Chilly night ramblings

It is so hard dealing with things right when hubby leaves on a trip... I just find it very hard to focus. Hubby left mid morning for Germany, thankfully he will be back Wednesday night, but that is still 5 days with the kids on my own! I at least have gotten some house work completed, but there is still a lot to do. The last two weeks all my spare time has been taken up reading the Twilight series of books. It is an excellent read, which in some ways was the problem! I found I didn't want to put the books down at all, so the house was a little neglected.

Not a whole lot planned for the duration of hubby's trip, although I am planning to take advantage of Safeway's 10% Tuesday this week. Figure it makes sense to get as much of my Christmas food shopping done early, and at a reduced price! Now if I could just convince hubby that we need a chest or upright freezer!

Speaking of purchases, we might be close to buying a vehicle to haul a trailer with. The trailer that we want to get could be hauled with my van, but it would put us at the top end of the weight restrictions. Hubby has found a number of 2004/2005 Dodge Durango's for between $10,000 and $12,000. The price is low enough that it wouldn't hurt at all to purchase one... in some ways the economic down turn is a bonus for us! We aren't hurting financially, and don't expect to, but it is allowing us to purchase things at reduced prices.

Dreams of Cyprus...

As they days and nights get colder, I find my thoughts once again turn to Cyprus! It's been almost 2 years that we were there, almost 2 years that we made the decision to move there, and almost two years ago that we had to rearrange that plan to move back to Canada. I really wish we had just made the move then, but know that it was the right decision to come here for a short time. I had asked Hubby for 2 years, and it will be 2 years next summer.

I still check out houses for sale there from time to time, I also keep an eye on the weather. This obsession seems so crazy some days... I just hope that we do finally make it one day. I am going to add some (a few I'm sure) photos for those that read this to help you understand why we are drawn to this place.


The Cypriots are wonderful people, friendly and caring. The scenery is incredible with the Troodos mountains in the background, and the wonderful blue ocean in front. It is a surprisingly dry climate, not overly humid... especially when you've spent anytime in England. There is a lot of empty open spaces to explore and enjoy, we would spend countless hours hiking. The beaches of course are a big draw, the mountains just complete it all.


Enjoy the photos, some are what I took on our trip, and others are just random shots that I found.

Growing too fast!

Little man is now 1 year and one day... I really wish he would slow down! He was really having a good time getting into trouble this morning. As I was getting ready to get out the door with the boys this morning, I found him climbing the furniture. Guess he really wants to sit in Monkey's chair!!!

We went back to the play place today, much quieter this time around. Little man did have fun yesterday, but it was packed with kids. Today he and Monkey could really enjoy all the toys and climbers.

Happy Birthday Little Man!

It is Little Man's birthday today, his First of many more to come. I am finding it a little hard right now, it is making me sad that I no longer have a baby in the house. And anytime I mention it to hubby, he just rolls his eyes at me... can you tell that he doesn't want anymore!

We didn't do too much today as we had my parents, sister and her family over last night to celebrate. We did go to the playplace while Monkey was in school, which both Bug and Little Man thouroughly enjoyed.

Little man didn't get too many presents, which is good since we have way too much in this house! But so far he has been having a lot of fun playing with them. Beware of the picture overload!!!!

Sleep deprivation

Last night was one of the worst nights I have had to endure in a very, very long time. Little Man is mostly over the stomach bug, but I think his eye teeth are starting to come through. He woke up around Midnight, and I don't think either one of us got more than 2 hours of sleep for the rest of the night.... that makes a whopping 3 hours for me! I actually gave up at 5:30am, and passed him off to Hubby. Much more of that would have driven me completely batty!

To top the night off, Bug has found a way to get around the one piece PJ's that we put on him backwards, and managed to play with himself ,and of course that inevitably led to him peeing all over his bed!!! So, no more diapers for him, he will have to use the potty at night, or wet his bed.

Well, I think that is all from me tonight... the lack of sleep has fragmented my thoughts beyond my ability to coherently type them. Let's just hope (and pray, pray and pray) that Little Man sleeps tonight enough to give us all a much needed rest!!!

Again at 3am..

Well, here I am again at 3 am.... I've just cleaned Little Man, and his bed, for the 3rd time this night. I am presently waiting for the dryer to finish, so that I can transfer a load out of the washer and put another one in. I have one sheet left for him, so I better get the other ones cleaned... I'm not all that optimistic about my chances to finish the night without another bed change.

