Happy 29th Birthday, Chris!

(For the sixth time). teehee

I couldn't find a number four candle...you do the math.

Child Labour...Mwaaahaaaahaaaaaaa

As of this evening we are the proud owners of a Swiffer Carpet Flick. And Cooper is the proud user of it. I flicked the living room a little and the kids wanted a turn. Uh...yeah sweeties...go ahead and play with the nice new toy...(insert evil laugh here).

Cooper was amused for at least an hour with the thing and was a bit ticked when I suggested putting it away. Below is photographic evidence of the event. Way cute. Carter was being photogenerous too and there you have my photos for the day! (I used Miss Mint's Rebel One kit from Peppermint Creative)
Work was the typical super-fast Monday. I took a late lunch today so I could have lunch with Cindy and Mom and Cindy's mother-in-law, her friend Michelle, and her friend Mary-Lou who is moving away next month; it was a little 'farewell lunch' in case we don't get to see her before she moves away.

The afternoon breezed by too since I had taken the late lunch. Before I knew it, it was time to shut 'er down and go pick up the boys. We stopped by the shop to say hi to Chris and by the time we got home Carter was asleep. I needed to go buy milk so I did a not-so-quick run to the grocery store for a few things. At the grocery store, the usual soy milk I buy was $4.59. At Wal-Mart, (which is across the road) it's only $2.97. I just couldn't bring myself to purchase it at the grocery store, so I finished up my shopping and headed over to Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, they DID NOT HAVE any of the usual soy milk I buy! Aaaaaack! There was no way I was going back to the grocery store, one of those hateful places where you have to put a dollar coin in the freezing cold grocery cart outside. Anyway, I managed to buy one carton of soy milk, but it's not vanilla-flavoured, and it's fat-free. It will do. I found a few other super deals and headed out.

Back home they had requested happy meals (which they do all the time) so I decided to oblige today, since I had already spent so much time shopping (when the only things on my list were fruit, toothpaste and milk).

Chris helped me in with the groceries then took off to work on his truck shortly after. He's becoming quite the welder, apparently, so the birthday present is a definite hit! Carter wanted to watch Chicken Little but fell asleep even before Cooper was finished playing with the new Swiffer. If only Cooper would go to bed that early, then I'd get so much more done!

Well, it's still early but I'm about to call it a day. I have some projects on the go but I'm toast!

Catch Me (Up) If You Can!

Okay. I've only actually missed ONE photo of the day since I last posted one on the 16th...


17th: The aforementioned dirty Jeep (I never did take a picture of it clean)
18th: Cooper goofing in the tub...I swear my kids are happiest in water.
19th: What more can I say? We had the time of our lives with Michael Bublé.
20th: Carter doing a shadow-puppet show on the wall.
21st: Flowers from Kelly in memory of Kendra.
22nd: The boys in their new Cars chairs from Chris's Dad.

24th: Carter monkeying around with a banana. Found out the kids LOVE bananas!
25th: Carter at school putting his smiley face on the wall.
26th: Cooper playing balloon peekaboo.
27th: Cooper getting soooooo ticked because he couldn't pick up ALL the balloons at once!

There. So it seems I only missed actually taking a picture on the 23rd; it was just a matter of getting all the ones that I did take posted here!

It was a quiet weekend. Friday night Chris stayed at work to use his new welder to work on his truck...new welder, you ask? I bought it for his birthday (which isn't until the 30th) and he spotted it in the Jeep before I had a chance to hide it. Apparently that gave him license to start using it! Saturday afternoon after work Chris went fishing for awhile in the afternoon at Mom & Dad's house. When he came home we had pizza and breadsticks for supper.

Today was another quiet one. I entertained my boys this weekend mostly with balloons and glow sticks. Chris took Carter fishing on the ice road today (no...no pictures; my butt wasn't in gear soon enough to go see them). I dyed my hair and showered and bathed Cooper. He has suddenly decided to lie down in the water. This is a first. All by himself. He started out leaning back a little and as I watched he leaned further and further until he was lying right in the water! I took a picture but haven't uploaded it yet.

We went to Mom and Dad's for supper. We had OMG delicious deep-fried, battered fish and awesome garlic-pimento potatoes, corn and beans. The boys sat nicely at the table...nothing was spilled, some was eaten. I PIGGED out. It was awesome. We visited awhile after supper and came home. I did a couple loads of laundry and might still try to pull off a couple more.

Carter went to sleep fairly early and Cooper followed suit a bit later, but Cooper has woken up twice already. Not sure what's up; I sure hope he's feeling okay.

Well, that should do it. I'd better take a picture tomorrow too!

No Way...Thursday?

Monday morning I managed to squeeze in a shower and do my hair. Kelly and I went out for lunch and brought Carter to school. When I got back to the office after lunch, there was a flower delivery for me, with a little card that said "To Help Get You Through The Day". Signed, Mrs. Depp. (That's Kelly). How sweet. I also got a sweet card from Donna, offering her condolences for Kendra's passing. I felt very blessed.

Monday night Mom and I went to Bingo. No, we didn't win. But we enjoyed the 60-ish-mile drive there and back in the frostiest weather, nonetheless. The rest of the week is a bit of a blur. I've been too tired and a bit lazy and sad to catch up on my blog, though I have taken a couple pictures. I'll get those pictures posted shortly to see where I left off. And I took a cute picture of my little monkey Carter eating a banana today.

Last night I was ready for bed by eight. Carter was asleep but Cooper was still going strong. I tried to cuddle him with me in my bed to get him to sleep, and distracted him with a couple glow bracelets. Just when I thought I had him down for the count, he sat up and started to cry. Before I could even ascertain what his problem might be, he BARFED ALL OVER MY BED. I'm not sure how he did it, but he managed to hit all four of our pillows, my duvet cover and sheet, along with his blanket. Oh yeah...and my pajamas. I hollered for Chris to help, since I was somewhat paralyzed holding Cooper and trying to catch the barf, and couldn't even reach for the lightswitch. Chris grabbed Cooper and on the way to the bathroom he barfed a bit more. On the carpet in the hallway.

