Less is More

Oh For Frick Sake

2011-11-30T23:20:00.001-06:00

How 'bout one last lame post and we call it a day (night, month, year, whatever). Good-night all! (3 of you). It's been a boring month. And I've got the posts to prove it.

This Was My Monday

2011-11-29T22:41:00.002-06:00

I love this game.

Ugggg

2011-11-28T23:33:00.000-06:00

Isn't November over yet? I'm really ready to stop pretending to post everyday.

Running Out of Steam

2011-11-27T23:13:00.002-06:00

I'm pretty sure that if you look back at my other attempts at Nablopomo, you'll find that towards the end, I just stopped trying.

I apologize to the handful of you who actually check this blog. Sincerely. From the bottom of my heart. Really. I'm sorry. I suck.

I have 1 minute left

2011-11-25T23:53:00.001-06:00

So this is all you're getting.

Two Year Olds Forget Easy...Right?

2011-11-24T15:01:00.006-06:00

Abbey found her Christmas present today.

Actually, she didn't just find it; she ripped into that sucker like it was Christmas morning. Which is exactly what I wanted her to do...in a month. In front of me. With a camera in hand.

I found her in the basement bedroom where (I thought) the presents were safely tucked away. Imagine walking into a room and everywhere you look are little bits of strewn plastic packaging and cardboard. And mixed in amongst the carnage are pieces of doll furniture. Four rooms worth.

And do you know what that little stinker is doing? She's playing in the giant cardboard box (!!) that until moments before contained 5 rooms of furniture, one minivan, and a dancing puppy (for Nathan). Thankfully she didn't really notice the big dollhouse box. That, at least, was still tightly wrapped in the blue plastic it came shipped in. One end was partially opened, but I guess she didn't see the picture when she was lifting it off the giant box that was her goal all along.

At least she asked where the people were.

Picture Post

2011-11-23T22:24:00.002-06:00

I've got nothing tonight. How about a picture of Nathan?

He never gets into trouble. Ever.

And Another Project Completed

2011-11-22T21:13:00.003-06:00

This one only took 5 years. If you need your memory refreshed check out here and again here.

I cannot believe I'm done it. I splurged and got it framed because if you spend that many hours on a project, it deserved to be displayed properly. And stylishly. I'm hoping it becomes an heirloom for my children and grandchildren. It's the only Christmas decoration up in my house right now. I couldn't wait. It's hung on the wall just out of the reach of sticky fingered children. The kids can have the chocolate advent calendars, this one's mine.

Project Complete...Again

2011-11-21T19:48:00.000-06:00

I'm actually making good on a promise I made in a post. I finished Nathan's stocking this weekend and I have the picture to prove it.

It turned out pretty good. At least it's better than the red star stocking that I had originally intended for my third child. You can see a picture of it and the rest of the bunch here. Now all the kids stockings are the same size and I can avoid future jealousy issues.

All that's left to do now is stuff them. Have I mentioned I'm almost done my Christmas shopping? I'm probably about 80% complete. I've been picking away at it since September and it helps that most of it was done online. I'm waiting on an item from Amazon.ca right now. When I selected it back in October it was in stock. And it remained in stock for about a week later until they didn't ship it because it was suddenly out of stock. I HATE that. How is it suddenly out of stock a week later? Now it's a wait-and-see to see if they're ever going to ship it. Today's the last day on their "Estimated Delivery Date". I think an email will be sent before the day is done.

Breaking Dawn

2011-11-20T15:45:00.003-06:00

To steal from my sister-in-law, fantastically awful is exactly how I would describe Twilight: Breaking Dawn Pt.1. And honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Here's the thing about the Twilight movies (and this is entirely my own opinion): they're bad. Very bad. I've known this ever since I sat down to watch the first one and found myself pausing every 10 minutes to collect myself enough to continue on. But I quickly came to accept the horribleness that is a Twilight movie and began to appreciate it for what it is, one of the best comedies of the year. At one point last night (actually, more that once) I thought I was going to have to leave the theater because I was laughing so hard. Tears were streaming down my cheeks and I had to cover my mouth to stifle the laughs. I almost couldn't handle it.

But it was exactly what I expected. Stick yourself in a theater on opening weekend with a bunch of other women who have read and appreciate the books (for what they're worth, because honestly, the books are also in a league of their own) and you have yourself the makings of a fantastic evening. Although, not as great as last time.

For Part 2, we're going to have to go opening night. I bet that's when the real crazies come out.

Tonight

2011-11-19T23:14:00.000-06:00

Saw the new Twilight movie tonight. I'll have to tell you about it when I can type without spelling every word wrong. I'm really tired. I will say this much though....I cried. Although, it was from laughing so hard. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't supposed to be a comedy. Ah...but it was.

Blankies

2011-11-18T23:56:00.001-06:00

I'm writing this on my iPod from under my warm duvet. It's the time of year when we are reminded how drafty this house can be when the temperature really starts to drop outside. Poor Abbey and Nathan. Their room is the worst. Easily 2 degrees cooler than the rest of the house. It doesn't help that Abbey will only sleep under the tiny old blanket she's used since she was a baby. She hasn't fit under that thing in almost two years but she wouldn't use anything else. We'd have to sneak into her room and cover her up with while she was sleeping. But as soon as she realized what we did, she would kick off the reasonably sized blanket and curl back up under her blankey. I tried buying her a different blanket awhile ago, but it quickly turned into Nathan's favorite (don't worry, it's not pink). This was fine with her as she never got attached. It finally dawned on me that maybe she just needed to pick her own blankey. So tonight at Wal-Mart we took a stroll down the kids bedding section. And she found her new blankey. It looks something like this...

Picture Day...Again

2011-11-17T23:07:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow is picture day for Noah. Again. The real picture day was a few weeks ago, but that turned out to be the same day that the kids all decided to wake up with pink eye. Abbey was the worst, her poor eyes were all stuck together. Noah and Nathan just had a bit of redness, but what do you do? Do you send your kid to school knowing they might have pink eye or do you pack them all into the car and take them to the doctor. In my case, I did the latter. The only bad thing about it was that he is now not in his class picture. I'm not sure that he really cares, but I do. Oh well. So tomorrow is actually retake day, but Noah will be going for the first time 'round. Oh man, I hope they turn out all right. There's no retake day for us if they don't. He should be okay. He's pretty photogenic. For example, here's last years...

He looks so little here! Lol. I wonder how this year's will turn out?

Time Waster

2011-11-16T23:07:00.003-06:00

I play this...

A lot.

Like way too much.

In fact, that's what I'm doing right now.

Instead of posting.

Gotta go.

300

2011-11-15T22:41:00.005-06:00

This is my 300th post. I wish I would have paid more attention, I could have prepared something special.

...

Who am I kidding. We both know that wouldn't have happened.

Perhaps we should take a look back at other numeric milestones on this blog. Like...

First Post - February 5th, 2006

But don't get too excited...I'm not that deep.

Lol. It's good to see I haven't changed much.

100th Post - January 15th, 2008

Apparently this is my 100th post. I've been trying to think of something to mark this momentous occasion, and have been totally unsuccessful.

HAHA! I'm sensing a theme here.

200th Post - November 1st, 2008

It looks like I didn't even notice that the above post was my 200th. But don't worry, I remedied the situation the next day in my 201st. (In true Melissa fashion.)

201st Post - November 2nd, 2008

Apparently yesterday's post was my 200th. And I totally missed it. I would have liked to do something monumental for the occasion, but since I have no idea what I could have possibly done, I guess it's better that I missed it.

I am truly, seriously, laughing out loud over here. If there's one thing to be said about me, I am consistently underwhelming. And perhaps a bit lazy. But you have to give me credit for sticking to who I truly am over these past 5 years. A very lazy, very shallow blogger. Who took just under 2 years to get to 100 posts and less than a year after that to hit 200. But I got back into my true groove and took the next 3 years to hit 300. It probably helped that I only blogged twice in 2010. That must have been the year I joined Facebook. Who has time to blog when you can microblog. (Nope, just checked. I joined in 2007. So much for that theory.)

Anyways. Thank you for sharing these 300 posts and 5 years with me. If you still check this thing, you are a superstar. And at the rate I'm going, I'll see you sometime in 2015 for my 400th.

Odds and Ends

2011-11-14T23:02:00.003-06:00

I'm going to risk jinxing it by speaking this aloud, but I think we're pretty much sickness free in this house. (You know one of the kids is going to wake up with a runny nose or sore throat in the morning now.)

And with the sickness free household comes a return to routine. And part of my routine is continuing to pick away at my to-do list. One item on this list is Nathan's stocking.

If you recall, a few years ago I decided to make my family stockings. Weren't here 5 years ago? Have a look. I made those stockings before Noah was even 2. I got the number right (5) but I figured the kids should all have the smaller ones while the adults have the bigger ones. So that means making a new one for Nathan. I actually don't mind, considering I wasn't in love with that red stars one anyways. So for the last 3 days I've been puttering away at his stocking, getting all the pieces ready to be sewn together this weekend at my mom's. (I really need to get myself a sewing machine someday.) So you can be sure to see the finished product sometime next week. Because we all know I'm desperate for blog topics over here.

Another random item...lasagna noodles. Next time make your own. You won't be sorry. I spent 4 hours making lasagna today and it was fantastic. Jonathan even said it was a 9. Compared to the 2 I received on my jambalaya the other day, this is a welcome boost to my cooking ego.

I thought I had more random things to talk about, but I can't think of any more.

Oh well. Tomorrow's another day.

The Really, Really, REALLY Bad Day

2011-11-13T21:51:00.005-06:00

I'm going to have to start at the beginning. Which was October 31st.

Jonathan's mom came out for Halloween and after a fun evening filled with trick or treating, candy and KFC, the puking began. Specifically Nathan. All over her shirt. (Noah did it later too, all over the floor. But that's not pertinent to this story.) So off she goes to clean up in the washroom, complete with a new shirt and a rinsing of her locket. Unfortunately, the locket remained in the washroom even after she vacated it. But it was all good as we found it and placed it on a high shelf in the kitchen, away from curious little hands, where it was to stay until it could be returned. In fact, it was there when she called to double check that we had found it and could we please keep it safe as it is very sentimental and very expensive. Good thing it's up on that high shelf, right?

Fast forward to last Wednesday. I'm puttering around the kitchen at about 10:30am, counting down the minutes until it's time to go pick up my daycare kids from preschool. I do the dishes, sweep the kitchen floor, and hey! That shelf is really dusty. I think I'll wipe it off. So with Abbey and Nathan playing nicely on the floor behind me I empty the shelf of it's contents, including the locket, and place them on the table directly underneath. I grab some paper towel and proceed to wipe the shelf off. All this is done in a span of time no longer than 5 minutes. After this quick dusting, I go to return the contents back to their home and what's this? Something's missing. The locket. Immediately after this realization the following conversation takes place:

Abbey, did you take the necklace?

Yes.

Where is it?

On the table.

No. That's where it was. Where did you put it?

I don't know. It's hiding.

Now repeat this conversation about 20 times over. Vary the line of questioning slightly with different tones ranging from pleasant all the way to extreme rage. But don't worry about the answers, they stay exactly the same.

I don't know. It's hiding.

And this is the starting off point for my very bad day. The next three hours saw me move the fridge twice, empty out every single drawer and cupboard in the kitchen as well as the many baskets of toys in the living room. My entertainment stand got moved and dusted under and my fridge got emptied. All bedrooms, bathrooms and closets got searched. My garbage even got spread out and picked through on my dining table. Twice.

