CRAFTS!!!

I love crafts. I am a craft ADDICT.

I have spent over an hour this evening on tumblr. I just put in "crafts" and page after page of wonderfulness is in front of me!!

Here is one I looooove!

http://evangelione.blogspot.com/

And here is one I want!!!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62639510/50-donated-to-japan-relief-crocodile

I really want to do this one too.

http://www.diyideas.com/roombyroom/Bedrooms/headboards_ss2.html

I'll stop. Or I'll be here forever!! 

<3 

Challenge!

As members of the Church, we are always starting and re-starting challenges to read the BoM by certain dates, events, etc.

A friend asked me this week if I wanted to join her in a new challenge to read it cover to cover by the end of April. I accepted! We are reading 12 pages a day and we will be done by then.

I thought at first I would just read through it quickly like any other book I read. I get a pretty good pace going and can finish a 200-300 page book in a day. I LOVE reading! But as I began and got into reading, it was coming alive! I was thinking of things and trying to figure other things out. This time has been different than most others. It has really been an adventure and we're only 50 pages in! I am enjoying it so much and I'm so grateful she asked me to join her! We had some great discussion topics and it's always nice to share points of view.

I am so grateful we have this wonderful book of gospel. It has made me feel much closer to the characters and the people who brought and sacrificed so much for the Lord's plan. I am so grateful we have a plan to show us how to navigate through this life. I love the gospel. I love the plan. I am so happy my family will be together forever.

I'm so happy!

Happy 1st birthday Ash!

Our little baby turned 1 last week. She is such a sweet little girl. She is so patient and during the day simply walks around and plays on her own. She is really quiet and will sit and watch her older sisters interact. When they go to bed, or if she is with me one-on-one she is much more vocal. She will copy words and sounds and watches your mouth until she can do it too. She is such a smarty pants!

It's bittersweet when they start to get older. Now that she's 1 it's like she really is starting to grow up!

Ange has been asking for another little baby the last month. She says Ash is getting big so we need another little baby. Haha It's really cute. I told her the other week that I really don't think we're going to have another little baby and she told me to go eat some food, let my tummy get big and then we'll have one. I laughed so hard, she is so cute. It makes perfect sense! No explaining to her how babies are made. :p After that little chat though, she has not asked for a baby again.

It can be quite challenging with the kids. Especially since we have such a small apartment when they were used to a bigger house where they could run around and play when the baby was sleeping. But, aside from that... I will be sad to leave here!! It took a little bit, but I love where we live. I don't need a car, and we are right beside Union. So, whenever I need to get somewhere, I just hop on the transit, and we are good to go. The girls love the train and most often I have Ash bundled to me so she sleeps most of the time! It's great.

Having the grocery store and Starbucks in my basement?! LOVE. I never have to get the kids and myself dressed up all warm because we don't go outside!!! We put our shoes on and we are good to go! I love it. And when you forget something and need to pop out for it?! DOWNSTAIRS! It's awesome. Truly, truly awesome. So, I will definitely miss living here. We also have a killer view and I love having windows as my walls. It is bright all day long and I think this winter I definitely was not lacking in vitamin D! I love waking up and seeing the lake sparkling. After work in the summer, I love seeing all the boats out on the water. In the evenings, I like watching the sky change blue, orange, pink and purple as the sun sets. At night, I love sitting on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate and watching all the city lights twinkling. It is beautiful all day long. It is all day beauty.

We will have so many adventures in England, but I am glad we lived in the city this last year. Growing up and spending 99% of my life in the suburbs was great and I loved it. But it was really cool to experience something new! Onward and upward!

NEWS!

I am horrible at keeping up with a blog. I really am! By the time I get the chance to sit down and write, Jamie will be home and working on the computer. The computer and I just never get the time to bond anymore. I haven't put any of my games on the computer either because I know then I will ignore my wife/parent duties and just play the computer all day! Haha 

Anyhow, I just finished telling everyone about what a wonderful trip we had to England only to find out.... DUN DUN DUN.... WE ARE MOVING TO ENGLAND!

Jamie was offered a job with a company in the UK and we will be moving there shortly. Shortly as in, Jamie will be there at the end of the month and the rest of us will join him June-ish! 

