Warm and Cozy

Wow - it is kind of obvious that these two are siblings isn't it? Taken last night while they were awaiting the tub to fill with soapy, bubbly warm water, they both were snuggled deep into their robes. Masyn's robe was made by a very close family friend - I so wish that I had talent like that.


Hope everyone is well and I will be by to snoop on you all to see what is new in your lives later on today.

That Darn Left Lung

No news is good news right? Or so they say if they aren't the ones dealing with a cranky baby. Masyn went in for round two of x-rays on that left lung that continues to make raspy, rattling noises. Despite a nice seal like croupy bark that emits from her oh say ... hmm ... every 15 minutes, the x-rays indicate that her lung(s) look fine.

While I am not knocking the doctors and I am truly relieved to hear that there doesn't seem anything too major wrong with my daughter, when will I be able to take comfort in this news? I mean, my daughter has literally turned into a whole new child. She was once this happy, content little baby that was always smiling. And after her first bout with the common cold back in mid September, she has been nothing but the devil child. She is always crying, fussing, not sleeping and doing her best to redefine the word miserable.

At what point to I start to take this horrible cough seriously? I mean, it sounds like bronchitis (and I have had it many times in my life) and every time she coughs, she starts to cry. Along with this cough, throat swabs were taken on her as her throat appears red as well. The doctor told me that all of this could be due to her teething. Perhaps I am a cynical bitch, but that is a little hard for me to believe. But .... I am giving it a try and hopefully one of these days Masyn will fight off whatever seems to be possessing her and return to my happy little girl.

Where Does the Time Go?

Gosh ... a week has flown by and wow - I haven't even posted. So, what has been going on in our lives? Well, Masyn is still sick. We took her to the doctor on Monday and ended up getting chest x-rays to check out her lungs. Her left lung appears to have some raspy, rattling sounds to it so we wanted to rule out pneumonia. The x-ray came back as clear but the doctors have run other tests on her; to rule out issues like ear infection and bronchitis. We are still awaiting on the results. I was kind of hoping that one of the doctors would have been able to waive a magic wand over my daughter and miraculously solve whatever issue(s) is bothering her. She has been redefining the word miserable for over a month now and it is starting to get a little tiresome dealing with it.

We went to Cranbrook on the weekend to celebrate a post birthday party with my aunt who turned the ripe ol age of erm ... 29, a couple of weeks ago. Kaelen loved every minute of the trip as my aunt has a five month old rambunctious kitten running about her house. The two of them hit it off very well and played with each other for hours on end. I will post a video of one of the playtime escapades later on today. They were so stinking cute together. In addition to the cat, my aunt also has a Bearnaise dog that is two years old. Needless to say, the dog entertained Kaelen when running outside and the cat got the inside duty. One would have thought that the little man would have been tuckered out from all of the action going on but no - it only fueled the fire in him.

Yesterday we went to the zoo and FINALLY got to see that stinking cute baby elephant. Oh my gosh that thing is adorable!!! We also lucked out and got to see the baby tiger and the baby monkeys. Rumour has it that there are plans to bring back the seals and polar bears! How exciting would that be??? I remember visiting the zoo when I was a child and seeing the seals and it was so fun just to watch their antics.

Anyways, gotta run. Masyn is crying as usual so that means that I will cave and cuddle her once again. She is truly attached to me and I am either holding her or wearing her about 90% of her awake times. If I don't, then she screams. While I do love cuddling my daughter, I am desperately hoping that whatever issues are affecting her will be resolved soon. Hope everyone is well.

Wordless Wednesday

The New Age Super Hero

Princess Butterfly

Halloween is in the air and I have been tossing and turning in my mind whether or not I should dress Miss Masyn up this year. She is only 8 months old so she won't be out trick or treating yet I would feel guilty as H. E. Double Hockeysticks (L . L. for those of you who are on a mind break) for not dressing her up.

Today we went to the Children's Place store with the intentions of purchasing some blanket sleepers as Masyn practises her wrestling moves at night and ends up freezing her butt off. Wouldn't you know it: there was a sale going on. I was extremely hard pressed not to buy out the store and would have until Kaelen reined me in by pointing out a costume for Masyn. The best thing about it: 50% off the last ticketed price. That came out to $8 my friends.

And .... isn't she the cutest dang thing that you have seen flying around in a while???

Eat Your Heart Out JT

Armed with a turkey baster and a little cat hair that ends the show, this up and comer could soon be giving JT a run for his money in the entertainment industry ....

And just in case you didn't know, this is his favourite song. No matter where we might be, upon hearing this song, the little man will break out in a song and dance to it. Thankfully he doesn't understand the words yet .........

Toopy & Binoo

The latest kids craze was here this week and my son was probably one of the happiest kids in the city. Kaelen LOVES Toopy & Binoo and the show was put on by a local mall and the best part .... it was FREE!!! Packed like sardines; moms, dads, grandparents and nannies all vied for the perfect sitting and/or standing spot to ensure that their little one(s) got prime viewing. The screams that this dynamic duo received upon entering the stage would rival that of a JT concert; kids ranging from the ages of newborns to five/six years old were jumping up and down and screaming at the top of their lungs. And yes okay .... I will have to admit there were a few parents doing so as well. Ahem.

