And I was doing so well....

I apologize for the delay in any posts.  It has been a crazy week, well, month.  Between Mel's wedding, sick kids and a new job/career, there has barely been time to think.  But I am planning to get back on track.  Maybe.  Well. you know how good I am at staying on track.\

Speaking of new careers, I have decided to become a Discovery Toys consultant.  

Now, I promise not to inundate you with spam about booking a party.  I will do a post or 2 about Discovery Toys, otherwise, they will only come up if it pertains to the story.  No needless, Discovery Toys, annoying, Discovery Toys, pressure, Discovery Toys, here.

If you are interested in learning more, watch for my posts or check out the links on the right hand side bar.

Otherwise, watch for my next posts.  They are exciting.  :)

Super Kiera

To the Rescue...

One quiet afternoon, Kayla was down for her nap, and Kiera was playing in her room.  When suddenly, the air was pierced by a blood curdling scream.  Kayla woke up and realized she was in her crib.  Oh the horror she felt when she saw those bars.

Superhero incognito

Instantly, or as instantly as a 3 year old moves, Kiera was on her feet and out her door.  She ran to the hallway to find out what the commotion was about.  She stood at the edge of the kitchen and exclaimed 

"Kiera to the rescue Kayla!"  She waited until her side kick, Mommy, opened the door to the nursery, then she launched herself down the hallway and in to the nursery.  

 "It's ok Kayla."

 "She's so cute mommy."

So are you Super Kiera.

Tried It Pinterest: Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken

Here's what it should look like.

3 lb. bag of frozen chicken breasts
1 bottle Frank's Wings Buffalo Sauce
1 packet Ranch Dip Mix

 Instructions

Put frozen chicken, wing sauce, and ranch dip mix into Crockpot.
Cook on low at least 6 to 7 hours
Shred chicken & return to Crockpot.
Cook on low for an additional hour. 

Here is what mine looked like.

Not pretty, but it was mighty tasty.  Even Hubby found it spicy.

I did change a couple of things.  I didn't have ranch powder or dressing, so I used the Epicure Tzatziki Seasoning.  I also put some Franks BBQ sauce as I didn't have enough of the Franks Buffalo Sauce.

We put it on some rice (I forgot to take a picture) to help soften up the taste.  Tonight we are making wraps with the left overs.

I would definitely recommend this recipe! 

Bedtime Heels

My sister is getting married in a week, and I am in the wedding party.  This means I need new shoes (wink, wink).

Normally, I do not order shoes online because I have large, wide feet.  This can cause sizing problems.  Depending on the style of the shoe, I will take a 10, 10W or 11.

However, for the wedding, I wanted some nice shoes.  I cannot get them here, so online I go.

I found these, and thought they were perfect for the dress.

Beautiful, right?

I got them, and they are a little tight across the toes, but otherwise, not a bad fit.  Just need to break them in.

Don't the go great with my pajamas?

Tried It Pinterest: Strawberry Champagne Punch

Here is the first installment of my Tried It series.  This one was inspired by my sister's recent Bridal Shower.  

She, not so subtly, indicated on Pinterest that this punch was something she wanted at the shower.  And being the bestest oldest sister in the world, I complied.

The Strawberry Champagne Punch looked delicious and not too difficult to make.

1 liter sparkling champagne
1¼ cups fruit punch
1¼ cups ginger ale
1¼ cups orange juice
1 pint fresh strawberries
1 pint raspberry sherbet
1 pint vanilla ice cream

Instructions
Chill juices and sodas before using.
Mix juices, soda and wine in punch bowl.
Add strawberries and stir.
Spoon in ice-cream and sherbet, mixing.
Add ice ball preferably made of frozen punch.

Since our other sister is allergic to strawberries, we substituted raspberries.  The only other change I made was to use a tropical fruit punch instead to the regular berry one.  

Oh, and I didn't add the ice ball because I forgot to make one.

Here us how it turned out.

 Nothing like the recipe picture.  I am not even sure the other picture is from the same drink.

It did not look too tasty, but we managed to polish off 2 batches of it.  It actually tasted pretty good.  

One warning, don't look at it while you are drinking it.

 

Kids... Not Just Cute

I'll admit that kids can come in handy sometimes.

In the times before remote controls (man, am I dating myself), our parents used us to change the channel. When I was a teenager, we were cheap labour in the family business.

However, with the invention of remotes, and not having a family business, I had not found things I can get the kids to do for me. 

Until recently.

I found a use for my children quite by accident.

One afternoon, I received a phone from a number I didn't recognize.  I usually avoid those calls.  If they really wanted to reach me, they would leave a message.  However, this time, I was distracted by the children.

"Hello, may I speak with Gina **** ****."

"Speaking"

"Hi, this is *****.  I am calling from (insert some name here), and we are conducting a survey on your recent experience with ...." I am not going to go into the rest as I wasn't really listening.

  "I would like to ask you some questions.  It should only take about 5 minutes."

