A crazy vacation

Well I won't do that again. What was I thinking? I thought I would take Sommer out this morning for a nice mother/daughter shopping time.... I forgot she was 2. I had dreams of us walking hand in hand through isles of clothes, me asking her if Daddy would like this sweater, picking out Christmas presents together. And well, I was wrong. I instead took with me my screaming 2 year old who would not sit in the cart and insisted on blindly pushing the cart through crowded isles, yelling “no, myself do!” every time I tried to regain control of the cart. Yes, I was THAT person! I could just feel the stares of (disgust) sympathy coming from the women around me. I tried the candy bribe, which worked until the fruit snack package ran out. I tried the “want to go to McDonalds for lunch?” which worked for about 30 seconds. I then tried the “who’s child is that???” which worked until Sommer would come up to me and say “Mommy!” Ugh. One word – BRUTAL.

I went to Marshalls (like Winners in Canada) and found 2 nice sweaters for James. But I hate buying him clothes because he is picky. So I took a picture on my blackberry and sent it to him on Blackberry Messenger. Within minutes he replied back “Yup, I like it. Buy it!” What did people do before the invention of the media messaging system (MMS)? HOW DID WE SURVIVE? I would have hummed and hawed over this sweater for 20 minutes, putting it in my cart, taking it out, going back to get it for one more look, and then crossing my fingers that he would like it while the cashier says “all sales final”. Not anymore. Now I just snap a pic, push send, and have an answer from my husband who was in another country… thank you Blackberry!

I participated in Black Friday here in the USA. It’s like our Canadian Boxing Day. But, like I say every year, Black Friday makes more sense! I love the fact that you can buy your Christmas presents on a bargain shopping day! Who wants to go shopping the day AFTER Christmas? I want to go 3 weeks before so I can SAVE money!! Kristi and I were out of the house by 7:45 am on Black Friday. I know those of you who are “door buster special’ers” that is not early but to me it is. I didn’t even shower!!! We went to the mall and took advantage of all the great specials at Macy’s, Nordstrom, Charlotte Russe, and Old Navy. I got these great real black leather suede boots that were regular $69.99 for $28!! Best purchase of the year!

Speaking of adventures with Kristi can I just say that we cannot go on a road trip without something unfortunate happening? In the summertime we had the incident where she forgot her passport at my parents’ house and crossed into Canada to pick me up from the airport using a colour photocopy her passport. That was the same time she locked her keys in the car at the airport terminal. Well, this time she remembered her passport when she came to get us but then everything else went wrong. When we were pulling away from the airport to head back over the border I trusted her to know where she was going – she did after all just drive to the airport. After about 45 minutes of driving she turns to me and says, “I don’t know where I am going.” Why didn’t you tell me that like 45 minutes ago?? So we drove towards where we could see lights and asked for directions. Lucky for her we were only about 20 minutes from the border crossing but still we were now an hour and a half behind schedule. So we pull up to the border and tell the guy were we live, where we are going, when we are coming back. I guess we looked suspicious because he told us they were going to have to search our vehicle. Are you kidding me??? So we pull over to the inspection station, get Sommer out of the car (who thinks we have already arrived at Nana & Papa’s house… little did she know we hadn’t even started our 5 hour journey), go inside and answer all the border guards questions. They go and search our vehicle, they think they will find some suspicious terrorist stuff but unfortunately all the find is a car full of dirty laundry (Kristi was bring 2 months of laundry home from college.. . yuck), suitcases of clothes, and Kristi’s scrapbook she made (which they looked at every page). FINALLY WE WERE ON OUR WAY!

We drove in the pouring rain for 3 hours! At one point Kristi said, “Wouldn’t it be funny if my windshield wiper flew off right now?” I know, random, and NOT funny! I didn’t think anything of it until it actually happened!! We were driving on a busy freeway, right smack in the middle of downtown Seattle in the pouring rain and it just flew off! PANIC! I could see fine since my side was still working but Kristi was driving blind. And to make matters worse there was no exit for about 10 minutes since we were downtown. So I called my dad and told him he had to pray that the rain would stop NOW because we can’t see and we have nowhere to get off. Then Kristi tells me she has spare windshield wipers in her trunk! WHAT!?!? Who has spare windshield wipers!?!? So we eventually find an exit with a Chevron and pull into the parking lot. We pop the trunk and low and behold – EXTRA WIPERS! We both stare at these wipers and have no clue how to put them on. Enter our guardian angel…. This man pulls up beside us and I ask him if he knows how they go on. Within minutes we are on our way home, with brand new wipers on only to never use them because stopped.

