What I'm LOVING

I have enough a/c units installed to keep the house comfortable in the heat!

Rob is officially back to work which means *regular paychecks*. After 5 LONG months with NO income other than my baby bonus and the odd jobs Rob was able to get we are beyond happy to get to see regular cash coming in!

My swimming pool will be ready soon (if Rob leaves the pump plugged in, that is)

The week is halfway over! Looking forward to the weekend! Hopefully Rob will have his much anticipated paycheck by then!

My hubby let me sleep in this morning. He came in looking for work pants and I think I mumbled something to him about Ash crying for 2 hours for no reason last night and the next thing I knew it was 10am!

It's been awhile since I've blogged and I can't let the whole month of May go by without a single post. It would look funny on the sidebar list of posts.

A general update of the last month's goings-on for us...

My online business has been growing. I participated in 4 different events as a vendor and met some really great people and made a few new contacts, and of course, customers.

Cohen pooped on the toilet. This has been an ongoing battle issue for us and we couldn't be prouder. Good ol' bribery reward system in action.

Ashton doesn't seem to need Mommy as much at bedtime and naptimes. If he's "ready" for bed I can plop him into bed and actually LEAVE the room. This is  HUGE milestone. We are a co-sleeping household, not necessarily by choice. Ash will be getting his own big boy bed (with safety railing) in a few weeks. Cohen will be bunking in with Ryan once I buy a new set of bunkbeds and maybe, just maybe, my couch sleeping husband will start sleeping in my our bed again....

The boys started ball tonight. Ryan plays minor ball and Cohen plays T-ball! After a slow start for Cohen he started to enjoy himself and is looking forward to next week. Ryan LOVES baseball and can't stop talking about it!!

Cohen has quite the crush on our little neighbour. She is the cutest little brat girl. And Cohen absolutely adores her. I was calling his name, repeatedly, and of course he had totally tuned me out. Little Kaleigh simply calls his name once and he goes running to her, yelling, "I'm coming!"

How cute are they modelling tutus for me! Cohen was willing to do anything to make Kaleigh happy!

Rob is officially back to work, which means I am ALONE a lot! As alone as one can be with 4 kids.

Our tenant from hell FINALLY moved out! He left the house a complete pig pen and destroyed a few things but when it all comes down to it I am just glad he is out!

So that's a bit of what's new and oh-so-exciting around here.

10 Things I love!

10 Things I love!

There are always rules...
1. State who tagged you.  Ashley from The Johnstons. Check her out cuz she might be crazy cute and we luv her!!!

2. State 10 things you love.

1~ I'd better start with the fam....there's me and Rob along with our daughter Cassandra and our 3 monsters, Ryan, Cohen and Ashton.

2~Cadbury cream eggs...I used to be disgusted by them but was tempted by one early on in my most recent pregnancy and the addiction has stuck with me....

3~Crafting - well not so much crafting as "creating". I love making all the accessories I do for Cassabella Creations, which is why I do it.....

4~ Shopping - but more specifically getting great deals. Anyone can "shop" but it takes a certain talent, I think, to shop well...

5~Being pregnant - which could explain why I'm willing to do it again...and again...and again...I do love the little ankle-biters as they grow too!

6~Tori & Dean - they are sooo adorable! I am a very happy mama when they air a Tori & Dean marathon....

7~my house - yes, this one...why? Because it's got character and history and it just feels like home. Over the years we have rented many houses and this is the 4th one we've owned (we still own another as well) and this one just fits us. 

8~TV - but not just any crap...I love NCIS, House and Bones as well as One Tree Hill, Vampire Diaries and Phinneus and Ferb....

9~A good book - or even better a good series....

10~ Cats - I am totally a cat person just not the crazy cat lady...although we only have 2 dogs I would trade them both for a cat! I adore our dogs (most days) but cats are just more superior.

April Fool's Day

April 1st, 2011 has been the worst April Fool's Day EVER!!! The meanest trick ever played on me and it was by my own body. This past Thursday, at 8.5 weeks pregnant I started spotting which never happened to me in my 4 previous pregnancies.  Add to the spotting some cramping throughout the day. Thursday evening I went to the hospital where they performed 2 different ultrasounds and a blood test to measure my hcg levels. During the ultrasounds the Dr. couldn't find a heartbeat but said that didn't necessarily mean anything since it was still early in the pregnancy and the ultrasound image was not very good. I had to return for a follow up blood test Friday.
Friday morning, April Fool's Day, I awoke to no more bleeding or cramping. I was so relieved. I put off returning to the hospital as I had an unexpected visit from Rob's sister. Soon afterwards I found out the bleeding had started again. Mild cramping followed. I returned to the hospital for the 2nd blood test. When teh results came back the Dr was very positive. She indicated the levels had risen accordingly for my stage of pregnancy and everything looked good. I was told to return Monday morning for a follow up blood test and ultrasound.
On my way out I bumped into a friend who reassured me that this had happened to her and she went on to have a healthy baby.  I was starting to feel good again and not as worried.
I fell asleep pretty early putting Ashton to bed but awoke around midnight. I won't get all TMI here but suffice to say at this point I lost the baby.
I was/am devastated. You never really know the feeling of the loss until you experience it yourself. Even though I was "only" 8.5 weeks along it is still so traumatic. The thought of losing this tiny lifeform that was a part of me brings me to tears even now as I type this. The loss of the baby that will never be. Who I will never hold or cuddle.....

