A day in the life of the Watson's

Parent Teacher Interviews

2010-11-25T10:16:00.000-08:00

Wow, I was so unbelievable happy when I left Kristina's school yesterday! She is doing exceptionally well. She is happy, making friends, organized, reading at the right level now, doing amazing in math and interacting well and putting her hand up with answers lots! I am so proud of her and best yet she is soooo proud of herself! She was behind in reading and now is all caught up and doing great! She is also really organized and not in an OCD kind of way, I asked lol. She just makes herself as organized as she needs to be to stay on track and focus on her work without wondering where the eraser is etc.

She is so happy with herself that she is all caught up and doing great! She has been going to a focus reading group with 5 other kids and working with an amazing teacher who has brought them all so far! I am so beyond proud of her!

I don't know if she is doing so well with math because Granny did math with her at a young age and has done it with her ever since. She loves math and is always wanting new math books and wanting to learn more and more. I hope that she will continue to do well with math and continue to want to strive to do better and better.

Well we are off to go shower at Grannys and do some baking and go for lunch with Nana so I am off, I just really wanted to remember this amazing parent teacher interview! I love you baby girl and I am so proud of you!!!

Kristinas birthday week

2010-10-20T13:20:00.000-07:00

Well Kristina has had a busy few days, so have we for that matter :) It all started on Saturday with a day of hair cuts, shopping, lunch, more shopping and dinner! We had an awsome time, other than a few tears over things being to expensive, she is learning well ;) My mom and aunty Lynn came with us and it was so much fun!

Sunday night we had cake with my family at my moms, that was delishious!!!! Then on Monday after school Kristina had some friends over to watch a movie, make cupcakes and have pizza! It was loud, crazy, and loads of fun. The kids all had a great time and went home hopped up on sugar and exausted at the same time :0

Last night we had Kris's family over for cake and it was awsome. Lots of visiting and a few mishaps, aparently I shouldn't serve tea as I put salt instead of sugar in moms and Kristinas tea :) Oppps lol! Other than that and the wrestling that insued afterwords it was an awsome time! Check out some pics!

Kristinas birthday week

2010-10-20T13:02:00.000-07:00

Fall pics

2010-10-12T15:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my favorite pics from Fall! Picking pumpkins, walking on the river, Kris's big catch, and feeding some chickens and goats!

Hello Fall

2010-09-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

Well it seems as though I am turning into Reesh with my updates lol!

Our Summer was amazing and so much fun. We spent a week at Kye Bay at our family cabin and the kids were in heaven! Brandon just sat and dug in the sand for hours and played and played and played. He loved being the center of everyones attention and loved spending so much time with his Nana! Kristina swam lots and played hard with her cousins, its was a great time and I would love to do it every Summer!

We also got to go down to Victoria for a nice long weekend and spend some time together as a family! Its nice because Kris and I just don't spend a lot of time together with us working opposite shifts. Its nice to know that I am still happy with who I married :D

Kristina is back to school at her new school and she loves it! She is in a 3/4 split this year, she was in the 2/3 split last year and loves being with the older kids so its working well for her. We are right back into our routine except for now I don't have to drive her to school and drive to the bus to pick her up, its so much nicer! Brandon hops on his bike and her and I walk to the end of the road and drop her off and pick her up! He is missing her but loving his Mommy time too so that is great!

Kristina has already made some friends and is hanging out with Mickeys niece Emily and they call each other cousins, its pretty cute. They are on the bus together too which is nice. I have met some really nice parents at the bus stop, I love that shes going to a rural school cause they all were gumboots, ride horses and like to get dirty!

Brandon was really missing Kristina at first but is getting used to it! We have been painting, playing and just hanging out! He is loving getting to play again all by himself, which I love that he does!! Here he is in his Halloween costume that came today! He was in love with it and ran around with it on for about an hour until he got to hot in it!

Brandon is potty trained now, except for at night but we are pretty close with that! Brandon and I have also signed up for a free family walk every Wednesday with other families and he is loving it! We go for about an hour or two through the woods, on the beach and all around town. I also want to start going to Strongstart with him so he gets more time to play with other kids his age and work on his colors, and counting etc. He has three years but its always a good time to get ready for school!

School is out for Summer (Well almost)

2010-06-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

I am so ready to spend all day with my baby girl! I can't believe that she is going into grade 3, she is almost in intermediate, if they even do that anymore! Kris and I finally made the decision to move her to Miracle Beach Elementary and I really think that its the best decision we have made. When we originally cross boundary transferred her to Huband for Kindergarten it was perfect for us because I was working in town and so I just dropped her off on my way to work and then one of us picked her up on the way home. It was perfect for all of us. Kristina made lots of friends and really enjoyed her time there but its time to move on.

I called today to talk to the secretary and she was so nice! There was no worry that it was to late because there was lots of room and they were happy to set up a time for me to come in and fill out the paperwork and they would take Kristina on a tour. She is definitely sad to be leaving her friends but is excited to meet new ones. As long as we keep a positive spin on it she will stay excited!

I am excited that there are smaller classes, its a smaller school overall and that she will meet more kids that live closer to us as that's the school in our catchment. Biggest perk....the bus picks up right across the highway from our road and drops off at our road! I am not going to need to drive everyday and waste all of that gas. I won't have to wake Brandon up from his nap to go and get her, she can just come right home! Yaaaa!

Here's hoping we made the right choice!

Leaps and Bounds

2010-06-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

Well Brandon is learning new things in what feels like leaps and bounds! It feels like it wasn't that long ago that we were laying cuddling on the couch all day and all he did was sleep. That really was a long time ago though with how he is now. He is a ball of energy and doesn't stop. It really seems true with my two the differences between boys and girls. Kristina used to just sit and read and color and Brandon just wants to jump, run and be crazy.

He is down to only one nap a day and has been for a while. If I wait until 12:30 he goes down great but its hard because with Kristina in school he needs to be up by 2:30 so he usually goes down around 12-12:30 and wakes up just in time. Sometimes I have to wake him up and he usually goes back to sleep in the van untill we get her and then he is good.

He is an early riser too. He gets up around 6 and goes to bed at 7:30 so he doesn't need as much sleep as Kristina did. To bad too because I love my sleep ;)

He is talking more and more. Kris was cooking dinner the other night and asked him if we should have rice or potatoes and Brandon said potato lol, it was so cute. He can call Martha by her name but only if he thinks we aren't paying attention because when we ask him to he won't do it. Hes learning his animals, what they are called and what sounds they make. Its so cute. He is also getting into wooden puzzles, especially the dinosaur one. He is obsessed with dinosaurs now.

Its so fun to watch them go through different phases because his are all so different than Kristinas. She loved dolls and he loves dinosaurs. Dora and now Handy Manny. Its fun.

I don't have any new photos because I am on my laptop but will try to post some new ones soon!

Kristina is getting excited for school to be done for Summer. I can't wait to be able to spend all day with both of my babies. We have plans of crafts and swimming in the pool and jumping on the trampoline!

I want the weather to turn around and then we can sit outside all day and just soak up the heat and the sun. Brandon loves to be outside playing. He got a bike from my blog, a run bike, and he loves it! He can be on that bike all day and never complain once. He will fall down and get right back up. Come on sun, we are ready for you!!!!

Too much time with Granny and Uncle Nick!

2010-03-23T12:17:00.000-07:00

Well I think Brandon has been spending too much time with his Granny and Uncle Nick! We went outside this morning to fill the wood box, again! Then when we were finished we headed into the green house to get the top for our gazebo to put up and then headed back to the house to play on the deck. Instead of following me home he headed straight for the duck house, with a purpose.

I followed him to see what he was doing and he headed straight into the duck house. Before I could catch up with him he had the cooler of duck food open and was filling a bucket with handfulls of food for the ducks. It was so cute, I went in and asked him what he was doing and he said ducks. So he got a few handfulls in and we went to feed the ducks. He of course wanted to hand feed them but they weren't going to have any of that. So I finally convinced him to throw it at them. And that he did, he hummed it right at them lol!

Once we were finished he went to go put the empty bucket away and Martha was eating out of the duck food dish. Brandon decided to take it upon himself to discipline her. He yelled at her, "Martha No" and she walked away and he put his hands on his hips and glared a very disappointed look her way. It was so funny! And back to the house we went.

The pics I promised

2010-03-20T21:46:00.001-07:00

So here are the latest pics of Brandons room all redone, the kids playing with some new playdough, and Kristina's hat that I made her!

Kristina loves that hat I made her! She takes it everywhere! Brandons room is almost done now, I just put up the last picture tonight, it just needs curtains!

Its beautiful!

2010-03-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

Well its beautiful out and we are out enjoying it now that we aren't sick anymore. We had an awful Spring Break. Kristina only got a tiny bit sick but her whole Spring Break sucked because Brandon was so ill. He had bronchitis and to go with that he had really really high fevers and a bad couch. He was mostly really tired and slept a lot. He would wake up from a 3 hour nap and then come out crying and I would cuddle him and he would pitch a fit and walk back to his room, slam the door and crawl back into bed. It was so sad.

Hes much better now though other than couching when its cold outside and he gets a breath of the cold air. Kristina and I managed to get a bunch of baking done though and that was fun. She sure ha grown up. She is really a good help, not an annoying get it the way kind of help either. We did up a ton of baking for Kris and he is loving it.

I have started knitting and am loving it. I made Kristina a hat so far that I am going to finish tonight at knitting club. I know, knitting club, really! The woman who owns the yarn store in town puts it on at one of the local coffee shops and we all just go and knit together and there is help there if you need it. I am hoping they can show me how to finish off this hat tonight.

Kris is doing great! He is still loving his job, as much as you can love a job, and has been running with his buddy Nick lately. They are up to 3 km during their lunch break. Its awesome. So the baking and the running just need to balance out now. LOL. I am still loving Reitmans, I work with some awesome girls and really don't mind going to work to hang out with them and trying on clothes. Its nice to get a break from the crying and loudness at home but I do miss them while I am at work.

Brandon is slowly but surly talking more and more. He spits out new words now and then and we are surprised but he isn't talking up a storm yet, well of really words anyways! I am sure like with all else it will come when hes good and ready. Same with potty training. He had a bit of a regression with being sick and all. He was only in diapers for a good solid week so its taking a bit to get him back to it but its coming.

Well I am outside so I can't put up any pics but I will add the pic of my hat when its all done, oh and I guess some of the kids too.

Brandon is 2!!!

2010-02-24T21:30:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that two years ago I gave birth to Brandon. Other than the birth it seems like just yesterday he fit on my legs and I could just stare at him all day! Not that hes not as cute anymore its just that he can't sit still for more than 5 seconds to cuddle.

His birthday was great! We had my parents and Aunt over for pizza on Brandon's actual birthday and then the rest of my family over for cake. It was great to have everyone together! Brandon got spoiled as per normal and had a great time with his new crayons from Sarah and then they were pushed over for the power saw from Nana and Grandpa, they sure know there boy ;)

Saturday night Mom, Mal and all 4 cousins (except Felix) came for dinner, mac and cheese and hotdogs, typical 2 year old party. It was very loud but fun. He loved the power drill his Aunty Lynne and Uncle Nick got him and the dump truck that comes apart from his Granny!