It was absolutely infuriating. Where could she have put that necklace in such a short span of time? And the fact that deep down inside that little 2-year-old brain of hers, she knows where it is. Soooo frustrating.

I tried thinking like Abbey. She usually puts her necklaces on the cats. This was one of the first places I looked. I also remembered that while I was dusting the shelf she was playing with a zippered pocket on Nathan's overalls. I took his overalls off and checked every single pocket on those things. I actually totally expected to find them in that front pocket. When I realized it wasn't there and it didn't slip under the fridge, well, this is when the panic set it.

It was with a horrible, sick feeling in the bottom of my stomach that I continued looking everywhere (repeatedly) for 3 hours straight. At that point I was totally stressed and couldn't bring myself to look anymore. If it had been my necklace I would have given up way sooner because as the mother of three, I've lost many things due to sticky fingered kids and have come to learn that it almost always turn up, eventually. Like my lost keys when Noah was Abbey's age. They were eventually found in a toy firetruck...about a month after they were lost. I didn't think Chris would want to wait around for her very sentimental and very expensive locket to just turn up. But I couldn't look anymore.

After the afternoon of frantic searching, at about 4pm, I got Nathan up from is nap and brought him into the living room where I had all the other kids in the house looking for the lost locket. I laid him down on the floor to change his diaper and what's this? A silver necklace. In his diaper shirt.

And now you're probably thinking exactly what Jonathan said.

You're just changing his diaper now?!

But my initial instincts were right. Instead of the cats, Abbey was trying to put the necklace on her little brother. And had I just taken the diaper shirt off when I was looking through the overalls, I would have saved myself hours and hours of stress. You know what they say though, hindsight is 20-20.

And Again

2011-11-12T23:18:00.004-06:00

I really don't know why I'm even bothering anymore. What's the point of saying you're going to post everyday if you have absolutely nothing to say? Or maybe it's just because I leave it until just before bed and by then I'm just too tired to come up with anything interesting. I should post first thing in the morning when I'm bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. And not all run down and tired.

I made jambalaya for supper tonight. It did not have noodles in it and only 2 people out of 6 had to force themselves to eat it. Same with the corn muffins. I guess those 2 people should just have gone to McDonald's for supper or something.

What!?

2011-11-11T23:44:00.002-06:00

This is the best that I could come up with?

I'd feel jipped if I were you.

The Best Show You're Not Watching

2011-11-10T21:30:00.000-06:00

If you've been paying close attention, you'll know that this wasn't really posted on November 10. I forgot. So you'll get a twofer today.

This is the best show on TV right now. And chances are you aren't watching it. You need to remedy that. STAT.

Community

What are you still doing here? Go rent, download, Netflix, whatever it is you do, it.

P.S. The first few episodes you might might make you want to turn the TV off, especially after I've pumped it up so much. Just push on through. You'll thank me later. Just ask Becky.

Is November Over Yet?

2011-11-09T22:36:00.004-06:00

What I learned today:

If parenting is a game, our kids are winning.

Seriously.

We're getting our asses handed to us.

Who Let This Child Nap?

2011-11-08T23:32:00.002-06:00

Abbey was up before 8am this morning. This never happens. As a result, she fell asleep when she was sent to her room for a time out this afternoon. When this girl naps it is HELL try to get her to go to sleep. It's quarter to midnight and I'm in hell.

Happy Faces

2011-11-07T20:49:00.005-06:00

Abbey loves to draw and color. This is what she's into right now...

Happy Faces.

And by "into", I mean this is ALL she's into. There are happy faces EVERYWHERE. On my papers, on the dining table, and now all over her door.

It's the only thing she'll draw. Lol. What a weirdo.

The Weekend

2011-11-06T22:33:00.005-06:00

So we're back here again.

Yup...

Hmmm...

How about a basic summary of my weekend?

We'll start on Saturday because I can't really remember Friday. Oh right! We watched Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Friday night. It was long. And not that great. Saturday we went into the city where I got my third filling filled in the last 2 weeks. I really, really don't like going to the dentist. I can handle the regular check up stuff but I hate getting fillings. I hate the freezing. It takes way longer to come out on me than it's supposed to. I always get such horrible headaches from it. But the freezing part sucked even more on this particular Saturday because he froze me up like normal but when he started to drill, I felt it. My horrible dentist-related nightmare came true. Not enough freezing. So he gave me more and back he went drilling into my tooth. My tongue was totally frozen afterwards and I could barely swallow. Good thing we picked this day for a date night! Our first in probably 6 months. We saw Moneyball and then went to get groceries. We both enjoyed it. The movie that is. Our big supper out consisted of Burger King. I know, right? Livin' it up!

And today we puttered around the house. We woke up to snow this morning so we figured we better get the winterizing done around here. That consisted of putting plastic on all the windows and getting the extension and block heater cords out for the vehicles. It was actually a rather productive day. I even made pulled pork in the slow cooker. The day was finished up with a couple of X-Files episodes and one wide-awake girl who just won't stay in bed. She is currently waiting in mine to come read her some books. I guess that's what happens when you let her sleep in till 10:30am.

Sandwiching

2011-11-05T23:07:00.003-06:00

There may have been some confusion in a previous post about what exactly Jonathan and I were doing with those magnets. First off, a rare earth magnet is just a super, super, super strong magnet. As an example, we can find where the studs are in our wall because they will stick to the nails and screws under all the paint and plaster. And this is what we were doing with them...

I tried this but my nose is too small and the magnets slid down and pinched that really sensitive middle piece between the nostrils. It took a few seconds to get them pried off. Because you literally have to pry them apart.

Man. I really need to put more effort into these posts or this is going to be a long, boring month.

Lalalalalala Tonight

2011-11-04T23:58:00.003-06:00

I'm in for a horrible night tonight. You wanna know how I know that? Because last night I slept for 6 hours straight. I cannot remember the last time that happened. But I know this...we're talking like YEARS ago. Probably around 2. So after that fantastic sleep, you know I'm in for a crap night tonight.

Day 3

2011-11-03T22:54:00.003-06:00

It's only the third day and I almost forgot. Not surprising. 90% of the time I'm not even sure what day it is. Everything runs together.

So. What to post about.

Abbey is currently coughing in her sleep. Nothing new there. She's on her last day of antibiotics. I think our doctor just gives them to us now just so we feel like we're doing something. She has gotten better though. We've gone from 2 hour, middle of the night, coughing sessions to just a few minutes a couple times a night and now she mostly sleeps through it.

But that's enough about sickness. I'm so sick of sickness.

Jonathan and I were just playing around with our stack of rare earth magnets. We were sandwiching various body parts with them and I am now nursing a very sore nose and him a sore cheek/mouth. We're very mature.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-02T15:43:00.006-06:00

I'm kinda wishing I didn't post those Halloween pictures on Facebook yesterday. That would have made for a good post. I guess I'm assuming anybody reading this has me as a friend on Facebook. And by that I mean you're probably family. Why else would you waste your time here?

What the heck. Maybe I've got some curious lurkers. In that case, here you go...

The one on the left isn't mine. He just spends his days here driving me nuts just like he was mine. Lol. It's Captain Jack Sparrow and a Pretty Fairy waiting for the big kids to get home so we can go Trick-or-Treating.

And here we go. They're all saying "GRRR" because that's what they told me you're supposed to say when you take pictures on Halloween. The Little Devil in the stroller hasn't napped yet. I wasn't even going to attempt to pose him.

And last but not least, or Jack-O-Lanterns. The top 2 are mine and the bottom one is Noah's.

We've lived here for just over 3 years but this was the first time we've trick-or-treated in town. Apparently everybody goes out between 3:30 and 5:30, and then that's it. Done. Not a bad system if you ask me.

One Year Ago

2011-11-01T10:20:00.000-06:00

I was thinking I might do NaBloPoMo and wandered over here to check out what state this blog was in. I see that at one point I tried to catch up. I even had a post loaded with pictures. Ahh...good intentions. Anyways, here's the post that I originally started back in April. These pics look like they're from this time last year, 2010. I'm sure they're not in order but I'll caption them regardless.

October 17, 2010
Nathaniel John was born.

Lol. Abbey loved to undress her new baby brother.

This is pretty self explanatory.

This would be last Thanksgiving at my sister's.

Leaf diving.

Noah's first day of Kindergarten.

Waiting for the fireworks with Ben and Sam.

The fridge lock made it's appearance shortly after this.
Can you see the pot of soup behind Abbey?

Halloween 2010.

And just like that, Day 1 of NaBloPoMo 2011 is done.

The Last 14 Months: Part 2

2011-04-11T11:36:00.001-06:00

May

One highlight of the early spring last year was Noah's first time playing organized baseball (or as organized as a bunch of kids who have never played baseball before can be). He enjoyed it and we enjoyed watching him. Which reminds me that ball registration for this year is tonight. Must not forget. It will probably be even more enjoyable for him this year since he will know all the kids on his team quite well as they're all in his class.

Mother's Day. We went out to The Berry Barn for lunch and had a nice walk on a beautiful day.

June

Abbey continued to climb on and get into everything. This has only continued and even gotten worse as she's stronger, taller, and kind of a brat.

As is Noah sometimes.

July

Summertime. I can't wait. So glad the snow is almost totally gone now. We spent a lot of time outside last summer working and playing.

And swinging. Abbey LOVED to swing. She still does. She would stay in that swing for hours if we let her. We even stuck her in there a few times this winter, giant snowsuit and all.

Swimming.

Forestry Farming.

Storming. Lots of storms last year. Hopefully it won't be so bad this year.

August

Towards the end of summer we picked up this paddling pool. I'll be glad to have it right from the beginning this year.

The Crooked Bush

Abbey also learned to dress herself. Kinda.

Part 3: Coming Soon

The Last 14 Months: Part 1

2011-03-31T13:28:00.015-06:00

This is what I'm going to do. I'll skim through my picture folders and do a quick month by month summary and include a few pics. I feel the need to do this before I continue on. Because for all you guys know, nothing exciting happened to me in 2010. Unless we're Facebook friends. Then you could probably just skip this.

December 2009

Man, am I ever behind. So December would have meant Christmas. Let's see if I can find a couple Christmas pics of the kids.

It also looks like December was the month where Abbey learned to climb on chairs and Jonathan cleaned the wax out of his ears. I'll spare you the photographic images.

January 2010

Abbey turned 1. We'll definitely need to see pictures of that.

It also looks like Abbey really got the hand of walking and discovered that she could easily take the covers out of all the power outlets. She also started helping herself to food from the cupboards.

February

Noah turned 5.

And two days after his birthday I got a little surprise of my own.

So we definitely know 2010 involved a lot of sleeping and general lying around feeling sick to my stomach.

Jonathan and I also took a vacation and spent a long weekend at Lost Creek Resort in Waskesiu. We really wanted to go back this year but as you just saw, this February we had a 4 month old. Maybe next year.

Oh yes. Abbey is still helping herself to food.

March

As I open my March 2010 picture folder it is very clear (to me anyways) that March is when we received our new camera. Here are couple of my favs.

I also notice that on March 28, 2010 we are outside in our spring jackets raking the grass. There isn't any snow to be seen. I'm going to go outside right now to take a picture for comparison sake.

March 28, 2010

March 31, 2011

Not cool. There are already TONS of puddles all over the yard and LOTS of snow yet to melt.

April

April meant Easter.

And lots of playing outside.

Abbey would have just been discovering her love of outside.

