That was a quick December

Wow... Did December just come and go in a snap of a finger? Sure seems like it to me!
Or maybe it's because of the lack of sleep I'm getting that every day seems like one big long day to me??? :)

There were a lot of fun and interesting things that happened in December, hence why the lack of posts.

First, our wonderful friends Pat and Jim Crichton were married at the end of November. Norm and I travelled to Windsor to celebrate the day with the lovely couple. It was the first time we left Evan overnight (at my sister's) and the first time Norm and I would have a 'night' together in a long time.

Oh November

It's been quite a busy and tiring November for me.

I haven't had a chance to update the blog as much as I would like to. I haven't even had a chance to post my "Look back at meningitis" blog I wrote weeks ago. I'm still looking it over (when I get the chance) and adding or deleting to it.  It's a long one but I hope to get it posted this week.. just to say I did.

The reason for all my exhaustion?
Evan.
Ha ha! Was there any doubt?

His 4th tooth is cutting his gums and like his previous 3 teeth, he is not dealing with the pain well. Up at all hours of the night.  Crying in obvious pain from his teeth.  Poor thing.

Greek-Style Chicken Recipe

If you're a fan of chicken... especially chicken thighs, then this is a recipe for you!

Ever since my best friend, Celine, introduced me to this "greek-style chicken" slow cooker recipe, I've been in love. It's so quick to prepare and very tasty!! I have to say, I've probably made this recipe over 100 times now,  I don't even need the recipe to look at.  I just eyeball all the measurements and toss them into the slow cooker. 

Ericka truly loves this chicken recipe. She can't get enough of the chicken plus the broth with the rice. She's always asking for more.  And when my toddler eats, it makes mama very happy!

We Remember

Today we take the time to remember the men and women who have served, and continue to serve our country during times of war, conflict and peace.

We thank-you.

Goodbye BlackBerry...

...Hello Apple iPhone!!

I have finally joined team iPhone after years with BlackBerry. I had been a loyal BB fan for years. From the BB curve to the BB torch.. I had them all. But as smartphones became better, faster and more exciting... the BlackBerry brand unfortunately did not. Not for ME at least.

Quick, Easy and Delicious Meatloaf

Ever look at the clock and realize you haven't even prepped a thing for dinner yet? 

There's no time to defrost any meats from the freezer. 

You realize you're missing a key ingredient to make one of your usual signature dishes. 

Oh man! Dinner for the family is going to be a real gong show if you don't think of anything, and quick!

Happy Halloween

Wishing my readers a fun and safe Halloween!

Ericka was very excited this morning to dress up for her daycare's Halloween party! Her teachers noted her costume was yellow! No surprise there!

Toothy Thursday

My little guy has cut his second tooth and boy, is it wreaking havoc in this household.

Sleep? Who needs it?
Especially when your adorable almost 7 month old flashes you the cutest smile EVER!

My Boy Is 6 Months Old!

My my.. where has the time flown?
It quite honestly feels like Evan is older than 6 months.. but really, he's still a baby! I think the combination of feeling like I've been off work for a year and the fact that Evan is just growing like a weed, makes me feel like my lil boy is much older than he is.

We celebrated his 6 months with a mini photo shoot!

I should've known it was going to be a bit of a gong show... Evan is such a mover and hates to just sit up and be still. (He's kind of like his sister).  I don't think there is one shot that turned out great but perhaps with a bit of photoshopping I can make something work to hang up to frame later.

Is He Crazy?

Last week my husband had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the Easter Seals Drop Zone event.

By "Drop Zone", I mean my husband repelled down the side of of London, Ontario's tallest buildings.. One London Place. This was all in the name of charity!

One London Place

Duped

There are a lot of scams going around out there.. bad people taking money from kind, innocent people.

Well, I just come to the realization that I was duped out of some cash last night.

Here's what happened:

I went to Costco last night (Wednesday Sept 12) to get some quick items. I had baby Evan with me and I had a short amount of time to get in and out before I had to get on the road to pick up Ericka at daycare.
As I was pulling into the parking lot and looking for a spot, I noticed a man talking to a lady in the middle of the lane way in her car. I didn't think anything of it. I pulled into my spot (mommy parking spot for the win!) and got out of the car to the other side of the car to get Evan.  As I open the door, the man who was talking to the lady in her car was magically behind me. He says, "Hi miss. Do you have any spare cash to spare. My car needs a tow and I'm trying to bum money off people here to get a tow truck. I've got about $35 dollars and I've been stuck here for 3 hours."

