Merry Monsters — Mike, Cynthia, Benjamin, Daisy & Jack

Here you Grow!

2011-04-05T19:39:00.001-07:00

It's finally here! Yes, Tamara and I have been hard at work to bring you our 4th issue of Delish! We hope you love it as much as we do — it just keeps getting better and better!

Tooth Fairy

2011-03-08T08:41:00.000-08:00

When I am 100..

2011-03-03T09:20:00.001-08:00

9

2011-03-02T12:14:00.001-08:00

Happy 9th Anniversary, Mike.

You're awesome. I love you :)

Just say no!

2011-02-23T08:40:00.000-08:00

FIVE!!!

2010-10-04T10:47:00.000-07:00

Happy 5th Birthday to my amazing, funny, happy-go-lucky, great, #1, awesome, hilarious, smarty-pants, super-duper, sweet-as-pie, cuddly and lovey son Benjamin!!!

Lego Party!!

2010-10-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

Guess how many Lego's are in the jar?!

Goody bags! Thankful I own a circle cutter!

(This is Ben's sweet expression as he watched Daisy have her turn).

Quiet time after the party, playing a new game with is new headphones :D

Nine

2010-08-21T12:50:00.000-07:00

Jack is nine months old today!

He is crawling, climbing and pulling himself up in a desperate attempt to keep up with his big brother & sister!

I took him to the health unit the other day to find out how much he weighs etc as it seemed like he had just finished a growth spurt. Sure enough, he has grown a bit! While he is at 19lbs 8oz, he's still very tiny according to the "stats". Weight is 30%, height (just over 27") is just 15% and head funny enough is 46.7cm — a whopping 80%! Good things come in small packages though!

We are done nursing as of August 1st, and that's okay. He stopped being interested in it and was getting painful. So, we ended it on a good note and he loves his bottles! A couple weeks ago he wasn't interested in food, possibly his tum getting used to the formula, but he seems to be back on track. Now if only he got back onto his old sleeping habits and sleep all night and nap more. This waking twice a night business is nonsense.

It's a good thing you are cute!

Jack was supposed to be napping... instead he figured how to pull himself up and didn't know how to get back down! This was Friday...

...by Saturday you were trying to climb the stairs and had a knee up at one point.. oy!

Look at them teeth! Four on top, two bottom!

This face cracks me up!

Look out world — here I come!

Funky Monkey

2010-07-03T12:05:00.001-07:00

My lovely friend Gillian has started her own wee photo gig, Funky Monkey Photography, and was so kind to come and take pictures of the kids the other day. She's also the photographer for Delish!

Thanks Gillian.. they look great! You have a natural talent for this!!

Graduation!

2010-06-22T13:36:00.001-07:00

Ben graduated pre-school today! The year FLEW by.. of course having a baby part-way through made everything seem to go by even faster ;)

Way to go Ben!!! Next step — kindergarten!

Seven

2010-06-21T09:09:00.001-07:00

Jack is seven months old today!

My teeny tiny guy is growing up so fast, changing every day! He's napping on his tummy at times, sitting up and chewing-chewing-chewing! Still just two teeth, who knows when there will be more. Sleeping has gotten better the last while, but naps are quite short (like, 30 mins if I am lucky). Of course the days he naps longer than that are when Daddy is watching him! BUT at least there is a bit of a daytime routine in terms of timing. That's tricky to do when you have three kids 4 and under!

At his 6 month vaccincation/check-up last month he weighed 15lbs and was 26" long, his head 44cm (his head is always in the higher percentile, all his smarts LOL!) He's so small & tiny! I don't like to compare too much as to what the others were at their milestones, but he's just so physically different than them! Doc says he's a-ok though, growing but just at a different rate!

He's such a sweet & cuddly guy (he really does give hugs!). I call him a koala bear because if given the chance, he grabs your arms and pulls you in, hanging on for dear life! I am still nursing him, which is so great. The others weaned themselves at around 4-5 months, and they were also biters! Ouch!). Not sure how long we will keep it up, but right now he doing great with it and I don't wanna pay for formula if I don't have to! He's on solids now, loving all the foods I cook up for him.

Love you, Jack ;)

Meeting his Great-Grandma — she came for a week visit at the end of May.
Miss you Grandma!!!

Pink Candy

2010-06-15T08:58:00.001-07:00

In this nice weather, we've been taking the kids for a walk, rewarding them with a wee slurpee (Mike and I get Iced Caps!) and then carry on our walk.

Last night, while sitting down for a few in the store, Daisy asked Mike if she could have pink candy. Well, more like "Daddy? Pink candy?" The girl loves pink. She had a pink hair clip in, pink sweater, pink tights, pink sandals (with hot pink toe nails) AND was drinking a pink cotton candy slurpee. Mike's response? "No, Daisy. They don't make pink candy."

She stared at him, looked over his shoulder (at the aisle with candy!) and so plainly replied "Um. Right there" and pointed.

LOVE HER! I think we laughed about it half a dozen times last night.

Ugh with a big huge capital U.

2010-05-19T22:54:00.000-07:00

So much has happened the last two months I don't even know where to start! I have had this post saved for so long, editing/adding/deleting.

