a little late

Happy late Valentines day. It was a busy day. Brad worked, I worked. Giving out sugar cookies. A fun and yummy dinner with Brad's family because lots of birthdays this week. Some quite time for me and Brad when Roman surprised us by going to bed early. Nothing too special, just a good day to remind me of what and who I love and why.

There is the obvious.
Brad. I may be a little bit biased, but I think I got the greatest husband in the world. He is so good to me. He is my best friend. He brings so much joy into my life. Can't imagine life without him.
Roman. Melts my heart when I see him smile. Couldn't ask for a better little baby boy. So fun to see him grow and see more of his personality come out. He is a handful, but I love him.
Family. It is so nice to be so close to family. There is good and bad about moving back to Raymond, but being so close to our families makes it all worth it.

Then there is the fun stuff.
I love Valentines day and Christmas because everything is red. I love red. I always have and probably always will. Favorite red things: my kitchen aid mixer and measuring cups and spoons, my spring form cheesecake pan, my dish clothes, my pottery barn retro telephone, my soft micro fleece bathrobe, my favorite bra, my kitchen and bathroom walls, Roman's highchair, Roman's infant car seat, Roman's red crib sheets, my red tin stars, my puffy vest, my snowboard coat... just to name a few. There is something about the color red, it is strong, it is bold, it makes a statement.

And to finish off, there is the quirky stuff.
Laundry is my favorite household chore. I like to save it up so there is lots to separate into all different colors. Then I like to dump it all in the living room and fold it while I watch tv. I love the smell of clean laundry. Today was laundry day. How can you tell... big shirt, tight too small onsie, and long underware for pants.

it's been a long day

My day started at 6:00 - or do I count 3:30 when I got up to give Roman his soother.... Anyway, 6:00 when Roman woke up. Because he has been sick and teething on and off we have gotten into the habit of bringing him into bed with us when he wakes up between 6 and 7. So he is in bed with us at 6:00 and the alarm is set for 6:30, always annoying when that happens. I gave up and just got in the shower. Then I had to get myself ready and all Roman's stuff and then Roman when I woke him and Brad up at 7:30. Took Roman to my parent's house and headed off to work. Yep, to work. Today was my first day back to work after my maternity leave. If you can call it work - hospital orientation. Boring, but I was getting paid to sit there and be bored! But the start of work nonetheless. I go again tomorrow. I am working casual and will try to work a shift or two a week.
Roman did great. In fact, my mom said he really didn't even notice I wasn't there. A good thing I guess, the better he does the easier it will be to go to work. I must admit I was a little sad that he didn't seem to miss me. I missed him. I guess it will get easier as time goes on. I miss my old job and I am a little nervous to start at a whole new hospital after not working for a year, but at the same time I am really excited to be back. I liked the adult conversation and talk of stuff other than babies. I liked having to be somewhere at a certain time and to have things structured when I was there. I liked feeling that I had a purpose and I was going to accomplish something definite and measurable before the shift was done. It's not that I don't enjoy motherhood and it isn't purposeful, it's just a different feeling. Hard to explain.
I guess Oprah had a show awhile ago on stay at home moms vs. working moms. Wish I could have seen it, I'm sure it was interesting to hear from both sides. Different things for different people I guess. For me I like to have something that is my own, separate from my work as a wife and mother. It is a good outlet, a good way to be challenged and to learn. I feel that working a little bit is good for me and will therefore be good for my family. If I am burnt out at home work will be good and if I am burnt out at work home will be good. I am sure I'll change my views as Roman grows and I have more kids. And after working for awhile and having some bad shifts I will probably want to stop working! But for today I am glad to be a working mom.

check this out

Held Roman for his bottle this afternoon and turned on the tv while he was drinking. Caught a bit of Oprah and she had this lady on who invented Spanx. Check it out here. I can't decide if it is worth it - how comfortable they would be with the g's and if I really want to add another layer. But there are certain clothes that it would be nice to have these with - hide what I like to call the baby fat love handles. Anyway, everyone on Oprah was raving about them and I thought it was worth it to check them out. Just passing it along.

