Hayden's photo of the.....month(?)

Hayden's photo taking has slowed down.
He did manage to capture

a couple of gooders.

L-O-V-E.

"Squiggly" plant

Angel face

Swinging Binky leash

10 on Tuesday!

1. I am just getting my voice back after being sick. I did say, more than a few times recently, that I was getting tired of the sound of my own voice. (I'm fairly certain that Hayden enjoyed the brief silence.) I am still left with the lovely barking cough. Summer colds are the worst. I am happy to say that the kids are finally on the mend too.

2. Hayden had his hair done at Melonhead (in Beacon Hill.) He was such a good boy and I love when he has a brand new 'do. A little girl beat him to the Thomas theme chair, so he graciously settled for the race car. (I was a bit surprised that he didn't freak out and demand that she move to a more "girly" theme chair!) They did a great job, though I don't really think that $20 is cheap for a kids haircut. The only downfall.....I had red (whew! it was washable!) hair dye wherever Hayden had lay on the floor!

3. I actually left the house with NO MASCARA the other day. I was mortified when I got home! I looked so weird! Lipgoss and mascara are about all I manage during the week..... but to forget mascara?@#!

4. Olivia laughs all of the time. If she laughs really hard, she gets the hiccups. I started imitating her cute little hiccup.....which made her laugh, and hiccup even harder! We both had tears in our eyes!! She can get a pretty good belly laugh going if you tickle her left boobie too.

5. Fish freak me out. I DO like to look at them....I DON'T like to get them out of the tank in order to clean it. I'm too scared they'll jump at me. My skin is crawling just thinking about it.

6. Did anyone see Oprah on Thursday last week? It was unbelievably sad. A woman forgot her 2 year old baby girl in the car.....for 8 hours....and she died of heat stroke. I bawled. Can you imagine?? The show was about being overwhelmed as a mother, an though I know what that feels like, I can't imagine forgetting about my child! I've done some silly things due to lack of sleep, and I've even had some less than proud parenting moments. I'm not judging her. I just can't believe that could happen. I'm quite sure she couldn't either.

7. On that note.....does anyone else feel like they are SO BUSY but never really get anything done? Ralph will sometimes ask me what I did during the day and I don't know what to say! If I try to itemize things I've accomplished, they seem few. Then how did I never sit down? Why is my "to do" list still full? If I look back on the day, the only thing I know for sure is that the kids are still alive! Some days, that's an accomplishment in itself.

8. I don't know what's more disturbing......the fact that I have to pluck little hairs out of my chin, or the fact that some of them are grey. Why do women even grow hair anywhere but on their head? We spend most of our time trying to pluck, wax and shave it away! If I could afford it, I would have full body laser hair removal.

9. Every time we go to the bottle depot, Hayden buys jelly beans from the vending machine. Yesterday, as I'm waiting in line, Hayden was running around keeping "busy." He came back to me chewing. Huh. I asked him what he was eating, to which he matter-of-factly replied, "jelly beans." When I asked him where he got them, I knew the answer before he even responded ......the floor?@#! GROSS! The sticky, disgusting bottle depot floor! I took the other 2 sweaty jelly beans out of his hands and threw them back on the floor. I repeated the discussion, for the millionth time, about not eating things that have fallen on the ground! GAG!!

10. Olivia had her 4 month immunization yesterday. She was very brave. There was only a 10 second cry when the 3rd shot went in to her fat little thigh. That's better than I would do! My "little" girl has grown another 4cm in length and has hit 20 pounds!! It HAS to be my milk. Olivia eats every 3-4 hours during the day and is sleeping through the night from 10:30p-7:30a. Hayden ate all the time and didn't sleep through the night until we forced him to! I say that I am not worried about Olivia being chubby.....but I am. The doctors tell me not to worry. I produce whipping cream + she isn't mobile = chubby baby Olivia. I am just infinitely sick of everyone elses comments about her size and I wish people would mind their own business. Sitting in that waiting room with the other moms, everyone makes a point of saying how big she is. I actually feel insecure about her size when I should be feeling proud of what a beautiful, healthy baby girl I have. I would rather have a chubby baby than a squidgy one, but I can't help but wonder what people are thinking. I didn't ask for anything but a healthy baby. I didn't intentionally make my kids chubby. Do they think I feed her every hour? Do they think I'm an irresponsible or bad mother? Do they think Olivia is destined to be obese? If looking at Hayden says anything, she'll be just fine. We all know people who were total buddha babies that turned out to be a "normal" size. I know the charts are based on formula babies. I know. I know you can't over feed a breastfed baby. I know. I know breast milk is the best thing for her. I know. I know I shouldn't give a rip about what other people think. I know. I know she's the same weight as my 1 year old necice. I know. It's that horrible, nagging feeling that I've failed. That I'm not doing right by her. Whoever says being a mommy is easy........isn't one.

