Catching up

I find it difficult to remember to log in and post anything on this blog. I usually just upload a months worth of photos to Facebook and figure they speak for themselves. I like reading other peoples blogs so I end up doing that and neglect my own.

So let's see, what has happened since March 14th? Amy turned 2! She was so adorable and loved the attention! It was very evident that day that she was no longer a baby. She loves having company and loves playing with kids of all ages, boy or girl. Both of our kids seem to be very social and love having people around. Amy is now in a toddler bed and the crib has been passed on. It was much easier to make the switch than I thought it would be and I was dreading it. But aside from the fact that she now gets up at 5:00 in the morning, it has been pretty good. We just keep a baby gate across her bedroom door so she can't get out of her room. We do the usual bedtime routine, and put her in the bed and leave the room. She sometimes stands at the gate and calls to us to try and get us to come back and feel sorry for her. If we wait a few minutes she gives up and gets in bed and falls asleep. She's a funny, smart little girl. She still loves her "blu" the blanket that Aunt Kris made for her when she was a baby. She brings it with her everywhere and sleeps with it. Since it's always with us, it has come in handy for wiping up small spills and has been substituted for a kleenex for the occasional runny nose as well.....sometimes you just need to improvise right? She loves her poochie dog, and her "cabbage baby" which is a baby cabbage patch kid. She loves, loves, loves to read. She memorizes books after only hearing them twice and wants us to read about 20 books to her before bed and naptime. She likes to help us with things around the house and her favorite is emptying the dishwasher. She wants to talk on the phone with people, but then when you put the phone to her ear she gets shy and yells "ok! Bye!" and runs away. She's great.

I had my birthday and turned 33. Bentley had his birthday and turned 51. Jake likes to tell everyone that his dad is 51. I'm not sure why, but he seems pretty proud of that fact. He drew a picture of us that I framed to put on the playroom wall. On each of our shirts he wrote our ages...I thought it was pretty adorable. Jake just turned 7 the other day and he is pretty proud to be another year older. The day before his birthday was the last day of school and I asked him if he was happy to be going into grade two. He said "yes, because that means I get to be a year older!" Kids want to be older and we want to be younger.

Jake loves hockey right now. He was so excited during the Stanley Cup playoffs. He really got into being a goalie, so for his birthday we got him a goalie helmet, Grampa Pete got him a goalie pad set, Grandma and Ernie got him a hockey net, and Aunty Kristin got him a new stick. He wants me to take shots on him all the time and loves to make saves!! It's quite funny though if I score on him, it never counts. I ask him why it doesn't count and he says because he wasn't in the net... He loves to play outside with the neighborhood kids and recently we got a swing set in our backyard so he has been loving that as well. We bought a trampoline in the spring, but it doesn't get used as much as I thought it would. So we'll see how much we use it this summer and maybe sell it in the spring.

Bentley has written his level 2 exam twice again. The last time he wrote it was a few weeks ago so we are still waiting to hear the results. The previous exam he missed the passing mark by one!! So frustrating. Hopefully this time he passed and then we can stop worrying about it!

I have been in my new job for a few months now. It's going really well. I'm enjoying the low pressure and the better hours that come with it. I have also been working out in the gym at work. They hired a fitness trainer to come to work and do circuit classes with groups of people. I really like it a lot! I've been doing it for about 10 weeks now and I feel better and my clothes fit better too. I can wear shorts and pants now that I haven't worn in years...very exciting! It's going until the end of July for now, but hopefully they'll extend it and I can keep it up!

No pictures with this post, but I have a bunch that I'm putting on Facebook soon from the last month. Getting ready this afternoon to go see my sister and family from New Zealand! The next three weeks will be fun filled!

A new job and a little bit of spring

A new job posting came up at work recently. I decided to apply for it, and after 6 weeks of waiting, and fretting, I had my interview on Friday. I got the job! The pay is the same and I work in the same office, but I will have better hours and a couple extra days off each month. I'm also looking forward to learning a different job. I've been doing the same thing on and off since I started working there eight years ago, so it's definitely time for a change! I can't wait.

Spring appears to finally be on it's way. We don't have harsh snowy winters here, but we still get cabin fever every now and then due to being stuck inside hiding from cold wind and rain. We have a big backyard that we can't wait to start using. We have a trampoline that we are planning on putting up as soon as it stops raining long enough! The flowers are popping up outside which makes me want to get out and clean up the gardens.

Hello happy flower:

Park time!

