Ramblings

A friend of mine has been posting every day in December (hi, Pippa's mom!), and it got me to thinking... wouldn't it be nice if I could do the same?  It would.  But it won't happen (because, HELLO, December is half over already, and I've been finding it hard enough to even post once a week).  Anyway, I just have to post some of the interesting tidbits that have been happening around here.

Baby Food-Itis.
I started feeding Bram vegetables.  This is a big deal.  I do NOT like making baby food, but I hate the bought stuff even more, so I make it anyway.  That said, he did NOT want it.  Nope... not at all.  It took over a month to finally get him used to the idea of cereal, and even then he still didn't grasp the concept of 'open the mouth to get the food'.  It's like he thought if it touched his lip it should automatically be sucked inside or something.  And he also loved to spit it all out.  And grab at the spoon to send the stuff flying... and then examine all contents of said spoon that were now on the highchair.  Who said babies don't have fun?  Anyway, I was not looking forward to carrots and peas and the like... both of which tend to stain easily.  I did make them... (I have loads of peas in the freezer now, haha)... and he did NOT want to eat them.  Nope.  I tried carrots every day for a few days... and I don't think he ate a single spoonful.  It all went back out onto the bib... and he wouldn't open up for them.  Tried peas... same thing.  Last week tuesday, we went out for supper and my sis-in-law babysat for us.  She had bought babyfood sweet potatoes.  Said he LOVED them... was opening his mouth and practically lunging for them.  Why can't he eat llike that for me?  Tried peas again the next day... no luck.

Thankfully, on thursday evening, we made yams.  I fed those to him... and he ATE them!  WOO!  The next day I tried carrots again... and he ate the whole thing!  Same with the next day!  And Sunday I gave him peas at the gathering... and he ate them all!  Hardly a thing on his bib!  Today as well!  Today we actually fed him carrots at lunch and peas at supper.  First time feeding him solids at lunch.  Cereal is a breakfast staple.  Tomorrow I think I'll try bananas with the cereal... see what he thinks!  I'm SO happy! 

Next up is meat.  Blech.  I hate making meat into baby food.  I generally mix a little bit in with veggies for a meal but blech.  Pulverized meat?  Ick.

Christmas Blues
I finally decorated the house on December 6.  Lots later than normal.  Decided to go with red and blue.  Pink thrown in for good measure.  I was lucky to get a whole bunch of ornaments on sale at Canadian Tire.  2 bags for $20... and lots of good stuff too!  I think it looks wonderful!  M loves the lights.  That's all she talks about.  And the presents, of course. 

I haven't been doing as much this Christmas as last year.  Probably because I was pregnant last year, haha.  No, I did paint a project for my niece and nephew (more on that later), and I worked on making cards (just photo ones this year, not handmade as well).  I want to make my husband his yearly ornament, and I also want to make footprint ornaments for Bram's toesies like I did for M's 2 years ago.  I did manage to sew a stocking for Bram today... and put those up.  And I printed some family pictures to put into frames for my inlaws.  Beyond that... we bought gifts.  Well... that's partially true.  I am doing some baking for the inlaws yet, and I did make a little something for my husband''s side of the family... but we pulled tickets in my family and so we bought those items (it's just easier).  And I'm not making goodies for everyone and their uncles sister's husband this year (hahaha... random).  It was too much for me last year, and it is definetly too much for me this year.  I have hardly done any Christmas baking!  I made one batch of chocolate cookies (which need their peppermint icing yet... mmmm) and a lemon square.  That's it.  I want to make my white cookies yet... that one requires a lot of time (rolling and cutting and rolling and...).  I wonder what the best way to get my daughter involved in baking would be... for a two year old... maybe cutting a few cookies out?  And maybe helping ice a couple?  I'm sure she would eat more of it than would end up on the cookie though, haha.

We managed to get all our Christmas shopping done in about a day... last week wednesday.  We stopped in to see Santa while we were at the mall in the city.  M did NOT want to sit on his lap... although Bram was totally good with that.  He started trying to taste test Santa's whiskers.  To get M in the pic, I had to sit with Santa as well.  Too bad my husband didn't join in... would have been a cute family pic.  M didn't mind Santa too much once it was all over and he gave her a candy cane.  Then he was alright.  :)

I can hardly believe we still managed to go shopping that day.  I was sick.  The night before that, Bram woke up and would not go back to sleep.  I was trying to get him down for about 2 to 3 hours.  No fun.  At 2 am, no less.  Finally broke down and fed him (he didn't seem hungry... didn't even go for eating until he was so exhausted from crying).  He didn't really eat much, but it seemed to soothe him enough to put him out for 4 hours.  I was sick after that.  Flu-ish like feeling sick. I knew I had caught something the day before already, but this was the only day we had for shopping and we had better take it.  So we did.  And I dealt with it.  I was so glad to get back home and into bed.

