up. She is so hard to diagnose with infection, that I hesitate to leave her tugging a wee bit with Nana for a week. Then I have a waxing appointment on Thursday, and a hair trim and final tanning appointment on Friday. Otherwise I will be cleaning, laundering, packing and making lists for the next 3 days. have I mentioned that we are leaving on Saturday, for A WHOLE WEEK ALONE?? Yeah, we are.

The holiday game..

2006-06-04T20:12:00.000-06:00

Do you do this? I do this all the time. "Hey hon, do you know what we'll be doing at this time next week? We'll be landing in Las Vegas..." "Hey guess what, next week at this time..." And then of course when we get back it will be; Sigh. "Last week at this time..." sob, sob... Can you tell that I am getting REALLY excited for our trip? No? I AM. I wanted to get so much more done this weekend than I actually did. I spent more time just hanging out with the family then cleaning and organizing. Oh well. 2 more days to clean-up before Nana arrives. Rather, 2 more nights as I have this pesky interruption in plans called "work". Chris is taking tomorrow and Tuesday off to look after the girls, and I am off Wednesday morning on. Have I mentioned how SUPER EXCITED I AM?? Even getting on a plane, without a child to lug, feed, and entertain sounds like a dream. To be a grown-up, not a Mommy, and read my own books, and maybe have a glass of wine, on a plane. Neato. My dress has been altered. I will be held into this thing with velcro and double sided tape, but I will be in it. Now I only need shoes, a small clutch purse for my "things", our rings, Chris's entire outfit... yikes. But my dress is done, and that's all that really matters.

This weekend, we sat nice on the couch together...Had some Ichiban..

Had a tea party..

And practiced our dirty looks.. This one says "Don't grab your camera fool! Help me out of here!!!"

I have you all!!

2006-05-30T22:27:00.000-06:00

So, It looks like I blog more.. when Chris is busy. And when I have stuff to say to someone, you all get me, yay!!!! And guess what... he's busy... I've realized one important reason tonight, why having kids really sucks. They make you sick. No really, they do, at least me. I've had how many colds, how many flus and bugs and god knows what else in the last 6 years. Currently I am shielding from a battery of sneezes and coughs directly in my face from 1 year old, and getting coughed on my person from 6. And I have the stomach flu, thank you Isabella, sweetheart.. for bringing that one home. It's not that I think it's their fault for bringing them home, I do feel sorry for them but hey, they're kids, who wasn't sick? I on the other hand am BUSY. I do not have time for this. I don't have time to feel sorry for them either. But they feel sorry enough for themselves, so that's ok!! Actually, Syd is in a pretty good mood the last few days. Chris has been zerberting (blowing) on her belly, and if her deep laugh wasn't cute enough, she will try to zerbert herself which makes us laugh really really hard. God she is cute. And a huge performer. Poor Isabella will be loosing her Mimi and Papa in 2 more sleeps. Their house is packed, they are hoteling it, and will be driving out very, very soon. I feel so bad for her, as I know she hasn't grasped the afterlife of the "Mimi and Papa move away" show. I'm really going to miss them too, I talk to Mimi on a regular basis, but we can do that long distance too, no problem. It's the spending time with them for Belly that will be sadly missed. I guess that's life too, I didn't live near my grandparents at all that I can have memories of. At least she had 6 years of memories. Poor Bella.

Photo's that wouldn't work last time...

2006-05-30T20:01:00.000-06:00

Poor whittle Maggie and her poor whittle paw... Whas at? Lookin' outside... The End.

No picture update

2006-05-28T23:00:00.000-06:00

So yeah listen, I want to apologize to the few readers that I have managed to keep around for such a loooong absence. You are still out there right!?! RIGHT??? So.. the last few weeks hm... Maggie moo has graduated from sleeping in her kennel, to sleeping on a pillow at the foot of our bed. (yes I am starting the first update in weeks with my dog). She ripped a nail off her foot, had to go to our overcautious (overpriced) vet and came home with one less nail, a whole wack of anitbiotics and a cute little bandage on her foot. She limped, she whined, she pouted, and we felt sorry for her. She then figured out how to take of the bandage (rip it off of course!) and sure enough the limping, whining and pouting stopped! Back went the bandage on her foot, and pathetic feel sorry for me moomoo was back. We figure it wasn't pain that was making her limp etc., it was the feeling of the bandage on her wittle paw. Awww... Sydney... What a darling (not) child (more like devil). She is getting older, yup it happens I guess. She is super smart, will point to what she wants now (froot loops, strawberries, crackers) and will nod yes or no to questions. She is into every.thing. She tried opening the oven door tonight, with food cooking inside. Ouch, hot! got her attention. She has added a new word to her vocabulary (2) .. baba. Dada and baba and that's about it.. But she nods! and points! And runs.. really fast. She lurves her Daddy, and will give me free hugs and kisses all the time. I wish I was so lucky. She'll kiss the dog before she kisses me, sniff sniff. Isabella is an artist in training. She is making pictures and drawings, and they are all really good. She amazes me with some of the stuff she comes out of her room with. She is looking forward to school ending, and summer starting. She is smart, witty and charming (when she wants to be of course..). Me, well I'm BUSY. Chris and I leave for Vegas in less than 2 weeks, can't believe it. My dress is being altered, everything is set up and ready, and we can't wait. Now I just have to clean my house for Nana, eek! Weather here has been the shits the last few weeks, although I know I shouldn't be complaining as summer isn't officially here yet. We (Chris) have done alot of work outside regardless of the weather, and I must admit our yard and house are looking pretty spiffy. Well, that's about all for now. Not a hell of a lot new, just busy, with life. No promises on a next post, but I wil certainly try to update again before I leave. Tata!!

15 Months Old

2006-05-08T21:06:00.000-06:00

Dear Sydney, Today, you are 15 months old. Where do I begin. You are very independent. You have to feed yourself, with a fork. Food gets in your hair on a mealtime basis now, which means more baths, which means a win win for you, as it is still.. your favorite passtime. I will let you stay in your bath until it is freezing cold, and you still scurry to the far end of the tub where I grab your leg and haul you over kicking, crying and screaming to get out. You LOVE watermelon, alot. You walk around with a piece in each hand, slurp slurping away, leaving pink fingerprints on everything 2 feet high. You refuse to sit in your highchair for longer than 2 minutes, which makes mealtimes a pleasure. You only say one word clearly, Dada, and you refuse to give kisses now, but will blow kisses on command. You can clap your hands, wave bye bye, say hello sometimes, and love strangers (great!), as long as they don't touch you.

You love being outside. You looove walking onto the road. Without holding anyones hand. You take gravel from the front and drop them in a neat pile on the lawn. Back and forth, back and forth. And you love the breeze in your face, and the grass, rocks, and dirt in your mouth. You are daring and brave, and know how to get what you want. I have knicknamed you whiney winnie. It suits you. You don't talk yet, as you need to perfect the art of whine. But, you redeem yourself, by still loving your bed, and will close your eyes the second I lay you down. When you have trouble sleeping, you will talk to yourself and play in your bed for an hour sometimes, before I know you are still awake. I.ronic.

You love cuddling for a few seconds at a time, then it's off to see what you can get into. You are cute, and you know it. You love trouble, and the dog is your biggest fan. She loves trouble too. Your hair is becoming longer and curlier everyday. People ask me where you get it from, and I honestly don't know. Your sister had the same cute curly 'do' at your age, see? It's the straight in the front, curly in the back mullet! That's our mullet style!

Speaking of your sister,

she's great too. She is reading, and writing, and being so smart and grown up. Riding around the neighborhood with her 'gang', and doing little (slow) jumps on the (tiny) "ramp" in the street. Way to funny. She's really looking forward to Nana coming to take of you and Sydney, when Mommy and Daddy run off to Vegas to get hitched.. Yes, finally. It's going to be so much fun and I will miss you guys alot (not at all really, ok maybe a little).

Most of all Syd, you are a happy girl. You smile all the time, and already take moments to enjoy this new world around you. You are loved by some pretty special people, and it shows.

Love,

Blank, as you STILL, won't call me Mama.

As you can tell, this is my monthly letter and update rolled into one. Because I am still entirely too lazy. And busy. And lazy.

Spring has sprung..

2006-04-30T21:13:00.000-06:00

In pictures... Because I am too lazy and tired. Again. The End.

Chop chop

2006-04-23T20:27:00.000-06:00

After a few (ok more than a few) comments about Sydney's hair (tossed salad, mullet, etc.) I decided to take it upon myself to give her alittle trim. It was quick, painless, and only a wee little tear of sadness from Mommy. My baby sure is growing up.. What... a... ham... More wordy updates coming soon...

Video View

2006-04-16T20:15:00.000-06:00

Er, I know the last few days (weeks) have been sparse in the blogging department. Please don't give up on me yet. In the mean time...

Better than nothing??

2006-04-10T22:02:00.000-06:00

I am so behind right now. In everything. So sorry. Good stuff coming soon. In the meatime, here are some pics from the birthday hoedown at the pool. Smella Bella.. Sydney whimpy no swimming baby.. Sydney LOVES cheezies.. Lovin' the presents.. Such a big girl...

Smella Bella turns 6

2006-04-05T20:28:00.000-06:00

To my firstborn baby, my darling big girl, Today…you are six. SIX years old. I have been shouting this into the faces of everyone I have seen today, but they don’t seem to generate the same enthusiasm I have, including your Daddy as I stood on the bed and shouted this morning. It is hard for me to fathom having known you for 6 whole years already. We recently chopped off all your hair, which makes you look so much older. You like your new cut, or rather I thought you liked it, until I overheard you crying to your Papa that night on the phone about how Mommy “cut off all your hair”. Silly girl, the hairdresser did, not Mommy (and of course your Daddy who just couldn’t resist taking a snip the night before your appointment). You are really starting to grow up fast now, becoming so smart and witty and “cool”. Your appearance is becoming important to you now, asking for real make-up (never in a million billion years kid, or at least not until your teens, and no, not even for play), spending long amounts of time in the bathroom with the door shut, new hair ties, clips, you name it. And the clothes, oh God the clothes. Personally, I love your mix and match color/stripes/pattern ideas, not so sure about the rest of the viewing public. Seems you got your fashion sense from your father… You are curious, talkative (oh God can you talk) and love to dance and sing. You are at the perfect age to tease and get you going, to which your Daddy and I like to take advantage. For this, I am sorry. No, not really. We figure that deep down inside you enjoy it, especially your new “rapper nickname” of Smella Bella... (I dare you Internet readers, to say this name out loud without laughing). Your little sister adores you, as does your puppy, your teacher and everyone else who spends any time with you. Thank you my baby, for being so lovable and kindhearted. You make me want to be a better mother, person, and friend. Edit: Pictures are not posting properly, this is the only one that would work!! More B-day pics to come soon..

We say..

2006-04-03T20:37:00.000-06:00

Someone recently turned 30, which prompted me to jokingly ask her if she was feeling old. She replied with a few thoughts on what makes her feel young and old, and I just had to share them with you, as they are so reflective on my feelings as well, and I am sure some of you can relate too... She said.. I feel older then when I was twenty. I feel old when I do 5 loads of laundry in one day (or when I look at the hamper when I haven't done any laundry in 5 days...ugh...nothing worse). I feel young when I walk into American Eagle and still love all their clothes (although the super skinny jeans are now going out the window with my ass). I feel old when I turn on Much Music and I hate all the "new" music (seriously what the fuck is up with the music on that channel?). I feel young when I go to pick up (s0n) from his school and every Mom is a least 15 years older than me (of course they are all rich as hell or I am seeing their nanny's pick up their kid). And then I said.. I feel old when I see a cute 18 year old guy, and think more like their caregiver than their peer. I feel old when I can remember my mom at this age. I feel young when I think about Isabella's age, I have memories from being that age, and remember how it felt.. I feel old when I think a new technology is stupid, and the old way of doing it is “better”, and more “simple” too.. But mostly I still feel pretty young. I don’t think I am going to mind being 30. I feel better, more confident, smarter and am happier the older I get. How about you Internet??

Short Vid of Syd

2006-04-01T16:18:00.000-07:00

Hangin'...

2006-03-28T20:27:00.000-07:00

Yes, I realize I left some of you wondering what happened to my "exciting" upcoming post to look out for, but I am glad now in retrospect that I didn't post it after all. After witnessing the blowout on some other blogs that posted on this particular "hot" issue, I decided that the hate comments, and angry nasty e-mails just weren't for me right now. Thanks for the reminding me guys, I didn't forget ya!! When I initially started this blog, it was to keep my family and friends updated in a nice picture friendly word happy environment. There have been a few times, that I have wanted to post on some issues that are not so nice, not so friendly, and certainly not so happy. I just don't know if this is the place for that stuff right now. I have contemplated starting another blog, anonymously, so that I can be alittle more honest in my thoughts, feelings, issues, you name it. I guess I'm just too paranoid that people that I know in "real life" will have intimate knowedge of my thoughts and that I will be judged. And I've also thought that maybe I should just do that here instead, and say F**K it, who cares? (see, you didn't know that I can swear like a city worker now did ya??) Now, here are a few nice happy pictures for your viewing pleasure... Yes, that's licorice. She would take a bite, chew on it for a minute, spit it out for the dog to eat, repeat.

When you gotta go... go further??

2006-03-27T21:18:00.000-07:00

It's 11:55am, and my phone rings at work. Blah, blah, blah, me speaking? "Hi franny, it's (the babysitter) calling.." My first thought of course is, oh great, Sydney is sick/has a bum rash/God knows what else... Me: "ahah?..." BS: "Isabella isn't home from school yet, and I keep looking for her at the window but I don't see her?" Me: "Ok, I'll swing by the school on my way home from lunch, I'll leave right now.." I don't panic at this point although she is now 20 minutes late, as I know Isabella is the second SLOWEST person in the world, and is probably playing in the schoolyard, taking her time. I call Chris and ask him to swing by the school as he is a few minutes ahead of me. Halfway home, and 12:05, I call the sitter. Still not there. Getting a little bit worried now. Chris phones right as round the corner and I can see the school.. Him: "nope, didn't see her.." I am starting to get alittle bit more.. panicky. Me: "ok, I'm going to go into the school then, and.." Him: "woah, woah, I see her. She's at the church (a few blocks in the opposite direction from the sitters).. " I can hear Chris yelling at her from his truck, "ok, we'll meet you at home". What in the world????? Her story is... She had to pee. Instead of going right to the sitters, which is right off school property, she decided to walk all the way home, where there is no one, the door is usually locked, and she is sopposed to be somewhere else. How can I make sense of the logic of a 5 year old? Obviously I cannot. Was she scared? Alittle, yes. Did she think she was on some grand adventure? I think so, yup. Did she find her way home, crossing numerous streets (people stopped and let me cross!) stopping midway to see if her Mimi was home? Yup again, she did. She came home, peed, and was heading back to the sitters when Chris found her. We have decided not to punish her, but have had several strong conversations regarding why it wasn't such a great idea, as did our concerned sitter after I dropped her off. Chris and I are now laughing about it, in private of course, but still... she could have gotten into alot of trouble wandering around by herself.. Can't say she got her smarts from her Mama...

2006-03-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

This is an actual conversation we had this past week, in which I walked away and laughed so hard I just about peed my pants. Certain things I like to be new all the time, pillows about every 6 mos, discloths, sheets, you get my drift. Obviously forgetting about these particular items... Chris: Hon, can you come here for a sec? Me: Sure, what's up? Chris: Just a quick question for you... (pointing to the item below) I make (so many lots of $'s a year) and this is what I have to dry off with?

He's right, and that's the funny part. Our towel collection is somewhat mismatched... and old. So I went out and bought 4 new big beautiful towels, 2 each, color coded and everything. So proud... so proud...

For all you chocolate lovers out there!

