Brrrrr........cough, cough....

I've had a cold for 3 days now and it has kicked my butt. I'm finally feeling like I can stay up past 8 o'clock in the evening without passing out and not needing a box of kleenex with me at all times. Unfortunatley it has gone into my lungs and I started coughing today, hopefully that part will go away soon, it has wreaked havoc on my athsma. I just want to feel well again. Junior has had this cold for 2 weeks now, I feel really bad for him.

Today we woke up to a whole crap-load of snow. All the snow we had a few weeks ago has melted and we had beautiful weather. Then yesterday things got bad. We have about 5 cm's of snow all together, which isn't that much I guess, but the sucky thing is that it's here to stay. Winter is officially here. The kids are going to be heading out trick-or-treating in their snow suits again this year. Blech. I hate winter. But on the plus side I finally got a new winter coat! I have been lusting after a new one (none specific just a new one) and we finally went out and got one today, and for the first time in my life I have a white one. Oh lordy, this could get ugly. I will have to do my best not to be a total slob, it's gonna be tough because it's just in my blood. Sorry to say, but if you know my Mom, then you would understand the genes I'm working with.

We also had a productive afternoon of pumpkin carving. I had bought 3 pumpkins, one for Ash, one for Dawn and a big one for "Harris" (or maybe me!). But the one that Dawn picked out was super tough, I couldn't even cut through it. So I convinced Junior to get out his power tools and we cut big holes in it (eyes, nose, mouth) and it worked out pretty slick. I mean, it doesn't have great character that the girls pumpkins do, but I like it! And it was a nice way for Junior to get involved. he, he, he.....

Trick or treat!

Hula-Hoop-ing.....

So the other night Dawn declares to me that she is going to learn how to hula-hoop, because she wants to be just like her friend who can, not to mention that this friend is much older than her.

She picks up the hoop, spins it furiously around her tiny little waist and attempts to roll her hips to keep it up. No luck.

But she keeps trying. Over and over again.

Finally she gets it, kind of.

It takes the tongue sticking out in just the right spot, her arms thrown up in the air with her little hands twirling along in just the right motion and just a slight twist of the hips. It stays up!

And it may only stay up for just a few rotations but she is victorious!

"Mommy! Mommy! Look! I did it, I did it!!!!"

And the smile on her face and the pride in her eyes is something I wish I was able to capture on film.

Her abs should have been sore today for the amount of time spent twirling, but she's happy and content with her newly acquired skill.

Article on my Dad....

Today my Dad came by with yesterday's paper. It had this article on the front page.

The past few years of my parents life have been trying. First my step-Grandpa is diagnosed with a brain tumor, then just as he is starting to get much worse and needs to be put in a nursing facility things start going bad at WestJet with this scandal. My sister and I were both newly pregnant with the boys and immersed in our own lives, which is why (I am telling myself) that he chose not to share the airline stuff with us. Then right around the same time that the court battle is heating up and he is getting subpoenaed, my Papa, my Dad's dad, has a massive stroke from which he never recovered. Six months later my step-Grandpa died. All during this time my parents were worried that they were going to lose everything that they had worked for. My Dad realized that he didn't do things "by the book" and felt that he may be sued. At the same time they are travelling back and forth from their home to their parents hospitals in Edmonton. All the while Suzy and I had no clue.

I am proud of my Dad because he did what was right, and he did it because that's just who he is. This is the way I was raised, that you can't lie, cheat or steal to get what you want. You work hard and you take what life gives you. I, mistakenly, went and read the comments for this article and it is really disturbing. It's hard to think that so many people feel that my Dad has done this for personal gain and they are calling him a rat and a snitch. But from reading the article, how could you know otherwise? Also, from reading this article I too, would think that he was waiting with baited breath for an apology from either airline, and that is certainly NOT true. He knows the airline biz far too well to know that it's never gonna happen. He never went searching out the Globe and Mail for this, he wanted it all to go away and has turned down an interview with the CBC. It makes me want to comment and defend him, but I know that it wouldn't do any good. People will feel what they feel. Maybe he didn't do it exactly right, but in the end he did what was right and just, and that's what matters.

