Lilburn Nut House

24 Weeks & Counting

2012-02-07T18:43:00.000-07:00

Wohoo!

Baby and I have made it to 24 weeks! It's a little more comforting to know that if I do go into pre-term labor that the baby is now viable!

I had my first Ultrasound after being discharged from the hospital yesterday (Mon Feb 6th) and today I met with the Obstetrician who I will be seeing while I am in Calgary. Her name is Dr. Mahalingham and she seems like a really nice lady! I will admit that when I was told that I was going to be seen by a lady Doctor I was a little nervous, as all my previous encounters with female Doctors haven't been the greatest.

After an hour and half wait in the waiting room (nothing like spending your whole afternoon in the waiting room) we finally go to see the Dr.

She said everything looked great from the ultrasound. Placenta was good, baby was good, in fact he even measured a week further along than what I actually am! (although the technician did say that the further along you are the more inaccurate the measurements are...didn't really make sense to me...but I'm not the technician am I)

Dr. Mahalingham said that she wants me in Calgary for at least another month, quite possibly until I am 32 weeks...I'm currently 24!

She said because of the complications I was having earlier, and because my cervix was already shorter(end) I was at risk of rupturing my membranes. She would rather be safe and have me in Calgary, as the Foothills Hospital is better equipped with everything they need to assist a pre-term baby, than have me go back to Lethbridge.

If anything like pre-term labour, bleeding, any sort of discharge starts again, I immediately have to go to the Foothills hospital and they will be giving the baby steroids to help it grow as much as it can before giving birth.

I'm not on complete bed rest, but I still cannot lift heavy items, or exercise, or anything else that would be to strenuous on my body. Basically I just need to take it easy, and slowly return (somewhat) to my normal daily routines, while listening to my body and resting if need be.

I'll do whatever it takes to keep this little boy inside as long as possible. I know that through the Lord all things are made possible. I will continue having the faith that whatever does happen is his plan, and he knows what is best for me and my family.

I don't know what the outcome of my situation will be, but I do have a calming feeling that everything will be okay...what 'okay' is exactly, I don't know. For now all I can do is pray and have faith.

Phoenix Trip...Re-Routed!

2012-01-31T19:05:00.000-07:00

On Thursday January 26th I packed the kids and My self into the van and headed to Calgary. I was preparing to leave the following morning on a 7:00am flight to Phoenix to go visit family and participate in a race (don't worry, i wasn't actually planning on running, just a nice long walk in +20C degree weather) for my 4 year old niece who has been diagnosed with Leukemia. I had made arrangements with my sister, Kristi, to watch my children while I was away.

During the drive to Calgary I started experiencing some discomfort in my abdomen. Two nights prior (Tuesday) I received food poisoning of some sort and thought it was just some "after math" from that.

As the drive continued it became more painful and uncomfortable. I just kept my destination in mind and that's what I aimed for...I wasn't stopping for anything. For the last 45 min of my drive I was in excruciating pain! I had to talk my self through it, tell myself not to tense up & just try to relax. It got to the point that I had to remind myself to breath. By the time I was reaching the outer city limits of Calgary I kept thinking to myself that I would way rather be in labour, because this was the most incredible pain I have ever experienced! Even just moving my foot from the gas to the break hurt. By this time I was in constant prayer with my Heavenly Father pleading with him to just let me make it to my Aunts house (in very south Calgary). It was about 5:00pm by the time I reached city limits. I had to make a decision; 1-Continue onto McLeod Trail or 2- Exit onto 22X and go "the back way". I chose 22X as I thought it would be a little faster and I didn't want to get stuck in rush hour traffic. As I'm driving up the ramp to get onto 22X all I can see is BACKED UP TRAFFIC. I almost loose it. I plead with Heavenly Father again to be with me, take this pain away, I can't do this by myself! Meanwhile trying to appear as nothing is wrong for the kids and trying to answer question after question.

As I kept in constant prayer the pain seemed to lessen some, and traffic never came to a dead stop, it kept in constant crawling mode. I knew I had help from above.

When we finally arrived at my Aunts house I was so relieved! As soon as I pulled into the driveway and parked the van I immediately felt light headed and extremely nauseous. With everything I could muster together I asked Marshall if he could go into the house and see if Nannie (my Aunt) or Auntie Lacey (my Sister) were home. He stood in the middle of the van with a pale face and wide eyes. I guess I didn't hide the fact that something was wrong well enough.

Again I asked him the same thing. He just cautiously asked if I was okay. I told him I wasn't feeling well and that I felt like I was going to throw up.

I realized I was just going to have to get the kids out and head for the washroom, fast. Every second I stood there trying to un-buckle Paisley felt like an eternity. Finally I got her out and half carried her into the house, with Marshall right behind me.

I took my shoes off and headed to the bathroom while "ditching" my kids at the door. My aunt realized I was in pain and went to help the kids, but Paisley of course started crying and didn't want anyone but me. I could hear Marshall say something to the effect of "Mommy wants to throw up, her tummy hurts"

Within minutes they were both by my side in the washroom, my Aunt tried to convince them that coming and playing with toys would be much more enjoyable!...Neither one of them took the bait.

The Nausea soon faded, but the abdominal pain was still there. I sat on the thrown for a while, and then it was as if my intestines were just filled with air! After I released the air/gas I was SO relieved. ALL the pain and discomfort was gone. I still felt a bit achy, but hey, I could deal with that!

At this point I just thought it was something I had eaten, and vowed to only eat "plain & boring" foods for the next little while, as to not have a repeat!

I then continued to get myself all packed up (I was borrowing a suitcase, as all of ours were smokey from the fire)

The kids and I ate supper, visited for a little and then headed over to Kristi's house where I was dropping the kids off. We arrived just after 9pm and was trying to give Kristi and Curtis the run down for the kids as quick as possible, without missing anything. I still needed to get over to my cousin Angela's house, as we were flying out together and had to be at the airport at 5am.

Curtis was brushing the kids teeth while I finished up with Kristi...and then, I felt like I had perhaps peed my pants, I anxiously waited for them to be done, and went in immediately after.

I then saw what no pregnant woman, no matter how far into the pregnancy they may be, wants to see...fresh, deep red, blood.

I was in shock! At first I didn't know what to do, and then I started panicking. I called my sister into the bathroom, she was just as shocked as I was. I then called my Aunt for advice (because anytime I don't know what to do, she will!)

She told me to first call Health Link, and if I got through to talk to them, but if I couldn't get through right away head to the nearest hospital! All we got through Health Link was elevator music...so to the hospital it was.

Upon arriving at the hospital and explaining why I was there to the ER Triage Nurse I was told to go immediately up to Labour and Delivery, Unit 51 and they would let them know I was coming.

I was taken into an assessment room where they wanted all the details of the situation at hand, info on my two previous pregnancies, and my "life history".

It was decided that they would take some blood & test it, do an internal exam & do a "mini" ultrasound (I call it mini cause the whole machine was on a portable cart & they were only checking to see if they could find any obvious signs/reasons for me to be bleeding)

*The rest is a compilation of notes I took on my iPod while in the hospital so I could keep track for myself what was going on...when you're in the hospital for any length of time the days & nights all melt into one big looooooong day*

Friday January 27, 2012

2:00am - After hearing the babies heart beat, checking my blood pressure and checking my cervix it was decided that I would stay overnight. They said my cervix was shortened and there was a small tear in my uterus. They also did a quick ultrasound to see if they could see anything. They kept talking about "lakes" and said my placenta looked thick which sometimes means it didn't implant securely enough. At this point they just have to assume that my placenta is/has detached(ing) or torn. I was told I would be put first on the list for ultrasound in he morning.

3:00am - A nurse came in, woke us (kristi & I) up and said something about us going home and coming back in the morning for the ultrasound. We were confused and told her that I thought I was staying over night and having it in the morning (because the bleeding had not stopped). She went to go talk to he doctor and came back apologizing and told us to go back to sleep!

We were lucky enough to be able to fall asleep the first time. Keep in mind we are still in the Labour and Delivery unit...so just as your eyes are starting to droop, and sleep tries to overtake you, the scream of a woman mid-labour/contraction/push makes any hope of sleep disappear. Also take into account that my poor sister is trying to sleep in a chair made for sitting...not even "slouching friendly" & I am trying to sleep on an assessment bed much to short for my height...with a mattress...well I wouldn't consider it a mattress as i have bruises on my behind to prove there wasn't any 'comfort' to it at all.

8:00am - A nurse came in and told us that I was first on he list for the ultrasound

9:30 am- Still waiting for them to come get me for the ultrasound

10:15am - Went to the washroom, and talked to a nurse on the way back. Apparently someone said I was sleeping and so they pushed me back in the "ultrasound line"...but that I was NOW first in line. Someone should be in to check babies heartbeat and my blood pressure.

11:00am- Finally taken to have the ultrasound. The technician doing it was AWESOME! I could see the whole thing too! Even for ultrasound pictures, he was so stinking cute! The technician was talking to him as if he was already born, asking him politely to move his arms or hands out of the way, or to not turn away from us, calling him sweetie...etc. I could see and feel him move at he same time...I feel like I connected a bit better with my boy today.

The obstetrician that "read" the results right in the ultrasound room made everything sound good, baby is right on target, according to their measurements he was in the 65 percentile for every measurement (head circumference, stomach, length, weight, bone size...etc). They could not find where I was bleeding from. They said the placenta looked good, but if it was torn/detached a little bit they wouldn't be able to see it anyways. She wants me to have follow up ultrasounds every 4 weeks for the rest of the pregnancy, just to monitor the growth of baby and placenta and to see if they can find any tears/detachment.

They took me back up to my room (referred to as the "closet room" by the nurse that wheeled me back up) where I waited to be seen by the obstetrician (same one that saw me the night before). She came in, I think fully ready to let me go home, but then she asked to see my pad, and there was fresh blood...soooo I'm now in the hospital until I haven't had any fresh blood for 24 hours. She then continued to explain that if something did happen before I was 24 wks, that there was nothing they could do for baby as 'it' (he) is not considered viable before 24 weeks. I tried to hold it in...but I couldn't. Hearing that there was possibility of loosing my baby, or just knowing that if for some reason I did go into labour before Feb 05th that there was nothing they could do for him...hit me!

For the rest of the night my bleeding was inconsistent. It would appear to be slowing down, and then not.

Saturday January 28 2012

7:00am- The laboratory came in and took some blood (just one vile this time)

9:15am- The Doctor on call saw me, said I'd be here a couple days as I was still bleeding, and am only almost 23wks so they needed to monitor me.

10:20am- The same Obstetrician that saw me the previous night after my "mini" ultrasound came and saw me and said I could go home if I wanted to, because they aren't doing much for me here anyways. If I was over 24 weeks they would probably keep me in case something happened then they could do something immediately for baby. I need to continue to monitor the bleeding and if it gets worse than I need to come back.

I am on moderate bed-rest (I assume for the remainder of the pregnancy), with the exception of this week where I am basically on complete bed-rest to hopefully re-assure baby makes it to 24 weeks! She wants me to stay in Calgary for at least a month, and I have an Ultrasound set up for February 6th, with a Follow up appointment for February 7th.

I am happy to report that there has been no fresh bleeding since Saturday night (the 28th)

How it all went down

2012-01-18T19:20:00.001-07:00

Wednesday January 11th will be a night we won't soon forget. It started out as any other day, we got up, went to work, came home and continued on with our afternoon just as we do every other day.

I had activity days that night, so I left the kids and Irish with supper and was on my way.

We were making P.J. pants that night and so we went a little over time. I was trying to make it home in time to say goodnight to the kids before they were in bed. I made it home just in time (7:30pm).

I rushed in and went straight to their rooms to give my little munchkins hugs and kisses goodnight.

I returned down stairs to get a drink, check my Facebook & email for a little breather before I unloaded the van with all my P.J. making supplies.

I then ventured out to unload the van. As I'm coming back to the house with the first load I notice a "light show" coming from our neighbors window (and by neighbor, I mean immediate neighbor...as in the other side of our duplex). As I'm walking closer to our door I am trying to determine the source of the light. It's far to bright for a candle, and too "dancy" for just the bedroom light...then it hits me, that the light I am seeing are flames from a fire!!

I "throw" my sewing stuff into our living room while yelling "Irish, I think we might have to call 911" that statement alarms him, so he comes running to the front door and we peak outside again, only this time the flames look larger and there is smoke everywhere. We then see the lady who lives in the other side of the duplex running to our side of the duplex! As soon as I see her I knew we had to call 911.

Irish then calls 911, and I go after the lady, as she had ran back to her house...and re-entered!! I'm standing outside the door (and not entering because I am 5 months pregnant, not sure where/how big the fire is...if it's contained only to the one room or spreading etc) and yelling for her to come back out, that it's not safe to be in there. She finally comes out saying that she couldn't find her teeth (of course, that's what I would go back in to grab if my house was on fire!)

It seems as though she only took a "breather" and went back in...BAAHHHH! COME BACK OUT!!! Irish comes down the sidewalk and around the corner, on the phone with 911 dispatch. I tell him that she's gone back in and won't come out. Without thinking he hands the phone to me, and runs in after her (My Hero husband!)

Meanwhile this whole time our very own children are still in their beds on our side of the duplex. I didn't think they were in any immediate danger as the fire was in the far SW corner of the house, and they were "sleeping" in the very far NW corner (basically the direct opposite corner) of the house and one floor up (our side has 3 levels, and hers only has 2).

After Irish "drags" the lady out (...she really wants her teeth) he "gives" her to me to hang onto and I hand him the phone. I try to take her away from the house, but she insists on getting her coat and boots, which are just inside the front door. How could I not let her, it's 'freezing' cold outside and all she had on where her P.J's and bare feet. I tell her to quickly grab them and we would put them on further away from the house.

It seems like we've been hearing the sirens for a while now, but no firetrucks in sight. While the lady is "taking her time" putting her coat and boots on (while sitting on the front steps) I hear glass cracking. I run over to the corner to see what is going on. The fire is now outside the window and climbing onto the roof! My heart drops down into my stomach and I almost burst into tears as I realize my two precious children are still inside. Almost immediately after that thought I see Irish come out of our house, carrying both of our children, one in each arm...I can now somewhat remain calm.

It was a good thing that he went and grabbed them, because I probably would have been a little hysterical if it had been me! I guess he calmly went up to their room, turned on the light and said in a happy voice "Hey, do you guys want to go and play at a friends house?" to which they were super excited about...and most likely a little confused!

So Irish has the kids, and I am trying to do everything I can to 'be there' for the lady, comfort her, continue to re-assure her that yes, her house is on fire, but she is alive and that is the most important thing!...OH and NOT let her go back in the house.

After what seems like forever, the firetrucks finally arrive. Now I don't who else has experience with a fire, but it is so not like the movies. The firemen get out of the trucks, gather, walk here, walk over there, slowly unload the pipes....there wasn't anything rushed about it. Of course the whole time I'm thinking hurry up!!! Put that fire out before it gets any worse!! while at the same time well, they are the fire experts, they should know what they are doing.

Even after the firemen arrived to the house, the lady (who I will refer to as 'B' from now on) was still trying to go back in. One of the firemen asked me if I could "get her across the street and keep her there"...it was now officially my job to keep B away from the house. Meanwhile I know that Irish and the kids are safe, but I have no idea where they are.

As we watch the Firemen put the fire out, I see them go in and out of our side frequently. I just keep praying that the fire did not spread that far.

We are blessed to have a neighborhood full of wonderful people. We had numerous offers of places to sleep that night! Irish told me this later on that night, but I guess as soon as he backed our van out of the driveway, and got out, our neighbor directly across the street from us comes running towards Irish yelling "Irish, where are the Children???" She demanded that he take them over to her house right away! Irish took the kids to their house where they played, had some snacks and eventually, later, went to bed.

I stayed outside just to keep tabs on what was going on, and get any instructions/final words from the firefighters. Luckily I got to keep warm inside a firetruck. Every so often the Fire Chief would come in and update me as to what they were doing. When he found out I was pregnant he told me in a very serious tone that I was not to go back into the house, and that if I needed anything for that night to get my husband to do it, as it was better to "sacrifice" him, than me.

When I finally went to our neighbors house (where we spent the night), I went up to say goodnight to the kids. As soon as I walked into the room both kids popped their heads off the pillows and in synchronization cheered "Mommy!!" and then Marshall, in the most mature voice for a four year old tells me "Mom, that was so nice of the firemans to put the fire out! Daddy just called them...and they came!"

That night was so hard for Paisley. I think the only one that slept like a rock was Marshall! That boy could sleep through a tornado! When Irish left our house with the kids he didn't think to grab her blanket (which is seriously a must have...it's her life line) or her baby. Normally Paisley goes to sleep without a fuss, but that night I had to lay with her until she fell asleep. Every two minutes she would ask in the saddest voice you have ever heard "Mommy.....blanket?......baby?" to which I would reply "I'm sorry hunny, we don't have them. The fire made them stinky" she would cry a little, and somewhat fall asleep, only to "wake up" again and ask the same questions. This continued all night. With Paisley waking and moving, the firetrucks coming back every two hours to monitor things, and being in a strange place neither Irish or I slept very well...or at all for that matter.