We assessed the damage and I quickly stripped everything off the bed. Luckily nothing had seeped through to the pillows or mattress or duvet cover yet, so part of the crisis was averted. I threw everything in the washing machine and had a bath with Cooper. He was fine afterward and sipped a bit of juice before I got him settled for bed (in HIS bed!)

I crashed (hard) and slept soundly until Cooper summoned me at about four-thirty. It seemed as though he was hungry, having puked his guts out, so I made him a little sandwich but refused to give him any milk. We use soy milk but I'm starting to think he's lactose intolerant; I had given him a bit of pudding early in the evening and he munched on some mini-ritz crackers with the cheese in the middle. Now I'm keeping a really close eye on his intake!

This morning I was tired from being up for a couple hours in the night, and somehow slept through my alarm after pressing snooze a couple times. I think Cooper might have shut off my alarm clock. Fortunately my babysitter called just after seven-thirty to ask if I could drive her son to school again since it was so cold out and they were down to one vehicle due to an accident the night before.

I really hustled to get ready and managed to get out the door and get the kids to her house and her son to school. Diane was filling in today at the office, and I'd offered to pick her up as well. Amazingly, we still made it to work on time, with not a minute to spare. It was a VERY busy and fast-paced day, which made it disappear very quickly. Diane treated me to Chinese buffet for lunch with a couple of the other girls from the office. The afternoon zoomed by as quickly as the morning did.

After work we had a union meeting so I met up with Chris at home, dropped off the boys and went back to the office for the meeting. On the way home I picked up a cooked chicken, some of that instant Bistro rice and I came home to nuke the rice and some corn. Ta-daaaaaa. Dinner was served! The boys enjoyed it all and ate more than I expected them to.

After supper I started working on writing something for Kendra's funeral. Les called today to see if I could do some sort of eulogy. I've never done one before, but I gave it my best shot, telling a bit of a history of our friendship and attempting a little poem at the end. I spent much of the evening crying, and received hugs whenever I'd cry from Carter and Cooper. They were so sweet, even Cooper was saying, "Are you sad, Mommy?" and Carter, the little big man put his arm around me and told me everything was okay. Suh-weet. I ended up pleased with what I wrote, and each time I re-read it I had a big cry. Before I send it to Les, I'm going to read it over once more in the morning to make sure I didn't miss anything or that it doesn't sound dorky or something. No matter how it sounds, it really came from my heart.

Now it's really late but I wanted to get everything caught up again. Here's the little poem I wrote to Kendra at the end:

To Kendra:
Whenever you would talk with me, I could feel your caring, loving heart.
Whenever you would laugh with me, I could see your brilliant spirit shine in your eyes.
Whenever you would cry with me, I could see the hope glimmer in your tears.
Now that you are gone from me, I find some peace knowing you are free.
Love Melany

That Sweet Beautiful Creature... (EDITED!!!)

Michael Bublé!

Kelly arrived at my house and we left on our trip right around five-thirty on Saturday morning. We took the Jeep and left her vehicle behind for Chris in case he needed to take the boys anywhere since he can't fit two carseats in his little truck.

We did the obligatory Tim Horton's run and left town at precisely five fifty-five. The weather has been FREAKING COLD...in the minus thirties with the windchill colder than forty degrees below zero. Nasty.

I had taken the Jeep in for a cleaning on Friday and it was completely spotless. They even scrubbed the carpets and did a fantastic job on it. I always love starting a trip with a clean vehicle.

The highway was mostly bare and dry the whole way and we had it all to ourselves the whole way. It was still dark out until we were almost half way there.

When we got to the city, we headed straight for the mall. Chris had called to check in a few times and shortly after the start of our retail therapy was when he called to tell me Kendra's husband had called.

After I talked to Les, (and bawled my face off in a Fairweather store), I told Kelly that I was going to try to have a great day and a fantastic time at the concert. But that of course every time I would think of Kendra I would cry. And I did.

We did a bunch of shopping. I loaded up on fifteen pairs of underwear and a pair of cozy pajamas, a new, much-needed winter coat, a new pair of black pants and a cozy black sweater, a couple t-shirts for Chris, matching (gorgeous) sweaters with toques for the boys (that they will be sporting for a Valentine's card picture in the near future!), a couple pairs of pants for Cooper and another sweater for Carter, a super-awesome Starbucks travel mug (that fits an extra-large Tim Horton's beverage quite nicely), a bunch of earrings and necklaces to match various outfits, a couple bras, and that's about all I can remember since it took me so long to get back and edit this blog post!

We set a deadline to get back to the hotel and get ready to go out. I was so excited about how well I was navigating the city and we found our way to the hotel perfectly, even with all the one-way streets we had to navigate downtown (thanks to my trusty little Google map). We checked in and admired all the purchases we made and got ready to go to the concert, both wearing new items from our shopping excursion. We took a cab to Mom and Dad's hotel and had dinner with them there. I told Dad in an aside that Kendra had passed away and that I wouldn't mention it to Mom that night unless she asked. A couple seconds into the appetizer, of course she asked if I'd received any new news about Kendra so I told her. I had a little cry again but managed to contain myself and made it through the excellent dinner. I had skewers with humongous scallops and shrimp and a side salad.

After dinner, Mom and Dad went back to their room since it was a bit early for the concert, but Kelly and I walked across the street to the arena to secure our seats...we were SO excited! We didn't realize there was an opening act, which started shortly after eight. They are called Naturally 7 and they were amazing! They are an a cappella group like no other I've ever seen. Not only do they perform completely without instruments, they ARE the instruments! If they didn't each do a solo, you would not have believed they were playing unaccompanied. One guy was drums, one was the mixer, one was the trombone, and one had this super hot and sexy, low, low Barry White voice. He was bass. They all were also amazing singers and I could have easily been entertained listening to them for the evening.