I made a pirate cake for Brandon and a guitar cake. They turned out pretty good for my first try at it.

Potty training is going well, when hes not overly distracted and naked he gets there almost every time. We don't wear a lot of pants lately. Well Brandon doesn't anyways. We are happy with how it is so far but are looking forward to no diapers. Hes talking more and more and its getting easier to understand him. I love it!

Kristina is getting a lot better at reading and is working through the hooked on phonics kit and is doing great. We are working hard and seeing results! Its the only thing on her report card that shes really not doing well with. We are motivating her with getting her lots of good books to read and we are thinking of letting her read at night until 8 instead of lights out at 7:30. She just doesn't seem to tired and that's a great way to get in more reading.

Wow

2010-01-06T12:33:00.000-08:00

So I went and had some photos done of the kids yesterday and got these back! I love them, they are amazing! I am going to have a giveaway on Fun and Funky Mommy next week but I wanted to share the pics with you now! Enjoy!

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-28T19:34:00.000-08:00

Well Christmas came and went way to fast, just like usual. The kids were awesome and had a great holiday. There were lots of toys under the tree and most of the family was around so we got to see almost everyone. It was very overwhelming and exhausting but that is part of the magic of it all.

The kids got spoiled as per usual and even I did. Kris surprised me with earrings from the kids because we decided not to get anything for each other because we just went and got a wii right before Christmas and that was our gift. Kristina actually screamed when she saw her ipod from Santa and Brandon really got into the whole ripping into gifts thing.

We got a big turkey lunch and another big turkey dinner! It was all awesome and so good to see everyone. Its getting more fun every year with more kids being around and getting more and more into the magic of the season.

We kind of gave up on the potty training over Christmas as its to much to have him having accidents on other peoples floors but we are about to get right back into it. He is loving discovering all of his new toys again and again everyday.

I got the tree and decorations all down today so we have so much more room now with the new train table. I feel like I have my house back ;)

I hope everyone else had an amazing holiday. I will try and post some pics soon!

Its almost Christmas

2009-12-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

We are getting so excited for Christmas! Kristina actually just came down from her room with some presents that she made for all of us and just finished wrapping and put them under the tree. I think that I am more excited than her right now but it will come. She is excited but not super excited like me! I can't wait to see their faces on Christmas morning! They are going to be just so excited when they get to rip into their gifts!

I think Brandon will even be really into it this year because he will really be able to rip into stuff. he totally doesn't get the Santa thing but he will be sure to get into the ripping open of presents. He really enjoyed decorating the tree. My mom came over for appies to help us decorate and she was helping him put up the decorations and by the end he was running from me to her with a new decoration to hang. He loved it. He hasn't been bad at all with the ordainment's since then either. Same with the gifts. While Kristina was at school one day I got him to help me take all the presents from my room and put them under the tree. He loved it and hasn't really touched them since. Thank goodness he isn't trying to rip them all open.

He is finally at the age when he is coming out with new words all of the time. He said Santa the other day and is trying to say more and more. His vocabulary is finally growing! He still loves his Sissy like no other. She really is his favorite. He is always crawling on to her to hug and kiss her and cuddle with her. He is doing great in his big boy bed still, he loves his bed. He still comes out and cries sometimes but we just have his door locked on the outside and he cries at the door for a few minutes and then goes back to bed on his own. Don't worry we open the door and put up a gate when we go to bed so he's not locked in all night.

Potty training is almost done. When we are at home he is good. As long as he is naked (bottomless) he goes every time. If he is in a diaper he will either be lazy and go in the diaper or ask for us to take off the diaper. He hasn't fully comprehended the whole underwear thing yet. He likes them and wants to wear them but usually pees in them like its a diaper. That will come with time though. The last thing we need to work on is when we are out and at other peoples houses. That will be the last part. I can't wait to be without diapers!

Kristina did good on her report card this session. She is meeting or exceeding in everything except for reading. She is just a little bit behind the game with her reading but its coming. We have started the Hooked on Phonics set (from my blog) and that's working well and we are doing all the home reading we can do at home. She has a spelling and a math test every week and has been rocking them!! So far so good on not being a horrible speller like Kris and I. She still loves school and spending time with her friends.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone and I hope the holidays are everything you could have hoped for!

Whats new?

2009-10-27T16:28:00.000-07:00

Well lets see, Kristina is loving school and her class. She still has most of the same friends as last year with a few new and there are always a few that she is on and off with. She just turned 7, I still can't believe it! She is an amazing help with her brother and I know that she will be an amazing mom herself someday! She actually said last night that she thinks that she will have kids when she is 23 or maybe 22. I did say that that was fine but to wait and make sure that she had a good man in her life that she loved and wanted to spend the rest of her life with. I think she made a comment about Jon and Kate and how she didn't want to have kids and split up, lol. She is still in swimming lessons and is loving them! She really was a fish in her past life. Shes also in Brownies this year and didn't really want to join but I pushed her and she is loving it! Theres about 3 kids that she knows from Sparks and has already made friends with the other kids, that's what I love about Brownies. Its all about being a good friend and learning to get along with lots of crafts thrown in. And of course lots of running around to burn off their energy.

Brandon's favorite person in his life is Papa, he always has been :) He can say Papa now clear as day. The only other word that he can say as clear is Mama and Dada. He said it so loud and clear at Kristina's cake the other night Papa heard it from the other side of the room. Considering he is hard of hearing that's pretty good! Whenever he sees him anywhere hes grabbing his boots (his new favorite thing) and running over to find Papa and see what hes doing. He loves to go into the shop and "help" by grabbing everything and pointing to stuff for Papa to tell him what it is.

Hes talking a bit but not to much. We are using sign language to get him to communicate with us. He can do please, more, all done, etc but refuses to actually say please! Its quite funny and Granny likes to torture him :) He loves boots, cowboy boots, rain boots, winter boots, it doesn't matter, he loves them. I think its because he can put them on by himself but whatever, he loves it. He also loves baths. He is going potty some times, some poops and some pees but is going most of the time in his diaper. I can't wait for him to be potty trained but I don't want to force it. He knows when he wants a bum change, even if its just too wet. He grabs his crotch and says bum bum. Or if I ask him he says bum bum and nods.

I love you my babies! I am off to make dinner, I am trying to turn into supermom so I don't have to work anymore! LOL!

My baby is going to be 7

2009-10-17T22:31:00.001-07:00

Wow, I havn't posted in forever, I have been so busy lately. I have started baking and doing lots of canning and stuff. I think about posting all the time if that counts ;)

So my baby is going to be 7 on Monday! Wow, I can't belive for the life of me that she was born 7 years ago. Shes growing into such a great kid, and I guess young lady, wow. She is a HUGE help with Brandon and I know she will be an amazing mom one day. She loves him so much and would do anything for him. She is getting to be harder to buy for and that makes me realize just how old she is getting, I used to have oddles of stuff put aside for her for Christmas and stuff but not anymore. Its so hard to figure out what to get her.

Not Brandon though, I went through my Christmas bin and did a little inventory and well, hes done :) That's an easy age! All either super clearance or used (mostly) man I am good!

Brandon is starting to say some more words. He can say more, please, nana, bum, juice, milk, go, all done, poop, and can sign more, all done, please and sometimes can do thankyou. Its awsome to be able to communicate with him. I love knowing what he needs or wants and its not as frustrating for him.

Kristina is so excited for her party tommorow. We are going skating and having cupcakes in ice cream cones for the cake. She can't stop talking about the cupcake cones! We are going to my parents for dinner and cake and then Monday night Kris's family if all coming for cake! Busy but great times!

Kris is trying to get a camp job and I have all my fingers and toes crossed that he gets it as it would mean way less stress with money as we could be debt free within a year and I would be able to stay home with my babies and hang out with them all day which is all I really want to do.

Thats all I have for now, so Happy Birthday Baby I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

UGG Boots

2009-09-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love UGG Boots? If you have a blog and want to win some just put their button of your blog and send them your email. Easy as that.

Check it out

http://funandfunkymommy.blogspot.com/2009/09/enter-to-win-some-ugg-boots.html

We are home!

2009-09-09T13:14:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a nice relaxing morning, we all just sat around at Leahs and relaxed. Kristina and I hit up a consignment store in town and got some sweet deals. I got Brandon some snake skin cowboy boots for $5.50 and a Gap down filled fleece lined winter jacket for $12.50. Was I ever happy. Kristina and I went over to the hall and helped Holly and her family do some more set up and cut up a cheese platter. We headed to the store for slurpees and went back to Leahs to chill until the 4:00 wedding. We went over to Ken and Hollys to do some pre wedding pics on the bikes and then headed over for the ceremony.

It was your typical tacky redneck wedding, just they had both hoped. Good food, good music and good people. The kids were awesome, they stayed up until 10:00 and were excellent. In fact we had awesome kids throughout our whole holiday, they were just awesome. We got lots of pics and I will get them up soon.

We went to the Calgary zoo Sunday at noon to meet up with my cousins and do the tour, it was an awesome zoo. I would definitely go back again. They had so many awesome animals and the kids loved it but i do think that Kris loved it more :) He got some great photos. We headed out at about 4:00 and I drove until just after the Jasper turn off and then Kris drove, apparently he didn't like my driving ;) We stopped in Golden for dinner and then drove all night until we got to the ferry at 4:00am and slept until the 6:30 ferry. We had breakfast on the ferry and I managed to convince Kris that we should stop at Costco on the way by to get some food, it took a lot of convincing because he was so tired, but so we pulled in and they were closed. I was not happy but was kind of happy to get straight home and unpack and relax.

I drove home while Kris napped, poor guy, and then he went straight to bed. I stayed up with the kids and did all the unpacking and laundry and cleaned the house. It felt so good to be home and back to all our own stuff and to not be living out of a suitcase.

Home sweet home! We are glad to be back but had a great time! Pics to come!

part 2

2009-09-05T13:05:00.000-07:00

Friday Sept 4th 11:30 am

So we did Science world on Wed when we arrived in Edmonton, it was ok, not super, but the kids had a good time. Things that you did as kids are never as fun when you are an adult! We went to West Ed mall because we didn't stay as long at Science world as we thought and had dinner and walked around for a bit. Its a huge mall and if it wasn't for Kris I never would have found my way out or even around. We had a good time wandering around and did a bit of shopping. When we went back to the hotel Kristina and I went for a swim and Kris put Brandon to bed and then when he fell asleep Kris and I switched off and he went swimming with Kristina. It was nice, our hotel room had a patio door that went right out to the pool.

On Thursday morning we had breakfast and packed up to spend the day at the West Ed mall. We had a really good time, did lots of shopping and went and played in the arcade. Kristina has a great time and Brandon napped :) She got enough tickets, with some from some guys, to get two monkey stuffies for her and her brother and some tattoos. Speaking of tattoos, Kris and I both got one at the mall. I was planning on getting mine in Calgary but Leah forgot to make me an appointment. We love them, mine is on my foot though so we ended up going back to hotel not long after. We had a swim and dinner and went to bed nice and early.