Western Fair!!!

It has been ages.. probably 2 decades since I've last visited London's Western Fair.
You know, I don't really remember much about my past visits... Maybe I've never been at all? Lol No, I have been. Maybe the lack of sleep (mommy brain) is preventing me from remembering the last time I was at the fair, but I do know for a fact that it's "been awhile".

So when the opportunity to check out the fair this year came around, it was hard to pass it up.
Now that Ericka is older, the idea of maneuvering her and Evan in strollers through the crowds made it worth the visit because at least she is old enough to understand what she is seeing and enjoy some of the displays.

Good-bye Summer 2012

Well, it's been one heck of a summer to remember!

From continuous hot & humid days to our first family getaway...this summer has been an absolute blast! I picked a good summer to take a mat leave eh?

This past Labour Day weekend capped summer off with more beautiful weather and a great time spending it with the family, that I'm pretty sad summer is coming to an end. Soon, my hubby will be hard at work as this is a pretty busy time of the year with sports locally and nationally that he covers. That'll mean no more vacation weeks off and no weekend fun as he's commited a few of them for work events. Ho-hum.

So, this past weekend, we made sure to make the most out of this long weekend together as we took a trip to the beach again.. This time Ipperwash Beach along Lake Huron. What a beauty of a place. We had the ultimate blast. The drive was worth it!

Beautiful Ipperwash Beach

No pics of Evan in the water, but he loves playing in it.. just like his sister

Mama and Ericka

Beach Bums

While the summer is winding down, so was my husband's last few days away from work. With a few days of nice hot weather we decided to take the kids to the beach-- a "first time" taking both kids.
The most important thing we needed to bring with us wasn't food, or towels... It was making sure we had adequate shade from the sun.

We don't own a lot of beach stuff.. Aside from the bucket & shovel we have for Ericka to play with in her sand & water table.  So we had to think of a way to make sure we were shaded comfortably at the beach.

On our way down to Port Stanley, we decided to check out a JYSK store to see if they had any beach umbrellas. They didn't.  But they did have a nice pop-up tent that provided shade & privacy. The bonus of this all was the ability to nurse Evan comfortably at the beach without smothering him in a nursing cover and worried about people behind me watching! It was such a win-win!

Once there, the tent popped up nicely and we all enjoyed a wonderful time at the beach! (minus the dead fishes washed ashore. Ick!)

Pop-up tent score!

Something Special

We have some of the most amazing family & friends who love us. Seriously!
Everything from visits to support to gifts.. it's all been a blessing and we are thankful for everything.

There is this one particular gift we received from one of my best friend's mom, who really is like another mom to me, that made my heart melt when I laid my eyes on it.

Have you ever seen an old school Blue Jays bed set? No? Well, we are now proud owners of a special one of a kind set!!!
All thanks to our good friend Brenda!

Check out the fitted crib sheet 

A crib set for baby Evan, all made by his Auntie Brenda! :)

Blanket. AMAZING!

The Point

Going thru old photos of Ericka, Norm & I realize that Ericka likes to point. A lot.

Case in "point".

Wordless Wednesday- Love

<3

4+ months and counting

It's been awhile since my last 'family update' post. So much has gone on. So little sleep for mama. So little time to blog.  Not to mention I haven't had any energy or brain cells to blog much.

Family Trip

Last month we went on our first family getaway.. It was for one night and 2 hrs away (which is huge for us when traveling with a toddler and newborn). We tried out a resort/spa with a water park in Niagara Falls. It was a wonderfully pleasant surprise! The drive was painless, considering we stopped once on the trip there and minimal whining from both kids in total. Ericka looooooved the water park, arcade, and visiting the Falls. And Evan even enjoyed a bit of water fun at the resort! All in all, the trip was so much fun for us and it was nice to get away, even for just a day.

Americana Resort & Spa

Delicious! Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

I recently took my mom, sister and the kids out to lunch as a thank-you for hosting me and the two kids while my husband was away in May. We went to Red Lobster. I hadn't been there in a long time. Probably the reason is going out to restaurants with kids is too much of a hassle and well, my husband isn't a fan of seafood... so it's not a place that comes to mind first.