It's going to be quite the adventure!!! :D 

Happy New Year!

We had a GREAT time in England. It snowed when we got there so the first two weeks were busy with Christmas and we weren't able to get around much because of the snow!

I think the biggest achievement is... I DROVE! That's right, friends. I drove in England. It wasn't "too" odd because I haven't been driving all that much over here since our car died in September. I've driven a few rentals and my mom's van, but unless we go to Oshawa, we only take the subway! So, it was okay to be on the left side of the road! But, it was also manual, which I have not driven in over 5 years!! And with the roundabouts... Oh my heck. I was constantly in a directional fog. I refused to drive on my own!! I wouldn't have any idea where I was going. Thank goodness Jamie was there to navigate! We went on our first long journey to Warwick Castle on New Years Eve. It was fun to get out and the girls loved going into the Princess Tower and dressing up.

We spent a day in London, a little shopping, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London (AWESOME!!!!!!) and the London Eye! It was a busy day and we are constantly amazed at how long and far the girls will walk!!

We also travelled down to Bath! We spent the night and went to the Roman Baths and Pump Room. There was an insane amount of shops outside and it was really beautiful! We walked up to The Circus and to the Royal Crescent. It. Was. AWESOME. I was worried about the weather so I didn't go through the Jane Austen Center and I will probably regret that for a while. :(

The girls started to speak with cute little accents and that was the best part! Aside from the delicious food. Mmmmm

As soon as we got home we were all sick. I had the flu and a few days later Ashley and Jamie got it and then Angela got it. Thankfully Audrey didn't! Then we all had colds, coughs and runny noses and I lost my voice for a few days!

Now we are all doing well and getting on with the new year!

Free product!!!

So, I have 3 kids and pretty much have everything I would ever need.... But.... I got a new MasterCard!!! And, the website https://www.sevenslings.com/index.php/cart is having a sale! So, type in the promo code "Turkey" and get the sling for free. You just pay shipping! I got that for $12. Then, they send you over to uddercover.com and you get a cover for free!! Just pay the shipping! That was $9. So for $21, I got both!! Not that I needed them. But, I am pretty excited. Haha Makes me want another baby........

:)

DECEMBER!!

I am so happy it is the wonderful month of December.

I love Christmas.

I love the smell of the crisp, cold air.

I love a good 'ol cookie exchange!

I love the extra feeling of love.

I love helping others and doing what we can to help someone else have a good Christmas.

I LOVE Christmas music.

I am super grateful we get to go to England!

And I am MOST grateful I will have time to spend with Jamie. He works so much. We are closer to his office, but lately he has been working until early in the morning and then wakes up after 3 or 4 hours sleep to go back to work. It has been crazy and we haven't had much time with him at all.

We did have time last weekend to sneak some family photos! My little sister came to stay with us for the weekend and she just got a new camera! It's a beautiful Nikon d5000. We ventured over to the park across from us and took some cute shots.

The big move!

We put our house up for sale in June... Or July. And after 60 days, and 3 showings, and older Italian couple put in an offer. We refused and they walked away... For about 6 hours. lol
Their realtor, and ours discounted their services $1500, before tax, and we ended up selling for $236,000. We found a condo in Toronto, right downtown on the waterfront and it's pretty awesome. We're on the 37th floor, there's an awesome view of the lake and part of the city. When it is really clear out, you can see NY and Niagara Falls. It's nice to watch the lights at night. Pretty crazy how we can see it, but it takes so long to get there too!
Haha
We are about 90% settled in here and it's nice. We get to see Jamie before work and he's home pretty quickly in the evenings. It's been really nice for the girls. And we have so much family time now. We go to the museum and the island. We walk all around the PATH system and meet up with Jamie during the day. It has been really great for the family.
We are still figuring out whether to stay here or move when our lease is over. Who knows what the future has to hold!
On a really exciting note, we are going to England for Christmas! We are so excited. We will have just over 3 weeks to spend with Jamie's family. Every time I think about it, I want to run around screaming! I am SO excited!
Ah, Christmas is upon us, my friends!

OH MY GOODNESS!

