Scoopy

We have an Elf on the Shelf.  He's great. I noticed a few years ago that some of my friends were posting these weird things on facebook with this elf around Christmas.  For some reason, it's caught on and now Reid has his own Elf on a Shelf.  His name is Scoopy.  Santa sent him from the North Pole to watch over Reid and Nolan.  Every night he goes back to see Santa and report on the boys behavior.  When he comes back the next day, he's alway in a different spot.  It must be magic...  Reid loves it.  Finding Scoopy (Reid named him) is the highlight of his day.  He's so consumed with the magic of Christmas that this is just adding to it.  I love it.  Scoopy has left Reid a few presents cause of his behavior.  Usually when Reid does a really good job on the potty he'll get some sort of recognition from Scoopy and Santa.  Where will he be tomorrow???

The End of Paternity Leave

Christien went back to work yesterday. That was a quick, and fun 6 weeks. Yesterday was kinda hard. Trying to get ourselves into a routine with just me and two kidlets is a bit intimidating. Some days will be better then others. Happy to say that today was a good day. Potty training and all. Yes, that's right. Potty training Reid. I'm not totally sure how it's going. Christien took the reigns on this one. I'm too consumed with baby Nolan. So they did the whole potty day a few weeks ago. Timer on for every 15 minutes, and to the potty whether he liked it or not. Lots of sugary treats for rewards. We really have to stay on top of it cause it we don't ask or take him to the potty, the we are bound to have an accident. I'm so overwhelmed with doing this by myself that I had him in pull ups today. Too many accidents over the last few days. After school he went back into underwear and o accidents. Plus he even asked/told me he needed to go. That's huge. Although I think he was just wanting the chocolates I was letting him have after each pee. Oh well. I'm just taking this all one day at a time. I remember when Christien went back to work after Reid was born. He was only 10 days old and I was beyond overwhelmed. Everyday I would wake up and make a little tick on the white board counting down the days till Christien got home. I definitely feel better this time. Although it's a very different story with two munchkins,

Santa Baby!!

The boys went to see Santa this week.  Super cute.  And super hilarious.  Reid was very serious with Santa and didn't look him in the eye ever (probably cause he knew he was lying about being a good boy, lol).  It was pretty cool to see Santa and Reid interact.  They talked about Nolan and what he wanted for Christmas and what Reid wanted for Christmas, and when they were ready for the photo we popped Nolan onto Santa's shoulder (he's obviously done this before) and voila.  Perfection :) Love my boys even though they offer me little sleep and a chaotic household.  I joke with Christien that I'm going to get him therapy for Christmas so that he can learn to deal with the mess, and the toys, and the creativeness...

One Month Old

How time can fly sometimes. Our little Nolan is one month old today. He's been pretty fussy these last few weeks, mentioned it during his check up today and the doctor up him on baby Zantac. Reid was one it from 6 to 12 months so he figures that we might as well give it a go for baby Nolan. Poor thing was up screaming and crying from midnight to 4:30 last night (poor mama and dada too).  Hopefully this will help his little stomach settle and make him a bit happier. He's up to 10 lbs 7 oz.  he's only gained a pound in the last months, but nothing to be worried about. He's in the 75th percentile for weight and 95th for height!!!! Reid better watch it!

Ten more days till Christien goes back to work. Holy smokes, six weeks flew by!

Update: Nolan is fine! He's doing great and seems to be feeling much better, thanks to the medicine. I know there's a lot of concern for our little wee boy to be on medication so early in life, but I assure you that we tried everything we could before turning to medicating him. The poor guy was in so much pain and we needed some help to make him better. Have no fear friends and family. Thanks for all your concern :)

Almost a month in...

Can't believe baby Nolan is going to be a month old on Thursday. Time flies so much faster when you are doubly busy. Thank god that Christien is still home otherwise I'd be triply busy. At least I can have a nap during the day if I need to right now. Two more weeks and he's back at work and it's just me and my wee boys. On the bright side, when he's done his next two week stint, he'll be back and it'll be Christmas time!!