SO long story short, there was no fire damage to our side of the duplex! Every thing in our entire house just smells like smoke and there are ashes in our front entry and living room!

Potty Training

2011-08-09T23:30:00.000-06:00

In all honesty, potty training Paisley has been 100 times easier than it was with Marshall. It could be the fact that I was not eight months pregnant trying to squat down in a tiny little bathroom for "hours on end", or it could be the fact that she is a girl...and apparently girls potty train faster than boys, OR it could just be that she is that awesome!! :)

Back in February Paisley was showing interest in the Potty, not only did I think she was a little young, but I honestly did not have the time! We (the kids and I) worked every morning at the Gym, and I did not think it was fair to her to only 'potty train' half the day...as I could not give my whole undivided attention to her while at the Gym. So we had the portable potty out and available, and she would use it before bed, and baths.

At the start of July I was working much less, and it worked out that I had 6 days off in a row...I thought "it's now or never" so we went for it! And you know what?! By the end of the first day, she was rocking it! She told us every single time she had to pee!! I could not of been happier! Mentally I was in it for the long haul!! She was doing so well that I didn't even think she would need a chart!

As much as the #1's were making it into the potty, the #2's were not. Which I understood, I didn't expect it to happen over night. But after four weeks of cleaning up poopie panties, I was spent. Each time we would transfer the log to the toilet, explain that this is where we poop, NOT in our precious princess panties. Each time she would say "Poop, potty, no panties"....but would continue to poop in them.

Although I tried to pay attention as to what time of day she would release the torpedo, she started going at different times every day...I think she caught on to what I was trying to do!

SO finally I made a Potty Chart!! It seems to be working VERY well! We've only had it two days...but those two days she's made it to the potty! Better yet, today she TOLD me she had to go!! (day one was luck, Marshall had just finished and I told her that it was her turn, stuck her on and she went!!)

...In fact I think I owe this success not to the potty chart, but to Marshall. We had been explaining for a while now that Daddy poops on the potty, Mommy poops on the potty, Marshall poops on the potty AND Paisley can too! So yesterday, I took her into the bathroom with Marshall and "made her watch"...I think the light bulb came on!! :)

Here are a few pics of my little girl in her big girl panties...I believe she was trying to take her shirt off...but just couldn't figure it out.

Oh and if anyone knows how to add a link or something for an excel and/or a pdf document, let me know...I was trying to figure it out so I could add the potty chart if any of you Mom's venturing into this stage wanted to take a peak at it....maybe I will just have to take a picture of it! :)

Do you know the Muffin Man?

2011-08-03T07:00:00.002-06:00

I don't know the Muffin Man, but I'll tell you, I sure felt like him last weekend. Ever since I saw the muffin tins that make the cute little muffins, I have wanted one. I don't have my own set yet, but boy am I putting these borrowed ones to good use :)

The first batch of muffins I made were Cinnamon Raisin, Oh.My.Word, they are ever Delicious! The kids really enjoyed them, in fact, Paisley somehow snuck THREE of them, and I didn't even realize until I was taking them out of the tins!! What a silly girl!

Here is the recipe:
Cinnamon Raisin Muffins
Ingredients

3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg (or all spice)
1/2 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup granulated sugar
57g (half a stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
170g plain yogurt
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 180C or 350F degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside. Mix together 1/2 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and raisins in a small bowl and set aside.

2) Place granulated sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, yogurt, applesauce, and vanilla to bowl. Mix until well combined, about 2 more minutes. Slowly add flour to bowl, mixing well as you go. Add baking soda, baking powder, and salt to batter and continue mixing until combined.

3) Set the batter aside. Pour brown sugar raisin mixture on top of batter and lightly fold into batter using a spatula or wooden spoon. You should only fold this 3 or 4 times - you don't want to incorporate it into the batter too much.

4) Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling each one about 2/3 full. Sprinkle each muffin evenly with the remaining 1/4 cup of brown sugar.

5) Bake for 15-18 minutes, checking for doneness after 15 minutes. Muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

The next ones I made are Pumpkin. This recipe comes from my Sister In Law. I don't normally like Pumpkin...anything, but I tried these muffins that she made last year and they were surprisingly good! (And I only say Surprisingly...just because I wasn't expecting anything from it, as in the past I have not liked anything made with Pumpkin)

Pumpkin Muffins
2 cups flour
1t baking soda
1t baking powder
1t coarse salt
1t ground cinnamon
1t ground ginger
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4t ground all spice
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
4 large eggs lightly beaten
1 can 15 ounces pumpkin puree

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.
In medium bowl,whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt , cinnamon , ginger, nutmeg , and all spice; set aside.
2)In a large bowl, whisk together , brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.
3) Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched and a cake tester inserted int the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 min , rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to wire rack; let cool!

Next I made some Apple Oatmeal Muffins. These were pretty good, they weren't my favorite, but we still ate them. Next time I think I might add a little more cinnamin, or even apples. I just needed a little more flavor.

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups apple, peeled and shredded
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick oats
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup fat-free milk
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
2 egg whites

Preparation:

Spoon flour into measuring cups and level with a knife. Place flour in a large mixing bowl and add oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir with a whisk. Combine milk, oil, vanilla, yogurt and egg whites, stirring until well blended. Add wet ingredients to flour bowl and stir until just moist. Blot shredded apple on kitchen paper to get rid of excess moisture, then add apple to mixture and stir.
Spoon batter into a lined 12-cup muffin tin. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

And Last, but NOT least, I attempted to make some 'two-bite brownies'. Now I new that the tins were small and that I shouldn't add too much batter, and I thought I was doing good....but I guess I still added too much! I used the recipe that I posted a little while ago, on a post titlted 'calling all chocolate lovers'

Now the reason why I said I attempted to make 2 bite brownies was because I had put too much batter in the tins and they rose up and over...so getting them out of the tins in one piece was a little tricky....but they still tasted the same!!

I think in all I baked over 250 muffins/brownies...it was a good baking weekend!

Delicious Orange Chicken

2011-08-02T22:35:00.000-06:00

OH.MY! Was this EVER Delicious! I love finding new recipes to try, and it's even better when they are a hit! Although it took a little bit of prep, it was SO worth it! Pair it up with some Rice and Broccoli and you've got one great dinner!!

I found this gem on 'The Noshery' blog (go and check her post out, because she has some mouth watering pictures to go along with the recipe.

Here is my mouth watering picture :)

Here is the Recipe and Instructions:

Chicken

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1-1/2” cubes
1 ½ cups corn starch
1 cup panko bread crumbs **I just used regular bread crumbs**
2 eggs, beaten
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Oil (for frying)

Orange Sauce

1 ½ cups water
1/4 cup orange juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon orange zest, grated
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon ginger root, minced
½ teaspoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons green onion, chopped
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes **even with only 1/4 tsp this adds quite the kick, so if you don't like the spice, don't add so much :) **
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Combine corn starch, salt, and pepper. Prepare a bowl with beaten eggs, another with panko bread crumbs and another with corn starch. Dip chicken in egg mixture, dredge in cornstarch, then again in the eggs and finally in the panko bread crumbs, set aside. Heat pan with vegetable oil to 375 degrees, fry chicken in batches until completely cooked.
In a large saucepan combine 1 ½ cups water, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Blend well over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil.
Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce until it thickens. Pour sauce over breaded chicken, and if desired garnish with green onions.

Now I know what you are thinking, "where is my pad of paper and pen, I need to make a grocery list"...so GO, GO, GO!!
Enjoy!!! :)

Tortellini with Creamy Butter Sage Sauce

2011-07-21T22:39:00.000-06:00

Irish and I came across this recipe just the other day, it looked so good we decided to try it! And you know what?!? It was pretty good! When I make it again I think I will change a few things though. First I'll give the recipe, and then add what I would change for next time.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs fresh tortellini, cooked according to instructions (I used 4 cheese)
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 cup baby bella mushrooms, chopped ( just used the white ones that you put in the brown bag at the store)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced (I used 5)
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped (I used 1 tsp dried)
1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped (I used 1 tsp dried)
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped (I used 1 tsp dried)
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano (I just used pizza mozzarella...because that's what I had in my fridge)
salt
fresh ground black pepper

PREPARATION:

Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat.
Sauté mushrooms until browned.
Add the garlic and cook for about 3 minutes more.
Add the butter to the pan and melt.
Add the cream and grated cheese and chicken broth and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and add the fresh chopped herbs and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over the tortellini.

*Things I would do differently*
-I would at least double the mushrooms, they were soooo tasty and just soaked in the flavour!
-I would use LESS butter, we found it to be just a bit too much.
-I would like to try it with the Fresh spices and also use the Pecorino Romano

Here is the link to where we found the recipe, you should check out this guys website, he's got some other really yummy looking recipes!! Tortellini with Creamy Butter Sage Sauce

Japanese Cabbage Salad

2011-07-20T20:34:00.001-06:00

This salad is a winner!! It's so quick and easy, and oh so tasty! This particular recipe comes from my Aunt Diane. Every time we have a family gathering, I look forward to this Salad!

The Recipe is as Follows:

1 medium cabbage shredded

1 pkg. of bean sprouts

2 cups fresh mushrooms sliced

1 small bunch gr onions chopped

1/2 pkg. chow mein noodles

1-2 ichiban noodles (beef) broken up

1/2 c. roasted, salted sunflower seeds

1/4 c roasted sesame seeds

1 c slivered toasted almonds

Mix the above together

Dressing:

3/4 c oil (canola)

1/4 c soya sauce

1/4 c vinegar

seasoning pkg. from ichiban soup

1 T white sugar

1 t salt

1/2 t pepper

Mix together in a shaker style container and pour over salad right before serving.

This makes a very large salad, perfect for pot-lucks! Although it can easily be halved, ENJOY!! :)

P.S. I am sorry, but there is no picture to go with this...it was devoured before I even got a chance to take one....I guess I will just have to make it again and take a picture then!

Felt Flash Cards

2011-06-09T07:00:00.008-06:00

I came across this fantastic craft about six Months ago and have wanted to make them ever since. I honestly had so much fun making these! Yes there are a lot of repetitive steps, but it's not an overly difficult craft.

. The best part was seeing it all come together so fast! I made two sets, one for each of the kids. Also with the intent of them being able to play memory with them.

You can find the tutorial I used here

Stained Glass Jello

2011-06-08T07:00:00.008-06:00

I recently came across this cute blog called Our Best Bites, which is where I came across this recipe.
This was FUN to make!! Yes it takes TWO days...but it was fun! If you have patient kids that can wait two days to eat this goodness, they would love making this too!

Cranberry-Topped Chicken with Baby Potato Sage Toss

2011-06-07T07:00:00.003-06:00

Doesn't this look amazing!! ...I thought it was!!

I love trying different recipes! I LOVE the Company's Coming recipe book series! This recipe comes from their book 'Healthy in a Hurry'

Cranberry-Topped Chicken

1 tsp Olive Oil

1/4 cup Finely chopped onion

1 Garlic clove minced (or 1/4 tsp powder)

Cranberry Sauce

1 cup fresh (or frozen) cranberries *(I used craisins)

1/4 cup low-sodium prepared chicken broth

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/8 tsp parsley flakes

1/8 tsp dried sage

salt, sprinkle

Cayenne pepper, sprinkle

4 Boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Seasoned salt, sprinkle

pepper, sprinkle

Preheat gas barbecue to medium. Heat olive oil in small frying pan on medium. Add onion and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened.

HINT (If it's too cold to barbecue, you can place the chicken on a greased broiling pan and broil on the top rack in the oven for about 5 minutes per side until it is no longer pink inside.)

Cranberry Sauce

Add all 7 ingredients. Stir. Bring to a boil. Boil uncovered, for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cranberries split and sauce is slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Cover to keep warm.

Sprinkle chicken with seasoned salt and pepper. Cook on greased grill for about 5 minutes per side until no longer pink inside. Transfer to plate. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serves 4.

Baby Potato Sage Toss

1 lb Baby red potatoes, quartered *(I used the potatoes I had on hand)

2 Tbsp Chopped fresh sage

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Honey Dijon Dressing

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tbsp White Vinegar

2 tsp Liquid honey

1/2 tsp Dijon (or prepared) mustard

4 cups chopped or torn green leaf lettuce, lightly pakced *(I used a mixture of romaine and spinach)

1 cup Sugar snap peas, trimmed in half

1/3 cup Chopped green onion

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine first 3 ingredients in large bowl. Toss Well. Spread in single layer in ungreassed 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake in oven for about 15 minutes until tender.

Honey Dijon Dressing: Meanwhile, whisk all 4 ingredients in small bowl until combined. Makes about 1/4 cup dressing.

Combine remaining 3 ingredients in large bowl. Add potatoes and dressing. Toss well, serves 4.

ENJOY!! :)

Quinoa Oatmeal Granola Bars - YUM

2011-06-06T21:08:00.000-06:00

This weekend I decided I wanted to make some sort of granola bar. A while ago a friend of mine had made some with Quinoa, they sounded good, I thought I would give it a try.

Now before I go ahead and give you the recipe, let me give you a little history on myself and Quinoa. It has taken me a L O N G time to finally get back on the Quinoa 'bandwagon'. You see, growing up it seemed like we ate Quinoa and rice ALL THE TIME, not even joking...because we did, honestly!! When I first moved out to go to College, I didn't eat rice or quinoa...ever! Just the thought of it made my stomach turn! In fact just in the past 2 years or so have I come to the realization that you CAN 'spice up' rice and quinoa so it's not so blah!!

Here is the recipe I used: (also found here)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flaked quinoa *(I used 1 1/2 cups of cooked quinoa, not flaked)
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 chopped nuts
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup chocolate chips *(I used carob chips instead of chocolate...you know, to keep with the whole healthy thing)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped dried fruit, such as raisins, dried pineapple, dried mango, etc.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Line a 9x9 or 9x13 inch pan (depending on how thick you like your granola bars) with foil or parchment paper, letting the paper overhang the sides.
Spread the oatmeal, quinoa, and chopped nuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes.
Melt the butter over low heat with the honey and brown sugar until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and the salt.
Stir the butter/sugar mixture into the toasted oats and nuts. Stir in the eggs, chocolate chips, and dried fruit.
Spread mixture into the baking pan and press firmly into pan.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden brown.
Let cool completely, then lift from pan using parchment, and cut into bars. Store granola bars in an airtight container.

And now for the pictures :)

And you know what, they actually taste GOOD! They are soft, moist and just a little bit crumbly. ENJOY! :)

One Lucky Girl

2011-06-05T12:52:00.001-06:00

I have always thought how lucky Miss P is to have such a wonderful brother as Big M. He has honestly loved her since the first time he saw her! When he first walked into the hospital room he had a big grin on his face and wanted to hold her instantly, while constantly giving her kisses and squeezes.

Over the past 22 months they have become quite good friends. It is so cute to watch them play together. Almost anything Big M does will make Miss P laugh, and anything he does, she has to do too (sometimes that is not such a good thing, haha). Don't get me wrong, they do have their (to be expected) sibling moments, but the issue is usually resolved fairly quickly and they are back playing together.

Saturday night (actually it was more like EARLY Sunday AM) reinforced my feelings of what a lucky girl Miss P is to have such a WONDERFUL big brother! Before bed (Saturday night) they were both fairly whiny, they were both 'suffering' from runny noses and Big M was getting over a cough, but that was the extent of it. After a somewhat overwhelming "last hour" I finally had some peace and quiet :) I knew they were tired...especially as I didn't hear any talking or laughing after I put them to bed (they share a room and so there is usually a tiny conversation filled with giggles before they actually fall asleep).

Around 3am we hear Miss P crying, not just whimpering but a pretty upset cry. At first I thought maybe she had a nightmare or something. Irish went to investigate, and I knew that as soon as I saw the bathroom light go on something wasn't right.

I get up to go and offer my help, only to find out that poor little P has thrown up all over her bed :( While Irish is taking care of changing P, I change her bedding. We almost had the deed done without Big M waking up...but just as I was finishing he woke up. He asked me what I was doing and I told him that Paisley had thrown up. To which he replied "awww, poor baby!"

So we get them all settled and back into bed, and we ourselves return to bed. Only to be summoned out of bed not even 10 minutes later by the sounds of Paisley throwing up.

As we are walking to their room Paisley is crying and we can hear Marshall saying "Don't worry sweetheart, it's okay, Mommy and Daddy are coming" We walk into their room, Marshall is sitting up in his bed and says to us "awww, maaaan, paisley threwed up again"

SO we change her and her bed, again. Marshall is right by Paisley's side trying to help Irish clean her up and change her PJ's. We give them hugs and kisses and put them back in bed....and the same thing happens (right down to what Marshall said).

I honestly can't remember how many times we changed her bed Saturday night/Sunday morning...I'm sure it was at least four times. At which point we had run out of crib sheets and were on to using our queen sheets...and then a blanket for the last time.

