Tis the Season

What was I thinking..... making cookies while my 10 month old was up??? Especially with his new found love of the stairs. Well we did it. Dylan and I make cookies for Santa. Dylan hates Santa so he had a hard time grasping the fact that he couldn't eat them all, and that we were decorating them for Santa.
Luke and I braved the mall last week and took both boys to visit Santa. Let me sum it up quickly for you.....IT SUCKED.. A little girl threw up in the playground and Santa didn't say two words to my children! I thought the Santa would at least try to talk to Dylan even ask him what he wanted for christmas..but NO!!!! Dylan started out ok but quickly got scared and so the tears began. Caleb only cried when Dylan really started to let the screams fly. So no picture this year. Not even one with me in it.... Better luck next year. Hope there is a better Santa....back to Kamloops we'll go!

I figured it out!!

Late night thoughts

Here I find myself once again sitting at the computer procrastinating going to sleep. I whine and complain all day long how tired I am because my children were up hundreds of times during the night, but I can't seem to get it together to just crawl into bed and sleep. My mind keeps saying...what about the laundry...the dishes....the toys....scrap booking? The list goes on an on. Luke has been working so much lately that I just don't go to bed on time. I try to stay awake until he gets home (dumb idea). He usually crawls in around 12:45 way too late for this old boot! Last night Dylan got up around 3:30 for a late night Crap...? Who wakes up in the night to unload? Strange kid (his father's son). And Caleb still can't seem to get it together to just eat enough during the day so mommy can sleep all night long. I usually don’t mind him getting up, he just comes to bed with me ( I love it) We both fall asleep while he feeds then I usually wake up and put him back into his own bed, wouldn't want to start that a habit of him sleeping wiht me. (Luke would kill me) I'm so proud of Luke and the accomplishments he has made thus far in both work, school, and own family life. I never thought finishing 2 degrees and paying off a line of credit could be accomplished while your wife spends most of her time on Mat leave .... It must have been God. Anyways, honey I'm so blessed that you are my husband, best friend and father of my children... I'm truly in love with you!

Tree

I took many photos of us decorating our tree but I can't seem to get them onto Blogger with the photo right side up????
Any suggestions?

Tesing Testing 1..2..3..

One of those mornings!!

So I finally get Caleb to sleep around 11:30 (his first nap of the day). Dylan is on the couch watching his favorite TV show Backyardigans (Mission to Mars). I quickly gather my showering supplies and head downstairs..Robe..towel...phone..and of course monitor. I turn on the shower (to wam it up) and switch over the load of laundry into the dryer. Into my misty oasis I go.... I'm just starting to get wet when I hear something...Caleb?..nope. MOMMY! Dylan is screaming and crying at the top of his lungs...What the heck? I open the shower door and call out for him, "Dylan come downstairs!" He replies MOMMY!!!! I pretend I can't hear him and continue to shower. Dylan has been known for his over dramatic episodes. I then hear him coming down the stairs , of course still crying. I ask him whats wrong. Tears running down his face he answers, "I just turned off my show and I wasn't finished watching it!" I ask, "Why did you turn if off?" "My foot hit the wrong botton." I tell him to go back upstairs and try to turn it back on. I quickly finish my shower and as I turn off the water I hear music. Not just any music LOUD music. Luke and Caleb are both upstairs sleeping. Luke just finished working three night shifts and would not be happy to be woken up by my needing to have a shower and leaving the children unattended. I go into the living room….. Dylan is sitting on the coffee table music blaring not just any music Much Music top 10 countdown. Dylan's eyes glued to the screen watching the latest dirty video. I quickly change the channel and cleanse his mind by switching Backyardigans back on. Well at least I got to have my shower!!!

Oh wait there's MORE!!!!

We spent about 1/2 hour taking photos and laughing at ourselves.
And for those of you who asked......
YES WE DO HAVE A LIFE!

foolin' around

At first Dylan thought the pictures were tooooo scary and then he decided to join in the fun!

Treeditions

Today we headed out into the madness of christmas shoppers to find our first Christmas tree. It was a zoo in the Canadian Tire parking lot!! Caleb waited in the truck while we loaded up the tree Dylan picked out. Dylan insisted we get a "little pinky tree" So we got a short fat one. Anything bigger and we would have no living room left! The boys pitched in to help dad set it up.....tune in tomorrow as we decorate the tree. I sure hope we don't lose too many needles. My little moose likes to eat them! Those gotta hurt coming out?

Dear Santa....