Then yesterday Kristi is driving back up to Bellingham to work for the week and bring James back with her on Friday for my cousin’s wedding. She drove 2 hours and needed gas. She pulls into the gas station and turns to grab her wallet… it’s not there. Her purse, with her passport in it, isn’t there. Her computer, with her final papers on it, isn’t there. She is 2 hours from home, out of gas, and has no wallet or any money! She calls my dad and asks what to do... we honestly had no clue. All she has is an old cheque book, but no ID. My dad told her that he was probably going to have to drive 2 hours to deliver her purse to her. Kristi then decided to go to the bank and cry…. Crying always works, especially when you are 2 hours from your parents, 3 hours from your house and you have no gas and no money. The bank lady took pity on her and cashed a cheque for $50 so she could fill her tank and drive the rest of the way home. We had to overnight her wallet and her passport so she could survive the rest of the week and cross the border to bring James home. She really is a menace to society!

Well that has been my fun-filled time visiting my parents. And to think I still have another week here! What else could happen to make my vacation interesting???

And our slogan came to life...

The 13th man makes all the difference.

That is the Saskatchewan Roughriders slogan. And tonight it has come true. But instead of referring to the fans it was unfortunately an extra player on the field that ended up costing SK the game. We are big Rider fans in our house. We are 2nd year season ticket holders. We are jersey owners (all of us - including Sommer). We have the flag flying on the side of our truck on game day. And although I have been a season ticket holder for 2 years it wasn't until this year that I actually got into the action! But now I love it!

My "friend" Tina's (and I say friend loosely because we have never hung out, but we met at Baby Signs classes and we talk on facebook... does that count as a friend???) husband is the Offensive Co-ordinator for the Riders, Paul LaPolice. They showed him at the end of the game and it pretty much broke my heart... his face showed defeat, shock, and sadness. I know to many of us this is only a game but to the players and the coaches this is their job, their career, their LIFE! My heart goes out to them.

The Riders had a great season and they should be proud. We are the Western Final Champs and we were the underdogs in the Grey Cup and gave Montreal a run for their money! The Riders worked hard and played hard all season, so I am not mad at them, just mad at an unfortunate mistake that should have been avoided. So, congrats Riders! Thanks for a great season! I am looking forward to next year!

Every good and perfect gift comes from above.

Maybe it's the fact that I am celebrating another Thanksgiving with my family or maybe it's that I have been sharing more lately about the difficulty we're having getting pregnant but I am realizing more and more what a specially little girl I have been blessed with already. Lately I have been just overwhelmed with the amount of love I have for her and how special she is to me. I notice every little thing about her - how she smiles, laughs, jokes and how her baby teeth on the bottom are a little crooked. I watch her while she plays and I am overcome with this feeling of pride - I am proud of the little girl I am raising! She does have her moments, like every 2 year old has, but when those moments are gone she is an angel.

I loved being the one she ran to tonight when her baby feel off the chair, tears in her eyes, because things were not going the way she wanted. I loved being the one she said "bless you Mommy" to after I sneezed. And I loved it when she said, "Mommy, you're funny!" after I said a joke and everyone laughed. I love her indepent spirit and how she wants to try things on her own. I love her little tickles she gives me on my back. I love her sweet little voice and her big brown eyes.

I love holding her hand while walking down the sidewalk. I love that today we dressed the same - a sweater dress, tights, and we both had our new suede dress boots on. I love hearing her say my name first thing in the morning, her little arms wrapped around me neck while I carry her to snuggle in our bed. I love hearing her say "I 'oooove you Mommy" while I tuck her in at night after a hard day of playing. I love that she has her Daddy's face and she is a true "little McCullough".

Sommer completes me. She completes us. She is what makes us a family. I look forward to the years to come: watching her grow up, discover new things and eventually discover new things apart from us. But right now I am honored to be the one to teach her new things and have her rely on us for protection. I can't imagine my life without her, my baby, my angel. I know now that if for some reason my "life plan" doesn't work out the way I intend it to then I will be okay. Because God has given me Sommer, and every good and perfect gift come from Him.

The Road To A Baby

Thought I would give another little update on the process of trying for another baby. We still are trying but I am finally more at peace with how things are progressing. I have been doing a lot of research lately which has helped me understand why it might be taking us longer for a second child.