Look at that green grass. Do you think we'll have green grass in 4 weeks? I sure hope so.

This is getting kinda long. I'm putting in more pics than I thought I would. Let's stop here for now and I'll continue on at a later time. (Tonight? Tomorrow? Next month? Who knows...it'll be a surprise.)

It's Been Over A Year..

2011-03-21T15:09:00.004-06:00

and according to the new stat link that Blogger now has, people are still checking this thing.

I could start blogging again, but I don't know if I have it in me to do the obligatory update post to fill everybody in on the last year of my life. I could skip that, right?

Christmas Project 2009

2010-02-01T14:00:00.005-06:00

I'm starting to feel guilty about the lack of action going on over here. So here's a better-late-than-never post about this year's (2009) Christmas project.

Every year I say I'm not going to do a big project and every year I do one anyway. This year it was presents for the Grandparents.

I decided to do a shadowbox/scrapbooky type picture. It was my first foray into the scrapbooking world. And let's just say scrapbooking is something I could totally get into but really shouldn't. I don't have the time or the money. But these frames were fun. I'd do something like this again.

Grandma Braun's

Grandma Dianne's

Grandpa Ray & Colleen's

I hope everybody liked them. I wonder what I'll come up with next year?

New Year, New Blog

2010-01-05T13:19:00.003-06:00

I guess it's been awhile. I bet you're all expecting some Christmas and birthday pictures. Well, you'll just have to wait a little longer.

We did have a good Christmas, though. The kids got spoiled rotten, of course. Jonathan and I got spoiled rotten as well. I do have pictures but that's not on my to-do list this week. I'll pencil it in for next week.

What IS on my to-do list this week is this:

*insert cliché here*

It's my new blog. Go on over and have a look. It's more for me than you guys. But some of you may get a kick out of it. So I thought I'd share.

That's all I wanted to say.

Bye.

Saved By The Office

2009-12-18T12:35:00.003-06:00

I guess I could post something while I'm sitting here staring at the computer. Staring at the computer and typing one handed while poor Abbey sits on my lap and screams. Her 3 day fever is down right now thanks to the Tylneol, but she's screaming at the top of her lungs and punching herself in the mouth. Which leads me to believe this is all teething related. She won't even take her soother.

Man. This kid can scream.

Noah was never like this. Not even close. We just looked in his mouth one day and saw a bunch of teeth. So this is all pretty new to me. And it sucks. Especially since her tooth count is currently 2. Two little tiny teeth and a whole mouth to go.

Sigh.

I just phoned Jonathan so he could take part in her screaming. He told me to play The Office theme song. It's Abbey's favourite thing in the world. And it worked. She now only screams every 30 seconds when the song ends. Somebody needs to loop this onto a DVD for me.

Seriously.

Christmas Rambling

2009-12-09T08:24:00.003-06:00

That was a nice break. Long enough to almost make me miss posting everyday. ALMOST. But I do miss all the regular posting from everybody else.

Nothing much exciting has happened around here in the last week or so. We finally have snow which has done wonders for my Christmas spirit. There's not a lot of snow, which suits me just fine. All I needed was a nice white blanket to cover all the disgusting brown. And as it was falling, I filled my mp3 player with lots of Christmas tunes. So now those play in my kitchen while I'm puttering around in there. And when I get sick of that, I turn on the Christmas music station on the satellite.

The decorating is done. Which for us means the tree is up. I don't have a lot of decorations to work with. I'm always too broke around Christmas to justify buying more. And my Christmas projects are coming along slowly. I don't know why I do this to myself every year. But they're started and it's too late to stop now. Now I just need to start thinking about Christmas baking. I'm not planning on doing a lot (I never PLAN on doing a lot), but I am in a cookie exchange next week so I have to at least do that. I still haven't decided what to make. It's a toss up between Christmas (sugar) cookies and chocolate macaroons. I'm planning on making batches of both anyways, it's just deciding which one I want to do lots of. Probably the macaroons. They're WAY less time consuming. But more finicky. Decisions, decisions.

Apart from all that, I guess all I have left to do is wrap the presents. And stay warm. Because it's FREEZING out there.

That's All Folks

2009-11-30T07:46:00.007-06:00

I think that technically I completed NaBloPoMo. If you count them, I do have a post for everyday in November. 30 days, 30 posts. So there.

And now I'm glad it's over. I always have trouble finishing the month. At the beginning it's fun because everybody's doing it and you've got all these ideas for posts. But by the end it's just irritating.

I almost put up the Christmas tree yesterday. Almost. Jonathan said that if I was going to, it had to be done by game time. And since I spent most of the morning putting in my Epicure order (biggest order I've ever had, by the way) there wasn't a lot of time for all the decorating. It's a lot of work fluffing out all those branches. So I'll leave it till next weekend.

I also managed to finish my Christmas shopping. Every single last bit of it. I'm just waiting for a few more things to come in the mail. Now I just have to stop myself from purchasing last minute add ons. I totally recommend online shopping though. At least 50% of my shopping this year was done online. Probably more.

Well, you guys. It's been fun. But I can't say I'm going to miss the required daily post. Good thing it's only once a year.

The Weekend

2009-11-27T11:59:00.000-06:00

Well. It's the weekend again. Man, the weeks sure fly by. And since it's the weekend that means we're going to the city. To shop. On a Saturday.

Normally it isn't too bad, but since Christmas is just around the corner, any major store in Saskatoon is a dangerous place to be. And we have to go to Costco today. I'm seriously scared for my sanity. I've also asked my mom to watch the kids for a few hours so I can finish my Christmas shopping and Jonathan can start his. That means the mall. Plus we still need to do our regular errands. That means Wal-Mart.

I better start getting ready. This is going to take a bit of mental preparedness.

It's Just Today

2009-11-26T23:59:00.003-06:00

Yes. I'm a cheater.

If you have been paying close attention (and I think some of you have), then you will have noticed that my posts have not been appearing when they should. Shame on me.

But they're still here. So whatever.

There's still no snow. But we made paper snowflakes yesterday, so I guess that counts for something. And the tree will go up next weekend regardless if there's any snow on the ground.

Sigh.

Does anybody else find Christmas EXTREMELY stressful?

I do.

It's not like it used to be.

I wish all I had to do was wait patiently for it to show up and then try to control those butterflies in my stomach. Now there's gifts to budget for and buy. Food to plan, shop for and make. Get-togethers to organize, coordinate and attend. And we're expected to do all this with a smile on our face. Oh right. Don't forget that you have to make everybody in your life happy at the same time. Now doesn't that sound like fun?

Maybe the real reason I'm not feeling Christmasy is that there's no Christmasy feeling left in me. Maybe there's just been too many gifts. Too much food. Too many gatherings. Too much family.

Every year Jonathan and I say we're going to simplify and every year we get sucked back into it. It's exhausting.

Next year I think we'll just take the kids and go rent a cabin somewhere for the week. No obligations. No running around. Just us.

Because it's starting to feel like the whole point of Christmas is floating further and further out of my grasp. I think my priorities aren't quite in order and I really need to do something about it before I have a melt down. Probably sooner rather than later since it technically isn't even December yet.

And just to clarify, I know there are lots of family who read this blog and are probably thinking I'm talking about you. But I'm not. I'm really not. Nobody's said anything or done anything. This is just how I'm feeling today. I'll get over it. Hopefully.

Bring It On

2009-11-25T11:59:00.002-06:00

I can't do it. I can't get into Christmas mode. Jonathan suggested putting up the tree this weekend and I balked at it. It's not even December! And there's no snow!

Snow is the key for me. The instant those small white puffs start to fall and stick to the ground, I'm ready. On comes the Christmas music. Out comes the decorations. I felt super Christmay back in October when we got all that snow. I had the Christmas music on and was making my shopping list. But then it melted and there went my Christmas ambitions.

Now Christmas is officially a month away and it still feels like forever. I've been meaning to start Christmas baking and crafts with the kids but just can't bring myself to do it. There are some houses around here all decorated with lights and trees in the windows and it just looks absurd to me.

I think it's because I've been a Saskatchewanian all my life (except for 4 years spent in B.C.) and I do NOT remember ever entering into December without snow on the ground. And these temperatures are crazy! I'm still running around outside in my bunny hug.

So, I think what I'm trying to say is: I'm ready. I've loved these mild temperatures and dry highways, but I'm ready. Bring on the snow. Because at this rate, we're going to wake up Christmas morning in a tree-less, cookie-less, Christmasy-less house. And what fun would that be.

Short but sweet

2009-11-24T22:52:00.002-06:00

The Epicure party went smashingly. I thought I made too much food, but I guess it was yummy because it all managed to disappear.

I'd write more about it but I've just been told to turn the computer off and go to bed. I think that's a good idea.

Tasty Menu

2009-11-23T15:22:00.007-06:00

I feel bad for the non-posts I did this weekend, so I'm gonna do a twofer today. I've been working my butt off getting everything ready for my Epicure party tomorrow. I really hope people show up because there's gonna be a lot of food. And I know some of you are still on the fence, so I thought I'd post the menu to entice you.

Extraordinary Cheese Dip
Pesto Artichoke Dip
Creamy Guacamole
VE Salsa
9 different regular dips
3 fruit dips
Red Pepper Jelly
Jalapeño Pepper Jelly
Poudre Douce Butter Cookies
Chinese Five Spice Cookies
Christmas Tea
Fresh-ground French Press Coffee

And of course, all the different things to dip into this yummy stuff. So you better come. I even have door prizes.

For Becky

2009-11-23T08:37:00.004-06:00

Nothing wrong with his nipples now is there?

I should have posted a picture with my post last night, but I don't really think straight when I'm tired. Or write in any way that's fit to be read. And I make lots of spelling mistakes. And ramble on.

Sigh. I'm still tired. Too many kids, too early.

Team Jacob

2009-11-22T22:39:00.003-06:00

Unless we're talking strictly about the books. Because then I am an Edward girl. But I digress.

So, I don't remember if I've mentioned this before, I probably have. In fact, I've probably done a post about it but I'm too tired to look back and link to it. Hence the horrible writing I'm doing right now. What was I talking about again?

Right. Twilight. I mean New Moon. So I went and saw New Moon tonight. WAY better than Twilight. But seriously, how could it not be. I hated Twilight. (We're talking about the movie here, not the book). It was so bad. I had to keep pausing the movie and leaving the room to regroup because of how bad it was. The main reason I didn't like it was Edward/Robert. I know a lot of you out there disagree but I can't stand him. I don't find him attractive. At all. His teeth are bad. And his nipples....go ask Becky about his nipples. But mostly because I find his acting horrendous. At least in this. His portrayal of Edward seems so off the mark to me. I guess he just doesn't live up to the Edward of my imagination. And since he's a pretty big part of the movie, he kinda ruined it for me.

But New Moon. Oh, New Moon saved it. And you wanna know why? Edward's barely in it. Instead we get Jacob. LOTS of Jacob. Lots of shirtless Jacob. And he surpasses the Jacob of my imagination. There are lots of other reasons why this movie is better than the first. But this is a big one. And I know there are people out there that agree with this. Because when Jacob took his shirt off for the first time the theater broke out in applause. When Edward took his shirt off...nothing.

Another great thing about New Moon tonight was the fact I watched it in a theater full of people who are just as Twilight crazy as I am. It was good. And I'm sooo looking forward to Eclipse.

How about you...

2009-11-21T11:59:00.003-06:00

...go read Jonathan's blog. He posted. I didn't.

Guess What?

