Confessions of a Working Mother

Okay Patti - I'm updating

2008-07-07T19:35:00.001-07:00

Alright, so Patti's post yesterday or today on Lovebug made me feel like I oughta come on here and do an update post. It's been quite a while again!

Not much new and exciting here. Another month closer to baby being born. Only a few more weeks left. And so much to do around the house before then! The big thing is moving Kane into the bigger room upstairs, but even that has to wait 2 weeks I think.

Only 11 more days until we leave to make the trek to Snolqualmie to see Thomas the Train during the Discovery Tour. We leave on the 18th and a friend and I are taking our kids and staying overnight in Everett on the Friday. We go to the rail museum to see Thomas on the Saturday and then make the drive home. We must be crazy!!!! Oh well, the kids will love it, and that will make the insane trip worth it.

In recent news, Kane and I went to Dino-Town in Rosedale last weekend. He absolutely loved the inflatable water activity center:

And the weekend before that, we redid the flower beds in the front yard. Kane thought he was the general contractor and foreman in charge!

That's all for now - I'll try to be back sooner than last time to give you more of an update. Enjoy the warm weather everyone!

Mediocre Baby News

2008-06-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

Without going into too much detail and freaking anyone out, we were handed some news about baby that isn't fabulous. I have placenta previa so it looks as though a natural birth was going to be out of the question regardless of my decision. At least we had already booked the C-section. So it looks as though this baby is coming on August 28th. Due to the issues that can come from having placenta previa (which is a low lying placenta that covers the cervix to sum it up) the baby could come earlier depending on the safety of carrying the baby to full term. The C-section is already booked a week before our due date, but the dr. has prepared me for the possibility that it could become necessary to take the baby out a week or two before that.

But on the plus side, I'm not on full restricted activity at this point. Just certain activities that I need to try to avoid and generally keeping myself rested, not stressed and do whatever I can to prevent any strain on myself.

So now that I have had a few days to digest the news, it's a little easier on my stress level. It's nothing dangerous at this point, but anything less than perfect news, is always worrisome for the expectant parents - easy for the dr. to say not to worry at this point!

If anyone is planning to come and visit in the near future, be prepared for what will greet you. Chances are my house will be less than sparkly clean and guess what - I am not going to care!! If you don't think you can handle the disorganization and the piles of toys stacked all over the living room and the mass of shoes in disarray in the entranceway, well then I sugggest you avoid coming over to visit (for maybe the next 20 years) hahahahaha!!!

But for some good news, I was able to get registered for some classes for the BC Crops for Kids scrapathon in September. (Yes I know, I'm crazy planning to attend a weekend long crop with a 3 week old baby) I signed up for 3 classes. 2 are Lovebug sponsored classes, which will be fabulous I know! And the 3rd one is with Piggy Tales products - and I love me some Piggy Tales!

And if you're bored or in need of some creative jumpstarting, head over to Lovebug and join us for Bugzee, our latest fun filled event. It's a mixture of Yahtzee, scrapbooking and good ol' Lovebug fun.... sign up today!!

Some Happy Boy Photos

2008-05-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

Wanna see a really happy 2 year old boy? Take him to the rodeo and give him an unlimited wristband for rides!! I can't believe how many rides Kane went on and how much he completely enjoyed his day! He talked about it constantly for 3 days. It's yet to be seen how much he mentions it today still!

Here's some photos to give you an idea how exciting the day was for him:

Just before we headed out of the midway Brian decided to let Kane have a chance at a big inflatable hammer by fishing.

Here's my little fisherman giving it a try with lots of help from daddy... and wouldn't you know it, he got that big Spiderman hammer he wanted!!

All in all it was a super super day! Couldn't have asked for better weather, or a better mood for the mini-dude. Gotta love those days that just work out!

What have I gotten myself into??

2008-05-20T14:11:00.001-07:00

Well it appears that I've stepped into something I was completely not expecting. I went out and bought a Webkinz - of course the pug one:

And now I'm fully addicted to these silly WebKinz!! I have been playing everyday for the past 4 days since I got him and adopted him on the website. I named him Pugsley since I couldnt' name our real pug that.

And it gets worse, today I went out and bought myself the penguin too:

So if you don't hear from me in forever, you'll know why!!!

Anyway, we had a fabulous long weekend at home. We had a couple relaxing days, and even made it to the Cloverdale Rodeo. Brian got some wristbands for the WCA fair rides for us, so we got to ride on rides all morning for free. That was great - Kane thought he had died and went to heaven. He loved every single minute of it. I have the pictures at home on the computer though, so I'll have to post some when I get online tonight.

We also got to work on the housework to-do list a bit. I got completely caught up with laundry and then realized that the sheets should all be stripped from the guest bedroom bed and freshened up since we will have company starting on the weekend coming up. So I guess laundry is on the list again. And I should get the air mattress blown up again down in the rec room too. The sooner I get it blown up and Kane plays on it for a bit, the better... then he won't think it's playtime when his Uncle Steven is trying to sleep on it and make it his bed!

Well, I think that's all the news for now. Later everyone who is bored enough to read this. ;)

It's been a long time..... AGAIN

2008-04-17T10:03:00.001-07:00

I'm not even going to bother apologizing or saying it won't happen again... It's been a long while and let's just leave it at that.

There's lots of news on our front! Of course you already know that I'm pregnant - and thankfully that first trimester is out of the way and mostly took all the nausea with it when it passed by. Still get nausea whenever I get really hungry though - but that would be normal even if I wasn't pregnant I would think. We have our ultrasound booked for April 25, so hopefully I'll have some pics to show you after that. We aren't going to find out the sex, so keep the guesses coming. ;) hahaha!! Kane is absolutely 100% convinced it's a girl and whenever you ask him about it, it's always Baby Girl, or Baby Sister. So it could be either a not so fun explanatory talk with him when a boy pops out, or a sigh of relief that we don't have to break his heart because it is a girl. I'm not entirely sure what it is - with Kane I knew, I just knew it was a boy. For this one, I don't have any really strong thoughts one way or the other. Maybe that's just because I dont' have time to just sit and think of the baby - I'm too busy with Kane, and work and life..... oh yeah, and other big new addition to the family.

Okay small addition - our Pug baby! We got a Pug puppy earlier this week and he has already completely won our hearts. Just watching him and Kane run around after each other in the house and the yard is just soooo precious! It makes the pup piddle accidents totally worth it. Although I must say, that little Pugger seems to be pretty good at mostly hitting his pee pad when it's in the vicinity! And as long as we time it right, if you take him outside, only a couple minutes passes and he finds some long grass to water and fertilize.

Here's a pic of our beautiful little boy - Oscar.

Brian decided on the name, and apparently being able to very carefully veto my selection without saying so outright was successful for him. So Oscar it is. But whenever someone asks me what his name is.... I'll say Oscar Pugsley von Snortsalot. That's his full name, our family calls him Oscar. hahahaha!! See Brian may have won, but I *will* have the last say. ;) I hope he realizes now that he took the puppy naming responsibility, his arguments will have very little weight when it comes to baby names. See men, don't bother trying to outsmart your woman....... we can get way ahead of you without you even knowing! He may have won the battle for a foot, but I'll win the war for the acre. ;)

Let's see, what else is there. Oh yeah, I'm going to Ottawa again for Executive meetings in early June. This time around, Serena is going to be joining me. That will make it a fun trip. Finally my sister and I will have a chance to spend some quality time together without any small voices calling "mommy" or any other distractions. Let's hope this helps us get back the closeness we used to share so easily!

My friend Eryn and I are planning a trip to Snolqualmie in July to take the munchkins (her two and my one) to see Thomas the Train on his Discovery 2008 Tour. The Nortwest Railway Museum has 2 different weekends of Thomas. I think we'll be going July 18-20.... do an overnighter in Seattle to break the trip up for the munchkins. A return trip is about 6 or 7 hours of driving, so no point in making their little tushies more uncomfortable than necessary! Plus one night in a hotel will make it much easier for us all around. I cannot wait to see Kane's reaction to seeing Thomas - he's going flip his top! Oh, the things us mommies do for our kiddies.

Anyway, I better get back to working and looking busy. I'll be back sometime with an update. I won't even bother promising when.

A week later...

2008-01-15T15:51:00.000-08:00

and I'm still in love! Yup, the new truck is awesome! I love it! Still havent' gotten pictures because I'm a lazy butt, but that's okay, I have a darn good excuse.

What's my excuse you say? What could I possibly have as an excuse that would allow me to get away with forgetfulness, laziness, and over indulging in cravings.....?

How about a family addition? Yup, I'm pregnant again and we're expecting our second baby in September 2008! YAY!!!!!

Was waiting to finally tell everyone that needed to be told, and then I thought I could post it on the blog.

But I'm at work so I better scoot, just wanted to share my good news. Be back later with some pics and more chatter. Ya, ya, I know you've heard that one before. ;)

I LOVE my new truck

2008-01-06T09:27:00.000-08:00

Seriously, it is super awesome. Rides so nice, the seats are so comfortable. Every little thing is nearly perfect. Love, love, love it. Have I mentioned lately how freakin' awesome my hubby is for getting me a new truck? In case, I haven't let me set it straight right now that he is the GREATEST HUSBAND in the world. The even better part, as I sit here wileing my life away on the computer, he's playing with Kane and keeping him entertained enough to leave me alone. WOW! I'm a spoiled gal!

Well, we need to eat soon, so I'm off to start the whining about wanting my Sunday morning pancakes. I haven't made pancakes in 4 years, I'm not about to start now. heehee!! I'll be back later hopefully with some pics, I just have been too lazy to get any yet. But hopefully this afternoon I'll get off my keister and actually go outside to get some.

TGIAF

2008-01-03T21:53:00.000-08:00

Thank God It's Almost Friday! That's how I feel tonight. Only 2 days of work this week so far and I'm done! Good thing there is only tomorrow - All hail 3 day work weeks!!

Been measuring and figuring in my mind on ways to change my workspace and I think today I solved the problem. I talked it out with a couple people and got my crazy scatterbrain to focus for long enough to work it out. Now I just need to get approval for a $75 bulletin board and we're good to go! Well, almost - approval for the board and then convince a couple of burly dudes that it's a good idea to move my desk for free. Hmmmmm.... I guess it would be asking too much if I said they had to be good looking guys. At this point, just to get it done, I'll take anyone with a strong back and willingness.

Oh and besides the happiness that I feel knowing my work week is nearly done - my entire being is overjoyed at the fact that the crappy Toyota Camry loaner car can go back tomorrow.... yup, that means Momma's New Truck is ready! It's cleared the border already and apparently inspections should be all fine and the truck will be ready to be picked up tomorrow afternoon sometime. I'm so darned excited. Tomorrow morning I'll drive the Ford to work and leave the Crapry - I mean Camry with Brian. I should be able to drive in the driveway after work tomorrow and park beside an exiquisitely beautiful piece of American made machinery which will basically look like this:

Oh baby, you have no idea how freakin' excited I am! Truly. It's actually rather sad that a vehicle can bring me this much excitement. hahaha!!

And as if that weren't enough, check out the fantastic view I'll have driving:

Alright, enough of that. I'll wait until after ours is in the driveway and I'll get some pics of the real deal for ya. Woohoo - it's like Christmas in January! ;)

Way Too Damn Early

2008-01-02T06:03:00.000-08:00

It's only 6:04 am and I've already been up for half an hour. Not sure why, but I snapped awake this morning at 5:26. I got up to go to the bathroom and couldn't fall back asleep. I'm enjoying this odd morning quiet - so not a normal occurrence. I hate mornings and I have no idea why it's not really bugging me too much that I'm awake.

However, all this extra Me time this morning, got me to thinking (scary I know) and for no reason whatsoever, here are a couple of pics of Kane to keep you all happy for today. Man, I love this little boy!!!

Happy Happy New Year

2008-01-01T21:00:00.000-08:00

Well, it's officially the first day of 2008. Wow, as you get older the celebration that usually accompanies the changing of the calendar is not nearly as dramatic. We had Bill and Viv over for dinner last night - for steak and crab legs, and prawns and totally yummy goodness all around! It was fabulous - very nice and relaxing evening at home. Kane got spoiled and had some chocolate before dinner, ate a little dinner and then the little monster got some chocolate birthday cake! Check out his adorablity factor go up in leaps and bounds as he checks out the cake and then digs in:

Of course, I missed the actual candle blowing out, but at least I got some good eatin' pics. This one is priceless.... after picking up his whole piece of cake on the end of his fork above, the inevitable occurred - the cake dropped, but our little caveman could not be deterred so easily from his cake....

So of course, he enjoyed his little cake, and then the bath with lots of Thomas the train bubble bath. Even with all the excitement though he went to bed fairly easily. A couple more years, and he'll be up until midnight I'm sure.

Well, I'm tired, tired, tired - so I'm heading off to the couch for a little TV and then heading to bed. Gotta go back to work tomorrow and will need my rest for the adjustment and to be able to deal with a brand new co-worker. {sigh} I'm going to miss Al - it'll be very strange to not have him in the office. Be back later dudes. Have a great night!

Coffee and Chocolate are a match made in heaven

2007-12-31T08:01:00.000-08:00

This morning when I woke up to "Get yup Mommy" "Get yup Mommy" I rolled over and opened one eyeball and tried to focus on the blurry digital numbers - 6:23am! Oh man, it's gonna be a long day! So I slinked out of bed... only to be 'forced' to pick up that little early riser and carry his tired morning butt out into the kitchen for his milk and then off to the couch for a cuddle. I lay down and pulled the blanket up over both of us...hoping a little milk in the belly would create an environment just right for a little catnap. hahahaha - No Such Luck. Although it was nearly 6:45am before he wanted to go back to the kitchen (using his own feet thank goodness)for some Goldfish crackers. Not exactly regular breakfast food but it was too early for me to truly care (besides he eats Goldfish nearly everday)and with the other choices out there, Goldfish are a pretty solid breakfast. It was just before 7 when he insisted that the Christmas tree lights get turned on. Amazing how many days the tree has been up and yet it is still beautiful and special to him.

When it was finally time to turn on the TV and start our day, I was feeling pretty spoiled when I realized the coffee was still on from when Brian left for work. Ahhhh, that sweet elixir of caffeine.... this morning I added a spoon of hot chocolate mix just to up the sinful value of that mug. Hmmmmmm!! Life is good!

Okay, I'm a blog idiot

2007-12-30T22:46:00.001-08:00

And can't seem to get my head wrapped around this stupid blog thing. My whole plan when I started the blog was to use it as an online diary - something I could fall back onto when I couldn't remember what I did on Tuesday, March 18, or whether there even was a Tuesday the 18th in March. Instead, I've blogged like 5 times in a year. Sad; sad and pathetic; sad, pathetic and so unorganized. But my new year's resolution (one of many) is to be a better blogger... but this time I'm telling myself that I want to record my life to use as fodder for my scrapbooking journalling. Usually anything I can relate to scrapbooking doesn't get ignored. Here's hoping that works.

So no big updates because that's just too much info, instead I'll start fresh. Welll, kinda fresh - more like day old donuts on clearance type fresh. Christmas was AWESOME! Our little punk kid had a fantastic haul, err... I mean Christmas morning. He was spoiled beyond recognition. Here's a couple of great photos for you to love on.