This marks the 10th month of trying so I finally made the phone call into the doctors office. I was putting off doing this as it would mean that I might have to admit that something is wrong, haha. I have an appointment booked for Feb. 1 with my family doctor, who will then refer us off to a OB/GYN for fertility options. The referral appointment I expect can take a while. But in the mean time I just got this AMAZING book called "Taking Charge of your Fertility" which I have found to be so helpful. This book teaches women what happens before, during, and after ovulation and what changes your body does so you can recognize when ovulation is occuring. In my next cycles I am going to chart my basal body tempeture, check cervical fluids, and cervix positioning, all of which will show a pattern (or lack of pattern) that I & a fertility specialist will review to see what might be wrong. I have been avoiding doing this because it seems like so much work but I am at the point where I need some answers.

One reason why I think I might not be conceiving is because I think I have a too short Luteal Phase of my cycle. A women's cycle is divided into 3 phases, the follicular phase, ovulatory phase and the last being the luteal phase. The follicular phase is where an egg matures and the body "prepares to release an egg", the ovulatory phase is where the egg is actually released and when you are most fertile/fertilization can take place, and the luteal phase is the last phase and in the case your egg was fertilized this is the stage where the egg is developing and your body is going to send off a hormone so that you don't get your period: in other words it is saying "We're pregnant!! Don't reject this baby!" A healthy woman would ovulate around her 12-16th day which would allow for the minimum of 12 days of a luteal phase. 12 days is said to be the minimum amount of days that the phase can be for a pregnancy to survive, any less and the hormone wouldn't necessarily be strong enough and the cycle would come to an end. IN MY CASE I am thinking that I ovulate late, possibly around the 20th day of a cycle, which means my luteal phase is possibly less than 10 days and is not long enough for my body to recognize a pregnancy.

By charting my basal body tempeture I can find out if this is actually the case. Before you ovulate your body temp is around 2 degrees (or more) lower than after your ovulate. I know this doesn't seem like a huge difference but by using a basal thermometer and checking my tempeture at the same time first thing in the morning (after a minimum 4 hours sleep) and charting it I will see a significant rise once ovulation has occured. Then I chart my tempeture for the days after ovulation and until I get my next period which will show how long my luteal phase is. Again, it seems like a lot of work but it does give answers to some frustrating questions! One thing that helps lengthen a luteal phase is taking Vitamin B6, which I am now on!

Another thing that the book re-taught me is just how much a miracle becoming pregnant really is! It takes so many things lining up, going right, and working together to become pregnant that I am so so so so blessed that I got pregnant once before. I knew this all along, but reading it and really learning how your body works just took me by surprise! Sommer REALLY is a miracle and a gift from God and if for some reason I am not able to have more children I will cherish the one I have forever.

What a month!

What a month!!! I feel like October just flew bye! I don't even know where to start the update! Well, let's start with Sommer turning 2! AHH!! I have a 2 year old - does that make me old? Because all of a sudden I feel OLD! I know, I am young, but I feel like my baby is gone and now I have a little girl! She had a really fun birthday weekend and was of course spoiled as ever. She had a family party on Friday AND Saturday and then had some little friends over to celebrate on Sunday. She got lots of colouring stuff (a new favorite activity), some play-doh (another favorite activity), clothes, books, a new wagon, and the list could go on!

Here is the birthday girl with Mommy! I love the shirt she wore - my mom bought it for her! I don't think Sommer understood what it meant to be "the birthday girl" but when you ask her how her birthday was she "blew candles" out. Okay, fair enough, you did blow candles out! Turning 2 was not a huge deal to her because ever since she turned 1 she told people she was 2. So now maybe she will tell people she is 3?

Daddy and the birthday girl - what a special bond these two have! For those of you who know James you know he is "all boy!" But this little monkey has Daddy wrapped around her little finger! He will do anything for her! It's a good thing that Sommer loves all his toys. When she sees a motorcycle she will say "Daddy see! Motorcycle! Vrrroooom!" She is a girl after his own heart!

This month we spent some time at the family farm. Papa Sam took us for a hayride (minus the hay) one warm Saturday afternoon. We had such a fun time and Sommer really loved it!

Here is Sommer on the hayride (minus the hay...). She is getting so big! She likes the tractor when it is not running but is afraid of it when it makes noise. If only we could have had horses to pull the hayride....

