Where has the time gone??

So much has happened since my last post, I was having some issues logging into my blogger account. That is fixed now - so here goes...
After a whirlwind weekend celebrating Madalyn's birthday we headed off to the 'happiest' place on earth - yup, you guessed it WALT DISNEY WORLD! The weather was perfect - not too hot, and definitely not too cool. I would highly recommend a visit to WDW in October. Both of the girls had a great time - obviously Emily enjoyed some thing more than Mady did but overall I think they both had a fantastic time. Norb is already busy plotting and planning our next trip, I think if he had his way we would be going at least 2 times a year. One of the biggest highlights of our trip was dinner with the princesses - we had the 'royal' opportunity to feast with Belle, Ariel, Jasmine, Cinderella, and most importantly AURORA!!! Emily was so cute as the princesses came by our table she would take her napkin and gently pat her mouth. According to Emily 'all princesses clean their mouth with napkins - mom'. This was also a huge highlight for Emily because she was dressed in her Aurora costume. I will have to post some pictures.
When we returned from Florida we were greeted by bitterly cold wind and some swirling flurries - it was a dose of reality.

Madalyn's First Birthday...

I can't believe it...Mady is ONE!!! How did this happen? It seems like yesterday, (ok maybe not yesterday) but last month that we welcomed Mady into our hearts and lives. It is true that life with two children can can be crazy and busy, but I couldn't imagine our lives without both Emily and Madalyn.
Mady celebrated her first birthday surrounded by everyone that is most important in her life right now, and despite the fact that she didn't see the need for an afternoon nap she managed to make it all the way to 8pm without becoming overly clingy and needing her mom. What a trooper:) We did all the usual first birthday things, made her wearing a birthday hat, dressed her in a cute little dress (that may never be the same if all of that fluffy pink icing doesn't come out :) ), let her have the run of the house (gate was removed and everyone spent time guarding the stairs), sang Happy Birthday (which she cried during - it was pretty off-key :) ), and gave her a humungo piece of birthday cake complete with lots of frosting! For the first time in Mady's short life she didn't immediately devour the cake that was placed in front of her. I was expecting that she would dive right in and have the first taste within seconds - that is normal for Mady, she is so trusting and will try anything. After cake Mady (with the help of her big sister) opened her presents and they both spent time playing. Emily is very fortunate, everyone that gave Mady a gift also had a present wrapped and ready for Emily.
When all was said and done I think the day was a success and everyone enjoyed themselves - next up WDW!!!!

What The Heck....

What the heck...this is Emily's favourite new saying, and now I am finding myself saying the exact thing more and more. Personally I think that it is quite funny when she says this, and surprisingly she is using it appropriately too. I know that I have over heard some people telling her that she should not use 'those words'. To which she always questions WHY??? I must admit in the big scheme of things - she could be saying things that are much worse. I am sure that this is probably something that will pass, just as the F*%K word quickly did - simply by ignoring her every time she threw a 'F' bomb into a sentence.
Today was my last day at work before our big trip to Walt Disney World. I am very excited - I think Emily will have a fantastic time. I am praying that we will all remain healthy during this trip. The last time we visited Disney Emily spent almost the entire time battling a nasty bug - vomiting and diarrhea:( I will be keeping my fingers crossed that this trip is much more enjoyable and a little less memorable - I am not sure if the hotel cleaning staff would have been able to eradicate the horrific septic system smell that permeated into the room we stayed in. This will be Mady's first visit to WDW, and although she will only be one I think that she is going to have a blast. The one thing I have noticed is if Emily likes it - so does Mady.

I am thankful...

Today was one of the most beautiful fall days that I can remember. We spent the day outside enjoying the wonderfully warm weather - 25 degrees! We shared a huge turkey dinner with my in-laws and a couple of hours scouring the pumpkin patch in search of the perfect pumpkins and finding our way through the corn maze. Emily had a great day, Mady wasn't so happy to be placed amongst a wagon-full pumpkins as I tried to get the perfect photo. It was also Thanksgiving, so I thought that I would share all of the things that I am thankful for.
I am thankful for...
-my family, without all of the love and support that I receive from them I know that I would not be the person that I am
-my home, this is a place that can be chaotic at times but it is always my favourite place to be
-my career, during such challenging economic times I am thankful that I have a career that provides well for me
-my health, well there are some things that I would change overall I am happy to be healthy
-my friends, there are several people that have always been there for me and have allowed me to cry on their shoulders and laugh out loud with
-my things, while this may seem superficial of me I am thankful for all of the possessions that I have accumulated over the years and although they may not seem like much to others they are definitely 'my treasures' (to quote Emily)
Michelle

I made it...

That's right, I have survived my first FIVE days at work. I would be lying if I said it was fun...but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. My office mates are great - and actually seem happy to have me back :) I am thrilled that it is a long weekend - HAPPY THANKSGIVING - and that the weather forecast sounds absolutely amazing - warm and sunny all weekend :) It will be a great weekend for finishing up all of the outside work before the weather decides to turn on us and become nasty, which based on previous experience could happen as early as next weekend ;)
Mady is quickly becoming our little daredevil - if she can climb it - she will! The injuries have already started, her most recent injury - a big, fat, bloody lip - but I am not sure that she has figured out yet that standing on top of Emily's desk is a good idea while slightly bouncing to the music of 'Elmo's World' is a good idea!

Third day...

