August Preview

I found this on Pintrest from Oh So Lovely and it sounds like fun.  Feel free to try it out too (via your blog or Facebook or just for your own fun).

Five Question Friday - July 29

1. Vow renewal ceremonies-yay or nay?

I don't know.  I think it's a sweet idea but I think it's too much like a wedding.  I love my wedding day but it was never about the wedding for me; it was about becoming Danny's wife.  I wanted to go to city hall to get married and have a dinner out with our family afterwards but it somehow got turned into a real wedding. 

2. What sound/s annoy you the most? 

Lynden does this whine.... oh.my.word!  I cannot stand it.  I have no patience when he does it and often send him out of the room when he starts. 
I also cannot handle the beeeeep beeeeeep beeeeeep alarm clock.  It's annoying (which is the point) but it annoys me so much that I wake up in a bad mood.  Even Danny knows this so on the odd day when the switch hasn't made it over to radio and the beep starts he leaps for it aplogizing.  I'm not kidding, Instant bad mood. 

3. If you had to pick, would you have only all boys, or only all girls for kids?
All boys.  I don't really know what to do with girls (this bodes well for Alyssa) and I had a hard time dealing with having a girl (I love her dearly).  I want to be a hockey mom and if Alyssa wants to play hockey that's fine by me but Lynden is much more likely to play. 

4. Do you believe in alternative medicine?
To some degree.  It's no secret that there are more natural remedies out there for things and every culture has it's own techniques.  It's all about finding what is right for you.

5. Would you take a family members children and raise them if they needed it?

In a heartbeat.  That's what family is for, to support and love eachother.  I would hate to see anyone be in a position where they could not take care of their children but it does happen and if I could help them or their children why wouldn't I? 

Aloha!

Goodbye darkness; Hello daylight!

Goodbye shower; Hello bathtub!

Goodbye limited kitchen cabinets; Hello space for everything!

Goodbye being stuck inside; Hello yard!

Goodbye stomping; Hello carpeted floors!

Goodbye spiders that come in droves; Hello upstairs!

Goodbye oven in the summer; Hello BBQ on the deck!

Goodbye playpen in our bedroom; Hello (possible) separate rooms for the kids!

Goodbye TV with no remote; Hello (again) PVR!

Goodbye having no where to go; Hello walking shoes!

Goodbye walls; Hello windows!

Goodbye washer in the bathroom; Hello laundry room!

Goodbye shoes in the middle of the room; Hello hall closet!

Goodbye family (we WILL visit often); Hello family (you're stuck with us now)!

Goodbye Surrey, HELLO Maple Ridge!

Wordless Wednesday: Moving Edition

We are in the final week before we move.  I cannot wait!!  It's been tricky though, packing up everything but still being able to live in our place with 2 kids.  We came up with a plan to make 1 room a packed area.

Before:

After:





Letting Go Of The Past

For the last 13 years I have been toting around shoe boxes crammed full of high school stuff.  I have tried many times over the years to purge it but I couldn't bring myself to do it.  I thoroughly enjoyed high school and have a lot of great memories of my 4 years at PMSS.  I wasn't ready to let go of the physical memories... until today.

Today I finally did it.  I went through the 4 shoe boxes I have and emptied 2 of them (the 2 remaining shoe boxes have photos, diaries and some odds and ends, which I will go through at a later point and organize into a better system).  There is a 5th shoe box but I'm sure Danny won't complain about me keeping it since it contains stuff from when we started dating. 

I easily admit I am a packrat; I have a hard time throwing out things, more so with items that have a sentimental value.  With the move from the Okanagan to the coast I didn't pack the house.  I was ready to pop at any moment when I started my mat leave.  The things I could pack I still needed and the things I couldn't lift or reach were the items that could have been packed early.  So, after Alyssa was born Danny and my sister spent the next 7 days packing the entire house.  Danny begged, pleaded and rationalized with me in attempt to thrown stuff out then but I just couldn't do it, I wasn't ready.  Once I started to unpack I was able to toss a few things but the majority of it stayed.  With this move I'm doing all the packing so I'm able to look at things and make a decision about keeping or tossing.  I tried about 2 weeks ago to go through the boxes but Lynden was wanting to "help" and it wasn't working so I put them back into the closet with the intent to try again the next day.  It took a bit longer but it was worth it. 

