Coffee date

I have seen this done a few places around the web and thought I would give it a go.

If we were to sit and have a coffee date I might tell you..

That today I am feeling rather overwhelmed with these two little babies in my life - I felt my patience leave in the middle of the night and it has yet to come back to me.  The 3 hour nap strike this morning by both of my munchkins did nothing to help… it took a very long car ride and a nice latte to calm me down and get them to sleep.  The frustrating thing is that they are normally awesome in the morning and I can have them both asleep for a solid nap before noon.  That coupled with Claire's fussiness last night and William's tantrums (the terrible twos are in full swing here) makes for a noisy and difficult atmosphere.

That I am looking forward to the enormous snow heap in my yard to melt away in this rain so I can plant some veggies and flowers and finally spent time outside.  I walked for 2 hours everyday with William and I find being stuck indoors frustrating.  That, and I cannot WAIT to get back to running… yay for Spring in Ottawa!

That I wish I had some time to myself to read something other than Facebook, Twitter and Blogs….on my phone, and I think the lack of proper book reading is starting to melt my brain.  The time I spend sitting with a (or two) baby(ies) on me, feeding or sleeping is huge.  I usually only have one hand free and sadly that means I can't really read a paperback, but Facebook, Twitter and Blogs.. well, I can scroll through those one handed.  I think I should see if I can splurge for a kindle and get in some reading that way.

That the current decor of my house is getting on my nerves.  Perhaps its the giant train table I have sitting in my living room, or the random other colourful toys scattered about, or the free living room furniture set I acquired in 2006… but I wish I could change up my house.  I popped over to an open house down the street on Sunday.  They have the same model as us (a few changes here and there) but obviously do not have any kids - the house was so serene and clean and not cluttered…

That I have an awesome neighbour who is also on mat leave and has a friend with twins 6 weeks older than my bunch (who live around the corner!) and we are getting a regular play date going.  I didn't have that with Will - for his year at home my closest friend on mat leave was a 45 min drive away however is coincidently on mat leave again but is moving to Colorado Springs in July.   I do still love the military but it really sucks when your friends (or you) move away.

I think that is enough from me - hope everyone is doing well!

Happy Tuesday

Lately

Hello again!

It's been a while since I posted last and I thought I would update on the happenings over here at our house.

In Novermber we had a party to find out who we were expecting in February.  Friends and Family were there when we cut the cake and found out that we were expecting a little boy and a girl!  Pete and I had decided a while ago that we were quite certain it was going to be one of each, but it was nice to see that we were on the right track.  A big thank you to everyone that helped us celebrate that special day!

In December I came back from 3.5 months of training at CFB Borden and took holidays to cover off the rest of the month.  I spent the month getting ready for Christmas and cleaning / unpacking from my time away.  I also took a few naps and tried to rest up before the babies were born.  Pete's entire family and my Mom came down for Christmas and we had a very full, but happy house.  Mr. Will loved the Christmas season and really indulged in the Christmas treats everywhere - lucky kid!  Since then we've tried to rein in his sugar consumption and control those temper tantrums… I think it's helping a bit.

Into January now and I was put on sick leave due to my hands being so numb and useless and being uber pregnant - this month was spent getting the house ready for the babies, putting together their crib, sorting through their clothes - pink made an appearance for the first time in this house… I won't lie, it's odd to have so much pink after being surrounded by cute little boy's clothes.  A few friends brought over their stash of girl stuff and wow, I won't have to be doing much laundry for our little girl - the sheer volume of girl clothing is amazing.  Poor little boy won't have nearly the wardrobe of his sister!

At the end of January my doctor presented a very good case for a repeat c-section - basically the odds were against us and the risks to the babies were too high to try for a VBAC so we scheduled the date for the babies' arrival to be 12 Feb.  A week later their growth slowed and our doctor decided that our date should be moved up by a week - 6 February now!  YIKES!  With a round of phone calls to tell our parents that they would be here a week earlier, we made the final preps at home for their arrival and waited for the 6th.

