Christmas time.

Merry Christmas everyone! I know it's already New years eve today! So I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and will have a wonderful New Year!!

Christmas this year was spent with Orlund's family as mine were all out of town(well most were out of the country). Christmas Eve I was able to go online and chat with my parents (gosh I miss them at this time of the year, more than usual). Orlund had to work until noon, then came home and we had to wait for Joy to wake up. We were planning to head up to Or's parents around 3pm. At 4:20ish we finally woke Joy up! We had a wonderful Ukrainian style dinner and once the kitchen was cleaned up we gathered around the living room for gifts. Both the grandkids were spoiled rotten, okay okay, we ALL were spoiled rotten! I finally got a body pillow to help sleep (only problem now is we need a bigger bed). It was a late night but a wonderful evening visiting with everyone.

Christmas morning we had a nice breakfast and then Orlund, Joy and I gathered in our livingroom. We discovered quickly that 19month olds don't really need many gifts. We ended up opening most of hers as she was happy with the first couple stocking stuffers. Joy got a 'big girl bed' (crib mattress and side rail) along with a sled for the snow that had yet to fall. She was so excited about the bed we even video taped some of it as she kept laying on it pretending she was asleep. And although we didn't have snow Joy got us to pull her through the house on the sleigh. spoiled. rotten. I got Orlund a fancy 'canon' camera bag he'd wanted (came with an extra battery and filter). and Orlund got me a 'slice' machine. It is for scrapbooking, card making etc. It cuts shapes out of paper for you, very fancy and it does lettering too (will save $ definetly). I read all the instructions however haven't tried it yet. Although I have 3 birthdays next week, which I'm making the cards for, so I'll get to do a test run soon enough!

Once we were finished with our gifts, dressed and ready to go we called Orlund's parents and headed back to their place. We enjoyed a time of fellowship, and goodies (lots of goodies). Around 3 or 4pm we headed home for naps (well Joy's nap, although I did zonk out on the couch for about 10minutes). We got our goodies ready and around 6pm the family (minus Virden, Kerry and Ava) showed up for more goodies and games.

I've found this Christmas 'break' to be rather different than any other we've ever had before. This year Orlund really feels like staying at home, not just lazing around but doing some stuff here too, but mostly just staying in. I on the other hand feel like getting out. And I don't want to go by myself I want to go with Orlund. I feel like I need hubby time. When you are a stay at home mom you don't really get 'holiday's' like everyone else. I have slacked off and Orlund has done most the cooking (Thanks honey!), but my primary 'job' (being a mom) never stops. I wouldn't want it to stop, but staying at home is what I do everyday so I keep wanting to get out and he wants to stay in. Since Christmas we have gone shopping (Yippee bought a dishwasher!!!), Gone swimming, and had some freinds over for a party. Today we were going to go sledding, but tomorrow we are going to visit my Dad and brother so will go sledding with them (they have more snow where they are). We wanted to go to the wildlights, however just can't justify the price when Joy wont really get much out of it (next year is the last year she's free though). Tonight is just going to be a 'chill' night, Joy will get to bed at bedtime, Orlund and I will rent a movie and watch it while avoiding any more goodies. Later today once Joy is up from her nap we will go out to rent the movie, buy some food and go for coffee.

Orlund asked me this morning how far along we are in our pregnancy. 25 weeks. that leaves 15weeks till due date. And in a couple days we will actually be 26weeks. I find it interesting this time around. Last pregnancy I was obsessed with it. This time around, it's more boring to me ~ not the carrying a child that I will get to bring into this world. no. but reading about pregnancy is more boring. Baby kicks hard enough already you can see it when I'm standing. Baby keeps we awake some nights, I love felling him/her, but I do like my sleep. ~Praise God for husbands who get up with the toddler so mommy can try to rest~. I'm excited and planning ahead more for summer than I am for the babies arrival! weird. I know. But I guess I'm tired of being cooped up in the house. I love snow, but we haven't had much (until last night), and with 2 toddlers (when daycaring) it takes so long to get them dressed/undressed for a 5 minute romp in the snow. I still do it though. It's mostly been cold. I just want spring. I love spring. I don't like extreme heat. I want spring. Swimming was wonderful, baby in my tummy rested the entire time and I felt so light I forgot I was pregnant. It felt good my tummy feels realy heavy this time around.

I think that's enough rambling. I'll post pictures later.
God bless you all!