I can't even begin to list all the stuff he got, but you'll see many of those gifties featured in upcoming photos in the next couple months I'm sure. At the moment, he won't let the small diecast hot wheels sized cars of Lightning McQueen, Sally and Doc Hudson (from Cars) outta his sight. He loves them! And his favorite place to play with them on the Little People Airport that he got from his Uncle Doug and Auntie Tania. Oh and the Mack and Lightning McQueen lego set he got from his Auntie Roseanne is seriously up in the Top Gifts list too. Although I have to say everything he got was awesome. He got some Thomas the Train DVDs, and his Grandma and Grandpa Roberts got him a 2 pack set that will keep me hearing "They're two, they're four, they're six, they're eight, shunting trucks and hauling freight, red and green and brown and blue, they're the really useful crew" for days on end. I'm off to sip some hot chocolate out of the coolest Starbucks mug in the world. Okay, maybe not THE Coolest, but it's one that my hubby got me that was on my Must-Have, I want it NOW list. ;) Bonus points for him getting it.

Back at home

2007-10-03T15:49:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm back at home. I was just in Ottawa for a meeting and was gone from Monday to this afternoon. Fast trip - you don't even get used to the time change and you're headed back home!

While I was there, I got myself a new pair of ballot slipper-esque shoes that are soooooo comfy and well worth the $27.99 that they were on sale for. How lucky that the only pair of shoes I liked at Payless were on sale! ;) Woohoo!

Well, back to work tomorrow for a couple days and then we get a weekend. I can't wait to spend 2 whole days with my boys. I missed them both terribly these past 2 nights (especially Kane!!!)

I suppose I should probably also start thinking about Thanksgiving dinner. Matthew and Dayna are coming over for turkey, but I forget what night! Better find out and then go on a hunt for a turkey and the fixings. Let's hope the stores are stocked this year and we aren't searching fervently for poultry seasoning the day before our dinner again. Hmmm, wonder if my guest list should be rounded out with more people, I'll wait for Brian to make that decision I think.

Anyway, I'm wiped out and headed to the couch for a bit before I start on dinner - hoping Kane will be content to cuddle with mom for a bit and watch Dora - I need some Kane-cuddles!

2 days in a row!!

2007-09-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

I'm on a roll!! 2 days in a row, this must be some type of record for the year of 2007! hahaha!

Nothing much to say today though. I obviously didn't get any pics uploaded last night. I'll try for tonight.

In the meantime, wander over to Lovebug sometime in the next couple days, I'm going to be hosting a fun fun event. But I can't let out the secret yet! Wander around though, you might pick up a clue or two. ;)

I'll be sure to let you know as soon as it's announced.

I'm a bad blogger

2007-09-25T11:39:00.000-07:00

Evidently, I have some blogging issues. And I thought I had better seriously get into here and try to be more considerate of my blog buddies. I still can't believe it's been so long since I was here updating everyone!

I do have one bit of sad news to get out of the way right off. Shortly after my last post, on July 24th my sister, Serena left my parents home - leaving her 3 children in their care and hasnt' been seen since. She has some addiction problems, but no one realized how bad they were. She did a great job of hiding it from everyone.... well hiding it enough that my parents were under the impression she was getting herself clean and enjoying the sober life. Thankfully my parents have the means to have the 3 kids with them. It's at the point now where I doubt very much that Serena will be able to have the kids from my parents even if she does show up. I believe they are again in the process of gaining legal custody of all 3 of them. Sad, really sad! But life must go on and after 2 months of worry, and being sick to your stomach wondering, we need to get on with our lives and focus entirely on the children. I wish somedays that I didn't live so far away and could help my parents out more. The kids are great though, they love being with Grandma and Poppa, so at least they are happy and healthy and being well cared for.

In other news, our little guy is growing like a weed and is starting to really chatter up a storm! He says so much now and is even starting to piece together rudimentary sentences!! Not even 2 yet, and he evens will say Please.... prompted, but still it's a start! His favorite game at teh moment while we're driving is to point to Brian and say Dadddd-eeee and then to me and say Mum, and then to his chest and say Kane! It's so cute. Of course I'm baised and think everything he says is cute. Except no, that's usually not so cute - especially when he says it after I ask him to do something like sit down at the table.

Mac and cheese is still the preferred staple in his diet and nothing beats a good cup of milk and a stringable cheese stick. And in between cheese and pasta, we sneak in some rolled up lunch meats like honey ham and smoked turkey breast - which is also loves.... and will ask for with a simple request for "Meeeeeat" It's hilarious!

My life hasnt' changed much, I'm still pathetically addicted to scrapbooking - of course! And right now, am into day 2 of Lovebug University. If you enjoy a challenge and scrapbooking, you'll love our version of school. Check it out. It's fun and no pressure.

I'm off to Ottawa on Monday (October 1st) for 3 days. I'll be home on Wednesday again. I have a meeting for the Joint Violence in the Workplace Committee. Oh Fun! Actually I'm quite looking forward to it, this committee appointment falls onto my plate quite nicely and I think will likely tie into my other appointment on the Work Environment Study committee. Not sure when that meeting will be, but I would say likely in the new year. So I end up having to go to Ottawa twice before the end of the year, as our Annual Executive meetings will also be held in Ottawa at the end of November.

Add this work travel to my pleasure travel to Winnipeg in 2.5 weeks for the Kid's Crop and I'm a jet setting momma!

I've blabbered on enough for now. I promise I'll be back in a bit to update you more and maybe even share some pics with ya. ;)

Thank goodness, it's Monday???

2007-07-23T14:40:00.000-07:00

Yup, I said it - thank goodness it's Monday. The weekend was awesome, but I'm glad for the laid back routine of weekly life! Saturday started innocently enough; Kane up early. We cleaned some of the house. I am still working on some serious deep cleaning. and I washed the trim in the kitchen, all the cabinet fronts, scrubbed the garbage can and related cupboard and did the kitchen walls from the counter height down. It's a start! Plus I scrubbed the tub and decided to wait to do the sink and counter until after Brian has shaved next. After Brian got up, after sleeping his night shift off, we just hung out at home - Kane did a lot of calling all over the house saying Dad-deeeeeee, Dad-deeeeeeee, over and over again! :) Better than Mom, mom, mom, mom, that I hear all week! Saturday night, Matt and Dayna came over to babysit while Brian and I went out to a movie - for the first time since we went while I was 8 months pregnant to see Walk the Line! We went to see Live Free or Die Hard - which incidentally is a freaking AWESOME movie. I highly recommend it to anyone who is over the age of 25'ish. If you remember the original Die Hard movies, you definitely don't want to miss this one! It's fabulous and I love how they didn't try to pretend that John McLean was way older now - instead they embraced it and a couple times in the movie the comment was made about how he hasn't done this crap in a long time.

Matt and Dayna are awesome babysitters, they bathed Kane and got him to bed ON TIME!! And without any fuss. Kane loves his Uncle Matthew more than anything I think and probably was super extra well behaved knowing that Uncle Matthew is a newbie. hahahaha!!

Saturday night/Sunday morning we were awakened by frantic door bell ringing, after shaking the sleep out of our eyes and briefly having bad thoughts run through our heads about teh recent house fire next door - we get to teh door to find my parents standing there! at 3:00am! Apparently they were planning on buying a hummer (H3) and left home at dinnertime.

Sunday morning, they left about 11:00am to go pick up the truck and then were back at our place about 3:00 to show it off. We went to Costco, had dinner at the Keg and then they were back on the road. Very quick trip. Kane loved seeing them though; regardless of how short. Mom is goign to be back in two weeks with Serena and the kids - Kane is goign to love that.

So as you can see our weekend was crazy crazy crazy!! SO hence, thank goodness for Monday. At work, relaxing as much as I can and looking forward to spending some serious time in front of my scrap table after Kane goes to bed tonight. :)

WOW, I need a private investigator

2007-07-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

just to find myself! Where the heck did I go? It's been almost 2 months since I've been here rambling. Can't believe so much time has passed by. I'm not even going to try to catch you up - way too much has gone on.... I'll just give you a quick point by point incomplete rundown on my life lately:
*we bought an 11 ft camper for the truck - yet to use it
*we had a great visit with Ron & Lynn over in Port Alberni at the beginning of July
*Lovebug had a breast cancer fundraising crop on July 14th that was amazing
*I won a bunch of stuff at the above-mentioned crop - like a tote bag, crop a dile, 3 Bugs paper and a St. Honore Cake (check it out on Wikipedia - St. Honore Cake - yummy!!
*Kane is growing like a weed and becoming such a little boy - and not so much a baby anymore!
*Kane is starting to talk so much - and understandable to more people than just Brian and I
*I made my first submissions to a publication - without any success, but I submitted
*I got 6 layouts into the 3 Bugs in a Rug gallery (they still appear there - check it out, My 3 Bugs Gallery Appearances)
*we had a major neighourhood fire that completely destroyed 2 houses and damaged others - less than 3 houses away from us - SCARY
*because of the above fire - Brian's photo was on the front page of the Mission newspaper!
*Rob & Logan came to visit at the beginning of July and we visited Science World and Playland - awesome visit - wish they could have stayed longer!

So that's my life in a quick, brief and incomplete nutshell.

As for currently, nothing much going on. Today I'm not overly busy at work, I have some stuff that I need to do that is not on a timeline - like filing that I just have no motivation to do at all. Maybe I'll pull out some of the old files and do some purging that might get me in the mood. Wishing I was independently wealthy and didn't have to work every day. {sigh} Guess I should buy some lottery tickets!

Just a little update

2007-05-24T22:31:00.000-07:00

Well, we survived the long weekend. We left on Saturday and headed up to Salmon Arm to visit Jeannine and Dave for the night. It was an awesome visit. We always seem rushed when we go visit because we are headed somewhere - next visit we are taking a couple days to stay and maybe even get a chance to explore Salmon Arm a little more.

On Sunday, we headed into Kelowna. Mina and Jens were our 'hotel' managers for the next 2 nights. ;) David and Shannon and the girls were in town from Calgary, so we visited with them, and saw Rob and Logan who were also visiting from Calgary. So we got lots of visiting done from one town in 2 days!

Kane did really well, the last night at Mina's he was horrible though. Couldn't fall asleep. Turns out the poor little dude was back to teething AGAIN! We gave him some Tylenol once we clued in and he was asleep right away. The first night back at home he needed a bit of Tylenol as well and a dab of Orajel. Now tonight we are good to go without any meds. You can tell he's not quite himself yet though; still a little restless at bedtime, but tonight he fell asleep after I put him to bed in about 10 mins or so. I waited an extra few minutes before checking on him in case he wasn't asleep yet and me opening the door would make him think he didn't need to fall asleep.

I have so much housework to do and no enthusiasm for it at all. It's Brian's 31st birthday on Saturday and I decided to have a dinner party for him. So I invited a bunch of people over. So far I think I have 8 confirmed and another 5-6 maybe's. Eeeeekkkk,so I have to do some house chores.

Well I better get to it. Later!

Wednesday - Hump Day

2007-05-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Hump Day and I'm so glad to be heading into the weekend! I need a break!!! It's been so hectic, things have just not been going together well. I had some major technical difficulties with a new voice mail system at work. Grrr!! It appears to be working now, but no guarantees for how long! Ick!

As for scrapping, the online crop at Lovebug was awesome!! I didnt' get nearly as much done as I wanted, but it was fun to hang out on the forum and host a couple games etc. Some of the challenges posted were great and I'll be doing them even though the crop is over. Sophie did a Make'n'Take paper shoe, that is absolutely incredible. You need to check it out on the Lovebug forum. Bryan did a Make'n'Take photo cube that was perfect for me, since I had been trying to figure out how to do one on my own, now I have instructions - thanks Bryan!

In other news, Kane is talking a mile a minute (gee, wonder where he gets that from?!). He says so many words now that are distinguishable (at least to me). He says: done, cheese, more, thanks, momma, dadda, bamma, bye, hi, truck, no, ears, eyes, belly button, mouth, Elmo, Backyardigans (well his version of it), nose, bottle, milk, Buddy (the dog at daycare's name), nda (for Linda, his daycare "mom") and Tyler and Kayden. It's amazing. There are more words too, I just can't even think of them all right now. And even words he doesnt' really say, he uses the same sounds for the same things so you know he is trying. He is so smart, he can point to things when you ask him to show you stuff, and he is still sleeping through the night - which is AWESOME!! He's has also almost weaned himself from the bottle - well, we were getting close and then he started teething again and the bottle became a bit more common. Now that the teeth are poked out, he seems to be going back to not really wanting his milk, except in the morning, after daycare when I pick him up and just before bed. Only 3 times a day isn't bad. I'm hoping to get the bottle after daycare gone by next weekend. Or at least get that bottle changed to milk, instead of formula. Slowly I hope to get him on cows milk and no formula and hopefully out of a sippie cup so the bottles are gone. I know, high hopes maybe, but everyone has to have goals!

Oh yeah, before I forget if you want a cat, I know where you can get one. Our nasty furball just might be homeless soon. She's been a royal PITA and is kneading and clawing my last nerve. Grrrr!!

She comes with food, a litter box, treat, food dishes and an attitude.... c'mon.... no takers?? hahahahaha!!

Well, I'm outta here, I gotta go find me some lunch. :)

SCRAPBOOKING CROP ANNOUNCED

2007-05-03T12:46:00.000-07:00

Lovebug just announced the date and some initial details for their next crop. It's going to be a fundraising crop for the Weekend to End Breast Cancer.... which means that in terms of prizes this is the "mother lode". I can't believe the prizes already lined up!!! Amazing! So far all I know is that it will be held on July 14th in Burnaby at Queen of All Saints Elementary School Gym.(Como Lake area). If you can make it out, it would be fabulous. I'll give you more details as they become available. In the meantime, you can read the announcement on the Lovebug forum... HERE

Ummmmm, what else new.... oh yeah, since Saturday is NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY there is an online crop at Lovebug. Be sure to stop in and join us for a full day of fun. It will start at 8:00 am PST and go until 10:00 pm PST. There will be challenges, make'n'takes, projects, games and of course, prizes. As well, I would imagine you'll likely see some sales in the store as well. :) Here's a quick link to the NSD Online Crop Thread in the Lovebug forum.... also, here's a link to the main Store Page.

In other news, my baby boy has decided he doesn't want to sit in his high chair anymore. So I went and bought him a booster seat so he can just sit at the table... He LOVES it. Last night, we sat and had our dinner, he sat (okay, sometimes stood) and ate his whole meal! Lately, he's been fussy at dinner time and not eating much - well momma finally figured it out - he was just not happy about being 'locked' into the high chair. I sure hope this continues to work.... makes it much easier actually to be out and about now. For a while, he got a little cranky about eating without a tray like in a high chair, but now just any other chair and table will do! YAY!!

In other news, Brian nearly knocked himself out at work the other night. When he called me at his break, he told me that he banged his head under a truck, and he pretty much saw stars but didn't actually get knocked out! What a call to get at 10:00 pm at night! He said he felt okay, it just hurt bad. Man, that guy is gonna end up with a flat top head if he doesn't be careful!