So onto the 6th.  Everything went very well and Claire and James were born within seconds of each other and both over 5 lbs!  James at 6 lbs 9 oz and Claire at 5 lbs 2 oz.  Quite decent weights for 37 week twins.  James looks amazingly almost exactly like his older brother and Miss Claire seems her own little person for now - although I really see Pete's Mom in her face.  It will be really neat to see how they both develop their own little personalities.



We've been home for 2 weeks now - the babies turn 3 weeks on Thursday and things are going really well.  We've had 2 photo sessions, 2 doctors appointments, 18 nights of decent sleep and countless kisses.  

Big brother Will is in love with his siblings.  The first thing he asks me is "who is that?" (meaning Claire or James) or "where are the babies?", he gives them kisses every few minutes and loves to touch their hair.  We are so lucky that he is adapting so well to life with siblings.

Today is my second day at home with the babies on my own and things are trucking along nicely.  This week's helpers are arriving later tonight and my little sister is coming on Friday for 3 weeks!

I think they are both waking up now - so I shall sign off for now.

Miss Claire

Mr. James

Mr. James

Sibling Snuggles

Proud Daddy

James and Mommy

My darlings

Three Things Thursday

It's been a while, and this seems to be the trend, Three Things Thursday that is.  So here we go....

1. Work is excellent these days.  The pace lately has been perfect, the subject matter very interesting and I am getting promoted on the 18th - YAY! Also, my boss asked me to write an article on my job, it got picked up by a local, national and branch specific publications.  My boss also declared last thursday spa day, so we all went to Le Nordik for "team building"  How sad am I that she is retiring in August (at the age of 43 no less!)

2. On the fitness front - I've really been enjoying spin classes at the gym at work and running the canal lately.  I get 1 hr a day to workout during work hours and my new regime has been really fantastic - thanks to Pete for creating my new routine.  I have also tried the new Barre3 fad - it is really challenging and I like sneaking in a class at night after I tidy up after Will goes to bed and Pete hits the gym.

3. There is a medieval festival at Upper Canada Village this weekend.  I have always wanted to visit the village and medieval stuff sounds fun.  We have been picking one new touristy type thing to take Will to each weekend - museums, parks, festivals etc.  It gets us out of the house after the gym and swim classes and Will has fun running around.

I'll leave you with 3 of my favourite photos from the last month.

  Will - doing his laps in the park.

 The boys at the Tulip festival

Just like Daddy.

Requested by Heather - sort of

No front pic yet (waiting on people to send them to me... ) But I do have a pic of the back of them dress....

Wedding Tea

Last weekend Pete and I finally celebrated our wedding - reception 1 of 2  - this one was in Toronto, at the Old Mill with a casual reception back at Pete's parent's place - these are the pics I have thus far, more to come.

Mmm, cakes!

Our little Ninja Turtle

Goals update

Update time.... Back in February I listed a few things that I was working on.  I've found that if I have a list of things that I am working towards I get a lot more accomplished that just winging it.  Let's check up on how things are going


Fitness:

• Finish the 60 days (Insanity )challenge; 
• Done and done.... Oh my God... this was tough.  I won't lie - during that second month I was MISERABLE.  I lost a lot of my motivation, I had to really push myself to finish but finish I did.  Things were a bit more challenging at home which I think added to my misery but I finished nonetheless.
• Lose one more pant size;
• Also done and done... thank you Insanity.  I am at least 10 lbs lighter than I was pre-pregnancy.  The upside, I am smaller, fitter and can see my abs again.  The downside... almost all of my clothes no longer fit.  These days I wear a lot of lulu lemon-esque clothes.  But even those are getting baggy -  not really something I am complaining  about but it will cost a lot of $$ to replace all my office work clothes.
• Beat my pushup record;
• I have yet to try this one yet due to my Insanity commitment... I will tackle this one soon.
• Run at least one race - no distance specification as of yet
• nothing yet, although Pete and I are taking a week off from Insanity before we start up again and this week will involve a lot of running - yay!  ( I miss listening to my music)

Finance:

• Save at least half my pay cheque each month (towards travel to Calgary and other vacations, property taxes, and things like weddings); 
• I have been very good at saving these days.  I think it helps not living near stores and having a husband that takes the car away to work every day.  Although we do have a Giant Tiger and Booster Juice :) pretty much within stroller / carrier distance so I can pop out for some milk / smoothy if the mood strikes me.
• Invest some $ for Will.
• yet to be deposited but it is there... in my account

Education:
Pete gets to go back to university in May - I am not quite there yet.... there is hopefully an MBA/ MPA  in my future, but for now I would like to:

• Finish one more OPME (military) course (for a total of 4/6)
• Still working on this one
• Re-test my French profile for a CCC (I am currently at a BBC)
• not even close to re-testing... should really watch some french tv and start Will on some french lessons.

