GONE

Today I received some very devastating news about the death a very, very Dear friend of mine. In fact, she one of my best friends in the entire world. One of the few truly genuine people that I knew, all of a sudden gone. When the call came in, I felt like I got punched in the stomach, It actually ached.
At this point I don't know all the details, how or why it happened. They are not important. Not right now anyway. I don't really know what to think,but I do know how I am feeling-very much in denial, numbed.
I wish I could hug her and tell her how important she was to me. How much I had counted on having her and her family be a part of the future and how much I appreciated all the times she helped me through the tough patches without expecting anything in return. I would tell her that I was here for her, willing to listen, help, do....
There is a lot I wish I could say.

Rest in Peace My Dear Friend T. S.

Fishing

After a streak of nice sunny days Brandon and I decided that it would be a blast to take the kids fishing. We went out a got a cheap little tackle box, snacks and drinks on Friday...of course we woke up on Saturday morning to see that not only was it over cast but the wind was miserable. Pfft. After getting the Issy super excited about fishing there was no way we were going to back out and off we were. Its probably not hard to believe since it is after all February, but once we were out in the open newly stocked pond the wind was blowing harder. The top things off we had decided to bring Sandy our Golden Retrieve along, only to find out when we go there that No Dogs were Allowed. Just out Luck! Immediately after getting there we decided that it was just too cold to keep Jackson out in the cold and I didn't want to risk getting him sick so he and I tried to have as much fun as we could front the inside of our truck. He was happy to hang out and was giggling the entire time. Brandon, Issy and "Pappy" were on their way to catch us "Dinner". I think they had a really good time but it only lasted about a half hour before I saw them coming back to load all the supplies :)

No we didn't catch any fish but in the end its all about the memories that we make together. What did learn is that fishing and February do not mix.


As you can see she was very upset about missing all the fun.

Issy and Daddy

Jax smiling in the car!

The Wee Ones...

The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him ~ Pablo Casals

Back to Work

Today was my first day back at work. For some reason I felt nervous, like it was the first day of school or something. I don't know why I felt that way everyone has always been really sweet and welcoming, specially today asking about Jackson and how we were all doing etc. Although it was nice to be back around old friends It was extremely hard getting up this morning to leave for work after being able to spend so much time together during my maternity leave.

Lucky for us that Brandon is able to watch the kids while I was at work. Issy is a daddy's girl for sure so I know I dont have to worry about a thing when I am gone. Seriously he is such a great Dad (and "The Fun One" too of course) so he deserves to be loved that much and more. Anyway the work day went really well- The best part was coming home and to hear that I was missed and feel the excitement in their voices and hugs.

For the next month I have arranged to only working part time (Mon.- Wed).... to ease back into the groove of things both at home and at work. Once I ready to come back full time my employer is going to allow me to work mostly from home (3 days per week). Its a terrific opportunity. its going to be great to be able to spend so much more time with my "babies" and still be able to contribute to the household. I know working from home will not be easy specially with two young kids who are always going to be demanding attention but I am committed to making it work out.

keep your fingers crossed for me :)

Teeth.Smiles.Babies.

As my maternity leave is coming to an end, I decided to take advantage of the time I have left to stay involved in Issy's school. Today Jax and I were able to help out with their "in school field trip" - They had a Dental Hygienist come in and talk to the preschoolers about the importance of brushing every morning and night, flossing, choosing good foods etc. She made it really interesting by passing around some actual dental tools, and real rotten teeth that had been pulled out from patients with poor oral hygiene. The pictures are not that great but these teeth were absolutely disgusting.

As a fun incentive they gave each child a take home package with tooth brushes, floss, etc. One of the things that most kids seem eager to try out were the colored pills in their packages...you know the pills you put in your mouth that turn you teeth a certain color in the areas that still have plaque,and need to be brushed better. Apparently these are supposed to teach kids to brush more thoroughly and show parents that five year olds still need a lot of help with brushing their teeth. As you can see we had a lot of fun with the pills.

Some fun new changes with Jackson....As of this week he is now smiling. He has been smiling in his sleep since birth but its only this week that he started responding to us. Its adorable.

I also wanted to say Congratulations to our good friends and new parents Tasche and Keola who were blessed with the arrival of their twin boys this afternoon. The babies are precious and absolutely perfect. I cant wait to see our boys grow up together! Congrats...We love you!

2 Months

I cant believe how quickly the last few weeks have come and gone. We just had Jackson's 2 month check up...the good news is that he is a very healthy baby boy. He weight 14lbs 10 oz -according to the baby growth chart that puts him in the 97th percentile. 23 inches in height (grown one inch since birth and in the 60%) and a head circumference of 38 1/2 cm (25%). Besides almost going off the charts in weight our doctor said he was doing very well. Unfortunately he had to get a few shots on this visit. Thanks to Issy, I now had enough experience to time his appointment just before his next meal so that as soon as the shots were administered I could soothe him by feed him while the Tylenol took effect. It worked like a charm.

I took advantage of the fact that the wee one was sleeping to spend some much needed time with Issy. She was a big helper at the pediatricians and definitely deserved a treat. I decided that we could make her favorite cookies, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. In between she helped me clean up...right now I am taking advantage of the fact that she loves washing dishes and any chore really that I ask her to help me with...I know soon enough I wont be so lucky. Also I figured it would be nice to get a head start on the calorie burning as I have just as hard of time saying no to "just one more cookie".