This morning we checked out of the hotel and headed out of Edmonton. We found a Harley Davidson store and stopped to get Kris some shirts. Of course I found the clearance rack! I am good, not much great for the kids, it was mostly little girl stuff. Kris was happy though! Now we are off to find the IKEA and then head back to Langdon to unpack at Leahs and head on over to Ken and Hollys for dinner and a visit with everyone.

Friday night 10:00pm

Well dinner was really good, it was nice to see everyone, we got to see Grandma and Grandad, Aunt Sherri and Uncle Ray, Jason, and Micky and Adam! It was a great time, Kristina spent most of the night chasing around Jay and having a good time, she even went and cleaned Dad and Hollys house for them! We are back at Leah and Waynes now doing a load of laundry and getting ready for bed, its going to be a long day tommorow!

Our Trip so far!

2009-09-02T16:02:00.001-07:00

Aug 31st 2009 11:14 am BC time

So we just got off of the Rockies. I have never been to Alberta before and they are gorgeous! I am so excited o see Leah and the girls and meet little Quinton! I can't wait to give him some cuddles! Kristina is pretty excited too. While Daddy and Brandon were napping in the car on the ferry, we missed the 7 so we had to catch the 9, Kristina and I walked around and talked. She was tired because it was like 10 at night so she had the giggles and was telling me all sorts of stuff that she thought was funny. She was telling me that sometimes she gets up after I go to bed and has chocolate milk. I told her she shouldn't have hot chocolate on the ferry because it might keep her awake but after that story she had her sucker mama convinced! We chatted lots about the holiday and what we were excited about.

She really wants to see Leah and the girls and see her Auntie Mickey! Shes also excited about swimming in the pool at the hotel. Personally I am excited to get myself a pair of lulus, shop, and see the Calgary zoo and science world! Kris is excited to take Holly's son Shane's bike for a ride with his dad. Poor Brandon just keeps waking up and crying looking around like are we still really in the van? Poor little guy is having a hard time. He slept most of the night but woke up at about 3 and just screamed, I am not sure if his ears hurt or if he was scared or what. The only thing that would calm him down was holding my hand. I had to hold the little guys hand for like an hour, man was my arm tired. I am going through some huge Internet withdrawals. They had wifi on the boat but the signal wasn't strong enough so I am really wanting to check my email and update my face book. Oh well when I get to Leah's I can!

Well we are not even 24 hours in and are having a super time! All I can say is thank god for portable DVD players, cigarettes, and comfort jeans!

Tuesday night 10:35 pm

On our first day we didn't arrive until about 4:00. I was hoping to be their just after Breakfast but with missing the ferry we were way behind and then we needed to stop and sleep way faster. It was also harder with the kids awake because we had to stop for food and stuff. So today we went to the new mall in Calgary, it was awesome. I got Kristina some new back to school clothes and some stuff for Brandon. We are going to Edmonton in the morning, to go to science world and then swim in the pool and go to west ed mall on Thursday. I am pretty excited. So is Kristina. Kris went over to his Dads house and they went and helped Micky and Adam move and then went for a bike ride. Leah and I took the kids to the water park, they had an awesome time. I love how Brandon is so into it. He loved it, he was going in and out all on his own, and played for probably an hour, by the time he was done the poor little guy was sooooo cold. His lips were blue and he was shaking. He loved it though! We went over to Ken and Holly's for dinner and hung out, the kids had a good time with their Grandpa. Kristina got to go in their hot tub and Brandon just ran around like the crazy little man he is. Kris was lucky enough to borrow Shane's bike, Holly's son. Its a 2005 Harley Rigid. He loved it, we even got to go for a short ride together, I love bikes! They are awesome to ride on! Thanks Ken and Holly for watching the kids so we could do that!

Wed morning 10:00 am

Well we are on our way to Edmonton now to go to Science world, it should be a good time. I think Kristina is more excited to go swim in the hotel pool but that's OK. We will definitely do that lots too! The kids are having an awesome time at Leah and Wayne's house. Its so nice to be able to stay somewhere that theirs nothing they can't touch and there is lots to play with! Brandon got his poor little finger closed in the front door this morning, Kris was packing the van and didn't see him following him, it looks like hes going to loose his nail. Hopefully he falls asleep soon so he can nap the whole way to Edmonton and then can be full of beans for Science world.

More new pics

2009-07-30T22:43:00.000-07:00

Here's some of the latest pics of the kids, sorry Nana that's all I got right now :)

Kristinas Fairy from Market days!

Brandon loves piggy back rides from Sissy!

Update

2009-07-25T21:59:00.000-07:00

I know that you have been cursing me Nana and I know that I have been neglecting this blog but I have been so busy working on my new contest blog. www.funandfunkymommy.blogspot.com I still will be updating and will try to not let it be so long. I have some new pics of Brandon in the excavator with Daddy and he was just in heaven! He has a new favorite machine. He loved riding in it with Daddy while Daddy was digging the new duck pond. He didn't want to get out and when I put him in the bobcat for some pics he just wanted to keep on watching Daddy and go back to the excavator! 18 months already! Time flies by!

Brandon can KaKa like a bird and do the Cha Cha!

2009-07-04T18:54:00.001-07:00

Well Brandon runs around all of the time saying KaKa KaKa like a bird, its adorable. He can also do the Cha Cha with his Sissy! He yells Cha Cha and chases her around the house laughing his little head off until he gets her and then he holds onto her hips while she bounces around the house singing the Cha Cha! Its adorable!!! He can also pedal his trike all by himself, can't steer at all but he can go forward, you don't want to see him in a corner ;) And to top it all off he can snap his fingers, can't wait to take this handsome guy out for dinner again!

Hair today gone tommorow

2009-06-28T20:38:00.001-07:00

So we took Kristina for a haircut last week because it was getting crazy and out of control again so I had a friend of mine thin it right out and layer it a bunch. She did a great job, but after we got home I realized how much longer it was, because it wasn't so crazy so we got Aunt Lynne to cut it way shorter afterwards and it looks awesome!!! While we were at the salon Kris and I were joking with my friend about giving Brandon a Mohawk and how cute it would be. So the next day while I was at work, on fathers day, Kris cut his hair while Aunt Lynne was doing Kristina's and did a Mohawk, it was so cute! He got some food coloring and dyed it blue. I loved it. I figure, more for when they are older, hair isn't something worth fighting about, its just hair and it will grow back! Most of the blue was gone by the next day so Kris dyed it red but it turned pink so the day after that he came home on his lunch break and dyed it green but I didn't like it. I needed to go to town and didn't want to wait for it to dry so he rinsed some out and it pretty much all came out so I said forget it, lets just finish shaving it and be done, I need to go. So Kris buzzed the rest and it looked great, except for the pink and green dye that was left on his scalp ;) Everywhere that I went that day I got the strangest looks and questions about why his scalp was strange looking!

Big news on the farm

2009-06-26T13:29:00.001-07:00

Brandon can kiss with his mouth closed! We love giving and getting kisses from him even more now! Go Buddy!!!!!!!!!

Feet

2009-06-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

Well we were a bit concerned there for a bit about little Brandon's feet. One seemed to turn in while he was walking. When he walks, especially when he runs his one foot would really turn in, quite badly. Sadly I didn't even notice this! But so when Mom and Aunt Lynne mentioned it I had no idea what they were talking about. So I made a point of watching his little feet as he ran around the deck that afternoon and was shocked and embarrassed that I hadn't even noticed. It looked pretty bad to me.

So I called the doctors and made an appointment for him and we took him in. To give some history when he was born the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, arm and one leg, and the first month or two after he was born when they kind of curl up on you back into the fetal position his one leg would always go up funny, I guess how it was in utero because of the cord. I was concerned that it was the same leg and foot and that that was the cause of the problems.

Thankfully I have an amazing doctor who took his time watching Brandon walk around and then fully examined his little feet, hips, legs and stuff. He had Brandon lying on his back on the exam table while he pushed and pulled and pressed and moved everything around. Brandon just layed there and stared contently at him. The doctor was very impressed. He said that hes not pigeon toed because he can turn his feet outwards, you can't do that if your really pigeoned toed, and said that none of the bones in his legs were crocked and that his hips were in line, everything was good, the only thing that wasn't perfect was that one leg was about 1cm longer than the other, and that it wasn't bad enough at this point but he may need a lift in one shoe at a later time.

My doctor and my baby boy rock! Now you can run even faster buddy!!!

Kristina's been a busy bee!

2009-06-22T20:45:00.000-07:00

Well school is wrapping up for the year, yaaaaaaaaa. The class has had a final sharing assembly where Kristina and her big buddy got to read out the title of the poem they had done to the whole school and then read the poem along with there class. It was pretty neat to see, I sure couldn't do anything like that. She wasn't even nervous! They did great.

They also had a beach day. That was a lot of fun, even though it wasn't hot, it wasn't cold though, mind you it did rain a bit. The kids had a great time and even Brandon had a blast besides being a bit cold at some points. The kids did a little walk through the woods and then got to go inside the nature house and learn about some of the animals there and then got to go to the outdoor theater to see more. I got some great photos and thought I would share!

Brandons true love!

2009-06-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

Brandon was born to live here. That's just the way it is. He lives on the tractor! If he hears the tractor, he goes running for it. If we are on the deck he runs to the side of the deck and yells for it and waves like crazy. He gets quite mad at Papa cause Papa can't take him on it and when Papa mows the lawn Brandon is not a happy little guy. If Brandon goes missing the first place we look is on the tractor, that has yet to be where he is. Hes either at the woodpile on the John Deere or in the shop on the orange tractor. He will spend an hour or so doing wood with mom, he sits on the tractor while mom loads it, we drive to our deck and he sits on it while mom unloads. After an hour or so of that you would think he would be bored of it but no, he will just sit on it in the yard for, I kid you not, hours. He will also tinker with it. Hes pulling levers, playing with the buttons, throwing the key, or adjusting things. We are just waiting for the day when we hear him fire the thing up. He had a great habit of pulling the key out as soon as he got onto it and throwing it. Uncle Nick has spent to much time searching for the key so he decided to tie the key onto the tractor. Brandon still throws the key but now we can find it. :) I will get your own when you turn 16 instead of a car buddy!

My baby's not a baby anymore!

2009-06-10T12:34:00.000-07:00

Well hes sure not a baby anymore! Brandon can do lots more new an exciting things. He has turned into quite a climber, he can even get up onto the kitchen table and dance when your not looking! He sure is a lot busier than Kristina ever was at this age. He learned how to get up the back of his slide climber and get down, well the getting down was the easy part! He can climb all the chairs and lawn chairs, hes also starting to be able to throw the ball better, Roxie is liking that!

He is starting to sign and talk more. He can sign more, food/eat, up, all done, and we are working on thank you. He can say up, all done, go, hat, dada, mama, and nana. He is waving bye, even though its turned towards himself :) and gives hugs and kisses on demand! He is even going down for naps and at bedtime without crying entirely or just crying for a minute or two. He is clapping and dancing still, on or off of the table :)

I have his presents already bought for Christmas, I know I am ahead of the ball, but they are all used and awesome toys. They are so much easier to buy for at this age. Kristina on the other hand is looking harder and harder.

Mickey and Adam!!!!

