Good Morning Life: Potty Training & New Camera

Hello Monday, What kind of week will you be?--good? bad? boring?exciting? mediocre? Well I'll take GOOD--thanks :) So far so good....but it is only 8:44am and my kids are still sleeping.

Last night we had ALL my family together. Meaning laws-and in-laws and my good friend Stacey :) It was the first time I had been with all of them in a VERY long time so it was really nice. We all came together to celebrate my birthday. I felt the love and I even got some great family pictures! Some how we crammed all 12 adults and 6 kids into our little house, to be honest I didn't feel like it was that cramped---good news, we can have 10 grown children living in our house...HAH--'yah right!'--not have 10 kids, nor am I living in this house that long (don't get me wrong I do love our sweet little abode).

What did I do last week, umm....is it bad that I can't remember? don't answer that future adult children! ha!

OHHH YAH! My big moment of the week was getting a Costco membership! HAH! It is true, I now feel like a grown up. So it's official now, I am now an adult! Only took 27 years.

Last night when we had everyone over, Adelade was kind enough to wear clothes the entire time! (it's a big deal!) but it was not even 10 seconds after the last guests left that she had taken her shirt and pants off. She actually did a little dance of JOY! It was pretty hilarious. Oh to be 2.5 and completely in love with your body!

Oh yes, I need to remember how I potty trained Adelade, so when I feel inadequate and like I'm doing everything wrong I can look back and think, okay--at least I did that!....so if you'd rather not read about peeing & pooping on the potty for the next few minutes (yes, I'm sure Adelade in 20 years will "love" reading all about it!) just skip to the pictures *note: pictures have nothing to do with potty training! lol

So a few months back, probably about 6 months ago, we went and bought Adelade a potty. I was toying with the idea that I would potty train her before Bentley was born….yah that did NOT happen. The potty became more of a toy because she would constantly sit on it and wipe. So after a few rolls of wasted paper and me being annoyed that she was just playing on it, I put it away for a bit (a month or so). I then bought her some underwear hoping that would entice her to want to go on the potty in order to wear them. Well that last about 30 minutes and 6 accidents later. I was NOT ready! I had zero patience and was not ready to teach Adelade how to pee and poop on the potty. By this time Bentley was born. I then just left the potty in the bathroom. She wasn’t playing with it as much, so I was okay to just have it out for her to use periodically. She started to poop on it every once in a while (which was pretty AWESOME!) so after a few months of that, it brings us to the end of Decemeber. She was starting to get the hang of pooping on the potty but not really peeing. So one day when I was cleaning out her room I found the underwear I had bought here a while back. I thought “I will just put them in a basket on her shelf where she can see it, if she is interested in it maybe she’ll start wearing them and peeing on the potty”. It was worth the try! I AM SO GLAD I DID THIS! Honestly within 5 minutes she noticed them and had put a pair on. I made sure she was aware that she had to pee and poop on the potty, that these were not diapers. She was pretty excited about the whole thing. I am pretty sure it was the fact that she got to wear fancy underpants with princesses and dinosaurs on them. So we tried them out for the day. She would had tiny accidents but most of the time she made it to the potty. The next day I went and bought jelly beans and lollipops and made a sticker chart. It was a MAJOR hit!  Within a week she was peeing and pooing on the potty consistently. It WAS AMAZING! I feel like the underpants and jellybeans potty trained her for me; she has since filled 2 charts and eaten 2 boxes of ‘mike n ekes’. We are trying to now just praise her without the treats, but she is still asking for them every time she goes. Once and a while I give her a chocolate chip J In the last week she has had a few accidents, but it’s all a part of the process. The hard part now is going out. It is hard going somewhere when I don’t know where the washroom is, or if it even has one, and if I have Bentley with me-- it is such a production. So sometimes I put her in diapers when we have errands to run and such. It is more for my own sanity. Either way I am so proud of Adelade. She sure is growing up every day. She is talking SO much more and doing so many more things on her own. Okay Bentley you are NEXT! Hah! Just kidding, I’ll give it a few years. Let’s start you on solids and sleeping through the night first.

