Are We There Yet?

Spidey Senses

For years before I had kids of my own, my sister would complain to me about how her little ones always seemed to have an inkling that their momma had something going on. Every time she had an event, a trip, a long awaited date with her hubby- absolutely anything- her kids would get sick or something would go wrong.

I now know exactly what she was talking about. My little ones have super spidey sense's when it comes to me and anything I do. As moms, we look forward to a night out, a weekend getaway, or hell, a solo trip to the grocery store. We wish for a time where we can hang up our "mom hats" for just a moment and get away from our never ending to do lists. Of course my heart is in my home, but sometimes the need to re-charge my battery or reboot my system arises. I am fortunate to have a husband who never gives me the gears about going out for dinner or drinks with the girls. Although the times I take advantage of it seem to come infrequently, when they do, something always goes wrong.

I'm not trying to throw my hubby under the bus, but last time I went out, he "forgot" to change the girls diapers before bed so I had a disastrous night. Both girls were up at 2am soaking wet and I had to deal with the reprecussions all night long. If I'm not home for bedtime, I'm guaranteed to have some sort of issue throughout the night, not because of Jared, but just because I'm not home. Like clockwork, just when I find my perfect comfy bedtime position, someone is up.

Whether it's a cup of coffee in the afternoon or trying to blog on the odd day they both nap, someone wakes up. It's as if they just know that mommy has something to do and they don't want me to complete it!! Oh, and we can go months and months without being sick, but without doubt, if we are going away on a family trip a cold or flu rears its ugly head.

Maybe it's just me and Mol? Or maybe it's just a reoccurring coincidence? (I think not!!) I love my girlies so very much so I really do adore the fact that they want to be with me all the time. Really I just want them to have a rough night when it's daddy's turn to get up!!

 

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Easy Meal Idea

Over the last few weeks I have been making an effort to spice up the meals in our house. I love food so much that I always buy my "food" magazines, but rarely make anything out of them. This week I chose a few dishes I wanted to try and grocery shopped accordingly (I chose recipes where I could use most ingredients multiple times). This recipe is out of my new Rachel Ray mag. She typically isn't one of my faves, but I thought it seemed like something I could prep in the morning and cook later- which I did. Absolutely delicious and even better the next day!!

* I hate green olives so I left them out and I grilled naan bread to go alongside .

Happy Cooking,

Spanish Stew Chicken Thighs

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons EVOO
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (2 lbs.)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 pound cured chorizo, chopped
• 1 red mild frying or bell pepper, chopped
• 2 - 3 small ribs celery with leafy tops, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 jalapeno or fresno chile pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 (15 oz.) diced or crushed tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup sliced pimiento- stuffed olives
• Crusty bread, for mopping

directions

• In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat the EVOO over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper; add to the skillet and cook, turning once, until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Add the chorizo to the skillet and cook for 1 minute. Add the frying pepper, celery, onion, garlic and chile. Cover partially and cook until the vegetables are just softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the sherry and cook, stirring up any browned bits.
• Add the tomatoes, stock and chicken to the pan. Partially cover and simmer until cooked through, 15 minutes. Stir in the parsley and olives.

 

 

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Crafty Katie

I've never really thought of myself as a "crafty" person.  I know I have the ability to be creative, but crafting has never been my passion. Like my sister, lately I have found myself endlessly browsing Pinterest looking at the incredible DIY projects that are really easy and really cute.

I bought these wood letters at Michael's a long time ago. At our old house I painted the IVY pink and hung them over her crib to add a little something to her wall (kind of boring).  They have been sitting in her closet since we moved so I decided to add additional letters to fill up a bigger space and to make my first attempt at Mod Podging (is that a word??)

Here is my before picture and tomorrow I'll post my after. While I know this isn't the hardest project in the world, it's a small way of putting a special touch in my little Ives room. Wish me luck!!

The Incredible Two's

My first baby is turning three this year and I literally shake my head in disbelief every single day when I think about where the time has gone. My once only child is now a big sister and is growing up in front of my eyes.  My big blue eyed blondie is one of two bright shining lights in my life that make every single day worth living for.

My little "Bibes" is many things- most noteably beautiful, inside and out.  Every moment of every day she surprises me with something that is laugh out loud funny or so sweet that my heart breaks just to hear it again. Her language and speech is beyond incredible for a two and a half year old and her wit and sense of humor are out of this world. She knows exactly how to use phrases and jokes in context and blows us away when she pulls a one liner fit for an adult. She keeps me on my toes and can make me smile in even the most trying moment.

When I look at her I see parts of both me and Jared. From her dad, an energy that just doesn't quit along with the Dueck family tooth gap, from me, a headstrong attitude that even I am prone to give into. When I glance at her quickly I see so much of my mom, a beauty not to be forgotten.

