Catch up Day

     So I didn't post once last week, which is just another bad mommy moment from yours truly.   I wish I had some awesome excuse but I don't.  I am not even sure why it was so hard for me to sit down and write.  Anyway, here is what happened this past week, just to catch up.

• Wedding Plans - We've gotten a lot accomplished in the last week.  Favours planned, guest list made, invitations designed (yes I know they really need to be sent out soon), menu decided, cake/cupcakes planned, program started, centrepieces chosen and possibly a few other small details worked out...but I've kind of lost track and its 63 days away. I will not panic yet......*deep breaths*

• Honeymoon plans - We have a kick ass bum (I try really hard not to say bad words) honeymoon planned.  I use the term honeymoon based on the fact we are leaving 6 days after the wedding and that's pretty much the only honeymoon part.  It is pretty amazing though. 10 days in Germany and Austria.  The Austrian part will be spent in an amazing Chalet that we could never afford in a million years but thanks to my niece Kirstin and her connections (her incredibly amazing employer) will have a beautiful chalet in what looks to be mountains (think the Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music).  The time in Germany will be spent cruising the Autobahn in white knuckled fear and exploring everything we can.  Accompanying us on this trip will be Harmony since she is free to fly.  We would have loved to take the other 2 but at $1000 a ticket round trip (and that's on the cheap end) it just wasn't feasible. My far away niece Kiki will be meeting up with us in Munich and exploring Austria with us.  I am so glad she will finally get to meet Harmony.  Also making the trek with us is my parents, little brother, sister and brother in law.  Interesting side note - It is my parents 50th wedding anniversary this year and my sister and brother in laws 25th so what a great way to celebrate all this love...I just hope the walls are thick or maybe I should just pack ear plugs.

• Ghost Busting - Camden has developed an irrational fear of our house lately, which makes it pretty hard to live day to day life.  He has hated this house since the day we moved in and it makes no sense.  Its a million times better and yet he begs to move back every day to his old house. No he has been telling me there are ghosts in our house and is absolutely terrified. He calls up his Gampa Gampa and begs to go there because there house is better and has no ghosts.  He has slept there 2 nights this week because he is happier there and sleeps. At home he whines, cries and has panic attacks at bedtime.  The only night this week he went to bed peacefully is the night we told the so called ghosts to take a hike and then said a 10 minute bedtime prayer.  I am not a believer in ghosts but this kid is freaked out and after what he has been telling me it started to freak me out too. Hopefully things will calm down soon because I can't handle a kids to be afraid in his own house.

• R & R - Not so much for me but for poor Ella who got the stomach bug worse than everyone else put together in our house. She was sick for 9 days.  She is finally on the mend and back to school.  She is down quiet a few pounds which is kinda scary when she now weighs only 45 lbs at 7 years old and she is extremely tall. I know she will start to gain again but the kid looks like she could snap in two.

     That's pretty much it for this week.  I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend and I promise to do better with my posts next week.

I'm still standing!

     Yes, I know the title of today's post is an Elton John song title and that's precisely why I did it ( I wouldn't be his biggest fan if I didn't lol...and it fits with my post sooo shush).

     So I am, still standing by the way.  Ella's tummy bug has not hit yet.  She's on the mend slowly nibbling a cracker and sipping ginger ale and I am not throwing up yet.  I am not hopeful it will pass me by but I am thinking I may just get the laundry done and house cleaned before the second wave strikes. Seriously, that is all I ask of this horrid bug - You can take me after I've caught up and not a minute before. 

     Tomorrow if I am still alive you can look forward to Birthday Pictures! For now I am off to clean, cook,raise three children.

Miserable Monday!

Thank you to Mike W for posting this for me.  I am pretty sure this must be how my kids feel when I am on the computer.

