Cooper Sits Up

Well, he's been working on it a while now but Cooper's getting to be a pro at sitting up by himself. I still put a pillow around him so he doesn't go all noodly and bonk his head on the floor, but he does it! Here are a couple pictures. He still does a faceplant once in a while but it's not far and the carpet is soft. He lasts at least 10 minutes first.

We had a pretty lazy day yesterday. So lazy I didn't even blog about Cooper sitting up. Chris came home from work and cut the grass. We had pancakes for supper. We watched a movie on TV and went to bed by 11:30 I think. I actually slept (hard) until just after 3:15 when Cooper got up. I brought him to bed and nursed him back to sleep. I was back in bed by 3:33 and we got up for good at 7:30. So I actually feel like I got some rest. Now it's after 8 and Carter isn't up yet. Yikes what a routine we have. Or lack thereof.

I'm not sure of which order things will happen in this weekend. The wedding is at 3:00 tomorrow afternoon so we could go visit all the camping family tonight or we'll have to wait until Sunday. I really don't want to skip the fireworks; I think Carter will get a bang out of them this year. I know, bad pun but my brain's not quite awake yet!

So Horking Sick

OMG I was so bloody sick after I wrote my blog last night. I started to feel lightheaded and dizzy and then nauseous (nauseated?). Anyhoo, I puked out all my internal organs along with everything I ate. Everything was spinning. It was like I had gone on a big bender without the pleasant euphoric feeling. When I would throw up things would settle a little but each time I woke up things would be a-spinnin' again.

By morning, after a few trips to the bathroom and Cooper feedings, I felt much better, with just a mild headache. I had a pretty good day. I couldn't get a walk-in appointment at the clinic, so I got my friend at work to check my BP and it was normal. Dunno what the heck was up with that. Was it something I ate or am I so extremely tired that my body got mad at me?

So this evening after work Chris went fishing with the guys from work so I took a drive with Carter and Cooper out to Cindy's house. But she wasn't there. It's her last few days before the closing date on the sale of her house so she's madly moving last minute stuff. So we drove there to say hi and Carter and Cooper had both fallen asleep. Then we stopped by Mom & Dad's house since it's in the 'hood and had a little visit. Carter was so tired because he hadn't napped today. So he slept about an hour in our travels and now the little night owl is still up. I had planned to go to bed early tonight but I can't shut off my brain now.

This weekend is going to be a busy one...Chris's cousin's wedding, Cindy and the family going camping (Auntie Lurdes & Uncle Cliff, and Uncle Bob & Auntie Josie too) so we want to visit them at some point. Plus I want Carter to see the Canada Day fireworks...(they're actually for me; it's just coincidence that it's Canada Day too...LOL) So we'll be running around like crazy on the weekend. Luckily Chris has both Saturday and Monday off so it should be a fun long-weekend. In the meantime I'm going to try to go and get some sleep. I was already gone to bed a while ago but of course Cooper wanted to have a moment of my time so I nursed him back to sleep. Carter MUST be sleeping by now; I'm going to check.

Camping With My Two Boys

Well, I'm back from camping with the boys. We took a drive just north of Ignace yesterday to meet up with my friend Kelly who camps at Sandbar Lake Provincial Park for the summer. Of course as soon as you say my name and camping in the same sentence, the thunder clouds start forming. There was a full-blown severe thunderstorm watch for the Dryden and Ignace areas but we went anyway!

But before we left yesterday we had a private little memorial for my Grandma who passed away in February. We had her funeral after her passing, but we went to put her ashes in the columbarium at the cemetery. My dad said a few words and read one of Grandma's favourite poems from the poetry book she left for him. It was already raining, and my boys were sleeping in the Jeep. There was my Mom & Dad, me, Uncle Cliff & Auntie Lurdes, Cindy's mother-in-law Dora, Auntie Josie, and my Dad's cousin Bill Hampe. It was nice to see Grandma has a final resting place, even though I know that's not really 'her' in there...look up!

So after that I did a bit of running around and last-minute packing and we were off. Traffic was almost nil and the rain held off for the most part on the way there. I only had to stop in Ignace for a few minutes to top off Cooper, then it was only about another fifteen minutes to the camp. By then it was pouring pretty good and we cooked hotdogs inside the camper and watched movies. It was way too wet for a campfire. We got up this morning and it was still a little wet but not raining. We took the dog and the boys for a walk in the double stroller around the park. We didn't even bother going down the beach...so sad! (too cold!)

Back at the campsite Carter really got his bearings and he started exploring. First it was the trail to the outhouse. He would run back and forth and slam the door on the outhouse repeatedly. It was easy to see him and since he doesn't like to use the toilet I wasn't too worried. I was still paranoid of him falling down the hole (OMG just imagine) but there are steel bars across the hole inside the potty so that made me feel an eency bit better. That and putting little wooden wedges to keep him from opening the doors because my paranoia got the better of me once he started going inside the stall and locking the door! Then it was game over for outhouse playing.