In other news, hockey is over. My mom and I have been playing in a womens pick up league here in Raymond once a week. Sooooo much fun and such a great workout. Way better than going to the gym. I'm sad it's over but looking forward to next November when we start up again. Anyone want to join in?

motherhood

My cousin's wife Katie had a great post on her blog. It is about a talk given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland entitled "Because She is a Mother" from the May 1997 Ensign. Such a great talk. Click here to get to it. I am so thankful to have the gospel in my life. This is what Katie said: "I've reflected on this talk often through the past months. It's given me a boost when I can't imagine getting up one more time at night, as we bounced Grace for hours on end on the exercise ball, or when it gets a little lonely being at home. I love being a Mom. It's hard, but I wouldn't trade it for anything." I so agree.

And still on the topic of motherhood...
For one of our ongoing enrichment activities my ward made blankets and put together newborn kits to send to Peru. I was able to put together 5 kits - diapers, pins, socks, soap, a sleeper, a onesie, a touque, a burp cloth, and a blanket. I rounded up a bunch of extra clothes, sleepers, and onesies to send. My mom and I made cloth diapers. I made a bunch of blankets and sent extra ones I had been given for Roman that were never used, and I made burp clothes from the scrap material. In total I sent 14 blankets. All together our ward send around 25 baby kits and over 130 blankets.


I'm not sure exactly what area in Peru everything was sent, but I guess the mothers there have nothing for their babies. Some babies go home from the hospital wrapped in newspaper. Doesn't that just make your heart ache. And not just for the babies. How would you feel as one of these mothers. You feel such love and devotion for this baby and are consumed with the need to provide and protect this child, and yet you can not, on your own, provide a blanket for your baby. I'm not sure if this came out right, I don't mean for it to sound like I am blaming the mother - far from it. It is just that this is the first opportunity of this type I have had since I have become a mother and I have begun to look at it from a different perspective. I think I might feel like I had failed my child if I could not provide such necessities for him. But hopefully these women have a different perspective than me and they do not feel the same. And hopefully our gift will bring joy to them and their families. But all the same, it has been nice to be humbled and reminded of what is important in life. It has been nice to look in Roman's closet each day and feel guilt at the many choices of clothes but also feel thanks to the Lord for all I have been given.

my word

So Rhonda had this on her blog awhile ago...

"Thought a lot about something Ali Edwards wrote."
"Can you identify a single word that sums up what you want for yourself in 2007?It can be something tangible or intangible. It could be a thought or a feeling or an emotion. It can be singular or plural. The key is to find something that has personal meaning for you. This is not your mother's word or your spouse's word or your child's word - this is YOUR word.One little word can have big meaning in your life if you allow yourself to be open to the possibilities. And here's one thing that is totally interesting: sometimes a word will pop into your brain and it will not make any sense to you right now. Give it some time. Let it percolate a bit. I have often found that our hearts speak to us in very unique ways. Maybe this is a word you need to hear but just aren't ready for it yet. Again, be open to the possibilities."

Rhonda's word is faith.
Lindsay's word is believe. And on the topic of goals Lins also had an excellent quote that I am going to borrow:
"We must be willing to get rid of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." Joseph Campell.
Kinda a have goals but go with the flow don't be so set in your ways attitude for the new year.

So I have looked around and seen what some people have been using for their word, some good ones out there. I really took awhile to pick one. I just had too many swimming around in my head, too many directions I could go - and didn't have much sleep for awhile there! So I finally thought of a word that can bring together all the craziness. My word is LEARN. Some of the stuff this word will hopefully lead to: I am starting a new job at a new hospital in February after not working for a whole year - lots to learn; learn to be more proficient with photoshop; learn to make AND KEEP a budget; learn not be so worried about our student loan debt, learn to be happy with all I have and that the grass isn't always greener; learn to be a better mother, wife, daughter, sister, and friend; learn to cook better and learn new things to cook instead of the same old stuff; learn more about my testimony; learn to believe in myself and my abilities; learn to have faith that Brad will get a teaching job in the future; learn that God does have a plan and I will have to learn to wait for Him... And anything else that comes up this year.
So much to look forward to this year, so much that could happen and so many ways it could go. We aren't just students anymore, it is scary that the year is so open, but I will learn to join the real world!