Sarah is interviewing me!!!

2007-05-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I should have held my breath, Sarah Champion from American Crafts, picked me to interview from her blog! YAY! How cool is that?!

So this is a tag-style post, first here are Sarah's questions to me: at the end I'll share how you can be next to be interviewed by me!

1. What is your best characteristic?

I would have to say I'm a good listener. I always let me friends vent and ask for advice. And I don't offer more than they need, if they don't want advice, I just let them vent.

2. Which would you rather do: swim with sharks or hike through the African bush?

I'm not really the swimming kind, so I'll say hike the African bush, I would love to see a giraffe (I have a weird obsession with giraffes anyway)

3. What is your absolute favorite smell?

hmmm, this is a hard one, I would have to say bread baking - I love that smell, but I also like vanilla, strawberry and Brian's pillow in the morning (yeah, gross, but it's true)

4. What was the worst fashion faux pas you ever committed?

Umm, according to some I probably committ fashion faux pas' everyday! I would say probably back in the mid 90's when I decided that wearing slip style stretchy black dresses underneath light colored sweatshirts with dress shoes and thick tights was cool..... ugh, I shudder to think of it now! I cannot believe I just admitted that!!!

5. If you had exactly one month to live, what would you do?

I would definitely not come to work! I would take a few days to do nothing but spend time at home with Brian and Kane.... I would snuggle way more, do absolutely no housework, eat out as much as I want, eat tons of sushi and visit my family. I would not care about my credit card balances and I would make sure to try to set up Brian and Kane as best I could to prepare for my being gone. Oh yeah, and I would appear in way more pictures with Kane so he could have pictures when he grows up with his mom.

That was way cool......

So, do you want to be interviewed? Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” Make sure you fill in your email address...I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Who's next?

:)

Thanks Sarah for interviewing me!

It's MAY

2007-05-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

Well it's May - the month of Spring.... and thankfully we are getting more spring weather here on the Westcoast. It's still a little chilly at night and of course Spring means RAIN, but it was sunny nearly all weekend and it was great to enjoy the warmth from the sun!!

On a sadder note, I'm sick! And Sick, and Sick!! I have a bronchial infection which really sucks because I'm coughing like mad and it hurts when I cough because my throat is so raw from the coughing. Dr. put me on some antibiotics on Thursday so I'm starting to feel better. I'm also on a narcotic based cough suppressant - which seems to work quite well. I already didn't have to take it last night and thought I would be good today too; but I'm regretting not bringing it to work with me today. I've been coughing like crazy again and I can't wait to get home to take some.

Umm, what else can I tell you? Oh yeah, since it's May I posted the new Monthly Celebrations at Lovebug this morning: click here to go directly to the monthly celebration list thread

It's certainly a full month of celebrations... which leads me to my next point - I wonder if I can get a nice family picture taken of the three of us this month for Photo Month...... I need to find the tripod!! Note to self: look for tripod after cleaning the house tonight; yup, I said after I clean the house. The house has been severely neglected the past few days (okay over a week). Between having so much creative energy and then being sick, I've done nothing since early last week!!! Tonight is clean night, I think I'll let Kane play in the dishwasher (usually him being there to 'help' just annoys me). He loves being there to help though; so I think tonight I'll just suck it up and let him help/play. Plus since he loves vacuuming so much, I better let him help me with that too!! Wonder if he'll start to love picking up his toys.......I'm not holding my breath on that one yet!

Oh and the laundry is definitely piling up, I guess I better do some of that too; Kane *LOVES* laundry. He loves the baskets, he loves piles of clothes, and he especially loves the going downstairs to the machines part! Since the basement is usually off-limits thanks to the stairs and the baby gate, he thinks the special trips downstairs are the BEST. Even though it's to do laundry, it makes me smile to see him so excited to go downstairs and play around. He especially loves pulling the laundry out of the dryer into a laundry basket - wonder if it is because I let him ride upstairs in the basket when we are done?!

Ohhhh, I'm not really looking forward to the housework, but at least if I make a list and cross things off I'll feel like I'm making progress and accomplishing something. hmmm, wonder if I can skip the bathroom.... I HATE cleaning the bathroom, it gives me the heeby-geeby's.... all those icky germs hanging around. Blah... I guess the alternative is to have us hang out with the germs, so cleaning wins out.

Not much else exciting in my world - I'm hoping that Sarah (from American Crafts) will pick me to interview from her blog, but again I'm not holding my breath.

Alright, I'm outta this post, it's turning into a novel!

Quick Update

2007-04-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I've recovered from the PJ Crop.... although not fully unpacked yet! I brought a ton of stuff, only used about half, but was glad to have the choice there a couple times!

I've been working on a couple of projects... I finished my altered board book and uploaded the pictures and the instructions to the Lovebug Forum: Altered Board Book Instructions.

I'm also nearly done my altered Maya Road chipboard tin for a Mother's Day gift for my mom.... must finish that this week!!

Oh, and I still have my mini album that I did for Jeannine's birthday but I haven't mailed it yet, because I'm a terrible friend and have been testing the limits of our friendship apparently. Yup, I'm a bad friend, it's a wonder she even keeps me as a friend. Yikes!! I promise myself that I will remember to bring it to work and package it up and go to the post office and mail it by Friday.... that's my promise.... and now I'm going to start hoping I can manage to do that.

I also have to try to remember to bring my neice Kennedy's birthday present package to be shipped out... her birthday is on the 30th and I need to have the package out to Calgary to her before then.

Oh and I have a secret package for Kat from Lovebug as well... she is so curious as to what it is, but she's just gonna have to wait. hahaha!!!

Ummm, let's see what else is new to share with you.......... HOW COULD I FORGET... the Canucks won Game 7 of Round 1 against the Stars, so we're advancing to Round 2!!! And the best part is the game winning goal as scored by Trevor Linden. YAY!! Tonight is the first game against the Ducks....hmmm, roasted duck for dinner - sounds good {wink}

Well, I think that's all - TaTa for now. :)

Had so much fun yesterday!!

2007-04-22T21:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the PJ Party Crop for Lovebug. It was a blast - and it was so nice to be comfortable and wear PJ's all day!!

I actually got quite a bit done too. But I'm completely wiped out and can't hardly think straight. I'll have to update y'all later.

By the way: Calgary just LOST so they are out of the playoffs!!! Take that Shannon. ;) Love ya though; just need to rub it in, that first round and you're outta there!

Golfing Nun

2007-04-18T23:43:00.000-07:00

My friend Lynn shared this one with me today on email too...... I laughed so hard at the end I nearly peed myself!

A nun walks into Mother Superior's office and plunks down into a chair. She lets out a sigh heavy with frustration.

"What troubles you, Sister?" asks the Mother Superior. "I thought this was the day you spent with your family."

"It was," sighed the Sister. "And I went to play golf with my brother. We try to play golf as often as we can. You know I was quite a talented golfer before I devoted my life to Christ."

"I seem to recall that," the Mother Superior agreed. "So I take it your day of recreation was not relaxing?"

"Far from it," snorted the Sister. "In fact, I even took the Lord's name in vain today!"

"Goodness, Sister!" gasped the Mother Superior, astonished. "You must tell me all about it!"

"Well, we were on the fifth tee...and this hole is a monster, Mother - 540 yard Par 5, with a nasty dogleg left and a hidden green...and I hit the drive of my life. I creamed it. The sweetest swing I ever made. And it's flying straight and true, right along the line I wanted...and it hits a bird in mid-flight not 100 yards off the tee!"

"Oh my!" commiserated the Mother. "How unfortunate! But surely that didn't make you blaspheme, Sister!"

"No, that wasn't it," admitted Sister. "While I was still trying to fathom what had happened, this squirrel runs out of the woods, grabs my ball and runs off down the fairway!"

"Oh, that would have made me blaspheme!" sympathized Mother.

"But I didn't, Mother Superior!" sobbed the Sister. "And I was so proud of myself! And while I was pondering whether this was a sign from God, this hawk swoops out of the sky and grabs the squirrel and flies off, with my ball still clutched in his paws!"

"So that's when you cursed," said the Mother with a knowing smile.

"Nope, that wasn't it either," cried the Sister, anguished, "because as the hawk started to fly out of sight, the squirrel started struggling, and the hawk dropped him right there on the green, and the ball popped out of his paws and rolled to about 18 inches from the cup!"

Mother Superior sat back in her chair, folded her arms across her chest, fixed the Sister with a baleful stare and said...

"You missed the f*cking putt, didn't you?"

Hilarious

2007-04-18T23:41:00.000-07:00

Jamie sent me this one on email today and it's just too cute not to share. :)

Enjoy!

I was out walking with my 4 year old daughter. She picked up something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that again.

"Why?" my daughter asked.

"Because it's been on the ground, you don't know where it's been, it's dirty and probably has germs" I replied.

At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked, "Mommy, how do you know all this stuff? You are so smart."

I was thinking quickly. "All moms know this stuff. It's on the Mommy Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Mommy."

We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information.

"OH...I get it!" she beamed, "So if you don't pass the test you have to be the daddy."

"Exactly", I replied back with a big smile on my face.

I'm going to the Canada Crops For Kids in Winnipeg!!

2007-04-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

I'm so flippin' excited I can hardly contain myself! Brian said to go ahead, so I'm heading to Winnipeg in October for the Canada Crops for Kids event. I get to hang out all weekend with Kat! YAY!!!!!!!!! So Kat has a room already booked, and to make sure I didn't miss out on registration, I registered right away today and booked my flight! I used my Air Miles so it only cost me some taxes and the registration fee. I will have to come up with my spending money and the hotel costs before October, but that'll be easy peasy! The hotel will be cheap with at least 2 in the room!!

Check out the details for Canada Crops for Kids, there might even be an event near you that you can attend - or come to Winnipeg and party with Kat and I. ;)

So my flight options were limited thanks to the Air Miles program, but at least I can still get in and out on the days I need to. I will be leaving Abbotsford at 6:30am on Friday, October 12 and returning on Sunday, October 14 at 10:30pm. It's early morning to leave, but that was the ONLY flight out on Friday. And coming home, the only other option was leaving Winnipeg early, early in the morning and that's just not an option since the event doesn't end until 5 pm!!

I guess I'll have to drive myself to the airport and park there - probably using the Ford, since Brian will need the Dodge to cart around the mini dude and all.

Oh man, I am so excited. This is gonna be GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is Hilarious!!!!

2007-04-16T21:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks Dave for the laugh today! I needed it this afternoon!

Monday, blah!

2007-04-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

So it's Monday, big whoop-de-do. I hate Mondays, only because it means another 5 days of loneliness... since I really only get to see Brian on weekends, weekdays seem so blah. At least I have Kane everyday, but still I miss the adult company the evenings always brought. Plus with the gross rainy weather, it's so easy to get bogged down in what I have to do's instead of enjoying the what we are doing's.

Today I had lunch with Mel, and Daphnee and baby Izaac. White Spot, yumm!! That makes a Monday more bearable. Then I zipped down to Urban Trends to get some NHL licensed supplies that Teresa brought in. I got a Gel-A-Tins stamp set, that has all the Canadian team logos.... which is really just so I could get the Canucks one... maybe I'll RAK out the others. Plus I got some completely awesome Canucks theme paper as well! I know exactly what I'm doing with some of the sheets of paper I bought. I got 8 sheets, because well when you find it you gotta buy it! :)

After work, Kane and I are going to stop at the library so I can check out the scrapbook section. Apparently Mission has a bunch of idea books etc on the shelf, so I want to see what they really have.

Still haven't decided on dinner yet, I'm still full from lunch so I can't think about food at the moment. Maybe we'll have chicken nuggets - I think I still have some in the freezer.....

Well, better get back to work. Last coffee break of the day is hereby wasted online. Peace out!

HOCKEY, HOCKEY, HOCKEY

2007-04-13T13:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I have to let the sports nerd in me out for just a minute. CANUCKS HOCKEY RULES!!!!!!! They won Wednesday's game in QUADRUPLE OVERTIME! What a nailbiter that was. And tonight I'll be the only one watching the game. Brian will be at work, likely sneaking peeks at the tv in the drivers' room during any and all breaks and listening intently to the game on the radio while he's working. Dave will be driving down to visit, so he'll likely be unable to even listen on the radio. If for no other reason, I better be able to give him game highlights when he arrives at 1:00am'ish.

Today is SHOW YOUR CANUCKS SPIRIT day and I didn't get myself into any Canucks gear today. I know, I know, I'm a terrible fan. But I did get Kane's full Canucks suit out today and got him all dolled up in Canucks head to toe (okay Daddy got him all dressed, but I picked out the outfit - that counts for something I'm sure).... he even got Canucks socks put on!! I didnt' take a picture of him all dressed this morning, so hopefully he didnt' get too messy at daycare today and I can get a picture once we get home tonight.

I'll leave you with this one teensy little line:

GO CANUCKS GO!!!!!!!Extinguish those stars, and shine bright on your way to stomp Dallas at home!

WOW - Giveaway.....

2007-04-13T13:29:00.000-07:00

So, I'm completely jealous, as a moderator at Lovebug, I do not qualify for this amazing contest... Check it out here: Heidi Swapp/Advantus Contest Giveaway The contest thread in the forum can be found here.

So run to the store and buy some Heidi Swapp/Cropper Hopper items to get an entry into that contest... and if you win, remember who told ya about it. ;)

Okay, enough of that, I have to whine for a minute, I've been feeling blah sick all week and today I'm at work. I want to be at home in bed! And now, I have to go to run a special delivery to UCFV.... ugh, I'm too sick for a stupid dash through the rain to my truck and then to the campus office and back. Blah!

Hope your Friday is better than mine!

How Cool is this?

2007-04-13T00:40:00.000-07:00

Your Hippie Chick Name Is:

Moonjava

Hippie Chick Name Generator

Wanna know more about Heidi Swapp?

2007-04-04T14:09:00.000-07:00

If you don't know the name Heidi Swapp, you don't know what you're missing. She is a scrapbooker's best friend, okay maybe that's stretching it a bit, but she does produce AWESOME products in the scrapbooking world. Right now on Lovebug Scrapbooking, we're having an open discussion on Heidi Swapp products. So if you've always wondered something about a product, or you have found some way to use one of her products in a unique or easier way, come and share with us. We're chatting on this thread - Heidi Swapp chat on Lovebug. And once you've satisfied any curioisity or shared your two cents worth, check out her products in the Lovebug store: Heidi Swapp in stock and don't forget to tell them that Rachel (shotqueen) sent ya!!

Okay, enough with the Heidi love fest...

