More photos

You can see more photos by clicking here. Enjoy! More later... Cheers!

Holiday Recap

Christmas was amazing. Simply put. Christmas Eve was spent with Andy, Liam, my Grandma and my parents. We had munchies, visited, watched Liam walk/stumble around. He's getting really good at it now! He catches himself before he stumbles, and seems to be getting the hang of this whole walking thing pretty well. We thought he would have more teeth for Christmas, but we're still waiting, and he's still chewing like crazy.

Andy had to work Christmas night, so we had to wake him up in the morning. Made coffee, opened our stockings, and then moved onto presents. Liam didn't want much to do with it, and was fussy with his teeth, but he was excited when he got his Wonderpet stuffies, beanies, and dvd's. My parents got him the talking Ming Ming, which he loves! We took our time opening presents, feeding Liam, opening more presents.

Some of my gifts included a gift certificate for a 1 hour hot stone back massage and pedicure at Juliet's Day Spa (thank you Andy). I have never been to a spa before, and would definitely love to be pampered. My mom put together an amazing cookbook for me, full of all of our family recipes. Thank you so incredibly much Mommy, it definitely made my Christmas-I love it! My Grandma gave us Discovery passes for the zoo and a gift card for Boston Pizza--thank you so much Grams! And Mr. and Mrs. H--I love the cookware! Yep, I might be the only person that builds my wish list around cookware! I got an angel food cake pan, cake serving plate, a new dutch oven, silicone coated whisk, a healthy cookbook, and a sweater. I may be forgetting something, but thank you again Mr. & Mrs. H--I love everything! They also gave us a digital meat thermometer and gorgeous steak knives. And Andy's brother Craig got me a skillet and the Gordon Ramsay game for the Wii--Amanda, you comin' over?

I also got PJ's from my mommy, tinkerbell pillowcases, a tinkerbell ornament, tinkerbell slippers, tinkerbell band-aids, soaps, a mini-muffin baking pan, and other things. They also gave us gift cards for restaurants, and they are paying for a night in Edmonton, when we go hopefully in the spring. Andy gave me ornaments, tinkerbell socks, J-Lo perfumes, bath bombs, Lush products--I love that stuff, last season of Roseanne, a new hair dryer--it has a straightener attachment, chocolates, the new Reba CD collection, the new Pink cd, 2 shirts, 2 sets of pj's--one of them tinkerbell, of course.... I know I am missing stuff.

Liam did well, lots of Wonder Pets stuff, Little People stuff, dvd's, books, bath stuff, clothes, pj's, socks, etc... And Andy had a technology heavy Christmas. He got a blu-ray player, dvd's, 360 games, hockey tickets (from me), ornaments, books, gadgets, toys, and other goodies.

All in all, it was a good Christmas! Went for turkey dinner at my aunt and uncle's---sooo yummy! And Liam loves playing with his 2nd cousin Kris... too cute!

Should run, Liam is having a hard time settling tonight, so it's frustrating! Will write more later! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. And Amanda--it's you, me and the wii! Okay, that's too funny...

Makes You Wonder...

I have been really good at regular blogging lately. Could be the cold weather that keeps me in, or the crazy last minute shoppers bombarding my favorite stores (one of them being Wal-Mart), or just the fact that I have more to write about. Tis the season to blog apparently. Liam is finally napping, thank goodness. I'm really hoping that those teeth cut soon, he's having a horrible time with them. I have tried to take a peek in his mouth, but to no avail. He was even drooling today, and there is always something in his mouth to chew on. Poor little guy. He threw up a few times last night, and didn't have a good sleep, so this morning he was a little miserable. I have booked a check-up on Monday for him with the doctor. I need to be reassured about his lack of eating chunky solids, and hopefully figure out something other than ovol for his gas issues--which only affect him badly when he is teething...

Am patiently waiting for more Christmas cards in the mail. Have sent out 42 cards, with photos and letters (and this blog address), and have received 5 or 6 so far. I sent out around the same last year, and got around a dozen in return. Hmm...

Andy went out to Okotoks today to see his parents. He said the city roads on the way were slippery, especially around Chinook Mall, but the highway was perfectly fine and dry. Crazy. I'm glad he made it safely, and he should be returning soon with a full "sleigh". He'll be going to his Uncle's later to drop off pressies too. You'd think he was jolly old Santa himself!

