Temper, temper..........

Ok everyone..... Heres what I am talking about.....

Champagne Birthday!

Hey Everyone!!!!!!!! Well, what a busy week! First of all, I feel like I have been painting forever! That being said, it looks so good and it is rewarding to see it looking the way I like. I am going to post some pictures of the finished product.

Other then the painting, I also celebrated my champagne birthday. On Wednesday the 25th, I had my 25th birthday. The big celebration is this Saturday when we are throwing a big "collaboration party" for our neighbour Scott and I however I did have a great day on my actual birthday. I spent it with the people I love! Painted all day and enjoyed Amanda's company and then got ready for my evening out with hubby. After we put Kaylee to bed, Amanda stayed at the house with her so we could go out. We had a lovely dinner and enjoyed the time out of the house.

***Out with the playpen and in with the new play space***

***I decided against the big chest here at the end of the day...***

Also in the news! Kaylee's temper is getting increasingly worse. I set up a little play area in the living room for her and she loves to play there.... as long as I am sitting right beside her.... She been be happy as a clam and as soon as I get up to try and tackle a chore or even to go pee, she starts to scream.... I mean hollar as loud as you can imagine. Real tears and everything. She screams while crawling until she locates me and then she sits on my feet until she calms down or I pick her up. Unreal. I have read that I have to ignore her when she throws these tantrums, however she will continue screaming for 30 minutes. I am going to have to try and find a resolution to this, as it is enough to make anyone crazy listening to the howl.

Kaylee has also stopped going to bed at her regular hour of 7pm. While she will stay in her crib and I do not give in, she is not going to sleep til 9:30. And despite what people think... This does not mean she sleeps in later. She is up at the same 6-6:30am.... Last night Jordon and I sat down to play a game of poker and have a glass of wine and I must have thought her antics were amusing. I captured this video.

Part 1...

Part 2...

So while I am laughing at the time, it really isn't smart of me to laugh at her... Note to self, do not consume 2 glasses of wine and then giggle at Kaylee while she acts adorable.... when she should be sleeping. Haha!

Other then that, I am just working on getting my house back in order after the painting. It seems everything was everywhere and I didn't get around to a lot of the things I normally do when I was trying to paint. So, off to it I go. I want to get things organized for tomorrows big bash! I will post soon! Let me know what you think about my paint choices andKaylee's little tantrum issues...

Have a great day!

***Dining Room before the paint...***

***After***

Jaymie

Change of scenery!

Well another week has passed and as the season is beginning to change, I too felt that I needed some change. Sitting on my couch last week, I looked up at my curtains which I have dreaded since the day I have moved in... I had this sudden, overwhelming desire to rip them down! I am going to show you the "before" photo of the living room. When looking for one, I could only find one of when we first moved in. I must have subconsciously not taken pictures with these curtains in them because I did despise them so much. Here is what I mean people....


So while, the room at this point is quite bare.... You can clearly see why I did not like these curtains. The colour I also found was just... Too old, too cold and not very inviting.


So I ripped the curtains down and enjoyed it more then you can imagine and then felt motivated to paint! Time to revamp and stop having a living room that looks like an 80 year old lives in in. At this point it was the evening so I decided the following day- Friday, would be the day to get started! Friday morning I woke up with a migraine.... For anyone who has had a migraine they know how hard it is to function, let alone take care of a baby. I get a migraine about twice a year for whatever reason and as much as I tried getting through the day, it was just not working. At 11, I had to call Jordon and tell him I just couldn't do it anymore and he had to come home and take care of Kaylee because I needed to bury my head in a pillow. My migraine was so bad, it was making my physically ill to my stomach. Lovely day- me wrenching my guts out in the toilet as Kaylee sits playing with my feet and chatting away. Well he saved the day, coming home early from work, with Aleve migraine relief and gravol. I stayed on the couch for the next couple hours trying to mend myself.
When I did wake up I felt like a new woman. At this point it was the middle of the afternoon and after a shower and a bite to eat, I was feeling motivated. I went down to the Canadian Tire, bought all the paint and supplies before coming home to get started. While it was a late start to the day, I really wanted to get going. For the next 2 days I painted and stared at the walls thinking, "what on earth have I done... It looks like a clown house". However after finishing, placing everything back in order and putting some new framed photos on the wall, I think it looks great! Bright, however great! I did however need to stop painting as I think doing the entry way and dining room the same colour will just be too much. I am going to tone it down for those spaces. So what do you think of the finished product?