     I know I promised birthday pictures and a birthday post for Camden but I have been taking care of one very sick Ella baby. I am also trying to get all the laundry done before the next wave of the tummy bug hits in our house. Its inevitable. If its here in the house soon we will all be sick.  If you don't hear from me for a few days I'm caring for sick little people and doing all their laundry . I may possibly try and take down all the party decorations to at some point! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!



On the Mend, I hope!

     I think we just may be on the mend.  Fevers have broken, appetites are rebounding and the sibling squabbles are back.  All that remains is a cacophony of coughs and the whining...Oh the whining is a killer.  The noses are still continually running that lovely shade of snot green and the 2 little ones rub it all over their faces.  Its oh so lovely.  Harmony has also decided that in the midst of all the sickness that now would be a perfect time to start teething and I can in fact feel a tooth or two.  Nothing imminent but sooner rather than later.  I am so happy that we are starting to feel somewhat human again so tomorrow we can have some family fun together on Valentines day and share our love and not our boogers.

     I would also like to ask for every one's prayers and good thoughts for Ella's new baby sister, who is quite sick in the hospital and giving her Mommy and Daddy a scare.  It's never easy with a sick kid, but its even harder when they are sick, in the hospital and so tiny and new.   We wish this Baby Girl to get well quickly so she can come home soon.

     I hope everyone has a nice Monday.  I am off to kill all the sick bugs and scrape together the house while Harmony naps in her swing (this is the first time ever she has napped in her swing).

Not so Wordless Wednesday - Lies and Apple Pies

     I lied, I know, I know...I am a horrible example.  I totally was going to have a lazy week with the kids but then the Mom guilt kicked in. 

     It all started with the kids having colds and just being miserable.  Camden was pressing my buttons beyond his normal testing the limits to see how crazy he can make Mommy before she snaps.   I had to pull out the "ANGRY MOM" voice and I really hate that.  I get all loud and grumpy sounding.  He just wasn't listening.  The baby poked Ella in the eye and made her a whiny mess for the evening (Ella not the baby).  We had to do something that kept our hands and minds busy.  We decided on an apple pie.  The kids washed and dried the apples.  We peeled, cored and cut them.  They rolled out the dough.  We filled up the pie with apples, sugar and cinnamon as well as flour and butter.  We put the lattice top on and voila pie.  They were so proud.  They couldn't wait for it to bake.  While it was baking we used the rest of the apples to make apple sauce.  While the pie was cooling we did crafts and made valentines.  By this point I wanted to collapse on the floor and cry or sleep but that would have been a horrible idea, leaving 3 young children to fend for themselves.  They had pie for their bedtime snack and Ella asked for a piece.  I couldn't believe it.  Ella is pretty much a non dessert eater.  She is just like me and isn't a fan of many sweets.  She took a piece and gobbled it up.  Its amazing what kids will eat if they make it.  She thought it was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted.

     The house is falling down around us but the kids had fun and I felt bad for them because they aren't feeling great and its even worse today.  Ella has the sniffles but is still healthy enough to go to school.  Camden sounds like that whiny brat Calliou from TV (you know that whiny bald kid every mom wants to punch), thankfully Camden is about a billion times cuter, which makes the whining a tad more tolerable.  Poor baby Harmony sounds like a seal. Actually I overheard Ella say the dog sounds funny, it was Harmony not the dog.  I can already feel the sickness seeping into my pores, slowly taking over my body with a sniffle here and a unexpected cough there.  Not that I am surprised.  Camden coughed or sneezed directly into my face at least 46 times yesterday.  The baby slept on my chest for a good portion of the night, so really I am a ticking time bomb of sickness just waiting to feel like death.  So before the sickness consumes me I have to clean the entire house so I can Lysol the crap out of it, drink my vitamin C immune boost and pray for the strength to deal with the sickies while Mike works afternoon shift.  If I get sick and the house is a mess, I will feel even worse, so off I go, wish me luck!   

                                                 Here are our pictures from baking yesterday.

Just like a steam roller, right mommy?

Look at her go!

Can't wait for it to bake!

Very proud!