We bought an Elf on the Shelf for Reid this year. I had no idea what it was but saw people posting pictures of the same elf all over Facebook and someone pinned 101 ideas to do with your elf on Pinterest. So I looked into it and it's hilarious. The little elf is a bit creepy, but funny. The story goes that he is sent to your from the North Pole and he just chills and watches you all day, then at night he flies back to the North Pole to report if you were naughty or nice to Santa. Hilarious. You can't touch the elf cause then he'll lose his magic. Every night that he comes home end up being somewhere different in the house. Reid gets a kick trying to find Scoopy (yup, his name) every morning. Funny enough, he does do things to "impress" Scoopy. He tells him what he wants for Christmas every day. Pretty funny little guy.

We also started potty training Reid on Sunday. What. A. Long. Day. And Christien was the one most in charge. I read the books, and he took the lead. No pants, only shirt and underwear all day. Timer on the phone for every 15 minutes. To the potty every time it went off. Candy for snacks. Lots of drinks. Drinks he doesn't normally get. He was so full of sugar by the end of the day. Crashed hard, but... Bad dreams. So that sucked. He only had a few accidents. But for the times that a he says he has to go to the bathroom, it almost makes up for it (note to self, need to buy Reid more pants). This morning we were downstairs watching TV and he got up and, out of the blue said, "I do it, I do it" ran upstairs and went pee by himself. Very impressive Mr Short. We're just holding our breath that it works!!

He's Here...

We were lucky enough to welcome a beautiful baby boy to our family on Monday, October 22, 2012. Labor came pretty quickly, and as we reflected back on it, we realized that if Christien didn't come home from work early this round, he would have missed it.  Went into labour at midnight on Sunday night/Monday morning and Nolan Richard Short was born at 6:53 am.  Pretty intense labor, but I was able to do it without have a C-section, which was really important to me.  Knowing the kind of recovery that comes with a C-section, well...  I just really wanted to avoid that.  Especially with having another one at home.  I now have a family full of boys!!  I can't wait to watch Reid and Nolan grow up together.  Reid already loves his brother so much.  He's full of hugs and kisses.  I think that there is a little bit of jealousy there, but we're trying our best to give them both the attention that they need and deserve.  So far, Nolan is proving to be a pretty chill baby.  He likes to snuggle, but he'll nap wherever you put him usually.  He's also taken to a soother, which some mums might say is a nightmare, but I'm glad that he's got something that he can use to help soothe himself.  Reid is still dealing with soothing issues at almost 3. Christien is home until the beginning of December.  He has been working the last few days, just doing some side work while he is home.  And we've had lots of visitors and are still expecting more this weekend.  Lucky little boys to be loved by so many people.

7 - 10 Days

One more week till baby's official due date. Saw the doctor today and had to book a c-section as a back up plan cause they don't like to let patients who have previously had a c-section go too far beyond their due date.  Too many risks involved or something like that. Anyways, section is scheduled for October 26th, so if baby can't make it on it's own then in 10 days we'll be holding it in our arms. And by it, I'm thinking boy.  Holy crap! Baby is as big as a watermelon now. It's one is probably as big as two. The end is I sight!!!!

Uncanny

A little hard to see in the ultrasound picture, but, to me, the resemblance between the new baby and Reid when he was a few hours old is just uncanny.  I think that they look identical.  Same little cheeks and pouty lips.  Getting excited to meet this new little one and see what kind of little person they turn into.  If looks are anything to go off of, then I'd say that I'm going to have two rambunctious little dudes on my hands.  Only time will tell.  And not a lot of time left either.

Harvest Half Marathon

Christien ran his second half marathon last weekend. He did awesome. Finished in 1:53:19, beating his time for the Hypothermic Half Marathon (2007) by 13 minutes. I totally forgot my camera, so I have been waiting for the official pictures from the marathon to come out, but as it turns out, I can't scam them from the website. They are pretty cool pictures though. Better then I would have gotten with a toddler on my shoulder trying to get him coming across the finish line. Either way, I'm very proud of him. Wish I could have ran it with him. He's doing another 10K on Sunday. It's the Alzheimer's 10K that he ran a couple of years ago with a group of friends. Hopefully he can find another race or two while he's back in November.