Does anyone else find their husbands virtually impossible to shop for?  Mine wants the same things all the time... Star Wars and Transformers... movies and books... in those categories.  I have to start getting really creative for Christmas for him... and this year my brain juices are all dried up.  Ah well... there's always next year.

Toys Toys Toys
Sometimes I wonder why we bother?  Kids have far too much fun with boxes and empty plastic bags and bubble wrap.  Really. 

Anyway, I noticed something recently.  My daughter likes to organize.  She got a farm animal set from my grandma at the gathering yesturday, and she stacks all the animals nicely, lining them up.  She brings in a few other animals and a 'baby' (actually a doll that doesn't bend that goes with a car she has) and lines them all together.  She was stacking them on her 'laptop' as well.  It's so cute.  Oh, and she has to include Bram as well.  She made sure to give him the sheep while she played with the rest.  So very cute.  I love that she is sharing.  And these toys are ok for him to chew on... they are soft and rubbery and large enough that he won't choke on anything.  Kinda like cheap versions of the little people brand animals.

I have been going through her toys lately... getting rid of the stuff I don't see her play with much.  Less to leave all over the floor.  It's not gone completely... just in a box in the basement.  That box is over full right now.  And it's Christmas... meaning more toys.  Where do parents find the room for all this stuff?  I feel like a daycare!

Anyway, that's all for now.  I gotta go help my husband wrap some gifts.  :)

Through the Eyes of my Daughter - Christmas Edition

Her bath book... containers, etc... is 'bleh leh leh' (tongue out, unsure why)

Whenever we see ducks, sheep, froggys, chickens, and now snowmen, we must exclaim "duck" or "sheep"... you get the idea.  Snowman is the new one.  I don't remember teaching her that...

She knows the sounds that all sorts of animals make.  Cats, dogs, cows, horses, and now sheep (baaa), frogs (rubbet), chickens (bock), pigs (ink), lions tigers and bears (oh my... hahaha), ducks (kak), and all other animals... we just look at mommy silly for asking.  Although, I didn't teach her half of these.  I just played the question game one day when my husband was in the store picking up some groceries and I needed to occupy the kids in the van.  Just started asking her what different sounds animals made... and randomly asked about pigs and sheep and chickens... and she answered!  All the ones I could think to ask... and she answered!  Crazy!

Santa is still scary... until he gives you a candy cane.  Then he's alright.  (We did manage to take a picture with him this year... Bram was on Santa's knee, and so was I, with M on my knee since she did not want to sit with Santa)

Presents under the tree elicit "Happy Dirt Day"  (her way of saying happy birthday, haha).

We always want to watch "mickey ouse house".  And we know who Donald Duck is.  And Tinkerbell.

All fairies are Tinkerbell.  When we wear wings, we are Tinkerbell.  Little bells are called Tinkerbell.  So are those glass Christmas balls.

We went to the city this week to finish Christmas shopping (the kids gifts were already done) and first thing my daughter says is 'ood' (food) and shortly thereafter... "I yant toys".  WHAT?  Toys... seriously?  When did you learn to ask for toys?  I think it's hilarious.

Lately she wants to watch a 'moo-ey'... And she loves 'super mawio'.  And yoshi... or "shoshi".  She keeps asking for me to play them.

All green dinosaurs are 'yoshi'.  So are green crocodiles... or any green lizard for that matter.

"broken" is another favorite word.

All baby boys have her brother's name.  And she is saying her own name now... as well as her cousins.  When she sees pictures of family she will also name them and point.  So cute.

We put up the tree... with no decorations.  First thing M asks... is 'lights?'  Apparently all pine trees in houses need lights.  And she wouldn't stop asking us to turn them on, even though there weren't any on the tree to turn on.  And now, whenever she sees the tree and the lights are not on, she feels the need to remind me to turn them on.  And 'fix it'.

See a mess?  Call it a mess.  Clean it up?  Say 'all clean'.

We can actually clean our toys.  All of them.  Found that out when daddy pressed the issue.