In between the second last time and the last time we decided to give her a bath and some medicine. Marshall wanted to help. So as the bath was running he was talking to her in such a sweet voice telling her that the bath would make her feel better, while helping Irish take off her clothes. I let him give her the medicine as he REALLY REALLY wanted to! He put it in her mouth and said "here you go baby, this will make you better" and stroked her cheek so softly!!

It honestly just melted my heart to see how concerned he was about his little sister!!

I finally went downstairs to sleep with her on the couch, as it seemed every time she layed down, she threw up. So we went to go sit on the couch and try to get some sleep! We did finally both drift off...but boy was I ever tired in the morning!!

Then Sunday morning as Irish and Marshall were heading out the door for Church, Paisley and I are sitting at the table. Marshall runs from the door to the kitchen saying "ohh I forgot to give Mom a kiss"...he gives me a kiss and runs back to the front door, only to turn around again and run back into the kitchen saying "Ohh I forgot to give my Paisley a kiss" SO.CUTE!

So to all you future boys who will be dating my little girl, here is a heads up. You will not only have to go through P's Dad to date her....but you will also have to go through her big brother! At which point, if you have the approval of them both...you must be someone special!

And Marshall, thank you for being such a caring, wonderful brother. It makes me so happy to see that you love your sister so much, and she in return loves you SO much!

Priceless

2011-05-03T20:03:00.000-06:00

Isn't this just the cutest thing you have ever seen?!

I sure think so...but then again my opinion just might be biased ;) Marshall was drawing in his notebook on the couch. Paisley wanted to draw with him, but there wasn't enough room to go beside him...so naturally the next best option was to draw ON him! The best part, is Marshall just laid there and let her be his "back pack". Oh how I love my kids!

Free Drawing Time

2011-04-29T20:20:00.000-06:00

This morning as I was trying to get the kitchen all cleaned up from breakfast...and the dishes from the night before the kids were (at first) playing well with each other in the living room.

It all came to a halt when Marshall came and asked me if he could watch cartoons, to which my answer was "No, but you may go and play with your cars, or make a puzzle, or build something out of lego, play basketball or read a book"

Of course this automatically means that the whining begins! For some reason Paisley thought she should join in on the whining too! How fun!! I decided, instead of trying to 'work through the whining'...and becoming aggravated with my kids, to stop what I was doing and do something with them!

I pulled out the craft box, grabbed the markers and some paper. I told them that I wanted them to draw me a picture of somewhere they would like to go!

This is what we drew:

Marshall's first picture is of a Camel in the desert drinking water. (The Camel is obviously blue because he is so full of water!!)

For his second picture he wanted to go to the Jungle. The colorful middle object is a Leopard, with water on the right hand side...and if you look closely, there is a darker spot at the very top...ya that is Marshall swimming in the water. On the left hand side you have a basketball hoop...because everyone knows there are basketball hoops in the Jungle!! :)

Now, this is my picture, please don't laugh...I am not very artistic! BUT I want to go to the beach, so I drew us, as a family sun-tanning! Oh and the basketball hoop and ball were added as by request from Marshall! (I was showing him mine, and he said "But Mom, you need to have a basketball hoop!")

aaaannnnnnnnd, Paisley wants to go somewhere over the Rainbow...or maybe IN the rainbow :)

Anywho, we had a good day! I'm glad I took time to draw pictures with my kids, they Loved every minute of it and so did I!

She Loves it!

2011-04-27T21:23:00.000-06:00

Sooooo just like I thought, I could NOT wait until Miss P's birthday to give her the new purse I had just finished making her! I mean come on, do you really think I could wait three whole months?!?

This afternoon, just before lunch I revealed to her 'the purse'. At first she smiled, held it, looked at it...and didn't quite know what to do with it. Then I showed her that she could carry all sorts of things in it! She seemed to immediately know just what she wanted to carry around with her!

Yep her puppy and her baby!

Trying to put the baby in by herself... :)

I'm so glad she loves it! I get this wonderful feeling once I have completed something...especially if it is something for my children. I get an even more wonderful feeling when the child loves/appreciates said object!! Today my heart was filled with joy :)

And yet, my heart sunk when Marshall came up to me after Paisley had received her new purse and asked in the sweetest little somewhat disappointed voice "Do I get a new bag to carry my toys in Momma?" Ohhhh I felt so bad! I gave him a big squeeze and asked "Would you like Mommy to make you a special bag so you can carry your cars around?" His eyes widened, and a grin appeared on that handsome little face of his and he replied "uh-huh". SO I gave him another big squeeze and told him I would make a bag just for him! Now to find some cute, affordable BOY fabric!!!

Cute Little Purse

2011-04-26T22:39:00.000-06:00

For a while now I have been looking all over blog land and in different sewing magazines to try and find a cute little purse to make for Miss P! For some reason I have just now come to the realization that she does not have any girl toys. Okay maybe she has ONE, her pink tinkerbell cell phone, but that is it!

After she was born we didn't buy any new toys, so she has just played along side Marshall with his Cars cars, Toy Story Figures and his basketball.

SO for Easter, the Easter Bunny brought her a cute little baby doll!! Now I am 'stuck' in 'high gear' with the thought that she needs girl toys!! She now has a baby, but she needs a purse, a stroller, a cute little necklace, more hair clips/flowers, a blanket for for baby...etc!

Well Yesterday I finally found the cute little purse I want to make!!

It was SO SUPER EASY!!! I made it in two nights, I could have made it in one, but I took a break to have some snuggle time with my love!

SO here are some pictures of Paisley's new Cute Little Purse.

It's just the perfect size for someone her age, I can already see her holding it on her arm!

I free motioned quilted the purse (only the 2nd time I've done this)

...She is going to love this! I'm really not sure if I can wait to give it to her for her Birthday (July)...so she may be getting a 'Just Because I Love You' gift tomorrow :)

Now GO and make one for a lucky little girl in your life!

Little Moments

2011-04-22T22:46:00.000-06:00

Today was such a good day! It started out wonderfully as neither Irish or I had to work (in the morning) so there was no hustle and bustle. Just a taking it easy, being lazy, enjoying each others company kind of morning! (it also helps when the kids wake up at a descent time and play so well together in their room, which they did today!)

We all went and had breakfast together, when Marshall was finished we asked him to clear his dishes and then go up stairs to get dressed. He obediently cleared his dishes & went upstairs.

A few minutes later he comes down the stairs saying

"Momma, check this out!"

He then walks into the kitchen dressed like this...

...Yes you are seeing correctly...he came down wearing PAISLEY'S Skinnies!! What a character!! Irish and I just about busted a gut laughing!!

It's little moments like this that make me love this little guy so much!!! It's little moments like this that make me so happy to be a Mom to the wonderful children I have been blessed with! It's little moments like this that forewarn me of the future 'funnies' we will have together as a family!!

Big Time Slacker

2011-04-19T21:48:00.000-06:00

I can't believe I have not posted anything, anything since February!! Goodness!! Perhaps I have been busy!? Let me check...umm Yep, I was busy! Here is our past little while, Readers Digest Version!

One Sunday before Church we were actually ready BEFORE we had to go and I had some time to take some pictures...I don't know why, but I just LOVE this picture of her!

One afternoon Marshall asked to play my iPod...and then 'shared' it with Daddy :)

Irish and I actually went OUT on a date!! We went out for Wings and then to a Movie!

Started making 300 of these pretty little things for my Sisters wedding at a craft weekend my Sister in Law put on! I had some much APPRECIATED help from my Mother In Law, Father In Law, a few of my Sisters In Law...and believe it or not, Irish and his brother even helped out a little too!! THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!

Some of the Cousins Visiting Great Grandma

Mini family shot...with a husband who was 'MIA' as he had to work this weekend

A cute little picture I got of Miss P walking down the hall, holding hands with her Great Grandma!

My baby sister got Married on April 08th, and at the end of March she went through the Temple for the first time! She spent that weekend with us!

Miss P with Auntie Kristi

Auntie Kristi with the Kids

After the afternoon session of General Conference we had some really great family time, and snapped this fun little picture!

THE WEDDING!!

...and as I was a bridesmaid I didn't carry my camera with me...so I had to rely on others for these pictures...and for some reason I don't have any with Kristi and Curtis together!! Lol!

We took this opportunity of us all at the Temple and dressed up to snap some family pictures!

Having a little fun with Auntie Lacey on our way to High River after the wedding

On their way down to Kalispell, the newlywed couple stopped at our house for a quick visit!! The kids LOVED it!!

Marshall and Paisley have started to play hide-and-seek together...SOOOO CUTE....and their only hiding spot right now is under the table!!

We went to Curtis and Kristi's gift opening and Miss P was quite amused by this nerf gun!

Ohh la la, cupcake cookbook! Kristi will be baking up a storm!

Sharing some cake with Auntie Kristi

Later that same day was Grandma Koltuns 60th birthday, Marshall enjoyed playing Tile Rummy his own way!!

Auntie Kaly taking advantage of the situation! P is finally starting to not be such a "mommas/daddys girl"

My Mr taking a cat nap after church

M with a moustache like Grandpa :)

The brains behind the glasses!

M, giving the Glasses a try!!

So as you can see the last little while has been a little busy for us! Hope you enjoyed the little update!

I'll be back sooner that later :)

Calling all Chocolate Lovers

2011-02-23T23:13:00.000-07:00

OH.MY.GOODNESS! I have honestly found the most perfect brownie recipe EVER!...Actually I can not take any credit for finding the recipe, as Irish did. BUT I can take credit for MAKING them! :)

Go ahead, check this blog out!!
http://rainydaygal.com/?p=3441

I was going to add ingredients, direction, pictures and all that jazz...but 'rainy day gal' has done such a nice job...I won't try and take from that!

Go and Make these now....seriously! ENJOY!!

My B-day

2011-02-21T20:35:00.000-07:00

I have had a WONDERFUL birthday!! It all started last night with our Pre-Birthday celebrations! First Irish and I had Nacho's (which is becoming our Sunday evening tradition! AWESOME) and then we had Root Beer floats, all while curled up on the couch watching Home Extreme Makeover (that show makes me cry EVERY week!)
This morning my kids were so nice to me and slept in until 7:45!! It was so nice to have a little sleep in on my day!
Then the kids and I went to work for the morning, which actually wasn't too bad (maybe knowing that I only had to work for four hours, but was getting paid for 10 hours had something to do with it!)

Once we were home Paisley fed me "my" lunch

Irish let me Sew ALLLLL afternoon, and Paisley helped me finish her quilt!

Irish made me an AMAZING homemade Lasagna, Caesar Salad & Garlic toast dinner!

I even got NEW earrings!

My Lovely Children :)

Thank you for the wonderful birthday Irish!

MWAH!

My Birthday Flowers that Marshall helped pick out!

Miss P's Quilt!

2011-02-21T20:07:00.000-07:00

YAY! I finally was able to finish Paisley's quilt! I had the top part all done and ready to go before Christmas, but I was waiting on some fabric for the back. I got the fabric and just kept looking at it. I just couldn't bring my self to cutting it up, it was so darn cute! I then decided to just go buy a flat sheet from Wal-Mart and use that as the back. I found the perfect green sheet, best part...it was only $9!!

A couple of weekends ago my wonderful Mother In Law helped me pin the top, batting and bottom piece together. ALLLLLLL last week all I wanted to do was SEW this quilt together....but I could never find the time!
SO finally this weekend I was able to machine quilt the entire thing. Now please don't look toooo closely as it is anything but perfect....BUT it was my first time machine quilting (besides 'stitching in the ditch")...I wanted to try something a little more 'adventurous' this time around.

Paisley even helped with the binding!
SO here it is!!

Not the clearest picture, lighting wasn't that great, but here is Miss P cuddling with her new quilt!

Checking everything out!

I must say, I am VERY pleased with the End result....the hardest part was putting it in her crib...I just wanted to curl up with it! Next quilt I am making for me! :)

Bitter Sweet

2011-02-18T09:51:00.001-07:00

In all the time that I have worked for my employer, Golds Gym (...and I just past my 5 year mark....minus two maternity leaves, so an actual 3 years of working for them) The Child Care has never, ever EVER been open on a holiday Monday. That was one of the pro's for working in the childcare....plus not having to deal with grumpy members at the front desk, and answering phones with irate customers yelling at you because they got an INSF charge on their account because they didn't have enough money in their account! -I'm sorry but I completely fail to see how this is my fault.

A couple of months ago when I figured out that Family Day was my birthday, I was excited because I was going to be getting paid for not working on my birthday....how sweet is that!!

Bitter:

For some strange reason this family day the childcare needs to be open as there are some classes going on (which has never happened as well). Both of my evening girls have taken reading week off, and the girl that helps works with me in the morning is going to Calgary for the weekend and won't be back until Tuesday.....THIS means I am the only one left. Not only will I be working on my birthday, which is a statutory holiday (in Alberta)...I am also stuck to work three split shifts (9am-1pm & 4:30pm-7:30pm) that week (Tues, Wed & Thurs)...the week that Irish does not have school! Meaning some serious family time will be missed!!
Okay My rant is over...On to the SWEET

Sweet:

Because I am working on a holiday...which is my normal scheduled day to work, I am entitled to be paid for my regular hours plus time and a half!! So I will be getting paid for 10 hours!!! AND because I am doing three split shifts, my total hours for this next week will be 31...when I usually only get 19. That is 12 extra hours going towards my goal of 600!!

Observant little boy

2011-02-10T20:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at Supper time, we were asking Marshall where all the different Countries were that we have taught him so far. After he finished naming & pointing to them all I asked him if he knew which Country WE lived in?!
His Response: "Umm.....Country Ninety Five Five"

....I guess he pays attention to which station I listen to while driving the van!

I think Irish was a little worried that I've "corrupted" our son...as he strongly DIS likes Country music....but I couldn't help but bust a gut laughing!!

Luigi

2011-02-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

We recently acquired a large World map in our kitchen, and it hangs just above our table. Each meal time we talk about where we live, and teach the kids (mostly Marshall at this point...but Paisley will soon learn too) about the different countries on the map.

Right now it's pretty basic, "this Country is called _________" or "Can you show me where _______ is" or "Where is Uncle Mark on his Mission?" or "Where did Gloria, Marty, Alex and Melman all go?"

So far Marshall can tell you where New Zealand, Fiji, Australia, and Madagascar are. (Marshall sits on 'that' side of the table so I guess he will learn the Eastern side of the map first)

In the morning we always 'refresh' what we learned the day before, so today during breakfast I was pointing to each of the different countries that Marshall knows and asking him what they are called. I started out with New Zealand, then Australia and he got those right away! Then I pointed to Fiji and asked him what it was called, he thought about it for a second (as we just introduced Fiji the night before at supper) and then replied "Luigi?!"

I got this idea from a friend of mine (Heather Jubber) who also does this with her children and did it while she was growing up. I immediately liked this idea....because I have NEVER been good at geography (Just ask anyone!!), and I want to give my kids a better 'start' on their geography lessons!

When we first put it up, I noticed that were some islands called "Marshall Islands" so I excitedly said "Marshall, guess what these are called"
"Ummm What?"
"The MARSHALL Islands!! Did you know you have your OWN islands"
He then goes "Ya I go there, (pointing with his fingers) and then I run over here (towards Ireland...as we were showing him this is were Uncle Mike went on his Mission) and tell Uncle Mike I have to go pee!"

We all had a laugh!

The Hungry Store

2011-02-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we were out grocery shopping as a family. Due to the way the day played out we had to wait until Paisley finished her afternoon nap until we could go, which means we weren't able to leave until about 4pm.
We went to Superstore first and then headed over to Wal-Mart. As we were getting out of the van, and walking into the store Marshall asks me
"Mom, can we go to the hungry store?"
puzzled I ask "the hungry store??"
"Yeah, the hungry store" he says again with a little bit of a "duh, don't you know what the hungry store is?!" tone in his voice.
I ask him "what is the hungry store?" He then points to the big M (for MacDonalds) on the outside of the Wal-Mart building!
I had a good little chuckle over this and told him that we were going home shortly and we would make some supper there. To which I'm pretty sure he replied "Aww darn it!"

I love you 20

2011-02-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

Frequently throughout the day Marshall will come up to either Irish or I, put his sweet little arm around our neck, lean his head on our shoulder and say
"I love you Dad/Mom"
we will then reply "I love you too Marshall!"
to which he replies "I love you three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, nineteen, twenty"

(Sometimes he can count all the way to 20 without missing numbers, but usually he misses 17 and 18)

It's moments like this that totally make up for all the times I feel so frustrated with him and his whiny self!
I love you Bud!

I'm Excited...and I just can't hide it

2011-01-13T23:18:00.000-07:00

I'm excited because I think I just made my life a little easier!

I love to scrapbook, or rather I think I like the idea of scrapbooking! The one thing that always 'weighs me down' is first figuring out a place to start...you have to start somewhere! I while ago, I decided I would start scrapbooking pictures from the time Irish and I were married (and I will still do one album dedicated to just that)...it just seemed logical! But then I look at, and think about alllll the pictures I have not even touched! All the 'catching up' I would eventually have to do. The idea of possibly having multiple albums for ONE year!...as I currently have ONE album full of the first FOUR months of Marshall's life!!...Ya Once I realized that, I knew I had to get pretty particular on which pictures I would actually print!!