Dino Racers

Reid and Christien ran in their first race together a few weeks ago.  It was out in Drumheller and Christien's buddy from work was running the 5K with his two little girls (in the stroller) and his wife was running the half marathon.  Christien thought that it would be cool to bring Reid along and run in the 5K with Frazer.  They had a really great time, besides the fact that they had to be up and out of the house by about 6 to drive out there.  Reid and Dada!  Races and dinosaurs.  I guess Reid had a blast in the stroller and, while it was only 5K, he was pretty used to that, cause even that distance is a short run for what Christien usually does with him.  It was pretty hilly too, and Reid got a kick out of going down hills fast with dada!  After the race they went to the museum.  Of course, Reid loved it so much.  He's very much into dinosaurs right now, which is pretty cool.  It's been a good trick that we've been using to get him to eat - "Big dinosaur bite, chomp!" He thinks he's a T-Rex.

 Thumbs up for the dinosaur racers

 Christien's old roommate from 15 years ago in St Johns.  Small world.  Same shirt.

 Finishers!!

First Day of Play School

Reid is off to play school for the first time this afternoon.  We met the teacher last week and while it went well, I stayed with him the whole time, so I was a bit worried about leaving him by himself.  He hasn't been very good with me leaving him lately.  Not the case.  He was pretty excited when he saw his monkey back pack being filled up with snacks.  In fact, he dumped his whole snack bucket into his monkey pack to help me out.  He just wanted to wear it and go to school.  I left him playing with cars and I didn't even have to try to sneak out.  He even gave me a hug and a kiss goodbye.  Two and a half hours isn't really that long, and it's broken up with a trip to the jungle gym.  So he'll love that.  So looking forward to him being able to have some socialization without me around, and for me to be able to kick my feet up and relax.  Maybe have a nap.   Most likely try to get some things done around here that are kinda hard to do with a two year old at your feet.  Exciting times at the Short household!

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Six Weeks

Only six more weeks and we'll have our new little addition in our hands.  Maybe sooner :) I'm trying my very, very best not to wish it away, cause it is really nice to feel the baby moving around in there and to know that things are going to change drastically once the baby gets here, but man, I am having a really hard pregnancy.  It's a combination of it being completely different from my pregnancy with Reid, in that, I have been so sick and so sore and so tired.  The tired I can deal with, it's the sick and the sore that I'm having issues with.  I mean, really, really so sore that I hurt all the time.  Anyways, a combination of that and the fact that I have a 2.5 year old that I am chasing around all over the place.  In that respect, this pregnancy has flown by.  I can't really believe that it's only six more weeks, but when you factor in the pain and uncomfort, the next six weeks are going to drag.

I've had two "feelings" with this pregnancy recently.  One: it's going to be early.  Not scary early, besides I think that we're past the point of that now, but early.  I'm hoping it'll happen like Cash did for Christine.  Three weeks early.  That's not too bad.  That would mean only another three weeks of being pregnant.  However, I'm not rushing it, but I just have that feeling.  Maybe it'll only be a week early.  Second, and I dread saying this in case I am wrong, but I just have a feeling that it's a girl.  I don't know why.  I never really had any feelings with Reid.  Boy or girl.  I just had no clue.  Maybe I did know with him, but because I was really pushing for a girl I wasn't paying attention to them.  This time though, I don't know what it is.  Just an inkling.  Excited to find out either way.

Winner!!!!

I won an unlimited year membership to a CrossFit gym here in Calgary. Friends of ours moved back to town from Florida, where they owned a gym/weight loss center. When I found out they were opening a CrossFit gym I was pretty excited cause I was wanting to join something like that after the baby got here. They put a contest up on Facebook. Basically, you had to write a little blurb about why you deserve it and get people to vote for you. Most votes won. Simple. I ended up getting over 70 votes! Doubling the next closest person. I'm so excited to start. My membership won't start until after the baby comes, and the doctor gives me the A-Ok to start working out again.i vow to be in the best shape that I've been in for years. They have just opened and are still finalizing a few things, specifically child care. So I'm hoping that once I start at the gym they'll have their child care set up and I'll be able to take in some classes while Christien is gone to work. So excited. And thank you to all of you who voted for me!!!!

