Happy...

December 28th: Happy Birthday Mandy!

December 27th: Happy 3 months to Braden!

December 26th: Happy 3rd Birthday Sarah!

December 25th: Happy Christmas!

December 24th: Happy 1st Birthday Lukey!

December 23rd: Did I Miss Anybody?

December 22nd: Happy 7th Birthday Shae!

**Update:
December 21st: Happy Birthday Adam!

Happy Eve of Christmas Eve from the Zoo!

Excuse the poor picture quality...my camera screen was crushed last month and I have no idea what setting the thing is currently on nor what flash it is set to nor do I have any way of changing such settings. Lucky me, I am good at aiming the thing without looking at it, because I am truly shooting blind...takes all the fun out of picture taking! So, here is a token shot from the broken camera: three kiddos in front of a fake tree. Try hanging out with these three for 24 hours, un-aided. I have stories to share...but no more energy left to tell them. If today was a prelude to the days to follow, there will be much drinking to come...

Tom Boy Niece

After much deliberation, her cargo hold is carefully packed with a Soccer Ball and a choice assortment of toy cars...she later ditched the soccer ball to make room for more cars & trucks...

Yes. It's Fake.

Yep. Cheated. Bought the boy a fake tree. He can keep it up as long as he likes. It fits perfectly in our tiny living room and it's small enough to put on a table when the baby arrives...it'll just touch the ceiling... I managed to pack an outstanding number of lights on the thing...we will add ornaments tomorrow.

Here are some trippy pics of our red and blue lit tree...

Not that anyone is keeping tabs...

The young whipper snapper born to my...not graced with height...cousin two weeks ago has managed to gain an entire pound in his first two weeks of life...no losing any birth weight here! The last child I knew to do such a feat was my own...half a pound a week for the first six months, plus a bonus pound in month five, tallying a grand total of 22 pounds at six months of age! We'll see how long young Brutus can keep this up... (and if he does, he should out weigh his *mini* three-year-old sister before next Christmas, whom herself did not weigh twenty pounds until after her second birthday, if I recall correctly?)

Full Steam Ahead

Dad is scheduled to be released from Hospital tomorrow morning and will be able to come home to continue with his recovery.

Lucky him...he has a live in nurse!

None of us could have asked for a better Christmas Present!

Why you are glad that you were NOT at my house this morning...

Woke up this morning to my beloved cat puking on my bed. ON MY BED! ON THE QUILT MY GRANDMOTHER MADE!!! Good Morning.

Cats puke on occasion. I know. But I have no carpet in the house, which means that the rare event usually calls for some spray cleaner and paper towels...not washing my god damn quilt! Don't get me wrong here, all ye dog lovers, a bout of cat puke is not nearly as disgusting as the thought of picking up some mutts feces in a little plastic bag twice a day *shudder*, or one instance of my child running into the house with shit on his shoes because the damn neighbour was too lazy to walk his dog, let alone let the dog out in their own back yard to do his foul business. Said neighbours also fail to bathe, brush or trim their dog's mangy sheepskin like pelt. If their dog looks that horrid, I would hate to see the inside of their house...

On with my morning...

Nothing like a nice swig of rancid, curdled milk. As I was standing in front of my fridge, curdled milk in one hand, milk jug in the other, I am staring at an expiration date that is still over a week into the future...then I glance at the temperature dial inside the trusty ice box. My child, at some point in the recent past, put his sticky little fingers on the thing and turned it to zero...as in zero cold...as in zero perishable food survived. So, until I go shopping, our fridge now has a couple of vinegar based salad dressings in the door and a drawer full of onions...the rest of the cubic storage is up for rent...

In an effort to make my son's lunch from non-refrigerated goods, I start to open up a can of soup, and immediately after puncturing the top of the can, the can opener went to can opener heaven. So, now I have a fridge full of rancid glory and a de-funk can opener. Oh, and the flu I thought I was coming down with...it would actually be food poisoning! Yay me!