Ben — growing up so quickly. He is an excellent counter, can identify letters and is starting to put them together into wee words. He has always quite the memory (I call him my little elephant) but it's sure showing now. Songs, sayings, even clips from his movies — we hear it all! He is in swimming lessons again, repeating his last level as it had been quite a while since his last set, but loving it. One more to go. We have had a private tour of his new elementary school where he will be going to kindergarten full-time in the fall. They are so nice there, introducing him to everyone they met, seeing all the classes.. he is so excited for school! He will be going to a day summer camp here in town, for 5 days in the late afternoon, all Toy Story themed! It's put on by a local church, has a HUGE turn-out (last year was 400 kids) so I know he's gonna love it. Haven't told him yet!

Daisy — our little spit fire, learning her independence (aka stubbornness!). She is talking up a storm, full sentences, and will try to repeat everything. She says "I love you" now (been working on this for a while!) She's doing great potty training, going pee quite often, waking up dry quite a bit, actually pooped on it today for the first time! She is so in love with her baby brother, it's awesome. I was going to try to register her for something this summer, but not sure yet.

Jack — 6.5 months old! He's got two teeth, waiting for more wee teeth buds to show up. He's got great strength, rolling over and able to hold himself in a sitting position for quite a while. He's always got smiles and giggles for his brother & sister, his non-stop entertainment, and he loves to cuddle and hug. His sleeping routine seems to come and go, was good for a while, and then back to the way it was, but I know it could be a lot worse! He's still tiny, just 15 pounds, but healthy. Doctor isn't concerned as he is growing & gaining, just at his own rate. The other kids at this age were pounds heavier. Bonus of having a tiny baby — the clothes fit longer!!

Mike — laid off again, for the third time this year. He would still have a job, if we could afford to just sit around and wait for work to pick up, but that's not the case. Last one hired, first one to go typically. He has been busy around the yard though (aerating, sanding, built an awesome sandbox for the kids) and various things in the shop.

As far as myself goes, when I wasn't being mama, I was working on Delish Magazine! I call it my fourth child ;)

Delish is a free-to-the-reader online publication for women. It shares a credo with the three of us, and that’s “Live like you mean it.” We’re not teenagers, we’re definitely not cougars, we know our own minds and we’re comfortable in our own skin. With that in mind, Delish will focus on what’s real, what’s useful and what’s beautiful.

All in all, we are happy & healthy, the main things.. right?!?

March

2010-04-05T08:19:00.000-07:00

Wow! Another month since my last post.. well, sadly, blog has taken a very far back seat in the list of priorities. Sorry, blog. It's me, not you :P

Anyhoo.. here's what has happened the last month:

We had our 8th Wedding Anniversary! Mom and Dad watched all three kids so we could go out for a nice dinner together!

Mmm.. Shirley Temple!

I turned 31, had a lovely birthday. This is the drawing in my card from Ben :) It's a cyclops!

Mike, sadly, is laid off AGAIN. Here's hoping that something bigger & even better comes along.

Daisy & Ben went to the dentist. He had another cleaning (loves the dentist!) and it was her first visit. Her's was basically a chair ride, didn't want to open her mouth LOL! But as long as she isn't afraid, and we have no concerns, who cares!

Daisy turned TWO! What a big girl she is. We had a great party, rainbow themed! The cake was made by moi (YUMMY!) but was an experience to make. Tried to make fancy frosting, measured wrong, burnt out my mixer.. fail! Cool Whip & vanilla pudding to the rescue :) AND she is now in a big girl bed! She had mastered the art of climbing out, so, it was time. She is doing great in it.. so proud of her! Next up - potty training!

Her snazzy PINK run bike!

This one kills me.. I am making a fabric cover for her helmet (a kitty!).
Right now it looks like a piggy :P

Ben was very happy to get back to pre-school after the two week Spring Break. Tomorrow he gets to go on a field trip (with daddy!) to the fish hatchery. He is also going to be starting more swimming lessons next month.

Jack is sure changing! Near rolling to his side, reaching & grabbing for toys, passing from one hand to the other, teething (oh the drool!) and VERY strong. He just had his 4 month shots, took them like a champ (of course!), had the look-over at the doctor. He is a *tiny* guy! So much smaller than the other kids, like, 25th percentile! Daisy & Ben have always been at least 75th or higher, so it's different. Apart from his prolific spitting up, I'm not terribly worried, and the doctor isn't concerned as he is growing, just not as quick as the others/the"norm". His head circumference on the other hand is in the 90's, so it's all going to his brain lol! As a comparison, at this age, Ben was five pounds heavier than Jack, who is just 12.5 pounds right now. I guess he's the runt :) I'll start him on rice cereal in a few weeks I think, see if that gets him growing!

We had a great Easter. Mom & Dad were still here, and Mike's brother brought Granny (GG) out for the weekend as well. We even did a family photo outside!

The Merriman gang!

I soooo wish he was smiling here.. oh well!

Cheese!

Mom made her this fab little dress, using fabric that was from her mom (GG),
so it was probably intended to be used for her or her sister when they were little!

Photo update

2010-03-05T13:56:00.001-08:00

No time to post, but here are some pics :)

January came & went...

2010-01-30T22:33:00.000-08:00

And what a month! Christmas was great! It was awesome to be able to spend a week at Mom & Dad's, visit with all the family. I am keeping very busy with the kids, work, and home stuff. Mike had a lot of work in the beginning of the month, and now it's tapered off thanks to the Olympics (things shutting down because their won't be access, business actually having to close because of it) and is now laid off and looking for work. Something will come up though, it has to!

