Leg Wrestling

As everyone is well aware of...it is miserable outside! Freezing cold, snowing and very windy so there isn't a whole that can be done outdoors. To cure any boredom you may be experiencing all you need to do is get 2 toddlers together, their fathers and an idea to teach them to leg wrestle...very entertaining...

Pick-me-ups

I've discovered a couple things since being a mother of two...there are a couple things that instantly put me in a good mood.

First one being Starbucks of course. I find it outrageous to spend 5 bucks on a drink but once in a while I splurge and buy one and realize once again that it is totally worth it. It just puts me in a great mood as soon as that decaf white chocolate mocha WITH whip gets placed into my hands. I could have had one of those days where Kanya has decided to cluster feed every 2 hours and Zara has become totally needy and wants extra attention but as soon as I have a drink of that deliciousiness it's all forgotten and I'm good to start again.

The other good mood maker is listening to ANY song by The Beatles. I've been trying to think why this would have this affect on me and all I've come up with is that it reminds me of my childhhod and simplier days. Long before I was in school I used to work on cars with my Dad and often we would have to try out his stereo in whatever car we happened to be working on. Some of the music I remember listening to the most are Dolly Parton's 'rock' album Rainbow (a good listen for those that like Dolly), that good old spanish song La Bamba, Wake up Little Suzie by the Everly Brothers and 66 CFR on the AM dial which played oldies all the time which started my obession with listening to old music and it wasn't long when The Beatles became my favorite. I remember for my birthday in grade 6 the thing I wanted the most was a Beatles tape and when I got it I took it to school in my walkman (yes the days of walkmans) and tried to convince my friends that this was the GREATEST music but that was the era of Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys so they just thought I was out of my mind. And from there it went to The Beach Boys to Elvis to CCR to The Rolling Stones but always came back to The Beatles, and listening to their music is guaranteed to turn any mood I may be in into a great mood.

I was in a bit of a grumpy mood when I started writing this but it has turned around now into a good mood just thinking about drinking a Starbucks and listening to Abbey Road. Amazing. Now I can go and be civil again.

October

It's a lot busier than I thought it was going to be having two little ones. It seems like I can't go anywhere without my Mom...good thing she lives close or I wouldn't get out of the house. On friday I decided to go get Kanya weighed and we were gone for a total of 20 minutes but I'm pretty sure it took us 45 minutes to get ready...maybe I'll get quicker eventually. Oh and she weighed 5.14 so she is filling out!

This is Kanya a few days old with her sucky...


Zara deciding to lay beside 'Kanna'


Kanya vs. Cabbage Patch doll...cabbage patch doll still bigger.


Zara on halloween...went around the block and she loved it...went up to the houses and said 'tickateat' and once they put the candy in the bag it was 'letsgo'


All the cousins dressed up...


Zara holding baby 'Kanna'


And that is just a few pictures of the last few weeks...

My Labour story...

So for those that are interested... here it is and for those that don't care just disregard this post.

We went in at 9.30 tuesday morning, at 11 they used a gel to get things going and I had to be monitered for a hour after that but it put me right into labour. I was having regular contractions every 3 minutes but they weren't very strong so we went for lunch and then walked around the hospital until about 3. I was admitted and then put into our delievery room. Things were progressing slowly and pretty easy for me. I was carrying on pretty good convos with the nurses in between contractions and then I got really tired so I went into bed and I just started telling Garrett that the contractions were getting pretty intense and my water broke. I had about 4 really hard contractions after that and she was ready to go. 3 minutes later she was born.

I got to hold her right away for about a half hour because she was so small they wanted her to keep warm on my chest. It was very nice. She's feeding good and is quite alert already. She's dropped down to 4 lbs 14 ozs but at the rate she is eating I'm sure it'll be up in no time.

Zara isn't to sure what to think yet but she'll come around! We're happy with having another girl around. Hope they'll be good friends eventually.

Our Wee One...

It's a girl. Kanya Annabelle Pearman. October 13 at 6:36 pm. 5 pounds 5 ozs. 18.5 inches long.
P.S. Sorry the picture is sideways

Labour Pains

I have a date to be induced now and it is getting VERY near. It's really strange knowing when your going to have your baby, you can let all your family know, make arrangments for Zara before hand and tell your in-laws the date so they can plan a trip to see the new grandbaby...very strange. I'm glad that we don't know what we're having or else there would be NO surprise involved at all. We could have made our birth accouncements if we did know, we would have know the date, gender, name, and even a estimated weight from the ultrasound I had on friday. I look forward to the surprise.