It has been FOREVER and a day, but we are alive!!

So much has happened since I've posted last.. I think it's safe to say you'll fall asleep if I put it all in 1 post!

I'll start with the fact that on March 5, 2010 at 12.21 AM Ashley Victoria Edwards was born. She was due February 24th and I was really excited to have a February baby! We have SO many family birthdays in March!!

Long story... She was late and I had gone in for several ultrasounds. The last ultrasound I went in for on Wednesday the 4th, I was super stressed. Jamie took the week off work, thank goodness! I was at the end of my rope and at the ultrasound everything turned out well. She passed the BPP for the first time and they were not as worried about her anymore.

Angela had been 10 days early and Audrey came on her due date so it was unusual for me to have a late baby, medically speaking. She hadn't passed the first 2 BPPs, so this third ultrasound was the determining factor as to whether we could continue to wait and hope for a home birth or if we would need to go to the hospital and be induced. I had packed everything from my home birth basket into a hospital bag and made arrangements with my mom to take the girls and drive Jamie to the hospital if I ended up needing to go there straight from the midwives. The ultrasound tech was really nice and had me move around and do all sorts of things to make sure that the baby passed all the requirements. She faxed the results to the midwives and I went straight to their office to talk about the options.

They said everything looked great and Lisa checked me. She looked at me and said, "Girl, I don't know why you're NOT in labour...." I was 4cm and pretty much 100% effaced. She moved the little bit that was left and hoped to start some contractions. She told me to go to Wal-Mart and drink some Castor Oil because we were having a baby tonight!!! I was in SHOCK. After being pregnant for over 9 months, you are probably wondering how I could possibly be shocked, but I was. Haha I was still in her office and she's walking up and down the office telling people we were having a baby tonight and telling the other midwife to take the afternoon easy. I walked out of there like I was on the red carpet. People staring and whispering, "That's her..." I half expected the other hopeful mothers to kneel down as I walked, or ask for my autograph at least. Haha

I felt the contractions immediately!! I went to Wal-Mart to pick up some easy foods for Jamie to feed Angela and Audrey and what other munchies I wanted. I was waiting at the deli counter as I felt the heat from the contractions whisper up my back,  down my legs, around my tummy. It was a wonderful sensation. It wasn't painful, and I don't know how to describe it exactly. The lady told me it was her first day and she was getting used to things and I said, "Oh, no rush... I'm only in labour." She stared at me for a second and looked awkward like she wasn't sure what I'd said. Haha

I rushed home and unpacked. Jamie was cleaning up, all smiles and happy. The girls were playing with the empty birthing pool having a blast. I put a pizza in the oven and went upstairs to put on my nightgown. I wasn't feeling so good. I was anxious, and in denial that it was actually happening. You wait all this time and then bam! It's going!

So, I put on my Hypnobirthing CD and did the relaxing breathing. It was great. Put the girls to bed and I was sitting cross legged on the floor and I had some really strong contractions. It was good!

We started to watch American Idol at 8, and I had a mild freak out. I was begging to go to the hospital. I didn't know if I could do a THIRD home birth. It was taking too long! Audrey was born in 2 hours, and now I'd been having some steady contractions for a few hours.  Jamie told me to call the midwives and talk to them about it. I called. And cried. Francis asked if I still wanted to be at home. I knew if I said no, they'd meet me at the hospital. And if I said yes, they'd come but it would be too late to leave. So, I said yes.

I never ended up filling the birthing pool. I just wanted to stand up. I went in the shower and put it on full hot. I'd also turned up the heat on the water tank so it was HOT but it felt like heaven. I didn't feel any contractions and I was back on the wagon.

My mom came at 8 cm and got ice and gatorade for me. I refused to let Jamie out of my sight.

Blah blah blah.... Fast forward. I passed out from being too hot in the shower and Jamie caught me. I stayed on the floor for at least an hour. I didn't want to move. I was silent, focusing on my breathing and imagining the tap that I would turn on and it would release all the happy drugs I needed. Seriously, hypnobirthing = AMAZING. You underestimate your body and mind, women!