10 on Tuesday!

1. Thursday night SUCKED. Olivia had a wicked fever of 40 degrees and was just not herself. Friday morning, both kids woke up sick. Fever. Sad little coughs. Phlegm, phlegm and more phlegm. Olivia even projectile vomited on me 3 times on account of the excess phlegm. Gross. Hayden has slept well, despite his nagging cough, but Olivia's nights have been terrible. Just when we had her on a schedule.....now, we are totally out of whack! She was up every couple of hours and as a result, mommy has a full blown cold too!! Stupid germs.

~*My little sickies in their jammies*~

2. I wonder if my neighbors are annoyed with my new wind chime in the backyard. I hate to admit it, but it has even been annoying me at night. I like to sleep with the window open, and the winds have been a bit strong lately = difficulty getting back to sleep with the loud gonging chime! Not sure how to rectify the situation....I'm not wandering out to the yard to remove the chime every night. Maybe I'll remove the gong-er so that it just looks like a nice ornament hanging in the flower bed.

3. We found Hayden a super cool Little Tikes playground for the backyard.....gotta love Kijiji! I refuse to pay $700-$2000 for a play set so we got one for $150 and it's in great shape. It took 2 trips to Marda Loop to pick up all of the pieces, and Ralph has major anxiety about having it on his brand new lawn, but Hayden loves it. He will no doubt have hours of enjoyment with it, and hopefully, very few injuries!

4. It is no joke that our children hear EVERYTHING. You know the "rah, rah Rasputin" song by BoneyM? At the end of the song he sings, " oh, those Russians." I didn't think Hayden was even listening to the radio but all of a sudden he says to Olivia; "oh, those mushrooms! HA!! He really dislikes mushrooms and anyone who even mentions them will hear; "they make my food come out!"

5. I am still trying to decide whether I should go ahead and get a tatoo. Just a small one. I have had 2 children, so I could certainly handle the pain....?? I have a couple of designs that I like, and I have always wanted one. I would really like an orchid and I thought I should maybe copy part of my wedding bouquet. Then put the kids names on there somehow. A sentimental tatoo. Then I thought about just the kids initials. It's either OH or HO. Not especially flattering. Maybe just a design? Aarrgghhhhh. I must finalize a design THEN strike up the courage!

6. We had a very nice Father's Day playing it pretty low key. Daddy and Hayden did groceries and their regularly scheduled weekend run to Home Depot. Mommy tidied up the house and had a nice shower while Olivia slept. The Deters/Gales joined us later in the afternoon for family dinner and coffee.

Hayden and I crafted Daddy a frame
for his desk at work.

The rediculously talented Keri Blakeney
brought over some treats
for the boys.
They were so fabulous that I used them
as place settings.
They were a HUGE hit!!

Oma & Opa
with all of their grandkids.
What a good looking bunch!

~*Olivia and Oma having a snuggle*~

7. I almost stopped at Merle Norman today on my way out of Market Mall. Olivia was sleeping and I momentraily entertained getting her ears pierced. Hayden distracted me by taking off running down the mall.

8. Ralph does NOT, I repeat does NOT, have to go to Germany...... WOO-HOO!!!

9. Our friends from Holland, Brechtje & Joost, sent some great presents for the kids. Olivia got a cute onesie, a personalized book and some cool bracelets from their trip to Namibia....I had to put the two together to fit her chubby little wrist! Hayden got a cool CD of kids songs for him to dance (aka; shake his peanut) to. Very sweet of you guys....bedankt voor de mooie kadeutjes!! P.S. I knew the right words, Ralph only helped me with the spelling :)

We love Nintje!
(the same as Miffy in Canada.)