I always think it's kind of funny when you go into the labour and delievery unit at the hospital, all the ladies are dressed in their hubbies baggy sweatshirts, their pants are saggy at the knees and often fleece that is covered in pet hair and their hair is not done and all over the place and they look like death warmed over and they haven't even started yet. I've decided that I'm going to go there in decent clothes and have my hair combed and somewhat done because I won't even be in labour so it's the least I can do. I can assure you though that I'll be coming out in sweats and one of Garrett's hoodies!

So I'm hoping everything is quick, smooth and painless...clearly dreaming I know. Details will follow hopefully soon!!

The Incredible Itch...

I'm definatly not nesting anymore, just itching. And I don't really mean the odd little scratching here and there I'm talking about INCREDIBLE itching. So bad in fact that I've managed to pop blood vessels, break sin and have left it raw. Nothing has really helped so far. I take Bendryl at night to help with sleeping but it has only helped 2 nights out of 2 weeks and all the creams in the world don't do anything but my dear Molly bought me calendula cream which soothes my skin and makes it feel better but unfortunatly doesn't stop itching. However there is a silver lining in this dark cloud...I've stopped chewing my nails and for the first time in FOREVER I have longish nails which help a lot with the itching I might add.

Apparently I have Cholestasis of Pregnancy, which sounds worse than it is I think. I won't go into details of it but it means that I'm having my baby soon. They are going to induce me. I'm not going to say the date because I think its better as a surprise and I don't actually know the exact date myself yet but it'll be fairly soon. So it's a good thing I was nesting when I was and got all my baby gear ready. I'm a little nervous about being induced. I have no idea what happens yet and so I'm just thinking the worse and just hoping that I won't have to have a c-section because that REALLY scares me. We'll find out next week all the details and that will ease my worried mind I'm sure.

Anyways that's all I have to say...I'll just keep on itching for now...

Nesting

Apparently I'm nesting. This is what I've done in the last 3 days.

-changed and washed all the sheets for the beds
-organized and cleaned linen closet
-got all the baby clothes out and washed and put away
-organized Zara too small clothes and put them into bins according to size
-cleaned Zara's room from top to bottom
-organized everyones dressers and refolded all the clothes
-took old clothes to the consignment shop
-started striping wallpaper from one guest room
-bought paint for both guest rooms

and I've even managed to go shopping yesterday and today and I've had a nap every afternoon. Having some energy for a change has been quite nice, wouldn't mind if it stayed this way.

Busy as a bee...

For some reason, which I am still trying to figure out, we have the busiest child. I think I was a pretty easy-going baby and according to Garrett's mom he was as placid as can be so where is she getting this gene from and how do I get rid of it??

Today I went to my first appointment at the Maternity Clinic with the Doctors that will deliever my baby. What a blast that was. I decided that I was going to take Zara with me because I got thinking that maybe I rely on my family too much for babysitting and things like that. There are lots of moms out there that don't have anyone to call on so they have to pack up their kids and take them wherever they go. So this was my thinking. No problem. HA...it was a disaster. She got all the kids in the waiting room wound up, was running laps all around them which got them running along with her. There were kids falling and crashing into each other and many parents trying to stop the madness. Then we got inside where they check weight, blood pressure etc. and Zara, still in her running mood, has taken off while I have my arm in the blood pressure cuff thing. Good thing for a helpful nurse who tracked her down and put her behind closed doors. And that's not all. Once we got into the actual room to see the Dr. she was into all the cupboards pulling everything out making a mess faster then I could clean it up. She then ran around in the tiny roo as much as she could after the cupboards had been securly closed and of course, tripped over her feet and banged her head into the door. I had a hard time feeling sorry for her but it slowed her down a little and we were able to meet the Dr. without any more problems.

So to all the moms out there that take their children with them wherever they go...I salute you...

And anyone with any good ideas on how to get a quiet, timid and peaceful child let me know...I'm willing to try anything!!

Perfect Husband

I was told the other day that I've got the perfect husband, I chuckled at that because I always seem to have something to complain about. I've thought of a few reasons why I could have a perfect husband...