Anyhow, I was peaceful and happy where I was and then.... And then, it happened. My mother always said, "Once you feel/say like you can't go any longer, that's when the baby comes." I stood up. I cried. I grabbed the towel rack and said, "I'm done! I don't want a baby anymore!" And, gush... Water everywhere. I stared and thought OMG. The midwife was helping me to the bed and I refused to climb on! lol I just wanted to stand. I felt good standing! I got on and looked at the clock. 12.15 AM. All that time had passed and it hadn't felt like it! The student midwife was telling me to slow down and push gently. I stared at that clock like my life depended on it. Audrey came out in 6 minutes. I didn't want to do more than that! 6 minutes later..... Ashley was born!

She was 7 lbs 12 oz and a head full of red hair!!

The afterpains of baby number 3 was worse than the labour, my friends.

It was pretty great. Hypnobirthing is amazing and I wished I'd done it with the first 2.

And, now she is a busy little baby!

More to fill in the time gap later!

Potties..

Angela has been potty trained for a while now and doesn't really ever have accidents. If she does it's because she's either too excited and preoccupied to go or my fault for not taking her when I know she has to!

Anyhow, this week she had a few accidents as she was busy playing with friends, etc and was too excited to tell me she had to go. Today she went to Toronto with Jamie and when they got home we went down to a conservation area to feed the little chickadees. Jamie said she'd probably need to go pee and I wanted to go too since we'd be walking for a while and off we went. Well.......... It was a latrine. Oh my gosh, disgusting, I know. This is what happened.

A: Mommy, what's that?
M: That's the potty!
A: *scrunches her nose* S'gross
M: Well, we have to go pee!
A: I don't have to pee.
M: We're just going to try to make sure, ok?
A: I don't want to try.
I put her on the potty.
A: Whoa, hold me mommy!
M: I got you, don't worry! Try to go pee!
A: No. I don't want to.
M: Come on Ange. You go pee and then mommy will and we'll go find gramma and grampa and feed the birds!
A: No! I'm not going pee.
M: Ok.....

lol I wouldn't have gone pee on it either, but with a toddler it's a desperate time and so the latrine was definitely a desperate measure! My child is a diva, I know. At least she was nice enough to let me put her on it! Oh heck, I love flushing toilets.

♪ We are a happy family! ♪

Happy February!

I can't believe we are already a month into the New Year. Remember when we were little and it seemed like time dragged on fffffffoooooooooooorrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeevvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrr?! Now it goes by so quickly!!

This will also be the month of birth! lol I am still in denial that we are having another baby. It just can't be real. We don't have a vehicle that fits our kids (legally).... We have a little house.... We already have 2 kids!! lol I get a little anxiety thinking of going into labour again, but I've been doing hypnobirthing and it's done wonders! I am so relaxed that I fall asleep every time I do my breathing exercises! Haha

I get all excited when I fold her sweet little baby clothes and think of how much I love little babies! I hope she's little in weight so that I can enjoy her tininess that much longer! Audrey was so big she didn't wear half of the newborn clothes we had!

Angela is very excited for a new baby and Audrey doesn't really understand. We babysat Maxi Trax the other day for a little bit and Audrey did not like having me take care of another baby!!! lol She's going to be a terrible big sister for the first couple days. I can already see it! (Hopefully, I can write a post-baby blog about what a great big sister she is. lol)

So, so far this year has been wonderful. We have pressed on with every day life and are doing well with keeping our family goals! It is amazing to see how the Lord has answered our prayers and provided us with opportunities to fulfill our goals.

We are still recovering from Jamie doing his MBA and it was a good trial run at not having him around all the time since the poor guy commutes 3 hours a day so the girls don't get to see a lot of him. He's also in the bishopric, so they really only have Saturdays with him. We've started doing mommy-daughter and daddy-daughter dates, so once a month we'll take one of the girls out on their own and go for ice cream or something like that. Angela is now obsessed with the "Ice Cream Shop". lol

I have been doing lots of... Cleaning, organizing, planning, sewing, painting and decorating! It's been busy. I did our bathroom, and I painted the hallway up the stairs. It's nice not to have half a painted wall that stopped at the banister. lol Now of course all the painting needs to be finished and touched up, etc. I'm really good at starting projects, and not so good at 100% completion! lol That is one of my goals this time around. I have some sewing projects I want to do, but of course I need to finish the projects I've started!