time flies... when your baby is teething

Where to start? The last week and a half have been a blur, Ro's top teeth are coming in - not really coming, more like inching along. And of course he has a cold at the same time, of course. So not much sleep going on at our house. But enough of that, let's jump back to Christmas. (seeing as everyone I know has done posts about Christmas except me) On Saturday the 23 all of Brad's side of the family was together. We made a whole day of it - we went bowling, then skating, then dinner and swimming. Sooo much fun. We are going to make a yearly thing out of it. We also spent Christmas eve day with Brad's family - lots and lots of fun, food, and presents.

Ro's favorite thing about bowling was the little thing that blows the air out where the balls sit.

He didn't love ice skating, but he didn't hate it either. He was just content to sit and watch the rest of the kids or go for a lap in his stroller.

Swimming is his new favorite thing. He LOVED it. Jumped up and down and couldn't wait to get in the pool - even though he had never been before, strange I know. He smiled and laughed and splashed and kicked for over an hour. All that body fat is good for something. Poor Lucy was purple and blue all over before Ro's lips even changed a shade! We have since been back to the pool and he still loves it, guess it is going to be a weekly thing now. I have to keep him liking the water so he has fun at the lake this summer.

We did Christmas morning with my family. Romes did better than we thought on Christmas morning. He actually pulled at the paper when he could see a bit of what was inside.



Ro had his first encounter with snow - touching it at least. He thought it was pretty funny and he likes to eat it.

Well I guess that's all for now. It was really strange to actually be here, sleeping in our own house and not living out of a suitcase, and not having a defined Christmas break. It didn't totally feel like Christmas, but I guess we'll get used to it. Still fun though. How can you not enjoy it - it's Christmas!

Christmas time is here...

Last year we had cable and got to partake of the fire place channel. A channel that for all of December plays Christmas music and has a genuine fireplace burning 24-7. It was so fun to decorate the tree and wrap presents with it on; or just have it on during the day when I was cleaning or getting ready for work or whatever. I remember Linds saying she even watched it while she fed Alli in the middle of the night. I love that channel and I miss it - we have satellite tv now. So Brad got me this fireplace DVD! (Mostly as a joke, but I really do use it) The music isn't as nice, but a fire is a fire and I just play the music I want to listen to on the stereo. Roman even likes to watch it with me.


It's Romans first Christmas and of course he loves the tree and the ornaments and the presents. So my handy husband got some scraps of wood and built this little fence. It even folds up so when Ro is in bed or people come over it is easy to move. It is the perfect size for Ro to stand at and he spends much of his day just walking along it and trying to reach things on the other side.


The handy little fence leads him right to the window and he loves to look out and see cars drive by. So fun to just sit and watch him do laps on the fence and window and get excited when anything outside moves.


This is my early Christmas present. I have had my eye on this nativity set for quite some time. Brad finally let me get it - it was a really good sale. Basically I got three sets for the price of two. None of the people have faces, and I like how simple it is. A good reminder of the reason for the season.

hello hello

Last day of November, just thought I'd do a quick post so that I could say I actually got more than one or two posts in this month.

Just thought I'd do a little sharing. I got a new vacuum! Funny how excited I am about it. I was even all excited to try it out, and yep it did meet all my expectations and more! Seriously, I really like it. Oh what has my life come too, sigh. AND it came with a free little dust buster which at first I thought was silly, but man it clean up well after Roman! The best part is it only cost me $25! We get gas at Canadian Tire so we saved up Canadian Tire money for three months and then it went on sale, perfect timing. Brad picked it up, I was too embarrassed to actually use something like $70 in Canadian Tire money.