THEN Michael Bublé came onstage. He is soooooooo fabulous! What an incredible and humorous entertainer! He looked great in his signature suit and sounded just like his albums. We had the most wonderful time listening and watching and we didn't want it to end. I'd been joking with Kelly that the song Me & Mrs. Jones was to be retitled, Me & Mrs. Groves.

After the concert, we'd planned to go to the casino with Mom and Dad but Mom was a bit pooped after the long day, so Dad drove us in the frigid weather to the casino. Dad played for a while then left us there to play. We stayed reeeeeeeally late; not getting back to our hotel until almost three! And I had the presence of mind to cash out before I blew too much money. It was a ton of fun.

We donned our new pajamas and crawled into the comfy beds. Kelly reviewed the great pictures and videos she took at the concert and I did a couple sudoku puzzles until I could just not keep my eyes open any longer. I slept a blissful sleep until just before eight-thirty. The room was so dark and quiet and there were no kids waking me or husbands sleeping. I'm surprised I woke up as early as I did! Kelly was up only a couple minutes after I was and we got ready to face the day.

We headed for the mall one last time and once it opened at noon we gave ourselves a one-hour deadline to finish up any shopping we might have missed on Saturday. Oops. We blew the deadline by almost an hour and promptly headed out (after I picked up a latté at Starbucks). We stopped for gas and were on our way. We made great time on the way back, with just one stop for a pee break, where I also found some great mittens to buy.

We arrived home safe and sound and loaded Kelly's stuff into her vehicle, which Chris had warming for her in the garage. I went in and presented the boys with their stuff. I was officially physically and emotionally exhausted from the events of the weekend.

Saturday Mourning

Before I blog about the weekend I want to take a moment to commemorate the life of my friend Kendra who passed away early Saturday morning. When I was away, Chris received a message from Kendra's husband Les, and Chris called me with the phone number. I called and left a message for Les that I was out of town, and if he could, would he call my cell. I then braced myself for that call. I received the call from Les and he told me that she slipped away at about three in the morning.

Unfortunately the funeral services are in Saskatchewan, making it virtually impossible for me to attend. What brought me peace throughout the rest of the weekend were thoughts of Kendra being with her baby Jessica again.

God Bless You, Kendra.
You will be so missed.

Tomorrow...Tomorrow...I Love Ya...Tomorrow...

You're onlyyyyyyyy a dayyyyyyyyy aaaaaaawayyyyyyyyyyyy

My dear friend Kelly just informed me that we will be on our way in nineteen hours. We're pumped. Yesterday was a great day at work. I got a ton of stuff caught up and Kelly and I made an impromptu Bingo date. I brought Chris lunch and took Carter to school. After work I picked up the boys and came home to whip up a quick supper before I needed to leave to pick up Kelly

We went to Bingo and though we didn't win, we of course still had fun. And some lucky lucky person (though we had other words for it) won NINETEEN THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS. We tried. Really hard

I remembered to take a picture on the way home from Bingo last night. Kelly suggested taking a picture of my dirty salty Jeep and doing an 'after picture' when I wash it to go on our trip. So when I dropped her off I took a picture which I'll have to post later.

Barftown City Limits

According to my calculations, it's been forty-eight hours since anyone in this house threw up. Up until supper I was still keeping everyone on light foods and clear fluids. Apple juice, jello, chicken soup; stuff like that.

Today I took both boys to the sitter. Chris was still feeling really rough this morning so I drugged him and left. Mom called me just before lunchtime and we met up and went to Tim Horton's for lunch. We had a quick bite then picked up Carter for school. I dropped Mom back off at her car and went back to work with five minutes to spare.

It was a busy day at the office. During afternoon coffee break I bolted out to the grocery store to grab some ground beef so I could make meatloaf for supper. I had a couple extra minutes so I zipped to the gas station to fill up the Jeep.

I picked up the boys and came home and started making supper. I made some super cheesy mashed potatoes, meatloaf and mixed veggies. After supper I sorted a mountain of laundry and picked out all my stuff so I'd have clean clothes for the rest of the workweek and for the weekend. I did a Wal-Mart run for pull-ups and wipes. Seventy bucks' worth. Seriously. I didn't buy anything else.

When I got home I realized I hadn't taken a picture yet today, so I tried to con Cooper into posing for me. He now just wants to hold the camera and push the button. Here's what I snapped:

Both kids are now asleep and everyone seems to be feeling much better; I'm just still praying that I'm not incubating anything that might crop up for the weekend. And while I'm praying, I'm asking for your help to pray for my friend Kendra, who has now been put on life support. The stem cell treatment she received from her brother brought complications that caused lymphoma in addition to her leukemia. They are attempting another stem cell transplant to help her and I'm praying for a miracle.

Quiet on the Homefront

Well it was quite a day!

Nobody else threw up since Carter did last night. By morning Chris was not well. At all. Through the night each time I would wake up I could hear his guts churning. Ew. Carter woke up feverish but in good spirits. I gave him some Motrin and a Gravol suppository to keep the nausea away. I gave one to Cooper too, since we decided I would take just him to the babysitter and Carter would stay home with Chris.

Cooper had a couple bouts of diarrhea throughout the day but Carter was okay. Chris had a pretty rough day but he seems to be coping well. (Better than I had expected, anyway.)

Work was very busy with Donna still off but it made for a very fast day. Kelly and I arranged to go for lunch, which worked well, since I was able to pick up a couple bowls of chicken soup for Chris and Carter while we were at Tim Horton's, some more ginger ale and juice for them as well, and deliver Cooper's dose of antibiotics that I forgot to leave with the sitter in the morning.

The afternoon flew by as quickly as the morning did. I picked Cooper up from the babysitter and he was in good spirits. We came home and so was Carter. All seemed well. I went to Tim Horton's to get some more soup for the boys to have for supper. I'm sticking to the clear fluid diet that the hospital had Cooper on, even though he is so sadly begging for some milk.

