wow

It's been a few days since I last blogged. But that's because I almost died. Or at least that's how it felt. CJ and I both came down with the flu on Thursday and man, did that ever suck. It was one of those times that I actually missed my mom and wished she lived closer.

It took us a couple days to feel somewhat normal again... and even today we are both still wiped out. So let's see .. the weekend went like this

Thursady afternoon: puked

Thursday evening: puked and moaned

Friday morning: exhausted, called in sick, took Kenzie to her doctors appointment. She got a shot at the dr.'s. After the shot she thanked the nurse and told her she liked getting shots? [shrug] I don't get it either.

Friday afternoon: napped, then took the kids to the park




Saturday morning: took the kids to the Children's museum




Saturday afternoon: spent the afternoon recovering - apparently I wasn't quite recovered enough for a children's museum excursion

Saturday evening: had my first alcoholic beverage in 3 days... felt much better :D We did some crafts.

Kenzie made a candy necklace


Sebby, the artiste!


The peeps.


Sunday morning: playdate followed by lunch (just Kenzie and I).

Which brings us to now. It's sunday afternoon and I am getting that sad feeling in my stomach. I used to get it when I was a kid and didn't want to go to school the next day :(

I feel like an imposter

I've always had this weird insecurity about work. It's really odd. I've always had good feedback from the partners in my firm. The clients have given me commendations on my ability to manage projects and the deliverables that I am responsible for. I have never had any situation where anyone has told me that my work was bad or that I screwed up... but for 13 years now, I have felt like I am "faking it".

I often feel like any day now someone is going to pay attention and realize that I am an imposter. They are going to see that I really don't know what I am doing and that the things that I say or do are not correct.

It's really odd. I don't know why I have this huge insecurity. I guess that sometimes I am just overwhelmed with how much I don't know. I am petrified that one day someone will ask me a question about something that I should know and I won't have the answer. They will look at me with an expression that says... "how could you have made it this far in your career within this firm without knowing THAT?!?"

blah

CJ didn't sleep well last night so he was extra tired this morning and I felt so bad for him, and guilty for coming into work.

Sebby is sick (he's been very cranky and he threw up this morning).

Miro (the cat) is sick (has been for 4 days). I am worried about her and stressed about the cost of additional vets exams, tests, medicine etc.

There is a damn mole that, in the last two days, has destroyed our beautiful front lawn. Last night he got into my flower bed where all the tulips were just starting to come up. It made me want to cry.

I had to pull together a proposal today. Amazingly, I got it done and I don't have to work late tonight.

I am fat and discouraged by it.

should I be concerned

I came home from work today to see this. Do you think I should be worried?

why I love our friends

1. Because they'll come over on a minute's notice.
2. Because my kids love Jess and she keeps them entertained and happy all night.
3. Cause friends like Dawn, Nabila and Sam know me and CJ, they understand our life (not perfect but good) and they make me smile and feel happy.
4. Cause they don't care if the dinner we serve consists of sausages, salad and drinks.
5. I can run around in yoga pants, a t-shirt and no make-up and they think that's normal.
6. Because I miss them when they leave.

Thanks for a great President's Day Sam, Jess, Dawn, Gabby, Gregory, Darwin, Steve, Nabila, Julian and Jasmine. I LOVE EACH ONE OF YOU!

This is my future daughter-in-law. I love her already!


Like mother, like daughter, they are both gorgeous.


The ladies and the kids. For some odd reason, the men were all gathered outside by the bbq.


Jess and Gabby. Jess I dig your new braces. They are cool!


p.s. I took this picture earier today. I think my eyebrows look gooooooood.

my hubby

he's home, and he's HOT!!! I'm a happy lady.



This is the cutest, smushiest, little man in the world.

the rest of the day

Well despite the kids being awesome and both sleeping for 3 hours this afternoon, I didn't nap. Too wound up I guess.

But I was beat so I canceled on the Wheelers. Thanks so much for inviting me D-squared. You are good friends. Tomorrow, for sure!!!

We spent the afternoon & evening just hanging out and playing. The kids entertained each other for quite a while. They made me laugh. Kenzie would crawl into her priness "bed, flip herself over and hide from Seb. Seb would climb on the mattress and jump on top of her and the two of them just laughed and laughed and laughed. It made my heart smile :)



oh yah... and we had to run to the store quickly. We were out of wipes which is a bad thing when you are home with a one year old who is having a typical reaction to antibiotics... iykwim! anyhow, I told Kenzie to go to her room and put on some warm clothes. This is what she came up with... and yes, that's how I took her to the store. I'm thinking this will be a good blackmail photo when she's older.

half a day down.

and everyone is still alive. :)

We had a successful playdate this morning. Below are some pics. I think everyone had fun. I know we did!

The kiddos are now in bed. I am going to take a quick shower (no, I have not showered yet) and then I will head to bed too. I hope I get a nap in cause I'm sure tired. This afternoon we're off to the wheelers for pizza and playing.

