We have a house!

This is exciting stuff! Dennis and I have never been homeowners. We did think that we would have a place of our own before we settled down and started a family, but since the family started itself without our express permission, that didn't happen.

Our financing has been approved, the owners have accepted our offer, the inspection went well and so if everything else goes to plan, this will be all ours as of June 29th.

Can you believe it? Now I just have to figure out how all of our crap is going to fit within 1000 square feet. I might need a crow bar. It's amazing how much STUFF one can accumulate, especially when you add children into the equation. We're not wealthy people by any means, but the sheer volume of our possessions is a bit astounding to me. It makes me feel a bit guilty. We don't need all of this stuff...

But now I'm rambling. I think there are many trips to Sally Ann in my future.

More Graduation

He did a fabulous job driving the car. How can he be almost 5? He's just a baby.

Graduation day

Jacob graduated from pre-school last night. I had a hard time keeping it together.

Another montage. C'mon, you knew it was coming.

So, I had to make one for Jacob too :)

http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=2a1852ea5f39eda16fa0ab

Kieran's a year old

I made him a photo montage...and made myself cry like a baby.

Check it out

http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=29cda44e010d71b4d994d5

Manitoba bound

So, it's official! Dennis is the new Caribou biologist for Manitoba Conservation and so come July, the boys and I are headed west. They are covering the entire move including flights, so that is just awesome :).

This is very bittersweet for me and for Jacob. He was not impressed to find that he would have to move to and live in a different home, but we have all come to regard it as an adventure and an opening of a new chapter in our lives. It does present some interesting challenges though. Since I am on contract until June 29 and the new job started March 19th, this means that Dennis is in Manitoba for 3 months without us. He has been gone just shy of 3 weeks and I can tell you with conviction that I really, really dislike being a single parent. Really.

I'm in better shape than Mr. Dennis tho. He has no kids to keep him busy (drive him crazy) on the weekends or evenings, so these are lonely times for him. I am doing everything I can (and I have help on the Mom and In Law Mom front) to keep my head above water. I also have a thesis that needs completing before I leave. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa splat.

So, that, in a nutshell, is all that is new.

OH! My baby is 1! How the hell did that happen? We had his party before Dennis left and he thoroughly enjoyed himself. Kieran looked adorable wearing his birthday cake and some of the icing may have even made its way into his tummy ;).

Lots to say, not so much computer time

Hello faithful blog readers (that means Alison...and probably no one else). So, lots has been happening in my life, but I find myself with very little computer time to blog these days as Kieran has discovered the scroll bar on the keyboard. He is thriving though! Crawling and chattering up a storm and a whole 8 months old to boot.

Jacob is becoming a little boy right before my eyes. He seemed to grow up overnight after we brought his brother home and is so mature and big it just breaks my heart. He and Kieran are getting along much better than I was anticipating. Jacob is a bit put out that Kieran is now mobile and can get into and touch his things, but we're working it all out. It's a love/youirritatethecrapoutofme/love relationship.

I was initially planning to return to work 2 months ago, but that plan has been scrapped. It's a hugely long story, but suffice it to say that after some awkward messiness, things have been resolved, more or less, to my satisfaction.

So, c'est ca pour maintennant.

It's a boy!

Kieran James arrived whole and healthy Monday, March 20th at 7:14 am weighing 7lbs 4.5 oz. He was caught by the nurse and born in the assesment room. He waited 9 months and 11 days and wasn't going to be kept waiting a second longer.

So, I've been a busy little bee :-). Initially he was wanting to eat ALL THE TIME so not much sleep was being had. However, now at 7 weeks of age, he's giving me some 2, 3 and even 4 hour stretches at night. Still nursing every 1-2 hours during the day, but that I can handle.

What else can I say? Jacob is adjusting well. He's a bit put out, and is acting out behaviourally a tad, but he loves his brother and wants to constantly kiss and hug and hold him. He informed me the other day that now he'd like a sister to go with it. 'It' being Kieran. He's an interesting child.

Here are a few picture links for you curious sort.

This one I call his 'What the crap have I been born into?' look

http://www.babiesgallery.com/gallery2/d/15362-2/bear.jpg

Very new.
http://www.babiesgallery.com/gallery2/d/13745-2/kieranjames.jpg
http://www.babiesgallery.com/gallery2/d/13927-2/sunbath.jpg

I am still pregnant.

So, it's been a while since my last post, hey? I suck like that.

