The Easter Bunny was Here!

Just before Easter weekend, we welcomed baby Mark to the world. He was four weeks early and it was quite a journey to get him here, but he's here, perfect and sweet. Many wishes and congrats to Shelley, Blaine and big sister Olivia! Mommy and baby are home and doing well.

The Easter Bunny also came to our house for the first time ever! Carter got up first and checked out his Easter bucket. Sadly, he didn't get any candy this year (or so I thought, but Cailin did slip him a jelly bean. He loved it). He was thrilled with his toys. He played with the bucket all morning. His dear sister decided that she wanted the blue one and gave him her pink one instead. They both wanted the blue one so that didn't work so well.

Cailin slept in quite late and was surprised to see eggs and a bucket outside her door. Once she figured out the eggs had jelly beans and chocolate inside though, she was all up for the egg hunt.
She was also thrilled to know that eating candy for breakfast was allowed. Cailin had a great time running around the house looking for eggs with Bailey hot on her heels. Bailey got enough dropped jelly beans and treats that she got sick later at Nana and Papa's house. Well, they say it's not truly a holiday until someone eats too much candy and barfs. Right? Please say right.

Look, Carter was even willing to do some tummy time to play with the bucket!
Pretty soon we got ready for Easter dinner at Nana and Papa's house. I told Cailin to go get dressed so we could go see GG and Papa Ray. You know how little girls always wear those cute little Easter outfits or dresses? This is what Cailin came up with:
Yeah. That would be a tutu shirt with a dress-up tutu underneath, black leggings and hot pink gum boots topped with a lovely orange monkey hat. She then paired it with a red ladybug rain jacket. Hey, at least she was dressed. This would be the exact reason why I didn't bother buying her a cute Easter dress. My lil Rockstar.

We had a wonderful dinner. Cailin played outside with a hose and washed everything in sight, including both the Papas I'm sure. It was lovely to see GG and Papa Ray. It was just a lovely Easter weekend in general.

Heh. This Blog Thing Again.

We had a really nice Christmas. Cailin played with her cousins and had a great time. Of course it went much faster than we would have liked, but isn't that how it always goes? I swear time speeds up the older I get.

Grace got a cool suitcase on wheels and this happened a lot:
We did Christmas day at GG and Papa Ray's house in Tumbler. Carter is quite enamoured of his great-grandparents.
Carter is getting so big. He's bordering on the 20lb mark according to our highly technological home scale. He's still very relaxed (ie a bit floppy) and needs help sitting up. These kids spend a lot of time snuggling on the couch together. Here they are just after Christmas:
Oh, we celebrated our own quiet Christmas too. On Christmas Eve morning we put out all the presents under the tree and waited for Cailin to get up. She was amazed to see that Santa had come. True to form, she didn't need any explaining or prompting. She simply walked up to the tree and started to rip and tear.
She had a great time and spent the rest of the morning pushing Elmo around in her new dump truck. Carter slept through the whole thing.

So Christmas was over a month ago, but Cailin is still talking about it. She tells us she wants to see Santa all the time and talks about opening presents. She still wants me to sing Christmas songs to her at night, her favorites are Santa Claus is Coming to Town and of course, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

The month since Christmas has passed by in a blur. Carter is really enjoying his solid foods now, especially peaches and apple sauce. He's sleeping extremely well through the night. I set up his crib in his big boy room and he's been napping in there when he's able to. It's kind of hard to get any shut eye when Cailin's awake though. Just sayin'.

Cailin has been talking up a storm and learning in leaps and bounds. Literally. We're bordering on our 10th gymnastics session and she's loving it. Her motor skills are amazing! She holds my hand less and less as she learns how to do moves/skills herself. And her talking. Good grief she amazes me every single day with new words she's learning. Not all of them are good either (ahem, Nana!).

Recently we've all been recovering from a nasty little flu/cold bug. So far Ryan has escaped the worst of it. Might have something to do with the Cold-FX pills he's been chewing like candy or the fact that he's slathering himself in hand sanitizer every chance he gets. Whatever he's doing, it's working. I was out of commission for two days and now poor Cailin is really suffering. Carter has the sniffles and is congested but seems to be fairing better than us girls are.

Currently my living room has been upended to build a fort. Our couch is the perfect fort building couch. To placate a cranky Cailin, I showed her how to remove the cushions and make bridges, slides and tunnels. Now we're lucky to have a cushion left over to sit on at any given moment.

And hats (& more)! My business is really taking off. I thought the rush would be over after Christmas, but I'm still getting new orders every day. I'm swamped in them. I'm exploring new avenues to sell them, namely Farmer's Markets in the area, but unfortunately time is an issue. I can't commit to every single weekend. I am toying with selling them out of my house, but don't have an area to display them yet. Plus there's the issue of having to keep the house clean at all times while waiting for customers to show up. I'll figure it out yet.

Cailin Says

Life is definitely interesting with a crazy two year old around. She's starting to say and do some pretty hilarious things .... on purpose. With intention to be funny.

In the car yesterday:

C: Do it mommy! DO IT! (Rev the car up)

M: Sorry, it's too icy, and mommy's car doesn't do that.

C: Daddy did it.

M: Daddy revved the car?

C: Yep.

M: Oh really.

C: Yep. Do it mommy! DO IT! Daddy did it!

(Daddy insists he didn't. I'm not too sure.)

Walking by the diaper pail (gah, I know)

C: Ew! There's poopy in there! It's stinky in there! P.U.! (Waves hand in front of face)

She also insists that all the pillows and covers on our bed need to take up residence on the floor - several times a day. If I put anything back on the bed, my actions are met with an irate toddler staring at me. Who then waits until I leave the room to tear everything off the bed and toss it all on the floor anyway. I vacuumed an entire bag of dog hair off that floor yesterday so we should be good to have everything on the floor now. Gross.

She blames her farts on other people now too. Even if they are not present. She insists that it's Bailey who soils her diapers and not her. When she burps (which is as often as she can manage) she yells, " 'SCUZE ME!" and laughs like a lunatic. I'm kind of a fan of potty humor myself so there's not a lot of discipline there (sorry Auntie Hedder).

I think Santa is going to give her a little leeway since she is only two, but next year I have a feeling he's going to be sending an Elf our way to keep an eye on things.

Why I Need an Elf on MY Shelf

Santa accidentally sent a gift to the post office for me instead of to the North Pole. I was surprised to get the notice in the mailbox, but warmed up the car and brushed snow off it to make the trek to the post office to pick it up. Wouldn't want to inconvenience Santa by making him do extra work.