Ben is doing wonderful at pre-school. He is writing his name, identifying letters & numbers and can sing the alphabet song all by himself. He is learning his left & rights, being very helpful around the house and getting rewards for doing so. Soon I will be registering him for Kindergarten! Crazy! He LOVES his baby brother, can calm him down when he cries. I was listening to him talk to Jack the other day, when Jack was in his bouncy chair, and he was getting fussy. Ben sat beside him and talked to him *very* quietly, telling him that it was okay and he stopped crying. I commended him later on being so great with Jack and thanked him. Ben said "Ya, I am a baby calmer!". I think he has seen the "Dog Whisperer" show with us too much! He is really great with the dogs, too.Feeding them when we ask him to, lets them outside for a pee, etc. A big helper!

Talking to Granny on the phone :D

Mmm... baking cookies!

Daisy... what a girl! She is smart as a whip. She understands EVERYTHING! Her level of communication astounds us every day, putting two & three words together no problem. She knows so many animal sounds, learning some numbers & letters, and is getting very good at using manners. She is so happy, a wee bit obsessive compulsive (!) and very loving. When she sees Jack in the morning, after naps, etc, it's like she is seeing him for the first time! "JACK!" So cute. She is also very good at pushing Ben's buttons and getting into trouble! The terrible twos have sure been introduced! One of the most exciting things is that she has gone on the potty twice! Tonight she even told Mike that she had to go (they were getting out of the hot tub) and sure enough she went pee!

Mike caught her by surprise.. love it!

And Jack! Our littlest monkey.. he is sure growing. Monday was his 8 week check-up and vaccinations. He is 11.5 pounds and 23.5" long. He did SO great with getting his three needles, just a bit of fussing and then he sucked on my finger and nearly fell asleep. He is smiling all the time, giggles coming out and entertaining us non-stop! Sleeping wise, he is doing great. He falls asleep on me around 8:30 or 9, then I wake him up around 11 for a quick diaper change and feed (he pees a LOT!) and will sleep until 7 or later. Even though he doesn't really nap much during the day, and that's been better the last couple of days, I can't complain.

... you sure do, Jack!

His smirk that came before the smile!

Sleeping on Daddy..

Using his Bumbo chair, smiling at Daisy.

The onesie was a gift from Mike's Nana :P

They snuggled in voluntarily to give Jack loves!

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-23T15:13:00.001-08:00

We have been busy around here. Very busy! I had a good head start on shopping and cards before Jack was due, but then he came and we got even busier. It took forever to finish the cards (I sent out 73 this year!) with the thank-you's, photos of the kids, birth announcements, etc. I was lucky to have help from Kerry with the last of the wrapping (THANKS!!!) and now I am packing for heading to Mom and Dad's.

Jack is doing awesome! Such a great little guy. He is an AWESOME sleeper at night — now in his cradle (in our room) for the most part. We go to bed lately at about 11, after giving him one last change/feed at 10, and he has been sleeping until 5:30 or 6 sometimes. Woo! Feels awesome getting a huge stretch of sleep! He is smirking, looking around a lot more, even "talking" to his toys sometimes on his bouncy chair. I am excited for the family to see him tomorrow! He has changed a lot :D

Ben is growing like a weed. Size 5 pants are needed soon! He is having fun at school, spelling his name ("B's" are all over the house!) and singing Christmas songs! It's great to see him learning. He can sing most of the alphabet song now, too! Was never interested in this before..

Daisy is such a smarty pants. She knows some colours already, picking up on everything we say and tries to say so many things, even putting 2 and 3 words together. So exciting to see this again! She recently had her first hair cut, too – thanks Cat! She sat still in the chair all by herself, got a cute little bob and bangs. Bye bye mullet!

As much as they are at each others throats a lot of the time, they have their moments of getting along and I savour those LOL! Bribing works ;)

Have a great Christmas!!

Jack's Birth Story!

2009-12-02T13:36:00.001-08:00

Unlike the births of Ben & Daisy, labour didn't start on it's own with Jack, despite having two membrane sweeps, walking, going on the elliptical multiple times a day, etc. I was scheduled to be induced the morning of November 21st (Saturday) and was hoping I would wake up with contractions. Morning came, nothing. So we got ready, Mom was going to stay with the kids at home, and we headed to the hospital.

I had SUCH butterflies, it was ridiculous. I was more nervous this time around than with Ben! Nervous knowing that I was going to be in pain very soon, unsure of how long it was going to be (no guarantees that it was going to be faster!), worried that it wouldn't start right away and I would be sent home.. all these thoughts were buzzing around in my head. My only bit of peace was knowing that my doctor would be there, to do the induction, and he knew of my history with Daisy especially, and probably wouldn't send me home.

They gave me a bed (didn't get sent home, they weren't busy!) to check me out, assess me to see if I was having contractions (I wasn't) and I was about 3cm. So Dr. H came in at 8:30 and gave me a double dose of gel to get the contractions going. And it worked! Within 15 mins I was feeling them, totally manageable at this point, and thankfully my nurse said that I was not to go home LOL! Phew!

Contractions were coming, Jack's heart rate was between 136 and 140 at this point..

It was very calm in the maternity ward, not busy at all. We got to walk down and pick our deliver room! Number 3 it was :) Got settled in, Mike went to put my CD on that Kerry made (THANK YOU!) and wouldn't you know it, I burned it wrong. Damn it! Mike knew how important this CD was to me so he whipped home and re-burned it for me and was back within 45 mins! What a guy! While he was gone, my contractions picked up FAST. I even called home to find out if he had left yet, they went from 6 to 5 to 3 mins apart (lasting about min) in about 10 mins. The nurses continued to check on me, check on baby, confirm that I was having good contractions (!!) and told me that Dr. H would be in to break my water sometime after 12.