2009-11-20T21:36:00.001-06:00

Tonight you're gettin' nothing. NOTHING.

So there.

Things will never be the same

2009-11-19T21:47:00.005-06:00

Oh boy. Here it comes. My better half has decided to grace the blogosphere with his presence. Let me just state right now that I take zero responsibility for anything he may say. All I did was create the space at his request and as of this evening I have turned it over to him. So. Having said that, let me present without further ado...

Positively Negative

The musings of a glass half empty kinda guy.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Enjoy.

Tupperware

2009-11-18T19:14:00.005-06:00

I went to my first Tupperware party last night. It was pretty good. They had some really great sales, so I did have to restrain myself a little bit. But in the end I only bought one more thing than I was planning. So I consider that a success.

Here's what I got.

I'm really looking forward to trying their sippy cups. I usually buy the cheap disposable ones from Wal-Mart. The cup part is fine but we go through lids like crazy. They get chewed up and are really hard to clean. And these cups remind me of my childhood. Only with better colors.

And I got this big mixing bowl. The Fix-n-Mix bowl. (Not the little one.) It was on sale and I have found myself wishing for a big mixing bowl that isn't as deep as the ones I have.

So all in all, not a bad night.

Little Stinker

2009-11-17T21:45:00.001-06:00

Guess what Abbey figured out how to do today?

You better believe it.

Noah never figured out how to do this. I don't think he even tried.

Baby-proof my ass.

Looking Forward

2009-11-16T21:59:00.005-06:00

Well, it's officially the 2nd half of November. And it was +14 outside today. I have a feeling that when winter finally decides to show, it's going to be with a vengeance. And I'm not looking forward to it. Instead I'll look forward to more double digits tomorrow.

There's also a few more things to look forward to in this latter half of November. I'm going to a Tupperware party tomorrow night. I've never been before. Unfortunately, I have no money to spend there, but it should be fun all the same. And then on Sunday it's a girl's night out. And what are we doing you ask? Why, what else but go to the premier of New Moon. It's gonna be good...bad but good. And hopefully I'll get some Christmas shopping done this weekend too.

(On a totally unrelated note; I promised myself I wouldn't start a Christmas project this year. But I guess I lied. It's something I've never done before and if it turns out I'll share it. But not yet, because it's also supposed to be a Christmas present.)

And then next Tuesday is my Epicure party. And the following Sunday I'm going to Jann Arden. So before you know it, it's going to be December. And then 2010. But I think I'm getting a little ahead of myself here.

Phone calls and formula

2009-11-15T21:55:00.007-06:00

Whew. I'm glad that's over. I made my calls and now it feels like a huge weight has lifted off my shoulders. Kinda. There are those 3 messages where I got all flustered and forgot to follow my script. I'm wondering if I bothered to tell those ladies where I live? Oh well. It's a small town, they'll figure it out. Now to sit back and hope some of these people show up.

In other news, Abbey has a horrible diaper rash. Actually, it's not so much a diaper rash as a full bottom burn. She's had diarrhea for the last few days and it has not been fun. Basically every time we change her she has it. Poor girl. We've been doing lots of baths and naked time to help her out. I hope it goes away soon.

The problem is I'm not 100% sure what's causing it. Most probably it's because she's teething. Well, she's been teething for about 3 months, but her teeth have finally decided to make an appearance. And their appearance has made her miserable. So it's either that or her formula. A few weeks ago we made the transition from the name-brand stuff to a generic kind. And I'm wondering if this has upset her somehow. I think I'll send Jonathan to the store tomorrow to pick up the old formula so we can try that again and see if it makes a difference. I really hope that's not the reason. I was looking forward to all the money we were going to save buying store-brand. Just for interest's sake, here's a link to an article I read about formula that finally convinced me that it's okay to not buy name-brand all the time.

Well, I think that's about it. Can you believe it's November 15th already? I can still remember when I couldn't believe it was already September. And then October just flew out of nowhere. Now there's less than 6 weeks left until Christmas. Sheesh. Is it just me, or is time flying by for you too?

To phone or not to phone

2009-11-14T19:45:00.003-06:00

Since I'm harping on myself, let's talk about another thing I'm horrible at...

Phoning people.

I HATE phoning people. I don't care if it's personal, business or whatever. I hate doing it. Do you know how much time I waste coaxing myself into it? A lot. Even just calling to order a pizza. It's bad. When I have to call somebody (especially someone I barely know) I just pray for the answering machine. Because I've usually written myself a little script just in case. And me winging it with an answering machine is not pretty.

Where is this leading you ask? Well, I'm having an Epicure party on the 24th and I need to invite people. I'm mostly inviting other moms from around town who I've met through play group and the library. Everybody on my list I've met at least once. And I've had this list for over a week. It's neatly written out with all of their phone numbers. And do you think I've called a single person yet?

I have been trying to psyche myself up forever. I've set a time and date to sit down and do it at least 3 times and have yet to follow through. My newest deadline is tomorrow evening. And I better do it because I'm running out of time.

I know that once I get started it won't be so bad. It's just that first call. That first dialed number. That first ring. My heart's starting to pound already. Sigh. I'm such a chicken.

So. Tomorrow evening. I'm gonna do it.

Maybe.

All or nothing

2009-11-13T23:27:00.003-06:00

I was going to let today's post slide. But if I did that, I probably wouldn't have bothered finishing the month. I'm an all or nothing kinda girl. It's really irritating. Especially when it comes to diet and exercise. If I blow my diet just one time, I'm done for the week. Same with exercise. Miss one day and it'll take forever to get back on track. And that's probably why I can't make any headway with either.

Because I need to share this

2009-11-12T17:04:00.004-06:00

I know this is probably going to be posted on several blogs quite quickly, but I'd like to share it here too.

Jonathan's uncle David (who is only a few years older than Jonathan) wrote this song for Jonathan's dad and performed it for us at the memorial. And it was beautiful.

My Wish List

2009-11-12T11:30:00.005-06:00

If I were 10 years old, this post would be titled Dear Santa. But I'm not. I'm 29 and I'm going to start this:

Dear Jonathan,

Here is my Christmas wish list. Many of these items are way more money than we have agreed to spend on each other. They are only here because this is a kind of Ultimate Wish List. Also, please be advised that some of these pictures are visual prompts only. Like in the case of the kitchen appliances, I do not mean those exact, specific appliances.

Except perhaps this Kitchen Aid. When the day comes where we are in the position to be purchasing $400 kitchen appliances, I think I would like the silver one. But we aren't. So I better not see one under the tree. I'd be really mad that you went that much over budget. (Kinda.)

This is another item that's way over budget, but I would really like one sometime in the near future. We didn't realize when we got StarChoice last year that our DVD recorder would not connect to our HD receiver. While standing in the store, I specifically said that we don't need to buy the DVR receiver because we have the DVD recorder. You think the stupid salesperson would say, Hey! Actually that won't work with this HD receiver. If you're going to need to record, I would suggest going for the DVR. Bang. Sold. Stupid Radio Shack employee. And I don't care what they call it, it's still Radio Shack.

Another item that has been on my wish list for awhile. A sewing machine. I don't actually do a lot of sewing, but when I do, I have to haul everything over to my mom's. So it's mostly mending and hemming. I actually borrowed my mother-in-law's sewing machine last night to finally hem all my curtains. I'm resisting the urge to take advantage of the fact there's a sewing machine in the house and start some sort of crafty project. Like pillows. Or a cute little dress for Abbey. Or more Christmas stockings. Sigh. Maybe it's a good thing I don't have my own machine. (But I'd still really like one. I'd at least like the option to take up quilting. You know. If I wanted to.)

Another long time wish. An elliptical machine. Back in the pre-children, pre-marriage days when I was in really good shape, I ran on the treadmill everyday. But it's really hard on the joints. My mom also has an elliptical machine and it's just as good of a cardio workout, and a lot gentler. I think both Jonathan and I would benefit from this.

As well as this. I have EA Active for the Wii and I use it almost daily. But I think this would be nice to have as well. Give me a little variety.

My current winter jacket is about 5 years old. It's looking a little worn and has a couple rips. It was purchased just before I got pregnant with Noah. So it's also a little snug. I don't actually expect Jonathan to purchase me a jacket. Maybe just take me shopping for one.

Okay. This one is very specific, so I'm going to post a link. I would like a set of the Southern Vampire Mysteries novels. It's a series, and it's not done yet. But the latest set has 8 books. So I would like that one.

Here's a couple more kitchen appliances that I think would be useful. A hand blender would be really nice. Especially when I find myself making soups that need to be puréed. Hot soup and blenders don't always mix.

Last summer, I had the urge to start experimenting with ice creams, sorbets, and frozen yogurts. But I lack one essential item. And an ice cream maker.

These next items are ideas for stocking stuffers.

Socks. Who doesn't needs socks? I've been finding a lot of holes in mine lately. Actually, I might not make it till Christmas. I needs more socks now.

Body Shop. I love Body Shop. But nothing perfumey. I like fruity smells. And vanilla. And Shea Butter. Body washes are my favorites too. I'm not really a lotion kinda girl.

This gift might be more fitting in Jonathan's stocking. But all my knives are dull. So I would like this in my stocking and then I would like Jonathan to use it.

Gift cards. You can't go wrong with gift cards. These are my particular favourites.

And finally. The best. The last. The one thing I want more than anything else on this list.

I want one weekend. 48 whole hours to myself. I want Jonathan to take the kids to his mom's. Or my mom's. I really don't care. Maybe I'll just leave them all at home and go stay somewhere else. But I want the car. Because I've got plans. I'm going to call up Dionne and Tania and go out for coffee. And maybe even a movie. I'm going to ask Ang to take me to that restaurant with the really good Pad Thai. I'm going to go shopping and take as long as I freaking want to look at clothes and try things on. Because nobody is going to be there to rush me. I'm going to walk down Broadway drinking a Starbucks and go into any little shop that catches my eye. I'm going to ask Becky if she wants to come in that weekend and we can hit consignment stores. ALL OF THEM. And maybe, just maybe, I'll go to Spa Ahava and get a manicure. Or a massage. Or both! Oh, man. Can you imagine? 48 hours.

I'll need planning time though. Because I need to save up. Maybe in the spring.

Well. That's my list. This has turned into a crazy long post and if you have made it to the end, I thank you.

And if there are any other NaBloPoMo people looking for post ideas, I suggest doing this. It's fun planning out all the things you would like and looking them up on the internet. You could even do one item a day. That would really stretch it out.

Countdown to Christmas

2009-11-11T21:40:00.000-06:00

For those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile, you might remember this post. On October 17, 2006, I purchased a Countdown to Christmas cross-stitch kit off eBay.

It is now November 11, 2009, and I have yet to finish said cross-stitch. I'm close though, so very close.

I think it's safe to say, I should be done by this Christmas.

But considering this is a countdown to Christmas project and December 1st is in 19 days, we probably won't get to use it.

I still have a good chunk of the red frame to finish, which I have purposely left until last because it is so tedious. And about 50% of the fine detail work.

But next year, oh boy. We'll be counting down to Christmas in style. And it will only have been 4 years in the making.

Let's see where this leads us

2009-11-10T21:02:00.003-06:00

It is 9pm and I have no idea what to blog about. I actually got Noah to stand here and answer questions so I could record what his answers were. I was hoping for something hilarious. Instead I got a bunch of one word answers and a lot of I don't know's. I'll save that one as a draft. It might not look too bad in about a week.

