Pink Layout

I think this is the only pink layout I've ever made. With Darrel, Jack and Eric it's probably one of the few.



I spent an hour in the doctors office today, waiting, waiting, waiting. A curse on doctors who fall an hour behind schedule I say! I was about to have a stroke trying to contain Jack and keep Eric from crying. But we fared much better in the afternoon, naps all around, and then we made cookies. I am finding that I am having to relearn how to cook entirely now that Darrel is off eggs and both he and Jack cannot eat dairy. But it is an opportunity to get more creative. I made extremely yummy oatmeal raisin cookies today. Who knew applesauce could be so good in cookies? 

Little Helper

Jack loves to help me with chores. That is one great thing about this age, they really do just want to be around you and do the things that you are doing.

It cracks us up that Jack says, "Thank you" when he hands US stuff out of the dishwasher. I think he just associates that word with handing things over when we're at the dishwasher.

 

Classic Photo

I love this photo, it's really a classic. I wanted to get a picture of the boys in matching pajamas -hah! One is screaming, the other is about to poke the other's eyes out and my hand is in the photo because Jack is about to dump Eric off the couch. Too funny!

Back to Creating

You know, it is amazing how good it makes me feel to create something. It's even worth not catching an extra hour or two of sleep. I finished the draft project I'm doing for Alberta Apprenticeship so I finally had some spare moments to do something on the computer other than plan a staff retreat.

Sunday tomorrow. Now that we know we are moving out of the ward I am not that motivated to be super social and make friends. Bad attitude eh? Seems like as an adult it is hard finding and making good friends. Makes you long for the days when one recess spent together could turn you into best friends. Not that life was totally simple as a child but I think as adults we sometimes make it too complicated.

Sleep Here We Come

On my quest for better sleep for the whole household I have been re-reading, The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. I had employed some of her techniques in Winnipeg and with the resurfacing of Jack's sleep problems I got the book from the library again. For anyone with children with sleep problems I would highly recommend this book. It gives you practical advice, that is more than just, "Let them cry." My little task tonight was to make Jack a bed time chart. I actually had quite a bit of fun, I found clip art on the internet for pictures of each stage to help him recognize the steps. Pantley says that toddlers need routine and order to ensure that their world feels controlled and sane. I did know this but perhaps have not been so good at putting it into action in the sleep area of our lives. Plus you have to make a bedtime routine enticing, not just bearable. With all of our struggles I know I dread bedtime and try to rush through it and stuff Jack into bed. (Not completely true, we do read stories etc. but I'm not very cheerful through the whole routine sometimes.) So that's my challenge to myself, to make bedtime enticing, fun, and expected.

In other news, we took advantage of Darrel's Friday off today and went for a riverboat cruise on the Edmonton Queen. It was quite fun, although Darrel spent a lot of the time ensuring Jack didn't hurl himself overboard. (It is so true what Somer and Stephan said, that the first three years really are suicide watch!)

trials

I keep having to remind myself that my kids won't be young forever, and I will miss this stage of our family later on. I tell ya though, the lack of sleep is getting to me. There is a lot of irony in the fact that Darrel and are both, "need lots of sleep" kind of people and we've produced Jack, the anti-sleep child. Moving, having a baby and travelling this summer has ruined the peogress we had made in Winnipeg. Yup, almost had a nervous break down / violent episode today after trying to get Jack to nap for three hours, resorted to letting Jack scream in his room, putting head phones on and watching a DVD episode of The West Wing. He was exhausted, I was exhausted. Let's hope tomorrow is better, as I said to Darrel, tomorrow is a new day. Thank Goodness!

This was the highlight of our day.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

So I have decided that Febreeze is one of the best new products this decade. And I don't think I fully appreciated this wonderful product fully until having a baby and now toddler. I won't bore you / gross you out with examples of specific smells that Febreeze has eradicated I'll just say, "it's a wonderful wonderful product!"

After reading snippets of "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Lynne Truss this weekend, I am on a new mission to improve my punctuation. Her motto is, "Sticklers Unite" and she proposes a semi-vigilante revolution led by lovers of good punctuation. For myself, I will adapt the title of a beloved children's verse, (Kindness Begins with Me), Good Punctuation Begins With Me. I know I have been very sloppy lately, particularly in email and on this blog. I have always been horrible for omitting commas; a professor once commented, and I quote, "Apparently you have something against commas" on a fourth year political science paper. Ouch!

Haircut #2

Jack, getting his second haircut. He really likes the clippers. This makes it difficult to actually cut his hair because he wants to hold them.

 

Our new home

This is our new house out in Bon Accord. We're very thankful and excited about it. It's a great home for us, and it has a double garage!!
 

WooHoo!

Finally figured out how to use layer masks...apparently GIMP is completely opposite of photoshop in terms of what is transparent and what is opaque...a problem for someone trying to figure out how to do something with photoshop tutorials. Anyway, I'm pretty excited about the possibilities of what I can create! 

Proffesor Jack

Jack looks oh so distinguished in Nan's glasses! 

Fathers and Sons

 

Things I Love

We went to the Farmers Market today and I was reminded that I loved them a lot, so many great things in one place!

In particular:
the smell of fresh herbs
homemade pies
taste testing samples (yummy!)
flowers
friendly shop vendors
flavoured cream cheese

After the farmer's market we went to Doan's for lunch, I LOVE the lemongrass chicken, sooooo good!

Family Photos

These were a little tricky -Jack was tired and hungry, so a little manic...oi vay! but we got a few good ones.

 

My Two Little Men

So I've been reading this book, and others, that talk about making time for yourself as a person/woman, not just as a mother or wife. And it makes sense to me...so I'm going to start focusing more on what I'm thinking/working on/ doing, my experience, because usually this blog is just a showcase of my kids. Which is all well and good but I think I need to also nurture my own spirit. But I'll start tomorrow, :) had to share this layout I made tonight. I'm pretty happy with it. My two little men. Life is good. 

Eric's first official photo shoot

My sister-in-law, Lisa, helped me take these photos of Eric today. Her help was necessary to ensure this little squirmer didn't roll off the towels and onto the concrete! I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out...they are a la Heidi, thanks have to go out to her for sharing her tricks of the trade. I did use flash on a few (I think the third picture has flash) to see if the fill flash would enhance but it really didn't, only made shadows...so there you go a lesson learned...don't bother with fill flash unless it's much brighter.


Eric is pretty cute I have to say. :)
 

Bath Time

One of Eric's first baths... the second of that day actually, mae necessary by an overflowing diaper. He still looks pretty yellow in these pictures, especially compared to me.
 

Eric 6 Days old

These pictures of Eric really remind me of my brother Aaron. I definitely see more of me/ my family in Eric than I ever did in Jack at this newborn stage. Darrel commented last night that Eric also has a pointier nose, but both families have some beaky noses so hard to say where that comes from!

 

Brotherly Love

A few pictures of Jack demonstrating his adoration of his new little brother. He is quite taken with him, loves to touch his hands and feet and give him kisses, albeit sometimes a little too enthusiastically. Encounters between the two of them have to be closely supervised!

The boys are both sporting gifts from the Patrick family. We had a really nice visit with Karly, Strater, Maddy and Luke on Friday and they gave us that adorable blanket for Eric and new slippers for Jack. Jack is happy with his slippers, and so is Mommy, the rubber sticky things on the bottom make a squishy sound and I can hear him wherever he goes, a great "warning device" for life with a toddler.