The boys were playing like 'normal children' after supper. (You would not think they were sick at all). I set up the Don't Break the Ice game a few times and they played nicely. I took a few shots at my picture of the day then I got them to pose on the couch for this one:

See? For the moment they were happily playing together AND not puking! Woohoo! I'm still praying that all will be well by the weekend so I can make my great escape with Kelly. Countdown to Bublé = FOUR DAYS! I wanted to give the boys Gravol again since it seems to be helping, along with the clear fluids I'm keeping them all on. But I thought the suppositories were an unnecessary evil, and went to the pharmacy for some chewable tablets for the boys and some caplets for Chris. I should have done that in the first place; I guess the doctor didn't think Cooper would tolerate the tablets or maybe the suppositories work faster. Not sure. But they were much happier to eat a cherry-flavoured tablet than the alternative!

Chris zonked out shortly after, and Carter wanted to go lie down with him. Cooper is still up and going strong but it's still relatively early compared to his usual bedtime. And I'm not sure how long he napped today. The night is still young but I'm hoping it will remain puke-free. As long as I don't cave and give Cooper any milk I'm thinkin' we might get through this without any extra laundry tonight! (Keep praying!)

Not Out of the Woods Yet

Dang it. Just when I think Cooper is back to his old self again, he pukes up all the contents of his stomach. In the bedroom hallway (carpet) and in the living room (carpet). I found it a tiny bit amusing that his aim was perfect in the living room for the newspaper that was on the floor. When I picked up the newspaper, there was a rectangular non-puked-on area, which actually made things easier to clean.

The doctor had suggested that if Cooper continued to vomit, to pick up some Gravol suppositories. I didn't pick any up since he seemed to be doing so well, and the pharmacy is open until ten. Well, obviously I jinxed myself by not being prepared with them, so while both boys were in the tub post-puke, I ran to the pharmacy. Oh and rewind a couple minutes to Carter seeing Cooper throw up and he did a chain-reaction puke. So into the tub with both of them. I came back and Carter was in bed but Cooper was still in the tub. I dried him off and gave him a suppository. Not. A. Happy. Camper. He's been fine since.

I just heard a cry coming from the boys room so I ran to see what was up. Cooper was sleeping soundly but Carter was wimpering about something about the toilet. I whisked him into the bathroom and ever-so-fortunately-and-unfortunately, he threw up in the toilet. I'm not sure if he's actually getting the flu too or if our house now smells so bad that it's gonna make everyone barf. Carter doesn't have a fever, but it's been so long since he was sick that he has a hard time with barfing and the whole thing. I informed him that I'd give him some medicine before bed, but I neglected to mention it is a suppository. I knew I should have also grabbed the liquid Gravol or the chewables. Dang it.

Anyhoo, I'm doubting I'll be able to go to work again in the morning with these two pukey little boys. And Chris is starting to feel all gross too. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Everyone knows a sick husband is wayyyyyy worse than a sick child! My biggest fear is this will still be going on by the weekend when I'm due to leave town to see Bublé. Please help me pray.

Things That Go Barf In The Night

Late Friday night...early Saturday morning. Cooper begins power-puking at my bedroom doorway. I was lurched from sleep and scooped him up and took him to the bathroom. Hours later he still wasn't keeping anything down. Chris had plans to go fishing and left around eight-thirty. I was getting worried about all the vomiting and decided to take Cooper to the hospital. Oddly he didn't have a fever but I was still worried.

I dropped Carter off at Mom and Dad's house and took Cooper to the hospital. We didn't wait very long and we were seen by the doctor. He checked Cooper's eyes, ears, and throat, listened to his breathing and checked his tummy. The nurses did bloodwork and Cooper was such a good little patient. He wasn't thrilled at all the poking and prodding that had already occurred, but when they put the needle in his arm to draw the blood, he stopped crying and never made another peep. They even got him to eat almost a whole pedialyte freezie. Eventually he fell asleep while we waited for the results to come back. The doctor came back with the bloodwork results and all his levels were good. The strep swab came back positive though, and we were given a prescription for Amoxicillin (the same stuff I just finished with last week) and we were on our way. We picked up the prescription then went to get Carter.

He seemed fine for most of the day, nibbling on light snacks and drinking fluids. Not long after Chris came home Cooper was playing on the computer. I was just about to go out to rent a movie. Cooper pushed away the computer game and had 'that look' on his face. I went to him and crouched down to ask him if he was okay. Power-puked again. He'd gone all those hours without getting sick and everything he'd eaten or drank all day was gone. I'm not sure how much of his medication he'd have absorbed. We gave him little sips of juice and ginger ale and whatever snacks he felt comfortable eating. But he wouldn't keep anything down. By morning I was ready to take him back to the hospital for fear he'd get dehydrated.

I figured that right after vomiting would be a good time to take him so I gathered some stuff and Chris gave him a bath. I took him back to the hospital and we had the same nurses and doctor, which was great. The doctor wanted to get him on an IV to replenish his fluids and they repeated the bloodwork. Cooper was very cooperative this time and even opened his mouth for the doctor to check his throat again. And he never made a peep when the nurses held him and put the IV in his hand. Amazing. He fell asleep in my arms for about an hour while we waited for him to be admitted then we went to his room.

It seemed like he perked right up after the IV started pumping. It was hard to contain him in the hospital bed, but there were plenty of toys to keep him occupied for awhile. Once he had gone through all the toys I put a movie on for him. Cindy, my sweet, mind-reading-angel sister, brought me a Big Mac and fries and a French vanilla cappuccino. I ate about half the food and savoured the cappuccino. I hadn't had one of those in DAYS! Dad popped in too. While Dad visited, Cooper fell asleep again, so I decided to capitalize on some downtime and took a nap too when Dad left. Cooper slept for about two and a half hours. I dozed on and off.

Mom and Dad stopped by to visit before they went out for supper. Supper came for both of us; I ate while Cooper still slept because I didn't want him to see me eating real food while he had broth and jello and juice. Chris and Carter came to visit after supper. They'd spent the day out at Cindy's house. Carter enjoyed checking out the toys too. They visited a short while and Carter got grumpy (bored) and tired so Chris took him home.

