PopAtot

I've been telling everyone about the pop-a-tot play center. The website parent test parent approved (www.ptpamedia.com) features exciting new baby gear to help make mommy's life a bit easier. This is the perfect gift for a Mom who's having her 2nd or 3rd baby. This play center folds up into a 5x5x36 bag and can be taken anywhere. It has a bottle holder and you can attach any of your favorite toys. It's perfect for play dates or a day at the beach/lake. They're $49.99 in the USA. Whenever Chad and I decide to start thinking about expanding the family I'm going to order one of these! I love it!!!

Fiber please...

At this time of year everyone is a bit more concerned about their health or they're getting back to the diets they neglected over the holidays. This is also a great recipe for those ladies having a baby in the next couple of months. You'll understand why bran becomes your best friend after you deliver that precious baby! ;) Lets just say you're a little gun shy in that area. The recipe is good in the fridge for a couple of weeks and they're so yummy!

Bran Muffin Mix

2 cups All bran

2 cups boiling water

***let the bran & boiling water soak and cool***

3 cups Brown sugar

1 cup oil

4 eggs beaten

1 quart Buttermilk

3 TBSP baking soda

1 TBSP baking powder

1 TBSP salt

4 cups Bran Flakes

5 cups Flour

1-3 cups Raisins

Mix & lest stand 12 hours in fridge.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Birthday girl!

My beautiful Nana turned 75 in December. One of the greatest things Nana has taught me is to celebrate EVERYTHING! I love that she still loves to party at 75!!! The whole family got dressed up for a lovely dinner at the Teahouse. One of the classic restaurants in the city. We had a whole room to ourselves. The evening was stunning, the people vibrant and the birthday girl absolutely radiant!

Everyone LOVES the little blue box!

Brittany & Trent

Andy & Steph

Matt & Alison

Tysen, Jacob & Victoria

Hello 2010!!!

I'm back! December was a very exciting finish to 2009 for us! It started with our annual friends party which was my personal highlight. I'm SO grateful for the amazing friends we have to do life with. I think I learnt more about that this year. I cherish the time, laughter, wisdom, tears, and joy that each relationship represents!

Chad & I really wanted to introduce our own family traditions this year. Now that we have Chase there are certain things we want to make sure we do with him every year. Cutting down our Christmas tree and going to the Santa parade downtown was how we started the month. As a mommy you remember all the wonderful things your Mom did to make this time of year special. I would lay awake at night trying to figure out how we would pack it all in. :)

Then on December 14th our special little man turned 1! Of course I did the one thing I swore I'd never do, I documented my labor hour by hour from the year before. All day long I would tell Chase what I was doing or feeling on the day he was born. Poor kid! We had a wonderful cookie monster themed party with his friends. Then 2 days later we did the family party.

This month was a massive tug of war for me. I was using up the last of my holiday time at work and was due back on December 28th. I went to my Christmas party and came home a bit discourage. Kensie girl had been a full time passion for me! I poured everything into it. The hours were long, frequent business trips and all the other things that go with the job. After attending the party that night I drove home thinking about all the work that needed to be done. The hardest part was my passion had changed. I didn't want to only see Chase for an hour or 2 everyday. Chad & I began talking, praying and fasting to figure out what to do. On December 18th I gave my notice and ended that chapter of my life. It was bittersweet for me. I love the people that I worked with and the brand is awesome! However, I adore my son and want to give him as much of my time as possible. So, now I'm a stay at home mom and I'm LOVING it!

That same day, Chase touched the glass on our fireplace. Chad was downtown working the Canucks game and I had no idea what to do. As a mom when you're in these situations you just react and do what you have to for your child. Through screams & sobs I managed to soak his little hands in water and give him some advil to help with the pain. My amazing Auntie Rhonda rushed over to help me. Mom showed up shortly after and we headed to ER. When we got there Chase's hands had massive blisters forming. The incredible doctors and nurses got him in really quickly. They applied an acticoat to help protect against infection and then the gauze mittens went on! Every 3 days we had to go back to ER to have them changed and for the doctors to see how things were. Chase was such a good boy! I was overwhelmed by the care at LMH!!! There staff is incredible!

So on Christmas Eve, Chad and I woke up early to go to ER to get the mittens changed. Then we head straight to the ferries for Christmas in Sidney with the Wakeham side!

Chad has a pretty incredible family that I feel SO blessed to be apart of! Being with the Wakeham's is 1 nonstop party!!! It's a pretty special bond. Christmas day was full of all the traditional fun. Jered & Brent made us the most incredible turkey dinner. Then Lisa, Brent & Jered did a Christmas concert for us. There was a lot of emotion and excitement that night! Tyler had announced to the whole family that he was asking Stacie to marrying him on Boxing day! We were all apart of the fun.

New Years Eve was a whirlwind! My Auntie Miriam's birthday is on NYE so we started with hour traditional fondue. A bit of drama when the table cloth caught fire but other than that a great night. From there we took Chase home put him to bed and got the babysitter all settled in. We changed from our smelly fondue clothes and headed to the Carlson's for a party as only the Carlson's can do!!! You girls did a fantastic job of the party! Around 10:30 we left to head downtown to the Astoria to ring in the New Year with a little Motown!!! We had a blast! Cool vibe, venue and great friends to welcome in 2010! It was an amazing night!!! When I woke up the next morning with Chase at 6:30 I remembered why I don't stay out late anymore. :) Haha, it was still so much fun!

2009 was an epic year for Chad, Chase & I! 2010 is promising to be even better!!! I love you all and I can't wait to share our adventures for this coming year! xoxo