I am thankful that this is all over for him, and I am hoping that he will enjoy the real estate business. He was so happy today. Happier than I have seen him in a long time. He has been a wound-up ball of nerves for so long now, it's nice to see a glimpse of the old Dad back. I wish I was a better writer, I wish that I could explain myself more eloquently, but this is the best I've got.

Social Deficits...

It seems that this is going to be the year of the social issues for Ash. In past years she has struggled with school but at least she always had her sunny disposition to fall back on. She may have missed some social cues, but was able to generally manage and keep everyone happy with her giggly personality and silly-ness.

I fear that people aren't going to see that so much anymore. I have had issues with her being surly to Junior and I. Yelling at Dawn when she was/is getting pissed off. But you could always put it down to regular kid stuff. But now she is sassing the lunch supervisor at school (LS) as well as her best friend's Mom (Ruby).

Last week she came home complaining that her LS took her toy away at lunch. I told her that she SHOULD have her toy taken away because she's not supposed to bring them to lunch, and she probably wasn't eating. She rolled her eyes at me and that was it. Then a few days later, on Friday, I was speaking to her teacher and she asked me if I knew that Ash was having "issues" at lunch. Crap. She told me what she knew, it wasn't much but it was enough. So Ash and I had a big talk about "tone of voice" and saying mean things to adults, or about adults. She insists that was she said wasn't bad because "all" she said/yelled (to the LS's daughter) "tell your Mom that she is EVIL!!!". Well, when she says "I'm Evil" or "You're Evil" at home, it's not a big deal. I have told her not to call people that, but apparently it didn't work. Worse than that I find out that LS is a Jehovah's Witness, and extremely devout, so calling her evil is a HUGE mistake. Not something that Ash could have known, but certainly more humiliating for me. Anyhow, I made her write a letter of apology and apologize again to LS. I went in on Monday to talk with the head of the lunch supervision program and she told me the whole story, and that Ash had been talked to by both the Head LS and the LS. I was able to tell her that Ash has some learning disabilities and that she is socially un-aware at times. Which seemed to cool her off a bit. And then she told me that totally un-associated with the incident with LS she was wanting to move Ash to a new classroom. So I agreed because maybe that will be a fresh start for Ash. I thought that things were dealt with. I also asked her to let me know if there are any further issues so that I can help deal with it.

Then tonight she had Brownie cookie sales. Ash's best friend is in Brownies with her, and her Mom (Ruby) is a Sparks leader. So we agreed that I would take Dawn out on cookie sales for the Sparks group and she would take Ash out for Brownies. Ash has always been polite and a good kid, well apparently not tonight. She was jacked-up before leaving and I was a little worried, I even said so to Ruby just as a heads-up, but more because I wasn't too sure about her ability to focus. So when I went to pick her up Ruby says to me "she was quite a pill tonight". Oh great. She said that Ash yelled at her because she wanted to hold a big box along with the little one, but was struggling with it so Ruby asked if she could hold it instead. Then she snapped at her for something else (I can't remember). Ruby told her that she wasn't allowed to speak to her that way and that Ash straightened-up really quick.

We had another big talk with Ash tonight about how we speak to adults. This time Junior was there and was really pissed. The thing with him is that he gets mad and yells and threatens to take away privileges or toys, but he doesn't really talk about why we are mad. I know that he struggles to understand how to deal with Ash, and Hell I do too, I just wish we could figure out a better way to do it. I spoke with her about why we are angry and that this is NOT OK. And exactly what we think is not OK. She was sorry, she was willing to apologize, and even said that she just lost control and spoke her mind. How do you get a 7 year old to have better self-control though?

I'm sad, I'm angry, I'm embarrassed. What more can I say?

I Love her.

