weekend catch-up

First off, I want to thank each and every one of you who sent us well wishes, yummy food, and offered your help over the past week. Both kiddies were under the weather - Little Miss L. is fighting pneumonia and Baby D croup. I am happy to report both kids are now on the mend and we are hoping to have a healthy household again soon. This weekend was low-key as everyone in our family is just starting to get their energy back.

Saturday, I don't know what got into me, but I was in the spring cleaning kinda mood. Okay, it was probably the nice weather that reminded me that I will soon want to spend all my time outdoors, so it was time to get the inside of our home in order, now. The hubby looked after the wee ones, as I cleaned the house from top to bottom. It felt good knowing the house was free of dirt, hopefully it also means the germs we have had lately went with it.

We finally have a smile.

Someone has now found their tongue.

My cutie enjoying his bath time.

Here is the girl I remember... so glad she is getting back to normal.

I was looking forward to Sunday because it meant I was going to photograph a beautiful couple for their engagement. This awesome couple is heading to Jamaica in a few weeks to tie the knot, and wanted a few shots before they made the transition from engaged to married. Even on only two hours of sleep (and no, I am not exaggerating here) we managed to get a few good shots and I had a blast with this fun-loving couple. The weather was perfect, as the sun was shining and the birds were singing! The rest of the afternoon, we spent outdoors with the kids. They loved the fresh air and we liked the fact they wanted to go to bed early.

I am so relieved the kids are on the mend and their smiles are reappearing. It broke my heart to see them in pain. I hope everyone else enjoyed the sunny weather... hello spring!!

Here is a sneak peak of the engagement session...

i don't want to say the h-word again!

This past week my happy bubble was popped. The past week has consisted of doctor visits, crying children, hospitals, and a lot of sleepless nights. For the last month and a half, Little Miss L. has had a constant cough that would not go away. We had been to the doctor several times and were told she just had a virus and it would pass. Last Wednesday, Little Miss L. came down with a high fever, the following day we took her to see her pediatrician who told us she had yet again picked up another virus. The high fever continued through the weekend and into Monday. This momma was in panic mode but tried to remember the doctors told us not to panic until she had a fever for more than 6-7 days. Tuesday morning arrived and momma bear mode kicked in. Little Miss L. had not left the couch in days, didn't have an appetite, a red spot appeared on her face, she was 6 days into the fever and her cough was severe. Tuesday morning we packed our bags and headed to the emergency.

It was a long wait to see the doctor and within a hour of being at the hospital, Little Miss L.'s body had broken out in a rash. Her face was covered and she began to itch non-stop. After a eight hour stay at the hospital we were informed Little Miss L. had pneumonia and suffering from Erythema Multiforme. Little Miss L. was given antibiotics and we were on our way home. The hubby and I were hopeful that our little girl would now be on the mend.

The rash started as one spot and turned into this within two hours.

Wednesday morning came and Little Miss L. woke up screaming at the top of her lungs. She was screaming because her face was so swollen she could not even open her eyes. My heart broke as soon as I saw my baby girl. I didn't even recognize her, that wasn't my happy go-lucky girl. This was a child in great pain, someone who was scared, someone who was looking at mommy and daddy to fix the problem. It is the worst feeling in the world knowing you can not doing anything to help make them better. I just wished I had a magic wand I could wave over my precious girl to make all this go away. We packed our bags again and back to emergency we went. We did not know if she was having a allergic reaction to the medication or if it was symptoms of the pneumonia - we didn't care - our girl needed help. After four hours spent in emergency they confirmed she was not having an allergic reaction but it was a symptom of the pneumonia. The rest of the day, Little Miss L. slept.

My poor girl woke up like this.

Back to the hospital we went.

My heart hurts looking at my sick little girl.

No one wants to see a child in pain. 

Later in the evening the swelling had gone down a little.

Today, the swelling has gone down a tad but the rash has now spread to her stomach and legs. We are off to see the pediatrician again this afternoon. We are hoping our baby girl will be on the mend soon.