2009-06-07T15:40:00.000-07:00

Well I have been a little busy in the yard the last little while getting the property ready for the Slater wedding of the year!! I have however had some complaints about my lack of updating, sorry people! I do my best ;)

Yesterday was Mickey and Adams wedding, only a few days after there 7 year anniversary, does that make sense? I hope so. I was thrilled to be included and loved it, not just because I wasn't sick. Its was so much fun and an honor to be included, even though I did get kicked out of some of the family pictures, hello, I am family now! Quite a few people got sick and ended up puking and pooping all night but thankfully I was good to go. I am sorry that so many people missed out on a great party but you can't fight the flu, you need to sleep.

I have some pictures of the beautiful couple to post and of course I can't not post any of my own gorgeous kids so here they are...........

Best picture of the day right here! Love you Mick!!!!!!!!!

I have a button

2009-05-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

So I did it, I made a button for my blog and would love it if you could all add it to your blog, you can do that anonymously (Christy) and I would also love if you could all become followers and subscribers. This will enable me to prove to the companies I am approaching of the size of my following. I really need all the help I can get so please please please do it for me :)

You can get my button and all other info at www.funandfunkymommy.blogspot.com

Thanks a million!!!
Dana

I need help

2009-05-18T22:08:00.000-07:00

I started a new blog at www.funandfunkymommy.blogspot.com and I need followers and subscribers. I want it to be a giveaway blog so I need as many as I can get to start emailing the companies. I would be so grateful if you all could add my button, subscribe and or become a follower. Hopefully there will be lots of great stuff to win soon!!!

Thanks in advance
Dana

Thanks

2009-05-17T20:41:00.001-07:00

Ok ladies after sleeping on it I wanted to do it a bit more simple, thank you for your feedback

www.funandfunkymommy.blogspot.com

Dana

Christy!!!

2009-05-16T22:45:00.000-07:00

Tell me how you think my new blog looks! Its called Fun and Funky Mommy www.funandfunkymommy@blogspot.com, be honest. Everyone else can let me know too, does it look good? Does it look silly? Be honest!

Thanks

Today Present Party!!!

2009-05-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

What is a TODAY PRESENT PARTY you ask?

The TODAY PRESENT PARTY is a great way for kids to have some fun and for families to connect. Every kid attending will create yummy works of art by decorating cupcakes that they will take with them as a present to give away to someone else, teaching them about the importance of giving back and how little gestures can make a big difference in someone's day.

Robin from One Big Earth, Jen from the Sugarheads and Karen from McKinnon Photography conceived of the idea because they wanted to do something fun and meaningful to thank all those that support our endeavors and are all big fans of building our community. They also all like throwing a little magic out there!
Of course, as well as creating cupcakes to give you will also receive a little gift from them just for attending. Cupcakes to indulge in and eat right away will also be available for sale at the party.

My favorite things about this event is that it is FREE!

So mark your calendar, in a big red marker.

Where: McKinnon Photography studio
When: May 23 - 11 a.m to 3 p.m.

New plan

2009-05-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

OK so I started a new blog for my contests so that I can keep it all separate and organized. Feel free to check it out http://www.countrymommiescontests.blogspot.com/ and become a follower, or subscriber to get a head start on the contests, I am working on a button now! Thanks!

Contest Call!

2009-05-13T22:05:00.001-07:00

I am thinking I want to start reviewing products for kids and babies. I have no idea how many people read my blog and I am wondering if I even have any readers now that would enter these contests. Would you enter? Leave me a comment and let me know. I am going to get to work tomorrow on contacting some sponsors to see what we can make happen!

If your thinking that you would, get a head start and become a follower and subscribe to my feed. I will be posting a button shortly. Have a great night!

The F word

2009-05-04T12:36:00.000-07:00

Well when I picked Kristina up from the bus stop on Thursday she had a note for me. It was labeled to the parents of Kristina Watson. I opened it up and read that a little boy had overheard Kristina saying F'ing Bit**s to a few girls and had run into the school to tell the teacher.

Wowzers!

Apparently the girls hadn't been playing with Kristina for a few days and kept running away from her, poor thing. And this day they pinkie promised Kristina that they would play with her. They changed there minds I guess and ran away, so in a bout of anger Kristina says she said Fricking! Not as bad but still obviously not good.

Kristina had to go down to the principals office and discuss what had happened. She told her side, and they discussed ways on reacting differently and then was given the note to fill in and take home.

Well that night Kristina and I had a long talk about it and what to do next time. She seemed to really understand it all and she was going to meet with the school counselor the next day with all of the girls and try to sort it all out.

Kristina has been having some meetings with this counsellor since everything that happened with Laila and its been going quite well. She had been giving Kristina all sorts of tools to work with on being a good friend and such.

I called the following day to talk to the counsellor and make sure that they knew that I was obviously concerned and to decide on a game plan to move forward. She had already had the meeting with the girls and it went very well she said. She is going to continue to work with Kristina and the girls on teaching them how to deal with frustration, being a good friend, and all those little grey areas!

I was very pleased though to hear from the counsellor and she thinks that Kristina is a very kind hearted, generous, and loving little girl. Its nice to hear that from someone who isn't biased. It seems we will always be working with our kids on things, the teaching never stops, but we are doing a good job!

Thank God!!!

No more training wheels!!!

2009-04-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday night my mom came over for dinner, she had to bring a few ingredients though as we didn't have any left! Opps! :) We had a nice dinner and then went to show my mom the new ducks and Kristinas new bike, with no training wheels! She wanted me to push her around the driveway to show my mom how she was doing.

I was holding onto her shirt and my mom suggested that I hold onto the seat, smart woman! So we did two laps and then my mom did one. She was doing great but needed to look where she was going and not look down and she would be able to balance better. My mom took her over to the grass to try it on her own, Kristina was so excited! She did really good right off the bat and could go 10 or so feet. It didn't take long for her to pick up on it. Soon she was going from the far corner of the greenhouse, around the garden and over to Grannys garden. It was awesome, I knew she would pick it up fast, but I had no idea how fast.

She was so proud of herself! Nana and I were very proud too! It was great that my mom was here to see her achieve it! It was however to bad that Kris wasn't, he was over visiting Uncle Bruce and Auntie Mickey but he has 137 pics to show it all! Yes this new camera takes a lot of pics and fast!!! She was very cute, she started out showing us where her goal would be, they are learning about goal setting in school, and then achieved it right away and then surpassed it! Way to go baby!!!

Photos!!!

2009-04-27T16:38:00.000-07:00

I figured it was about time I put up some new photos of the kids!

Sharing with his new friend Rebecca Ann

They were so cute wrestling and playing together - you can really feel the love between the two of them, he cries at the bottom of the ladder, and tries to climb it, when shes in her room

Pretty in his Sissys pink hoodie!

Too funny!

2009-04-24T12:54:00.001-07:00

So the other night Kristina went to bed like normal, she has been having bad dreams the last few nights but went down fine. She came out of her room though about a half hour later looking lost and confused. I asked her if she needed to pee and she said no I told her to go back to bed. She kind of looked at me funny and kept walking over to me. She had the weirdest look on her face. I asked her what she was doing and she said nothing, so I told her again to go back to bed.

She came right up to me and glared me down. I couldn't help but to start laughing, she was so serious! She just kept staring me down, I was howling with laughter and kept looking at Kris for help. He didn't do anything, just kept laughing with me. I kept telling her to go back to bed but she wouldn't look away from me. It was actually starting to get scary, you know those phyco kids, she looked like that, sorry but she did.

Finally I stopped laughing and she walked away. I said to go to bed and she walked to the bathroom so I asked if she had to pee and she said no like she was all annoyed and why would I ask that. So then she turns around and goes to the front door, obviously we are laughing again at this point and we hear some rustling over at the door so I convince Kris to go see what shes doing cause I just can't handle anymore :) She is putting on her coat! What the heck! So he takes her coat off and coaxes her back to bed. It was hilarious.

So a little while later Kris goes to bed and Kristina gets up again so I send her in to sleep with him for now and I go out for a smoke before bed. I guess while I was outside Kris was ringing the bell we have in our room for when someones sick. He rang it the whole time. So I come in and hear the bell so head into my room to see whats up. I walk in and say whats up babe and Kristina is facing the wall the points her thumb at Daddy and says its him. She's all annoyed, she says hes been doing this forever and isn't too happy about it. I looked at Kris and burst out laughing, I couldn't help it, it was so funny.

So I ask him what he needs and he points at her and says he wants her out. She rolls over and glares and him and says it would be fine if he would stop ringing the bell. Him and I were just howling, it was hilarious, she was talking like I do when I am all annoyed and she was just so serious. So I left and went to watch more TV before going back in to move her to her bed again.

Thankfully that was the last we heard from her that night. It was just sooooooooooooo funny!!!

Bye Bye Bubba

2009-04-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

Well its done, no more babba for the baby! I decided that I had created a monster so to speak :) He wouldn't go down without it unless he just fell asleep in the van or something. He was addicted, more so than coke I think! So we went from 8 or 9 oz to 3 or 4 for a week and then I ran out of milk, opps. I never do that, seriously I am so organized and stuff that it really never happens.

He ended up with only 2 oz. He wasn't to happy, he downed it really quick, I heard him throw it on the floor and he fell asleep. Hmmm, I thought, instead of doing 2 or 3 oz for a week lets just be done. I kind of hesitated because I really didn't want to deal with it, and I figured he would be miserable but I persevered because I knew how bad it was for his teeth to go down with a bottle three times a day.

So the next nap of the day I put a sippy cup of water in his crib and kissed him and said goodnight and put him down like normal. He reached out for his babba but I just handed him his cup. He stood up and threw it, little temper! I just kept walking out and closed the door like normal and he only cried for three minutes or so. Wow, I was thinking this was too good to be threw. I washed up all the bubbas and hid them so Kris wouldn't give him one. I hadn't even told him because it was so spur of the moment.

Hes been great ever since, its been like a week and a half. Still cries for a few minutes and then goes right to sleep no problem. I have just left the sippy cup of water in there for if he gets thirsty. We did that with Kristina too, she still has a water bottle in her room. You know how it is when you wake up thirsty sometimes.

I will put some more pics up soon!

Happy Easter

2009-04-13T19:29:00.000-07:00

We had an awesome Easter! We hunted for eggs around the house in the morning, had a visit with the neighbours. Then we went over to my aunts for Lunch and another hunt. We all had a great time. Lots of kids and lots and lots of chocolate. Brandon didn't really get the whole thing but he does know he likes chocolate. We came back to the property and hung out with the family and took some more great photos while the kids all played outside. The topper at the end of the day was getting to meet Reesh and Devinders newest little one, a boy, before Kristina and I head out on our "date." We went and saw Hannah Montana the movie. It was excellent, we had some popcorn and Kristina ordered a bottle of water, I know, and I had pop ;) We had a great time just the two of us and then went home to bed. Slept it all of and Kristina has been outside playing with Caleb all day! Excellent weekend!!!

More amazing pics!

2009-04-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

Teeth and cousins!

2009-04-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

Some of the kids cousins came up this last weekend and they all got to have a good play! Kris got some great pictures so I wanted to share. Apparently Brandon has more teeth than I thought. When we were at Kristina's swimming lessons on Tuesday I was playing with Brandon to keep him occupied and I flipped him upside down at one point. I couldn't believe that he has two more teeth and I had no idea!!! I believe its the ones on the top behind where the eye teeth come in. So he has the center four on top and the center three on bottom and now these two. They are the thick wide teeth so they must of hurt coming in but sadly we had no idea! Well they are in now. Surprise to me!