Roman woke up happy today from his nap. Don't you just love when they wake up happy. He usually cries until someone goes into the room, then he is happy. But today he played in his crib for 15 minutes and was all smiles when I went in. You lucky people who get that everyday... oh well, it could be worse.


One more thing - Happy Birthday Rhonda!

Happy #2 Thanksgiving...

Or should I say #1 Thanksgiving? Brad - my patriotic Canadian hubby - please forgive me for what I am about to say. And my American mom, you can count this as a small victory.

Born in the US, but with a Canadian passport I consider myself a Canadian who can take advantage of the many opportunities of also being an American. But really, what is the deal with Canadian Thanksgiving?

Does anyone really know where it came from? While it hurts me to say it, I honestly think they took this one from the Americans. Thanksgiving - it's about Pilgrims, Indians, the Mayflower, Plymouth rock, cornucopias, making buckskin jackets and head bands in second grade from colored feathers and paper bags, bringing home craft projects from school made from corn husks, and silly school programs where we all dressed in aprons or moccasins - and Black Friday shopping of course! In my experience Americans make a way bigger deal of the holiday than Canadians do. So really, why do Canadians have Thanksgiving? (And because we are thankful is not a good enough answer) I don't mean to offend any Canadians, I have just always wondered about Thanksgiving here.

I think I prefer the November Thanksgiving, to me it seams more like the real Thanksgiving. But really, I can't complain too much - because of two Thanksgivings, Christmas, and two families now that I am married I get FIVE turkey dinners in about two and a half months!

So Happy Thanksgiving. I give thanks today for many things I will not sit and list, except one... that Roman is not sick and puking anymore and that he took a long enough nap for me to take a shower, get ready, and make a pumpkin cheesecake. Yep, we had a full blown Thanksgiving dinner today. And now it's all about the leftovers - turkey buns and turkey soup!


Here are a few recent pictures of Roman. He's all over the place now, has been crawling and walking along furniture for awhile now, and he has his two front teeth. He has been sick for the last week, really sick. Glad it is over. I hate not knowing exactly how he feels and not being able to make it go away.

you had to know this was coming....

Happy Halloween! Lots of pictures to share of one of my favorite holidays.

This is on a farm outside of Raymond. We get a good laugh out of it every time we drive by.


These are the cookies I made and took to a bunch of people in town. You know, just to get in the Halloween holiday spirit. Really I just love sugar cookies and any excuse to make and decorate them... and eat them!


Roman as a train engineer for his first Halloween. The pictures don't do it justice. Seriously, he was so stinking cute in it! This is his inside costume for a party we went to. It was a good costume because... (next picture)


This is my at my first Halloween! So funny that I just happened to have the overalls and the hat and didn't even think about using them as a costume when I got them - and then we remembered this picture.


Here is his outside costume, my little frog. Fitting because one of his favorite things to do is jump in his jolly jumper. It was a tight fit to get him in. Last time I try to buy a costume a year ahead for a tall Davis child. Rhonda got a cute picture of him in his costume, click here to see it.


Rhonda came down for a few days with here kiddies so we went trick-or-treating with them. Ro and Lucy were just along for the ride and did very well, but poor Alden only made it to four houses. He was cold and not feeling to well, but he made a dang cute chicken. I guess he just figures why go out in the snow and cold when I could stay home with the big bowl of candy, and really can you blame him? Brad and I then DROVE - seriously so cold out - Ro around to a see family and friends.


Romes doesn't carve he eats. All night he just kept pulling the tops off the pumpkins and chowing down.


Brad really liked his puking pumpkin. Good times were had by all. (Especially me and Brad cause Roman got lots of candy and we get to eat it now!)

leaves

I love the fall. We were out the other day and passed a front yard covered in bright yellow leaves and we just had to stop and take a some pictures. Roman really enjoyed eating the leaves and sticks. We barely had time to take a picture between pulling the leaves out of his mouth and him putting them back in. Hard to pick my favorite, so here are a bunch.

here goes...

