I'm Back

I have an update.... 2010 started out rough for my family.. My husband and I separated, The boys and I packed up and moved back to my hometown to my parents home on very short notice. We left with just the clothes on our backs and a few of the kids special things. Everything else was left behind. We started over and am so grateful for the adversity that was presented in my life. I am who I am 1 year later because of what I have gone through. My children remain with me full time and they are thriving in our new life. I AM HAPPY. Here are a few photos to share to show you how much the children have changed and grown, and a few of me as well

Mommy, Jay and Little A in Peggy's Cove Nova Scotia

Mommy and Shay..

Shay, Jay and little A

My precious family

Muah, Muah, Muah... My little guys.

I have started a new blog to document and share my Weight loss journey I am sooo excited about it. Mommy's Muffin Top, I hope you will stop by and take a look around.. share a comment..

It feels great to be blogging again, I've missed it.. I needed to regroup and I am back..

Snugglebugs

Hubby is away again, on a business trip....He left for Calgary Alberta, Monday Morning.. The boys are quick to stake out their spots in our King size bed... I am very thankful that my boys are snuggle bugs. I will be happy when he is home on Thursday, I am missing him, maybe it is because of the time of year, there is so much to do and so little time.. and Honey is away from his Honey Do List...

6 month Update

Aiden was 6 months old on the 12th of December. Where do the months go? My baby is 1/2 a year old. sniff. sniff..
Still no teeth.. Seriously...
Aiden is now sitting up on his own
When on the floor he will roll to get to where or what he wants. Aiden is very vocal and in constantly jabbering away..I love it!!!.
He is developing his own playful attitude. He loves when Seamus comes home from School to play with him.. Aiden absolutely loves Jacob and is always trying to get his hair in his hands..Jacob on the other hand is keeping his distance. Aiden is very much aware of the people around him, and is very social.

We are getting ready to celebrate Aiden's First Christmas. And Looking forward to what the new year has to bring us, as they boys continue to grow.

All I want for Christmas is....

My Two Front Teeth..

Seamus is making his living these days from the money he is collecting from the tooth~fairy. He will be 8 years old in January and is now just loosing his teeth.. He was the last one in his class to loose his first tooth.. He claims he worked hard getting those teeth out!! Do you know how many time I wiggled that tooth?

Love the toothless Grin!!!

Adventure in the Woods Today

My sister Katie and her dog Kilo, My son Jacob and I spent the day in the woods today. It was a perfect day. There was Snow on the Ground, we had a thermos of Hot Chocolate (snowman soup), a sleigh and headed out to the wood to gather "Island Fir" from Evergreen trees. I make Christmas Wreaths every year and I have to admit this year I am behind schedule but I will have them all done this week. I will be posting a tutorial of sorts regarding the process. here are a few photos from our day.
Katie, Me and Jacob it was cold... until we got into the shelter of the trees. We trudged through the snow.. My legs are still aching... Jacob was a trooper and walked the almost the whole way.. I figure he will be in bed early tonight with all the fresh air today!!! :)
Jacob in a nook. We had snow on Sunday today being Tuesday everything was covered with snow it was truly beautiful out there today!
Katie and Kilo.... These two are inseparable... Kilo goes everywhere with Katie, she even goes to work with her. She is such a well behaved dog, she is very obedient. Katie spends alot of time training her and she is never with a leash because she has been trained to walk next to Katie on Command. They have an amazing connection.

We came home and the wood stove was going so the house was all cozy..nothing better than walking in from the cold with red cheeks and cold hands and warming up next to a wood stove... with a cup of Hot Chocolate (snowman soup).

My sister Jenna stayed at the house with Aiden, and I am very thankful to have such a great sister who will take time out of her day and come spend time with my little boy so I can get out and get some things done.

How was your day today?

Home~MADE for the Holidays.

Seriously how cute are these little ornaments? We try to give Homemade gifts through the holiday Season. The kids make ornaments and other nicknack's to give to family, teachers and friends. I came across these little Beauties on Martha Stewart. This will be our Saturday adventure for sure, Buttons and Pipe Cleaners...

I will be heading out this weekend to gather some Island Fir from the Woods to make my Christmas Wreaths, I usually end up making about 23 of them, the list does get longer every year. I will have to do a picture Tutorial of the Christmas Wreath making.