Here is my little Tigger! She had so much fun at our church carnival! There was a dino bouncer, which she was scared of, but love the face painting and of course the food! I love seeing her with her church friends - seriously, it makes the hard decision of switching churches worth it!

I already know that November will be a BUSY month in our household! I look forward to sharing and keeping you in the loop of what's going on in our house!

I am thankful!

This time of year reminds of the many things I have to be thankful for in my life.

I am so thankful for my husband James. There are many people who say they could never work with their spouse every day but I am someone who is blessed to work with mine! We share an office, share a home, share a bedroom, and share a bed... wow! Don't get me wrong, there are days when I wish I had a little "me" space but my day just wouldnt be the same if he wasnt there beside me. I am lonely when he doesnt come into the office and I am especially lonely if we are away from each other at home. We are a couple that bickers but that has to be expected when you spend almost EVERY MINUTE together and share physical space 24/7, we don't let it get to us and that's why I love him! He is amazing, a hard worker, an excellent business owner, and goal driven!

I am thankful for my BEAUTIFUL daughter Sommer Lyn. Hard to believe she has been in our family for almost 2 years now - where has the time gone? She is so funny now that she is putting sentences together. Her new favorite sentence is "No buggin' me!" or "Lexis is buggin' me Mom!" Too funny! She has such a beautiful personality and is SO full of energy! She keeps us busy and on our toes but I love her for that! I am excited to see who she will become as she grows up, I know she will touch many people's lives!

I am thankful for my family and James' family! I have such amazing parents and a wonderful sister and brother! We have such fun times together and have travelled to many different places over the last few years. I love exploring new surrounding with them and going new places. I love how we tease each other and love each other at the same time! I wouldn't change my family in any way! I am also thankful to have such a great in-law family. There are many of them (12 of us kids and 3 grandkids) and they are loud but they are so fun and entertaining! No one can say they are bored when we are together because there is always something happening! I love each of my in-laws and I am blessed to have been given such a great second family!

I am thankful for having a job that allows me to work only 3 days a week so I can spend time with Sommer and do things that are important to me! I am also thankful to have a wonderful daycare provider who loves Sommer and cares for her! Going to work is easier when you know your child enjoyes where she is and looks forward to going back the next day!

I am also thankful for friends, many of whom I have been close with since elementary and highschool days. It makes a difference when you have friends that have grown up with you and have seen you through all your phases of life. I am blessed to have friends who I have also gotten to know over the past couple of years. My Friday morning playgroup friends are so important to me and I am so thankful to have them in my life! Every mom needs a group of moms to go to with questions, concerns, or anything - it really has made parenting that much more enjoyable!

There are many other things that I am thankful for but that's all for now! Happy Thanksgiving!

Jermiah 33:3

Sommer has been a DIVA lately - total DIVA. (I wonder where she gets that from..... certainly not her mother...) We have been having problems with her going to sleep and frankly I have had enough. Up until last week we would lay her down in her bed, say good night, turn off the lights, walk out the door and see her at 9:00 am the next morning. BUT that has all changed. Now we lay her in the bed, say good night, turn off the lights, walk out the door and 1 minute later look up and she is standing there in the hall. GO TO SLEEP!!!!! After 4 night of fights I have nothing to give and no energy to walk her back to bed.... So today when nap time was beginning to be a struggle I set up the playpen! I told her if she came out again she would be treated like a baby and sleep in the playpen. 1 minute later she appeared in the hall so I put the playpen in her room, plopped her in it, and walked out the door. She cried for about 10 minutes but it didn't bother me (I'm a CIO type Mom - your not hurt, not hungry, just mad - get over it!) Then she was asleep!! THANK HEAVENS!!! I couldn't do another minute. I will do the same thing tonight if she puts up a fight!

Our family has also made a pretty big decision this month. After much prayer and thought we have decided to no longer attend the church we have attended for many years. We are at a point in our lives right now where friendships and relationships are very important for us and we need those with people our age. The church we were attending didn't have very many young families and it was getting hard for us to connect with people. Also there were not a lot of kids Sommer's age which was bothering me. Some of my best friends today are people that I have grown up with, some of us go back as far as toddler church!! I want to give Sommer that opportunity - to make long lasting friendships with people who have the same beliefs and standards.