The show was good and the perfect length - just over a half an hour. Most of the time, when free shows like this get put on, the show only last for 20 minutes. It was a great outing spent with good friends and all of the kids for the most part left with smiles on their faces.

Shaking My Head

I don't get it. I really don't. This past Saturday, a RCMP officer was murdered when responding to a distress call at an apartment building at 5:00 am. When dispatch lost radio contact with Constable Warden, other officers were sent to the scene. It is unclear as to how long it took to find Const. Warden, but he was found in a wooded area across the street from the apartment building. Const. Warden was dying from gunshot wounds where he shortly thereafter died in the hospital.

One day later, a suspect was charged with first degree murder and a manhunt has ensued and is still ongoing. The manhunt now encompasses all of WESTERN CANADA and this suspect is a known individual to the police; he has had past altercations with the drug and gang police unit in Northern Alberta.

Now this is where I really start shaking my head: in today's newspaper and on TV, the suspect's family will not encourage this individual to give himself up. Why? Well they believe that he is innocent. For me this is difficult to comprehend. Would it not be prudent to encourage this individual to give himself over and then go by the old adage, Innocent until Proven Guilty? To me by continuing to run, it is demonstrating guilt and a lack of character. One family member of the suspect has even gone so far as to indicate that the suspect could not be guilty because he has a three month old child. Former teachers of the suspect claim that they are not surprised to hear that he is in hot water so to speak but have not gone as far as to say that they believe he would be capable of murder. Regardless, obviously the suspect has had to be involved as some level to be formerly charged of this crime.

So, to the suspect's family: What about Constable Worden's family? What about his wife and his beautiful 8 month old daughter that have been left behind? If the shoe was on the other foot, would you not wish to have the person who is suspected of taking away everything that was precious to you, to come forward even if he turned out to be innocent? Sorry, call me judgemental or call me cynical, but I just can not justify your stance by the message that you have sent via the media to Emrah Bulatci or Justin Elise or whatever name he is going by now to continue to run.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

Last night we had a fabulous day filled with great company, food and many many laughs. My sister was in town for the long weekend so the day was guaranteed to have some sillyness practiced. Gosh I miss her so very much, but am thankful that I can at least talk to her everyday via the phone and see her every couple of months.


As with every holiday, I have the tendancy to get very reflective - okay ... who am I kidding ... I am always reflective. Nevertheless, Thanksgiving is a day where one should take a moment to appreciate all that is good in their lives. We are blessed to have had the rich feast that we did last night, to have loving family to spend it with and a warm cozy environment to enjoy it in. My thoughts and prayers went out to those who don't have a secured warm environment to relax and enjoy life, to those who struggle just to put food in their bellies, to those who are alone and have no one to call family, to those who are putting their lives in danger in order for others to be allowed to live a life of their own, to those families who live in fear everyday that it could be their loved one next to fall in the line of duty, and to those who are in mourning for a loss; May you all find some kind of comfort to help ease your pains and worries.


On an ending note, aren't I a lucky lass? I mean, just look at this family picture taken last night; I have a handsome husband who loves me so very much and two gorgeous, precious children that are the joys of our lives. (And yes, that is my son demonstrating at how HUGE his muscles are)

Best Thing About Autumn Is ....

Crisp, fresh cool air

An array of yellow, rusty and orange leaves blanketing the ground

A touch of frost in the early mornings

Lighting up the fireplace on chilly nights

Thanksgiving

Halloween

The wrap up of a golf season

A new NFL season

Baseball playoffs

And most importantly ...... HOCKEY IS BACK!!

Fall Days at the Zoo

Just look at these colours, could the zoo get any prettier? I have discovered that the secret to having a spectacular day at the zoo is to go during the week in on a crisp, fresh fall day as there are few people there. Oh ... and try to get there by noon as that is when most of the animals get fed as well. We missed many of the feedings therefore most of the animals had full bellies and were therefore quite sated and lazy.
We went for the soul purpose to see the new arrivals at the zoo: the baby elephant, a baby tiger and baby monkeys. We struck out in all three of those exhibits but we did get to see two tigers stalking and playing with one another. We watched the grizzly bears chase one another around; their version of King of the Castle and came to a face to face encounter with the biggest owl known to man. Okay, slight exageration but this thing and it's mate were HUGE!! I have to admit that I had a moment of panic when it dawned on me that these were birds of prey and there was nothing separating them from us. Thankfully, they were just fed so just looked upon us with minor irritation as my son was trying his best to be the Owl Whisperer.

We had so much fun with the zoo being so quiet that we are planning on going again in a few days. This time we will make it there for late morning to ensure that we get to see all of the interesting feedings and antics that come along with it.

Embracing Your Inner Animal

I remember reading somewhere that a trapped, wild animal will go to almost any length to free themselves even if it resulted in them having to chew their leg off in the process.

I also remember thinking of that little tidbit of information when watching my son chew on his arm constantly while teething. It was his preference over teething toys, facecloths and food. Now seemingly, it looks like Masyn too will follow that pattern. Her little right arm bears the purple markings of freshly cut teeth imprinted into her soft skin.

Although one could argue that she is practicing her vampire moves as it appears it is the two top eye teeth that have come in .......