Quiet time....

Just a quick one right now:

I have two sleeping beauties right now... And am so very thankful for that. After a very hectic month, birthday's, parties, Christmas gatherings, late nights, many turkey dinners and family staying with us at our new home my girls finally broke down.

Emma threw a tantrum that would have sent everyone into shock.

Zoë snuck into our room and ate the chocolate I had been saving.

I know this all happened because my girls are exhausted... Just like their Mommy and Daddy.... But let me tell you! *L*

I'm just happy it happened after our guests had left!

But they are asleep now.... the house is silent. It's snowing lightly outside and my home is warm. I've been reading my new book from Tyler ("Multiple Bles8ings" by the Gosselings) and am quite enjoying this silent time to myself.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas (will write a HUGE blog about this another time) and just in case, an amazing New Year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! And 200!

First off I'd like to wish every single one of you out there a very Merry Christmas and an amazing New Year!

These past few weeks (well... All of December really) have been insane for us... Just as it is every December. This year though I found myself *gasp!* too tired to blog! In fact many nights Zoë would crawl into my bed to sleep beside me while Tyler was on his night shift. She'd fall asleep to whatever kid program I could find on TV (unless Daddy made it home first to tuck her back into her bed) while I would pass out before the remote hit the bed!

So to say the least, I'm a bit exhausted... And all my blogging plans haven't come try for December.

In the end though that just means I'll have to do a wonderful, amazingly long blog to 'catch up' in the New Year! Geee! :D

On another note: this is my 200th blog! Oh yes! Slowly but surely I've written 200 blogs (with some in waiting!).... I wanted to celebrate my 100th blog but totally missed it... So for my 200th I'd like to do a mini giveaway.... What I be giving away? Excellent question! *L*

If any of you out there know of someone who is looking to giveaway something in a giveaway and would like someone else to do all the 'dirty work'... Send them my way! ;) I'm not quite sure how to go about this....

Otherwise you will get some form of wonderful gift from me....

I promise to give more details in the New Year...As for now please bask in the glory of my blogs *L* and know that I've made it to 200 on Christmas Day! (I'm thrilled!)

As well... if any of you have a favorite blog of mine, please let me know! I'd love to 'showcase' them again just for you!

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone and, just in case, an even better New Year!

The 'Zog' Family!

More Christmas Stuff and Emma's Room

Late, late last night I was still decorating... And after rearranging my front room in every possible way (and ending up with it exactly how it was.... Honestly, it's the best design for the room!) I decided to decorate the girls doors a bit... Just slightly so they could get just a little bit more excited for Christmas!

Then this morning after my kids had breakfast and were playing nicely with our Dayhome child I decided I would put away Emma's gifts from her Birthday Party.... Well this lead to me organizing her room a bit... *L* I'll explain the changes after the photos in case you don't notice them...

Now her dresser is here (instead of in the closet)...

This tall blue dresser used to be where the dresser is now... I like it angled...

And her desk (used to be where the tall blue dresser is now) is in her closet. This actually freed up more room in the closet as the desk is shorter and can be pressed right to the side wall (no drawers to hit the closet doors)...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What actually started my re-organizing was that lovely pink and purple hanging organizer in the closet (who gave this for her Birthday? I totally missed her opening it, sorry! It's lovely though!)... So I really re-organized her whole room just to fit that in the closet! *LOL*

But I think it looks wonderful!

Quick Holiday Post

Tonight I decided (after going shopping with the girls when Emma got out of school today, and buying many breakable decorations...) that the little tree we have in our kitchen would be for the girls. They could decorate it any way they'd like.... It's all theirs!

And the big tree in the living room is all Mommy's! *LOL*

When I asked the girls how they felt about this.... Well they were all over having a tree to themselves! *L*

Here's some photos of the girls decorating their tree. I pulled out all the 'old' decorations that have been passed down for generations and let them take turns adding to it one-by-one.



They did such an awesome job! And I'm totally in love with the photo of Zoë and her hands... (#3). Every time she placed and item on the tree she'd hold her hands as if she was praying... Adorable! *L* As well... I didn't realize just how far up Emma could reach until she decided to place one of her bows near the very top! She did it all on her own!!!

Friday Flashback AND Happy Birthday Emma!

Today at 10:50am will officially be Emma's 5th year on Earth! And how lucky we are to have her!

Emma celebrating her 1st Birthday (she had her very own cup cake!)

Blowing out her candle! (cake for the adults!)

Kisses for Kitty (which she still sleeps with every night! Thanks Auntie Sarah & Uncle Conor!)

Emma getting ready for her first day of school... Silly girl!