After that lousy attempt, I actually started Googling meme's. How sad is that, huh? I didn't find anything. Just some really, really bad quizzes. Like What computer key are you? and What color is your love? Good lord.

9:09

Jonathan is laughing at something upstairs. I'm going to go check...maybe it's blog worthy.

...

The Office. I should have known.

9:17

Just checked some blogs and Facebook. Nothing. I had a new email though. My Airmiles account balance is in. I only need 825 more miles until I've earned my new camera.

9:26

Checked Jonathan's email and Facebook. Nothing interesting.

9:32

Okay. It's been half an hour. You can't say I didn't try.

See you tomorrow.

One of those days

2009-11-09T21:56:00.004-06:00

I'm feeling rather uninspired tonight. No brilliant post ideas came to me. I guess I was too busy yelling at children. Everyone's ears seemed to be broken today. They didn't hear me when I asked them to stop fooling around and eat their lunch. Instead they heard, Keep fooling around and spill your tomato soup all over yourself, the floor, the chair and the wall. They also didn't hear me when I asked them to keep the sand in the sandbox. They heard, Dump buckets of sand down the slide and put it in piles all over the grass. All that plus the pushing, fighting, biting and tattling made for one of those days.

I'll try again tomorrow.

My Sweet Bowtique

2009-11-08T21:50:00.001-06:00

Thanks Becky and Becky for introducing me to My Sweet Bowtique. Abbey's hair is getting longer every day and there's nothing like an excuse for some added cuteness. If you have a little girl, go to this site. You get to design your own clips and the prices are super reasonable, as well as the shipping. And if you're in Saskatoon, you can drop by and pick up your order yourself, as it's a local mommy that makes these.

Here are my creations:

I'm sure these are only the first of many. It was hard to narrow it down and now I see she has the Christmas selections up.

I didn't think it was possible, but they make her look even cuter.

French Onion Soup

2009-11-07T22:30:00.000-06:00

I had a few other ideas for today's post, but I'm tired. So, I'm going for the recipe post. Here's my super yummy supper that I mentioned the other day.

(This is an adapted version of Caramelized Onion Soup from my Epicure cookbook. By the way, I'm doing an Epicure party on Nov. 24. It's at my place and not so much a formal Epicure party as an excuse to get together, visit and eat. I'm just making a whole bunch of dips and other yummy Epicure recipes and having a bunch of people over to eat them with me and look through the Christmas catalog. Let me know if you'd like to order something or even come by and eat some yummy food.)

French Onion Soup

3 - 4 large onions, chopped however you like (I prefer diced)
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
6 cups stock (whatever kind you'd like)
1/4 cup white wine
Salt & pepper, to taste
French bread slices
Grated cheese to melt on top (Mozzarella or Swiss work well, I use a combo of both with a little Parmesan thrown in for good measure)

Gently sauté onions in olive oil. Cook very slowly, about 20 minutes. Add sugar, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, stock and wine. Bring to a simmer. Season with salt & pepper. Preheat oven to broil. Pour soup into oven proof bowls. Top with French bread (I cut my slices into large chunks) and grated cheese. Place under broiler and bake until cheese is melted.

Jonathan didn't want his so I ate both bowls that night. And I enjoyed every single bite.

What's in a name?

2009-11-06T22:05:00.004-06:00

Remember the first year of your child's life? How it seemed like every time you turned around they were doing something new? Smiling, laughing, rolling, sitting, crawling, standing, walking, talking. Even the second year is full of milestones. But eventually it tapers off. There's less and less, Come and look what so-and-so's doing! moments.

We have been having quite a few of those moments lately since Abbey is right between the standing and walking milestones. But Noah...not so much. Let's just say it's been awhile.

But this week Noah has brought back that excited, amazed feeling in the pit of my stomach. The I can't believe he's doing that sensation.

This week he has decided to write. I don't know where it came from. I just turned around the other day and this is what I saw:

I didn't teach him that. He just picked up the pen (or magnet, in this case) and went to town. He has become increasingly interested in letters lately. He is constantly pointing out letters and announcing that those are his letters. An N! Like my name! And he's been asking how things are spelled A LOT. I think it comes from finally recognizing every single letter of the alphabet. I did teach him that. Good ol' flashcards.

But finally seeing this makes me super excited.

Today he sat at the table and copied every single letter of the alphabet. Totally his idea.

And if he didn't get the letter exactly right, he did it again. There were a few melt-downs (have I mentioned he has his mother's perfectionist gene) but he got through it.

And he was sooo proud of himself.

We're proud of you too, buddy. And Mommy can't wait until YOU can read a bedtime story to ME.

Titleless

2009-11-05T21:43:00.002-06:00

I hate coming up with titles. Some people have a knack for it. I do not. I was going to call this randomness, but I'm pretty sure I've used that title many, many times before.

Now for the randomness.

I made a super yummy super tonight. And I took pictures. So something tells me that sometime in the near future, you will all be reading another recipe.

I think my computers are both on their last legs. My laptop, which is at least 7 years old, is on it's second power cord and second hard-drive. It has to be plugged in at all times or it will die in about 5 minutes. Less if you try to use the internet. And it's soooo slow. I can't play any games on it. Not even Facebook games. It's so sad. Also, 75% of the time, I can't even get it to recognize that it is plugged in. And our desktop, which is about 5 years old, does this thing where it randomly shuts itself down whenever it feels like it. Mostly when I'm trying to play the games that my laptop can't handle. Oh, and when it crashes like that, it makes this really weird clicking noise. Chances are that when they both go, they're going to go at the EXACT SAME TIME. Murphy's Law.

Jonathan is currently lying on the couch watching The Office. The show that months ago I BEGGED him to watch with me. Because it is so freaking hilarious and right up his alley. I knew he would love it. I'd sit him down and put a disk in and try to get him to watch. But nope, he wasn't interested. That from the guy who tonight went through the tv listings and marked down which channels and what time it would be on and is just finishing his 4th episode in a row.

If I'm going to make it through this month, I'm going to need some ideas. I hope you guys like reading recipes.

Post #250

2009-11-04T21:29:00.003-06:00

And I don't have anything remotely interesting to say on this momentous occasion. I don't even have a cute picture to show. So, instead of sitting here racking my brain for something, ANYTHING, I'm just going to post a recipe.

This is what we had tonight. It's quick and easy. And tasty, if you like tomatoes and chicken. Which I do.

Easy Chicken in Wine Sauce

4 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
3 chicken breasts, cut into strips
salt & pepper
1/2 cup white wine
3 tomatoes, diced

Heat oil and garlic in frying pan over medium heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt & pepper. Cook chicken in pan for 7-10 minutes. Add wine and cook for additional 2 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside. Add tomatoes to frying pan and sauté until tender. Return chicken to pan. Serve over rice.

Feel free to improvise. I added onions while I was frying the chicken tonight. And I usually only use 2 chicken breasts. And way more tomatoes, because I like lots of sauce for my rice.

If I had know this was going to be today's post, I would have taken a picture. Maybe next time.

10 Months Old

2009-11-03T21:25:00.000-06:00

Happy 10 month birthday Abbey!

You love crawling, eating, and pulling all of the wipes out of the container. You think Noah is the funniest person alive. You are so quiet it is almost stealth-like how you can sneak up on someone. And there's a twinkle in your eye that makes me think you understand much more than you are letting on. Part of me wishes I could freeze time and keep you this age forever. But the other part of me can't wait to see what you do next.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T22:40:00.001-06:00

This Halloween started with some Halloweeny crafts. I managed to get 2 in last week. It's a lot easier to come up with crafts to do when there's a holiday on the horizon.

I would have to say these crafts are 10% Noah's and 90% mine. That's how most of them are. But it works out good for us since I love doing crafts and Noah loves stapling and gluing tiny bits of scrap paper together instead of doing crafts.

Our Jack-o-lantern. Again, 10% Noah, 90% me. Noah picked the design off of a website and I replicated it for him.

This was as close to a costume as Abbey got to have this year. Next year I have big plans for her. Hopefully she likes chickens a bit more than Noah did.

If you will recall last year's Halloween, Noah was Mario. He really stretched his imagination this year when he asked to be Luigi.

But alas, he decided Luigi was just too foreign, too different. He had to go as Mario, again. Did I mention he's been wearing this hat on a regular basis since last Halloween?

Good thing all of my hard work didn't go to waste.

We'll kept the Luigi hat around and hopefully by next Halloween Noah will have warmed up to the idea of being someone other than Mario. And if we're really lucky, the year after that we might finally get that mustache on him!

Warning: Some may find this offensive

2009-11-01T13:57:00.005-06:00

Jonathan and I just think it's hilarious.

A while ago, Noah had this sore on his finger and he wanted his daddy to take a picture of it. So Jonathan asked him to hold up his finger. Well, that resulted in hilarity. So, Jonathan told him to hold up his other finger, too. And this is what he got.

We really aren't teaching or encouraging these things. Stuff like this just sometimes happens.

This post is brought to you by the first day of NaBloPoMo. Thanks, Chris, for reminding me about it.

Goings On

2009-10-02T14:30:00.006-06:00

Last year, at about this time, we started painting the cupboards. A few weeks ago, we finished painting them and finally got the doors back on. One whole year. That's about what I expected. And hopefully next year at this time, I'll be writing about how we finally got all the baseboards and trim painted and back on the walls.

I'm kicking myself though. Apparently I never took before pictures of the kitchen. (I'm blaming the fact that we were working our butts off and I was pregnant.) So I have no photographic evidence of how horrible they looked when we moved in. But look at the picture below this. See the trim around the window? Picture that everywhere. The best I can give you is a before shot without the doors.

And here's Daddy's little helper. You can't keep Noah away when Daddy gets the power tools out.

And Abbey gets in on the action.

And finally, the after shot. I was a little shocked by the bareness of it all. I think I'm going to paint the back-splash to bring some color back. We also kinda miss not having doors. It's nice to just glance at the cupboards and immediately see what you're looking for. And it makes putting the dishes away easier. If we ever get new cupboards, I'm putting in some open shelving.

And here's a few pictures from the last couple weeks.

Daddy and Noah goofing around.

Noah, as usual, having a hard time keeping his hands off Abbey.

Playing 'fort' under the kitchen table.

Abbey is pretty much a master crawler now. I forgot how fast they get and how quickly. Yesterday I washed all the floors (which I guess I should start doing more often now) and she just crawled around the house after me. She's started trying to pull herself up onto things. And she started standing in her crib this week. Of course, now that she can crawl all she wants to do is stand and be walked around.

Noah and Abbey Wrestling

2009-09-25T13:29:00.001-06:00

Well. Abbey wrestling Noah, anyways.

Abbey Actually Crawling

2009-09-24T11:16:00.007-06:00

Abbey's been somewhat crawling for about a week or so but last night she really got it. (Of course, it was the night I decide to go out.)

Not bad, huh? I thought being able to crawl would make her really happy, but this morning she's been crawling into walls and such and getting stuck. It's kinda cute, except for all the crying.

Picture Update

2009-09-11T13:09:00.004-06:00

Here's some pictures of what we've been up to the last couple weeks. And a few of Abbey just being cute, because that's what she does best.

We've been doing a few crafts...

...like painting.

And macaroni necklaces.

Spent some time in the pool.

What are you looking at?

Nothing like cuddling on the couch...

...or jumping in the Exersaucer.

Abbey had her first shopping trip in the cart.

And Noah spelled his name all by himself.
Kinda.

Abbey doesn't like to be that far from Mom,
so she spends some time on the kitchen floor.