Summer 2012

Kind of dropped the ball on updating the blog over the summer, so I'll try to give a quick run down, in pictures, now. It's not as easy to blog on the iPad as I had hoped, so that's a bummer, and also my excuse as to why I haven't updated in awhile :)

We spent the Fourth of July in Montana this year. We weren't really planning on it when we were booking our trip. We just wanted to head down there, and had to postpone the trip from June to July cause Christien's passport needed to be renewed. When Christien's home time landed on the Fourth of July, we thought that would be fun. And it was a blast. The Dunhams were out at the cabin for the week too. So we did a bunch of our stuff in town and then headed out there on the afternoon of the 4th to watch the fireworks and spend the afternoon with them. It was great!! We had the boys out on the tube and then Brian got his wish and had Cash and Reid out on the surfboard. Reid loved it, Cash not so much. It was pretty cool. We watched the fireworks from the Dunhams dock. Reid, believe it or not, fell asleep about 10 minutes into the display. It was the coolest. Not only were their neighbors putting on a great show, but when there was a lull, all you had to do was look around the lake and there were fireworks going off all over the place. Even on our drive home as we'd pass a random house, it would suddenly light up the sky with fireworks. So crazy. We stopped at one of the little booths on the side of the road to bring some out to the cabin. They sure know how to put on a celebration in the states!
In August when Christien was home, we did our yearly trip out to Kelowna. We usually try to visit with a couple of Christien's friends, but we had a lot to do back home, with appointments and things that we can only get done when Christien is home, so we cut our trip a bit short and just decided to spend the weekend in Kelowna. Again, Cash and Christine were out there visiting her folks so we got to see them as well. We left Calgary as early as possible on the Wednesday morning, cause we wanted to get to Kelowna in time for the Snow Birds show at 4. Driving on the highway that early in the morning is totally the way to go. We made awesome time. Barely any traffic and the construction didn't slow us down at all. We were even able to stop and get out of the car and eat for lunch. It was a very cool show. All tuckered out after a day at the beach with Cash. Mama wanted to hit up the Dirty Laundry vineyard, so I had to do it by myself while he snoozed in the back of the car.

I really can't believe that the summer is coming to a close already. Not only that, but I'm down to single digit weeks left until this new little baby is going to be here. I have a feeling that since the first 7 months flew by, the next two might drag. However, as a friend of mine told me, never try to wish away your pregnancy. And I totally agree. So many people complain about being pregnant and just want it to be over. Now, don't get me wrong. I also think that all those people who say that being pregnant is the most beautiful thing and that they love it so much are a bunch of liars. I've never been so sick and tired and uncomfortable and hot in my life. But I know that this is the last little addition we'll be adding to our family, so I just want to enjoy what I can with it. The kicking and moving are two of my favorite parts. Along with Reid wanting to "see" the baby and giving it kisses and hugs. He seems to be okay so far with being involved with having a baby come. But I'm pretty sure that he has no clue what's really about to happen. Christien thinks that it's going to be great for our family (I do too) and that it's going to solve a lot of our issues with Reid. And I pray that he is right. The little bugger still isn't sleeping through the night. He's up every two hours, which is like having a newborn. And he's getting really hitty lately too. So we're hoping that this baby will help to mellow him out. He also starts play school in three weeks. He's iffy about it, and he's been so attached to me these last few months, that I am a bit worried about the whole dropping him off thing. I'm sure he'll get used to it, but it's also very draining on mama and dada to have to leave their screaming and crying boy every other day. It will be good for him.

My Best Friend's Wedding

One of my closest and oldest friends got married a few weeks ago.  It was such an exciting build up to her wedding.  so nice to see her beaming all night long.  She married such a nice and genuine guy.  I'm excited for her and her new adventures with him.  The pregnancy hormones didn't help much when I saw Beatrice walking down the aisle and exchanging vows with Ndonji.  It was the most beautiful ceremony followed by a great party.  Was nice to see some faces that I don't see that often and some that I haven't seen in years.  Gotta love our group of friends from high school though.  Time may pass, but once we get together, it's like nothing's changed.  We may have a lot to talk about, but we fall right back into friendship mode.  That's the sign of true friends.

