I Miss my Mind the Most

Last week I was lucky enough to be the recipient of a free Pro membership to Flickr.com.  Thank you Chicalookate, now i'm a flickr addict.  I've been uploading all my most recent shots into it and fooling around with the different features to organize them.  It's wonderful, I highly reccommend you give it a try!

I added the little avatar that you see to the right- and the latest shots that I've uploaded appear there.  I recently took some black and white 'artsy' shots of Nolan to match the ones my Hubby took of Paige when she was a baby.  I'm in LOVE with them.  What do you think??

Cutest toes ever.

Holding Mom's hand.

My sleeping angel.

The first one was taken by me and the other two were taken by Mr. Island. Aren't they precious??
Check out the slide show (if this works)

Well This blog is going to be short and sweet, I'm going to go and try to catch a few winks while the getting is good.

~jen

This morning I was going about my daily morning regimen of reading the news, catching up on my favorite blogs and email.  While sipping my tea I hear Paige holler from the living room, "Mom, I have to poo!".  Now this is not unusual, kids do poo on occassion but my daughter has her own procedure to do 'the deed' (read about it here) and it usually doesn't involve telling anyone that she has to go.  We knew that she was smart enough to go on her own (obviously), but she was holding out on us for some reason.  I knew it would just happen one day when she decided she was ready... I think today was that day.  
So earlier this morning, when she hollered, I mentioned an option to her, "Would you like to go on the potty??" and I didn't believe my ears when she said "Yes.". 
I called back, "Do you need any help?" she replied "No."
I went back about my computer business thinking, that the girl was once again just yanking my chain. Then I hear her say, "Mom, can you wipe my butt!?".  WHA?? HUH???  Did I hear correctly??
This is where my jaw drops and I scramble to the bathroom in utter disbelief but I'm here to report that YES, she did in fact, GO #2 ON THE POTTY!!! 
It's been a day of celebration around here. Paige, celebrating the ice cream treats she's been getting and Me, celebrating the end of pampers 'Pull-ups' (for at least 2 years).
When you have kids it doesn't take much to get you excited. Really.
Hoorah for my little girl!!

~jen

One of my neighbors just came by to ask Mr. Island about a tool he had borrowed.  I chatted with him about numerous things and introduced him to the baby etc.  After he left, I looked at the mirror by the front door to discover that I had chocolate icing dribbled down my chin from the cookies I shared with Paige moments before.

UGH. 
To borrow a phrase from a friend who discovered snot on the end of her nose at work, "I thought everyone was just really happy tonight."

~jen

Yesterday was absolutely beautiful. for the last couple of days we've been breaking records with the sunny days and high temps.  It was so doggone hot yesterday that we finally broke out the sprinkler.  The kids had a BLAST.  Paige had at least 10 'costume' changes throughout the day and soaked most of her clothes.  Today the sky is a little overcast but Paige has been begging for the sprinkler since 8 o'clock this morning.  Summer has arrived.
I'm absolutely loving these nice days.  Paige has played herself out virtually every day and has been putting HERSELF down for a nap, then begging me to put her to bed at night.  It's a beautiful thing.
I was sooo tired last night after a full day in the outdoors I could barely keep my eyes open.  After a bath, and giving myself a mini pedicure (thanks for the wicked Pumice stone Suz!) I tucked Paige into her tent (long story) and got Nolan ready for bed.  Nolan decided he didn't want to lay down, but wanted to be held all night long.  WOW, I'm tired this morning.  I'll just add today's fatigue on to yesterdays.  Mr. Island read a very interesting factoid- a new mother will lose 400 hours of sleep in the first year of baby's life.  FOUR HUNDRED HOURS.  I can totally believe it just by the way I feel.  Is it any wonder why I can't remember a dang thing???  Well, let's look at this positively; I'm two months down and only 10 more left to go.
Today is going to be a day full of household chores.  I've got a lot to catch up on after spending the last 3 days outside. 
Take it easy Folks, 
Catch some Zs for me...

~jen

The Phrases of the week around here have been:

"This really chaps my ass." - Me

"No, Seriously." - Suzanne

"If I had a dollar for every time I heard that." - Kevin (husband of Suz)

"I'm not lying to ya." - Mr. Island

I laugh every time I hear one of us say 'our phrase'... now I'm starting to say each one of these!! So strange how you pick things up without realizing it!!

~jen

I've discovered that when you have alot of Frank's Red hot in your daily diet, Bran muffins and extra fiber are not required. 
...ahem...If you know what I mean.

~jen

 

Have you ever burnt popcorn in your microwave??  The smell lingers for weeks and it's disgusting!!  Even things like hotdogs can leave a lingering aroma that is not so pleasant after the hotdogs have been eaten.  I read a tip in a book (can't remember the name of it right now...) that worked like a charm so I thought I'd share.

get a dishcloth quite wet and pour some vanilla extract on it.  Sit it in the microwave and 'cook' it for a minute.  Let it steam in there for awhile and then wipe the microwave clean.  It is amazing, the microwave smells like rice crispy squares.  The yummiest of vanilla smells. 
You've gotta try it!