2006-03-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

Just this one time, (well hardly every really, ok ok sometimes) I let Sydney play in the living room by herself. On this particular occasion, it was 6:30 in the morning this past Sunday, when Chris had just returned (see honey, you are HOME now) the night before. Just a few precious minutes, cuddling and talking, and we're just in the next room for God's sake, and I always always, I mean, this one time I proofed the living room really well, dropped some cheerios on the table and ran for the hills. But of course, she found the chocolate. The one tiny, little shiny wrapped easter egg forgotten the night before. On the couch perhaps, or even dropped onto the floor, but she had found it and it was all hers. She loved it for at least 10 minutes, obvious by the teeth marks in the teeny little chocolate left behind, little bits of wrapper all over the carpet, chocolate smeared all over my couch, carpet, and of course, her face.

Blogger bites my A**

2006-03-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

Am having lots of trouble posting/posting pics right now, am waiting for a reply from Blogger Help. Interesting posts to come soon, haha PS Happy 100'th blog post to me...

The boo (wobbly) walks!

2006-03-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

I meant to post last night, really I did. Instead, I decided to reformat my computer, and it took/is taking FOREVER. I have no pics back yet, but I can tell you that one little boobear took her first steps tonight! From me to her Auntie Leah. We screamed and laughed, and she screamed and laughed back. Cute stuff that one. Her bum/cold/teeth are obviously better, as she was in a great mood tonight. Did I tell ya she's got some major molar action happening? Oh yeah, one completely through, not sure when that happened, and a few little pokey's in and about. Isabella is back in school, and we are all very, very happy. She is developing a real 'tude lately, and I think it comes comes out when she gets bored. She's been at the sitters all day every day for two weeks now, although they do activities etc., I just don't think it's the same. Variety is the spice of life, no? I have an interesting topic I want to blog about, stay tuned in the next few days..

Quickie

2006-03-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

So, boy am I ever tired. I think it's pretty close to "that time of the month", and I am tired. Let's see here, what's new around here. Well, Sydney has a cold, again. And oh, oh yeah. Another infection... down there. What in the H--L? I've heard stories of children who are sick for a few years, (straight years) after being hurled out of their house into the germpool of germpools, AKA Dayhome/Daycare/Babysitter. Good times. GOOD times people. Poor little thing. And once again, someone isn't around to enjoy with us the grand art of sickness in our house. Hm. I think he's got something there. I think next time it looks like a cold is going to come through, I'm just gonna go stay in a hotel somewhere. Let him do all the work. Sniff. Babycakes Sydney is still trudging along in search of her land legs, and finally, finally saying Mama. I really think so this time. She says it alot now when she is whiny and crawling at me with her head down at a hundred miles an hour. I'm pretty sure it means what it means. She still gets sooo excited when she sees me coming to pick her up after work. I can tell now when she's had a good day or not, as she will always be excited, but cry alittle too when she's not so fricken happy. It's cute, like she missed me that day sooo much that she was overcome with emotion and just had to shed a tear and stick her little plump lower lip out for good measure. Isabella and I are treading a fine line. She isn't listening very good this week, and like I said it's almost "that time". I'm alittle short tempered, alittle short fused, and a whole lot of counting to ten. She's good if I can pay %100 attention to her, but with Whiny Winnie and bad doggy MMM eating toys and getting into all sorts of good trouble, I just can't.... I have some exciting plan making coming up in my future, and I cannot wait to get started. It involves tricking scientists into finding more hours in the day. No, not really, I wish though. I can tell you however, that my OCD is starting to flair it's huge ugly head at me. Watch out world. Anyhow, thats a quickie from me tonight, off to bed.

Boring myself, and a Gratuitous cutie patootie..

2006-03-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

Besides a deliciously overpriced brunch this morning, life 'round here has been perfectly... boring. Just the way I like it really, but it certainly doesn't help my content now does it. So, um, brunch. I stuffed myself sooo good, mmmm... Chris will be leaving again tomorrow for the week, so I will put myself into wino, musico, relaxo writo mood, and come up with some good stuff, promise. In the meantime feast your eyes on this kid, who by the way is starting to walk if you hold one of her hands and hold something in front of her like say, a cell phone. She's savy that one, and also very much enjoyed brunch today.

13 Month Update

2006-03-08T21:30:00.000-07:00

Today you are 13 months old. To celebrate, I took you out for a few needle pokes in your cute chubby little arms. You weighed in at a whopping 17pds, 7 oz with all your clothes and booties on, but still! You are barely hangin on to that 5th percentile in weight, your height however, has sadly taken you back off the chart. It looks like you may be your father’s daughter after all…

You still aren’t very interested in talking too much, we like to think you say mama, dada, and banana, but really… it all sounds like Greek to me. You seem to have your own little language, and can understand yourself quite fine, and that’s all that really counts. We can tell you understand what we tell you, especially the word “no”, as your blatant refusal to listen to us and in fact do the opposite, tells us so. I love the way you grin, hurry and do your dirty work faster when told ‘no’, I think you like getting into trouble already. You are still a very picky eater, although what you do eat, you eat a lot of. You like surprising foods like asparagus, pork chops and anything garlicky. You dislike.. no.. you detest Kraft dinner, spaghetti and anything else tomatoey. If we try and feed you anything you don’t particularly care for, you turn your head around in your highchair faster than we can say Linda Blair, and look at us like we are force feeding you rat poison. You will snack on crackers all day if we let you, and our day home sitter is somehow succeeding in “fattening” you up better than I could. You are starting to enjoy pushing your walker around the house, with your sister helping get you out of corners. You are quick cruising around the coffee table to get what you want, in particular my coffee cup, or your big sister’s hot chocolate. I don’t mind that you aren’t walking yet, as I can tell already how much fun that’ll be. You lift your play phone to your shoulder now and babble to yourself, you love to throw toys out of your toy box, diapers off your change table, pots and pans out of the cupboard and laundry out of the basket.

You will dance on command, and love to roll over on the floor with Daddy. We think you believe you are doing a summersault like your big sister, as you always start your rolls by standing on your head. You love to laugh and scream for attention, which you get, all the time.. because you are not only my baby anymore, you are all our baby. You have a special relationship already with everyone who loves you, including MMM, whom you hold close by the jowls and giggle, while she lovingly french kisses you. Yuck.

Love you baby.

Mama

Those damn March Winds

2006-03-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

We took the girls sledding today, and had a great ol' time. It was nice out, but windy. Chris mumbled "Those damn March Winds" as we were leaving the hill, in a 2 old men sitting in the coffee shop mumbling about the crap weather type of way. Personally, I don't remember any previous mention about it being particularly windy this time of year, but he swears he will produce proof. We'll see.. Anyhow, here are some sledding pics for viewing. Enjoy.. Sydney is still battling with a horrid diaper rash. Just when I think we have it under control, we don't. Thanks for all your advice and concern Internet! The only thing that seemed to make any difference was some Monistat cream, leading me to believe she has a yeast issue happening, which makes sense as we just finished a huge round of antibiotics for her ear infection, which I am not entirely certain is all that gone ps and by the way. I am going to make her an appointment with our doc for both. Poor kid. But she had fun sledding! She went down once with Chris, got sprayed in the face with snow, gave him a "this is supposed to be fun" look, and spent the rest of our time there in my arms laughing at Daddy and sister coming down the hill instead..

Who needs it?

2006-03-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

I need it, Chris needs it, Isabella needs it, even Maggie Moo Moo needs it. But Sydney? No.... she doesn't need it. Some of us really want it, one of us gets to do it all day long and one of us hates doing it. You guess it... sleep. I wish, that I could stock pile it. All those years of sleeping in till noon have to be worth something! But no.. Tomorrow is Friday, and it couldn't come soon enough. It has been a good week, but a busy week, and I cannot wait to lounge around the house with my honey and my kids. And of course, alittle cleaning. The one great thing about not being home during the day to clean, is that you're not there all day making the mess in the first place. The house stays the same way you left it. All day. Until you get home. Sigh. Sydney is battling a wicked rash.. down there. Any really great cream out there Internet?? I let her go diaperless for a few hours tonight to air herself out. Looked a teensy bit better at bedtime. Did she pee on my carpet? Of course she did. But her little bum bum and chicken legs were sooome cute crawling around like that. And Maggie Moo Moo (who will from now on be known as MMM) and her shared a few nice french kisses tonight. She laughed and laughed, and I screamed and screamed. Isabella is growing up really really fast. She has met a few new "older" girls at our dayhome, and she is learning, um, alot. The girls do seem genuinely nice when I have been there, and she isn't saying or doing anything bad really, she justs seem older all the sudden. In a I can actually remember bits of being her age kind of way. She really likes going to our sitters house, which is a huge relief. She is happy at night, giddy almost sometimes. She is blosoming once again before my eyes. I am still not near %100, I'd say I'm hovering at about.. oh.. maybe %75? Stupid really. Maybe I am lacking the proper amount of sleep to feel better. Mmm, that's good. Goodnight.

Routine again...

2006-02-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

Work is just not as exciting as staying home with the girls, therefore I do seem to suffer from a teeny bit of blogger's block.. The girls are settling back into our 'work' routine, although I had been off again longer than I was back at work initially. Chris took them for a hottub last night, and Sydney cuddled right into him and relaxed for 10 minutes. How soothing.. She seems to be getting up earlier and earlier everyday though, we HAVE to figure that one out. It was 6am this morning. Ouch. I let her talk and whine for 15 minutes before my alarm went off. I am hoping to start running in the AM before work soon, as the days are getting longer and the sun is out much earlier now. Hopefully I will be fit to start next week or so, we'll see. Blah blah I'm boring tonight, sorry folks. One cute thing.. Sydney has really taken to giving kisses now. She leans right into your face with her mouth open. If you sit there long enough, she will start giggling, which of course turns into a deep belly laugh.. right into your mouth. Too cute.

A keeper

2006-02-25T20:43:00.000-07:00

I was looking through my photo's, and came across this gem. It's great for a few reasons. First, it looks like my Dad is holding Sydney's arm so that her pinkie is in the candle, which is making her cry. In reality, he is trying to prevent her from catching herself on fire while anal retentive Mommy sang the entire Birthday song to her really really fast, and of course snapped this pic. What really made me shoot Cristle Light Pink Lemonade out my left nostril though, was how re-tard-ed my dog looks. Her eyes even look crossed. Doh. It's a keeper this one, ahah.

Ode to Mary.. Go ahead and guess who you are!!

2006-02-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

I want to write a a little diddy, about someone I have truly come to appreciate as a great friend. She lives far away from me now, but we have a funny start to our friendship and such odd parallel lives, I wanted to share. My first big crush in junior high, the boy I would pine for off and on for years, also had a crush. Not on me of course, that would've made me happy in school, and that just wouldn't do... No. After the initial whispering and enquiries amongst my friends, it came to my jealous ears that the love of my life, was already enamored with Mary (name changed to protect the innocent). I cried (of course), I stalked, prank called, and did all the crazy jealous first teenage love cliches my bleeding heart could conjure. I circled Mary's picture with a pen in my brand new yearbook, and to this day my book still falls open to this particular page on it's own. See, Mary was cool. Really cool. She was nice, and artsy, and pretty, and natural in an early 90's no one else was type of way. By high school, my giggling gaggle of friends had now become a clique, and as fate would have it, Mary had a clique of her own. Our respective cliques would circle each other like hungry wolves for a few years, before finally realizing our distinct similarities, join forces and become one. Mary and I were never close through high school, she nabbed herself a long term boyfriend which would eventually become her husband, as did I. It never failed to amaze me, how effortless it was for Mary to be interesting. She painted beautiful pictures which hung on the walls of her chic apartment after high school and college. She would call and come visit me whenever she would come through the city that I currently lived. Eventually, we would both wind up living back in our old hometown. She would reconnect with her old high school flame, get married, have a couple GORGEOUS children, buy a house and do all the things you are supposed to do. I did all these things too (except of course the wedding part, I am still waiting.. but that's a whole different post), it just seemed that she did it a few years ahead of me, and she did it so well! We would keep in contact through occasional phone calls, e-mails, and coffee sessions. I would gasp in amazement every time I walked into her newly decorated home. I love her style and creativity, and would be super jealous if she wasn't so damn nice, down to earth, willing to listen and gave such brilliant and soothing advice. She has moved away now, with her husband and children. They are pursuing their dream of living and raising their children in the same area that we have been dreaming of as well. They actually did it, see hon, we can now do it too!!! We still keep in touch, through e-mail and pictures, and in some ways I feel closer to her now than ever. She will e-mail me to let me know she felt the same way about certain things I blog, and offer the best advice on how to get through my particular crisis. Thanks Mary, for turning into such a great friend (long distance or not) and for being so supportive of me. Betcha never thought I loved ya so much, huh!!!! Still stalking you after all these years.... gaw.

Dr. Mean, and the clueless technician (or, we are feeling much happier today)

2006-02-23T21:50:00.000-07:00

The clouds have parted, and there is a God. I feel better, Sydney feels better, Isabella is happy (although still sick) and I get a 3 day long weekend now!! (I mean finish my recovery in a more soothing environment).. Hopefully the other adult in the family will be home to enjoy it! Damn that man, I just KNEW he'd find a way to skip this ENTIRE mess... So anyhow, the tests. While certainly not the funnest way to spend an afternoon, it wasn't the day in hell that I had anticipated, Dr. Mean and the clueless technician aside. I think she cried more from their incompetance than from any actual pain. She certainly has figured out how to curl her little fingers into my shirt so that I can't put her down without her hanging off me like a monkey. She pulls this one at least once or twice a day now, she's so light and has a death grip that she has actually lifted herself off the floor still attached to my shirt. We parked our butts on Mimi's living room carpet and had a Quinzo's picnic tonight, Ice Cream and cookies incluse. Sydney watched the tile dude grout her new kitchen, and Isabella played speed talk with Mimi. Kids are now in bed, I am headed shortly. It has been a long, but finally, inevetably, Thank God already, a good day. Ahhhhhh

No news is, well no news...

2006-02-22T20:46:00.000-07:00

Things are slooooowly getting better. Sydney and I ventured out this afternoon for the first time in a week. She sniffled and I waddled through Walmart, grabbed a cart full of junk we (didn't) need and a hundred bucks later we were back home on the couch. Isabella has our cold, but seems to be tolerating it, for now. She wanted to go to the sitter's today, and came home rosey cheeked and happy from playing outside, so she will go tomorrow and Friday as well. Sydney has some testing tomorrow on her bladder and kidney's. She may have to be put out for it, depending on the doctor and technician conducting the test. I am sooo looking forward to this ordeal. Poor kid. And... that's all folks.

My Future's so bright...

2006-02-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

'Nuff said.

Almost famous

2006-02-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

It's 7:05am and the phone is ringing. There is no way I am going to make it to the phone from where I am, with the baby in time. I waddle as fast as I can, and pick it up to here my sister in law hang up. It immediately rings again. Panic is starting to rise for a number of reasons, #1 being my sister in law is not usually awake at this time of the day (sorry Leah). I pick it up to hear " Scream scream scream, Sydney scream scream scream, Regis & Kelly scream scream hysterical laughing. " Of all the 100's of thousands of pictures sent in last month for the "Beautiful Babies Contest", my baby is plastered on the screen beside Kelly's head. I almost peed myself I was laughing so hard. I guess this makes up for not getting her picture into our local paper's contest in time and missing the cutoff, phew I am redeemed. Hollywood, here we come!!!

More sad... than funny...

2006-02-19T22:09:00.000-07:00

I fit!! Take me with you!

Gosh I'm cute...

I was going to post a picture of our wood chopper block/current medicine location, but in keeping with the general theme of my title today, it would be more sad, than funny.

Daddy has taken to the friendly skies, and we are surviving so far. To say this is probably the most difficult separation for us (alright me), and that we miss him alot already would be an understatement. I know this is a hard one for him too, as I had to reassure him a millionteen times today that we (me again) will be Ok. Look at it this way honey, I will (most likely/maybe/hopefully) be walking more "normal" by the time you get back! And maybe the house will be clean! And maybe we'll all be flu free! A girl can always dream..

Infectious infections??