I still need to find some sort of window treatment but I really do not want to cover up half the window like the last curtains did. I love the amount of light that now pours through the window.

Other then that, it was a fairly quiet weekend. A few drinks with friends and lots of time outdoors with Kaylee. Yesterday I had a wedding shower to go to across the street at the neighbours and when Kaylee made her brief appearance at the end, she was quite the hit! I am so impressed with how well she is doing with people just passing her around. She doesn't play shy at all.

In other news, Kaylee is now 7 months! She had her 7 month milestone on Saturday! Where does time go? Kaylee is on the move everywhere, pulling herself up on everything she can manage and eating everything in site. It is so great to see her inquisitive about everything she sees, curious to learn more and hungry for anything you put in front of her. Watching the development is incredible.

This week is a busy one. This evening I am going to get my hair done. A few highlights and a trim. Of course I have to look good for my birthday this week! Wednesday is the big day- my champagne birthday! 25 this year and I intend on having a great time. It was very quite last year as I was in the process of growing a little girl, so this year should be fun with the party we have planned. Saturday we are having everyone over for drinks, food and a fire pit. I think there will be some guitars playing and some great laughs.

Anyway, I will be sure to write more about my busy week! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Thanks for reading my blog and- LEAVE ME COMMENTS :)

Dress to Impress.......

Hey everyone!!!! Well you know I had to write and chat about what a great day I had yesterday, however first I need to discuss clothing.

Oh my goodness! I really went through my entire closet, tried EVERYTHING on and could not find one thing that I liked. Could it be that dressing to impress other women (which are your friends) could be more stressful then dressing for a man? After all, your man is going to look at you and say you look great no matter what right? Girls.... well you know they are thinking "where did she get that top" or "those jeans are wayyy to tight". Etc, etc etc.

***Smiling pretty for Mommy***

Now of course I have some of the most awesome friends who would never say that especially considering we are all Mom's, all know what its like to try and fit into those jeans or put on a top that maybe we should no longer wear. SO knowing that they aren't judge mental, why did I still struggle so much to find something to wear....

Well it could be because, everything in my closet doesn't fit right. Some things are too big (yahooooo!) and a lot of things are just too small (booo!)... Aside from that I feel like my idea of "Sexy" has changed since I have had a child. While I want to feel good and look sexy, it no longer means putting on a shirt so low cut that if I bend over I might pop out. Sexy to me now means.... hmmm.... wow, I feel old saying this but- Classy? I want to be classy sexy?

***Crawling***

Anyways, after alllllllll the hours, hassle and stress over what to wear, I opted for jeans, cute stripped top and stiletto's to dress the jeans up a bit.

I cannot believe how hard it was to get dressed. I have never been one of those girls, and suddenly there I was.... Standing in my bedroom, everything I own on the floor and feeling defeated. Thank goodness for good old faithful jeans.

When I met up with the ladies, I did feel a bit under dressed. Jenn, Sheena and Katrina were in dresses. Thanks to Nicolle who also opted for a cute shirt with jeans (regular jeans 7 weeks after delivering Mateo I might add- CONGRATS)....

Anyway, now that the wardrobe issue is out of the way, on with the evening. From the moment we sat down until the moment we left I am pretty sure we discussed our children. From bug bites, to new habits, to delivery, to poop, to how useless men can be when it comes to the children and to how incredible men can be (on very rare occasions of course).... we covered it all.

We went to a Greek restaurant, which I was not sure I would like... However I loved it! I even ate a Greek salad- for the first time ever! I had set in my head that I really disliked Greek salad but let me assure you- there was nothing left on my plate. We sat for a few hours, chatting, drinking wine and enjoying the company.

As we were leaving we all thought about how we live so close (with the exception of Kat, who is just visiting from Alberta) and we still never get out like this. We promised we would start doing it more often and I really hope we do.