I'm a little sad to have tossed the physical memories of a time in my life where I came into my own, but it feels good to know I was able to do it (I won't end up as a hoarder).  I chuckled as I read old notes (tossed), smiled as I read old school newspapers I had written articles for (kept), laughed at the underwear everyone signed for my 14th birthday and remembered that started when we gave another friend a signed bra for his birthday (kept), unfolded random newspaper articles about hockey, music or anything funny (tossed), frowned when I came across something my highschool not-so-sweetheart gave me (tossed), and found more concert ticket stubs (kept, as I keep all my concert and movie stubs).

I even went through my clothes and got rid of most of it (doesn't fit anymore and gave in to the fact I probably won't again or decided it was too young for it as I am about to be officially in my late twenties and want to dress better in my post pregnancy body which I quite like... for the most part). 

It feels good to release some of my past.  The last 18 months have been very challenging for me and the move down here was to help us get a new start and get rid of some of our demons.  It has helped push us in the right direction but we're not quite there.  I'm using this move as a marker for our new beginning and you can't have a start over if you're still living in the past.

What's Cooking: Cheesy Chicken Whatchyamacallit

I found this recipe in a Today's Parent when I was pregnant with Lynden and I still enjoy it.  The recipe calls for 2 smaller casseroles but I always make it as 1 large casserole (if you wanted to make 2 you can freeze the second and have dinner done for another night).

Cheesy Chicken Whatchyamacallit:

500q broad egg noodles (this is 1.5 packages - if you decide to make 2 full packages add a bit more of everything else)
3 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (I've sued canned when I've been out)
1 1/2 lbs chicken breast, cubed
2 1/2 cup milk
125g cream cheese, cubed (buy the block of cream cheese, much easier to cube)
salt & pepper
1 cup shredded cheese
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
4 cup spinach
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup bread crumbs

1. Grease 9x13 baking dish (if making 2, grease 2 9x9 baking dishes)
2. Cook noodles according to the package (once they're done, drain them and return to pot to keep warm.  If they start to dry out add a bit of water and stir)
3. In dutch oven (oh how I love mine), heat oil over medium heat.  Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes.  Add chicken and cook til no longer pink on the outside (about 5 min).  Remove and set aside.
4. In the same pot, melt butter, add flour (making a rue) and gradually stir in milk until thick (this never happens for me until I add the cream cheese).  Bring to a boil while stirring constantly.  Add cream cheese and stir until well blended.  Add spinach and heat until all the spinach is wilted.  Remove from heat, add thyme, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
5. Add chicken and mushrooms to the sauce, stir and combine with noodles.  Add shredded cheese and pour into baking dish.  top with breadcrumbs and remaining Parmesan cheese. 
6.  Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes

To Freeze: cool to room temperature and wrap tightly in 2 layers of foil.  To serve: defrost in the fridge and cook as directed above (I put into a cold oven and add 5-10 minutes)

You can add pretty much anything to this.  I recommend serving with some french, garlic or sourdough bread.

I'm a First Born And Proud Of It!

I stumbled onto this interesting article about birth orders.  A few years back I was watching a show and they were talking about how your birth order can influence you greatly in almost every aspect of your life.  You can read the article here or if you don't want to read the long version read this one that summaries what your birth order says about you.

This is what it had to say about being the oldest:

If you're a first-born

Your philosophy is “I’m going to do this the right way, and so should you.”  
This is COMPLETELY true.  Anyone who knows me will agree.

You are Conscientious, reliable, serious, capable, goal-oriented, organized, analytical, well-prepared, precise.
My sister was over last night and we were talking about how different we are from each other (night and day in every aspect) and one of the words she used to describe me was "serious".  I'd like to think I am reliable and precise.  I can be VERY organized, I am a list maker through and through (it's not uncommon for me to make the same list over and over because my original list is too messy once I start crossing things off).  I am goal-oriented, analytical and well prepared (how can you not be with lists??).  I am not one who enjoys not knowing the bulk of what's coming, I can't control the unknown... wait... was controlling in there??


You crave Perfection.
I don't know about craving perfection.  I am no where near perfect and I know that. 


You avoid Unpredictability.
I can't control the unknown.

Related Features

People see you as A natural leader, a problem solver, an upholder of tradition.
On the way home from the Okanagan last weekend Danny and I were talking about what kinds of things I'm good at (in the hopes to find some sort of work I can do from home) and he asked me "what are you good at?" and I said "leadership".  I am a leader (not a follower, by any means).  I have to laugh at the "upholder of tradition" - my sister and I (one of the few things we do share) love our traditions, especially when it comes to Christmas.  As we've gotten older we've had to adjust our normal traditions (well, I've adjusted better than she has) and allow room to create new traditions.  I want my children to enjoy certain things about events in their lives. 