2006-02-18T16:46:00.000-07:00

Trust me kid, I feel the same way... So, um, we're in pretty rough shape around here.. well, Sydney and I are anyhow. I am sure the others are soon to follow. I had surgery on Wednesday. I had been waitlisted for 3 years for this surgery and suffered for almost 6 to have them operate on my back there hmm hmm, (short for very sensitive down there part). Which has now become infected (thank you ER doctor for poking and prodding my back there hmm hmm this morning causing me to cry embarassingly to tell me what I already knew). I hobbled out of there as fast as I could, prescription for Percocet (yipee!) and antibiotic in hand. Sydney decided to come down with a double ear infection, and hoo hoo (short for down there front part) infection the day before my scheduled surgery. The ear infections caused a 104 fever, which caused a racing pulse (177) and very laboured breathing and the hoo hoo infection, which caused a very listless but cranky baby. Which has since turned into a snotty open faucet cranky baby. I was sooo close to canceling this surgery, but as I mentioned I had been on the wait list for 3 years, and well, decided it was too important to put off. Superdaddy to the rescue. He has done a pretty good job of running the house, taking care of the kids (one very, very sick, the other very very bored), working (some from home), and taking care of me. The comments are pretty funny too. "Man, this is hard work." Or, "Gee am I ever tired tonight." "And my personal favorite, "How does this house get so dirty??" Hmmm, welcome to my world. It's really hard to sit/lay on the couch and feel so helpless when he is obviously stressing out trying to handle all the things that I know how to do so effortlessly (hahahaha, ahem).. Last night laying in bed, Chris mentioned that he felt a tickle starting in his throat. Me too, I sighed back. This will be our 3rd, yes 3rd time with the flu/cold this season. Not that I'm complaining/counting/wondering why we are being punished. I think all the slobbery kisses we share is reason enough. (from the baby ok, trust me when I say there is none of that type of behaviour happening over here right now).. To top it all, I am being ditched for a work trip, conveniently when both kids and myself are sick, again, tomorrow for a week. Goooood times people, good times. Thank GOD Auntie Leah is in town until Wednesday, and I have a sicknote until the 1st of March. Did I mention this was supposed to be my 2nd week back to work? And that I only have a week and a half left before my new boss starts?

2006-02-14T22:52:00.000-07:00

Argh! I blinked, a few days went by and here I am again. Things are really crazy here this instant, I'll be back soon, say maybe Thursday night... If I'm lucky.... stay.tuned.

Short weekend...

2006-02-12T21:53:00.000-07:00

Pictures first, as they are waaay more interesting than anything I have to say today.... I will narrate these from the little Miss's point of view... This.. is me and my friend Hannah, having a snack.. I actually helped my sister and Mommy open a present.. Here I am enjoying my Birthday cake with Daddy.. My FAVORITE present of all, a rocking chair from Grandpa Ricky.. The cakes my Daddy made for me... No really, he made them all BY HIMSELF.. I can't believe it is another Sunday night already. Time is flying by at astronomical speeds... My first week back to work was pretty uneventful. Nothing too earth shattering to report, other than having a very busy first week back. I had patience this weekend with Isabella, and we got on much better because of it. My time is so limited with them, I am going to try and make it quality, no yelling and loosing my temper time. I am a yeller, I know that. Everyone in my family knows it. I will probably never change fully. Just yell at the REALLY bad stuff, and try not to sweat the small stuff.. Anyhow... we did have a really good weekend together, and it felt good to linger at the dinner table tonight with the girls, talking and laughing with them. Sydney was spoiled on her first birthday by all her wonderful friends and family (thanks guys!!). That's all for tonight, I still have 100 things to do before bedtime. Hopefully will have funny brilliant things to report this week. PS Maggie my soon to be given away dog dug into my bed for a SECOND time today, with Chris and I barely a room away. What in the world has gotten into her, I will never know. She is lucky I heard the first "rrriiippp" and went running in. Unbelievable. PPS Did I mention that the girls love their babysitter? Isabella is exhausted @ night, which is so unusual for her. They play outside every day. Happy tired children. YAY!!!!!

A Birthday Photo Essay

2006-02-08T21:36:00.000-07:00

Obviously not in the right order, damn blogger...

2 days down, 3 to go...

2006-02-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

She made this vase for me, but it's to go to Sydney when she turns 4. ohkay. She looks so much like me. it scares me. So work. I guess it's not thaaaat bad. The surprising thing to me, is that mornings run really smooth (knock hard on wood), and night time is the stressful part around here. They were both exausted and cranky both nights and in bed early vs having actual time to spare this morning. Am looking so forward to the weekend already, I miss spending time with my babies.. and moving around! Instead of sitting at a desk all day! Sydney's one year old tomorrow. 1. tomorrow. Wow. All day today I would sigh and remember what I was doing @ that particular moment in time last year to whomever was (un)lucky enough to be near me. Good times. It's fun talking to adults again, I think I am slight to moderately annoying. You feel so responsible for your family as a mother, wife, maid, doctor, etc., etc. it is sometimes nice to let other people be in charge and responsible for the big stuff.. and eat cake. and twizzlers. and candies. and oh my God I am going to gain 15 pds very quickly working here again.

Sunday night photos...

2006-02-05T21:47:00.000-07:00

Sydney discovered a new favorite food. Her and Chris shared a BIG bowl of popcorn today. She was sitting still, Chris was watching the game, and then he looked down and realized she had eaten ALOT of popcorn. She will try anything once, but after a few bites it's generally obvious what is or is not a favorite. Look at the pure joy on this kids face. Isabella made this particular school project, almost entirely by herself. Not too shabby if I do say so myself, for a Kinder. She was very proud. She went for dinner @ her Mimi's tonight, and was gently told that her Mimi and Papa are leaving town. (I have known for a few weeks now) They talked about it briefly, didn't make a big deal about it, and it seemed to go over... well for now. We'll see in a few months.

Is this not the cutest 'do ever?? She is getting sooo old. I guess so, she is 1 in a few days. How. time. flys. My clothes are ironed. My nameplate, business cards, security and Corp. ID and notebook are waiting for me at the door. What a wonderful year it has been. I really wasn't sure if I would enjoy being a stay @ home mom, and now I can't believe I am no longer. My family will adjust, as will I, and soon, no one will remember what it was like having Mom home all the time. Chris wants so badly for me to be happy, and I know he is sad too that there is nothing he can do to change this. SO.. I will be positive, (money, yay!!) I will be upbeat, work hard and keep my nose clean! Look forward to vacations like never before! Enjoy weekends and sick days (theirs, not mine)! Talk! To Adults! For most of the day!

The End.

Bad...Dog...

2006-02-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

Things were going so well! I was painting up a storm, doing really nice work I must say. Sanding, taping, filling holes, painting trim and rolling all to the sounds of Abba from Isabella's little stereo. I am thrilled about our color choice, and can't wait to show off the end result. Oh! Time to clean up and go pick up the girls (Sydney only went half days yesterday and today, more on that later). Dum di dum, just go and grab that Swifter out of the closet and pick up some of the junk off the floor.. and... what in the HELL!!!!!! Maggie spent almost all morning with me in Isabella's room, but apparently found a few moments to DESTROY my bed. Mattress, mattress cover, duvet cover. WHY. I don't know. I could have killed her, but chose instead to sob, scream and cuss to Chris on the phone. "Don't touch it!" he says, "I want to see it!!" Trust me, I wanted him to see it too. Leaving her out of the kennel while I am at work is obviously no longer an option. Stupid dog, her loss I suppose. Imagine coming home to find a hole like that in our leather couch, I think not. This, is Maggie, every single time Sydney is in her chair. She sits there, because she knows that Sydney will feed her, eventually. Every... time. Cute, but she does alot of things that are not so cute (please see above). We had our annual Vet visit last night, and Maggie hid underneath my chair poking her head out between my legs when something would catch her nose. She got her shots, and weighed in @ 63 pds. Being mildy retarded, I told Chris that she was 63 kilos. He really had to repeat that to me a few times before I realized it didn't make much sense, Maggie is not 140 pds. Wait now, shots, vet visit, hole in bed... hmm.

So Sydney @ the sitters. Um, I decided it was in our best interest that she only go 2 half days, instead of full. I mean really though, why bother? She is going to be going full time soon enough, and we know she is comfortable there, and I am going to MISS HER FOR GOD'S SAKE. I did cry when I dropped her off yesterday, and probably would have today as well, but Chris casually mentioned something last night that made alot of my anxiety dissapear overnight. He will not being away next week, and will in fact be here to back me up, comfort me, and keep me sane. I didn't realize how much his being gone was affecting my stress level, until it suddenly wasn't there anymore. Thank God, as I was just about to go to the doc and get me some magic pills. Seriously, I was THAT close.

Isabella and I have walked from school to the sitters both yesterday and today. It is honestly a 4 minute walk for her, slow poke as she is. She is confident and excited to do it by herself. I know she can do it, she is so grown up sometimes, but there is still a part of me going, whoa, my 5 year old (OK, almost 6) is going to be completely alone for almost 5 minutes twice a day??? Breath in... breath out... breath in... breath out...

This too, shall pass...

2006-01-31T20:32:00.000-07:00

The final week countdown has begun. Tomorrow, my baby is going to spend the entire day away from me, and it makes me want to CRY. In fact, I think I might just spend most of the day in bed, by myself crying. Last week, I was ok. This weekend, I was also ok. Yesterday, Oh my God. This is my LAST Monday as a stay at home mom. All the things I meant to do with them, and didn't. All the things I meant to DO period. I was at work today, in preparation for my return. Some things aren't turning out the way they were sopposed too, so I guess this is adding to my anxiety about returning now. It seems I don't deal very well with change, and times they are a changing... fast. 2 weeks from now, I know I won't even remember what it was like to stay home all the time, what did I do with myself, wasn't I bored? We will have our morning, and after work routines down pat, and it will seem like I never stopped working in the first place. But for now, the realization that I will most likely never get to spend this much time with my children everyday, is just to much to think about and not get choked up, just alittle. I am sure by the weekend I will be a basket. case. I know this problem is miniscule in the grand scheme of life, but right now it really doesn't feel that way. This anxiety, this awful panicky feeling in the pit of my stomach, I know will pass. I just wish I could close my eyes tight and sleep through it. Sigh.

2006-01-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

Eh, it's good to have my camera back. So, for the last, oh I don't know let's say year or so, I have been complaining that I can't see, I am squinting, and having way more headaches than usual. So last night, tired of listening to me complain, Chris sent me off in search of my glasses... Yes, sometimes I am smart like dump truck. And guess what!! Yup, I can see now. I hate the idea of wearing them all the time now, but it looks like I will be going out to purchase my new pocket pen protector later today. Hmm.. Another little me tidbit.. I have never had my wisdom teeth pulled. Nope, still got them. And here's the kicker, only one has made an attempt to come down. Now, I looove my dentist (no really she is a wonderful lady) but every time I go and see her 2 things happen. 1. She feels the need to tell me that I should have gotten them pulled somewhere between the ages of 18 - 21, like the rest of the general public. Yes, I understand that, but I was away at school and broke and not looking to have teeth pulled for fun especially if there was absolutely NO sign of them even existing in my mouth. 2. Whatever particular problem she chooses to scold me on, (cavities, decalcification, in this case, my descending wisdom tooth) seems to flare up the instant I leave her office. So now, this damn tooth is putting some mega pressure on my jaw, which leads to headaches, which makes me an unhappy person. Hmm... All 4 will be pulled sometime in the next six months, as she puts it "might as well get them all!!) Fun. So enough about me. Isabella is back in full 5 year kid mode. She talked my ear off for over 2 hours straight yesterday afternoon. It's good to have her feeling better and all... Sydney is becoming more monkeylike as the days go by. Isabella is trying to teach her to do summersaults, and she almost has it. The kid isn't walking yet, but can stand on her head with her arms flapping in the air far better than I can. She is a silly, funny child. Chris can't get over how crazy she is getting, and keeps calling her his "little boy". Greaaaat.

Yikes, it's chilly up in here!

2006-01-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

This is what we woke up to this fine, frigid morning!!! That's really really cold! My beast (God bless Ford) would normally start if say, I had driven in the last 12 hours or so, but alas, it sits frozen in my driveway until lunchtime when Chris can dig out the extension cord buried somewhere in the yard. Would it be cruel to let Isabella go out there and pretend it's a treasure hunt? Hmmm.. So.. let's see what we've been up too... Isabella is obviously feeling a ton better as she was mouthy and didn't listen worth a lick yesterday. Her fever has broken below the 100 mark, so she is good to go in my books. We had a few more puke-up's, nosebleeds, and one "ohoh" in the pants (sorry Belly), she has dark DARK circles under her eyes and refused to get out of her PJ's yesterday, we'll see how today develops. I finally spoke with my mother in law last night, who had been galavanting around Vegas this week. I realized how much I appreciate having someone to talk (rant, rave, complain) to, who can really sympathize. Susan raised 2 children, about 5 years apart, and Chris (her baby) was a... little bugger. She was a cleaning wonder (I'm getting there) and spent ALOT of time with her children while her husband was working away from home. We seem to be leading similar lives, although Chris doesn't leave me nearly as much as his father left them when he was growing up. Anyhow, Thank you Susan. Can you PLEASE move up here and take care of us??? I think I may have screwed myself in the foot with the picture above... Chris did make it home safe last night, and instantly turned my cozy clean house into his cozy not so clean house. I think I may have mentioned this to him a few too many times last night, as he asked me (jokingly, haha) if I wanted him to leave again. Hmm.... Na. I'd miss a few things alittle to much I think. Just having another adult in the house is sooo much easier some times, even if they don't do a heck of alot then they are here... (sorry hunny, if you are reading this one). I am selling a few things from Sydney's babyhood (sniff,sniff) on a local buy and sell webring, and made my first sale last night. I bought a swing from Sears less than a year ago for $150, and was selling it barely (and I do mean barely, she slept in the thing a handful of times and that was it..) used for $50. This erm... gentleman (and I use this term loosely) tried to take it from me for $40, and I shocked myself and him by saying the following... Gentleman: I'll give you $40 for it. (taking our bills from his wallet) Cheap Mama: Oh, no I paid $150 for it, blah blah blah, so I stand at $50. Gentleman: But I saw this one last week at Walmart for $70! Cheap Mama: Oh really? (gentleman thinks he has me and tries to hand me the $40 bucks) Well, that's OK then, I will sell it this summer @ my garage sale, I really don't need the money that bad. Thanks for coming over then... Gentleman eyeing my up suspiciously. OK then, I take it for $50. He then hands me 3 $20's, to which I now have to go hunt down his change. Damnit. He ended up with some loonies's and toonie's (1's and 2's for my American friends) and a sheepish look from me. Anyhow, the swing is now gone, and I am feeling less and less cluttered all the time. It dawned on me yesterday, that my "cold" indeed is over now, and it is a sinus infection/problem/pain in the ass issue that Sydney and myself are now dealing with. Lucky me, I had some great Sinus medication in my pharmacy/cupboard and went on a cleaning binge yesterday once I could breath. Poor Sydney, I don't think they make any Sinus medication for babies, and she still sounds awful when trying to guzzle her bottle. Time to stoke the fire and wake up Isabella. I know, I know she is sick, let her sleep. But it's 9:30, for God's sake. Stay tuned..

Damn drivethru makes me MAD!!