For the last little while I had kind of decided to go away from scrapbooking chronologically...and just pick what ever pictures I wanted to do...after all if you are not inspired by your pictures, you are not going to do a good job. In the back of your head you are always going to be thinking about those other pictures that you really really want to be scrapbooking!

Then came a time where I just didn't feel like scrapbooking...at all! I didn't get excited about it, I didn't think about it, in fact I tried not to think about it!

And then today, I found this. It is called Project life. I don't know who the 'first one' to come up with this idea was, nor does it really matter. I found this blog from Ali Edwards. She seems like such a fun and creative gal! On her blog she has explains and gives you a glimpse of her Project Life.

It is EXACTLY what I have been looking for. Something to simplify my scrapbooking dilemmas!!! A simple, but yet fun one or two page spread for an entire week. Something where everything comes together. Pictures, journaling, stories, postcards, souveniers, pamphlets, maps, wedding invites, Christmas letters from family...etc etc....they all get incorporated into this ONE book!

This ONE book is all I will have to work on. I now don't have to worry about whether or not I am going to scrapbook an individual book for each of my kids, what size it will be, and for how long I will do it. I'm excited to complete my first year of Project Life, and then sit down and reminisce about the past year with it!

This is the place where those pictures finally have a home. You know the ones you take, where there are maybe only one or two...so not enough for an entire scrapbook layout...just perfect for one spot in your weekly page, with a little journaling explaining it!

Sorry this is going on really long...but I'm just SO EXCITED!

The other thing I'm really excited about is my One Little Word for this year. I have never done this before, heard about it, but never really 'got into it'.

I was reading my SIL's blog (Kaly Court) and she inspired me to choose a word for this year. At first I was having a hard time, thinking it was going to take me f o r e v e r....as I wanted to find the perfect word.

When finally I decided I would think about it later, and that is when this word popped into my head.

INTUNE

I guess technically it's two words...but this year, for me...it will be my two word combined into one....so I am going to hyphenate it...to make it my ONE word.

First and foremost I want to be more in-tune with my Heavenly Father. I feel as though I have kinda let this one slip while trying to juggle being a mom...a working mom, being a wife, a cook, a 'maid', a disciplinary-er, a 'scrapbook-er', blogger, sew-er...just being ME...etc...etc...etc I have come to realize that this was NOT the thing to let slide. In fact if I put more time and effort into this one...so many other things in my life would fall into place! I can and will feel more 'on top of things' (One thing I am also focusing more specifically on this year is coming to a greater knowledge and understanding of the Atonement)

Second, I want to be more in-tune with my children. I need to slow down and enjoy them. Love them. Listen to them, be patient with them, and teach them. They are only completely 'mine' for a short little while. I need to take this time to instill in them the knowledge that I have, to better prepare them for this world they are about to be "thrown" into.

Third, I want to be more in-tune with my husband. I want to become more of a unit than we already are, so that we can stand united on every level...well most levels...it's okay to be different! I want to go on more dates with him, spend more quality time with him, get to know my husband better (I know this may sound weird...but we as human beings constantly change, grow and develop...catch my drift now?) and just love everything about him!

Fourth, I want to be more in-tune with ME. I want to be more aware of the way I, Karley Lilburn, feel about things. I want to be able to express those thoughts/feelings/desires more often without thinking of feeling that someone is going to think 'I'm dumb'. I want to like things be cause I like them, not because so-and-so likes it, or this person thinks this is really cool...etc. I want to be more in-tune with the things I want to do. I want to make more ME time. Just because I am married, doesn't mean i need to spend every waking minute (okay so maybe it's more like every waking minute AFTER the kids are in bed) doing something with my husband...we both need our ME time.

Well off the top of my head, those are the main things that my 'one word' makes me think about. I may add some more to it later...and I might just let you know about it! :)

Thanks for sticking with me through the loooong post!

Promotion

2011-01-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

The other day my manager came into the ChildCare and asked if he could talk to me once all the kids were gone. I said sure. Not really knowing what he wanted to talk about my mind started wandering in many different directions.

We have had a few major changes at our gym as of late. Another gym here in town closed down and all their members were transferred over to us (those that wanted to) ...so needless to say it has been quite a ride the last few weeks! New kids...a lot of kids, new parents (some nice...~~some think they own the place and give me attitude!~~ some not so much), new employees, more paperwork, confusion about payments, and no one feeling on the same page as anyone else!

Since I went back to work in October, I have kind of taken it upon myself to keep things running smoothly in the childcare and making sure everything was being done properly. Since I was the only employee who had been there the longest, and new what should be going on and how things were done...I just took 'charge'.

WELL, I was called into my manager's office to be asked if I would like to be the Child Care Supervisor! In my head I smirked because I'm pretty sure I was already doing the duties of the supervisor anyways...but just to be sure what I might be getting myself into I asked what that entailed!

Their response was (both my Manager & Owner of the gym were present):
-Checking receipts & the sign in book to make sure everyone was paid for
-Getting new parents to fill out info/waiver forms for their children

-Manage 'my employees' (making sure they are doing what they are suppose to be doing)
-Making the schedule for 'my' employees
-Hold staff meetings

Oh and of course a raise! :)

Since I was already doing the first 3 things they said, I said YES.
I'm on a three month probation and then I get to talk to them again and see how things are going!

I think it should be fine...as I have fun, easy going girls to work with!

The thing I am most excited about is I now have Friday's OFF, I have to do a double shift on Tuesdays...but Irish will be home in the afternoon so I won't have to bring the kids with me! I also may have to work the occasional Saturday...but that's no biggie!

Fun Family FHE

2011-01-04T22:51:00.000-07:00

So my B-I-L and Nephew came over yesterday to spend the night with us. We ate supper, and then for FHE Jay wanted to take us sledding...not the type of sledding you are probably thinking of though. This, this is what I shall call "farm sledding".

Irish was really excited to go and try it out. We both didn't think Marshall would even want to try, as he is the kid who freaks out when a drop of water lands on his head, gets the tiniest bit of snow in his face...yada yada yada...etc, etc. So I basically went with them thinking we'll give Marshall a chance...but that I would end up taking both him and Paisley home and just put them to bed. (I also didn't think he would want to try as I'm pretty sure I scarred him for life when he was about 18months. I took him tobogganing and he got a face full of snow, and was terrified!!)

We drove over to the Exhibition grounds, and got the sled ready....do you know what type of sledding I'm talking about now? Yes, you are right! We hooked up a sled to Jay's truck...and then he drove us around the parking lot!

Iarnan goes first. Next we ask Marshall if he wants to try. Surprisingly he actually says 'Yes'.

We get him situated on the toboggan

Jay and Irish give him the 'prep talk' & explain the appropriate hand signals to give Jay if he wants to stop. I'm thinking he's going to get off any minute....does he realize he is going to pulled around by a TRUCK? Does he comprehend what he is doing??

But he stays on, and as soon as Jay starts driving away I expect to hear screaming & crying, or to see him roll off the sled. NOPE! what do we hear?! Nothing but PURE laughter and 'squeals' of excitement! It was AWESOME!

We all had turns, and Marshall went 3 or 4 times! He loved it!

Even Paisley wanted to try. Surprisingly enough, she didn't cry for the first little bit either. I was trying to protect her face so she wouldn't get blown with snow, but there was one turn where we both got it...and she started crying after that!

Three little Eskimos

He honestly made my night by loving this so much

Paisley kept walking back over to the sled, she wanted more...too funny!

Irish gets a turn

Sibling love

The long-john masked man (aka: Jay, the bearded one)

My three most favorite people!

Iarnan (aka: Long-John Jr)

Annnnd, probably the cutest picture of the night! We had just finished reading scriptures as a family and Iarnan went to read his book before bed. Paisley went up the stairs all by herself (bringing the BOM with her), she went into M's room and sat down beside Iarnan to read her book!!

First Creation

2011-01-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

Here it is! My first completed sewing project on my NEW sewing machine!! My wonderful husband was so sweet to me this year! (he is every year...and all the time) He gave me exactly what I was hoping for! A new sewing machine! I must admit, it's pretty darn nice & I LOVE IT!

I didn't waist anytime, and got right to working on something I've been wanting to make for a while now...but just didn't have the proper tools to do so. A Super cute zipper pouch!

How fun is that!?! I want to make one for all of M's cars, and one for his little action figures, and one for his puzzle pieces, and....well you get the point!

I followed a tutorial which I now can't seem to find at the moment (maybe they cleaned up their blog for the new year...??) but here is a tutorial that is easier to follow!!

Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy 2011!

Snakes Poop

2010-12-06T22:12:00.000-07:00

Last week Marshall and I finally made cookies together. I had been promising to make Banana Bread with him...but every time we went to make it...there were no bananas to be found (there must be some monkeys living here or something!)

Once the dough was all put together, I gave him his own pan, and scooped 10 little balls of dough for him to do what ever he wanted. At first he was rolling them all out into 'snakes'. He made a bunch of different shapes and designs with his snakes.

Meanwhile I am making the rest of the dough into what I hoped to be yummy looking cookies. Halfway through Marshall holds up three of his snakes....

and says "Look Mom, Poop!"
"What?!?" I asked
"POOP" he replies with a giggle in his voice
"I thought you were making snakes" I questioned
"YA snake poops!!"

What a silly boy! Now, Marshall loves.loves.LOVES to have videos taken of him, and loves watching videos of himself. We could honestly sit down at the computer allllll day and watch videos of him...and probably the same one over and over and over!!

He was getting right into playing with his dough. I decided to take a video. This is my boy playing with his snakes poop!

We had a fun time making cookies, and Marshall enjoyed making his very own cookies...aka "snakes poop" all by himself!!

Nachos - SAAM

2010-12-06T21:29:00.000-07:00

Yay, look at me, finally remembered to get on my blog and post a meal ON Monday!

One thing you must understand is, I.LOVE.NACHOS! MmmMmmmmMM! Honestly Nachos were a staple in my house when I was growing up!

I will not order them when we are out, because quite frankly...I like mine better!

Unfortunately Irish doesn't exactly share this same obsession (yes it is an obsession) with me. He will eat them once in a blue moon...It's not that he doesn't like them...but he just prefers to eat chips and salsa. So in fact it's not quite a bad thing...because then I don't have to share! haha! Although it is nice to have some one appreciate the goodness with you!! Lucky for me, Marshall likes to have Nachos with Mommy!

Every now and then I will make Gourmet Nachos for supper. Irish's remark is always "Is this your way of making me eat Nacho's?" I reply "No, not exactly. But I'm the one making supper, so I get to choose what we have...if you would like something different, please feel free to make it for us!" (all in a very fun loving manor!)

What you need in order to have grrrrreat nachos!
-Evenly spread out chips. (Tostitos bite size round ones to be exact!)
-Evenly spread out cheese. Don't leave any chips out! They all like to be covered in cheese
-Melting the cheese to perfection! (first this can not be achieved in the microwave. If you want good nachos you MUST do it in the oven. Just until the cheese is all nice and bubbly, but before it starts to go hard)
-Pace Picante Medium Salsa (NO chunkies please!) (p.s. the no-name brand tastes just as wonderful as the Pace brand, cheaper too!!)
-Sour Cream
-Refried Beans

When I make 'gourmet' nachos for supper, I add:
Ground Beef
Tomatoes
Peppers
Shredded Lettuce
...really you can put what ever you like on them! I mean come on, they are Nacho's...so versatile and yet so delicious every time!!

I'm Linking up to Michelle's Blog. Go and check out the other recipes!!

While the Cat's away the Mice (mouse) will play

2010-11-26T23:04:00.000-07:00

...OR while Mom is in the bathroom...Paisley will climb up onto the table!!
Seriously this crazy little girl is a monkey!! I thought I could go and "talk" to Mother Nature for a quick second. Wrong! I come back into the kitchen only to see this!

I asked Marshall how she got up there, but he didn't know. I asked him if he helped her, and he told me no.

Apparently all she wanted to do was help Marshall with his 'marker stick'...what a nice sister!

I love my kids! It's so awesome to see them playing together!...Even if it means that one little monkey makes it onto the table! (I guess she did climb up there all by herself! Irish saw her do it later again tonight!)

Ta da dalaaaaaaa

2010-11-20T09:32:00.000-07:00

This morning as Marshall was cuddling in our bed with us...as he does every.single.morning...he was saying how he was hungry and he needed cheerios. I told him to go and put some socks, long pants and either a sweater or long sleeved shirt on.

About 3 minutes later he come back into our doorway and as he approaches sings "Ta da dalaaaaaaaa". I look at him and he is wearing socks, shorts and a short sleeved shirt.

I tell him "Marshall, go put pants and a long sleeved shirt on silly, it's cold outside"

He replies "oh that's funny" and walks away.

About another 3 minutes pass and he comes running down the hallway and as he gets closer to our doorway sings "Ta da dalaaaaaaa" Pauses and asks "How bout this guys?" while tapping his legs with his hands.

Both Irish and I start laughing, because all he did was go and put on a different pair of shorts!

Oh what a silly boy! He seriously wants to wear shorts every day!

P.S. He also sings "Ta da dalaaaaaaaaaa" all the time. Whenever he finishes something and wants to show us he brings out the ta da dalaaaaaaa

Awesome Giveaway

2010-11-06T21:54:00.000-06:00

A super talented photographer friend of mine is having a giveaway for MOM'S. Go check out her Blog and enter for yourself as well! :)

Mandy Baker Photography - giveaway

Have fun and good luck!!

SAAM x2

2010-11-01T22:37:00.000-06:00

For the past two weeks I have not been able to get on here and post my meals! For one reason or another, the day would come and go in the blink of an eye, and before I knew it the whole week was gone!

But here are TWO recipes! (To make up for lost time!)

First: Pancakes!
It is tradition in our house to have pancakes every Sunday for supper! We love it! It's easy, SO yummy and the best part of it is...Irish makes them! Yup that's right, I don't have to make anything on Sunday!

Perfect Pancakes (which we got from this website)
Makes about 8 medium sized pancakes, enough for about 2-3 people with good appetites
1 1/2 cup flour
2 Tbsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/3 cup milk, at room temperature
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and set aside. Break the eggs into another bowl and beat well. Mix in the melted butter (make sure its cooled so it doesn’t cook the eggs!) the milk and vanilla, and stir well. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, and combine using a large metal whisk. Stir only until just combined. Let the batter rest for a few minutes while you heat up your griddle. With a little melted butter or vegetable oil on your griddle, pour out about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of batter for each pancake. Flip ‘em once they’re golden brown.

And for my Second recipe: Homemade Pizza

We love making pizza around here. When ever we make pizza we usually tend to make two different kinds. The first has become our favorite! It is a homemade version of one of the local pizza places here in Lethbridge (Two Guy's Pizza). We like to try and make their 'Honey Almond Chicken' pizza. If you have not yet tasted their pizza...it is a must.

For the crust: (again this comes from my MIL- really good recipe!)

Mix together:
          2 cups flour (I usually do 1cup white and 1 cup whole wheat)
          1 Tbsp instant yeast

Mix and add to the above:
          1 cup very warm water
          1 tsp salt
          1 tsp sugar
          3 Tbsp oil
Knead until medium soft dough is formed, adding flour as needed. Let rise 20 minutes (I always just cover the bowl and put it in my oven with only the oven light on). Flatten out on greased pizza pan, pushing edges up the sides. (Makes on large cookie sheet or two round pizza pans)
Bake 10 min @ 425 or add toppings, bake as directed
(Softer crust - add toppings to dough, then bake 10 min)
(Crispier crust - Bake 10 min, add toppings and bake again until cheese is melted and toppings are warm)

This is our Two Guys wanna be pizza

Toppings:
for the sauce I use Hickory Smoked BBQ sauce
Cubed chicken
Pineapple
Cheese
Peppers (if I have them, I use any colour)
and Almonds on the very top

This past week we tried a NEW pizza, I found the recipe here. It wasn't a HUGE -OH MY GOSH this is AMAZING pizza, but we all enjoyed it and I'll probably make it again.

Sausage, Tomato and Artichoke Pizza
1/2 pound Italian sausage, casings removed and sausage crumbled
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 (14 ounce) can tomatoes, chopped fine and drained
1 (6 ounce) jar marinated artichokes, drained and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Saute the sausage in a skillet until cooked and lightly golden brown.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage to a bowl.
Add the onion, garlic, oregano, and basil to the skillet.
Cook over low heat until the onion is soft and starting to brown.
Transfer the mixture to the bowl with the sausage. Mix well.
Season with salt and pepper.

Spread the sausage mixture evenly over the pizza dough.
Top with the tomatoes, artichokes, both chesses, salt and pepper.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Well that's it from me! I will try not to let this 'slip' again! I'm linking up to Share a Meal Monday over at Itz Mitz!! Go and check out the other recipes!

hazardous to their health

2010-10-28T23:44:00.000-06:00

...Okay so maybe not to their health...but for their well being!!