The gang






That's my boy... he loves his champagne!




The princesses had to dress up.


Kisses for Leigh


The Gabster]


I love this picture

sometimes I feel sorry for us

Today is one of those days that I wish life were a bit easier. I am still battling a cold and feel crappy. I'm exhausted because I (and CJ) have been up with Seb every night this week.

I had a really hectic work week.. and an especially tiring day today. I did way too much driving, and had two big meetings, both of which required more effort from me than I expected (e.g. this morning I went to a meeting thinking I'd be one of 200 people in attendance at a general assembly and I ended up doing a presentation for an international steering committee). A director at my firm asked me to go to both these meetings but didn't explain what was expected of me (I have a feling that he didn't really know himself) ... so I'm kinda pissed with him. Don't ask me to cover for you and not prepare me for what I'm in for.

I miss my family. I left the house this morning shortly after 7:00 am and didn't get home until just before 9:00 pm. Seb was already in bed... Kenzie had waited up for me.

and while I am being all "woe is me"... CJ is also battling a cold and taking care of two sick kids. His life doesn't sound like much fun either. He went to bed as soon as I got home (because he feels like crap) so I hardly got to talk to him and I miss him now too.

Work is so busy these days that I will have to go into the office on Monday even though it is a holiday and I was really looking forward to spending some time with my peeps.

I know i am being whiney today. I must be tired. I will go to bed now.

The little mother

Sebastian was down for the night but then at about 9:00 he woke up very upset (damn ear infections). I was walking around with him when Kenzie poked her head out of her room (we had just finished stories so she was supposed to be sleeping) and she kindly offered to read him some books to make him happy. Since nothing I was doing was calming him down I agreed. Sure enough he settled right down. He doesn't look very happy in this picture but compared to 2 minutes before he looks much happier. He loves his big sister.

what I am thankful for

I am thankful that CJ is teaching the kids the fun, satisfaction and enjoyment of music.

Feb 15th

I guess I missed blogging yesterday. It seems like I should have since it was Valentine's day and all. But we have a sick household and I was swamped at work.

CJ brought Sebby in to the doctor on Monday because he was up with a fever on Sunday night. The doctor said that his ears looked red but weren't infected. She suggested that the fever was due to him teething. He's had fevers for the last two days and has been up every night so today CJ brought him back in this morning. Turns out he has another double ear infection. Poor little man :( The doctor said "oh, I wish i could have written you a script on Monday"... no shit sherlock!! He's had a double ear infection every time he's gotten a cold since last August. You'd think that by now the doctors would realize that if his nose is running he's gonna get an ear infection. grrrrr

I have also come down with a cold. I put up a good fight, but all the in-your-face sneezes and coughs finally won out.

Anyhow, yesterday morning when Kenzie woke up and saw her Valentine's bag of goodies she was so excited. Here's a pic.



She got a big red bear and named it Beary! She loves her Beary.



Sebby got some treats too... new shoes and a new bowl with fork and spoon. He also got some finger paints and other craft stuff. But, he loved the balloons most of all.



CJ spoiled me. I got a bag full of my favorite magazines with chocolates and other candies. Then he also sent a dozen red roses to the office. What a sweet romatic guy. xoxoxo

My gift to CJ was a golfing game for his XBox. We had fun last night creating his character's appearance. It was cool to play around with all the facial features and body builds to make a character that looked pretty darn close to CJ.

Valentine's Day Run

CJ had another race today. It was a run around Green Lake. The kids and I went to watch. This is CJ before the race....


Here are the kids... all bundled and ready to go walking.


While we were waiting for the race to begin, the kids and I went to the park. They had a good time.






Then we fed the ducks.


Then we watched the runners go by. Kenzie was great - She clapped for everyone and cheered them on.


Soon we saw Daddy run by. He was looking HAWT!


Here he is at the end of the race. He had a personal best time. I don't know his final time, but I do know he ran faster than 8 minute miles :)


After the race we headed home and the kids are down for naps. This afternoon Kenzie's buddy Katrina is coming by for a ploaydate. It's shaping up to be a fantastic day! :)

From bad to good

My day today started off not so great. I think I got up on the wrong side of the bed. I was tired and cranky and not looking forward to the day. I let CJ sleep in and he kindly returned the favor, letting me go back to bed after he got up. I got in a good nap until 10:30. Ahhhh, I have never appreciated sleep as much as I have since the kids were born... well more specifically, since Sebby was born. ha!

Midday, CJ and I took the kids swimming. Like last week, we had a blast. I was very impressed with Kenzie when she wanted to jump in by herself and NOT have me catch her. So she did it and her head went under water. I picked her up quickly. She looked a bit shocked but when she saw me and her Dad clapping for her I think she was very proud.

