I'm baaack!

Even though there are blog posts up, they've all been scheduled. Its been a nice break, but I've missed blogging on here.

Lately all I've been doing is feeding/sleeping/zoning out in front of the tv. I've also been lurking all the blogs I read. They keep me awake while I feed Lucas. I haven't commented on things like I used to, cause when I do, its usually some strange sleep deprived thing that doesnt really make sense. You might start seeing midnight comments from me soon though :) Sleep is getting better- kind of. Lucas wakes up every 3-3.5 hours on the dot, and then at 6 am and 7am. This means that mornings are extra fun. Its during those times that I sit there on the bed and pray that I don't fall asleep, and then fall off the bed.

Lucas is a pretty happy baby. Every day he gets the hiccups, sometimes 2-3 times a day. He's also christened Tony and I, but Tony's story is one for another day. He also started having more awake time this morning. He was alert, and wide eyed, and very content to watch the trees out the window. Sadie is getting used to him more and more. This morning she wanted to share her blocks with him. She toddled over with her bag of blocks in hand, smiled at me, and then dropped them on his head. Thankfully, I caught them before they really hurt him. It didnt phase him, so that was good.

We've got our first doctors appointment today. I'm really hoping that hes getting enough to eat, and is gaining weight. In the hospital, he went from 9.9lbs to 8.14lbs - which is less than 10% lost, but still concerns me. I'm taking drugs to increase supply, and am going to see about  getting some fenugreek stuff to see about boosting it more. I've also been drinking a ton of liquids, and I'm not a hardcore liquid drinker, so I'm proud of the fact that I've been downing 2 cups of water every feeding, and then some more inbetween.

As far as I go, I'm doing way better than last time, although if I forget to take my pills, I'm achy and sore and then miserable when I have to sit up and feed the little guy. Since I'm so forgetful, I've set 6 alarms for all my pills so that I don't forget. Oh, iPhone, what would I do without you?

So there will be more things to come, I've got photos of the kids to post, just on the hunt for my card reader...its MIA at the moment :P

a walk down memory lane

Oh dress-up. One of our favorite games to play when our friends came over. When I was 5 years old or so, my Auntie Laura bought us some awesome dress up clothes. Eventually we accumulated a big box full of wacky "pretty" clothes from Value Village.

I remember the one dress we used as a long pretty princess dress was actually sexy white housecoat (not that we knew, or cared).Aria also got a postman's shirt and hat that we used for any boy that came to play dress up, or just a girl who played "the man". I wish we had the hats still, they were the best. I loved the floppy hat that I was wearing in this picture, as well as the pink one that the girl on the right is wearing (can't remember who she is).

I can't wait to buy dress up clothes for Sadie and her brother when they get older.

Guest Post by Miss Larissa Bree

Hiya! Larissa here, from Miss Larissa Bree. Miranda asked if I would tend to her blog a little while she was away having another little baby and enjoying her family!


I thought I would share with you all my first trip EVER that I took this year. We wanted to go some where anywhere just to get away. So we headed down south to San Francisco! Now let me tell you it was an amazing time and I sure didn't want to come back.


Here are some pictures we took I wont post them all just a few to give you a little taste so you can get your butt down there too!

I hope you all enjoyed! If you wanna see more head over to my Flickr and check it out!
Thanks for having me Miranda!

4 years + 2 kids + 1 husband + 1 bird

Happy 4th Anniversary Sweetie!

We're home

We were discharged from the hospital this morning after making sure that Lucas wasn't too jaundice. He's a little yellow, but is pooping a lot and eating pretty well. Hopefully he starts looking better in a couple days when my milk comes in.

Oh, speaking of milk and such, oh my word, sore nipples! I never had an issue like this with Sadie, but man, they are blistered. I'm not at all used to having an "eater". Sadie was a terrible eater-kinda us still, but this boy means business.

Need to get some cream for these bad boys ASAP.

That is all for now. We're making the trip to chilliwack to stay with my parents. Tony leaves on Saturday to start working again.

I am being summoned for by the little boy. Food time!

Movie Date - written july 21st

I've read the books, multiple times, watched the previous movies in anticipation, and squealed when I saw the trailer for the first time. Finally, I got to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2! I know, I know. I'm such a nerd. I started out by watching the first movie, and then after that, I had to read the books. From then on, I was hooked. They are so wonderfully written, and I think I might just re-read the last one again, you know, just cause.

