www.babychance.blogspot.com

Sibling Rashalry

2012-01-11T13:30:00.000-08:00

Karin seems to be just like her brother, prone to massive eczema breakouts. Looks like she gets them a bit easier though, as she went from just a couple of spots on her back to full body rash in 24 hours. Massive systemic eczema...we're supposed to rub her head to toe with Protopic, and put Fucidin cream on her hands and chin, where the spots have become infected with what looks like impetigo.

My poor beautiful daughter looks like she has chicken pox or something....she's pretty tolerant of the situation, but occasionally cries and says it's "owwie / itchy".

Photos coming when I find the camera cord....sigh.

Christmas Holiday Wrap Up

2012-01-08T02:59:00.000-08:00

Had a great Christmas vacation this year. Everyone in our family was healthy, amidst many of our friends who had the flu. After last Christmas, we will never take being healthy for the holidays for granted again!

Enjoyed a good deal of time outside on the toboggan hill and got Chance out for a cross country ski. The weather has been very warm and we're nearly out of snow now, so glad we took advantage of the outdoor time over the holidays. Here is Karin sacked out after a sled hill excursion:

Christmas morning joys: cups of tea for everyone!

I think they were aiming at the cat when I took this photo...

I stuffed my first huge turkey for Boxing Day dinner with Cam's parents. Usually we stick with smaller chickens....so wrassling this thing was a bit of a challenge but it was pretty tasty. Got a little crazy and cut off all my hair a few days before Xmas....still loving having "easy" hair. I'm sure the "growing out" phase will drive me just as crazy as the long hair maintainance.

Cam absorbing the Christmas Mess....we really tried to keep things organized (red bag for wrapping paper, boxes for taking gifts up to bedrooms after opening, etc.) but it really didn't help much...haha.

We rang in the New Year with friends from home, it was a great time. Got to meet the latest addition as friends welcomed their daughter into the world just a few days before Xmas....babies sure are amazing little creatures. The kids made it to 11 PM and then were showing signs of getting wound up to the point of no return and/or critical meltdown, so we made the decision to go home and let the car ride settle them down for bed. Cam and I did our smooch on the couch watching the Calgary New Years fireworks on the TV.

Well now we've been back at work for the first week of 2012 and I can say there's a night and day difference in how I feel, so must mean we had a relaxing time. Cam started a new job and is having a good time so far I think. His new office is more centrally located, so it's making life a bit easier in the way of commute / getting together for lunch / going to the gym. Karin's birthday is just around the corner and so we're looking forward to a visit with my parents then, as well as hopefully some skiing out in the mountains and thinking we're going to introduce Chance to the bunny hill at COP. Chance is just dying to get back to school, he misses his teacher and friends there, so Monday will be really exciting for him.

Winter Baby

2011-12-25T13:20:00.000-08:00

"Holy Cow, that's a lot of snow!"

"I mean, just look at it all!!"

"Good thing I'm too little to shovel...."

Photos from a few weeks ago when we had a big snowfall. These days it's not quite so white, but we do have some lingering icy snowbanks...and our snowman hung in there to the very last moment.

Trimming the Tree!

2011-12-14T19:38:00.000-08:00

Proud of their accomplishment! I can't say I helped much this year, was laid up with a cold that made me want to curl up and sleep for 400 years, so just sat in the corner with my camera. Kids had a wonderful time and every day there's a few extra ornaments that get created at school or at home that end up on the tree.

2011-12-10T19:01:00.000-08:00

Chance: "Mom, your skin looks like Pill Pudding's".

Me: "Who is Pill Pudding?"

Chance: "Like on Star Wars 3 when Anakin goes to rescue Pill Pudding" (Palpatine).

Why isn't this stuff on anti-aging commercials??? I'm only 31 (OK nearly 32) years old!!

1 month time warp!

2011-11-27T08:14:00.000-08:00

Caught in the act...trying to get up on the counter to play with her brother's Lego.
Anxious for snow much???

Christmas party face paints (Karin has a snow man on her cheek, but it's on the wrong side).

Visiting the Big Man. Very exciting!

...or maybe terrifying is the right word!

This month just flew by! We had a good visit with family earlier in the month, with good highways & good kids in the van. The plane rides, falling asleep in the van with the kids & change in bed took a toll on my neck so it has been out of whack, good thing the chiropractor is just outside my elevator bank at work, haha.

Curling on nights has been going well. Our team has had a series of up and down games but we're starting to see real improvement in our skills (ie. rarely hog a rock or throw through the house these days). The only thing is by the end of the week, sometimes it's all I can do to drag myself to the curling rink...the good news is it's only a 2 minute drive away from the house, so at least it's close. Cam's curling is going well too.

Work is work. :P

Kids are growing fast. Chance is starting to bring home lots of stories and songs from Kindergarten. They have a letter themed show and tell most days (usually they cover 3 letters per week, they finished up on "M" this week -- Chance brought the tumbled magnetite I bought him at a geology conference. He said everyone wanted to try playing with it, you could tell he was happy with the choice to bring it to school. When they covered the letter "K" he brought my kneepads, which he was really excited to show for some reason and said that everyone laughed at him...hard lessons already, my heart broke when he told us at the end of the day. Chance got up on his skates last weekend at the kids' party thrown by my work. It was held at the Stampede grounds, with an adjoining skating arena. Santa was present and we had a kid gourmet meal of hot dogs and hamburgers. Face painting, balloon animals, kraft kits to take home, etc. All in all a great morning and afternoon.

Karin has some new words these days: princess, food-ah (food), ehwant (I want). Also she came to me yesterday and was acting strange, and I asked her if she needed to go #2 (she usually goes around that time and it's the only thing I could think of that could be bothering her) & she said yes! We went to the bathroom and the big girl did her jobbie on the toilet! One less diaper to change yesterday...so today during her regular "quiet" time I'll be sure to ask her again.

Not a whole lot on the go today. The house needs some tidying up in places and we are thinking of heading over to the Farmers Market. On the way back I want to stop at a dollar store or something to get some craft supplies to keep kids busy on cold days. Yesterday was quite warm, all the snow melted on the deck and we went for a run in the late afternoon. That melted snow turns the deck into a treacherous surface, so last week bought some "sandy" rough tape that sticks onto the edge of the stairs. Last thing anyone needs here is a busted leg or thrown out back!

Oh and bought an order of beef from my friend Chrissy, she's got a friend that is a local beef farmer. Last week's was one of the best beef roasts we've had, it was even better leftover.

Vocab Roundup

2011-10-09T01:48:00.000-07:00

Punkies = Pumpkins
Show!
Baddle = Bottle (ie. steel water bottle)
More!
Potty
Pee Pee
Buckie = Bucket
My Boots = new (hand-me-down) cowboy boots from Chance
Mommy Boots = Mom's cowboy boots
Whassat / Whassisit = What's that / What is it **

** hearing this one a LOT. Little sponge!

October activities...

2011-10-09T01:36:00.000-07:00

Making jars and jars of salsa, late into the night....

Watching pots...

Making his own wrapping paper for a birthday gift. We ended up with 3 blue and red Optimus Primes, one red and green, and one all yellow. Added glitter to the belly grills and chest windows & was a much admired present at the birthday party.

Yes...expressing an interest in potty training. Have had several evening tinkles before bath time, but we're not pushing it on her at this point.

Chance has a loose tooth! Could this smile be changing soon???

Visit with Gramma & Grampa

2011-09-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

Had a good visit with Grampa & Gramma from Regina, thanks for coming guys! Had beautiful weather and had a good time hauling in some produce from garden: potatoes, carrots & tomatoes. Also we decimated our sunflower field, which made a huge difference in the appearance of the back yard. I hung up some of the heads for the birdies ("burts") to enjoy.

Had a good walk around part of the Glenmore Reservoir, nice fall colours starting to show.

In other news...Chance's first tooth is loose...could have a crash course in tooth loss coming up soon!

First Day of Kindergarten!

2011-09-01T20:01:00.000-07:00

Happy kiddo -- he was very excited to start school. He will walk from his daycare to school (a few kids there will be in his class), but I thought the orange schoolbus made a nice background!
Marching them in...one little girl got a bit tearful...

Bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to go in the morning. His shoes were ON, his jacket was ZIPPED, and his backpack was READY.

New Things...

2011-08-08T19:46:00.000-07:00

New handmade blanket and pillowcase made by Mom!

Newest hairstyle....french braid pigtails!

Sportball Soccer

2011-08-08T19:41:00.001-07:00

Go Chance, go!

Stretching!!

Learning some footwork...

Listening to Coach.

Happy Son!

Mishmash

2011-08-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

Chance and his huge sunflowers. They're even taller now, and some golf-ball sized heads on them but no blooms yet.

Peas on the menu, every few days in our house! Yum!

New apple tree!

Karin loves the sandbox. She got pink eye this week.

Great Long Weekend

2011-08-03T21:52:00.000-07:00

Had a Great Heritage Day weekend in the city, lots of picnics/eating outdoors as the weather was really great.

We visited Calaway Park and Chance stood in line for an hour and a half to do the log ride with Cam. Karin and I rode the merry go round 3x, the boats & balloon ferris wheel type ride. After the log ride, Chance and I did the Viking Ship and then a pod-type whirly thing that made me scream genuinely.

We had a great visit with our friends in Okotoks and enjoyed their neighbourhood lake and a tasty BBQ afterwards. We also took advantage of the splash park downtown as well as stopped in to view the city skyline from the 35th floor of Banker's Hall (Mommy's office). Chance thought that was pretty cool, along with getting a blue slurpee from the machine in the employee lounge.

Cam and I squeezed in a 5 km run in some pretty hot weather, plus took Chance for a fair bike ride with a stop at the river to cool off (Mommy jumped right in, it was THAT hot!).

Other highlights....on Tuesday we completed an 11 km run, was pretty happy with that distance! Seem to have injured my chest a bit though, so need to take it slower/easier for a few days. Filled in the dead spot in the garden with some marigolds. Not sure what got the sprouting beans, frost or worms...I'm thinking frost, as the ones that did come up are awfully stunted. Probably won't get a harvest off them. Saw the last Harry Potter movie (AND the preview for the newest Twilight installation....eek!) Got Karin in to see optometrist as she caught Chance's pink eye and we used up all our drops....Cam cracked that we need this stuff in 4 gallon buckets, not 3 mL droppers...the doc thought that was funny.

It's officially summer!

2011-07-24T19:29:00.001-07:00

Summer weather and Karin and I did our first mom & daughter pedicure!

Yahoo! Chance's Perspective on the Calgary Stampede 2011

2011-07-14T19:49:00.000-07:00

Chance LOVED the tractors. He took this photo very very carefully (no thumb in the way, straight, etc.) He was very proud.

The mini horses made him say "aww".

He loved all the police....especially at the end of the parade with all the police cars with sirens.

Next year we are supposed to try to get a ride on this thing, according to Chance.

Hungarian dancers.

1 1/2 years ago!

2011-07-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

I gave Chance my digital camera a year and a half ago...just now got around to downloading.

3 months after Karin was born.

Chance would sit and chat while Karin nursed. She never really minded his questions and interjections. That kind of distraction would have made Baby Chance howl in frustration.

Mr. Grumpytown in Millrise walking his little white dog.

The Melita van that was always parked on our street.

Digital Photo Time Capsule

2011-07-14T19:39:00.001-07:00

What were we doing a little more than 1 year ago?? Interesting finds on Chance's digital camera!

We were still living in the Millrise house!

Learning what life was like with a new baby girl!

Feeding that little girl food in her high chair!

Going for walks in our new neighbourhood! Life looks different from a height of 3 feet!

Say "cheese", Mom & Karin!

Chance's photos

2011-07-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

Chance inherited my old digital camera...we dug it out of his toybox this weekend to take photos of the the parade. He ended up taking a photo of everyone except the cat....Daddy...

...Grandma Lillian...

...Grandpa Maurice...

...interesting view of our house...

...and even a photo of Karin!

Catching up with last 3 weeks!

2011-07-03T19:45:00.000-07:00

Chance with Canadian Leaf at Fort Calgary Canada Day celebrations. Big hugs!

Karin thoroughly enjoyed the petting zoo. She called all the 4 legged animals (goats, sheep, pigs) "puppies". She called the baby chicks "PEEP PEEP PEEP!!!!"

Karin has been introduced to corn on the cob. There's a good 2 minute squall when you take the chewed up cob away and refuse to give a new one (in this case, we had finished all of them...she was very upset!)

Chance and Karin taking a juice break.

Two of my four kitchens have been finished. The square one has made its way to a home for foster children (our friend works there) - the other I'm hoping to donate through a group that I've volunteered with before.

Cripes!

2011-06-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

Wink, wink!

Can you guess where this is going??

Probably not...brace yourselves!

CRIPES! 2 mosquito bites and this is what Karin looked like on Sunday. She got the mosquito bites on Friday at 5 PM, somewhere between the daycare and the Green Park, which is a 7 block bike ride. When I took her out of the Chariot, she had two bites on her right cheekbone, and I thought "Oh this is going to swell up"...but I had no idea! She is much improved now (Benadryl, Benadryl, Benadryl) - but her birthmark appears quite dark and dry...I'm thinking from the swelling/stretching of her skin. We'll see what happens with time.

This is Saturday morning....bad enough, but Sunday morning was the worst. New nicknames: Hugo, Lumpy, Taz (this one fits more because of the language she's been spouting lately...she sounds like the Tazmanian Devil from Bugs Bunny).

Auntie Jen Visits

2011-06-15T19:48:00.000-07:00

This is what Jen managed to teach Chance in the week that she visited us in May. He still does it, more than 3 weeks later.

Piano time!

Cuddles with Auntie Jen.

This was a pretty good photo!

It could definitely be worse!

Rainy Week

2011-05-27T20:31:00.000-07:00

Finally finished decorating the kids' play room. I bought some curtains, new duvet cover for the futon, a yellow japanese lantern (envisioning it as a paper mache solar system one day), and a bunch of light plastic-paned frames (if they fall they won't break) and hung up a selection of Karin and Chance's artwork. I'm pretty happy with how it looks, and Chance liked it too. Karin was oblivious...

Blowing bubbles in the back yard last Friday. We had sun on Saturday too and since then it's been raining. Looking forward to more bubbles one day!

Vocab Explosion

2011-05-14T21:32:00.000-07:00

Karin's newest words:

Bapple (Apple)
Mee mee (Milk. Give me milk. Or whatever you're eating, I want it.)
Lookitdat! (Look at that!)
Koo koo (cookie)
Cha (Chance)

She has also starting to pair words together like "Bye bye Dada" - when she really means "Hi Daddy!".

She is responding very well to simple commands, like "Go get your shoes." and "Give this to Mom." Not so much with very simple commands, like "Sit" or "Wait". Oh well.

Quick Pics

2011-05-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

Kids are glad that Cam is home. I am too!

Pooh Nap on Saturday afternoon.

Butterscotch pudding!

Already the kids are pretty tech-savvy. Here they are Skyping with Gramma and Grampa in Regina.

Just got home from a run with my friend in the neighbourhood. Lovely evening!!

Things that 4 Year Olds Say:

2011-05-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

On seeing two helicopters in the sky: "Wow, I think they're gonna fight".

When viewing old photos of himself as a baby: "Aww...so cute. Was this when I was a girl?" (I had explained to him why boys have nipples.

On what's for dinner tonight: "Chicken boobs". Which quickly turned into a game of putting the word "chicken" with anything else funny: "chicken bum", "chicken poo", "chicken stink".

One day I'll write a book about being a working mom and call it Chicken Boobs.

More Puppy pictures

2011-05-02T18:40:00.000-07:00

Surprised myself!

2011-04-29T20:48:00.001-07:00

Today I went to a yoga class. Whew! I think I'll do that again, it was fun!

Puppy's adventures in America

2011-04-29T20:42:00.000-07:00

Cam took Chance's Puppy to Charleston, South Carolina with him, and has been sending regular emails with photos of our favorite dalmation on his adventures in the Deep South. Chance did not like the photo of Puppy and the crab, he was concerned that the crab was going to pinch. Cam confessed that the crab was actually dead (I was wondering how he had managed to get the crab to hold still).

