do you think...

he is warm enough... it feels like 20 below out and he is wearing boxers and an undershirt, a turtleneck onsie, a heavy knit top, a polar fleece hoody, fleece lined blue jeans, a scarf, bib snowpants, a winter coat, hat & mitts

another holiday done...

The guests have all gone home, the house is mostly all put back together, and another season of Christmas is done...

It was a good Christmas this year. A simple Christmas this year. A Family filled Christmas this year.

And we are tired...all of us. C has been up early these last few mornings. Not entirely sure why. I have been putting him in his big boy bed after I toilet him in the night. I do this because I am hoping he will develop the habit of waking up and just playing with his toys quietly in his room. Rather than his old habit of waking and SCREECHING and YELLING because he wants it to be morning and to get out of his crib. He isn't trying to get out of his crib on his own at all, and it is nice to use as a space I can plunk him when he is getting a little 'crazy' and we are both needing a break from each other. Also I am not sure he is at the place where he would stay in bed if I tucked him into the big bed for his nap or at bedtime just yet.

The last two mornings when he wakes up in his bed, the first thing he does is make a few trips to my bed with his pillows and blankets and then proceed to chatter to me to get me moving. Which I would love to do...just not at 5 am when he is coming my way :) I am more than willing after 630 in the morning, less excited and motivated before that... I am redirecting him (somewhat successfully) back to his bedroom to play. Hopefully in the future my plan will work...

I was very spoiled this year getting the lense I wanted for my camera, a ceramic coated wonderful roasting pan and a Tom Tom. I feel Chase made it out good, not being TOO overwhelmed by 'stuff'. His presents were spaced out over time so I think that helped with not 'overloading' him and him being able to truly enjoy and play with what he got. Now to sit down with him to get working on his 'thank-yous' as well as going through his 'stuff' to re-evaluate what is staying, going and being packed away for a rainy day (to come out as a new toy when cabin fever starts to set in)

This afternoon Chase slept from 1130-330 and I am not sure if he would have slept longer if the smoke detector hadn't gone off right outside his bedroom. (a story for another day)

This morning Chase and I decided (me more than him) to host breakfast for the family and we made monkey bread together. He had fun rolling the dough around then putting it into the pan. It turned out very well and is much easier than making cinnamon buns

now it is 930 and I am off to bed...with a book (probably won't make it past a few pages as my eyes are already quite heavy and I keep yawning.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!!!

the advantages of an alarm clock

is that when your son wakes up Christmas morning, you look at the clock and see that it is TOO early to get him hyped up over his stocking that Santa left and instead you just give him kisses and remind him it is still night time. And later on when it is a more reasonable hour, you can get him all hyped over checking out what Santa brought him in his stocking and assembling his new battery powered train that goes round and round, watch his new mighty machines DVD, etc.


UNFORTUNATELY

I do not have a clock in my bedroom, there is one in the hallway outside my room but I didn't think to look at it. So when my son toddled to by bedroom this morning with his blankey, I sent him to his bedroom to look in his stocking and he happily carried it to my bedroom, opened it up, and played with the stuff inside, ate all the chocolates.
I then went to use the bathroom and glanced at the clock when passing by....4:50....UGGG
there is NO way that I can tell him it is still night time now...he is TOTALLY wide awake and into the whole process of checking out the loot that Santa left behind. Also wanting to go show off all the loot to the rest of his family next door. His new train gets assembled as a distration, and then his DVD gets played a couple of times before Grandpa shows up to play with toys...

Next year...I need to put my cell phone beside my bed so I can check the time...

I was a good mother and had the cameras out to capture all the loot discovery...I am also looking forward to getting a nap at some point today...atleast making an early night of it...

gingerbread village

4 more sleeps...

and it will be Christmas day...

am I ready....hard to say. I still don't have gifts for my brother or his girlfriend. I have NO clue what to get her. (hey if you are reading this send me some ideas would you!)

I have my niece with me for the week. She and I spent yesterday making a mini gingerbread village. C tried being the big bad wolf and blowing it down, but with some help from some adults we were able to distract him from the construction site :)

I took photos so I will try to add them later today.

Currently everyone is at my parent's house watching 'Fiddler on the Roof' and I am trying to get tonight and tomorrow's supper ready.

This morning we all went out and did errands. Morgain selected gifts for Carla and my mom. I got my Christmas cards mailed (I meant to do it last Friday but I instead choose to have an afternoon nap as C wasn't sleeping well due to his cold). My Dad drove and I just kept hoping out at the various stores to run in to get/do whatever was required at that store. It was a very productive morning and we ended it by going for lunch at Hewitt's Dairy Bar. And as soon as we entered the restaurant C began asking for icecream :)

this afternoon, I decided to nap when C did and Morgain watched Veggie Tales downstairs...


I am still holding my breath for a white Christmas...currently we are all green

at 4am how to do comfort a sick child who doesn't want to be cuddled and won't stop shouting and crying?

I don't have the answers but I've given into him being awake. So we are up, he is in the bath and the oatmeal is cooking on the stove (steel cut ones since we have LOTS of time this morning)

why did they take awy cold medicine for children????? if they hadn't of....we could both still be sleeping...

thankful!

I am thankful for Scoop from Bob the Builder! Not only because he is in toy form in my son's hand. But also because his scoop is magnetic and with a couple of screws and a washer...my son is entertained so I can finish up my Christmas Cards!!!

why am I tired and grumpy? I layed in bed last night and it was another one of those nights that I just layed there awake. I don't understand why I am not sleeping. I was tired before I went to bed...I actually had dozed asleep watching tv and when I awoke I went to bed. Only to lay there and be wide awake....sigh

spicy sausage & rice take two

well I cooked this dish awhile back. It was very good but also VERY spicy. So I am trying it again tonight for supper with 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper rather than 1tsp and I've doubled the amount of rice. So we'll see how it turns out.

my son slept two hours this afternoon...so I got three loads of laundry done, some cleaning and supper started! one more hour and I might actually find the rest of my kitchen table and bedroom closet!!