Not sure when I will be able to get back to bed, even though I am over the bug, my stomach is of course rolling around from all the wonderful things I have cleaned this night. Tomorrow will be bringing about a major cleaning of all surfaces, at least the smell of vinegar is preferable to the one of puke.

I think while I wait for my stomach to settle down, I am going to make some changes to my blog. C.Beth started using nicknames for her family a few months ago, and I have been thinking it is something I should probably do as well.... so I will spend the next little bit going back and making those changes.

It's still here...

Well, I thought that since no one had been sick since yesterday morning that we were in the clear. Guess I was wrong. Hubby went up to bed at 10pm, and very shortly after called to say that Little Man had puked in his bed... and was still asleep!!! So, we get him up... Hubby gets him undressed and gives him a quick bath, while I strip the sheets, wash the mattress and put clean bedding on. I got done just as Hubby finished redressing Little Man, we laid him down... and amazingly he went back to sleep!!! Not sure how long it will last, but I'm praying it's the rest of the night.

At least we know what we are doing, we've been through this many times before. I would just love to stay clear of all the nasty bugs out there, even though I know it's impossible. Hopefully we build up our immunity quickly, and can spend the rest of the season in relative health.

I'm off to get the new puke infested clothes/sheets into the washer, then I too will find bed. It could be a very long night, and even longer day!

Cleaning and cooking... what else is there????

It's about time I got some housework done!!! I wouldn't say all that much is done, but I did get a decent chunk done. I will schedule more for the rest of the week. I would like to have the house nice and clean for the weekend... just in time for Little Man to make a mess with wrapping paper on Monday LOL. It's amazing that another year has gone by, and my little man will be 1. I'm going to miss having a baby in the house.

Still not completely sure what he will be getting from us, I am hoping to make him a bear with some lovely soft blue swirly material that I have... just have to get it done in time. Maybe I will see about taking Monkey and Bug out to help pick out a present for their little brother, give them a chance to participate.

I am getting excited about Hubby heading to Germany in a few weeks, I have some things that I want him to bring home for me. I want to get a Traditional German Advent Candle ring, as well as Christmas Carousel. I've wanted to get these for many years, but have not wanted to pay the money for them LOL. But with Hubby being in Germany, it might not be quite as expensive. He doesn't have to get the exact ones that I have linked, but something like them.

Hmmm... the house smells very nice right now! Just took some Canadian Shortbread cookies out of the oven, I love these cookies. The boys also got a chance to help me out, need to let them help more often. Here they are pressing the cookies down for me.

It has arrived....

We were without the kidlets this weekend, a very nice break... in some ways longer would have been okay, but I like having them home in their own beds. Sunday while having a late breakfast/lunch, I wasn't able to keep all of my food down... not really the most wonderful experience!! We figured that I most likely had food poisoning, but didn't know for sure.

Well, it looks like it is the stomach flu! Bug puked Saturday night in bed, my Mom found him asleep in it at 2am. Then Monkey puked late Sunday afternoon, just before we went to collect the kids. I wasn't too worried, as he ate just fine, and wasn't complaining about his tummy.

About 1 hour ago, I woke up to Monkey crying say 'Ow'. I ran to his room, to find that he puked all over his bed and himself. Luckily he missed his friends, but I think I will still wash them tomorrow. So, there I am cleaning him up at 2:30 in the morning, giving him a bath, changing his bed... all the while doing my best to not puke myself. And of course Little Man is crying away, took Hubby forever to get out of bed and deal with him.

The bed sheets and clothes are in the washer, and I'm sitting here at the computer trying to keep my tummy calm so that I too can go back to bed soon. Some days/nights the joys of parenting are very hard to handle. We dealt with 4 stomach flu's the year we lived in England, and none last year. The only consolation is that I have a washer that is large enough to handle all the puke infested items at once!!! In England it would take up to a week to finally get it all washed and cleaned... we had a very good, but very small washer there.

I think I will now try to go and lay down, hopefully there are no more interruptions to this night... what is left of it anyways.

Quiet house....

I have just had the longest night of sleep in more months than I can remember! The house is also quiet on a level that I don't think I have heard before, and last night the music was louder and heavier than has been heard in a long time. LOL Maybe you can figure it out, but I'll tell those that can't.... There are no Children in this house right now!!!!!