The rash has now taken over her lower body.

As for Baby D, he also started a high fever last Friday and it continued on until Monday. We also, took Baby D to emergency where they told us he was fighting off an infection. Baby D has not improved since last Friday, we are hoping today Baby D will be given something to help him fight off this thing. The poor boy has not slept in days, and coughed so much he has lost his voice.

Baby D waiting to see the doctor.

Well, folks this is why I have been MIA for the last several days and I apologize if I haven't responded back to mails and messages but I promise to get at them very soon. Thank you to everyone for their get well wishes and support. Thank to our parents for helping us out, we wouldn't have been able to make it through the past week without you.

Anyone out there dealing with the same symptoms? Any advice would help!

birthday weekend

As of yesterday, I am officially one year older. As all of you know, I do love love love a good birthday celebration. Unfortunately, it was meant to be a low-key birthday at home with two sick kiddies this time around. My poor babies have been fighting off a virus for four days now. Baby D was so upset that all he did was cry for three days straight... poor thing lost his voice. Both kiddos have been up all night long for the last four days and it is starting to take it's toll and the hubby and I. Even with two sick kiddies, I was still spoiled by my family and friends.

Thursday, I had a nice to surprise gathering for my birthday with my girls. I truly didn't expect anything, but let me tell you, I was beyond grateful for their thoughtful gesture. It was the perfect girls night - full of yummy munchies, wine, great convo, and let's not forget my favourite sugary treat! To end off a spectacular night, I received another one of my favourite things - fresh flowers!! They look beautiful in our home, our sick house seemed a little more cheery with them there.

Friday was spent battling fevers. Cool bathes, wet washes clothes, and lots of snuggle time was taking place in our casa...there was no sleep to be had!

Saturday arrived and the hubby and I could hardly move. We were both walking zombies, along with our children. Baby D just wanted to be cuddle and wouldn't sleep unless we were holding him. The hubby and I had to take shifts- I think we are both in need of a good massage now. We were lucky when my in-laws showed up with a homemade lasagna for dinner. We were able to have a great dinner and settle in for the night, so we thought. Saturday night proved to be sleepless as well.

Sunday arrived and I woke up to being one year older. I was beat and the hubby was nice and let me hit the sheets for a few extra hours of sleep. Once I woke, I was bombarded by lots of birthday hugs and kisses. Little Miss L. made sure to sing Happy Birthday to me about a million times throughout the day. Everyone was still fighting this awful virus, and didn't have much energy besides moving from the bed, to the couch, to the cool bathtub. We were lucky again, as my parents and brother arrived to bring a birthday dinner. We had made plans to celebrate with everyone on Saturday because my father and I celebrate our birthday's four days apart but we had to cancel. It was a great surprise because they decided instead to bring the party to us. We had a fabulous dinner, and what birthday wouldn't be complete without a cake to end the night!

Even though my two kiddos were sick, and I felt like a zombie it was still a wonderful birthday. Thank you to everyone who made it so special and sent their get well wishes to the kids and birthday wish to this old lady. I am truly blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.

Girls night! Thank you girls :)

The flowers look beautiful.

They brightened our home.

Words can not do justice to how incredibly delicious these cupcakes were.... and let's not forget how pretty they looked too!

My poor baby spent most of the weekend against mommy like this.

This is where Little Miss L. has camped out for the last several days.

When she did get a burst of energy I found her in here.

This is what it looks like when you haven't slept in days.

Little Miss L. made mommy a birthday card - I loved it!

One of mommy's favourite things. The hubby made me some birthday crepes, I could seriously eat these everyday.

My brother and parents know the way to a girl's heart. These two things can make any day better.

A birthday snuggle with my little man.

Little Miss L. made sure to get lots of snuggles in from Uncle Brady.

Time to dig into the birthday dinner. It was sooooo good! Thank you mom and dad.

It is cake time!

Someone doesn't like cake.