Personal:

• Volunteer at the YMCA and / or the Legion in town
• application handed in... almost there
• See Niagara Falls
• Maybe in June with the goal below.
• Finally wear my wedding dress and celebrate the fact that we got married over 2 years ago (living apart and not knowing where we will be in the near future does not help one to plan a wedding)
• Booked for 9 June in Toronto... Calgary date TBA.
• Buy another car - one car in a smaller town without public transit is tough 
• This should be decided in a month or two.

2 months into my goal commitment and I feel like I have made some progress.... still many things to tackle, but a start at least. 

At my wit's end

I know I shouldn't compare to other moms and other babies but after my round of visits in Calgary and Ottawa I've come to the conclusion that my baby is not nearly the same as anyone else's and it really has me down today.

Will is super cute and adorable - we often joke (in the throws of the dreaded colic) that if he wasn't so darn cute, we would have left him out on the doorstep.  But adorable as he may be, my days are so LONG and so exhausting that I really am having a hard time keeping it together today.  The thought that keeps running through my mind is as follows:

• Most of my friends had:
• easier deliveries; and
• easier recoveries, 
• and their babies:
• cry a bit; 
• fuss a bit;
• eat well;
• easily gain lots of weight; and
• sleep easily.  

Will on the other hand does NONE of these things.

My delivery was horrendous, my recovery was crap, Will had colic for more than 4 months, he did not take to feeding easily, his weight gain has slowed down, he will not be put down without screaming, it takes FOREVER to get him to go to sleep and when he does, it is a whopping 20 minutes...joy.... and for the last 2 months he will not sleep through the night.

Sometimes I feel like I've got it all wrong - fingers crossed tomorrow is a bit better.

Ides of March?

Today is historically known as the "Ides of March"... 

...but it is actually this Lady's special day

Happy Birthday to you my dear!

Happy (Leap Year) Birthday!

To one of my dearest friends Denise - I hope you have a wonderful birthday!!  

Give those adorable little twins a big kiss from me!

Goals v. 2012

I've been home from work for 5 months now.... what have I accomplished in that time?  Not too much. Yes, I have a new addition to look after, and yes, it's been hectic and trying, and one of the most difficult things I've ever attempted, but I feel like I need some proper goals to work through, to keep me from becoming one of those "helicopter moms".

When I lived in Victoria I had a rolling list of goals that I was set to accomplish by the 9th of each month. Finances, fitness, education - you name it, I had a goal for it.  It really helped to keep me motivated and accountable.   It seems as though I've slowed my effort to create and meet my goals.  Now that Will is *mostly* over his colic (I say mostly after the horror that was last night), I think I can put some time towards thinking about myself a bit.

Now for the 2012 goals:


Fitness:
Pete and I have started the Insanity fitness system.  We tried the P90x way back in Victoria and liked it, but this one is a bit easier to do daily and actually a lot more enjoyable.  The best part is, although Pete is crazy fit and I am just getting back into a fitness routine after a rough delivery and unfortunate c-section, we can both get a lot out of this system.

• For my fitness goal:
• Finish the 60 days challenge; 
• Lose one more pant size;
• Beat my pushup record;
• Run at least one race - no distance specification as of yet

Finance:
Although being on Mat leave and having a new house that needs furnishing and eavestroughs makes saving tougher,  the goal here is to:

• Save at least half my pay cheque each month (towards travel to Calgary and other vacations, property taxes, and things like weddings); and 
• Invest some $ for Will.

