Daily Challenge - April

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Wednesday, April 30, 2008

WE'RE ALIVE!

Just stopping by to let you readers know that we are still alive...
The move went....Well.
My kids and cats LOVE their new home and freedom!
Our new 'hood is wonderful....
But I must get going...
I finally have I-net again... Only took Shaw 2 days to get it hooked up, no help from our builders...
I'll explain our last 12 days in a post later this evening one my little ones are down for the night!
Miss you all!

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Crap, Crap, Crap.

4:40am
Still have the kitchen to pack (food is already done), bedroom, upstairs room, take the computer down....
So much to do....
And only 5 hours to do it in!
Sleep is for the weak!
*LOL*
Ugh!

Friday, April 25, 2008

Oh crap.



It's 10:40pm




My house is only half packed.




Half of that is already on the truck (which, of course, includes all of our food.... Hungry!)....




I have until 9:30am to pack.




What is that....11 hours? Is that right?




That's not enough time!




AHHHHHHHH!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Ear Aches, Hair Color, Foot Pains and Little Monkeys!

Hello All!
Sorry that it's been awhile since I've had the chance to update my blog... Things have been a little insane over here... I'll start with this blog and write another one later about what has taken most of my time...

Are you ready?
Yes, that's right... My hair is purple! Funny thing really... Family photos was a week and a half away and I had just told Tyler that I was going to color my hair a 'natural color' for the photos (which are being sent to everyone we know with our new address and such...) and then Chelsey over at Rice Photography asked if I would do a photo shoot for her the upcoming Saturday... What do I do? Color my hair a funky purple! *LOL* It took me a few days to realize just exactly what I had done... So purple hair for the family photos it is!!

In the wee hours (and I mean wee hours) of Sunday the 13th Daddy took Emma to the emergency for a ear infection. Poor kid was screaming and crying once it was bedtime! My heart ached hearing her.... So Daddy packed her up with the PSP and a movie and off they went! Amazingly they were back home on about an hour and a half! Apparently when you take a little kid in they boost you on the list a little and when you mention 'ear infection' they send you to a different area where only a pediatrician works! Go figure! Sunday morning I got up and bought Emma her much needed med's... Things have been much quieter since! *L* (AND we made it to our last day of Church in our current ward! Boo Yah!)


Monday Tyler came home with this....
Taken April 15th @ 1:32am
Wait for it....
There we go!
Taken April 15th @ 1:32am
Poor guy...
Taken April 15th @ 1:33am
Blah!
Taken April 15th @ 6:59pm
Ugh!
Taken April 15th @ 7:00pm

So long story short, he sprained his ankle... I should take a new photo... Blood is breaking under the skin everywhere... When he wraps it his toes do that Fred Flintstone thing...
He went to the Doctor after work on Monday and has been placed on light duty at work (erasing marks off papers before they're filed... Yippee! :P) until sometime next week.
Could this happen at any better of a time?
Nope.
I'm very thankful that it happen this week (although I would have loved it to never have happened!) and not next week as this weekend we take possession of our new home and will be painting our girls walls (two different colors with a chair rail in between!!!) and cleaning, tinting and sealing our basement floor. Next week is the big move and I need Tyler to be in his best health (feet included) to move everything!
Taken April 15th @ 7:01pm
Taken April 15th @ 7:02pm
Oh there we go! I forgot I had this on here... It's now like this everywhere on his foot!
Taken April 15th @ 7:02pm
(This photo reminded me of when Zoë was little and had pudgy feet! *L* Without the bruising and blood stuff going on...)

And tonight I went to see what the girls were up to in the room and this is what I came across...
Yeah... Lucky that thing is stable! Goodness!
Mommy wasn't very happy. They started to get down once they saw me in the room but, to their surprise, I said 'STAY!' and ran upstairs to grab Tyler's cell phone so he could see what his little monkeys had been doing... (He's been hanging out on the couch for the last few days and only moving if he really needs to! *L*)...
I do have to give the girls credit when they were getting down... Emma said 'Big girls first!' and then climbed down the side onto her end table and onto her bed all while Zoë waited patiently... then Zoë climbed down the side onto the end table and down to the floor.
------
So this is a quick update of how our life has been.... Oh wait! The house we're living in officially sold on Monday! We had the inspector here Saturday (this story deserves it's very own blog!)... Things went really well (obviously) and we did family photos out in Leduc Saturday! I'll post some of those soon!
Okay that's all for now! *L* Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment... Ya know...If you feel like it...Or something... Nothing negative about how I'm a bad Mommy for telling my kids to 'STAY' instead of rushing over and hauling them off the shelf please. Thanks!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Funny...