We will mimic almost anything others say.  Yeah.  Time to really make sure we don't say things we shouldn't.

We found out we cannot buy gifts for each other now with our daughter... she knows what things are and she will ask for them even when we try to hide them from the other person.  I already know I'm getting a 'yoshi' plush from my husband... haha.  She sure wanted it, haha.

Oh... and we always want mommy to 'sing song'.  And if mommy asks her to sing instead, she proceeds to sing 'twinkle twinkle little star'... and she does so very well... even though after that first line we don't know what she is saying... exactly... ha ha.

Well, that's all for Through my Daughter's eyes for now...

What about my son?  Well, he loves to watch his sister play... and is so happy to see her.  He is thrilled to see anyone who will give him attention, too.  But I have to say, it is so cute to watch him watch his sister.  She always wants to share her toys with him... even though a bunch of the toys she tries to share shouldn't be.  He's eaten a hair clip of hers... and almost ate a magnet (good thing I caught that one).  She keeps giving him her milk cup, ha ha.

Anyway... I need to get working on gifts again.  Almost done.  Haven't started Christmas baking yet either.  Oops.  I'm a little behind this year... things have been a bit crazy the last couple of months.  Later, all!

Update...

Another 101 update... wow. It's been awhile... again. And I haven't really been doing as many as I would have hoped. Ah well.

32. Help with a play (Nov 28, 2010)
Done. I sang a song. No, I wasn't in the play, but I did contribute, so I'm gonna say this one is complete.

34. Make Christmas shoe boxes each year
Done... finished in October already! I love doing these!

91. Go to a worship service
The play was also a worship service... and I didn't think about it before, but I've actually been involved in many worship services over the last two years... so this one is also done.

93. Host a Nintendo Party
Yup... did this one on Nov 5... and it was a lot of fun. I posted about it here, but here's a pic or two for you to enjoy anyway.

The food... loved making the mushroom cake... ok... actually that's a lie. I enjoyed planning and eating the cake, haha.

A little editing fun...

Now for the rest of the items I still want to finish by 2011... likely not happening.



24. Clean out garage/storage behind/above garage

Will I ever do this? Sure could use the extra space...

58. Renovate office
I'm clearing out the spare room so I can move our office into there temporarily while the dust is flying...

60. Make kitchen curtain
Sigh.

69. Wash carpets
Boy oh boy do I want to do this one already...

71. Learn to play guitar
I clipped my nails... yes, that is a step forward, haha.

100. Get a massage
Come on... really... is a phone call that hard to make?


And, since my list is so close to done, here are the rest of them...

47. Finish cross-stitch
75. Take a course in web design
86. Go to Encounter or Empower Weekend
101. Create another 101 in 1001 list

Thats 91 down, 10 to go... and 69 days to do them in. Yikes!

It came... and went

I can hardly believe it. My little sister is now a married woman. Where did the time go? I don't know what to think!  Sis, I wish so many blessings onto your marriage.  Sure, we've had some rough times, and we've gotten into fights, but I love you despite it all, and I'm so blessed to have you as my sister.

I don't really know what to type... so I'll just put up a bunch of pics.
 

 They had praise and worship... and since both bride and groom love music, they contributed to the band!  It was awesome!

 Pics of my lil man.

 and of my lil girl

 Here are two of the three flower girls.  Aren't they cute?  I'm so happy that the dresses turned out... they were a bit big initially but taking something in is a bit easier than I thought.

 Cutting the cake.  I love that they chose Buzz and Tink as their cake topper.  It was difficult getting them to stay on top of the cake, however... Tink fell twice, taking Buzz with her on her second descent.

 Beautiful Bride.  I'm a bit jealous.

I loved her flowers, so I had some fun with the camera and shots of the head table.  I think they turned out nicely. 

That's all for now, folks.  I'm feeling a bit tired.  It's been a long weekend.  The wedding was great (although we had some cranky kids to deal with... none of them got naps, poor things).  I just wish I hadn't missed so much of it on account of my son wanting to eat at the most inopportune times.  I would have pumped, but I broke the pump a while ago... it fell and cracked.  Sigh.  I missed the cake cutting... thankfully my husband got some pics.  I really wanted to be there for the toasts, and thought they were starting so I ran out from where I was just starting to feed my son, only to find out that they were having speeches from the maid of honor and best man, then open mike, then toasts.  Sigh.  Rushed back to feed him right after the toasts (took longer than I thought and I could hear him not being too happy about it from where my sis in law was babysitting them in another room)... then when I was just about done, my husband shows up to say that I missed the cake cutting.  I LOVE the cake cutting.  It is one of my favorite parts (I wasn't lucky enough to have a cake at my wedding... sigh).  Plus, I made the cake, so I really wanted to see their reaction to it.  Unfortunately, my son took over.  I could have cried.  I know I did cry when I had to miss the vows due to my son's hunger.  My sis in law missed them too, due to her son being super cranky.  Ah... kids.  We love them anyway.

