Ramblings of a Stay-at-Home Mom

  Reading lots of Robert Munch to Violet at bedtime. Current favourite is Paperbag Princess. Playing lots of peek-a-boo and hiding under the blankets with Dominique. Watching 3rd season of Once Upon A Time. Almost done. Trying to get more sleep at night. Still losing that battle (thank you Nique). Eating ultimate chocolate cupcakes. Yummy. Drinking more water today. Doing more clean up around the house and prepping for winter. Loving that Violet is almost talking in full sentences and can tell me what’s going on. Hating how tired I am lately. That’s what happens when I get only 5-6 hours of sleep a night due to having to get up to nurse Dominique. Discovering early mornings. I missed them and the quiet time that I get in between Keith leaving for work and when the girls get up for the day. Enjoying warm blankets and fleece sweatpants. Thinking of possibly a weekend away with Keith in February (crossing fingers that I can get Nique weaned before then). Listening (to) pod ca

Still going strong on the 30 Days of Thankful project. I'll admit, some days it's hard to come up with something to be thankful about, especially when a certain 7 month old baby is keeping you up half the night and you're functioning on half a brain if lucky. One more week to go after this. Day 17:  Thankful that I'm able to knit and make some stuff for my girls, even if it will take me a while to finish. In this case, I'm working on Dominique's rainbow blanket. Day 18:  Very thankful for an awesome friend that I have in Lisa. Violet adores her and she's a great friend to confide in about stuff and hang out with. Day 19:  Today (and always) I'm thankful for my Mom. She comes down a couple times a week to see me and the girls (she's not working right now as she's waiting for her hip replacement surgery in the new year) and the kids adore her. And steal all her food. Day 20:  Thankful for this little girl today. She's been keeping me up quite a

Dear Dominique: It’s been 7 months since you were born and it’s been an amazing journey to see you grow! Lately you have figured out how to roll seamlessly from stomach to back and back again and starting to gain speed! You’re also figuring out how to rotate on your tummy so that you can get places when you get stuck or need to get something.  You’re appetite is the same as always - BIG! You’re eating everything I’m giving you and then some. And still nursing as well. And slowly figuring out that sippy cup. Although it would help if Mommy had it for you at every meal.  You’re also “talking” a lot, which is hilarious when I’m laying in bed, listening to you in the morning. Your squeals of joy are the best. Also, hands are tasty. And so are feet. Oh my girl, you’re growing up way too fast. Love, Mommy.

Reading nothing this week, except the usual blogs. I just don’t have the concentration this week to read much else. Playing Plants vs. Zombies on the phone with Violet. Watching 3rd season of Once Upon A Time on Netflix. Almost done and then I have to find something else to watch while I knit. Trying to get more sleep as Nique hasn’t been sleeping very well lately. Cooking the usual recipes this week. Eating way too much sugar. Drinking way too much caffeine. Doing lots of knitting on Dominique’s rainbow blanket. And now Violet wants one as well. Loving how much Violet’s vocabulary has expanded. Hating the sleepless nights that me and Dominique are having. I blame either teething or growth spurt. Discovering how much solid food Dominique is eating, besides breastfeeding. It’s insane! Enjoying the quiet time that me and Keith have been having in the evenings after the kids go to bed. It’s nice to be able to unwind together. Thinking of how we’re going to manage/schedule the C

Part 2 of 30 Days of Thankful. So far, so good. Day 10:  Thankful for a nice hot bubble bath at the end of a long day of unpacking my Mom's new house. Day 11:  Thankful for my sister Sam who took us out to Winnipeg to get Violet's belated birthday present of AppleJack from Build-A-Bear Workshop. And shopping at IKEA! Day 12:  Thankful for my kitchen. Even though I can never keep it clean, it shows that it's well used and loved. Day 13:  Today I'm Thankful for this big girl. It's been a day of sorries,forgiveness and do-overs. And I love her so much. Day 14:  Thankful for this little girl today. Her love of chewing on everything (including my socks that I'm wearing!) is hilarious. Day 15:  Thankful today for Netflix and The Magic School Bus. It's educational and entertaining! Day 16:  Thankful for Dominique's growing independence. She's a determined little girl who tries to do everything that her big sister is doing, including eating with her spoon. 