Saw this over at Mashed Taters 'N Groovy and had to share it with all of you! Sorry about how it transferred over... I've tried fixing it and gave up... *sigh*


PARENT:

Job Description

POSITION:
Mom, Mommy, Mama, MaDad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION:
Long term team players needed for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills, be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings, weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule, yet be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat, in case this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities! Travel expenses are never reimbursed. Must learn to multitask. This is a permanent position. Teams are encourages to apply, however, sadly, this is not a requirement.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
This is an infinite list. This list will forever, without warning, self adjust to the clients whims Candidates must be willing to adapt to ever-changing and ever-challenging time periods. Basic duties will include maintaining multiple calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must screen phone calls. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, and an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility, laundry, shopping, spare of the moment decision making, field trips, EMT, counselor, teacher, cook, disciplinary provider (often more painful for you than for them), chafer, caterer, must excel at all levels of the aforementioned skills and all the ones we failed to mention.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION:
Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.


Grand Parent same job except your old and tired. This position is limited to some weekends unless you failed at your previous assignment. Then it is a full time position, because rather than your charges moving out they multiply.

EDUCATION AND PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:
There is no amount of reference material that can be studied to prepare you for this job. As each candidents charge will be unique and unpredictable. On-the-job training will be offered on a continually exhausting basis. No previous experience is available.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION:
Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and only wish you could do more. **FOOTNOTE: THERE IS NO RETIREMENT – EVER

BENEFITS:

No health or dental insurance, No pension, No tuition reimbursement, No paid holidays and No stock options. There are no guarantees. This job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.

Photos from the past...

Chelsey Rice over at Rice Photography has been taking photos of my kids forever now... She's also taken photos of Tyler and I that I'm totally in love with! I'll have to share some of those another day... But for now, please enjoy the photos below from November 2007.


















Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Zoë update!

I am officially saying, "Zoë is potty trained!"

As exciting a time this is it also makes my heart sad just a little.

You see, Zoë is my last one... We don't have any major plans of hearing the sound of 'pitter patter, pitter patter, fumble patter' anytime soon... We had a plan but then we bought a house! *L* Not only bought one, but built one! Ha, Ha, Ha.... Who knows what the future brings 'cause we don't! :P

Anyways, I'm SOOOOOOOO happy not to have to worry about changing diapers, pull-up's whatever anymore. I'm very thrilled that I now may be able to search for my gum without having to haul out a package of wipes, pull-up's, etc.

But I am slightly sad in the thought that my littlest one (my 'baby') is growing up so quickly just like her sister! *L* And I think Zoë can sense this as she finds the time in her crazy toddler filled schedule to give me a hug, kiss and whisper "I'm your baby Mommy!"

*sigh*

BUT on the other hand... It only took 2 years 9 months to have Zoë potty trained! Day and Night. That's the exact same amount of time it took to have Emma potty trained for day and night....

I'm thinking this in itself is a great accomplishment....

YAY!

*L*

Friday, April 4, 2008

Yummy Things.... Part 1

So I've decided that I'm going to start a 'Yummy Things' list.... Expect to see more parts to this!




Today is Michelina's Sweet and Sour Chicken..... SOOOOOOOOO yummy!

It's in Michelina's Lifestyle for better choices section... And it tastes amazing!

Here is the skinny on this wonderful dish!


Sweet & Sour Chicken
Mama Michelina made really great Sweet & Sour Chicken. How? It was all in her flavourful ingredients! Tender strips of chicken, red and green peppers, carrots, pineapple, and fluffy rice. All covered with her irresistible sweet and sour sauce - a flavourful blend of soy sauce, vinegar and brown sugar. Hey Michelina! Perfecto!