I figured after the marathon nap Cooper had that he wouldn't sleep but he stayed up just long enough for his next dose of antibiotics and went to sleep. I snuggled up next to him and tried to get as much sleep as possible. The intravenous machine would beep every couple hours; but the sweet nurse would try to tiptoe in and reset it before it beeped. It only woke me up two or three times. Cooper woke up once screaming his head off. I never did figure out exactly what was bugging him but he did settle more quickly than I expected. It was a long night but each time I woke up and looked at the clock I knew I still had a few more hours to try to get a bit more sleep.

One of the times Cooper was begging for milk and I offered apple juice, he had a hissy and knocked the cup out of my hand. And of course it didn't land on the mattress pad, it landed on the sheet. Luckily none of it got on his blanket, and I covered up the wet sheet with the mattress pad.

Breakfast was brought in at about seven-thirty. Cooper had awakened and fallen asleep again. I should have gotten up and eaten my breakfast before he woke up but he saw my toast and cream of wheat and really really wanted some. I took it over to the other part of the room and ate. Poor guy just had red jello for breakfast and some juice. By this time he was really crying for some milk, and wasn't very interested in the other stuff. When he realized there was no milk in his near future he settled for some juice. Thankfully he produced a wet diaper and when the doctor came in he gave his instructions for discharge.

We left the hospital just before lunchtime and the Jeep was coooooooooold. It started fine but wasn't happy with me. I let it warm up for a few minutes and we drove to see Chris at work to tell him we were sprung. I was tempted to go to Tim Horton's but my window was frozen shut so I figured it must be a sign and came home.

Cooper was THRILLED to be home. He made the rounds to all his toys. I had a much-needed bath but Cooper was too busy playing. He had a MASSIVE poop and a very wet diaper. (Exactly what they were hoping to see him do AT the hospital). But it was a good sign. He had his turn in the tub and had fun playing in the water for awhile. I fed him some juice and toast and was still afraid to give him any milk. I gave him a couple ounces of milk in his sippy cup and he just wanted moooooooooooooore. I gave him a little more and tried to get him to drink juice. He ate a little bit of fruit and by the time he was ready for a nap I gave him a bit more milk. I took a yummy nap too.

I got a call at about three-thirty from Donna, who was also off sick today. I felt badly for the girls at the office without both of us front-deskers there but there was nothing either of us could do about it. Seems as though Donna now has a sinus infection. Eek. I can only imagine that it was probably from me somehow.

Dad stopped by just as I was about to get snuggled in again, since Cooper was still asleep. We had a visit and he checked in on the little dude. After he left I didn't need to go back to sleep but I crawled into bed since it was still warm. I lazed and dozed a bit until Chris brought Carter home.

I made a chicken stir-fry for supper and the boys nibbled a bit. I served theirs before I put in the sauce since they didn't seem to fond of it last time but they didn't eat much more anyway. After supper Chris cleared the dishes and started the dishwasher. He went to the store to get milk and bread and did a Timmy's run. His hot chocolate was a big disappointment. Their machine must have been running low and it was practically water. I HATE IT when that happens to my cappuccino. As soon as it cools off a bit I'll be trying it. Carter is in his room watching Underdog and Cooper is making up for lost time. He's having a blast with his Halloween flashlight and making me chase the beam. We're going to try to watch The Heartbreak Kid. I also rented License to Wed and Balls of Fury, but we haven't watched any yet besides Underdog since I spent most of the weekend cleaning up vomit or at the hospital with Cooper. **Interesting sidenote: Cooper did not vomit ONCE at the hospital this weekend. He seemed to save it up for the couch, the living room carpet, bedroom carpets and beds.**

So that's the weekend in a nutshell, but before I go, I will post my pictures of the day for the past couple days. I did take them. They're not all happy ones since two are of Cooper in the hospital... Oh and there are no fancy frames. I'm not even opening PhotoShop tonight...

Friday:

Cooper happily playing away on the computer.

Saturday:

Carter goofing around

Sunday:

Checking into the hospital...and checking out the toys.

Monday:

Pumped full of fluids and ready to be sprung from the hospital.

Fun in the Snow

It was a good day at work today. My desk is still clutter-free, I'm making lists and checking them twice, I had a healthy breakfast and have avoided going to Tim Horton's. However, my AWESOMELY sweet friend Kelly brought me a green tea this morning, which rocked, and included an itty-bitty French Vanilla Cappuccino. So hilarious. She knows I can't totally kick my habit cold-turkey, and just wanted to give me a little taste of my favourite beverage.

I came home at lunchtime and had a couple snacks and picked up Carter for school. He's still having some 'nastiness' issues occasionally. But he seems to be understanding the concept of consequences a little better.

To carry on with my uncharacteristic behaviour, I cooked supper, vacuumed the living room and ALL FOUR OF US went outside to play. We got a ton more of snow and there's a big snowpile at the edge of our yard from when the parking lot next door gets plowed. Chris made a path partway to it and Carter slid down it quite a few times. Cooper was definitely not interested in sliding but seemed to have fun playing around in the snow. He walked into the dark garage to find himself a toy car to drive up and down the driveway. He did, however, love sliding down the snowbank on the side of the driveway on his bum. I lost count of how many times I lifted him back up there. Then it was Chris's turn to lift him for awhile.

We came in from all the fun all snowy and wet and the boys had some warm milk. They eventually fell asleep. I'm going to try to get myself to sleep before midnight so I can get up early enough to have a shower in the morning.

My picture(s) of the day: (I actually took fifty-seven pictures when we were outside and about seven of those turned alright...)

Just Before I Zonk Out...

...I need to post a new layout with the other pictures I took yesterday. I remembered to get my camera out twice yesterday, and the second time, I captured these pictures of Carter and Cooper. I didn't even have to bribe them to sit together for me!

I used Dawn Inskip's Grand Day Out kit available at NDISB.
Journaling reads: "Getting these boys to pose for pictures is no
easy task; especially trying to get both at once. But Carter and
Cooper were being ‘photogenerous’ on this evening, along
with a little goofy!