So just after the new year Matthew and I treated ourselves to a NEW fancy-pants camera. I still have very little clue how most of the do-dads work, but I'm getting there. It takes nice pictures, so here are a few...or maybe a lot! lol
Note: if you click on the picture it will show up larger

My Stud!

Oh Adelade :)

Yes it's true I'm picking Bentley's nose!

eating...without clothes

Eating yogurt at its finest

Mr. Hand-chewer

"Oh, good it was just a fart!"

Isn't he a cutee!!!

Smiling at his daddy :)

Adelade literally trying our her new toys

"HUH?"

Pretty lil' lady!

hehe--love  this one :)

A little bit of this and that

Why Hello Monday morning!? Okay so I have to be honest, it is 9:52 AM and guess what....my kids are both s.l.e.e.p.i.n.g!!! I swear. Bentley is having his morning nap, and Adelade is still asleep from last night. I am counting my lucky stars. So I thought with this extra time I had, since I was already up with 'Benty bear' I've showered and had breakfast, going back to bed doesn't seem as appealing (I know I know, I should be sleeping, but I don't wanna! lol!) I could unload the dishwasher, or fold the 5 loads of clean laundry, or clean my bedroom that is still a mess from 4 months ago! Nah, I'll write a blog post "air five!"

I was writing out my goals the other day for 2014, I am not big of new years resolutions but I am ALL ABOUT making goals. I made a goal to write a blog post every week, well I've already failed. HAH---but that is not going to stop me. It is a goal, so I am going to try everyday to reach it, no need to be all perfect at once-lol.

I love to talk about my kids, so why not write about them.

Meet my little Bentley:

Bentley is almost 4 1/2 months old. He is seriously the smiley-est baby EVER! He has started to talk/coo/coo loudly a lot! He is still sleeping in our room and sometimes after feeding him, he will just lay in his bed and "coo--coo--coo". It is pretty much the sweetest sound, that is until he gets increasingly louder and then you can't sleep. Again, he makes up for this with the infamous smiling. Bentley, also known as 'Benty Bear, or Benty boo, or Bear, or Professor Poopy pants" has always been a belly sleeper. It gave me much stress when he was a few weeks old and we discovered he slept WAY better on his belly than on his back. All the 'people' say to have babies sleep on their backs, so I was a bit nervous at first. He could always turn his head from side to side when he was on his belly, so that helped ease my worry. Now about 4 months on sleeping on his belly I'm not worried at all. He started rolling from his belly to back a few weeks ago. He only does it when he is not wanting to go to sleep yet. Then he lays on his back and screams until you come and turn him over. Though there have been a handful of times this past week that he has rolled over to his back and then when I go check on him, he is fast asleep on his back. It's pretty cute!

Bentley has horrendous smelling poos, it's almost offensive. If he does the 'deed' when we are in public I can't wait for more than a few minutes before changing him because it is just so so so smelly. This is probably the lovely perks of having a formula fed baby. I'm sure he will be happy to remember this about himself. lol. (you know you are a parent when you talk about your kids poo on a daily basis...)

Benty Bear, loves his big sister. Adelade can make him laugh just by looking at him. Mind you his laugh sounds more like a dinosaur crying than a laugh, but needless to say it's a laugh and again very cute. Adelade loves to touch his head, you can see that she tries to contain it by just lightly pressing with her fingers. Bentley will smile at her even when she is shaking his play pen or rocking him about 100 miles an hour in his swing. I can't tell you how many times a day I say to Adelade "be gentle with Bentley" or "not so rough" or "don't shake his bed"....I think it all sounds the same to Adelade.. "blah-blah-blah"