I'm so very excited for Emma to be 5... What a wonderful year it should be!

Her Birthday Party is Saturday, I'll post photos as soon as I get back on the computer!

Happy Birthday Emma!

We are truly blessed to have you in our lives!

Love,

Mommy, Daddy and Zoë

Schedule

*Tyler is on nights!

Yesterday:
Pack Emma's backpack and snack bag for school
10am: Emma's Doctor's appointment in the 'old city' (about a 45 min drive)
11am: Lunch and Shopping at Ikea with Emma in the 'old city'
12:00/2:30pm (leave times): Emma to and from school (Remember $ for Bake Sale!)
Prep for the girls to make invites at Activity Days
Make dinner while the girls have 'Quiet Time'
Pack up dinner (Yum KD!), snacks, toys, etc. to preoccupy my girls while I'm helping with Activity Days
7pm-8:30pm: Activity Days at Church (20min's away); Pick up Stuffing supplies for Ward Christmas Party

Today:
Dayhome child 8-5pm
Book girls' eye appointments for January
Call regarding Party Room for Emma's Birthday Party (Make sure it's still booked!)
Safeway to order Cupcake Cake for Emma's Party Saturday
12:00/2:30pm (leave times): Emma to and from school with kids in tow
Wal-Mart: Groceries (very much in need!), veggies for Ward Christmas Party Friday, Goodies to decorate Gingerbread Houses (Emma's class Friday)
Buy things for Party Favors, etc.
6:15pm: The CPR Christmas Train will be here! Taking the girls for the first time!
7pm: Be at Church to help decorate for the Ward Christmas Party
Make Rice Krispie Squares for Emma's "Class Party" as she's 5 ON that day!!! :D

Figure out why the camera won't work.. And fix it!

SWIM SUITS!!! I must find our swim suits!

Friday:
HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY EMMA!!!!
Dayhome Child 8-5pm
Make squares/cookies for Ward Christmas Party
12:00pm/2:30pm (leave times): Emma to and from school with kids in tow (Don't forget the Rice Krispie Squares!!!)
Make Stuffing for Ward Christmas Party
Make Veggies for Ward Christmas Party
Prep for Emma's Birthday Party Saturday
6pm: Ward Christmas Party! Stuffing must be there by 6pm! *L*

Saturday:
Emma's 5th Birthday Party!
10:30am: Pick-Up Cake
11:00am: Arrive early to set-up Party Room (if they'll let us) and meet everyone in the lobby.
Take head count of everyone to pay for their swimming pass
11:30am-12:30pm: Party Room Booked
12:30pm: Swimming! (Pretty Penny! *L*)

BREAK!

8pm: Sarah's Birthday Dinner at a wonderful Greek Restaurant in the 'old city'.... (Belly Dancing here we come! Loud, Loud music!)

*Must remember ear plugs for the girls!

Sunday:
11am-1pm: Church
2:30pm: Family Dinner in the 'old city'
(I hear it's supposed to get down to -31!! Yay! :P)

Monday:
How I wish I could sleep in! *LOL*

LATE!

So I have worked very, VERY hard at making sure Emma is not late for school. Very hard.

I've had her eating ("more") lunch as we're buckled in the van just to get her there on time.

I've created a routine with her that gets us up, fed, ready for school, then play time...

But this week has nearly killed us... And it's only Tuesday!

Today got the better of us... I had her in the van at 12:13pm (class starts at 12:15pm)... If we had just driven away then she may have been considered 'not late' as the attendance would not have been done then.

Instead I had to scrape our van windows (I'm short... I always find this a challenge! *L*), make sure my wipers were done being frozen together, drive behind a huge truck hauling two beds of dirt who decided to pull over at the stop sign and then turn on his blinkers after a bit (I honestly thought he was going to turn right, just like us!)... Wait for the never ending long light and then head to Emma's school.

And because I'm one of those parents that refuses to park in the marked off 'yellow' area (Means "DO NOT PARK HERE!") as I have the wrose luck and that's when the Bylaw Officers would come! *L* I had to park across the road and run carrying Emma to class.

12:20pm

I sent her to class with no socks on (they got stuck in her boots and I refused to let her put them on in the doorway in hopes that she would get to class before attendance was done). I then noted that another Mom was getting a late slip for her child in Emma's class.... So I did the same. As soon as I stepped out of the Office there was Emma with another child from her class (who was holding the dreaded attendance book)... I guess Mrs. Kerr had sent Emma with her to get a late slip.

UGGGGGGH!

Hopefully tonight goes much better! *L*

Look Ma! I can make things!