Iron On Patches

2011-04-27T19:39:00.000-07:00

What crap! They rip right off after 1 wear. And I was feeling so smug.

Teething Grumpiness

2011-04-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

No new teeth. But we do have pink eye!

Weekend Photos

2011-04-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

Focus....it's kind of a good thing...oh well, not bad as I took this photo one-handed while holding a baby! I think she has cut one of her eye teeth..upper left...tomorrow I'll check again.

Three out of four pairs of pants repaired. For now.

Spring Planting.

Only 2 per square, Chance! (It was more like 5 or 6...will have to do some thinning.)

Nifty trays I got at Lee Valley...will keep the kitty out of our flowers and tomatoes. Instead, she can eat the lovely purple tulips our friends brought us this weekend.

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

Easter morning busy-ness.

Ivy.

Karin.

Ayla and Chance. Ayla's clearly in the lead.

Tuckered out from a morning of searching for eggs.

The Easter Bunny made a visit to our house and left treats for the kids...it didn't take them long to find all of the eggs, sharp kids. Our friends stayed overnight and the grownups went out for dinner while the kids stayed with a babysitter. Returned home to assemble the little plastic eggs and hide them...only it took me the better part of an hour looking for the eggs....I hid them so well I had a hard time remembering where I had put them!

Supertrain 2011

2011-04-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

Good vantage point from Daddy's arms.

Hmm...should I eat it??

Lego abound!

The project.

Finished version.

We visited Supertrain this year again, this time Chance fell in love with Lego, as there was a huge display set up with a working train going through various environments, townscapes, etc. all constructed in Lego. I think the Easter Bunny may be bringing more than chocolate this year....

Another youtube video...Karin trying out new words: "hi", "uh-oh"...which usually sounds more like "uh-ah" and "bye". She can also say "shoe" ....which comes out more as just "sh".

Long Weekend coming up!

2011-04-19T20:07:00.000-07:00

Fri – wave pool, groceries, take Chance for a bike ride (Karin in stroller), exercise bike in late afternoon for Mom and Dad
Sat – electrician coming to FINISH THE DARN GARAGE/Mom goes to Chinook to fix up iPad, Lee Valley, Kacz’s Kids for chariot bike attachment, colour eggs in afternoon, bike ride with Chance & Karin in stroller
Sun – Easter bunny comes, go for a run, plant flowers, bike ride with Chance
Mon – bike ride/picnic, take down the Xmas lights, OH AND A BIKE RIDE WITH CHANCE

And.....hopefully, a date night for the grown ups one night, depending on when we can get a sitter.

Big Step!

2011-04-12T21:41:00.000-07:00

Yeah, he's pretty much in love. You can tell Chance is head over heels with his new bike because when he falls off he immediately says "I'm OK, that didn't hurt!"

Radium Getaway / Carsick & Snowstorm Disaster

2011-03-21T18:30:00.000-07:00

After a hairy drive to Radium (2 mins before we arrived in town Chance lost the contents of his stomach in the car, poor guy), we settled into our rented condo and visited the hot springs.

Chance was pretty impressed by the Bighorn Sheep we saw (plenty of them out at 8 in the AM).

"Mom, how about this rock? Mom, what's this rock? Mom...?"

Still perky enough to pose by the Mountain Sheep sign, after nearly 2 1/2 hours of walking. 40 yards later (and just shy of the rock cliffs in the distance), his feet were too sore to go on. So we turned around, put Chance and Karin in the stroller and headed home...

...by the time we got home, Chance was sawing logs. Zzz! Karin had to be quiet because he kept sleeping in the stroller for about 30 mins....she became well versed in the word "shh!" - see the latest video on youtube!

Unfortunately our weekend was cut short as it started to snow and we decided rapidly it was time to head home. This meant packing up in about 1/2 an hour and waking the kids up as they were fast asleep. They stayed asleep in the car and we were home safe and sound, sure glad we left when we did though, as judging what we drove through, there's no way we would have made it through those mountain passes between Radium and the junction of Hwy 93 and Hwy 1 with any amount of snow accumulation!

Poster Painting

2011-03-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

At work we have a HUGE printer that prints out posters and maps and cross sections. Lately I've been doing a lot of those, and occasionally I make a mistake. So instead of chucking the paper, I roll it up and bring it home, as long as it doesn't have anything top secret printed on the other side. Chance and I had fun last weekend making a mixed-media poster sized painting of our house. We used crayons, paint, glue and glitter. There is lightning and a tornado, and a Snakit Bear hanging around the baby gate. It left footprints on the wall above the piano. There are ninja stars near the staircase, watch out, they are sharp! This piece of fantastic art is hanging in our front entrance so EVERYONE can see it RIGHT AWAY. And the lighting there is awesome, just like an art gallery, haha.

Learning already...

2011-03-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

Chance is learning already, when you worry your mother sick, it is best to buy flowers and say sorry. There was an incident at the daycare last week where Chance was running with his eyes closed and mouth open and then he ran into something hard and knocked his tooth loose (not out, but LOOSE for crying out loud!!). Chance decided it was best to buy flowers and apologize for making me fret. Nice, but I wish he would just stop running around like a maniac at daycare!! His clothes are taking a toll too, he goes through a pair of pants every other day it seems - blown knees. I'm thinking shorts are a definite fashion must as soon as possible this summer. A few skinned knees will slow him down, I hope!

Tupperware Memories

2011-03-10T19:34:00.000-08:00

Check these babies out! I found them on ebay for $1, plus shipping of $7. Not bad for a trip down memory lane, they are the same kind of cups I used as a kid! Plus they are truly great cups for kids, we have two that my mom gave us & Chance likes using them. He is slowly getting away from the lidded cups that we have been using up to this point...how is he supposed to dunk his cookies???

Videos...

2011-02-24T20:47:00.000-08:00

2 more videos on youtube of the kids. One that likely Chance will shoot me for when he's old enough.

Work zipping along. Both kids healthy! Bought a piano! Updates coming soon.

Camera Challenge Success

2011-02-13T21:10:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to take pictures of the kids for WEEKS. It is virtually unheard of, but for some reason my camera just hasn't been handy and I plain just haven't even thought of taking any photos or videos. Well at least I managed to bring the camera out a couple of times. Karin's 13 month birthday is coming up, I haven't decided whether to continue with the monthly photos or not. New videos on Youtube channel.

On Saturday night we had some impromptu dinner guests. It was a fancy meal (BBQ hot dogs) but I think everyone had fun. The night wrapped up with several games of Jenga which the kids thoroughly enjoyed. We got some really nice weather this weekend and the snow got slushy enough to stick together and we made a snowman in the front yard. We made him facing the house so that we could enjoy him...the cars zipping by at 50 km/hr (or more) wouldn't appreciate him the way we do! Sadly, no photos of Frosty, as he didn't last very long with the extreme sunshine we got today.

Spent the AM tobogganing at nearby hill, had packed the Chariot in the back of the truck and when Karin had had enough of the hill (but Chance hadn't), I packed her up in the Chariot and walked home. We got home just as Cam and Chance drove up, so they didn't last much longer either. Cam started a fire and we roasted hot dogs for lunch. Karin had a 2 hour nap and I sewed Chance's PJ pants (red plaid with yellow diggers). Cam hit Home Depot and got a hanging system for our growing collection of ladders, and he and Chance spent a chunk of Man Time in the garage generally tidying up. It is a big improvement. Had a favorite meal for supper, Chicken Marbella (roasted chicken in wine, olive oil and vinegar, oregano and basil with prunes, olives and capers....OMG). Couscous and veggies with that, Cam was complaining still at 8 PM that he ate too much. :P

Time going by fast!

2011-02-11T20:26:00.000-08:00

Now that I am back at work time is just flying by. It has literally been WEEKS since I took any pictures of the kids. That is my goal this weekend, to break out the camera and take some photos and videos. I especially love going back to the videos of when Chance was a 1 year old and comparing to now. Life seemed simpler back then when it was just him and I said to Cam that I feel bad for Karin that we don't have as much time to play with her like we did with Chance. Cam's response was that Karin doesn't need us to play with her, she has an awesome older brother to do that with.