Man my boy is cute!!!

2009-03-28T18:50:00.001-07:00

Kris had them outside today and took some super cute pics!!!

Spring has sprung!!!

2009-03-26T16:50:00.000-07:00

Well we have had some gorgeous weather, yesterday especially. The kids and I spent some time in the yard and on the deck. It was awesome. Kristina of course had a good time and Brandon loved it, the toys were all new to him! It was a good time, I am sooooo ready for summer! I am even more ready for Kristina to be done school so we can all sit out there all day!!!!!

March 2009

2009-03-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

Well not to much new in our neck of the woods. Brandon is getting a lot better at communicating with us which is great. He can tell me more, all done, bubba, up, down, mama, dada, and nana. In either words or signs. Its nice to know more of what he needs and wants. Kristina got a hair cut and it looks great, she really likes it, its much easier to maintain and doesn't look like a rats nest within the hour. Brandon burned himself on the wood stove on Monday but didn't even cry when he bumped into it. I didn't think it was that bad but put a cool cloth on it for a while just in case and it was a lot worse than I had originally thought. He seems ok with it though, its not hurting him, its a little tender when I put on the aloe or polysporin though, he just kind of pulls away. I also got Brandons room all finished, finally. He is one now and all. Its no longer purple, its now camo, we love it! So cute! Our new camera is great, Kris is loving it and definitely getting lots of use out of it. It sure makes the kids eyes pop!

All I could think of was more pictures!

2009-03-17T16:12:00.000-07:00

2009-03-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

Nana and Rash

2009-03-05T16:00:00.000-08:00

We went to Nanas the other day to feed the dog and as soon as we pulled up the driveway and Brandon looked out the window he started saying Nana, Nana, Nana. Its was so cute. He was very confused though because we went into the house and he went right upstairs looking for them and wandered all around saying Nana, Nana. Kinda sad, very cute. Brandons rash got way worse the next day as you can tell but the following day it was way better and today its pretty much gone, a tiny bit on his face still but overall almost gone!

War wounds

2009-03-02T18:49:00.000-08:00

Well Brandon had his one year shots the day after his birthday and got some spots today. Lots of them actually. I called the health nurse and its from the MMR shot. Its totally normal, not contagious, sorry Mal. Its should go away within two or so days. He may get a fever and a bit itchy but so far so good. He also burned his hand on the stove. Chasing Nibbles behind it. I hope he learned his lesson.

Brandon

2009-03-02T11:52:00.000-08:00

Well Brandon got his hair cut. I was definitely against it at first but now I love it. I do miss his curls but he definitely looks cute. He got his 8th tooth yesterday, just popped right up. He seemed to have a harder time with these last two. He also seems to be getting a bit of eczema. Well it started out as a few small patches on his back and a bit on his arms and legs but now its bad. It kinda got bad fast. Its all on his back and all over the backs of his arms and legs and starting around his nose and cheeks too. I am researching some good creams. Let me know if you know of any good ones.

New pics with the great new camera!

2009-02-28T21:54:00.000-08:00

Party part 2

2009-02-22T21:38:00.000-08:00

Well tonight we had all my family over for dinner and cake for Brandon's birthday and we had a great time! Brandon had a blast showing off for everyone, getting totally spoiled and being the center of attention. Can you tell we got a new camera? I love it and the pictures look great!

OMG Look what I found!

2009-02-20T23:21:00.001-08:00

Wowsers! I found this online at Toys r us for $44.98 and I want it for Brandon sooooo bad! Its soooo cute and would last him so long. Had to share.

Quick update

2009-02-20T16:10:00.001-08:00

Well on the cloth diaper front we are done. Every time I put them back on him his penis gets all red and blistered again so I have agreed to sell them and go back to good old fashioned Huggies! I took Brandon for his one year shots today and he was such a little trooper. The first three shots he didn't even flinch, I don't know how that happened but it did. The last one he did cry but only for a second, apparently that one stings a little. He was 22.10 pounds and 31 inches long. Getting big fast!

Happy first birthday baby boy!

2009-02-19T10:03:00.000-08:00

Well today is Brandon's birthday and we are having a special day at home with Mommy, a sick Daddy, and Sissy. We just gave him his gifts and he loved them! Sissy got him a pound a peg wooden toy, and Mommy and Daddy got him some wooden cars, some crayons and a puzzle! He loved it! We love you Brandon, here's to many more birthdays with you little buddy!!!

Now that I have finally managed to download my camera pics we have also had the family over for cupcakes and more pressies! So spoiled! We had a blast, and so did Brandon, he had his first real sugar high. He was still running around dancing up a storm and playing with all his new toys at like 8 when the last few days he has been down at like 6:15. And he only had one short nap today, not too bad little guy!

Brandons birth story

2009-02-17T12:19:00.000-08:00

Well it was a Monday night and we were vegging on the couch watching House and I was chowing on licorice and reading Cosmo on commercials. I started to get some pains and honestly didn't pay any attention to them. Kris was all worried about them, but I wasn't, hey it was a good House! Kris decided that we should time the "pains" but I didn't see the point but thought hey, if you want to time them you can. I guess I wasn't really paying attention because Kris kept asking has it started yet, is it over yet, and they were so regular that he knew exactly when it would start. Apparently they were quite regular because they were right on the mark every 5 minutes. We decided to skip the rest of house and call the moms. Kris carried Kristina over to his moms and put her in the bed over there and she was what you would call a little excited, she wanted to know what was going on ASAP! We also called my mom to let her know that we thought that this was it and we were on our way. She had to work the next morning though so she didn't want us to call in the middle of the night.

I don't remember how far along I was when we got there but the contractions got harder than they did with Kristina. They were getting to the point of being unbearable so I asked for some drugs. They gave me some phentanal and I swear to you it didn't work. I asked for more but they wouldn't, they told me to give it time. It didn't work! They decided that it was time to break my water and that's when they discovered that Brandon had pooped inside of me and they needed to call the pediatrician in case he had ingested any. Of course it was all rainy and windy and it took him about 45 minutes to get from Royston to the hospital. I had just hit 10cm when they called him so for 45 minutes I had to resist the urge to push. It was pure hell. My body was wanting to push and trying to push and I had to hold it all back. It was awful, I tried to take the gas but wasn't able to with Kristina, it made me gag. It was doing that again but I just kept on sucking it in. Apparently eventually I started to like it because when the contraction ended I kept on huffing away and the doctor kept having to tell me to put it down, I sure didn't want to. When the pediatrician finally showed up I was finally able to push, it only took about 2 or 3 pushes to get him out. I was ready. We had to hold on though because the cord was wrapped around his neck, arm, and leg. He hooked his little leg back up into that position for a weeks after being born. He didn't end up needing help with the meconium, he only ingested a little which created florescent green poop.

Once Kris cut the cord and they cleaned me all up, I didn't tear!!!! YAAAA!!!! We wanted to go to bed because he was born at 2:19 am but they wanted us to bathe him first. We just kind of told them that we already knew how to do that and asked if they could just do it for us and bring him back when they were done. They weren't to keen on it but did it anyways. We called Kris's mom to let her know and she told Kristina when she got up in the morning. We called my mom when we got up the next day and she came out to see us. We asked to be discharged at 10 or 11 and went straight to Kris's moms work to show her her newest grandson and then headed home. I will never forget the look on Jan's face when we pulled up to her clinic!

This year has gone by so fast and I look forward to many more with my family!

More pictures

2009-02-16T20:42:00.000-08:00

Learning how to sit still and watch the tube!

Yummm bananas

Brandon and his new girlfriend

Just like Daddy

Ohhhhhhh Sissys hairdryer, new favorite toy

10 days to go

2009-02-10T19:41:00.000-08:00

Well its 10 days until the big ONE!!!! He's going to be one! Wow. What a great time for me to relive his birth or my labor story! I will do that tomorrow. Now I just wanted to get down that his seventh tooth has popped through about 2 or 3 days ago. Its the side tooth on the bottom left. And maybe because of that his penis is all messed up again. Gotta love that. Its all blistered and bleeding again. OWWWWWW!!! Let me clarify that its not bleeding lots but it is bleeding. Poor little guy, its really hurting him. I have no idea why, I have some hunches but no real answer. Its not infected so far like last time but we are keeping a close eye on it. I am unsure if its because of the cloth diapers, no dry enough, but disposables are full of chemicals and no where near as soft as the cloth. But the cloth don't keep him quite as dry. Especially at night which is when this seems to start. Right now we are using Zincofax (Thanks mom!) and disposables so it says really dry. My plan of attack is to do that until it clears and then use cloth during the day and then disposables at night and see if that works. Maybe its just because hes in his cloth at night for about 13 hours. That's a long time with acidic pee. Wish us luck! I know there is more new with him but I can't think of anything now. Check out the awesome shoes I just won him!!!!

Kristinas birth story!

2009-02-10T15:40:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been thinking that before it fades completely from my memory I wanted to document my kids birth stories! Kristina had a few due dates, the 16th and the 20th (I think) and was born at 11:19 am on the 19th of October 2002.

The evening of the 18th I spent about an hour organizing Kris's sock drawer. I am an organized person by nature but that was a bit extreme. He wanted to go to sleep because he had to work earlier but I insisted we organize the socks and take some last minute maternity photos. I sure got frustrated with the pictures because they weren't looking like professional ones, and I looked fat. Not really his fault but I was apparently a bit cranky :)

I woke up at about 5 am or so with what felt like normal period cramps and woke up Kris to tell him it was starting. I changed my mind though and told him no, he could go to work. My water hadn't broke yet so I tried for a relaxing soak in the tub and felt a bit better. We called Mal and Amy when we first woke up to tell them it was starting because they had called us everyday for the last few weeks to see if it was happening yet. We were pretty happy to be able to call them nice and early in the morning and wake them up for a change!

The cramps started to get worse so Kris called into work to tell them he wasn't coming in. We pulled out the crib board and started playing crib and some card games. It really wasn't that bad, when a contraction came on I just had to stop for a sec and kind of breath through it. We called the hospital to see if we should come in and they said not until the contractions are only a few minutes apart. They seemed to be very random to me. Kris got out his watch and we started timing them. We realized that they were every 4 or 5 minutes and we should probably get going to the hospital. We called the moms to let them know we were headed off.

When we got to the hospital I was doing so well that the nurses though I was in false labor or very early labour and should go home. I was doing ok until it was time to lay on my back and have my cervix checked. I couldn't lay on my back, it was horrendous pain. They kept telling me to lay on my back and then they would proceed to walk out of the room. I wasn't staying on back for no reason so I kept sitting up. When they finally checked I was 8cm. They were a little surprised to they quickly decided to call Dr. Green and start to prep everything they needed. They popped my water and I quickly went to 10 centimeters. By this time my mom was done getting her hair cut, had to look good for photos ;) and Kris's mom was done garage saleing for the day. They waited outside the door and could hear everything. My mom kept having to go for little walks because she couldn't bear to hear by cries.