Baby's Growing

Just a little picture for those who check the blog, but I don't get to see too often. Baby is as big as a papaya now, and is starting to move around and kick lots. I think that Christien and Reid will be able to feel it for themselves soon. 22 weeks and counting. October is going to be here before I know it.

New Addiction

Totally addicted to Pinterest.  I signed up ages ago, kind of browsed through it.  Didn't really get it, and then left it for a long time.  Picked up the iPad the other day to just check it out and I can't not check it daily.  I think that I have my addiction under control though.  Instead of just logging on and browsing through different categories, I just see what the people I'm following have pinned.  The majority of the people that I follow are interested in the same sorts of things that I am, so a lot of their pins are interesting to me.  Cuts down on my iPad time.  I have found some really great ideas, and some really need to try recipes too, so it's worth it for me.  Lots of cute DIY projects and crafts.  Lots of toddler ideas and some photography ideas too.  Maybe this will give me the kick I need to really pick up that camera and start learning some things.  Anyways, Pinterest.  If you aren't on it, you're missing out.

Due Date Change

I love, love, love my OB. She is so fabulous. I saw her through my pregnancy with Reid, and the minute she walked into the room today she totally recognized me. She's so personable and nice and sweet. I just feel great after I see her. Baby is doing fine, still has a heartbeat of 150 (that's right in the middle so is it a girl or a boy...)? She looked over my ultrasounds and even though I thought they had been measuring right on she said that it looks more like my due date should be October 23rd, instead of the 18th. She'll only change a due date if it's 5 days or more out from the original estimated due date. She gave me lots to think about with regards to having another c-section or trying to give birth naturally. So we'll see how we feels about the pros and cons. Christien took Reid camping today. They are planning on being gone for two nights. Christien was so excited. They bought fishing rods yesterday and practiced a bit in the backyard. Just got a quick text from them and the rain has stopped, the sun is shining and the tent is set up. They are having some lunch, hitting the park and then going to try some fishing. Christien works with a guy up North who lives in Calgary who is going to meet them tomorrow morning with his boat. I think that they are going to have the best father/son Bonding trip. Funny enough, I miss them already. HowEver, I cannot wait to sleeepppp.....

Surprise!

The Short Family is planning their expansion. Completion date is set to be in October of 2012. That's right, we're having another baby. I want to say that it came as a shock but I think that's a silly thing to claim. However, I can say that this pregnancy is way different from my pregnancy with Reid. For starters, it started out totally differently. We had been trying and trying before Reid, with lots of bumps in the road, so when he finally stuck it seemed like a miracle. This time around it was more like, woah... Reid's going to be a big brother. Crazy. And I've been so sick these last few months. Have only gained about 4lbs but I can't fit into any of my pants so I had to break out the maternity jeans early this time. Christien is real happy about that. With Reid I was pregnant through the winter, this time I'll be pregnant through the summer, so that means I don't have a lot of clothes that I can wear again. High necked thick sweaters just don't cut it for the summertime. And that's what's new around the Short household.

Oh yeah, and I got the new iPad. Love it!

Roller Party

Amber's friends threw her a surprise roller skating party last weekend. It was so fun, and so great that we were able to bring Reid and he was able to give roller skating a go for the first time He loved it. He was basically running on his roller skates all the way around the rink. But he was out there, pretty much non stop for an hour. He'd swing in to see how his buddy Cash was doing (he wanted nothing to do with his skates, which broke Reid's heart), or to grab a new skating buddy. Didn't really matter who he was out there with, as long as he was out there. Was a super fun time. I hadn't been on roller skates in years. Not that hard to pick up again, although I must admit that I wasn't doing any tricks out there.