Reading Eat, Pray Love. I’ve read it before, and have loved it. Playing the “what new food to give Dominique” game. So far….EVERYTHING!! Watching Once Upon A Time on Netflix. Going into 3rd season and still liking it. Trying to cut back on a lot of stuff. Eating freshly made chocolate chip cookies. Drinking lots of tea (still). Also trying to drink more water as well, but tea is more flavourful. Doing lots of catch-up journaling. Loving the amount of help that I’m getting from Violet with everything. Best part is that it’s all voluntary. Discovering how much Dominique loves her Jolly Jumper. I think it’s my sanity saver again! Enjoying my quiet time in the mornings. Finishing Violet’s knitted striped blanket. Starting Dominique’s knitted  rainbow blanket.

Phew! Took me long enough. I started this blanket for Violet back in August (near the end I believe), and was determined to have it done by her birthday. Unfortunately, her birthday was in October and it still wasn't done. My aim was to do one stripe a day, and I fell behind. But today I finished it up, cast it off (after googling how to) and gave it to Violet. She's seen me working on it all the time for the past little while, and she was thrilled with it. It measures 3ftx3ft and it's perfect for her right now. Especially as a snuggling blanket on the couch (and a superhero cape as well). I haven't knitted in so long (since before high school?) that I was happy that I got to make this one for Violet. I got the idea from Elise for the stripes, although this one is black and purple. Love it. And yes, I was a bit surprised that I remembered how to do all this. The casting on, knitting, and switching colours. Pleasantly surprised. Next up? A Rainbow Knit Blanket for Domin

So to go from one big project to another (and another in December), I'm taking part in Cathy Zielske's 30 Days of Thankful.  Although our Canadian Thanksgiving is in October, I figured this would be a good project to take on. What are my plans for this once it's done? A digital book. Much easier as I already have the words and photos here. I'll try to post every Monday, but bear with me if it's not up in time. Been a bit sleep deprived lately. Day 1;  Very grateful for these 2 girls every day. Even if they do drive me batty. Day 2:  Always thankful for Keith. He works hard, makes sure that we're taken care of and loves to spend time with his kids. Day 3:  Very thankful for Violet's help this morning. I was switching laundry around this morning before changing Dominique's diaper and Violet went in there and changed Nique's diaper all by herself! Such an awesome little helper. Day 4:  Thankful for Violet's love of reading. I was getting her ready f

Reading The Fault in our Stars (trying to read it again. Didn’t finish it the first time). Playing Super Mario on the Wii for the girls. Nique loves it almost as much as Violet does! Watching The 100 and Once Upon A Time on Netflix, Trying to get rid of this stupid cold that has taken residence in our house. Cooking more new recipes, thanks to Pinterest. Eating more fruits and veggies, trying to get Violet more interested in veggies. Drinking lots of tea (hot and iced). Scrapping my Project Life from this year into digital books. Doing lots of photo and digital backups. Fell behind a bit. Loving the help that Violet has been giving me in the last week. She has proven to be quite the big sister and helper. Hating that I have to move my Mom to a new house, again. The house she moved into last week had too many problems, so she went and found a new one. Moving commences on Saturday. Discovering that I can indeed run on 4-5 hours of sleep for the past couple nights (thank you N

Last day of Week in the Life 2014! While I'm glad to see it end, I'm also sad to see it end. It's been interesting to see what our daily life is like when I have to document it and see what changes I can make from here on out.  Some people have asked me what I plan on doing with this project once it's completed. I have thought about doing it in a physical Project Life album, but have decided to go with a digital album instead and have already started working on it.  Today was also a bit of a slightly stressful day. Something to do with a 3 year-old not putting on her listening ears when she woke up in the morning. Luckily we are both understanding of each other and she came up to me saying "I'm sorry" in the afternoon. Always learning for the both of us. Anyway, onto the photos (which were all done on the iPhone today). Saturdays are for Violet putting cookie cutters on my hands as bracelets. Saturdays are for doing loads of laundry. This Saturday in parti