Colds + Work

Well I finally got a job :) That's right. I now have a little 2 year old girl I watch every tuesday and thursday from 8-10hours a day. Her name is Grace, and she is so much fun to have around! She can talk, which just blows my mind, can't wait till Joy can talk. Her Dad drops her off around 7:30am and we get some one on one time to play, perfect time to play with the toys Joy isn't allowed yet (like Play Doh). Joy wakes up around 9:30-10am, which is right when Grace likes her morning snack. So I am able to sit them both down and feed them both and myself :) We then change diapers, get Joy dressed and head out for a walk. I do the walking... trying to have two kids walk beside the stroller isn't the easiest! (and way to many people speed around here). So I put them in the double stroller and this pregnant lady gets her work out! After the walk we return home and spend anywhere from an hour to two playing in the toy room. Then we head upstairs and I make lunch, or put them down for naps... depending. Grace naps for 1-3hours. and Joy only naps for 2 hours. I have to put Grace down first otherwise Joy seems to think she's missing out. Then once they are both settled in and I've cleaned up a bit in the kitchen I sneak into our room (Grace sleeps in playpen at foot of bed) and Tipsy and I slip into bed for our nap. Either right after I put Grace down or just before she gets up I get to spend some one on one time with Joy, I think she needs it. I have only watched Grace 2times so far, but they have both been wonderful! The first day Joy really wasn't sure about sharing toys, but day two was better.

Now about colds. Joy seems to have one. We believe she's had one for a while, due to her bad sleeping a few weeks back. But today after her nap (which I had to wake her up from) I noticed when breathing her nose did the 'squeak'of being a bit plugged up. I too have been fighting something off. Please pray we don't get sicker but that this is the tale end of it, we just got Grace, we don't want to be sick!

The season for Lists.

I'm a list person. That's right. I have lists for EVERYTHING! Don't believe me? HA! I can't remember anything unless I write it down. I have never had the best memory, then throw in having a baby and now this pregnancy, and I almost have to have lists to tell me where I put my lists! Cleaning the house? I have lists. I write a list almost everyday, not that I always complete the lists, but I write them. When I worked I would write lists as to what to do throughout the day. Even if I didn't have any customers I had a full day of work listed out hour by hour. That way if I didn't have any customers I always had stuff to do, and wouldn't have time to let my mind wander or waste time. And if I did have customers then I knew exactly what needed to be done between them. I love lists, I really do. I lose them, rewrite them, but I always have a list.

Grocery shopping I make a list of what we need, then I rewrite it so that I can walk through the store in the same order I always do and pick everything up in order. No back tracking, no getting confused. Straight forward. List.

Cleaning I make a list, sometimes I even make a list of how long each of these things will take and put them together so my day is down to the minute planned out. (hard with a toddler, but still partly duable). I also have boxes next to them to check them off when done, then scratch them out when completely done... see I will have "clean bedroom", and later "vaccuum upstairs". Therefore after I clean the bedroom I will check off the box, then only after I've vaccuumed will I cross it off the list completely. Some people may think, "why not just get to work, you're wasting time making a list". Not for me! I need the list to keep focused and motivated. If I don't have it, I forget what needs to be done, or I just peeter out.

Christmas time, the most wonderful time of the year, also for us list makers it means many many more lists. Lists for parties ~ people to invite, food to buy, food to prepare, house to clean, drinks to serve, etc. Lists for gifts ~ for us, for you, for them etc. Lists for decorating ~ time organizing as I call it. Lists for schedule ~ events, dinners, parties, get togethers, fun in the snow time, etc etc. honestly I LOVE Christmas, not just for the fun and fellowship but for the lists. Almost everyone you see shopping will have a list. I know I will. Heck I already have lists everywhere!

I hope you find as much Joy out of lists as I do!

