Gettin' in the Spirit.....

This year's company Christmas Party for the kids

was a success!

Hayden picked out a new sweater for the event.

We decorated gingerbread cookies.
And ate LOTS of delicious Smartie buttons!

Ralph tried to get Hayden to go into the
blow-up play center.
"I just want to watch," was his response.
(It was a bit rambunctious for Mommy's liking too!)

Hayden had the cutest little heart-to-heart

with 'Thing 1"(from Dr. Seuss.)
They just lay down on the floor, in the middle
of the mayhem, and had a chat.

It took some coaxing, but we got Hayden

to sit on Santa's lap all by himself!

Here's hoping the professional picture
they took captured a smile!

He didn't cry.
He just kept staring at him.

We were so proud!

He even visited with Santa & Mrs. Clause
afterwards.

The reward was worth it.....a present!
He got a bright yellow dump truck
and construction helmet.
Just what he wanted!

Hayden fell asleep on the way home.....
that's a lot of excitement for one day!

Special Days

I have been feeling very emotional lately.
This is the end of my time with just me and Hayden.
I wanted to capture some moments of
me and my little boy.

Big Picture
gets ALL the credit for these wonderful photos.

5 on Friday!

Not sure what happened to Tuesday this week......it's Friday already!

1. We are on day 4 with NO NAP. Hayden is doing great. Mommy is exhausted. Hayden wasn't going to sleep until 10 o'clock with a 2 hour nap, but is now sound asleep at 8 o'clock with no nap. I feel horrible for saying I miss those 2 hours to myself. Now I need to come up with a lot more fun activities to keep Hayden occupied!!

2. I had to resort to wearing my husband's Winter coat yesterday. I look like nobody owns me.

3. On that note, what the heck am I going to wear to Ralph's Christmas party? I have to try and find something a little festive and flattering and.....dare I say.....sexy. Oh, the anxiety.

4. On Sunday, Hayden gets to go and meet Santa Claus. (It's Ralph's company kiddie Christmas party.) I'm really hoping that he warms up to him more this year. We've been trying to talk it up so that he's excited to tell Santa what he wants for Christmas. Last year, I had to sit on Santa's lap with Hayden. I don't think Santa will like that option this year.

5. Anyone have any cute/original names for a fuzzy little multi-colored girl kitty??

My dog thinks I'm fat.....

Apparently, Zeus feels that I should lay off
the pastries for the remainder
of my pregnancy.

There were 18 freshly baked, and iced, cupcakes
on the counter.
Hayden and I were going to decorate them.

Zeus had other plans.
He ate 12.

I'm definitely adding this incident to the list of
grievances I have with the dog.
But, maybe I should be thanking him.......
I probably would have eaten way too many anyways.

10 on Tuesday

1. I started Pre-natal yoga last Tuesday, and it was awesome! Our instructor was very interested in our aches and pains and helped us with our individual areas of concern. Some of the positions were a bit awkward, but I didn't embarrass myself, so was okay. It was pretty cool to be in a room full of other pregnant women, who are all different shapes and sizes. I came home, had a bath, and had the best night sleep! I didn't even wake up to pee!! I am REALLY looking forward to my Tuesday nights from now on.

2. Why, why, why is it so hard to find art?! Ralph and I have been looking and can't find what we are after. Any suggestions?

3. My sister and her boyfriend had a 3 1/2 hour layover in Calgary on their way home to Saskatoon from Vegas. I went to the airport for a little visit. Short but sweet. I almost fainted when I saw the total for parking was $29!! (My fault for parking in short-term) What's worse? It was at that moment I realized I didn't have my wallet!! Uh-oh, where is it?? How am I gonna get out of the parkade?? Thank goodness for cell phones. I had to phone Ralph for our Mastercard number so that I could bail myself out.

4. Pregnancy brain is a reality. I should wear my Pregnesia shirt daily.

5. I need Ralph to paint my toenails 'cause I can't bend properly, or comfortably enough, to do it myself. I asked him once. Still waiting.....