I have to say though that I have a great husband who is very understanding and caring and knows just what to say and do to make me feel better. He knows when to just listen to me and when I just need a hug. He even knows that if I stop talking in the middle of a random conversation it's because I'm trying not to cry. Which I have been doing a lot of. I can't describe the feeling. There really aren't words for it. And honestly, I don't think you can ever really sypathize, empathize or understand unless you've experienced it and it's not a feeling I would wish for anyone.

So, this was my April 1st. Not a day I'll be taking much pleasure in again, I'm sure.

Like a lion alright...

Ever jinxed yourself? Like by saying something like, I haven't gotten sick yet this year, and then BAM you get hit with the flu from hell?

Well, remember a few posts ago I mentioned that things were about 99% drama-free in my life except for the "bowtique" lady. Well, of course, here came drama. I log onto a forum that we are both members of and here I find a post started by that lady. Basically, she summed up our history. As she perceives it anyways.

So if one was to believe her, a)I stalk her page b)copy her original creations c) buy her products to pull them apart to recreate them. A big nope to all of that. Yes, I have purchased items from her for my daughter. Every item I have purchased from her is something I DON'T make nor do I plan to. I don't copy her work. If we have the same items it pretty much means we both learned from the same online tutorials (most found through that forum).

In this instance she was complaining about my possible attendance at a home party hosted by a friend. I asked this friend if she minded if I came to purchase a few metal headbands. In this post she wrote today I was basically accused of wanting to buy it to learn how to make them. Again, nope. I don't want to make them. I know how. It's not nuclear science here, it's attaching a flower to a metal headband. I don't WANT to make them. I don't sell very many headbands for older kids. I simply want to buy a few pretty headbands for my daughter for Easter and bonus for me if i don't have to pay for shipping.

God forbid if I want to get out of the house without any of my 4 kids, enjoy some good company and rekindle a friendship that has hit quite a roadbump over the last year. And anyone who has ever been to this friend's get togethers, knows she's a great hostess. But yeah, bowtique lady, its all about you! She even accused me of wanting to see how she does her home parties! Ummm, I was a Tupperware consultant as well as a Mary Kay consultant. I know how to do a home party. I certainly don't need to see her in action for that reason.

Anyways, the thread she started on the forum has since been removed. Right after I posted MY side of things.  I really just wish she would stop acting like I am this evil monster whose sole goal in life is to ruin her business. I don't market to her customers, I don't make everything she does. I have been making tutus for quite awhile now, guess who all of a sudden started making them? But I didn't go off on her the way she has done to me. She started making Disney Princess clippies. I made one before Valentine's Day and posted on this same forum that I was working on them and, again, who spent all of last week posting princesses?? Did I let it get to me? No. It's life. There's nothing I can do about it other than contine perfecting mine and post them on my fb page when they're done!

If there's one thing I learned from my late Grandfather, it was to let it go. Don't let other people's crap ruin your day. If she wants to be petty and childish, so be it. I'v dealt with it in my own way by blogging about the incident. It's my way of putting it behind me.

In like a Lion...

Pretty much describes March, right? In like a lion, out like a lamb?

It doesn't only apply to the weather. At least not in Quebec.

March break!! Like a lion alright!!
Actually, I am a little sad that tonight is the last free for all night of March break. We have 2 pullout sofas (thanks Aunt LJ) that the kids LOVE. They get to sleep down here on Fridays, Saturdays and holidays. Tonight is Ryan's last night down here until the weekend.

Cassie is at a sleepover for a friend's birthday, and I am working on Cassabella orders. Real exciting. Seems March break is going out like a lamb.

I really wish we had been in a better position financially to have done more for the kids this past week. Then I remember back to how I spent my March breaks. I used to look forward to weekends and holidays much the way my kids do now. For little pleasures. For me, it was getting to spend the weekend at my Grandparents. Every weekend. Right up through college. Heck I lived there until I met Robert. Soo even though we haven't taken them to Disney World for March break I really hope my kids enjoy the nice quiet, quality family time we've spent together.

hands free soap pump

I recently saw a commercial for a Lysol hands free soap pump. In this commercial, the claim is that the regular soap pump is covered with germs which are transferred to your hands.

Right. OK.

So, correct me if I'm doing it wrong, but this is my hand washing routine. Turn on faucet, wet hands, pump/apply soap, lather/rinse, turn off faucet, dry hands. So essentially, after transferring the germs from the soap pump onto my hands, I then proceed to wash/lather/rinse those horrible germs away.

Right. OK.

And their big draw for their product? Kids. We NEED this hands free soap pump to protect them. From germs they are going to wash off anyways.....

Basically, we shouldn't worry about the soap pump. It's the faucet harboring the nasties if we touch it after washing the soap pump germs away.

And don't forget EVERYTHING little junior touched prior to washing his hands.

Does Lysol think we're all idiots? I'm sure I'm not the only one to realize that the hands free pump isn't neceassary. Cool, but not needed!