Time to blow out the candles. The end to a great year.

my love-hate relationship with ikea

Ikea and I have a love-hate relationship. I could spend countless hours walking around the store, and dreaming of how I would redo my bedroom or dining room etc. I look at a piece of furniture and say "you would fit perfectly in our home" and excitedly write down the aisle and bin number - I am now one step closer to my furniture victory as I race down the aisle to see if they have my item still in stock. I get a rush lifting my find into the cart - there is just something rewarding about doing it yourself. After everything is paid for, the fun really begins. I love love love placing my find in our vehicle, it is like my very own large jigsaw puzzle. Plus, I am not going to lie, I sometimes linger because I enjoy watching others work on their jigsaw puzzle too! Now it is back home I go, after several minutes my find is now in it's new home. This is where the hate part of our relationship begins to form. I open the box to see the million and one pieces I now need to put together. I open the instruction manual and notice the hundred steps I must take to get to my end result. I take a deep breath and begin the "oh-so fun project." This week I decided to tackle one of these projects.

I was lucky this week to have my good friend April staying at our home for a few days - I kind-of talked her into the trip to Ikea and then once we were home, I might have slipped in "Oh, this looks easy...I am sure we could put this together ourselves." I have a great friend because she was up for the task. It was going smoothly, it was teamwork all the way, we were on a roll, you could see the pure satisfaction on our faces as we were plowing through the steps as Little Miss L. did her Ikea dance (she likes to dance on all the pieces) to keep us motivated. The hubby came home half way through the process and we excitedly shouted out that we were doing a stellar job, and that we didn't need any help - we knew what screwdriver to use, and the hammer was a cinch. We were nearing the end, maybe ten steps left at the most. When pure panic set in as I watched my girlfriend's face as she looked at the manual and then back at the table, back to the manual, and then back to the table. I knew I wasn't going to like what was about to come out of her mouth. I remember the words "we have to take it apart," one of the pieces had been put in upside down! At that moment, fire was coming out of my ears - I hate you Ikea, I hate hate hate you! We needed to take the whole thing apart, we were now back at square one. All of our hard work had been for nothing, once everything was apart we started the process all over again, but our brains were fried at this point and we couldn't even repeat step one (no, I am not lying here). We had to declare Ikea defeat and walk away from our project. It was now the project for my fabulous hubby to tackle. Let's just say several hours later, and some not so nice words - we now have our new tv stand.

Ikea, there is just something about you, you keep me coming back for more. You're like a drug. You have me wrapped around your finger. Please, feel free the next time I purchase something from you.. send someone to put it together for free? I would love you even more!!

Little Miss L. breaks out her Ikea dance.

She's got the moves like Jagger!

I couldn't help but share a few photos of Baby D and Auntie April. He adores his auntie, and loves spending time with her. She always knows how to make him smile.

baby boy shower

Sunday, we celebrated the soon-to-be arrival of Baby B. I love this stage of my life where my girlfriends are bringing precious bundles of joy into the world. I love love love babies, and the more, the merrier! It was a beautiful afternoon of celebration. The momma-to-be was glowing and proud daddy made his appearance too. Everyone is patiently waiting for your arrival, little man, you are going to be showered with so much love.

My dear friends - remember to enjoy every minute of parenthood (even the rough days) as they truly do grow up fast. Take help when it is offered... it's okay to have a date night - spend time just the two of you - and remember momma to nap when baby does, even if you have a million things to do. I know you both will be wonderful parents and Baby B is going to be one lucky kid!

What is one special memory you have from your shower?

Proud parents-to-be.

A wonderful group of ladies excitedly waiting for Baby B's arrival.

Let the games begin.

How big is momma-to-be's belly? I wasn't very good at this game.

Time to pin the sperm on the egg!

Such a fun game - everyone had a blast. Again, I wasn't very good at this game either... I see a trend happening.

Baby B, I think mom and dad are well prepared now.

These sweet treats were hard to walk away from.

Loved the party favours - so cute!