I'd also like to start sewing PJ pants for Chance this weekend. I bought some cute fabric with dump trucks and tools for that project, he was disappointed that I wasn't starting right NOW when I showed him the cloth, haha.

Will have to fill out Valentine cards with Chance this weekend. His play school sent a list of kids to facilitate that project. Otherwise there would be only 3 kids of 10 getting cards, as Chance only talks about Riley, Ayan and Brianna.

Karin is starting to make lots of noises. "Ooooooooo", "da"="dad?", "bah"="bye", "muhmuhmuh"="milk?", "and "kajookajookajoo", which is my personal favorite.

Sick Weekend

2011-02-06T12:46:00.000-08:00

Everyone has a cold in some form or the other. I came down with chills and muscle aches on Thursday night, got a killer sore throat on Friday. Friday night Chance woke up with a super sore throat and a very bad cough (whoop). Cam says that Chance coughs just like me. Cam also wasn't feeling great Friday night but was feeling pretty darn miserable by Saturday am. We skipped swimming lessons this week. Karin actually has toughed all of these germs out pretty well, but her nose occasionally runs with green slime.

12 months went by so fast!

2011-01-22T19:44:00.000-08:00

Well that was a pretty wild year. Karin is now a one year old, complete with 10 teeth and a budding vocabulary. She says things like "mum-mum" or "num-num" when I am near, or when there is food around. She's getting faster. Teeth coming through left right and centre (she has cut 3 molars in the last 3 weeks), and we've officially started her on teething tablets (they were awesome for Chance too). Our friends who have a daughter the same age is saying her sister's name and "duh-down" when she tumbles ("fall down"), so we might be on the cusp of starting to speak soon too!

Karin is One Year Old!

2011-01-22T19:30:00.000-08:00

Opening birthday presents!

Happiness is a balloon in each hand!

Excited to be a big girl!

Carrot cake decorated with pink hearts and blueberries. Chance helped! Karin reached for the burning candle but Mom was quick to blow it out before she got to it!

The delicious aftermath. Cake 0, Karin 1.

Very. Busy.

2011-01-21T15:43:00.000-08:00

Work is going well. Kids are healthy. Karin teething. Chance asking 1,000,000 questions a day and improving his negotiating skills. This post was made from the passenger seat of the truck heading home!

Belated December Picture

2011-01-08T21:31:00.000-08:00

Karin's only 10 days away from turning 1 year old. I didn't get around to composing the 11 month photo in with the rest until just now. Her messy hair looks funny now that she's had a haircut. Hopefully January's photo will be more carefully organized -- tsk tsk, Baby is wearing nearly the same outfit 2 months in a row, what a fashion faux pas!

First post of 2011

2011-01-08T13:24:00.000-08:00

So here we are in 2011. It wasn't the healthiest end to 2010 as the flu bug hit hard and it feels like Cam and I are just coming up to feeling normal now. Returning to work has gone well. I had hoped to get through the first week without a sick day however Karin was evicted from daycare on Thursday afternoon for puking. When I picked her up she was happily polishing off a bowl of applesauce. No fever, zero irritability. I put her to sleep and she woke up happy to be home, ate a huge supper. She slept through the night despite having worked out of her pj's again. It is so comical to put her to sleep wearing her jammies and sleep sack and to find her wearing only a diaper in the morning. One of these days she will have managed to rip the diaper off too, I'm sure.

Posted on my iPad.

Christmas Day

2010-12-27T20:43:00.000-08:00

This one is from Santa to Chance!

Special gift from Chance's Ontario Aunties.

Karin's first Christmas - Santa brought her baby sized cereal bars and a toque!

Christmas dress and new haircut.

Chance woke up at 6 AM. He opened his door..."CLICK!" (his door has magnets on it rather than the usual door knobs because he has French doors on his bedroom). He popped his head out into the hallway and listened...no one was awake. So he went back into his bedroom and closed the door... "CLICK!!". 10 minutes later, his curiosity peaked again. "CLICK!.....CLICK!". Another 10 minutes later, he could bear it no more and opened his door again, only this time Cam and I were asleep and didn't hear the "CLICK!" and instead only hear the "thump thump thump thump" of him jumping up and down. I rolled over and poked Cam and said maybe we should just get up, he's doing laps in his bedroom...and then 2 inches from my ear Chance piped up "NO I'm right here! Mom, Santa was here and he left two presents!!" Just about jumped out of my skin!

We made him eat a bowl of Cheerios before tackling his Santa gift and stocking. He was pretty impressed that Santa brought him a Megatron Transformer just like he asked. It kept him busy enough until Karin got up around 9. We got her fed and then got her opening gifts too -- she had a great time ripping paper. Santa brought her a bowling pin set...she spent the whole morning running around the house with a pin in each hand and screaming "OOOOOOO!!!"

We spent most of the day in our jammies. Chance finally had enough somewhere around noon or 1 and got dressed, but I think the rest of us took a few more hours.

THANK YOU everyone for the lovely Christmas gifts and warm wishes.

Everyone seemed to be feeling healthy on Christmas day and that was my highlight. I had been so worried that the kids would come down with the rotten flu that Cam and I had earlier in the week.

We had a ham supper with scalloped potatoes (new food processor sliced 6 spuds in 0.3 seconds) and corn. No room for dessert so the blueberry tarts I made went into the fridge for another night. We stayed up late with Chance and watched his new movie, Toy Story 3.

Merry Christmas to all!

2010-12-24T23:20:00.000-08:00

Well, it will be in a few hours here. I still haven't gotten rid of my bad habit of getting up in the night.

This morning Chance and I took Karin for her first haircut. At first we just gave her bangs and trimmed her ends but she looked like she had a mullet, so then we asked to have it all lopped off to be a cute little girlie bob. Photos to come!

We had a very simple Christmas Eve compared to ones in the past, which we have usually had a lobster supper. Tonight Cam and I are recuperating from the flu (touch wood so far the kids haven't caught it) so we stuck with beef barley soup and a tomato salad with balsamic vinegar. Chance and Karin ate well, then Karin demolished an Oreo cookie while Chance hacked into his recently completed gingerbread house. We bathed the kids (Chance showered....a "big" kid thing lately), and then snuggled together on the couch and enjoyed Mickey's Christmas Carol. Karin went to bed at 7:30 or so and we finished the cartoons and then left snacks for Santa and his reindeer. Chance then went to bed at 8:30. We heard him get up once...but he never got out of his bedroom: "Thump. Thump thump thump thump....thump thump thump thump....whump!" He must have remembered 1 step from his door that Santa doesn't come if you're not asleep! Tomorrow is likely going to be an early start as he is VERY excited about opening gifts.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy Christmas!

5 days of Christmas

2010-12-15T13:22:00.001-08:00

I posted a video of Chance on youtube singing his version of the "5 days of Christmas" and included a translation:

Translation:

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me: 5 golden rings, 4 calling birds, 3 french hens, 2 turtledoves and a partridge in a pear tree!!!

I was corrected by a random viewer named Snappy Penguins with the following:

More accurate translation:

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to mmmoorrrghhhh: EURGHHH GOLDEN URGHH, three French hens, three turtle doves, and pah-tree-a-lemon pear TROOOOOOUGHGHGUHAGAWAGAAGAGaawahayyy.......

I stand corrected.

Fuzzy Blanket, I Love You!...and He Shoots, He Scores!

2010-12-09T20:16:00.000-08:00

Thank goodness for Karin's fuzzy blue blankie. It has really helped her settle into daycare. She's been there twice now for 7 or more hours each time. Now we just need to convince her to eat her soup at lunch and take her naps and we'll be great. But at least she's not crying!

Chance is learning to skate. Cam is taking him most evenings out to the frozen pond near our house and they spend about an hour practicing. Chance can pick himself up now and manage to shoot a puck into a hockey net (he falls down after though). I am looking forward to watching him on the weekend, up to now I have been at home getting Karin ready for bed.

