General updates

Christmas was great at our house; we hosted a big dinner on the 24th and went to our good friends house on the 25th. Loic loved opening gifts and really got the hang of it this year! He got some lovely things, his favorites being a drill (which came in a beautiful tool set for kids) from Dave and Linda, his giant yellow digger from my folks and all of the lovely books he received.

We put Loic down for a nap yesterday and he was mad that his Dad wouldn't read him a third book, so, he decided not to nap and to instead take off all of his clothes, including his sleep sac and diaper! We heard him chatting so went in to check on him and found this:

So so funny! I asked him where his pj's were and he said: "Over there!" then giggled. He naps so well that we couldn't be mad - we got him back in his pj's, had a quick cuddle and off he went for his nap, a little late but it was all good :)

Baby is doing well, I am now almost 27 weeks along now and I can feel her moving all of the time which is really nice. We are going for a growth ultrasound in about two weeks for my peace of mind, I have put on less than 10 pounds at this point but my uterus is measuring on track so the Doctor isn't worried. I had put on a lot more at this point with Loic but I am trying to not worry.

The dogs are all doing well, even though a certain black lab is a bit fat - I think it is a combo of him getting a lot of Loic's left overs and the fact that he got into his bag of kibble the other day...

E

Cough - Ideas? And some news

I haven't posted anything about it yet but I am 20 weeks pregnant with a baby girl. We are really excited and I am understandably a bit nervous. We had out big ultrasound on Thursday and have had a few in the past few weeks, the last two have said girl :)

My question to my four readers is this: I have a cough, a bad one. It started with a cold and has ended with a non stop cough. I mean I cough for two hours straight when I try to fall asleep and once I am asleep, I wake up coughing for another hour or two after three hours. I have tried the following:

-humidifier cranked up near my bed

-sleeping basically upright

-the one cough syrup pregnant people can use (as recommended by my doctor) which does nothing at all

-enough water to fill a small bath tub daily

-hot water with lemon and honey

-these lame "cough drops" aka sugar pills (can't eat any of the real ones, they have bad stuff for pregnant women in them)

Tonight I am going to take a benadryl to see if that can at least help with the sleep part. I am not keen on taking anything while pregnant but that one is ok and I have to think that this not sleeping for two weeks can't be good for baby either.

So, I am pregnant and totally exhausted because of the coughing. It apparently a post viral cough and I am not willing or wanting to take antibiotics because my lungs sound good, it is just a dry hacking totally annoying cough.

Thoughts? I have wasted the last two weekends and the past week feeling like crap and need to get better soon or at least get some sleep. I have never had a cough like this - Rob has taken to sleeping downstairs because I am up all night long. I have watched some interesting TV at 4:00 am...interesting indeed.

(And no Erin, we aren't telling anyone the baby's name :) but you can keep trying to get it out me sneakily)

E

"Grrrrrrr...I'm a dragon!"

Loic is currently out Trick or Treating with his aunties Jess and Jody and I am at home with my three dogs, who are in full on panic mode because of the f***ing fireworks. Rob is in Toronto with his mom for a few days. I took some pics of our little dragon before he went out. We taught him how to say "Trick or Treat!" and he looks *adorable* in his much-loved dragon costume.

I was looking forward to a dinner party with Loic at DaveandLinda's! (that is how Loic says Dave and Linda's) last night, but, I accidentally locked Toby in Loic's room for nap time because Toby is on red alert due to the firecrackers and he followed me in there. Needless to say, as soon as I figured out that he was locked in there he had a fit and woke Loic up. So, Loic didn't nap at all and by 7:00 pm last night he asked if he could go home to bed! So so cute. I took him home to bed and we missed out on what I can only assume was an awesome dinner. Next time!

E

Loic and a Stegosaurus

One last pumpkin patch photo:

I wanted to add this photo, Loic was happy to be petting a stegosaurus and while we were at the Pumpkin patch, he was naming all of the dinosaurs (correctly). A man walking by did a double take when he heard: "Look Mama! A Velociraptor!" :)

Pumpkin Patch '11

We took our annual trip to the Maple Ridge pumpkin patch yesterday and met our friends Tracy, John and Ben out there. Ben and Loic are the same age and had a blast running around, picking up pumpkins, and petting the animals.

Loic with his Mama and a Stegosaurus

Loic in the pumpkins

Watching a digger with Dada

The fire truck from Aunt Tiny (a favorite although might need to have the batteries removed sooner rather than later)

Meal Planning - for you Erin!

We are back in the swing of things with respect to meal planning.

Erin, this is for you - what to do when you make a whole roast chicken!

On Sunday night, I made a simple roast chicken stuffed with lemon and rosemary (from the garden). We had Jess over for dinner and we ate chicken with pesto pasta and a salad from the garden.

Monday night, I used leftover chicken and made chicken quesadillas. I quickly sauteed red pepper, onion and chicken and put that onto flour tortillas along with cheddar cheese and baked them in the over (I don't fry them). I topped them with homemade salsa. We have *a lot* of tomatoes right now so dinners use a lot of them.

That night I made homemade chicken stock using the chicken carcass, an onion, some carrots, fresh herbs from the garden, tomatoes (why not?) and some pepper and bay leaves. I had no celery but would have added it if I did.

Tomorrow I will make homemade chicken soup with the stock using kale from the garden, beans from the garden and a whole lot of other veggies.

So, that is three dinners using one chicken. Erin, no need for a freezer either which is a bonus for you!

E

Future Super Model perhaps?

I am at home with a cold. Loic started a new daycare last week and promptly got a cold, which he lovingly shared with Rob, my mom and me. Today was the first day he didn't cry when being dropped off at "The Baby House" (his words, not ours). Last week was trying, Wednesday started with both him and me sobbing in the front hallway - not a pretty scene - but he actually really likes it there and we really, really like the staff. He does neat things all day long and plays with other kids. He is there three days a week, which we like, because 5 days might be a bit much for him.

Future Ralph Lauren model perhaps?

Big Ham!