Nutrition Facts - Compare to other Michelina's® Lifestyle® Products

Sweet & Sour Chicken
ENERGY
370 Calories
-
PROTEIN
10 g
-
FAT
4.5 g
-
SATURATED FATTY ACIDS
0.5 g
-
TRANS FATTY ACIDS
0 g
-
CHOLESTEROL
15 mg
-
SODIUM
880 mg
-
CARBOHYDRATES
73 g
-
SUGARS
25 g
-
DIETARY FIBRE
1 g
-

VITAMIN A
15%*
-
VITAMIN C
30%*
-
CALCIUM
4%*
-
IRON
10%*
-
* Percentage of recommended daily intake

1 LIFESTYLE is a registered trademark of Maple Leaf Consumer Foods Inc. † Product Formulation and Allergen Information is subject to change, which may not be reflected on this Web site. Always check the package of the product you buy for current, accurate Allergen Information.

Preparation
For food safety and quality, follow these cooking instructions. Cooking times may vary depending on the appliance used. Microwave:Lift corner of lid (as shown). Microwave on high for 4 ½ to 6 minutes. Pull off lid completely. Careful, it's hot! Serve sauce over rice. Oven:Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Remove food from paper tray. Place in similar size oven-safe dish. Cover. Cook product 25 minutes; stir and cook an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Let stand 1 to 2 minutes. Careful, it's hot! Serve sauce over rice. Caution: Do not use tray in conventional or toaster ovens.

Ingredients
Cooked rice, water, cooked chicken roll (chicken, water, soy protein, salt, sodium phosphate, natural flavour), brown sugar, red and green peppers, carrots, pineapple (contains pineapple juice), vinegar, sugar, modified corn starch, chicken base [chicken, chicken stock, salt, chicken fat, sugar, modified milk ingredients, flavour (autolyzed yeast, citric acid), spice], soy sauce (water, wheat, soybeans, salt, sodium benzoate), tomato paste, canola oil (BHA, BHT), garlic, salt, chicken broth flavour (salt), garlic salt, spice.

Run on out and pick up one, two or more of these today! Yummy!

Thursday, April 3, 2008

I would like:

It's Okay to Take a Nap
Debra Sansing Woods

A celebration of motherhood, It's Okay to Take a Nap illustrates the joys, struggles, and triumphs of being a mother. With reminders to moms of simple reassuring truths - like how you deserve a break and how you are a queen, not a maid - this book will strengthen and empower women while at the same time assuring them that their sacrifices to be a mother have not gone unnoticed. Simply and beautifully written, this book is a wonderful gift for any mother.

NEW CAR SEATS!

Oh yes... And they're nice!
I took the girls over to Toys R' Us and let them pick out the car seat of their choice (within a bunch that I placed on the floor for them to choose from.... Lets not get crazy here!! *L*)...
Zoë was first... She was debating between the
OR

Hard choice! The brown and pink is adorable while she's used to the Eddie Bauer one is like the one she's grown up with.
After much testing (even Emma helped out here) and going back and forth on our decision Zoë chose the Eddie Bauer one. This was also after I mentioned that the cushions that she would be leaning against when she fell asleep had more foam on the Eddie one than the Alpha one... She was sold! *L* (We no longer use the head rest thing that holds it in place when you're an infant... I'm sure you can all guess what I'm talking about).
Then it was Emma's turn! She was deciding between the

OR

Now... The Evenflo one come with 'activity lights' on both sides of the head so she'd be able to read books, color, etc. while on trips on just on our usual trip back and forth from the city on the highway... It also comes with cup holders and snack holders all in one! BUT the Turbobooster has flowers on it!!! Humm...
She chose the Evenflo Booster Seat! *L* And in that exact color. There was a beige/brown/tan one but she didn't want it!
An extra bonus:
The wonderful women working in the Babies R' Us section allowed me to Register for a Baby Registry so I could save five bucks on Emma's chair (heck, why not??!)... So in case you were all wondering, my due date is tomorrow! *L* Just in case you'd like to view my registry, here's the info!
Two ways:
1) Go to Babies R' Us and click on 'Baby Registry' on the right hand side (you'll see it in the purple)... Then you can put in my info as such:
Registrant(s): MISTA ZAUGG
Registry #: 40913411
OR
2) Got to this link that will take you directly there!
As you'll probably see, I have nothing on my list! Actually tried it out today and I had 43 things on my list from when I was having Zoë! *L* Imagine!

Music - Part 1

So I've always been in love.... *AHEM* I mean, I've always loved Michael Bublé's music... But yesterday I actually took some time to sit down and make a play list for my page here (which I really do hope you enjoy at least one of the 36 current tracks on it)...

This is when I came across this wonderful and amazing song... Where have I been all this time??!

Here it is!

