Meow Mix-up.

In July, I got the itch for a kitten. We've had two before, one died while getting fixed, and one had a grudge on daddy so she peed on everything he owned (we gave her away.) It took me a month to talk the hubby into it... and once it was ok I started looking around. I found and ad online and thought it was a great deal. A cat under six months: fixed, chipped and all shots for 100$... There's no way you could shop around enough to find a deal like that.  So, I called the lady and everything seemed all good.

The next day the whole family went out to find all the cat necessities. When I called the kitty lady back, she didn't want me to go see the cats she had. She said they were nervous, wild and not going to be good with kids.... I thought - Why wouldn't you tell me all that yesterday when I called asking about them? And why would you advertise them if you we're going to give them away? She even told me to go to a pet store. I was flabbergasted.

 I had to look around again. All the other kittens I was interested in online were taken now. I decided to go into a pet store with a kitty rescue "store" inside, with the family. There he was, a lean mean fighting machine... no, I'm joking. He was a sleeping brown tabby, just what I was looking for. His name was Doran...  doesn't exactly roll off the tong. He had great markings,  playing with William and comfy in my arms... but who wouldn't be with two giant pillows to smush up against. I gave my hubby the thumbs up...  forked over some dough ( it's for charity right?), and brought mister kitten home.
In the car we threw around some new names for our new family member, but nothing stuck. Once home, we let kitty out of the carrier and all of a sudden William shouts " Hey- wheres Ben my kitty?" What? Ben? That's an awesome name! And that's what we named him.

Ben is awesome; except for his 4 a.m. play times. He's super cuddly, very playful, he lets the kids do whatever to him, does his business in his litter box, and I catch him licking the dogs legs once and a while. We're all very happy with him... He wont be with me when I get him "catrated" in 2 weeks.
It's funny how things work out. 

P.s. Keep your nervous and wild kitty you silly cat lady.. we love Ben.

Every day you change, every year you grow wiser.

Someone said, while watching Sunday night TV, that every ten years you are a different person.

I was naive and 17 a decade ago. One year left of high school, and never been kissed (which lasted until about 2 weeks shy of graduation- Loser). A year later, I entered college for a career that looked like a good idea at the time. I lost some weight, and gained it back. I made a few friends ( and enemies) and graduated 3 years later. I met my husband on graduation night. A year later we were married, and had our first child a year and one week after that. We had our daughter 3 months last September... and now I am 27.

Over the past ten years, I have absolutely changed. There is no doubt. I followed my career path, however it got rough towards the end... Turns out my high school career selection wasn't the best long term choice after all. I am at home now, raising my kids and trying to keep busy with things I love to do. I am thinking about going back to school, too bad I can't make up my mind on what would be the best choice for me. Those friends I made in college, I have lost contact with most of them. As for my enemies, I have forgiven some, and still hold grudges for others.

My husband and I have a happy little family. We own our house, a dog and a cat. And despite our debt, stubborn children and sleepless nights we have never fought. We are not perfect, and we do have some disagreements which are quickly and peacefully resolved. He has changed a lot over the past year, and our children change daily. I want another baby in a few years... And we would love to move. Two things that would bring big changes to our family.

 There are many things I need to work on, qualities I need to gain and weight I need to loose. Everyday is a step forward in both directions. There are so many things that make us who we are, your likes and dislikes, your skills and abilities, beyond what type of eggs you prefer. Every day you change, every year you grow wiser ( and perhaps a pant size larger? :( ), and yes, I too believe that every ten years you are a different person.

Time is of the Essence.

Ya, ok. So it's been about a month since I last blogged. I feel like I have no time to myself as it is, so to actually make an effort and spend a half hour sitting at a computer making a cohesive well put together post doesn't turn my crank as much as maybe giving myself a ultra-mini-mani (i.e.: painting my nails), or talking to my hard working hubby. Plus, I have learned how to be a queen of procrastination; for example, I still have pictures from last Christmas on my camera. Terrible I know. ( Which is why there are few pictures on my posts. Plus I am afraid that my almost decade old imac will explode if I upload anymore pictures onto it.)

I know how important it is to take time for yourself. But, I also know how hard it is to actually set time aside. Yes, I am a housewife, but with two kids who are at me all day for attention and affection, a sink that seems to always be heaping full of dishes, a floor that constantly needs to be vacuumed thanks to our very hairy golden retriever Sadie, and a full laundry room, by the time bed time rolls around for the kiddies, I'm ready too (plus I hate missing my Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night re-run). I have a half-started quilt in the basement (that I would really love to continue and finish. ) my eliptical machine gathering dust, a bunch of things I want to paint, pictures that need uploading and editing, a backlog of house work, and my kitchenaid mixer begging to get used.... I better remember how to multi-task as if I were in college again.

What ever happened to my bountiful energy, clever organization, and fast and efficient multi-tasking? I must de-wrinkle my brow, dust off my shoulders and hop to it I suppose.

p.s. Sofia is taking a nap, and William is off galivanting with Daddy, so I bit the bullet. ( ya, instead of tackling the house work.)

The Big 3 For William!