More events that were less than this-will-someday-be-humorous also transpired. All I have to say is that the child and I departed ways this morning with a mutual glare. I re-scheduled my re-scheduled psych exam and went back to bed. Pepto-Bismol anyone?

Christmas Tree? Well...If I Must...

So much to be thankful for right now... And so much that I could sit here and bitch about until the cows come home (to which I will spare all)... Makes for a very moody Heza.

Tomorrow I'm going to get off my arse and go get the Pumpkin a Christmas Tree. For the first time in my entire life, I have no desire to go get a real tree. No desire to deal with sap and pine needles. No desire to untangle lights and unpack ornaments. So, the boy will likely get a short fake tree this year...which will suit him just fine, because he can keep it up as long as he likes (can you say 'Christmas in July'?) and be the sole decorator and re-decorator of the hunk of metal and plastic. Suits me just fine. The thought of being able to put the seasonal center piece on a table, out of the baby's grasp is a pretty fine idea, come to think of it!

We are heading out to the Wild Lights thing on Thursday...a very important tradition around these parts. And we'll probably hit the event up again when the god kids arrive next week.

Due to the heart incident, most out of town company and extended family get-togethers have been re-scheduled for Easter. But in my little neck of the woods, company arrives a few days before Christmas and more company a few days after Christmas. It should prove to be the exact, right amount of people, so long as the drinks keep flowing! Albeit much quieter than the usual holiday shin-dig...

Here's to a Non-Bah Humbug Holiday Season to All Y'all!

Toga Parties Rock

Enough Said.

On a Lighter Note...How About Some Estrogen?

My Dear Sweet Cousin Emily, her Nine Pounder and her Hubby Mike...

Sir Aaron Scott...

To keep it in perspective, Em is 4'10" and her previous children have been in the 6-7 lb range...
I might have to take up calling this child "Brutus"...



Miss Mae (4 mos old) & Sir Aaron (5 days old) ... they be cousins!

Day Two, Post Op...

Dad is off the ventilator, no longer sedated and has been able to consume some juice! These are good things!

Relief

Dad came through his ten hour surgery very well. He is now in recovery, but will remain sedated until tomorrow at the earliest.

Bennett came home today with an "angel" that he had made at school. I thought that was very appropriate, under the circumstances.

Counting Blessings...

Dad had what appeared to be a heart attack last night around six p.m. He arrived at hospital via ambulance, where they discovered a large tear/aneurysm on his aorta, near his heart, that was on the verge of rupturing. Doctors said he was damn lucky it had not already ruptured, as this would have been fatal. He was medi-vac'ed to Vancouver and entered heart surgery around 4 a.m. Nine hours in, he is doing well and should be in recover in an hour or so.

Still in shock over the entire situation, but so thankful that things are turning out as best they can.

Raining Glass

I told him to use his feet...so he picked the ball up with his hands and threw it strait up in the air. He happened to be standing directly below the light fixture...

Oh Baby! (December Edition)

Congratulations to Emily & Mike!

One day before the scheduled induction,
Aaron Scott arrived this morning at 6:23 a.m.;
weighing in at 9 lbs, 2 oz and measuring 22" long!
Being as mama is under 5'...that's a lot of baby!

He is said to have blonde hair, dimples and to strike quite a resemblance to big brother David!

Aaron is a baby brother for Peter (7), David (5), Matthew (2) & Sarah (2)! (US)

Mae Day in November

Mae comes home today! One day before she turns four months old!

Emily is still pregnant...but the wee lad in her uterus gets an eviction notice on Tuesday! That girl is so ready to not be pregnant anymore! The poor thing has been "in labour" for a month now!

Bra Codes

Mae Update!

Miss Mae is now 3.5 months old (her original due date was Halloween, two weeks ago) and she weighs 7lbs 4oz (birth weight was 2lbs). She is very close to coming home, but is still in the NICU, partly because she is still learning how to tolerate normal feedings!

Hilarious!