And of course, here she is doing what she does best.

Abbey Trying to Crawl

2009-09-10T17:05:00.005-06:00

This will probably only be exciting for the Grandparents. It's only because of them that I spent the 4 HOURS it took to upload this video to YouTube. Enjoy.

Making Good on a Promise

2009-09-01T18:46:00.008-06:00

This conversation took place on Facebook chat about 10 minutes ago. It might only make sense if you play FarmTown.

By the way, Ashley is my sister.

Ashley
ready to harvest

Melissa
who? you?

Ashley
no u

Melissa
i didn't know i had anything planted

Ashley
well i haven't looked

Melissa
so are you asking me if i have anything ready to harvest?

Ashley
yes that is what i am getting at

Melissa
have you ever heard of a question mark?

Ashley
no don't think so

Melissa
dork

Ashley
well i try
here
READY TO HARVEST?

Melissa
as far as i know....no....i have nothing to harvest

Ashley
hmm ok well keep me posted

Melissa
oh man....lol...i'm totally posting this conversation on my blog

Ashley
oh come on!

Maybe it's just the heat, but I was ROFL.

Time to Dust off the Ol'Blog

2009-08-28T10:51:00.006-06:00

Jonathan's parents are back in Seattle for the next 4 months. And when you're away from home for extended periods of time, it's probably nicer to have more in-depth updates than little blips and the odd picture on Facebook. So I'll try.*

Last week I started my new full-time childcare position. Sounds pretty fancy when I put it like that, doesn't it? All it means is that instead of taking care of two little monsters all day long, I now run after 4 little monsters. Let's list them by age and we'll all see how insane I am. There's Noah who is 4-1/2. Sydney is almost 4. Treyton just turned 1 and Abbey is almost 8 months.

This is a pretty telling picture. Noah's still adjusting a bit. They actually play together quite nicely and only one day this week has he asked if Sydney can go home. I'm glad we did a few trial runs during the summer though, so I knew what to expect. There's just been lots of Treyton! NO! Don't touch! and If you guys can't share, I'm taking it away! And there hasn't been any major injuries so far. Just a few bumps and bruises, all of which either happen to or are caused by Treyton. It's hard being 1.

It was a good day when Abbey started sitting by herself. She was a lot happier. But now she's starting to get restless and I keep finding her on her stomach or back about 2 feet from where she was originally sitting. She's starting to want to move and get stuff.

See. Jonathan and I are betting on when she crawls. I think it'll be by the end of September. Jonathan's thinking more like between Halloween and Thanksgiving. Either way, Noah's already got her beat. If Abbey was Noah, she would have been crawling about 2 weeks ago. In fact, the outfit she's wearing in these pictures, Noah was wearing when he was walking. It's amazing how different two babies can be.

She does like to stand though. And no, she did not pull herself up here. And heaven forbid she take a step. She has NEVER taken a step. For walking I'm saying by Christmas and Jonathan's guessing by her first birthday.

The big news with Noah is that's he pretty much regressed when it comes to potty training. It started with the odd accident here and there. Then bigger accidents when he was doing something he was really into like playing video games. Then it turned into out-right refusing to go. He'd tell us that he'd wet his pants and when we asked him why he didn't go in the potty: I didn't want to. That's his response. There were a few days where he didn't make it to the bathroom once. We've decided to use tough love and took away the Wii. He has to go a whole day without having an accident and then he's allowed to play that evening. Up till yesterday he didn't play video games for almost a week. He's getting better though and we're getting better at reminding him. And it helps that he understands what's going on. Yesterday, after an accident free day, he said to me: Daddy is going to be so proud of me Mommy!

And that's the kinda week it's been around the Braun household. This weekend Jonathan and I are going out for our Anniversary which was on Monday. We're gonna do dinner and a movie. Only there's not much out there for movies right now. I'm thinking maybe District 9. And The Keg for supper since we have a gift certificate. We've been carrying it around for almost a year.
We don't get out much.

*I actually started this a week ago. I'm not off to a very good start.

Mystery Solved

2009-08-05T15:59:00.004-06:00

The mystery of who Abbey looks like anyways...

Yup. I'd say she's got a bit of her mother in her.

Can you tell who's who?

Playing Dress-Up

2009-03-14T10:48:00.002-06:00

For Grandma

2009-03-14T10:03:00.003-06:00

Thank you for the beautiful dress!

The Many Faces of Abbey

2009-03-13T15:27:00.003-06:00

Almost There

2009-02-15T08:55:00.002-06:00

I posted a little bit ago that I'm putting an Epicure order in shortly. I have to have a total of $250 before I can submit it, and as of right now I'm soooo close.

Is there anybody else that needs anything? I'd order more myself, but as of right now I'm already half of the order.

Here's the link to the catalogue. Click on the Catalogue link on the left-hand side of the page. It will download to your computer as a PDF.

Just leave a comment or email me at melissabraun@shaw.ca if there's anything you want.

Thanks!

One of those days

2009-02-12T14:13:00.005-06:00

I am currently sitting here feeling like total crap. I'm having one of those days where I'm continually getting frustrated by external forces and then totally taking it out on Noah. He's not even being that bad today. I could even say he's being helpful. But I seem to have a VERY short fuse this afternoon and poor little Noah has turned into my verbal punching bag for no other reason than he keeps crossing my path.

*Sigh* Nothing like your child sobbing, big alligator tears streaming down his face, and hiccuping, You scared me, Mommy...you scared me, to make you feel like a big pile of poop.

I think a few rounds of MarioParty 8 are in order. That should make him happy and hopefully forget what a terrible mother he has.

25 Things

2009-02-09T19:57:00.003-06:00

1. My life is pretty boring. Don't believe me? I'm doing this even though nobody has tagged me. Pretty lame, huh?

2. I joined Twitter just so I could follow celebrities. I never update.

3. I don't like breastfeeding. I only do it because I know it's good for my babies and it saves us from having to buy formula.

4. Speaking of breastfeeding, I am one of those moms who never cover up. It is just too much trouble. So if it makes you uncomfortable, leave the room. Because it doesn't bother me one bit.

5. I have never broken a bone.

6. I am terrified of needles. Just thinking about them makes my knees go weak and my legs go numb.

7. I hate working. Good thing I like being a stay-at-home mom. I hope I never have to have a regular 9-5 job.

8. If I had to do it all over again, I don't think I would go to university. The cost is just not worth it.

9. When I was little, I was terrified of elevators. They played a key roll in all my childhood nightmares. I can still remember them.

10. If company is coming, I clean the house and try to make everything look perfect.

11. I love Jonathan more now than the day we got married.

12. My number one pet-peeve is getting my hair pulled. Number 2 is getting tickled.

13. I hate calling people on the phone. This includes making reservations, ordering pizza, and calling anyone I don't talk to on a regular basis.

14. Hugging makes me uncomfortable.

15. I don't like horror movies. Especially ones like the Saw series or The Ring.

16. I wish I took more pictures. I can go weeks without using the camera or months in the case of the video camera. I'd settle with just taking more pictures and videos at special events.

17. The fact that I was overweight when I was younger has made it easier for me to appreciate my body now.

18. When I start reading a book, I don't put it down until I am finished. Good thing I'm a fast reader.

19. I spend WAY too much time online. We're talking hours a day here. And I don't do anything except check email, Facebook and blogs over and over again.

20. I'm running out of random facts.

21. I'm the oldest of 5 kids. I didn't like having so many siblings when I was younger but I really appreciate it now.

22. When I was in elementary school, I wished that we would move so I could start over at a new school. We ended up moving twice. By the time I graduated, I was wishing I had been able to stay with the same group of friends all the way through.

23. I have been spared the sleep deprivation that most parents with young children go through. Noah was sleeping through the night by the time he was 6 weeks old and has never been an early riser. Abbey is already sleeping through the night.

24. I don't like alcohol. I've only been drunk twice in my life and I went all out on both occasions.

25. I'm already planning the next baby. And the one after that.

Settling In

2009-01-22T23:20:00.003-06:00

Things have pretty much resumed their normal pace here in the Braun household. I'm still amazed at how much easier the second baby is. Abbey has fit nicely into our routine allowing Noah and I to pretty much keep to our regular day-to-day schedule.

Abbey is a pretty content baby. She feeds more than I ever remember feeding Noah, about every 2.5 hours. But she's starting to sleep for longer stretches during the night. She's also made it back up to her birth weight which is good. This means that the health nurses have stopped calling first thing every morning and making visits out here. I've only had one call from them this week.

I can't believe how many things have changed since I've had Noah. Apparently bumper pads are a big no-no now. Same with co-sleeping. And it's recommended that the baby sleep in the same room with you until 6 months. That's also how long they want you to breastfeed exclusively. Absolutely no food until 6 months, and when you do introduce it they want you to start with meat. Not cereal. Apparently a 9 month old baby needs as much iron as a grown man. They would have to eat 3.5 cups of pablum to get what they need compared to only a small amount of meat. Makes sense. We'll just have to see if we can get it in her when the time comes, because Noah hated meat. The health nurse this week also informed me that they recommend you breastfeed for TWO YEARS! If you can make it this long your chance of getting breast cancer is reduced by 50%. They also don't want you using lanolin on the poor cracked nipples anymore either. Sheesh. I wonder what will change by the time I have the next one.

Another thing that has changed is Noah. He woke up one day and decided that Abbey was the most fascinating thing he's ever been around. He's constantly getting me to come see what she's doing and listen to the noises she's making. He also likes to tell me what to do with her. Take Abbey out of her swing, Mommy. She wants to jump on your lap, Mommy. Put her in her bed, Mommy. Make her talk, Mommy. That last one is his favorite. We're supposed to hold her up and move her mouth while making her "talk". It's kinda along the lines of playing "two fingers" for those of you who've been around Noah and played this game with him before.

I'm posting some pictures from the last week. Noah and I were very grateful for the nice weather we've had here recently. For the most part, since Abbey was born we only make it out of the house once a week. We were able to go on lots of walks this week and we even made it down to the local coffee shop for a treat. We also went to a children's playgroup here in town that some local mothers have started up. Hopefully it doesn't get too cold this week so we're able to go again. We only have one car right now which means if I want to go somewhere it has to be in town and I have to walk.

Finally warming up to his little sister.

A little suntanning to help with the jaundice.
(Which is actually another big no-no now.)

Going for a walk on a beautiful afternoon.

Stopping at the local coffee shop for a treat.

Big brother, little sister.

I'm very glad things have gone so well for us so far. Now if Noah would just learn how to change a diaper everything would be absolutely perfect.

Need Anything?

2009-01-16T19:57:00.003-06:00

I've had a few people ask me in the last little bit if I'm still selling Epicure. I'm not, but I am still technically a consultant. But because I'm considered "inactive" I have to put in a minimum $250 order if I want anything.

There are a few things that I'm running out of and I was wondering if there's anybody else out there who needs anything.

Epicure has made their catalogue available online this year. Have a look and let me know if there's anything that you would like. Unfortunately, I'll only be able to put the order through if we can get the total to amount to $250.

Here's the link to the catalogue. Click on the Catalogue link on the left-hand side of the page. It will download to your computer as a PDF.

If there is anything you'd like to order, email me (melissabraun@shaw.ca) or leave a message in the comments. I won't put the order in until I can get $250 worth of sales, or if it looks like that's not going to happen I'll let you know.

Abbey's Birth Story

2009-01-10T19:07:00.008-06:00

Here are the main details for those of you who don't want to read the long and messy ones.