It was time to push! My favorite part....NOT!!! I hated pushing, it was awful. I remember I kept yelling I can't do it, but they made me! It was awful. I tried to get some drugs but it was to late, they gave me the mask to try some nitrous but it just made me gag. I tried again but I just couldn't inhale it. Darn! It didn't take long for me to push her out.

She was born at 11:19 am. I have to admit that I refused to push out the placenta. Nobody told me when I was pregnant that you had to do that and I wasn't having any of it! My mom and Kris's mom were allowed to come right in after the placenta and blood was all cleaned up (my mom has a weak stomach) and we all got to cuddle her and hug and cry. It was one of the most amazing moments of my life. She was gorgeous. All of our family arrived shortly after and everyone got a cuddle and got to see our princess. We had to stay one night at the hospital and then we went home. Our family was complete.

Wow

2009-02-05T14:34:00.000-08:00

So the other day (I think yesterday) when Brandon woke up from his nap I went into his room, changed him and put him down and proceeded to pull out his crib to find his bottle. I couldn't see it back there so I asked him wheres your babba? He walked over to his big bed, got down on his tummy, reached under and pulled out his bubba! He took a big gulp and handed it to me with a big grin on his face! Then today when I asked him where his babba was he walked out of his room and said, my babba! Wow! I can't believe hes starting to say more words already. Kristina took forever to say words. Hes also found that he loves his toy cell phone. He talks on it and chews it all the time. Whenever I am on the phone he puts his hand to his ear too and starts talking. Its too cute! Hes almost one!

New Pictures

2009-02-03T11:11:00.001-08:00

Well the whole one nap a day thing didn't last to long. Hes back to two naps now, which is ok I guess. Brandon still loves his smoothie though. Here are some new pics for you.

Naps

2009-01-24T20:40:00.000-08:00

So Brandon seems to be down to one nap a day, yaaaaa. I am loving the one nap a day. He is napping for like 3 hours or so, so I can get lots of stuff done. Its not like before, when he went down and I shower, tidy the house and hes up again. I am happy. Hes also getting tired earlier at night and going to bed now most nights at 6:30 to 6:45. I was worried at first that he would start to get up earlier too but so far so good, hes still getting up at like 7. Kristina gets Mommy and Daddy alone time now after he goes to bed, she is happy too. We put his new squeaky shoes on again tonight and he likes them! Yaaaaa. We also let him walk down to Nana and Papas tonight and he was soooo proud of himself. He kept smiling and giggling. Too cute. His infection seems to be almost totally gone. Yaaa. I guess he really does have sensitive skin though because hes in disposies right now and he pooped at Nana and Papas and so we came home and changed him and his little bum was already red so I guess that's just how he is and we just need to be careful.

Rash Rash go away!!!!

2009-01-21T15:57:00.000-08:00

Well Brandon's rash has gotten MUCH worse. Its gone on his bum but it moved up to his boy parts. All around the tip is all swollen and blistered. Thankfully its not hurting him too much. We went to the doctor this morning and he was prescribed antibiotics and polysporin. It should clear up in the next 24-48 hours. And even my doctor who is in like his 50's said it wouldn't be from cloth diapers, so we are excited to keep on using them when hes done with the polysporin. I also picked up some raw silk liners which keep babies bums drier and they are antibacterial. They are great for sensitive bums! Birthday gift idea. More of those from Little Me, and we can always use more diapers! Any who we also decided today that he really needed to get some shoes. Hes walking so well that he just needs them. So off I go to my drawer of goodies and out popped the cutest shoes. Mini Pas, they squeak when babe walks. So cute. Brandon of course is scared of them, he screams as soon as they go on which is weird because hes used to wearing Robeez everyday, these are leather too, a bit more sturdy than Robeez but still soft. He will get over that eventually. Kristina has been home the last two days with a fever, low grade, but enough that I can't send her to school. Not much else new with her :)

11 Months

2009-01-19T18:01:00.000-08:00

Wow, I fell like I say this all of the time, but time if flying by. Brandon is sort of talking, saying all done, sort of, saying Mama, Dada, Nana, and stuff. Walking super good, almost running, he really wants to keep up with that sissy of his. I finally got my camera working good so I have some more pics.

I am on a winning streak!!!

2009-01-16T11:48:00.001-08:00

Well so far with entering mommy blog contests I have won a Smart Mom teething set (Necklace, bracelet, and key chain), a box of Ferraro Roche chocolates, and now a $20 container of baby but balm! Check them out with the buttons on the right side of my blog!

Diapers

2009-01-14T09:03:00.000-08:00

Well Brandon had a pretty bad bum rash, poor little guy. So we decided to go and get some disposables and see if we could get it to clear up. Creams were just not working. It cleared up in about 2 days or so and I spent that time stripping my diapers in case there was a detergent build up in them causing his rash. He was back in his cloth diapers yesterday and all is well so far. I also am not puting him back into the Bum Genius ones quite yet as apparently the fabric isn't too hot for those with sensitive skin. We are going to try out the rest for a few more days and if the rash isn't coming back then I will try the Bum Genius ones to see if that was the problem. If it was detergent that problem is solved.

I also heard about soap nuts which are apparently GREAT for washing cloth diapers. They are good for all sorts of laundry but excellent for cloth diapers. I have ordered a sample of them to try out. They are all natural, a berry accually. They grow in India on trees and then the berry dries up and you use the shells for laundry. You just through 4 or 5 shells into a little bag and through it into your wash. The saponins in it are released and thats what cleans your clothes or diapers. They have no added chemicals or pesticides and so they are great for those with Exema or allergies. I am very excited about them.

Amys sister in law Tenille has a contest on her blog right now to win some at http://www.feistyfrugalandfabulous.blogspot.com/ feel free to go on over and try to win yourself some. You can also order a sample for a penny plus shipping (it worked out to be about $5) http://www.buysoapnuts.com

Anyways I am hoping that these will also be good for Brandons rash and his poor bum!

Quick update

2009-01-09T12:40:00.000-08:00

I don't have any pics this time as I can't find the cord for the camera but I wanted to jot down Brandon's latest accomplishments. He is still walking more and more, and can shake his head no while dancing. This is just so cute. If you have music on, which we do a lot of the time, he starting bouncing up and down or shaking his head back and forth. You can see him try to do both at the same time but he just can't do it, its adorable. Hes also got stairs down pat. Hes been spending a lot of time with the sissy working on stairs here, at Nana's and Granny's. Well there hard work has paid off and he can do it great. He even knows to turn around to come down backwards. He also can get off the couch like that, he just knows to turn around. Brandon is also giving 5! Its so cute, I guess because he figured out the whole clapping thing he can high five now. You just put your hand up and he will smack it. I don't think I have shown Kristina that, I will have too.

Dylan

2009-01-02T23:15:00.000-08:00

Brandon is reminding me more and more of Dylan. I think its because I haven't seen Dylan as much as normal lately because Mal's working more and when she does come up I am working ;) Brandon just seems to be following in his cousins footsteps. I guess because they are 6 months apart. I see Dylan doing it and then Brandon is doing it a few months later, its kinda neat. Brandon is doing way more walking than crawling now. He pretty much always tries to walk instead of crawling and then eventually when he falls he finishes off by crawling. Hes getting really good, I figure it will only be a week or two before hes only walking and not crawling at all. Hes talking a bit too. He says Dada and Muma and knows who that is, he calls us and loves to give us kisses. Kristina is really wanting him to learn to say Sissy but I think that its harder for him to say so it will take longer but we are working on it. Hes playing more and more with toys not just rattles and stuff, not to long from now I will have to start getting rid of the more babyish stuff. I am just going to sell all of it except for all the wooden stuff I have. That stuff I plan on saving for my grand kids. Its priceless stuff and its not like it's going to be 40 years until I have grand kids so I don't see why not, oh and it will save me money ;) Then I won't have to buy them so much, I will have a few boxes of stuff for them to start with. I love wooden stuff, its nice to know how much safer it is compared to plastic with all these recalls lately. Lets see what else is Brandon doing? He pretty much eats all big people food. He loves prawns, steak and last night he had sausage, he loved it. Hes so his Daddy boy ;) His bum rash seems to be totally gone so lets hope that its gone for good because its making Daddy wish we didn't do cloth, which other than the rash I LOVE!!! They are so cute and way way way better for him, oh and the environment, oh and my wallet ;) Well I am off to bed! Goodnight!!!

Christmas/New Years 2008

2009-01-01T13:06:00.001-08:00

Well our Christmas was GREAT!!! Lots of fun spent with family, family and more family. It was wonderful. We had lots of good food and of course the kids had a great time. Brandon got to show off how hes doing so well walking and Kristina got to play Santa and hand out the gifts because she can read now. It was great! We were all recovered when it came time for New Years. Brandon went to bed like normal at about 7 and we let Kristina stay up late this year until about 9. Kris, Kristina and I played board games and hung out and then Kris and I watched some TV when Kristina went to bed and then sadly we went to bed about 10:30. I was never big on staying up late for New Years, not that it stopped me from sleeping in today :)

I am also not big on doing New Years Resolutions because mostly people never do them and then make themselves feel bad for not keeping them. This year however I would like to make more of an effort to spend more QUALITY time with my kids. We hang out lots but I want to try and do more with them. We are going to try and have a weekly games night and a weekly movie night. That will be challenging as I do work at least 3 nights a week but I really want to try. I will let you know how it goes :)

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T15:14:00.001-08:00

Well, its here. Christmas is tomorrow!!! I don't think I could be any more excited. And to top it all of Brandon is WALKING!!!! He's been taking 4, 5, or 8 or steps all day! Its so neat. And yes, just for the record I was officially right that he would be walking by Christmas! We are off to my parents tonight to do appies and then spending the morning with Kris's family and the afternoon with mine! I am just so excited I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight (We will see if this is the year that Kristina takes forever to go to sleep, every year before has been fine.) I tried to do my own little photo shoot the other day, how frustrating when you want the kids to do something specific and they just won't do it. But I finally got a good shot or two :) Have an amazing Christmas, I can't wait to see my little ones faces when they open up there presents!

Good Pic
Bad Pic (or a good one depending on how you look at it)

Win It!!!

2008-12-21T20:44:00.000-08:00

Can you belive this!!! How would you like to win a box of gourmet chocolates for the holidays? Ferrero is giving away 100 boxes of chocolates (12 pack Christmas Tree gift boxes) to 100 winners! Can you believe that? To enter go to http://islandlife808.com/islandreview/giveaways/100-boxes-of-ferrero-chocolates/

Good luck

There will be 100 winners!

They do this through this charity http://www.sharesomethingsweet.com/

And here is there facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ferrero-Chocolates/26098488476

10 months

2008-12-18T22:47:00.001-08:00

Well I work tomorrow all day so I better do this now so I don't forget ;) Brandon is going to my moms tomorrow night all by his big boy self so that the three of us can have a special night together. We are going to go for dinner, to see Santa, bowling and to drive around looking at Christmas lights. It should be fun. I think she could really use a dose of some just Kristina time. I am looking forward to it. Brandon is drinking milk now, homo milk. He seems to be doing OK on it, we have a bit of an issue the night before last with him being up like ALL night! It was awful, I wasn't sure if the milk was bothering him or if it was just a really bad cold, but I guess it was a cold because we are all good now! Thank goodness! Kristina had a milk allergy when she was little and thankfully outgrew it but it just sucks, rice milk is way more expensive than homo! We didn't even slowly put him onto it, we just did it. He has had lots of yogurt and cheese so I figured it wouldn't be a problem. He has also had his first haircut. Kris has been bugging me for a few weeks to do it but I didn't want to. His bangs were really getting long though so I did finally give them a trim in the bath. Looks pretty good if you ask me :)

PS - I can't wait for Christmas!!!

