Bits of this and that

Well, Steve is trying to sing a very tired but fighting Cody to sleep...and failing. He's suspiciously acting like the 1/2 hour sleep he had before he woke up scared out of his wits, was enough to go for a few more hours. Not a good thing at all.

This is the "red-headed" woodpecker I saw a few days back. Nicely making all those holes and calling out for me to observe him. Gorgeous! Although I was informed it was a sap sucker NOT a red headed woodpecker. Anyone out there blame me? Red headed? Check. Acting and sounding like a woodpecker? Check. Obviously I wasn't a very good student all the years I was indoctrinated in all things birdwatching. :)

This cutie came running to meet me on the same "wood pecker" trail. Sigh. What a sweet grin.

Opa & Cody exchanging glances. Too bad I didn't get the whole hat swimming around on that little head but I am glad I captured that there's a whole lot of love covering the span of years.

Miss Independant thought it a wonderful thing to feed herself the remaining yogurt when Mama went to tuck Cody into bed. She was so proud of herself she was just about crowing! That is one video feed I can hardly wait to show her in a few years! She scooped (and dripped) until she had enough and then nicely placed the bowl back on the table where she had grabbed it from in the first place. Monkey!

That's it for today but maybe some more again soon.

One of the things about having a secret friend is the feeling of being spoiled. I'll admit it, I'm a presents & surprises kind of person. Doesn't have to be huge or even big. For me, it's all about the finding something with my name on it and discovering the surprise within. I'll also admit I love to eat yummy things. So, imagine my delight when I found a big snowman tin with MY name on it in the church fridge. It was filled to the brim with a variety of delicious tidbits. I'm thinking my secret pal is an amazing baker. Think chewy ginger snaps, tiny shortbread balls dipped in milk chocolate, covered with white chocolate shavings, think a yummy version of nanimo bars and almond filled cookies. I told you I was spoiled! Thanks, SP, that tin was a wonderful find!

Another sweet friend popped a little box in my mailbox. That little box packed a big punch of the gift card type. This Mama is now heading for a pedicure, the first ever! I'm looking forward to it. Thanks, Steph!

A few people asked me what I did for Leah's teacher this year. I covered this photo album with the intention of writing 2009 on the label so she would have a place to put all the pictures that come around now. But I know some people like to hang the pictures about the house so I decided to forego a date. Hopefully it will come in handy either for last year's pictures, this year's pictures or some other pictures all together. (the one drawback of this album is that it fits 4x6 pictures so you either have to trim a few photos or leave them out.)

I also made the card which I included only because I am tickled with these flowers right now. Took an old (sappy) novel and started punching flowers. Stacked the flowers - at least 8-10, secured with a brad, scrunched and then inked the edges. A super cheap but wow embellishment. (Always check the content of the top flower :) )

Well, my little Cody is not finding it possible or desirable to go to sleep so I think I better make a visit to his bedroom for some snuggles.
Some more pictures soon - maybe even tonight.

A few pictures

Because I should be finishing the bathroom cleaning and continuing with the wash. Sometimes it's good to just stop and look through pictures.

I love that these two are no less in love with each other now than the day they snuggled in the hospital bassinet. They love to be touching in some way. They greet each other enthusiastically when they wake up usually leaning towards each other in a sweet 1 year old type of hug and calling out, "hi!... hi!". For today I'm forgetting the hair pulling and biting, fighting over toys and stealing food off high chair trays.

Did I ever mention how much I love the view out my front window? Granted, the photography isn't perfect and there are a few distracting poles and lines in the way but we see some gorgeous sun rises.

And unspeakably stunning sun sets. Especially in these winter months. Big thanks to the Other Leanne (my sweet sis-in-law) for removing all poles and lines for me.

What a special moment to catch all three boys sharing (and totally enthralled) with a new to us toy. Obviously one of the three was thrilled to be included in big boy's play. Thanks to the W's for sharing this with us!

Two Weeks in a Blur

So, there are a few things I would like to cover from the last two weeks. Some are really important. But first, here is the short of it.