It was a hard decision for us to make, especially since we do love the people there and have many found memories. We did not leave mad or disgruntaled - we just felt God was calling us elsewhere. The church we have decided to attend is one where many of my friends go. It is so refreshing for me to go to church on Sunday and be with people I know well and have close relationships with. It is also so encouraging to drop Sommer off in the toddler class with 20 other toddlers!!! We are excited to see what God has in store for us!

It's hard to believe that summer is over and fall is just around the corner! We had such a fun summer. It was so great to watch Sommer explore the world around her, learn new things, and play outside! I look forward to a great fall season and the year ahead... I wonder what things God will reveal to me. I'll leave you with this verse that has found its way into my heart. This is my new life verse: "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3.

A little lesson in patience

*DISCLOSURE - I understand that people try for longer than I have been to have a baby. This is my story and a place for me to get my feelings out*

This month marks the 6 months mark of trying for a second baby. Half a year!!! I don't know why it has been taking us so long to get pregnant since with Sommer all we had to do was think about having a baby and I was pregnant. Every month I calculate and we try, and try, and try and 3 weeks later I am met with disappointment and I cry. I have told myself not to stress about it and to let everything happen on it's own yet inside of me it's all I think about. I just feel so frustrated and disappointed... I wish I knew what was going on.

I am a regular cycle gal - 29 days exactly for the past 3 months and before that it was maybe off by 2-3 days. I am a healthy gal, not overweight or underweight, I eat healthy, and my bloodwork all came back normal at my last check-up... I guess it's just not meant to be yet. I honesty try and stay positive because I know that God has perfect timing for my family. I just need to trust Him. Three of my friends just announced they were pregnant and I am truly happy for them. I am just so jealous and wish it was me joining them on the pregnancy journey.

This process makes me appreciate Sommer and how quickly I was blessed with her. I look at her and think how lucky I am to have such a perfect little angel who is so curious about life and loves her Mommy & Daddy with all her heart. Watching her grow up and explore the world around her is so fun. My life is blessed by her!

We will continue trying for our second angel and I will trust that God will deliever her/him when the timing is right. But if you think of it pray for me as I am frustrated and not the most patient person...

Summer time... and the livin' is easy!

We spent a whole 8 days out at the McCullough Family farm. It is 12 minutes into Outlook and 15 miutes to the lake. We had our trailer out there, as did James' sister's family, his parents and his brother & his girl friend. It was such a great week of relaxation and fun! We went into Outlook and went to the community pool, the SAAN store, for slushes, and played at James' parents house. Papa Sam brought the tempeture down in the hot tub so Sommer spent a whole afternoon floating around in the hot-tub. Sommer found a new obsession - riding the motorcycle around in the yard. No - they didn't go fast since we had no toddler helmet but she loved every minute of it! "More Daddy Please" was what she said everytime they stopped. It has been such a fun summer with her since she enjoys playing and interacting with us. She helps us in the yard and waters the flowers (and us!). She is such a fun little person to be around!

Sommer's hair is finally long enough to put into pigtails! HURRAY! I have been waiting for this day forever!!! This is her on Saturday morning with her pigtails. She is eating a brownie because I had to distract her to do her hair. She left them in all day and was actually very upset when one feel out. She told me "My pretty fell out!" Funny how pigtails make her look so much older and mature!!!

We have now graduated to the big girls bed at our house. We are keeping our eye open for a twin bed but in the meantime our toddler bed does the trick. The first night she fell out 2x but never got hurt. She was sitting on the floor both time when I walked in, I picked her up and back to sleep she went. Not bad! She fell out again the next night but nothing for probably a week now! She looks so mature and old in a bed. So far she hasn't had any problems going down to sleep or naps but maybe she will eventually?

Sommer and I are heading to Vancouver Washington (Portland) to see my family on Thursday. We are really looking forward to the trip. Everytime Sommer see's an airplane she says "Go Papa's! On Airplane!"... someone is going to love the flight!!!

Sommer at the Spa

Sommer at 19 months!

Even though spring/summer weather should be here it's clearly not. I have been so frustrated with having to keep Sommer inside the past couple of days that yesterday we decided to go to the Temple Gardens Moose Jaw Spa. Papa Garnet & Nanna Sharon came with us! Sommer enjoyed the warm water so much! She swam around with her water wings on and didnt need me at all. I was so proud of my little fish! She sure has come a long way since last summer!

We have officially (and I say "officially" loosely because it's only been a week...) got rid of Su-Su & teddy during the day. She knows that she can have them for naps & bedtime and when she asks for either of them during the day I have become very creative at distracting her. Mainly she asks for them when she is upset or hurt but things are going well. She is in love with "babies" right now so she takes her baby everywhere with her.