Everything

You're a falling star, You're the get away car.
You're the line in the sand when I go too far.
You're the swimming pool, on an August day.
And you're the perfect thing to say.

And you play it coy, but it's kinda cute.
Ah, When you smile at me you know exactly what you do.
Baby don't pretend, that you don't know it's true.
Cause you can see it when I look at you.

[Chorus:]
And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You're a mystery, you're from outer space,
You're every minute of my everyday.

And I can't believe, uh that I'm your man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through,
And you know that's what our love can do.

[Chorus:]
And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La
So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La

[Chorus:]
And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.
You're every song, and I sing along.
'Cause you're my everything.
Yeah, yeah

So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La
So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La

The Video

I think I may have to strongly suggest this be Tyler's and my five year anniversary song! *L*

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Good Afternoon??!

So how did your afternoon start today? Lunch? Chats with friends? Work? Laundry? *L*

Mine?

With a bang... A LOUD bang!

You see... I'd been asking Tyler for days now to go and see our house... I hear that my dishwasher had been installed and just had to see it!!! *L* Dorky yes, but I've NEVER lived in a house with one! This is HUGE for me!!! *L*

Anyways, we had a viewing of the house we're in this morning from 10-11am so we left before then and grabbed some breakfast as a family of four! Imagine! (Tyler is working nights right now)... The we went to Caster Town where Tyler picked up the four caster needed to make his dolly type of thing to move the playhouse we placed in the yard last year (it weighs about 600lbs and is on stilts... I'll post photos below...)... After that we went for a drive... That's what Tyler said we were doing... And we ended up in Leduc! YAY! I have the best Husband around!!!

So we're driving down the main street not far from our neighborhood when a van in oncoming traffic decided to turn left right in front of us...

BANG!

My poor, poor van.... My poor, poor children! Emma automatically said her head hurt (she's in a booster seat now remember...).

We get out of the van and check our children before even giving the driver of the other van a glance. Once we knew that they were okay but a little shaken up we turned our attention to the driver of the van.

He said that he thought we were in a turning lane. Nope, we were in the straight lane... the turning lane had it's on merge lane to our right into the Leduc Common area.... WE were in the lane that is supposed to go straight... And our light was green.

Nice guy though. He's 60 and this is his first accident... Ugh!

So we pulled in the a parking lot nearby (since we were taking up the whole intersection), traded information, called the Police... Started a file with them over the phone and then headed over to Leduc's RCMP branch where we filled out more information sheets and such.

Then we went to our Insurance Company as it just happens to be in Leduc (no actual planning with this years ago! *L*)... While Tyler dealt with that I took the girls for some furniture shopping (what else are girls supposed to do in this situation??!! *L*), looked at our house (OHHHHHHHHHH! Soooooooo sweet! Dishwasher in, counter tops in, flooring in... Carpet was being put in!!!!) and grabbed a drink and a cookie before picking up Daddy (who is now going to be late for work! Ugh!)....

I know that I'm going to hurt tomorrow.... Tyler will as well. We could feel it right away. I'm sure that Emma is going to feel the stiffness kick in over the next few days (I hate this for her!)...

So now my van has to be taken in (and more likely will be having a mini-vacation at the repair shop for a whole new front bumper, alignment check, etc.) and we'll be sharing the car.... Which we're very grateful to have as an option. I just wish that I could say to Tyler 'Nah, take the car, we'll hang out here tonight' but instead I have to drive him every day (and, of course, he's on night shift so we'll be picking him up at 12:30am...) just in case there's viewings of this house.... Grrr...

Oh! And I have to buy new car seats... Now. We weren't actually supposed to drive home with the car seats we have but how are we supposed to get anywhere? We don't even live in Leduc yet! *L* Now I'm on the panic to find someone to watch my girls for a few hours so I can buy new car seats tonight and not have to worry about it tomorrow as we have our days packed full for the move stuff.... Ugh again!

Yup... That was my afternoon. The accident happened at 12pm... Great start to the afternoon!

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

OHMYGOODNESS, LOVE!

OHMYGOODNESS!!!

So this site that I came across also has children's clothing!

Again I say, OHMYGOODNESS!!!!

Check it out! It's called 'Shabby Baby'... The dress from my other blog is from teh parent site called 'Shabby Apple'.
(And because I'm just so excited I'll post a few photos as well!)
"Queen of Hearts"

"Vineyard"

"Sprightly"
"Cute as a Button"