Also Chance will be in a Christmas play soon. He has lines and apparently has memorized them. He's kept all of this a secret -- so secret that we wouldn't have brought him to the play had his teacher not told me about it (he usually doesn't go on Fridays). When his teacher told me about the play she also gave me a last minute note that there was an Open House at the neighbourhood school for parents and kids who will be going to Kindergarten next year (that's us)!! Registration is January 15th!!!

Karin's first day at daycare...

2010-12-04T12:48:00.000-08:00

...didn't go so well. Karin was there for about 1 ½ hours and then they called saying that there was nothing else they could do. Yet, they didn’t give her the comfort items that I packed: blankie & soother (not that she uses the soother usually, but it might have calmed her down). I know they didn’t give them to her because they were exactly in the same spot I left them. The soother was still wrapped in the plastic bag I had it in, it wasn’t wet, and her soft blankie was completely dry. If they gave it to her and she was hysterical it should have been wet and snotty. Also they didn’t let Chance come visit her like they said they would. Chance was disappointed too, he wanted to see Karin on her first day. They didn’t give her a snack even though when I dropped her off (near 10 AM) I said she should be ready for a snack right away, they said they finished “breakfast” (what I would call snack time) at 9:30….they would see what they could do. So they let a hungry, thirsty, scared baby cry for an hour and a half. Now she’s terrified to let me leave her anywhere, including the pool babysitters that she’s been fine with for weeks. We’re not very impressed, and on Monday when she goes back we’re going to sit with them and talk this out because it was a plain old lack of effort, in our opinion. Cam is the one who picked her up (he was home that day, use your vacation days or lose them). I was at the chiropractor. What also irks me is that I can’t have the daycare phoning me at work in a few weeks saying “we can’t calm Karin down, you have to come pick her up”. Just because I’m not working in December doesn’t mean I don’t have things to do – I have all my doctor’s appointments and personal things to do on the days the kids are in daycare! On the bright side: all of the disappointment with the daycare has overshadowed my emotions more or less on the fact that my time at home with Karin and Chance is coming to an end. And those emotions are affecting my decision making skills too. I have been bringing Karin to pick up Chance most evenings so that the place is familar to her. But the last time I did this I got teary on the drive home and started wiping my eyes without thinking. So...I had just been to a daycare and then started touching my eyes without washing my hands first. Pinkeye. Next time I'll smear myself with hand sanitizer before bursting into tears, haha.

10 months old already!

2010-11-30T20:01:00.000-08:00

Well....10 1/2 months by now. The 10 month photo was taken on the first shot, all of the rest were crazy: Karin upside down, trying to jump from the rocking chair, covering her face with a puzzle piece. I gave up and called this one good enough. 10 months old and the girl is finally wearing shoes! They're necessary now, otherwise she yanks her socks off. Tights are pretty amusing...she gets frustrated after a while though.

Along with walking spans of about 10 feet like a little gun slinging cowboy...er...cowgirl, Karin's got a few more skills to add to her CV:

*Imitating noises (kissing, buzzing, etc.)

* "Words": Mammammam, ga?, doe doe doe

* Communicates that she wants a drink by flapping arms like a chicken and moaning

* Communicates dislike of weather (cold) by wrinkling nose and whining (don't we all do this??)

* Thinks anything her brother does is hilarious

* Capable of dealing without Mom for 1 hour at the neighbourhood pool babysitters while I either swim laps or do a deep water workout ("floaty class"). Chance is there so I think that helps.

* Starts daycare Dec. 1, 2 days a week (same days as Chance). I'm a wreck, stressed out, worried that she'll absolutely hate it & the professionally trained child minders will corrupt her behaviour leaving us to deal with a holy terror. Pretty much how I felt when Chance was starting daycare.

First Steps!

2010-11-24T12:42:00.000-08:00

Karin took her first steps today!! And I was starting to ge worried that I would have to go back to work before it happened!! She was standing holding on to the dustpan while I swept the porch, and then took 4 or 5 very cautious and deliberate steps, grinning at me the whole time. She looked so impressed with herself for about 20 minutes after!!

YAY KARIN! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!!!

Tiny Toons

2010-11-22T21:24:00.000-08:00

Good looking kids!

My company had artists that would do cartoons of your kids at the Christmas party. They drew Karin first as she was wiggly, but Chance sat nicely the whole time. I think he was pretty impressed!

Karin's first Birthday Party

2010-11-21T02:30:00.000-08:00

Tasty blocks.

Chris the birthday boy and Karin, still trying to figure out that block.

....happy birthday to you....happy birthday to you....

Awesome cake!

Big kids and moms got their choice of eggless vanilla cake or good old chocolate cake. Big brother Matthew (green shirt) did a great job helping his mom bake, decorate and make loot bags for the birthday guests.

Karin and Chris really enjoyed swishing the tissue paper around.

Karin attended her first birthday party this week, I think she had a great time. I know she was at Chance's birthday party but you know, being the birthday boy's sister, she had to be invited, haha. This party was more geared for babies as the birthday boy was turning one year old, I think the pared down version was more enjoyable for her. Chance was also invited and he also had a great time playing with the older brothers of the birthday boy and other guests.

As we were leaving, Chris & Matthew's mom jokingly sobbed "I can't believe this year went by so quickly!!" and I think that really got to me because later that night while doing the dishes, it was me in tears thinking about all that has happened this year. I am going to be a right rotten teary snotty emotional mess come January. Sniff, sniff.

Dear Santa

2010-11-19T06:56:00.001-08:00

Snow snow snow

2010-11-16T19:11:00.000-08:00

No pictures of this, but we've gotten a good douse of the white stuff. Spent a good portion of the afternoon playing outside with Chance and a neighbour's son who spent the afternoon with us.

I've been going to the pool that is a block and a half from our house on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Chance and Karin go into a little babysitting room they've got set up and I swim laps for about an hour. The first morning Karin got quite upset and so I've learned she can handle that amount of time before freaking out. She did just fine the 2nd time around and today she was just starting to get cranky as I walked into the door. It feels great to get the regular exercise and super convenient. I just wish that I was a stronger swimmer for all my time in the pool....oh well it will be good training for when Cam and I go on vacation in the spring.

We are going with a group of friends to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. We booked our trip 3 or 4 days before there was a natural gas explosion, which killed 5 Canadians. The news tonight did a poll and asked whether this explosion affects whether people would consider traveling to Playa Del Carmen or not: 43% said no, but 57% said yes. I have mixed feelings.

The resort we have booked at is not a typical beach resort, in that it is actually constructed on a rocky portion of the coast. There is a man-made shallow, protected, sandy lagoon that you can swim in, and this is encouraging for me (I'm a sinker, and slightly prone to panicking in deep water with rocky/weedy bottoms), although I was a bit saddened at the fact that we won't be lazing on lounge chairs staring out at the Caribbean....oh well. Let's face it, if they sent me to the Sahara dessert with no kids and booze, I'd be happy. :P

My first portrait

2010-11-10T19:01:00.000-08:00

Chance drew a picture of me, the house, and Grandpa's new boat at playschool. I have some guesses about the others in the picture too. I just howled with laughter and then realized I was crying too because I was touched he had drawn a picture of me!

Playground Drama

2010-11-08T05:59:00.000-08:00

We have several parks in the neighbourhood. Chance has names for all of them to tell them apart: the tire swing park, the green park, the dog park, the car park and the merry-go-round park. His favorite being the latter, we frequent this park often. Last night we were out for a walk to said park and bumped into neighbour friends with kids and they decided to join us. They avoided the merry-go-round park (which their kids call the bouncy bridge park) because their smallest one took a spill off one of the playground structures last year. But she is a big girl now, so the merry-go-round/bouncy bridge park is open game now.

Anywhoo...there was a bigger girl there, about 7 or 8 years old, much to Chance's delight. He loves older kids. He is constantly trying to impress them. He had been in the merry-go-round for quite a while with the girl when a second older girl arrived, maybe 6 years old. This girl also wanted to impress the bigger girl and insisted they go faster and faster and faster and then have a contest to see whether anyone could still walk "properly". Meanwhile, Girl #2's dad and I struck up a conversation, he wanted to know how we liked the neighbourhood and whether they should move here. During this conversation, Girl #2 decided it was time to get off and check everyone's walking ability...only she wasn't feeling so good after all that spinning and tossed her cookies next to the see-saw. I felt bad for her, all I had in the stroller were kleenexes and gummi bears. She and her dad left after that.