I just love watching her grow-up into such a little girl. She talks all the time and every day says something that makes us laugh. She is a little rough and needs to learn to be "gentle" but it's coming. Hard to believe that I have a 19 month toddler all ready! Where has the time gone??

Twitter, Potty, and unfortunately poop!

Sommer has been obsessed, and I mean OBSESSED with poop for the past 10 days. She no longer wants to poop in her diaper, which is fine by me, but we are having the hardest time to get her to go on the potty. She will come up to us and say "Poop!! POOP!" and we will run her to the potty. She will last on the potty for 10 seconds, yes 10 seconds. So we put her diaper back on and she will go play. 2 mins later it will all happen again. This will probably happen 10 times in a row. She does know when she has to actually go because finally I will get upset and refuse to put her on the potty and she will go in the diaper within a couple of minutes and come crying to me very upset. UGH!!!
We did have two steps in the right direction this past weekend. One time I was so frustrated with taking the diaper off and putting it back on that I decided to put her on the potty with the diaper still on - and she pooped on the potty! The second time she was yelling poop and I finally put her on the potty and she pooped a little. And man was she soooo excited to see her poop in the potty! She kept peaking, pointing at the poop, and saying "Mommy!! Poop!" Yes Sommer, that's poop, haha.

In other news I am now on twitter. Mostly to creep on celebrities - most people know I am a celebrity junky. I just find twitter a nice outlet to write a quick thought on - like a blog that can only be 140 characters. Perfect! Short sweet and to the point. You can follow me on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/mel_mccullough. Join so I can follow your thoughts too!

I am alive. Don't you worry. This past month has been absolutely crazy it seems. We went to Cuba and had a wonderful time. Warm weather, time with James' sister and her family, the beautiful ocean... oh man. Cuba itself was interesting - not sure if I would return again. BUT if you have never been then I say go for it! I am glad that we went. We learned a lot about the country, saw how the people live and work, hated the boring food, and loved the ocean. Check out my pictures on facebook!

On Friday we are heading to San Diego for a week with my family! I am soo excited to see them again!! We arrive on Friday night, as does my sister Kristi, and my parents and Kevin arrive on Sunday. So Kristi and us will enjoy a weekend in downtown San Diego before my parents join us. We are staying right on the bay so there will be plenty to see and do! Once my parents arrive we will go to Romona (a town just outside the big city) for a week of timesharing! A pool, tennis courts, basketball courts, walking paths... heaven.

We are trying to break Sommer of her Su-Su (soother). It was going really well last week. She only had it for naps and bedtime. She finally gave up asking for it by Wednesday but this weekend we took 2 steps back. We had James' family here this weekend (10 of them) and she is getting two molars. So unfortunately I was tired of all the whining and she was a little overwhelmed by the people so I gave her back the soother. Now, we are going to have to try to break this habit once again. Already today everytime I have snuck it away she realizes it and says "Su su???" Oh that one word is soo annoying! Haha.

Sommer loves Grandpa Garnet (my grandpa who lives right next door to us). Sommer loves all her Grandpa's but she does see Garnet the most. Today I had to wake up Sommer because we were having a playdate at our house and she still wasn't up at 10:30 am (HEAVEN!). I walked into her room to wake her up and she stood right up and said "Papa??" I am not sure why she was expecting Papa to wake her up - he never has before - but it was still super cute! She LOVES her Papa Garnet!

I am currently typing on my new MINI Laptop! My other old one (2 years old) was crapping out and being soo annoying that James bought me a new one. Well, I bought it too but he likes to think that he got it for me for some odd reason. It's sooo small - only a 8.9" screen, it weighs like nothing and I love it!! I am sitting her on the couch while Sommer naps just typing away. It was super cheap too, $299, and it does everything I could ever need a computer to do - blog, facebook, and look at pictures.

My very sick baby!

What a horrible weekend this has been!!! On Friday afternoon Sommer was really wheezy and had developed a wheezy cough. To be honest I didn't really think anything of it. But later I was talking to my mom and she said that she didn't like the sound of the cough. So I phoned my friend and got her opinion and then I phoned the health line... by the end of all this phoning we were packing up Sommer and heading to emergency at 10 pm at night! UGH! She was really wheezy by the time we got there and often couldn't catch her breath after her coughing spells. They took one look at her and put us right in a room, no waiting in the waiting room! Of course Sommer didn't like the nurses touching her and trying to get her tempature or blood pressure. She hated them listening to her chest but luckily after 3 hours we got to go home with a puffer & puffer chamber and antibiotics. Ends up Sommer has RSV chest infection and also an ear infection (which I had no clue about!).