Uh-oh. I knew what that meant. As soon as my waters break, it's baby time not long after. With Daisy, when I was checked at 5cm, the Dr. accidentally broke my water and I went to 10 cm in 10 mins. She was born very soon afterwards! So Dr. H came in at 12:45, and I said that if he was going to break my water that he couldn't go anywhere far! Scrubs on, they waited for a contraction to break it and sure enough, they were back to back to back. Not even 10 seconds in between.

I was in such a trance like state, trying to focus on my breathing, not hyperventilating, staying calm (especially with the wee break I got in between them) that I could just hear them around me. Mike was commending me for doing such an awesome job, my nurse was counting for me as I counted with her in my head, assuring me that once I got to the peak they would get better and less & less paint (it worked!) and then I had to push.

I don't think I pushed for more than 10 mins and his head was out, cord wrapped around him (just like the others), one more push and Jack was in the world at 1:28pm! Less than 5 hours labour!

He was perfect.. looked exactly like his big sister, then his brother, then he looked like Jack! So cute, pink, healthy. 8lbs, 7.5 ounces, 21.25" long.

A very overwhelming, awesome, memorable experience :)

And his birth song?! One Day Like This by Elbow!

Jack Alexander!!

2009-11-23T15:29:00.001-08:00

Will post a birth story when I get a chance, but here he is!

Jack Alexander
Born November 21st, 1:28pm
8lbs 7.5 oz, 21.25" long

(And absolutely perfect!)

Still waiting...

2009-11-18T18:34:00.000-08:00

Once again, I am consistent at being late with my babies and we are still waiting for Jack! I go for an induction on Saturday morning, which if he is born that day he will be 8 days late. Ben was 10, Daisy was 6.. I was hoping for less or even on time!

Halloween Fun!

2009-11-03T22:31:00.000-08:00

We had a great halloween this year! It was so much fun to have Ben involved with what he wanted to be (he picked his costume in March and stuck to his *ahem* guns! It was based on Ralphie from A Christmas Story.. a family favourite movie here!). Daisy's costume was picked for her because it was just too cute — and nice and warm! Looking forward to the day when she can tell me what she wants to be. At the rate she is growing, I think next year she will have an opinion!

Mike took them trick-or-treating as I wasn't sure if I would be able to waddle around.. not without suffering the next day! He had a lot of fun with them, getting lots of smiles from the neighbors on their costumes. Every house that Ben knocked at he said "Trick or treating!" and even went on and on about how cute his sister was, she is the cutest chicken ever, etc.

Can't wait for next year! Will be a family of five :)

My bulked up sparkly cowboy & chubby chicken.. gotta keep warm!

I asked Ben if he would put his arm around Daisy.. she didn't want him to.

She REALLY didn't want him to!

What a cute little chicken!

Taken a couple days before, for his pre-school party. He LOVES his costume :)

Happy 19 months!

2009-10-28T22:06:00.000-07:00

Daisy is 19 months today! She is such a bundle of love and ridiculously happy most of the time! She squeals with delight when she sees cats, loves her Pinky, is such a good helper to me, showing more and more independence every day.. I just know she is going to be a GREAT big sister!!

Pumpkins!

2009-10-28T21:49:00.000-07:00

Tonight was pumpkin carving night! Ben was super duper excited, ate all his dinner & a special Halloween treat cupcake, and helped draw faces on a couple. Definitely the first year for him to be so involved, helping me cut with his safety knife. Daisy was quite content to have a pumpkin & a washable marker!

They were bouncing around like monkeys, didn't have time to play
with any settings on my camera! At least they weren't fighting :)

Voila! The gang of pumpkins.. Ben drew faces on the big one at the back (left) and the back right one. Since we had 5 white pumpkins from our garden, we did a "family"! The back middle is Mike, front row is Daisy, Ben, Jack and then me.. that is how I feel at the end of most days LOL!

Sleepy heads

2009-10-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

I love checking on the kids when we go to bed, see what kind of shenanigans they have gotten in to :) Limbs out of crib, hanging off of bed, how many stuffed animals they have snuck in..

Ben snuck in the GIANT Mumble (from Happy Feet). My sister gave that to him three years ago, and he still loves it. Lately, he wants to sleep with it.

Pardon the shadow.. was trying to be quick (and sneaky!) as she is a bit more sensitive to the camera sounds & flash than Ben. You can tell Daisy loves her stuffed toys as well...

Sideways. But I love the hand on Spiderman. Sadly, right now Teddy (top right) is MIA in the house. SOMEWHERE. We have looked everywhere. I am heartbroken for him as this is his FAVOURITE. Has had it forever, but he is being really good, considering. I hope we find him!

Faces

2009-10-07T09:17:00.001-07:00

Since Ben started pre-school, not even a month ago, his creativity has gone through the roof! I mean, if you know the kid, you know he has QUITE the imagination. But it has never been put to paper, so to speak. Anyways, since being in "school" he draws happy faces EVERYWHERE. On the truck in the morning when it's covered in dew, the window (by breathing on it to make it foggy!), the magna-doodle, you name it.

Here are a few :)

This one he named, Happy Boy in a Cave.

He now adds mustaches, like this one. Sometimes they even get eyebrows!

I love how he makes the eyes so wide-set. And the nose at the top!
He said this one is frustrated.