The lady was surprised to see me pick up a gift clearly marked for Santa, but since the address matched my ID, she let me take it home.
Where my curiosity got the better of me. Who would know if I peeked before Christmas? Santa made a terrible mistake of not sending an Elf to our house to sit on the shelf and watch goings-on. Or, perhaps he didn't since Cailin clearly doesn't need an Elf to watch her. Okay, maybe she does. At any rate, we don't have an Elf, therefore, no one would be able to tell on me if I did peek.
Just a little slice here in the tape.... No one's looking...
Just a little peek in the box. Oops, there's some paper in the way...
We'll just move that out of the road a bit there.... No one's going to be the wiser...
OOOOOHHHH!!! LOOKEEE!
A scoop coffee pot just for me!! Santa sure knows his stuff! Now I better put this all back in the box before anyone knows I looked. Now where did that box go?? It was right here a minute ago...
Oh. Busted.

Oh, Hi. I DO Have a Blog!

This was our attempt at a) Christmas card photo; b) hat modelling for my website; c) spreading the general cuteness around. Cailin is saying, "Look mommy! Two Carters!" in this picture. She knows how many "2" is. Carter says NOM! ARM! TASTY! (he's getting his first two teeth). He is modelling the teddy bear hat I made him. It's made out of pure 100% itchiness. Poor baby. I'm hoping a wash in copious amounts of fabric softener will help.

Things have been wild around here the last month. I've had my hands full with kids, Christmas preparations and starting a home business.
Carter had his 4 month shots. He's 16lbs 13oz, pretty tall and has a big head. Measuring in the 75th percentile for all. He cried for quite a while, but didn't react to his shots other than getting a tad hot/feverish later. He's a very happy camper, belly laughing and generally in a good mood. He has been sleeping all night again since starting rice cereal. He's loving the rice cereal; he makes all sorts of squeaks with his mouth wide open if I don't spoon it in there fast enough. Carter is just the sweetest happiest baby. He's now been playing in the Jumperoo.

We hit another milestone too. Cailin is now in a big girl bed. I sold her first toddler bed on Kijiji and ordered a pink sparkly racecar bed instead.

Last morning in her crib:
We actually got the bed at the right time. Cailin was able to climb into her crib by herself. She wasn't quite able to climb out by herself, but I'm sure it was forthcoming. At any rate, she would fill her crib to the rafters with every stuffed animal she could find then climb up and jump in like a weird ball pit. Then of course get stuck and demand OUT quite loudly while jumping around like a crazy person.

I kept telling her she was getting a new bed and showing her pictures of it online to get her excited. She seemed to understand she was getting a new bed, but wasn't excited until it came in a big box one morning (a week early!). She helped by hiding the various pieces under the crib and using the screwdrivers before hiding them in the couch.

It wasn't too hard to put together and finally:
She transitioned without any issues at all. I put a spinny doorknob childproof thingy on the door and she went to sleep without getting out of her room and playing in the middle of the night. Although one morning she came downstairs and scared the poo out of me - holding the door spinny thing in two pieces. "Hi mommy. It's broken. Throw in garbage?" I taped the crap out of it and she hasn't been able to escape since.

I'm pretty sure she dreams up interesting things to tell me when I open her door in the morning. This morning she greeted me and said, "Daddy's truck has hemi." Why, yes it does. She surprises me with this stuff all the time.

Cailin has been able to play outside here and there this winter. She really enjoys it. Especially when Bailey is out there with her running around.So anyways, I'm making crocheted hats and selling them online. I've had a whole bunch of orders since opening my virtual doors almost a month ago - almost 60 hats have been made/sold/shipped/waiting for pickup since then. I'm very excited about it. Unfortunately I've also been running myself ragged tackling the Christmas orders. I'm down to 2 hats now that have to be made before Christmas. I still need to update my website with the newest hats, but here it is Sock Monkey Hats by Krystal. There's a link to my Facebook page on there too.

I've met some very cool ladies - and ordered a couple neat items from another online store. Carter is getting a froggy cart cover (well, both kids can use it, really) and Cailin is getting a Thomas the Tank Engine blanket. In the past whenever I've told her about something she's getting (ie her bed) she hasn't been all that interested or excited. When I asked her if she wanted a Thomas blankie today, she went ape! She asked for it many times over today and looked in the dryer, shower, closets and toy box for the Thomas blankie. I can't wait to pick it up tomorrow.

I am working on Hello Kitty hats and a rainbow monkey hat tonight. I better get after it! Good thing I have a box of chocolates to keep me company...

Happy 2nd Birthday Odin!

Our sweet little Odin turned two today. Two years ago he was born on Friday the 13th, the first grandson and our only nephew. We love him to bits!

Yesterday we packed the kids up and loaded them in the truck with sippy cups, toys and snacks galore. Then we drove up to B.C. to spend the day with Odin and family for his birthday party. It was snowing a bit here and there, but soon cleared up and it was a good drive.

Cailin was painfully shy to start with, but after a while of Papa snuggles, she joined in and played with the kids. They ran all over the house and had a great time.

There was cookies, cupcakes and happy kids (of course!).

We had a great time visiting, and the birthday boy was so funny. He got some cars and didn't want to share his new Jeep very badly, especially not with Gracie.

Cailin cried when we left, she wanted to keep visiting with her cousins. I wish we lived closer! The kids really enjoy their time together. Cailin sang songs about Odin on the way home and wished him a happy birthday over and over. I wish he had gotten to hear it from her himself!

So happy birthday Odin, from Auntie, Uncle, Cailin, Carter and Bailey. We love you!

Happy Howl-oween!

Halloween was no big deal this year. I have to admit I've been a big preoccupied what with having a three month old and all. Also it may have something to do with the feisty and sometimes assertive (ahem) two year old we're trying to parent. I wasn't even sure we were going to do anything other than retreat (treat! get it?) to Nana's and eat her candy stash while hiding from trick-or-treaters. Luckily my friend Shelley invited us over and bribed us with pizza. We took our two year old girls around the block for a quick trick-or-treat then beat a hasty retreat (treat! oh, never mind...) back to her house for supper. The guys stayed behind and watched Carter. He slept the entire time.

Cailin reused her strawberry costume from last year:
It ain't gonna fit next year. She can manage to squeeze the hat on, but I'm sure it pinches her head so bad she can't remember her dad while she wears it. I'm glad a hoodie fit under it though. It wasn't all that cold out, but the wind was freezing so we didn't stay out for long. Just long enough to get some cute pictures of the girls and a surprisingly large amount of candy. Cailin wasn't feeling assertive, but rather shy and hung back from the doorways and refused to say 'trick-or-treat'. Or anything at all. She tucked her hands into the costume to stay warm and obediently followed us around. Aside from one house that had gravel Cailin got excited to play in, she didn't take her hands out. It was funny how both girls dropped everything to play with rocks. Fisher Price ain't got nothin' on rocks. Or sticks.