Easter 2012

Christien wasn't able to spend Easter with us this year, but my parents were able to make the trip down. Was really looking forward to seeing them, as I hadn't seen them since Christmas. And they've just spent two months in Bali, so they were also anxious to come and visit. Mostly for Reid, I know. We took him out to Butterfield Acres to do a little Easter egg hunt on Good Friday. It was a lot of fun. Mum and dad had never been out there before and I think that they thought it was pretty cool. Nice way to spend a few hours out in the fresh air. It was a bit nippy that day, but not so bad when we were out in the sun. Reid loved looking for the colored rocks for the Easter bunny.He collected them and then threw them down the super secret passage way so that the Easter bunny could turn then into treats!!
We wanted to hit up a tractor ride, but I wasn't sure what time they were running them. So he just played in the tractor bed with some other kids. Throwing hay over the side and patiently waiting for the ride to start.
Sunday morning we work up to Easter eggs that were hidden all around the house from the Easter bunny. It was pretty cute watching him look all over and get so excited when he'd find them. Then he'd put them into his Easter basket. I don't know how much chocolate he ate that morning. Christmas and Easter. Two days when it's acceptable to have chocolate for breakfast.


We painted some Easter eggs in the morning before we went for a nice long walk to burn off said chocolate. He was really, really excited about this too. His hands were blue and green by the time he was done, cause he didn't have the patience to try to dip his eggs into the dye. He just wanted to plunk them in there and then grab them out with his hands. He thought that it was pretty cool, even though he looks totally surely in this picture.

Minor Treatment

Well, it finally happened. Had to take Reid to the hospital for stitches. It was only a matter of time.

Thursday started out as kind of a bummer day. I have been feeling awful since Christien left for work (go figure it happens that way) and Thursday was especially bad. I don't blame Reid, but I was on bedtime countdown from the minute we woke up. I just had no energy and couldn't keep him happy all day. Before bed I decided that we'd jump in the shower together. Hoping that would make me feel a bit more human, and Reid's been a bit anti-bath lately. I'll fill up the tub for him, he'll jump in and barely get wet before he says "all done" and has the stopped and bath mat pulled out before I can stop him. So we showered. I jumped out first, wrapped myself in my towel and was reaching for his hand, as he was performing his dismount from the tub. His foot slipped and he smashed his face on the toilet. It happened so fast. I was right there and thought that he banged his head. Picked him up as quick as I could and just help him to me while he cried. Another clue that he was hurt, cause he barely ever cries. Once he slowed down, I pulled him back to have a look at his, what I thought was going to be, goose egg. Instead I saw blood. And a nasty cut under his eye. He kept saying "no, no, no", so I had to hold onto him again and calm him down before I could really get a look at it and clean it. As soon as I cleared some of the blood I knew right away that we were headed to the hospital. I was a little panicked, but held it together, cause I was all by myself and I kept thinking, how am I going to do this without Christien? Watching them stick him with a needle and then stitch him up. I got him into our room, dried him off and cleaned him up as best that I could. He honestly only cried for about three minutes total. Then I tried to make it fun and asked him if he wanted to go and play at the hospital and we'd go and see a doctor. He was pretty happy about that.


We got to the emergency room and they confirmed that they'd need to stitch or glue him together. We went to the Peter Lougheed Center, cause a) it's closer and b) they told me at the Children's that they are connected somehow. I think that when you bring a child in, they immediately send you to minor treatment, cause it's a quicker wait. This time it made sense to go there, but another time I took him when he had pink eye and they sent us to the same department. Anyways, once the doctor came in he said right away that they were going to throw a couple of stitches in there. Then he checked the cut out (I did get props for keeping it so clean) and re-evaluated his decision. He couldn't get over how good Reid was being and how still he was sitting in my lap while he poked at him. Stitches, apparently, are easier to do on kids cause they are quicker to get done and kids never sit still. Reid was taking this very seriously, so he decided to glue him back together instead. It was a relief for me. No needle. And also the scar will look a bit better without the needle mark from the stitches. So that's a bonus. Poor little monkey. He was so very brave, and he hasn't even touched it since. Hasn't complained about it either. He'll rub his eye, or scratch his cheek, and then pull his hand back, and hover it over the cut and look at me and say "don't touch". So at least he knows.