I have a beef, a great big giant, you're on my last nerve kinda beef - what in the world possesses someone to have enough guts to go through a Tim Horton's drive through, in the morning, and ordering enough food to feed a small army of caffeine-addicted muffin eaters?? It's the drive through people - it's very existence implies fast, easy service. It's 8 AM and I have NOT had my coffee yet which is why I'm sitting in the drive through line up to begin with. May I suggest taking your scrawny little pencil neck outta your car and walking your crazy butt inside the store! I do not want to sit in my truck shaking from caffeine withdrawals, barely awake, watching another rerun episode of Backyardigans, waiting to watch you get bag after bag of items after I've waited 10 mins just to creep ahead in the line up barely a car length. Then to have you grin and shrug at me as to say "oops, sorry" when you have to get out of your car to put a couple bags in the backseat because they don't all fit through your car window! OMG people, this is why there are fatal altercations at fast food service establishments! I swear to you, this is why I do not have super powers that allow me to actually shoot laser beams outta my eyes, because there would be a little crispy fried jerkfaces in their burned up little cars in drive through lines ups all over the place. And no, I would not be stuck waiting longer in the line up for them to tow that cripsy ol car outta my way, because I would drive my big tank truck up over top of those teensy little cars, get my coffee and carry on with my day! Grrrrrr! Okay, I feel better, the caffeine must be kickin' in.... ahhhhh sweet caffeine!

April 2nd

2007-04-02T12:06:00.000-07:00

Did you know that today is International Children's Book Day?? I certainly didn't. But now that I do, I'll be sure to add a book to Kane's normal bedtime story ritual. He loves books so much, he's always wanting me to read his bath book to him in the bath, plus he brings me a book at least twice during the evening to read to him. And then during story time, he sits so nice on my lap and touches the books and lets me read entire stories to him. It's so awesome that he already shares my passion for books. I hope he never loses that fascination.

So enjoy a children's book today, yourself or with a child. Happy Children's Book Day everyone!

2007-04-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

This is hilarious. I've seen the text version before, but I much prefer this beer bottle version I got on my email this morning from Jamie. Keep 'em coming girl, I need the laughs!! :)

Enjoy everyone! Have a Monday laugh on me.

So it's April 1st...

2007-04-01T08:51:00.000-07:00

And it is my first official day as a Lovebug team member. I am so excited. I've already given a little sneak peek and started one feature that I will be doing daily. The Layout of the Day. It's been started before, but never really stayed around. That feature on a site is so great because everyone gets to see a great layout recognized everyday. And whether we admit or not, we all like to hear the approval of our peers. I've already got some layouts picked out of the gallery for those days when I just don't have time to look around.... I want to be prepared because this feature takes some dedication to keep going and keep everyone's interests. I sure hope I can stick to it! And keep everyone posting in the thread. Check out today's layout in the Lovebug forum.

Today is also April Fools Day but I didn't have anything prepared to trick anyone. I just have to be on my toes so I don't get tricked!!

For those Lovebugs who read my blog - here's another tiny hint as to what I'll be doing daily in the forum....

Today is April Fool's Day; it's also One Cent Day. So go out and enjoy some penny candy, or use some cents when paying. Enjoy your day.

This is hilarious too (Take the quiz)

2007-03-29T23:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, this time the funny is thanks to Mina. I got this on my email today :)

This is a quiz for people who know everything! I found out in a hurry that I didn't. These are not trick questions. They are straight questions with straight answers

1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?

3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?

4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?

6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters " dw" and they are all common words. Name two of them.

7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?

8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.

9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter "S."

Answers To Quiz:

1 The one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends . . Boxing

2. North American landmark constantly moving backward . Niagara Falls (The rim is worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.)

3. Only two vegetables that can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons . . Asparagus and rhubarb.

4. The fruit with its seeds on the outside .. . Strawberry.

5. How did the pear get inside the brandy bottle? It grew inside the bottle. (The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the entire growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.)

6. Three English words beginning with dw . Dwarf, dwell and dwindle.

7. Fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar . . Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation marks, brackets, parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.

8. The only vegetable or fruit never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh Lettuce.

9. Six or more things you can wear on your feet beginning with "s" . Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilts.

PLEASE DO YOUR PART....... Today is National Mental Health Day. You can do your part by remembering to send an e-mail to at least one unstable person
Well, my job's done

The BIG Announcement

2007-03-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

I'm joing the team at LOVEBUG SCRAPBOOKING!! Today it was announced that starting April 1st, I will be a moderator for the chat forum at www.lovebugscrapbooking.com YAY!!! I'm so excited. I'm nearly speechless even! I'll be back later to celebrate and give you more details!

The funniest thing I've read lately

2007-03-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, my friend Connie sent me this to my email and I nearly peed my pants laughing so hard. So before you read this, be sure to go to the washroom and turn your phone off - you'll not be able to talk for a minute after this!

KIDS WRITE ABOUT THE SEA
1) This is a picture of an octopus. It has eight testicles. (Kelly age 6)
2) Oysters' balls are called pearls. (James age 6)
3) If you are surrounded by sea you are an Island . If you don't have sea all round you, you are incontinent. ( Wayne age 7)
4) Sharks are ugly and mean, and have big teeth, just like Emily Richardson. She's not my friend no more. (Kylie age 6)
5) A dolphin breaths through an asshole on the top of its head. (Billy age 8)
6) My uncle goes out in his boat with pots, and comes back with crabs. (Millie age 6)
7) When ships had sails, they used to use the trade winds to cross the ocean. Sometimes, when the wind didn't blow, the sailors would whistle to make the wind come. My brother said they would have been better off eating beans. (William age 7)
8) I like mermaids. They are beautiful, and I like their shiny tails. And how on earth do Mermaids get pregnant? Like, really? (Helen age 6)
9) I'm not going to write about the sea. My baby brother is always screaming and being sick, my Dad keeps shouting at my Mom, and my big sister has just got pregnant, so I can't think what to write. (A my age 6)
10) Some fish are dangerous. Jellyfish can sting. Electric eels can give you a shock. They have to live in caves under the sea where I think they have to plug themselves into chargers. (Christopher age 7)
11) When you go swimming in the sea, it is very cold, and it makes my willy small. (Kevin age 6)
12) Divers have to be safe when they go under the water. Two divers can't go down alone, so they have to go down on each other. (Becky age 8)
13) On holidays my Mom went water skiing. She fell off when she was going very fast. She says she won't do it again because water fired right up her fat ass. (Julie age 7)

Now, isn't that the funniest thing you read today?!

I have an addiction...

2007-03-29T10:04:00.000-07:00

to Lovebug!! If you are even remotely interested in paper crafts or paper anything, not just scrapbooking, you just have to come join us. We have so much fun on the chat board. Check out the forum here: www.lovebugscrapbooking.com/forum

Umm, let's see what else should I share with you... oh yeah My Big News - sorry gotta wait a bit longer for that. Although I just know we are getting close!

Thank goodness this week is nearly over. It just seems to be dragging on. I just want the weekend to be here already. We are heading into Vancouver early on Saturday morning because Matthew and Dayna are moving... but the good thing is that since we'll be downtown already, we might as well make a fun day of it. I am hoping we can get into Stanley Park and I get some good Kane pics outside playing. He loves being outside so much!! And who knows, maybe we'll splurge on a good meal! After all, since our last experience with Kane at the Keg, it's apparently not a problem to eat out with him!!

Gotta remember today that after work I have to rush home, grab an address that I forgot, and then head out to pick up some badminton poles for the backyard. They are apparently plastic kids ones, but they can be put 'up' so the height is right for adults too? Guess I'll find out after I pick them up. I just have to get a couple rackets and birdies.... shouldn't be too hard to find some - and for a decent price.

Oh, and I have to run to the dollar store at lunch - I found this great little pill box that is perfect for eyelets and mini brads. I'm still organizing - it's a never ending job. Everytime I get something all organized, I decide to change it! One day, I will be organized the perfect way! That's my goal.

Well, I'm at work so I better get to it. Have a great day everyone!

Oh, and before I forget, if you decide to check out Lovebug.. make sure you tell them that I sent ya over there. Plus if you buy anything in the store, put my name in the comment box on your order (shotqueen or Rachel Roberts) so I get the referral credit! Thanks everyone!

I just got some fabulous news

2007-03-24T11:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I got some great news that I'm not allowed to share yet. I am very excited though... enough that it gave me the push to get back to blogging!!

The last two weeks have been crazy busy - I was doing on online challenge game at Lovebug Scrapbooking called Canada & Friends games. We were split into teams and created a ton of pages in 2 short (long) weeks.

Brian is still working nights, which sucks butt, but it gave me the free time in teh evenings after Kane went to bed to work on scrapbooking and finish up all the challenges during the games.

Thank goodness the weekend is here though; Kane desperately needed some daddy time!

Okay, until I get back into this blogging again, I'll make it short.

I just want to share a couple of pages that I did this week:

I really suck at blogging

2007-02-28T01:19:00.000-08:00

I try, but I can't seem to remember to update this darn thing. Work and being busy with life in general just takes up too much time.

Quick update - Work is still good, but busy. The COPE stuff is keeping me hopping - I might be going on strike, so my union duties have been taking up an enormous amount of time and unfortunately my sanity is suffering!!

Brian, for various reasons, has taken a job doing some 'real' work.... the getting greasy, grimy type of real work. He's working at a truck shop in Langley. And if that isn't bad enough; it's night shift, so he works from 5:00 pm to 1:30 am..... which means that during the week I'm pretending to be a single mom. So far, his plan is to still wake up in the mornings with Kane and I so he can spend that bit of time with Kane before we leave for daycare and work. Then he will crawl back into bed and try to fall back asleep. Then get up in the afternoon do a bit of PRP work and then head into Langley.

Weekends are about to get much more important and special. I think we are going to try to start a real family day - either Saturday or Sunday, we'll plan a day where we go out and do stuff together - and the other day will be boring shopping day. Groceries and meal planning. Blah, we are about to become a rigid schedule family. I hate that thought; but really we have no choice at this time. I soooooo hope Brian is able to get a swing shift (2 weeks days; 2 weeks nights) or onto full day shifts.

Today is only the second day Brian is working, but my god I miss him so much in the evenings. I'm avoiding going to bed because it seems so lonely. I know I will get used to it, but in the meantime, I'm hating it big time. Last night I finally went to bed around 1:00am and watched tv. I fell asleep with the tv and didn't even wake up when Brian got home and came to bed - great wife I am eh? NOT. Oh well tonight, I'm trying to just stay awake until he gets home so we can go to bed at the same time. Make life feel normal for a brief moment.

I hope Kane settles in with this new routine of no daddy in the evenings. So far, he doesn't seem concerned, but I'm thinking he might suddenly be all out of sorts near the end of the week when he starts to realize that this is happening everyday and he's not seeing dad. Of course, it's also possible that he does sorta understand when we tell him that daddy is at work (he seems to understand that when Kane and I were at home and Brian left for work). And I think it helps that he still sees daddy in the mornings. Maybe that will ease the transition.

Well, I better get off the computer, and get a quick snack and switch my laundry into the dryer and then pack my lunch for tomorrow.

Not sure if you are still reading this occasionally hun, but if you are - you have to know that we are okay. Love you!!

Back at Work

2007-01-31T10:54:00.000-08:00

Well, it's Wednesday, I'm surviving my first week back at work. It's quite a transition to be at work and having to follow a rigid schedule. All in all though, I'm pretty happy to be back. Life feels a little more normal now, back at work and using my brain.

The new office is fabulous. I love all the space and the colors. Anything beats that hideous green in the old office. YUCK! So much has changed though; it'll take some getting used to. The new photocopier sucks big time. It's so un-user friendly and is constantly broken or "thinking". ARGH!!

And my next complaint is the heat.... or should I say lack of heat. The thermostat is broken in my area and so there is no heat! Completely unacceptable. I've already made some complaining emails and phone messages. Hopefully I get that situation fixed up quickly.

Anyway, I'm pretty busy here, I better run. Promise I'll be back later.

Yikes, it's been forever!

2007-01-18T22:20:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I didn't start off the new year very well. I've completed jammed on the blogging thing. I will try to do better. Yeah, yeah, I know you've heard that before - but this time I really will try harder!

So, quick update.

Christmas was fabulous!! Kane got spoiled absolutely rotten! Lots of toys and clothes. He loved all the excitement and even got into opening some presents - but like all young ones - he wanted to play with the toys he opened instead of opening more.

We had a birthday party for him at my mom and dad's for family before we left. That was great - it was so amazing to think that he's already 1!!

We spent New Year's with Bill and Viv at home. It was so nice to have just the 4 of us. So relaxing and enjoyable. Bill and Viv are excellent company and I love having them out for a visit. It's even better when they make overnight reservations at Chez Roberts Hotel!

Kane had another birthday party on the 6th; with Kelli and Hunter; Eryn, Kelly, Ryan and Katelynn; and Matt and Dayna. It was nice having the kids here - Kane loved watching them play around. And he got spoiled again with toys!! Kelli got him a Backyardigans car/walker/ride on and he LOVES it; and a Backyardigans book that he reads EVERYDAY. Yup, everyday I have to read that darn thing usually more than once - many more times than once! Gee, thanks Kel! And Eryn et al brought him a fridge magnet farm that has animal magnets and it talks. Yup, another toy that mommy just loves - NOT! I hear that darn thing constantly - and the animal magnets make loud noises when thrown across the kitchen - which happens often.

Ummm, what else.... oh yeah, Kane started daycare. It's been awesome. He only cried on Wednesday when I dropped him off and then this morning; but the first week nothing! He loves the other kids and of course all the play time just wears him out. He seems very happy there and although he's cried the last couple times, he still wants to go in the morning. His clothes are out and he just comes to us to get dressed and starts heading for the door. So his crying is just the shock of being left by mommy I think rather than from not wanting to be with Linda and the other kids.

I'm back at work on the 29th, so I'm enjoying these last few days of home life - and trying to get lots done with Kane in daycare and my days free.

Tomorrow after I drop Kane off in the morning, I'm heading out to pick up Viv and then go to IKEA to get more stuff for my scrap room. Then we'll mosey on over to the casino! :) After I drop Viv back off at home, I have to stop at Blacks and pick up the 135 pictures I have printed and waiting for me! I'll have lots of pics to scrap now. I'm hoping that Viv will be up for a bit of mall shopping too. I have a gift card for Bootlegger that I got for Christmas from Brian so I'm hoping to pick up something for work.

Well, I've rambled enough for now, I'll sign off and hopefully get a chance to update some more tomorrow. Sleep well everyone!

Christmas is too close...

2006-12-19T15:43:00.000-08:00

I'm almost ready, I think. But really is anyone really ready for Christmas when it comes - there is always something you forget.

Anyway, I've decided that there is no possible way I'm getting my dad's homemade gifts done in time for Christmas. We are leaving Thursday/Friday and it's already Tuesday. I still have to get to a store to find some new 'edging'. It's NOT going to happen. Oh well, I'll send them up when I finish them - maybe.

Brian came home yesterday with more presents for me! I hate not knowing what they are and the wondering will kill me - but at the same time I dont' want to ruin the surprise. The surprise is the fun part - argh!

I wasted Kane's entire nap this afternoon searching for the manual for our stroller. And still didn't find it. I want to take all the fabric pieces off so I can wash them - and I can't see how it would come off - but there has to be a way. My stroller cannot possibly be the only one that has needed a 'bath'. Nothing that is for a baby can possibly be considered to be permanent and not washable. If it turns out that I can't take it apart and wash it, I will send a mommy curse to Eddie Bauer and hope their factory lights on fire and they lose the plans to all non-washable childrens/babies gear.