Bentley has no sleep schedule what -so- ever. The only thing that is consistent is he will sleep at night, he still wakes up every 3-4-5 hours but he will and has always gone back to sleep right after feeding him, it is wonderful I tell you. I never know if he will nap in the morning, or afternoon or  when he will fall asleep in the evening. It is the opposite of Adelade. When Adelade was just a few weeks old she had a morning nap and afternoon nap and slept from 7-7, sometimes waking during the night. It was AHHHMAZING! She slept worse when she was 1 year, than when she was a newborn. I'm pretty sure Heavenly Father knew I'd loose my marbles if Adelade wasn't such a superstar sleeper, so he must have more faith in me now :)

At his 3 month check up he was hitting the charts at average or just below. He is a bit tiny, but I think he will catch up soon. Him and Adelade are very different in this. Adelade was super long and skinny and always has been, so if that keeps up I'm sure when Bentley is older he'll be wishing he could be taller than his sister and Adelade will wish she could find a pair of pants that were long enough! It's kind of nice having an average sized baby because you can buy them clothes for their age and they actually fit them...I know---you thought it wasn't possible but it is :) Adelade can only now fit her size 1 leggings in the waist, though they are now capris on her lol, but all her size 2 shirts are belly shirts on her. 

Bentley smiles at almost everything, the only time he doesn't seem to smile is when I'm trying to take a picture of him. Thanks! Oh yes and he drools about a litre a day. He's clothes are soaking wet by mid day just from his drool. Oh and another nick name for him is Barfy Bentley. He seriously spits up ALL. THE. TIME. The other day at church Bentley just kept spewing, Matthew would wipe it up and then BAM more would start dripping out of his mouth. Matthew leaned over to me and said "it's like his mouth has diarrhea" I tried to not laugh too loud, but it was TRUE! Oh Bentley how we love you!

Now for my sweet and crazy 2.5 year old. I still call her my baby girl, though she is anything BUT a baby :(

Here are some things she has started to do just in the past few weeks:

-Gets dressed on her own, she likes to wear the same skirt, shirt and underpants.

-Pee & poop on the potty. YES YES its true, I don't want to say it just in case I jinx it, but Adelade is potty trained!!

-Get her food out of the fridge, open it and then spill it on the floor...it is usually yogurt. yum!

-TALK all the time, she strings like 5 or 6 words together---it amazes me. The cutest thing she says is "love you too", when ever we say goodnight to her and I love you, she always says "i love you too", she has NEVER just said "I love you". There is not usually a quiet moment in our house when Adelade is awake, she is always yammering about something. She likes to sing as well, she usually just repeats the same words over and over again, but it's so very sweet. Among the sweet things she says, she also likes to say "go away!"& "Stop it!" a lot.

-Whenever Matthew or I leave the house we always sign 'I love you' each other and blow each other a kiss. We started doing this with Adelade and now she has started to do it back. She just waves her fingers at us and kisses her hand, but it is so so cute!!!

-Well speaking of Adelade she is calling my name! So best go and get her. It is 10:35 am--what in the world! Thank you Adelade for letting me catch some sanity :):)

I love my kiddos xo

January 4th 1997

 

17 years ago my whole life changed. My whole life got turned up side down and I can remember it like it was yesterday.

Growing up it was normal for my Mom to be sick. My mother was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes from a very young age and it slowly took her life. We used to say she went to heaven one piece at a time. So I never really dwelt on her being sick, because it was normal. Just like we don't dwell on being healthy, because it is normal. It was normal for her to go the hospital or spend days laying on the couch. It was normal for her to not do all the same things my friends moms did. It was normal for her to not have legs and to be in a wheelchair, it was pretty awesome having a mom the same height as me. It was normal for me to take the handibus, because my mom didn't drive. It was normal to always have a place to sit. It was normal for my mom to lose a few fingers, and eventally go blind in one eye. It was all very very very normal. 

I never ever thought, "wow my mom is really sick". 

I remember this one time, I was about 8 years old playing on a little league team, and one of my teammates couldn't stop starring at my mom. Eventually she asked me "what was wrong with her?" I don't remember what I said but I do remember thinking, 'what do you mean, what is wrong with her?' 