Word Borrower

Well it seems the new year is inspiring me, along with some activities my friends are participating in. Angie has inspired me to simplify, and Beth has inspired me do to the picture-a-day project. Both items really are blessing me in such a positive way.

Last night I did a Wal-Mart run for a bunch of cleaning projects, and while there, in the parking lot, I filled TWO large black garbage bags full of stuff from inside my Jeep. This was a vehicle clean-up à la Christy Sturm. I would link you to her blog for her massive van cleanout from last year, but unfortunately her blog went kerflooey and she doesn't have her previous posts anymore. Anyway, suffice it to say that it was a lot of stuff. One bag was just from winter gear...snowsuits and stuff from when we went sliding a couple weeks ago. Though there were some other bizarre miscellaneous items such as a BATHING SUIT which has obviously been there since summer. I certainly am not planning a polar bear swim any time soon. There were tons of papers and toys and receipts and JUNK. Under the seats, between the seats, in the hatch at the back...now I have PLENTY of room for groceries and whatnot. This was partly in preparation for the big Bublé trip coming up next weekend :)

At work today I simplified my work area. I usually have desk organizers all over my desk full of stuff. I found cupboard space for many of them, and the surface of my desk is currently clutter-free. My desk-pad calendar is fully visible, along with much of my surface of my desk. Did I take a picture, you ask? You betcha. I should have taken a 'before' picture but I didn't know what I was setting out to really do when I started....HERE is the 'after' picture. Major changes. All my coworkers thought they were in an episode of Twilight Zone when they came to my desk! (Two pictures stitched together)

More later...I actually took more pictures last night I want to post!

Well Lookie Me

I remembered to take my picture for the day only half way through the day; not half way through the very last minute of the day! Yay me! Here are a few pics I took of Carter in his classroom at school today. Beth sent me a bunch of really cool templates for the picture-a-day project (Thanks again, Beth!) I'm having some trouble unzipping some of them but this one is cool! The postage stamp frame is by Miss Mint and the cool date thingies are from ScrapArtist.

This morning I really had to drag my sleepy head out of bed. I got all ready before the boys woke up. I had a bath ready for them and got them up by turning on their bedroom light. That doesn't always work but they eventually got up. I made their breakfast, bathed and dressed them, packed their backpacks and got them out the door. I even had the presence of mind to bring a healthy snack for myself to munch on at work. Yes, eventually I plan on listing all my resolutions; eating more healthy and possibly finding an easy way to exercise are on the list somewhere.

Work went quickly again today; it was team meeting day today, and my turn to stay back and hold down the fort. Just before lunch I ran some work errands to pick up lunch for a meeting. I got back a little after the start of my lunch hour. I had talked to Kelly and arranged to have lunch with her and her friend Gwen. Because I was running late due to the errands, I called Kelly and got her to order for me. Chris had called requesting lunch and I just wasn't sure if I'd be able to pull it off in my extra-shortened lunch hour. I scarfed my lunch while we visited, whipped over to Dairy Queen to grab lunch for Chris. Delivered his lunch then delivered Carter to school. Then I had the brilliant idea to grab the camera. I took the pictures and still had plenty of time left to make it back to work a couple hundred seconds early.

We had fish'n'chips for supper and hung out the rest of the evening. Chris snow-blowed the driveway. I'm feeling tired but I just realized it's getting late. For me it's still the 'early side of late' so I'm off to bed for a (hopefully) seven-ish hours of sleep.

First Day Back

Last night I had a crappy sleep. I went to bed very late, partly with the anticipation of returning to work after two weeks off, along with a dash of anxiety of missing my alarm clock, with a pinch of working on a scrapbook layout.

Today was a good day, a fairly quickly moving one. At lunchtime I needed to go to buy milk and while I was shopping Mom called from my office. She popped in to say hi after her hair appointment. We met up at Tim Horton's for lunch and joined Kelly and Doug for a very quick sandwich. Mom's hair looks faaaaaaaaabulous. If I were a smart little blogger/scrapper/picture-a-day-girl, I would have taken a picture of Mom to post here for my photo of the day.

Instead, after coming home from Bingo with Mom tonight, I'm very sleepy, and though I finished the page I was working on last night, I neglected to remember to take a picture. I was talking to Angie quite close to midnight and she told me to get it done. So, Beth takes ornament pictures at the end of the day; looks like until I get into the real swing of this project, I'll be taking pictures of sleeping children!

Unfortunately we didn't win Bingo but we had fun anyway. I'm about to fall over on the couch and zonk, but before I do, here is a page with the picture of Carter that I took last night:

Credits: Geometric Goodness by Christina Sturmaggio at Sophia Sarducci Designs.
Black metal-rimmed alpha (recoloured) by Mellykat (yeah, that's me!) available right
here at my blog in Mellykat's This'n'That element pack. Font used is Little Pot.

Happy Birthday Seija!

Note to Seija: I remembered to phone you about four times today, and obviously didn't. Once was early this morning when I got up and didn't dare, and once was just a few minutes ago, and it's getting late. (Again, didn't dare!) The other two times I was either too lazy or got distracted. But I did think of you! Hope you had a great day!

Well, I actually took a couple pictures today, but this one (the last one of the day) became an instant favourite. I coloured my hair and took a shower and Carter, who hates getting water on his head (mostly just his face) wanted to have a shower. He climbed in and without too much commotion I washed his hair. I got out and he was being a little grown up washing all his two thousand parts. . I kept asking him, "Are you done?" And his reply was, "Not yet; almost." I was long since dried off by the time he was done. Too cute. So after he was pajamaed (in his jammies!) he wanted to sleep on my bed. He was being all cute and goofy so I asked him if I could take his picture. Surprisingly, I got this perfect pose: (not to mention reaching my goal of taking a picture today!)

