There. I admitted it. I'm a terrible blogger. You can blame Facebook, working full time and being on the go the rest of the time.
So here we are in the middle of July and I haven't posted since May? Oh dear - what's going on?? Life is what's going on :)
We've been outside as much as possible lately, hence the reason for me not posting here. I try to set some time aside so I can do a post here and then before I know it, it's time to go to bed and I wonder where the day/evening has gone.
What a big girl - no more baby swing
Making funny faces while on the swing
Playing catch with Daddy (both girls have their own baseball gloves now)
Our little puzzle whiz. This kid is amazing with puzzles!
I know many of you subscribe to 'Feeds' so that you are notified when the blog is updated. When I went 'private' that function didn't work anymore.
To help you out with that, I've added a new blog that is 'public' and you can subscribe to that. When I update here, I will post a link on the other blog so that the feeds and blog lists will be updated again.
Here's the 'Update' blog link Hopefully this helps...even though it's an extra step.
Oh my goodness, the last time I posted here was Feb 16th?? Yikes!!!!
I honestly don't even know where to begin....
Ron came home from Ohio on Feb 21st and we couldn't be happier to have him home. It was a great experience for him and he enjoyed it but of course he's thrilled to be back home with his girls. For about 3 weeks after Ron got home, any time he would go out Rachel would ask 'Daddy go to Ohio?' Even yesterday we were at the local deli and Ron ran in to get some lunch for us - as he got out of the truck, Rachel asked 'Daddy going to Ohio?' We're hoping Daddy doesn't have to go back to Ohio - unless it's to run the company! lol And if that happens, we'll be there with him :)
Ron and I took Feb 23rd off work so we could spend the day together as a family. It was fantastic to just hang out and be together and then later on that night, Ron & I had a 'date night' to celebrate our first date 8 years ago.
Rachel got another haircut on Feb 26th. Oh my goodness - she is such a cutie patootie. She is so good while Deb cuts her hair as well. I remembered to take my camera this time.
Mommy had a night out on Feb 27th. I went to a London Knights game with some people from work. We had a suite there so it was great to hang out and have some drinks & snacks. After that we went to a bar where an 80's band was playing. It was fun but by midnight I was ready for bed.
Since I have so many pictures I would like to post here, I figured it would be easier to post the links to where they're posted on Facebook. You don't need to have a Facebook account to view them. Pictures of the girls from February can be found here and here
I had the girls pictures done at the beginning of March. Natalie's 1 year pictures and Rachel's 2.5 year ones. They turned out great. I can't believe how grown up Rachel is looking these days. She doesn't like to wear her hair in pigtails anymore but she'll finally let me (or my Mom) blow dry her hair after her bath so that helps. Otherwise, her hair would be a crazy mess!
Studio pictures of the girls
Ron turned 37 on March 5th so we we went for dinner to Timber's with his Mom & step Dad and my parents. The girls were great in the restaurant until about 5 minutes before we were ready to leave. Rachel spilled water all over her...ICE COLD water...so she had a little melt down. Me being the prepared Mom I am didn't have any change of clothes with me. You see - I used to be that person who carried an 'extra' of everything around but now that I'm back to work, I'm quite enjoying just carrying a purse - a normal purse - and not a diaper bag. So needless to say, Rachel didn't have a change of clothes. She stripped herself down to her undershirt and pull-up and then wanted her coat on. Thank goodness Mother Nature was kind that night because it was actually quite mild here so I bundled her up in my coat and then ran out to the truck to her car seat. I always have extra blankets in the truck so they obviously came in handy for the ride home.
We went to a local Maple Sugar Bush on the 14th. The girls just loved it. It was another mild day here and the sun was out. We were smart to go in the morning because I'm sure by the afternoon things would have been a little soggy there. We went on a little hike through the bush, went for a wagon ride (Rachel loved the horses) and then played on the play ground equipment for awhile.
Sugar Bush Pictures
Our friends Tim & Lisa came over on the 15th and we had a great visit. I think it's been over a year since we've seen them - it's amazing how once you have kids, your life changes. Well, your schedule especially. Tim & Lisa have twin daughters (14) and their son is 12 so they're right in the thick of hockey, dance, swimming, etc. lessons, games, practices, etc. Again, it was another mild day and we actually sat on our patio furniture outside in the sun and had our snack. By dinner time though it had cooled off so we ate inside. The girls had a blast playing with Trent.