Anyhoo - I have so much to do and I'm just sitting here browsing the internet and bloggin'. My goodness I'm a time waster some days!

I love my family. <3

Teeth!

Why is it that before a dentist visit people are "extra" diligent in flossing and brushing?! lol We don't want them to know that we didn't really do what we were supposed to! 

And why is it that when you are determined to do things properly and with more effect something goes wrong!? 

Combine these two and you have what happened to me on Saturday. :)

I had my dentist appointment coming up on Feb. 1st and made sure that I was doing everything to get my teeth ready! 

Well.... I forgot one thing. I love hard candy and now that it's coming close to Valentine's Day, I love cinnamon hearts! But I cannot suck on them, I chew everything! 

I woke up from a nap and popped a couple into my mouth to help me wake up and get dinner going. After eating dinner, we were sitting at the table chatting and I felt something sharp! 

A chunk of my back molar came out. From the cinnamon hearts! 

I luckily got an appointment for Tuesday and I am grateful that I didn't have to endure anything truly painful. The dentist had this magical little compound that he just put on the tooth and voila! 

Needless to say, it was a little reminder that I do not want to be wearing dentures by 30! 

Did I eat more cinnamon hearts today?..... Yes. But they'll be gone soon! 

Product Review: Point 'n Paint

OK - After watching the infomercials for the Point 'n Paint, I was interested! I have the top floor of the house to paint and this would definitely look like something that will help out with the task!

pointnpaint.com

Here is what the P 'n P claims to do:

• Paint an entire room in less than one hour
  
• Get perfect results every time
  
• No more paint prepping, runs or brush strokes (No taping)
  
• No more up and down ladders
• Glide along mouldings
• Zip around corners
• Paint circles around fixtures

Now, to make sure I was doing this right, I read the directions, set everything all up and watched the guy do it on the commercial.

Ask me how it went.. Come on. Ask! 

It was less than desirable let's say. Firstly, I didn't lug the ladder up from the basement because I had a pole, so I didn't need it according to the commercial! 

I got the paint going and the brush is so big that the paint leaks all over the edges of the tray and onto the floor! Good thing I *did* get out a sheet. OK, no problem, let's move on.... I put the brush on the wall attached to the pole and the brush rotates around in circles... It does not go up and down or sideways! Only in circles.

No more up and down ladders.... FAIL. I go to the basement and get the ladder. 

No more prepping, runs or brush strokes.... FAIL. There were runs as it tells you to push down on the brush and sometimes it would squish paint out. Brush strokes, there were. Still are! I would do the first coat using the Point 'n Paint, but I would not do the top coat because there are tons of marks. It was also very difficult to maneuver the pointer over the first coat of paint. The first coat was dry, I waited a few hours in between coats, but it was incredibly difficult. Also, it says you can wash and reuse the brush. I did this as well since it was the same colour so why waste 2 brushes, and I listened for the clicks to make sure it was in place, and it clicked several times so I figured it was secure. However.... It fell off 3 times as I was painting. There was paint all over the floor. Good thing it's water based! Terribly messy.

Glide along mouldings... Yes. BUT...... not to the edge. 

Zip around corners.... FAIL. If you do the first side and move to the next, the edge of the applicator will scrape the fresh paint that you just did.

Paint circles around fixtures... Pass.

Paint an entire room in less than an hour.... Pass. However, it was my bathroom, so I don't think it would do a regular room in an hour. 

All in all, I am not impressed but I would use it again for the first coat of paint because of how fast it "can" go, but I would also need to tape the borders and use a ladder.

I would not recommend it to my friends to go out and buy though! 

That went by quickly!

It has been a while - I kept thinking "What can I blog about?"... But with all the busy-ness that is our life, I couldn't think of a single thing when the opportunity arose to blog!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their families and friends! We had a very busy time!