Not to be outdone, Carter dressed up too:
Heh, that's Cailin's shirt from two years ago. Mr. Smiley Pants looked adorable in it, even if it did have a little too much purple glitter on it for his dad's liking. He chilled out with the guys while we ran around in the wind and watched a little hockey. His first Halloween was a success.

For our own trick-or-treaters, I put a bowl of candy out on the front step. I hoped that would prevent anyone from ringing the doorbell and stressing Bailey out. As it was, she was hiding downstairs when we got home. I wonder what happened to make her do that? Also, only half the bowl of candy was gone. Since we don't get many kids over on Halloween I'm guessing it was either one or two greedy kids, or a bunch of very polite kids. I was hoping they would relieve me of the entire lot, but alas now I have the arduous task of eating all those sugar bombs myself.

As for Cailin's trick-or-treating horde, I put that in a bowl up in the cupboard and it's being used for potty training bribery purposes. She refuses to sit on the potty these days. Today I got her to sit on there three times for the price of a sucker and a few rocket candies. She told me a few times she had to pee, so looks like we're getting on track. She can easily do all the steps needed to use the potty all by herself so I hope it goes okay.

Carter is now three months old! I can't believe the time is going by so fast. In another month he might be ready to play in the Jumperoo and have a taste of rice cereal. It's crazy. He's growing like a weed, around 16lbs now, and he sleeps all night.

Cailin is also growing a bit. She hit 25lbs and is out of her 18 month pants. They still fit around the waist, but they are way too short. Kinda looks like she's expecting a flood at any moment. We're struggling with her 24 month pants. They are too long and too big around the waist. Most of them have adjustable waists, but even those don't go small enough. Back to the farmer rolls. Her shirts are size 3 now. I can't believe how fast my children are growing before my very eyes.

The house is still working out well for us. With the great purge of aught '11, we now have lots of room to play downstairs. Cailin spends her evenings going up and down the stairs to play on both levels. One of her favorite things to do right now is lay in our bed with the iPad and watch youtube or play Angry Birds. Unfortunately I'm not too keen on the snacks she insists on eating in there. I try to talk her into eating crackers on her father's side of the bed. As a side note, if I find one more goldfish cracker in that bed, I'm so firing the dog. Also? I'm getting pretty tired of the Nutella* found in random places on my WHITE bedding. Also also? Nutella doesn't look too healthy when you first catch sight of it out of the corner of your eye when it's smeared on the bedspread. With Bailey and a kid in a diaper, you can never be too sure. Anyways, moving on.

So it's November now and it's cold out. The house is cold and I'm a complete wimp. You would never know I spent 8 winters of my life working outside. I'm not looking forward to this winter at all, but a strange thing is happening to me. I'm actually starting to look forward to decorating for Christmas. Must have something to do with paring the Christmas decorations down to two boxes and being completely organized. I'm also looking forward to seeing the wonders of the season through Cailin's eyes, and Carter's too for that matter. I'm doing all my shopping online and avoiding crowds, and I'm making presents in my spare time. I think it's going to be a lovely holiday.

*for those of you not familiar with the deliciousness that is Nutella, it is a chocolate hazelnut spread not unlike peanut butter. Except for the chocolate and hazelnut part of course.

Baby in a Basket

This is Cailin when she was just a wee sprout, about two months old. I put her in this wicker basket with her knitted hospital hat and did a big photoshoot with her. Her hat was a bit small, but it looked so cute on her. I took so many pictures and put a billion of them on Facebook. There are many framed pictures of that shoot up all over the house.

A few days ago it was Carter's turn. He went in the same basket, but there was no way his knitted hospital hat would ever fit on his head now, so I just fluffed up his hair. Of course this photoshoot was different because I had two assistants helping me. Cailin and Bailey were fantastic baby-distraction-ers. They also spent a lot of time hanging out in my natural light source from the window. That is, when they weren't laying around on the mat under the kitchen sink:
Those two troublemakers really are best friends and they are never far apart. Bailey still sleeps outside Cailin's door waiting for her to get up in the mornings and they spend their days tearing around the house chasing each other. And generally making a lot of noise.

Carter is getting very smiley and talks a lot these days. He chats away happily and falls asleep with a little smile on his face. He is truly the sweetest baby I have ever seen.
Cailin insists on calling him "Buddy". It's hilarious. Everything is Buddy's - Buddy bath, Buddy blankie, Buddy jammies. When he cries, she makes sure to tell him, "It's okay, Buddy."

We had another busy day today. I think Bailey rolled in cat poop (I'm not that interested to really check too hard) and then rolled around in our bed at my absolute horror. Needless to say I washed/changed/fumigated our room so fast it blew everybody's hair back. Cailin helped me do laundry by stuffing clean and previously folded clothes into the dryer. So helpful!

We cleaned here and there. Did a little shopping at Walmart and got some groceries. Nana bought Cailin a beautiful winter coat, but it wasn't received well. I'm hoping she likes her coat better when she doesn't have toothpaste on her shirt and is upset about it.

Cinnamon buns anyone? Looks like we need more brown sugar!

Thanksgiving, Two Month Shots and Such

Thanksgiving was wonderful. It was nice to see everyone and eat my weight in baked goods. This year I'm so thankful for my healthy children, my family and our lifestyle. There are so many people who aren't as blessed as we are with what we have. I try not to take that for granted.

Cailin, Grace and Odin played together all weekend. They are going to be a little gang of troublemakers when they get older, I can already tell. The girls kept locking Odin in the closet and he would cry, Grace would blame Cailin and they'd all march back into the closet to do it over again. They absolutely love playing in Nana's office, especially now with the addition of a very interesting and fun futon. Let the games begin!

Grace loves Carter. She asks me if she can take care of him and wants to hold him. She's quite the mother hen and always lets me know exactly what Cailin, Odin and Bailey are up to at any given moment.

Cailin had so much fun playing with her cousins that she cried when they left to go home. For days after she asked if they went home in (Uncle) Dustin's orange truck to 'go sleepy nap bed'. She's been practising their names since then, saying them over and over and ending with "go home". Apparently my brother's new name is 'Uncle Dustin Orange Truck'. Heh.

It snuck up on me pretty fast, but the day dawned for Carter's two month shots and checkup. Since it was impossible to book him in for his shots in town, I had to book them in a tiny town about 20 minutes from home, halfway between here and Beaver City. His four month shots have been booked (three months in advance) in Beaver City and I'm very glad I won't be taking Cailin with me for those.