This picture was taken Friday morning. Today, Saturday, when he woke up, he had quite the shiner developing. Still no complaints from our patient. And no concussion. What a guy.

Same Old, Same Old

Nothing new to report, just haven't really added to my blog in awhile.

Christien has been back for almost two weeks now. He picked up a new iPod touch today, so that we can do "facetime" while he's up at work. Apparently facetime works better then Skype does up there, even though they both run off of WiFi, so we'll see what happens when he's there. I'm still deciding whether I want the new iPad, or if I should try to get one of the last remaining iPad 2's.

The folks just got back from their two month trip to Bali. One of the first e-mails I get from my dad today was a question about the hotel that we stayed at when we were in Mexico a few years ago. He wanted to check it out. Planning another trip already. Ah, retirement. It's been treating them well.

We went up to visit aunty Stacey a couple weeks ago. Ty left her for two months while he went off to Thailand. It was the first car trip that Reid and I have had together where he hasn't lost his mind screaming almost the whole way. He napped for a bit, and was up and read books and listened to tunes and ate Timbits. It was a pretty enjoyable trip. Always nice to visit with Stacey too.

And that is all that is happening in the land of Oz. Stay tuned?? Maybe something fun will happen in the next coming weeks. Income tax refund? Painting the living room? Playdates? The possibilities are endless and ever so exciting.

10 Weeks Gone...

Christien wrote his final exam today. He's been home for 10 weeks and he goes back to work on Monday. It really didn't seem like that long. I have mixed emotions about him going back to work. It's been nice having him home in the evenings and on weekends, but I really do miss our 2 full weeks together as well. Where we can do whatever we want, anytime that we want. It's a hard pro/con list to make.

We went out to Banff for a little day trip today. Walked up and down the strip, went for lunch and went to the hot springs. A pretty good day. It was only about -3 out all day, and the snow would fall and stop and fall and stop. So it was a really pretty day to be out and about. I have come to a conclusion though. I do enjoy Canmore more then I do Banff. Not sure why. Maybe cause there aren't as many people and tourists up and down the street. It's smaller... I don't know. I just know that I'm happy to go to Canmore any day.

Had to miss book club tonite. Was really looking forward to hearing all about Shannon's trip to India. However, I did just start reading the book from last book club today, so seeing as I'm a bit behind... I'll just let them discuss (if any of them actually read the book) and pick the next book for me. I'm happy reading anything.

Don't think that we're going to have a big crazy weekend. Nothing planned, and I'm really hoping that we can just chill out for our last weekend together before Christien is back at work. Supposed to snow all weekend, so it'll be nice to stay in curled up with a book and a movie. Or maybe we'll venture outside for a walk or two. Who knows. The world is our oyster. Ha ha ha.

Happy Weekend All!!

Reid is Two!!

Happy Birthday little man. I still can't believe that Reid turned two this weekend. I have a little toddler on my hands. He's not a baby anymore. I guess he hasn't been a baby in a while, but knowing that he is officially a two year old makes it just a bit crazy.
Grandma Cleo came up to help us celebrate, which was really nice. Reid and Cash had a joint birthday party at Village Square Leisure center. We rented out the Jungle Gym for them and a few of their little buddies. There were 6 kids in all, and they were all boys. Everyone had a blast. Most of the adults found themselves in the jungle gym playing along with the boys. Cake, presents, balloons and loot bags were to follow. Everyone was in good spirits until about 15 minutes before the party was over. We started to get a few melt downs, but nothing major.All in all, it was great weekend. I found myself a bit sick over the weekend, but finally woke up today, on Family Day, without a headache and the illness seemed to be gone. I was so worried that Reid was going to catch it, and there's nothing worse then a sick little boy. Unless it's a sick husband....

Spaaahhhh Day

Picked grandma up from the airport yesterday. Reid's new obsession. It's been a nice break for mama though. She loves to read him books and play with him, and since she got here, he really doesn't have time for me. Except when he wakes up in the middle of the night.