Two and a half, while very challenging, is by far the funnest age.  If I could freeze time, I would be thrilled to keep her exactly as she is right at this very moment. Since I can't, I am taking in every minute of it and remembering how incredibly blessed I am to have this little monkey in my life.

Maskaphobia?

I am in desperate need of some help moms!!

Over the Summer we were in Gimli enjoying a fabulous family outing with Jared's sister and her little guy when he stopped to have his face painted. After a few moments he emerged as Batman with an almost identical mask across his eyes. When Ivy finally saw him, she had a full on meltdown and acted in a way that I had never seen before.  My just two year old was shaking in horror literally clawing her nails into my back.  For the remainder of the afternoon she wouldn't go within 50 feet of Magnus and went crazy even when she could see him in the distance. Needless to say, it did not make the rest of our day very enjoyable.

Her fear of masks and people's faces being covered up has only escalated since.  She goes from being a happy-go-lucky child to unbearably scared in an instant. We have talked a lot about Halloween in the last few weeks trying to ease her fears as we make light of her favorite Disney Junior characters on tv being covered up in their costumes. Yes, it's just tv, but we're trying to prepare her that on Halloween night, there will be masked kids all around.  We make sure to tell her that it's all for fun and that these people are not scary. 

Brenda, our daycare provider, takes Ivy with her to a stay and play program at her boys school while they are in Kindergarten. She just texted me to tell me that Ivy had a huge, full fledged melt down at both the drop off and pick up of the older kids this morning.  It makes me so sad for her because it's her last day of daycare for the year and I want her to have some fun tonight as she has been over the moon about practicing her trick-or-treating skills. 

She is a child who is fearless of so many other things, yet this one sends her into a tailspin.  Has anyone else dealt with their kids being scared of masks? I beg of you to shed some advice if you have any.

Welcome to the World Baby!!

I am so excited to let everyone know that last Wednesday, we welcomed an absolutely gorgeous little girl to our expanding family! Baby Ruby made her grand entrance on October 24th at 9:53am weighing in at 8 pounds even.  Of course we are over the moon about adding another girlie to our family!

My experience with bringing her into the world was so different this time round due to the fact that she was a planned c-section. It was an incredibly odd feeling waking up the morning of and knowing that he/she would be born in just a few short hours. It was a completely different feeling not to have labored for thirty hours and then have an emergency section called.  While still in quite a bit of pain and being nauseated from the drugs, my energy and general mood for the remainder of my hospital stay was like night and day from the first time round with Ivy. 

We got to bring her home on Friday afternoon and just like that, life has changed drastically.  Ivy was a tad unsure of and a wee bit jealous on the first day. She insisted that she lie next to Ruby across my stomach as I fed her- very comfy for a new mom fresh out of surgery!!  Here we are on day 5 of being home and it's like she's been part of our world forever.  I still fee a little shell shocked at the thought of being a parent of two, but unfortunately there is no gradual lead in when it comes to parenthood. One minute they're safe and sound tucked away inside you, the next, you're a mom again. 

While it would have been so fantastic to have a little boy, I am so grateful that my little Ives and Rubes will have each other as sisters.  Clearly my sister and I were meant to have all of these girls and I absolutely love it (plus, it makes our little Ty just that more special). While we are doing so well with the feeding and sleeping, there are always new baby challenges as you get to know the habits of their tiny minds and bodies.     

I have been brought to tears on multiple occasions over the past week as I look at my two girls.  They are so gorgeous and bring so much happiness to my life.  I am one ecstatic momma and am so thankful for a happy, healthy little family!!

To Tell or Not To Tell

Last week I got a phone call from somebody in my life (I promised I wouldn't "out" my source) that told me she had overheard a woman in her workplace lunchroom saying some not so nice things about my sister. She also had some rude things to say about her kids.  My "source" told me to ask my sister how the two of them knew each other and to find why she might have these negative things to say.

Without blinking an eye, I called my sister and told her the story.  She let me know how they knew each other and said that at most they say hi to each other in passing at various places.  It didn't even dawn on me that telling my sister might hurt her feelings because I wanted to know what this person's problem was. 

As it turns out, I DIDN'T hurt my sister's feelings, in fact, the whole situation mostly just ticked her off.  She called me this morning to say that after much thought she was going to send this person an email letting her know what she heard and to ask what her deal is.

If it was anyone else besides my sister I probably wouldn't have said anything, but because it's her, of course I was going to tell. What would you have done? Run and tell or zip your lips?