Education:
Pete gets to go back to university in May - I am not quite there yet.... there is hopefully an MBA/ MPA  in my future, but for now I would like to:

• Finish one more OPME (military) course (for a total of 4/6)
• Re-test my French profile for a CCC (I am currently at a BBC)

Personal:

• Volunteer at the YMCA and / or the Legion in town
• See Niagara Falls
• Finally wear my wedding dress and celebrate the fact that we got married over 2 years ago (living apart and not knowing where we will be in the near future does not help one to plan a wedding)
• Buy another car - one car in a smaller town without public transit is tough 

Those are the goals that I have on my mind for now - I'll likely add some more as time goes by, but for now that's good.

Diamond Jubilee

In Honour of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee, I snagged a few pictures that show her true beauty.  Also, this list of 60 facts about Her Majesty is quite an interesting read - especially # 27.

 Such a beautiful young Queen

A caring Mother

Official Portrait for the Jubilee

Progression

Starting from Day 1.... it goes so quickly.

1 Day - with his poor little squished head

3 Weeks

 1 Month - the colic begins

 2 Months - it's almost Christmas

 3 Months - a smile!

And yes, my husband is a HUGE Leafs Fan.... clearly I need to get some more Flames gear.

12 years ago

12 years ago I woke up in the sweet Swiss village of Avully .. I was hired to be a nanny to 3 poorly behaved children - fast forward 12 years and now I have my very own.  Time really does fly.

2011...

Like most people, the past few days  - or rather weeks... this post is slightly late.....I looked back at how 2011 shaped up.  It was certainly one of my busiest and most dramatic years to date...

Jan

• Began the New Year on the right foot with a Resolution Run, actually it was on New Year's Eve, but that's almost 2011... 
• Started a job at the President's office of a Government agency.  It turned out to be somewhat like "The Devil Wears Prada" but was a very interesting kick off to the year.  I learned how particular the President was with his coffee, how to print documents and hand deliver them to someone sitting 10 feet from my desk (please note the sarcasm), but hey, it paid the rent, so yay!
• We started building our house!  Well, we put money down to buy the house and signed the contract, the construction didn't begin until June....

Feb

• Ended said "Devil's Wears Prada" job and started my dream job at the logistical support command of the Military.  It was nice to be back in uniform on a daily basis and get paid a lot more, but the learning curve was STEEP.  Suffice it to say, I was in a wee bit over my head.
• I also found out I was pregnant shortly after starting my job... yikes!  Cue morning sickness, joy.

March

• I made it back home to Calgary to see my friends... passed on the fun baby news :)
• Missed out on a military ORCA trip to Victoria, boo :(

April

• Pete and I had a lovely weekend out in Mont Tremblant.  Very romantic and the best Spaghetti Carbonara I've ever had... yum!
• Made it back to Sharon for Pete's family Easter celebration, and had a special afternoon tea at the Old Mill

May

• Cruise time... first time on a cruise, first time to the Caribbean - very, very fun.  Maybe next year we can hit up the Baltic?

June

• Still on the cruise, trying desperately to stretch out the week.
• House construction begins!
• All the way at the end of the month a few friends and I headed out for a shopping trip to the outlet's outside of New York - amazing deals!

July

• Last trip to Calgary with Pete before the baby arrives!  Spent the week showing Pete the wonders of the Stampede and Spruce Meadows... he's a good sport :)
• A trip to Kingston to attend the Baptism of our darling God Daughter... so cute!
• Pete turned the big 3-0!

August

•  Baby Shower!  My fantastic sister in law threw me a lovely baby shower.  All of Pete's female relatives were there and we had such a great time.

September

• I turned the big 3-0!  Yikes!  
• My last day of work.... a week early as it turns out.  My blood pressure was up and down, and up and down, and up and down.... so my Dr decided it was best to rest at home.
• Continued to be in and out of the hospital with the threat of induction.... at the end of the month we still didn't have a baby yet... boo

October

• More hospital time... and finally on the 17th of October after 44 hours of (mostly back) labour, and an emergency c section, we had our darling baby boy.  I can't say it was a wonderful, easy, magical experience - it was awful, excruciatingly painful and one of the worst things I have ever had to endure.  Thank goodness he is the cutest thing I have ever, ever seen.... 
• Cue the flood of relatives to our TINY apartment... I was very thankful for the help, how do single parents do it???