Rant

2010-11-07T12:21:00.000-08:00

I am so mad. We were nearly sideswiped on a busy road in Calgary by a woman with long brown hair in a light grey BMW with a burned out front headlight last night. She was talking her cell phone. When I turned around to get a good look at her, she was picking at her mascara.

I don't know what I'm going to do, but I do know I'm going to do something. Write a letter to the Herald, look into petitions to abolish cell phone use while driving, SOMETHING. This has happened so often to us and people we know. Shame on Alberta for not treating this issue with more respect.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-04T19:03:00.000-07:00

What a busy Sunday it was! We had a great birthday party for Chance on Sunday afternoon, he had a lot of friends come & I think everyone had a good time. We played Monster Bingo, Musical Chairs with Halloween music (Monster Mash, Thriller, Ghostbusters, etc.) and bashed in a pinata that Chance and I made over the course of the month of October. We had a Transformer cake (Omega Supreme -- very Eighties, thank you Retro Channel). We ordered pizza for supper and then went trick or treating with Chance, Karin got left behind with Gramma Jo and Grampa Phil. Next year she can go out with the big kids. We teamed up with some neighbours so Spiderman Chance was joined by Buzz Lightyear Landen and Delaney the Monkey. He came home an hour and a half later with 4 pounds of candy. 4 pounds!!!

Pumpkins were carved with a "superhero" theme this year: we had Spiderman, Batman and Ironman (everyone thought it was a Transformer).

We didn't get visited much though, and we were warned of this. Because we live on a busy street, families tend to stay within the centre of the neighbourhood. So we got 11 little "spooks" as my neighbour calls them. The last one was a little tiger that took home the remaining helium balloons from the party.

Everyone waiting for the cake to be cut.

Love this one - he looks happy.

"Mmmmmmm!!"

Chow Time.

Poor Blue Monster - he really got whacked around. Eventually we had to switch to a baseball bat because the play broom wasn't doing enough damage. He was done in by a 22 month old girl (Fred's daughter Pebbles).

Musical chairs. Optimus Prime won the game (the Kitty gave him a run for his money though).

Chance trying out my witch's claws.

The Haul.

Our pumpkins! We had so few visitors that we burned them in the living room -- we might as well enjoy them!!

All decked out for Trick or Treating! I painted his face so that his mask wouldn't get in the way, also I decked him out with reflective tape and bike lights that I got from a cycle shop.

Cowgirl Karin didn't really know what to make of all the action.

Counting down the days...

2010-10-27T12:32:00.000-07:00

Chance is getting very excited for Halloween. He decided to wear his Halloween shirt because Karin was wearing hers (which used to belong to him when he was a baby).

9 month roundup

2010-10-27T12:26:00.001-07:00

Yep, it's corny but true: babies grow up fast. Taking these monthly update photos has been getting trickier and trickier. You'll note that the latest photo shows the chair covered in drool. This is because our Darling Girl refused to sit still, instead she preferred to climb the back of the rocking chair like a chimpanzee and leaving a slug's trail behind her. Slime bucket.

Other new developments: Karin can stand now. Not only can she pull herself up to standing position using furniture, legs, Chance, etc. but she can freely bring herself up to standing in the middle of the room. And she can pick things up while doing it. A favorite is the diaper wipes box.

Also, she has moved on to finger food. She still has some favorite mushy foods that I am allowed to spoon feed her (butternut squash, oatmeal, etc.) but she LOVES to eat bread, cheese, tomatoes, finely diced chicken and fish, hamburger, pasta, etc. Also we have begun the weaning process. Karin now enjoys a sippy cup of whole milk just like Chance does during meal times and morning snack time. We'll likely be getting rid of the afternoon nursing in the near future and then she will be ready to start daycare in December.

Super trip to Canmore

2010-10-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

Great family photo, I'm so glad I remembered my camera!!

Chance enjoying the skateboard action with his little buddies.

Canmore Nordic Centre. Simply amazing sunny day, perfect!

Practicing his photography skills with his "new" camera. Chance inherited my first digital (2 megapixel) camera this year. I paid $600 for it back in 2002. I dropped it somewhere along the line and now it needs masking tape for the battery case to stay shut. But it is simple and small and produces high quality photos.

Chilly girl, runny nosed and rosy cheeked.

We escaped the city last weekend for a mountain getaway. We piled into the car first thing (OK, maybe not FIRST thing in the morning...more like 9ish) and drove out to Canmore. We realized that we forgot Chance's jacket at home when we passed Cochrane, about 1/2 way there. Luckily, we have friends who have three boys. They also have a condo out in Canmore and they were there that weekend and so we were able to borrow a jacket from them. Cam borrowed a jacket too. It was chilly.

We spent the rest of the morning walking around on the paths at the Canmore Nordic Centre and also got to see cross country skiiers using their newly laid snow circuit. Apparently it is the earliest they've ever had it out there. We saw biatheletes shooting, Chance enjoyed that. We stopped to have a snack....but I left it in the car. Chance had to settle for a box of orange juice. We had an amazing pasta lunch at a restaurant called Luna Blue, and Chance and Karin were so well behaved. Karin just sat in the high chair and ate bananas and oatmeal and Chance coloured with the provided pencil crayons until his pizza arrived.

After lunch did some shopping. Cam bought a hat and we got some larger winter boots for Chance. He said this was his favorite part of the day.

Then met up with our friends to watch the local boys practice their moves at the skate board park. There had to have been about 20 boys of various ages ranging from 4 to 20 doing daredevil stunts on bikes, skate boards and scooters. Most were wearing helmets. One kid, who was not wearing a helmet, but was wearing skin tight acid wash white jeans with the bum pulled down to mid-thigh could pull off some pretty amazing moves. Cam and I got the giggles because we couldn't imagine walking in those jeans let alone doing skateboard flips. We were there for nearly an hour and a half and the only words I heard out of Chance's mouth were "Cool!!" and "Whoa." and "How does he do that???".

Take that, Evil Bacteria!!

2010-10-21T21:09:00.000-07:00

Chance's ear infection is almost cleared up & the doctor says no more meds!! Yay for no more antibiotics! It's been a month of 2x and 3x a day doses of syrupy, runny, thick, bitter, super-sweet and gritty meds for Chance and he has been a real prince about taking the stuff. So glad that his ears are better!

Another gorgeous day here in Calgary. Took Chance and Karin out for a run in the late afternoon and poor Chance fell asleep in the stroller. Karin snuggled in with him a few times but stayed awake the whole way.

Ear infection 2, Chance 0

2010-10-14T00:47:00.000-07:00

The zippy antibiotics weren't zippy enough. On to Biaxin. Just hope c. difficile is not in order for poor Chance's gut. It is gritty and tastes like someone smashed up antacid tablets and put into a warm milk shake. Chance prefers the plunger (syringe) with this one instead of the medicine spoon. LOTS of yogurt going to be eaten last couple of days.

I asked to look in Chance's ear with the funnel thingy. Our doctor obliged. Chance's ear looked more like the picture on the right than the one on the left, yet he is no longer complaining of sore ears (although fights like a caged cat when I produce a Q-tip). Poor guy.

From Wikipedia: "Clarithromycin may cause false positives on urine drug screens for cocaine." So I don't need to send Chance to boot camp rehab if he fails a drug test. Haha.

Busy fall days

2010-10-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

We have been doing quite a few projects lately in this house. We started building a pinata for Chance's birthday party. It is the first time I ever built a pinata and the last time I did paper mache I think I was eight years old. It turned out OK, but I have to figure out how to hang the thing without the string ripping a hole in the paper mache. Scarlet has been enjoying the ladder immensely.

"Remember to clean up when you're done!"

We got some gardening done also. A friend didn't want so many lilies in her yard, so I dug them up and hauled them home in the wagon. Karin ate no less than 2 leaves and a handful of dirt during this process.

"But Mom, it's organic!"

Chance and I had a crafty afternoon during Karin's nap after we scoured the neighbourhood for fall leaves. We made birthday invitations with his leafy creations.

Proud soon-to-be-four-year-old.