Been a while

Hello Blog! it's been a while! I'm pregnant!! Yup that's the exciting new news in our house. Okay so it's not such new news now as I am already 17weeks along. How did we find out you might ask? maybe you wouldn't ask but I'm going to tell you anyway. I had had a 'light' visit with Auntie Flo, so again was dissapointed (8months trying), but took note of how light the visit really was. Around the "O" time after that I started to feel sick.... and not just any sick, it felt like morning sickness. If you have ever had morning sickness then you know how it's different than anything else out there. I convinced myself I couldn't be pregnant, however whenever the nausea really kicked in I'd find myself saying "it feels like morning sickness but it can't be" after about a week of my husband hearing me say this, he was tired of it. So we went and bought a test. Came home, ... , then left the test on the bathroom counter and headed to the livingroom. I thought I saw the test changing to a possitive before I'd even put it down, but I know to wait for the indicator window to work otherwise it's false. Orlund stayed with the test. Cracking jokes and teasing me, I couldn't take it, when he finally said the two minutes were up I ran to the bathroom. "well we are obviously pregnant!" he said "it changed right away" I proceeded to jump up and down and yell with excitement... Joy cried... not because she wont be the only child anymore (she doesn't get that yet) but that mom was yelling! after we comforted her we figured it must not have been Auntie Flo who visited. We figured we were due April 5th. (I always wanted an april baby). After I went to the doctor, he suggested a dating ultrasound due to the spotting. So I got to go see a peanut on the screen that had a little spot thumping away (heartbeat). The technician said I was due 5days later than thought, so April 10th is our due date. The day before my 26th birthday!! I've had very bad morning sickness and have dropped around 15lbs. I do have a small baby bump, and today we get to finally hear the heartbeat for the first time!!!! SO EXCITED. which is my cue to get off the computer and get Joy and I dressed so we can catch the bus to take us to the apt.Thanks for listening!

Wave

This morning as Joy and Myself were enjoying our breakfast something I find rather amusing took place. Tipsy (our cat) wandered through the kitchen towards our chairs, I watched her slink along and happened to glance over at Joy. Joy had followed my gaze and had the most wonderful smile spreading across her face, she LOVES Tipsy. Then she raised her one hand and waved at the cat!! Okay so she's known how to wave for some time now, however she's only ever waved goodbye, not hello. This might seem like a small thing, but to me it made me so proud that she figured out she can wave for other reasons other than to say bye.
I just love being able to experience all these day to day happenings!

Hello!

Hello all you wonderful people who stumble upon my blog! It's nice to meet you! I am new to this blog thing, well okay I have another blog that I use to post pictures on, but this is for my ramblings as a first time mom :)
I have a wonderful baby girl who is 14months old...okay okay she's a toddler! Her name is Joy and she is the Joy of our lives. My hubby and I have been married for almost 5 years. We also have a cat "Tipsy" and a bunch of fish, I'm sure I'll talk about all of them at some point. I will post pictures on here, just not as much as I ramble.
Raising a daughter has been quite an adventure so far, it is truely amazing how much someone so little can learn in just one year.... and how she can remember it, wish I had a memory like that! The biggest change in our lives right now? Walking! Joy has mastered the art of walking. She's is beyond crawling "like that was yesterday", and walks everywhere. If you have kids you can reflect (or look forward) to this, you lay your child on the floor, change their diaper and as soon as you have the new one on (sometimes before you get it done up) they roll over, get up and walk away..... WALK away! Okay so she could crawl since 5.5months however walking is just so different. She's a little person! Not that I ever thought of her as anything other than a person, however she seems to have grown up since learning to walk.

Children just get to be more and more fun! My hubby's dad told him this, and he thought "no way, they'll be like puppies. All cute when little then get big and not....so....cute"? I laugh at that. However he's changed his mind. She is way more fun now! When Joy was little, until 3months of age we always had to walk her, bounce her, and heaven forbid if we ever tried to sit down! It was alot of work with alot of crying. My husband had a hard time with that as she'd get real fussy around 4pm right as he got off work, and she'd cry straight through till midnight. We took turns eating while the other bounced her, and we took shifts trying to get her to sleep. Although those months were hard they did pass quickly. At the 3 month mark she completely changed and even started sleeping 13hours through the night! (without waking up once!). Although she reverted to waking again in the night after her 6month shots (and now has just started to sleep through again). Now however she sits and eats with us at the dinner table, sure she eats for an hour longer than we do, but we get to sit as a family. Joy will come and tackle you, giggle, and even blow raspberries on your tummy! So much fun! We take her to the water park when it's warm enough out and let her splash around. Honestly she has just gotten more and more fun, now that she can interact I find my husband more involved as well. Sure he's not the type to change her diaper (that's fine he did when I was in the hospital with her and that works for me), however he now will take her for pony rides and tickle her silly. I love watching them interact and react with one another. So if you have a baby that sounds like mine, don't worry it'll pass! They really do get to be more and more fun as they grow up (now don't ask me about teenagers though!).

Well I think that's enough rambling for my first post, God bless and have a wonderful day!