 Time flies. I remember when I was so swollen because of my pre-eclampsia and I could not handle the heat 3 years ago at this time... But after 19 hours of labour, along came Mister William. Happy Birthday to you! (yesterday- it's been very busy here.)

 William at just a few hours old.

 Williams first birthday. (Safari theme.)

Williams second birthday.  

I will upload pictures from this year when I have a chance. 

But, I'll tell you a story about his birthday morning. So, I had to be up early yesterday morning and decided to ice the cupcakes I had baked the night before; while I didn't have kids grabbing at me... Quiet Mommy time. Anyways, when William got up  I showed him the Cupcakes with sprinkles, to get him excited about his big day. He immediately said "I want one."  I told him he could have one after lunch and that he had to have cereal for breakfast. 

William loves playing games online so I set him up, and put the Sofia for a nap around 9:30? close to that anyways. And I went to the bathroom. After a whole 2 minutes, William wasn't on the computer anymore. ... Usually I can find him waking up his sister, that was not the case this time.  I go down stairs, and I find him hiding behind a couch cushion.  " What are you doing?" He pops his head out and his face is covered in icing.  " You sneaked one!" I said... he gave me a bite and a few seconds later he said to me : " I'm a sneaky guy." What a guy!

He's been quite the trouble maker lately. But, I'm sure hes going to get into some other phase very quickly. Next year is going to have a going to school themed birthday party, with school bags and whatever else kids need these days.  Ah, and then he'll be off on a school bus and hanging out with friends, and not coming home on curfew. Time goes really fast. We have to enjoy every second. Good or trouble filled.

Now, I have to come up with a theme for Sofia's first birthday party.

It's A Piece Of Cake.

So, turns out it's not chicken pox. But mister William is on medication to clear up his skin.

Yesterday ( the 7th) was my wedding anniversary. Because my hubby Den is so good at his job he didn't come home until about 10:30 ( he was supposed to be home around 7). WOO! lots of time to celebrate... I was seriously debating eating my entire anniversary cake by myself... minus a sliver for the kids.

Yes, that's right; an anniversary cake. We don't buy each other expensive things, but every year I make a cake and put our cake topper on it.  You spend so much money on your wedding day, and then everything just spends the rest of your married life packed up in a box? Not at this house! For the past 3 years I have loosely replicated a tier of our cake ( silver dreggies* and all) and put our cake topper on it. It's a sweet little tradition.  Anyways, this year I asked Den what he wanted, since it's been the same every year. Chocolate cake.

And so I pulled out my mixer, and got William to help pick out the eggs we needed (he loves helping me in the kitchen) and made a chocolate cake... plus a few bite size cupcakes to satisfy my sweet tooth until it was cake time. I swear my oven is tilted backwards a few degrees because my cakes are always coming out lopsided. I removed the cake from the pan and proceeded to level out the top... by the time I was done; it was still uneven... but really how thin can I make this cake? Oh well, I'll just even it out with icing.

I was not satisfied with making a plain cake. I horizontally sliced it and stood still for a minute. (let your kids energy inspire you... :P) Raspberries... (thanks Sofia) I grabbed a spoon, the raspberry jam and frozen ones we had in the freezer... I spread both out evenly on the bottom layer, smushed on the top layer and iced it very liberally with chocolate icing. I added some red sugar sprinkles... Ta-da!

There are no pictures. It's all gone...

It was delicious. And lopsided. "I am rubbing my tummy because this cake is yummy." - William said.

I swear Den has a bigger sweet tooth than I do. I make a cake and he eats half of it in one sitting... I make 36 cookies he eats 8 at a time.

p.s. I didn't eat it all myself. I was able to control the urge. Oh, on a side note; I have reached my first weight loss goal. Yay me. And I still eat my home made treats!

My poor little chicken.

What a terrible discovery this morning. While helping my almost 3 year old son, little mister William, get dressed I found a mysterious blister on his thigh. "Humm, strange" I said. Then checking for anything else, I realized that maybe those spots under his armpit weren't mosquito bites like I just assumed (because of the two ravenous mosquitoes that were in his room two nights before)... they didn't look like that last night in the bath either. We haven't changed anything in our routine, so what could it be?

I called my mom, you know, just to see what she thought it could be. ... "what about chicken pox?" she suggested. OH GREAT! that's what it is... poor kid. But he's not itching, and has no fever.... A Google search comes next. He had the chicken pox shot a few months ago, ( I waited an extra year to give him the shot, 'cause I was trying to be a good mom and not give him something he didn't really need. But after my mom kept telling me how bad I had it, I decided to go ahead with it.) so I knew he couldn't get a terrible case, but he could still get it. Boy oh boy, those pictures of chicken pox covered little children are terrible.... William does not look even half as bad as them. But, unfortunately, I am 85% sure my poor little chicken has the pox.

I made a call to the doctor to discuss the symptoms, and made an appointment just to really diagnose him tomorrow morning. This weekend isn't going to be much fun... I just hope my 9 month old chicken noodle Sofia doesn't get it too.

P.S. Daddy never had chicken pox as a kid... I should buy him one of those white sanitary suits to wear when he's home.

William and Sofia ~ March of this year.

Four Not So Long Years.

7.7.7

Happy anniversary to Mr. Sugar....