People say we look alike...

2010-10-13T21:51:00.000-07:00

Making good use of those 6 teeth...

2010-10-10T19:18:00.000-07:00

Karin loves to eat:

bread cubes

grated cheese

baby cookies

chunks of carrot

chunks of banana

diced tomato

chopped up grapes

"Mom, you've been holding out on me!!"

Only a mother could love this present!

2010-10-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

This is the hideous gourd that Chance chose just for me while he and Cam were at the farmer's market. I was speechless.

Ear Infection 1, Chance 0

2010-10-03T21:16:00.000-07:00

Well, last week's pesky ear infection was not phased by amoxicillin. Chance woke up last night complaining of a sore ear...actually, sore hands at first, and then he clarified it was his ear that was hurting. At 1:30 in the morning, after his hollering woke up Karin, I admit I was skeptical whether he was telling the truth or just making an excuse for waking up in the night (ie. having lost his blanket and panicking and then saying his ear hurt so that Mom didn't get mad about the screaming baby next door). No fever. I have been impatient with him for the last few days because he hasn't been listening to me when I'm talking. He does it with Cam too. The doctor at the walk in clinic said his ear was quite plugged and eardrums are quite red....reason for (some of his) selective hearing. We were given a prescription for something "zippier" than amoxicillin. I have dubbed him "Pluggy" and have been doing a lot of arm waving to get his attention.

We brought Karin too and had her ears checked for good measure. She has been waking up in the night basically since July when we were on vacation and last few nights has been up to 3 times in a night, wanting to be nursed. And lately she is putting up a royal fuss when done nursing and is placed back in her crib. When the doctor announced her ears were just fine, I looked at her and said "You, Miss, are cut off." The doctor laughed. Karin laughed. I didn't.

Improvement on eczema

2010-09-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

Protopic. Exlixir of the gods, if you ask me. The first time I ever heard of Protopic was in a book about a new mom who was losing her marbles due to her colicky eczema-laden child. They had tried everything. And their kid was allergic to anything edible. At one point in the book she lists about 3 things that the kid can eat without going into a full body rash. Poor woman.

My second encounter with Protopic was when Chance had a pretty bad rash on top of his foot. The doctor gave us a sample of Protopic, a tiny tube that looked like toothpaste for a Barbie doll. I was skeptical. How was this tiny eensy bit of cream going to fix my son's raging red oozing foot? It did.

After dealing with Karin's eczema in her elbows for 4 months, I went in and asked for the Protopic. This stuff is Amazing (capital "A"). Tell your friends with rashy kids.

Day Zero. Poor little baby.

24 hours and two applications later.

48 hours and 4 applications later.

Day 4...almost gone!

So now it's about 2 weeks later and there is a small pink spot but it is all healed over and she can be left unsupervised in short sleeves or even shirtless without ripping her skin open with her sharp little fingernails. That's nice.

Cleaning out the stroller...

2010-09-28T11:27:00.001-07:00

I was cleaning out the stroller and found a paper stuffed in one of the pockets. It was an interview conducted by Cam with Chance and the Pawsey children while Aimee and I were out running together.

How many kids do you want?
Payton - "One."
Em - "Five. Three girls, two boys."
Chance - "Six. Seven girls, three boys."
Noah - "Ten. Five boys, five girls."

What do you want to be?
Payton - "Dang?"
Em - "I want five babies."
Chance - "Fireman."
Noah - "Policeman."

What would you like to do one day?
Payton - "Dang?"
Em - "Ride an elephant."
Chance - "Turn into a dragon."
Noah - no answer.

What sport do you want to play?
Payton - no answer.
Em - "Ride an elephant."
Chance - "Be a spaceman."
Noah - "Baseball."

New Favorite Photos

2010-09-27T14:23:00.000-07:00

It was absolutely gorgeous this weekend and we took full advantage of it. Saturday we walked and ran 11 km and Sunday covered 14 km. Stopped for parks and photo shoots in leaf piles. Next weekend if it is nice would like to tackle walking all the way around the Glenmore Reservoir (15 km).

Fall Colours

2010-09-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

View of Downtown Calgary.

Every colour you could imagine!!

Rockyview General Hospital, where both Karin and Chance were born.

Fall foliage.

Altadore Bridge crossing the Elbow River. We run across this bridge every weekend.

Streets of Altadore.

We took advantage of some nice weather this weekend (FINALLY!!) and got out for long walks every day. The leaves have really exploded into colours over the last week or two.

Starting to Play Together...

2010-09-27T14:12:00.000-07:00

I snuck this picture the other day while the kids were playing together. Chance was showing Karin all of his trucks and letting her hold some of them.

Visitors from Nova Scotia

2010-09-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

Cuties!

Karin was in love with Lynne's necklace.

Happy, happy, happy!

Karin and Dylan became fast friends.

This was about as good as we could get for a group shot.

Our good friends the Drovers came for a visit all the way from Halifax. The last time I saw them was a year ago, both Lynne and I were pregnant. It was great introducing our kids...their son Dylan is just 1 month younger than Karin. Calgary weather was unco-operative during their visit, however, it was cold and rainy nearly the whole time they were here. We had a great time taking walks and shopping around downtown, as well as had a big breakfast party & some nice meals once the kids went to bed. Unfortunately everyone got colds all at the same time, but I think it made it easier having everyone sick -- just took it easy some nights.

Oh Holy Yum!

2010-09-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

Cranberry-Apple Poached Pears

I had some leftover cranberry sauce, and ripe pears. Voila!

2 ripe pears, peeled but stem left intact

1/3 can whole berry cranberry sauce

1 1/2 cups apple juice

1 T brown sugar

1/2 t cinnamon

Whisk together cranberry sauce, apple juice, sugar and cinnamon in a small sauce pot. Bring to a gentle boil and put pairs (lay them down on their sides, sauce may not cover fruit). Put on pot lid, simmer for 10-15 minutes. Occasionally turn pears so that the sauce colours them evenly (otherwise the part sticking out of the sauce will be yellow, and the part in the sauce will be pink...which, actually might look kind of cool. It's your call.) Remove pears and set aside on a plate to cool. Meanwhile simmer remaining sauce until it's reduced by about half and thickened up enough to spoon up. When pears are cool enough to handle, slice the bottoms off using a sharp paring knife. I snipped through the stem with a pair of kitchen shears. This allows the pears to sit up straight on the serving plate. Pour warm sauce over pears, coating them and forming a nice pool of sauce on the bottom of the bowl or plate. Drizzle with a little heavy cream if you like. Or melted chocolate. Or both. :)

Baby Gates

2010-09-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

This is so not cool.

Locked up in my own home!!

What did I do to deserve this?? Oh well, maybe I'll go tip the garbage can in the kitchen. I like to keep Mom on her toes.

8 month wrap up

2010-09-21T19:15:00.001-07:00

Well, Karin has really been growing up these days. She is pulling up on chairs, legs, etc. as much as she can and is definitely starting to explore the house. She has now discovered that if she moves her hands and legs faster, she can get somewhere in a hurry. Like...for instance, to that remote control on the floor...or the X Box cords poking out of the bookshelf. She doesn't like sitting still for long. It's a miracle we got this month's picture taken at all.

She popped out 3 teeth in about 48 hours last week. She was a bit grumpy, but wouldn't we all be?

Food wise, she has entered a new realm: I've been whizzing up mostly what we're eating for dinner in the food processor. The girl loves potatoes and veggies. And meat. And yogurt. And fish. And cereal. And juice and water from a cup, just like Chance.

Tomorrow she gets her "6 month" shots. We are a bit behind schedule, partly due to vacation and partly due to backlogs in the public health offices. They must have had staff cuts or something, as now they are booking immunizations about 5 weeks in advance. I'm not sure whether they will allow the shots tomorrow or not, as she seems to have come down with a bit of diarrhea in the last 24 hours. At first I wasn't sure if it was just due to all the extra food lately, but tonight was clearly not very healthy. She's happy though, and no fever or vomitting. Likely we'll be going on a repetitive diet of baby cereal and bananas, apples and yogurt for a few days.

Grandparent & Great-Grandparent Group Shots, Summer 2010

2010-09-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

With Great Grandma Marie at her new care home in Paradise Hill, Sk.