***On the move... She wants my camera!***

We all head our seperate ways, except Sheena, Kat and I get into one car and off we go. Not quite to the highway, Katrina screams that something has bitten her. I kind of laugh and think a mosquito has gotten her. Pulling onto the highway, she shrieks and says it has bitten her again and begins to panic. As this point Sheena, who may I point out is not a fan of bugs, begins to also panic and pulls off to the side of the highway. The girls evacuate the car and wait while I go on a hunt to find the bug. Keep in mind I have had a couple glasses of wine and can't help but giggle. Sheena continues asking where the bug is and I say it was probably just a spider which has gotten away.... OPPSSS Wrong thing to say to Sheena, who has now refused to get back into the car until it is found. Poor Katrina is now swelling up in 2 places where she has been bitten by this mysterious bug. Finally I find the culprit. A wasp! It wasn't a bite! She was actually stung! My goodness! I kill the wasp, show the ladies I am discarding it. Finally back in the car we go. We are able at that point, to relax and somewhat laugh about it.... Looking back at last night, I feel bad that Kat was stung and I didn't really believe her at the time, but I also can't help but laugh at how it happened. Standing on the side of the highway refusing to get into the car until it is found. LOL. Anyways, great time ladies! As always, a memorable evening!

I came home and crawled in bed after a great evening. Now generally speaking, 3am is when Kaylee tends to wake up for a bottle and go back to sleep. With the chaos the last few days there has been no such prediction of when she will be up, or when she will be asleep for that matter. 3am last night rolls around... My eyes are wide open as I wait for her to wake up... 3:30.. Nothing. Why I feel the need to check on her, I am just not sure. I walk in and there she is, on her belly, bum in the air, fast asleep. I open the window because it was a little warm and head back to bed thinking I must be crazy to get up when she hasn't even woken up. Now you know as soon as I crawled back in bed she was awake! LOL.

***Too cute***

Anyways, last night she was only up twice which was a nice treat from the last few nights.

Today she has been a gem. Not sure why the change but she is content playing, not needing to be in my arms 24/7 and she is smiling and giggling again (which I found she wasn't doing for a couple days). Her new favorite thing to do is put things in something (say a cooking pot) and then remove all he items, then repeat. It is quite adorable if I do say so myself.

Anyway, that's all for today! Will try and keep on top of my blog a little more.

***Kaylee Playing***

Have a great day!!

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!

***My Sweet little girl***

Ok, well I know last week I was kind of cranky, so hopefully this weeks post is a little more of a positive blog! I have lots to write about!
Kaylee is now not only crawling, but she is a machine!!!!!! She motors around the house like it's nobodies business. Off Jordon and I went to get all of the plug outlet covers, placing anything she could get her hands on, now out of reach and so on with the baby proofing. She is very content to be doing it and I think she is quite proud of herself. It seems pretty incredible considering a month ago in Toronto at Mom's house she sat up for the first time!
Also in the mix, I know I keep saying it, but my goodness- she eatttttts! The foods she is trying never seizes to amaze me. She shovels it in with a smile and off she goes. It is quite a messy process however. The feeding her/her feeding herself process takes about a half hour and then the clean up takes about the same. Quite the job I might say.

***Before she eats it...***

***During the eating process- loves those pickles!***

***And after she eats...***

***After Daddy bathes and cleans her up!***
Last week, I also had the wonderful opportunity to hang out with a few of the ladies I worked with at the Lonestar. Although it wasn't any ordinary get together. It was a playdate. 5 ladies and 7 babies under the age of two and a half.
It was a fantastic time, but wow! I have to say, it is crazy to think that about 5 years ago, we were all down at the bars together, drinking and having a good time, and now a good time consists of sitting around with our children with a cup of coffee or tea!
Anyway, Nicolle hosted this get together, as our friend Katrina is visiting from Alberta. She moved out there a couple of years ago, so it was really great to see everyone together. While we did have a great afternoon, we have also planned an evening without any children to catch up. Its amazing how you can be mid conversation and then attention is turned to a baby and you have no idea where you were in the conversation- then its lost! haha! ***Little Mateo just hanging out with the crowd******Aiden is loving the watermelon!******Moms and babies... just doing what we do...******Very Unhappy Kaylee... And Maddox and I******Sheena and Maddox******Group Shot- Katrina and Aiden, Me and Maddox and Kaylee, Jenn and Kinsey and Ryder******Aiden and Kaylee playing*** ***Kaylee and Maddox, passed out on the way home. So tuckered out and sleeping exactly the same way!!!. Toooo cute!***