2006-01-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is my Ralph Lauren Polo track suit, thank you very much Auntie Leah who obviously has way to much money to spend on me and my sis... Alittle.. help.. getting.. up.. here.. Can someone please explain to me, why it takes 20.. yes 20 MINUTES to get a coffee in a drive thru of a certain local establishment when the restaurant is empty, and only 5 minutes to grab 3 meals from a busy burger joint across the way? (Before you all pass judgment on me for not getting my lazy ass out of the car and getting my own damn coffee, please consider the events of the day left me no time for a shower not to mention a quick tooth brush pass before heading out, plus I had 2 sick children in the car ready to have meltdowns the minute I am out of earshot I am certain).. Aw, another day, another sicky. I knew Isabella was ill last night before bed, but still somehow suprised to see her @ 2am with a raging fever. She stayed in bed with me for over an hour of figgiting and startling out of the blue conversation, at which point I sent her back to her bed with a movie and request to try and let Mommy sleep for @ least an hour before Sydney would wake up for the day.. She continued to fight a fever all day, no amount of Tylenol or cool baths could pull it under 102 for very long, poor thing. There is something so beloved about a little girl with rosy cheeks, hot limbs and groggy eyes cuddled up to me on the couch that just about makes me melt (no pun intended). To top off her exciting day of lazing on the couch in delirium, she decided to have a nosebleed AND throw up her McD's chicken burger (her choice for dinner, not mine) along with (DISCLAIMER - Please skip over the rest of the following sentence NOW if you want to keep yourself from gagging up your last meal) a hefty dose of blood clots that took me a few minutes to figure out in the toilet. Yes, I examine my kid's barf in the toilet. She is resting comfortably now watching a movie in her room, hopefully sleep will come easier and last longer tonight.. Sydney is on the mend, and had enough energy to get herself into plenty of trouble today, although she still sounds like a truck driver snoring when she is trying to drink from her bottle if I don't time her Tylenol shot just. right. Her nose continues to drip consistently, which ends up making a real mess all over her poor face, but she really doesn't seem to mind. I do, and find myself timing the wipe just so.. that she won't cry from the kleenex swipe and create more snot for me to chase after. And the dog, oy the damn dog. It seems my foul smelling fiend has found a new spot to chew and sleep, and lick her nether regions privately. ON MY BED. I caught her up there not once, but 4 times today?!? Let's hope she is rebeling with all the lack of attention she received today, as I was otherwise occupied with the human side of my children. Have I mentioned that I have been trusting Maggie to stay out of her kennel for brief periods of time when I am out of the house in preparation for my eventual return to work? We may have to reconsider her freedom plan if this is how she is going to be spending her alone time. No way. nope. not on my bed dog. Me you ask? Me, I'm a survivor. I'll wait for Chris to get home tomorrow night and have my breakdown then. Just kidding, I'm fine. Really.

Old news, old pics...

2006-01-24T21:05:00.000-07:00

Well, unless you really need to hear about how much snot we (Sydney, myself and now poor Isabella)are producing, there really isn't much else to say at this point. Yup, we are STILL sick, and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere, anytime soon. I am getting really, really tired of feeling so crappy and so are the girls. Chris has escaped for a few days and taken my camera with him (along with his Cold Fx) so I am sharing some pictures of Isabella at about Sydney's age now. Anyone see any resemblance? I do.. This weekend was filled with lots of napping, watching movies, and general laziness all around. I finally got around to cleaning my germy house today, and it will remain this way (clean) until my slobby better half gets home late Thursday night. I love him for more reasons than I can fully explain, but it never fails to dawn on me when he leaves town for a few days, how much of a slob he is. Keys here, shoes there, coat there?? All gone. GONE. An AHA moment for me this weekend, upon realizing I have 2 full weeks left before work, not just the 1 I have been planning on. Yay me! Maybe that will happen every weekend, and I will never have to go back to work, yay!!! Hmm... My brave father brought some soup over for us to enjoy tonight, and stayed to enjoy some himself. The best comfort food a girl could want, and I have been lucky enough to have it twice... with the same cold... Yay!! Finally, I have to provide a link for a new (old) website I have found again. Please check it out, it's a really interesting read. PostSecret

2006-01-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

This look, says it all. I sick Mommy, and it sucks. Yes, yes it does.

My "Hey, this sore throat thing isn't too bad of a cold, it's almost gone now, what a strange itty bitty cold!!" has now been changed to "holy hell, I feel like my head is now going to implode and spew millions of gallons of green snot". Poor little Syd must feel the same.

Today and yesterday morning, were her first half days @ her new dayhome, and I must say, things went extremely well. I am still waiting for the catch. She did not cry when I left, even waved bye-bye this morning. She ate well, slept well, played well. What a super trooper. She was excited to see me, then as an afterthought, a "oh right, you're my Mommy and I DID miss you" whine.

I was a wee bit late picking Isabella up from school today, as I was having the zebra stripes and grey hair removed for my "do". There she was, standing with another poor Kindergartener with an obviously late parent, looking lost and lonely.

"I thought you forgot about me Mama".

"No hon, I was getting my hair dyed and it took longer than I thought".

"Cuz your hair is so big?"

"Yes, that pretty much sums it up baby.."

Chris has decided to abandon me my first week back to work. He has disguised his abanddonment with a supposed "work trip", but I know that he just wants out of the initial first week panic, stress, and early morning chaos that will inflitrate our home. I'd better get a pretty nice present when he gets back, or he may find he isn't the only deserter around here...

The dancing fool (er... queen)

2006-01-17T20:56:00.001-07:00

My daughter... has rhythm. She can groove, and she showed me for the entire 2 Cd collection of the Mini Pop's 2 Cd this afternoon. She couldn't believe I knew the words to most of the songs, until I explained the concept of the Mini's to her (kids singing other artists songs with any questionable lyrics removed). My uncoordinated, clumsy 5 year old, can shake her little booty better than I can. I sat on the floor and just watched her go for almost an entire hour, amazed, dazed, who's kid IS this?? Sydney was a bad little monster today. I slapped her hand away for the first time while changing her diaper, and she just went on like nothing had happened (after glaring at me for 1/3 of a second) pulling off her diaper as fast as I can do it back up. She wasn't into eating today, and pulled a screaming, twisting head away in highchair fit when she didn't want anymore. It was fun. I think... she has named Maggie, to herself anyway, DOG. She is stilling not calling me Mama, but has lovingly found herself a DOG. They will sit in the kennel together with the door closed for longer than she will stay still for any other thing. What funny, crazy, bright beautiful children I have. (even if I have still not been crowned).

Tis the season...

2006-01-16T11:06:00.000-07:00

Hmm... I guess this "updating the blog in a more timely manner" thing isn't really working out that great, is it..

Once again folks, my house has been infested with... (drumroll please) the flu bug. Sydney started with a runny nose Saturday night, as of this morning she is slightly miserable. My throat is on fire, Isabella is sneezing and scratching her throat, and Chris is downing all the Cold FX we have in the house. Good times people, good times.

As of this morning, I have exactly 2 precious weeks left with my children. Just to show alittle insight into my messed up head, I have made the decision to do some painting. That's right, I am going to spend my last 2 weeks of freedom rolling, taping and scraping. I have been pondering for way too long on what to do with Isabella's room, and yesterday it seems it all came together. Won't give away to much yet in case I change my mind (or it turns out really ugly) but let's just say it doesn't involve purple and pink, and does NOT have animals stenciled all over the walls. (Sorry Isabella). I think I have come up with something perfectly suited for her elementary years, not too grown up but something that can grow with her. This has also spawned a whole new thought process on my house and decorating style. I love my house, but it needs some... personality. I think I have managed to convince Chris to let me go with some darker colors in our living room, and he even offered to help. (What??)

Sydney and I had our first visit to her new Day Home on Friday. She did well, considering we had to skip her morning nap in order to be there, but she did cry alittle (ok, alot) when I left to start the car. She will go 2 mornings this week by HERSELF (whaaa) and 2 full days next week, followed of course by my return to work in two weeks. I am really starting to have some mixed emotions about my return to work. I am looking forward to returning to the "real" world, but unless we win the lotto in the next short while, I know that this is likely the last time I will be at home with my children as this is our last baby. I feel fine most of the time, but then I will have these moments of panic when I think about it that way. My time is going to be cut more than in half to spend with them, how in the world am I going to do everything with them? If anyone has any ideas on how I can stay at home AND make mega moula, please let me know as I am taking suggestions.

Isabella has her first "show and tell" at school today. Her teacher has asked that we bring something in line with either the letter of the week (S) or the theme of the month (winter). She has decided to bring her favorite doggy Kootie that Daddy brought her back from Whitehorse a few years ago. How she can relate this to the theme or letter is beyond me. I told her to make sure and say that Kootie is a huskey, and huskey's like winter best. We have been doing flash cards everyday for almost a week now, and I think I can confidently say that Isabella knows most of her letters well. She has a problem remember 3 distinct letters, uppercase and lower, and throws in a few odd letters every once in awhile to mess with me. Her 3 main problem letters are G, U, and W. These seem so strange to me, but I am not 5 and learning the alphabet so what do I know. We will continue to work on these everyday, and I am thinking about posting some words around the house for her as well. I will get this kid reading, and reading well by the time she is in Grade 1. Darnit.

Well, time to start my "routine" for the day, not to mention all the new "ideas" I have to hatch out for my home. I will try really hard this time to post a few more times a week than I have been, I er... promise??

For the love of my children..

2006-01-11T19:45:00.000-07:00

Kids are good, dog is good, house is good, Chris is good, I am good. Remember the diddle from Sesame Street... "Which one doesn't belong with the others?" Isabella received a letter from school yesterday, that she will be included in a mini class 4 times a week to help with her reading and writing skills. I know she has been having a few issues with writing and recognizing some letters, and although I appreciate the "extra" the school and teachers are investing in their students, she is only in kindergarten for God's sake. Isabella is an "oral" learner. Give her any word (pretty much within reason of course) and she will tell you what the word starts with. Sound out the rest for her, and she will tell you how to spell it. But put random letters on a page and you will be there all day while she goes through the alphabet guessing every..single..letter. I know my girl is smart in many ways, and if she does end up having some reading/writing problems then we will do whatever it takes to bring her up to par with her peers. Still, I did some prodding to see who else was in her "mini" class today, and I was satisfied that she was not the only kid from her particular class to be there. Hmph. Sydney is... trouble. She found a basket from the back of her shelve, with some medication in it with a label that reads "caution, will stain clothes and skin on contact". The lid was on tight, but was leaking, onto the perfect carpet in her perfect room that took me all over the internet looking only to find it at Canadian Tire for cheap and which they do not sell any longer. Big purple stains. Thank God she managed to avoid her clothes, and herself in the drippage. She turns and crawls away really really fast when she knows I am coming to tell her "no". Her sister and her had a good half hour of cuddling and playing and no crying tonight, which is huge. Sorry so short and boring tonight, will update with something really exciting next time. Promise.

Monthly Newsletter - Month 11

2006-01-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

Dear Sydney, Today, you are 11 months old. It has taken me this long, to realize how much you really do love food, and that perhaps you may end up being a messier eater than your sister. After a typical meal with you, I can expect nothing less than finding mushed banana in your hair (in the back no less) and raspberry jam on your eyelids. You devour your food with such great excitement, shoving mouthfuls in at a time, and you are generous. Maggie knows to sit beside you and wait for the handfuls of crackers or half eaten cookies you will give her, when you are finished of course. You have acquired your quick temper from your father (ahem) and don't mind pulling this face if things don't go your way. I am looking forward (not) to seeing how this particular trait will develop in your upcoming toddler years. Daddy and I like to laugh at you when your body does the funky chicken in the midst of me picking you up after you are into something you are not allowed to do. We will do this several times until you give up, as you have also inherited our stubborness.

Thankfully, you are truely a good natured baby, are quick to smile, giggle and scream for joy when you are happy. You love to get into trouble, but generally wait for me to catch you, and babble to explain yourself. You have not yet mastered the art of walking, and will crouch down in crawl position if we try and hold your hands to try. You do however, love cruising the furniture and are finding a whole new world in this upright position. You are quickly mastering the art of flushing the toilet, unraveling toilet paper and taking things off shelves and out of cupboards. You love playing with your sister, and laugh at her antics alot. You are growing a good set of chompers on you, which you will most likely use one day on your sister in self defense. In the mean time, you are making a good effort practicing on Mommy.

You can wave Bye-bye now, and watch us very carefully when we are showing you something new. You can say Dada, Nana (banana?) and oh oh, and we are working on kissy noises and clapping your hands. You will growl, blow bubbles and stick your tongue out on command, and love to wrinkle up your nose and snort when you are happy. You like to take your diaper off, and stand up in your crib. I am confident that these 2 accomplishments will one day lead to poo smeared walls. You prefer electronics, bowls and your sister's toys to your own, and will play contently in Maggie's kennel by yourself for a LONG time. You love going out into the world and seeing people (as long as they don't touch you), smiling at strangers or burying your head into me when they talk to you.

When I was pregnant with you, I wondered alot about this time, what you would be like, would be doing and how you would fit into our family. I am so proud of you already, and although I am sad that you are leaving babyhood so quickly, I cannot wait to see what kind of toddler you turn into.

Love,

Mama

Safe and sound.

2006-01-05T20:03:00.000-07:00

After bath @ Nana's. Hummer.. Happy riding.. We are home!! I never seem to realize how much I love my house, my things, until I see it all again for the first time. Catch-up time, let's see. New Years day Chris and I went back to the mall and picked up a few last minute things. I of course, can never get enough "mall", but it was Chris who suggested it, go figure. We ordered Chinese for dinner, and it was yummy. It seems like all we did this holiday was eat great food. Monday we went for a final drive, Leah showed us the Arbutus area of Vancouver, which is filled with beautiful old homes, on tree lined quiet streets. We ended up doing a final tour of East Hastings, and went home to collect Susan and Sydney for dinner @ the White Spot. Again, yummy food, and Sydney was on her best behavior. Nana had taken her to see Lois and Al (Susan's sister and BIL) in Ladner in the afternoon, and Sydney enjoyed sitting with Al eating Froot Loops. Instant friends. Tuesday, travel day.. what an I say? Up sorta early, jumped on our flight, rented a ..... HUMMER in Edmonton, went shopping @ West Edmonton Mall and other shops around town, got back into the HUMMER, drove around some more, you know just typical HUMMER stuff. Did I mention that I really loved driving in the HUMMER? So did Syd, as you can tell by her euphoric look in the picture above. Budget gave it to us for real cheap for the few hours we were there, so we just had to. Our last plane ride of our Vacation, my patience wore a wee little thin with the Miss. She was wrangy, hyper, and irritated for most of the flight. I didn't eat, although I did manage to gulp a few mouths of Ginger Ale while her little fingers tried to pry the cup away from me. I realize now her new found..curiosity in life was not a "vacation" thing only, as she has managed to dump out all garbage cans in the house, pull all toilet paper off the role twice, bonk, scratch, fall, you name it over the last day and a half. Chris and I laid in bed last night and agreed she is becoming.. a toddler. The horror. Seeing Isabella at the airport Tuesday night was magical. I really didn't know how much I missed my little girl until I had her in my arms, could smell her hair and touch her face. Less than 24 hours later I was sending her to her room. She was good for Mimi, we had a nice long chat last night. It was nice to get a different perspective on Isabella's quirks from someone else spending alot of time with her. No major meltdowns or timeouts, and she was polite and curteous most of the time. So, we had an amazing Christmas vacation, stress free and relaxing. I will never be able Thank my mother in law enough for taking care of us so well, and can't wait to see her again soon?? But, I am grateful to be home with my entire family again. Isabella, Sydney and Maggie have been getting into trouble together all day, and I can't help but laugh at how much they all love each other and play together so well. All 3 of them were in the kennel today, with the door closed. And, nobody cried. My family. It's good to be home.