Yes, everyone... Please remember to breathe after that huge gasp you just took! ;)

So quickly, here's a few things I've taken to making... Sorry for the crappy photo quality... I was lucky enough to have been able to pull Emma away from playing with our new Dayhome Child to even get these shots! *L*

Flashback Friday

Tyler an I were married on July 12, 2003.... It was wonderful for the most part. At least we ended up married in the end! *L*

My Bridal Shower. Thank you Sarah and Heather for being such great sports!

Thank you to Heidi for doing my hair and make-up!

We're married!!

In the background is almost every theatre person we graduated with! *L* AND our instructors!

It was a very hot (really hot) day and I'm thankful to have made it out alive! *LOL*

We're very grateful to those friends of ours from school that helped out (Sarah, Heather and Heidi we're from our grad class to name a few).

Sorry about the quick one today... Next week is Emma's Birthday so I'll so my best to remember to give you a good one!! :D

No. No, No.... (sighed) Yes.

It's snowing.

Didn't snow all day.

Thankfully.

Espcially since I drive Emma to and from school in the span of just under 3 hours.

But tonight we're driving into the city for dinner with friends....

Friends that actually bought our old house! *L*

And I was really, really hoping that the weather would stay somewhat non-snowing for the drive in and out.

Can you tell I'm in a funk?

Ugh. Stupid yesterday's realization.

More later!

Thank You!

This blog is a quick one...

I'd like to thank my Hubby for doing something that I didn't expect him to do...

He took the garbage out!

Not only did he do this, he also gathered all the garbage's beforehand & tossed them into a bag without a single question towards me.

Me who was asleep at 1:30am.

Why was he doing this at 1:30am? Well this morning is our garbage day and if we miss it we're screwed until next week. And there's a 'garbage law' here that states we're only allowed between 3-4 bags a week on our curb.

Um hummm...

So my wonderful Husband noticed that I had fallen into a deep sleep and without asking me a single thing, took the initiative to do the whole garbage thing on his own!

Yes, I would like to thank him!

Thanks Hon, you rock!

Snow, Snow, Snow Angels.

Quick thing...

We were late getting Emma to school as it started to randomly really snow today. After brushing off the van I had all the kids get their jackets, boots, mitts, hats, etc. on while the van warmed up....

And then we started to drive.

This is a whole other blog, believe me... But back to my main story.

By the time we got to Emma's school all the parents were leaving (which means all of her afternoon class had already headed in! Ack!)... I'm quite proud of the fact that we have no (yes, NO) lates so far! Bah! Or missed days! None!

Anyhoo.... I tell the kids to double time it to the front doors (as there's no parking in front of the doors so I had to park even further away!) while I'm carrying the dayhome child.... I turn for a second to look behind me and by the time I look ahead again Zoë is on the ground in the middle of the crosswalk making a snow angel!

IMAGINE!

*LOL*

Yeah... Emma was the last one that I saw heading down to her class... Gosh I hope she doesn't get a late. We've worked soooo hard! I'm sure kids were still putting their stuff into their lockers when she walked in.... *fingers crossed*

I did realize about an hour and a half (enough time to clean and make fudge brownies) later that we forgot to take her library book with her to school. Today is her only library day of the week....

UGH!

Not sure what happens with this... Is she banned from taking a book out this week? I'm taking it with us to pick her up... Can she get a new one then? Oh dear, I may have a very heartbroken little girl on my hands.....

Off we go to see what drama may have happened today... I'll keep you posted!

HAPPY BIRTH-day JULIET!

Well it FINALLY happened! Jessica and Kevin over at November Baby had their little baby 'J'....

Why 'J'?? Well Jessica made a deal with Kevin that she could tell all us eager friends and family the first letter in the baby girls name but not the whole name as that was to be a surprise!

Honestly, for their Thanksgiving cake that they made she did this:

*LOL*

But yes, back to the wonderful news!

Friday (November 28) at 2:04pm baby Juliet was born! She weighed in at 8 pounds, 12 ounces and measuring 21 inches long!!! I think that's a wonderful weight as my children were in the 9's! *LOL* makes you feel like you won't "break them"... *L* :P

Of course Juliet didn't make the labour easy! It was 48 hours of labour with 36 of it being medication free! Total "ACK!"....

After the doctors decided that Juliet's head wasn't going to drop a C-Section was ordered! Both Juliet and Jessica are fine! As well as Daddy Kevin! *L*

And I know that 'big sis' Ophelia Glinda McSnuggles is waiting for the chance to give Juliet a big lick at home! *L*

Here are some wonderful photos of baby Juliet Isabella Rain McDonald meeting her Mommy and Daddy for the first time!