Anyways, Tuesday night we are all meeting at Opa for supper and a drink. Should be nice.
This weekend was pretty low key. Jordon and I did a little bit of shopping at Costco (that place kills me- should be called $200.00 bill or more store) and then off to Walmart. We came home and I made a big supper for a few neighbours and then we relaxed around the fire. Good time :)
Now for story I didn't want to, but have to tell.....Last night was not a fun night at all.
I feel as if over the last month or so since we have been home from Toronto, it has been work to loose the spoiled, saucy little girl she was becoming (from having the constant attention of multiple family members at all times). She started sleeping through the night with the exception of a 3am wake up for a bottle then back to sleep til 6-6:30. Last night however, she went to bed without a fuss, as she usually does until 11pm hit. I was laying in bed just about to doze off when I heard her start to fuss. I left her for a minute thinking she would just go back to sleep but I couldn't be that lucky. I got up and gave her half a bottle and she was back to sleep. Repeat 7 times before 3am. Wow.... What on earth was going on with my child. At 3am, I gave up. Decided I was going to let her cry it out and she would simply be tired enough to go to sleep. What a silly delusional thought. 35 minutes of screaming which one can only describe as a horrible, horrible noise.
At this point I am exhausted, frustrated and not sure what my next move should be- then Jordon says something about how I shouldn't let her cry and I loose it. I get up and go to her room with a bottle, cradle her and rock her and sing to her while I fight through a few of my own tears. It can be so hard and so frustrating sometimes and I know I sound like I am now whining but my goodness!
Anyway, I tried to put her down when she eventually calmed down and she then burst right back into tears crying. I figured I would be spending the night in the rocking chair with her pulled in close. I called to Jordon to get me a blanket because I was cold... once.... twice... third time louder with more frustration. He wakes up and gets me a blanket before heading back to bed. Our big, comfy, warm bed. I can't help but recent him a little bit at this point. Now 5am, she is asleep in my arms, my neck is all kinked up and as slowly and gently as I can I lay her back into her crib and sneak to bed. 6am the alarm goes off and all I can think is "if that alarm wakes up that baby, I may just reach across this bed and beat you with it!" lol. I know, I know. A little rash but I was exhausted. Jordon very quietly got out of bed and ready for the day without waking Kaylee or disturbing me. Kaylee and I slept until 8am (which I would like to point out she has NEVER done before).
So I am not sure what has gotten into her... A tooth? I don't want to say it because I have been saying it for months. So I am going to chalk it up to a bad night... That's all I can do.
Anyways, that's all for today! I am not sure what this week hold other then my Mommy's night out tomorrow.
Have a great day!!!
P.S. I also wanted to share a few photo's of my garden! My veggies are doing great!!!

Wake up and smell the roses...

I read a blog yesterday that made me cry... It also made me put a lot of things in perspective... I just wanted to share it with you....

http://blog.habunited.com/

weighing myself down
I vividly remember being 14 and on my way to Macy*s to pick out a Homecoming dress my Freshmen year of High School with my Mother. Once arriving at the store, my Mom took me to the “plus size” women’s section. I looked around in embarrassment. “This is the only place you will be able to find something” my Mother told me. I felt my heart sink into my stomach. I knew she was right and I felt terrible.

After trying on dozens of dresses, finally I found a blue dress that was “acceptable” but that I had no interest in wearing. I knew it would be nothing like my friends’ dresses. I knew it was made for a 65 year old woman. I knew there was nothing sexy or beautiful about it, which is all I wanted to be. A guy friend of mine from another school had offered to escort me to Homecoming. I was thrilled and secretly hoped he felt something beyond friendship for me, but never felt that it would happen. There would literally have to be something wrong with him to want to be with me. I never felt that I would be accepted by anyone as anything except fat, disgusting. On the car ride home it was obvious I was upset. My Mother, having grown up in an environment where looks where the ONLY thing a woman had going in her life, started getting angry with me for feeling sorry for myself.

“If you want people to like you, you will have to lose weight. For the rest of your life, the only thing people will see you as is fat. People will pity you, they will not love you. You will never have real friends, you will never have a boyfriend and you will never get married.”

This event haunts me every day of my life. Shortly after this event I starved myself for a year and lost almost 100lbs. On 700 calories or less a day, I ran almost 5 miles a day. Some days I even ran twice. I was obsessed. The more weight I lost, the nicer people seemed to be to me. My Mom seemed like she liked me, she told me I was beautiful, she took me shopping for “fun” clothes. I got a few boyfriends, I finally had lots of friends, and I felt like I had worth. But deep inside of me I worried, ‘What happens if I gain this weight back? Will I loose everything? Do people actually care enough for me to love me then?’