6. I committed another pregnancy faux-pas. I dyed my hair. I couldn't handle those little grays any longer.

7. Isn't it funny that kids can drive you absolutely bonkers one moment, and in the next breath, they say something so sweet that you feel crazy for thinking they were anything short of perfect?! That has happened a lot this week.

8. Hayden and I finally got library cards. Only $12. Since I have been zipping through books lately, and Hayden loves to read, I think this will fun for both of us....especially in the Winter months. One thing is for sure, the library has changed a lot since I was there last....which was probably University?@#! They have lots of activities for the kids, and you can sign out tons of books at one time. And the best part, you get to keep your selections for a whole month!!

9. I need to get the winter tires put on the Tribute before it snows. I have been saying this for 2 weeks now.....

10. We may be taking Hayden to see his first in theater movie today. Madagascar 2. Mommy gets popcorn for lunch, yum. Wish us luck!!

10 on Tuesday

1. Halloween is evil. Well.....just the candy. Poor Hayden has no idea how much of his hard-earned stash I have eaten. Between this and Mexico, uh-oh!

2. For some reason, I continue to let it bother me. I really try not to.....but it's hard. I really wish people would stop commenting on how BIG I am. What ever happened to being like Bambi? If you can't say something nice, keep your mouth shut!!

3. My unborn child is currently performing Riverdance in utero.

4. Why does every blueberry muffin I ever make turn out to be a weird blue/grey color. They taste delicious but they look sick. Don't say "coat the blueberries in flour," cause I've tried that.

5. I start my pre-natal yoga class tonight. I'm super excited....but always a bit nervous that I will do something to look like an ass in front of strangers. I somehow missed the 'chip' in my personality for 'not caring what other people think of me.'

6. I am trying to enjoy my pictures of Mexico as I scrapbook them. I am trying not to be bitter about the pictures that aren't there. I still have all of the memories......

7. There is nothing better than doing something simple for your child and because it makes him SO happy, the result is you getting teary-eyed.

8. My tan is fading and that makes me very sad. I do enjoy the peeling skin. I'm being serious.

9. Daylight savings time sucks when you have kids. I was so excited because Hayden was finally sleeping later, I think because it's darker in the morning, and getting up at 7:30/8:00. That has now turned into 6:30/7:00. Maybe he just needs a few more days to adjust.....

10. My husband cleaned the outside of our windows just in the nick of time. Better him on the ladder than me! Guess I should pull up my socks and clean the inside of the windows today........ while hoping that I don't see any snow flakes through those freshly cleaned windows!!

Belly Pics!!

I had the pleasure of spending the evening
with 2 brilliant photographers.
And friends.
That's right.....Nick & Keri Blakeney.
Big Picture Photography.

It was too hard to pick favorites.
So here they are......

They made me feel like a million dollars.
A supermodel mommy-to-be.

They are amazingly talented.
I'm forever grateful.

Thomas & Friends......Live!

My boss phoned me last night, and wondered if we
would like 3 free tickets to see
Thomas and Friends Live!
Easy answer considering how much Hayden
loves trains!!

How thoughtful.
(She doesn't read this blog so it's NOT brown-nosing!)

Hayden was so excited!!
He could hardly contain himself when he saw Thomas
for the first time.

He kept asking "who's next?"
I think he thought the whole gang would be there.

Hayden missed seeing James,
but we did see Thomas, Percy and Diesel.

It was an interactive show,
and Hayden loved being a very loud whistle.
He was continually yelling, "peep peep!!"
Sometimes on cue......sometimes not.
Either way, he had a ton of fun.

And we couldn't help but smile
because he was having such a great time.

"Trick or Treat!"

Happy Halloween 2008!

Hayden has been very excited about his
Halloween costume this year.
He would proudly announce to anyone who asked.....
"I'm gonna be a train-ductor!"

He made sure to thoroughly test out the whistle before
we went out trick-or-treating!

This is how Mommy was dressed.
(I did put on a googly-pumpkin headband....)