It was a great time and my kids behaved (to a degree) during the outing (THANK-YOU iPAD!)

What I love about Red Lobster is their Chedder Bay biscuits they give out at the beginning of the meal! I could eat 10 of those yummy delicious things!

Well I recently found a recipe via Pinterest on a copy cat recipe. The first one I saw looked very good but I dug a bit deeper and found another recipe that looked better! I whipped them up and in no time I had pretty much a homemade copy cat version of the cheesy garlic biscuits!

Big Epic Fail- San Diego Fireworks 2012

Did you hear about the 4th of July fireworks display in San Diego that went array?

The Big Bay Boom was suppose to be a 15 minute display of the largest fireworks show in the States.. but it ended up being a Big Bay Bust.. lasting only 30 seconds. Needless to say, the crowd was disappointed.

Here's video captured of the 'show'.. all fireworks going off at once. Organizers called it a technical glitch.. I call it an EPIC FAIL!

Second Denim Yoga Jeans Giveaway

If you're looking for a new look and new jeans, head over to Lulumum's blog as she's set to giveaway a pair of Yoga Jeans by Second Denim!

Read her review and details on the giveaway here. 

Enjoy and good luck!

Happy Canada Day!

Hope you have a safe and wonderful Canada Day! Enjoy the long weekend my friends! It's a great day to be Canadian!

Wordless Wednesday- Not Sharing With Daddyee

Kids Expo, Victoria Park 2012

Baking Up A Storm

Phew! It's been FOR-EVER since I've been able to sit at the computer and blog! 

So much has been going on... Evan is now 3 months old and Ericka is well.. she's being Ericka! lol We are taking bigger leaps into potty training though.. but with a needy newborn that is growing like a weed (He's just about 17 lbs and over 25 inches) it's hard to keep on top of the potty training. I do feel that Ericka is on the cusp of grasping the whole concept of doing her business on the potty, rather in her diaper. It's still a work in progress, but she's doing SO well as opposed to a month ago.

Ericka posing for me last week

Evan at almost 3 months

Remembering Dad

I can't believe how much time flies..

It's been 4 years since my dad passed away.
Every May 2nd my family takes time to remember a great husband, father and grandfather.. Vern Yee.

I'll always remember the night of May 1st.. getting the call at work that my dad was in the hospital.. rushing out of my shift to drive to Stratford because that was the nearest hospital to him at the time.. seeing my mom, brothers and sisters in the waiting room with that 'look' on their face.. seeing my dad for the first time that day, so frail, so unusual on that hospital bed... and remembering the difficult decision of what to do next...

Oh.. it was awful.

I'm tearing up thinking about it all again. I always do.

Having someone SO close to you, especially a parent, pass away right in front of your eyes makes you think of the many things, past, present and future.
Things that he has missed.. things I miss about him.. remembering all the fond memories of being raised by him.

This post is just a reminder to cherish all the moments you have with family and people you care about. You just never know when they'll be taken away from you.

May 2nd is a day of remembrance for me and my family. My dad. He was loved and is missed dearly.

Here is something Norm wrote after my dad passed away. He is such a magician with his words. It touched me so much, I'll never forget it.
I always re-post it every anniversary on fb or whatever. This year, I have my blog to post it on too.  Thank-you Norm for such a beautiful note.

May 2nd 
Started with the end of a wonderful life. 

Then devastation. 

Realization. 

And raw emotion. 

Sadness. 

And discovered strength. 

May 2nd. 

The end of a wonderful life. 

The evolution of a family. 

Damaged. 

Never destroyed. 

I love you dad. Always.

The Yee's, Christmas 2007

Dad with his family <3

He's Here!!

Well, 6 weeks ago that is!

My little prince has arrived and it's taken me that long to update this blog! :s Can you tell life is a tad crazy and exhausting?

I've been meaning to write a post about the events that lead up to "Herm's" arrival....here's the story if you care.. or you can scroll down to all the cute photos of the chunky guy!

It started all started St. Patrick's Day, March 17th.. I was at work and it was the night London, Ontario was made famous again in the news--for the wrong reasons-- the rioting by party goers on Fleming Drive.