Also we give goodies such as brownie mixes in decorative bags, Snowman Soup for the Kiddies (hot coco). I will be busy in the kitchen for the next few weeks putting together Pizza Fingers, Meat Pies, Christmas cookies, and Spaghetti Sauce and meatballs. As much as I enjoy being in the kitchen and cooking for my family and friends, I love sending them home with food...I like to Feed People!!

Do you like to Give and or Receive homemade gifts? Any ideas for Homemade during the holidays?

Money Does Not Grow on Trees

When is a good time to start talking to your kids about money?
Seamus (7) and Jacob(4) are both very much aware of what money is. I want them to be smart about Money, but I don't want to scare them.. I talk to them about the cost of items. For example when grocery shopping I will compare the price of a name brand apple sauce cost $2.69, and the generic brand cost $2.39. I will discuss the difference in Prices, The product that we are purchasing and and the total amount saved.
When running into the grocery store to pick up Milk and a few other items that we ran out of, the total came to $30 at the check out I asked him if he thought $30 was alot of money and YES he thought $30 was a lot of money, I asked him then if he thought we bout a lot of items with $30 and he said No. We had purchased Milk, Bread, Bananas, Toilet Paper and Laundry Detergent. 5 items in the check out and the we paid approximately $30. I think that he needs to be aware of the cost of everyday items.
I remember being out on my own for the first time and the shock at the cost of the necessities.

Just this past Saturday evening the boys (Ashton (9) and Seamus) were looking through the Numerous Christmas catalogues, discussing their choices for their Christmas Wish Lists. Seamus pointed out a toy "transformer" and said well it only cost 29.99, and Ashton said with out a second thought "plus taxes". Seamus was like what are taxes?

One thing that I have to start doing is paying for items with cash other than with the ever convenient Debit Card. They see the Two Weeks worth of Groceries and me Swiping a card, they don't always see the "Cash".

Kids need to know that Money Does Not Grow on Trees.

Aiden finds his toes!

Aiden had a very busy day yesterday...HE found his toes..

Katie Kat!

My sister Katie is home and we could not be happier. She moved from Calgary to PEI. He K-9 friend Kilo came home with her as well. WE have missed them both, she was home in October and shortly after returning she decided that she wanted to be home!!..

Katie is the free spirit in our family, she walks into a room and kids just gravitate towards her, at anytime you will find her sitting in the living room on the floor with the kids guitar in hand her dog by her side and singing away, she has a kind heart.

It has been a busy week, Katie flew into Halifax Airport, which is 3 hour drive from our home, we went to pick her up, then we got her settled into her apartment out at the farm. Katie will be working at the stables again, doing what she loves..working with the horses and getting things into order there!

We went grocery shopping and it is so weird to shop with someone who is shopping for only them selves. When I go shopping I ponder every decision, compare prices. She sees something she gets it no questions asked.. $20 for shampoo and conditioner...do you know what I could buy with $20.

To be Young and Carefree....

It is good to have miss Katie home. We might get to have a night out having a reliable babysitter living so close.....

H1N1

On Monday Morning I had a regular appointment with our family Dr. For Aiden's check up and Jacob Eczema.. She asked if we were getting our vaccines this week for the H1N1. This was the first week for Vaccines in PEI and the following list is who is available for the first round of vaccines.

Week of October 26th

• Health care Workers
• Household contacts of children less than six months
• Children six months of age up to school entry
• People with chronic conditions (under the age of 65)
• Household contacts and care providers of people who are immune compromised
• First Nations and Aboriginal Population

I told our family Doctor that I was on the fence regarding the vaccination, I was hearing both negative and positive things regarding the H1N1 Vaccine. I had a lot of Questions and she was super great and answered every single one.

On Wensday Jacob and I went and had our vaccines done, Seamus will get his through school on Nov 3, and Scott is just getting home today from being in LasVegas and he will go an get his vaccine the first of next week. I feel really comfortable with the decision we made for our family.

My advice to anyone trying to decide what to do..to get the H1N1 vaccine or not is get all the information ask questions if you are unsure. Only you can make the right decision for your family.

For information on H1N1 in Prince Edward Island please visit this website http://www.gov.pe.ca/flu/

Pumpkins, SuperHeros, Brothers and a Cruise Ship~

Seamus and Jacob, Seamus is now in the stage of the awkward fake smile... Whats a mom to do.. You will often here me say Don't smile!! I miss the big grins he once would give...

Seriously this pumpkin weighed in at 641 pounds..whoa!!

My SUPER HEROS Seamus & Jacob, Faster than the speed of light boys!!!!