I hosted my 3rd Annual Cookie Exchange. It was FANTASTIC! We had such a great cookies!!! Everyone brought 14 dozen cookies and we all left with different kinds! It really does help get the baking done for the season. Unless of course your husband loves them and eats all of one kind..... Not that it happened here or anything. ;)

We went to London at the beginning of the month for a day with our friend the Williams! It was so fun to see Angela playing with Kaite and they were having fun together! She doesn't really have little friends around here to play with so that was a real treat. She woke up the next morning and said, "Can we go play with my friends now?" Jamie had a good afternoon discussing "hot" topics with Zach and Mary and I did what we always love to do.... Cook. We made rolls (her rolls and bread are the BEST I've ever had.) and helped the kids decorate a gingerbread house. We also made hot chocolate with sweet potato puree for a little kick of healthy. It was super good too!

While there for the evening, we got to go to the London 1st Ward Christmas party and see some old friends! It was a really great trip and the weather was amazing!

We had a lovely Christmas Eve hosted by my aunt at her house. It is so nice to be with all the family at this time of year!

Unfortunately, while I remembered to pack double sets of clothing for the girls, in case of any accidents... I didn't think to pack clothes for us! Let me explain.... My aunt has a boston terrier and Angela is terrified of him. So, she was being carried around and played with by my little sister Ciara who is 10. She loooves Ciara! But, the poor girl is little and had to put Ange down for a break! Ange saw the dog, and she was so scared she peed...... Everywhere. Jamie picked her up and ran to the bathroom because he thought she was done, but she wasn't and it trailed all behind him. Big. Mess. So, while we could change the kids clothes, we couldn't change Jamie's and he was soaked to the skin down the left side of his body. Gross? Yes. So that ended our night early at 9pm!

The girls came home and hung up their stockings by the bed, put out cookies and milk (chocolate milk!!) and carrots for the reindeer. They got to open 1 present and say "Merry Christmas" to Jamie's mom and then off to bed! Angela was very excited for Santa to come!

We set up all the gifts and went to bed! The kids slept in until 8 (we wake up most mornings at 7 to drive Jamie to the train so it was a nice sleep in!) and Angela came running in with her stocking! It was so cute. The presents were opened and all was well until the girls started to want each other's things. And then the morning ended in screaming. :D What else can you expect?!

We went to mom's to give everyone their gifts and spent a little time with them. Angela got "Tinkaboo" from Britt and she looooves it.

We came home and made our turkey dinner and had my family over for a fun night! We also played Pictionary and really wish I'd taken pictures of some of the drawings! They were great.

I'm so grateful for all the wonderful family we have that spoiled our kids! We are so blessed and grateful for this wonderful time of year that makes everything seem so special and life so bright!

Best wishes for 2010 to all of you!

Painting.....

Before Jamie went off to Ivey, we were painting the house. Unfortunately, I have a bad habit of starting projects and not finishing them.... Well. I painted the main floor (with help from Jamie and my parents) and we have a high ceiling going up the flight of stairs so there's no way I could do it. And at the time I was 6 or 7 months pregnant with Audrey. So. I painted to the banister and stopped. lol Now when we do paint that part, I will have to paint the whole wall along that side, which is fine because I love the paint!

Now, the problem I have is that no matter how many different types of painters tape I use, they all LEAK! I even go along the edge with my nails to make sure it's stuck down to the ground.

So tonight I painted some of the baseboards because they still had the browny paint on them from last year and oh my heck... When I ripped it all up, almost the whole way around there is paint that leaked under the edge. I am so frustrated! Luckily it's the tile, so I can just wait for it to dry and then scratch it off.

What the heck do I do in the future!?!

On another note, we are all doing well. The girls and I are healed of the 3 week cold we had! So annoying, but gratefully Jamie didn't get it. Poor guy had to sleep on the couch for a few nights!

We bought an H2O Mop as well! We have stains on the carpet like crazy. I take full responsibility for letting the girls eat their food anywhere they want... Eek! Anyhow, we spent a bit of time on one patch of bad marks where Angela had fallen over with a cup of juice and because of the impact of the fall the sippy-ness of the cup didn't work and it squirted out everywhere!! This morning I gave it a little vacuum and it was lovely! The marks are almost gone!! Quite amazing I think for something that uses no chemicals and only steam! And we did part of the tiles last night, and it took off marks that I couldn't get off on my own! So awesome.