Cailin is a very sensitive and sympathetic soul. She started crying the moment we got into the teeny tiny health clinic (which is actually an old converted house slash seniors' hall). She cried the whole time we were in there, reaching maximum pitch when Carter got his three needles and joined in for the chorus (so to speak). I was under the impression that going through needles with the second baby would be a lot easier than the first. Ha. When both my babies were screaming and the tears were flowing, I almost felt like joining in. However, it didn't last that long and we were able to get out of there in a timely manner. Cailin stopped crying once we were outside.

Of course once she was buckled in, Cailin demanded to go see Nana. I obliged since it had been such a stressful morning. On the bright side, Carter did not have any side effects from the shots. No swelling, no fever, no crankiness, no being sick. Unlike some other eldest children. Ahem, Cailin.

Carter's stats:

Weight: 14 lbs, 12 oz

Height: um, the nurse said it was 21", but he was curled up and was 23" tall at his 6 week checkup so I'm going with that.

Head: Pretty big

95th percentile for head and weight, and according to her botched measurement, 10th percentile for height. So the prognosis was that he's short and fat with a big head. But the height is off, so I'm gonna say he's 95 percentile across the board. Big healthy boy!

At any rate, Carter is sleeping through the night, eating very well and hardly ever fusses. He is such a good baby. I have no idea how I lucked out twice.

Other updates:

Cailin finally got her last eyetooth (again), and hopefully it stays out this time.

Bailey has a sore eye today and I have no idea how that came to be.

Carter is in size 3 diapers! Holy cow!

It took about 10 days, but the basement is completely purged, organized and clean. I did stay up til 5am to get the bulk of it done a few days ago. I can't explain how big a weight has been lifted off my shoulders having that done. Five truck loads of stuff left our house - donations and junk. I did the upstairs a few weeks ago, and it only took two days. Everything in our house now has a place, and it makes the tidying up so easy and quick. Carter's room is the playroom for now, and it's organized. He's got a queen sized bed in there at the moment for guests and such. After much thinking and angst, it suddenly dawned on me that he doesn't need a twin bed in there eventually - he's already got a bed. It's a big bed, but a nice bed. So I ordered a jungle comforter for it for Christmas. No need to try and make a guest room out of the (now organized) storage room. Guests can simply use Carter's room for now. Hope they like jungle animals.

Cailin is talking up a storm. Take this conversation we had this morning for example:

Cailin: What horsie say?

Me: Neigh.

Cailin: No, mommy! Horsie say WOOF! *laughs hysterically*

Cailin: Mommy, what horsie eat?

Me: Hay, or grass.

Cailin: Mommy, no! Horsie eat cars! *laughs hysterically*

Cailin: Piggy say oink!

Me: That's right! What does horsie say?

Cailin: WOOF! *laughs hysterically*

Cailin: Where daddy go?

Me: He went to work

Cailin: *twinkle in her eye* No, he went to the store!

Me: No, he's at work

Cailin: He went to bed! Sleepy nappy!

Me: Work.

Cailin: Store! *laughs hysterically*

Seeing a pattern here?

Cailin also knows how to work the iPad flawlessly and uses it to play Angry Birds and watch puppy videos on youtube.

While working on the basement, we've been leaving the baby gate down and Cailin has had free reign in the house. She loves it. While we're not letting her be downstairs without one of us there, she's been having a lot of fun. For a lot of the time I was slaving around in the storage room (upgraded to Storage Room of Mild Disarray), she would lay in our bed playing iPad games with her ever-present bowl of popcorn. Which leads me to my next point.

This kid doesn't eat anything anymore. At best we can get 2 glasses of milk into her, a couple crackers and maybe some cheese and toast per day. Maybe some meat, but always popcorn. I know they go through stages of not eating, but it's never easy to watch.

Cailin slammed the door shut on me yesterday when I took garbage out to the bin. I watched the door slam and then she was able to reach the deadbolt just enough to lock me out. Thankfully the neighbor was outside and graciously let me use his phone to call Ryan. Who didn't have his phone on him. I left him a couple messages while trying to convince Cailin to open the door for me. She cried and begged me to open the door. I told her I couldn't, she would have to be a big girl and do it for me. She got frazzled and upset. She tried her hardest to flip the deadbolt, but once it had turned a bit more (in the right direction even!) she could no longer reach it. I asked her to get her stool from the bathroom and she ran off to comply. She brought back a butterfly hairclip. Gee.

It was a gruelling 30 minutes as I waited outside for Ryan to get my messages and come home. Cailin and Bailey pulled a chair up to the counter, watched the breadmaker churn away at pizza dough and helped themselves to a bowl of popcorn. Watching Cailin and the dog eat/lick/bat popcorn pieces off the counter was almost funny if it wasn't for the circumstances.

After a while she gave up on the breadmaker, popcorn, trying to unlock the door and me in general and sat on the couch watching youtube on the iPad. Carter had cried off and on, but mostly slept through the ordeal. Ryan showed up with a key and everything was good.

I will say this though, our house is like Fort Knox. Every window had a doweling in it and was latched and locked, and all the doors were locked. With the alarm system on top of that, I feel quite safe.

It was Nana's birthday last weekend and we went out for a fire and pizza. Cailin played outside like crazy and had a great time. I brought cinnamon buns (a little overcooked, oops) and it was such a good day. Cailin ate loads of brown sugar and cinnamon helping me bake. She brings me the sugar bag and asks for some sugar. Funny!

We've had quite the month so far. It's been very busy, but good. I'm looking forward to settling down now and just living day to day with the kids.

August Updates

Carter is now three weeks old! The days are flying by way too fast. What passed for summer around here is fading into fall - sunshiny days with brisk winds and earlier sunsets. My sweet little Carter is growing before my very eyes. Our special nickname for him is Buddy and that's mostly how we refer to him - even Cailin calls him Buddy.

Carter is such a sweet and calm baby. He doesn't fuss very often and sleeps very well. So far we've only had one night where he wasn't too interested in sleep, but quietly observed his surroundings instead. Of course he likes to be held, but doesn't mind being put in his bassinet for a sleep either. Some nights we get up every two hours, but mostly he's been waking every three hours to eat. One night we even went four hours between feedings.

I'm healing up from my c-section fairly well. Once in a while I'll think I'm farther along in the healing than I really am and over extend myself. Today I'm taking it very easy as a result. Other than that, I'm feeling very good and can get in and out of bed with no pain. That's a huge bonus when I get up with Carter. I've been tired the last few days, but I'm expecting to catch up on some missed sleep in the next few days.