She was the sickest and for all who know Cara a little bit you will not be surprised that I headed for the doctor when all she did was lay around like this, the breaking point one afternoon when she woke up from her nap and wouldn't hold up her head. I did think the first thing I would hear about was H1N1 but there was absolutely no mention of it.

For those of you in Chilliwack... do you remember the Saturday birthday program when you could call in and send someone birthday wishes and possibly even win a birthday cake? I was wishing for a program for thank you's near the beginning of this sickness stage so I could call out a huge thank you to Ingrid. She came knocking on my door with a delicious dinner and scrumptious gingerbread cookies the morning I took the above picture. (It was the octopus day!) So, thanks, Ingrid, you surely saved that day! (sorry the thanks were so long in coming)

Well, after almost 2 weeks of getting up too many times each night and feeling stretched a few directions during the day Steve and I got to finish last week with a special get away. Someone(s) (who for now remain unnamed because I'm still not sure if this was to be publicly shared info) had gifted us with 2 nights away when the twins were born. We got to stay at the Harrison Resort & Spa, a beautiful, fantastic spot. Now while some may say any spot away at this point would have been amazing, I will still say this place is a cut above many! Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum. I stayed in my bed all night, didn't have to make any meals, didn't have to feed any meals, didn't have to change any diapers, get any one dressed etc.) What I (we) did do was relax, eat amazing food (lots of it), walk, nap, soak in the hot tub, sit and watch the fire (the one in the lobby designed for sitting in front of not a building fire or outdoor fire either), talk and laugh and enjoy the kind of silence that people who love each other and are comfortable with each other can enjoy.

This story isn't complete without a few quotes from those individuals involved. We were pretty sure the kids would be somewhat unsure of us going away without them and so to save the day I thought I would use The Bearnstein Bears and the Week at Gramma's as an example. Hey, the kids are familiar with the DVD and it's spins such a positive outlook on the whole business. So. I told them at breakfast early last week, "Papa and Mama are going on a second honeymoon." Sam was excited because that meant getting sleepovers. Leah was sad, she wanted to come along. Sam jumped in with, "but, Leah, honeymoons aren't for cubs!" Later when Gramma asked him what a honeymoon was Sam instantly replied, "you play tennis and stuff." He had a few more gems. Steve and I went into Chillwack Friday afternoon for Leah's school program and open house. The minute he saw Steve Sam asked, "how was your first honeymoon?" Then Saturday afternoon, "did you guys KISS?" in the most distressed voice ever!

As for Steve and I we also pulled a few doozies. Complimentary afternoon tea is served in the lobby and you can choose which baked goods you would like to eat but they are served by someone who is probably expressly there to keep people like us ("free goodies, let's load up!") from emptying the tray. So, Steve steps up, looks at his choices and says, "I'll take one of those pink cakes and its yellow counterpart" Without a blink or twitch she nicely placed them on the napkin and replied, "here's your pink cake and its yellow counterpart." Ever wonder what post tea conversations are like in the kitchen?

Eating supper in the Copper Room was another unparelled experience. We just haven't spent alot of time honing our fine dining skills (or dancing skills either) Well, after looking through the menu and seeing the choices, including turkey, and then asking our waiter what the soup of the day was, Steve looked at me and rephrased Turkey and Vegetable Soup as "Yesterday's Turkey Soup." Hey, it may well be true and the soup was good but, I couldn't help but snicker at it phrased quite like that in that environment. Or our appetizer. I do remember now that "bisque" is a fancy way of saying soup but hey, it never says bisque on the cream of mushroom can so you have to forgive me for my slight lapse in memory. Steve asked for the Five Onion Bisque for an appetizer, said we would share it and then answered, yes, I would still like the soup of the day over the salad. Imagine our faces when the waiter kindly placed a bowl of soup between us to share for the appetizer. Steve doesn't share food or utensils very willingly and he really wasn't that excited about sharing a bowl of soup with me. We laughed for the next 24 hours everytime we thought of it.

Ahh, this is getting long, my babies need some lunch and really I need to get back at that wash. Thanks for sticking it out this long!