Pre-school Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

2009-10-06T13:04:00.000-07:00

This morning we met up with Ben's pre-school for their first field trip — to the pumpkin patch! The weather was great, lots of pumpkins & the ground was DRY! Ben got to pick one out, as big as he could carry. Limited it to one, as we have SEVEN from our garden. Lots of carving this year!

Snack time in the tee-pee's!

Mmm.. timbits & apple juice!

The class!

Arrrrgh! A Pirate Party!

2009-10-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Ben's 4th birthday party — A pirate party! We had a lot of fun.. the kids were so well behaved (still in shock at how smoothly it all went!). I can only hope for more parties like this in the future!

Goodie bags.. full of booty :)

We picked up this awesome paper pirate ship at Papyrus when we were in Seattle. So fun!

Pirate cupcakes!

All the kids sat so nicely at the table, eating lunch.

Lighting candles on cake.. you can kinda see how round I am :P

Argh! The pirate cake!

I don't know what she was doing/saying, but the look on her face is priceless.

Gift-opening pics are boring, but this one made me laugh.
A pirate lover has got to have a pirate raincoat!

Summer Randoms

2009-09-04T12:50:00.001-07:00

Impossible to get a normal picture of those boys together!

Pre-school!

2009-09-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that in one month today my baby boy is going to be FOUR! Yesterday was his pre-school orientation and he did great :) The kid is ready to learn!

Garden gong show

2009-09-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

Our one side garden got a bit out of control this year thanks to the compost! Mom had turned it all with nice lovely compost soil before planting a bunch of stuff in the spring, and then we started to notice other things popping up that we didn't plant! Grape tomatoes, white pumpkins.. they were everywhere! Our zucchini when nutso when we were gone, too.

I had bought one white pumpkin last halloween (also called ghost pumpkins) and from the seeds that were composted, we have at least 5 — from what we can see!

What we came back to after camping (oh, and Ben got a nice case of road rash the first day back, falling off of his bike)

Ben & Daisy's new rooms

2009-09-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

Ben went to Granny & Grampa's for 5 or 6 days and I had planned to work on the new nursery & Ben's new room while he was away. Holy doodles was it a lot of work to squeeze in that short amount of time. Painting both of them, rearranging, cleaning, purging. I was knackered. BUT I was also nesting and this is what I need to get done before I felt ready for the baby!!

Ben got a new toy box, mirror & art in his new room..

And a bulletin board for his art :)

The rocking chair & bookcase will be coming out to make room for the new crib!

Granny's Birthday!

2009-09-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

When we came back from Seattle, the next day was Mom's birthday! The kids went to daycare as planned and Mom and I went shopping after a morning meeting I had! Was a lot of fun.. then we bbq's outside and open gifts. I think she enjoyed herself — she is glowing in the pics!

It ain't a birthday without balloons — Mike made the hat for her :)

I had recorded Ben singing Happy Birthday in the card.. love it!

Seattle

2009-09-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

Mike and I got to spend a night in Seattle — kid free! I won a night stay at Hotel Max so Mom & Dad watched the kids for us so we could have a break. If we haven't thanked you two enough, THANK YOU! It was a lot of fun..

Camping!

2009-09-04T12:18:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it's been nearly a month since we went to Lac Le Jeune, and I am just posting now. Can you tell we have been busy?!?

Our site.. tent on left was the play tent, the other monster was ours.

Daisy was in heaven with all the rocks!

Ben got rid of his training wheels! He did a LOT of this..

And this..

We spent one day at the Kamloops Wildlife Park. I haven't been there since I was a kid, so it was neat to go back. And since we have Zoo passes for here at home, we had free admission! Daisy liked the snakes..

Mmm.. popcorn.

Popcorn on the train

The sign reads "Children under the age of 6 are not allowed to use this ladder".

Heat wave

2009-07-28T22:57:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to do a new post, but unfortunately we are having a heat wave and it's just taken over! Everyone is grumpy, tired, uncomfortable and cranky. It's 11pm and the house is still 29 degrees. Does NOT make for a happy, comfortable pregnant lady!

We are going camping on Friday — hoping for a bit cooler weather! This humid muggy stuff we have here is gross!

Family dates

2009-07-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we ventured to Vancouver to go to the Aquarium. Ben hadn't been there in a while, and we got him all pumped up to see the new baby beluga. It was crazy busy though (first Sunday that school was out, beluga was born recently — what were we thinking!) and as a result it was hard to take pictures when you were elbow to elbow with people, watching your kids and the stroller all at the same time. Oy!

Tuesday Mike didn't have any work, so we had an early Canada Day at the Zoo, and it was so much fun. It wasn't busy at all, not too hot and the kids did great! Ben got his face painted (LION!) right away, loving it as you can see! The train was a lot of fun, Daisy LOVED it, pointing at all the animals trying to tell me everything she was seeing. So cute! Ben made a new friend, this cute donkey that was leaning on the fence. And of course as much as we told him NOT to touch him, he did pat him very carefully and thought he was so cute. He wanted to bring him home :P

Now we are sweltering with the heat, not wanting to do much at all, hanging out in the basement or the shade in the yard. This pregnant mama is looking forward to some cooler weather :P

Next weekend we are going to the Steveston Water Park, a birthday party for little Camille who is turning 1!