I actually took a couple cute shots of Cooper wearing a little yellow plastic hardhat today. They didn't turn out great since he never stopped moving. The first one would have been perfection had it not been for the delay of digital photography. ::Sigh:: When I got up this morning, something odd came over me and I started doing an overhaul on our bedroom. I tossed all the laundry in the hallway, along with the blankets and stuff. I flipped the mattress and boxspring up against the walls and assessed the bed frame. It is toast. It's just one of those el-cheapo ones; nothing fancy. One of the plastic casters has been broken for ages and the whole thing is wobbly. So with a little help from Chris, and some unexpected cooperation, we removed it. Now the boxspring and mattress are just on the floor. Which, is kind of weirdish, but good in a way. Now nothing can go under the bed. Not any wayward tossed-aside fruit, like the dehydrated (possibly an apple) item that much to my dismay I found under there. There were books and a squillion (Angie, I think I got squillion from Christy) completed sudoku puzzles, assorted photo albums and along with mittfuls of my hair, some killer dust bunnies.

I washed the walls (with Clorox Wipes...my favourite household tool) and the baseboards and vacuumed every square inch of the not-so-big carpet. I turned the bed ninety degrees and placed it back on the floor. I plugged the lamp and the clock radios back in and made the bed. This new setup attracted plenty of attention from the boys, and Carter was a hyuuuuuuge help in the whole process hauling little bits of paper and Clorox Wipes to the garbage for me. I went through the closet and pulled out a whole pile of stuff that Chris and I don't wear anymore. I tossed it all in a big clear lawn and garden bag. Some seriously nice clothing that either doesn't fit and likely never will, or just stuff we don't want anymore.

There's still a mountain more of stuff to go through in the basement, but my cleaning spree was dedicated to our room today. I cleaned out the closet in the same manner as the rest of the room. I found the packages for some nearly-new baby items I'd been holding onto. I have a nice nursing pillow, winter infant carseat snuggly thing, and a snugli, all now in their original packaging. I showed Chris and said, now see why I'm such a packrat? It's nice to put things back in the original package. I can't wait to have a garage sale now!

The rest of the day was spent taking periodic breaks to feed or play with the kids. And ever-so-oddly, in the middle of our usually frigid winter, it was pouring rain today. Bizarro! My next project will hopefully be the boys' room. Eventually we'll be borrowing some bunk beds from Cindy (I bet Carter will be through the roof with excitement when that happens!)

Well, tomorrow it's back to work for me. And back to school for Carter. And back to the sitter for both boys. Today Carter said he didn't want to go back to the sitter and to school; he wanted to stay here with me. OMG that is so sweet. I figured the kids would run to the sitter without me first chance they got! It's been a great two weeks. Christmas already seems like so long ago; feels like I've been off for about a month. Niiiiiiiice. Also, tomorrow is Bingo night. Hopefully work won't have drained the very life out of me so we can go have fun and win some big bucks!!!

One more thing...countdown to Bublé = 13 days!

A Couple More Quiet Days

My quiet days are numbered. I go back to work on Monday. The boys and I had our typical day. Well, not exactly. Cooper's been a bit of a terrible two lately and I haven't been sure how to deal with him. He hits and punches (hard!) whenever something doesn't go his way. Of course he learned it from Carter, but Carter has been pretty much cured from hitting (at least when he's in my line of sight).

So yesterday I went to the basement to pull out the high chair. Since it's the only chair with a buckle (and tray) I decided to try it out as a time-out chair. I never thought a time-out would be effective. But he knows I mean business when I buckle him in and set the timer on the microwave for ten minutes and leave him in the kitchen! He gets all mad at first and I make sure I tell him why he's going in there. After some screaming and yelling, he's ready for a hug and cuddle after. And I make sure I reiterate why he was in there. I tried it twice yesterday and just once today. Wish me luck. We'll see if it works.

Today after work Chris went to Mom and Dad's house to go ice fishing with the guys from work and my Dad. Mom invited us for supper. I packed up the boys a little later and headed out. The boys ate a miniscule amount of the (awesome) spaghetti. We visited for awhile after supper (Chris dozed off in a chair!) and we packed it in and came home.

Carter settled quickly; he didn't nap this afternoon. Cooper on the other hand, was a bit squirrelly for awhile. He fell asleep beside me on the couch about a half an hour ago. I was half-blogging and half-watching an old rerun of U.S. Marshalls.

Earlier today I did a blog re-design for one of my digiscrapping friends at NDISB. I was teasing her for not updating her blog and she let me do it up with a new kit she designed. You can see it HERE. Edited: Oops I had the wrong address. Now you can see the blog transformation I did!

Upon reading my friend Beth's blog the other day, I decided try to do a project/resolution that she is working on. Take a picture a day. Just a sec...I have to get the camera. Yeah, it really looks like I'm going to keep this resolution. ::Sigh:: Here is a picture I took a couple days ago. It might take me about a week to get into the swing of this new project!

Cooper in a Shoebox
Frame from the October Rust kit at Peppermint Creative

A Couple Quiet Days

Well, not exactly quiet with these two monkeys running around. We played Break the Ice a squillion times and watched a few movies over and over. Carter says Spiderman 3 is his favourite movie. But tomorrow he could give a completely different choice as his favourite!

Cooper New Year 2008
Credits:

Here is a picture of Cooper looking so serious and thoughtful on New Year's Day.
Perhaps contemplating the year ahead? Well, I'll never know. Journaling reads:
"Cooper I love this serene expression on your face. We were at a fun sliding party but
you weren’t feeling well. Not long after this you perked right up and had a great time!"

I used a whole pile of Miss Mint stuff: Photo frame and word tabs from After Midnight.
Background paper, buttons and journal tab from October Rust. Ricrac from Rustic
Emerald. Beads from Bead Factory. Swirl from Twinkle Toes. Cardboard from Craft Jar.
Noah is here visiting and Carter finally woke up from his nap so they're in the kitchen playing with Rescue Heroes. We have a serious shitload of them. We had quite a few given to us last summer, then we got a whole bin more plus some kind of space station from Claudine & Pete. I could easily get rid of every single other toy in this house and they wouldn't be missed. I plan on a massive toy garage sale next spring. I have all kinds of toys from both boys going back to when Carter was just a baby. Definitely time to liquidate!