Really need to get working on my foodie blog--I have a ton of recipes and food finds to put on there! And I will probably re-do the background and colors. I love it!

Am having a guilty pleasure moment--watching Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Is it a bad thing that I can still recite the opening song? I know some of you out there can do it too, you just won't admit it.

Might try to hit the mall tomorrow. Would really like to hit Lush for a few last minute pressies for Andy. I know it will be crazy busy, and I meant to get there last week, but the weather was horrible. So, I'm going to brave the crowds and craziness tomorrow. Will keep you posted if I come back in one piece or I have a shred of sanity left in me.

We're starting new Christmas breakfast tradition this year. We're going to make an "unusual" breakfast every year. Something we wouldn't have on a regular basis, or ever for that matter. This year, we are doing Captain Crunch French Toast, from the show Diners, Drive-In's and Drives--it's on every Friday night on Food Network. The show is fantastic, even though some of the dishes are a heart attack waiting to happen. Make sure you check out the show! Should be fun to come up with something every year for brekkie!

Should run, need to be a little more productive, but this dang couch is sooo comfy! Cheers!

He's Napping...Sort of..

So Liam didn't nap yesterday. He crashed at 4:45pm, in the car, after visiting with my parents. He slept until 7:30pm, then didn't go back to bad until about 11pm. Sigh. Whoever wants to tell me that teething does nothing to a little guy can come visit anytime. He's not miserable or fussy, don't get me wrong. Just very unpredictable, which can be hard, as he was on such a good schedule. His diaper rash seems to have improved--we found a butt cream that had a higher percentage of zinc oxide in it, and it's easier to apply. So far, he has been napping for almost 2 hours, which is amazing. He was so sleepy before he went down, that he would crawl to a pillow on the floor and fall onto it.

Am almost ready for Christmas. Will be doing a bit more baking, and putting together some treat containers for Uncle Fix-It (Jim), Andy's parents and my Grandma. Andy is heading out to see his parents tomorrow morning, and to load up the "sleigh". Thank you so very much for everything Mr. and Mrs. H., in advance and in general. We will be going to Mom and Dad's for Christmas Eve nibbly's, then after Liam goes down, we are going to watch Scrooged and National Lampoons Christmas vacation. Definite holiday classics!

Should probably run, will update more later. I love this new layout! Cheers!

Changes

Let me know what everyone thinks about the new look on my page! I had to do something to spice it up a little! Cheers!

Check this out

Please check out this adorable poem, written for Pearl. She is the daughter of aquaintances of mine. Definitely rings true for a 14 month old. Enjoy, and let me know what everyone thinks!

A Long Day

Liam was up at 8:45 am this morning. Good and sensible time to be up. Nap time is usually 1pm-ish. Today? Not-so-much! He finally crashed at 8pm this evening, wasn't too moody, even though he couldn't sit up straight near the end. He is teething really badly, which usually means they are about to cut. I've changed alot of icky diapers today, put on and cleaned up alot of penatin cream--thank goodness for leather couches, and had pukey laundry created--after I had put the last load in the dryer this morning. Yes, it could be worse. I suffered minor bite wounds today, got a little slobbery, and got clung onto worse then static cling. It wasn't too bad. He's supremely cute at times when he is overtired. Bad part was, I was exhausted. I had stayed up the night before cleaning, doing laundry and decorating more for Christmas. Plus, we've been cooped up in the house together for the past 4-5 days. It's a wonder we're not plotting against each other yet. But tomorrow is another day. Hopefully his diaper rash will have eased up with the half tin of cream on his tushie. I'm going to get him out a bit tomorrow, get him a change of scenery.

Have posted the yummy recipe for Hamburger Minestrone Soup on my other blog. Perfect comfort food for these bitter cold days! Hope you all enjoy!

And Manders, I hope you have a wonderful birthday tomorrow! Sounds like last night was definitely fun! You're only 30 once! Huggers!

Should run, going to get back to my sappy movie watching... I can actually kick back and relax, as there's not alot of cleaning left to do--still have to make a few bottles and run the dryer... Night... and he stirs... Please stay asleep! Please stay asleep! hmmm...

Brrr....