Dylan wrote his first letter to santa yesterday....
I would like 5 presents for christmas...I would like a moster truck with remote controls, wheels, buttons, and lights. A CARS DVD with Lightning McQueen, Rockie, and Tom Mater. A new shovel for digging (a pink one) my blue one broke today. A spaceship for going up in space and waiting for lift off. Thats all....

RUB A DUB DUB

Here's a photo from our family photo shoot....
The original picture had Dylan sulking in the background because he wasn't getting anymore smarites if he didn't smile nice....
Dylan is feeling much better. Caleb sounds awful barking like a seal. Luke is vegging in bed with a swollen mouth high on T #3's. I'm.......trying to recover from the last few nights...Yawn!

Two sick kids and a third on the way!!!!

No I'm not pregnant!! The third child I'm referring to is Luke! He is getting his wisdom teeth out on Monday. So I'm sure he won't be much help around the house with two children with croup. Dylan began getting sick 2 1/2 weeks ago while we were in Kamloops. I took him to the walk in clinic while we were there. I thought he had Croup back then. The doctor treated him for an ear infection and away we went STILL COUGHING! On wednesday I took him in to the doctor in Calgary and she said his lungs sound fine and he could cough for up to three months and he just has a virus. That night he had a fever and coughed uncontrollably ALL night long. Cough medicine didn't do a thing...not even knock him out! So back in I went. Here's what transpired.... Dylan coughs once and she says.. "That sounds like Croup!" As she backs away from my child like he has the plague. I think in my head "No shit Sherlock!" So he gets a steroid treatment and off we go. Two days later he's still cough and now Caleb has started...... YIPEE! So now I'm tried and Bitchy poor poor pitiful me.... welcome to motherhood hey!

Photo Shoot

This is just a sample of the family photos we had taken last week..... boy was it fun!!!

Flour Fun

The other day I sat the boys down on a large piece of plastic. I gave them each spoons, bowls, and a couple cups of flour. They sat there stirring and mixing for almost 45 minutes! Dylan said he was making a cake and was a little confused when instead of putting it in the oven I threw it in the garbage.

STARBUCKS

My sister has a part time job at starbucks and because it's the christmas season they are offering a christams discount of 40% off all their overpriced goodies. So being a proud supporter of Starbucks I decided to BUY some things. One coffee maker, one grinder, 5 tumblers (gifts), 8 coffee cups and one cream and sugar set. Well I think that should do us for awhile.

5:30 AM

Wow it's early...and what the heck am I doing up? And what the heck am I blogging for? Well Caleb had been up 4 times already. Three nursing sessions and one tylenol dose later, and I 'm catching up on some blog reading and updating mine. I've also heard Luke's alarm twice...SO I"M AWAKE! Caleb is betting three teeth at once, lucky me my poor nipples! It's so cold here -39 to be exact. I don't think I've ever experienced weather this cold before. Well Maybe I have up in Tumbler Ridge but I don't remember, I think thats a good thing. Luke is off to work..poor guy, sure hope the truck starts. We tried to head out to Chucky Cheese last night for a little gaming fun and a break from the house...but no luck we only make it a block before giving up the roads were traffic mayhem. Thankgoodness for 4 wheel drive! Today I think I'll stay at home and clean (whats that?) Dylan will miss preschool today too. Well Good night again YAWN.......

Home

Three candle parties and one airplane ride later the three of us are safe at home. We had a really great time in Kamloops. Everyone in the airports thought I was crazy to travel with two Children under the age of 3. Our next trip to the Loops we'll be staying longer and hopefully I won't have so many parties to do...not that I don't want you all to book a party...you know what I mean. Wednesday night was my first party. Karen came with me for moral support and to do a lot of the talking..(as usual) thanks Karen. Liz's Party went great no pressure on me. You were a great host Liz, thanks! Thursday night was Karen's party..I guess we should have told everyone that we don't have sars and maybe more would have come... It was great to see you Jan! Saturday night was the last party for this trip. Thank you to everyone that came to my parties hope you enjoy your candles and we'll see you all soon. On Sunday night Christa, Jordan, Dylan and myslef headed out for a HOT date. When I asked Dylan if I could take him out on a date he said, "sure mommy." And as we were getting ready to go he made sure I knew that Caleb was not aloud to join us by stating, "Caleb stays here mommy." We went to the movies and saw Happy Feet, it was really BAD!!!! The boys were bored and I wanted to leave because it was so dull. After the show we went to Boston Pizza for dinner.. The more time I spend in Kamloops and more I wish we would move back... I guess time will tell. Well good night I'm sick and Caleb is still getting up 100 times a night. Anyone know of a free nanny??

It's Party Time!!!