-he works hard to support us
-he likes my big ol' pregnant belly
-he almost always does the dishes
-he's not afraid to change dirty, messy diapers
-he deals with my many mood swings really well
-he has the energy to play and deal with Zara when I don't
-he lets me have evenings to myself
-he always puts Zara to bed
-he works around the house getting it fixed up
-he loves me just the way I am

So I guess I do have a pretty good husband. Now if I could only have this list posted everywhere or in my pockets at all times so when I'm frustrated with him I could look at it and see its not so bad.

England pictures...

I thought I'd quickly post a few pictures while I have a minute before the little one wakes up.

Trains, planes and automobiles...

Tomorrow we take a automobile to get to the train which will take us to the airport to catch the plane that will take us back home. Our holiday is just about over and I'm looking forward to coming back and getting back on track. Had a wonderful time but travelling with a toddler can be a bit much sometimes. I think the fact that I haven't been getting my usual amount of sleep everyday is catching up on me...I'm completely exhausted these last couple days...

We've been busy the last week...had the reunion in Thame which was very hectic but interesting to see where Garrett's family came from. Had a couple days around Oxford. Went to Windsor Castle and shopped around Windsor, which was GREAT...finally made it into Fat Face after missing it at 3 other shopping centers and I definatly didn't come out empty handed. Spent the last couple days here in Harpenden at Garrett's Aunt and Uncle's where I've been catching up on sleep.

The weather has cooled down now which is a relief as I didn't pack for warm weather so we were dying but have enjoyed the rain the last couple days. I'll post a few pictures when we get home on saturday...

England

We made it. whew. Actually the flight was good. We had 4 seats all to ourselves so it worked out swell. Although Zara only slept for about 3 hours out of 8 but we survived. We're over our jetlag and enjoying life.

We've spent a day by the sea, shopped at the lanes, went to the lake district and have ate lots of fish and chips. Tomorrow is a no plan day so we're not sure what we're doing...might shop a bit and Garrett might go with the cousins to the go-karts so could be another busy day.

England has been a wonderful thing for Zara...she has fallen asleep in her stroller 3 times. She isn't getting her usual long afternoon naps but surviving really well without them. She's fallen and skinned her knees, forehead and nose AGAIN. She's seen lots of 'puppies' which are actually cows, ducks, sheep, birds, flowers and bugs.

Meet lots of the friends up north here. Molly, I met Ron and had a good little chat about you! We went to the farm last night for a potluck supper and a game of rounders...there were lots of people, about 60 and LOTS of good food. The weather has been crazy...its REALLLY hot, about 28 degrees today and quite humid but also had a thunderstorm that flooded Wigton...couldn't go to meeting because the farm was flooded but it's already drying up.

Anyways thats about all for now...we'll try to post again before we get back!!
Cheers...

Kicking...

My whole life we were taught not to kick...no kicking things when we got mad, no kicking balls and other objects in the house, no kicking our siblings etc. but kicking is one of the first things we ever did to our poor mothers. Kick, punch and prod was the first interaction we ever had and it was so exciting and encouraged but the moment your born it's no longer something welcoming.

Well I was in bed the other night with a sound asleep husband beside me when I realized that I was being kicked...just faint little movements but movements none the less. I was so excited and all I had to share my joy with was my suduko but we spend a lot of time together so it was okay. It's such a reassuring thing to feel your baby kick and move inside you. Makes you realize that there is something actually in there and your not getting plump for nothing and you know as well that at that moment the baby is ok and well.

I know it won't be long and I'll be discouraging all the kicking but for now little one...kick on!

These pictures were taken tonight of Islay and Zara...luckily they are NOT kicking each other yet.

Laughter

As the saying goes laughter is the best medicine. So in attempt to try and stay away from the Doctors I've purchased the Little Big Book of Laughter. It is quite a hoot. It has poems, puns, pranks, one-liners and the list goes on. I thought I'd share with you a couple poems that I read this morning. Here they are...

1) Consider the poor hippopotamus:
His life is unduly monotonous.
He lives half asleep
At the edge of the deep,
And his face is as big as his bottom is.

2) In the Garden of Eden sat Adam,
Disporting himself with his madam.
She was filled with elation,
For in all of creation
There was only one man and she had'm.