So as you know Paisley is now up and walking everywhere! (click here to see the video) She was...(key word *was*) doing good, no falls, no trips, no bruises...until day nine of walking....day nine, and ten were not that nice to my Paisley girl. In two days this is what my little girl managed to have happen to her

My poor girl! I felt so bad for her!!

Now take Marshall, he's been walking for over 2 years...you would think he'd get the hang of it by now...it must have been one of those days. On the same day that Paisley got her first two 'beauty marks' Marshall got one of his own, it wasn't too bad. I think I just like the story that goes with it!

We (Marshall and I) decided that we were going to go and clean the van out (believe me it needed it). Marshall was walking to the van with garbage bag in hand. Just like a true boy he was caught up in his 'day dream', swinging the bag up and down in the air, while twirling in circles. I tell ya, it takes talent...but he twirled right smack dab into the middle of a tree! Poor boy, he was totally taken off guard! It took everything within me not to chuckle out loud!

I am happy to say that since these incidents, both of my children have been doing very well in the walking department :)

Daddy's song

2010-10-28T22:38:00.000-06:00

Usually everyday Marshall does something to make me laugh! For a while now when we get into the van he will ask for me to put music on. Since it's just me and the kids I usually put on country music, because I like it and they can't tell me no. (other wise, I would never get a chance to listen to it!)

Every time Marshall will tell me "No Mom, that's Daddy's song".
I've tried asking "Why is it Daddy's song?"
"What makes it Daddy's song?"
"What is a Mommy song?"
All he gives me is "No that's Daddy's song"

It doesn't matter if it's a female or a male singing, or what station it is on...it's Daddy's song!

on her own two feet

2010-10-27T15:48:00.000-06:00

So Miss P is walking now, and loving it! In fact she starts to 'cry' when I pick her up as we are leaving work because she would rather walk the long long hallway. BUT since her brother is a lot faster than her and likes to "wait for Mom outside"...as in outside the building...we have to 'book it'.

Here are her first steps. (not her very first, as she did those on August 28th, and then didn't take anymore until October 3rd! (this video)

I love watching this, i think she looks like a little drunk person...but the cutest one you ever did see :)

his favourite

2010-10-23T22:00:00.000-06:00

Marshall LOVES the Pixar movie 'Cars'. He has a lot of the cars from the movie and a Mack truck. He plays with them allll day! If it's not that, he's playing with Buzz lightyear...who is usually flying with Lightning McQueen. In fact most mornings he is more concerned with finding his two Lightnings, two Sallys, Buzz, Woody and Mack so he can put them on the counter (...it's high enough that Paisley can't reach them!) than he is with eating breakfast!

Lately I've noticed more and more dialogue from the movie coming into his play (and honestly he doesn't even watch the movie all that much, I'd say he's probably seen it 3-4 times in the last 2 months). It just amazes me how much he actually remembers from it. I love to stop what I am doing and listen from the other room. I have attempted to get a video of it for a while now...but as usual, when the camera comes out...whatever it was you wanted to catch, stops.

Although today was different. We were sitting down for lunch, and he starts quoting Cars. I listened to the whole scene where Mator is trying to convince Lightning to go tractor tipping with him. Not only is it just dialogue, but he's got the sound effects down to a T! You can't hear it that well on the video, but he even does the whole part after the tractor has been tipped, and makes the noise (gluging) of their gas being all jerked around from tipping and then the whole 'letting the pressure out'. I don't know about you, but I get a kick out of it!

This video isn't as good as what I listened to the first time...but it was the best he would give me of the tractor tipping scene!

Points of Interest

06 seconds- Mator "bawking" like a chicken cause Lightning doesn't want to scare the tractors
18 seconds- Lightning reving his engine, to tip the tractors
30 seconds- the tractor noises (after being tipped)

The next 'bid' he did for me was the very opening scene of the movie where Lightning is giving himself a prep talk before the race!! I love this one, he's added sound effects for this as well!!

Points of Interest
0 - 30 seconds- Lightning's self prep talk
40 - 1:26- the song that plays right as Lightning enters the track (Keep your eye on him at 1:09, as he even does the "UH" in the song with his lip moving over to the one side...just like the car)
2 min 13 seconds- it clicks!

Hope you enjoyed them as much as I did!

Growing up too fast

2010-10-13T20:29:00.000-06:00

Three weeks ago, BOTH my babies out grew their car-seats and moved up into the next "size"! It was great timing. We bought Marshall a new one, and Paisley took over the old one!

(Although it only took Paisley a whole 14 months to move to a forward facing car-seat!)

We done good!

2010-10-13T20:21:00.000-06:00

As I am sure many of you do, we at Thanksgiving go around the table and each get a turn to say some things that we are grateful for.

This year we had two Thanksgiving dinners, one at my In laws, and the other at my Aunt and Uncles.When it came to Marshall's turn at our second dinner without hesitation he said "Umm, I'm grateful for Jesus Christ, Amen"

Both Irish and I looked at each other and Smiled! "We done good!"

Marshall is such a sweet and caring little boy, and already very protective of his little sister. While we are at the gym, if anyone takes a toy from her, or knocks her down, he will march right up to them stick his face a little too close to theirs and say "You be nice to my sweetie pie"

Once during snack time in nursery she was sitting at the table with all the other kids, he gets up off his chair, goes over to her, puts his hands or her shoulders and proudly says "This is my beautiful girl"

When he gets the chance he LOVES helping her have her bottle.

Lately they have been playing sooooo well together, I love it!

Tortellini Soup

2010-10-04T21:43:00.000-06:00

This weeks recipe comes from my Mother-in-law, therefore you know it's gonna be delicious!

Tortellini Soup

1 # Italian sausage - remove meat from casing (Unless you buy just the sausage meat),

Brown & drain.

Add the remaining ingredients & simmer 30 minutes

1 c. chopped onion

2 cloves garlic

5 c. beef broth

1 c. water

2 c. canned tomatoes

1 c. thinly sliced carrots

1 c. tomato sauce

1/2 t. each basil & oregano

Then add: 2 t. chopped parsley

1 1/2 c. diced zucchini

2 c. cheese filled tortellini

1 green pepper chopped

Simmer 40 minutes or until tortellini is tender.

Enjoy!

*This time we made it we didn't have any tortellini. Instead we used 3/4 cup of Barley and 3/4 cup of Orzo noodles. It was OH.SO.GOOD!

I'm linking up over at Itz Mitz, go check out the other yummy recipes!

Weeknight cheesy pasta skillet

2010-09-27T20:55:00.000-06:00

My Friend Michelle has this wonderful idea! She is calling it SAMM (Share a Meal Monday). Every monday you post a meal that you had the previous week. Then when it's almost supper time, and you can't think of anything to make...just hop on over and check out all the yummy meals!! I'm really excited about this!

So here it is, my first SAMM!

weeknight cheesy pasta skillet
what you need:
3 cups rotinit pasta, uncooked
1.5 LBS boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
3 cups frozen mixed veggies (corn, peas, carrots,) thawed and drained
1 cup salsa
2.5 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (or whatever kind of cheese you feel like using)

make it:
Cook pasta as directed on package. Meanwhile, cook and stir chicken in large non-stick skillet on medium-high heat for 5 minutes, or until chicken is done.
Add vegetables and salsa, cook on medium heat for 3 minutes or until heated through.
Drain pasta, add to skillet with cheese, stir until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

(This particular time we just added the cheese on top instead of mixing it in the whole dish)

Joke of the day

2010-09-23T21:00:00.000-06:00

...or every day for that matter!

Marshall likes to 'tell jokes'.

Everyday, usually when we are at the table eating a meal (...so yes, this happens three times a day) Marshall will say:

M: Knock Knock
Usually me: Who's there?
M: Grandma, Great Grandma and Grandpa!!
and then lets out this big laugh, followed by "oh that funny mom"

Everyday, when I am "talking with Mother Nature" Marshall will:
Knock on the door while saying "Knock, Knock"
Me: Who's there?
M: it's ASTRO BOY! (followed by laughing)

I love my little guy! I'm glad he thinks he is so hilarious! We all laugh with him...well mostly it's with him, but usually it's at him, but only cause his facial expressions and his actions are so.darn.cute.

Marshall, I love you so much. I enjoy watching you grow everyday! I hope you never stop telling us your jokes!!

doughnuts

2010-09-23T12:32:00.004-06:00

Last week it was really cold in our house and our pilot light wasn't lit, so I couldn't turn the furnace on, and Irish wasn't home to light it.....SO I decided I needed to bake something so we could warm ourselves up...and have a yummy treat!

I was looking through my recipe binder (which i LOVE) and I saw tons of things that looked good...but I didn't have all the ingredients needed for it. So finally i decided we would make something that I've kind of wanted to try for a while now - Apple Cider Doughnuts!

Paisley was sleeping and Marshall was bored, so it was perfect. We got the bowls out, measuring cups & spoons, and got to work. Marshall was so excited he got to scoop and pour all of the ingredients into the bowl and mix!

Finally we got to the point in the recipe where we needed to fry the doughnuts. I told Marshall that he could watch, but this part was kind of tricky and only Mommy could do it. It ended up M just playing in the sink of water with all the measuring cups, spoons and bowls (he had a blast...and didn't even get that wet!!)

Here is our end result. Not as pretty as the picture from the magazine...but I'm sure just as tasty!!

Apple Cider Doughnuts

With the 'left over scraps' we made Apple Cider "Timbits"

Here's the recipe if you want to try it yourself! These actually weren't even that hard!!

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cups sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup apple cider (I just used apple juice)
4 Tbsp butter, melted
Vegetable oil for frying

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 Tbsp apple cider (again, I used apple juice)

In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and cider. Stir in the melted butter. Make a well in the flour mixture and stir in the wet ingredients.

Turn the soft dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat it into a 1/2-inch-high round. Heat 3 inches of vegetable oil in a deep pot over medium heat.

Use a doughnut cutter to form rings (or just use a glass and poke holes into the rings). Once the oil begins to bubble, use a spatula to carefully lower a doughnut into the hot oil. (you can do more than one at a time, just don't crowd the pot)

Once the doughnuts rise to the surface and begin to brown, flip them with the spatula.

Remove after 2 to 3 minutes, or when the doughnuts are golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

For a glaze, stir together the confectioners sugar and the cider. Spoon the mixture over the doughnuts.

Enjoy :)

Most Amazing Brownies!

2010-09-06T19:37:00.003-06:00

Tonight I made "the most amazing brownies"...well they could have been a little better but I think I baked them a little too long. (or maybe it was my oven) (so keep an eye on them near the end when YOU make them)

ANYWAYS, other than the outside ones being a little crunchy, they were DELICIOUS! Brownie, Chocolate, and Caramel all wrapped into ONE, what could be better?!?

So here it is, I give you, the recipe! (OH and I must give IRISH the credit, he FOUND the recipe!!)

I only give you two warnings
1) Handle with care
2) Eat responsibly :)

ENJOY

The Most Amazing Brownies <-- Click

How to become motivated!

2010-08-27T20:30:00.002-06:00

I've seen this video floating around the world wide web for a bit now and each time I get a chuckle out of it. This little girl is sooooo cute!

I think if we all did this each morning, we would have better days :)

Enjoy a dose of 'Daily Affirmation'

Stripper time

2010-08-20T20:24:00.003-06:00

Tonight I had a chuckle.

We finished bath time and I was getting Paisley all lotion-ed and into her P.J's. Irish was told by Marshall that "You need go downstairs, I put my jammas on by myself". SO with that Marshall was left in his room to put his P.J.'s on all by his big-boy-self. Paisley and I waited downstairs on the couch for him, and Irish went back to cleaning up the basement.

Quite surprisingly Marshall came down to the living room not too much longer after Paisley and I. He was indeed in is 'jammas' and as an added bonus they were on right side out and forwards.

I told Marshall to go and tell Dad that it was Scripture time.

So obediently he goes to the stairs and yells down to Irish "DAAAAD, IT'S STRIPPER TIME"

His Laugh

2010-07-29T23:18:00.002-06:00

His Laugh is so contagious! I love it!

Today Marshall was downstairs watching Sesame Street while I was doing some cleaning and getting lunch ready. I hear him giggle, and then just burst out into his cute, adorable, real, contagious laugh. I didn't even know what he was laughing about, but from upstairs I was laughing too!

I love that he can make me laugh without even knowing it!!
Love you Big M!
Love Mom :)

crazy, terrible, no good day

2010-07-23T21:34:00.003-06:00

It's been one of those days...who am I kidding it's been one of those weeks!! I honestly don't know what has happened with Marshall. It seems as though something has just snapped inside. He is absolutely crazy! Running everywhere, non stop jibberish (aka noise) coming from his mouth. The thing that is driving me crazy the most is the fact that he is not listening at ALL. I seriously have to repeat everything 10 times.

Today I was way past the end of my rope with him. It doesn't help that this week is that.time.of.the.month for me so I'm already a little more 'moody' & (by choice) I'm at my SIL's house so therefore no parental trade offs to allow me a cool down!!

Not a thing I said today made any sense to Marshall. He did not listen at all. I was so worked up, and frustrated with him! I have no clue what to do. How do I discipline with love, while still letting him know that I mean business!

Bed time was a gong show! We are all in the same room, so the hecticness is a little crazy. I put P in her playpen, got M in his bed, told him to stay in his bed and not to bother P. Five minutes after walking out I see the light go on, then the talking started, then laughing...and then crying. I then go in, re-settle the kids into their beds. This happens about five different times and each time trying to get through to M that he can not bother Paisley and he needs to stay in his bed!! Finally after getting P settled in the playpen, I remove M from the room and make him sleep on the bathroom floor (just until P fell asleep). When it's time to put M back in the room I slowly and sternly tell him that he must not make any noise what.so.ever!

After I get M back into his bed, I'm leaning over him with my forehead to his. I tell him that if he wakes Paisley up or bothers her at all it will make Mommy so very sad.

What he does next, melted my heart. He puts his arms around my neck and in the sweetest voice he has he says "Don't cry Mom"

I gave him a kiss and told him I loved him very much, and I needed him to go to sleep.

Afterwords I was thinking to myself. What happened that made today the way it was? Why was I so incredibly lost with him? Where did my patients go?!

Then out of no where the scene from Legally Blonde comes to mind when Elle is trying to convince her team that Brooke is innocent

"Exercising releases endorphans, endorphans make you happy, happy people don't just kill their husbands"

It was then I realized that I didn't get to do my work out today....If this is how my day turns out when I don't exercise....I will never miss another workout again!!

Don't call me names

2010-07-12T11:55:00.002-06:00

You know I try to be a good person, Christlike and giving of my time/possessions. But when it just gets thrown back in my face with no thanks at all, it drives me crazy!

This morning I've been trying to tackle this still-not-unpacked-and-organized-house of ours! I left the front door open because it was letting in a wonderful breeze.

I was washing out my garbage pails in the kitchen sink when I hear a loud "HELLO!?" from the font door. I walk towards it to see this young lady, who has large black bags under her eyes and seems like she is hung over/recovering from some sort of narcotic, missing multiple teeth and most likely homeless or something close to it.

She asks me if I have 5 bucks to give her. She's starving and needs food. Marshall then comes to the door (he always needs to investigate who comes to the door). She sees him and then says she needs the 5 bucks for her kids, their hungry. I ask her how many she has, she replies 3.

I say "You need food? I'll give you food. I have lots of apples, crackers, I'll make them sandwiches"

I go into the kitchen to grab some apples. I put them in a bag, and while I'm in there she yells

"I don't need food hunny, I need money"

I replie "I'm not giving you money hunny (just because she called me that, and I detest that 'pet name') But I would be more than happy to give you food"

I hand her the bag of apples, she rolls her eyes and starts to mouth me off using words I don't want to hear and really don't want Marshall to hear. I promptly shut the door and lock it! I then hear a loud thud, I peak out the curtains and this girl has chucked the bag of apples at my stairs!!

So to the girl who came by my house this morning:
I'm not stupid, I know what you want the money for! Sorry but I won't support that. If in fact you are hungry, come back and I will gladly share my food with you, and maybe bring your kids this time so that they can have some too, I don't like to hear that children are going hungry! Oh and don't get any ideas of vandalizing my property because I will remember what you look like! And please, don't call me names, especially in front of my child!

...now back to making some order in this house!

Boys

2010-07-05T23:59:00.004-06:00

I don't know what was different about today than any other day, but boy oh boy was Marshall OFF the wall!! He was absolutely nuts! I don't know where he got his energy from, but I wouldn't mind a bit if he shared with me, even just a little!!

We just moved into the other side of the duplex and I still have some organizing to do, so needless to say there are still boxes everywhere. This morning I was trying to get the dishes done and figure out how I wanted my kitchen set up/re-arranging cupboards.

Paisley was down for a nap so I was trying to make the most of the time by getting stuff done. Marshall was seriously here, there and everywhere. Running around inside and out. He asked for a snack so I cut up an apple for him and told him to eat it on the steps outside!

I don't think this kid knows how to talk quietly-at all! (which is something I am currently working on with him...INSIDE voice...PLEASE!)