Cleo is sending me to the spa today. I'm so excited. I haven't ever had a real spa day. And I haven't been for a massage or pedicure in months and months and months. Maybe even over a year??? Also, getting a facial. Have never had one of those. Excited to try it out. All the while, she'll be back at home playing with Reid. I know she loves it, so that makes it way easier to leave him with her. I know that they'll have a great time, and he probably won't even notice I'm gone.

Looking forward to the quiet relaxation. Forgive me if I take this opportunity to fall asleep. During the massage. And facial. And pedicure. LOL.

Too Clumsy

I don't know what's wrong with me lately. Sleep deprivation? Loss of brain function? I got up the other morning to get Reid a bottle just before 6, and went crashing down the stairs. I'm in so much pain, still, it's crazy. And I'm going to have a long bruise from my hip to my knee, I'm sure of it. I can walk better, but now the muscles in my back and neck and shoulder are starting to act up. It's like one thing after another. I slipped on the ice a few weeks ago and banged up my knee really bad. Then I'm sure I chipped my ankle bone on the edge of the bed (I have no clue how that even happened, I just know that it made me want to barf and it was swollen and I couldn't walk), then the car accident, now this fall. Plus I get no sleep at night due to one infant that will remain nameless. Makes for a long and painful day when I'm too sore and tired to run after him.

Car Crash

Reid and I were in a little fender bender today. We are both totally ok. I was driving through an intersection and a kid in his brand new car thought that he could beat me on a green light. Hit the breaks, hard, as soon as I saw him going for it, but it wasn't enough. Creamed right into him. So scary. I saw the whole front of the car explode (and by explode, I mean get smashed to bits). Reid was scared, but not hurt at all. No air bags went off, so that's another good thing. Did you know those things could break your nose? Sheesh... Anyways, turns out I had no clue what to do. I just sat there in shock for a few minutes (or maybe seconds) and then called Christien. He was in class and wasn't answering. So I called Christine. I knew if she didn't know what to do, then at least she could call Brian. She told me to call the cops and that she would come and meet us. Thank goodness for that. I didn't want to keep the car running. Who knows what was going on with it. And it was cold. I was outside for a couple of minutes and my hands were freezing. Got the police to come, and gave them a statement. Got him to deal with the exchange of information. NOBODY stopped. Well, I shouldn't say that. Nobody who saw the accident stuck around. One young girl stopped before I even had a chance to call the police, but she didn't see the accident. She just stopped to make sure everyone was ok. And then after I called the police another couple had pulled over. They saw the accident after it had happened from the other side of the road and turned around to make sure we were all ok. Had to wait for a tow. Thank god we could wait in the car with Christien, Cash and Chelsea. Yes, we threw three car seats in the back and they all fit in the Venza! Good news for Christine (no she's not onto number three, but one day....). I'm so grateful that she came to meet me. Helped to calm me down and keep my mind off the awfulness...

On a positive note (I guess), when the cop gave me the information back, he informed me that it totally wasn't my fault and that he was giving this kid the ticket (I say kid because he was 16, driving his brand new 2012 Hyundai). And after I went through everything with the insurance company, they also informed me that it totally wasn't my fault and they even waived the deductible. And we got a rental car for free until the car is fixed (2012 VW Golf, total fluke), and we had to get a new car seat, but they are covering that for us as well. It's not an ideal situation, but it could have been worse. Way worse. I have to be grateful for how it turned out because nobody was hurt.

I almost feel bad for that kid. His dad showed up and he was so mad. He came over to me (the dad) when I was cleaning out the car and could barely get out what he was trying to say. He knew right off that it was his kids fault, and he was so glad that nobody was hurt, but you could tell how disappointed he was. I think seeing me take the stroller out of the back set him off into realizing that "holy crap, there was a kid in that car too". The poor kid was in tears when I went to his car to tell him that the cops were on their way and we'd exchange information when they got there.

And this was all at 9:25 this morning. Not exactly what I had in mind for my Friday. Christien had to leave school early. I didn't get a play date/coffee date in with Christine and Cash, and I'm not going on a fun wine tasting date with my husband tonite. I pray when I wake up tomorrow it'll just be a new day and we can start fresh. Hug everyone and make sure they know you love them. Always.