LONG over due....

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