Kids

2009-06-16T21:52:00.000-07:00

Look at those teeth!
She is working on all four eye teeth right now too. Wow (her new favourite word)

Ben bouncing back onto his feet from a bum-drop for the first time.
He was fine by the way :) Wanted to see the video over and over and over...
** Ignore the crappy resolution, was taken on my cell phone. Both were actually :P

May

2009-06-01T08:36:00.000-07:00

Finally an update! After the kids had the flu, I got it for a day and a bit, and I think Mike did as well. Seems like so long ago I don't remember — and of course baby brain doesn't help!

The zoo was SO much fun though.. the kids had a blast, the weather was great, Ben even got to hold Benson the owl in the "Rapter" show. He is still talking about it :)

We have been doing hard work here and there, playing lots, cooking hot dogs over our fire pit & eating dinner outside and watching everything grow! Ben named our rhubarb plant Big Leaf, he just loves watching it grow, commenting every so often on how much he's grown! It was Mike's birthday on the 20th, and Ben helped me make rhubarb cake — except he told Daddy that we baked him "roast beef cake"!! Either way, it was a yummy roast beef cake! Lots of projects underway and getting started/finished around the house.. kitchen backsplash (tile is finally ordered!), re-doing the hot tub surround, filling in the hole in deck from fish pond (raccoons ate them all mid-May), painting our bedroom/bathroom and of course we gotta paint the kids rooms! And all of this done before the baby comes?!? Hmm.

This few Saturdays ago we had family pictures taken with my friend Sarah. It was so much fun. We went to Whonnock Lake here in Maple Ridge, not that far from home. The weather was perfect, and of course I wasn't prepared for water play — no towels, toys, changes of clothes. Lesson learned! She has given some sneak peeks and I am so excited to see the rest!

Tomorrow we are off to the Island — Lake Days in Lake Cowichan at Granny & Grampa's! I am sure Ben will love seeing the parade even more than last year :) Pics to come of that!

Flu

2009-05-04T11:10:00.001-07:00

The stomach flu has hit the kids HARD. My goodness... it's so hard to see them like this.

Saturday we went to the Zoo. When we came home that afternoon, Daisy starting puking right before dinner (sorry, I have been around it too much to tip-toe around it!) and had some BAD diapers, resulting in a bath at midnight, then Ben coming into bed with me and puking. I spent the WHOLE night in bed with him, he was puking every half an hour and it has just gone on and on and on and on. Daisy started to get better yesterday, actually ate a wee bit, walking around etc, but then she spiked a high fever and was SO lethargic. I was so scared about dehydration so we went to the ER. I knew they would tell me to just keep doing what we were doing, which they did, but we did learn a few things and felt better having them checked out. Late night though.

Today Ben seems to be a bit better, but still puking. Daisy is still lethargic, but sleeping it off thanks to Gravol suppositories (sorry my babies!).

Will update about our trip to the zoo later..

The NEWS!

2009-04-21T13:26:00.001-07:00

For those of you who don't know, I am expecting baby number three! I will put a link to the left to go to my pregnancy blog :)

Easter!

2009-04-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

Pics of what the Easter Bunny left for the kids! Ben got a Gardena garden tool set and a kite. Daisy got a couple books and a stuffed toy.. Granny & Grampa also gave them some clothes, Daisy got new Robeez, and a couple treats.

We did a little hunt around the house (it was raining too hard outside) and had a good day! It was nice and quiet, just us, no running around or big dinners to prepare. Of course these are the only pictures I took of the whole day (bad mommy).

Daisy at the park

2009-04-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

Ben was too busy riding, so all I got shots of was Daisy — when she wasn't trying to eat the rocks.

Pasta night!

2009-04-21T13:09:00.001-07:00

New bike trailer & bike...

2009-04-21T13:01:00.001-07:00

Ben is just like his dad.. he LOVES bike riding, or doing anything around bikes. We were given a little two wheeler (with training wheels) for him to learn on, an upgrade from the tricycle. He would ride that all day if he could. His "new old bike" he called it. He was getting really good on it, even was able to balance in the middle on just the two wheels. We told him that if he got better at it, that his reward was a new bike. Not sure if this was more for him or for Mike to get to take him to the bike store (no Canadian Tire specials here), but this Saturday was THE DAY!

I had just bought a new bike trailer off of Craigslist (smokin' deal!) and they were trying it out for the first time. They were going to go to the bike store to "look".

He didn't want his picture taken.. surprise surprise.

Suffered through this one..

Ben's new Norco Macho bike!

I think he likes it :)

Daisy & her birthday party

2009-03-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday was Daisy's first birthday! I can't believe a whole year has come and gone, but it's been a great one! Here are pics from the party..

Some of the fabric garland/banner in the dining room. I SLAVED over this for weeks (the cutting of the pieces was brutal!) but it was so worth it. It's still up! I love it..

Close-up on the chandelier...

Mike and his mom so diligently made me the flower balloons I wanted! There were clusters of pink and white ones all throughout the house! Those are still up, too ;)

The cake! I love making cakes for my family.. this one had lemon curd filling — all homemade!

Mmm.. cupcakes

Daisy was waiting for her party guests, playing with a balloon! Fun!

Checking out her cake!

Ben sure liked the cupcakes.. the icing at least!

Cutie-pie birthday girl!

Proud Granny (GG in the background!). She was such big help, as always! Love you Mom!

Concentrating on playing with her new toys..

Happy girl!

Some pictures finally!

2009-03-26T09:41:00.001-07:00

The month so far.. busy! It was our 7th wedding anniversary at the beginning of the month. Mike finished school — he is now a journeyman electrician!!! Then I turned 30 (woo!) and started back to work part time, so did Mike. Now we are preparing for Daisy's first birthday this Saturday!