Abigail Dawn Braun
Born January 3, 2009 at 6:58 pm
37 weeks 5 days gestation
Exactly 8 lbs and 20 inches long

The time-line for how Saturday unfolded is pretty much approximate. I probably would have paid closer attention to how and when everything happened if I hadn't been thinking, there is no way I'm having this baby today, the entire time.

This is also probably going to end up being a really long post, but I'm mostly doing it for my own sake. I like to write down my birth stories right away before I start to forget most of the details. And there might be a few of you out there who like things like labor and delivery stories. So I'll share.

To say that I was uncomfortable through Christmas and New Years would be an understatement. The indigestion had gotten to the point where I was barely able to eat. My body also seemed to not want to digest anything that I was able to fit in there. And the thought of carrying on for another month like that was very, very depressing. Nausea also set in on Christmas Eve and kept coming back up until I delivered. Jonathan thinks I had a bit of a flu bug, but I think it was a combination of impending labor and the fact that my body was not agreeing with anything I was eating.

At my last doctors appointment my doctor checked me and according to him I was 1.5 - 2 cm dilated. I was exactly 37 weeks and not happy as I had walked around with Noah for over a month at 3 - 4 cm dilated. I really felt like I was going to be pregnant forever.

On New Years Eve, Noah and I came into the city with Jonathan. We stayed over at my mom's for a few days since the weather was bad and I didn't want to get stuck out in Borden just in case something did start to happen. Over the next few days I could feel quite a few contractions but nothing was coming regularly and they weren't very strong.

The only reason I even ended up at the hospital on Saturday morning was that I had woken up and the baby had totally changed position in my stomach. This was really weird because I couldn't remember the last time she had shifted positions. This shift caused me not to be able to feel any movements from her that morning. And as much as I didn't want to be one of those people, I really felt like I needed to go in and get checked out. So at 11 am Jonathan and I headed to the emergency room.

When we got there several people stopped me to ask if I was in labor. I reassured them I was not and went through registration and was sent upstairs to be assessed. They hooked me up to the monitors and right away there was a strong heartbeat which made me feel a lot better since I still wasn't really feeling any movement. I was pretty much ready to head back home now that I knew everything was okay, but I was also hoping that a doctor would check me so I would know if anything was going on. They left me hooked up to the monitors while we waited for the on-call doctor to come check me. I was hooked up for about an hour and along with a strong heartbeat the monitor was showing contractions. All I could feel was the occasional tightening and sometimes nothing unless I was actually watching the monitor. A couple times I could feel the contraction in my back. After the nurse unhooked me from the monitor (and commented wow, you ARE having a lot of Braxton Hicks) I thought they stopped. At about 1:30 pm the doctor came in to check me. She felt around my stomach and reassured me that everything looked good and the baby had just flipped sides and was now mostly moving where there was extra padding from the placenta. She saw that I was contracting about every 4 minutes and decided to check me and see if anything was going on. Before checking me she just wanted to let me know that that if I was past a certain point they would want to keep me. We asked what that point was: 4cm. She checked me and I was 4, maybe 5 cm. I must not have looked too thrilled so she said that since I wasn't feeling the contractions they would leave me for about an hour and then check to see if I had progressed.

At 3:30 pm the doctor came back. I was now definitely 5 cm and the baby had dropped further down since she last checked me. I was considered in active labor and they admitted me. I felt a little ridiculous as they moved us into a birthing room. I figured we were going to be there forever.

Since we thought there was tons of time and he had things that needed to get done that day, I told Jonathan to find someone to come sit with me and then go run errands. He called his parents and then headed out while I sat in the rocking chair doing Sudoku. The nurse came in and commented that there were a couple ladies down the hall who would love to be in my position right now. I asked if they were feeling their contractions at 5 cm. Yup, she said, and screaming for the epidural.

Jonathan's parents got there at about 4:30 pm. Shortly after the doctor came in to check how things were going. She talked me into letting her break my water which was something I figured they would want to do. I was a little hesitant because once they do that you're kinda on a time limit. And I honestly was thinking they were going to realize there was nothing really going on and send me home. But I also figured that after they broke my water things might start to progress a little faster. With Noah I didn't feel any contractions until my water broke when I was at home in bed. So she broke my water at about 5 pm and I immediately started feeling contractions. They were coming about every 5ish minutes and I was about 6 cm at this point.

So between 5 - 5:30 pm I called my mom and Jonathan to let them know what was going on. But I'm not really pushing Jonathan to hurry back since we figure (well, the doctor does anyways) that it could still be a while. Between 5:30 - 6ish things are getting a little painful and I start inquiring about pain relief. I'm a big fan of the nitrous oxide. I have a HUGE aversion to needles and will do anything to avoid them, including refusing an epidural so I don't have to have an IV, etc. I tell the nurse that I would like the gas and she says they need to check me first because they only like to give it in the last stages of labour, so they want you to be at least 7 cm. She checks me and then informs me that she thinks I'm fully dilated. I just looked at her and said Are you kidding me!? She brings in another nurse to double check and sure enough I've gone from 6 to 10 cm dilated in less than an hour.

Things are a little blurry after that. They bring me the gas and I suck on that like my life depends on it while they wait until I start getting the urge to push. My contractions are clustering so I'm having multiple contractions right on top of each other with a small break in between which I'm using to stare at the clock and wonder when Jonathan is going to get there. He finally walks in just as I'm getting ready to push.

Now, when I had Noah they let me keep the gas while I pushed. Not this time. When they finally let me start pushing (they were waiting for the doctor to come from another delivery) the nurse took the mask away. So I actually only had it for about half an hour after I had already fully dilated. And then nothing. Let's just say I pushed as hard and as fast as I possibly could. I don't remember exactly, but it probably only took about 15 minutes of pushing. With Noah I pushed for over an hour. It definitely helped knowing what I was doing this time.

At 6:58 pm, approximately 2 hours after they broke my water and after the excruciatingly painful experience of pushing without drugs, Abigail Dawn (or Abbey as we like to call her) was born. The best parts would have to be that Jonathan's parents got to be there and see her right after she was born. Especially since they were originally supposed to be in Seattle for her birth. Another bonus was that it went so fast. I love that my body apparently doesn't feel contractions until my water breaks. And when it does, I love that I am able to cope with the pain and avoid the needles. But next time I am totally asking them ahead of time to leave me the gas for the pushing . Because the worst moment was when she was almost out but I had to stop pushing and wait for another contraction.
Worst. Pain. Ever.

I feel really lucky that I have another birth story that I will enjoy re-telling for years to come. This time around it wasn't the labor I was nervous about, but the fact that things might not go as smoothly as they had gone when I had Noah. I'm also really happy to find out that the second baby isn't as big of a shock to the system as the first. Everything has gone a lot smoother this time around from the hospital stay to the breastfeeding. I definitely recommend spending the extra money to have a private room.

Things are going well postpartum. We were out of the hospital 24 hours after Abbey was born. Jonathan had this past week off and has basically been on Noah duty. Noah is adjusting about as well as we expected. It only took about 2 days for him to acknowledge that there was a baby in the house. He looked at her on about day 3 and let her hold his finger not long after that. Today he even told me, that baby is coughing, Mommy. There's also only been one case of jealously when he thought that Abbey was using his blanket.

There is a little bit of a concern over her weight and the fact that she is jaundice right now. The health nurses have been out here almost every day to check her weight, and yesterday we were asked to go to children's emergency to have her jaundice checked by the pediatrician. Basically she sitting on the edge of acceptable for both: she's hasn't quite lost 10% of her birth weight (which is the maximum they want to see a newborn loose) and her bilirubin levels are just under the point where they would admit her back into the hospital to put her under the lights. The nurse will be back on Monday to check her weight and bilirubin levels again.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. I'll reward you with a couple pictures of my beautiful little girl.

It's That Time Again...

2008-12-18T22:50:00.002-06:00

Exactly 1 year ago (almost to the day) Noah and I got sick. One week before Christmas. Don't remember? Here's a refresher:

Noah Watch: Day One

Noah Watch: Day Two

Noah Watch: Day Three

It's Not Gonna Happen

We ended up missing the Braun Christmas because of our sickness. But looking on the brighter side of things, the last thing I wrote in that last sickness post was I guess there's always next year.

Fast-forward to this year and guess what? Yup. Sickness has hit us again the week before Christmas. Only this time it's Daddy's turn. Jonathan never actually got sick last year, so I guess it's only fair that this year he's sick and Noah and I are (so far) fine. Hopefully it will help that Noah and I are spending lots of time outside of the house. That way Jonathan gets lots of uninterrupted rest and we don't get over-exposed to germs. It's too soon to tell how things are going to play out, but Braun Christmas isn't until the 27th so we've got a bit of time. And (looking back at those posts) I don't think he's quite as ill and Noah and I were last year.

Unfortunately, this means we will be missing Jonathan's staff Christmas party. Again. I was really looking forward to it. Last year it was supper at The Granary. This year it's supper at The Ivy. But it's tomorrow night and there's no way Jonathan's going to be able to make it. Sigh. Dare I say it? I guess there's always next year.

And I might as well do a quick pregnancy update while I'm on here for those of you who are interested.

Update: I'm fat. I'm uncomfortable. Everything gives me unbearable heartburn. And I have a month left.

Although, I did have a doctors appointment today where it was discovered that I'm 1 cm dilated. So maybe I don't have a month left. But as much as I'd like to have this baby ASAP, I don't know how badly I want to be planning birthday parties around Christmas for the next 18 years. I'm definitely torn on the subject.

Useful Information

2008-12-08T17:19:00.002-06:00

I was going through my boxes of baby stuff today when I came across all the bottles I used when Noah was a baby. I recalled that there was a lot of press about plastic, including plastic baby bottles, and chemicals this year that caused many retailers to pull baby items off the shelves. At the time I wasn't too concerned as Noah was well past bottle feeding. But I thought I better educate myself a little for this next baby and find out if there is anything I currently own that may now be deemed unsafe.

Basically the main offending chemical is Bisphenol A or BPA which can be found in type 3, 6 and 7 plastics. I won't go into how bad it is here. But it's probably better that I stop exposing my children to it.

Since not all my plastic baby stuff has a number on it, I searched around the internet and found a great site that has done it's homework and provided an easy way for me to find out what products are okay and what should be avoided.

The ZRecs Guide to Safer Children's Products

I spent a bit of time on there this afternoon and have found out that one of the worst offenders of BPA in it's products is Avent. Which just happens to be the maker of my breast-pump and bottles. Since I'm not storing the milk and heating it in the breast-pump (and since it's really expensive) I'm going to keep it. But all the bottles I have for it need to be thrown out and replaced. The Platex Nurser bottles I have also contain BPA, but I'm also going to keep them as they're used with drop-in liners. I did end up throwing out some of my sippy cups (that Noah still was using) some baby spoons and a bowl.

Out of all the dishes, cutlery, sippy-cups, bottles and various other items that I own there was only 1 thing that I couldn't find on the website. And that was the bowl that I threw out, just in case.

One thing that I'm still confused about are the pacifiers. I've been reading conflicting reports about whether or not the Gerber NUK pacifiers (which is what we use) ever had, or still have BPA in them. The Gerber Canada website has been shut down and I can't access the American site as I'm in Canada. I would call them, but I wouldn't really trust anything Gerber had to say to me anyways.

I'd have to say that today was an eye-opening day. Have a look at that site and let me know if there's anything on there you're going to have to throw out.