I am running next door this evening to help install their new Wii :)

the tree is up (has a lean which I will need help correcting). I've started wrapping, I have my shopping almost all done, I have started baking, and yesterday we got a little bit of white...

Christmas is finally feeling like it is on it's way....
I've been listening to the Christmas station on the satellite since the first of the month.

This weekend we are being invaded by family for 'Christmas'. My mom's side of the family is coming down this weekend to celebrate Christmas with us. The only problem...my house is slightly out of control!!! and I have a toddler who no longer is napping. He used to consistently nap 3 hours like clockwork! This last two weeks, I am lucky if I get a 45 minute nap out of him and it takes him over an hour to fall asleep. I have tried putting him down later...doesn't help. sigh
I am thankful that he is still in his crib, as atleast I know he is in there when I put him down and that he isn't getting into stuff...except when he moves his crib by shaking it and then pulls the blinds down, rips them, etc. sigh

I got some good photos of him playing in our 'first snow' yesterday!

Last night at Guides we made snowman candle holders out of glass jars and some tissue paper. i am VERY happy with how they turned out!!! I got a group shot of them standing behind thier lit up snowmen.

bye Gee

McGee was hit by a truck today. I saw the whole thing. I am very sad to say the least. He was only16 months old and I only had him for just over a year.

bye Gee I miss you lots!!!!!

This was the last photo taken of him.



bye Gee! I miss you lots!!!!

a shopping we will go...

it seems we are off to Ikea today! well this morning anyway. We (C, my mom & myself) are planning to be out the door at 9 since Ikea doesn't open until 10. The plan is to pick up this for C for Christmas from his grandparents and one of this for the little girl next door (which just let me say is the BEST! I carry ours around in my truck. It is very portable and handy and much nicer than the ones with arms or that resemble toilets.
well I have just a little time left to get ready...take care and have a lovely day!

supper

Tonight I made Spicy Sausage and Rice Casserole it was VERY good, and we used plain yogurt or sour cream to help take the spicy out for those who found it on the hot side.

A fresh start...

I realised that I needed to get rid of my 'hon estly a m y' blog for many personal reasons. I decided to quit blogging for awhile but it seems that there are people that are wanting to read it. So, here I start fresh

I am the kind of person that takes it personally when people don't like me. I know I shouldn't care what other people think. But I do! And it makes me sad when people in my life grow away from me. But I can't make people like me or spend time with me. I've tried. So then I give up on them and then I mourn the loss of them.

Recently I was told that someone in my life is purposefully avoiding me as they don't approve of who I am or how I live my life, how I treat my son & sister, etc. I am not sure how one is supposed to take this kind of news other than to be saddened by it. I know I am not perfect. I don't claim to be. I have MANY faults, of this I am aware. But I don't think I am such a bad person that people who I once considered 'friends' and 'close' now choose to NOT spend time with me. Have I really changed that much as a person from when we were friends? and why not talk to me? and tell me what the problem is?

This summer being thrown into motherhood was hard. It is something I wanted desperately for years but that didn't make the journey easier. Did I have expectations of those in my life when I became a mother. Yes. Was I disappointed that people that I were once 'major' parts of my life barely acknowledged that I was now a mother and did not make it a priority in thier life to meet my son...YES.

So now a fresh start. I will let those people go. As the poem goes 'if you love something set it free, if it comes back to you, it is yours, if it doesn't, it never was'.
I understand that God places people in my life for a time and for a reason. It just saddens me to loose some of those people, others I am relieved :)

and I ask of you....those of you who are in my life. Be HONEST with me. Just a simple request. Then I don't need to constantly guess as to why I am no longer good enough to be in your life!

2008 Books Read List

1. Sister Circle ~ Nancy Moser & Vonette Bright
2. Dibs in Search of Self ~ Virginia M Axline
3. Family Tree ~ Barbara Delinsky
4. Road Map to Holland ~ by Jennifer Graf Groneberg
5. The Forbidden ~ Beverly Lewis
6. The Parting ~ Beverly Lewis
7. Breaking Free ~ Lauraine Snelling
8. The Time Traveler's Wife ~ Audrey Niffenegger
9. Schuyler's Monster: A Father's Journey With His Wordless Daughter ~ Robert Rummel-Hudson
10. Sanctuary ~ Beverly & David Lewis
11. Summer of Light ~ W.Dale Cramer
12. Life in the Blender ~ Sandi Patty
13. Anne of Avonlea ~ L.M. Montgomery
14. The Road Home ~ Mark Andrew Olsen
15. Anne of Green Gables ~ L.M. Montgomery
16. The Rescuer ~ Dee Henderson
17. The Healer ~ Dee Henderson
18. The Protector ~ Dee Henderson
19. A Sister's Test ~ Wanda Brunstetter
20. A Sister's Secret ~ Wanda Brunstetter
21. Blessings ~ Kim Vogel Sawyer
22. Serenity Bay ~ Bette Nordberg
23. Someday ~ Karen Kingsbury
24. The Truth Seeker ~ Dee Henderson
25. The Guardian ~ Dee Henderson
26. The Negotiator ~ Dee Henderson
27. Danger in the Shadows ~ Dee Henderson
28. Building the Bonds of Attachment: Awakening Love in Deeply Troubled Children ~ Daniel A Hughes
29. Beginnings ~ Kim Vogel Sawyer
30. Bygones ~ Kim Vogel Sawyer
31. Summerhill Secrets #2 ~Beverly Lewis