Must practice taking better self photos with the iphone, I suck at it

I went to see it for the first time with my sisters. They both hadn't seen it yet, and that made me happy. Normally we all go and line up to see it on a premier night, but not this time. This pregnant lady can't stand or sit in line for hours and hours.

The bonus to this event? Free ticket courtsey of my scene points. Having that scene card really does pay off. This is the third or fourth free one I've redeemed. Movie nights are our favourite date night thing, so it works out well.

The movie was AWESOME! I loved it. The books will always be better in my mind, but this movie was the best one of them all. I cried even. Now that its over, its a little depressing. There will be no more new books, or movies. That's ok though. I have the books, and I might even re-read them all in sequence again, just for fun.

And now for a little game!

So, being that we are a little cheap, each one of us brought our own snacks to the theater. Can you tell which sister brought what?

Top left candy stash includes:
-NOS energy drink
-Hershey's cookies and creme bar
-Ziplock baggie of sour keys

Bottom Left candy stash includes:
-Penny candy cup
-Hershey's chocolate almond bar
-Half a kitkat bar
-1 litre of pepsi

Right candy stash includes:
-Peanut butter snickers
-Box of raisins
-Chocolate chip all bran bar
(not pictured was also a pack of Reds Starburst)

The sisters:
Aria, the middle child, brunette on the right of me
Mikaela, youngest child, blondie to the left of me
Me, the oldest one

(Sorry Aria, I should have gotten a picture of the two of us)

Blogging for mama while she's away - Hello Little Deer

Hello everyone! I'm coley and blog at Hello little deer! we are currently blogging for beautiful mama miranda while she is away with her beautiful new little one (gorgeous older one)!

today i'm sharing a little DIY project i've made a few times! These are fabric rose magnets that anyone can make, all you need is:



1. Candle
2. %100 polyester fabric ( i have a pink organza here)
3. Scissors
4. Beads or rhinestones ( your pick )
5. Thread
6. matches or something to light the candle with
7. needle
8. small magents
9. white glue or glue gun

First you cut a few squares, all of different sizes. You can cut as many as you want to and make it big or small! make sure to round the corners off:



once you have your squares cut out, hold them over the candle to burn (ruffle) the edges. repeat this process for all of your squares and arrange them withing each other as you'd like:



now you'll need to thread your needle to sew them in place. I like to use beads for the center but i've also used rhinestones!



glue your magnet on the back and VOILA! I have them in a variety of colours on my fridge, they're chic & pretty & easy to boot!



Thanks for reading, feel free to stop by hello little deer for more! well wishes to our beautiful friend and her new family member! we love you.

He's Here!!!

Lucas Hunter Raymond
9.9 lbs
55.5 cm long
Built like a football player

I'm sore but everything went very well.
He's doing well, started breastfeeding right away.

Love him to bits!

Good morning! Its Baby Day!

This little one is away on a sleepover and we're on our way to the hospital right now.

Please pray that everything goes smoothly.

We'll update you when he arrives.

The Hospital Survival Kit for my husband

Its the day before "the big day". I'm a big crazy mess. Hardly slept last night. Woke up every couple hours from the same scary hospital dream, and then tried to get it out of my brain by watching a show on the iphone. That didn't work. I just ended up more frustrated and more tired. 5:50 am rolled around, and I was up before my 6am alarm. Grumpily, I had a shower, and as its been raining, I attempted to put on socks and shoes. Lets just say that shoes are not my style right now, and with that, I put on flip flops and braved the rain.

I was early to my appointment, so I did a little crocheting, chatted with the nurse. They asked me a million questions about my medical history, and then we did the fun part. Got hooked up to the heart rate monitors and listened to babys heart rate. I got to click the button every time he moved, and boy did he move. He impressed the nurse who was there asking me questions. Funny boy. Blood was taken, and then I was set free until tomorrow.

When I got home, I figured I'd pack up my version of a Hospital Survival Kit. Its for Tony, but hes required to share some of the treats I packed. 

This is what I packed:

Wired Magazine - geek type magazine for Tony (I like it too)
2 Dairy Milk chocolate bars for my chocoholic husband
Starbucks Frappachino Drinks cause if I couldnt sleep last night, I wont be able to sleep tonight
Starbucks Via iced something or other
Fibre 1 bars (for me)
Fruit and Veggie bars
Twizzlers

With all the coffee, he should be set for staying up with me at night...maybe.