Yesterday morning we dropped our boys off at Grandma and Grandpa's house for the weekend. As much as I miss them, I also am enjoying the freedom to just do as I wish for a little while.... it's not often I get this kind of freedom. Hubby and I didn't do too much yesterday, although I am extremely happy to say that we got Christmas lights for the house... solar powered ones at that! Last year I was unable to convince Hubby that we should get some, so I am looking forward to the day he gets them up.

I have gotten a bit done for the fabric stash challenge, and am working on some blankets to go in the car. In some ways I find it hard to work on the things that will use my stash up as I have so many things/projects that I need/want to get done that don't require the use of my stash. My big goal is to get the curtains for our bedroom (6 panels) done, as well as the ones for the front living room (2 panels). Now that we have a nice couch and chair in that room, I really want the curtains done to finish it off.

Well, I should get a little work done around the house before Hubby finally gets up for the day. He is thinking we should head to Banff today, and possibly stay for the night. I am really looking forward to another child free night with hubby!!!!

Here's a picture of the crochet hook holder that I made.

Anniversaries, and sleeping arrangements

A dozen years, that is how long I was married as of yesterday! It's hard to believe it has been that long already, and only 8 more till 20!!! Unfortunately, Hubby is rather sick with the cold we all have, and I am still recovering from mine... so all we did was head out for some Sushi while my Mom fed our kids. This coming weekend we will have more time to enjoy, and hopefully be healthy enough to enjoy it! Not sure yet what we will be doing, as Hubby now seems to want to stay home since the kiddos are going to be at my Mom's. Hopefully I can convince him to head to Banff or Radium for a day/night to enjoy the hot springs.

Here's a picture of us on our Wedding Day, can't believe how young we were!!!


Poor Little Man has another ear infection, this makes the 4th since September. It is hard on all of us as he doesn't sleep well at all, and I don't want him to cry it out while he is sick. I really hope they stop soon, we won't get into the ENT until March of next year!!!!! Not sure if I will be able to handle another 5 months of crappy sleep.

We have been letting Monkey and Bug sleep together in Monkey's bed the last few nights. We are trying it out this way to help us decide if we should let them share a room. This is not something I would have thought to be considering, as we purposely got a 4 bedroom house so they wouldn't need to share. But, it appears to be out of our hands right now. A few nights ago I went to check on the boys before going to bed, and found Bug fast asleep (with his pillow and Nemo) under Monkey's bed!!!! I dragged him out and put him back in his bed, in his room.

The morning after I talked with Bug about sleeping under Monkey's bed, and how it's not the best or safest place to do so. I did ask if he wanted us to move his bed into Monkey's room. He looked at me very seriously and said 'No, that would be dangerous'. Certainly got a good giggle from that.

The next night Hubby was reading to them in Monkey's bed, and decided to see if they would go to sleep like that, or just goof off. Well, they fell asleep with out any issue. The next morning when asked if they would like to share a room, they said yes... so, we might just set it up soon.

Snowy night ramblings...

It's amazing how the world looks so different after a nice snowfall, everything is clean and glittering. As much as I am not a fan of the cold weather that snow must accompany, I do enjoy these winter months filled with snow. It should be a busy winter for us, I have a lot of crafts to do with the boys, and of course this great big house to decorate! I even have a stash challenge to work on this next month! A lady that I chat with has challenged all of us with fabric stashes to actually do something with it all! LOL I'm a little nervous to add up all my fabric tomorrow, but it should give me good motivation to get sewing.

Monkey and Bug were finally well enough (although not 100% yet) to go back to school this week, after a week at home sick we were all more than ready for this. Now if Little Man and Hubby could get healthy soon, things would be a lot better around here. Hubby especially needs to be better next weekend for our little getaway... I don't really want to spend it with him in bed sleeping!

On an interesting end to my evening, I have just found out that Obama has won the presidential election in the US. I really, and truly, hope that he can bring about change to the US... especially the economy. I know many people in the US don't think that we should have an opinion even, but unfortunately, what happens down South, affects us Northerners a great deal. Here's to history in the making, preferably a good one!

Finally did it!

I have been talking/thinking about getting my own domain for many, many months now... last night I finally did it! I really don't like having to change my email address when we move, and this allows me to keep it the same no matter where we live! It's also a stable location for my blog, and any websites that I may eventually set up.