And that is just a taste at what's in there. I'm not sure however if I didn't purchase the book soon enough or if I don't read it enough or what has exactly happened but I'll be seeing quite a bit of the Doctor in the next while.... We're expanding....well I'll be the one expanding actually and soon enough our little family will no longer be 3 but 4...NO JOKE!

Blue vs. Yellow

My sister and I are doing comparisions of colors. I've been assigned blue and yellow.

Not too sure where to start but yellow is definatly a more upbeat, fresh, cheerful color. Blue is often the word used to describe being down and out, and some shades of it can be cold feeling. Although I like the color blue better as a color...its the color of a clear day and the ocean, yellow is just a little to bright. I like what yellow represents though...sunshine, cheerfulness, lemons, and sunflowers. But all in all I like a coral color best!

This is what happens when there is nothing to do on a tuesday evening sitting around Mom and Dad's. If you'd like to check out Shelby's her site is...http://shelby-olson.blogspot.com/

I've just realized that this is the first time I've wrote about something other than Zara. Clearly I need to get a life/hobby/something.

Garrett has been in between jobs now for a couple weeks so lucky for me that usually means that he's home a lot more. He has been getting up with Zara and I get to sleep in and he has been playing with her all day while I sit on the couch doing my sudoku. Needless to say I've been loving it. I don't think Garrett's minded either because Zara will now go to him without putting up a big fight. She's gone from being a Momma's girl to liking Dad too. She'll even give him cuddles and she cries when he leaves. This is what it was like when Garrett wanted a hug from Zara before.



And this is what it's like now.

Sleeping Beauty

I've always left the door cracked just a bit whenever Zara goes down for a nap. I've always gone in to check on her to make sure she is sleeping and has some covers on but now that she is older I just go in to see what kind of position she has managed to get herself into. I usually take the camera just in case its worthy of a picture. Here are a few shots that I've taken lately. The last is the after effects of sleeping...bedhead.

Payback

Anyone that knew me as a child knows that I talked non-stop. I'd keep cousins up until all hours the night, keep my family entertained on long road trips and pretty much control the dinner conversation. Well now I think its my payback now. Zara really likes to talk...all day long she blabbles about. I got a video to prove it. For all those I drove insane as a child...ENJOY!

Update...

All is well here now. We have no more runny noses, appetite is back in full force, no more cuddles and I'm not getting much done anymore except clean up Zara's messes and trying to just keep up with her. Back to normal.

These days I'm hoping that Zara will start walking soon. Everyone I tell this to thinks I'm absolutly crazy, they say that she'll be getting into everything once she starts walking but let me tell you that I'm pretty sure there isn't a whole lot more she can do. This week I've been cleaning scattered tupperware up, trying to re-roll the tinfoil, putting ziplock bags back in the box, picking up rolls of toilet paper that get thrown out of the cupboard, refolding clean cloths that get taken out of drawers, putting all the books back on the bookshelf, chasing the little one up and down the stairs and I'm sure the list goes on. Now if she could walk I'm thinking that all this could get done with tights that won't get black knees, skirts and dresses that won't get ruined hems and turned black and the poor girl's knees will no longer be red and skinned looking. But no matter how hard we try, she still crawls on with black knees and all and with no plans to take that first step on her own it seems and so we wait.

Oh and this week Wade will turn 28 and the day after Reid will turn 30. Which means they are getting pretty close to being half way done their working careers, which is something to celebrate if nothing else. We look forward to cake.

Sick Days...

Yesterday Zara got sick. I had to wake her up at 10:30 yesterday morning so that was my first clue she wasn't feeling well. Then she cuddled with me for 10 whole minutes so I definatly knew something was wrong. Today shes all congested and has a bad cough. This is gonna sound kinda bad but I actually am enjoying her being sick. Here are the reasons...
- she is cuddly
- she sleeps lots and I can get more done around the house
- I have an excuse as to why I shouldn't leave the house
- she sits still when I'm holding her
- shes cuddly (this is the best reason, it deserves to be said twice)
For her sake though I hope she gets feeling better.

We're having Zara's birthday party tomorrow and I'm so excited. Birthdays are a HUGE thing for me. I can remember all my extented families birthdays and I even remember old friends from elementary school birthdays. To me it's part of someones identity, I know what color of hair they have, their eye color and their birthday.