Seamus and Jacob, Aiden was snoozing and with all this teething business that we are going through with him... I live by the philosophy Do not wake a sleeping baby..even if it is the perfect opportunity for a photo with all three boys... I was not about to wake the guy..what a fierce couple of days...

Down to the waterfront to see the cruise ship that was in port and was getting ready to leave..

Now the boys are all tucked in to bed..in the big bed tonight.. daddy is off to vegas today till Thursday, when he is away I tuck the boys in with me, I like to have them all close when we are here without Scott..

Also today was a crazy day as soon as I got home from dropping Scott off at the Airport, I come home to find Ashton Vomitting he was pretty sick , once I got him cleaned up and settled down, I went to the basement to put his bedclothes in the wash to find our basement Flooded......and to top it all of the truck is acting wonky and I have to bring it to the dealership in the Am to have the mechanic look at it. I was never so grateful for the Shop Vac my husband gave to me for my birthday last year. I was not happy at the time mind you. but very grateful today.

Also lexi has been giving me a lot of attitude lately and especially today I am trying to deal with that situation in a positive way.. but I will leave that for another post

Motherhood is not for the faint-hearted. Frogs, skinned knees, and the insults of teenage girls are not meant for the wimpy. - Danielle Steele

Long Day

My day started really really early, I had to take my husband to the airport, let me rephrase that I wanted to take my husband to the airport, I didn't want him to take a cab..mainly because we live in a rural area and to take a cab to the airport would cost close to $40 and I am way to frugal.. So I get up and I drive him!!! Scott is off to Quebec City till Thursday, and then he is home till Sunday and then flying to Las Vegas.. Work Work Work... I really miss him when he is gone, he does travel quite a bit..

So with Scott away today I thought that it would be a great day to visit a close Friend of mine and her two boys today.. Her youngest is only 2 months old.. so it was a great opportunity to bring her all the clothing Aiden has outgrown. I always pass things along, mind you there are a few pieces that I can not bear to part with!!

It was great to get out and visit and catch up.. we are always saying how great it is to have a friend who does not mind talking about baby poop..

On the way home I stopped by a community park and Jacob ran around and played on the play yard. He was so determined to climb this rock wall..

Up Up Up Up.....
Higher, Higher, Higher......

Almost there, I can see the horizon.....

Look Mommy!! I told you I could do it!

Yes You Can you determined little boy!

Empty Nest Syndrome sorta kind of

My mom aka Nana offerd to take the boys on Wednesday until today which is Friday.. Seamus had two days off from school due to Professional Development days or PD days as I like to call them. So Wednesday Evening once hubby got home from work I loaded the kiddos into the truck and headed to Nana's house (which is a two hour drive), we got there they had supper got them ready for bed and tucked in and then I came home, a little giddy with excitement that I was with no children not once on the way home did I have to threaten to pull over if boys didn't stop hitting or spitting. All I could think about was sleeping in the next morning... Sleeping in!!! Imagine that..., I got home picked up the toys scatted on the floor did a load of laundry, and then headed to bed, only to wake up periodically throughout the night to check on Baby Aiden, but he was at Nana's. I was wide awake at 7 am, and waiting till 8 am before I called to check on the kids. The house was soooo freakishly quiet last night . I kept saying how awkward it is to have the house so quiet.. I debated about driving up to see them, but when I called the boys they were having so much fun., and I decided to leave them be. I can not wait till this evening to go get my Little Monkeys. Sometimes I am so quick to complain about the noise, the chaos, the fighting between the boys, the legos scatterd on the floor, but I would not change it for anything. I am blessed and I know it to have these three boys in my life. They are getting older and more independant everyday. A freind mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Aiden was spoiled that I held him to much and my response was... He is a baby, there will with out a doubt come a time where he will not need his mommy to hold him... So call it spoiled call it what ever you want I am going to snuggle with my boy..

On an ending note, Hug your kids a little longer today, be thankful for the fingerprints on the windows, and the legos upon the floor.

All Together

They may not all be looking at the camera, some have eyes closed, Seamus is in mid speach, but they are all together for one photo.. I am happy!!

Family Photo

This photo was taken on Sunday at Aiden's Baptism.

Tickle

Seamus had a great time with his cousin R...We spent a Sunday Afternoon celebrating my father in-laws 50th birthday... with family. The boys were busy being boys and when a tickle wrestling match broke out on the lawn two mommies grabbed for the cameras to get a shot of the boys...