Before

After

Kristina doing upside down snow angels :)

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas........Everywhere I go!!!!

2008-12-14T21:19:00.000-08:00

Can you just hear me singing or what? lol! Well, lets is new around here :) Kristina is starting to behave better, starting though, we don't want to get to ahead of ourselves :) We have her sleeping in Brandon's room now. She seems to like it better and I have no worries about that. By the time he will need to go into that twin she will be more than ready to get some time away from him and escape to her attic.

We have had some snow in the past few days so its really feeling winter like around here, along with you know -10 degrees! That's cold! Kristina hasn't played in it too to much because its just too fine, you can't really make anything with it. But its beautiful just the same. She also had her first Christmas concert at school. It was just too cute. She did awesome, they all did. We are all done our Christmas shopping we just need to do one more thing, wrap it and we are DONE!!!! YAAAA for me!!!!

Brandon has finally walked to Sylvie, only a step or two but we can say its official and Sylvie is able to go now ;) Not right now but whenever she is ready. Brandon has now taken 3 steps on his own today, two yesterday for Nana! Hes getting more confident everyday. Yesterday he started waving, and today he started clapping. He really gets into it and really gets going. PS he can also kiss, and he does give the tongue if he really likes you :)

Christmas is coming!!!

2008-12-10T22:22:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas! I can't wait, I think I am actually more excited than Kristina is :)

Christmas rocks in more ways than one.......you get things of course, but I am a big giver, I love buying people things (sometimes this is bad because I can get carried away) but I love it. You get to spend time with family, all of your family, who doesn't love that? OK I could see some people not loving that, but I am lucky in that I love all of my family and beyond! The looks on the kids faces is priceless!!!!! You really can't beat that. They are sooooo excited that they can't sleep and get up super early and are just sooooo excited its contagious! When they believe in Santa sooooo much and are just thrilled with his gifts and that he ate his cookies and stuff! Wow, Christmas is only 15 days away, almost 14! I am getting sooo excited. I am done my shopping, I just need to get some photos with Santa and stuff like that done and then that's it. Everything is already wrapped, its just in my room instead of under the tree because then Brandon can't tear it apart. But we are ready. We just need some egg nog and we are good to go!!!!

Here are some of the latest pics of Brandon with his eyes open, I finally figured out to stop the first flash so he didn't always have his eyes closed in pics! Enjoy!

Happy December!

2008-12-01T21:37:00.001-08:00

That's how my mom started out every month with us growing up. It seemed kind of silly but I can't help but continue it now! We are really getting into the Christmas spirit around here now! I am loving it up. I am so close to being done my shopping, that's my favorite part! Tonight we had appetizers for dinner including some garlic sausage, crackers, cheese and egg nog! Yummy! Then we all put out all of the decorations and set up our tree. Its beautiful! I can't wait for Christmas now, I really want to wrap stuff now but I don't see the point when I know Brandon will just drool them to death!

Kristina

2008-11-26T10:18:00.000-08:00

Well I went and spoke with Kristinas principal and teacher and got this all sorted out. Let me start out with saying that shes doing awesome in school. She is excelling in math, that's her strong point. And shes "meeting expectations" elsewhere. We are very proud of her! She had said to the teacher a while ago that she didn't think she had any friends which made both us and the teacher very sad. The teacher asked her what she thought of that now and Kristina smiled and said that she did have friends now, lots of them. She is working on telling people how she feels about them with her words instead of her hands, shes a big hugger ;) We are also working with her on not lying and telling the whole truth. She needs to tell us and her teacher everything that happened instead of just bits and pieces. That way we can all deal with things properly because we have all of the information we need.

The issue with the other mom is just going to be ignored. I have let the teacher and principal know about her phone call and its documented. I have taken Kristina off of the afternoon bus as this mother is the driver. I will either pick her up from school or she can start taking a different bus. I also spoke with another mom in Kristinas class who is also a substitute teacher.........she also got one of these calls. I think this mother is just way too over involved and is trying to get in every one of her daughters little tiffs with friends when sometimes you just need to let them try and deal with it on there own. Kristina knows how to treat her friends and we will be following up with that to make sure shes behaving but I am just going to forget about this mother and move on. Lets hope that she doesn't call me again, but let me put out there now that I think she will be calling me again when she realizes Kristina isn't taking the bus anymore!

Overall we are very proud of girl who is growing up way to fast!

Eat $#!% and die!

2008-11-24T16:17:00.000-08:00

Since Brandon had this nasty diaper rash we were letting go without a diaper for a few days. Other than napping he was Nekid and loving it!!! And being that I am obsessed with Facebook and such, I wasn't paying to close of attention to him the other day. Needless to say he ate his own poop! It was the grosses thing I have had to deal with as a parent thus far. He was sitting in the middle of it, with it all over his arms and legs and had a big handful of it in each hand. He was going to town on one fist full. Seriously he liked it, he was chowing down. So for some reason I turned to see what he was doing and saw what was going down. I ran over and grabbed his arms and held him up so he couldn't eat it anymore, I couldn't stop gagging. It was sooooo gross its not even funny!!! I threw him in the bath, rinsed the poop off of his clothes and mouth etc and then rinsed out, sorta, the tub and then ran water for a bath. I quickly called Jan and asked if poop was poison because I had heard that it was and then went back out quickly to clean up the rest of the poo and to my dismay, it was gone. All gone. Other than some poopy paw prints. Of course, Roxy. She loves her poop too. She had come in and ate it all, even took the Kleenex outside that I had used to get it out of his hand. Gross!!!

That was a fun day!

9 months and counting

2008-11-21T21:55:00.000-08:00

Well Brandon is 9 months now and is doing all sorts of new and crazy things. We have started going to our first baby group which really is a lot of fun. Its funny though, I am a bit shy at first kind of sitting off to the side, maybe talking with one person for a bit until I open up and really get chatting with everyone but not Brandon. Hes right on in there, you put him down and hes off. He loves girls, can't get enough of them actually. He heads right on into the center of the room, picks a girl or two and touches them and they play together and he follows them and they bounce together, its really too cute. He loves going and so do I, once I warm up ;)

He has found his tongue, he is clicking it all of the time, too cute. Hes putting his fist to his mouth and making the ba ba ba ba sound. He can say but I don't think mean, mama, dada, nana, papa, tata, and ya! I can stand up on his own, in the middle of the room. Hes starting to get ready for the first steps, a few times hes kinda done one step and then either fallen or grabbed back on but I am in no hurry! He is starting to give raspberries, that's too cute, he almost surprises himself with them! He is also a lot like his Aunty Mickey, I guess when she was little she used to pull on her ears when she was tired, he does the same thing. Its so adorable, he grabs them both at the same time and is pulling on them like what the heck are these things on my head. They got to have a play day together last weekend, they both had a great time, I am not sure who had more fun ;)

Kristina has had a rough week at school this week. There is a little girl in her class who has been having some trouble with her so I am off to talk to the Principal and teacher about it on Monday. It seems as though Kristina won't let her play with anyone else, she says because she wants her to be her best best friend and didn't really see that there was anything wrong with that and the other little girl wouldn't say anything to Kristina about it so Kristina didn't know that she was upsetting her. The parent ended up phoning me and I guess shes talked to the teacher and principal already and decided that they can't be in the same class next year and I had no idea any of this was even going on..........big shock to me! So I am off to deal with that Monday, its gotten way out of hand. The other mom is calling Kristina a bully etc and saying that she may not be able to ride the bus if they can't get a long, she of course drives the bus ;( This mom just appears to be way over involved and overprotective, Kristina now knows that its wrong and isn't doing it anymore. Let me also just say that I know Kristina isn't perfect and I know she has and will lie, be mean etc, I just don't think shes always like that, you can usually tell when they are lying.

Well off to bed I go, have to work tomorrow :)

November

2008-11-17T12:41:00.000-08:00

Well so far this month is going great! I have lots of hours next month for Christmas, this will be my first "retail" Christmas so to speak, Little Me didn't really count because it was mostly consignment. So I am excited for that. Kristina is doing well, she spent the weekend with her Nana and Grandpa and had a great time! Brandon is starting to walk with us more and more, hes quite pigeon toed but hes getting better and better and more confident. He has a really bad bum rash right now, hes teething. I took him over to Grannys this morning for her to take a look and it looks like hes teething and his pee is quite acidic and its burning his poor little bum! So hes got some blisters that we are trying to heal with some really good bum cream and lots and lots of naked time. Hes basically only in diapers right now when hes sleeping or eating! Get better soon buddy!!!

Daddy pretending he was going to spank and I accidentally snapped the camera!
Walking with Daddy!

Pretending to be a dog!

Brandon and Sissy on the new toy!!!

November

2008-11-09T21:01:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that November is already here, it still kind of feels like September! Brandon can stand unassisted now for a few minutes and Kristina is just getting cuter everyday!!! :) Man I love my kids. Kristina missed me so much this weekend, I worked 8 hours both days, and it was so nice to come home to so many hugs and she just didn't want me out of her sight, cute. She is getting more and more emotional, things that would normally run right off her back are getting to her. There's lots going on at school with all of the girls so its coming out in all aspects of her life! Its OK but we are trying to sort of the issues with the other girls at school. Christmas is in the air! I know its only November but I am getting so excited for Christmas. Its Brandon's first Christmas and unlike Kristina's he will actually be able (sorta) to open gifts and stuff. I am predicting him opening one, eating the paper, and then playing with that one toy and being good for the day!!! Soo excited, so is Kristina, this may be her first year at being sooo excited she won't be able to sleep the night before, kinda neat. Yaa for spending the whole day with family!!!

More pictures!!!

2008-11-05T11:18:00.000-08:00

His cute new Harley outfit (a steal from Little Me) and his car

Whats new?

2008-11-03T19:14:00.000-08:00

Well, Brandon still hasn't taken any steps and Kristina is doing good. Shes really working on her reading, wearing some beautiful new clothes and having lots of drama at school! Wow the drama really kicks it into high gear for grade one. There is a ton of I am not your best friend anymore and don't play with me etc, etc going on, its dramatic, everyday there's something new to deal with but its all a matter of adjusting and learning how to deal with things that come up and learning how to deal with them on your own and when to get help. Shes getting better at it all the time. School work is going well, her teacher said that shes really smart she just needs to put down her head and get the work done because she would rather chat, of course! Brandon's big step this week has been eating pizza like a real man would, hes getting bigger and bigger! I also had the opportunity to babysit my favorite little nephews!!! Check out the super cute pics!

