J.O.Y.

Look at these teeth!

"I love ya more than my luggage."

Dear friends out in bloggerland,

I've missed you. I've been so busy lately and I hate that. I love what's keeping me busy - mostly the kids and just life in general, with a wedding cake thrown in there. I find that I have to work really hard to find some quiet "me" time. I have been spending some time on the deck with a good book, but most of the time, I'm overwhelmed with feelings of "the floors need to be washed" and "there's laundry to fold" or "what's for supper?" Usually I have about 2 hours when both kids are napping and I definitely try to make the most of that time. Unfortunately though, it feels like most of that is wasted tidying up from the morning and cleaning up after eating.

We do get outside a lot and poor Chelsea has been so desperate for a sandbox that she's taken to playing in the garden. We are VERY excited to get our big wooden play structure tomorrow. It comes complete with a real sandbox, so no more playing in the dirt for us!

Life has definitely been interesting with these two lately. Gavin finally has teeth! He got his top two teeth this week, so I'm thinking in a few more days he'll look like a beaver.

Chelsea is certainly full of attitude and is learning some hard life lessons. These include, but are not limited to,

- not yelling at mom, dad, or brother.

- not screaming, crying, or having a meltdown upon hearing the word "no."

- that she is old enough to clean up her own messes.

- that life doesn't always go her way and that's okay.

I'm loving the summer weather we're having, but am having a hard time getting out for walks with the kids. G sleeps for 2 hours in the morning, and usually both are out for at least that in the afternoon. Plus the stroller we have for the two kids can be pretty heavy and Chelsea is constantly jumping on and off (we have a sit and stand stroller.) If I put the two of them in the bike stroller, there will be tears as Gavin takes great pleasure in pulling Chelsea's hair and pinching her legs. I'm hoping this will improve, as I'm really looking forward to bikerides this summer.

Enough about the kids, more about me! ;) I am in a really good place right now. I feel loved and needed and wanted and this makes me thrive. My phone has started ringing again with a friend on the other end and that always makes me smile. I've been making time for friends and enjoying other families. It's great. The only thing that I really really want right now is time to do nothing. I would love to go to a hotel for a night with Chris. Go out for a nice supper, watch some movies late into the night and sleep in. No cries from the baby monitor, no talking baby at 6:30 in the morning. Chris usually gets up with the kids on the weekend so I can sleep in, but I'm always up by 8:30 because I know they are downstairs and awake and waiting. A night away would be glorious.

But for now, I'll settle for my evenings out like I had tonight. Supper and Steel Magnolias. Perfect!

The Big Ol' Friends Party.

We rented the pool at the Super 8 in Morden, because the weather in April can be finicky. Of course, it was by far the nicest day ever so we could have had an outdoor birthday party, but oh well.

The birthday girl arrived, VERY excited. (Oh and just a note - this is her hair after a bath, unbrushed and allowed to air dry. I LOVE it.)

Momma went all out on decorations and got these life sized princesses for the wall. I thought it would be a cute photo op, but we really only got this one picture! We swam for just over an hour. I'm only putting pics of my kids up here just because well, it's my blog and I'm not sure who all wants their pictures on here.

Gavin adores swimming. He was so content in this airplane the whole time.

And yes, the cake. Oh the cake. Chelsea had asked for a cake with all the princesses. We found a cute set of princesses over on Amazon, so I used them on the cake. Read more about the cake on the cake blog.

Because of the angle, it was really hard to get a picture of C's face, but this is when she first saw her cake. She loved it and told me I was "the best mom ever." Aww. We ate lots and lots of food, including pizza. Then we sang happy birthday as she tried to blow out her candles.

Rainbow cake!! I know, I couldn't possibly make her cake any more girlie.

And we finished it off by opening presents!Thanks to everyone who helped celebrate our princess. Happy 3rd Birthday, Sweet C!!

Little Miss C...

... is three!!!



We had two parties. On Chelsea's birthday on Thursday, we had a little family party, with streamers and balloons, of course. Grandma and Grandpa came over for supper and then we had a few more guests for cake and icecream.
We opened presents!