Doug and Tania are coming over for a quick Christmas visit tonight; so really I should not be on the computer and should be doing some cleaning up. I just don't have the motivation to do anything. I'm still pissed about that stupid stroller. And that I can't find the manual - where the hell can a thick book like that disappear to? And of course, not a stitch of info to be found online. ARGH!!!!!

Oh, another useless piece of information for most of you out there - I won a Survivor pool at Lovebug Scrapbooking. I won $60 in gift certificates, which I promptely spent. My next delivery should be just a little on the large side! Yikes!

Ummmm, I don't think there is much other news. I've got almost all the Christmas cards gathered together to be sent to Barry O'Neill (who is a member of CUPE's bargaining committee). My Union COPE Local 491 is in bargaining right now with our Employer, CUPE.... and it is NOT going well. For more info visit: www.staffunions.ca COPE decided to send Christmas cards to the entire bargaining committee of CUPE's to tell them that we support our bargaining committee and voted yes to a strike mandate.

Kane just came in here with a very strange looking piece of plastic and I'm scared to know where it came from, so I better get my butt off the computer and go find out what he is taking apart. Wish me luck!

I've been neglectful of my blog again...

2006-12-13T22:26:00.000-08:00

Things get so busy around the holidays and I've been very neglectful of the blogging world.

Not really much to catch you up on. My Christmas shopping is done. I still couldn't find one present for Brian, but oh well, maybe after Christmas, Santa will find it. ;)

I've received this questionnaire from a ton of people by email. Instead of replying to them all, here's my answers. I'll email everyone a link to this post.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wraps them
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored
4. Do you hang mistletoe? No
5. When do you put your decorations up? depends... usually by now, but I've been too busy
6. What is your favorite Christmas dish (excluding dessert)? not sure - I guess I would say Baked Yam or Brussel Sprouts or mashed 'tatoes with turkey gravy.
7. Favorite Christmas memory as a child : There are so many, I can't choose just one
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Don't remember
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Just one and it's PJ's from my mom/dad
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Ornaments, Lights, angel on top
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Miss it! I wish it snowed more here
12. Can you ice skate? Yes
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? A computron - it was the coolest thing ever invented up to and including that point in time - and still possibly in the running as coolest thing for a kid ever
14. What's the most important thing about Christmas for you? Being with family
15. What is your favorite Christmas Dessert? My mom's fudge
16. What is your favorite Christmas tradition? Decorating the tree and spending time with family. That one present on Christmas Eve thing is cool too!!
17. What tops your tree? Angel
18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Giving
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Not sure, I have so many favorites - probably We Wish You A Merry Christmas
20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? The regular mint ones - YUCK; but those Crush Rootbeer flavored ones - YUMMY; and those fruit flavored ones - YUCK!

Where do I start?

2006-12-04T00:43:00.000-08:00

So much has happened since I last updated. Yikes, I don't even think I'll catch you up. I'll just go back a couple days and do what I can.

I had to go to Ottawa again for some Executive meetings last week, so Brian, Kane and my mom decided to come along too. We spent a few extra days there being tacky tourists. It was awesome! My meetings went well too, got a lot of information that I needed and somehow got myself onto another committee! Yeah, like I need more to do. Geesh! Anyway, we all left Abbotsford airport on Friday, November 24th. (we were supposed to leave at 6:35 am, but there was a problem and we ended up taking the 1:15 pm flight - uh, yeah, there was a problem, like we ALL, including Kane, slept in and didn't wake up until 6:05am.) Then I had meetings on Saturday and Sunday. We left Ottawa on Thursday, November 30th. A full week in our Nation's Capital. How exciting. No, really it was. I thoroughly enjoyed being a tourist after the 2 meeting days. We went to the Currency Museum, Notre Dame Basilica, Royal Canadian Mint, Museum of Civilization, Canadian War Museum and Brian, Kane and Mom visited the Parliament buildings while I was in meetings one day. I got waaaaay too many pictures, of course. I will keep them all, but probably only print some out to put into a scrapbook album. (You had to know they would get scrapped) heehee!!

Anyway, when I get better organized I'll pick a couple pics and post them here for ya.

While we were gone across the country, the Lower Mainland/Fraser Valley got SNOW! And I don't mean a dusting like usual, I mean a DUMP of SNOW! Measuring in inches and feet instead of mm's. AMAZING! There we were in 'cold' Ontario wearing only light coats and being fairly warm for the time of year - with NO snow and hearing reports of crazy cold weather and lots of snow back home. Brian was so upset, he thought he'd miss it all. But when we got home, there was still snow on the ground and with the temperatures staying around zero or below, I think it's here to stay for a while.

I kinda hope we get some more snow this week. It would be great to build up some more - since it has melted alot already.

Our Christmas shopping is nearly done, and it's just wrapping left to do. Of course, knowing me, I'll still be buying little gifts and stocking stuffers right until we leave for home. We still have a couple things to get for Kane, and I have to buy for Brian yet. And I need to start trying to make the plans for Kane's First Birthday! We will be having a party for him while we are home to the grandparents can join in and all the relatives and friends back home. I want to have a little dinner here at home after the new year as well. It's his first birthday so it's a big deal I think.

Well, it's super late here and I better get to bed before I crash here at the computer. Ciao!

Having a great time....

2006-11-20T20:02:00.000-08:00

with the new game at Lovebug Scrapbooking. It's the Flashback 50's game in the forum, and it's really got my mojo grooving along. Here's a couple of projects I finished so far. The second one is "Diva Cat"; and the pictures under the cover that are secret are pictures of Blue drinking out of the toilet. Ewwww. The first one is some pics of Kane playing with his cousin Kennedy's swim ring in Kelowna. The last one is pics of my neice Kristyn playing with a crazy hat..... and the third one is a Christmas gift for my mom and dad. I can post here since they don't do the computer thing very often and certainly wouldn't be checking out my blog. :) Don't ask why the descriptions are out of order. (I hate computers sometimes)

Anyway, it's been a crazy couple weeks. I've been 'frantically' calling daycare centres, and day home looking for daycare for Kane... and was getting very frustrated after making about 40 calls and being told that no one had space for a one year old. Finally I found a dayhome that has room for his age and we went to look and talk to the ladies running it. They seem great and I really like that he would be the only baby - lots of attention! However, we want to see a couple others before we make a final decision, however after another frustrating day on the phone and not finding another place with any room for him I'm not sure we'll find somewhere to compare to.

Anyway, I can hear my little guy making a big rucus in the living room, so I better scoot and save Daddy who is trying to have a phone conversation amid all that noise!

Finally done!

2006-11-11T23:05:00.000-08:00

So I finally finished up all my Christmas cards that I'm making this year. Some people will get store bought cards, because I ran out of steam and just cannot bring myself to make another single card. I made over 80!!!!!!!

I don't want to ruin the surprise for anyone, so I wont' post any here until they go postal and it gets closer to Christmas.

I went to Luv2Scrap - the LSS here in Mission for the Friday night crop last night. I actually got a lot accomplished - 2 layouts, plus a bunch of new ideas. ;) And I think I ordered my Christmas present. Now I just need to find someone to buy it for me. hahaha!! The Making Memories trimmer has gotten some good reviews and Wendy did some research and is taking the plunge - so I decided to jump with her. I figure what the heck, anything has to be better than the darn Fiskars that won't cut straight!

Nothing else new right now - rain, rain, rain, rain is about all. I think I'm getting webbed feet! Well, at least it's not snow.

I'm off to sneak downstairs to get some more scrapping done. Later all!

Alright already, here's 2 Halloween Pics

2006-11-07T21:59:00.000-08:00

So my email inbox has received a *few* requests for Halloween pics of Kane in costume. Here's the two that turned out well enough to share. I had two costumes for him (thanks Mary!) so I put him in both. The big plush heads were a bit much for him, he didn't want to leave them up as a hood, so it was tough getting a picture of him in full costume.

A bit of out chronological order, but there I've listened to the requests! :) Enjoy!

Back to our Regularly Scheduled Programming

2006-11-06T21:39:00.000-08:00

Well, all appears to be back to normal. I'm feeling 100% and life is getting back on track. We had Mina and Jens here for a visit over the weekend. It was so nice to spend some time with them. We dont' get to see them as often as I'd like, so it's a treat when we do get to spend time together. I even had a couple beers with Mina one night, since I'm not nursing anymore. I was feeling no pain by the time I went off to bed after 3:00 am. Thank goodness Brian was great about it and got up with Kane when he woke up during the night and in the morning and let me sleep. I didn't crawl out of bed until 10:00 am!!

Last night we had Brian's parents here for the night. Then this morning, they were off to a funeral and then to Grandma's. I think Dave will be here on Wednesday to help Brian put in some whirly-gig things in the roof. Hopefully this crazy rain stops long enough for them to do it.

We've been getting some amazing rain and wind for the past couple days. Sometimes it is literally like buckets of rain coming down and it blows completely sideways. I haven't seen it rain this hard with such strong wind in a LONG time. I can imagine there will be some major flooding happening if it keeps up much longer. We are already hearing of places flooding out and it just keeps on raining.

Anyway, I thought I would pop in quick to say hi, but I'm off to try to get some scrapping in before bedtime. Well, after I clean the kitchen. ho hum!

Feeling Better today

2006-11-03T16:54:00.000-08:00

And not quite as bitchy. I apologize to those who I offended with my comments. I was speaking only from my experience. I will not however, apologize for my feelings, I still stand by my personal opinion that some people are extremely rude and completely un-compassionate when it comes to understanding or trying to understand another's pain.

But onto happier topics. Kane had a fabulous day today. We went for lunch with Wendy, and he ended up not napping before we left. He was pretty good throughout lunch; even after sitting in the restaurant for an hour and a half! Then it was off to the doctor and then home. He didn't take a nap until nearly 3:00 pm. He's still sleeping now, although I probably should wake him up soon - even though he will only nap once today, I don't want him to not sleep tonight just because I let him sleep too long.

I was supposed to go to the store after the dr, but Kane was so sleepy and getting cranky so I just brought him home. Poor little guy, he wanted to go to sleep at least an hour before he was able to. But I have to say it again, he had a great day and really should have been more cranky than he was!

Mina and Jens are coming down from Kelowna tonight. Now I'll be able to give her the replacement pictures that I was supposed to send forever ago. I was planning on holding onto them until the Halloween party that got cancelled, so then I thought I would send them - but now since they'll be here tonight, I'm off the hook for getting to the post office! Plus, hopefully I'll remember to give her the magnets Brian bought for her while he was in New York LAST YEAR! yikes, we've been bad at remembering to give our friends their presents and stuff. Oh well, being new parents messes with your brain - that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

anyway, I better scoot and try to get some stuff done before Kane gets up.

Feeling Better...

2006-11-01T17:35:00.000-08:00

as many of you know I spent a few days in hospital and then finished recovering at home. Although we aren't entirely sure what all happened, I'm on the mend and that's what's important. I'm basically back to 100% now and even want to get back to scrapping. Which is a good thing I'm sure. :)

Being sick was pretty tough - I had to stop nursing Kane just all of a sudden..... thanks to some heavy drugs I had to be put on. I was in a lot of physical pain from abruptly stopping, since I was in no condition to properly massage and express milk to ease my discomfort it was much worse than necessary. However, Kane seems to have faired quite well out of the whole ordeal. It helped having such a fabulous daddy and having Bamma come to help out. He took to formula quite easily I've been told, which I think may have been easier since mommy wasn't around - he easily forgot about the 'booby' option. Although Kane seems okay with it and hasn't even rooted around looking for a boob since I got home, it's been really hard on me. Emotionally I was a total mess about the whole thing. I was completely NOT READY to wean him yet. I still feel like crying when I think about it. It actually hurts my heart to think about it. I sooooooo badly wanted to continue breast feeding. I know I did it for 10 months and that is good for Kane, I just resent that the decision to wean was taken away from me because of some stupid illness and those darn drugs. I was angry and upset about it. Now I'm just sad. And to everyone who keeps telling me it's better that Kane 'learns to not rely on his mommy so much' - GO TO HELL!!!!!! It's not about that at all. People without kids I can understand that you don't get it, but those who have breastfed, you must be able to relate to what I am going through. Unless you hated it absolutely, it would completely amaze me that no other mom out there would be upset about the situation. What I find quite interesting is that more men have been understanding about it than the women I have talked to. Are we as women that catty and horrible to each other that we cannot just comfort each other through tough times anymore? What the hell is wrong with a society that insists on pushing us down when we are already at a low point? I am appalled at the feedback I have been given by some of my supposed friends - I guess when you need them most, you learn who is a real friend and who doesn't give two shits about your feelings.

Okay, that's my rant for today, I better sign off now before I blow a gasket or completely alienate some of my friends that are reading this. I should caution you all now, that if you are pissed off about what I just wrote, maybe you should step back and think about the comments you might have made to me and what they would have made me feel like. Perhaps you aren't the one with the right to be angry.

Sunday update...

2006-10-15T19:19:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Sunday, the weekend is over. And I didn't really accomplish much of anything. I finished up a friends' birthday gift - and forgot to take pics of it before I gave it to her. oops. It was a little plastic container that I altered.... she loved it and I'm actually going to be making her another one. :)

Yesterday I tried to get some scrapping done, but it was too crazy around the house with a baby that was awake and didn't really want to nap.

Last night was another tough night; Kane barely slept for an hour at a time all night. It wasn't until Brian finally went to get him this morning and brought him to bed with us, that we were able to rub his back/belly and get him to sleep for a longer stretch. Even so, he was up and at 'em at 6:30am this morning. Brian got up with him and let me sleep, but I only stayed in bed for an hour - I could hear Kane whining and being unhappy, so I dragged myself into the living room.

I laid on the couch and nursed him and he fell asleep again until nearly 11:00am... and I slept too. So Brian had a couple hours to himself and I got some much needed rest and so did Kane! Then he slept again late this afternoon for another 2 1/2 hours. I sure hope he will go to sleep tonight. Being sick last week really messed him up with his sleeping. I hope we can start getting back to normal soon.

Not sad to miss the first home game...

2006-10-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

tonight. Went down to my LSS for a short visit for crop night. Started 2 layouts, almost completed them in just over an hour! WOW! It helped having an awesome kit to work with from Pick of the Patch. This month's kit is Scenic Route and the colors and papers are incredible.

Anyway, back to the Smucks, I mean Canucks. Darn fools!!!!!! I came home to a fairly unhappy baby who was getting fussy and a nearly over the edge pissy dad. Within minutes, it was a definite pissed off dad and a drowsy baby ready for bed. Kane went down fairly easy tonight; let's see how long it lasts. The first real sleep in his crib in 3 nights, so it might be a bit of a transition.

Anyhow, I'm mad that the Canucks lost tonight; means that the sullen quiet hubby won't be perking up anytime tonight. :( Oh well, he'll sleep it off and tomorrow he'll be back to normal. I hope!