~jen

The other night Paige discovered some home made bath bombs under the sink in the bathroom.  For those of you who don't have a clue what a 'bath bomb' is, it's a large tablet that fizzes and releases color and stuff into the tub while you soak.  My mom had helped my brother's class make them as gifts at christmas time and she gave me a few of the left overs.  Normally you split the bath bomb in half but the one she gave me was ROCK solid so we just threw the entire thing in the tub.  My mom had mentioned that they used essential oils as an ingredient in the bombs, but she didn't mention that there was enough oil in those things to rival the Exxon tanker spill. 
My poor children were coated in grease!!  I had put Nolan in the tub with Paige for a quick wash and he came out more slick than a greased pig!  He nearly slipped out of my arms more times than i care to count.  I had to empty the water, wash out the tub and fill it again just so I could try and lather some of the oil off of Paige.  No matter how many times i shampooed her hair it looked greasy.  Crazy!
Now my tub has been turned into a slippery death trap.  Even after repeated washings with Tilex.  Paige slipped while she was getting out and rapped her head off the toilet, her ear was not pretty.  All of the tub toys are greasy, it just a mess people.  Seriously.
No more bath bombs for this family, we are sticking to good old fashioned bubble bath from now on.

~jen

I've been trying to blog about this for a MONTH now, and the opportunity has finally arrived.  My neighbor, the one we all know and love, Suzanne- threw me a most pleasant baby shower and I wanted to share it with everyone that couldn't be there.
One of my friends, Cassandra, from down the street brought the most amazing bruschetta I've ever tasted, the spinach dip was DeeLISH and so was the 7 layer dip with tortilla chips.  Yes, I was all about the food and it was good.  It probably didn't help that I arrived on an empty stomach, but it turned out to be a good thing, leaving ample space in my gut for that Bruschetta.  If I ever manage to get my hands on that recipe I'm going to share it here because it's soooooo good.

Suz and I imagining Nolan in the track suit, being a holy terror.

We sat around comparing labor 'war' stories (I love that), bragging about our kids and we even swapped  interior decorating ideas.  It was really nice.  When we got around to opening Nolan's presents I was overwhelmed by everyone's generosity.  I'm so starved for adult conversation of the female persuation that I was more than happy with that alone.  Nolan recieved some wonderful presents, and lots of much needed BOY clothes.  I have to give a special thanks to Cassandra for the 'billybob teeth' soother, my hubby and I have had hours of laughter and will continue to laugh for as long as my child uses a soother.  Laurie, my other near and dear neighbor gave me a second gift of a calendar for tracking baby milestones- it's the closest thing to organized that this woman will ever get. Thank you!!   Suz tried to get me to read the gift cards out loud.  If you want to see me bawl my eyes out, that is a good way to do it.  Hallmark and their damn cards....  NO worries, I gave Suz a thank you card that she will never be able to read without crying, outloud or otherwise.  Tee hee, Love ya Suz.

Perfect calendar for the dazed and confused Mom (me).

I can't thank everyone enough for doing this for Nolan- You're all super special and I'm lucky to know you.  I'm going to leave you with an adorable picture of my Mother in law holding Nolan, in the heavenly glow of the window.  It's enough to melt the coldest of hearts.

Many Hugs from cuddly babies,

~jen

I've been thinking, charging a client 25$ for missing their appointment is a sure fire way to keep them from ever stepping foot in your fine establishment.  Even more assinine, threatening to charge your potential client the 25$ when you have NO credit card on record and you don't even know the client's name. 
I happen to think it's very unprofessional.
But maybe that's just me.

~jen

 

Mr. Island came home from the game on Saturday and decided to nurse the pain of his beloved Clippers loss with a few beers.  Then he decided to blog about it.  On my blog.  That's my honey.
He didn't mention the fact that his BELOVED wife (ME) stood in line for 3 1/2 hours on Saturday morning to get him tickets for that game.  Yes people, I said three and a half hours.  I can't believe it myself, but that just goes to show you how much I love that big, hockey loving, goof ball.  All the while Poor Suz was watching my kids... it was only supposed to take 20 minutes TOPS.  I'm telling you people, Suzanne is well on her way to earning a sainthood in my books- She's too damn good to us.
The Nanaimo Clippers lost the series to the Surrey knuckleheads (can't remember the name of their team.)  Which is a good thing or Mr. Island would have been standing in line EARLY on sunday morning, nursing a hangover and waiting for tickets to monday's game. 
To thank me for my efforts, Mr. Island bought me a half day at the spa which I completely appreciate but decided to spend the money elsewhere (I'm thinking new sewing machine or printer...).  Heck, I was over the moon with the 3 hour child-free/nap time I had on Sunday morning.  Contrary to popular belief,  I'm easy to please. 