People may be put off by Your critical eye, lack of forgiveness or bossiness.
Me? Bossy? Never..... (I didn't make it through with a straight face).  My lack of forgiveness is something that has been tested over the last few years.  Normally, I am a very trusting person and I will trust someone entirely until they break it, and it doesn't have to be a big thing (or even a medium thing) to break that trust.  Once my trust is gone it is a very hard thing to get back.  Having been through everything I have been through these last 10 years it's taught me that not everything is as black and white as I want to believe things are and I need to open my eyes more.


Careers Engineering, law, medicine, education, nursing, accounting, management, information technology, research.
I could see myself doing something in the education, management or research fields. 


Relationships You expect as much of 
others as you do of yourself, which may set you up for disappointment or frustration. A marriage between two first-borns may be like “a cat and a dog in a sack,” says psychologist Kevin Leman, as you each strive to be the leader. Therapist Marion Balla suggests carving out separate areas in which to lead, such as one in the workplace and the other at home. Your best romantic match? A later-born.
I do expect the same out of people that I do out of myself, and I am let down when it doesn't happen that way, in my personal and professional life.  One of the obvious ways I see this is when I am a customer of a store.  Having worked for the same company for the last 6+ year, which has a Fantastic stance when it comes to customers and what they should expect out of us as a company I expect that same level of customer service from other stores.  Sadly, I am constantly disappointed.  When Danny comments on my frustrations with service I tell him (often) that I expect to be treated the way I treat customers and I rarely am. 


Parenting your first-born or only You may set unreasonably high standards for your children, even subconsciously encouraging perfectionism. If your already perfectionist eldest child rips up a drawing or a project because “it’s not good enough,” Leman suggests you say, “I know it’s a big deal to you, but it’s not to me,” and walk away. 
I can see this being an issue for Lynden, from me and Danny who is adamant "Lynden IS playing hockey".  I want to push Lynden (and Alyssa) to be the best people they can be and achieve their goals, whatever they may be, but I don't want to set unreasonably high standards for them.  This article did enlighten me, as it was more accurate than not, and hopefully I'll be able to see these qualities (good and bad) more easily and work on them so I can use them in the best way possible. 


Famous first-borns Oprah Winfrey, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Stephen Harper.
Oh, poor Prince William and Kate - they're going to be "a cat and a dog in a sack", but that might explain why Bill and Hillary ended up the way they did. 



Was your birth order profile right?  Were you surprised?

Out And About: Playland

When I was a child one of my favourite summer activities we did was our trip to Playland.  Knowing we were going to spend the whole day in a park full of fast, spinning, tummy flipping rides was beyond exciting.  Thankfully, I was a tall child so I was able to go on the bigger rides much earlier than most kids (my sister included). 

I was beyond thrilled when Lynden wanted to go on rides on Canada Day; I knew it meant a trip to Playland was in his near future.  On Thursday we did a “just mommy & Lynden day” (with my stepmom and youngest sister) and went to Playland to ride the rides. 

We had talked about it all week and although I don’t think he fully understood what I meant he was excited to go.  When we got into the park and took him to the kids’ area he was ready to start his riding adventure.  He choose his first ride and off he and his aunt went (she’s the perfect buddy age for Lynden). 

They spent the next hour or so going from ride to ride.  I even managed to get a ride on the swings with my sister – I must say it’s a much different ride when you’re bigger; I actually got a little dizzy on it, but it was still fun. 

After a while my sister and stepmom went on the Scrambler.  Surprisingly enough Lynden met the height requirement for it and he was itching to go on it.  I told him to watch aunty and nanny on the ride and if he wanted to go on it I would take him.  After they were done he still wanted to go on, so off we went.  Before the ride went I told him mommy was right here and I wouldn’t let go of him.  The ride started and he had a good time for the first half.  Once it got going at full speed he didn’t like it as much, but I reminded him that mommy was right here and was holding onto him, so he cuddled in and tucked his head down.  When it was done I told him how super proud of him I was for doing such a big ride.  (Danny was surprised Lynden was able to go on it and that I did take him on it, but I told him I was willing to let Lynden try it once and if he liked it great and if not then we don’t have to go again.  Although I didn’t let him go on the mini rollercoaster). 