Over the following 5 years depression, horrendous family drama, having a baby & good old fashioned self abuse puts me back exactly where I started. I have gained back every single pound and them some. I remember 5 minutes after the birth of my son a nurse came over and was lecturing me about losing weight and becoming healthy. “You don’t want to be a bad example to your son,“ he said. It made me sad that even on the happiest day of my life, I still felt gross about myself. Everyday, I hate the way I look. I try to go all day without eating and then by 9pm I am starving and overeat. Everyday I say to myself, “Tomorrow I will work out, tomorrow I will eat well.” When I go out in public, I avoid walking by myself in front of other people, especially groups. I hate going into the grocery store or restaurants. I think people must be looking at me thinking, “Oh my god look at her, she is so huge. Look what she is eating, no wonder she is so fat”. I hide. Around my friends and family, I make jokes to make myself feel more comfortable. My husband tells me he loves me and is attracted to me, which only makes me think he is a giant liar or that there is something mentally wrong with him. I see the way my self loathing hurts him but I feel like can’t stop myself. I change 10-15 times some days trying to decide what to wear, but the clothes are not the problem.

Something clicked inside me yesterday. I was thinking, “maybe if I beat myself up enough, I will get my ass in gear.” Then I realized: I have been beating myself and been beaten by others my entire life and look where that has gotten me. No where. Perhaps if I try the opposite of everything I have tried, I will be successful. Maybe if I start to accept myself each day and remind myself I do have value, I will start to take care of myself in a way that one treats something of worth. I have a long road ahead of me. If I want to be healthy and happy with myself, I have got to do the work. It isn’t going to happen any other way. I can’t hate myself enough into weight loss. I’ve been there, I’ve done that- it wont work. I can’t keep living in denial. I can’t get to a place of peace by blaming life, myself or others. Playing the victim will only continue my being a victim in my mind. Today, I can love myself. I can care for and take time for myself. I can do what is right because it feels that way and I can forgive myself of the things I don’t do perfectly. One day at a time, I can live the life I want, not the life I think I “deserve”.


Wow, if that does make me stop and consider things, I am not sure what does....

HAve a great day everyone.

Throwing in the Towel!

Calling all Mom's!

Does the sound of your baby crying, whining, yelling (which is most of the time) and throwing fits occasionally make you feel as if you are a crazy woman who just needs to throw in the towel?

I am sitting here this morning, Kaylee has been fussing all morning with nothing soothing her in the least. Add to that, a house that last night was clean until hubby came home, 2 dogs that need to be walked, laundry, a headache that has lasted the last 3 days and a belly that is saying give me the good food/ no, eat the bran....

I swear I feel like throwing in the towel and taking a day off!

At least if I were at work and I was having a day like that I could take the day off. But as all Mom's know, that's just not a possibility.

Anyways, that's my venting for the day. Other then that, I have lost 5lbs this week from running (ok I only did that 3 out of the 5 days), and eating super healthy. Watching the scale change feels good but I really do miss snacking on my favorites instead of a handful of walnuts or a bowl of blueberries.

Also new, it is official, Kaylee is crawling. For the last month she has been scooting around and getting where she wants to go but mostly on her bum or pulling her knees up to her hands then shoving her body forward onto the floor. Yesterday she just got up on the kitchen floor and started moving. Next thing I know, she is playing in the dog water bowl.

Other then that, we have been pretty low key. My change of diet and no booze at all has had me with a bit of a headache. Missing my toast and peanut butter every morning and glass of wine in the evening. But all in the price of beauty- and feeling good too.

That's all for today! Have a great one!!!

*** Me and me Sister up north this summer, sitting around a fire... Do I look 12 with the pigtails? LOL***

So much, so fast!

Well, I know that children grow up fast and that age old saying "don't blink or you will miss it" is commonly used... However nowhere does it say that in a week she would go from being a baby to being a toddler.

Since Kaylee has been eating everything, and I was without a high chair, her exersaucer and bumbo became the means of feeding her. Trying to clean these 3-4 times a day made for quite the hassel so Jordon and I purchased a highchair. Needless to say, it's amazing!

Now she sits there and feeds herself! She refuses to even let me try to feed her, my job is to simply get as much of a variety of food onto her tray and watch while she tries it all.

So far, some of the favorites are:

Pickles

Strawberries

Toast and jam

Zucchini

Cucumber

Yellow pepper

Pasta noodles

Cheerios

Cantaloupe

Grapes

Carrot muffins

Banana bread

Cereal bars

I could probably go on, however these are what I can think of right now. She even tried grilled chicken last night and loved it. My little girl is a hoover! LOL. I don't think I am going to have a fussy child on my hands.