 What I remember is how she would hug me each morning and we would sit together on her chair. I remember how she would play dolly's with me. I remember one time she 'bummed' her way down the stairs to the basement, just so she could watch my brother and I's nativity pageant. I remember how she would sing me lullaby's to bed each night, and I would pretend to be sleeping just so she would keep singing (seems a bit backwards but it worked). I remember her smile and the way her face lit up when she laughed. I remember how soft her voice was even when we were in trouble. I remember how you never really knew she was sick, she never ever complained about it, at least not to us kids. She never sulked or was sorry for herself. She was so grateful for my brother and I. I never doubted her love for a moment.

During the Christmas of 1996 (I was almost 10 years old), my mom had gotten really sick. Looking back at pictures it was very clear how sick she was. I remember that my parents had gotten rid of their bed and moved a hospital bed into their room for my mom (my brother and I would sit in the bed and play with the controls when no one was around--it's true that they literally fold in half----anyway...). On Christmas day I remember sitting with my mom on her wheel chair. She held me tight. She asked me to close my eyes and picture the field of dandelions from the movie Beauty and the Beast. She told me to picture her and I in that field holding hands and running. She talked about how blue the sky was and how the hot sun felt on our faces. She kept telling me to remember that picture. At the time I thought "Okay, sure- I would love to be running in that field--it was my favorite part from that movie". I thought nothing more of it.

A few days after Christmas, I believe it was the day before New Years Eve. I remember my Dad bundling my mom up in a few sleeping bags and carrying her out to the car. She looked like a little baby. I'm sure I told her...ha. My dad was taking her to the hospital. I remember saying goodbye to her as she layed on the back seat in the van.

My brother and I spent New Years with my Nanny (Grandma). I remember having a great time. My dad wasn't their because he was with my mom. My Dad told us we could go visit her on Saturday, which was still a few days away.

On the evening of January 3rd 1997, I remember being in my brother's room in the basement with him and my dad. My dad was telling us that mom had kidney stones or gallbladder stones....some sort of stone is what I remember. He said she was very sick, but it all seemed very routine to me. She would get really sick and go to the hospital, spend some time there and come home. She always came home. Little did I know she wasn't coming home. He told us that first thing in the morning we would go see her. I was so very excited.

I awoke on Saturday morning only to realize it was too early to go see my mom, so I just stayed in bed. 

I remember finding it odd that the hallway light was on and shinning light under my door.
 

Finally it was 8 o'clock and I decided it wasn't too early anymore to get out of bed to go see my mom. I opened my door and walked down the hall into the kitchen.  I remember seeing my Nanny there by the counter. I thought to myself "why in the world is my Nanny here....didn't she know we were going to see my mom today?" I was too confused to say anything so I kept walking. 

I walked into the living room. There my dad was sitting on the couch -sobbing. 

 My heart sank. 

She. was. gone. 

I ran to my dad and he wrapped me in his arms and we cried. He didn't say anything to me, but my heart knew that my mom was gone. It knew because it was broken. 
The rest of the day was a blur, looking back on it I'm sure I had gone into shock, because all I wanted to do was go see my mom and didn't understand why so many people were crying. Couldn't we just go see her one last time. I remember I got together with a friend that day, we went to the mall and swimming at Southland leisure center. Why I went swimming that day, I don't really understand. But it seemed like a better alternative than being around all the sad adults that kept asking me if I was okay. Pretty sure I wasn't okay. 

17 years ago I lost my wonderful mother. Though writing this is really difficult (at times I couldn't see through the tears---kleenex is getting good business today).
I feel like this is a way to heal; to help my heart ache just a little less.
 Though she is gone- her legacy lives on.

This picture would have been great if I wasn't showing my belly button off--oh jee-

I love you Mom-xo

Kids (Adelade) say(s) the darndest things...

Here are some things that my lovely 2 year old has learned to say and or do. She has recently started to string words together and make almost sentences it is pretty awesome. She says new words ALL the time!