Plug & (baby) Bump

Holla!
So, I'm at week 36 of this pregnancy.. I must say, I'm feeling all the effects pregnancy running through my body... Exhaustion, soreness, uncomfortableness, and well, I could go on and on. I guess chasing a 2 year old doesn't help this ol' body of mine either.

BUT before I go on with a few pics of my baby bump.. I wanted to give a shout-out to my friend Jodi.

Please take a moment to visit her Uppercase Living - Jodi Lale Facebook page. If you're looking for lettering/decals for walls.. She's the person you want to talk to!  Here is an example of the what you can find thru Jodi at Uppercase Living.

AND Jodi makes FABULOUS clothing and accessories for babies and toddlers.  Visit SpARTa Boutique to check out her creations. She has made some wonderful clothing and accessories for Ericka over the years. Here are just a few pics of my daughter wearing SpARTa Boutique apparel! "Like" them on FB!

Kennedy and Ericka (5 months) wearing matching SpARTa Boutique outfits!

A halloween candy corn themed tutu and headband from SpARTa Boutique. There was also a shirt that matched the theme but Miss Ericka didn't want to put it on for a picture. 

Ericka donning a SpARTa Boutique headband for Christmas party

And now.... my week 36 baby bump photos.
What do you think? Baby lower/dropped since my last photo at 34 weeks?

36 weeks and LOVING it!! *a touch of sarcasm there*

At a recent OB appointment.. I got an ultrasound growth scan done. They measured "Herm" at 39 weeks and at about 8lbs 7oz. WOWIE!!!!! Now, the technician said measurements may be a tad exaggerated due to the position of baby and the fact his head IS down making it more difficult to get an accurate measurement.

If I make it to my full 40 weeks.. This will be one huge baby coming out of me! I might even surpass the lady in China for delivering a 13lb baby! Can you imagine?  I don't want to even think about that!  Anyways.. enjoy? Excuse my frumpy attire.

 

Last photo to share... of my little princess. She loves wearing her tiara and clip-on earrings. Goes with her princess-like drama queen attitude!! (Thanks auntie Celine & Cassius)

This photo makes me smile and laugh at the same time. Ericka, being Ericka.

I really need to do something with her hair... 

Catching up

It's been awhile since my last post.  I must say, 3rd trimester is seriously taking a toll on my energy level...not to mention I have a busy toddler who is still waking up in the middle of the night for attention. It's not every night, and it's not for a long period of time that she is up (it used to be 2-3 hrs of whining and screaming.. now it's 30-45 mins lol) but it takes a toll on this pregnant mama who has to get up to pee 2-3 times a night and then has trouble falling back to sleep.

There have been numerous times where I wanted to blog about my day or something fun.. but then the thought of laying in bed seemed a bit more appealing than sitting at the computer. I suppose I could type something on the iPad but thoughts seems to flow better when typing on an actual keyboard.

I guess to catch up and sum up life since my last post...

Birthday week for Ericka was a lot of fun. It took about an hour a day over a 2 day span for Ericka (and her parents) to open the gifts from the party.  She loved them all and wanted to play with every single item once opened. One of the reasons why it took so long.  On her actual birthday, we brought out the cake our good friend from the Bake-e-Ree made for us for her party! It was delicious!

We've been doing a lot of re-organizing and packing as we headed into a week of renos for Ericka's new room. We had to move everything out of the 'office' and find new places to hide our junk! Thank goodness hubby enjoys these sorts of tasks (well, he had no choice, I was too tired to help and it had to be done). The room was eventually emptied, and he even pulled the old carpet out ready for the new floors in the room! Seriously, he's my hero.

We painted her  soon-to-be-new room a fun purple-- hyacinth purple.
You can see shots of her current room colour here in an old blog post.. This will become "Herm's" room.
Here is a sneak peak of the colour and floor. Buh-bye stupid carpet.

Hyacinth purple + hardwood floors

Next item on the agenda is to get her furniture ordered and put together in her room.. then we can move Ericka from her current room to her new room and start this whole sleep/bedroom training all over again! FUN TIMES!!!!
The good thing is we purchased a video monitor to help us watch Ericka during this sleep re-training. It's definitely helped as we can watch and decide when to actually go in her room when she needs us. You know, when she starts taking her clothes off and then decides the diaper is the next thing to come off. Yeah, we don't want any of those kinds of mishaps!!