Also in big news, Kaylee had her 6 month needles last week along with the check of everything else. She is currently weighing in at 15.8 lbs, Height 27.5 inches, head circumference- 1 cm smaller then it "should be". I am pretty sure I have written about this before but I have to say, it is really starting to bother me.

We went into the office, Kaylee is sitting up and oh so close to crawling and the doctor says, "Wow she is so developmentally ahead. Sitting with no assistance, pretty much crawling, babbling. That's great!". 10 minutes later while doing the measurements and the head measurement comes back she says "Well her head isn't where we want it to be at this point. She is 1 cm smaller then she should be. We are really going to have to keep a close eye on this as it could mean development issues".

Back up a second.... Didn't she JUST tell me that she was developmentally ahead? I was so frustrated I couldn't even discuss it. Throughout my pregnancy and the first few months of Kaylee's life we have been tormented with doctors crazy assumption that something is wrong due to her head size, then magically she catches up and they say shes fine, 2 months later, the same thing all over again. Doctors make me crazy with all their "Should be's". She's perfect and smart and beautifully growing at her own rate!

Anyways, other then learning that, we know she is very tall and lean. This is quite obviously a trait she has inherited from her father and not me.

In other news with Kaylee has also begun pulling herself up. I walked into her room the other morning because I could hear that she was awake but she wasn't fussing for me to come get her. This is what I found!

This is also when I decided it was time to lower the crib mattress. LOL.

Now she thinks it is a great game to pull herself up on everything. It is amazing to see her progressing and doing all of these things, but it also scares me as she is getting much tougher to contain! LOL

This past weekend was fantastic! Jordon really stepped up to the plate and surprised me with how incredible he can be. Friday night, he was off early and so we enjoyed some family time with Kaylee, feeding her everything we could think of. After bathing her, and getting her all ready, we layed her to bed, then sat on the back deck with our neighbours, Steve and Kerry and enjoyed drinks and good company. I may have had a couple too many of those cold beers, because Saturday morning just came too early. Jordon eagerly got up with Kaylee and let me sleep in! When I got up shortly after 9 (yaaaaa 9am!!!!) I had a tim hortons tea and breakfast sandwhich waiting. It was fantastic. We spent the day cleaning the house, doing the daily chores, playing with and feeding Kaylee. The evening came and we really didn't feel up to doing a heck of a lot, so Jordon rented a video game, I picked up a pizza and we relaxed on the couch! I played a few games of online Poker while he played his game. Bed at 11:30 and waking up refreshed occasionally, feels really good. Sunday morning I let Jordon sleep and made us a big breakfast!

We have a Coast Mountain equipment backpack which you place the baby in for hiking. It has never been used and I figured there was no better time to throw out the idea of a hike to Jordon then over an awesome breakfast. He agreed and off we went! We used to hike every weekend and now that we have Kaylee it is a lot more work. Worrying about packing 2 dogs in the car used to be challenge enough, throw a baby in the mix and your really busy. Now that Jordon has his work truck and no longer his station wagon, it posed for the more difficult task of where to put everyone. I have never let the dogs in my car. The leather interior, a baby seat in the back, my love for having a clean car just didn't allow for it. We had to manage however so we put Lily in the truck with Jordon and Toby in the front seat of my Acura. Off we went!

Kaylee LOVED the backpack. It puts her up high where she can watch everything and enjoy the ride. She coo'd and caw'd and talked the whole time. I carried her making the simple point that carrying an extra 15lbs on my back would certainly help me burn a few more calories!

We had a fantastic time! We came home, put her down for a nap and then went back to socializing with the neighbours playing a big tournament of online Poker and chatting. Jordon really worked hard this weekend to make it known to me and Kaylee that we come first and it meant so much.

I am sure other Mom's out there can relate that some days it feels as if their priorities lay elsewhere with work, activities etc. It meant a lot to see him really show how much he loves us.

***Crawling to Toby***

In other news, I am ready to book a trip down south for this winter so Jordon and I can finally get married. The only problem is the size of my butt and the thought of down south doesn't go well together. So while I have tired before, I am trying again. As everyone knows, I hate the gym and love food. For this reason I need to start putting more effort in. Swimming lasted a while- until summer sun, beers on the deck and being pooped by the end of the day took over. I am going to try a different tactic. I am going to try getting up earlier and going for a run when I have the most energy. I am also going to try small things. I know going on a diet isn't for me, so instead I am just going to be more aware and cut out some of the small added calories I take in, in a day. For instance- I love to have a pot of tea every morning. This however means that those 4-5 cups of tea, each have a teaspoon of sugar in them. I am going to try instead to have 1 regular tea and then a pot of green tea, which I add nothing. Also, my love for bread has got to.... well, be controlled. I won't stop all together however I am going to have cereal in the morning instead of toast and peanut butter. Anyways, the small stuff right?