Mommy and Jake

Amy swinging in the big swing

Hanging out at home with Mrs. Potato head (Amy built this one with three noses)

Amy painting

Amy and Jake waking up

We've been trying to keep busy the last few weeks. It's too wet to really go outside for very long. Last weekend we went to Chuck-e-Cheese. It's not the same place I remember from when I was a kid, but my kids love going there. (and I must say I actually love their pizza, and of course Bentley the food critic, thinks it's disgusting). Here's a couple pics from that day....

What a prize winning family photo...lol

Spring break is here which means I don't have to pack Jake's lunch or worry about spelling words and reading logs for two weeks! Jake has a playdate arranged almost every day for the next week, which should keep him happy. Also, Amy's birthday is coming up so I will be planning a little party for her. I'm hoping to make a bunny shaped cake this year for her party...so stay tuned to see if I actually do it!

Kelly

Banana Muffins

I haven't posted since December. Part of the reason is that I am too tired to think at the end of the day and that is usually the only time I have to sit and type something. Then I realized that I don't really need to type out long thoughtful stories every time. So, I will just keep it simple and post about little events that happen. At the end of the month, it will be a long, thoughtful story comprised of small "happenings".

So, with that said...we made banana muffins! It is really cold outside (I know, I know southern coastal BC cold isn't the same as the rest of the country's cold, but I despise it just the same) so I don't really feel like going anywhere. We've been doing laundry and playing around the house all day and we needed something to do. Amy was right into it, but Jake (in typical 6 year old form) complained because he wanted cookies, but then gobbled up a muffin once they were done! Here's a few pics:

Amy's first batch of muffins

"Me do!" she said.

Getting the pan ready

They turned out perfect! Moist inside and lightly browned on the outside!

I think she was trying to figure out how it went from batter to being a tasty treat! Oh..and how she was going to eat it with a fork...she gets a fork or spoon out of the drawer for everything...

Jake: the unwilling baking participant, but the willing taste tester:) Hmmm reminds me of an old kids story...

Here are a few other pics unrelated to today's baking...

Amy has become such a little "mommy" I have found her in her room covering her baby dolls with a generous helping of baby powder... Here she is putting a diaper on Glow Worm.

And here she is putting a diaper on her Cabbage Patch doll.

And here she is after running away from me with the baby after I tried to help her...No! Me do!

And here is Jake doing his math homework. He is such a smart boy. I had trouble with his math sheet...he says "heeeeerrree..let me show you!!" I guess I have been out of school too long and have lost the "basic" skills. Wow.

Anyway...happy weekend! K.

Baking, Broken Fridge and Break Dancing!

We did our bake-a-thon on Saturday as planned. We didn't get as much done as I had hoped. The kids were home as well as Bentley so it was a bit difficult to keep them busy. Amy wouldn't go for a nap because she was so curious about what we were doing. I think part of the problem was that I kept giving her bits of chocolate and candy cane. How can I resist when she looks up and says "peas?" We got two kinds of cookies done, breton brittle and peppermint bark done. I still need to make some yummy lemon bars. Bentley made some chex mix tonight and it was good! Jake and I also made rice krispy squares with the red and green holiday rice krispies. I have to remember to pack one in his lunch or I'm in big trouble!

A couple of weeks ago the fridge was acting up. Frozen veggies and fruit on the bottom and warm milk on the top. Plus, in the freezer the ice maker wasn't working and all the ice melted inside. Since the bottom half was still very cold, it froze all the water in to a lovely ice sculpture inside the door (picture a frozen waterfall). Mr. Fix it guy should be coming this week to change the circuit board. We can't believe that a four year old fridge would break down like that already! Thank goodness we have a 20 year old Kenmore fridge in the garage to use in the meantime that is still kicking...hmmm what's wrong with that picture? Oh, well...one step closer to the fridge I really want....just need to save a bunch of money to buy it!

The last week or so has been busy with work and the baking session and the birthday party on Sunday that Jake went to. He went and learned how to break dance. All the kids put on a little demo for the parents at the end of the party. Looks like fun and could burn off some serious pent up 6 year old boy energy! He got a cd with the breakdance music on it as a party gift. Very cool.

I gathered up some donations to give to the school Christmas Bazaar. The idea is for the kids to go "shopping" at lunch time and buy gifts for their family members from all of the donated items from all the families. The money raised went to the food bank. So, what did Jake pick out? A nice blue truck and a Rescue Hero... I wonder who those are for? What a kid....

Bentley is off for a few days, so we get a bit of a break from the early morning routine. It's exhausting. It's so nice when we don't have to get the kids up at 5:45 am to get out the door on time. This week is the last week before the two week Christmas break.....only 10 days until Christmas Eve!!