I took a couple of days off work during 'March Break'. I figured this way my parents could at least sleep in for one day since my Mom didn't have to get Jill & Luke to school that week. For those that don't know, Jill & Luke are the kids my Mom walks to school every morning for friends of ours. That's why my Dad comes over to our house every morning for the 'first shift' and then my Mom comes over after she's taken the kiddies to school. She's done doing this in June as they will be old enough to do it on their own come September. Anyway, I took Tuesday & Wednesday off so the girls & I hung out all day Tuesday - we played in the morning, stopped by work in the afternoon and then went to Build-A-Bear after that. Rachel made a cat and Natalie made a bunny. Rachel ended up picking the names for the animals...Kitty Kat & Bunny. She's good, eh? lol It was so cute to see her kissing the heart for her cat before they put it in the cat. Then when it was time to put the heart in for Natalie's bunny, Rachel kissed it and then walked over to Natalie (she was in the stroller) and had her kiss it, too. I was so mad at myself for not having the camera that day. But I know we'll be back there some day....soon :) After our adventure there, I dropped the girls off at my parents for a sleep over. On the Wednesday I slept in until 8 and then started catching up on my scrap booking. Poor Natalie - I haven't even started her scrapbook. I only have her card one done (I basically just put all of the cards we received when she was born in a scrapbook and then decorate the pages to make them look pretty). I bought a new printer a couple of weeks ago so I tried it out on the Wednesday and I still can't get over the quality of the prints. It's amazing - I don't think I need Costco to develop my pictures anymore! lol Ok, who are we kidding? Costco is super cheap for developing and with the amount of pictures I develop, it's still better for me to go there.
My friend Donna & her boys spent the afternoon with Rachel & Natalie on the 20th. They met my Mom & the girls at McDonald's and apparently Rachel enjoyed the playroom there. I'm not a germaphobe or anything but there are just some things in life that gross me out...and usually those playrooms are one of them. Hence the reason why we've never taken Rachel there lol Donna's youngest two boys had a blast playing with Rachel in there though. I guess the first time she went through the tunnel, Jordan had to pull her while Ethan pushed her...but after that she left the boys in her dust :) Donna & the boys stayed for dinner and we had a nice visit with them.
Here are the pictures from March 2009
I filed our income tax on the 15th of March and by the 22nd we had the money in our accounts. Pretty impressive for Revenue Canada :) I was a little worried I would have to pay tax this year since I was off all year (well, with the exception of the 6 days I worked in January 2008). However, because I got topped up for the first 4 months of my maternity leave, it helped. I always have my company take off extra tax each pay - I figure I won't miss that $20 every two weeks but if I had to pay the government all in one shot the next year, I'd be sad. Anyway, because my company topped me up for those first 4 months, they took off extra tax and I think that's what helped me get a refund. Ron got a pretty sweet refund so I told him to spend it on himself. We originally figured we would put it towards debt but I told him that the money he got back wouldn't make or break us so he could spend it. Within 3 minutes of me telling him that, he was out the door on a shopping mission! LOL He came home with a 42" LCD tv. It's a pretty nice tv and the best part is, he paid cash for it so I don't have to worry about a bill for it :) The one condition of his shopping spree (I knew he would buy a tv) was that he could only buy the tv and a new tv stand - not a new receiver, etc. He needs to save money for that. So he's decided to sell his truck :) Who knew that would be enough motivation? LOL Quite honestly though, the truck has just been sitting in the garage and it's my new storage area LOL He hasn't even had it out (or even started it for that matter) since October 2008 so that's proof enough that we don't 'need' it. Since it's not an extended cab, it doesn't make sense for us either - we can't put any car seats in there so we just need the Escape. Ron has a work truck to get back and forth to work so the more we think about it, the more it makes sense to sell it. Well wait a second, I've been trying to tell this to Ron for over a year now but it's taken awhile for it 'sink in' or something! :)
Our Godson Evan was born at the beginning of March but we didn't get a chance to meet him until the end of March. Rob & Amanda are first time parents so we gave them a chance to get settled in and figure out their new 'life'. Anyway, Evan is adorable. He has the cutest hair too - it's kind of wild. He's a very good baby - pretty laid back. He pooped while Ron held him and he puked all over me so I guess that was our initiation :) His Baptism is on Mother's Day I believe so it will be here before we know it!