....loosely translated means "Nice Mess!"
(She has her new bracelet on
in the photo as well.)

10. The saying "they don't make them like they used to" is so true. It should also be said that the Deters' have no luck. Can you believe that our 4 1/2 month old, MAYTAG 3000 SERIES, skookum washing machine is on the fritz?@#! What about those Maytag commercials where the repair man never does any work? I swear....if it can break down, it will break down in our bermuda triangle of a house.

BOLT!

We made the mistake of telling Hayden that
movies are for rainy days.

When it poured rain on Monday he announced;
"good job! it's raining outside....we can watch a movie!"
Ralph bought him BOLT on the weekend.
He loved it.
This is the video/song that has been
playing every day since.....

....about 2,376,099 each day.

I guarantee you'll be singing along....
there's nothing like a little Miley Cyrus and John Travolta
to start your day.

Hayden has also requested that we put
the mp3 version on my iPod.

We do have a compromise.
If "Kiss A Girl" by Keith Urban
is on.....he humors me.
And sings along.

10 on Tuesday!

1. I had to replace a few of my flowers after the snowfall. Silly me! I thought I would be safe to do my planting after the MAY long weekend!! Snow in June....the nerve. The rain, however, has been wonderful for the new grass. The sod is taking root and turning greener every day!

2. Olivia smiles ALL OF THE TIME. She wakes up smiling. (She gets that from her mommy :)) She giggles. She has now discovered her tongue and she loves to stick it out....while she's smiling. She's a happy little girl and she's so content. I fear that she will then be an evil teenager.



3. Some days, my son is the spawn of Satan. He saves his best 'performances' for me so people think I'm lying. I'm telling you, him turning 2 was a piece of cake compared to him being 3. He's like a little Jekyll & Hyde.....super sweet one minute and having a nuclear meltdown over something minor the next. There are days I have no idea how to cope. (I still haven't read "Honey, I wrecked the kids!") Heaven help me for what his 4th birthday will bring......

4. Ralph doesn't have to go to Germany next week. Whew. BUT......he potentially has to go in August. Great. Now I'm solo with 2 kids and a new puppy.


5. I was at Bowness Park for the very first time last week. Bad Calgarian. Keri and I took the kiddies and we had a lovely picnic. I sure am loving being a stay-at-home mommy who gets to be out enjoying the sunshine!! Hayden had a great time at the park and only gave me one minor heart attack.....we looked over and he was hanging from the monkey bars. Laughing hysterically.

6. I need to start keeping a journal of all of the comical things Hayden says. And repeats. The only bad thing is that a journal could never relay his impeccable sense of timing.

7. I am happy to report that my dad was right! Brace yourself, Dad. I'm sure you haven't heard that too many times over my 34 years :) Mr.Clean Magic Eraser (formulated for bathrooms) really IS slick as goose poop. It's okay, Mom....anyone who knows Dad's sense of humor won't be offended by his 'colorful' description.

8. My first official BLINK wedding was on Saturday. I had to drive all the way to McKenzie Towne and I was incredibly fearful that I would be late. The traffic on Beddington Trail was brutal because of construction and at 11:30 I wasn't even on Deerfoot Trail yet...I had to be there at noon. I drove like a crazy person in a video game the whole way there, going about 120km/hr., and I made it in one piece. I walked up to Vanessa's door at exactly 12 noon. Whew! She was a super cool bride and I enjoyed her company while I gussied her up for the big event. I think that's why I love what I do. I get to meet really cool people and I'm the one who helps them look their best and feel like a model for their big day. Stay tuned for photos......

9. Olivia slept through the night 2 nights in a row. 11p-7a. YES!! Last night, however, she was up at 4:30a for a BIG snack....man, she was hungry! She then slept from 5a-7a, ate at 7:30a and then slept for another 2 hours from 9a-11a!! I was able to vacuum the house from top to bottom and mop and load the dishwasher and scoop the kitty litter and get dressed and brush my teeth. Now that's an accomplishment!

10. Hayden and I just rolled all of the money in his piggy bank. He has saved $34.50 to spend at Toys R Us tomorrow! I would bet it will be something car related and not clothing related. Maybe he'll treat Mommy to a Venti at Starbucks :)

How 'bout her?