We have our first meeting with the Education Consultant for the Children's Hospital Developmental Clinic next week. This will be a meeting between Junior and I along with Ash's teacher and resource teacher and the EC. This will be to get the issues out there and then the EC will observe Ash in the classroom. Then in December we will have a whole gamut of tests so we can know exactly what is going on. The week after we get all of the test results and will have a diagnosis in hand. Maybe this will shed some light on what we can do, where to turn. There are days when I feel like I need some counselling on how to cope with her, then we go for weeks where everything is great. I'm just hoping that someone will be able to hold my hand for a while, I'm tired of fighting alone.

Slowly but sureley...

It's been over 7 months people.

SEVEN months!

But my husband. Such a dear.

Has finally fixed his truck! It's not like it's been a huge deal for me as he only works a 5 minute drive away and has spent the summer biking to and from work. And when he didn't bike to work he was able to catch a ride. It's more the principle of the thing. We are paying insurance on it, and it was taking up the driveway with it's big rusty-ness. And then there's the problem of only having one vehicle, which isn't such a huge deal if we HAD too, but we don't. The fixing of it took $15 and approximately two hours of work. I think he even feels a little lame for procrastonating so long.

Onto other news, which is slightly related to having a vehicle. It snowed today. Like enough that the kids were able to play in the snow and make snowmen.

Ash is home sick with a bad cold (yes, I still let her play in the snow), and Junior came home from work at noon too, nothing like a little snow and snot to make it feel like winter! It's still snowing, and I really hope it stops. I have to walk around for 2 hours with my sure-to-be-cold daughter on Wednesday night selling the minty-fresh Girl Guide cookies. Blech. I digress...the snow.

It's too early to be winter, as much as the kids like the snow, I'm not ready for the bundling up on a regular basis and the constant cold (both the freezy kind and the snotty kind). I would love to live somewhere warm. That would be wonderful. But I don't think it's ever going to happen.

I called my MIL on the weekend and asked she and FIL would like to have their wonderful grandchildren for the weekend. They jumped for joy and said yes! Yippee! I've solved 3 of my grumps from last week. I have booked my massage for Friday night, because that's a priority, and then I will make a hair appointment tomorrow when the salons open, and the 3rd is just having peace and quiet for 2 whole days. Bliss. I'm feeling better already. Oh! Heroes is on and I have to go.

And some pictures...

Mmmmmm.....Cake! We like cake! Especially ones with lots of RED dye in them.

Even better!








Shhhh...we have to very, very quiet...

Oh and check the haircut! Isn't it great?!











Dawn is now officially a Spark.
She's taken the official oath!
We are so proud.

I Need to Pack My Angry Eyes Today.....

Why am I so angry? Because I am, that's why.

I'm angry because:

- I got my telephone bill today and it cost $60 to phone home 4 times, for under 20 minutes total, when we were in Vegas last month. God Dammed telephone companies and their deals with hotels to scam travellers. Oh and then there's my telephone company that STILL hasn't given me the $5 off per month of my internet connection that they promised me for being such a loyal customer. Loyalty sure doesn't pay. I mean, if I was a new customer I would have gotten a free I-Pod. Bastards.

- My shoulder hurts!!! Ouch! And the lamest thing ever is that it's not like I did anything to it. I slept on it wrong, again. This has been happening for 2 months now, I wake-up in the morning not being able to lift my arm, then if slowly gets better over the next few days. Then it's all hunky-dory for a week or two until BLAM!, it hurts again. Last time I went to my chiropractor and he helped it feel better, this was my first appt. with over 2 weeks in-between. I'm a week in and it's sore again. WTF?

- My back is sore. It's my bed, and may have something to do with my shoulder, and it's really old and getting a little too saggy, my bed NOT my back! I just know that it's going to be a few more years before there are any new beds in my future. So I would like to get a massage, but when do I book it? In the morning when I have 2 of the 3 kids? Or maybe mid-afternoon when I only have Harris, he can nap on the floor. Or maybe later in the afternoon when I have all 3 of them? NOT! I could book an appt. when Junior is home from work, but oh right! They don't DO evening appointments.