This is when the kids started screaming and whining at me.

"Um, right now is not a good time."

"Ok, we will try you another time.  Good Bye."

I have never been able to get a telemarketer off the phone so quickly.  I need to train the girls to scream on command.
On command only, I might add.

My girls will come in handy after all.

Auto Cumcumber

As cell phone users, I am sure we have all had our problems with Auto Correct.  I usually blame it on the kids.  Recently, I received this text from my husband.

"Korea licked in her room"

Can you decipher it?

Darn Auto Cucumber!

New Addicitions

My new Addiction

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard.
"Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.
Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests."

To me, Pinterest is like my vision board.  A place I can organize what I want from life. 

I can share my sense of style...

(love the mary janes)


Build my new home...

Cook gourmet meals...

Craft the most coolest things...

Explore fascinating places...

And best of all, I can share parts of me to those following my posts.  Maybe they have learned something new about me.  

I know I have learned new things about myself.

This leads me to a not so big announcement.

I am starting a weekly post called
Tried It Pinterest.

In this post, I will share my "success" in trying one of the many things I have pinned.  This way, Pinterest becomes more than just the pictures.

So stay tuned!

Reading is Fundamental and Yummy

 

You are never too young to appreciate a good book.

Today's Musing

I often wonder at the strangest things.  I am not sure if it is the lack of sleep or my brain is wired for odd thoughts.  Anyway, this was today's musing.

 "Is her poop supposed to look like that?"

Get a Move On

With your first child, you are in a hurry for them to do everything.  Talk, crawl, walk.  You work with them, spend hours putting them into the crawling position.

Once subsequent children come a long, you are hoping that they don't move too early.  Because the day will come that you will need to go grocery shopping with both kids in tow, and unless you go to Costco or Superstore, the carts are only built for 1 kid.  And really, if you have kids, you need as much space in that cart available for groceries.  So you let them walk, and sensing your weakness, this will be the time they will run in opposite directions.  It's like herding cats.

I will pause so you can picture that.

For me, as much as I dread that day in the grocery store, I am hoping Kayla starts motoring soon.  Even adjusting for her being preterm, she is behind in her gross motor skills.

She just started sitting on her own for short periods of time.  And she will now keep her knees under her if you place her in the crawling position, but she will not put any weight on her arms.  

I am going to start thinking of song to sing to her to get her moving.  Maybe something like "I can't Drive 55" or "Motoring."

Suggestions?

To my Husband

Happy Anniversary.  I can't believe it has been 6 years since we said "I Do."  We have packed a number of adventures into that time, and I can not think of anyone else I would want at my side.  I love you.

  

Am I Overanalysing or am I just Overanalysing?

Kiera has been seeing a speech therapist since she was 16 months old.  Her speech was slightly delayed, so we wanted to be proactive.  In February, the speech therapist told me that she has noticed Kiera has been displaying some red flags that may indicate Autism.  The first thing I did when I got home was to start researching autism, red flags and treatments.

My first thought, after reading some of the indicators, was "that might explain a lot."  

Delayed speech or no speech - check

Focused, gets lost in her own word - just like her daddy

Repetitive play - she loves to build towers, actually she just likes to stack things

Likes to spin - but isn't that normal

Behavour issues - sometimes she gets frustrated easily or has a tantrum for no apparent reason but then again, she is 2

Oversensitive to stimuli (feel, light, noise) - she usually takes her pants and socks off by the middle of the day and she isn't very affectionate with people

No imaginative play - check

Independent - check

Hmmmmmmmmmmm...

At our next appointment, B, the therapist, conducted a speech and language assessment.  She found that Kiera scored normally in expressive comprehension, but scored low in auditory comprehension.  My translation is her understanding of vocabulary and ability to express herself is normal, but her ability to understand and process what is said to her is low.   Her brain processes input differently than ours, so she has difficulty following directions.

 

Fast forward to now.

We are awaiting assessment, which may take up to another year before that can be completed.  And now I am starting to doubt my initial reaction.  She has started to play imaginatively, she is social and can make eye contact, she is verbal and is not stuck to routines.

Maybe she is just quirky.

Is she autistic or am I just looking for behaviours that mimic autism?

Tracks and Brains

Well, I told everyone the story of beginning of Kayla`s life, but I failed to introduce her.  I am going to blaim mommy brain.  I love that excuse, it covers so many forgetful moments, and off trackedness. Off Trackedness, I know it`s not a real word, but I like it.  I just made it up, and it is so good at describing my thought processes. 

Wait, what was I talking about?

Right, introducing Kayla. Without further further ado, and before I forget again, here is Kayla.

Kayla

December 8, 2011 (4 weeks early)

1:22 am

7 lbs

19.5 inches

December 2011

January 2012

February 2012

March 2012

May 2012

June 2012

Happy Birthday my Little Girl

It's Kiera's third Birthday, so this post is dedicated to pictures of her.