Ben attacking bubblewrap..

"Eyebrow" look!

My anniversary flowers... I wish I got a picture of the 30 lovely tulips from Kerry!

And Daisy.. almost a big girl!

A quick update..

2009-03-13T13:18:00.000-07:00

Things have been so busy around here! I have pictures to upload, but haven't had a chance to get them off of the camera! Mike finished his last day of school today — WOO! So glad to be done that chapter (or should I say chapterS!) and move on! We both go back to work on Monday (a certain someone's birthday ;D) and the kids go to daycare, Daisy's first day. It's old hat for Ben, his beloved Eva! Daisy's birthday is quickly approaching and tomorrow my lovely friend Sarah at Silver Lamb Studios is taking her cake smashing pictures! Can't wait!

Will post more when I have 10 minutes to myself :P

Snow!

2009-02-27T10:00:00.000-08:00

Party time

2009-02-27T09:51:00.000-08:00

We went to birthday party on Saturday for little Amy who turned two. Last year I went with just Ben, and was VERY pregnant, so it was funny going with the whole family this time around.

Ben had fun "rough housing with the big boys" as he put it and Daisy was sweet as pie :)

She was fascinated being up on Mike's shoulders.. trying to see his face and playing with his ears LOL!

Birthday girl Amy.. she didn't want me to take her picture. She said "no no" :P

"On my next birthday I am going to be this many".
And yes, him and Mike wore matching shirts from Hawaii ;)

Valentine's Day Walk

2009-02-18T13:00:00.000-08:00

We had a great Valentine's day! After Daisy had a wee morning nap, we bundled up and went to the dykes for a family walk — dogs and all! It's not an overly exciting walk, but it's flat and easy to push a stroller! Everyone who knows Ben can agree that he is NOT shy, so he had to talk to each and every person (and their dogs!), always hamming it up.

He wasn't too impressed that we had to leave :P

Baby Contest

2009-02-18T12:48:00.000-08:00

A local photo studio/photography store here in town (where Mike got my camera) holds a baby contest every year, for kids up to the age of 5. It's a great opportunity to get some pics of the kids, and even have a shot at winning some prizes! The bottom left ones are the entered photos :D

Sister & Brother...

2009-02-09T10:16:00.000-08:00

Ben asked to sit with Daisy in the rocking chair :) A RARE display of affection, which Daisy just loves!

Bubbles

2009-02-09T10:15:00.000-08:00

Dining room makeover

2009-02-09T09:13:00.000-08:00

This past week Ben spent a few days on the Island at Granny & Grampa's house.. so we took advantage of only having one munchkin to get into stuff and work on the dining room. It needed so much work.. patching, sanding, more patching, more sanding, finally priming and painting. Then we had to put it all back together. It's nearly done and it looks sooooooooo much better. Did I mention it looks better?!? Wow. I still can't believe the difference. I am embarrassed that I lived with it the way it was for so long actually. I know, it's not like I have a ton of time on my hands, but you know what I mean.

Mike also did a bunch more work in the kitchen, prepping the backsplash area for tiles (which we will hopefully get soon), patching, priming.... but the end is in sight!

Next up... painting cabinets, dining table (and re-upholstering the seats, sourcing the perfect fabric right now!) the wee hallway and our bedroom. Bathrooms need work too, but they are at the bottom of the list.

Before.. we replaced the china cabinet (which was my mum's, my sister will be getting it) with the Danish modern sideboard below.

Hello Fernwood Green!
We worked very late in the night painting, so excited to see colour on the walls finally!

Sneak peeks of my favourite corner...

We did two greens (Limesickle & Fernwood) with the new lamp :)

Alright, alright..

2009-02-02T14:56:00.000-08:00

Here is a so not artsy shot of the fridge... it will look soooo much better once the kitchen is painted ;)

Oldies but goodies...

2009-02-02T14:51:00.000-08:00

I had a wee photo session with some old friends yesterday afternoon... we have a lot of vintage toys in the play room that I just love.

Mike's Winnie the Pooh, Thumper & Tigger... LOVE the typography on Winnie's shirt.

Vintage Fisher-Price Snoopy Dog.. Ben likes to walk him around the 'hood.

FP Roly Poly Chime Ball

Rar.. the lion from the FP Circus Train. Can't find the bear..

Freaky Donald the Duck toy that when you pull the cord, he talks.
Still works, only slightly warbled!

Who needs diamonds??

2009-02-02T07:09:00.001-08:00

Just give me new appliances! Nice white CLEAN spacious glorious appliances! Like my new fridge I got Saturday as an early birthday present :) Thanks Mom!

Goodbye Magic Chef... blech.

Hellooooooo Kenmore!

Double digit!

2009-01-28T08:43:00.000-08:00

Happy 10 months Daisy! xo

Too many to count...

2009-01-26T22:09:00.000-08:00

Today was full of first for Daisy! Holy cow..

1. She finally discovered she can stick out her tongue! I think she was proud of this.. she clicked her tongue most of the day!
2. And when she wasn't clicking or sticking it out, she was making kissing noises..
3. Or blowing bubbles. With spit. I blame this on Ben.
4. She clapped her hands!!!
5. There was a diaper mishap after her afternoon nap.. let's just say it messed and she played a bit :P

Oh, and she got another tooth today too. #8!

What a weekend.. and it's only Saturday!

