tis the season...

I am coming to the realization that things the next month are going to be CRAZY!

A couple of weeks ago shipped me off to Las Vegas with my sister and did some serious retail therapy.  It was short and sweet.  I came home to some serious snowfall (42 cm to be exact) and ccc-old.

Luckily, our friends, whom we stayed with in 2001, came to visit for a week.  I had a really wonderful time with them.  It made me realize how much we have in common with them (they are around our age and they have a couple of kids).  I have been struggling to connect to women around the community (they are into bar hopping, etc.) and it was nice to know that there are people like me who aren't into that.

This weekend my hubby is going down there to run the half marathon with friends in Vegas.  I have two kids birthday parties, so I am going to be doing chauffeur duty and running around. 

This month we have tons of Christmas parties for schools, dance class and to top it off my little one has a birthday. Add to that still some Christmas shopping!

She has become a real little sassy chick and I too often forget she is only going to be 4.

Not sure what we are going to do about Christmas with my family this year.  I just am having trouble dealing with it.

We have made some arrangements to go to San Diego, California in January around my birthday, so it should be great fun with a stop at the "D" land for a couple of days.   It will be interesting to see how the kids do.

We have a lot of things on the go....

The whirlwind of birthdays and christmas is upon us....

Having two children born in November and December definitely makes this time of year seem somewhat crazy.  As I prepare for one birthday, the next one just comes soo quickly afterward. Before I know it Christmas is here and then the lull of the cold winter of dullness ensues. 

We have decided to take a little trip to San Diego in January just in time for my birthday. 

We are planning warmer weather with activities like Sea World, San Diego Zoo and checking out the Pacific Ocean.

Upon departure, we may make a stop at a very exciting place for our kids for a couple of days (Disneyland).  My girls are going to flip!

Really looking forward to it.

making kool-aid playdoh

Little one and I had fun making orange kool-aid playdoh........great fun and smells great!

it's MY life!!!

Well here I am getting into the new routines of school and other activities.  This year I purposefully did not enroll my kids in tons of activites outside school.  My older girl is soo tired at the end of the school day. She has been staying for lunch as well which gies her time to spend with friends. She is physically growing which has resulted in new shoes and clothes.

We took in Mamma Mia this past weekend, which was fun and the kids really enjoyed it. I had previously seen it in Las Vegas (it was much better) and knew they would really like it with the music and all.

My hubby has been busy with curling, taking a course for insurance and of course running.

We watched a documentary of Terry Fox called "Into The Wind", which was soo inspiring and brings back memories of childhood.

Speaking of childhood, I am often amazed at how small town Winnipeg is.  My hubby was talking with a friend of ours and she told us she was a friend of Candice Derksen.  My hubby was stunned...
We all grew up with the story of her and how truly tragic her death was.  She noted that kids at school were horribly mean when she disappeared. 

It brought back memories of a girl in my third grade, who died in a housefire and how one of the girls in my class said she was "glad she was dead".  I never looked the same at that girl again. She wasn't a friend of mine.

Today I have to go for lunch with my mother.  Kind of dreading it.  I have been keeping away from all the family crap as it is too negative for me.  Like usual I will feel like I need therapy for weeks after.  My kids and their happiness is what is most important for me.  I make no apologies for it.

end of the week

So here I am at the end of my week.  What a week it was....

I have some sort of sinus/head cold. I am taking echinachia like nuts.

This week was my girl's first days of school and her test for her bladder/ureter/kidneys.

Upon consultation with our doctor, he thought it was best after a summer long issue of infections, etc.

The test went fine in that it sounded a lot worse than it actually was.  The nurses were really wonderful and not problems post procedure.  Glad to get that out of the way!

First day of school went well for my girl.  She stayed for lunch and was a real trouper, except for some minor hiccups, a positive end to a crazy week.

Now for a weekend on my lonesome as my hubby runs Regina.  Lets hope that kids stay healthy and the weather clears up! Go away rain!

The big day is finally here for more than one reason.

Well, here I am not feeling well  (which I blame on my mother-in-law who swore it was hayfever) and trying to get motivated to get the stuff together for the first day of school tomorrow. We have all been really tired from the beach this weekend (spending lots of time in the fresh air will do it).  I decided to keep things low key and now it is just as well with me feeling like crud.  New shoes have been bought and still more needed as my big girl's feet grew again. Backpacks bought.  New clothes (especially for big kid as she grew 1 inch in one month alone) have been bought.

Tomorrow is exciting for the beginning of school, but she also has an appointment in the afternoon which I am not looking forward to.   Basically we have to take her out of school in the afternoon to the Children's Hospital and get an xray taken with dye in her bladder.  They have to do a catheter which is the tricky part.  Not fun. It is being done to ensure that no fluids are going back to her kidneys (which if there is it can cause serious problems).