November

• Busiest month by far.... never again will I have a newborn, move into a new house with furniture coming from across the country and more furniture from the apartment, with your husband working.  However, once we were in the house, we were good to go.

December

• Hosted the Sands' family Christmas with my Mom at the new place.... busy, busy, busy, but awesome and the extra hands to help with our colicky baby was more than welcome.

So there we go, 2011 in review... typed as fast as I could while Will sleeps... Happy New Year!

One and Only?

Echoing this blogger's thoughts - and after an especially hectic morning, having a newborn in a town where you have zero family is less than ideal.  We have a few friends who live in Ottawa (one great couple who live around the corner) and luckily Pete has been working from home and can help a lot, but it is still quite tough.  We are still in the "we can't imagine doing this all over again" stage, so for the time being it seems as though William is likely going to be a single child.  He's been a good baby but is sliding into colic territory and is testing our sanity.  Parents must eventually forget how difficult the first few months are, otherwise I know I wouldn't be here (having 2 sisters).  I just keep thinking about how it would be later in life, only one kiddo running around... and even later - only one to come home and visit.  Although, having only one would mean we could help him have a lot more experiences. Tough decision I think, but I guess we'll have to see how it goes.

Some more fun news - Sunday night my Mom flies over form Calgary (our first Christmas together in 4 years) and Pete's family is coming up for Christmas so thankfully we'll have some help soon.  We even have a babysitter for our anniversary next Monday - a date with my husband, yay!  I think we are going all out this time, sushi dinner and a movie :)  Sherlock Holmes here we comes!

Hopefully I can unpack a bit more between now and Christmas (with my one free hand) - the house is finally looking more and more lived in, and we even had company over for coffee and muffins yesterday!  

Happy Wednesday

Christmas Elf

So darn cute

Thursday's Photo

It's still a bit big, but I couldn't resist trying it out.

Remembrance

Langemarck at Ypres

William Wilfred Campbell

THIS is the ballad of Langemarck, 
  A story of glory and might; 
Of the vast Hun horde, and Canada’s part 
  In the great grim fight. 
 
It was April fair on the Flanders Fields,
  But the dreadest April then 
That ever the years, in their fateful flight, 
  Had brought to this world of men. 
 
North and east, a monster wall, 
  The mighty Hun ranks lay, 
With fort on fort, and iron-ringed trench, 
  Menacing, grim and gray. 
 
And south and west, like a serpent of fire, 
  Serried the British lines, 
And in between, the dying and dead,
And the stench of blood, and the trampled mud, 
  On the fair, sweet Belgian vines. 
 
And far to the eastward, harnessed and taut, 
  Like a scimitar, shining and keen, 
Gleaming out of that ominous gloom,  
  Old France’s hosts were seen. 
 
When out of the grim Hun lines one night, 
  There rolled a sinister smoke;— 
A strange, weird cloud, like a pale, green shroud, 
  And death lurked in its cloak. 
 
On a fiend-like wind it curled along 
  Over the brave French ranks, 
Like a monster tree its vapours spread, 
  In hideous, burning banks 
Of poisonous fumes that scorched the night 
  With their sulphurous demon danks. 
 
And men went mad with horror, and fled 
  From that terrible, strangling death, 
That seemed to sear both body and soul 
  With its baleful, flaming breath. 
 
Till even the little dark men of the south, 
  Who feared neither God nor man, 
Those fierce, wild fighters of Afric’s steppes, 
  Broke their battalions and ran:— 
 
Ran as they never had run before, 
  Gasping, and fainting for breath; 
For they knew ’t was no human foe that slew; 
  And that hideous smoke meant death. 
 
Then red in the reek of that evil cloud, 
  The Hun swept over the plain;   
And the murderer’s dirk did its monster work, 
  ’Mid the scythe-like shrapnel rain; 
 
Till it seemed that at last the brute Hun hordes 
  Had broken that wall of steel; 
And that soon, through this breach in the freeman’s dyke,
  His trampling hosts would wheel;— 
 
And sweep to the south in ravaging might, 
  And Europe’s peoples again 
Be trodden under the tyrant’s heel, 
  Like herds, in the Prussian pen.  
 