Other than the usual, we are keeping busy with the Christmas season! Lots of planning in order! We put up the tree today and Angela was so excited to help. Audrey came down the stairs and just stood there staring. She did say "Wow" as well. So cute!

We have some new friends who moved in to the area and they came over today to play. Angela is so loud, the poor girls were probably scared for the first while!! But they had lots of fun and I'm so glad the girls love to play and their mom is wonderful too!

Well, I need to figure out how to make a big Christmas bow so I'm off to learn!!

Lessons learned: This week - Macaroni

Angela LOVES macaroni. (AKA Kraft Dinner) But, when you don't find it on sale for $0.67 a box like I did *this* week, it runs for a dollar more and I'm not always willing to pay for it now that it only lasts 1 meal with Angela and Audrey eating it as opposed to the 2 or 3 when it was only Angela. So, while I was getting some treats at Bulk Barn (Best place ever. Love it.) I saw a container of Mac and Cheese powder. I thought, this is excellent. It's KD sauce and I can buy my own macaroni and make it for cheaper!!!!

Now, in the past, I have learned that there are just certain things that you do not try to replace. Like using "no name" shortening instead of Tenderflake or Crisco... FAIL. Do not do it. When we go shopping together and I say "I wonder if I can use "such and such" instead..." Jamie usually says, "Don't do it. Just pay for it or you will regret it." And at least half the time he's right. (It's probably more, but we'll just give him the 50% so I feel better!)

Anyhow, I thought for sure the cheese sauce would be fine!! I bought "ABC" pasta's and Ange and I journeyed home to prepare our new delicious meal..........

Well. I made it. I tasted it. I hated it.

I gave it to Ange thinking she won't care and she took 1 bite and spat it out and said "Mommy, it's 'isgusting." LOL I laughed so hard. So I failed at the processed cheese powder and luckily found some KD on sale for this week to make up for the failed event.

There are just some things you cannot replace!!

Hmm...

There were 2 beautiful baby boys born last week to friends of ours. They are just perfect little babes!

We found out this week that we will be having another girl. I am glad to know that we won't have to put a boy in a pink girls room! lol I was a little worried about that..... We haven't decided on names or anything else at the moment. I don't think we can even believe this is still happening. I certainly didn't think we would be having any more children! I guess it's a reminder that our plan isn't always going to go according to "our" plan.

It's been an emotional week as well. I mean, this has been the most emotional of all my pregnancies... I get choked up during the On-Star commercial when the pregnant lady gets in an accident and her husband says "I'm on my way!!" Haha. But while these beautiful babies are being born, I have learned of a few other friends who were not as fortunate and lost their sweet babies. There are only so many words that can be said to comfort. I cannot imagine the feelings that are going through their hearts as they had to say goodbye to their sweet angels.

I am lucky enough to have two healthy girls who I get to tuck in every night. And when they are asleep, I go back in their rooms and re-cover them with blankets and watch them dream. I rub their faces and memorize the contours of their face. I always walk out of the room and say to Jamie "I love our girls". Those few simple moments to watch them peacefully and dream and hope for them are so precious. I now understand why my mom used to come in to our rooms late at night and kiss our foreheads even as we were young adults.

I am so grateful for the beautiful gospel that we have. I can only imagine how my friends are feeling, and sympathize with them as much as I can. And I know that through the gospel, and the sealing blessings that are available to us, we will see these angels again. I wish them all the strength and love that I have that they will be comforted. I do not know the answers to why but I have been reminded for the last two months of the scriptures Isaiah 41:10. "Fear not, for I am thy God. Be not dismayed for I am with you." I wake up in the mornings thinking these lines. I keep it with me and it is most cherished. I am grateful that there is someone who knows how we feel at all times and that we can go to Him and lay these feelings at His feet, and He will help us carry them. I know I cannot do it on my own.

Another day, another story...

.... Actually, that's not really accurate because my days are pretty repetitious!