New Years Eve

2005-12-31T11:20:00.000-07:00

Going to dinner on Boxing day.. Going for a walk with Nana.. Well, sorry for the lack of posts. I wish I could say we have been SOOO busy, but truthfully, it's just plain laziness. We have been having a great time, and relaxing.. relaxing.. relaxing. I am embarrassed to say how lazy I have become, and how much my wonderful mother-in-law has been taking care of us. I have had a truely wonderful 'vacation'. Thank you Susan. Christmas was fun here, we opened presents for a bit with Sydney, and then put her down for her nap and finished ourselves. Santa was way to generous again this year, and I enjoyed a shopping spree at the mall because it. I forgot how much I missed shopping when you have money to spend, time to try on and wait in line, and a patient sister-in-law to hold your things. Chris and I went for dinner last night with some friends from Yellowknife at a greek restaurant on trendy 4th avenue in downtown Vancouver. Maria's is small, warm and inviting, and the dinner was to DIE FOR. I stuffed myself, and so did everyone else. Chris and I walked up and down 4th and checked out all the cool (and expensive) shops. There is so much to Vancouver that we have yet to discover and explore. We then headed to the Casino in Richmond and lost some money pretty quickly. Sydney has been enjoying being with her Nana immensly. She has gone for some long walks, to the mall, exploring the park. Nana has been getting up with her EVERY morning and letting Mommy sleep in. (The best part of this trip, hands down). She has been sleeping awesome, taking 2 hour naps twice a day, and eating banana's nonstop. She starts vibrating when she sees the banana coming to her. Isabella has been having a good time with her Mimi and Papa. I phoned her this morning, and she was in the middle of "fixing" her hair, as she was having a playdate with her friend Sawyer. She has only become weepy a few times on the phone, and I think one of them was pretty fake. Grandpa went over for a visit, and she was very excited that someone from "her family" had come over to see her. Santa brought her Magic Hair Beader and she was very excited about it, although I don't think they have used it much since (of course). So, another year has passed, and what a year it was. I am so grateful for all that I have, my family, my friends, my home, my health. It was wonderful to stay home this year with the girls, and can't wait to see what 2006 brings for us (a marriage perhaps??) I have enjoyed writing this blog for so many reasons, and look forward to keeping you all updated in the new year as well. Have a wonderful safe New Years, and I will write again soon!!

Merry Christmas!!

2005-12-24T21:29:00.000-07:00

The presents are wrapped, the appys are eaten, and Mommy's wine is flowing now. I miss Isabella alot though, which is sad. Church was wonderful, and I did not burn at the door, thanks Leah...

I wanted to post a picture of Chris, Syd and myself, but I felt like something was missing, so the 2 of us will have to do. Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Arrived..

2005-12-23T21:08:00.000-07:00

Hangin' at the airport in Edmonton... Airplane ride.. Who put this bow on my head?? It was a long day, but a good day. I was up @ 5:30am, and we were out the door by 6:15. Thanks Dad, for driving us.. Sydney was a really great little traveler. She didn't mind the planes at all, and she was great as we cruised around Edmonton, did alittle shopping and even got our fill at Red Lobster for lunch. She was pretty beat by the time we made our way back to the airport to catch our flight to Vancouver, and ended up sleeping on me while I walked the terminal one end to the other. Our flight was delayed by an hour, and she made the whole flight in my lap with her eyes rolling into the back of her head.. poor baby was soo tired. She fell asleep 10 minutes before we landed, and slept until we had collected our luggage, was handed off to Auntie Leah and we were headed to the car for the ride home. She was pretty wary of what was going on, and it took her a bit to fall asleep last night, but she was raring to go this morning, and has explored Nana's house all day. She has made up for her lack of napping and pooping yesterday already, and is starting to open cupboard doors and take things off shelves. She had her first bath in Nana's tub without a seat, and she LOVED it. Crawling around and standing (NO) at the edge of the tub. She has also started to use her chompers on Mommy lately (NO) and we will be working on curbing that one pretty darn quick. Chris Leah and I headed to the mall this afternoon and did a bit more shopping, and walked home in the pouring rain. Gotta love Vancouver @ Christmas, ha Nana stayed home with Sydney and she was excellent for her. Nana says she is the best.. "and Isabella too", she was quick to add... We spoke with Belly this morning, and she told Chris that she missed us, and wished "someone from my family was with me". I am sure she got off the phone and was off playing with the houseful of people without a second thought about us. It still broke our hearts just alittle. Susan and I will be heading to Mass tomorrow night (am trying to work my way into the will of course) alone, as HER children will not go with us. I haven't stepped into a church in years, and am looking forward to feeling that religous Christmas spirit. It is beautiful here, minus the rain of course, and we are looking forward to relaxing and enjoying our first Christmas with Sydney in Vancouver.

The sick get sicker...

2005-12-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

Well, poor Chris caught Isabella's stomach flu, and landed himself in the hospital. Isabella also now has our cold/flu, and Sydney is... so far so good. I had my doctor check her ears, throat and lungs today, just in case and she is all clear. I am praying hourly that I don't get the stomach flu, as our family WILL fall apart, myself included. We went ahead and booked our flight to Edmonton for Thursday morning, as there is no sign of the ferry starting to chug again. I am dissapointed we have to spend all this extra money, but am thinking it is worth the stress of the drive, and time we don't have right now. I took a much needed relax day today, and will be able to whip us all into traveling shape tomorrow. We are slowly coming back to life here... I will update next from Vancouver, unless something earth shattering happens before then. Poor Isabella is going to Mimi's tomorrow night to stay, although I think she is starting to really look forward to getting away from this sick house. Me too...

Mini - Christmas post.

2005-12-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

So, these pretty much sum up our "mini" Christmas this morning... Isabella estatic, and Sydney putting it all in her mouth. We had a good day together, and a wonderful supper with Grampa and our housesitter for Christmas.

Friday was a write. off. Isabella didn't stop puking until 4:30 that morning, and Sydney had me up a few hours later. Both girls were "ok" that day, but I sure wasn't. My flu was at it's peak, and I had just over 2 hours sleep the night before. And Chris worked late. It wasn't my prettiest day..

Saturday was alot better, as I decided to finally take some heavy duty drugs. I actually did errands and (sorta) cleaned my house. Today was relaxing/busy at the same time. Sydney was a MONSTER tonight, was very whiney and well.. whiney. She doesn't seem to be getting Isabella's stomach flu, but she is still hovering around mine and Chris's flu. Little sneeze here, little cough there, lots of angry crying and screaming here... We are still pretty sickly here, thanks Dad, for taking the chance!!

We also found out tonight that the "ferry" is out. (To drive from Yellowknife to anywhere, you have to cross a river. Yup, that sucks.) Ice is blocking the channel, so we are left in limbo. We are planning to drive out Wednesday morning to catch our Thursday evening flight edmonton - vancouver. Keep. your. fingers. crossed.

In sickness..

2005-12-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

Can I keep them in there?? No, I guess not. They DID do in there on their own free will of course.. well at least one of them did.

So, I thought we were sick enough, with our sneezing and runny noses and sore throats. Hmph, Isabella is the only one not sick.. hehe lucky girl. Oh no, her body was getting ready for "the big one". As of about 3pm this afternoon, Isabella has had a constant stream of vomit and diarrhea coming from her body. Good times, good times. Since then I have found out from a few people that it is "going around" and there are "100's of kids" sick with this exact.. same.. illness. There was actually a point where she was sitting on the toilet, puking in a bucket, and got a nosebleed as well, just in case I didn't have enough to manage already.

It has also occured to me over the last few hours, how often Isabella has kissed, licked (don't ask) or put Sydney's soosie in her mouth the last few days. Makes my stomach turn just thinking about it. I am calm, I am extremely patient, and I am TIRED. It has been one. of. those. days.

2005-12-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

Letter to Santa... Bowling @ the Christmas party. Ear loving.. Isabella woke up yesterday morning, and declared she was going to be good ALL day. And by golly, she almost made it. We made cookies, we played Christmas music, we had Pajama day at school, and she was good. Until... bedtime of course. She got out of her bath (she likes to do it all by herself now) dried off and came into the living room. She wanted juice. No problem. Chris gets a glass out and the juice from the fridge. She wants to pour it herself. No way, it's a full jug of juice, uhuh. She didn't want any of that, so she went into her room and was told to come out when she was ready to let Daddy pour her juice. I go in 10 minutes later, and there she is, still in her housecoat with wet hair, sleeping.. in her bed. Crisis averted, and she was in bed. Lucky me. She did wake up when we were heading to bed with a MASSIVE nosebleed, but still, she had a pretty good day. Too bad it wasn't that kind of a day today. We all seem to be fighting off some sort of bug, cold, flu whatever. Lots of sneezing, running noses and now.. sore throats. I kept thinking we were all developping some wierd allergy to our newly set-up gorgeous Christmas tree, but now I am not so sure. Let's cross our fingers that it vacates our house quickly, as this is NOT the best time for us all to get sick. Too busy, sorry. Speaking of my gorgeous tree, here follows a conversation Chris and I had last night on the couch, both of us feeling tired and sick. Me. "Ah, doesn't my tree look beautiful?" Chris. " Yeah, it looks nice. What's all the red stuff?" The tree is decorated in red and gold. Me. "More specifically?" Chris. "You know, the ribbon stuff." Me. Pause. "Ribbon." Chris. "What happened to tinsel?" Me. "Ribbon is the new tinsel." Chris. "Oh. Okay." Men.

No pics, boring post..

2005-12-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

Pictures are unable to load for some annoying reason, again... Will try tomorrow. To my surprise, Sydney woke up Friday morning, with nary a sign of her accident the night before. Her bruise is yellow today and much more noticeable, of course. She was um... a wee bit cranky on Friday, wouldn't eat or sleep much. She does have a new tooth, so it's either that or maybe a slight headache? Of course she had to be miserable on a very important day... Isabella's Christmas concert. It was 50/50 whether Belly would shrivel up and mumble her words, or be a ham onstage. She sang so loud, we could actually hear her above all her classmates, and we were more than halfway back in the gym. Good Girl!! She immediately asked me afterwards when she could get up on stage again. I have contemplated getting her involved in our local arts and drama community for awhile now, this just about sealed the deal for me. Saturday afternoon was a Christmas party for the kids of employees for Chris's work. It was held at the bowling alley, glow bowling, Santa Claus, pizza and presents. What more could we ask for? Maybe Mommy checking her pants real good before getting under those crazy lights. Didn't know I had a nice stain there.... I spent half the time holding Sydney just so on my lap hoping no one would notice. Chris bowled with Isabella and the kids, and she did great. They had the bumper pads on but she still managed to get pretty close to her Dad in scoring.. ahem Chris. Isabella was great with Santa, and I hope we get a great picture same as last year. I was talking with the photographer and he noted that Isabella's picture was the best one, (of course!!) and was featured in their monthly newsletter. Sydney was sitting, the camera was clicking, and she was back in my arms before she even knew what was going on. She was good for the party, but started to get alittle antsy towards they end as she could not get down and crawl around. Chris and I laid on the couch for a cuddle last night around 8, and I barely remember heading to bed for the night. It was great, I forgot how much I like sleeping/lounging on the couch once and awhile. We did set up the Christmas tree today, we played Christmas music and drank eggnog and I have to say I feel much more Christmasy than I did oh say.. yesterday. I knew it would make me happy and Isabella as well. There were ornaments I had forgotten about that she had made the last few years, and she was proud to see them going on the tree. She did most of the ornaments herself, and did a great job. Sydney has hardly noticed the tree and doesn't seem to care at all that it is there. She initially put a light in her mouth (which I have to say was pretty funny) and once I took it away and said "no", she didn't go back. Yet. I think Sydney's first officially word may be... DADA. After all the things I do for her, ungrateful child... She also has the nerve to explode whenever he comes in the door with happiness, the nerve of her!!

Trip to the ER..

2005-12-08T20:46:00.000-07:00

We're happy now.. weren't so much a few hours ago. Isabella and Sydney were playing in our room, and big sister decided to put little sister on the bed by herself. Need I say more? Luckily, Sydney has a hard head, which as you can see is now sporting a hard lump as well. Poor baby. She checked out fine, which I knew she would but I am glad I went anyways to make sure.

I have a feeling it is going to look even worse in the morning..

Our favorite Pedi...

2005-12-08T15:51:00.000-07:00

We had our visit with the Pediatrican today, and it was a good 45 minutes of chatting and figuring out our little monkey. First, she is "petite". Bone structure, foot size, hand size all point to her not being underweight at all, just small. There are several things he wants me to do in order to try fattening her up, including a daily vitamin supplement, and offering of lots of fatty foods. We will keep her on formula for an extra six months as well, as it offers more nutrition than whole milk can. Also, he is going to send her for a few tests for her bladder issues, one of which will require sedation. He has also prescribed an antacid for her, as he feels she may have a touch of acid reflux. This could also reflect on her poor weight gain, as people in general with acid reflux/heartburn issues aren't big on eating when they are having problems. She still goes through cycles of "food strikes" as he called it, and will still occasionally have pukey moments as well. We will see if this makes a difference. He wants to see her again in six months to see how she is progressing, and we will reassess sooner if anything should come up on her bladder and kidney tests. Otherwise, she appears healthy and happy to him. He is a very pleasant gentle doctor with great bedside manner and we joked and chatted like we were old friends. (and I must add he is not to hard on the eyes either)

Mitts, mitts, mitts.

2005-12-07T19:52:00.000-07:00

Ah, the joys of winter. When I bought Isabella's first pair of mitts for the winter, I took some time picking them out. I made sure they matched her snowsuit, they fit properly and they were the right material for playing outside and getting wet. Now that we are on our 1000th pair, it doesn't seem to matter to much anymore. She has managed to loose a few pairs a week, since our cold snap has began. Coming home from school? No mitts. Going skiing with Dad? No mitts. Going over for supper with Mimi? You guessed it, no mitts. Today, it was the Coop. They seem to dissapear out of thin air. I went back and traced our route carefully, head down eyes searching nooks and cranny's, and nothing. They just don't seem to turn up. Obviously I have not learnt my lesson and attached some "idiot strings" to her mitts yet. Note the "idiot"... Sydney had a follow up appointment today with our doctor for her bladder infection issues. We will get her retested in a few weeks before we leave for Vancouver, and other than that we have to look for unexplained fever and crankiness not attributed to a cold/flu. She also has a bit of excema in the crook of one of her eyes, the exact same spot where Isabella's started at about this same age. I am so used to them being different in so many ways, that is a surprise to me when things are the same! Isabella is still walking a thin line with me the last few days. She told her Mimi yesterday, who had graciously taken her to her dentist appointment for me as I had a conflicting appointment I had to keep, that she hated her and didn't want to come back for a visit again. Mimi looked at me, I looked at her, we said a quick goodbye and I hauled both girls out of there. Isabella stood on the porch crying because Mimi wouldn't wave goodbye to her. I told her I wouldn't either after what she said. She did call and apologize after her time out when we arrived home, but still. Sydney is really starting to enjoy spending time playing with her big sister lately. They spend a good chunk of their day together running/crawling around the house laughing and horsing around. I wasn't sure with such an age difference they would appreciate the "sister" bond so much, but for now at least that doesn't appear to be the case. Sydney is laughing at me now when I tell her the "nooo" word. She gets this crooked little grin on her face and continues to do whatever it is she isn't sopposed to be doing. She had an absolute fit tonight when I held onto her pants as she was trying to get to Maggies food dish. Maggie is very generous with her things, toys, bones, food you name it. If Sydney would stop eating Maggie's food I'd let her go at it, but, you know.. Social services and all... Tomorrow we are off to the Pediatrician for Sydney's weight issues. Hopefully we will be able to figure out some options on how to fatten her up. In the mean time I will continue to stuff her full of mini ritz crackers, otherwise known as Sydney's new drug of choice. Show her the ritz box, and she starts frantically waving her little arms in the air and salivating. Ah, the simple things in life... Until next time..

Another Monday..