While I really enjoy my job, it, the commute and being pregnant have all conspired to take away much of my computer time. My last day of work before my maternity leave was my due date. March 9th. Guess whose still pregnant? I'll give you a hint. She has red hair and it's not Dennis.

I am officially 10 days overdue. It sucks. I still feel ok, but I am impatient. I want this little fella out. I'm tired of worrying about when the last time I felt him move was. I'm tired of the endless hearburn, the hip pain, the drugs and most of all, I want to meet this little creature and see his or her face.

Jacob asks me daily if the baby came out yet as if it might have happened without us noticing :-).

Other than that, we've all just been lying low and waiting. I no longer make phone calls and I'm making Dennis answer the phone because, as witty as they all think they are, I'm getting tired of the 'What are you doing home? Aren't you supposed to be having a baby?' 's from well meaning friends and relatives. I know they dont' mean to irritate me, but it really doesn't take much these days. Lets just say I've been a tad cranky and leave it at that :-P.

Anyhow, hopefully the next time I update won't be so long and I'll have a baby by then!!

Some News

I have a new job! I'm a research tech in a mico/immunololgy lab. It's cool and I'm liking it. The people I'm working with so far have been great. Of course it is a bit of a commute, but it's not all bad.

Baby is well, moving all around and kicking up a storm. I'm well on my way to being ginormous.

In the meantime, Dennis is still applying for jobs hither and yon. The newest applications have been in Manitoba and *gulp* Igloolik, Nunavut. I'm not sure what to hope for.

Jacob is well and continues to amuse and frustrate us greatly on a daily basis. Three has been an interesting age thus far. Lots more fun and lots more...defiant/challenging/hair pullingly frustrating. S'all good.

Tagged

I was tagged by Alison..
1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post.
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five other people to do the same.

Here's my 23rd posts fifth sentence:

"It's getting colder and colder in my little closet of an office."


I tag Lisa and Andrea as they are the only other bloggers I know :-p

All by myyyyyyyseeeeeellllllllllffff.

So, the significant other is gone for 5 weeks and it is just the boy and I. However, we are currently in the company of a patricularly vicious duck toller, two disgruntled cats, several large high powered rifles, and a whole whack of unpredictable pregnancy hormones so don't get any ideas possible lurking undesirables : -p.

I hate it already. I don't like being alone. Granted, I'm not exactly alone, but when one is used to having another adult around, being suddenly single presents a host of interesting challenges. For example, I have not showered alone in the past week and not having someone to distract the child so I may pee in peace is a bit of a bugger. As fun as it is to listen to him sing 'Jera-whya was a bullfwog' at the top of his lungs, there are certian bathroom duties which do not require musical accompaniment, thankyouverymuch.

On the upside, I have many, many, many ripe tomatoes that I must deal with in some fashion and my first batch of pickled beets (from my very own bug eated, slug infested garden...aka'organic') turned out smashingly. I used my Grammie's recipe. It calls for 1 cup of sugar...or more, a half a handful of pickling spice...:-) and doesn't get any clearer than that, so I was somewhat worried. But they are very yummy. Oh, and just a PSA and an FYI, if one's child consumes 1/2 a jar of pickled beets, one should expect the contents of said child's diaper to be somewhat alarming for the next day or so. This is important to remember so that one does not inadvertantly start hyperventilating and suspect internal hemmhorage.In the 39 seconds it took me to remember the offender in the aforementioned child's diaper, I had quite the adrenaline rush going there.

Adios for now : )

Hallo.

So, yes, still a very very bad blogger. I've been pretty miserable, but not super duper crazy on IV fluids miserable. Just constantly nauseous. I'm on double the dose of the drugs I was on last time and 4 gravol a day in addition. It doesn't seem to be getting any worse, which is a blessing. I'm still having good days and bad days, but my bad days aren't as bad as they were 3 weeks ago.

My baby is 3 years old now. Or 'I free, Mama' as he puts it. It's pretty unbelievable. Wasn't he just born last year or something?

I've finished up at the university for the most part. I've still got some part time contract stuff, but that's it. Dennis has a 5 week contract to do some bird banding, which is good. So, I'll probably have to start the job hunt soonish.

So that's all the boringness I can muster for now. I shall blog more later, I promise :).

MIA again.

I've been a bad blogger. You'll have to cut me some slack tho because.........