Fortunately we had a campfire by this time and had put some peanuts out on the squirrel feeder and Patches (Kelly's dog) was occupied by keeping an eye out for the squirrels so Carter was too. Carter went in and out of the bushes like a pro, not afraid of anything. And all in sight of the campsite so it was good for me! It was pretty quiet around the park too so there was very minimal traffic around so it was perfect for Carter to explore his surroundings! I can't wait until we all go camping together (Chris too!) Next weekend we might join the family out at Gordon Lake. Cooper slept in the stroller for over an hour with the mosquito net over him.

We enjoyed a few sunny breaks between the passing clouds and barbecued some hotdogs while Carter had a much-needed nap. (Of course he didn't nap until Cooper was wide awake!) After Carter's nap we packed up the Jeep and headed for home. As soon as we drove out of Ignace I could see sunny skies ahead, of course as soon as I was out of range of the camping zone. We came home and Carter played outside with Daddy for a while and Cooper and I came in the house. Now I'm SOOOOOOOOO tired but the kids are still going strong!!! I'm not sure if I'll be up working on the computer tonight...maybe after a little nap!

BBQ With the Parental Units

Yesterday was a gorgeous day. I was a lazy slug all morning (didn't take the boys to church) and for part of the afternoon, then Chris and I packed up the boys and took them to my Mom & Dad's house. Carter played in the water with my Mom and me.

Wabigoon Lake is not a nice clear lake - Wabigoon translated from Ojibway means 'muddy water'. So it's murky at best, and it's the time of year for all the algae to build up. So it was gross. But of course I have to pretend it's all nice and fun for Carter so he doesn't get scared.

Below are a couple pictures of Carter 'petting' a leach and wading and splashing in the water. He ended up with a little bloodsucker on his foot, which I very calmly yanked off and told Carter it was hitching a ride with him.

After the water fun, we went up to the house for supper. Dad barbecued steaks and potatoes and we had salad and for dessert we had some fresh Rainier cherries. Yum!

On the way home we did a 7-11 run for Carter because he chose a Slurpee over an ice cream cone. We went to Dairy Queen next and of course Carter changed his mind and wanted ice cream. It was so busy in there that there was no way I was going back in for a cone for him. So he enjoyed his Slurpee anyway.

I did some stuff on the computer for a few hours...Chris and Cooper zonked out fairly early, but Carter was going strong until at least 11:00. I don't know what this kid runs on. He barely eats and had a very short nap in the afternoon. He must have been on fumes. Kevin stopped by to visit since he is leaving for Calgary again today. It was nice to see him since we haven't seen him since Christmastime.

Blue Lake and My First S'more!

What a busy day! It started out as a visit to Cindy's place while she was having her garage sale. Then we (Carter, Cooper and I) went to Mom & Dad's because they're such close neighbours to Cindy's place. Chris worked until noon and went fishing somewhere with the guys from work. We came home at lunch and the boys had a nap. I bought a new printer to replace my dead one, and the new one is pretty much crap. Yeah, it's new, but the print margins are very restrictive. Yes, I'm bitter. But I vented about that enough today.

After naptime I got the boys and myself ready and we went to visit Cindy and the gang that were camping at Blue Lake Provincial Park. Mom & Dad were going there too so we all met up there. Carter went swimming! (Yes, Carter...the child who frrrreaks when I try to wash his hair or face in the tub.) We had a fantastic supper of fresh fish, steaks, fried potatoes with mushrooms and onions, grilled asparagus and grilled snap peas. And if you can believe it, I had my very first S'MORE!

Many may find that hard to believe. I've gone camping a kajillion times in my life and have never tried s'mores. And they're pretty good too! Will have to add that to my camping grocery list for the summer!

We visited for a while after supper and s'mores and I brought the boys home. I thought Carter would be completely wiped out but he's still up watching a movie and it's almost 11:00! Cooper's snug as a bug in his bed, and I've got some work to do on the new crapola printer before I go to bed.

Hopefully tomorrow will be another beautiful day and we can do something fun outside again.

Butternug Squash Designs

This is a series of layouts I've done using Christy's kits. The most recent ones are the ones I've done since becoming a member of her creative team. (Yay me!) There will be many more of these to follow...I'm having a blast! You can click on the thumbnails to see more detail...

It's a Brand New Blog

Well, this is my second attempt at blogging; I'm hoping I can stay more faithful to this one. Both my boys are taking their afternoon nap, which means I really should be sleeping too. But I want to get this thing going.

Let's see...the latest...Carter turned three last month and Cooper is 6 months old. He intermittently rolls over and reaches for everything. Carter talks up a storm and is already a whizkid on the computer.

I just recently was accepted to be on a creative team for a digital scrapbooking website called Butternug Squash Designs. It's very exciting. I accidentally started digital scrapbooking a couple months ago; when I say accidentally, I mean I Googled something and ended up on a scrapbooking web site. I downloaded a scrapbooking kit and created a layout and instantly became hooked. Part of the reason for starting this blog is so I can display some of my layouts here.

School is out so I'm hoping to spend more time with my sister and her boys and her new family. The weather is getting better all the time and we'll be spending more time outside. We just got a new swing for Cooper to swing on our swingset in the back yard. As soon as I figure out how to do all this blog stuff, I'll start posting pictures too.

Well, that's it for my very first post...back soon!