Mom: Adelade will you please stop throwing your toys
Adelade: Okay, sure.
---
Mom: Adelade do you need a timeout?
Adelade: okay, sure (and then runs and sits on stairs)
---
Mom: Adelade please clean up your mess
Adelade: Okay, sure...Mean (clean) up Mean up Mean up
---
Adelade spills all her crackers on the ground
Before Mom or Dad can say anything...
Adelade: Mean up Mean up Mean up (as she picks up all her crackers)
---
When Adelade sees any kid big or little in a stroller
Adelade: Baby!!!!
---
Adelade bumps her head on the wall, comes over to mom
Adelade: Tiss (Kiss) beehher (better) Tiss Beehher...na na owie!
---
Adelade trips on the floor, comes over to Daddy
Adelade: Tiss Beehher (Kiss better) Baahehh! Baahhhehh!
Daddy: Do you need a bandaid?
Adelade: YAH!
---
Adelade standing in just her diaper asking to go outside.
Mom: Adelade you have to wear pants and a shirt before you can go outside.
Adelade asks again to go outside again.
Mom: Adelade you have to wear pants and shirt before you can go outside. 
Adelade probably asked a few more times, and then finally runs upstairs and grabs to 2 shirts and adamantly tries to put the shirt on her legs. 
Mom: Oh Adelade
---
Mom: Adelade would you like a Banana?
Adelade: Yah,
Mom: What do you say?
Adelade: Meeeez (Please)
Mom hands banana to Adelade
Adelade- before taking a bite: I don't yike (like) it
Mom: ?!?!?!?!
----
Mom:Adelade did you poop?
Adelade: nope
Mom checks in diaper and sees giant poo
---
When changing Adelade's diaper
Adelade: Poopy Bieber (diaper) Poopy Bieber (diaper) POOPY BIEBER(diaper)!!!!!
Mom: Adelade you didn't poop you peed
----
Bentley crying his face off
Mom: Adelade does Bentley sound happy or sad?
Adelade: Happy!
----
This one time Adelade got her feet dirty at the park, on the way home this is what happened
Adelade: Meehhh (mess) Meehhh!! Meehhhh!!!
Mom & Dad: Did you get a mess on your feet?
Adelade: YAH!
Adelade: Mehhhh! Meehhhh!!! MEHHHHHH!!!!
Adelade: MEEHHH! MEEHHHH!!! MEHHHH!!!!
Mom & Dad: Did you get a mess on your feet?
Adelade YAH!
This conversation lasted for another 5 minutes....it was the longest 5 minute drive!
----
Bentley is sleeping in our room, Adelade comes in and says
Adelade: Benty seeping (sleeping) Benty seeping Benty seeping! MOMMMY BENTY SEEPING!....(said in the loudest voice EVER!)
----
I know this is just the beginning! :) Sometimes I forget that Adelade talks as much as she does, I really need to watch what I say!!!

Things I do now that I have 2 kids that I never did when I just had one.

I've realized since having Bentley there are a few things I do now that I never did with Adelade. It also made me realize there are a number of things I said "I would never do when I was a parent"...that I most definitely do now that I'm a parent. Some of these are silly, some not...

1. BEDTIME:

When Adelade was born I was really adamant on getting her into a sleep schedule. The whole newborn phase was really overwhelming for me and she was -thank goodness- an incredible sleeper! I remember how we would never keep her out past her bedtime, which was 7pm. On many occasion we would leave family dinners just so we could be home for 7pm, it was really inconvenient-but we did it. 

NOW...I don't even think Bentley has a 'bedtime', heck the other night we didn't get home until 10pm. I've realized I'd rather have a somewhat of a social life with my family, than none at all.

2. BABIES AT A MOVIE THEATRE:

I always said I would NEVER take my newborn to the movie theatre (before I had kids). I didn't get why people did it. During the summer we took Adelade to her first movie and there was a family there with 5ish kids and a brand NEW baby. In that moment I realized why people take newborns to movies...to feel like a normal person! Just the other day I said to Matthew "we should take Adelade to Monsters University, it's at the cheap theatre tonight" which would be making me a hypocrite twice over as she'd be out past her bedtime and we'd be bring a baby with us too. HA!