Last childless date (for a long time)

So today Tony and I went on our last childless date. Sadie is out at my parents place, and after sleeping in (until 8:30 am!!!) We got ready and headed out to the Kids Market on Granville Island. Go figure, we're without any kids, and we head off to the kids market to buy some toys for the little ones. I have wanted to buy Sadie some blocks for a while, and not just the stupid foam ones that I've seen. We wandered around, and saw some of the best toys EVER! No, we did not buy darth vader...  :(

Tony and I tested out some toys, and saw some awesome ones that we used to play with. We could have spent so much there. I know we over spent on some, but its so hard not to.

Playing with all the toys was awesome. We had a blast! Afterwards, we had fish and chips for lunch at the public market. Took some pictures of all the pretty fruits and veggies, it was really busy, so we didn't buy much in there. Tony wants to go back though sometime. He hasnt explored Granville Island like I have, and his opinion of it is now totally different. On our way home, we had slurpees, mine was pepsi, and it was the perfect way to combat the heat.

We came home with a set of wooden blocks like the ones I used to play with, a Chewbacca stuffie (to go with the storm trooper we have already), a learning toy that Tony picked out, and an ugly doll for the little boy.

It was a wonderful date. Tomorrow is my hospital appointment for bloodwork/paperwork and baby monitoring, and then Tuesday is THE DAY! AHHHHHHH!

How was your weekend? Anything new happen?

Dear Sadie

You are growing up so fast little girl! 14 months old, and almost a big sister.

You walk everywhere, and when you get excited and run, you look a little like a drunken sailor. Its adorable.When we go outside, you are still hesitant about walking on the grass, but you love touching flowers, and eating rocks and sand.

You love to mimmick noises, but you still refuse to mimmick words. You say Dada, Guy guy guy and mama. Once you said Cat Cat Kitty! You will try and tweet at the bird. You now point at the things you want instead of screeching at me for things.

I love watching you read books. I'll find you quietly reading in a corner with a pile of books. I've even found you after a nap quietly reading the small books in your bed.

You are still working on being gentle. I'm sure it will take time, but hopefully your brother wont get loved too hard by you. You show love by putting your head against your daddy's or my head, and then you rub it against our heads.Your kisses are still a little vampiric, you tend to use your teeth to gnaw a little on our faces.

Sadie girl, you've been testing my patience. If you're told not to touch something, you will touch it with your head instead of your trouble making hands. You love to try and climb things, couches, chairs, and collapsed strollers. It results in many bruises and tears. You've survived the falls, and bumps though, and I'm sure there will be so many more.

You can find belly buttons, noses, and eyes, but will you do it on command? Not on your life. Only when you feel like it. You do the running over song, and try itsy bitsy spider.

The other day on our way home from the store, you waved at everyone on the way out. You waved just like the queen would. It was adorable.

I love you Sadie-pie, soon to be big sister

New Toy - Fail

Months ago, I found this little fisher price popper toy at the thrift store for a dollar. It was probably there for a dollar because some parent didn't want to be tortured by its noise anymore.
I didn't mind the noise, so I bought it for when she started walking. I figured she'd love it.

Boy, was I wrong. Apparently a new toy after a nap is no fun, no fun at all. She loved it when I pushed it on the floor, but when I let her try, she would pick up the entire thing and run with it, and then when it didnt pop, she would get very frustrated and bawl. I showed her how its done, but each time I tried to get her to push the handle, she would pick it up by the base, and run towards me crying, and then drop it near me. I would push it, she would smile.

We've even left it a couple days just lying around, and she will bring it to me, but never push it herself. Sigh. I guess this one will take some time getting used to.

whats in my purse?

Lots of things. Surprisingly, a lot of snack type items. Probably left over from going to a movie and not eating them. You'd think that with all the little snack things in my purse that Sadie wouldn't gnaw on her book corners.

That baby spoon has come in so handy actually. I've bought her yogurt or apple sauce from the supermarket for an "on the road" snack, and forgotten that I need a spoon. So happy to have a backup one in there.

Corn nuts? Yes, its a pregnant lady's one time craving. The All-Bran bar happily counteracts the corn nuts in my opinion :)

[baby update] 38 weeks + a game!