We've been out at the farm now for two weeks. It really doesn't feel that long! We started out by camping here for Mom and Dad's 30th anniversary a few weekends ago - and I never went home. I'm unable to take care of Cailin by myself, so she's been out here with a swarm of grandparents to look after her. I had a choice - I could be home by myself with Carter or I could stay at the farm too. I chose to stay. It's been a great system. Carter, Bailey and I take up residence in the guest room downstairs, and I only have to worry about caring for the baby. Mom and GG wrangle Cailin during the day (with a little help from Papa Ray) and Papa takes a turn in the evenings. She is extremely well cared for, and extremely lucky to have all those grandparents doting on her.

Since Ryan is on days off tomorrow, we will be packing up the kids and dog and heading home. I'll be glad to get there and get a routine going, but I'm going to really miss being at the farm with everyone. It's been a great time with lots of visiting and playing with Cailin and getting to know Carter.

I just so appreciate all the help that has been given to us (and especially me) in the last while. Thank you to Mom and Dad, and GG and Papa Ray for taking such good care of us. There aren't enough words to say the kind of thank you I want to portray for your efforts. From the big things like taking care of Cailin and walking Bailey when I wasn't able to, to bringing me a water - it's all appreciated more than you could possibly know. Thank you so much.

Family Sunday

GramE is visiting in our neck of the woods and I was lucky enough to get to pick her up on Sunday for family dinner in the great Beaver City (Beaverlodge for you non-locals). Cailin laughed the whole drive out and was incredibly cheerful for having had her nap interrupted.

We had a wonderful visit with lots of catching up and drinking of tea. Dinner was wonderful too. After we ate more than was good for us (well, me especially, can't speak for everyone) we piled up in Ryan's pickup and drove out Valhalla way.

I worked at the Valhalla facility for a long time - a teeny oil battery/gas plant just north of Valhalla Center. I knew my dad's side of the family was from around in that area, but I never knew just where. I did think it was pretty cool that I worked in the same place my great grandparents all grew up.

I have always wondered where my great grandparents were laid to rest, and I got to find out. GramE led us to a tiny cemetery hidden in the woods. The church she attended as a girl is no longer standing, but the foundation is still there. Moss is growing on the floor inside the church and the chimney has long since fallen. I took a small piece of brick from the site and brought it home. A keepsake of my heritage. Here's GramE standing at the corner of the church by the foundation:
My great-grandparents are laid to rest under a beautiful tree, side by side. For family members who want close ups of their names, please let me know.
This was another grave, I'm not sure if it belongs to a relation or not. The cemetery was so beautiful and peaceful. This is at about 9pm and the sun was starting to think about going down.
We rounded the trip out by driving by the house that GramE was born and raised in. The house is still there, and I wish I could have gotten closer to explore it and take a better picture.
However, the old farmyard is now in the middle of the new farmyard and right beside the current owners' house. While they would more than likely enjoy showing us around, the yard was terribly muddy and it's rude to make ruts when unnecessary.

I really enjoyed our visit and seeing where my family is from. Now that I know where my great-grandparents are, I'd like to visit again.

Thank you for everything, GramE.

A Happy Reunion

So yesterday was kind of a hairy day. Cailin was wild, at best, for most of the day. Even taking her outside to blow off steam didn't stem the energy she was expelling. Bailey too was a little on the eccentric side, pacing and running about the house and yard, never settling in one spot for too long.

It was like they knew Ryan was on his way home.

I was pulling my hair out by suppertime. The kid and dog were doing laps around the house making as much noise as they possibly could make. I wondered a few times how creatures so much on the small side could produce the cacophony my eardrums were being subjected to.

Finally the hours ticked down and it was getting time to ready ourselves to pick Daddy up from the airport. Then he texted that the plane was delayed by 30 minutes. Not a huge deal, but that's another half hour Cailin would be up past her bedtime. Already acting like a monkey on glue, I wasn't sure how the walls would remain standing if she was up too late again.

I put up with their antics for a while yet, then gathered my pajama-clad dynamo and went to drop off movies before getting Daddy. I sighed in frustration looking at the clock. We still had 25 minutes to burn before Daddy even got off the plane. Going against my better judgement, I let the Smartie loose in the movie store. Oh boy.

You know that kid in the movie store that runs around crazy and tosses DVDs and candy everywhere, begs for chips and gets into everything and you think, "Lordy, I'm glad that's not my child"? Or perhaps, "Where is your mother"? Well, that was my child last night. She ran around collecting movies and tossing them around while I waddled and puffed after her, picked up her mess and waddled and puffed after her some more. Thank goodness she's cute and everyone thought she was hilarious. I did get some pitying looks though. Maybe because my pants were ill-fitting?

We managed to survive the DVD fury that was, got one movie out of the deal (free rental, woot!) and got strapped back into the carseat with only a little sweat on my brow. At which point Ryan called and said he had landed - apparently the pilot had really put a fire under it and they were only 15 minutes late instead of the proposed half hour. He suggested parking outside the door and he'd run out to the pickup so we didn't have to come in. I readily agreed, not too eager to release the Smartie in the airport after all. Security and such, you understand.

I had grand dreams of waiting for Daddy while the plane landed and sharing a beautiful family reunion in the bustle of the airport, but hey, sometimes real life happens. And this little beauty? Was on rampage mode.

Daddy was able to get out to the pickup before anyone threatened me with a towing, and was Cailin ever happy to see him! She talked to him all the way home, dancing and wiggling in her seat. Once we got home, I expected Bailey to be all over Ryan like white on rice. She politely wagged her tail a bit at him, and that was his entire greeting. She remained glued to my ankles instead. I had hoped that his homecoming would calm her unsettled behavior of the past week.

Daddy brought a few treasures home with him for Cailin. The first was his Care Bear from when he was a little boy back in Nova Scotia. Cailin took a liking to Care Bear right away. She made sure he was sitting upright, and packed him around the basement. When we asked her to give him kisses, she hugged him tight and gave him kisses:
She doesn't usually give kisses on command, so we thought that was pretty cool. Looks like she and Care Bear are going to be fast friends. In fact, when she did deign to go to bed (at 11:30pm oh my) she took Care Bear with her.

She also got a couple dinky cars - big rigs - that she played with instantly. Cailin's favorite though, had to be the book that plays music. Ryan got it when he was just a baby, and it still works! She sat in the suitcase and danced to the music as she leafed through the book.

Ryan was able to find his John Deere tractors and accessories, and got them shipped out from his grandparents' place. He marvelled over how he had played with these toys as a boy and how his son would play with them soon. I'm thinking Jellybean will have to fight Cailin for the tractors; she loves playing with cars and such.

Cailin has decided that next time Daddy goes somewhere, he's gonna be taking her too:
We're so glad that Daddy had such a good time while he was away. We're even happier that he's home!

Birthday & Mother's Day Weekend

First of all, thank you everyone for your birthday wishes and your Happy Mother's Day greetings. They were all so very appreciated!