I'm hoping to get out this weekend to go downtown - I think Brian said he wanted to go to the Home Show in Vancouver. I'd love to go and check out the displays - with the basement getting close to organized, it's time to start thinking seriously about planning what to do with the space. We need to make one of the bedrooms down there into an office for Brian; and the other bedroom down there will be the official guest room. Plus we have the kitchen/laundry area that will be redone with new cabinetry etc. And the rec room space needs to be planned out. I bet there will be lots of ideas for us at the Home Show. Plus with the 3rd bedroom upstairs, I'd like to see if our plans are the best choice - it's going to be our computer room, 2nd guest room and my official scrap room... we have cabinets bought already and I have my storage towers and the computer desk is staying... but perhaps we can come up with a creative solution to having a bed in here that doesn't take up much space. Anyway, I should stop babbling and go downstairs and scrap a bit before bed. I'll be back with more if/when we go to the home show. :) Good night all!

The Fever Story comes to a close...

2006-10-13T17:44:00.000-07:00

Well the curtain has fallen and the show is over!! YAY!! After 3 tough days, the fever broke early this morning. We had Kane sleep with us the last couple nights and last night he was fitful and hot and nursed on and off for hours it seemed. Then early, early - 'bout 4:00 am I woke up and he felt a bit cooler, so I pulled the blanket up and covered him up a bit. Then at 6:00 am I uncovered him again for a while and then back up with the covers. When we got out of bed, I checked his temp and it was normal - waited a couple hours, checked it again and it was still normal!!

Plus, the crazy, little trouble-making boy is back, so that's a sure sign that he's on the mend. He was go, go, go all morning. He didn't even nap until 1:45 this afternoon!!! Now we're just getting ready to have dinner - so hopefully he doesn't crash out on us yet. I'm hoping to wait until after the 1st period of the hockey game tonight so I can bath him and then put him to bed!

GO CANUCKS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tonights to first home game - Friday the 13th... 13 is my lucky number, so I'm passing on my luck to them tonight. GO CANUCKS GO!!!!!!!!!!

A fever story - Day 3

2006-10-12T20:03:00.000-07:00

Well, we are about to start day 3 of Kane's fever. It started on Tuesday evening; and it's still there now. We went to the doctor this afternoon and he wasn't overly concerned -because Kane is still nursing well and wetting diapers. Although he's not eating much, but it's part of the process of being sick I guess. I had to collect a urine sample - which let me tell you is a chore and a half with an infant!! I had to put this baggie thingy with adhesive on it, to catch the urine, then pour it into a regular sample container and deliver it to the lab. YUCK! It wasn't too bad getting it on, but the adhesive really stuck and it was hard to get off - especially amid the intense screaming. I felt so bad for Kane!

We'll know tomorrow whether or not there is a UTI - which hopefully there isn't. And hopefully no throat infection either. Dr. O'Brien doesn't think there is, but wanted to order some tests just in case. In the meantime, we have to just try to keep him cool and try to keep his temperature manageable.

For a while it was up around 103, but right now, I think we have evened out at somewhere around 101.5 So needless to say no one has slept well in this house in two nights. Kane only cat-naps all day and night. The only time he seems to be awake and wanting to play (sorta) is when Dad's home. Otherwise, he just curls up with me, nurses and naps all day long. Poor little guy, he's fussy and you can just tell he's miserable. Hopefully it will get better tonight. He's been playing a bit better today and I'm hoping to give him a bath again in a while and get his temperature down some more and then maybe he'll get some decent sleep. I know I need it!

Anyway, I better scoot, I believe the babe is calling again, and unfortunately Dad can't help him out with that I'm Thirsty cry. :)

We're home with a tragic story...

2006-10-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

So we finally got home on Friday night.... we stayed in Castlegar for a whole week because a dear family friend (Clint) was killed in a motorcycle accident. His sister, Cindy, was supposed to be getting married on Saturday, September 30th and his accident happened on the Friday, the 29th right after they had all finished decorating the church and hall for the wedding. So needless to say the wedding was cancelled. We decided to stay the whole week so we could attend the funeral. It was awful! Reminds you how precious life is, and really brings you down.... it's very hard on the mind to fathom that we were home to celebrate a wedding and ended up mourning a dear friend. It is extremely hard to believe it has actually happened. I did good all week, but after the funeral, it was really hitting me. He was only 25 years old..... he would have been 26 on Friday, the day he was buried. I can't even imagine how his parents are coping. Thankfully they have had great support from a very dear friend... but it still must be sooo hard.

My heart goes out to the whole family and hope that they can hold onto each other and take comfort in each other right now. They have each other and each of them have their memories of Clinton. If you're reading this, know that we love you and will always be there for any of you if you ever need it. You know where to find us.

On a bit happier note, mom and dad came down to visit for Thanksgiving. They followed a couple hours behind us after the funeral on Friday. They got to spend the whole weekend here and left yesterday morning. It was so nice to have them down for a visit - especially since mom made the Thanksgiving turkey - so I was off the hook from all the work! We went to Burnaby on Saturday and had Hing Loon's chinese food for dinner- my dad's favorite restaurant. Then on Sunday night we had turkey dinner. YUMMY!!

Today is the first day that it has been just Kane and I in almost 2 weeks!! It's been rather interesting, keeping him occupied. The first half hour after Brian left was pretty hard - we waved bye-bye and watched out the window, but as soon as I put him down, he headed over to the gate and babbled at the front door. He whined and cried a little bit, but got over of course. It was worse on me I think, knowing that he didn't really understand why dad left!

Well, I better go, Kane is trying to climb onto my lap and let me tell ya he's not a very good typist, so I'll sign off now before he gets his hands on the keyboard.

Goodbye for a week or so

2006-09-28T00:22:00.001-07:00

So we are off early tomorrow morning (later this morning after I see it's after midnight already). We are going to Cindy's wedding on Saturday, so we'll be making the trek up to Castlegar. Since we wont' be heading back that way until Christmas, we decided to make it a bigger trip, so we'll come back home on Tuesday. Brian has to be at work on Wednesday, so at least he was able to sneak away for a few days.

Tonight was crazy, doing all the last minute stuff getting ready to leave - and of course, I had to get in my computer geekin' time!! I'll be without a computer for a week!!! AHHHHH, what will I do.... of course, there is always dial-up at both my parents' and Brian's parents'.... but yeah right, like I could handle waiting for dial-up to do my forum chattin or my bloggin!

Anyway, I better scoot, gotta get my packing done before bed.

Love ya all, will miss you and 'talk' to you next week. Ta-Ta for now!

I was chosen...

2006-09-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

as Layout of the Day at the Pick of the Patch on Sunday!!! Here's the layout that was chosen.

At first I was unsure about these papers from A2Z, but once I got started working with them, they are fantastic. I got the papers in a kit from Lovebug Scrapbooking.

The pictures are of some of Kane's first smiles caught on camera. They are just too special to leave out of his baby album. Even though they weren't the best quality, I knew they had to be included.

Anyway, I just thought I would share my excitement and having this layout recognized. YAY ME!!!!

Quick Update

2006-09-25T22:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was super exciting.... we went to the Zoo with my Matthew and Dayna. Kane was in a fantastic mood all day long. He sat in his stroller and ate Cheerios during almost the entire trip through the zoo. Although he is a little young to fully appreciate seeing the animals, he did enjoy himself. And all the animals that came close to the fence, he did look at and even try to talk to some of them. I must say that he was probably more excited when the train went by, than with the animals. Oh well. I got some good pics, but really it's just zoo animals, so you can see better pics in a book. heehee! I do have this one with Kane and a moose! I'm apparently a complete idiot because I cannot get it to upload with the picture turned the right way. Please nobody pull a muscle trying to strain sideways to see the pic. :) Anyway, it's not the greatest pic, but it's the only one Kane appears with an animal.

Yesterday, the second most exciting thing to happen was when Kane went to bed, he slept for like 6 hours the first time without waking up!!!! Not very exciting since he was doing that at a couple weeks old, but exciting because he hasn't done that in a couple months. Let's hope this is the start to a better sleeping pattern. Before I get too excited about that though; I have to remember we will be travelling and being away from home for almost a week so I suppose our routine will be all over the map again.

We are leaving on Thursday morning for Castlegar to go to Cindy's wedding (a lifelong friend, seriously I think we had to be friends before we were even born!) and since we are travelling that far, we decided to stay a few days to make the trip worth it. Which means, when we get home, we'll be staying put until Christmas, no traveling for Thanksgiving this year.

Anyway, I better go get some chores done before bed. Gotta get some stuff done in the next couple days. Cross your fingers that my little man sleeps good tonight!

Friday night....at home

2006-09-22T23:39:00.000-07:00

What else is new? We're at home on a Friday night; just trying to relax. Nothing especially good on tv. I was sick when I got up this morning. All stuffed up and my head felt like it was going to explode. Took Kane to see Dr. O'Brien because he's been sick for quite a while. Well, apparently the dr. figures he has had 2 or 3 viruses, one right after another. Which would explain why he has seemed to be sick, better, then sick again, and again. But no infection visible anywhere in his throat, nose, ears etc. YAY! Me on the other hand, he says to relax. Right, like a mom can relax with a 9 month old baby. hahahahaha!! At least Brian came home from work early. I napped with Kane this afternoon and then when Brian got home, I napped again for an hour and a half. Felt like crap when I first woke up from the nap. But I took some Tylenol and within an hour felt pretty good. Since not taking medication hardly ever in over a year and a half with being pregnant and nursing, just one Tylenol works like a charm. ;) Those who know me, know that a handful would sometimes be as effective as swallowing tic-tacs. (By the way, I've only had 1 migraine since April 2005 - doing the happy dance here) Let's hope that pregnancy did something to change my body and they won't come back as bad as I had them before. One can hope.

Anyway, as I was saying, nothing good on tv, so after dinner, Brian (and Kane) built the other table for the dining room. Tomorrow hopefully we'll have used up enough water from the cooler that we can lift it up onto the table. No way can we lift it with lots of water in it... it's freakin' heavy!

Tomorrow is the grand opening of Mary's store - Luv2Scrap (Mission's very own and first scrapbook store)... so I'll be going down there off and on all day. At 11am there is a make and take for an address book that is waaaay cool, and then at 1pm there's another make and take for a card. Both are super cool and since Wendy is leading them, I'm there!! I've stashed away some money (which I dipped into already this week) for some new supplies. There are a couple of things that I want, but haven't been able to break down and buy yet. With being sick and feeling a little down earlier this week, I figure what the heck, I need some retail therapy. Yeah right, I need retail therapy like I need a hole in the head. After the therapy I spent this week online already, I need to just step back and cut off my spending. Actually it's not too bad. But both of my fave online stores have some great new stuff in stock so I had to buy some stuff. Check them out if you're a scrapbookaholic - online shopaholic..... http://www.lovebugscrapbooking.com and http://www.pickofthepatch.com Both of the stores are Canadian owned (actually BC owned) so we should support them. :)

Anyway, I better go, it's late and I need my beauty and get better sleep more than ever.

Thursday - Ugh!

2006-09-21T17:38:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Thursday, thank goodness the weekend is coming up. Kane has had a cold and is so miserable. It's been tough this week. His poor throat is so scratchy, he sounds like a wool blanket. Poor little dude. Being sick hasn't really stopped him though;

as you can see he's still getting into everything! This drawer is pretty much his now. I've had to move everything he can't play with and fill it with toys and kitchen gadgets that are safe for him.

Not much else going on today - I tried to finish my friend's summer mini album, but forgot to remind her to send me some of her pics. I'll have to do as much as I can and then wait for some pics to add in. And hopefully tonight I'll get a chance to get back to my scrap space and start on another friend's b-day card, a wedding card, and a couple other cards that need to get done. Plus I have a new kit from Lovebug for September that I've opened up but haven't actually worked with yet. YIKES!!

Anyway, I better scoot, chat with y'all later.

I almost forgot to rant...

2006-09-19T22:35:00.000-07:00

Before I sign off for the night; I have a little rant to share with you all...... and if you don't like it don't read it.

What the hell is wrong with the people on chat boards - are they that rude in 'real life'? My god! You don't even really know me - who the hell do you think you are?!?! Just because you can hide behind your damn computer and never have to come face to face with someone - doesn't give you the right to attack them, judge them or to come up with these cockamamy comments that are hurtful and completely untrue. Find out your facts before you speak up and even then, you don't live my life you don't know what it's like to be me. I have bitten my tongue, so to speak, many times lately, but really, someone needs to send a virtual bitch-slap to some of these rudey-poos.

If you are one of those rudey-poos - SMARTEN UP!

The only consolation I have is that 'what goes around, comes around' - they will all 'get' theirs some day. Karma is a very powerful force and I have seen some people get bit in the ass by bad karma that they put out there.

Okay, that's my little rant for tonight; off to bed I go now.

Another Fun-Filled Day

2006-09-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

Well, today was another interesting one. This morning Kane decided he wasn't all that interested in sleep after 3:00 AM! So after rocking him and nursing him virtually non-stop for over an hour, I broke down and brought him to bed with us. He moved around and fussed for a while and then finally settled down and slept... but was up and moving around again by about 6:30'ish. Then all of a sudden, he must of fell asleep and me too, because next thing I knew he was awake and pushing me and bugging his dad and it was 9:30!! WOW! I was pretty happy that he finally slept, but because it was so late, I knew our nap schedule would be shot today. Sure enough - he napped only once, and then was completely ready for bed by 8:00pm. Brian gave him his bath while I was talking to mom on the phone and then he was ready for sleep. I nursed him, and he was out like a light! Although he did wake up an hour later and wanted to nurse again - no way was he going back to sleep with just dad. Oh well, he's down and seems to be pretty zoinked again. Let's hope he sleeps better tonight. Now that his cold is virtually gone and his teething appears to not be bothering him, I hope our sleep will get on schedule.

This afternoon Kane had some Stage 3 baby food - Vegetable Pork with Apples. Yum! I tasted some and even I would eat it. He ate some, but wasn't overly interested. He was pretty happy about the Cheerios though. His first time eating them, and he was stuffing them in his mouth and crunching them like he was an old pro!

He is definitely enjoying more 'solid' food - yesterday he helped me eat a nectarine. I was sitting on the floor eating it, and he came over and kept trying to get it, so I let him try to bite some - well, that was it, I had to share the whole thing after that. He ate about a 1/4 of it right off the pit! My baby is definitely growing up!

And because he was so interested in my lunch today, he even stood in front of me not holding on to anything for almost a full minute.... and then fell over - but it was quite a long stretch of free-standing. Makes me think that walking is not far off. Yikes!!!

Anyway, that was my Kane post for today. Everything else fades into the background of static noise considering the excitement in Kaneland! Back tomorrow (or the next day, or the next day) with the next installment on the Kane Channel - all Kane all the time..... except when it's about scrapping. :)

Late night post...

2006-09-17T00:46:00.000-07:00

Alright so it's Saturday night... well Sunday morning and I'm still awake when I should be sleeping. Kane is sleeping well right now, crossing my fingers, but I can't settle my brain down to go to sleep yet. So I uploaded the last 3 layouts I completed on Friday night. The papers were a bit hard to use because they were so busy, but being 2 sided, they all had a solid color on the back. By mixing it up, I was able to use the papers without them becoming overpowering. Thanks Wendy for reminding about that silly rule of thirds - I always forget about that one - and it's the only useful rule!! :) You can read the journalling on the middle one "Mom's Diner" on the Pick of the Patch gallery page here: http://www.pickofthepatch.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=7162 I just want to say thank you again to Wendy for helping me out with the layouts!