2005-12-05T09:29:00.000-07:00

Busted... Isabella went to bed last night, and didn't get up. (although I did threaten another grounding today if she did, it must be that..) Sydney slept through the night last night, and I actually enjoyed hearing my alarm this morning. I jumped out of my warm cozy spot, went to grab Syd and her baba back to my bed for some cuddles. This is going to be a great Monday, wow!!!! The trouble began when Isabella would not even stir when I talked to her from the door of her room. But she had a great night sleep last night, so she can't be that tired, right? To make a VERY long story short, Isabella is grounded today (2 days in a row, don't ask) without Movies, TV, or treats. She cried and complained from the minute she got up, until I dropped her off at school... that she was cold. Now, we had our woodstove going last night, which makes our living room and bedroom area nice and cozy warm, but messes with the thermostats and the kids rooms don't warm up. I do keep forgetting to open their doors when we go to bed. So in her defence, it was cold in her room this morning. But not in the nice warm dining room, where her nice hot oatmeal was waiting @ the table for her. She proceeded to shiver and cry the ENTIRE time she sat at the table, NOT eating a bite. "I don't care, cuz when I'm at school I will have my snack". Believe me, I thought about sending her to school without one today to show her... but who am I kidding. Social services will be on my doorstep by noon for starving my 5 year old. I am at the END of my rope. After 2 weeks of hard core discipline and tough love, I thought we were making some progress. We actually did have a fabulous weekend with her, and she did wonderfully skiing on Saturday. A thousand times better than last week, said Daddy. I made a point of telling her last night before bed how great she had been this weekend. (Despite being grounded yesterday of course.) I am dissapointed and sad. I know she will have tantrums/setbacks/fits whatever you want to call them, I know she knows how to push my buttons, I am just tired of dealing with them all the time. Especially first thing in the morning, before I have had my first sip of coffee, sheesh.

Saturday Morning...

2005-12-03T07:56:00.000-07:00

It's 7:30am, on a Saturday morning. While everyone else on my street (less the hockey family across the way) is still sleeping, I am sitting on the couch watching Sydney try to crawl into every room with a sleeping family member in it, and closed door. Poor baby. I used to pity parents of "early risers". Isabella would sleep all day if we let her, even as a baby I rarely had to get up before 8:30 on weekends. Now.. I am grateful if I don't see my clock before 6:30. WHAT?? When did this happen? And how am I able to function on 5-6 hours a night now, when anything under 10 would send me for a mid afternoon nap? Sydney had a rough day yesterday, she is teething again, and none to happy about it. Isabella was excellent, although I stupidly let her have WAY too much sugar throughout the day. She was still up when we went to bed last night, after having a "sore tummy" which I didn't believe until she promptly threw up in her bucket to prove me wrong. This weekend is a busy one again. Isabella and Chris go skiing this morning, and then Isabella heads out with Mimi for the afternoon to visit Santa's workshop, while Chris has to go into work for a few hours. Looks like I'll be getting that mid afternoon nap today after all...

Had to share...

2005-12-01T22:39:00.000-07:00

Busy day again, am pooped. Wanted to share these..

Reports...

2005-11-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

Some highlights of Isabella's report card are as follows. "Isabella is a social little girl with many friends. She plays well with others and shares with her peers on a regular basis." "She often struggles to stay on task while working because she is visiting with a friend." "Isabella can easily be distracted, or needs to be reminded to focus." "Isabella participates well in our letter projects however she often needs reminders to stay on task when listening during story time." "She is able to articulate when she does not understand something and will ask for help, this is a good skill that she has." "Participates enthusiastically in oral language activities." "Super work Isabella!" "Isabella is off to a good start!" "At times, Isabella has to be redirected, but she copperates and enjoys P.E." "Isabella enjoys time to creatively express herself which is fantastic!" So... basically, she talks alot, and has a hard time staying on task. I happened to find MY old Kindergarten report card, and am proud to say... she really IS my mini me. Almost eerily so. I had these kind of remarks all the way through school, and I turned out just fine... er... right? We have our parent teacher conference this Friday, and will have a chance to discuss with her teacher then. Isabella had a dentist appointment this afternoon as well. We took some X-rays, as her bottom 2 middle teeth are already growing in quite quickly, and she has 2/4 of her six year molars. It turns out that she is missing a bud for an adult tooth, and another looks a bit malformed. Apparently it does happen, although not very often. There are several options available to us, but we won't have to make any decisions for a long time. Otherwise, she has no cavities, and everything else looks in great shape. She still has a "side bite", and with her other new teeth wierdness it does look like braces are in her future. Sydney is happy today, although she did swat at the hand of one of my coworkers who was trying to entice her into their arms. It was quite funny actually, but it does reinforce to me that she really is a Mommy sooky lately. Hopefully by the time I go back to work she will let go of her attachment alittle bit. I can't say that I don't enjoy it a little...

2005-11-28T14:51:00.000-07:00

See Mama, I told you she would cry.. Happy now!! Well, our babysitting experience was a success, and so was the party. Our babysitter, "A", arrived right @ 6pm, which gave us a few minutes to get to know her alittle bit, and for her to get to know the girls with us around. Sydney did make strange (no surprise!) and cried abit, until A started to play with her on the floor with her favorite toy. We said goodbye to Belly, I patted Sydney on the head and off we went. I asked my spy (Isabella of course) how it went after we left, and she said Syd didn't really cry. They watched a movie in her room with popcorn and juice to drink, and Isabella enjoyed her evening very much. Chris and I had an excellent time at his party. Food, drink and company were plentiful, and we left right when we should have. Didn't stop me from feeling really crappy yesterday though, I can't drink like I used to, that's for sure. You definitely notice how loud your children are when you are a wee bit hungover. Won't be doing that again for a long, long time. Isabella's report card will be coming home this Wednesday, with a parent teacher conference to follow on Friday. Am REALLY looking forward to hearing what Mrs. A has to say about our little darling. We are still struggling with some issues at home, and I can't wait to compare notes. She woke me up @ 4am last night, for no apparent reason other than she woke up herself and wanted me to know? It ended badly of course, with her crying in her room, after which I couldn't get back to sleep. C'est la vie... I suppose!

2005-11-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

Eating is funny.. This is what we are dealing with. Isabella "making" chili.. This morning, Isabella was alittle better at getting herself ready, we only had to set the timer twice. She went to bed ontime last night, and although Chris still carried her from her bed to the table this morning, her mood was much improved as she had a good night's sleep. Sydney has decidely given up on her morning naps, which is really frustrating for me. Not only am I loosing my "me" time in the mornings, but I am unable to get anything accomplished for errands once I pick Isabella up from school as I need to put her down right @ noon. She is sleeping right up until 7am or so, which is great for my mental state during the day thank God. I gave Syd her first dose of antibiotics yesterday, and she seemed to like it ok. She is a big fan of syringes, so sticking that in her mouth is ok (as opposed to my finger to dig out food from the roof of her mouth, or trying to put Orajel on her gums.. good times). We are (almost) all set for tomorrow's first skiing lesson. Isabella is super excited, and so is Chris. I am getting pretty excited to go out tomorrow night, our babysitter sounds cute on the phone and can't wait for her to meet the girls, and vice versa. I have her coming a bit early tomorrow night, so I can feel confident Sydney will not have a fitsky after I leave. If things work out with this girl babysitting, we will enlist her more permanently and perhaps try to have a date night once a month or so. We'll see how it goes...

2005-11-24T16:10:00.000-07:00

Sydney has taken to pulling at her hair, therefore this picture does in fact make her look like a 60 year old man with a dirty face. That's my girl! I received a call from Sydney's doctor this morning, to let me know the results of the tests we ran last week. Apparently they checked for every disease she could think of, and thankfully nothing has shown up. She does however have a bladder infection. Poor little baby. It is possible that she has had it for quite awhile, as signs and symptoms are fever and irritability, otherwise known as teething in our house. She will be on an antibiotic for the next 10 days, when we visit the doc again, and repeat the urine test. Of all things she could have had, I'll take a bladder infection anyday. We are still waiting to hear back from the Pediatrician's office, and Dr. P is going to call them to put a bug in their ear. In other news, I am officially changing my discipline style with Isabella, to see if it makes a difference in her attitude/mood/outlook on life. She has started to give me grief in the mornings now getting ready for school, and I have had enough. Between bedtime, morning and in between time, I am overwhelmed with her lately. (Yes Nana, she is a good girl for you and everyone else, just NOT FOR ME). I will no longer yell, scream or get mad. I will now talk calmly no matter what the situation and follow through on my threats. This morning she went to school without breakfast (well she did have a few bites before I ripped it out of her hands), nor did she brush her teeth. I am setting a timer now for these type of activities, and if she wants to sit there and stare at the wall (as she did this morning) then we move onto the next without finishing the first. By the time we were putting our outdoor gear on this morning, she was pretty pissed off at me. "I want a new Mommy", and "you are really mean" rolled off my back with only a tiny surge of rage buried deep, deep inside. We'll see how tomorrow goes.. We are leaving the girls with a babysitter this coming Saturday night, and I am nervous to say the least. We have really been so lucky these past 5 years that we had Auntie Leah and a few others to count on when we wanted to go out. Isabella will be an angel (of course) but I am a little worried about Syd. She has become a real Mommy sooky lately, and I can only imagine the rage that will pump through her if/when she wakes up when I am gone, and some STRANGER is putting her Soosy (soother) back in. I am really looking forward to going out, as Chris and I will be decked out for the first time together, and I have shopped for both of us for the occasion. Let's all keep our fingers crossed!!

Bad Mother, BAD!

2005-11-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

If anyone knows where to sign up for the bad mother of the year awards, please let me know. Isabella and I had the following exchange @ 7:15 AM this morning. "Mom." Eyes still closed, faced smushed into pillow, drool on cheek. "yeah." "Sydney's awake." "Ok honey, I'll get up in a sec, thanks." "Mom?" "yeah." "My tooth is still under my pillow, the Tooth Fairy didn't come this time." Needless to say, I was instantly awake, heart pounding, trying to think of a way out of THIS one. Trying to casually explain that maybe she was really busy last night.. or missed her as she didn't have it under her pillow the actual night she lost it (she was so excited to show Auntie Leah her tooth first).. and maybe we should give her another chance tonight. In the end, the guilt got to me as she would NOT stop talking about this, and I just know that she would have gone to school and told all her friends, teacher, perhaps random children on the schoolyard that the Tooth Fairy gyped her. So I told her the truth. She is 5 after all, time to blow all those childish fantasy's into the water and become an adult. Just kidding, come on.. I confirmed with my PIC (partner in crime.. Chris) that she hadn't gone back into her room since she awoke, and I snuck in and did the exchange. My explanation you ask? Isabella must have been her last stop of the night, and since her sister woke her up early this morning, the tooth fairy had to sneak in after she had gotten out of bed. I know. I am lame. This then started a heavy discussion on how the tooth fairy (and all other fantasy creatures) gets in and out without being seen. I realize she is WAY to young to find out the truth, and I will keep her going until she is 20 if I can. But there is a wee amount of guilt associated with lying to your child, knowing that one day they will find out the truth and wonder what other stories you soaked into their little spongebrains. I don't remember finding out "the truth" when I was a kid, but Chris remembers figuring it out on his own at a pretty young age. Possibly I have blocked this traumatic event and it will resurface as the cause of all my childhood issues one day in therapy. Sheah.

2005-11-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

Busy weekend = lack of posts. So sorry. Maggie pretty much lets Sydney do whatever she wants to her, including chewing on her ears, pictured above. She kept that clip in her hair long enough for me to forget it was there. I put her down for a nap, and she woke up clipless. Nothing has come through as of yet. Isabella is wearing sunglasses to eat her breakfast this morning. Why? Because I don't have the patience to deal with a crying whining 5 year old at 8am, and this is Chris's happy solution to the "bright light that hurts Mama, it hurts!" Sheah. She was cranky and tired this morning from some late night excitement. She is now lispy Belly once again, as her second tooth was pulled out @ 11pm after much wiggling and bleeding in bed. Fun times. Isabella rode on the X-mas parade float on Saturday, with her Dad. He was sopposed to be handing out loot bags to the crowd, but somebody was scared and refused to stand up there without him. We don't have any pictures of the two of them up there, as I was at home with Sydney, missing out on all that fun. Shucks. She apparently had a great time though, and was flushed and happy when she got home. It is cold outside, therefore we have our woodstove burning as much as possible. This means 2 things. 1. I am hot and sweaty most of the time. 2. I am chasing Sydney away from the stove most of the time. I am tired tonight, (and hot and sweaty of course) and will be heading to bed shortly. The alternative of course is to freeze our a#$es off, which doesn't make me a happy person at all. Sydney has cut her 5th tooth, and it looks like the 6th is not to far behind. She has been mildly irritable the last few days, and now I know why. Poor thing. She is still crawling like the devil around the house, and is getting into all sorts of trouble on her own now. She is super fast. She ate some chicken noodle soup for lunch today, and seemed to swallow most of the noodles without gagging/choking/storing them in the roof of her mouth/cheeks. Perhaps there is a light at the end of the picky tunnel after all. Tomorrow we try tomato soup with mushy crackers.

Sigh...

2005-11-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

Sydney's doctor smartly decided to send her for a full workup of tests, to help determine if there is anything wrong with her weight, etc. Included in this series of tests, was of all things... a blood test. We know how well Isabella did with this particular experience, so I was nervous to say the least to deliver fiesty little Sydney into these unknowing technicians lives. I had visions of her screaming, crying, clawing at me with her little fingers, thinking why Mommy, why? And I would try to hold it together for everyone's sake, but inside I would be dying a slow sobbing death... Instead, she sighed. Yes, that's right. She looked up at me only once, her little arm lying out straight with a rubber turny squeezing her tight, little baby needle in her arm, and sighed. We bored her. Granted, she had a full belly, and had just woken from an hour and a half snooze, but too not utter even a peep was beyond my wildest dreams. It goes to show that no matter how well you think you know your children, they will always suprise you. Sigh... Meanwhile, poor Isabella was eating McDonalds in the car with the doors all locked in the parking lot. She didn't have the funnest afternoon obviously, as these "tests" went alittle longer than planned. She made up for her lack of excitement by smearing lip gloss all over her face tonight, and having a slice of Chris's meatlover's pizza. Apparently, vegetarians are allowed sometimes to have meat. Good to know.

2005-11-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

Can you see the poor bruised and scabby knee? Yeah well, it sure doesn't seem to slow her down now does it. Nope not at ALL. Trying to keep her still just to take this picture was oh so fun. Take food from Maggie.. Put it in the water. Repeat. Isabella used to do the exact same thing with Cody's food when she was a baby. Fun times. At least Maggie is generous and shares her things with her.. Sydney had her 9 month check up today. Although she is healthy and happy, there are a few concerns that are sending us back to the Pedi. First and foremost, her weight. As of today, with a diaper on (which I hate to admit was alittle soggy) she was 15 pds. Poor little thing. At least she gained something even if it was pee in a diaper. Isabella is a growing concern with her mouth. I know, it happens to all kids when they start school, blah blah blah. She told me I was annoying today. Yup. I am, get used to it kid.

Some of my favorite things...

2005-11-16T20:38:00.000-07:00

Sydney's favorite places to go.. 1. The bathroom. As far as I can tell, she doesn't do a whole lot in there... she just sits on the rug in front of the toilet and looks around. She gets really excited when you find her in a new place, so I try to act surprised whenever I find her in there. 2. Isabella's room. Obviously. There are sooo many fun things to check out in there. I don't trust her/them alone in there quite yet, so she is not in there very often. 3. The woodstove. She likes to clink the fireplace set together and get her hands all dirty. I try to be abit firmer in my "No Sydney" speech for this one, but so far she doesn't give a damn and keeps happily clinking away. 4. The dog's water dish. Another obvious one as she can get her hands wet and splash around. As soon as she says that dish come down from it's hiding spot (from her of course) she makes a beeline, as does poor thirsty Maggie. Poor doggy is having a yucky day. She had to crap @ 5am, so she cried until I woke up and let her out. That started her every hour on the hour cry at the door to do her business. She has been in the garbage a few times in the last few days, poor Moo moo just doesn't have the stomach for garbage. She is sulky and quiet, not at all like my dog. I have... finished... cleaning the kitchen. Yup, it's official. I have made a deal with myself involving putting up X-mas decorations, (no tree) and it happens to involve finishing my "fall" cleaning. Just my bedroom to go, and I get to break out the goodies. Speaking of... I have managed to polish off a box of Toffifay almost entirely by myself. I think I am in trouble.. Chris thinks I should check into a Chocolate Eaters Anonymous program. haha.. ha

Helping..