We went to Toronto last Sunday to visit our friends Tim & Rybeca and their kids Aidan & Nadia. They're growing so quickly. We've given all of our girls clothes that they have outgrown to Nadia so it's weird to see her wearing them. It's nice to see them being put to good use though! We had a nice lunch with them and then we went shopping. Oh my goodness, did we ever find a lot of great deals. I found adorable OUTFITS for the girls for $3. Pants & a shirt for $3!! Who could pass that up? Of course they don't NEED any clothes but the way I justify it is I buy the clothes in bigger sizes so they will grow INTO them :) Then we went to the Disney store and I found matching sweatshirts for myself & both girls for $5 each! I tried the sweatshirts on the girls yesterday but they're still a little big. Then we found some great 'Grumpy' t-shirts for Ron!
April Fool's Day was fast approaching and I had a great plan in mind. On the night before April Fool's, I changed my Facebook status to say that I had a secret. Then on April Fool's day I changed my status on Facebook to 'Julie can't keep the secret anymore. I have to spill the beans....I'm pregnant'. O-M-G!!!! I got so many emails at work about it (they knew I was at work and wouldn't be checking FB at work), comments on my status, messages on FB, etc...about it. I HAD FOOLED A TON OF PEOPLE!! YAY ME!!!! :) I quickly signed on FB at work at noon and changed my status to let people know it was just an April Fool's joke.
The reason why I even thought of the April Fool's joke in the first place was because of my boss. You see, the other supervisor I work with is pregnant (due at the end of May) but recently went off work on sick leave due to high blood pressure...so her replacement only had a day & a half of training with her before she left. Needless to say, you can imagine how crazy things have been at work! I thought it would be funny to throw my boss over the edge by saying I was pregnant as well. However, he was too busy in training all morning and then when I did see him, I didn't have the heart to tell him my joke.
Yesterday we went to Clinton to surprise Ron's Mom for her birthday (it was April 1st). She was in London on the 2nd to hang out with the girls and we gave her the presents then but Ron didn't get a chance to see her. We took lunch up with us and Ron's youngest brother David & his wife Andrea were there as well (they brought the yummy cake). We had a really nice visit and the girls were well behaved so that gave us a chance to talk and get caught up and what not. We got back to London around 3 so we headed to my parents for a quick visit before we had to go to church. Going to church last night was a bit of a mistake because Natalie didn't have an afternoon nap. Rachel slept on the way home so she wasn't too bad...but near the end they were both out of control. We came home, had dinner and off to bed they went. Then Ron & I relaxed and actually stayed awake to watch a movie last night. Impressive for us! lol
Today has been a relaxing day for me. Ron & Rachel went grocery shopping this morning while Natalie napped so I did some laundry. Rachel has been napping since 11 so she should be getting up any minute now. Ron & Natalie are having lunch and after hearing their crunches I'm getting hungry.
I'm going to try my best to stay on top of things around here now....
Until next time,
Jul xo
The last video from our digital camera (hence the not so great quality). It seems like anytime I want to record the girls, our video camera is dead so I use our digital camera. Our one digital camera takes pretty decent quality videos but Ron has that camera in Ohio with him so I'm stuck with our other one (which takes better pictures so that's obviously more important).
It's hard to believe Ron is in his last week in Ohio. YIPPIE!! I can not wait until he gets home. I know the feeling is mutal - he's tired of being in a hotel room (aka jail cell as he calls it). He has his graduation and banquet on Friday night so they will be leaving on Saturday morning to come home. It's about a 6 hour drive - depending on the border crossing time, too but at least he'll be home at some point on Saturday.
Today is a statutory holiday in Ontario. It's Family Day. So I've been hanging out with the girls all day. We've had fun - playing downstairs in the play room, playing upstairs in their bedrooms and then playing in the living room and family room as well. I'm ready for a nap...is it bed time yet? :) While the girls were playing in the basement, I painted the doll highchair that used to be mine as a little girl. It's still in great shape - just needed a fresh coat of paint and it kept me busy, too!
I had my first night out (since Ron went to Ohio) on Friday night. Some friends and I went out for dinner and then to see a movie. The movie didn't start until 9:30 and I think I was ready for bed at that point. Then on Saturday night, Donna & my Mom came over for a few drinks and some great conversation. It wasn't a really late night - only 11:30 but when you're used to going to bed earlier than that, it felt like it was about 3am! The girls and I didn't do much yesterday. My in laws came for dinner and that was about it.