We gasped and oohed and ahhed.

We patiently waited to see the cake.

We blew out candles!

And we announced that "we are three!"
We love you Chelsea! You are such a blessing!

(For a few more pictures, check out my cake blog!)

3 years.

Today I've been completely overwhelmed with gratefulness. My baby has turned 3.Seriously love her to peices. I cannot imagine life without her.

She rocks my world.

She's much cooler than I am.

She is such a joy. I'm constantly amazed by her.

3 years. Today, she woke up and I said, "It's your 3rd birthday!!"

She looked at me all serious and said, "Yes, and soon I'll be 4."

Ack! I'm having a hard time with 3. Give me a year or so to adjust, kiddo!

(Birthday party post coming soon!)

Best. Photo. Ever.

Cookies for breakfast on your birthday? Sure!

(I'm working on a birthday post, but loved this picture so much I had to share it right away!)

You Smell GOOD!

What was supposed to be a laid back, relaxing, quiet day in the city, turned out to be the EXACT opposite, and for that, I am so grateful.

I really didn't have much of an agenda. I just knew I needed to get away for the day -no kids. Don't get me wrong, I adore my children. But, my patience this week was slim to none and I just needed some me time. I started the day with a trip to Tim's for a very enjoyable iced cap and picked up Shelly at 8:30 in my husband's sweet, kickin' 92 Corsica. I will admit that the only downside to the day was driving that dirty, loud car that, at one point in time, we were convinced was going to lose a door.

We hit all the hot spots: Payless, Dollarama, ToysRUs, PartyStuff, ValueVillage, Scholar's Choice, Michaels, Old Navy, Olive Garden and the mall. I'm pretty sure that I have never, ever, EVER laughed that hard and that much throughout the day. At one point, in the VV parking lot, I couldn't breathe and had tears streaming down my face. It was definitely a different day than I would have had on my own and I am sooo glad. I needed to laugh.

We topped it off with some people-watching, fruit smoothies, and seeing "The Bounty Hunter" in a real theatre. Amazing day. I feel loved, refreshed and ready to take on the week. This week. Birthday week for my baby girl. 3 years.

Randoms.

- I'm sitting on my deck, enjoying the sunshine. I love love love our deck and back yard. We'll be doing a bit of work back here this summer, closing off underneathe our deck, and adding a sandbox and a fire pit. Ooh summer fires.

- Oh for crying out loud! I'm sitting here, enjoying the sun and my neighbours are outside smoking and it stinks. GRRRRRR.... I want to tell them to go away, but technically, they are on thier doorstep and it's the wind bringing the stank my way. Calm it down Amanda, calm down.

- I really don't have a lot to blog. I'm in a bit of a dry spell. I have no funny stories or anecdotes. It's kind of dull around here, and I think I like it.

- I'm not taking any more cakes for April, May or June. I like not having cakes. Is that bad? I have so much more free time and my house stays clean. I love doing cakes but I think I'm going to stick to just friends/family and previous clients.

- I'm taking a "me" day tomorrow. I'm leaving Gavin at home and going into Winnipeg. Just me. Gavin will miss 2 or even 3 nursing feeds, but I'm sure he'll be fine. He eats more table food than Chelsea, so it's all good. I'm excited to go shopping at silly stores and have no agenda. Just me, some icey coffee drinks and some wandering around the city. Lovely. I'm picking up stuff for Chelsea's 3rd birthday swimming extravaganza. Decorations, party favours, that sort of thing.

Oh baby up. Laters.

Can't wait for summer

C came downstairs dressed like this after her nap one day. Apparently we're kicking off bathing suit season a little more risque than usual!

My new toy

So I know nothing about cameras, but I'm hoping I'll learn. I love it! Isn't she pretty?



And here's a few of the pictures I've taken.

Sorry I've been neglecting my blog. I had a super busy cake week and then I've been making up for it by getting together with friends every night! When I am home, I'm reading through my camera manual trying to learn how to work this thing!
I'm heading home for a few days. Happy Easter everyone!