Anyone have any great tips for me?

Well that's all for now, I started this blog thinking it would be short and sweet and somehow managed to once again babble on forever. Have a great day!

HOME SWEET HOME!

***2 Families coming together... The Doole's and the Flower's***
***The Flower's side of the family***

***The Doole's and our boys***

***Being Silly***

***Jackie and I***

***Mom and I***

***Maybe my favorite photo from the entire trip... Poppa Bear and Kaylee***

***Mommy and Kaylee

***Our very first family photo...***

***Eating Everything!***

***Playin early in the morning!***

***4 Generations. Great Nanny, Nanna, Jackie and I, and Kaylee***

***24 years ago Dad and I had our photo take here... Now here he sits with my daughter...***

***Mummy and Kaylee***

Dad and I on the same bench we sat on and had our photo taken 24 years ago....***

***Family.... Jordon, Dad and Mom***

Well, I am back in Nova Scotia. It feels so good to be home, sleep in my bed, see my dogs, my cats and just the normal things of everyday life. Now the big job is going to be getting back into some sort of routine and breaking Kaylee's bad habits she has acquired.

She never had to make more then a grunt and someone was picking her up and tending to her. Now that we are home, she is going to have to get used to the whole notion of occasionally self soothing herself, entertaining herself and being ok with not being held every waking hour of the day. I am telling you now, I know this is going to be a difficult process. However a small price to pay for an incredible vacation with family, friends and all those who we love. Kaylee was so spoiled, so loved and adored that it alone was enough alone to make it worth it.

***Rockin the shades!***

So, I know it was a while since my last post. I was up north at the trailer with no laptop, no internet and therefore, no way to keep you updated.

So I suppose I will just rant about the last week and a half for the next little while and pollute this blog with tons of photos.

***First real boat ride... Hanging out with Nanna***

While I was spending some time up north with my sister, we decided to take a drive to the Indian reserve to get some cigarettes for Jackie. As most people know, I love my car- my Acura TL and I love the power it has. This being said, while driving along in an 80 zone, getting stuck behind 2 very slow cars doing about 70km, my patience was up. Coming down a hill, with that dotted line I love so much, I decided to pass the slow pokes to get on with our outing. Well.... Didn't an OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) happen to be waiting at the bottom of that hill for me. "Oh crap crap crap" I say seeing him pull right on out behind me. I pull over and he strolls up and says "Miss, are you aware of a law we have here in Ontario that says if you are doing 50km over the speed limit I can immediately seize your car, take your license and fine you $10,000?". I think I must have just stopped and starred, completely dumb founded. He followed up with "you were doing 134 in an 80 zone- 54km over the speed limit." Not wanting to deny it and not sure what to say, I started babbling on about how I was going down a hill trying to pass and must have accelerated faster then I thought and I was so so so so sorry. He told me he would not take my car from me and took all of my information and went back to his car. At this point I am thinking, man, this is going to be one heck of a fine.... He walks back to the car, reminds me of the Ontario law again (as if I have never been to the province before-lol), I patiently waited for my punishment and then he stated, "I am going to let you go today, but I would like to remind you to please slow down and be careful. You have a baby in the car". OH MY GOODNESS. Not even a ticket. I have no idea how it happened but I am happy it did. The most common question I received when telling people about this event was "Did you flash him?" hahaha! I didn't but thanks!

Anyways, after spending the day out with my sister, I packed up the car and once again headed back to the city to my parents house. A few short days and Jordon would be there to see us!

***Grampi feeding Kaylee***

The time flew by while I visited with more friends and family. Friday afternoon, I headed out to Krystal's to see her and Marley one last time, then off to the airport we went.

Jordon arrived and was of course delighted to see both Kaylee and I. We stood and took it all in, him seeing how much his little girl had changed over the course of 3 weeks and me marvelling in the fact that we were all together again (not to mention excited to know the next morning I would be sleeping in).