I still haven't had Natalie's 1 year pictures taken. Every time I make the appointment, something comes up or she has a bruise on her head! lol That kid bruises easily - hopefully it's not a sign of something more serious. She's just more clumsy than Rachel ever was. She banged her head on the wall today so now she has another new bruise...that's because I was going to get her pictures done this week. I think I'll make an appointment for next week and if she has a new bruise by then or something else, so be it. We'll just remember her being like that at one ;)
I haven't had a whole lot of time to read the blogs I usually do but with Ron coming home next weekend, I hope to get back in to doing that. I feel so out of touch!
Take care and have a great week!
You know your kid gets her picture taken a lot when she says 'cheese' as soon as she sees the camera :)
I don't always say 'Say Cheese!' when I take their pictures but sometimes it makes Natalie laugh so hence the reason why I'll say it.
Thought you would get a kick out of this one, Ron!
Rachel can count to 13 on her own but trying to get her to do it on video is quite the task! I think she only gets to 6 or 7 in this video but we wanted to post it so Daddy could see it.
Kind of crappy quality since I was using our digital camera (note to self - always make sure the video camera is charged!!!!) but it's so darn cute. I love it when little ones are learning how to walk :)
Still keeping busy and hardly have time to think about anything else other than taking care of the girls after work. Ron will be home in less than 2 weeks...BRING IT ON!!!! :)
Since Ron couldn't be there with us, we took a little video with the digital camera (hence the poor quality)
Grandad putting Rachel's bob skates on
Grandma helping Rachel
Natalie looks quite warm, doesn't she? :)
Granma & Rachel skated together while Mommy took Natalie around the rink a few times. It was a beautiful outdoor rink at Storybook Gardens. There were lights in the trees, music playing and even some of the animals were out (we saw 4 seals). It was a perfect setting
Checking out her skates
What a big girl - standing on her skates by herself. I know they're bob skates and they are relatively easy to stand on but the ice was VERY slippery.
Rachel didn't want her picture taken with me. She kept saying 'Skate Mommy skate!!'
Me & my girls after a fun evening of skating.It's been a very busy couple of weeks and I honestly just haven't had the time or energy (no I'm not pregnant) to blog.
Ron is in Ohio until the end of February so that means I'm a single Mom. Holy crap in your shorts - do I ever have a new found respect for single Mom's. I think with working full time that definitely adds to the mix as well. I'm up at 6, at work for 7, running my tail off there until 3 (ok, perhaps I'm not running my tail off EVERYDAY ha ha), get home around 3:15 (if I leave on time), play with the girls, get dinner ready, give them a bath if it's bath night, and then in bed by 7 (Natalie) and 7:30 (Rachel). Then I go back downstairs to clean up, make my lunch and get other stuff ready for the next day (including having a shower), chat with Ron online for a bit and then go to bed so I can start all over the next day! He's only been gone for a week so far but it sure feels a lot longer than that at times. I'm thankful I have my parents around to help out but keep in mind that they've been with the girls all day so they're ready to go home for a break, too :)
I'm so thankful we have 'good kids' because otherwise I'd be going crazy with Ron gone. They're loving my cooking though (I don't usually cook - Ron does but I keep the kids entertained while he cooks) but I'm finding it challenging to actually COOK while they're running around. Ok, let's be honest - they're not running around - they're sitting at my feet or trying to climb up my leg (Natalie would be the one who does that), etc. The other night I just wanted to finish cooking dinner in peace and quiet so I gave them some wooden spoons and some flippers to play with. They played with them alright...right at my feet! lol :)
Anyway, I don't want this to be a 'bitch' post because I'm really not bitching. I just want to document this point in time. 4 weeks is a long time to be without your family and I feel bad for Ron. Even though he's busy with this course for work, I'm sure it's harder on him. The one thing that really sucks is that here in Ontario we have a statutory holiday in February - it's our 'Family Day' - that's really what the stat holiday is called. Guess what - Ron won't be home for it. That's fine - he's in his course and he needs to be there, etc. I'm fine with that. What I'm not fine with is the fact that his boss won't give him a day off in lieu of that holiday (as the labour board states you should). Ron has asked for the following Monday off work so he can spend time with the girls & I (I would use a vacation day)...kind of ironic that it's for the family day and he'll have been away from his family for 4 weeks at that point but they won't give him the day off? UGH - don't even get me started! ha ha
Ok, now it's turning into a 'bitch' post so it's time I stopped...lol
We celebrated Natalie's 1st birthday on Sunday, January 18th (her actual birthday). We had a big party and she got lots of fun gifts! Of course she was more interested in the cards and wrapping paper :) My friend Ann took a ton of pictures - 169 to be exact so it's hard to pick and choose. I've posted a couple of favourites but if you want to see more - go here
The yummy cake I made for her. The party was a 'Princess' theme so I had to make a crown for a cake :)
Wow - a card!