When Chance was a baby we took him all the way to La Ronge, Sk. to meet her.

She hasn't seen him since, and was amazed at how he had changed.

Karin's Great Grandma Marie was so happy to finally meet her.

With Grandma and Grandpa Demmans at their farm near Meadow Lake, Sk.

With Gramma Jo and Grampa Phil at their cabin at Manitou Beach, Sk.

Quickly becoming friends...

2010-09-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

Chance and Karin are very quickly forming a bond, it is heartwarming to see. She brightens up so much when she sees him and strains to touch him when he is near. She loves rubbing his head (buzz cut). They have been having baths together these days and he has made a game out of stealing the toys from her and letting her steal the toys back. Sometimes he gets a little mean though and deliberately dumps water on her head.

Milestone for Chance -- he has mastered running around the

merry-go-round by himself and then hopping on (and off).

Milestone for Karin -- elephant walking and pulling up.

Splish Splash

2010-09-12T18:24:00.000-07:00

"Relaxing spa treatment?"

Miss La-Dee-Da

Karin thoroughly enjoyed her tin tub days at the cabin while we were on vacation. It was just the right height for her to grip the edge and haul herself up to standing. This was done every time water was poured over her head, usually with spitting and eyelashes fluttering. She also liked to chew on the edge of the tub, which was cute to no end, however I never seemed to capture it on camera. She'd always poke her head up and grin.

Click here for Chance's tub time adventures as a baby.

Here's what dinner WON'T be tonight!

2010-08-23T15:13:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe online while trying to get an idea how to cook our salmon tonight:

Cooking Salmon in a Dishwasher

salmon fillets
aluminum foil
a lemon
a few butter pats
electric dishwasher

Place the fish on two large sheets of aluminum foil. Squeeze on some lemon juice and place the pats of butter on the salmon fillets. Seal the fillets well in the foil, and place the foil packet in the top wire basket of your electric dishwasher. DO NOT ADD SOAP OR DETERGENT. Close the dishwasher door, set the dishwasher on the hottest wash cycle, complete with drying cycle, and let it run through a full cycle. When the cycle is complete the fish will be cooked just right.

Refrigerator Challenge Follow Up

2010-08-21T19:47:00.000-07:00

We ended up with Tex-Mex Mini Meatloaves served on Mini Corn Pancakes. Kind of taco-y....kind of meat-ball-y.....Chance ate two and said his belly ached when he was done.

Mini Tex Mex Meatloaves on Corn Pancakes

Whip up the corn pancake batter by mixing corn meal, flour, milk and oil to make a pancake-consistency batter. Let stand.

Mix ground beef with onion, chili powder, garlic. Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes or until done in a greased muffin tin. Top with grated cheese last few minutes.

While meatloaves are cooking, stir up the pancake batter to bring the cornmeal up and then fry small pancakes in a skillet, a few minutes per side. Set aside on a covered dish to keep warm until the meatloaves are ready.

Chop up some lettuce and tomatoes.

Place pancakes on plate, top with a meatloaf, top with salsa and sour cream and veggies. Enjoy!

Refrigerator Challenge

2010-08-21T15:56:00.000-07:00

4 dinners to make and I don't want to hit the grocery store, there's plenty in the fridge:

Produce:
Grapes
Grape Tomatoes
Vine Tomatoes
Romaine Lettuce
Leaf Lettuce
4 Apples, Golden Delicious and Granny Smith
2 Carrots
1 Orange
Celery
Green Pepper x 2
Red Pepper x 3
Red Onion
Cucumber
Dill
1/2 Lemon
1 Cup Sliced Brown Mushrooms
1 Cup Green Beans
Green Onions
1 Lime
2 Cobs of Corn
Raddishes
Shallots
Onions
Small (New) Potatoes
Cantaloupe Balls

Dairy/Etc.
Old Orange Cheddar
Really Old White Cheddar
Sour Cream
Ricotta Cheese
Plain Yogurt
Parmesan Cheese
Butter
Margarine
Eggs

Other
Cold Cooked Chicken Breast
1 Round Pie Shell (uncooked)
Jalapeno Hummus
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Chicken Broth
Apple Juice
Tomato Sauce
Poppyseed Salad Dressing
Balsamic Salad Dressing
Canned Tuna

...& what's for dinner??? I HAVE NO CLUE!!!

5 months until birthday cake!

2010-08-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

Karin is 7 months old today!

Play Kitchen

2010-08-18T12:11:00.000-07:00

Zee master chef in his keetchen.

Zee milk must be verry cold.

A stainless steel bowl makes a perfect sink.
Sink knobs (which are the most important part,
apparently) are tin foil covered egg carton.

Hugs for Karin. Don't spill the milk, Chance!

We visited IKEA on the weekend and found this cute and cheap little pots & pans set for Chance -- they were also selling an equally cute but expensive play kitchen set (sink and stove). I was not prepared to shell out the $$ on a whim purchase. So I opted for the dishes and came home and fashioned a home-made stove and sink out of a Pampers box and some tin foil. We did pretty good, I think. If Chance plays with it for a decent amount of time we will look at building him a wooden sink and stove.

Mike the Mouse....or Vole, Rather

2010-08-18T12:08:00.001-07:00

We caught this cute little vole on the side of the road on the way to the park. I think the poor thing was stunned out in the sunlight. It had the pleasure of sleeping most of the day away on a bread mattress and eating lettuce salad and cheese for supper in a pickle jar before being released in a grassy field. Wikipedia says voles live between three to six months and the males are faithful to their mates for their entire lifespan.

Easter dress on its' way out...

2010-08-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

I'm so sad to see this little jumper dress go. We bought the dress for Easter for her with some money given to us by my grandmother in Indian Head. It fits Karin almost like a vest now...definitely a "baby doll" style, requiring the little bloomers that came with it to be decent. First picture taken 4 months ago, and now she's almost 7 months old. Time flies!

Carnivore

2010-08-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

Well you can imagine how well this meal went over. Baby Girl does not like beef stew. I have 18 ice cubes of the stuff.

Rainy Day

2010-08-12T20:17:00.000-07:00

It rained pretty much all day today -- even when it did let up, we couldn't go outside because it was windy and the playground equipment would be all wet. So we stayed indoors and got a little artsy. This has been somewhat of a challenge with Chance in the past, perhaps an attention span thing...but today he had a good time. Then again, he had never had his own home-made stamps with him calling the shots before. At first he said he wanted a triangle...then a circle. Then he asked for the letter "H". We also busted out the stencils that Gramma Jo left Chance in January when Karin was born, and a container of buttons...Chance was happy sorting them and then was really impressed when I gave him a needle and thread and let him string them together to his heart's content. I did not, however let him operate my sewing machine as requested. But I did let him help wind a bobbin.

Spaaaaahh....

2010-08-11T14:52:00.001-07:00

Cam sent me for a massage today and it was lovely. I had an hour and a half child free to myself. Had a thorough rub-down, a soft molasses cookie and a glass of champagne care of another gal in the waiting room -- celebrating her birthday and unable to finish an entire bottle by herself, and a refreshing steam bath. Thank you, honey!

New Milestone for Karin

2010-08-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! Sitting up on her own now!

What happens when Daddy takes Chance for a haircut?

2010-08-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

This.

Ontario Souvenirs

2010-08-04T23:48:00.000-07:00

Muskoka Granite by Andrea Ross

Lakeshore (?? I think ?? will have to peek at the back) by Stefan Horik

Cam's aunt Sharon showed us a great gallery in Ottawa. We picked up 4 paintings (2 prints, 2 originals) in celebration of this (& last year's) anniversary. We usually do this every year but last year just couldn't agree on anything. Have yet to hang the prints over the bed.

Special Movie Night

2010-07-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

Chance was dry in the morning all last week. Actually, more than a week, because we started counting on a Thursday. So for 9 consecutive mornings, he has not peed in his pull-up! As an incentive to keep up the effort, he was allowed to pick a movie at Blockbuster and decide on his own supper choice -- what does any nearly 4 year old want?? McDonalds, of course. He chose Ironman for a movie.

Way to go Chance, we are proud of you!