***Playing with Marley... She's not so sure what she thinks about sharing her favorite toys with Kaylee! LOL***

We went back to my parents house that night, put Kaylee to bed, had a fantastic supper and enjoyed each others company before hitting the road for yet again another busy day in the following morning.

e hit the road and did some visiting with Jordon's Aunt Fern, Aunt Helen, and his Dad. We then had planned to head up to the trailer where Mom and Dad had rented us a cottage for the week, Jordon's sister, her husband and his Dad would also have a cottage and enjoy a week away together. We somehow made a pit stop at the Bass Pro Shop which was a promised 20 minute visit and quickly turned into 2 hour visit. This left Jaymie and Kaylee very unimpressed.

After this very long detour we hit the road and headed to Bobcaygeon. We finally arrived and got ourselves settled in.

***Playing on our new Quilt***

Jordon and I have now been together 10 years. Our families have never once met and this was the perfect occasion. We enjoyed a lot of time together, over camp fires, suppers and relaxing in the afternoon sun. Everyone got along so well and I think the biggest commonality was the unconditional love everyone felt for Kaylee. I am telling you, she was just moved from one persons arm to the next, to the next.

Over the years there have been so many ups and downs and nothing has been easy, but spending time with our families together made everything else seem so long ago, so unimportant and made the present feel absolutely wonderful.

Monday we did have the unfortunate event of my Great Uncle Fred's funeral. We drove to Kingston and my heart and sympathy go out to my Aunt Pat and her family. He was a wonderful man who will be missed. To make light of that sad day, it was so nice to have my extended family all meet Kaylee. My cousin Lisa even had a family gathering at her home for us. It was very sweet!

The week flew by with Jordon having many little fishing outings, Kaylee having many people pull her around in the wagon (which by the way is her new very favorite thing) and myself spending as much time with everyone as I could.

One afternoon Jordon and Cheryl watched Kaylee while I went to town with Jackie and Mom. We did a little bit of shopping before heading to a waterside pub. We sat out on a patio and had a few drinks in the sun, looking out over the locks. It was a fantastic afternoon. I truly appreciate the moments I can spend with the best ladies in my life as the moments are so far apart! Thanks ladies for a great afternoon.

So while the week went on, I realized that this is what I want, this is where I want to be and this is what is important. Now more then ever, I would like to move home to Ontario to share the special moments with my family. Jordon's sister Cheryl is expecting a baby on Halloween and with children less then a year apart I think it is so important for us all to be closer. While Jordon and I both agree we do not like the hussel and bussel on Toronto, we have agreed that living in Waterloo, where I will hopefully be able to get transferred through work would be a compromise.

Over the week Kaylee also decided she no longer likes pureed food. She wants real food. Such has bread, lasagna, cereal, cereal bars, manderines, muffins, etc. She devoured everything, reached for everything and was extremely content to eat whatever we put in fron tof her while refusing any jared baby food. LOL I am in for the messy part now!

Friday was our last day there. We spent the morning packing up, I went out fishing with my Dad for the afternoon and Mom was kind enough to offer to watch Kaylee for me while Jordon and I had an evening out baby free. Considering we have only been out for dinner once since Kaylee was born, we jumped on the opportunity. We had planned to leave at 2am Saturday morning however while sitting down to dinner, Jordon suggested we leave as soon as we got back to the trailer to try and get as much time with Kaylee sleeping as we could.

Well, 2 am turned into 8:30pm and I was so overwhelmed with emotion. Saying goodbye to my family, and Jordon's family- who I am just starting to feel part of was one of the hardest things ever. There were many tears, hugs, "move back soon"s and then more tears. My breaking point was my Mom hugging Jordon and saying "Jo, please bring my babies back home". HELLLO WATERWORKS. That's when I packed Kaylee and myself in the car and we hit the road. The drive went well. Jordon drove to Quebec city, then I took over. I could not believe Kaylee slept almost the entire time. With a few wake up's for bottles she was fantastic!

***Hanging out with Auntie Cher***

We did the trip in 17 hours and let me tell you, I have never in my life been so happy to see this house. While the trip was amazing and more then I could have imagined.... It was a month of living out of my car with Kaylee, a month of no sense of routine (which I am very partial to) and a month of being away from home.

***Crawling With Grampi***

So here I am, Home Sweet Home and it feels extremely bitter sweet.

To end this very long blog for everyone, I want to thank my family. Mom, Dad, Jackie,Andrew, Cheryl, JR and Doug, thank you for spending some amazing time with us and showing Kaylee how much she is loved! It was incredible.