Tonite we are having a talk with her about what is going to happen. The doctor said it is best to do so.

Little one meanwhile is going gangbusters potty training.  Basically most of the day, now we have to work on night time.

I hope I get a good night sleep and can get my girlie off to a good start.

tides are a changing....

Here we are back from our trip to Halifax.  It was a great time and it gave me a chance to revert to my old self for a few days. We got to go to restaurants, travel and take time to relax.  How wonderful was that?

The wedding of our friends was great and we really enjoyed walking in Point Pleasant Park and dancing in an old dance hall circa 1930's.

Back to reality and getting the kids geared up for school again.  Full time for my big girl this coming year and preschool for my little one.

Summer has gone by soo quickly this year which is a blessing and makes me sad as well.

Next year for summer we are thinking of doing a big car trip out west. We will have to see...

things are a changing....

Well here we are deep into summer and things are going a lot better this summer than last year. 

The girls play great together and are growing up so fast.   They have become the best of friends.   I have been trying to do things with them but it is just me certain times so we are limited in what we can do.  On the to do list....Birds Hill Park, Morden Fossil Museum, Tinkertown....

The weather has been great.

We had some fabulous days at the beach.

We, my hubby and I just celebrated our 15th Anniversary.  We have been through a lot together in those years.  People ask what is the secret?

Patience....not giving up.....keep communicating.....lots of love.  Things have not always been easy, but we have stuck it out.  I have seen many people not last and am thankful.

Personally I am going through a great deal of difficult family stuff with my mom.   My mother has changed since she had her sickness. Is it brain damage?  Probably.  I have to distance myself from her the past few years as she is in situations and around people that I do not want to associate with.  It is hard because she is my mother, but I need to think about myself and how it will affect my family.

I told my husband that I have two realities...one with him and one with them.  The one is so difficult and twisted.  There is no way of fixing it.

I need to keep thinking about my girls and what is good for us.

At the zoo...big sis`

Here are some great summer pics....enjoy..

Little sis`at the zoo

summer is no starting off good....

Well here I am already at the beginning of my summer with my girls being completely done school and all their extra activities.  

Not sure where my time has gone but I have been sick off and on for at least over a month and a half. 

My bathroom reno was put on hold as I was working on getting the yard set up, but have had no energy to tackle it. I know I should but not feeling it.

My kids have been sick for the past week as well and we have been itching to do activites bu the weather and the mosquitoes have been really bad.  I manage on the nice days to get the grass cut then it rains for days then I have to cut again when finally the weather gets better. Then it rains again.

We are planning on going to Halifax in August for our friends Brigitte's wedding.  We are so happy for her and are looking forward to a weeked away just the two of us.  It is going to be great.

http://www.mikeandbrigitte.com

We plan on many days at the beach this summer with the girls.  Last time they went there they had so much fun and could have easily stayed for days.

I have not been doing any exercising other than walking but need to do something.  I have been thinking about yoga in the fall.

Anyways, I have a little buddy that wants to go somewhere special for lunch.

peace and harmony

Finally after dealing with two cats, who did not get along, we are finally getting a little bit of peace in the house.  They are playing and wearing each other out.  Sally is no longer feeling as threatened anymore and seems to be relaxing a little.  She has found that there is more food around the house to be eaten as well....

On the renovation front, we have completed tiling the bathroom and just have to seal it.  I still have to find a colour that would compliment the tile, space and fixtures but the key word is colour. I am set on a watersaving toilet, so I need to get to the place that sells them one morning when I have no children (aka school). 

the eternal optimist

I guess sometimes I realize that I am quite optimistic compared to others. 

I feel that life is pretty good.

I have been tested twice. One of the worst situations was when my mom was really sick and the doctor basically told me that my mom was dying and to prepare for the worst.  I found the inner strength to make it through and never give up hope even when doctors, etc. told me to do so. I remember driving in my car resolved that 50% chance of getting better is better than dying.

Another difficult time for me was when I experienced a miscarriage before I had my oldest.  I was completely devastated and it happened just after I dealt with my mother's illness.  I remember sitting and waiting to get a d&c and sobbing because I just did not know why it was happening to me.  Luckily the nurse realized that and told me what had happened and assured me that it was not my fault. 

I look at my girls sometimes how lucky I truly am and hopefully my girls will not have to go some of the things I went through.  If they do, at least let them have the strength to do it with grace and positive resolve.

my arms, legs, abs, etc all hurt

I have been working on trying something other than running as exercise. I have been doing boot camps on Monday nights. I got to a point in my running that I found my core needed to be worked on and I have been having a great deal of back problems.  I have been doing this since the running clinic ended as running three hours a day just does not happen. 

I think this current exercise regiment is great because it is a full body workout.  The downside is that I have  been feeling the pain for days after.  Is it working?  I think that I am because my back has become a lesser issue.  Have I lost weight? I have and then I have not as I am doing weights.  I am going to throw cycling in the mix as I really like biking and need to "up the ante".