Cailin didn't feel good in the wee hours of Friday morning so we spent some snuggle time in the chair in her room until she could go back to sleep. Luckily she slept in a little. I didn't so much, I was excited for the day to start.

I bought a new cake pan a while back and decided to try it out for making my birthday cake. Now, I'm not sure why Cailin and Bailey act up when I bake 'serious' cakes, but they sure kick up a fuss. They handle regular baking with ease - muffins, cupcakes, cookies and cakes that don't require much/any icing or decorating. But alas, Friday morning found me frantically trying to manage a new cake recipe on its maiden voyage in my kitchen while wrangling an angry toddler and unmanageable puggle. I don't know how they know, but they know how to lay it on really thick.

Cailin really wanted to crack an egg and I just didn't want to handle the mess and that started her meltdown. At any rate, the cake batter went together nicely, and baked up just right. Maiden voyage a success! To ease Cailin's baking-fury, I unplugged the big mixer and let her spoon bits of icing off the beater with her finger. It kept her busy while I pulled the cake out of the oven and cleaned the tornado that had somehow hit my kitchen. And yes, I'm still waiting for my Mother of the Year Award. It should be coming in the mail any day now.

One horrifying kitchen mess aggravated by toddler help plus underfoot dog made for a not very happy mommy - but once Cailin was escorted to an early nap (she needed it) I sat down with my icing and finished the cake up:
Ta da! Orange blossom cake with classic vanilla buttercream icing. I was expecting the cake part to taste a lot more orange-y, but the flavor was pretty subtle. Everyone loved it, so I'm happy.

After her nap, I packed Cailin a picnic lunch to eat in the car and headed out to the farm. She loves having her lunch in a little tupperware container and she ate the whole thing! GG and Papa Ray were there waiting for us when we arrived. Of course, Bailey got to go too, and the second we hit the farm's driveway she mellowed right out. Not a bit of her morning mood or status came through.

It took Cailin a little bit before she warmed up to GG and Papa Ray, but once she did, they were in trouble. She's got them both tied around her little finger. She played with GG like crazy before we ventured outside to play. Nana got a new lawn tractor and Cailin loved to sit on it and 'steer' with the steering arms.
We played outside until suppertime. Cailin was such a stinker at the dinner table, teasing Papa Ray by putting her feet up on the table until he would tickle them. Then she was stealing his napkins and throwing them on the floor. Dad was eyeballing my birthday cake and asked if we were going to dig into it. Since Cailin had been begging for cake all day, I didn't see why we'd wait, even if it wasn't my birthday until the next day.

Cailin entertained us until I realized how late it was. Mom suggested that we both stay over to avoid the long drive home. I agreed since I'm all for avoiding deer and moose on the highway like the plague.

Bedtime started out promising enough. Cailin refused to lay down in the playpen while I was in the room with her, so I rocked her to sleep. I made sure she was sleeping hard before I put her down. At 2:30am, she woke up crying. I picked her up and proceeded to try to rock her back to sleep like before. Ha, ha. Not so much. After a while, I relented and put her in the big bed with me. She proceeded to kick me and elbow me while she flailed around trying to get comfortable. After a while she got off the bed and starting winging toys around, laughing like crazy when they would bounce off of me. She talked loudly during this whole session, and her favorite phrase was to ask me if 'B went poopoo outside.' Did I mention Bailey was also in the bed with us? Yeah.

Eventually Cailin woke Bella up and she started meeping to get out of her kennel. Nana got up to walk her and Cailin started calling for Nana quite loudly. I tried to keep her laying down on the bed, but it just wasn't happening. That kid was so happy and so excited to be at Nana and Papa's that she simply could not sleep.

After a few things hit my forehead, including my Blackberry, I made her get back on the bed. I was trying to doze a little bit between watching her out of my one cracked eyelid. She managed to get the lid off the Gaviscon bottle and pour them out in the bed. I put them back in the bottle and let her out of the room. She wanted to see Buster and Bella, so I opened the office door and there was Nana, trying to shush the dogs. Cailin was so loud she had woken them up. So I walked the dogs with the sun rising across the field and Nana had a cup of tea. It was 5:30am.

I was tired. No bones about it. After she had been up for a while yet, Cailin started yawning like crazy and I took her back to bed. She brought a noisy toy into bed to play with and I laid down and tried to doze again amidst some annoying toy noises. I woke in a panic realizing that Cailin was being quiet. She was sleeping next to me on the pillow, snoring softly. Bailey was snoring at my feet. Every time I wiggled away from Cailin she would snuggle right back up to me. We fell asleep snuggling in a pile with Bailey. I had a nap until ten.

I got up to a glorious morning and coffee on the deck. I left Cailin sleeping on the pillow and went to greet my 30th birthday. It was going to be a beautiful day. Cailin slept til eleven or so, and we had A&W for birthday lunch. I'm not proud to say she had a cookie and french fries with some milkshake for breakfast. Again, Mother of the Year Award is in the mail.

At any rate, there was lots of playing outside and walking around the farm. The Papas got to work building Cailin's playhouse that Nana had bought for her birthday next month. Ryan came out with my birthday present - a brand new polarized filter for my camera. I tried it out a lot over the next few days, but this one is my favorite:
Eventually Cailin went for a nap, it rained a bunch and Nana and Papa made birthday supper. Steaks and potatoes and veggies oh my! There was hockey watching, dining with good family friends and more pictures. Cailin got coated in icing from the leftover cake and was escorted immediately to the tub after dinner. She got the sillies and really performed for us again. Since she was sporting a bit of a cold (and still is) I decided to take her home for a good night's sleep. We both needed it. I was scared to try to sleep in the same room with her again.

It was such a good day, I was sad for it to be over. But the next day was Mother's Day, so I was looking forward to that too.

We got up late in the morning to go to Mother's Day brunch with family friends. When we got to the hotel restaurant it was a complete zoo. They had opened up a conference room for the reservation-ed people and it was packed. The line for the buffet wound around the room through the tables and nearly touched the back wall. There was a 45 minute wait for food. Eventually the line got as short as it was going to get, and I lined up to dish myself and Cailin some food. She hung back at the table with Nana and Papa and Daddy. 35 long minutes later and full of rage from the woman-behind-me's unnecessary comments, I made it back to the table and fed Cailin and myself some sadly mediocre brunch food. The line had gotten long again in my absence. Ryan, Mom and Dad refused to stand in the line for pricey substandard food and I felt really bad that only Cailin and I had gotten to eat.