3. SOOTHER:

Before Adelade was born I thought "I don't think I'm going to use a soother", I want my baby to be able to 'self sooth'--ohhh me on my! I was SO happy when a friend of mine Stephanie gave me a soother at my baby shower I used it the very next day. I LOVE the soother! I know it's not for every baby, but it has been a lifesaver for me. Adelade really took to a soother, much more than Bentley but either way I'm team soother. Actually Bentley is a bit of a snob when it comes to soothers, he will only take a specific one-the round one, they are called soothies I think. Matthew thinks he looks ridiculous so we tried another one that was really similar. It was AWFUL! Bentley wouldn't suck that thing to save his life! It was double awful because Matthew was out of town working for 2 days and I was without a car. Eventually we got the 'right' soother and life is now complete for Bentley.

4. BREASTFEEDING: 

I always wanted to breastfeed my babies. I was all ready a prepared when I had Adelade. Well ready as you can be. I remember feeling like a cow the first time I attempted to nurse Adelade. It was so weird. Anyway, after a very traumatizing 3 days I realized I didn't have enough milk to feed Adelade. We took a midnight trip to the Shoppers Drug Mart and 2 ounces of formula later Adelade slept like a champ. Her first week of life was spent going to appointments every other day to weigh her to make she was gaining..attempting to pump only to get drops..then by the end of the week after seeing a lactation consultant I was told I was never going to produce enough milk for my daughter and most likely wouldn't for any of my children. It's called 'insufficient glandular tissue'. I was pretty devasted. I remember the comments and looks I would get from other mothers when I would bring out my bottle to feed Adelade. I felt so terrible. It made me realize that we never know what someone is going through, that it is never anyones place to judge another person. 

5. BABY FALLING ASLEEP ON THEIR OWN:

With Adelade I felt it was really important to put her in her crib before she was sleeping so she would know how to fall asleep on her own. Though I still feel this way, I realize now with having a second baby I missed out on A LOT of cuddle time. I don't think I ever had Adelade fall asleep on me on purpose at home...ever. With Bentley I do make an effort to put him in his crib before he falls asleep BUT I also make an effort to cuddle him and if that means he falls asleep on me then so be it. I think what contributed to my obsession with Adelade's sleeping schedule was the postpartum depression I experienced. Her sleeping was one thing I could 'control' (if you can say that). If I could get her to fall asleep, I felt like I was doing something right, it kept me sane.

6. LETTING PEOPLE HOLD MY BABY:

With Adelade I felt like the only time I got to hold her was when she was crying or poopy. I was always letting other people hold her and snuggle her, but the moment she was fussy or made a mess in her diaper she got handed back. So when I was pregnant with Bentley I remember telling Matthew, "if we are out and I want to hold my baby the whole time, I am going to hold my baby the WHOLE time". I find even now I feel weird asking to hold Bentley when someone has been holding him, then I think "umm...you are his MOTHER you don't ask to hold your baby, you just take YOUR baby! I'm a bit silly like that.  Don't get me wrong I love letting people hold Bentley, it is a wonderful feeling holding a baby, he's a great baby to snuggle with and sometimes it is great to bet the break. But with having 2 kids I don't get a lot of time at home to hold Bentley so when I'm out with the 2 of them and Adelade is busy playing I am happy to have some snuggles with my Benty boo!

7. MESSES:

Okay, it is no news to anyone that knows me that I am not the cleanest-or tidiest person. In fact I can be a bit of a slob, I know- I wish I had grown out of it. I truly wish I was a clean organized person-it is just not natural for me. Ever since having kids though, I can't stand having a messy house. This however does not mean I have a clean house, it just means the mess stresses me out. ha! I never thought a mess would stress me out. It's craziness I tell you! My house is literally a sty right now--even though it stresses me out-I'd rather sit on the couch and write this. I totally have my priorities straight..ha!