I can't resist this face either.....

The puppy chooses his family......

We went out to choose our puppy yesterday.....
and how could you possibly
resist a face like this?!

I thought the whole idea of choosing
our puppy was a bit strange.
They're puppies.
They're all cute.

I've heard that puppies choose
their owners.
Now, that I believe.
This little guy actually came running
up to us.
He has the sweetest personality.
A mellow character.
He'll be coming home to live with us
in 3 weeks!

(You'll have to wait until then to find out his name!!)

Pretty in pink......and orange...... and green?!

Here are a few shots from the week....

the dynamic duo....
Man, it's hard to get kids to sit still
and smile for a picture?@#!

Holland is in the World Cup!
I think Olivia is even more excited
than Daddy?!

My little tulip!
I love that the warm weather
gets chubby little arms, legs and toes free!

I flipped 'senoritas' dress
behind her head 'cause it made a nice
backdrop!

Miss Olivia gets up on her side and looks
as though she is ready to roll over....
one little push and she's there!!

*update*

Here's some simple math.....

10:00 boob + 10:15 bath + 10:30 boob + 10:45 bedtime =
A VERY HAPPY MOMMY!!!

Olivia woke up once to eat at 4:30a and
went back to sleep until 7:30a!!
Woo-hoo!!

I guess bath time IS important to her
bedtime routine.

10 on Tuesday!

1. It is amazing that my flowers are still alive after the stupid snowfall. Seriously? Snow in June? I need to move.

2. Our grass is in!! I would have preferred precipitation in the form of rain, but moisture is moisture I guess. Now bring on the SUNSHINE!!

3. I love my stand up shower but I hate cleaning it. I can never get the hard water stains off the glass so it always looks dirty. We bought the scrubbing bubbles shower cleaner because someone told us it worked pretty well. HA! Ralph actually reacted to the chemicals and had a burn on his feet! They were a disgusting peely mess. This is why I have always used "natural" cleaners, but I find that Method, which I LOVE, isn't cutting it. Maybe I should try CLR. Hopefully Ralph's feet survive.

4. We shaved off Olivia's mullet today. It looks much cuter. Except for one thing.....there's nothing to keep her neck fat roll warm.

5. Olivia has started belly laughing the last few days and its usually at Hayden. I was crying and laughing at the same time the other night as Olivia and I watched Hayden splashing in the tub.....she was in stitches! By the time I grabbed the video camera, the humor had passed. Crap. I need my Flip so that I can keep it in my pocket for moments like those. Often, Hayden isn't doing anything especially goofy, in my opinion, but she sure thinks he's funny! It's very cool to see how much she absolutely loves her big, silly brother.

6. Isn't it funny that you, or maybe just I, never think to clean the oven until it's warming up to actually cook something and it stinks up the place?! Mine has a few spills in the bottom.....time to turn on the self-clean feature and open all the windows!

7. Ralph has to go to Germany again. Another week solo with 2 kids. 'nuff said.

8. Does anyone else feel like their house teeters on the delicate balance between looking neat and being over-run by kid stuff? I never want my house to look like a museum but I also hate the mess of toys everywhere. I thought the answer to this was having a playroom downstairs. Wrong. Hayden isn't fond of playing there all by himself, and I can't always stay with him. I think the perfect answer, Ralph, is to build me a scrapbooking room so I can always be nearby :)

9. Olivia's sleep schedule is totally screwed up. I was doing her last feed at 10p, then bath, then top up for bedtime at 10:45 or 11p. I changed her bath time to 8p (right after Hayden's bath) and everything went down hill. She was waking up for one feed somewhere between 3a and 4a and then sleeping until 8a. Awesome. Pretty good for 3 months old. Now, she has been waking up at 1a, 3a and 5 or 6a. BRUTAL!! Needless to say, we are going back to the old routine. Cross your fingers I haven't caused permanent damage.

10. My uncle Lyle was visiting from Vancouver this week with his girlfriend Andrea. (This is the first time we have met her and she is fabulous!) We had a BBQ at my Uncle Greg's house (with his wife Judy and my cousins Shaun and Amy.) We had a great chance to catch up and we had a really nice evening together. Uncle Lyle had not seen Hayden nor Olivia until Saturday night so I was happy they could meet. I think it was pretty awesome that I could take my husband and my kids to hang out with the cool Uncles I grew up with. One of those moments when you really feel like a grown up. I'm not their little niece anymore!