Today was a good day.... we got lots of stuff organized in the basement - actually Brian got lots organized, I just moved some stuff around and played on the computer and did some laundry. There is not just a clear path throughout the basement, there is no clutter all over the floor and nearly everything is in a place it belongs!!!! We still have lots of work to do in both bedrooms, but the laundry room/kitchen area is done. And some stuff has been tossed out - actually much more than I expected. That back bedroom has lots of stuff that will need to find a new home and the front bedroom just needs to be organized so we can set up the guest bedroom suite in there. Hopefully it will all get done before our Halloween party, since I think we'll have a "few" overnight guests for that. Anyway, I better try to get to bed, I need my beauty sleep!!!

A quick Saturday update

2006-09-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

So last night I went to my LSS - Luv2Scrap for the Friday night crop. I got tons done and was able to gossip a bit and get in some adult conversation. How nice.

The picture here is the one layout I actually completed. I got 3 others almost done - just need to add the computer journalling on 2 and hand journalling with my white pen on the other.

Isn't my little monster soooo adorable eating his little cookie at the dinner table.

I must say this high chair contraption that attaches to the side of the dinner table is the BEST INVENTION ever. Since he feels like he's sitting with us, we can actually sit down and have a decent meal without rushing or trying to keep him occupied. Of course there are still days when he's not happy sitting in there, but usually as long as he has a biscuit, he's a happy guy!!

Things are a little crazy here right now, we're trying to organize the basement so we can finish organizing upstairs. So everywhere there are piles of stuff and disorganization. Oh well, you gotta start somewhere and it has to be done. Which makes me think - I better get off the darn computer and get some stuff done before my hubby gets home. I don't want to end up grounded from the computer for playing before my chores are done. hahahahahahahaha!!!!!

Getting Better

2006-09-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

Alright, so I'm still not doing this on a regular basis - but at least this time there isn't a month inbetween posts.

I've decided to expand my blogging information maybe that will make it easier to remember. Instead of being all mom/baby, I think I'll add more of my scrapbooking adventures too.... but that will have to wait, I hear someone calling me.... err crying for me after his nap.

Why can't I remember to post?

2006-09-07T02:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm convinced there is a short circuit somewhere in my brain that allows me to remember stupid little things but somehow blocks out the ability to remember to post on my blog!

It's been forever. and I'm not even going to pretend to try to catch up.

I'll just say teething was horrible, but now we have 6 teeth. Unfortunately the no pain period didn't last too long, we are back to teething - the bottom left tooth is poking out now. This one will make number 7!

I can't believe that Kane is already 8 months old. Time is going by way too quickly. Going back to work is going to be here way sooner than I'm ready for it. I cannot believe how much it is already bugging me.... I try not to think about it - it's still 4 months away, 5 if I take some vacation too.

Alright, I said I wouldn't do much catching up, but here's a quick run down:

*Been up to the cabin lots in August - Kane loves it there sooooo much. Sad that summer is over with now. Depending on schedules etc, we may not be back up there until next year {sad}

*We had our 2nd anniversary on September 4th - travelled home that day and had a quick BBQ dinner. Not very exciting - but what can you expect with an infant. :)

*Went to see Phantom of the Opera with Viv on August 12th - it was great! I can't wait to see the movie now, Viv says it has way more info so it'll be fun to see

Alright, it's getting late, gotta go to bed. I'll do more later. {I know, I know, famous last words}

Another long awaited update...

2006-07-25T23:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the updating more often thing didn't work out. haha!! What can I say, I'm the mother of a very crazy rambuctious 6 1/2 month old. Make that close to 7 month old. Life gets in the way that's for sure. Things are still not idyllic here in the Roberts household. We are teething Again.... and not just one at a time either - now we are getting **3** teeth on the top, all at once. ARGH! Nature hates my poor little babe. His top right eye tooth has now popped through the gum and his two top front teeth are right there. One has broken the gum but isn't quite visible yet and the other is still just a little bump, without any gum breakage. What a horrible couple days again. I think it's been waking him up because it hurts so much. He wakes up crying so hard sometimes. I feel for him! I wish those darn things would come at him one at a time instead of ganging up... although I suppose that means it's over quicker. I would think that once these top ones are through, we should be finished with the teething for a while. Let's hope - I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Mealtime is still like feeding time at the zoo. The kitchen gets almost as much food as Kane sometimes. Cereal is still a hit, although now he definitely prefers the cereal with banana flavour and makes a face if he gets regular oat. And the "real" food is a Major hit. He loves anything you try to give him. No refusing to eat anything so far - {knock on wood}. So far, he's had carrots, sweet potato, peas, and green beans. All of it, he eats right away. Today was the first day with green beans and I wasn't sure how it would go over, but he seems to enjoy them. We tried to let him feed himself a MumMum cookie/cracker, but he had more fun breaking and smashing it on his tray then eating it. Whenever he did put it in his mouth, he cringed, but kept trying. I think maybe it's too dry..... I might wait a few days and try again, but give him a sippie cup with some water at the same time. Might help to get it down. Mind you, if you're ever tried one of those cookies, you'll know why he cringed - GROSS!!

We are still pulling ourselves up on everything in sight. His balance is much improved and he certainly doesn't fall as much as he used to. Unless he's tired, and then he loses his balance more often. He's trying to walk around holding onto stuff too; and has even accomplished that a few times, but doesn't try very often. He was even taking some steps to follow along with his 'block' wagon today. He stands up holding onto the wagon, but it starts to roll away, and he just follows it along. Usually only a couple steps, but still it's a couple steps more than he would do last week. :)

Everything else is pretty good, I had a bit of a breakdown on the weekend. Still have lots of things I wanted to say, but instead of creating a huge argument, I kept my mouth shut. Didn't need an argument on top of feeling miserable.

Well, it's getting late, and since my little angel is sleeping I should follow suit and get some zzzz's myself. Time to convince Brian to come to bed too..... maybe he can finish watching tv in bed or ;) ;) :0 Tune in again for the next installment of Kane's Latest Tricks.

It's been how long?!?!

2006-07-14T15:26:00.000-07:00

Wow, I've been really bad at keeping this up. Okay I'm really gonna try to do this more often. So much is happening, I really need to do this on a regular basis.

Kane is still motoring around like crazy..... and now his latest trick that he's perfected is pulling himself up to stand. He'll use anything he can, the bathtub, the vacuum cleaner, the couch, his swing, his toy box, the fireplace ledge, the table... you name it, he's used it to pull up on. So needless to say, until that was perfected a little, there were a lot of falls and bumps on the head. At least it doesn't appear that he's done any permanent damage, it wasn't fun watching my poor little babe fall so often.

Now he's been trying to take steps almost while standing. Man, no one told me that he would go so fast. I want my baby back.... enough of this "big boy" thing. :)

We're still eating like crazy. Cereal time usually brings squeals of delight while I get it mixed up, and then it starts. The tornado that puts cereal from head to toe and from cupboards to ceiling. :) He's going to be having rice cereal with banana starting tomorrow; as we have done all the single grain cereals already. YAY!

I have only one gripe about this cereal thing; the myth about the cereal/solid foods making babies sleep............ ALRIGHT everyone it's a MYTH for a reason. Good on ya if your baby started sleeping through the night after having cereal, but look at all the recent research, talk to your doctor/health nurse - it's just not true. Chances are if your baby started sleeping through the night after having cereal, it probably had more to do with their natural progression at that age than the fact that they were eating cereal. And your likelihood of having a babe sleep through the night is pushed further back (for a lot of babes) if they have recently reached a milestone like crawling or pulling to stand. Or teething! Alright, I'm done complaining.

Speaking of milestones - teething. We are done teething for the time being, we have **2** teeth on the bottom now. Fully out and working great. Just ask my boobs, those chompers are working just fine, thank you very much. Thank goodness we're only a couple months away from being able to wean..... let me find that medical article about cow's milk and food at age...... oh yes, here it is, it says although recommended to wait until 1 year, can be done as early as 9 months. Okay, so I'll aim for 10 months. Please let my boobs be able to handle the chompers for another 2 1/2 months.

Well, I guess that's all for now. I'll be back again with more Kane news on the All Kane, All the Time network. Thanks for tuning in! :)

Been Busy...

2006-06-25T00:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's no excuse, but I have been pretty busy, so I haven't been keeping this up. I really want to try to do it everyday, but ya know, life gets in the way sometimes.

Kane is still teething, although the tooth has now made it's appearance. Every day it seems to almost be out more, but it's still not quite all there yet. It's so exciting!! He's not been as cranky this week, but he has had a couple 'moments'.

If there is anyone who needs a reminder to take those birth control pills everyday, come spend a night in my world during teething.... you'll never forget a pill again. hahahaha!!! And to think we planned this.

No really, it's not that bad... you just feel so helpless, you know they are hurting and there isn't much of anything you can do. Those poor babies! I've said it before, but I'll say it again - TEETHING IS CRUELLEST THING TO HAPPEN TO BABIES. It's awful. I sure hope this doesn't drag out tooooooo long.

On the up side, he's been motoring around like crazy. It used to be that he didn't creep/crawl too far out of the living room, but now we can't keep him in the living room. Especially when he's trying to chase the cat, he can cruise pretty fast. :) Gotta love this stage, it's so neat to see them get some mobility and be able to go get the toys etc, that they see. But it's bittersweet. It also means my tiny babe is growing up and it's going by way too fast. I can't believe he's almost 6 months old already. Only 6 more months and I have to go back to work and leave him with someone else all day. So sad........ well I better go before I bum myself out. :( I think I'll go steal that kiss from a sleeping baby that everyone is always talking about. :)

Ooops, better catch ya all up...

2006-06-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

So the first week on cereal was a huge hit. Kane was loving eating. The thing he wasn't loving (and neither was I) is the TEETHING!!!!!! ARGH! It's so awful what poor babies have to go through. But after a very intense couple of days and a couple doses of Tylenol, we have break through. The first tooth has broken the gums, and we can know actually feel tooth, not just a bump under the gums. I'm hoping it stays up, cause it was a long time coming. It was pretty hard dealing with a hysterical babe. There were even times when he was not liking me at all! Dad had to get him to sleep a couple times, because Kane was so mad at me. Well, even if he thought I was the one hurting him, at least the first tooth is basically here now, and he had Dad to soothe him.

On top of the horrible teething days, our weekend was not at all like we planned. We left on Saturday morning for Jeannine and Dave's in Salmon Arm. Very uneventful drive up there. Had to stop a couple times for Kane. Got there and had a fantastic dinner, chatted til late and got caught up on life. Next morning, we get up and plan on leaving in the afternoon to head to Kelowna to meet up with Brian's parents and brother and sister in law and kids...... the truck had other plans. We didn't hardly get 5 mins from Jeannine and Dave's and the truck comes to a complete stop, everything goes dead. What the &%*$%!!!!!!! After some cursing, swearing, kicking, screaming and trying everything possible, Brian has to call BCAA to get the truck towed to the dealership. Brian thinks maybe it's the fuel pump........... We have to unload all the stuff (Kane's playpen/travel crib, clothes, toys etc) into Matt's truck and he has to drive it all back to Jeannine and Dave's. And we have to wait until Monday morning to even find out what's wrong.

Monday morning, Brian calls the dealership, luckily it's not busy at all and they are able to get to work on the truck first thing. We discover it is, in fact, a fuel pump, but luckily again, they have them in stock and it's covered under warranty!!! BONUS! So we pack back up, slightly (well, exactly $114) lighter, and after this slight delay, we are back up and running and head into Kelowna. We get there, and no one is answering the phone in the room, and they don't have a cell phone. So we wander around for a bit and out of fluke, run into them at the Lagoon at the Grand (where they are staying). We decide to head out for a coffee at the Starbucks and walk all the way there. Half way back it started to rain and then hail, so I'm running with Kane through the rain trying to get him inside. What a sight that must have been...... YIKES!

Kane has another teething meltdown, when I stick my finger in his mouth to try to massage his gums, I feel...... OMG..... I think I feel a tooth. Gotta check again before I make a scene. Yup, it's definitely a tooth. So I make a big deal out of it, I'm so excited it's finally popped through. Okay, you can't really see it yet, but you can feel it! YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our first tooth.

We watch the hockey game (and that's all I'm saying)... and then head out for home. Kane falls asleep in Westbank after we fuel up and doesn't wake up until the truck is turned off in the driveway at home. YAY!!!! He wakes up, plays and chatters for about 15 mins and then he's back asleep. How great!

Certainly not the weekend, we have planned, but it turned out alright in the end.

Glad to be home though; and hope we can get through this week with less intensity with this tooth, but I'm not holding my breath on that one.

Cereal, Baby Blabber and What's For Dinner

2006-06-13T17:01:00.000-07:00

Alright, so the big day has come and gone.... Kane had his first bit of cereal on Sunday!! Well, I'm not sure how much went in, but we tried. He was a MESS!!!!!!!!!! He seemed to enjoy it though; and even grabbed the spoon a couple times to try to 'help' guide it to his mouth. He's been so interested in our food, I figured he must be ready. And well, he enjoyed the 'eating' and certainly was patient while his newbie mom and dad got organized. He didn't even push out a lot with his tongue.

Same on Monday, he had cereal and even more went into his mouth this time. Can't wait to give a go again tonight after dad gets home.

Kane has been super chatty again lately. For a while he seemed to have lost his voice, but it's back now and he's been really moving his lips and tongue alot while he's babbling. Not sure where he gets the incessant babbling gene from.... {snicker} must be his chatterbox dad!!!! hahahahahahaha - NOT!

Although he was in a good mood today, I wasn't looking forward to leaving the house to go and get stuff for dinner. At least, I knew what I had to get.... juicy prime rib steaks for the bbq. Since I was going out anyway I decided to go drop my wedding rings off to be fixed...I had to get them cut off when I was pregnant because I swelled like the Goodyear blimp. It wasn't until after I had Kane out of the truck and in his stroller and half way to the jewelry store before I realized I didn't change before I left the house. So there I was, hair not brushed, in a messy bun, in stretched out yoga pants and an old maternity top that was probably stained with breastmilk. Oh yay.... this should get me A-1 service at the jewelry store. Unbelievable the things that slip by ya when you're a mom. Damn, I hope this new mom excuse holds out for a few more months....

Anyway, I better scoot. Smells like a diaper change is in my near future.

My creative brain is busted...

2006-06-11T21:31:00.000-07:00

Check out the little Island Native boy...... yesterday was an all-day crop hosted by Lovebug, and I made Kane a little costume. :)

So, as I was saying, I had an all day crop yesterday (Saturday). I left the house, with Kane in tow, at about 9:30'ish. Drove all the way to Burnaby to sit in a room with 25 or so other scrapbook-a-holics until 10:30 - 11:00 pm!!!! Am I crazy?? Some might say so.... some might even say worse. {shame on you - you know who you are} Scrapbooking is an addiction and crops are the ultimate fix!

However, now I feel that I am broken. Can't seem to find where I left my mind. If I left it at the crop, can someone please mail it back to me. I 'm sure one of my table mates would have seen it on the table after I left if it's there.