8. PATIENCE....what is that?!

 I guess one I'd rather not put on the list is that I have the hardest time keeping my cool now that I have 2 kidlets. I often find myself giving 'mommy' a timeout. Adelade brings out the best and worst in me. Thank goodness she still finds me fun to be around, well I'm assuming she finds me fun to be around because I can't even poo on my own!(seriously she cries right outside the door the whole time...its a bit awkward and ridiculous!) I chalk it all up to her loving me so darn much! ha!

There are so many things I've learned since becoming a mother. I have learned that we all parent differently, we all do what we feel is right. I will definitely think twice before I place any judgement on another person, especially other moms. Who knows what happened that morning, or how they slept that night, or anything for that matter. We grow, we change, who's to judge. Not me!

 Here a few pictures to keep you updated on the cuteness of my family!

Bentley just a few weeks old-Adelade is his Best BUD!

This was obviously taken before today as there is a foot of snow on my step now!

Chilling on the couch

They are going to the the best of friends...I hope :)

Bentley meeting his Great Grand-Nanny when he was 5 days old

Adelade meeting 'Benty' for the first time, or maybe it was the second time-those first few days all roll into one big LONG day!

This is what I was doing Sept, 1 2012--putting BLUE in my hair?!?! good thing I got my act together and had another baby! haha!

This is what I was doing September 1, 2013. Hands down having another baby is way better than coloring my hair blue, a WHOLE lot more painful--but worth it!

Happy Thanksgiving 2013

Happy Thanksgiving

What am I thankful for? 

1. I am thankful for my husband and two beautiful children

2. I am thankful for a Husband that tells me more times in a day than I can remember that he loves me

3. I am thankful for hugs.

4. I am thankful for cuddles with Adelade, as they only come once in a while and last about 1 second. (cuddles in general are pretty great!)

5. I am thankful to be a mother

6. I am thankful for having wonderful friends

7. I am thankful for my Heavenly Father and Savior

8. I am thankful for my neighbours, I love living in my community

9. I am thankful for family

10. I am thankful for my parents

11. I am thankful for my in-laws who love me like I have always been a part of their clan.

12. I am thankful for my ever-forgiving husband

13. I am thankful for Adelade's squeezes

14. I am thankful that Bentley's favorite place to sleep is on me

15. I am thankful for sleeping babies

16. I am thankful for quietness

17. I am thankful for sleep....I am getting tired as I write this

18. I am thankful for my home

19. I am thankful for our car, even though it's a bit ghetto and the driver's door doesn't open from the outside, we LOVE 'Dot'

20. I am thankful for freedom

21. I am thankful for the safety I am blessed with each day

22. I am thankful for my health, and my Husband and children's good health

23. I am thankful for having someone to hold hands with for-EVER!

24. I am thankful for the pumpkin pie I made today...holy moly it was good!

25. I am thankful for the dinner my brother and wife brought over for dinner...so good!

26. I am thankful for all the meals people brought us after Bentley was born

27. I am grateful for the ability I have to move my body

28. I am grateful that I can run

 29. I am thankful for friends that listen to me

30. I am thankful for the good days and bad, without the bad ones the good ones wouldn't seem as good

31. I am thankful for clean underwear...seriously it's the worst when I run out

32. I am thankful for dance party's

33. I am thankful for walks

34. I am thankful for the park, it helps me a great deal when I need Adelade to burn off some steam

35. I am thankful for music

36. I am thankful for a warm house

37. I am thankful for the money we have, though it's not a lot--we are able to afford the life we have

38. I am thankful Matthew knows what he wants to do as a career...he'll be a GREAT teacher

39. I am grateful for my bed, though it is not that comfortable, it is better than nothing--it's a blessing

40. I am grateful for forgiving children that love me even when I go "crazy"

41. I am grateful for a husband that listens to me

42. I am grateful for a clean house, clean is a relative word...

43. I am grateful for my laundry machine, seriously what would I do without it...wash my clothes by hand?

44. I am grateful for our dishwasher...it's luxury I tell you

45. I am grateful for a backyard 

46. I am thankful for a garage we can park our car in, in the winter! YAY!

47. I am thankful for the lessons I learned growing up

48. I am thankful for the trials in my life

49. I am thankful to have a son

 50. I am thankful to have a daughter

 51. I am thankful for cheese...I seriously love that stuff

52. I am thankful for toothpaste, we can some serious morning breath in our house! 

 53. I am thankful for water...now I'm getting thirsty

54. I am thankful for Rio, the movie, it is a serious life saver! We have watched it about 50x since Bentley was born

55. I am thankful for Matthew who will sit with me whether I'm crying, laughing, silent or farting...

All in all....