Hanging out in Mommy's arm while the chaos consumes the house.

Delicious! Apple Pie and Ice Cream!

Apple pie and poked in the eye, poor Bella!



Weekend Wrap up - Healthy- ish

     I am glad to report that I am healthy again.  I think Little Miss Harmony is feeling much better as well and Camden seems to be fine so far.  Mike, well poor Mike isn't feeling so hot.  He isn't sick but he is a little achy and a bit weak.  I sure hope he doesn't get the full illness because nothing is worse than the Man-Cold. 

     We enjoyed a quieter weekend filled with family birthdays, a family dinner and lots of LEGO building. 

     I would love to kiss whoever invented LEGO, unless they are deceased because you know I am not really into that type of thing.  Call me crazy but decomposition isn't really one of my turn ons but enough about that.  LEGO has captured the hearts of 2 out of 3 little people in this house and well 2 big people as well.  We have discovered that its a huge motivator in this house, so we have been working on a certain little guy's potty training or well lack there of. We also used it as a motivator for another huge success in this house over the weekend but more about that tomorrow.

     Overall, a good weekend spent with great people. It's great to be feeling better so that I can catch up on all the stuff I missed before, like the eleventy billion loads of laundry to be put away.  Yes, I know eleventy billion isn't a real number but it describes perfectly the amount of clean laundry that is heaped on the laundry room floor just begging to be folded and put away.  Ella's room also needs a good once over, well more like twice or three times over, my that child can create disaster in 10 seconds flat.  She claims her room threw up, cute right? Yeah not so much when its me cleaning it.  Good thing I have Christmas and LEGO as a motivator.

      I hope everyone had a relaxing, healthy and happy weekend.  Don't forget to come back tomorrow to read all about Camden's big boy achievement that earned him some big boy Toy Story 3 LEGO.

A Sick Week?

     So my sick "day" turned into pretty much a sick week.  I am so annoyed.  I haven't been sick in quite a while.  I would like to credit the fact that I rarely leave my house anymore.  I go out on the weekend and well I end up sick, lesson learned..no more leaving the comforts of home for a germ filled anything.(Not really, I am not a germaphobe but I do hate being sick). 

     We are all sick of me being sick.  Did I mention the baby isn't feeling great either.  I am only guessing since she can't tell me and neither of us have a fever.  We are both cranky and sleep deprived.  Paired with a toddler filled with lovely toddler angst , its super pleasant around here right about now. 

    Mike's on afternoons which is pure hell from 2-11:30 with him gone.  I sure wish he could have straight days.  How do you possibly entertain a toddler while sick, with a sick baby as well.  Thank God for Grampa Grampa.  They brought him his movies that he left there and threw a 2 hour tantrum about until he could watch them.  Gotta love those terrible twos. Funny, I don't remember Ella being quite as horrible. 

    I am very Thankful for Movies and Legos.  They have been entertaining the kids (minus the baby) or a couple hours now.  I hope everyone sleeps so I can just feel better!

In the holiday spirit!

     On this dreary, gross day, I have decided it may just be time to start pulling out the holiday movies.  That and I am declaring this another sick day because even though I took a sick day yesterday I doped up on Advil and cleaned the house because I couldn't stand looking at it anymore...I also felt guilty for laying around while Camden was at Grandmas.

      I am not a huge holiday movie watcher but I have a couple that are musts and am currently looking for a few more to add to our list.

Jen's Must See Holiday Movies

Love Actually

ELF

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

     See a pretty short list.  I also have movies that I hate to watch at Christmas and I know it will shock many as its their favourite Christmas movie but I HATE HATE HATE Christmas Vacation. Are there any must see movies for the holiday season that I missed?

     I am also on the look out for a great children's book about the real meaning of Christmas.  All the ones I currently have are long and don't hold the children's attention.  If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them.

    OK, so maybe no sick day here, the baby needs way too much attention.  Maybe she will let me lounge?