As we were growing up, our birthdays were the day that we could have breakfast in bed if we wanted it, we didn't have to clean or do dishes, Mom made our favorite meal and it was just made to be a special day and thats spoiled me for life. I still look forward to my birthday even though it means I'm getting older and I still use it as a special day and try not to do anything.

As for Zara's birthday I know that she'll never remember it but I want her to be able to look back at pictures and see that her first birthday was special just like all her birthdays will hopefully be.

P.S. Happy Birthday Alesha...

The little things that make you appreciate what you have...

Once a week Zara and I go to a baby and me water workout, which is more of a good excuse for moms to get together and casually jog around the pool. One mom there has such a positive attitude and outlook that everyone just seems to be drawn to her. I think she gets around to talking to everyone there and she just adores her little 7 month old boy, whos very charming with his flaming red hair.

Through our various chats I've found out that their firstborn had a rare condition and wasn't supposed to live much after birth but they got to enjoy him for close to a month and she's just so happy for the time they had with him. Last week I also found out that her husband passed away when she was 7 months pregnant with their little boy. He's been gone for 9 months now and she is doing amazing.

I think about her so much in a day. When I hear a song that reminds me of Garrett, I wonder how many songs she hears that remind her of her husband. When I'm shopping and I think I should buy something for Garrett, I wonder if she wishes she could buy something for her husband. When I find something like a sock of Garretts stuck between the washer and dryer or a old lost screwdriver I wonder if she finds things that remind her of her husband.

As I think of these things I can't believe how much I take what I have for granted. I have a perfectly healthy baby and a husband who is here everynight as I fall asleep and I still complain. I am going to learn from her experience and not complain about how grumpy Zara may be or how her teething is driving me up the wall, and even though Garrett is on a course 2 nights a week for the next month and a bit , I'm going to be grateful that he's still here every other night of the week.

Amazing the horrible things other people go through that make me appreciate what I have.

Oh Dear...

We have two really BIG problems in our house that I'm not too sure what to do about.

First, we just got home from the night in Edmonton and as we were unpacking our stuff out of the car Garrett informed me that Zara's pillow was all muddy and dirty. No big deal you may think BUT this is dramatic. She falls asleep with that pillow everynight, it's kind of her security thingy. So now I have to wash it and this too is a problem because Zara chews on the corners and pulls at the strings as she falls asleep so the poor pillow which my dear sister made has seen better days. I'll now have to sew all the corners so the stuffing doesn't come out when I wash it and I'm just worried that it may not be the same afterward.

Second, I've come to the conclusion that our toliets are taking our things and if it could flush itself, I'm sure our stuff would be gone forever. This is quite alarming to me as I'm sure you can imagine, in all my years of living this hasn't happened. Well besides when my siblings were younger and were throwing things in there but that was them not the toilet. The items I've found as of now are....socks, numerous toys and even the toliet paper right from the roll. Very strange. Some people might be thinking that this could be an act of my daughter but I assure you this is not the case...she's way to sweet and innocent to do anything like that. She looks at me with those big dark eyes as she slowly crawls out of the bathroom and I just know she wouldn't do a thing like that. Guess we'll just have to buy all new toliets to solve this one.

Big Girl Now...

It's four days away from Zara's first birthday and I can hardly wrap my wee little brain around that. I've been thinking lately of what life was like a year ago...

I was very prenant. The 28th was my actual due date so I was anxiously awaiting. I was so tired of being pregnant, I remember crying one night because I was convinced that she wasn't gonna come and I was gonna be HUGE forever. Luckily Garrett didn't have major hormones running through his brain and was able to calm me down.

I was getting lots of sleep and had NO idea what I was in for. Only getting 3 hours of sleep at a time was something I was not prepared for. Everyone warned me but I think I thought my baby would be different.

We were living in a different house that we thought we'd raise our kids in. Didn't take much though to decide we were moving.

Reid and Mandy only had 3 boys instead of 4 and we didn't even know that she was pregnant. No one knew that Wade had a girlfriend even though they have been dating for over a year. Kel, Lane and Shelby were just focused on school (I think) and now Kel's left home and Lane's got himself a job and everyone is one year older.

So lots has happened from this time last year and I wouldn't change anything for the world.