I Never Met a Swede I Didn't Like

I was in my kitchen today and Cali pulled out an old picture of me with my Sweddish friend Theresa.  It made me sigh and think about how much fun I had with her.  So this is a little shout out to her.  I miss you Theresa! 

She was always so kind and patient with me asking her a million questions about Sweden and trying to learn her language.  We had lots of fun getting snowed in, freezing our tooties off at the bus stop, and getting stuck in the snow... twice.    Both times were my fault, but both times it was her that got me out!  (I really don't know how to drive in the snow.)  What a great friend!!!  I would write more if I had time but I just wanted to write a little about her today.  This is the picture that Cali found and brought to me.  Now it is on my fridge next to the stove so I get to look at it all the time.

Hey  remember dancing on the street corner to keep warm?  Duktig flicka!  KRAM!

The Dread Pirate Cali

Okay I just need to add a quick update. I have been keeping us quite busy by attending every playgroup in town that I know of. I am pretty sure that Cali’s favourite is Story Time at the library on Tuesdays. Yesterday when I told her it was Tuesday she couldn’t wait to go. She got ready all by herself and had her boots on to go at 9am… Story Time isn’t until 11am… poor girl. Yesterday’s theme was pirates and Cali made an eye patch and pirate hat which she proudly wore the remainder of the day.

Speaking of pirates I read the Princess Bride over the weekend. That’s a great book… a little different from the movie but yes the book is better. I completely fell for William Goldman’s trick of it being an abridged edition. I was on the library website for a while trying to find the unabridged edition of the Princess Bride; anyway it doesn’t exist. Check out Wikipedia if you have questions.

I am reading a new book call The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova… I can’t put it down. So far it is one of the best books I have read ever; I am on page 300 or so with another 400 to go. I am sure once I am finished there will be a review on here. Good Reads is an awesome resource for anyone that is a reader, I joined the other week, love it!

Lexi turned one month yesterday. She getting nice big chubby cheeks and still looks a lot like her Dad. She is on the verge of smiling so I am sure before too long there will be an update here with a big smile.

Cali and I decorated the Christmas tree on Saturday and now we are counting down the days. That’s about it from here right now.

The Story Girl

So this is a bit of a change compared to my recent book reviews. I read two great books this month, two books that I would highly recommend. First I read “The Witches” by Roald Dahl, I have been a huge fan of his since Mom read us “The Twits” as kids. I have also read many of his other novels but I think that this was the first time that I read “The Witches”. It was cute and a little disturbing as more of his books are, but a great read for kids and adults alike. I am not going to dive into much of an analysis. I just wanted to mention that I read a book I liked.


Last week Cali and I headed to get her H1N1 shot but the line was outside the building; can you imagine? So I made the executive decision not to wait outside in the cold with a newborn and toddler. Instead we headed to the library, one of Cali and my favourite spots in town. She ran in and picked out a couple of books and as we were getting ready to leave when a book caught my eye; “The Story Girl” by Lucy Maud Montgomery.

I had read the entire “Anne of Green Gables” series and the “Emily of New Moon” books but I hadn’t read any of her other books. I decided to pick it up. Once I got it home I simply couldn’t put it down. It was such a great story I forgot what a descriptive author she was. She painted the most beautiful picture of the orchard in which the children played. It made me long for my childhood summers spend at Nannie and Granddad’s on the Gulf Shore of Nova Scotia. It took me two days to read the book; mind you it would have taken less if I didn’t have all the distractions.

If you were a fan of the Road to Avonlea television series you would love this book. Many of the episode plots come from this book. The characters of Sara Stanley, Felicity, Felix, Cecily, Aunt Janet, Aunt Olivia, Uncle Alec, and even Jasper Dale are found in this book. Oh I almost forgot the local witch, Peg Bowen is introduced as well. Such a great book.

In just about every chapter the Story Girl (Sara Stanley) would tell a tale. Her stories were so descriptive and interesting that I almost forgot that they were part of a bigger story. The characters were all unique and well developed through the novel. It made me discover just how shallow the other books were that I had been reading. In this book you really get to know the characters.

I was little disappointed about the ending though. I thought things would be tied up a bit more but I just found out there is a sequel, “The Golden Road”. I figure that book can answer a few of my questions. I will be reading it shortly, after I finish “The Princess Bride” for book club. I have decided that anything that I read in the next year will be children’s literature so I can complete it in less than a week; much easier on my postpartum mind. So look forward to more children’s book reviews.

For anyone who is interested in book reviews here a great site called Good Reads. I think that I am going to join. Be my friend! 　

That's My Girl

Today was my first day at home alone with two kids. We did well. I had supper made by 11am and I finished the laundry. Cali produced a few homemade birthday cards for her Papa, cousin Faith, and Uncle Darryl.

I have to say that the Fisher-Price swing that I picked up a year ago a yard sale made it all possible. They are both passed out right now, so I think that I did a good job. Ed should be home in about an hour to take the next shift.

Here is a picture from today. Cali is her mother's daughter. Passed out with an Oreo in hand. I love my girls so much!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone! This year Cali went trick or treating for the first time. I think that she had a great time from what Ed said; I stayed at home with the baby. I am sad that we didn’t get any more pictures of the special day. Cali dressed as a cow, Ed was a cowboy, I was a labour and delivery nurse and Lexi was a newborn. We were pretty cute I must say considering our costumes were kind of thrown together; things are different with two kids.