Everything is coming along! Jamie is working and enjoying it. He is such a great dad and spends time with his little girls whenever he gets the chance. Some days they only get to see him on the rides to and from the train and it can be difficult on them. More so for Angela because she misses him so much! She loves when they go on walks or to the park or play soccer. She always comes home with a leaf or a rock for me! :) And she is so excited to tell me what they did. She talks so much these days and sometimes I can't figure out how she learned to say what she did! :)

Audrey is a crazy girl! Way more active than Angela ever was. She opens every drawer and pulls everything out! She constantly plays in the toilets if the doors aren't locked!! Good thing they're always flushed....... Haha! And Angela always closes them in to rooms. Like a dark closet, or their bedroom or she closes all the doors and they are stuck in the hallway! It is really funny sometimes. Every time I find them in the closet, Audrey is sitting in the wicker basket wrapped in my super fluffy and soft robe. It is really cute how she'll just sit there rubbing the softness! She looks like she will doze off even if she's just woken up. She also climbs everywhere! If she is on our bed, she'll crawl backwards until she slips off. Or if she's on the couch and the ottoman is in the way, she'll just slide backwards over the arms! She is a nut!

We find out on Thursday what the gender of the next little one will be. We've had a few friends have babies this week and it brings back all the memories and feelings of the previous ones. I start to feel anxiety! I don't like not having control and I have a hard time relieving it when it's inevitable! We are planning another home birth so we'll see how it goes.

I am very excited for Christmas!!!! I have already planned a Pampered Chef party just for fun! Woo hoo! And a friend and I have planned a cookie exchange for the last 2 years so we are on to our 3rd and I hope it's a good turn out! It's fun to hang out with friends and get a nice assortment of cookies for entertaining! I plan on making homemade fondant chocolates again this year. They will be way better than last year! Last year we didn't boil the fondant long enough, so it will be easier this year after going through the trial period last year!

Oh, and we are having Audrey's 1st birthday party, so I have to go do the invites!!!

Magic Bullet!!!

Ok - For years I have watched the infomercial for the Magic Bullet... And loved it!

The funny actors they get to come in - LOL - So funny. And how easy is it?! Oh heck! Now, I don't fancy all the microwaving they do, but that can be replaced with proper cooking!

Well, one wonderful day this week... We were at Costco, and they had the regular deal for $50!!! SWEET! So, Angela was the deal-breaker. We asked her, and at first she said "No" because it didn't look so exciting to her. And then she saw the coloured cups and says *gasp* "GREEN!!!!!!!!" And that was it.... SOLD!

So..... Tonight..... I am making quesadillas for dinner. We'll see how it goes guys! We'll see how it goes.... I made an omelet this morning, but I had the wrong blade on so it didn't break up the peppers. Oops! Still tasted great though!

Oh, baby!

Well, life has been eventful as always and we can finally take a breath! Almost...

Firstly, we are having another baby. This one is due February 24th, 2010. 3 babies under 3!! Good work Jackie and Jamie.. Sheesh! lol

Also, Jamie is going to be HOME all the TIME! YAY! Jamie has changed jobs and got a job in Toronto with RBC! He is looking forward to it and is grateful for this new opportunity.

Angela is quite the chatterbox. She was talking to dad on the phone the other day (They went out to Alberta to visit with my mom's family) and she told him that she was eating a hot dog and grapes and she spilt her water on the couch. lol I got on the phone to help him understand what she'd said and he said he understood it all!! lol She loves to call Jamie when he's not home and tell him what's happening at home.

Audrey is a crazy girl! She crawls super fast. and she took 7 steps this week!

This baby is making me as sick as I was with the girls. Some days are great and some days I just want to sleep allllllll day long. I had a dream the baby was a boy! I kind of hope it is so that Jamie can have a little guy to play with.

And other than that, we are just enjoying having daddy home for all of August!! We got a zoo pass and we're going to take the girls to the temple to see it. It is going to be great.

There is only one thing that I want right now..... My passion for cooking. It has disappeared!!! I just never want to cook! I just stand there and stare at the food thinking "What should I make?...." or "I do not want to cook....." Which is so not me!! I love to cook!! I think it's the summer. I just hate cooking in the summer. Winter is so exciting. Soups and roasts and mmmmmmm.

AND CHRISTMAS! I am getting ready already!! Can't wait!