My period is almost 5 weeks late and I'm sick as a dog. So that makes me almost 9 weeks pregnant :). Which is a 90% blessing and only 10% curse. We've only told close family and friends at this point, so Mum's the word, right? :)

With my last pregnancy, I had hyperemesis gravidarum and it looks like this one is going to be the same. I started taking my medication much earlier this time around tho, and I'm in much better shape than I was at this point last time. I'm not puking 15-20 times a day now. I've graduated to just a few times a week. With Jacob, the nausea was pretty constant until my 6th month, so I'm still wickedly nauseaous all the time, so I'm not expecting much relief until then. HALLELUJAH for drugs tho! I'm not a fan of taking drugs while pregnant, but the alternative for me would be IV fluids and total parentenal (sp?) nutrition (TPN) thru a PICC line for many many months. Not a charming 'alternative', so I'll stick with the druggage. The last baby came out okay with 'em :).

So, summer is finally in full swing in these parts. We're getting temperatures between 26 and 32 degrees in the last little bit. I also am very thankful for air conditioning.

Dat bug not vewy nice, Mama!

Jacob got stung by a wasp this morning :-(. He was not a happy camper. I think his feelings were more than a little hurt. He kept saying 'I not hurting da bug mama' and 'Dat bug not vewy nice' in between sobs. Broke my heart.

Dennis and I watched 'Boys Don't Cry' last night on Bravo. Let me just say that I could have lived my whole life happy without every having seen that movie. the first 3/4 weren't bad but the ending was violent and brutal and horrible. I had terrible nightmares last night and didn't sleep well at all. So now I'm tired and cranky.

Not that me being 'tired and cranky' makes today different from any other day :-) but today I actually have a good reason :-P.

Anyhow, it's a beautiful, warm, sunny day, so I'm sure I'll cheer up soon!

Name that tune

"I've got rice cooking in the microwave
Got a three day beard I don't plan to shave
and it's a goofy thing, but I just gotta say 'Hey, I'm a doin' alright'

I think I'll make me some homemade soup,
feeling pretty good and that's the truth
It's neither drink nor drug induced,
Lord, I'm just doin' alright"


Hint: The person who wrote it does indeed have a beard. :-)

Tagged?

Total volume of music files on my computer: Currently 67 and rising :)

The last CD I bought: Great Big Sea- Something Beautiful

Last CD aquired: Twila Paris, Bedtime Prayerrs

Five songs I listen to alot or that mean alot to me: Morning has broken - Cat Stevens
The boat song - Lyle Lovett
Forty Five years - Stan Rogers
Ain't no Sunshine when she's gone - Van Morrison
I feel the winds of God today - Traditional Irish Hymn

"I like a Brother, Mama"

I've heard this sentence at least 252 times in the past 48 hours. 'I'm having a brother, you give me a brother Mama?'. I have no idea where he got this notion. We were at my parent's house over the weekend, so I think perhaps, Nana put a bug in his ear.

I'm not pregnant to my knowledge. It's strange. What do you say? 'I'll take that under advisement, son'? or 'We're working on it'?. I actually said that last one and now I get 'I want a brother, you working on it?'

:sigh:


It's a beautiful sunny day finally! YAY!

Work

So, I've just realized that if I don't want to pay another continuing fee, I have to have my thesis ready to defend by August 18th. Which means it needs to be done by at *least* August 10th. :sigh: This is going to be hellacious. Pray for me.

5:00 am

How can a child who is put to bed at 8 pm and falls asleep at 10:30 pm, concievably wake at 5 am and function? Seriously? How is this humanly possible? This doesn't happen very often, but I am so very glad that I am at work today and he is at daycare. I feel sorry for the daycare ladies tho. Someone remind me why I want another one. Anybody. Please.

Monday was hubby's birthday. I rather outdid myself in that dept if I do say so myself. I got up early and fixed him breakfast in bed, made him a lovely birthday supper of curried chicken and rice as per his request, Jacob and I baked him a cake from scratch and he had a very enjoyable evening. Oh, he got presents too :-).

So, as I sit here bleery eyed, I can't think of anything much else to write. Oh, this morning, Dennis and Jacob were somewhat at odds as Jacob was getting dressed. Jacob was saying that he didn't want to go to daycare and Dennis responded once with 'Well, I really don't care'. I pulled him aside to tell him that I felt that was innappropriate and said 'That's really enough of that', but guess who heard? Now our almost 3 year old's favourite phrase seems to be 'That's enuf ob dat'. :sigh: Why does everything come back to bite me?

Ta ta :)