- This leads me to working overtime. Junior is working an average of 20 hours overtime per week. Which may not seem like much for some, but for me it's a lot. This means he starts work at 6:00 am and gets home at 5:30 pm Monday through Friday and then on Saturday works 6:00am until (usually) 2:30pm. He is tired from working so much (only having Sunday off) and so am I. I don't get to do much on my own. I get Tuesday night to go to ceramics but otherwise I'm with Junior or the kids, or all. I feel like I am working overtime too, and I don't feel OK with just taking off for an afternoon on my own when Junior finally gets home from work, it's not really fair to him. The hard part is that we kind of need the overtime $$, it keeps the bills ALL paid (instead of only a select few). But it still pisses me off that we are stuck in this situation of feeling constantly tired.

- My hair! It's too long and I need to get it cut. I just don't know who to get to cut by since my hairdresser quit last year and I haven't yet found anyone who is good. Well, that and the fact that I can't book an appt. without worrying that I'll have to cancel it due to overtime. Ugh!

- Food. Well, as much as I love food it's more of a bitch about cooking. Why-oh-why do I spend all this time thinking up meals (I do a weekly menu-plan), then shopping for the ingredients and then preparing the meals only to feel like I am forcing it down my family's throats. Including Juniors! I do my best to pick out recipes and foods that the kids (and Junior) will like, while still trying to keep my needs intact (by eating those crazy things I like to call "vegetables"). The thing is, I am trying to eat stuff that is more "real", if we have meatballs and pasta, I want good home-made meatballs because I can't stand how the boxed ones taste, or how much they cost. So I have been trying to broaden everyones horizons by making stuff that always sounds really yummy to me, but apparently not to anyone else. How is this remedied I ask? I have no bloody clue. Tonight we are having french fries and chicken nuggets (all pre-done) because I just can't be bothered today.

- I don't like my cats. There, I said it. You heard me. I am tired of them puking on my floor with their hair balls, sleeping on my couch and making a big-assed mess with their hair, whining when their food has two pieces eaten out of the bowl and lastly, tripping me when I try to do stuff around the house. Anybody want two 13 year old cats?

- Poopy diapers. Why is it that boys don't potty train at 2 years old like girls do? I really can't quite figure it out. And you know, if I could get Harris to only poop on the potty I would change all of the wet ones he needed. My God that boy smells. I don't remember the girls smelling quite so rank. And he is so freaking regular! If you smell like that you really ought to be constipated. I mean, really.

Ugh. I think that's it. I'm sure there is more, because I am pissed at the world today. I think I need to go eat a big bag of chips and dip. Too bad (or maybe good thing) I don't have any in the house for just such an occasion. I shouldn't be PMSing because my period is due a whole week away, although with my luck it will come tomorrow or something.

Happy Thanksgiving! And food...

It's been a weekend of indulgence. And I'm feeling it. We had a birthday party on Saturday night (at Anna's house, she's 29!) and I just keep eating and eating. Then Sunday we had a big ham dinner and birthday cake for Harris (finally) over at my parents house. I'm still full from the weekend.

And this leaves me to think about why I just can't get it together with my eating.

I mean, I want to eat better, I want to lose weight. Hell, I've even started back with my running. So why is it that whenever I make some strides forward and lose a few pounds I seem to totally sabotage myself and make up that lost weight? I do stupid things like buy a Coke when I'm at the grocery store, knowing that I don't need it and don't even really want it. Then I don't drink it, because I feel guilty for buying it, then when I'm hungry and feeling low I say "screw it" and drink it and maybe have something else I shouldn't eat with it because I have screwed up already. Then I've lost my calorie deficit for the day and it's another day done for.