I have made it through three whole days, and I think that each day is getting better! The girls seem to be adjusting well to being without me, and I am enjoying seeing my colleagues. Emily is so funny - some of the things that she says crack me up. While I was saying my good-byes yesterday morning, my mom told Emily to say good-bye because I was going to work. Emily put her hands on her hips and stated "No grandma, mommy is not going to work she is going to high school". I was flattered that Emily believes that I am young enough to still be in high school, but at the same time high school was not that much fun - certainly nothing that I would want to repeat.
I work with an amazing group of women, and although there have been a couple of changes in the staff in my department I think that we are getting our groove on, and will work very well together. I have taken on a couple of projects at work that should keep me busy for a while - self-directed learning packages - not my favourite, but better than twirling my thumbs.
I am looking forward to the long weekend - and a short week next week:) Then we will be off to Disney to hang with some of our FAVOURITE friends:)

Back to Work...

Well today was the day, the day that I would return to work full-time and leave my babies. I will admit that all of the anxiety and nervous energy that I had leading up to today was not necessary. Everything was much the same as it was before I left for my maternity leave. I spent over 6 hours deleting and responding to the 2500 e-mails that I had accumulated over the last 13 months - just a little ridiculous. Tomorrow my plan includes going through my filing cabinet and trying to figure out what is important and what I can toss. It was actually quite liberating to delete so many e-mails at once and not really worry about the content of 75% of them. I am sure it will feel just as good to tackle that filing cabinet tomorrow.
I did miss Emily and Madalyn for most of the day, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I didn't even cry during my drive to work - but I think that was a case of mind over matter - I needed to get my employee id replaced and was afraid that I would look a little bit like Alice Cooper if those tears that were welling up spilled over and caused my mascara to run :)

The phone call...

Shortly after lunch the phone rang - I had just finished feeding Mady and I was preparing to get her into her crib for an afternoon nap. At first I was going to ignore the call, but looked at the caller id and realized that it was Emily's school calling. Yes, my heart did stop momentarily or at least skipped a couple of beats. I was told by Mrs. Preston that Emily had tripped over some blocks and her teeth went through her lip and that they have given her ice to hold over the lip. Now this is where the nurse in me kicks in - does it look like she should have stitches? any damage to her teeth? Obviously, in this day and age no-one is going to take responsibility for answering questions like that, so I was politely told that I should maybe come in and have a look for myself. Now I am REALLY worried...it must be bad, the rational calm nurse is gone, replaced with frantic mom - she suggested that I may want to bring another shirt for her to put on - how much blood would warrant a new shirt? - I guess I'm spending the afternoon in the ER - Madalyn is only wearing a diaper do I have enough time to dress her - all of these thoughts raced through my brain as I quickly dressed Mady, and got a clean shirt for Emily.
When I arrived at the school - expecting to find Emily sitting in the office bleeding profusely, only to hear that she is outside playing with her classmates. I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief, and off I went to find her.
Sure enough she was quite happily playing on the playground equipment with her friends - happy as can be! :) When she saw me the tears began to flow - not because of the split lip - because she had gotten blood on her Hello Kitty shirt (aka Rock Star shirt - according to Emily this is the type of shirts that rock stars wear??). After a quick trip to the classroom to wash her face, have a drink, reassure her that her shirt would be okay, and a kiss goodbye I was on my way home and Emily was back to playing with her classmates.
WOW - what a day...hopefully this is as serious as the calls are from the school.

The countdown is on...

The big day is Monday October 6th, this is the day that I will return to work. I have an assortment of feelings - sad (to be leaving my babies), excited (about return to work and having a regular paycheck), and nervous! Why nervous? After being away from the hospital for over a year is beginning to feel like starting a new job all over again. I am sure that everything will be fine, I think it will just take me a little while to get my groove back.
On a happier note, my girls are growing and learning more every day - it is such an exciting time to see both of them discover new things. Emily has begun noticing letters on everything - street signs, magazines, and even t-shirts. Her letter recognition is getting better everyday. She has also started rhyming words - after realizing that noodle and poodle rhyme this morning she began laughing hysterically and saying "hear that mom - I made a rhyme all by myself". So exciting :) Madalyn is becoming more confident everyday with her ability to walk. As of yesterday she has decided that she prefers to eat her food on the floor using her fingers or by holding the plate up and licking it :) UGH - thank goodness for the central vac. Two more teeth have made their arrival, hopefully that will be it for a while. The first four teeth didn't seem to bother Mady a bit, but these last two have been more of a challenge. Lots of restless nights and a very sore bum...she slept better last night and the sore bum is better.

Where has the summer gone??

Well, I think summer is officially coming to an end. The rain has arrived along with single digit temperatures some evenings. UGH...This also signals my return to work, my maternity leave is quickly coming to an end. Emily has started junior kindergarten this week and many tears have been shed - mine that is :) My baby is growing up and it seems like yesterday that we would snuggle on the couch for an afternoon nap. Madalyn has taken her first steps of many, we are so proud of her. It is so much fun watching Emily cheer her on and speak with such amazement at the new accomplishments her sister makes. Life is good. I have been busy plotting and planning a way that my dream of staying home with my kids can be possible - don't get me wrong I enjoy being a Registered Nurse but I LOVE being a mom. Someday I am sure this will be possible.
Anyway, the countdown is on...my return to work date is Monday October 6th

Busy, busy day...

Well, I have decided to venture into uncharted territory. My daughters daycare provider asked if I would be willing to do some simple scrapbooking type projects with the kids that would be attending the daycamp programs this summer. To say I was completed flattered with this request would be an understatement. I quickly agreed and began dreaming up ideas for where this little venture could go. I am thrilled to announce that I have decided to launch my own business - more details to follow. So today was the third time that I have completed projects with the kids and it was a LONG day - but lots of fun! Today's project involved altering a set of coasters for the front and back cover of a squash book. I must say for a group ranging in age from 3-10 the results were FABULOUS! I will post pictures of the sample that I completed later.