Excercise is not only open to yourself but kids as well.  You need the strength and energy to keep up with the little monsters and ensure that you are around for a long time to come.  Sedentary lifestyle is not what we are as a family.

With summer approaching I am looking forward to doing outdoor things like biking, hiking, etc.  I want my girls to enjoy exercise and make it part of their everyday life as adults.

To add to the craziness of life, a simple replacement of a towel bar has turned into a full scale renovation of our bathroom.  Hubby and I joke that what takes people of trade to do for the inlaws in three weeks took us three days.  Now we just need the right colour....

it's a crazy life!

We have been so crazy busy that time flies so quickly and "poof" another month gone. 

We are getting ready for spring with buying splash pants for the kids, boots and rain jackets.  Got some great stuff for the kids while we were in Minneapolis even though I was deathly ill.  We tend to go pretty crazy stocking up as they have some nice stuff that fits them really well at a decent price.  My girls have trouble fitting some of clothes at some stores here as they are pretty small in pants.  Carters and Target are my two favourite stores for them.  My kids have grown about an inch each in the past few months.

I was really looking forward to spending time with the kids doing stuff but it was a bust for me with the sinus cold/infection.

Girls are doing really well.  Some activities winding down such as curling and a new soccer season is fast approaching.  It should be fun if the weather cooperates as dad is coaching again.

Dance costumes are in the stages of being put together so I have a couple of projects to do for those.  Cannot wait to see my little one this year in her dance costumes.

We have decided to adopt another cat and add to the insanity of our home.  We felt that Sally really is quite a social creature and needed a friend.  Little did we know about how cats really don't like each other when they first meet. Hopefully we will have more peace and love soon.

looks can be deceiving

busy week and the winter carnival...

This past weekend we were really crazy busy with Gary curling in the MCA bonspiel and the Roblin Park Winter carnival on.

We had a birthday party on Friday night as well as a school field trip for Sarah that I went with her on. We went to the Children's Museum (which needs an overhaul which they will be doing) with her preschool. had great fun but it was really busy with all those kids and helping the teacher keep them within reach. That night we did not do the carnival fireworks as that day was really busy and it was really cold.

Saturday we started the day by going to the pancake breakfast. We went to the curling club after and got to visit with G's team.  The kids drank root beer and watched cartoons. The kids went over to Amma and Ampa's house for a sleepover as we went to play broomball which was fun and hularious.

Sunday, the kids came home and we did lunch at the winter carnival followed by some outdoor playing and going for a horse sleigh ride. Went over to Amma and Ampas after for Sunday night family dinner.  Kids were tired, we were tired.

Next day, my big girls little sniffles turned into full blown miserable cold.  Here we are three days later and she has finally started to feel better.  We opted to keep her at home as she wasn't functioning and didn't want to spread it to her friends,etc.

I have been going a little stir crazy, but have been doing odd housework jobs and trying to organize things. Hopefully things will begin to go back to normal tomorrow.

Me, my girls and our friends on the sleigh ride.

Blizzard

Gotta laugh at some of the people driving around today.  It was maybe 5 cm of snow and yes there were snow drifts but really people you don't have to drive super slow!  The clerk at Safeway said something to the effect that he was surprised people were out.  I said to him " We live in Winnipeg, if we stayed inside every horrible day we would never get out."

Kids went to school.  I had forgotten to pick up preschool snacks, so I had to do so after dropping the kidlets off at school.

Basically we stayed inside this afternoon and did laundry, because it has gotten colder as the day progressed. 

Went to boot camp tonite and felt better about getting out as I really found it hard to get motivated to go before.

The only thing that annoyed me about the blizzard was my automatic doors freezing not once but twice today.  Fixed that by going to the Superstore underground parking and unthawing. Love that underground parking!

Updating

Ampa Dancing with girls at dance holiday party

Well here we are and I have been really bad at updating my blog.....Basically in our house chaos begins with my big girls birthday and continues through little one's birthday until New Years.  We had great Christmas holidays, but I think we are beginning to realize we probably have to simplify things next year.

We are currently upgrading and adding a new TV to our house, so I have been dealing with this since just after Christmas.  My hubby really wanted a big TV to watch sports, etc and now he has it.

We are all feeling pretty healthy and kids are enjoying school.  It just seems like our days just go so quickly and I am left not being sure where my day went. 

Activites are going with swimming, dancing, gymnastics, curling for the girls and playdates.

We went to see Blue Rodeo this past Sunday.  It was ok, but it is not Coldplay and dollar wise not worth what we paid for tickets.

We are just planning our little trips to Minneapolis next month and the yearly trip to Fargo in May. Not sure if we are going to travel anywhere else and we are definitely hoping for better weather this summer. Let us keep our fingers crossed!