With all the cold weather and snow that we have been having, I have to admit, I'm becoming a bit of a homebody. Yes, I'm happy to be at home. To people that know me, this is not how I am at all. I like to be on the go, out and about. So, I have to say, in some respects, I appreciate the icy cold weather. The roads are still slippery, so definitely prevents me from getting too far. So I have been at home with Liam, catching up on chores, wrapping, baking, laundry, and watching endless episodes of The Wonder Pets. Made 2 more pans of Five Layer Squares today, which are horribly addictive. Got adventurous tonight for dinner and made yummy Tuna Pizza- thank goodness for bread machines--makes pizza dough prep easier!

Am working on my second load of laundry, as Liam decided to throw up before he fell asleep. It hadn't happened in a few nights, as I had been giving him ovol the past few nights, but didn't tonight. So, partially my fault... Sigh...

Going to try to focus on cleaning again tomorrow, finish up some wrapping, and try to get out Friday morning to finish up some shopping. Will leave Liam with my dad, makes the trip go a bit faster, and I won't worry as much.

Really should get back to cleaning, but the couch is unfortunately comfy, Liam is stirring, and...did I mention the couch is comfy?! Plus, it's after midnight... Will finish up my Christmas cards tomorrow, and hopefully get them off by Friday. Thank you again Andy, for printing off all the letters for me. Will run out tomorrow and get 3 more stamps...

Mom, Dad, and Grams are coming for coffee and goodies on Friday. My dad doesn't think I'll have the place completely cleaned before then, but I will (try) and prove him wrong... Better get back to it... or to bed... Cheers!

Okay, One More Song...

I love this song! Definitely has a very strong message!



My Grown Up Christmas List by Amy Grant

Some Christmas Cheer!

Sorry Manders, had to snag this too! I absolutely love this song! Any of her Christmas music is beautiful and I listen to it every year. Enjoy!

Second Blog Is Up And Active!

(1) Liam is stylin'! (2) Liam doing Dad's hair! (3) Notice the finger? Yeah..

Hey all! Have started up a second blog, dedicated to food finds, recipes and experiences. Will be posting links in this blog to various sections in the new blog. You can view the new blog HERE . Hope you all enjoy! Make sure to bookmark it! I will try to update regularly.

Have been doing lots of holiday baking the past week, will keep everyone posted as to what I'm baking!

Should get back to my Christmas cards and finishing my wrapping! Cheers!

Down With A Cold

It has been awhile since I last blogged. I have definitely wanted to, and should have, but I always seem to find something else to do. So I am on downtime right now, sick with a horrible cold. My eyes are all watery, my nose is like a broken faucet, and my head is extremely congested. Thank goodness for decongestants and lots of kleenex. And, TLC is doing their Wednesday night Jon & Kate Plus 8 marathon, so I'm all set. Liam is sort of sleeping right now, I can hear his aquarium bubbling away. He has been pretty up and down lately, mostly from teething and all of it's joyous side effects. But he's not absolutely horrible, so I can manage. Just can't blow my nose around him--he tends to cry alot.

Christmas is definitely coming fast. Still have some shopping to do, but the majority of it is done. Have to wrap it all, mind you, but I need to buy more wrapping paper and supplies. Put up the tree and decorated it over the past 2 days--it looks gorgeous. I was definitely worried about Liam this year, and the tree staying in one piece. He tried to slyly sneak over to it today to touch a few of the ornaments, but nothing major. He loves the shiny silver balls, as he can see himself in them, and giggles.

Am going to work on my Christmas cards, letters and photos over the next few days, and hopefully get them in the mail for Monday pick up. Still have to decorate a bit more, do even more baking--I've been baking up a storm lately. Am definitely going to be more organized next year for Christmas though, get some baking done early, have the cards in the mail the beginning of December, have presents purchased and wrapped by mid-december... sounds great doesn't it? I say it every year... It's always my New Year's Resolution!

Dad is doing alot better now, they have taken both bandages off his foot, and he can walk without his cane. Definitely has been a scary time for everyone involved! He's bounced back very well, just has to take it easy, as it swells up alot.

We have been going to playgroup once a week, and it's been alot of fun. Definitely good for Liam to get out and socialize. And he been to see Santa twice now, have posted the picture from his first visit at Fort Calgary.

Other than that, we have just been getting ready for Christmas. Also need to figure out a date, as we will be having friends over for munchies, sort of an open house. Should run though, there is silence now, so I can go to sleep soon! Night!