I was absolutely disgusted with the whole ordeal and I wish I had known that no one else was going to eat. We could have and should have left! But we did enjoy visiting with the family friends that were with us, so there was that. When we did finally leave, the hallways were lined with people on either side right back to the lobby entrance waiting to get a table. What a fiasco. Never again. We're doing Father's Day brunch at the farm and avoiding the hell that was.

Cailin and I caught a ride out to the farm with Nana and Papa and were really glad to see GG and Papa Ray again. Cailin loves them, and went crazy showing off for them in her own way. Poor Ryan had to go in to work, so while we waited for him we walked dogs (Bailey had stayed home) and played outside. Eventually Cailin asked Nana to put her down for a nap and went without a peep.

During her nap the Papas loaded up her new playhouse on the trailer and drove it to its new location by the deck and patio. I chose a spot against the lovely pine tree. We were excited for Cailin to wake up and check it out. It didn't take long before she was up and out there exploring her new house. She carefully figured out how to work the door and its tricky spring loaded hinges. She played with the taps and sink, toted the phone around and definitely worked over the doorbell. At one point she convinced GG to come inside with her and thought it was hilarious that GG did!
We had another lovely dinner and an all-round great day. Cailin grabbed Papa Ray's finger and lead him to the playpen where he was supposed to stand around and watch her jump for an indeterminate amount of time. Which he did. She thought it was hilarious. They played in the living room with the car seat for a long time too.

We missed having Uncle Duster, Auntie Hedder and the cousins around, but can't wait for the weekend that we can all get together and share the farm with everyone. The kids are going to have so much fun playing on the extensive lawn (get mowing Nana!) and harassing Papa for rides in the Ranger. The next big event is Cailin's 2nd Birthday and it will be at the farm next month. Can't wait!

We said some sad goodbyes since GG and Papa Ray were heading home the next morning. We headed home ourselves and all slept in really late - except Ryan since he had to work.

We rolled out of bed, had a leisurely breakfast and rolled over to the playground in the new stroller. Cailin has no clue what a playground is. She didn't like the swings much, but the slide was pretty fun.

After nap and lunch, I finally put her water table together. No sooner than it was together and right side up, Cailin climbed aboard, sat in it and played with toys. I removed her from the table and filled it with water. She stared at me in disbelief - then a smile spread across her face as wide as it would go. Her little face beamed as she realized that yes, she was allowed to play in all that glorious water. And she did.

We had a nice little Monday. Missing you already GG and Papa Ray. Thank you so much for the fun and gifts and everything this weekend and all the hard work on Cailin's playhouse!

Happy Birthday Uncle Duster!

Dear Uncle Duster,

Cailin wants to wish you - her very favorite Uncle - the bestest birthday ever! Hope you had a great birthday - and I'm pretty sure you did, since the Canucks won the game tonight and you got cake and pizza. Mmmm, cake and pizza....

Wish we were there to help celebrate, and it did cross my mind to jump in the car and drive up for the day... That is, until your dear niece decided to desecrate my clean clothes and easy chair (and herself) with early morning toddler barf action.

Instead, we spent the day as far away from her room as possible. Namely, we went to the bank and then to the shoe store for much needed sandals. Cailin wasn't quite herself though, and even a quick trip into the pet store to oogle the puppies didn't help much. She really liked the Chocolate Lab pups though. Why yes, I did think of getting you one! Either that or the bulldog. He was really cute and oh! so wrinkly.

However, after eating until I was sure she would pop (again), and a long nap, Cailin felt like herself. Enough to walk all the way to the grocery store on her own two feet (in her new shoes). She did ride in the stroller on the way back though and we still had to stop and oogle all the puppies we saw.

You would laugh at her antics. Cailin loves to sit in the new truck and start it/shut if off, run the wipers (even the washer fluid), lock and unlock the doors, run the radio.... She can't reach the brake pedal so shifting isn't so easy, but she knows how to put the truck in gear too.

You would have laughed at me scrubbing barf out of the easy chair too - then dumping half a bottle of Febreeze on it, opening the window and walking away. Twice.

So I thought about you lots on your birthday, wishing we were there too. I'm glad we got to text each other all afternoon. I miss you and can't wait to spend more time with you and the family this summer. Beaver City awaits!

Happy happy joy joy! 29 For-evah!

Happy Birthday Gramma!

Dear Gramma,

Before you were GG to our kids, you were Gramma to us. But the love is still the same. I love watching you with our kids; your great-grandkids - and I remember what it was like to grow up right beside you and Grampa. We were luckier than any two grandkids could ever be. We had the entire world at our fingertips to explore (or at least ten acres) and you to lead us through it.

You were always there after school, waiting for us to get off the bus. I can't tell you how much we looked forward to brushing off the school day as we took off our coats and dived into the snacks you had ready for us. I remember all the baking, and crafts and effort you poured into us. We might not have understood it then, but thank you for all your mentoring and coaching on homework and school projects and the much debated Practising of the Piano.

I loved the long summer days we would spend with you. The endless sun drenched days spread out before us eternally to September. Sleeping in the tent, joyfully not practising piano (all that much) and eating copious amounts of french toast - always prepared when demanded without a word of complaint. Playing outside on the slip and slide while you manned the hose. Being forced to wear sunscreen when I would rather not. Being booted outside when having spent too much time inside the house watching cartoons. I look back now and realize how much I enjoyed and loved every minute.

I have the fondest memories of your birthdays growing up. It always felt so festive, and a great prelude to Dustin's birthday as well. Usually the weather had taken a turn for spring and was most welcome after the long winter. I loved having the family get together, playing outside with the cousins. And the cake of course, and usually chinese food too. But mostly I loved being with you on your birthday.

Remember the year you turned 60 and there was a sign by the road to tell people to honk at you? That was really funny and I remember how much you enjoyed that.

I feel sad that we haven't been able to take part in your birthday as much these past few years. It really is true what they say about having a family and responsibilities. Sometimes (or a lot of times) work and kids get in the way, but I thought a lot about you today as I went about my chores and caring for my little family. I hope to get together soon to celebrate though!

Today was the first truly magnificent sunny day of spring, most fitting for a much loved Gramma. I just want to say how much I love you, and ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAMMA!!

Love,

Kryssy

Easter Saturday

We celebrated Easter on Saturday this year. The weather was beautiful and we spent most of the day outside at Nana and Papa's. The yard is materializing out of the melting snowbanks and we're getting the lay of the land. There's a lot of grass for the kids to play on and explore (and also for Nana to mow). The patio area along the side of the house (facing the shop) is a perfect place to sit in the sun. Cailin spent a lot of time with us there, playing with her Easter presents (and Jellybean's as well). She got a Fur Real puppy in a purse and Jellybean got a baby tool pouch. Cailin loves them both.