And finally, to update you curious readers how far along I really am with this pregnancy.. I'm at about 34.5 weeks (My EDD is March 29th) It's crazy to think it's almost baby time! I saw my mom this past Friday and she commented that she thinks I'll be going in about 2 weeks. Other family or friends say 3 weeks... Regardless, the general consensus if you see me in person is that I'm "ready to pop".  Thought I'd update you with a few pictures taken tonight. What do you think? Ready to go soon or baby "Herm" is going the distance?

My 34th week....

Is "Herm" ready to come sooner rather than later?

Birthday Week!

Ericka's 2nd birthday isn't until this Friday but we had her birthday party with family and friends this past Sunday!!  I'm working on a blog on it but this third trimester is really tuckering me out.

For now, I just have a few pics of the cake...

Thank-you Bake-e-Ree for the awesome cupcakes and cake!! 

...but my sister-in-law posted some pics from the party on her blog!! (Thank-you Brandi)  Visit Yee Wittle Things to see more.

Hopefully by Friday, I'll have more of a blog post and more pics as we'll open presents received at the party and of course what mommyee and daddyee got for her! Also, we're saving the lovely cake Mickey Mouse cake Melissa from the Bake-e-Ree made for her too! :)

Wordless Wednesday- New Year's Red

Kung Hei Fat Choy

Today is the start of Chinese New Year!!

During this 15-day celebration, homes are adorned in red decorations with popular themes of good fortune, happiness, wealth and longevity. Families also exchange money in red-paper envelopes (hung-bohws), wish peace & happiness to each other and reconcile all grudges.

As you can tell, red is an important colour when celebrating Chinese New Year.

For us, an important tradition is to buy something new and preferably in the colour red.  We are all decked out in red today. I will have to take a picture of our 'red' from today... for now, here are two pictures from last year of all of us in our red!!

Ericka looks so young from almost a year ago

My favourite picture from our iMac photo shoot.. funny faces

Chinese New Year never falls on the same day of the year.. Last year it was celebrated on Thursday Febuary 3rd 2011 (which happened to be on Ericka's birthday) and next year, the New Year falls on Sunday Febuary 10, 2013 and the snake will be recognized as the animal sign of the year!  It's all based on the Chinese Lunar Calendar system which you can read about more here.

Wishing you a Happy Chinese New Year from my family to yours!! Kung Hei Fat Choy!

Ericka's lovey

(I wrote this a month ago as my 'first' blog post... but didn't want to post it yet. Here it is finally.. published and updated!)


A couple of months ago, my daughter became really attached to what we'll call her lovey.
It's not your average teddy bear, doll, 'blankie' or even toy. It's actually a plastic fork. The kind you buy at Ikea.

Back in the summer.. Ericka loved holding on to toys and objects.. such as a mallet or her bubble flute.

But sometime in August or September... she started to really enjoy holding on to the fork we would give to her for meals. From there, it was almost impossible to separate her and the fork

   

I was mortified as a mom. I kept thinking "what will other parents think of my child holding onto a fork".. no less running around and having fun with a fork in hand!
Family members started to question whether or not it was safe for her to be attached to a fork.. but honestly, in the weeks and months she clenched on to the plastic fork, she never stabbed or hurt herself with it. Yes, there may have been a scratch or two on the face or arms, but nothing serious. And yes, she may or may not have stabbed her parents with the fork... but again, not SERIOUSLY damaging. Just a surprise poke if you will.

It wasn't until we started daycare in October we knew she had to let go of her fork when we took her there. There was no way I was going to admit that was her lovey or that this is what will keep her happy.
So my husband and I would discreetly take it away from her each time we took her to daycare.. which was either twice a week or up to 4 times a week.  The first few weeks of daycare were hard enough on her and us as it was a new setting and new thing for Ericka to understand.

But honestly, since she has warmed up to daycare (actually she LOVES daycare and we love the staff and program there), she hasn't really wanted or asked for her lovey. Meal time she demands a fork but after that.. she's too happy or busy to have her hands occupied with a meaningless fork!

So mama's... have no worries. Ericka doesn't need her fork lovey anymore. Right now, it's a Donald Duck toy figurine she received for Christmas that she loves to hold on tight to)