Freaking Out A Little

2008-11-27T20:41:00.004-06:00

So, the baby's room is pretty much done. Painting anyways. I just have 2 stripes to add tomorrow. When I'm done I will have spent 4 days painting that room. Long days.

Here's the thing: This room is not gender neutral. I did have an ultrasound done where my doctor asked if I wanted to know the gender. And I did. So he told me. And I painted the room accordingly. But what if he was wrong? 'Cause that happens. What if I just spent 4 days painting a room that I'm just going to have to repaint?

It's always been in the back of my head that the doctor could be wrong. And I honestly don't care if he is. We haven't picked a name, I have hand-me-downs for both genders and my crib bedding is gender neutral. But those paint colors have pretty much set things in stone. And now I'm freaking out. Because I really don't want to paint that room again.

Maybe I'll spend a few minutes coming up with another painting scheme just in case the doctor is wrong. Picking paint colors always makes me feel better. And then I'm going to make somebody else come out here and repaint it for me.

There. I feel a bit better now.

Phase 2 Complete

2008-11-26T19:19:00.003-06:00

I am getting really, really tired of painting. If I wasn't so tired from painting all day today, I might sit down and figure out how many square feet of wall and ceiling I have painted in the last 6 weeks. That's one coat of primer and at least 2 coats of paint on almost every surface of this almost 1200 square foot house. And then there are the stripes. It's a good thing they look so darn fantastic when they're done. And if there's anybody out there even considering asking me to come do the same thing at your house...save your breath. The answer is no. But I'll gladly tell you how to do it yourself.

Six Left

2008-11-25T22:18:00.002-06:00

Posts, that is. I'm running out of steam.

Let's see. What did I do today?

I just finished phase 1 of the feature wall in the baby's room tonight. I'll do phase 2 tomorrow and a small phase 3 sometime later in the week. All I can say is, I'm sure not timid when it comes to picking colors. There is nothing subtle in this house. At all.

The Borden Welcome Wagon came tonight and brought us all sorts of goodies. Gifts and gift certificates from most of the local businesses. I'm gonna have to go shopping soon and pick up my free pie, pasta, custom envelopes and pick out a book from the bookstore here.

Time to go lay on the couch with a cup of tea and watch a movie. After I wrestle Noah into bed.

One of the great decisions in life...

2008-11-24T21:31:00.004-06:00

I don't have anything interesting to talk about tonight, so here's a funny email I received recently.

Life really boils down to two questions...

1. Should I get a dog?

Or...

2. Should I have children?

Have a good night!

Almost There

2008-11-23T21:40:00.003-06:00

I've got 6 rooms painted and 1 to go.

I finished painting the living room today. That means the only room I have left to paint is the baby's room. I put a coat of ceiling paint in there this morning and tomorrow it'll be ready to go. Once it's painted I think I better start focusing on really getting ready for this baby. So far I've had no indication of early labor, but you never know. Besides, even if I make it to 40 weeks I've only got about 8 left and Christmas is right in the middle of that.

Want to know all the baby related stuff I've done in the last 32 weeks? I purchased some sleepers and diaper shirts that were on clearance at Wal-Mart in October. And that's it.

I've got a few things left to do. Like I need to drag out all my boxes labeled Baby Stuff and go through them. Then I need to make a list of everything I need like diapers and go buy them. After I finish painting the baby's room, Jonathan needs to floor it. And then we have to actually put it together. This involves moving Noah out of his toddler bed and into a twin so we can put the crib mattress back in the crib. And we have to get the basement ready for our new washer and dryer so I can begin to wash all the little baby clothes. I should probably get a hospital bag ready for the baby and I too. I also need a new diaper bag. I was planning on buying one off of Etsy. I'd like a good-quality handmade one. Hopefully then it won't fall apart after a year. I don't like how the store ones have all that plastic lining. It just causes the bag to rip and crack way sooner then it should. I'm sure there's more to do, but I can't think of it now.

I need to go lay on the couch now. All that painting doesn't help my poor pregnant back. And now I'm feeling overwhelmed by all the stuff I have left to do. Oy.

Expensive Day

2008-11-22T22:34:00.003-06:00

Our house didn't come with a washer and dryer. Well, it did come with one of them, but it was so stinkin' old that I didn't even look close enough to remember exactly what it was. Anyways, we've been hauling our laundry to my Mom's and doing it there for the last month. Something that we can't do forever. Especially after the baby comes. But it's been fine for now and we just haven't had time to go looking around for a set. Until today. Originally we were just going to find something used in the classifieds, but Jonathan was leery because you never know what you're gonna get. So this morning we made a list of a bunch of appliance places and started our search. It was exhausting. And it took over 5 hours. And we ended up spending twice as much as we would have liked. But I think we got a good deal. I hope we got a good deal. And if it wasn't a good deal, I don't want to know.

Finally

2008-11-21T22:25:00.001-06:00

Can't talk. Watching TV.

More MamaRia

2008-11-20T22:16:00.003-06:00

We rented Super Mario Galaxy a few weeks ago. Noah loved it. We ended up keeping it for a whole extra week. When we finally brought it back, I made sure to take Noah into the store with me, show him the game and got him to drop it into the slot. I figured this way every time he asked for it I could remind him about how we brought it back to the store.

The first morning after we brought it back instead of asking where Daddy was (like he always does), Noah asked if Daddy was at the store finding him another Super Mario Galaxy.

As I write this Noah and Jonathan are acting out Super Mario Galaxy. This is one of his favorite games. We hold the imaginary controllers and shout out actions for Mario (Noah) to do. The bum-stomp is particularly funny.

Noah now asks daily to go to the store and get Super Mario Galaxy. I try to explain that Christmas is coming and if he is good, maybe Santa will bring it for him. This tactic is also being used for WALL-E. Almost every store we go into has a giant WALL-E display which just taunts the poor boy. Today at Superstore he rode in the cart holding the DVD. I distracted him with a chocolate advent calender at the checkout.

Not much point to this post. Just a daily dose of Noah for those of you who care.

Wednesday Night

2008-11-19T21:20:00.003-06:00

Want to know what's better then having company over for dinner? Having company over and THEY cook YOU supper.

Ang and Todd brought Noah's new sandbox out tonight. I haven't actually seen it yet, but I'm sure come spring it'll be a hit. Ang then made us Pad Thai for supper. I'd never had it before but it was really, really good. I would have had thirds, but I needed to save room for the apple crisp that I made. Then we played Jonathan's horse racing game. Aside from a few temper-tantrums from Noah, it was a good night. I like it when people come out to visit. More of you need to get on that.

Yup...

2008-11-18T22:18:00.002-06:00

Is it just me, or is November going really slow. Is NaMoBloPo or whatever it is over yet? I'm running out of things to say.

I completed about 90% of my Christmas shopping today in just under 3 hours. I spent at a rate of about $100 an hour. Not bad, huh?

Get this. Noah will eat an entire bowl of Multigrain Cheerios but won't touch Alpha-Bits. Alpha-Bits totally taste better than Multigrain Cheerios. Jonathan keeps mixing them together to drive Noah nuts. He sits there and picks out all the letters. Once he accidentally put an "O" from the Alpha-Bits in his mouth and totally spit it out. Weirdo.

See what I have to resort too.

Monday Night Randomness

2008-11-17T22:21:00.005-06:00

I forgot my Diclectin at Mom's. I've been taking 1 pill every night, just in case. I needed them until the very end with Noah and I didn't want to risk not taking it for this one even though I wasn't sure if I still needed it. Apparently, I still need it.

We should have TV by this weekend. I finally called StarChoice to arrange for installation. I haven't really missed TV, but I am tired of watching only Noah movies every time I sit on the couch.

The kitchen cabinet color is going to stay. I painted my dining room and now the color isn't bothering me so much. So I might as well save myself the extra work and money. Plus, Jonathan read my post and pretty much put his foot down. He does that sometimes.

I am happy with the color choice for the living/dining area. Although it is turning out to be a lot of blue. But I enjoy blue, so whatever. Jonathan thinks everything looks the same and is asking for white walls. He doesn't know what he's talking about.

I made my Christmas shopping-list today. My goal is to be finished by the end of November. I even made a separate list with the items broken down by store so I can make as few trips as possible.

Time for bed. I have to be ready to go early in case the headlights on Jonathan's little Honda decide not to work again in the morning. Then we have to drive in with him because Noah has preschool. Which also means we have to stay in for the entire day. Maybe I'll finish all my Christmas shopping tomorrow. Wouldn't that be something?

Night

The Hallway

2008-11-16T21:54:00.003-06:00

I don't have a before shot of the hallway. So this probably won't seem very impressive. I'm mostly putting this up for John and Chris so they can see the hall color and Jonathan's hard work over the weekend. Note the new floor vent which has made Jonathan feel better and he's stopped talking about (needlessly) putting it in the wall. And those 4 pictures are the first thing I've hung since we moved in.

FYI: All wood doors and trim (which are currently absent) will eventually be painted white. But we're not even close to that yet.

I've realized that it's not the color of the hallway that I don't like but the fact that it's so close to the color of blue in Noah's room. Unless they're side by side (which they aren't) they're virtually indistinguishable. But I'll get over it.

I have decided, though, that I am not happy with the color of my kitchen cabinets. They're white, but a bluish-white. And my very turquoise wall is reflecting off the bluish-whiteness causing them to look even less white. I'm wishing I would have picked a more white-white. But I'll get over that too. Maybe. I definitely don't want to re-paint them, but I'd be lying if I said the thought hasn't crossed my mind.

I know this nit-picking over paint colors is probably getting on some of your nerves. But I don't particularly care. So go read something else.

Almost forgot...

2008-11-15T23:25:00.005-06:00

to post. But then I remembered. And then I thought about just letting it slide for tonight, but I didn't. Lucky you.

Noah and I are staying overnight at my Mom's tonight. Jonathan's trying to get some marathon flooring done in the house. At last check he had 4 rows down. Not quite to the end of the hall like he was hoping. But he did have to pull all that carpet and deal with the underlay and those nail board things. Plus he started having an allergy attack from all the grossness that comes from carpets.

There. Aren't you glad I posted?

Friday Night

2008-11-14T20:25:00.002-06:00

I painted the hall. Finally. The color matched what I picked, only I'm not in love with it. It's more blue than I thought. I was going for a grey-blue, but I'm not sure if that comes thru. It almost looks like the same color blue that's in Noah's room. Hopefully it will grow on me once the flooring is in and some things are on the wall.

Thursday's Randomness

2008-11-13T21:24:00.003-06:00

I took my mis-tinted paint back to the store today. I waited for almost an hour while they had to rematch it. I overheard the guy talking to the girl who apparently was responsible for the first batch.

This is your writing, isn't it? Referring to the descriptor numbers on the top of the can.

Yeah, why?

Off. WAY off.

I'll try painting the hall again tomorrow. The purpley-blue of the first can has scared me. I hope this next attempt looks okay.

I helped out at Noah's preschool today. Want to know what he calls his teacher, Mrs. B? Mr. Teacher. I laughed hysterically on the inside every time he said it. Today he also informed me that the video game he was playing was "ticking him off". What do you say to that? And he threw an empty juice box from the back seat of the car and hit Jonathan square in the head. We would have disciplined him except we were trying not to laugh out loud.

We're one step closer to having TV again. We got a good deal on a couple satellite receivers. One of them is even an HD Recorder. I can pause and rewind live TV. We don't have an HD TV...but when we do, we'll be ready. Now we just need to get someone out here to hook up a dish for us.

And...I'm done.