Fun With the Camera

It had been a while since I took pictures of Ethan, so I followed him around with the camera the other day, and these are some fun ones that Igot.

Ethan was hyper in his highchair

Such a happy boy!!

He was talking and talking, here he was saying "meow"

Ethan LOVES looking out the window, so we put a couch cushion there for him

He had been running around in his diaper, then brought me this sweater to put on-hence the outfit. He loved it and felt very happy about it

Mother's Day Fun!

Mother's Day ended up being a gorgeous day! A few more degrees warmer would have been nice, but we still got to enjoy being outside. My day started with Chris taking me up for a ride in the new plane he flies and it was very cool! I'm used to him flying little single engine planes that move at ridiculously slow speeds and always take off out of Steinbach's airport. Well, this time we took off from the Winnipeg International Airport where all the big jets take off from. There was lots of rubber marks all over the runway and it felt cool, like Chris was a big time pilot :o) (so dorky). Then, when we actually took off, I was expecting it to be like all the other times I'd flown with him, but this plane has turbo boosters (or something) that all of a sudden made us go really fast and I got pushed back in my seat! I'm sure this doesn't sound that exciting, but it made me feel so proud of Chris (especially with his spiffy pilot uniform on). He's worked so hard and he finally is a "real" pilot, flying turbine engine planes. I also know he felt really good being able to take me up. We landed safe and sound at the St. Andrews airport after a short 10 minute ride, then had to drive 40 minutes BACK to the international airport to get our cars, lol!

So after the ride in the sky (nerd, I know), we came back to my parent's house just in time for our mother's day barbecue. My mom made a fabulous meal, our first barbecue of the year. It was a beautiful day, so we ate outside while the kids played in the backyard (I'm REALLY glad they have a fenced yard, let me tell you!).

The cousins having fun with grandma and grandpa

Ethan's not quite sure about this wheelbarrow ride

These cousins are going to have a blast growing up together!

We then headed off to the zoo! I hadn't been there in who knows how long, and my favorite part was seeing the big grizzly bear playing in the water and scratching his back on the rocks - his claws were HUGE, I don't EVER want to meet one of those guys in the wild! Ethan loved all the animals and he either barked at them or said "kitty." I guess he doesn't quite understand the concept of different animals.

Being prego and all, I didn't have the stamina to do much walking, so I sat a lot and saw about one quarter of the zoo. Chris of course toured the entire thing with Ethan in the stroller (I'm so thankful Ethan has a fun dad to make up for my lack of energy).

Gearing up for the zoo!

The whole family

(I'm not sure why I'm standing like a mannequin)

We had a great day overall, being a mom sure makes you appreciate your own mom a lot more. It's amazing how even though I'm a mom, my mom is still a mom to me. It's too bad we didn't get to see Chris' mom, hopefully soon we'll be able to fly there all the time (when Chris works for West Jet), maybe next year for Mother's Day.

Happy Mother's Day to all my friends that are moms too, I'm happy we get to share this experience together!

Life ~ What a Whirlwind!

Well as you can probably tell by the title, our lives seem pretty crazy these days. One of the big contributing factors to this is that we're in the midst of selling our house and have to deal with showings. I was thinking about it, and showings wouldn't be a big deal if Chris and I both worked and didn't have kids because you're really only awake at home for a few hours a day and it's usually watching TV. BUT, I am home ALL day with not only one, but two kids (I do home daycare). So when that realtor calls us at 11:00 am and says, "hey, how 'bout a showing at 3:00," there is hesitation in my voice as I say yes, because I know that I now have to spend the rest of my day dusting every surface, wiping away all the little fingerprints that accumulate on glass surfaces, doing ALL the laundry, sweeping/mopping/vaccuuming all floors, cleaning both bathrooms, then there are all the toys in the basement and main floor, and finally, I save the kitchen for last. Wow, it makes me exhausted just thinking about it. That's a lot of work for a normal person, but then imagine doing that while being 6 months pregnant, exhausted because you can't sleep, WHILE watching and feeding 2 kids! We have had approx. 2-6 showings a week for the past month. I am not looking for pity, this is simply a glimpse into my life.

So, on top of showings, my grandpa has bought a ten acre property with a mobile home on it, that he decided to rent out. The only thing is that he doesn't know the first thing about having tenants, so he asked me to take over. "Sure grandpa, I'd be happy to help you, no problem"...... who knew finding tenants and getting them settled in a new home took so much work?! So there's posting the ad, getting a hundred phone calls, doing showings, finding and making contracts, making keys, doing walk-throughs, and everything else that comes along with that. This also wouldn't be a big deal, except that I have to do it all on top of working all day, Chris being gone (with our car) to work, showings, and working around making dinner/ napping/ sleeping/schedules. Needless to say, we have eaten out more than we'd like to lately. But this is life, and we cope. I am extremely exhausted on a daily basis, I pretty much have a short fuse and can cry very easily. Chris said today that I'm lucky I have such a patient husband :o) I told him he's lucky he has such a great wife :o)
I'm looking forward to our house being sold, me being done daycare, and just being able to relax. Tonight was the first night I watched TV in a LOOONNGG time and I got to watch my favourite show "Jon and Kate Plus Eight." It made me feel better and not so sorry for myself :o)