We came home and everyone took naps. Swimming is great in that sense. It makes everyone sleep well. I thought it was cute when Kenzie wanted to do "3 things I'm thankful for" before her nap today... it's usually only a nighttime routine. Her list included being thankful for swimming, for mummy being home for the weekend and for a daddy who makes her laugh. All in all pretty good things. It made me feel like we are doing something right in this whole parenting area.

After naps, CJ did some errands while the kids and I played. He's back now and we are going to watch some Olympics and relax. Tomorrow CJ is doing a Valentine's Day 5K run and we are going to watch and cheer him on. Ah weekends are good!

Here are some recent pics.

Kenzie dressed herself last night.


Looking out the window.


why is it so hard to have 2 kids looking at the camera at the same time?

sebby

I gave Seb a piece of shortbread this morning. He looked at me, smiled and blew me a kiss :D

random things

I'm not sure what to blog about today, but feel the need to blog. So here are some random things going through my head.

1. The other day CJ said to me... "Honey, I gotta show you something really cool that I learned on the internet". He proceeded to go upstairs and come back down with a T-shirt. He laid it on the floor "just so", pinched a spot just about left nipple area and then picked up part of the collar, did a little FLIP... and voila the T-shirt was folded! He was so proud of himself. Even offered to show me the video clip on-line where he learned it.

2. Our good friend Steve recently left his job at Microsoft to go into business himself. Steve I wish you the best of luck. I KNOW you will be successful because you are extremely bright, creative and you work hard just because you are geeky and love the stuff you do :) Have fun and good luck. Make us proud!

3. We are going out for sushi tonight. YUM!

4. Tomorrow is Friday, my second favorite day of the week.

5. Did you know that Canada's National Anthem is Oh Canada?

6. The Olympics are starting tomorrow. I am very excited!

7. Girls night out tomorrow night. I am psyched!

8. Kenzie Boo is sick. I hope she has a good day today with lots of snuggles, popsicles, soup and watching Cinderella. Get better soon Boo Bug. I love you.

what are you thankful for

For the past few days, when we tuck Kenzie into bed at night, the 3 of us (Kenzie, CJ and I) name three things that happened that day that we are thankful for. It's really fun and I think it's a nice way to end the day... thinking good thoughts and all.

Last night one of the things that Kenzie said was.. "I am thankful that mummy came home from work today". OH. MY. GOD. Stick a knife in my heart! It was so bittersweet. I just wanted to cuddle her up and never let her go.

Spring is in the air

It's a beautiful day today. We brushed off the playset, pruned all the rose bushes, pulled some weeds and cleaned the lawn furniture. WE had a great time playing outside. Let spring begin!!! This is my absolute favorite season here in the NW. In Toronto we never had spring. It just went from winter to summer almost overnight. Here in Seattle we get at least 3 or 4 months of beautiful green lawns, budding flowers and trees (we live on a street lined with cherry trees... it's amazing)and the colours are amazing. Our tulips and roses are already starting to sprout.

Here are some pictures from this morning.












Now, it's off to shower before the kids wake up. Then we're going to Tim's to watch the Super Bowl... GO SEAHAWKS!!!

there's a reason weekends are only 2 days long

...it's because they are so much fun. If every day was a weekend we just wouldn't appreciate them.

My weekend usually starts at 4:00 pm on a Friday afternoon. Typically we have "wine friday" where we uncork a couple bottles at the office, sit around and gab about work and personal stuff and just unwind from our stressful week. Yesterday, most people were out of the office so I left at 4:00 because I was exhausted.

Shortly after I arrived home, Hadley & her kiddos came by for a visit. She brought McD's for the kids, and she and I had a couple drinks and enjoyed the fact that we could relax since the kids were entertaining each other. We actually had an uninterrupted conversation.



Today, after some gentle persuasion on my part, CJ and I took the kids swimming. It was the first time we've gone as a family. The kids had a blast. I loved seeing Seb's huge grin as he splashed away and Kenzie was so proud of herself "floating". :) The extra bonus that comes with going swimming is that the kids tend to take really good naps. Both kiddos slept almost 3 hours this afternoon while CJ and I enjoyed watching a couple episodes of Survivor Amazon. I actually had to wake up Kenzie because her buddy Ethan came to visit. Poor Karen...when they arrived I opened the door and she looked up to say hello and tripped on the first step to our front door. Instead of letting go of Kalena, she threw herself on our stone steps to break her daughter's fall. What a good mom. Kalena was fine.... Karen on the other had was pretty banged up. She cut her elbow badly, and scraped her ankle and hurt her back :( But it was nothing a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and a stiff cranberry-vodka couldn't take care of.

Once again the kids had a blast playing together. I love play dates these days since the kids actually entertain each other and we adults get to have fun too.



All this fun and the weekend is only half over... tomorrow,,, Super Bowl Party at Tim's..... GO SEAHAWKS!