2005-11-15T22:14:00.000-07:00

This is Sydney helping with the laundry. She loooves to help with the laundry. You can see all the socks behind her... This weekend was busy, as usual. No Birthday partys though, thank God. Very busy in a family administration sort of way. Packing loot bags, attending parent meetings, etc. Auntie Leah has made it home from her travels, and we are all happy to see her safe and sound. She is home just in time to see Sydney becoming the crawling fool, and it is pretty funny to see. As of this morning, she has figured out how to get around on the wood/lino floors. There I was putting dishes in the dishwasher, and I felt a little tug on my pantleg. I look down at her with exaggerated surprise, and she squeals up at me with a big proud grin on her face. Aww... I just finished booking our flights for X-mas online, and am happy to report we are officially on our way. I am a bit anxious about X-mas this year, Isabella will be staying behind as it is her father's turn to have her. This is one of those times where I don't feel things are entirely fair with these kind of "sharing" holidays. We are her primary family, we live, love and take care of her on a daily basis, but will miss the precious X-mas morning moments that melt your heart. Bitter? Me? Yes, sometimes very. But.. we will have tons of fun, and I will try to keep my mind off it. She is already not impressed that she will not be joining us, and I am wondering how often they will hear, "I miss my family".. (she has been known to be become a giant suck when away from us for more that a few days, duh) It was a cold weekend here, and although it is looking up for the rest of this week, I have realized that winter is here, and there is nothing I can do to stop it. I have so much to do before X-mas, and have fallen behind again on my Fall cleaning schedule. Yikes. Off I go!!

2005-11-11T21:32:00.000-07:00

The truely ironic thing, is normally I have to beg and plead for her to let me take a picture. For this one, you may even be able to tell if you look real close... she actually smiled on her own. Not that I haven't thought about it before, but this beauty was self inflicted. Besides, I would never put the tape over the nose, that just might be dangerous. I can remember doing this to myself as a child, and it brings up a few points. Did everybody do this, or is she becoming more like me ALL the time. Second, did my smiling parents feel the same silent evil amusement that I felt today? (She can still talk with that thing on, nothing can stop her) Sydney is crawling. Everywhere.. that has carpet. I don't think she "gets" the wood floors yet, too slippery. Give her a few hours tomorrow, and she will have that mastered too. She is a quick learner. Her knees are bright red, she was exhausted tonight for bed, and hungry. She was a very busy happy girl today. It was a cold blustery day, and Chris has built our first fire this year. I am going to go relax, and enjoy. G'night.

Today I learned..

2005-11-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

How to look for a magazine.. How to stand by myself.. How to look for fun stuff on the table... Look out world, here I come!!

The crawling fool...

2005-11-10T15:49:00.000-07:00

I spoke too soon. Sydney made her Mommy look like a good ol' fashion liar yesterday. Not from lack of encouragement, holding treats (paper, kleenex, some goldfish) in front of her nose. But today.. oh today I have seen the devil emerge from my baby girl. Discovery is a wonderful thing when you are 9 months old, and she has found the dog toys, exercise bike and woodstove among other things. She has also figured out to pull herself up on furniture, and bang her head over and over on the coffee table. Yikes, looks like it is time for some Sydney proofing in my house. Isabella was such an.. easy toddler. Never really cared to much about getting herself into trouble, and was more content to sit and play than too much crawling around. I think it is payback, in a big way. I see my house in a whole new light, and it is a scary scary light... Isabella and Chris are off tomorrow, so we will get to enjoy a nice long weekend together. Hopefully, Sydney will find it in her heart to let her poor mother sleep a bit later than this morning (5am) at least one day soon. I have never, in my life seen bags under my eyes this size as I did this morning. Add my 3, yes 3 new friends that appeared over the last few days on my pale face, and I make a truely.. pretty.. picture.

Sniff.. sniff..

2005-11-09T09:37:00.000-07:00

Isabella, has sometimes appeared to be alittle... well socially awkward. Maybe, I didn't give her enough interaction with other children before school, perhaps she is alittle shy. She seems to get along best with kids a bit younger than herself, I've always had a sneaky feeling it was because she was able to boss them around. She had a "tiff" with the 2 girls her age she played with on the street this summer, and although I blamed it on my "3's a crowd" theory, my heart still broke for her when they decided they didn't want to play with her anymore. (They have since made up and they do play again). I do realize the importance of education, listening to the teacher, learning the rules, etc, etc. I also realize the importance of socialization in school, and was hopeful that her (my) sense of humour, and ability to burp on command would win her some friends. This morning, when dropping her off at school, I watched her (as I always do) enter the playground and search for her classmates, and teacher on duty. My heart jumped, as a little girl (actually her teacher Mrs. A's daughter from the other kinder class no less) ran up to her and threw her arms around Isabella. They grabbed each others mitted hand, and ran off to play on the big toys. I stood there with a stupid grin on my face by the car watching them play until the bell rang for them to go in. She may be abit bossy at times, and she likes to talk back and not listen. But I know that my little girl has an amazing heart, and is kind and good to her friends. I realize that this is only Kindergarten, and she has a long road ahead of her to figure out how girls/friends can be oh so cruel. It's hard to let go of the need to stand beside her, guide her and coach her on how to interact and make friends, but this morning I realized that she is going to be OK by herself. My little girl is growing up, and I have to let her do it on her own. Whaaaa.... In other news, Sydney has decided that crawling is faster and funner than sitting on her butt all the time. Yes, she made her first great attempt this morning at using her legs one at a time to get around. Of course she was going after the kleenex box, and I took it away from her when she got it which made her REALLY mad, but still.. it was another great moment. It is only 9:30am, and it is a good day.

Loot bag envy..

2005-11-08T20:52:00.000-07:00

Isabella had yet another birthday party this past weekend, this time for her good friend Sawyer from school. Apparently he really likes Isabella, and wanted her and a bunch of boys for his party, to which his mother quickly explained that maybe she would feel a little out of place. They ended up inviting the whole class and Isabella had a great time. When I went to pick her up, I was amazed at the size of her loot bag. Now, I certainly don't feel that I am "skimpy" when it comes to making up the loot bags for the kids to take home. And I have seen some pretty sorry attempts at creating an interesting assortment for them to enjoy. But.. OMG. This woman is the new loot bag queen. I mentioned it to her on Monday while picking Isabella up for school, and she looked at me sheepishly and replied, "yeah, I know, I went a bit nuts didn't I!" I am going to start being a wee bit selective on the birthday party invites I think. I may have to file for bankrupcy by the end of the school year if I don't. Today, Sydney decided not to nap in the morning yet again. She played, cried and talked to herself for the better part of an hour, while I listened to her on the monitor while shoveling outside. It has snowed, and snowed, and SNOWED some more here today. She didn't nap very well this afternoon either, and was a bit touchy tonight until she went to bed. I really think she is growing some teeth in that little mouth, as her hands have been in there being chomped on all day. It certainly would explain the ear tugging. Isabella and I started to build her a fort in the front yard this afternoon, looks pretty fancy so far, we'll see. I told her a bit of a... fib this weekend, and I can't stop laughing er... thinking about it. She had asked me if the chicken Grandpa had brought over was the "walking kind" of chicken. I quickly realized where the conversation was heading, so I mumbled a quick no under my breath hoping she would drop the subject. She did, and throughly enjoyed the other kind of chicken for dinner. Tee hee.

The verdict...

2005-11-07T20:11:00.000-07:00

So.. a few surprises, and a few not. She is "severly" allergic to cats.. we knew that. She is moderately allergic to milk, also not much of a surprise. She is also mildly allergic to birch trees, and... horses. She cried for that one all the way home in the car. This really gets us off the hook for those "not so cheap" horseback riding lessons she wants so badly. And that is that. No real explanation for her attack 2 weeks ago. The doctor strongly suggested we keep her away from cats, and to carry an epipen wherever we go. Fun. He checked Sydney's ears, and both of them were fine. She fell asleep on the way home this afternoon, so once again her head smells like a sweaty sleeping bag. I can't help but take a few sniffs every now and then, I'm wierd like that...

Toddlerhood...

2005-11-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

Last night, I had a realization that made me sad.. and excited at the same time. Sydney woke up during me favorite show (Desperate Housewives) and I ran in with the hope of soothing her quickly back to slumber and get back to watching. She was not going down again peacefully, so my only other option was to bring her into the living room. She sat in Daddy's arms on the couch for about 10 minutes quietly. So quiet in fact, that I forgot she was there more than once. I kept looking over at her sleepy face, soother in mouth, mussed up hair and I had a real "OMG, she is growing up sooo fast" moment. My BABY, is leaving babyhood WAY to fast for my taste. I really didn't savor these moments enough with Isabella, and I feel blessed to have a second chance to close my eyes and relish these precious moments, as not to forget. Infortunately, I have an awful feeling she may have, or be coming down with an ear infection. Luckily, we have a doctor's appointment for big sister this afternoon, so I will ask him to take a peek inside her ear for me. She has been tugging a bit, and is having trouble sleeping again, as I type this. She has been in her bed for over an hour, and she is none to pleased about it at the moment. Neither am I, a nice hot shower is calling my name. The doctor's office called as Isabella's allergy test has come back, and they want to see her right away. I am anxious to see what the results will tell us, and I will post an update tonight with the news. Hopefully it is nothing to serious, but it will be good to know just the same. There goes my kitchen cleaning afternoon!!!

Who's pooping in the corner..

2005-11-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

Comments people, comments. Leave em, I read em. You don't need to sign up for anything, there is the other option when leaving a comment, and I looove feedback. Great. Let's move on. We have had a nice quiet family weekend. Yesterday, we signed Isabella and Daddy up at the Ski Club, and Isabella is now a Jackrabbit (for lessons). It was her choice to sign up, and she is proud to tell you she chose to try it. Her and Chris will go once a week every Saturday for an hour and a half, while Mommy and Sydney sleep at home. Ha. We had a little visit last night with an old friend of Chris's, and her 19 month old daughter. She dropped off a whole wack of clothes that she no longer fits for Sydney. This kid is testing a year ahead of her peers mentally, and boy does it show. She counts, says please, thank you and excuse me, and hides when she wants to poop (just really funny). What a sweet kid. Isabella was great with her, they played in her room, and ended up on the floor together watching Cailloux. Isabella and Daddy made a snowman today. Well, I guess Daddy made the snowman, and Isabella talked. What a creation. I will take a picture and post it soon. It snowed all day today, and the weather is STILL warm. Sydney is back on schedule sleeping, although she had some crazy napping going on the last few days. 20 minutes here, 2 and a half hours there. What? She slept in her snowsuit for that 2 and a half hour sleep, and her head smelt like a sweaty sleeping bag until her bath tonight. Oh well, this morning we slept in until... now hold on to your pants people.. 8am. Yup, Sunday mornings have never been this sweet. We had Grandpa over for supper tonight, he brought a chicken (cooked of course) with him. Both girls behaved, and we had a nice visit. We broke out some baby pictures of Chris, and my father laughed so hard he was crying. So that's where she gets her looks from. We are so lucky to each have a Mini Me.

A photo essay from the park..

2005-11-04T17:21:00.000-07:00

Crying as Mama was walking too fast... Having a swing... Mama, you funny!! 2 minutes before a Sydney sandwich was made with Belly on one side, ground on the other... No comment needed..

2005-11-03T22:11:00.000-07:00

Well, things are definitely looking up. Sydney slept in this morning until 6am, and with a quick baba she was back asleep until I woke her @ 7:30am. Yesterday she was a wee bit happier, and today more so. Maybe her whining was from her teeth, maybe not. I have an inkling that she may have her Daddy's stomach, sensitive and irritable. She sure has taken to sleeping on her tummy now, as pictured above. What a ham.. Isabella has been having some trouble with dinnertime the last few nights. She refused to finish last night, and in consequence had her Halloween candy taken away. (Yes, mean mean Mommy) I really thought the threat would make her eat, but she has inherited more than just my good looks, she has my stubbornness as well. She sat, by herself at the kitchen table for an hour and a half before she was sent to bed. "Goodbye candy" she said on her way by. Poor thing. I did give in and let her pick 3 things from the stash, and she still has all the candy that Nana had sent in her parcel a few weeks ago, so she is certainly not deprived. Tonight, I set the timer for 10 minutes once the trouble began, with a spanking threat for the punishment. I have smacked her bum a few times in her life, but I rarely come through on this one usually. Thank God she took me seriously this time, and did finish all but one bite. Phew. She told Chris yesterday that she got "in trouble" at school. Her and a friend were scaring another classmate by roaring like a Lion (so she says) and Mrs. A sent them to the hallway for a chat. It was a funny story from a 5 year old, but I sure hope she took something away from it. Today, Isabella excitely told me she has decided she wants to be an Astronaut when she grows up. She then proceeded to ask me what I was. Umm... a human resources officer?? She looked up at me with this blank stare on her face for 10 seconds, and then walked away. I guess she was expecting something alittle more... interesting. Point taken. I shoveled the driveway tonight, (Chris thinks he has me trained) and it was oh so nice. The weather is beautiful, maybe 0 celcius or higher, and there was a nice light fog in the air. And.. I got a good workout...

Would you like some cheese with that whine?

2005-11-01T20:46:00.000-07:00

Whine, whine, whine, whine.... Need I say more? Sydney was not... a happy camper today. Didn't eat much, didn't sleep much, did a whole lot of whining. Am going to bed early tonight, in anticipation of an early whiner call. Goodnight.

Scrap that idea..

2005-11-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

Am removing the "eating candy" part of this day, and adding "taking a nap". Isabella was up very late on a sugar high, and Sydney was UP at 5:30am this morning, raring to go. She did not.. go back to sleep. Yawn.

Halloween!

2005-10-31T21:17:00.000-07:00

This was an interesting weekend. Actually, it was exausting. Maybe I am a wee bit run down, perhaps I have been overdoing it, or maybe alittle PMSy? The kids were whiny, the house was a mess, and we were on the go, all weekend long. However, today is a new day, and it is Halloween! A good day to stop my own whining!! Isabella went to her party yesterday, and had a great time. There was games, prizes, food and a bunch of crazy kids, all the ingredients for a good party. Isabella was cranky before and after the party, but a perfect witch (her costume of course, ahem), for the event itself. She then had her school party this morning (again in costume) with more games and treats, and then Trick or Treating tonight (costume..again). There are feathers all over my house, my baby and my car. The weather was the best I've ever seen it for Halloween in Yellowknife, she went out exactly as pictured above, and did not complain once of being cold. She skipped and jumped the whole time, and got a really good haul. Daddy stayed home tonight to welcome the trick or treaters, and take care of his 747 (the whiney Sydney). Isabella's school pictures are in, but they have mixed up my order and I am missing pictures!Argh. She is adorable, one of the best pictures taken of her. (Maybe alittle prejudice?) I will send them out as soon as I get it sorted, I promise. Syd is alittle cranky these days, maybe teething again/still. She is also a little mixed up from our time change, and was up at 5:30am this morning, ready for the day. She was very awake and curious when I gave her a baba in bed and left without her, but she did manage to go back to sleep for an hour, thank goodness. Hopefully she has adjusted herself now, and will wake as usual tomorrow so Chris will stop laughing at me using the "old" time for her schedule. We went to Post Natal today (an informal class for mothers of children 1 and under) and both girls behaved themselves. I set up Isabella at a table with some crayons and she was quiet. Sydney was a doll (thank God), I had delayed her nap for this class as I wanted to get her weighed. I had a dream last night that she had lost weight, and I woke up paranoid. She has gained, but only a half pound in 2 months, bringing her up to 14pds, 6oz. I am not discouraged as Tanya reminded me (thanks Tanya) that this is consistent for Sydney. I will have a 9 month check up soon and will discuss with the doctor then how to plump her up. I am worried that when she starts crawling (so close!) she is going to shed the only fat that she does have! Isabella is off school tomorrow (evil ploy by school officials to skip the day after Halloween) so we will be cleaning her very very messy room, eating candy and chilling. Are planning a photo shoot sometime this week with the girls/kids, should be a great time. Will update sooner this time, promise!!