Anyhoo... My kids are sleeping and I'm starving so I'll go and get busy eating, something I'm truley good at.
~jen

 

Boo Hoo

Mr. Island Artist HERE

I Dunno if you cats all know but The Island Artisist and I are CANADIAN, you know what that means???? At least on of us in the house are HOCKEY Fanatics, I mean, hard core Junkies... I'll let you guess which one.. Just got back from our Local junior teams last game of the season, we won the national championship last year, not this year, We ran into a Really hot goalie, and he stole three games from us. We were just knocked out of the playoffs. what can you do hey? If we lost due to Shitty play I could be mad, but we played GREAT, just their goalie played better.  We outshot them 55 to 15 and still lost the game wow hey.  I love the Clippers Check out the web site at www.nanaimoclippers.com better get off here before the wife kicks my ass, on second thought I might like a little attention after having a second little one. .... Any attention is good attention right??????

 

have a good night

 

While browsing through my 'ProStats' I came upon a link to another blog.  The name piqued my interest so I checked it out. "Your Life and Mine" is written by 'Deb' and I don't know who she is but her blog is definitely a very good read. Go on, click the link and peruse for awhile. 
 I was suprised, flattered and SHOCKED to see my name listed under the header "blogs I like to read".  My name comes right underneath 'dooce'- My personal fave blog of all time.   I'm honored.

Thanks Deb, You made my day- Week, no, make that YEAR. 

~jen 

Can someone please explain to me how I can be nearly 30 lbs lighter now than i was BEFORE i got pregnant, YET none of my old clothes is even close to fitting????

I don't get it.

For some inexplicable reason I have recently accquired a HARSH yearning for Frank's Red Hot, hotsauce on all of my food.  It's weird because i've never felt the need to try it before and now that I've tasted Suz's wings- I want all my food to be 'Red Hot'.
Oh ya, and let's not forget the other strange yearning I have for beer.  At 9 o'clock in the morning.

Hormones perhaps??  I hope so.

~jen

We got the call yesterday from the neurosurgeon's office, and we have our appointment at the Vancouver children's hospital on May 30th.  I'm very releived to finally have the date, but now I'm finding myself anxious about the months to come.  I know, worrying is just part of being a mom, but I think I'll be taking a few extra 'happy pills' over the next few weeks.  For the most part I'm happy to have a date set, finally.
Nolan has hit his 6 week milestone.  He has also started smiling, not just gas smiles, but real smiles!!  When you talk to him with a coo, goo, giggle and smile- he smiles right back.  I even swear i heard a bit of a giggle/snort!!  It was enough to melt my heart, once again. 

I swear this is a smile, Or else he knows something we don't.

I'm wishing and waiting for the night when i can sleep in longer than a 3 hour stretch.  It's killing me, honestly.  I spent the first half of my day (which started at 7am) just trying my hardest to keep my eyes open.  Then when My hubby arrived home, instead of having a nap I watched tv because I had no desire to sleep.  I'm retarded.  I really wanted to lay down when Paige had her nap except Nolan woke up *on cue* and was awake for the duration of Paige's nap.  I swear he waited until he heard Paige's voice and then, fell sound asleep in front of the fire place.  So frustrating.

Anyway, I should go and have a shower while the getting is good...

Take it easy all!

~jen

My daughter "the fashionista"

I recently picked up an old forgotten hobby, Sewing.  Sewing is one of those things I really enjoy but find frustrating because it can't be rushed.  I like to finish a project (of any kind) the same day i start it because I can lose interest really quick.  Sewing projects have the potential to sit on the shelf not finished or barely started because they went over the 24 hour deadline for completion. Despite this, I started a project.

Suz took me to the local fabric store because they were having a yearly blowout sale for members and she's a member.  I had decided I wasn't going to buy any fabric and such because I don't have time to sew with the new baby.  Somehow, I ended up walking out with patterns, fabric and all the notions needed to create a summer dress for Paige.  I started at 9 that night and put the last stitch in at 2:30 in the morning.  Paige absolutely loves the dress *see above* and wore it all day in spite of the frigid temps.  I'm a sloppy sewer, it looks good from the outside but don't look inside at the stitching, it ain't pretty.

So today I went back to the fabric store with Suz's membership card in hand and bought enough fabric to clothe Paige for the entire summer (while it's still on sale)... we'll see how far I get with it.   Suz bought fabric too, so maybe having a 'sewing buddy' will help keep me interested for longer than 24 hours at a time.  I'll be sure to keep you updated and post my creations and they come to fruition. 

Hugs & Notions,
~jen