38 weeks pregnant

Today was my very last doctors appointment before the big day. I'm relieved that we are at the end, but at the same time, I'm so nervous about the last part. I'll be nervous up until he's out safely. Even though I've been through this all before.

I dont remember if I had any crazy dreams when I was pregnant with Sadie, but I sure had a doozy last night. This was my dream:

It was the morning of my c-section, and I was getting ready. I went to hop into the tub, and realized it was full of spaghetti sauce. That didn't stop me from getting in, and getting covered in red meat sauce. In my dream, I thought "hopefully the doctors dont mind the smell of garlic". I rinsed off, and headed out the door with Tony.
Tony had persuaded me to take the bus with him to the hospital, and when we got to the stop, he said "oh, butter girl isnt here". He then went on to explain that he could tell if the bus had already left because "butter girl" was not at the stop when we got there. (have no idea what she looked like, or why she was butter girl)  Then we ended up walking to the hospital. We got there, and I told Tony that I bought myself a treat for going through all this, and whipped out the beautiful heart of the ocean necklace from titanic. I told him that I put it on my credit card, and he said "ok, thats cool". Then I put on a lead vest (the ones you put on for an x-ray at the dentist) and then thats when I woke up.

Haven't had a dream like that in a long time.

So my doctors appointment went well. Everything is good to go. Unless this guy decides to arrive in the next 6 days, we are gonna be having a baby on August 23rd in the morning. I haven't had any crazy contractions, just a couple at night last night, but nothing to set the timer for.

So now, lets play a game:

Since we all know its a boy, and the date he's supposed to arrive, the only thing left to guess is how big this boy is gonna be.

haven't been up to much lately...

Haven't been up to much lately. Staying home and entertaining Sadie is what I do all day long, but when I feel up for it we go to the park. Parks are the best entertainment for this little girl. I got to sit on the grass in the shade and watch her run around picking up rocks and leaves. Since it was so nice out, there were many other kids there. She was thrilled to stand and watch them, occasionally shrieking at them.

We also met a little boy today who is her age. Sadie wanted to hug him. It turned into a tackle.It resulted in a scraped elbow and tears from her, even though she fell mostly on top of him. The little boy got up like it was nothing. To him, it probably was nothing as he has a 3 year old sister who tackles him on a regular basis. It was cute none the less.

Who even needs swings when you have dirt galore to explore in? We never got near them. She did give me handfuls of dirt to hold. I got almost as dirty as she did.

We killed an hour at the park, which was awesome. Waved goodbye to all the kids, and tearfully made our way home. Once I plunked her into the tub, I saw her scraped up elbow. We fixed her up, and after lunch, headed for bed. I'm sure I'll get a 2.5 - 3 hour nap from her today.

Park is on my wishlist for when we move. We need a park close by  where I can let her run wild.

progress

Its coming alone, but I have about 2/3 left to go.

smoothies!

(Sadie is modeling a peach pear banana yogurt smoothie)

Sadie and I still have issues regarding food. I want her to eat it, and she wants to eat little bits of it and then throw the rest on the floor. Our other food issues are that her favorite foods always change. She will love strawberries for a week, and then won't touch them for a month. I try and vary it up with different fruits and veggies (don't get me started on eating meats), but she will stick with a favorite for a week or 2, and then hate it for a month.

(These are just some of the freezer baggies of fruit I have for her)

The one thing she hasn't given up on yet are smoothies. So when her favorite fruit of the week is pears for example, or if I try a new fruit that she "hates" I chop it up, or puree it, and freeze it. To get more dairy into this kid, I've also taken to freezing the full fat greek yogurt (as seen in the first baggie) to mix in with her smoothie. My freezer door is full of leftover fruit in baggies that she has rejected.

My favorite fruit combo is peach, banana, strawberry with yogurt. Sadie doesn't care about the combo, which is so nice. I love tossing in leftover fruit in the magic bullet for her. Magic bullet is the best for smoothies by the way, but not for anything else. Mine has lasted me 4 years.

I'll probably try blending some spinach into a smoothie for Sadie. I've been a little hesitant to do it, but its a super good veggie, and she doesn't care for leafy things. I wonder how she'll deal with a green drink...

What are your favorite combos for smoothies? 

Have you tried veggies or spinach in a smoothie? How does it taste?