This is how Daddy was dressed.....

Initially, Hayden wasn't fond of Ralph
wearing this get-up.
Eventually though, he said to me,
"it's just a costume, Mommy."
Okay then.
I guess you're not scarred for life.

Hayden kept saying,
"I got lots of candy!"
"Get some more candy!"
Seriously.
He got hand fulls at some houses.


But, after an hour, he was tuckered out.
That's a lot of walking for little legs, and a workout
on the muscles to carry the loot!

I think he was the cutest train conductor.
And that sweet little face
will keep us in candy for weeks!
Damn.

8 Days in Mexico......on Tuesday!

October 19th-26th, 2008

Gran Bahia Principe, Tulum
Mexico

The main lobby of our resort

The main pool

Aaahhhhh......the beach!
We spent as much time here as possible,
though the weather wasn't perfect.
We had rain, at some time or another,
and in some quantity or another,
every day.
Still....30 degrees every day....can't complain!

We decided to make the best of our time and
plan some activities outside of the resort.
What fun would it be to just sit in the room?
We were in the Mayan Riviera for goodness sake.....how bad can it be?!


Day 2.
Aktun Chen
We saw some of the most amazing
underground caves and cenotes.
And lots of wild animals.

This little dude greeted us and
Hayden enjoyed feeding him bananas.

We were 15 feet underground looking up at the trees!!

We got some amazing pictures of the caves.
We had to trudge through water
because of all of the heavy rainfall, and poor Hayden
was up to his waist in some places!

You won't see those pictures, or any of the other
fabulous ones we had taken up to this point,
because we lost our camera.
* See Day 4. *

Day 4.
It started out like the rest.
Rainy.
We decided to go into Playa del Carmen for the morning.
We had a really nice morning, and when the sun came out after lunch,
we decided to go back and hit the beach.
I will go over the next hour in my head a million times.
Each time, I feel like throwing up.
Pure stupidity on our part.
Why we were so relaxed? I don't know.
Why wasn't I harping about the location of our belongings? I don't know.
Why didn't we double check our spot when getting off the bus??
We got off on the side of the highway.
We were so concerned about having a good hold on Hayden.
15 minutes later.....
I realized we didn't have the camera.
(Or the video camera that was in the same bag.)

Good luck trying to communicate the severity
of the situation to Mexican strangers.
Ralph and Eveline tried for hours to get it back.
Nothing.
Ralph offered a reward.
Nothing.

I don't even care about the camera.
It's the photos.
The beautiful family pictures we had taken at the beach.
Our amazing Mexican dinner.
The caves.
Hayden in the pool with his first pair of water wings.
Us building sandcastles.
Nauseating.

*~*~*The rest of our photos are courtesy of the Kodak Fun Saver*~*~*

Day 5.
The Mayan Ruins at Tulum.

It felt like about 800 degrees.
600% humidity.

The views were breathtaking.

And we were sweaty.

Hayden was on Iguana patrol the entire vacation.
We saw every shape, size and color.

Wouldn't want to meet this gang
in a dark forest!

Days 6, 7 and 8.
Soaking up the intermittent sun!

Ralph decided he wanted to be buried in the sand.
So, he dug himself a nice big hole.....

we helped cover him up.....

...and Hayden tended to the property around his daddy's head.
He even fed him lunch!!

Hayden's favorite pastime was walking the stones
around the pool.
We all had to take turns.
Many times.

How did a whale get into the pool??

Hayden loved the water and the independence
of floating around on his own.
I was so proud of him for being such a big boy.

What a nice way to cool off!

Friday night we stayed out after dinner to see the
Michael Jackson tribute show.
It was awesome.
Hayden was tuckered out
and slept right through the entertainment!

Bathing beauties

Hayden's turn to be buried.....
up to his waist!
We had a busy last day on the beach collecting
seashells, building sandcastles and
enjoying the sunshine.

Our last photo-op on the beach.

We had a great time......
and still managed to pull off pretty good tans!!