Hayden's Photo(s) of the Week!

Someone's feet....
strange because I don't recognize
the pants.....

The backyard.....
Ralph was obviously enjoying a beer while
painting the fence.....

The fish tank.....
Big Red on the left and the two girls
at the back (the froggie must
have been camera shy!)

Self portrait.....

Okay, I took this one.
The kids looked so darn sweet!

When Hayden takes a picture, he now looks
at the screen right away and says;
"it's cute!"

10 on Tuesday!! *edited*

Wow! This is 2 weeks in a row for me now......maybe I'm finding my groove?!

1. Is there anything more disturbing than getting to the last bite of toast and realizing that the bread is moldy?? GROSS! Am I going to be ill? What gives? Bread never lasts in our house, so how did this loaf go bad so fast? What's worse is that Hayden had a whole piece of toast right before me.

2. I have a pet peave about liquid Tide. I love the convenience of it, but I HATE that the container gets all sticky because of the drip that gets left behind in the measuring cup lid!! Grrr!

3. The carpet replacement is finished and the house looks awesome! I have now instituted the no food or drinks in the living room rule. I want to keep the carpet looking new forever.....HA! Good luck with kids and pets!! All weekend I was the new carpet nazi, "take your shoes off! and don't walk there!" Hayden put me in my place as I ran across the carpet in my flip flops this morning. So matter-of-fact-like he said "mommy, you're not supposed to do that.....the carpet guy will lose his mind!"

4. Olivia had her first BUMBO experience on Sunday....she looked so cute (and chubby) sitting there with her head held up on her own. What a different view of the world from now on.....she was very proud of herself.

Hayden was proud too and they celebrated by watching some cartoons together! I hope Hayden is always this protective of his baby sister. She loves him to pieces, and every time he comes in the room, she lights up. He dances and sings for her and she thinks it's the best entertainment ever!! I'll keep these pictures close by for the days when they fight.....to remind them that they really do love one another.


6. We went to look at purebred German Shepherd puppies on the weekend. Seriously the cutest things ever. We are missing Zeus and decided Summer would be a good time to have a new puppy. I wanted to take them all home! I was very impressed by the parents as well. They were so well behaved and friendly....all good traits to pass down to their babies. We'll have the new member of our family in late June when he's ready to leave his mama. We let Hayden name him and everyone will have to wait for that surprise!

7. My back has been killing me lately. I wonder if it's from carrying around a 17 pound, 3 month old baby girl? Or it could have been the awkward bending required to pot my plants. Or maybe I'm just getting old. Maybe a combo of all three.

8. We got rid of a few things at the family garage sale on the weekend. I find garage sales so funny. It's funny because I actually take offense when someone scoffs at crap I'm trying to get rid of!! How dare someone not want to pay top dollar for the painting I find unsuitable for my own kitchen!! We did make about $45 and got rid of a TV, nightstand, Hayden's elephant Halloween costume, a clothes drying rack, a plastic baby bath, 1 photo frame, 5 stuffies and 2 Estee Lauder GWP tote bags. Woo hoo! At least it's all out of my basement!

9. My blue recycling bin is overflowing!! Thank goodness our weekly pick-up starts next week!

10. I had a lovely coffee chat with my cousins on Monday morning. We went to the Starbucks at the Westhills Indigo so that Hayden could play with the Thomas track. He played nicely, as he is obsessed with all things Thomas, and Olivia slept the whole time. (She did wake up briefly to give Steph a little smile and then go right back to sleep.) Neither Steph nor Laurie even got to have a snuggle :( We did, however, manage to catch up a wee bit and promise to get together again VERY SOON!! I'm already looking forward to next time......

*Bonus* 11. How is it possible that with only have 5 pounds left to lose, I still can't get my wedding ring back on?@#! I jammed it on last week 'cause I was upset about it and then I couldn't get it off because of the swelling from the heat. Now I have a lovely crack at the base of my finger and a rash in the shape of a ring!! NICE.