I know I'm crazy to go to an all day event with a 5-month old, who, incidentally, is also TEETHING! What was I thinking? Okay, I was thinking it can't be worse than being at home. And actually it was better. He didn't freak out as bad as he does sometimes at home. Maybe the excitement actually calmed him slightly.

One thing I know for sure, packing for a crop is an ordeal without a baby - but with a baby it can be a downright NIGHTMARE. I had to pack all my crop stuff in just my tote, but I cheated and also brought a small'ish cardboard box with some papers etc. Then for Kane I brought; a beach bag full of toys, 6 outfits, 15 diapers (just in case), 3 receiving blankets, a swing, a playmat, a blanket, a playpen and the stroller. Plus all that is usually in the diaper bag. Talk about leaving with everything but the kitchen sink!

All in all, it was a good day though; I didn't accomplish a lot, but I did get all my Lovebug orders.... and of course shopped a bit. I thoroughly enjoyed checking out everyone else's work.

Can't wait to do it again, but leave Kane with daddy! But, I'm still looking for that creativeness, I hope I can find it after Kane goes to bed tonight; I at least want to unpack and reorganize everything I packed into my tote.

Some Questions From Scraptivity

2006-06-08T23:24:00.000-07:00

I don't have time to update on my life right now, I promise more will come tomorrow. But, a gal on Scraptivity.com has challenged us to add this post to our blog. Answering the following questions. So here goes:
I AM: A mother, a wife, a daughter, a strong independent woman
I WANT: Kane to always know he is Loved more than anything
I HAVE: A fantastic husband, who is always a fantastic father
I WISH: there was a way to make hubby understand how important he is, and I wish that my grandparents were still alive to meet Kane
I HATE: teething
I MISS: my grandparents, especially now that I have a son
I HEAR: Brian (DH) playing guitar in the living room
I WONDER: how long that dang tooth is going to take - my poor baby is suffering
I REGRET: taking so long to marry my best friend
I AM NOT: tall, skinny or athletic, but I am over it
I DANCE: without a shirt on after nursing Kane in the living room at least twice a week
I SING: outloud and very off key and Kane loves it
I CRY: sometimes just watching Kane sleep in my arms in the middle of the night
I AM NOT ALWAYS: right, but I am always willing to argue my point
I MAKE beautiful scrapbook pages WITH MY HANDS:
I WRITE: my own journalling about the memories of pictures in my albums
I CONFUSE: other people when I try to give them directions
I NEED: some time to myself occasionally, and I don't feel guilty about that
I SHOULD: spend less time on the computer
I START: each day by nursing Kane
I FINISH: each day by double checking the baby monitor is working and then telling Brian that I love him

What an interesting set of questions. I just might have to steal them to make others answer. :)

6-6-06 - {yikes}

2006-06-06T15:59:00.000-07:00

Today has been a great day.... Kane woke up early, early, early. I think it was about 6:30 when he woke up. I got up and brought him to bed with us, fed him but there was no way he was going back to sleep. I think Brian got up with him about 7:00'ish. What an early morning for him! After playing with dad for a while, he started getting a little cranky.... so about 9:00'ish I fed him again and what do ya know, he was back down for his morning nap.

YAY!! I got a morning completely to myself, Daddy did the parenting thing so I could sleep in, and then Kane went for a nap. I was able to eat breakfast - leisurely... not like I was in a speed eating contest, cleaned the kitchen, did my online geekin' out and sat down to watch some TV that didn't include Treehouse or PBSKids. Now I remember why Treehouse is always on in the mornings, there is nothing good on TV that early in the day. I don't watch soaps, so I guess Treehouse it is. I must admit I watched Rollie Polie Ollie during Kane's second nap today. I love that show. Sssshhh!! Don't tell anyone. Kane is much too young to watch TV, but I can't help it, I'm in love with kids shows.

My lovebug addiction was fading for the last couple days, but it's back in full swing again. I got my fix this morning with a couple new challenges posted to try to complete. I love the motivation I'm getting. I did 2 layouts today and finished up a 3rd that had been sitting on my scrap table for a couple days. I even took some pics and printed out a block of pics to use in an album I'm making for my BIL and his fiancee. {if you're reading this Matt or Dayna, forget I wrote that} hahaha!!

Well, so far so good on the 6-6-06 date.... this evil day doesn't seem to have gotten me yet. Let's hope the rest of the day goes well. I think since Brian pointed it out this morning, I just got creeped out for no good reason. I've been waiting for something to happen. What an idiot.... as if the date makes any difference. Well, another nap is over now, I'll be back later to let you know how the rest of this 'evil' 6-6-06 day went.

Monday - Blah

2006-06-05T23:57:00.000-07:00

Well, another Monday closer to having to go back to work. I was so tired today, I even napped with Kane a couple times. He didn't nap for long, I think sleeping beside me woke him up more than if he was in his crib. But I needed the little recharge sessions. Not sure why I was so tired... well I didn't sleep well last night, but it felt like I hadn't slept at all. Maybe this is the mommy crash - I've heard of this myth, maybe I'm about to live it. ACK!! I feel fantastic right now though; and it's almost midnight. What is the matter with my system - I feel awake late, late at night and in the morning when Kane wakes up, I feel like death warmed over. I finally got Kane back on schedule and now I'm all messed up.

On the bright side, Brian says he's getting up with Kane in the morning... which means I get to sleep in (until probably 8:30'ish). YAY ME!!!!! I'm just waiting to see though; Murphy's Law says Kane will sleep on his own until 9:00 am just because the plan is for me to sleep in and Daddy to get up with him.

Well, I better try to go to bed and fall asleep. Funny thing is, I don't feel tired, but I'll probably lay down and be fast asleep before the count of 10.

10.....9.....8.....7......6......5......4.....3...............................................................

I don't know how much more my ladies can take...

2006-06-05T23:52:00.000-07:00

Kane is teething you see..... and my poor ladies are taking a beating. It's not so bad when he's tired and wants to nurse and go to sleep/nap. But if it's just a 'meal', he starts playing around and then chomp-ity, chomp, chomp, chomp! OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm trying not to traumatize the poor little guy by yelling out, but sometimes, I just can't help it. It certainly does NOT tickle that's for darn sure. I am at a loss as to what to do to help him remember that I'm not a biting/chewy toy. I've been stopping the nursing session, giving him a teether and waiting for a few minutes before restarting. ARGH!! I cannot wait until this stage is over. I know we will get over this bump in the road, I refuse to let this stop me from nursing.....Again, I refuse to let this stop me from nursing. Yes, I am convincing myself as much as I am trying to convince you.

What a weekend...

2006-06-05T00:09:00.000-07:00

The weekend is over and I didn't get hardly anything accomplished personally, but I supervised some major yard work. Matthew (Brian's youngest brother) came out on Saturday to help in the front yard.... Brian worked for a bit before Matt got here, but the work went into high gear while there was 2 of them out there. They pulled out all the brick from under the enormous Rhodo and laid down landscape fabric and covered it with red lava rock. Then they pulled everything out of the flower beds in front of the basement windows and around the front steps... and all around the side of the house. We bought 2 bushes to plant beside the stairs from the driveway and surrounded them with the red rock (which by the way makes a terrible mess of red stains EVERYWHERE during clean up). And on the side of the house, there is landscape fabric down and red lava rock already on top. I have to decide what to put in the front flower beds...... decisions, decisions.

Today, we went into Abbotsford and Brian got his late Birthday, and early Father's Day present from Kane and I.... a brand new guitar! He's wanted one for awhile and talked about it occasionally. This morning he decided that would be the perfect gift. So off we went to buy it when Kane got up from his morning nap. He was playing for a bit this evening and he already sounds pretty good. Apparently he has a knack for this music thing. :)

Watched Sopranos tonight, what a disappointment that show has become. It's too bad it's ending, but it carried on like this much longer, it would certainly not be remembered as the Super show that it once was. I hope it gets a little better before the Series Finale. :(

There was no special Kane moments to share from this weekend. Pretty boring, regular baby stuff..... crawling everywhere, getting pissed off that he still a baby and can't do everything, puking down the heat register, pulling the cats fur when she gets close enough, and making us laugh with him. What is it about a baby's laugh that makes everyone around him laugh too? These are the days I live for.... just enjoying Kane! Oh, and Brian too. I'm still enjoying him.... I love being married to my best friend! And some days {like today} I realize how amazing it is that *we* could have actually made Kane. It's hard to imagine life without him now.

Freakin' Rain

2006-06-02T22:56:00.000-07:00

So it was a normal day.... Kane napped more or less on time this morning. We actually got out and did some shopping and no meltdowns - not even one!!!! Fantastic. We hit the dollar store for more scrap supplies, well sorta - I also stocked up on 5Alive bottles. We even went to find out some info about family portraits. Did some grocery shopping and stopped at the LSS here in Mission. Just as we were leaving the LSS it started raining, actually raining doesn't even explain what it was doing. It was like a hurricane out there. Rain was falling sideways. Tried to wait it out. Finally after 20 mins and it seemed like it was only getting worse, I decide to make a run for it with Kane in his car seat. It was only 2 car lengths down the street, but I was soaked. I had on a denim dress and in that quick run, I was so wet, you couldn't even see raindrops on the dress, it was just all wet as if I fell in a pool. By the time I drove the 3 mins to get home, it had almost completely stopped raining. Of course. ARGH!!

So all in all, today was a good day. Seeing as Kane is already 5 months old and we still haven't had any professional pics done I figured it's about time. I went to the studio at Superstore (a friend highly recommends the photographer there, so I figure why not give it a try). The packages are way better priced than Sears and you get some freedom when choosing a package or building your own. Hopefully I can convince Brian to free up some time in the afternoon next week so we can get it done. Which means I better get a move on and dye my hair to at least attempt to look presentable. I got my hair cut last week, and my hairdresser made some very direct comments about letting my color go astray since Kane was born. Yikes! Note to self: always dye hair before going to the hairdresser. :)

Well, Kane is sleeping, Brian is engrossed safely in the television, I'm all caught up on my Lovebug forum messages, time for me to sneak downstairs to get some scrapping done. Or at least move some supplies around, admire some stuff and pretend that I accomplished something. Who knows, maybe I'll actually finish my circle journal entry so I can pack it up in my tote in hopes that with it packed already I won't forget it next weekend when I go to the all day Lovebug crop. Only 8 more sleeps!!!

Gotta love Blocks

2006-06-01T12:54:00.000-07:00

Today started out a little better, no big messy diaper to clean up. Bonus!!!!! Kane was in a pretty good mood all morning. Played on the floor crawling around for like 2 hours almost straight. Of course, Brian played with him before he left for work.

While Kane was playing before his nap, I got the kitchen cleaned up and made myself some breakfast - okay it was only instant cream of wheat, but it was something. Morning nap was short, only about 45 mins, but its better than nothing. I did nothing, sat on the couch and vegged during his entire nap, hardly even went online. {shock}

After his nap, we opened his little wagon toy that has these see through mini blocks. He chased after those blocks on the floor forever. What a fantastic thing..... keeps him entertained and me free. Too bad I have absolutely no desire to do anything. I actually put him in the Baby Bjorn and went outside and raked under the Rhodo, but it started to rain.

Well, it sounds as though someone wants another nap, which means I get lunch today. yay me!

Kane is 5 months today....

2006-05-31T12:01:00.000-07:00

Here's our bouncy baby boy at 5 months old. I thought I would try to get a smile on camera, but I'm a little slow on the picture button, the smile usually disappears by the time the picture is taken. This one is still half there. Isn't he just the sweetest thing ever! Okay, maybe I'm biased, but he is pretty darn cute!!

Alright, to finish my first thoughts

2006-05-31T11:48:00.000-07:00

Still not sure what I should be writing, so I'll just start with my day so far.......... trust me it isn't interesting yet.

Woke up at 7:00 am to Kane wailing, like he was dying. Apparently he was done sleeping. No soft wakeups here. I clear my eyes, try to find clothes on the floor that are clean enough to wear today. I run to his room (he slept with us for the last half of the night) to grab a diaper. Do a quick change on my side of the bed. We get up. I check out my Lovebug forum, 'cause my addiction is serious - while Kane sits in his vibrating chair. Nothing too major going on at Lovebug. Change Kane's diaper and off to the living room to play. When Brian gets up, he takes Kane for a bit, for a quick daddy cuddle and then he's off to work. Everything is great, until Kane decides his breakfast is coming back up. I think okay, I still have enough time to change before the building inspector gets here (who is going to confirm that we do not have a basement suite of tenants so our taxes will go down for this year). After some serious play time, Kane needs his morning nap. I just get him to sleep and in his crib, and I think okay, I'll quickly check Lovebug again (yes, I know I should go to meetings or something, this is a serious addiction). I'm just thinking I need to change, and the doorbell rings. Too late, building inspector is here, and I'm still in yesterday's clothes that now have puke on them. Oh well..........

First Entry

2006-05-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I've decided to join the masses and create a blog. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say or add or anything. I guess I'll just fumble my way along until I figure it out.

Oh darn, gotta run already, this took me too long and now my baby boy is awake from his nap. I'll be back later.

Confessions of a Working Mother

Okay Patti - I'm updating

Mediocre Baby News

Some Happy Boy Photos

What have I gotten myself into??

It's been a long time..... AGAIN

A week later...

I *LOVE* my new truck

TGIAF

Way Too Damn Early

Happy Happy New Year

Coffee and Chocolate are a match made in heaven

Okay, I'm a blog idiot

Back at home

2 days in a row!!

I'm a bad blogger

Thank goodness, it's Monday???

WOW, I need a private investigator

Just a little update

Wednesday - Hump Day

SCRAPBOOKING CROP ANNOUNCED

Sarah is interviewing me!!!

It's MAY

Quick Update

Had so much fun yesterday!!

Golfing Nun

Hilarious

I'm going to the Canada Crops For Kids in Winnipeg!!

This is Hilarious!!!!

Monday, blah!

HOCKEY, HOCKEY, HOCKEY

WOW - Giveaway.....

How Cool is this?

Wanna know more about Heidi Swapp?

April 2nd

So it's April 1st...

This is hilarious too (Take the quiz)

The BIG Announcement

The funniest thing I've read lately

I have an addiction...

I just got some fabulous news

I really suck at blogging

Back at Work

Yikes, it's been forever!

Christmas is too close...

I've been neglectful of my blog again...

Where do I start?

Having a great time....

Finally done!

Alright already, here's 2 Halloween Pics

Back to our Regularly Scheduled Programming

Feeling Better today

Feeling Better...

Sunday update...

Not sad to miss the first home game...

The Fever Story comes to a close...

A fever story - Day 3

We're home with a tragic story...

Goodbye for a week or so

I was chosen...

Quick Update

Friday night....at home

Thursday - Ugh!

I almost forgot to rant...

Another Fun-Filled Day

Late night post...

A quick Saturday update

Getting Better

Why can't I remember to post?

Another long awaited update...

It's been how long?!?!

Been Busy...

Ooops, better catch ya all up...

Cereal, Baby Blabber and What's For Dinner

My creative brain is busted...

Some Questions From Scraptivity

6-6-06 - {yikes}

Monday - Blah

I don't know how much more my ladies can take...

What a weekend...

I LOVE my new truck