I really need to get better at this weight loss stuff. I keep saying to myself that I've done it before, so why do I suck so bad at it now? But I have to forget what happened before, this is now and life is different than before. My head IS in a much better space then it was, I no longer binge on a whole bag of chips, I can stop myself at just a small bowl-full. I just need to stop needing to eat the chips in the first place. A piece of fruit is better for me anyhow. And I have actually started to enjoy drinking water, really I do like it, I just need to stop feeling the need to buy the Coke instead.

Today is a new day. And I'm back at it, hopefully I will lose that 10 pounds I need to lose (or more) by my February goal. That's not so much to ask, right?

Dawn

Oh, where do I start with Dawn? She is confusing and wonderful....

Dawn is like a bouncing ball of energy, literally bounding her way through life. She is so full of joy and wonder, so many questions and ideas on the world. She can be so very impulsive and minipulative, which get her into trouble a lot. But they can also be good things, she says what is on her mind and she can get what she wants. She told me the other day that she could do Daddy's voice and she proceeded to say (in a deep and 5-year old girl manly voice) "go clean-up your mess!"

She is so very, very stubborn. Today after she and Ash were home from school I was watching Art for a few hours. The kids were all playing well together (Harris was in bed napping), when all of the sudden the girls are scrapping. Turns out that Dawn wants the blue car (because that's the GIRL car of course) and Ash was using it. So I gave Dawn a few options, to play with a different car or go play something else, she chose to go to her room and play with her ponies until Ash was done playing with the blue car. Stubborn.

Dawn has an absolute fascination with animals. Her first word wasn't Mommy or Daddy, it was kitty, if that tells you anything. She has collected all kinds of little plastic animals, and used to line them up in neat little rows since she could line things up in neat little rows. She has a major collection of My Little Ponies, and Barbie horses, and is now wanting to collect (only the pretty ones!) all of the Littlest Pet Shop animals she can. I don't know if it is a good thing that her Aunt Suze has a horse or not, because she is always wanting to go and visit the horses, and proceeds to point out any along the roadside when we go anywhere. I love how she is so fascinated with all types of animals, and so far all of the books brought home from the library in Kindergarden have been animal related. She says she's going to be a vetrinarian or an animal groomer one day, she can't decide what would be better. And she has also told me that she is going to own at least 5 dogs and 5 cats, just for starters. You can imagine her distain for us with not having any more than 2 cats in the house (and no plans to expand the collection).

I have days where I just don't know what to do with Dawn. She knows how to push my buttons at just the right time to get right under my skin, the other two have never made me so angry the way that she does. She likes to play dumb, and I can't quite figure out what she gets out of it, I think it's a control thing. Like she will ask me what her friend's name is, 10 minutes after telling me her friends name, and then laugh in this coy was saying "Oh! That's right, I forgot. He, he, he..." She also has a way of getting amped-up to super-speed when we are out. This is when she is most impulsive. Doing things like chasing Harris, picking him up, pulling him around, after I have asked her a million times not to. She just can't seem to help herself.

But she cares SO much about Ash and Harris. She plays so well with both of them and really caters to their games. I can really see how she struggles to keep everyone happy. The typical middle child I suppose. I wish that I could bottle her up and keep her sweetness forever. Because that is what I never want to forget. Because I know, for sure, that she is going to be hell of wheels when she hits puberty. Can we say "Party girl?"

Friends...

I have a few wonderful friendships, which I am thankful for. I have an e-mail group that started when I was pregnant with Ash and has continued on and become much more than just about our children. We have met up numerous times and really enjoy each others company. The group started out at about 18, and it has whittled down to a group of 10. I love that they are there for me, regardless of what I am doing, where I am or what I look like. They are supportive and caring. But there is only so much whining that any friend can take so I hesitate to say a lot of what is going on in my head for fear that I am bombarding them with too much (that is why I have decided to do this). The only problem is that they aren't *here*. We can't go for coffee or have our families over for dinner, they live thousands of miles away, all over the US and the world. Even talking on the phone is difficult with time changes and all of our busy schedules, it's just hard to get-in-touch.