-I am thankful for my L.I.F.E-

Super powers

Somehow I feel like a superhero when I get my children to bed and they fall asleep....and stay asleep. I was worried there for a few weeks that Adelade was growing out of her afternoon nap, but thank goodness she hasn't!!! So as I sit here, I have not one, but 2 sleeping babies in my house. I should probably go to sleep too. It was the first thing I thought of doing this morning when I woke up, "oh man, I can't wait for nap time...I am so gonna take a nap with them." But then I got out of bed, fed Adelade, fed Bentley, fed me, had a shower, fed Bentley, fed Adelade, fed me---did my hair and makeup (first time all week, so I feel like a million bucks!)...oh yah, changed a few rotten diapers in there, but now I feel surprisingly awake.

Matthew and I have been battling a cold all week, he was so nice and shared it with me! I am trying to keep it all to myself and not share any of it with anyone especially my children, but I think they have caught it. At least Bentley sounds like he's got cotton balls stuck up his nose when he breaths and Adelade somehow has dried boogers on the top of her nose--not sure how she is managing that but it's a pretty sight let me tell you. So when I stood in front of the mirror for more than half a second this morning and got "ready" (not that I'm actually doing anything that requires getting ready) it made me feel better. Who know make-up and clean hair is a cold & flu remedy. I plan on kicking this colds butt by tomorrow, it's happening I just know it.

Life has been pretty good lately. Bentley is a month old now--holy hannah- that happened fast!! Last night when Matthew and I were doing our nightly 'put Bentley to bed gig', we were talking about how old we'd be when we will have been together longer than we've been apart. Matthew would be 50 and I'd be 46, then we started thinking about how old Adelade and Bentley would be, Bentley would be 20 and Adelade would be 22!! Say WHAT?! Life has a way of slapping you in the face when you realize your kids are not going to be babies forever. Anyway, it made me all "I want them to stay babies forever". I can't imagine myself being 46 years old let alone having adult age children, it seems like it will never happen, though one day it will. Now when I think about it though....oh wait--Bentley is crying...it stopped...must have just been the milk running out in his dream--back to what I was saying. Now when I think about it though I am really happy to imagine life with adult children, imagining being a mom long enough to see moments that I never got to or ever will get to share with my mom. My mom was a terrific woman, an outstanding mom, I know I'm bias because she was my mom, but just saying she was pretty great. So even if thinking about the future and imagining myself getting older and my children getting older does scare me, it's okay if it does I'm normal. I just want to be the person I imagine myself being now. I shouldn't wait to be a better mom, wife, friend, sister daughter--I should try everyday, not just imagine it, because it's a blessing if I get to see my imaginations come true.---wait! Bentley is crying again...one sec...I'm back, hopefully my superpowers...aka the soother works.

I feel like all I talk about lately is being a mom, or about my kids, and part of me feels bad for it. But when I think about it, it is my life, being a mom is my life. I have had a hard time adjusting to being a 'mom', adjusting to a life where my goals in life aren't just about me (oh my, that sounds incredibly self-centered). I am adjusting to a life where my daily goals are to feed my children, keep them safe, show them I love them, try my hardest not to lose my temper, and teach them something along the way. It is a VERY different life than I have ever had, so it takes time to adjust to it. Somehow I feel like I need to do something more significant, like go to work and get a pay cheque---but when I read what I just wrote, raising children is pretty significant in and of it self-- I am slowly learning this.

Okay, so my superpowers have offically stopped working, nap time is over!...therefore this post is over, because if I say "I'll come back to it" that'll never happen! haha!-