So I'm doing to the dishes when I hear-

"Maaaan....MAAAAAN....maaaan" I knew right away he must have seen the Mailman!! I quickly run outside and tell him to stop yelling at the mailman, that he couldn't talk to him right now because he was doing his job, which was to give everyone their mail. I tell him to calm down and NOT to yell at people.

A little while later I hear more yelling. My brother-in-law Jay comes in (he's here re-doing the bathroom) and asks
J-"Did you hear Marshall?"
K-"I heard him, but I don't know what he said"

He then goes on to reenact what Marshall said/did.

Marshall is standing outside by the front stairs holding a stick in one hand with it raised up in the air above his head. He then starts to yell while looking around to see if anyone can hear him "I FOUND A STIIIIIIIIICK" (repeating it over and over)

All morning I kept saying "oh my goodness, I don't know what is up with Marshall today, he is crazy" Finally at lunch time Jay says "I think he's just being a boy"

My conclusion - Boys are crazy!! But crazy or not I still love mine!!

2010-06-10T22:25:00.002-06:00

This was too cute not to post!

It's quarter after 10, waaaaaay past the time Marshall should be actually sleeping in his bed. I am downstairs watching TV and I hear foot steps upstairs. I go up to check things out and see Marshall standing by the fridge. This is our following conversation:

Me: "Marshall, what are you doing?"
Marshall: "umm just looking out the window (while he points to it), umm looking at mack & lightning & this"
Me: "Marshall do you need to pee?"
Marshall: "No, I did already"
Me: "what?! where?" (slightly panicking as he went to bed in his underwear)
Marshall: "Come here Mom, I show you"

He then walks towards his bedroom, but turns into the bathroom and walks towards the toilet.

Marshall: "See mom, i pee here (pointing IN the toilet bowl), not there (pointing at the seat), there (IN the toilet bowl).
Me: Relieved "Okay, Marshall thank you SO much for peeing on the toilet! Now it's time to go back bed, okay?!"
Marshall: " Okay Mom, goodnight...(and then yells from his room) You go downstairs and watch basketball, okay!?"

So funny! I wonder if he knows there is more on TV than basketball!

I love my little boy! I love his developing personality, his increased speech/comprehension, and imagination!

running

2010-06-10T19:53:00.002-06:00

Ok, so I've really been trying to get back into running lately. I would really like to run some races, i think eventually a half marathon...but right now that is looking next to impossible! I just want to be able to run and run and run...and feel great about it...AND while doing it! I would say I'm somewhat motivated to run...I get going on a semi-consistent basis...and then it rains! I'm not THAT motivated to go out running in the rain!

Latley I can barely make 5K. To be honest, I hate every second if it, I feel like such a whimp because I want to give up...or just stop. But the feeling I get when I'm done my run, knowing I just ran ___ (so many K) makes me really happy. I love how I feel for the rest of the day after I run!

I need to figure out a few things though.
1) a breathing pattern...so I can feel like i'm getting SOME air while I run
2) how to pace myself
3) what I can do to make my knee not hurt for the rest of the day after I run!

Right now, my current goal is to run 5K on July 3rd...and not even joking...the main reason I want to do a race...is for the shirt!! how lame is that!! haha!!

Ohh goodness! ...so if any of you out there are runners, have some good tips for me, I would LOVE to hear them!! :)

i know

2010-06-07T20:30:00.002-06:00

The last little while Marshall has acquired a few favorite sayings
1) why not (to absolutely everything!!)
2) dat (that) funny mom/dad
3) I love it (to everything!)
4) I know

He picked up the first three by himself, but the fourth one he picked up from me. I didn't realized how often I said this phrase until Marshall started saying it. When I say it, it's usually because Paisley is getting tired or hungry and she is crying. Or I am helping Marshall in some way and I can't get to her right away and so I say "I know, I know Paisley girl" or "I know hunny/sweetie pie"..etc just to let her know i hear her...but am occupied at the moment.

Marshall has now picked up the same saying, and uses it in almost the same way. If we are driving in the van and she starts crying he will say in the sweetest little sincere voice you have ever heard "I know...i know paysee. It's okay we going home/grandpas house/store" followed by "it's otay sweetie pie".
Seriously just to hear him be so concerned with his little sister brings a smile to my face! Since Paisley is beginning to be a little more mobile and play on her own a lot better, the two of them have started to play so nicely together. I could just sit and watch them play together all day. I hope they will be able to hold on to this friendship that they have as the years go by.

One for the baby book

2010-06-01T21:27:00.006-06:00

Okay, so I am aware that it was just good timing, and nothing really that Paisley did knowingly...but tonight my little girl (10 months) POOPED on the potty.

It was bath time, Marshall was all done and I just put Paisley in. She started playing and splashing like she usually does...and then she sat there very still! All I had to do was look at her face and I knew what she was about to do! Without thinking I grabbed her and sat her on the potty. I told her "no pooping in the tub missy" and she actually kinda giggled! She sat on the potty for a couple minutes...and then she did it! I was so happy!

UGH!!

2010-05-18T22:25:00.003-06:00

Sooooo frustrating! Taxes, why do they have to be so complicated?!? Why do we have to be so cheap that we try to to them ourselves and cause our own headache when we could be paying someone else who KNOWS what they are actually doing...to do them FOR us!?!? Seriously!

I just found out today that I actually did not submit my taxes for this year....I thought I did, like 3 WEEKS AGO! Irish already got his return back, and I have been patiently waiting for mine. I didn't understand why he would get his back so fast when we submitted them on the same day! So today I was checking my account on the CRA website...and noticed that for the 2009 tax return it said it had NOT been received!?!?! I was so confused!

I then go searching, because I was pretty sure I had paid for it, and printed out and filed something! (I should learn to read the fine print)

At the top of the paper that I printed it says "This receipt confirms payment for your QuickTax return preparation. This payment process does not netfile your return with the CRA. Please proceed with printing or netfiling your return" Man do I feel dumb!!

So I then login to send off my taxes, thinking it's only going to take 10 seconds because everything was already entered and ready to go.

WELL I get to the end and it tells me that I can't NETFILE it because 'the province I was self-employed in is different than my province of residence'....well that was the case for 2008....but not for 2009, I wasn't even self-employed in 2009. I then go back to look over my personal/work info. NO WHERE do I have selected that I was self-employed in 2009....it's just pulling the info from when I filed my taxes last year. I can't find anywhere to delete that! So frustrating. I could just print it and mail it...but right on the front page of my T1 it says that my province of self-employment is SK....I don't know how the CRA office feels about white out...but I am tempted!!

I'm calling it quits tonight...hopefully I can figure something out tomorrow! I really DON'T want to have to snail mail it, because then I have to provide a copy of ALL my slips and things...maybe i'm just lazy, but that is more work than I am willing to do right now!

5 years of Happiness :)

2010-04-29T10:22:00.008-06:00

Yesterday Irish and I celebrated our 5th year of being Married! We have reached half a decade!! What a milestone :)

I remember when we were newly engaged and people told us to 'just remember the first year is the hardest'...so we braced ourselves and willingly took on the 'challenge' :)

After we came upon our 1st anniversary we both looked at each other and said "well if that was the hardest year, bring on the rest!!" Neither one of us thought that it was all that difficult!

Now 5 years later we have two wonderful children, Irish has one year left here at the UofL (hopefully) and we are just one happy family :)

This morning I looked back on previous anniversary pictures, just to see how we have changed, what situations we were in at the time, and where we were living. It was fun....here is how the last 5 years have been for us

April 28 2005- we got MARRIED :)

We lived in Lethbridge for our first 2 years, in 2 different places. 1st a cozy little apartment so close to the college I could walk there in less than 10 minutes. Our 2nd place was a cute house that Irish's parents bought, which we helped touch up the upstairs (the previous people smoked...so washing and repainting the walls was necessary!) renovate the basement. We lived upstairs with my sister (Kristi) and rented out the basement to college students.

Our 1st Anniversary

We Went to Banff, rode the Gondola, went into almost every shop, had an amazing meal at 'The Keg' and just had a nice relaxing weekend away!!

Our 2nd Anniversary

For our 2nd anniversary we decided to go to 'The Keg' again...you can never go wrong with a meal there! We didn't do too much else as I was almost full term with Marshall (He was born 10 days later!)

Two days after Marshall was born we moved to Calgary for the summer (May-August) and lived with My Aunt and Uncle, until we moved to Regina for School!

Our 3rd Anniversary

We actually don't have a picture of just Irish and I on our 3rd Anniversary as we moved back to Lethbridge two days before our Anniversary and were busy unpacking and getting settled in with Irish's Brother and family. As I recall I ended up making supper for everyone and some of their friends on our anniversary...oh well!

Our 4th Anniversary

We hired a babysitter, and went out for sushi...except I didn't get sushi as I had never had it before and didn't think it was the best thing to try while I was 6 months pregnant with Paisley!

Our 5th Anniversary

With the help of Marshall I made Irish 5 Black forest cupcakes, as that is his favorite cake...so I thought I would make him a mini version of the cake...one for each year we have been married

Irish surprised me with this beautiful bouquet of roses at the restaurant we went to, which also was a surprise! All I knew was that I was picking up the babysitter at 6:45!!

I love my man! :)

Flirty Apron

2010-04-17T13:50:00.003-06:00

A while back my Aunt was in Utah and saw these cutsie aprons! Being the smart and talented woman she is, she bought one and then took it home to figure out the pattern. In her ward she is the RS president, and they decided to make these for a 'non-enrichment' activity...lol.

Shortly after I was at her house and saw hers, I LOVED it so much I decided I was going to get the pattern and make one for myslef!

Yes, I made mine reversible :)

(This picture is courtesy of Marshall...notice is head in the picture too!!)

2010-04-12T20:50:00.002-06:00

So this past Valentines day I made Irish a list of 100 things I loved about him. I knew at that point I wanted to do something more with it...i just didn't know exactly what I wanted to do. This past week I was scrapbooking with two different sister in laws, and I finished my mini album!

I decided to 'highlight' a few of my favourites....

#03 You hold me tight
#25 You have amazing eyes

#66 You let me squish your smooth shaved face
#80 You are a fantastic father

#100 You took me to the Temple so we could be together forever

There are two pockets which hold the entire list (1-100 in no particular order)

Gave it my best shot

2010-03-29T23:55:00.003-06:00

Well I am somewhat happy, but somewhat sad to say I am DONE. By done, I mean done breastfeeding Miss P. On one hand it's really nice to not be the only person who can take care of her when she is hungry, it gives me so much more flexibility and freedom that I had somewhat forgotten about! But on the other hand it was something so special and a responsibility that I didn't mind doing...especially because sometimes it got me out of things I didn't necessarily like doing...like dishes :)

Before Paisley was born I wasn't nervous at all about having another baby. I thought I knew what it was all about and that I had everything somewhat under control. Boy did I learn my lesson that no two babies are the same.

With Marshall I didn't have any issues with nursing. He latched extremely well, ate 10 minutes on both sides every time he nursed his whole 11.5 months of nursing, when we introduced solids he was such a good eater, he ate anything we put in front of him. We had no issues with weaning him, and it only took a couple days before he figured out his sippy cup...which was no big deal as it wasn't a real necessary thing that he be using one.

Paisley on the other hand was pretty much the complete opposite! From day one she wasn't latching properly but soon figured it out. We were doing pretty good until somewhere around 3.5 months where she decided she would eat on her own schedule...which meant she sometimes would go 7-8 hours between feedings during the DAY. This was a very stressful time for me as I KNEW she needed to eat more often, especially with her being so tiny weight wise. I would try to feed her every 3 hours, sometimes trying to get her to latch for 40 minutes at a time. Sometimes she would scream and cry, turn her head everywhere but in the right direction and just flat out refuse to eat!

After about two weeks of this non-sense and going to the Dr multiple times ( I thought maybe she had an ear infection, but did not) she was back to somewhat on a regular eating schedule.

Sometimes she would nurse fine, other times she wouldn't nurse very long at all, and often she would refuse.

She got to be very picky about the places and circumstances in which we could nurse. If there was noise - forget it, sometimes she would only nurse if she was covered, but then other times she would only nurse if she could see my face...but I could not look at her! If she could hear Marshall or if Marshall got too close while she was trying to nurse it was game over! -needless to say I was at my wits end!

After "playing her game" for almost 4 months I couldn't do it anymore. I wasn't sure if it was me (milk supply) or her. Prior to this I was doing everything I knew to try to increase my milk supply: stopped working out, drinking TONS of water, eating healthy foods, taking herbal supplements, TRYING to nurse often, and trying to pump in between everything else!

SO at the beginning of March I finally decided that I NEEDED to monitor how much our little girl was actually taking in! I borrowed a pump from a friend and started exclusively pumping. Although at this time Miss P still wasn't taking a bottle...but after putting up a hunger strike for 9.5 hours she finally realized that the only way she was going to get anything was from a bottle!!

We then ventured into the world of pumping!! I started to learn a lot about my body!

[travel back in time for a minute] When Marshall was nursing I never felt let down at all, not once. I had no idea what it was...My first appointment with the health nurse she asked me if i had felt 'let down'..."Let down, what's that" was my reply...she explained and said it was okay as some mom's just don't feel it!

WELL after Paisley I knew what other mom's were talking about -wow!...I guess I never put 2 and 2 together...I think i felt let down for about up 3.5 months...which is the time Paisley started having nursing issues!

After I started pumping and could actually see what was going on I realized that Paisley wasn't nursing long enough to allow the let down happen (as I realized it took a full 5 min for something to happen....no wonder the poor thing was so frustrated!!

I seriously felt like that's all I did....ALL DAY! Pump, feed Paisley, drink water, play with the kids, put Paisley down for a nap....and the cycle started all over again!!

After doing this for 3 weeks I was at the end of my nursing days...I dried up! We made it to 8 months...I gave it all that I had, and I'm okay with that! The most important thing is that she is eating relatively well, enjoying her solids and bottles (although this does now depend on her teething status!!) I love our little girl :)

Sibling Love

2010-03-28T01:11:00.004-06:00

It's really late, so I should really be in bed...but i've had the 'itch' to blog something for a while now...just haven't found the time to do so.

First off, It makes me so happy that Marshall is such a caring big brother. He absolutely LOVES Paisley. He is constantly hugging and kissing her, getting toys for her, making her laugh, and now that she is a little more mobile on the floor he is helping her get 'un-stuck' from underneath the couches!

But today, it just melted my heart when I was making supper and looked over into the living room and saw this...

He was just 'hangin' out' with Miss P, giving her loves!! (SO glad I had time to grab the camera and snag a picture)

I know the squabbles will come...but I hope for the most part they can be best buds and continue to keep on 'hangin' out'.

Too fast!!

2010-02-12T00:24:00.005-07:00

It's crazy how fast your little babies grow up! Our Paisley girl is already 6 and a half months! She a rolling machine, she giggles at most anything and usually greets anyone with a big wide contagious smile! (...unless you have a big bushy beard...then she's a little hesitant!!)

This week she is now 'sporting' TWO new teeth!! Her first tooth cut through on Wednesday. I could see the second one and didn't think it would take that long for it to follow suit...but I didn't expect it to pop through the very next day!! So our little girl cut her first two teeth in two days! Now that's what I call "gettin' it done!"

I'm sure she is quite happy to have them through now, cause let me tell you the past week has not been to pleasant...for her or myself! It's so hard to see them in so much pain! She would usually have an okay morning, but come afternoon and evening...she would be hurtin' pretty bad.
These are some pictures I took of her in the morning on the day she cut her first tooth (i LOVE the lighting that window gives into our living room!!)

I feel my tooth!

I'm a poser

I can fly!

...Mom your making me sick with all these pictures!! (sorry I just could leave that one out!!)

Couldn't ask for a better day!

2010-02-04T23:07:00.003-07:00

Today was seriously such a good day!! I enjoyed every minute of it! Both Paisley and Marshall were SUPER good ALL day today! It was amazing! There was hardly any whining at all! Marshall was so happy about everything we did, and had such a great attitude!!

It possibly had something to do with the fact that we kept so busy...you know what they say about being idle! Here is what our day looked like:

-We got up and had some breakfast (Oatmeal, made by Dad - THANK YOU)
-Cleaned breakfast up, and got ready for the day
-Put Miss P down for a nap
-Had some quality time with Marshall (Worked on his ABC's, Colors, Shapes, and Opposites)
-Helped Marshall play some Fisher Price toddler games on the computer, while I did some paper work
-Ate lunch
-Went to Bootcamp (Had an AWESOME workout!!)
-Went to the bank
-Came home and had a snack
-Read some books with Marshall (while Miss P was down for yet another nap)
-Got supper going while playing basketball with Big M
-Picked Irish up from downtown, went and checked out some b-ball shoes for him
-Ate supper as a family (the best part of our day)
-Cleaned supper up while Irish gave M a bath and cut his finger and toe nails...and picked out his toe jam!! (It's so cute, but Marshall gets the biggest kick out of his Toe Jam!!)
- Read scriptures and said bed time prayers with Marshall and put him in bed
-The banana bread baking began
-Started to learn some Creole (SO EXCITING!) while I was being a "patient" for Irish (practicing taping ankles)

And to top off the day...I'm going to go to bed BEFORE midnight!! I hope for many more days like this one, it was spectacular!!