There is my sister, Suzy, she is definitely my best friend and biggest supporter. We have remained close through childhood, discovering ourselves and having kids. I know that regardless of what I do she will always be there. But she's the same, she's not here. She lives 4 hours away and has a busy family as well. We try to talk on the phone once a week, but sometimes even that is tough to do. Her oldest son, Rob, is 9 months older than Ash, and a busy-busy boy. He is SO quick, so smart, and so challenging. Her youngest son, John, is 2 months older than Harris. They are already so much fun to have together. John is shy and quiet, a real cuddle-bug, the opposite of his older brother. I wish my sister were closer (they were for 8 months and it was wonderful), but we don't always get what we want.

My newest friend, Anna, is great. She works evenings so we usually have coffee together a few mornings a week. Her son Art and Harris are 9 months apart, and will be in the same grade (eventually), and they are starting to get along really well. Dawn wants to marry Art someday and I think the feeling is mutual. We connect, we have a lot in common and we get along. We recently went to Vegas together (with husbands) and had a blast together. We were working out 3 days a week over the summer, and it was going really well, then she started full-time and her hours changed and we haven't worked out since. Along with that there is her seemingly ever-present annoying friend that doesn't seem to be ok with us working out, so I've backed-off a little. Our husbands work together and are friends as well, which is nice, because Junior doesn't seem to play well with others. It's nice having a friend here to rely on and that enjoys my company as much as I enjoy hers. Phew.

Then there are the friends-gone-by. I have decided that I have been "phased-out" of one of my longest friendships. She is married, lives in the same city as me, our husbands played ball together and we were Best-Man and Matron-of-honor at their wedding. We had kids, they haven't been able to. I have given-up my career and she has become very successful in hers. My husband has struggled to find a career and her husband is just (if not more) as successful as she is. They golf, with a passion, and we don't. We are in different areas of our lives and it makes me sad. I hope that one day we will be able to re-connect again and have a good friendship, because she has been a very important part of our lives. For now, we will talk once a month or so and get together for dinner once or twice a year and be happy with that.

I don't know why I feel the need to departmentalize everyone. But I have to get it out there. These are things that roll around in my head, and NOW I have an outlet. Lucky ME!

Exercise and Ash...

Today, I ran. YAY!!

It has been far too long, like by 6 weeks. I had to run for 5 minutes and walk for 3, but I did a whole 35 minutes, almost 5K, and I didn't die. Yay me! Then I came home and skipped doing arms with Junior, he seemed to not want me to work out with him tonight. I guess I'll do weights tomorrow, another thing that has been too long.

I really needed the run today, Ash was quite a pill and I needed to work it out. She's been so over the top these days, spazzing out when I'm dropping Dawn off at school, not allowing me to talk to her teacher alone. And then there's the paranoia setting in, worried that everyone is making fun of her.

You see, Miss. Ash has a learning disability, not yet fully identified. We think it's a Non-verbal learning disorder, but things are still a little wonky. We are waiting for a littany of tests to happen the first week of December, and then we have an "official" diagnosis. With that then the school is forced to give her some help, whatever that means. Anyhow, things seem to be a bit worse for her this year socially, and I'm starting to worry. I mean, she struggles to read, comprehend math and print, but the social sutff she has been ackward with but never quite this "weird", for lack of a better term. My mind is thinking of the other possibilities that this could be, like Aspergers, or some form of Autism, man I wish that this testing wasn't a whole two months away. Maybe the social deficits from the NVLD are just starting to fully kick in and be more clear. I'm just worried that she's going to scare other kids away with her over-the-top behavior, and then it's going to be really hard to win people back.

She is the sweetest girl. Kind, caring, loving and extremely loyal. She has a soft heart, which often means she melts down into tears, but usually at home when she's not in front of others. She wants to please everyone, but just doesn't understand how. The only toys Ash has ever taken any interest in have been babies, and she will carry them around and play Mommy and Daddy with Dawn. She isn't really interested in any of the small type toys like Barbie or the newest crazy, Littlest Pet Shop, they seem to be beyond her range. She likes to re-play the scenes over and over again, and really doesn't enjoy variation in her play. The funny thing is she really wants to like those kind of toys, but she just doesn't get how to play with them. Even the digital video-game type toys can't hold her interest, she usually "kills" a tamagotchi pet within two days because she forgets to do whatever to it, even if it's constantly around her neck.