Another Lesson To Be Learned

After a wonderful long weekend with my little family, we woke up to a big surprise on Tuesday morning.  Jared went out the door, already running late for work, and his car was gone.  He came back in the house with a look of confusion on his face and told me.  Immediately I remembered that I had left the keys on the floor of my van overnight so I got him to go check if they were still there.  They weren't.  They had rummaged through my van, but stolen his car.  Nobody needs to tell me how stupid it is to A.) Leave our car doors unlocked and B.) Leave keys in a vehicle in your driveway.

The reason I always leave my doors unlocked is because when I used to work downtown at The Keg, my windows were smashed more than once in an attempt to find a couple dollars in my ashtray.  Now, if somebody is going to go through my car, I'd prefer not to have to replace a window. 

We live in a quiet North Kildonan neighborhood right inside the perimeter.  Our driveway is long, and where our cars were parked was in plain sight of our windows- very ballsy.  To say the least, we are too trusting. I feel safe in our house and neighborhood and honestly have never thought about theft or vandalism. This was a lesson learned in our household.  We've had our house locks changed and are making sure everything is secure when we leave for work or go out.  

They have "recovered" our vehicle.  The cops called us at 2am to let us know that they found it in the North End.  At this point all we know is that there is "excessive" damage to it. The mirrors are off, two of the tires are flat and they said it looked like it had been in multiple accidents. They also found a jerry can of gas in the backseat along with other random objects. The lady at MPI told Jared that gas in the vehicle usually means that they were planning on or did start fires around the city. 

Now it's just a waiting game. The car will be printed and then the damage will be assessed.  At this point, we would prefer not to have the car back at all, but MPI will decide that for us. I know it's the reality of the world we live in, but I still find it disheartening to know that some punks were creeping around our property in the middle of the night. We have definitely learned our lesson, but let it be one to all of you as well- we can't be too careful!

Ten To Go!

I am officially 30 weeks along today! It feels more like 40, but I guess I can chalk it up to the 2^nd pregnancy (maybe).  I clearly remember the lack of oxygen being an issue for me further along last time.  This baby seems to be pressing firmly on every organ making it difficult to walk up a flight of stairs or sit in my chair at work for a long period of time, not to mention the lack of comfort during sleep already.  Jared ends up sleeping downstairs most nights because of my crazy flipping and flopping in an attempt to get cozy.  I also don’t remember Ivy moving quite as much at this stage in the game which is a tad concerning to me if this is a preview of what kind of child he/she is  going to be. 

In some respects the past 7 months have flown by, in others, it’s been the longest 7 months of my life. I don’t even remember what it was like to pregnant without a two year old running around.  It must have been much more peaceful the first time round! Because Ives is growing up so fast, I am beyond excited to start from scratch and have a wee one back in in my arms. My once baby is now a little girl with a personality all her own.  Aside from the odd bite and the fact that she likes to hit her cousins every so often, she has phenomenal manners, is about as cute as they come, and is absolutely my favorite person in the whole world.  I’m still wondering how I will have enough love for two?

If I had to go with my gut, I would say I’m growing a little girl, but I was also positive it was a boy last time. The thought of another male in the house is crazy to me! We know what life is like with a little girl, what would it be like with a little boy?

Here is a question for all you moms, because Ivy ended up being a C-section, I have the choice to opt for another one this time around.  Without a doubt, my answer was absolutely.  Would you do the same if you were in my shoes? I already had the whole experience of my water breaking, the long labor, and hours of pushing – she just wouldn’t come out.  The surgery this time around is a little scary to me. Last time I could’ve cared less how they got her out of me so long as it was fast due to the pain I was in. Thoughts?

Reality Check

It seems silly to complain about anything in my life when people like Shauna are facing problems that really matter. I often catch myself feeling down and out because I'm seven months pregnant and incredibly uncomfortable.  The reality is that in two and a half months I get to welcome a new addition to my family- the best gift possible.  That hardly seems like something to complain about.  Yes, I am already struggling to bend over to pick up toys or grab pots and pans. Yes, this little baby seems to be taking over my entire body making it hard for me to breathe. And, yes, my ass is quite a bit bigger this time round. In the grand scheme of things, these are just small details that will soon be gone. 

Unfortunately in our lives it often takes someone else's heartache or pain to realize just how okay we really are. When you look at the people around you that are dealing with health problems or just the everyday stresses of life, it sure makes you realize how lucky you are when all the stars are momentarily aligned in your own.  I promised myself after mom died that I would not take health and happiness for granted, but admittedly, I often do. 

Sometimes a good old reality check is needed to get you back on track. When people like Shauna are open and honest about the hiccups in their lives, it makes you stop and really think about yours. I am going to make an honest effort to embrace these last few months rather than complain about them. My life is pretty great and I wouldn't change it for anything.