The grandkids got a kid-sized bench for their sitting convenience and Cailin absolutely loved it. She sat on the bench beside Papa and chatted him up. They played in the kiddie car and raced around the sidewalks. She had such a great time.

I didn't realize how much water would be on the lawn and Cailin soaked her boots through in short order, but refused to go inside. She helped Papa break up more of the snowbanks and spread the snow around so it would melt faster. She especially loved it when he would pick up a lump of snow and smash it on the sidewalk to melt. There was fits of giggles coming from the yard while they threw snow around. Cailin hikes around and keeps herself fairly busy in the yard, but is never far from Papa.

Of course Bailey got to come too, and we spent a lot of time walking around the yard exploring and checking things out. Once Cailin's feet were too wet and cold to continue, we went in the house for a snack. Then we set up the new stroller and went for a walk with Nana. Cailin got to wear her ladybug slippers since her boots were sopping wet. Bailey was so happy to be outside walking. She sniffed tracks and had a wonderful time. We were startled by a wild chicken crashing around in the bush, which was kind of funny. He looked like he wasn't all that smart. Bailey didn't even notice him. That doesn't say much about how observant she is.

At any rate, sun was shining, the birds were singing and along the side of the shop, grass is growing:
Real, green, delightful grass. I'm so excited that the snow is almost gone and nicer weather is finally here. The trees are also starting to bud, and the pussy willows are out too.
We walked down the road for quite a while, then turned back and headed for the shop. Cailin wasn't quite ready to go in, but since she was wearing slippers, we didn't allow her to get out of the stroller. She talked Papa into taking her for a ride in the Ranger with Nana. The three of them scooted around having a great time. Ryan got the Rhino out and Bailey and I jumped in to go for a quick ride. Bailey wasn't sure what to think at first, but once she was able to stand a couple feet in my lap, she loved it. She relaxed and rode like a champ. It was a lot of fun.

That lasted for all of three minutes. Ryan headed out for the field. Now it stands to reason that if the lawn (the grass covered lawn) is as wet as it is, that the field is not going to be all that dry. Sure, the top layer looks dry-ish. But under that dry-ish looking stuff is mud. It didn't take long for the Rhino to sink in deep. The whole while I was saying things like, "Do not go in the field! Turn around! Get me out of here! Don't get me stuck!" and such like phrases. Alas, Ryan's brain secretes the chemical that drowns out nagging wife speech.

He put out a splendid effort, but after an eternity of slogging back and forth, we became high centered and really stuck. The mud was deep, and soupy. And also airborne. Clumps of mud flew through the air and I watched in slow motion as they landed on me, in my hair and on Bailey. She didn't think anything of it, but I was wearing my new maternity jeans. Not to mention those were the only clothes I had since I hadn't considered getting stuck in the soupy muddy field an appropriate Easter activity.

Papa pulled up to the edge of the field to watch our progress. I'm sure he took pictures. Cailin was very concerned that we were flinging mud around and had Bailey on the Rhino. Once in a while I would hear a little voice calling, "Mommy! B!" as she got more concerned.

Ryan maintains that I dropped an F-bomb while the mud was flying. I vehemently deny this, but the a-hole word may have slipped my lips once. Or twice. I freely admit that. I absolutely refused to get out of the Rhino wearing my nice running shoes and new jeans. The only way we were getting out was to use the winch. But what to winch to?

Papa provided the answer by letting out his winch and Ryan had to slog through the soup with his winch line to connect them. Bailey was scared of the noise the winch was making and started to wriggle on my lap. Thankfully the winch lines were long enough to meet in the middle and with a little effort from both machines, we started to move through the mud. With a sickening slurp noise that only mud can make, we moved closer to freedom. Once on dry ground, I jumped out of the Rhino with Bailey to comfort Cailin. She was glad Bailey was alright, but distraught over all the mud on Daddy's Rhino.

I was not so happy about the mud on my clothes. Or in my hair.

At any rate, a few borrowed clothes and everything was alright again. We had a delicious roast chicken dinner and apple pie for dessert. It was a fabulous meal. I was glad to get my freshly washed jeans back after dinner since they have a fancy stretchy waistband in them. Very important for the aftermath of Easter dinner. Comfort is everything.

We sat around after dinner, content and fairly tired after a day of playing outside in the fresh air, walking, getting a mud treatment and being very full. Cailin was getting sleepy and everyone decided that she would love to have her first sleepover at Nana and Papa's. She's never had a sleepover before, so naturally I was a little reluctant, but there's got to be a first time for everything.

So we packed up Bailey, said our goodnights and headed home. I was not entirely impressed with having to brush mud out of my hair before going to bed.

I woke up at eight the first time, thinking I had to get up and get ready for the day. Then I remembered that Cailin was at Nana and Papa's and I didn't have to get up anytime soon. I fell back asleep until ten! I got to take my time cleaning up for the day. I got to load the dishwasher without help. I had a hot (decaf) coffee with toast and looked over a decorating magazine at breakfast. It was a nice quiet morning. Not that they aren't usually fairly quiet; it was just so nice to take my time and enjoy not rushing around. I made up an Easter basket for Cailin with stuff I bought last year. I put some jelly beans and Mini Eggs in the hollow eggs and it was good to go.

We packed Bailey up and went to the carwash. Not a typical Easter Sunday activity, but relaxing nonetheless - that is, until Bailey reminded me that she doesn't like the laserwash by having several wheezie attacks in the backseat. Then we stopped at Safeway for gummie vitamins for Cailin and a snack for us.

Once we got to back out to the farm, Dad and Ryan took my car completely apart and cleaned it from top to bottom. They also tried to buff out the newest scrape in the door with some success. I'm still cheesed with how many scratches, scrapes and nicks there are in that poor car's paint. But with their efforts, it looks almost brand new again. They also torqued the wheels since they changed out the snow tires yesterday for the summer ones.

Bailey and I went on a tour around the yard waiting for Cailin to wake up. Eventually she did, and off to the house we went. Cailin was happy to see us, more so B than me I think. We had a snack and back outside.

We walked around the property, Cailin holding the end of Bailey's leash and me holding the middle for security. We figured we'd get the stroller out again and go for another walk down the road, but once Papa had the Ranger out, Cailin went for a ride and wouldn't get out. So we left her with the boys and went for a walk ourselves. Bailey had a wonderful time again, sniffing tracks and drinking out of the ditch.

We were gone longer than anticipated, and everyone was in the house when we got back. We had leftovers for dinner and watched the hockey game.

It was a wonderful fabulous Easter weekend and I'm so glad we could spend it with Nana and Papa in the beautiful weather. Is this a good time to mention how many chewies Bailey ate over the weekend and how bad the resulting gas was? No? Alrighty then.