Cali walked right in the front door with her treats and sat down started eating. I think that she finished off all of her candy within 20 minutes. That’s my girl!!!  I don't hold back on the candy during Halloween.  That's what that night is all about!

After the trick or treating we headed over the Lindsay and Shane’s for the annual party. We had a great time there. The food was AMAZING! I wish I had more of an appetite. I really wish that I had of got some pictures. I am going to have to steal some off and Lindsay and post them later.

Anyway here are some pictures of Cali dressed up and a video of her as a “kitty cow”. Cali has been a kitty for about a month now. It’s so cute how they pretend at this age.  I am just loving two!

Our Return from the Hospital

We got home from the hospital on Sunday and we were greeted with a sick little Cali Belle. Mom said that our poor little had had the runs all day. Despite her illness Cali remained in a high spirits giving lots of love and attention to her “little stister”.

We dealt with the runny poops all day Monday and that night my milk started to come in and needed to feed Lexi every 2 hours. So Ed and I weren’t getting much sleep, maybe an hour at a time every 2 hours. Then at 5am Cali wandered into our room white as a sheet with books to read. Poor little pumpkin thought it was the morning. So I picked her up and cuddled her in our bed, then she got sick all over the sheets. So we had to strip the bed and change the sheets in between our strict feeding schedule.
After Cali was sick she asked for a snack so I prepared some peanut butter toast and then fed Lexi. The next thing I know…

There was peanut butter in her hair, all over her, and the table (yes I took a picture). I had to laugh, what else can you do? We were so tired and our little pumpkin was obviously feel well enough to make a mess so I wasn’t too worried. I gave her some Tylenol and she shortly fell asleep with me in the bed.

The next day I had to go to the doctor for Lexi’s and my check-up. I walked into the waiting room and noticed that I was the only one in there without a mask (hooray for H1N1). So I found a secluded spot in the corner and fell asleep in the waiting room. I was gently awoken by my doctor, who assured me it wouldn’t be much longer. My doctor is honestly the best. We work together in the ER on nights so it’s not the first time he has caught me asleep. The receptionist found it quite entertaining, I am glad that I could give everyone a laugh that day.  Oh the postpartum days.

Cali is still dealing the poops, but remains in good spirits. Everyone has wanted to know how she is dealing with her little sister; well she is doing just great. We have only had one run in with jealousy thus far and it’s been almost a week. We are so proud of her! She wants to help all the time and asks to hold Lexi quite often.

Lexi is doing great as well. Her jaundice is clearing up and she is filling diapers like no one’s business. So all is well here and I will update as often as possible on our little family.

Here is a better video of the girls together. No nose picking this time!

It's a Girl!!!!

So here's the story...

I asked Mom to come out on Friday to help watch Cali so I could put the car seats in the car and tidy around the house. Well as it turned out I felt the baby drop around 5pm that night and asked Mom to stay. My first contraction was around 9pm and continued through the night. At one point they were even 6 minutes apart. Around 5am I thought that I would try to get some sleep so I laid down and the next thing I knew it was 8:30am. Needless to say I was a little disappointed that I hadn’t had the baby already. My labour with Cali was 13 hours from start to finish so I figured this thing should be done by now.

So I got up and started doing things around the house and my contractions continued on sporadically throughout the day. Finally around 5pm the contractions jumped from 5 minutes to 2.5 minutes. So I figured it was time to go. As we drove to the city I still didn’t think that the pain was intense enough to be checked, so Ed and I were talking about going to the mall for a bit and walking around. Just as we were about to make the turn to the mall I had a strong contraction and suggested that we go to the hospital instead.

So I walked up the maternity triage and told them that I didn’t think that I really needed to be there; however I would like to be checked since I had been in labour for so long. I basically just wanted to know that I had accomplished something. So they hooked me up the fetal monitor and noticed a few decelerations in the baby’s heart rate but weren’t too concerned as she remained very active. I was left on the monitor for quite some time. I still figured that they would send me home as the pain was quite tolerable. I was then checked by the doctor at 9pm who told me that my cervix was very thin and that I was at 6cm, so I wasn’t going anywhere. I was so relived to hear that news I almost cried.

We were then transferred to the delivery room where I jumped in the bathtub and enjoyed the hot water from the shower. The whole time I was able to talk to Ed and we were making jokes. Again with Ed’s help I was able to have another drug free labour and delivery. He is the best labour coach ever, couldn’t have done it without him. After about half an hour in the tub I felt it was time to get out, then I felt the pressure of the baby’s head and I knew it was time to have the baby. Ed found the nurse quickly for me and I was able to start pushing.

Once the baby’s head was out they asked me to stop pushing but as any woman who has had a baby knows that almost an impossible request. So they let me finish pushing the baby out. As it turns out the cord was wrapped around our baby’ s neck twice. They wanted me to stop pushing so they could cut it, but since it didn’t take me much time to finish pushing they were able to unwrap it quickly. Ed said her face was quite blue, but by the time I saw her she had already started to pink up. Her one minute and five minute APGAR score was 9; so she was just fine.

Lexi was born to us on Saturday October 24th 2009 at 9:55pm weighing in at 6lbs 12oz and 19 inches long. Dr. P. Connick was our fantastic doctor and Ingrid was our amazing labour and delivery nurse. We had a fantastic experience at the hospital all the staff were pleasant and very knowledgeable. Without their help I don’t think that Lexi would have made it. It scares me to think that we could have lost her.

So that’s the story of how Lexi came to us and we don’t ever want her to leave!