Then I got a bit of a surprise on Sunday... found out it was our Church's Gateway to Christmas program.  I thought it was the next Sunday for some reason.  And I was supposed to sing.  So, instead of a relax day at home we had to rush out to make practice (I had only listened to my song, I hadn't actually practiced it yet, so I did so in the vehicle on the way).  It was fun, and I was glad to find a dress that fit me (from before our wedding... it was a bit big on me then, but it fits me nice now... although I could still stand to lose a little bit in the tummy to make it fit a bit nicer).  I enjoyed the program, and am so grateful to my dad for watching Bram and my sis in law for watching M during most of the service. 

We could sure use some prayer right now.  My father in law is in the hospital with an infection in his knee.  He had a knee replacement surgery a week ago and apparently it got infected.  So, they are debating cutting into him again or what.  He is not happy about all of this (don't blame him, either).  Not only that, but since he is unable to work, absolutely everything electronic in our barn seems to be going on us.  My husband has had emergency after emergency with things breaking down.  We currently have no water.  Our water pump motor completely seized... they figure it needs to be replaced.  And our animals have not been producing as much as necessary either.  So these problems don't help, cause they require money we aren't getting due to lack of milk.  Sigh.  Plus, I have added responsibility on me since I am now required to do all the paperwork, and never had a talk with dad prior to his surgery about what my new responsibilities are.  I wanted to... I tried to... but he was always to busy to.  So, now that I'm super busy, he wants to.  And it will have to be at the hospital since he's gonna need to stay there for awhile now.  I'm not thrilled.

Ah well.  Some things cannot be helped.

That said, I've been undergoing a spiritual battle lately.  I don't know who to talk to about it... or how.  I just need help. 

Anyway, thanks for reading all my ramblings.  Sorry it's been so long... and for not reading any of your blogs.  I really should do that again.  Maybe later this week, when I have a bit more time.  As for now, my daughter is hailing me from her bedroom, so I should go.  Thanks, and I hope everyone had a great weekend.  :)

Update

I haven't been on lately.  Nope... not at all.  Life has taken over, and I've just gotten so busy I don't hardly visit blogs or write on my blog as often.

My sister's wedding is in less than 2 weeks.  I can hardly believe it.  My little sister... getting married... what on earth happened?  Needless to say, things have been busy.  I've been put in charge of the cake (and I need to try a different fondant recipe... one with glycerin, since the marshmallow fondant doesn't want to smooth onto cake very well... it gets all wrinkly near the base of the cake).  I also was put in charge of sewing my daughter's and my neice's dresses.  Thankfully, they are both basically done.  I just need to get the fabric for the sashes, sew those (which will be easy... just long straight stitches), put on the eye hooks, and the krynolin (which it may not need at all... these dresses poof out a lot without it).  I am greatful to be done the zippers.  That was difficult.  I've never done zippers before, so I think I did pretty good for my first time.  Didn't care for hand stitching the lining on it though.  Oh, and I changed the pattern a bit so the entire dress is lined instead of just the bodice.  Lots of hemming... not fun.

I've been working to try to declutter things in my house lately.  I want to empty it out a bit before I bring out the Christmas decor.  I also want to wait until the wedding is over.  Focus on that cake first.  And I want to work on the office.  It's not changed at all... and I want paint, a new door, no stipple... craziness.  Maybe next year.

Anyway, I think my son is crying for me again.  Sigh.  We need to break the 3am feeding habit.  He's not hungry, yet he has to cry until I 'feed' him.  He doesn't even hardly eat anything.  Tough love... that's what it is going to take, I'm sure.  And it will be tough.  He still sleeps in our room (since we don't have another bedroom in the house).

Anyway, happy November to all of you.  Does it feel like winter yet?  It just started snowing here!  :)  Maybe I should figure out some Christmas cookies!  :)

Only 36 days till Christmas!