(Jess, I hope you don't mind that I stole these! Let me know if it's a problem!)

I am SO proud of these two! You've done excellent work prepping for baby Juliet and I just know that you're going to be awesome parents!

Congratulations you three!

Special Friday Flashback!

Can you believe it? I'm actually doing my Friday Flashback ON Friday! Ha! *LOL*

Today's photo is a very special one to me. Whenever I find myself completely overwhelmed by Emma I try to take a moment to look at it. First the photo.... Then the story.

First off: Sorry about the photo quality. I had to take a photo of a photo... I'll explain in a second.

When Emma was born at 10:50am on December 12, 2003 she was a happy, healthy 9lbs 2oz baby!

13 hours later while I woke from a painful sleep and Tyler was changing her diaper the nurse and I noticed that Emma was blue. Very blue.

She had been very quiet, slept lots and wasn't at all hungry... the almost perfect baby... *sigh* But it took her turning blue for us to realize that something was wrong.

After a few moments she was rushed away from us (she had been an emergency c-section)... And we were left to wonder what on earth was happening....

SO I decided to take a much needed shower... I remember getting out to the shower and barely getting clothing on when a bunch of nurses came into my room. I looked at the clock and saw that it was 6:30am, on the dot. Emma was there as well.

They explained to us, quickly, that Emma was having breathing problems and they weren't sure why... So they were rushing her by ambulance to the NICU at another hospital (the one we were at didn't have one... Great hospital though, went back to have Zoë!). They would hopefully be able to find me a room at that hospital. Then they handed us the photo above (it's a Polaroid) and left.

As you can see she was in the incubator with bunches of tubes attached to her. They did mention that they were pretty sure she was going to be okay as she was strong. Look at her fist alone!

Long story short (for today) after a week in NICU and a bunch of transfers for me we were able to take home out bundle of joy.

I forget sometimes just how lucky we are to have this little girl. And just how lucky we are that we caught her turning blue. If we had been discharged that day she may have been considered a SIDS baby.... And I have a lot of trouble thinking of that.

Emma pushes me everyday.... And sometimes she pushes a bit to much. More often then not. So every now and then I like to take a single moment to look at this photo and remember what we've been through already and just how very lucky we are to have her in our lives.

I am very, very grateful for my Emma.

Happy US Thanksgiving!

Well now... It's Thanksgiving all over again in our household! *L*

We live in Canada... Thanksgiving for us was in October... But today is a special day for us all!

I signed up (with the brilliant idea...) to feed the Missionaries today! Thought it would be neat! Our girls get to learn about a different Country (and their holiday) and the Missionaries get a little piece of home.

As well, one of the Missionaries that helped me become baptised is flying in (from the States) and joining us for today's Thanksgiving dinner! Geee! I'm so excited to see Sister Buck!! :D

On the menu today are the following (nothing 'fancy'):

Main Course:
Turkey

Stuffing

Homemade Cranberry Sauce (a first for me!)

Veggies - Green Beans and Corn

Homemade Gravy

Homemade Mashed Potatoes with Chives (all on my own, Tyler's at work and this is usually his specialty!)

Buns

Dessert:

Homemade Pumpkin Pie! (Geee! I even used my mix master for the first time ever! Only took four months!)

Whipped Cream

Drinks:

Pop - Coke, Pepsi, Ginger ale (w/cranberry too!), Sprite

Juice - Peach, Apple

Water

Cranberry Fizz (First time trying it out, hope it works!)

Soda Shop Cola (Sooooooo good! And easy to make!)

I'm really hoping everything turns out. I've already made the pie, have the potatoes scrubbed... veggies are ready to go.... Drinks are in the fridge... And the Turkey will go in the oven right before I take Emma to school!

Today's schedule go as follows:
Decorate
Make table bigger
Take Emma to school and DH child goes home
Cook
Clean the house
Make the basement ready for Sister Buck to sleep in (bed prepped, etc.)
Organize the house
Run to store
Pick up Emma from school
Keep cooking, cleaning, laundry
Tyler home from work
Place table (including the homemade menu's I made!)
Missionaries and Sister Buck show up for 6:30pm dinner (they really can't be late because...)
Zac's Birthday Bash Concert in Edmonton (starts at 7 goes until 11:30pm. We'll be late and Sister Buck is coming with us!)

We have a ton going on tonight! And then tomorrow I have the DH Kid coming at 7:15am and Emma has school! *L*

Here's hoping that I can have everything ready for 6:00pm.... This will be the first holiday dinner that I've made... And mostly on my own! Geee!

I'll keep you posted! And take photos!

More soon!