But in that line on the British right, 
  There massed a corps amain, 
Of men who hailed from a far west land 
  Of mountain and forest and plain; 
 
Men new to war and its dreadest deeds,
  But noble and staunch and true; 
Men of the open, East and West, 
  Brew of old Britain’s brew. 
 
These were the men out there that night, 
  When Hell loomed close ahead; 
Who saw that pitiful, hideous rout, 
  And breathed those gases dread; 
While some went under and some went mad; 
  But never a man there fled. 
 
For the word was “Canada,” theirs to fight,
  And keep on fighting still;— 
Britain said, fight, and fight they would, 
Though the Devil himself in sulphurous mood 
  Came over that hideous hill. 
 
Yea, stubborn, they stood, that hero band,
  Where no soul hoped to live; 
For five, ’gainst eighty thousand men, 
  Were hopeless odds to give. 
 
Yea, fought they on! ’T was Friday eve, 
  When that demon gas drove down;  
’T was Saturday eve that saw them still 
  Grimly holding their own; 
 
Sunday, Monday, saw them yet, 
  A steadily lessening band, 
With “no surrender” in their hearts, 
  But the dream of a far-off land, 
 
Where mother and sister and love would weep 
  For the hushed heart lying still;— 
But never a thought but to do their part, 
  And work the Empire’s will.
 
Ringed round, hemmed in, and back to back, 
  They fought there under the dark, 
And won for Empire, God and Right, 
  At grim, red Langemarck. 
 
Wonderful battles have shaken this world, 
  Since the Dawn-God overthrew Dis; 
Wonderful struggles of right against wrong, 
Sung in the rhymes of the world’s great song, 
  But never a greater than this. 
 
Bannockburn, Inkerman, Balaclava,  
  Marathon’s godlike stand; 
But never a more heroic deed, 
And never a greater warrior breed, 
  In any war-man’s land. 
 
This is the ballad of Langemarck,  
  A story of glory and might; 
Of the vast Hun horde, and Canada’s part 
  In the great, grim fight.

Wilfred Campbell was a Canadian Poet. Many Canadian troops fought and died in the 3rd Battle of Ypres, otherwise known as Passchendaele. The fighting around Langemarck was just one part of the long bloody battle in 1917.

T-1 week

We headed out to our new place last night to check on the progress of the house - everything is nearly finished, only the paint touch ups and the baseboards to finish - yay!

Thankfully, we've slowly started to tie up loose ends with the house, mortgage and movers from Calgary.  All the stresses are slowly dissipating and now I can concentrate on chilling with this little man and packing up our apartment - not the most fun task, but it won't be too awful.  After looking around a bit, it's really amazing how much one can accumulate in such a short while.

The funny thing is, this apartment is the first place that Pete and I were able to live together, and although we were only here for 11 months, I've been here longer than anywhere else since joining the military.  Hopefully once we move, we'll stay put for a good couple of decades.

I should also mention a big thank you to everyone back in Calgary who is packing up all my stuff and meeting with the movers - that's not a fun task either.  Once it all arrives, I think we'll have a great time going through all the boxes and getting reacquainted with all my belongings / all the extra stuff my mom threw into the mix.

Just for fun I thought I would leave you with a picture that Pete was pretty excited to take.  Apparently William has followed in his Father's footsteps and has begun studying Arnold's Encyclopedia of Body Building - like Father, like Son.

The Grand Entrance

I've been re-assured by my Doctor, the labour and delivery nurses who saw me through the 44 hour ordeal, the whole surgical team, and all the post delivery nurses that I have the worst delivery story they have experience in a long while....

Not quite the plan I had envisioned - but in any case, it is over, I am home at last, and our little one is here - he (along with Pete and I) is happy as a clam, and undeniably (to us anyways, but we are understandably biased) he is the cutest thing we have ever laid our eyes on.

Without further ado - our darling William