Happy 1st Birthday, Natalie! We love you!Ron ordered me a Canon Rebel xsi camera from Air Miles a couple of weeks ago and it arrived this week! What a perfect going back to work present - Thanks Ronnie!
Of course I had to try it out right away and I ended up taking 130 pictures the very first night! Ohhhhh dear! I think I have a problem ha ha It's such a beautiful camera though; I'm in love! :)
Natalie & Rachel playing in the bath.
Rachel while brushing her teeth
My cutie patootie after her haircut yesterday
Yay - we can see her cute little face again!
Natalie was sportin' a new hairdo yesterday as well!....and we're all alive! ha ha
I got up at 5:20 (when Ron got up) but I was ready to go by 5:45 and I don't need to leave the house until at LEAST 6:45! I think tomorrow I won't get up until 5:45 - that still gives me lots of time to shower and have breakfast and if the girls happen to wake up, at least Ron is still around to help out. I did enjoy the quiet time this morning but after surfing the internet and reading, I didn't know what else to do. I'm not used to it! :)
My day at work went really well. It was so nice to be welcomed back and to know that everyone was sincere. I cleaned my desk and got it organized while I waited for my laptop to come back (someone was using it out West and I had to wait for the courier to come in)....and then of course I put up a ton of pictures of my girls...and one of Ron, too. I actually took one of my digital picture frames to work so that brightened my day, too!
I scooted over to Costco right after work to get some groceries and I will still home by 3:45. SWEET! The girls were pretty excited to see me; that made my day! I'm sure our camera was in shock today wondering why it wasn't used ha ha
This evening flew by...as I imagine most will from now on. The girls were in bed at 7 and quite honestly, I'm ready for bed myself and it's only 8:30pm! :)
http://www.lfpress.com/cgi-bin/babies.cgi?d=babies&x=babies2008&show_winners=yes
Check out how many votes Natalie had - how AWESOME is that?!?!?!?!
http://www.lfpress.com/cgi-bin/babies.cgi?x=babies2008&d=babies&s_letter=W
I just got a call from the London Free Press a few minutes ago in regards to Natalie winning the first week of the contest. I'm not sure how many votes she had yet - it should be online Sunday. I believe that's when they headline the information about the contest.
In other news, I'm enjoying my last day of Maternity Leave. Not sure where the past year went though. The girls & I have been playing, reading & eating our lunch on the floor (mini picnic). The sun is shining as well so that's an extra bonus!
Happy Friday - have a great weekend!!!!
I can't believe my year off is almost up! I can't believe that a week from now I'll be sitting at work. I can't believe a year ago I was waddling around with a huge belly wondering 'Is today the day?' I can't believe Natalie will be a year old in a couple of weeks.
Ron is back to work today after being off since Christmas Eve. We had a great time during the holidays but it is nice to get back to 'normal' - if that word even exists in our world? ha ha We haven't been doing a lot today but that's ok. It's Monday. Just laundry and tidying up. I need to go pick up a copy of my ultrasound from November because I'm going to see a specialist on Wednesday in regards to my gallbladder. I'm not sure if I'm going to get a chance to go today though. Natalie had a 2 hour nap this morning and now Rachel is down for her nap. She's been sleeping since 11:30 and it's already 2pm. I can see it now - she'll just wake up and Natalie will be ready for her afternoon nap :)
No big plans for tomorrow either. I'm just trying to finish up the last of my 'To Do' list before I go back to work. However, the list seems to be never ending!!!
We put Natalie's picture in the paper for their 'Babies of '08' special feature and we've been busy voting for her to win one of the weekly prizes. Rachel won back in 2006 so it would be fun if Natalie won, too :)
Hope you have a great week! I'm going to do my best to enjoy mine :)
I'm a little on the tired side right now but I wanted to be sure I posted something today so I'm going to be lazy and cut & paste the email we sent out to family & friends tonight...