Yesterday she had a pretty high fever and was super out of it! She spent most of the day sleeping and cuddling with whoever would sit with her. It broke my heart! She was sooo sick! She just walked around crying and hot and all around pretty grumpy! She doesn't like taking her puffer so it's a real fight to get it in her, but usually we can atleast get her to breathe a couple puffs. We are very glad that she got sick this week and not next as we leave for Cuba on Sunday, March 1st! By then her ear infection and RSV should be under control and hopefully gone! Please continue to pray a speedy recovery for her so she can enjoy the vacation! Today she is a little better than yesterday. She actually ate some lunch and is napping nicely upstairs right now. Her fever is pretty much gone and now she just needs to get rid of the RSV.

My interview from a blog friend!

One of my blog friends, A Little Bit of Us , did an interview and I thought it sounded like fun. She asked if anyone wanted to be interviewed by her and I said yes! Here is what she asked me :)

1) Sommer seems like a sweet little girl. Any more babies in the plans?
Yes! I can't wait to have more babies! We wanted to have our kids 2 years apart but then James got on this kick about babies being born in the beginning of the year. Something about most of the great athletes are born Jan-March and babies born in November & December are disadvantaged in sports. So now our plans have changed to try for a baby that will be born at the beginning of next year... so stayed tuned :)

2) I worked in a real estate office for a few years and loved it. I always contemplated getting my realtor license. What made you decide to go that career path?
My grandparents use to own one of Regina's biggest home building companies so I have always been around the realestate market. I loved the lifestyle that they lived and how flexible it was, so when I wasn't enjoying University I decided to give it a try! I loved being a Realtor but I decided to let my license go since I was focusing on being a Mom and having more kids and the fees you have to pay as a Realtor are very expensive. Now I work for our own new home building company - Trademark Homes - so I am still in the market in a way. New homes has always been where my heart is at so I totally LOVE my job now. Not to mention I only work 3 days a week now :) It's wonderful!

3) How long have you been with James? How did you meet?
James and I have been together since May 2003. We got engaged after 6 months of dating (December 2003) and got married August 2004! We met at Canadian Bible College where we both did our first year out of highschool. We didn't really hang out while at College but at the end of school we started talking and the rest is history!

4) When you get a little bit of kid free time, what's your favorite thing to do?
Hmmm.... kid free time?? Wow... has it really been that long since I had a moment to myself??? I honestly don't know how to answer this question as Sommer is usually always with me :) But I like to go shopping and go to Chapters. I LOVE to read books so that is usually what I do with my "free time". HomeSense is a great place to go for an hour and find some good deals.

5) There are so many new restaurants popping up in the city. What's your favorite place to go and eat out?
I wouldn't say that I have a FAVORITE place to go. But we do like to go to a few over & over again. We like Brewsters for wing night/40% off appetizer night, we like Houston Pizza for their lasagna special, we like Joey's Only Seafood anytime, we LOVE Red Lobsters for special occasions, and if it's REALLY special then we love Golf's Steakhouse!

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If you would like to join in on the interview, follow these directions:
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me”.
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions

Hoping Winter is Almost OVER!

Happy Valentines Day! Hard to believe it was exactly a year ago when Sommer started babbling and I was able to catch it on video in a Valentines Special :) Now her vocabulary has come a long way and currently she can say: Mommy, Daddy, Puppy, Baby, Yes, No, Please, Thank You, Uh-Oh, Juice, Socks, Shoes, and probably many more than I can not think of off the top of my head! She does her "s's" backwards by instead of blowing out her "s" she sucks it in. Very cute little twist to words that end in "s". We have had a very low key Valentines day in Outlook visiting James' parents. Sommer was extremely tired this evening and everything was causing a meltdown. Funny how they get so clumsy when they are tired and anything can set them off into a crying meltdown. Its almost 9 and I think she is tucked away in the playpen in our room - hopefully sleeping!