2009-01-24T20:11:00.000-08:00

** Warning. This post is all about puke and poop! But no pictures!! **

We got the flu. Or should I say the flu got us?

Thursday night, as I was putting Ben to bed (repeatedly) he kept telling me that his tummy hurt. You now the tale of the boy who cried wolf? Well, I think that was based on Ben. We have heard this so many times... "I have to pee. Fix my blanket. I can't find Teddy." The boy will think of anything to stall bedtime some nights. Most nights he is a-ok, but others not so much.

9:15 I heard sobbing (I was downstairs watching TV). Open his door to a mess of puke. OMG. Ick. Okay.. panic control. Calm him down, clean up and run a bath all at once. And do it quietly so Daisy doesn't wake (their rooms are next to each other). Mike was at Starbucks studying for a test the next day so I called him and said "YOU NEED TO COME HOME NOW BEN JUST PUKED EVERYWHERE!" click.

Needless to say, I spent the night in Ben's bed with him puking every 40 mins or so, then to hear Daisy puking in her bed, in her sleep. Didn't have the heart to wake her up, moved her to other end of crib, covered the area and went back to dealing with Ben. I was a zombie.. Poor Mike had to get sleep as he had school/test the nest day. Then at about 3, I started to feel it. No puking for me, but lots of bathroom trips :( Mike got up at 4 or so to help, Daisy puked again, Ben seemed to slow down. Laundry started at 4:30. Can't even count how many loads I have done. Mike stayed home Friday morning from school, but he had to leave by 9:30 for his test. But I was able to sneak in a couple hours of sleep before. THANK YOU MIKE!!

So, it was a super pukey poopy weekend. I am just starting to feel 100%, now I have woman-troubles to deal with. FUN. Daisy had a messy diaper incident right after her bath tonight, of course, so I am hoping it was a one time thing and we'll have a decent night sleep. It was so great to sleep in my own bed last night, not cramped with a pukey-toddler in a creaky twin bed!

Off to wash more clothes, rags, towels and blankets and sit with the heating pad. Hopefully the ice-cream buckets can be put away for another day. And lesson learned? Oh ya. Going to playgroups is a gamble on whether you will be healthy or not the next day! GRR. Makes me not want to leave my house. EVER!

On the bright side, Mike is healthy!! :D

Trouble = fun!

2009-01-20T13:36:00.001-08:00

Daisy is getting to be such a bundle of mischief! She can climb the stairs lickety split.. has been busted "playing" in the toilet, can climb her chair and Ben's, to help her get onto the little table. And then fall off.

Her favourite game is taking the books off of the shelves. Ben likes to help at this of course..

At least she is cute :)

Is he FINALLY interested??

2009-01-20T13:30:00.000-08:00

I have been trying (and not forcing!) to teach Ben the alphabet for quite some time. He has been SO not into wanting to learn them, so I just give up for a while, try again.

This past week he has all of a sudden into writing letters, recognizing them ("Look mommy! The fountain looks like a letter 'M'!") and I couldn't be happier!! And he is happy & proud! He is actually wanting to colour in colouring books, too. Carrots are orange, grass is green, the sky is even blue! Up to this point he did a fab job at just one big scribble on the page. But he rocked that scribble! He was proud of that scribble!

He is growing up so fast.. this afternoon we are going to meet with a lovely lady about pre-school in the fall. Fingers crossed!

Robot fun

2009-01-20T13:28:00.000-08:00

Ben loves robots. We often talk like robots during meals. I had to buy a new kitchen garbage can, so we had this lovely box.. what to do with it?? Make a robot!

What's that smell??

2009-01-20T13:25:00.000-08:00

Saturday night we turned on the gas fireplace upstairs and after a while the upstairs smelled HORRIFIC! I checked downstairs to see if there was a *eeks* fire from the wood stove (nothing). I knew it was the fireplace so we turned it off right away. Mike wondered if Ben put something in the grill.. sure enough.

He put in one of my business cards, which is plastic. We asked, he confessed. At least it didn't go up in flames!

The ladies

2009-01-08T14:37:00.001-08:00

One of the coolest gifts we received for Daisy this Christmas were these little ladies made by Kerry. LOVE THEM!

Pho-tos

2009-01-08T14:11:00.000-08:00

So, seeing as I got a snazzy new camera for Christmas, I gots to do a photo update!

RAR! LOOK AT MAH TEETH!

Ooooh... Aaahhh...

Papa imitating Daisy...

Ben wanted 'cool dude spikey hair for my friends' this morning. Ta-da!
(Ya, he has two imaginary friends.. Mac & Roly)

Ben vs stamp pad. It ended in a tie.

Daisy sleeping.. it was past 8 so I snuck in and got some shots :)

And she is awake!

Changes!

2009-01-08T10:16:00.000-08:00

Seeing as it's a new year, and we have had MANY changes already, why not another and start a new blog! My plan for this one is to focus on all of us, not just the kids. Changes we want to do to the house, trips, design, you name it!

We are hoping 2009 is a bit of a clean slate.. the last year ended with a big load of crap (sickness, death, wallet stolen, fraud because of it) all around Christmas, but thank goodness for Ben, Daisy and our wonderful families— they made it all worth while!

Right now we are waiting for our new phone to be hooked up with a (you guessed it) new number! BIG change. We had that number for 10 years I think, but the new telephone company can't transfer it over (sorry Kerry.. I know it's horrible!).

I am still tweaking and changing this layout, bear with me. My days are busy!