We stopped for a quick bite to eat and then off to get mini doughnuts and off to the arcade lane to try our hand at some games, whack-a-mole was the favourite.  I even tried to get my sister to go through the haunted mansion with me, but no such luck. 

We finished the day off with one last ride and then headed home, much to Lynden’s dismay (he told me “want to stay here, no go home”).  After picking up Alyssa from my grandparents’ we went home to tell daddy all about our day.  He even wanted to call Ya Ya to tell her about the rides. 

It was a real treat for me to re-live the excitement Playland brings to a child through my son.  I cannot wait to go next year and make this an annual event for our family.    

flying elephants



love the holding hand shots



one of my favourite photos of the day

having fun

riding on a motorcycle

on the ferris wheel

wack-a-mole

Five Question Friday - July 21

1. If your husband had the BIG V and you got pregnant what would your first reaction be? For the dudes, what would your first reaction be if your wife told you she was pregnant after the Big V?

Oh, I don't know.  I think I'd be shocked and then fearful that he would think I had cheated on him. 

2. Best memory about this summer so far.

I think any one of the parades we've been to this year.  It's been wonderful to see Lynden's excitement at them. 

3. How often do you change your sheets? Your kids sheets?

Not as often as I should. 

4. Having just gone through TSA, would you rather have a full-body scan or a pat-down?

I am not familiar with a body scan so I can't answer this really.  I've been patted down at concerts but I would imagine it's nothing like the pat downs at the airports.

5. Since it is fair time...what's your favorite fair (county or state) memory?

 We don't have country or state fairs here, but my favourite fair-like thing I've gone to was PNE at Playland.  It's chaotic and loud but when we were teens it was a blast to go to.  Fun rides, entertaining (and cheesy) shows, and good friends. 

Out and About: Vernon

We spent the weekend in the Sunny Okanagan, visiting with my sister in law for her "turning 28 again" birthday (she's decided she's going to get younger each year until she's 16 again so her dad will buy her a car :-p).  We had a great time!  It was great to spend a few days catching up with family.  The kids and I managed to get a short visit in with some friends in Kelowna and Danny got in a dive.

Alyssa, Danny and I all came home with terrible colds (all different too) so I'm sapped for energy.  Enjoy some pictures.

Lynden & friends

daddy & Alyssa

winding down for the night

"action shot"

grandpa & grandkids

cousins

driving

bubbles with a new friend

Pintrest

I have had a few people tell me about Pintrest and I didn't fully understand it.  Last night I decided to look at a friend's page and I understood and realized this was something I needed. 

This morning (amongst my packing) I have been adding to my page (I don't know if that's the "technical" term here or not).  It's so much easier that just continuing to add favourites to my already crammed full favourite list and it's visual!  I can see what I wanted to keep and organize it into like categories.  I'm very excited.  Now if we can get the laptop running again I can add so much more (I think I have 50+ things saved on there). 

I need to get back to packing and cleaning before we leave for the Okanagan tonight (totally excited - going up for my sister-in-law's birthday!  We're also doing a short visit with my manager and his family, who watched Lynden last year, and hopefully stopping in to see my co-workers.  I miss them all terribly).  So, I'll be off for the weekend but will post photos from our trip when we get home.

Have a great weekend everyone! 

Bad Wife Moment

Lynden has been having these crazy reactions to the sun lately, which sucks for so many different reasons.  On Saturday we went to the park with my mom and they played on the park for just over an hour.  Lynden was wearing his hat and sunglasses and lathered in sunscreen.  Yet, when we got home his heat rash showed up, as it does anytime we're in the sun.  It's super annoying since everything I've read about it says you can't really prevent it, sigh. 

Because he also skipped his nap on Saturday I wasn't surprised when he started to get really cranky around 5:30.  By 7 we had him in bed (an hour earlier than normal).  When we woke up, crying, around 7:30 I went in to check on him and knew it was not going to be good.  Lynden was radiating heat.  Took his temperature instantly and wasn't surprised when it stopped at 39 (102.2).  So, I stripped him down, gave him a dose of Tylenol, stood outside in the cool air and got him to take as much fluids as he would take. 