So I've safely arrived in Kamloops kids and candles in tow!!
It was a great trip but the kids always get cranky around Salmon Arm. I'm getting mentally prepared to have three candle parties. Liz's wednesday night, Karen's thursday night and my mom's saturday night. Liz's party will be my first ever...I must admit I am a little nervous. I think I'll need a vacation when I'm done... Dominican here I come! And the kids are staying home!

Pop-A-Weiner !??!

I know that many of you don't know the term Pop a weiner so I'll explain.... Today Dylan and Luke were playing cars on the floor. Luke's car went racing across the floor lifting up it's front end. Luke shouted with excitment, "Pop a wheely!" Then it was Dylan's turn his car went racing across the floor and he shouts, "Pop a weiner!"

The other Love in my life....

You all might think he is some Cheesy Boy Band Singer. I think Josh Groban is one of the most talented male singers out there. Tuesday his new CD 'Awake' came out and yes, I rushed out to buy it....

This is one of my favorite songs along with February Song....
It's all I've been listening. My poor neighbors! I've heard he is going on tour and yes I will be going. Of course Luke doesn't know this yet....I think the saying goes Happy wife..Happy Life.

Caleb... SLOW DOWN!!!!

With Caleb I find myself wanting him to stay at the baby stage for longer. I've come to realize no matter how hard I try he's just going to grow up. With Dylan we were always so excited to help him advance to the next development stage....walking...talking....toilet training. And now with Caleb I just want things to go nice and slow. BUT THEY ARE NOT!




On October 2 Caleb pulled himself into a standing position. Now he's not only standing but maneuvering from coffee table to couch while standing. Two weeks ago he started climbing up the stairs (all the way up 15 stairs.) I guess the only milestone I'd really be excited to see right now is sleeping through the night. He's still breast feeding and loving it! Yesterday I worked a full day at Dylan's preschool, so Caleb was without mommy for 7 hours. The day away made him extra needy in the night, and left mommy extra tired today.

Halloween....

We dressed both boys up this year. Dylan was Super Man and Caleb a bumble bee. We didn't do the door to door thing because it was around -15. We headed out to the mall...a little warmer. The only problem with trick-or-treating at the mall is now every time we go there Dylan thinks he can run into every store and ask for candy!!!!

My great debate....

So Lately Caleb has been going to bed rather early (for the Sheppard household.) He's been winding down around 6:30 and in bed by 7:00. Well of course this means he's getting up at 6AM...much to his moms dismay!!! And this whole situation would be ok if I too went to bed at a decent hour and not 12:00. So do I keep letting him go to bed super early or should I try to keep him up a little bit longer..say 8:00. Well maybe I'll do a little experiment and see how things go. It would be OK for me to wake up so early if I wasn't up 2-3 times with him in the night...AHHHH Kids!!! I just love them....pass me the espresso.

Gold Canyon Candles???

Well I guess the question you've all been asking yourselves is what the heck is she doing selling candles.... Well let me answer you. A few years ago Karen went to a home show in Kamloops and purchased some candles from GCC(Gold canyon Candles). She loved them so much that she hoarded them and burnt them sparingly knowing that she had no idea how to get more. Fast forward to October 2006.... I'm scanning through one of my favorite websites usedcalgary.com and I stumble across an add recruiting for GCC which is now starting to sell candles in Canada. I quickly phoned Karen to confirm that this was the same company that she's been raving about for years. It was them, so I got in touch with the local demonstrator and we set up an appointment. Needless to say I was convinced and signed up right away. Now starts my new job and all the fun things that come with selling candles..PARTIES:( For all of you out there that need some candles for Christmas my website is www.mygccandle.com/escape
Or just e-mail me and I'll help you out. I know how much we all love parties....(sarcasm).
So now that I've found Karen's favorite candle company it's my job to share them with the world...which means all of you.

Snap Shot

I don't have a lot of time right now to sit and write about all that has happened over the last few weeks. All I can say is our trip to Kamloops was amazing. So I'm leaving you all with a few pictures that say more than words and I'll write later.

Fall has arrived!!!

What an exciting week.

This week was a busy one... Dylan's first day of SCHOOL!! Caleb got his second tooth, Luke worked 2 night shifts (which I hate), Caleb started to crawl, and Simba (Lion king) arrived.




Dylan had a great first day of school, he didn't even cry. Unfortunately most of the children in his class do not even speak but I'm sure Dylan will keep the teachers busy. Caleb started out the week by doing the inch worm...and now by the end of the week he is crawling, not fast but a slow crawl. So I guess I'm really going to be busy now!!!