Soon enough

2008-10-29T14:13:00.000-07:00

Wow, Brandon is standing on his own now. I have been standing him up now on his own, not holding onto anything, and he can do it for say a minute! Yup soon to be walking and keeping up with the Sissy!!! He isn't comfortable enough to be taking a step towards us but hes sure solid on his feet!

Birthday girl

2008-10-23T12:28:00.001-07:00

Well the birthday girl had an amazing birthday with lots of family and of course lots of sweets! She had a wonderful time and so far 6 is good! She is getting better and better everyday with her reading, I can't believe I just said that, my baby girl is starting to read!!! She is just getting so grown up. Brandon on the other hand is growing up fast as well. He is starting to let go when he is standing, it shouldn't be long until hes walking.....we are hoping that if he is fast he will take his first steps to Sylvie (Aunt Lynne and Uncle Nicks dog) just like his sissy did. He is also starting to sit in front of his wooden toy box and bang the back of his head against it, repeatedly. He has a big grin on his face the whole time too, too funny. He is just getting over an eye infection, cold and double ear infection. He has been great throughout the whole thing. I didn't even think he had an ear infection. I was just taking him to the doctor for eye drops but the doctor said that he had two full blown ear infections. The only time he has really been cranky is when I wake him up to go to town to do something, all he wanted to do was sleep! Poor kid, mommy just can't stop for anything. Kristina lost another tooth last night and it was just as exciting for here as the first! She has lost 8 and Brandon has 6 teeth now, so the race is on!!

Bubbles!!!

Our gifts were a big hit!

Kristina and Louisa having a blast!

Doesn't she look all grown up!

Kristina and her Daddy!

Gotta have the Hannah Montana!!!

Wow 6 years old and 8 months old!!!

2008-10-18T21:58:00.001-07:00

I am loving how there birthdays are both on the 19th of the month! Its great! So 6 years ago tonight I was fighting with Kris because we were trying to take belly pictures and they were not turning out how I wanted~I wanted to look awesome, and lets face it, I don't. Don't get me wrong I don't hate how I look I just wanted my belly pictures to look like they were professionally done and well I guess skinny~lmaf now cause obviously he can't do that, but don't try to tell me that. Any who, the next morning I woke up at about 5 with cramps and bloody show! YAAAA!!! Really, it was exciting. Long story short she was born at 11:23 that morning!!! It was great. She was healthy as can be and we thought she was just gorgeous. Don't tell her but looking back she look very alien like but whatever, she grew up cute. I can't believe that she is 6 already and we are hoping 6 has a lot less attitude than 5 but only time will tell! And Brandon is 8 months, wow. I really can't stop saying wow. It sure does fly. The newest thing he has started doing is shrieking! Not a big fan but its kind of cute. I have bets that he will be walking by the end of November not that I want to rush him at all but hes just moving so fast that that is my guess. We will see. Enjoy the mass amount of photos!

Kristinas photos

2008-10-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos that Kristina and Granny took on there day together, some pretty good ones too I might add!

Whats new

2008-10-14T10:34:00.001-07:00

Honestly not much new in these parts. We had a fantastic Thanksgiving, spent with both of our families. It was wonderful, lots of food, family and friends! Brandon is getting bigger and bigger and it's Kristina's 6th birthday on Sunday. WOW!!! Its crazy how fast time flies! Looking forward to more time spent with the family and until then its time to catch up on some sleep!

Free Giveaway!!!

2008-10-10T09:15:00.000-07:00

You should go check out www.naturemoms.com/blog and enter her contest for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate for Plan toys. If you haven't seen these toys they are amazing. All natural, no chemicals, and even safe glue holding them all together. Great stuff and a great blog to check out!

Hes a real boy!

2008-10-05T12:03:00.000-07:00

Look Auntie Malinda, hes a real boy now! For all that don't know, when Kristina was younger (about 14 months or so) she picked up a whole apple and just started eating it like a real little person and Auntie Malinda blurted out, oh my lord, shes a real person. It was freaking hilarious actually! So this is for you Mal, I know you just realized the other day, with a peach, that Dylan is a real boy, well mine is catching up quicker than ever, here he is....my real boy!!!

It was bound to happen sooner or later (I was hoping for later)

2008-10-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

This was just freaking hilarious!!!

Growing up too fast!

2008-10-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

So Brandon now has 6 teeth and it looks like 2 more are on there way in. We are back to sleeping through the night without a bottle, that only took like 2 days but it was so needing to be done. He was waking for a bottle. I would just hand it to him and then would go right back to sleep. Had to stop that one, we was getting tired ;) He is also without soother now, has been for a few weeks. He just got less and less interested in it so I finally got around to actually throwing the last of them out yesterday! He just won't take them. That's OK, one less thing to wein him from! We will see how well that goes with the bottle, I am seeing a battle with that one ;) I am so loving cloth diapers, and yes I have had to do lots of poops and even a runny one ;) They really are just as easy as disposables, except for the laundry. And yes, if you know me at all I love to do laundry. Its so fun to stuff and the diapers and line them up on the change table. Love it. Which is good considering we have invested in it and got rid of every one of our disposables. Apparently that's a bad idea when you are just starting cloth though as I went to do the laundry and still had two clean cloth diapers, but apparently that's not enough when he poops twice in 1/2 an hour. So receiving blanket and liner it is ;) Learned that lesson fast. I just picked up some more diapers from a woman up the highway for a really good deal so now I have lots. Here's some cute pics of him in his new diapers!

My awsome new furniture!

Reesh would be proud ;)

2008-09-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

Its official, I am turning Hippie :)

I have always used homeopathic teething stuff for Brandon, it works AMAZINGLY well! I love it. I am all over the stainless steel water bottle thing! Ask anyone ;) I bought a DHA supplement (also known as cod liver fish oil) for both my kids a week and a half or so ago. Its supposed to be great for eye development, brain development, behavioral issues, and much much more! Its going good too except for Kristina making herself vomit the first time she tried it. That was fun. She always has been good at making herself gag and such so it was not too out of her realm.

My latest though is good old cloth diapers! I used to think that cloth diapers were a HUGE pain in the ass, messy, yucky and just gross! I wouldn't even have considered it with Kristina. A few months back I pondered it for Brandon and decided no. Kris was totally against it and I was wanting to do it because it was "cool" the diapers were fun looking, it was something to buy, and lets face it, I LOVE to buy stuff ;) If I can remember correctly it came down to the poop factor. There is a poop factor no matter much you think there isn't one and I was just not ready for it. It has been on my mind though the last few months and its one of those things I just couldn't shake. I just kept coming back to it. I was feeling like because this is my last baby it was my last chance to at least try cloth. I was feeling like if I didn't I was definitely going to regret it.

So what did I do? I headed down to my old stomping grounds, Little Me and chatted with Sherry and Kristina and tried to figure out what I wanted to do and what my best options were. I decided to a bit of each and went with three different types. I won't go on and on about them, but they are great. So simple to use, very cost effective and so so so so cute!!! I have dealt with my first cloth diaper poop and it was fine. Rolled right off into the toilet and no gagging, ya for me. Kristina also suggested that if its really runny and won't just fall off the diaper to rinse it out in the tub with the shower sprayer. Of course. So simple. And I just through them in the was every few days and we are good to go!!!

Are you proud Reesh or what? :)

I am very happy with my purchase and now I sit and wait for them to call and tell me that more have arrived for me to go and pick up. YAAAAAAAAA!!!

7 Months!

2008-09-22T16:17:00.000-07:00

Wow, 7 months already! Time flies when your having fun! I can't believe how much he is doing already! He is sitting, crawling, standing, not too chatty yet, even with babbling. Sometimes he is but most of the time hes pretty quiet. He does a LOT of raspberry's!!! He has 3 teeth and the forth will be through be tommorow. The next two I can see right under the gums and should be in by the end of the week! My baby boy isn't going to be a baby for much longer it seems! Here are some new pics.

My boys!!!

Loving Nana time!

Mama says slow down!

2008-09-17T14:36:00.000-07:00

Time is just flying by lately, it seems like Brandon is doing something new everyday! His top left tooth has cut through and the right one is right behind it. The two on either side of them look to be not far behind as well, I guess that would explain the rough night last night! I was up 4 times and Kris 2 times, wow! Hes just extra cranky, but luckily for us that's still pretty happy! Yaaaa for easy kids! Yesterday Brandon starting to do the normal crawl, he just got it like that. As soon as he figured it out he was off and it was done! He is getting much faster at chasing his Sissy and they are both loving it! I am so glad that they both like each other so much still. I know they will always love each other but I hope that they will always like each other and maintain a close relationship throughout there lives! Brandon has also started pulling himself up onto stuff, man they go through the stages fast, I knew in my head that about a week or so after crawling he would be standing but wow, to fast for me!

Look at my teeth!

"Gotcha Sissy"

Look at me standing all by my big boy self!!!

"I love the ball Nana got me"

More teeth!!!

2008-09-13T08:52:00.000-07:00

Well Brandon was a bit crankier than normal last night so I finally thought to check and see if he was getting more teeth, well he is. His top left tooth was almost through and should be by now. He sure is growing up fast! At least I can be thankful that hes not too bad while getting teeth, gotta love it!

On other news I am exhausted!!! I worked three days this week for my old store "Little Me" and then my usual 20-25 hours at "Reitmans" and of course doing everything at home! I had to give up working at "Little Me" because its just too much. Brandon didn't really like it because he had like a 4 by 4 spot to play and could see Mommy but she couldn't play. And I was just wiped, I can't do it all. I finally realized that that was why I sold the store, I didn't want to have to do it with the kids. I wanted to stay home. I did get some good stuff out of it though. I got lots of Christmas gifts and a shower gift and some clothes for the kids. It was fun but I feel much better now that I am done!!!

Gotta go as I am off to work :)

Baby Sophie!!!

2008-09-12T14:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the family baby Sophie!!! She was born to my cousin Keyla and Jason Doleman!!! Arriving safely on Sept 8th 2008!!! We love you!!!

In other news Brandon is just doing more and more everyday. Earlier this week he started sitting up from lying down or crawling. He couldn't do it on Sundays at my parents for dinner but a day or two later he can do it no problem. He is also starting to pull himself up on stuff! He was standing in his crib when Kris went in there the other day and hes been up on his knees lots but I just turned around a few minutes ago and he was standing at the couch. SLOW DOWN BUDDY!!! I don't want you to grow up so fast. Oh and I can't forget the most important thing yet!!! HE HAS STOPED PUKING!!!!!!! OK not entirely but almost totally, yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

Back to school!!!

2008-09-07T08:26:00.001-07:00

So whats new? Kristina is back in the swing of school. She is in grade one now, wow!!! She is very tired but she loves it. She wants to start taking the bus on Monday. I was sad at first because my buddy is gone most of the day but I am now loving it. I get time to spend with Brandon alone and I get more done during the day faster because I just do it while he is sleeping or playing and then when Kristina gets home from school we can play more instead of doing chores all day!!! Brandon seems to like having some just mommy time as well but he does miss his sissy. He is very happy to see her when she gets home. Work is going GREAT. I am loving it and especially loving all of the people!!! I am also staring to work at my old store next week. I am excited to do that too. I really am glad to have sold it but it will be nice to get back in there and get to price all the stuff and just to hang out with Kristina and Sherry. It should be fun.

Love the Mohawk