All's quiet..

2005-10-27T21:27:00.000-06:00

Just a quick update, watching Survivor!!! Isabella is doing much better as of bedtime tonight. Her teacher reported she was acting "normal" at school, and they all had a great time at the Firehall. We went to the lab and needed 3 technicians (not including the one holding Sydney) to draw blood, as she was frightened to death of that needle. Poor thing, we were a step away from wrapping her in a blanket and sitting on her. They informed me they do it quite regularly. After it was all said and done, she turned to me and said, "Gee Mommy, that wasn't that bad". Ha We got a great costume today, will post pictures after her first party on Sunday for her friend Liam's Halloween themed party. Mommy is helping out and apparently I need a costume as well. Hmm. Sydney was good today, had a great time at the lab being oohed and aahed at. She was tired early tonight, and was in bed by 7:30pm, just after a quick visit with Auntie Leah and Grandpa Ricky. My girls are happy and tucked in to bed. Time to go relax!!

2005-10-27T09:40:00.000-06:00

Hi, my name is Sydney, and I am a chronic early waker. My mother is starting to get scared that soon I will be up before 6am, as every day I seem to wake earlier and earlier!!

Yikes.

I sent poor Isabella to school today. Not because she looked that much better, not because she really wanted to go, and not because I feel that she is missing out on learning. Oh no folks, I sent her away to school this morning, because if I have to spend another whole day with her in her moodiness, I may strangle her myself. (Totally kidding, please don't call social services..)

She is looking a bit better, the swelling has gone down quite a bit this morning, but in the barely there morning light she did have some pretty serious hives happening still. I gave her another shot of Benadryl, and sent her (not so) happily on her way. They are having a field trip to the Firehall today, so I know she will be grateful that she went. Hopefully. We have a really busy afternoon planned today, so let's hope she is less hostile. We have to find her a Halloween costume (I know, I know I should have made her one from scratch, bad Mommy), check the mail, take her to the lab to give blood, grocery shop, and sign her up for Girl Guides. They have already started her unit, but they are allowing me to sign her up anyhow. She is really excited for selling cookies.. I have a feeling she thinks that is all they do.. Will update later on Isabella's condition.

Epi-pens are not cheap...

2005-10-26T12:54:00.000-06:00

And this is a good picture.... Poor Isabella is not having a good week. She woke up this morning (although I noticed it started sometime yesterday) with hives all over her face, and her eyes almost swollen shut. We made a call to the school, and then to the doctor for an appointment. I gave her some Benadryl which seemed to help with the itchiness but definitely not the swelling or hives. By the time we saw Dr. Wong, she looked no better, in fact maybe a bit worse. He is concerned as we do not know the source of this reaction. We know she is allergic to cats, but she has not been near one anytime recently, and they may produce this type of reaction, but only for an hour or so. Isabella is... grouchy. She has a bit of a fever as well, which has made her annoyed and demanding. Her face is just so... irritated I guess. Poor thing. So, we are to wait it out. Obviously if her breathing becomes laboured we are to rush off to emerg., and anything worse than that will be for the "pen". I cannot for the life of me, think of what could be causing this. A mystery. Sydney is now the proud new owner of 4 teeth, and a sense of humor once again. One up.. one down. Teeter totter.

My 5 year old Vegetarian..

2005-10-24T21:50:00.000-06:00

Isabella has over the last few months, well more than that I suppose, begun to have a bit of an aversion to meat. From steak (which she used to loooove) hamburger, bacon, pork, even chicken. Every meal I cringe in anticipation of the "yuck, I don't like that" point of the index finger, to whatever meat is on her plate that night. I don't know why or where it came from, but it brings up a really hard decision for me. First, she is 5. Does she really understand why she doesn't like meat anymore? (not that I do...) Is this a passing reaction, that will disappear if I force her to eat it? Is it really all that good for us (humans) anyways? What does this teach her (good and bad) if I give in and let her make such an important decision? Secondly, how can I say no, if I made my own choice to go Vegetarian for years, only given up when I became pregnant with her and craved raw hamburger? (a whole other story..) And is still a choice that tempts me to this day? And last, will I be able to supplement the loss of meat in her diet, so that she is not lacking any important nutrients? She does love her vegetables, raw and cooked. We talked about it with her tonight, and told her what it means to be Vegetarian. No more chicken nuggets, hamburgers from McDonalds, etc. She told us in her very matter of fact way, that she was willing to give it all up, and that she would have fries instead. I think when it all comes down to it, she knows what she is doing, in her own 5 year old way, and it is up to Chris and I to decide whether to support her, or continue with the nightly battle at the dinner table. In other news, Sydney was a royal pain in the butt today. She is sprouting her 4th tooth, and is none to pleased about it apparently.

Furby..

2005-10-23T20:04:00.000-06:00

So, the Tooth Fairy had a successful exchange, therefore Isabella is the new proud owner of a Furby. Furby has voice recognition, so he will respond to her when she talks to him. Furby is still getting to know English, right now he only speaks "Furbish", so they occasionally get into some communication problems. Isabella just about gave up on her new friend Friday, and threw him on the floor, telling me to take him back to Walmart, she didn't want him anymore. I think I was lucky she didn't have more tantrums that day, as she and I were up the night before with some growing pains in her legs for a few (4) hours. She stayed home from school and in her PJ's all day. I, infortunately did not. We even managed to finish off the crafty ghost we started earlier in the week, and hung him up on the tree outside. We left early from a Birthday party at the pool today for her friend across the street. I was getting ready to leave her after the swim (she likes me to stay and watch her, but I can go for the "party" part) and she suddenly started heaving on me. We ran for the washroom (yummy already) and she proceeded to throw up in the toilet for the next 15 minutes. She is fine now, and has not puked since, so I think she may have just spent to much time in the hottub? Meanwhile, Chris is at home with the now "2 nap a day" Sydney, trying to keep her happy until I get home. Poor little girl had some tummy issues as well yesterday. After trying to give her food, giving her Tylenol and Gripe water, walking, rocking and singing to her, I finally decided to put her into her crib and see what would happen. Sure enough, just like her Dad, she stopped crying about it, rolled over onto her side in the fetal postion and fell asleep. She woke up 2 1/2 hours later happy and hasn't complained since. She is doing really well only napping twice a day, we are on day 4 already and she seems to be sleeping longer and adjusting her naps accordingly. She does like to play in her bed though now, she has gotten herself stuck in the slats of her crib a few times. To my suprise, she had her first nap on her tummy yesterday as well. She has a bit of me in there somewhere I guess! She is really interested in my laptop as you can tell from the picture above. You cannot sit her on the couch now without her trying to make a break for it. This week will be busy, (as usual). More cleaning (onto the kitchen now) and hopefully some more Halloween crafts to hang outside. We are having beautiful October weather, which apparently is going to stick around for the 31st. I will believe it when I see it!!

Gap toothed Belly...

2005-10-19T21:39:00.000-06:00

Finally, finally!!! She gave it a good pull after school today, as it had become really loose during class and was causing "quite the distraction" to quote her teacher. She is sooo proud, and cannot wait for the Tooth Fairy to come tonight. It is all she has talked about this afternoon...during dinner...and tonight. Thank God I have been giving her an allowance, as the Tooth Fairy needed to break change for a twenty. She has quite the gap now, and a wee bit of a (cute) lisp with her S's. Such a big day for my girl..

Sydney continues to rock on her hands and knees. I want to say she is days away from crawling, but I bet it is more like a week or two still. For a baby that cried everytime I put her on her tummy, she sure flips herself over fast when sat on her bum now. In fact, she refused to nap yesterday afternoon and chose instead to play in her bed for an hour, on her hands and knees no less. She has this cute little fake laugh that she would do everytime I would go in, flip her over and tell her to go to sleep. I think she is ready to move to 2 naps a day soon, I just don't know if I am!!

A new snow..

2005-10-17T21:51:00.000-06:00

Well, looks like we have some snow. Sydney looks really impressed... She still hasn't really figured out that she can move around in there. She just sits there quiet, for now... I had the fun of sticking my finger into her clenched mouth to fish out some Sears catologue pages tonight. She was cranky, and not wanting to sit by herself and play. As I was helping her Daddy out with the back of the TV (which is now fixed, hurrah!) I let her go at ripping to keep her happy. What's the worst that can happen right? Right. She sure was quiet though! I did have a pretty good system going after I figured out how to get the paper out at least. Lay her down on the ground, tickle her ribs until she laughs enough to open her mouth. Shove finger into roof of her mouth and dig as much out as I can. Repeat. To be honest, it didn't really seem to bother her, and I am sure it would have come out the other end OK, but it was a pretty good wad she had up there. Still no tooth fairy around here. I think the novelty of wiggling has worn off, therefore leaving the tooth to figure it's own way out of there. A curb jumped out and tripped her this weekend, the poor thing. She landed on her face. Yup, leave it to Isabella to have her hands in her pocket, running with her head turned away. Chris thinks her nose could have broke, but it didn't really bleed although it sure was/is swollen. She could have at least knocked that tooth out, but no such luck. She is really enjoying playing outside with all the new snow right now, which I am sure won't last long once the cold sets in. No word on school pics yet, am waiting impatiently. I am trying to reorganize my living room, but am having some trouble. It is such a square room, with little give for furniture placement that I think I will give up and just give it a good clean instead. I have moved all of Sydney's toys away from the woodstove so we can now start using it when needed. Although I am not looking forward to winter's cold, I can't wait for the warm comfy heat of the stove!!

Teeth week..

2005-10-14T17:20:00.000-06:00

We took a bunch of pictures with Tanya's awesome new camera a few weeks ago. Unfortunately the lighting wasn't the greatest so this is one of the few that really turned out. She was mesmerized with the ceiling fan I had just turned on to try and lighten it up.. duh Mommy.

It is officially teeth week for the girls in our house. Sydney is adding a few more on top, I added 1 wisdom tooth a few months ago, (yup, my first in 28 years!) which seems to be giving me endless enjoyment this week, and yes folks, my precious firstborn, my baby, my Kindergartener is loosing her first tooth. I was hoping to be able to post a gap toothed Belly today, but although we are sooo close, it has not let go as of yet. She is sooo excited, and not scared at all to wiggle that thing every which way she can to show me how loose it really is. Makes me squirm just thinking about it, ah. She ran out of class on Wednesday to show me, and has not stopped talking, touching, thinking about that tooth since. Hopefully the Tooth Fairy will be paying her a visit over the weekend. She is such a smart a**, she wasn't listening to me yesterday and I threatened to not give her allowance for the day, and she replies "that's OK Mummy, I'm going to get money from the Tooth Fairy anyways so I don't care". Yeah, we'll see about that kid.

We had her Ped. Card. appointment on Wednesday as well. We arrived nice and early @ 2:50 for a 3pm appointment. Thank goodness Isabella had a friend from her Preschool there for the same issues, as we waited until after 5pm just to get into a room. By the time we saw the doctor, had an "echo" done, (fancy for ultrasound on the heart I think) it was 6pm. Everything is all clear and he is not worried. She has the simplest and most common murmur around, and she should outgrow it by puberty. We were sooo glad to get out of there, although both girls were well behaved considering Sydney missed her afternoon nap and was starting to get pretty antsy. Apparently this is how it is for this doctor as he only comes up here once every 6 weeks, so there isn't much of a choice. Wait, or leave without seeing him.

We have had a few really beautiful days this past week, and they are calling for more of the same for the weekend. We will definitely being finishing up our outdoor chores before the snow falls (and stays!). I am still hoping to get some outdoor pics of the 3 girls so maybe this will encourage me. Isabella still has her "pox" all over her belly, I am threatened to break out my Magic Eraser if they don't dissapear with her next bath! Her school pictures should be coming home soon, as I know the other Catholic school has already received theirs. Will be sending them out soon so e-mail me your address if you want one..

Chicken Pox???

2005-10-11T17:38:00.000-06:00

This, is what happens when you leave your baby @ home with her Auntie for the weekend.... Actually, they had a good time together. We decided not to bring Sydney with us on our little jaunt, as it would be hard with naps and feedings for the one day we had for looking around. Sydney slept through the night all of last week and one night for Auntie Leah, but has now gone back to her once a night waking. Oh well, better than never sleeping through I suppose! I really did better than I thought leaving her for 3 days, although I was still flip flopping until 11 the night before whether to leave her or not. For my sake of course, not hers! I was pretty happy to get home and see her, I am not sure she even noticed I was gone... She is getting ready to crawl sometime in the near (or not so near) future. She rocks on all fours quite a bit, and spent over an hour today on her tummy playing and moving herself around. She also has a new tooth poking through on top, as I discovered yesterday when she bit me, ouch! (Grand total of 3 now). We had a good (short) trip to BC. It was fun to look around and check out the community, but no immediate plans for a move just yet. Isabella watched movies for 10 hours a day there and back, so she was pretty content. We stayed at a Super 8 that had a good sized water slide (although Chris kept saying it needed another loop for a bit more momentum). Isabella needed to be bribed with candy before she would even go up to the top to check it out, her Daddy was hurtling halfway across the pool before slowing down.. I finally got her down with me, and she loved it (I figured) so much! She went down again and again. I think we wore her out as there was no complaints when it was time to go. She also got my heart racing in the pool when her water wings somehow came off. I look over and they are floating away as she is flailing and trying to yell to us. I was halfway over when Chris zoomed by me and got to her, she was fine of course. I, was not. Isabella decided to give herself chicken pox with a pink smelly marker for our Thanksgiving dinner last night. It does say washable, but I'd like to challenge that one. It may be a few baths before her "pox" dissapear. I scrubbed her face almost raw last night so she could at least be sent to school this morning, but the rest of her body is still pretty well pink marks. She has a follow up with the Pediatric Cardiologist tomorrow for a minor heart murmur, so he will be quite suprised to see her marked skin as was the technician doing her EKG this afternoon. It's pretty funny to everyone else, ahem. This week will be busy again, with cleaning and shopping and appointments to keep. And it is almost half over already, yikes. I broke down and bought an ugly Canadian Tire container for Sydney's toys in the living room today. Is it just me or is there nothing attractive for this purpose? I will continue my Fall (almost winter now) cleanup in earnst once again..

Update

2005-10-07T10:15:00.000-06:00

Sorry, no real update, just letting you all know we are heading out on a short road trip, and I will update on our return home!! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Sunday night adventures..

2005-10-03T21:56:00.000-06:00

So, we no longer own a cordless phone. Rather, we do own one, but it no longer works. Someone (me) decided it would be a smart idea to let Isabella talk on the phone while sitting on the edge of the tub last night. Me smart like dump truck. The first time she fell in, she managed to hold the phone up. Not so lucky the second time. Oh well. Just know why I don't always pick up anymore, I may need alittle extra time to get to the non transportable one, haha. Isabella slept walked(sp) for the first time last night. Scared the daylights out of me. I'm sitting on the couch and Chris is in the kitchen, and she comes out of her room at a good fast clip. Goes right up to Daddy and starts mumbling incoherently. I realized what was happening and raced over, gently steering her back to bed without walking her up. She started to whimper once she was back in bed, which turned into a full out cry once I left the room, so I sat with her for a while to make sure she was OK before leaving for good. Seems like we have progressed from Night Terrors when she was a toddler, to this. Yikes. Let's hope it doesn't happen when Chris is out of town, I am a bit whimpy in the house alone @ night as it is!!! Sydney bless her, was an absolute monster today. Teething, yes I am sure, but still a monster non the less. Slept no more than 45 minutes at a time, and her mood ranged from very hard to please, to all out wailing for no good reason when she was awake. She did, however, sleep through the night last night. Although still terribly inconsistent, she is starting to sleep more through the night than ever. Sigh, one day, one day... That's all for now, just wanted to update these 2 Sunday night events before the details left me!!