It's gunna be a long one, lots of pictures over the past few weeks. But I am in a picture posting mood, so if you don't like it then don't read it!




Two of my new favorite pictures. Playing in the crib before his morning nap. Mornings are usually pretty fun. Just me and Ro. Sitting around in our PJs and playing all morning.

He started doing this a month ago. My mom and I set him in the basket and walked away for a minute, then came back to a site just like this. He thinks it is sooo much fun. I don't find it very amuzing and don't let him do it that often - I am afraid it will lead to him learning to pull himself up on other things and in his crib. Then I will have to lower the crib mattress. I also don't encourage crawling and Brad gets a stern look when he does! But I guess it doesn't matter, he already rolls, scootches, and wiggles his way all over the house to get what he wants so he might as well be crawling.
My feet are holding it up so that he doesn't flip out while I am taking the picture. What a great mom I am, leave him standing in the basket so I can get the picture!

Went to the zoo last Saturday with most of the Davis cousins. Lots of fun to be with everyone, especially because Rhonda and Regan and kiddies can come now and we are closer too. Ro loved to be outside, as usual. He did notice a few animals that were close. (I must say that the Calgary zoo is not good for that, everything is quite far away. And not the best variety of animals. The Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake will be a must when he figures out what animals are) Anyway, he was facinated by the fish in the Hippo tank.

Got this costume for next to nothing after Halloween last year, I coudln't resist. 6-12 months. We aren't sure if it will actually fit by Halloween. Had to try it on and take a picture just in case. Legs are boarderline right now and the crotch/body is fastly becoming too short. We shall see in another month. Might have to make a few alterations to the little frog.

I know it's sideways, but just pretend it's not. I'm too lazy right now to turn it. This is what Ro does when he can't actaully be outside. He love to look at the trees. When he is outside he likes to pull the leaves off the tree and then he laughs.

Here is Ro's new hat. It has little hunting dogs and birds on it. Brad thinks it is silly, but me and my mom and everyone at church think it is cute. And he actaully kept it on for most of church.
Notice that behind Ro there is no cover on the light, yep I am still living in an unfinished house with lots and lots of unpacked boxes. Maybe it will end one day, maybe...

10 things

So it's been awhile, but Rhonda and Lindsay put up their ten super good things and it got me thinking....

1. I finally finally actually live in my house. It is far from being finished, I still have no front lawn just ugly dead grass, and the basement is full of boxes to be unpacked - but I live here now. And to go along with that, a handy husband and a handy dad. The house is looking awesome thanks to their work. I don't know what I would have done without their fix-it-skills. And a carpenter brother in law too.

2. My family is three blocks away. I can go to their house any time I want, it is sooo much fun. And lots of Brad's family is only a short drive away in Lehtbridge and Calgary. Yea for family!

3. On Wednesday I got to spend a day with Jacklyn and Brittany and their kiddies. Lots of fun catching up and remembering old times.

4. My new pommegranite martinie lotion and body wash from Bath and Body Works. It smells so yummy! It just makes me smile every time I use it. It's nice to leave the house and not feel like I smell like baby spit up.

5. Ro isn't back to sleeping through the night like he used to, but he is better than he was all summer - and getting better every night. And he is in his bed for most of the night instead of mine.

6. We are going to Calgary today and staying overnight. Doing some shopping and going to the zoo with family. Been looking forward to it all week.

7. Mint chocloate covered Oreos from the states. Yum Yum Yummy! I still have one box left from our last trip to the lake and I am doing a good job of saving them for a rainy day.

8. I may not be able to swim laps in Raymond, but October is approaching and we are getting our stuff ready for the women's hockey league. Best workout I have ever had. Hopefully it will get rid of that pesky fat left over from the prego days. Here's hoping anyway.

9. Ro's new Robeez boots. Lots of people have given me or lent me shoes, but the little guys feet are so chubby that none of the shoes fit him. But my grandma gave me the boots. Not only are they really really cute, but they are nice and fuzzy warm inside.