This morning Sommer woke up at 8 am - which is early for us! She was ready for a nap around 11:00 am but I knew if she napped at that time our afternoon nap would be nonexistant. So I decided to take Sommer downstairs and snuggle with her on the bed for a quiet time. I wasn't sure she would stay but we snuggled for 1 hour together under the warm covered. She LOVES "criss/cross apple sauce" on her back and "round and round the garden" on her tummy. She was so snuggly and cute... there aren't too many days like that anymore. She is not a baby anymore and has turned into quite the independant little lady.

We are gearing up for a BUSY March! From March 1-9th we are off to Cuba with James's sister Jenn, her husband Dan and their 6 month old baby named Mara. We have got our twinrix and twinrix Jr. needles to protect again the carribbean diseases. I always watch those commercials about Hep A & Hep B and get nervous so I thought instead of stress about everything we would all get our shots. We are with Jenn & Dan for 4 days as they get there 3 days before us and we stay 3 days after them. It will be so nice to escape this cold weather! We are home for 2 weeks after March 9th and then we leave for SanDiego on March 28th for a week with my family! We are staying in a Condo there and hopefully will take in the Wild Animal Park, SanDiego Zoo, Tijuana Mexico, and hopefully some hot days by the pool.

HOPEFULLY we only have one real week of winter left as March will mainly be full of warm days spent elsewhere!

Baby Bobsledding & Swimming!

Training for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics - Baby Bobsled

Swimming with her good buddy Dylan!
Yes, Sommer LOVES swimming now!!

Striking a pose at Swimming :)

Cardboard Testimonies

We went to a Saturday night service last night at a church. Friends of ours are on staff there, well, the husband is. It was a refreshing service and we really enjoyed it. At the end of the service they did Cardboard Testimonies. It was so amazing to see how God has changed people's lives... I know He has changed mine.

Check out the Cardboard Testimonies clip from Youtube:

Happy New Year!

I feel like so much has happened that I have not had a chance to write about. Before christmas I really had trouble sitting down and writing on here. I felt like I didn't have time and I was soo rushed. I love looking at the calendar in January because there is honestly nothing on it, no plans, no appointments, just free time!!

Sommer had her 14 month check -up today! Honestly, 14 months, where the heck did time go!?!? She weighs 23.5 lbs and is really tall! I am not sure how tall she is because the Doctor put down the same number (46cm) for her height and head circum. What the heck??? She loves to run, dance, climb on the couch (all on her own), and bite. Yes, bite! We are working on the biting thing and have been for a while. The unfortunate part is that her friend at daycare also bites, so they egg each other on. Poor Tanya has a horrible time keeping her daughter and Sommer from biting each other... we hope this is a stage she will soon grow out of! Sommer can say a couple of words: Mom, Dad, Dog, Ball, and her favorite "Yeah!". She will mimmick words if you ask her to copy you which is really cute! She is growing up too fast!!

We had a wonderful Christmas at my parents house in Vancouver, Washington (Portland). We got to see all of my dads side of the family as well as some from my moms side. Of course Sommer got spoiled with lots of presents including a blow-up bounce castle (complete with balls)from my parents. It was too big to bring back on the plane with us so my grandparents will bring it with them when they return from going south at the end of Feb. We didn't buy Sommer lots of gifts as she has no idea what Christmas is. We bought her a housecoat and a potty! No, I don't think I will have her pottytrained by 15 months but she does not what a potty is and she does know when she is going to the bathroom. So I figured it is never too early to introduce her to the potty - no pressure - so we will see.

In other news I have officially retired as a Realtor!!! It was a hard decision to make but I knew that my heart was no longer in that area. I will miss working in the re-sale world of real estate but am still working for Trademark Homes Inc. as their Client Care Rep and also in their office. My heart has always been in the new homes and that is where I enjoy working. We have around 12 homes on the go right now so I am very busy!! Right now I work Tuesday - Thursday (9-5 pm) so I love having my weekends, Mondays, and Fridays off to spend time with Sommer! There isn't a better set-up (maybe not working at all) and if something comes up and I don't go to work then there is no pressure!! I just don't go!

I am happy to be home from vacation and ready to get back to a normal life. I really hate winter - have I mentioned that before!?!?! I just wish it was spring time out and there would be a glimmer of hope that it is almost Summer time!!! I REALLY HATE WINTER! Right now, as I type this, there is a mound of snow piling up in front of my garage door.... I am not impressed!! I know in the spring I will complain on here about the mud we have outside and how we don't have a driveway, etc., etc., but I am still going to wish for that time to come soon. Anything is better than snow, wind and cold weather!