...Too bad I don't have a cute picture to go with it....

Lost, if found please contact ME

2010-01-29T13:31:00.004-07:00

Lost: Patience
Contact: ME
Need by: ASAP

I don't know what it is, but lately I have NO patience for a certain little boy in our house! Everything is driving me crazy. He's being too loud, he doesn't want help...OH but wait YES he does, everything has to be done a certain way, he is the only one allowed to say the prayers (and NO he doesn't need help with that!), all he ever wants to do is watch movies, he NEEDS a nap but won't take one, everything is a race and if he isn't in front of you/doesn't win - OH DEAR! He KNOWS how to put his underwear and pants on after the potty but lately it's "this way, this way, this way"...after being told what way they go on, instead of telling me he "has to go", his signal is jumping up and down on the spot and whining, and why oh why does he have to POUND his feet into the floor as he runs across it?! .....

I have to keep reminding myself that he is my CUTE, ENERGETIC, TWO YEAR old boy whom I LOVE...and somehow we get through the day without me exploding.

SO if you have seen my patience please tell it to get it's lil bum back home NOW! Thank you

Preschool Verdict

2010-01-27T23:46:00.003-07:00

First off if you are reading this and you are one of the many that posted your comments on my Facebook, thank you.

I didn't even realize that Marshall would be old enough to attend preschool this September until a friend asked me if I was putting him in this year. After she asked, I got thinking about it and really the only reason why I would consider it is so Paisley and I could have some one on one time...is that selfish of me?!

After weighing out all the for and against sending him, keeping him home seems like the best idea. I think right now the best thing for him is to be able to be at home with us and bond with his sister...and me :)

As far as the interacting with other children is considered, I really don't think he will have a hard time making friends. (The other night we took him to a basketball game and he just went from one group of kids to the next group running and playing right along with them.)

I think right now I am exposing him to a variety of different learning situations within our community. We attend a Mommy and toddler workout class where he sees the importance of exercising and being active, while learning to listen to another adult. Time for 2's at the library where we have circle time, sing lots of fun hand game rhymes and read books. We also go to "Gym time" at the YMCA where he can just run around and jump and be the energetic kid he is.

...So as it stands right now preschool is not for us, after all I only get to have him home with me for a short time...then before I know it, he will be in kindergarten!!

A long time coming...and only half way there

2010-01-15T20:26:00.006-07:00

Soooo I've been trying to make a quilt for Marshall for just over a year now. I had my cousin purchase the material in the states in December '08, cut the material out with my Mother-in-law just after Christmas (2008)....and then I was sort of 'stuck' for a while trying to find the right images for the pieces I was going to applique!

It wasn't until this past November ('09) that I actually got started on the applique part, and go figure just as I was on a roll getting them done one by one...my machine decides it doesn't like to 'zig zag' anymore!! I was really wanting to get this quilt done for Marshall for this Christmas ('09)...but with my machine in the shop, I lost two weeks of quality sewing time!

So I didn't REALLY get started until December 22, when we were on our Christmas holidays and I was able to sew alllll day for two days! Even then I still get it all done!

As of right now I have the entire top done, just need to add buttons for wheels, the word 'STOP' on the stop sign and get the back put together!

Here is what it looks like so far!

and close up's of the signs & vehicles...

Brotherly Love

2010-01-15T07:58:00.004-07:00

This was too cute NOT to blog about it!
Wednesday started out like a normal morning, got up after trying to get a little bit of a 'sleep in' and ate breakfast with Marshall while Paisley hung out in her jumperoo (which she LOVES). After breakfast Paisley was ready for a nap, so I took her to her room and wrapped her up like a snug little bug in a rug. My window for a shower has just arrived. So I quickly clean the breakfast mess up and turn on some cartoons for Marshall. A little more than half way into my shower Marshall comes up stairs and into the bathroom to tell me that "Mom, Paysee tying" (translation: Mom, Paisley is crying), so I ask him if he can go talk to her and I'll be down in a little bit. He lovingly says "Otay".
Once I'm out I head downstairs to her room, I can hear her, but she's not crying too much. So I walk past the TV room and Marshall is in there, I think to myself 'ohh he didn't try to make her happy' as I notice Paisley's bedroom door is shut. SOOOO I walk into her room to find THIS!

What a sweet brother, trying to cheer her up by sharing his toys with her, I mean she has everything she could want: TWO balls, a tractor AND don't miss the Wii Fit plus...(not even in it's case)

Right now Marshall LOVES his sister and 90% of the time Paisley thinks Marshall is hilarious! She will laugh at most anything he does! For example the other night we were all kneeling down in front of the couch with Paisley sitting up facing us for Marshall's bed time prayers. Marshall has been pretty good with saying them mostly by himself. Now he isn't doing anything silly, or goofy...he is just praying BUT Paisley is laughing non stop, for some reason she is getting the biggest kick out of this! Marshall is trying not to laugh, but it's kind of hard when you have a little sister who's laugh is soooo contagious!!

I hope their relationship will only go up from here!

Tag quilt

2009-10-27T21:39:00.000-06:00

So much has been happening lately, but I just wanted to post this real quick. I've been wanting to make a tag quilt for a while now...and yup you guessed it, I finally got a chance to sit down and make one! It actually wasn't as hard/difficult as I thought it would be! Everyone kept saying how hard minky was to work with....but I honestly didn't find it all that difficult! ...maybe it's because i pinned it soooo well :)

Top 10 reason why I think I'm becoming a 'sewaholic'

2009-09-04T14:13:00.000-06:00

10. There is a loooooong list of things I want to sew (another quilt for Marshall, re-cover my oven mitts, cute bumper pads for when Paisley moves into the crib, as well as matching crib skirt and a cute little pillow for her room, a bag for Marshall to carry all of 'his' stuff in for church, stockings for our whole family, a 'hot momma' apron, a new camera strap etc...)

9. I have used my sewing machine more in the last two months than I have in my entire life!

8. I've been doing more sewing lately than scrapbooking!

7. Seriously thinking about getting a leash for Marshall so I can actually go into a fabric store for more than 5 minutes without him running up and down the isles!

6. Just thinking about sewing makes me happy

5. I surf the internet looking for cute fabric

4. I get all giddy inside when I finish something

3. I now know who Amy Butler is

2. Instead of waisting my time of Facebook, I now waist it 'blog surfing' other people's blogs seeing what things they sew. My favourite one so far is This and That

1. In the middle of the night after I'm done feeding Paisley, I can't quite get back to sleep because i'm thinking of all the things I could sew/make

...My name is Karley and that is why I think I am becoming a sewaholic!

Finally

2009-09-03T13:12:00.000-06:00

I have been wanting to make a pillow for Marshall for a while now, and it is finally done! I'm so impressed with myself (yay for self praise!). I made two pillow cases for him, a cute turtle one and one out of the same material I made his quilt with (I had just enough too!). My wonderful Mother-in-law was nice enough to give me some of the material she uses to make pillows and enough stuffing to go inside it! I can't wait for him to use it tonight!!

I've also had this idea for a scrapbook page ever since I took this picture of Marshall...which was waaaaay back in Jan of 2008!! I've finally gotten to it, and I love it...mostly because I LOVE this picture of Marshall AND because it has the lyrics to one of my most favorite songs, by my most favorite country group! (Rascal Flatts - My Wish)

Here are the lyrics:

I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,

But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.

But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

Lil Miss P

2009-08-20T20:19:00.000-06:00

I had the opportunity this week to get some pictures done of our little girl! I must say I am so impressed with them. Mandy did such a great job! I've always been interested in photography, but seeing her able to do this in her own home, gave me such ideas!! I'm so inspired! I want to go and take some photography courses now, and start something of my own! Maybe I'll finally put my college days to good use!! Even if it's just the fact that I can take better pictures of my own children it would be worth it to me. Like they say - a picture is worth a thousand words!!

Well here are a few!!

for the rest of them go to my Facebook or click on this link

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=136023&id=502431061&l=118e1697c2

Big M - Our Lil GQ

2009-08-13T22:43:00.000-06:00

Marshall cracks me up sometimes...okay so it's the majority of the time. Half of the time I don't know where he gets this stuff!

A couple of Sunday's ago I was taking pictures of Marshall and Irish all dressed up for church.

I just wanted one more of him, a close up. But he kept moving. So I asked him to go and stand in front of the wall so I could take one more picture of him...and this is what he did...all on his own!

Once I realized what he was doing, I started laughing so hard, I could barely stop!! I just keep wondering, where did he see this or where did he get it from!!

I love this little boy so much!!

The icing on the cake!

2009-08-03T17:21:00.000-06:00

So you are probably thinking "as if anything else could happen this week!"...That is what I thought!!

Saturday night (August 1st) I had my friend over to work on some sewing stuff. It works great cause she has a boy the same age as Marshall, and they are pretty much best friends...whether it is by choice or just due to the fact that we hang out all the time, we don't know...but they play so well together!!

By the time Irish calls me to come and pick him up from work, they are still at our house. So without thinking I grab my keys and go (this is around 11:30pm).

I get to the limo shop and wait for him to finish cleaning up. I was going get into the passenger seat, but I thought I would give Irish a break from driving, since that is pretty much what he had been doing for the past two days.

We are on our way home and stopped at a red light. I notice there is a police car behind me, but think nothing of it. Once the light turns green, I go, and see red and blue flashing lights in my mirror. I get over to the right lane...and he changes lanes behind me!!

I ask Irish, "The light was green, was it not?!?...What did I do?"

I pull over and stop. The officer comes up to the window and tells me that the reason he is pulling me over is because the registration on the car has expired. Both Irish and I reply "What? I thought we had till August 4th" He says "No, it expired July 31st" (which was the day before).

He then asks for my license and registration. I immediately feel incredibly stupid...as I totally forgot to grab my license before I left the house. So I give the officer our registration and insurance papers...and sheepishly tell him I don't have my license.

He goes back to his car, and a couple min later he comes back to my window and tells me that I have two offenses. 1-driving without my license and 2- driving with expired registration. He says he's not going to charge me for the expired registration or tow the car, but he is going to give me a ticket for driving without my license.

You wanna know how much that ticket is?!? A whopping $170. It took everything within me not to cry in front of the officer.

Maybe I should have started bawling, and explained to him I just had a baby and told him all about the week that I just had!!

Now that I think of it, I was planning on taking care of renewing our registration and insurance this past week so that it was all renewed before August....But then Paisley decided to come and I TOTALLY forgot!!! YIKES!!

...and the story continues!!

2009-07-31T20:44:00.000-06:00

So just when I think that nothing else could go wrong in the post-delivery recovery process, due to having a D&C right after having our little Paisley girl, I was wrong.

Very early Wednesday morning (July 29th around 1:30am) i'm up and feeding my lil peanut. Once she was done I did a diaper change, wrapped her back up and put her in her play pen. I then go to the washroom...

*Here is where you stop reading if you don't wanna hear about placenta tissue and blood*

and I discharge a huge glob. For a couple seconds I don't know what to do...I really don't want to get it out of the toilet...but figure I better!! Good thing we had some very long DQ blizzard spoons in our utensil drawer!!

I 'fish' it out and this thing it big! I'm talking 3" long and 1.5" wide. I get Irish up to get his opinion on what to do. I then make the call to Health Link (such a great thing!!) and after many questions and some 'experiments' the nurse tells me it's placenta tissue and that I need to see my Dr. within 24 hours.

That morning i am able to get in right away with my Dr who schedules an ultrasound for me that day....and this is where the waiting game begins!

I was told that my Dr should have the results in 3 hours...so I anxiously await a phone call...which doesn't come that day. The next morning I call in to see if they have my results...I just want to know either way!! The receptionist tells me that the results are on his desk and he has signed them (so at least we know that he's looked at them!). She tells me he is just in with a patient and will talk to him asap and then call me back.

An hour or so later she calls me and lets me know that he's not concerned with the results.

SO I now think i'm in the clear!!...wrong again....maybe?!

Today (Friday July 31st) is Paisley's first doctors appointment. We go to see our Dr (who by the way is Dr. Meyer, and he is the best doctor EVER!!) He checks her out, weighs her (she's now up to 5lbs 15oz!) and then asks me how i'm doing. He tells me that if I have an increase in flow or experiance any gushes of blood to call him right away, because the ultrasound showed that there might still be a little bit of tissue left, but not enough to be concerned.

OH and did I mention that Irish is not in lethbridge?...No he's doing a limo drive in calgary today AND tomorrow (saturday)...so he's spending the night in Calgary.

So I go and pick Marshall up from our friends place (The coolest friends EVER), go to my old work and show Paisley off, then go back home and have some lunch. A little while after we get home Paisley wants to eat, so I sit down and start to feed her...then I start to feel some gushing...from you know where. All I can think is "oh no...this can't be good" I go to the bathroom and sure enough i've just gushed some blood.

I call my Dr's office right away and he calls a gynaecologist, who tells him that instead of sending me in for another D&C right away, to try something first. SO my Dr faxes a perscription to a drug store and tells me to go pick it up and then go straight to his office.

At this time i'm watching our friends boy while they went to go and get a SIN card. I'm also somewhat emotional...okay i'm crying, and just wishing Irish was home with me! I call up my friends and explain what happened. They get to me as soon as they could. I am so greatful for wonderful friends like them and for the power of the priesthood! I asked Kipp for a blessing and he gave me one! Afterwords I felt more at peace, and knew everything was happening for a reason, and that it would all be okay! That Heavenly Father would be watching over me. I leave as soon as I can, pick up the perscription and then head over to my Dr's office.

So what happens now are these tablets that I just picked up...are going to be put in my cervix. Ya! They are suppose to make my cervix contract and if there is anything left in me, hopefully make it un-attach itself! He warns me that it will feel like i'm having mini contractions and that it is okay for me to take pain relievers. He also tells me that if after 3 hours I have any increase to my flow, or any more gushes to call him (he gave me his home and cell number) and then head to Emergency for a D&C and he would let them know I was on my way.

I go home....and wait for the contractions to start....almost 3 hours later and nothing has happened. I call to see if that is good or bad. He (my Dr) says that he isn't too sure, but he is more concerned about my blood flow, and tells me again to call him immediatley if I have any more gushing.

About half an hour after I called the office, I get up to go to the bathroom....and the contractions start!! Luckily I have great friends and they stayed with me allllll afternoon and evening, incase something happened!!

I am currently having them off and on...but no more gushes as of yet!!

I hope I can write 'The End' to this story shortly! But Paisley is eating well and gaining weight, so that is more than I can ask for!!

The Paisley Story

2009-07-28T19:48:00.000-06:00

This one is all about Paisley and the progression on how she came into our family. So if you don't want to read about labour and delivery...then stop now.

I think where it all started is Thursday July 23rd. Irish got home from work early and suggested we go walk around the mall. Marshall was excited because we told him he could drive his own car around (those little carts they have to push your kids around). After spending a couple of hours walking around, we headed home. We arrived home to an OVEN. Our upstairs was soooo hot! We had been thinking about the possibility of switching Marshall's room to downstairs, and when we walked in to the oven we thought we better switch it (maybe he will even sleep better)!!

So we got started switching Marshall's room downstairs and my craft/irish's lego room upstairs. We got all of Marshall's things into the room and semi set up before it was time to go to our ward's Pioneer picnic!

That night...allll night I had minor back pain. I thought it was maybe from too much activity that day (walking at the mall, going up and down the stairs switching rooms, etc). It didn't even occur to me that I could be starting contractions until 6:30 that morning when Irish's alarm went off (and a back pain had just ended), he pressed snooze (which is for 5 min later) and when the alarm went off the second time my back started hurting again. When Irish's snooze went off the third time and it was starting up again...I told Irish he better go put the car seat in the car, before he left for work!! After an hour of watching the clock and contractions being an average of 5 min apart I went up stairs and told Irish I didn't think it was a good idea that he went to work that day. I ate something, and then jumped in the shower to see if things would slow down or if it would continue. Sure enough after the shower I was still experiencing the back pain.

I wanted to stay at home as long as I could before going to the hospital. I was still unsure if I was actually having contractions or not...as I still wasn't experiencing anything in the front. We spent the morning watching 'Horton Hears a Who' and 'Kung Fu Panda' with Marshall!

Contractions were becoming an average of 2.5 min to 3 min apart, lasting on average a minute. I was walking around up stairs when the phone rang and Irish answered it. He came upstairs saying it was for me...but at that moment I was having a contraction and told him to take a message! Turns out it was a nurse from the hospital calling to book a time for me to come in and pre-register at the hospital!! Irish told her "uhh, well she's actually going into labour right now..." to which her response was "...okay...I guess we will see you later today"

We had realized that we were running extremely low on diapers for Marshall...so after this phone call Irish asked me if I would be okay if he ran to Costco and got diapers. I told him "I think I'll be okay, just go there and come right back!!"

So not too long after Irish leaves to make a diaper, nursing pad run I have a contraction that lasts a minute and a half! I grab my phone and text him saying "I think we should go to the hospital as soon as you get back"

So in between contractions I change Marshall's diaper, get him dressed, finish packing my bag for the hospital and a bag for Marshall. We dropped Marshall off at our friends place (Kipp and Laura Boehme) around noon and head straight for the hospital.