I had a nice hot shower while the boys napped and I'm sitting here with a towel on my head. So I'm off to do my weekly hair stylin'...

Happy New Year (Again...Second Post of the Year!)

After going to bed way too late last night, Cooper decided to get up and scream for awhile. I finally got him settled and got a few hours' sleep. The morning started out a little rocky for me but Chris woke me and told me we were invited to go sliding at Cindy's place...well, actually in the bush in the back forty at Cindy's place. They have a super-fast sliding hill (the same one Chris took the kids to yesterday) and a cabin to warm up in. Along with a big fire outside.

Total fun! Except silly me forgot my medicine and took a ride back home to get it so I wouldn't miss a dose or two. Because I'm feeling MUCH better and I don't want to mess up the course of antibiotics. Before I left I took a ride down the hill. I hurtled down at break-neck speed and the boots I had on kept hitting the ground in front of the sled and spraying snow in my face. Hilarious.

We went to Cindy's brother-and sister-in-law's house and there was a big gathering for supper. Mass quantities of food. We're full. Still. Here are some pictures from the fun day:

Carter coming back up the sliding hill...he made this trip all by himself. Many times!

Cooper was sitting on my lap (feeling a little icky) and I snapped
this very thoughtful-looking picture of him. Look at those eyes!

I got Cindy to take a picture of Coopy'n'Me. This is one of my new favourites.

Cindy & Coopy...he's starting to warm up (temperature- and temperament-wise) by this time.

A Winter Wonderland.
(Angie & Helen...this one's for you...what was YOUR temperature today?)

Cooper supervising the sliding hill. He looked like he wanted to go for a ride...

A beautiful, fiery sunset...

Carter about to hit warp-speed...

The Two Sisters
(Again...Angie and Helen...I bet you didn't have this many layers on today!!!)

Auntie Lurdes & Uncle Cliff - what a gorgeous couple!

I was hoping for a picture similar to the Coopy'n'Me picture with Carter,
but he pasted on the fake smile. Too cute! Another one of my new favourites!

So I persuaded Cooper (sort of) to take a slide down the hill with me. I loaded him onto the sno-saurus on my lap and we started to go. There is absolutely no controlling the destination on such a trip as this and I tried to dig my hands in to slow us down. Yeah right. We neared the bottom and kind of spun around and both spilled out. Poor baby wasn't too happy but once I dusted us both off he was fine and I carried him back up the hill. He perked up for the next while and we headed over for supper. After supper he kind of punked out again, and fell asleep cuddling with Auntie Cindy. A bunch of us played Spoons...a dangerous venture in our family - Cindy and I recall playing with my aunts years ago and it's likely we still have some scars from it. Especially since we used to use metal spoons. Today they were plastic. Very wise move.

We visited with everyone for a while longer then packed it in. The boys settled easily with a drink of warm milk when we got home and they both zonked watching Spiderman 3. I am feeling so much better. The kicked-in-the-jaw feeling has almost completely left me (Thank God) and I'm slowly returning to my former self. The me from almost six weeks ago before this rotten cold sunk its claws into me. I've always thought myself to be fairly pain tolerant, but constant, continuous pain becomes tiresome very quickly.

I'm off now to do a sudoku or three and hit the pillow. Chris works tomorrow, so it's just the boys and me; I'll need to put my game face on in order to avoid wanting to nap by ten o'clock in the morning...

Happy New Year!

Wow. It's 2008. And it's quarter past two and surprisingly I'm still up!

Tonight we had my parents over for a New Year's Eve fondue. I had a killer nap this afternoon, and I think the antibiotics are starting to provide me with some relief. I no longer feel like I've just been kicked in the face; now it feels like I was kicked in the face a couple days ago. Progress = good.

Chris took the boys sliding today and I napped the whole time they were gone. When they got back I cut up all the food for the fondue and started baking the potatoes. Mom and Dad arrived just before five-thirty and I prepared things and started heating the two pots of oil for the fondue. Meanwhile, I totally forgot to make the salad, garlic bread and the potatoes. DUH! I quickly made the twice-baked potatoes, we skipped the salad, and I baked the garlic bread. I had a bit of a late start to the fondue, but by the time I sat down, Carter and Cooper were pretty much done at the table. Everything turned out great, even though it was sort of served in stages.

After supper we watched Stardust. Chris's brother Jason and his girlfriend Brittany came over last night and we watched it then too, along with Spiderman 3, but I had many interruptions from the boys while the movies were on and missed quite a bit. So it was good to get to see more of Stardust tonight. A good magical, mystical movie.

Mom and Dad left around ten-thirty. I made a couple scrapbook pages for my Dad's Uncle Evan in Califormia. We received his Christmas card today so I want to send him something special; scrapbook pages of my boys and of my Grandma (who was one of his sisters). Here they are:

Grandma at Uncle Evan's in California; not sure of the date but likely the 70s.
Credits: LaWanna Desjardin's Oopsy Daisy kit from Scrapbook-Bytes.
Frame from Christy Sturm's Junk Drawer Blues kit at Butternug Squash Designs.

Aunt Bar, Uncle Evan & Grandma at Grandma's house.
Credits: Miss Mint's October Rust kit from Peppermint Creative.

Grandma as a young woman - beautiful picture that I treasure!
Credits: Life is Beautiful kit by Ninascraps at Oscraps and NDISB

Aunt Bar, Uncle Evan and Grandma; perhaps taken at a wedding?
Credits: Wrought Iron Butterfly kit by Christina Sturmaggio at Sophia Sarducci

Along with these pages I'm putting a few pages of the boys in too. Cooper's been up a couple times tonight; he's battling with some sort of bug seemingly like mine and I've been keeping a close eye on his temperature. He's had an on-and-off fever for the past couple days. Carter surprisingly seems to be staying strong and avoiding the ick. Probably because he's had most of the bugs known to man a couple years ago when he went to public day care.

Well, that's a wrap for the first hours of 2008; all the best to you this coming year! Many Blessings to You for a Happy and Healthy New Year!