It took quite a while but he finally fell asleep for the night (around 10:30) and slept til 8:30 the next morning.  He needed the sleep but it seemed to really mess him up on Sunday.  He refused his nap (although he laid in his bed for almost 2 hours) and was just "off" all day (the fever slowly dropped through out the day).  We thought we'd have an easy time with him at bedtime, we thought wrong. 

He woke a few times before 10 and seemed to settle down when Danny went to sleep in Lynden's bed just after 10.  I went to bed at 10:30 and had just drifted off when Danny came in to get me because Lynden wanted mommy.  Ok, fine, swap beds and then spent the next 2 hours trying to get Lynden to sleep.  Around 2 Alyssa woke up for a feeding so I went back to our bed while Danny went in with Lynden.  At 3 Lynden came into our room and wanted to sleep in our bed.  That's okay with me but he knows there is 1 rule: he MUST be quiet so he doesn't wake his sister.  Well, he woke her up so I sent him back to his room (in hysterics) to sleep with daddy.  After getting her back to sleep and finally drifting off myself Danny came in to ask me to go and sleep with Lynden. 

This is where my bad wife moment came about.  I understand why he asked, Lynden was being difficult again and Danny had to get up for work at 5:30 so he was hoping for 90 minutes of sleep before he had to get up and go to work.   I understood this when he asked me, but it was not my first thought.  My first thought was "I JUST got back to sleep.... again" so I responded to his request with "are you kidding me?".  Honestly, that's what I said.  I followed it up with "Alyssa will need to feed again soon", which was half true.  After her first feed she will normally want to comfort of a boob anytime she wakes up; she doesn't eat, just wants the contact.  I then rolled over and went back to sleep.  I knew Danny wasn't happy with my answer but he went back to bed with Lynden without saying anything.  I don't think he kissed me good-bye this morning (he may have but I was too tired to realize it).

This morning I woke up feeling bad about it.  He works hard and long hours with the rare "day off" and I use that term loosely because his days off are crammed full of things we just don't have time for when he is working.  Add in a move in 3 weeks and any spare moment he has is spent packing and going through stuff.  But none of that stops me from being slightly jealous that he gets a sleep in day every now and again (logically I know he has earned it and needs it), which makes the few hours I get at night of uninterrupted sleep even more important to me. 

It's tough to find the happy medium.  Danny works 2 jobs, 6-7 days a week with a few days being 15 hour days.  He's exhausted and worn out and when he comes home there is no down time for him.  Lynden's on his right away to play and I'm on him about things we need to get done. 

I'm a stay at home mom and the "theory" is I have all the time in the world.  I'm the first to admit that I don't get all the things done that I need to get done in a day, but I have 2 kids and they take up a lot of time and energy.  I also don't get to use the reasoning "I have to work" to justify getting some extra shut eye in a day.  My "job" is 24/7 365 days a year.  I don't get a "day off".  And I've been on the other side of the fence, I worked while Danny stayed home with Lynden and even then I didn't get a "day off".  It was full of errands, laundry, outings, and so on, usually making my day off busier than the days I worked. 

So, where is the happy medium? 

As for Lynden: the fever has broken completely and besides being a little tired today (I can't imagine why) he's in good spirits.  I'm lotioning his rash so he won't itch it and keeping him hydrated.  We see the doctor next week to see if he can tell me why this happens every time Lynden's in the sun.  It's going to be a shady summer between a toddler who can't be in the sun without breaking into a rash and a baby who can't be in direct sunlight. 

Rockin' The Babies

A few weeks back I participated in Rockin' The Bump.  It was so popular Shell at Things I Can't Say decided to continue with the baby fever.

I could post a million photos of my kids, but no one would be able to stop looking so I chose some of my favourites. 


Lynden:

faux hawk
6 weeks

 

hee hee
8 weeks



smiling
3.5 months

 

xmas day
3 months

 

rockin' the Canucks jersey
5 months

 

excited
6 months

 

normally a neat eater
6 months

 

honestly, he is a neat eater
7 months



learning to pull himself up
9 months

rub a dub dub, cute baby in a tub
9 months

at the beach
10 months

showing off his chompers
1 year

Alyssa:

one of her first shots
hours old

pretty in pink
6 days old

chillaxin'
3 weeks

party girl
2.5 months

cheeky girl
2.5 months

"playing" at the park
3 months

smiles
3.5 months

one of my fav pics
4.5 months

love how she gnaws on her finger
4.5 months

such a pretty girl
5 months

My Babies:

1st brother & sister picture

1st kisses

kisses

holding hands