I hurt for her. I want everything to be "normal" but it just isn't going to happen. This is going to be another tough school year, no matter what kind of testing happens. And I just have to get used to it. I guess I just need to get better at avoiding analyzing it on a regular basis, then it doesn't hurt so much.

Ugh. THIS is why I need to run. Well, that and the avoiding the plus size rack...

Harris is Speed!

2? How can that BE?!

Harris turns two tomorrow and I'm not too sure how that has come to be. He was just a smiling babe in my arms only days ago, right? There are so many things that I love about him, I just need to jot them down.

You see, my sweet boy wasn't planned, he was our wonderful suprise. I was happy with my two girls, with my job, with my life. Suprise! Everything changes.

He came into this world happy and content. He really wasn't a super fussy baby, just a Mama's boy (much to Daddy's dismay). He has changed so much about my world, and I can honestly say, they are all good. I feel like I am a better parent, I have learned to have more patience, and I have learned to let go and enjoy having him be a kid. With the girls I was so busy wanting to see the next step, wanting to get out of the baby stage, and with him I am learning to enjoy. Although I can't say I enjoy the diaper part! Ugh.

Mr. Harris is a red-haired, blue-eyed devil. He is mischevious and inquisitive. I feel so bad for him because he just doesn't have the words to express himself yet, he is struggling so hard to say so much. He has the typical boy obsession of cars, or "Trucks!" as he says (he refuses to say car). He is going to be a pit crew guy for Lightening McQueen for haloween this year, and is very excited about his costume. He has a Mater and a Lt. McQ. toys and we are constantly hearing "ma-er!! it'nin i'keen!!" being chanted throughout the house. He seems to share a love of animals with his sister, Dawn, and torments our two cats on a constant basis. You would think they would learn by now!

I have not experienced the need for consistency in the same way with my other two that I have with him. When we put him down to bed he insists on having his special knit blanket with "duck-duck" at his side (and it must be tucked in) and then another fuzzy blanket with dogs on the front of it thrown on top. He then gives us kisses and hugs and says "uv-ou!" (love you!) and "nigh-night!" before letting us go. And he will throw a major pout if the girls head off to school without giving him proper kisses and hugs before leaving. What a kid.

I can't wait to see him grow and see what kind of kid he turns out to be, to hear what kind of ideas are inside his head. But for right now I'm just enjoying the innocence of his childhood. And loving the fact that he comes running to me for hugs and cuddles when the big scary fish chases after poor Flounder on The Little Mermaid. It doesn't get any better than that.

Uv-ou baby! Happy Birthday!
Mama

Me and my RED nose!

A few things about me...

I have 3 children. My oldest is Ash, she is 7 and in Grade 2, then there is Dawn, she turns 5 in a month and a half and is in Kindergarden, and then there is the baby Harris, he turns 2 tomorrow. I have been married to my husband (Junior) for 12 years now, we were high-school sweethearts.

I am 32 years old and currently staying home with my kids. I used to work as a Payroll Administrator, a job I loved, but decided that I needed to be home with the kids and could finally afford it (barely, but enough). Junior is apprenticeing to be an electrician at the moment, and has just under 2 years to go before he has his ticket. It's been a long road, but we can finally see the light.

I love anything crafty, even though I'm really not that good at those kinds of things, as long as I enjoy it then it seems worth it to me. Although my last-stand in the crafty department is scrapbooking, I refuse to go there. I have all kinds of un-finished craft projects all over the house, which I know drive my husband crazy! I just have to point out all of the un-finished projects that he has going-on and he remains quiet.

Well, that's it for now. I need to figure out how to do this blogging stuff!