I love this Christmasy time of year!

There's always so much to do. We've got the lights on the house, the decorations up, my poinsettia arrived and my cards are all waiting to be addressed. I've got a baking day planned with mom and Kristin soon. I've done some shortbread already and some lemon squares, but we have the rest to do...gotta have Breton Brittle and Candy Cane Brittle! I'll post some pictures when we make it. I am going to pack it up as gifts for the neighbors as well as keep some for us to enjoy!

I decided that I want a real tree this year. I like the smell of them and we are going to try and plant it in our yard somewhere and see if it lives! I'm thinking it won't, but we'll at least give it a try. I even have plans to do a popcorn and cranberry garland for the tree. I've never done it before but I think it might be fun. I also want to make gingerbread men to hang on the tree as ornaments....I think I am secretly hoping the kids will nibble on them and I can see the cute little teeth marks they leave behind when they think they are being sneaky:)

Jake has been practicing at school for the annual Christmas concert. It's on the 15th this year. His class is singing "Rockin Around the Christmas Tree". Can't wait to see that! He's been singing it for the last week or so.

We have a couple of Christmas parties and a birthday party this month to attend. I still have a bunch of shopping to do for both the party and Christmas. I am usually much more organized by this time, but I guess being back at work full time and having two kids instead of one make things a bit busier. I'm not stressing about it though. It always works out somehow!

Christmas cards, Coloring and Cold weather

My TinyPrints Christmas Card order arrived today! The box was on the front porch when I got home. Getting presents is fun! Even if it's not really a present and I knew what it was and had to pay for it...it's still fun! I love ordering from this company. I created and ordered the cards online and they arrived in 6 days! Sure it costs more than buying a box of Christmas cards from Walmart, but I love the personalized look to them. I realized today that the card I chose has a background called coastal breeze...I thought they were snowflakes. I think it's actually cotton blowing in the wind. Oh well..nobody will know...lol. I should be sending them out in the next couple weeks.

Amy is coloring with Jake now. She loves using crayons and is even holding it properly with her little hand. Here's some pictures:

They also have a giant pad of paper that I throw down on the living room floor with a couple of mason jars full of crayons and they color for about 30 minutes together. Pretty cute.

It's gotten cold....as far as cold goes on the coast. It was 1 degree on the way home from work today according to my car dash thermometer. It even snowed at the higher levels today making a very pretty view for the drive home. It's supposed to snow a little tomorrow as well, but then be sunny on Sunday. I guess I'll have to put up the Christmas lights that day. We might not get another day without rain before Christmas! Speaking of Christmas, I am going out with mom and Kristin tomorrow for the first Christmas-y event of the season. We are going for dinner and then to Glenda's Christmas Cottage. It smells so good in there...like mulled spices, and cider and cranberries. They have ornaments and decorations and unique gifts and things there. I'm hoping to find something for each of the kids as a keepsake. I can't wait!!

Kelly

Milestone, Matinee and Messes

Friday night Bentley and I went out for our 9th anniversary. Yep...count 'em...9 whole years. Wasn't too exciting...but we got out! Jake and Amy stayed at Grandma's house over night.

Then on Saturday, Bentley took Jake to the movies. They saw Megamind in 3D! They came home sporting some pretty stylin' 3D glasses. I really missed out! I guess that means I get to go next time! I actually enjoyed having the house to myself. Amy slept for over two hours while they were gone so I drank tea and made my Christmas photo cards and ordered them. Should be delivered soon....actually they should have arrive yesterday. I better check on that.

Sunday we just hung around the house while Bentley worked. Did mountains of laundry, cleaned a couple toilets and ignored the rest of the mess! I guess it was one of my "lazy" days. I have lazy days and then I have "shakedown" days where I go crazy dusting, cleaning, organizing and purging...there's a balance there somewhere and it all works out in the end I say...

Monday night we checked out the new SUPER walmart in Chilliwack. Pretty nice. We get one here soon too..except it's on the other side of town. I bet it'll be faster to drive to Chilliwack....

Yesterday we had a couple of minor blueberry juice disasters..let's just say carpet, Amy's favorite blanket, Jake's white school shirt and my kitchen chair were all involved in the fiasco. I said "what did I do to deserve this?" and Jake said "that's Karma mom!". Well I don't know where he came up with that one but I couldn't stop laughing. Later there was another mishap involving a freshly washed Amy, clean jammies and a jar of vaseline...do I need to say any more? It was a bad, messy night. The highlight was having chocolate cake and sparkling apple cider for our actual anniversary yesterday. Happy 9 year milestone to us!