The whole drive there (all 5 minutes of it) I just kept thinking 'I don't want to get sent home, I don't want to get sent home'. We arrive at emergency and go straight up to labour and delivery. Up until now, I hadn't been emotional at all, but as soon as we got off the elevator going down the hallway to the labour and delivery unit...I start to cry, I don't know why, but I cried!

They put me in an assessment room and check me. To my surprise the nurse tells me i'm 5 cm! (Which means I'M STAYING). I was placed in delivery room #1....cause I am #1...haha!

I spent the next couple of hours in the shower. The hot water felt great. Which is weird cause with Marshall the shower didn't do anything for me! In between contractions Irish and I were talking, he was cracking jokes, and we were both laughing...I thought to my self..."Should I actually be here yet? Do I have a long ways to go?!?!" Once I got closer to 'the end' I needed something for the pain! Morphine was my friend.

The nurse kept checking on us and told me that if I felt any pressure on my bum, or the urge to push that I was to call her right away and get out of the shower. The first time I felt pressure I got out and she checked me and I was about 7 cm. The second time she was about to check me, but I felt like I had to puke. So she waited...and was like "I think this is the 8 cm puke"...which never came. So once that 'died' down, she checked me and I was 8 going on 9 cm. They called the Doctor (Dr. Malach - who's office is right across the street from the hospital). He arrived and he was like "Okay Karley, you can start pushing anytime"

Now the weird thing here is that I still hadn't felt the urge to push, I just had the pressure in my bum. But with Marshall, I had the urge to push, and they kept telling me not to push (REALLY hard to do!!)

...So I gave it my best shot! Now up until now, I had kept it pretty much together! I was pretty calm and not very vocal. BUT once I started pushing...I guess you could say 'I lost it!' I think I was grabbing Irish's arm, and shirt...pretty much whatever I could get my hands on...until I had to use my hands to grab my legs.

Between my screaming, Irish trying to say the right thing, my nurse 'coaching' me, and my Dr and his residency Dr discussing things between them, I could barely process what anyone was telling me. I could hear my Dr. saying "Okay Karley give us a nice big push, hold that breath, and push...come on keep pushing" and then it felt like the next second he was saying "no stop, nice small pushes, that's it, just small ones" It's all kind of a blur and I remember just not being able to concentrate. Until my nurse said "Karley, you need to relax your legs" and then the next thing she said was "Karley, Karley - Look down"....so (I think I pretty much had my eyes closed during the whole pushing thing) I opened my eyes looked down and I could see this little head, and with one more push @ 2:36pm our baby girl was born (18 days early) weighing 6lbs 1oz, measuring 18 3/4" long....and what felt like forever....was probably the longest 4 minutes of my life!

They placed this beautiful tiny baby on my tummy. All I remember is she felt so incredibly warm and soft. For some reason I remember the smell, and I never thought it would be like this, but she smelled so good. I had a huge rush of emotions and began to cry....again....but these were happy tears! (and somewhere in there Irish was able to cut the cord).

I kept thinking to myself and telling Irish "We have a girl....Irish we have a baby girl"

And then this whole beautiful, blissful moment came to a screeching halt when they started pushing on my tummy to get the placenta out! Now my placenta(s) must really like me, as this one didn't want to come out, some of it came out...but it was in chunks. After a while of causing me almost more pain than I was in during labour they decided I better go have a D&C to get all of it out.

I had retained placenta with Marshall as well...although I didn't know it until 4 days after he was born...and it didn't get taken care of until he was a week old...but that is a different story for another time!

After spending almost an hour with my beautiful baby girl, I was taken to the O.R. to have the D&C while my lil girl got to have some bonding time with her Daddy.

Later that evening Marshall was able to come and meet his little sister. The whole thing was really quite cute. At first he kept calling her baby Otto (his cousin who is 2 months older than Paisley), we kept telling him that this is his little sister, the baby that was in mommy's tummy.

He was pretty excited about it. (As you can see from the pictures!)

And that is how it happened!

For more pictures check out our facebook albums.

I surrendered?!

2009-07-20T13:49:00.000-06:00

Before we ever had Marshall, I told myself that I would never use a portable potty. There was NO way I was going to deal with that! I didn't like the idea of dumping the 'waste' from one potty to another, when it could just as easily of been done in the big one!

Our first purchase of a toilet seat was the plain blue and white first years one...it was alright except there was not a pee guard...which is a must if you have a boy!

Our second purchase for a toilet seat was a Cars Lightning McQueen one, which Marshall LOVES, and it has the BEST pee guard I've seen so far!...The only problem is that there is no way, even with the help of a stool that Marshall can get on or off (without doing some serious damage) by himself!

After a week and a bit of spending a lot of time sitting on the bathroom floor (I almost began to think we lived in there), I thought, there has to be an easier way! It might not be so bad if I wasn't 37 weeks pregnant...but I AM!

So after talking to some much more experienced potty trainers than myself...I gave in...I surrendered to the portable potty!

And I must say, that it isn't as bad as I thought. In fact it has made potty training on ME a lot easier! Marshall can get on and off by himself, I can continue to proceed with what needs to be done during the day, and Marshall doesn't feel as though he will be missing anything by taking time to go and sit on the potty...as he is right in the middle of all the action!

Although he still doesn't tell me when he needs to go to the bathroom (i hope this comes soon) I am pretty darn proud of my boy! He is filling up is pee and poo chart, and is spending all day (except for nap) in his big boy Lightning McQueen/Spiderman/NBA ginch and LOVES IT!

He did it!

2009-07-08T10:38:00.000-06:00

I'm so proud of my little guy right now! He just went #2 on the Potty!! I feel now as if we are going somewhere!! Let's hope this happiness continues all day :)

(Sorry there are no pictures of this one...but I don't think anyone will be too upset!!)

OH what a day...of First's

2009-07-07T11:49:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was an eventful day for Marshall! He experienced a lot of first's!

-first real day of being potty trained
-first time falling off the potty (He did hit his head on the counter, but I think it scared him more than anything)
-first accident...not near the potty (After this he went a got a diaper and was 'begging' me to put it on him...)
-first time burning his hand on the stove top element (after I had said "don't touch, it is hot")

...Like I said, it was an eventful day...

This morning we continued with the potty training process. Marshall was pretty excited that he got to wear Lightning McQueen and Mater underwear!! Today he experienced his first time peeing on the potty! He was pretty happy about it and as a result of this he got to put a sticker on his chart, and get a brand new Hot Wheels car....

After breakfast he went back on the potty in hopes that he would do a #2, after being on the potty for at least 25 min we figured he didn't have to go, he said he didn't have to go....only to go and sit up at the table two seconds later and pee all over the chair!

...We aren't quite sure if he is ready for this whole big thing quite yet! We're not stopping all together...just maybe not wearing 'big boy' underwear all day! We will see how it goes!!

Happy Daddy's Day!

2009-06-22T21:42:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we had a great day as a family celebrating our Daddy! Marshall of course woke up too early, so thankfully he was satisfied with a movie to let both Mommy and Daddy catch a few more Z's!!

On Sunday's it is our tradition to have pancakes for supper, but this Sunday we were having a joint Father's Day dinner with some friends of ours. So I decided that I would make Irish pancakes for breakfast! Marshall and I tried to have it ready before Irish got out of bed, so that we could give him breakfast in bed...but that plan failed a little! We still had a delicious breakfast of Pancakes topped with yogurt, blueberries, and strawberries along with a strawberry, mango, peach smoothie!!

After Breakfast Marshall and I gave Irish our "appreciation" gift to him. As we both knew, he loved it.

After church we had our good friends over for dinner. Besides the homemade potato and yam fries, I think the highlight was the Skor Cake we had for dessert!! YUMM

Irish, we (Marshall and I) just want you to know that we love and appreciate everything that you do for us. We hope we let you know this not just on Father's day, but everyday!! We love you so much, and enjoy the time we get to spend with you!! Thanks for being such a great Daddy!!

The creative side of me

2009-06-10T15:17:00.000-06:00

For the past couple of weeks, I've really been 'getting into' my creative side!! I have finally gotten around to making the magnets that I have been thinking about for ages,

AND just today I finished the burp cloths! I must say I am quite proud of myself...as I have never really thought of myself as the 'sewing type'....but I think I'm somewhat getting addicted to it! I love it, and the feeling I get when I accomplish something! Although I would never have known what to do or where to start if it wasn't for my wonderful Mother-in-law!! (Thank You Momma K!!!)

Birthday time for Big M

2009-05-13T17:15:00.000-06:00

Here is the video of Marshall on his birthday when he gets his new basketball net! He's pretty excited!!

Dinner time Z's

2009-05-12T17:24:00.000-06:00

Here is a video of Marshall falling asleep while eating supper. He didn't get a nap this day...so that probably explains why he is so tired! (I tried to upload his birthday video as well...but it was taking too long, i'll try again later!)

New playroom and house

2009-04-27T16:47:00.000-06:00

This past weekend was pretty eventful for Marshall! Irish cleaned out the storage space under the stairs and we turned it into a new little playroom for him. He thinks it's pretty cool, he can open the doors and turn on the light all by himself. Today (monday) Uncle Jay brought home a big box for Marshall which he turned into a new little house. Marshall had fun coloring on it, and trying to scare us through the windows!

Trains and Quilts

2009-04-21T21:32:00.000-06:00

Tonight after supper Irish pulled out a new Lego train set. Marshall was so excited!! At first we had it on the table, and Marshall kept saying "choo choo, round and round". We decided to put it on the floor to see what he would do!! Here are some pics, and one video!!

Also some pictures of the quilt I started and finished in one day, with the help of my Mother-in-law! She knows so much about sewing! I learned how to do lots this day! Now Marshall has a new quilt for the spring/summer! (I just LOVE the colors!!)

"Owie"

2009-03-27T20:36:00.000-06:00

So a couple of weekends ago Marshall and I went to High River for the weekend. Irish's sister Niki and her husband Sean were visiting from Victoria. We all had a great time! The Monday after being in High River, (while at the Gym) Marshall asked for a kleenex, his nose was running so I handed him one and he wiped it. Then about 10 min later I look over, only to see him sitting on a stool watching a movie with the kleenex pressed up to his chin. I go over and ask him "Marshall are you okay?" and he looks at me and says "Owie"...so I look at him with a puzzled look and ask "You have an owie?" Thinking that he might have been hit by one of the kids, I check his chin out...and it was just fine. Throughout the day every time he used a kleenex he would always hold it to his chin. This continued onto Tuesday as well. I could not figure out where this was coming from. Tuesday afternoon Irish is asking me why Marshall keeps holding a kleenex to his chin. I tell him I have NO clue....and then it hits me!! While we were visiting in High River, Marshall walked in on Grandpa shaving...which resulted in Grandpa cutting himself...and needing a kleenex for his "owie"....Marshall wanted to be just like his Grandpa...we had a good chuckle over this!!

School, bahball, and no sickness!!

2009-01-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

It’s been a while, but I thought right now is better than never.
School is back in session and that means back to studying and having a “part time” relationship with my family. That’s one of the crappiest parts of school. I like spending lots of time with my family, and if I’m at school in classes/labs/studying, there is less family time. So, that’s why I say “part time”.
This year I am taking; Biology 1010, Kinesiology 2200 (Research Methodologies in Physical Activity Involvement), Knes 2000 (Foundations of Motor Skill Acquisition), Knes 2130 (Humanities Dimensions of Physical Activity Involvement), and Computer Science 1000. CS 1000 is my GPA booster this semester. I didn’t know that some University students didn’t know how to “double click”, or what the power button looks like. Do you know what hardware is?! Ya, this has been the lectures so far. Pretty boring. The first class I looked up Physical Therapy schools in the states and played mini golf on addicting games. The last class that I had, my friend and I just chatted the whole time (the funny thing is that we sit by each other). The other classes I have are good. I’ve always had a little battle with Bio, but I think this year will be different.
I’ve been playing basketball the last few weeks and I feel great. There is a church (stake) league going on, and so far we are 3-0. The first 2 games we played we won by over 30 points. Last night’s game was a little different. We won by 10, but we played at the 10th Ave chapel. Their gym is about 50 feet long and 30 feet wide. It was way different than playing in our larger gym. I did get a few injuries. I got a head to my cheek bone, an elbow to my jaw, and got the wind knocked out of me so bad I thought I was going to pass out. The guy that I ran into was about a foot taller than me and about 200 pounds larger than me. Remember watching Steve Nash get creamed by Robert Horry? Thats kinda what I felt like(but I didn’t lose a tooth).
Marshall is doing some really funny things lately. Just a few nights ago I went up to check on him and he was on his back with the covers halfway covering him. I go to move him back onto his tummy, and he starts crying. I tell him “it’s ok, you just need to go to sleep”. He keeps on crying, but I notice that his eyes aren’t open. He gets up on his knees and points to his bed, taps it a few times and then finally stops crying. His eyes are still shut, and he starts nodding off. I had to try my hardest not to laugh!! I think he was acting out his dream. We watch basketball highlights every morning on the lap-top and now, when he gets up I ask him what he wants. I assume he will say “nana” (for banana), or point to his sippy cup. NO WAY- he says “ i wan bahball... pees” (please). What a cutie!
Karley is doing great! We were just talking last night and she hasn’t been nauseous in a while, and we are almost over 3 months, so we think she is done being sick. She wasn’t near as sick as she was being pregnant with Marshall.
Have a great one- You know what my motto is “hey- I got some time to kill .........” (only a few people will get this one)

New Years!!

2009-01-01T21:23:00.000-07:00

We have been married for 4 New Years Eve's, but only spent 1 together. Driving limo, I have to drive that night. We usually do the Average Joe's Sports Bar party. It doesn't get bad, but I'd sooner spend the night with my wife. So here is how it went. We have been in Calgary/High River since the 23rd. I left on the 30th so I didn't have to drive during the day and at night (if I did drive home on the 31st). So I got home the 30th. I cleaned the house, put things away and shoveled the snow! I decided to stay up as late as I could that night so that I could be more awake while I was driving the limo. It worked out. I stayed up til 3:30 building lego and watching Seinfeld, then finally went to sleep.
Have you heard of the country singer Julian Austin? Well, I drove him last night and was very impressed. He was so nice to me!! I took a few local celebrities and they treated me like dirt. I also took a punk band called Anti-Flag once and they were total jerks! Anyways, back to Julian. I drove him to the sports bar and waited. I went in to listen. Let me start out by saying- I STRONGLY dislike country music! I'm not going to say that he was bad, but it was not for me. He did however play Pink Floyds "Leave the Kids Alone" and it was awesome. He gave a shout out to me which was pretty cool.
I drove a few people ome before I took him and his band back to the hotel. We took some pictures and then that was it. I didn't get home until 4 in the morning. I don't like getting home that late because then I'm up for a while after that. I tried falling asleep to a movie and I think it worked. I remember waking up and it was on the main dvd menu.
Not a bad night. I worked for 6 hours, and got 250 in tips! Pretty cool!!
I hope your new year is a good one. I only have one suggestion for you- DON'T MAKE A NEW YEARS RESOLUTION!!!!!! If you do, I promise you you wont be doing it come February!

A whole bunch of Decemberween fun

2008-12-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

So this year, as always, we have been running back and forth between Calgary and High River. My parents live in High River and Karleys aunt and uncle live in Calgary. We always have so much fun, but I always want to go home and relax.
Christmas was great. Karley was happy that I heard her cries for a Cricut Expression, and I am happy that she heard mine for a Ukelele. The cool thing about the Uke is that it came from Hawaii!! Karley's cousin went to Hawaii a few months ago and aparently picked it up for me and brought it back. It is super cool and pictures will be up soon.
Marshall had a fun time playing with all his cousins. And to add to our joy was that he is actually sleeping ALL night. I think it might have to do with staying up too late. But nevertheless, we are happy that he is sleeping until at least 8 o'clock. He usually goes to bed at 7:30, sleeps till about 3 or four, we have to come get his soother, then he goes back to sleep until about 6.
We went out Boxing day shopping and I have to say that it was not that bad. I went to Future shop and picked up a few things in the morning (morning; definition; when no one else is awake and Irish is so bored). The lines were not bad. I went back a few hours later and there was a line that was at least 30-40 people long!! Then, we went to Chinook Mall. That was stupid. Although I did find a pair of shoes and a pair of slippers that I fell in love with. Yes, I am a man and I fell in love with shoes, is that so bad?!
We went back to High River just to chill out with my parents and siblings. It was pretty cool. We borrowed our friends Wii, and got my parents to play bowling. It was pretty funny. My dad killed all of us, but Karley got 4 strikes in a row!
Now it is almost new years eve and I have to go back to Lethbridge so that I can drive some drunks home in a limo. Of the 4 New Years that we've been together, we've only had 1 together. That is the crappy part of my job, but it pays well, and I have an awesome boss. I'll let you know how the night/morning goes.
Oh and by the way- we are expecting #2 at the end of summer next year.