10. Fall is here! I only wish it was a longer season here in Southern Alberta. I love fall. I love the leaves changing, the crisp feeling in the air. I love getting out sweaters, hoodies,and vests. I love cuddling up in my down comforter at night to stay warm while the room is cold. I love seeing kids in Halloween costumes. I love Thanskgiving with family (two for me - Canada and USA!). I love starting to think about Christmas shopping. Yeah for fall.

Just one more,
11. Pictures of Ro. I have so so many fun ones from this summer, but here is on of my favorites.

catch up...

It's time to play catch up, been awhile since I posted.
1. We still aren't into our house. We knew when we bought it there were some things that needed some work - but WOW. It is a MESS. There were a few major things that needed to be taken care of that we did not anticipate so it is taking longer than expected. Ro doesn't help any either, he likes all the attention on him, not the house. So slow going. My parents have helped sooooo much. My dad had to practically redo the entire bathroom because there was rotted wood and mold all over. And between me and my mom we have almost repainted the entire house. But we still have a long list of things to do. My family is down at the lake so we are still at their house and will be ready to move in at the end of the month before they get back. So much easier to fix up when you don't have to live in the fix up mess. I'll wait and post pics when things are moved in and it is more together.
2. Brad is working for Bryan (his bro) doing finishing carpentry. A plus for our house because I am getting nice new 6 inch floor boards and new window and door casings. Working for your brother also a plus for getting vacation time when he wants it.
3. We went to the lake a few weeks ago. Ton-o-fun! Our vacation was cut short because of boat problems, but all that is fixed now so we will go back down for a few days sometime before the end of the summer. It was so fun to water ski agian! (didn't do much last summer because I was prego) Ro liked his first vacation at the lake. He loved to be outside and just stare at the trees and the lake. Whenever he was fussy we just took him outside and he calmed right down.
4. Ro is 5 months old now. Rolling over lots, learning to sit up and getting pretty good at it, grabbing for everything, drooling on everything, still always acting hungry but not liking rice cereal, teething on and off - the "on" is NOT fun, the whole world can hear when this is happening, not sleeping through the night anymore, and getting very spioled - at my mom's his crib is in the same room as us and because he isn't sleeping through the night anymore I am lazy and just end up putting him in bed with us. Also very spoiled becaues we have been with my family and everytime he creis he gets picked up. This fall should be interesting trying to get him unspoiled. Right now he LOVES being outside, LOVES the dogs, LOVES his jolly jumper, and LOVES his walker (which we had to sneak in from the states as they are illegal in Canada). He also loves to chase the dogs in his walker. Here are a few - well actaully a lot - of pictures from the lake. I'll put them in smaller - click on them to make them bigger if you want.

phantom

So guess what I did last night... went to Phantom of the Opera in Calgary with my mom and my sister. Our seats were on the sixth row back from the stage - well worth every penny that I paid. It was sooooo good! The costumes and sets and curtains were so rich and colorful. And the actors/actresses did such a wonderful job. For an hour and a half I felt like I was in a whole different world. It was also fun to spend time with my momma and Paige on the drive up and back. And to top it all off, Roman was a good boy for his daddy and grandma Davis - thank goodness he takes a bottle. The only bad thing is that yet again I am reminded of my total lack of any sort of singing voice. I have always wished I could sing.

On another note, the reason I have not posted in quit some time is because I am still not moved into my house. I spend all my free time doing two things.
1. Holding Ro because he is bored of laying down but can't sit up yet and has learned a new cry, at least until you pick him up and he can smile at you. And yes Lindsay it is a whole new kind of the-world-is-coming to-an-end cry. I don't feel like I can let him cry it out either because we are staying with my family and I don't want to annoy them. Soon I hope, soon we will be in our house.
2. Fixing up my house - which is made much much harder by reason number one. There are a lot more things than we thought that need to be fixed up. I know that is to be expected with a first house, but there are a few things that are a little hard to swallow. I won't get into it, but we are just working along as best and as fast as we can.

So hopefully sooner than later I will be posting from my own computer in my own house.