Forget Vacationing here....I want to live here!

This is where we are vacationing this summer!!!! SO excited!

Close to the Oregon Sandunes, Close to the beach and Fun is predicted! Woot woot! But seriously isn't it gorgeous, I would love to live in a house like this!

Bad Mommy Bad!

I am so fully aware that Devon's sleeping habits are all MY FAULT!!! For months Duane has been telling me to let him cry it out and for months I have been telling Duane that he's not here at night (he works nights) and that it is easier said than done! Devon screams before he falls asleep, and IF I put him in his crib he will wake up every half and hour till I let him come into my bed to sleep (something I swore I would NEVER do). It's crazy that a 6 month old can already manipulate his parents (okay his mom). During naps he prefers to sleep in my arms and has even started having problems falling asleep in his stroller. Bad Mommy Bad, right?

So last night I sucked it up, put my heart away and put him in his crib with a full tummy, a clean diaper and wished for the best. He chatted for a few moments and than Wahhhhhhhhhh, off he went. I turned off the monitor and tried to concentrate on something else, anything else! And he cried for 15 minutes and went to sleep! He slept until 4:45 am until he woke up for a bottle. So did I redeem myself a little??? Definately NOT a full redemption b/c where do you think he slept from 4:45 til 7:30??? My bed! Still a little bad!

This week I am concentrating on getting him to put himself to sleep, next week sleeping in his crib ALL NIGHT and the following week, napping in his crib. I am slightly embarrased when I hear all these mom's whose babies slept through the night at 2 or 3 months! But at least I will no better next time around.

I was so cranky last night for no reason other than I felt like it. I feel horrible b/c I always take it out on Duane. Obviously I can't take it out on Devon, so Duane gets the brunt of it!!! And than this morning he comes home from work and let's me sleep in till 9:45 after he's been at work all night. What a guy!

I am debating whether to get a seasons pass to the Greater Vancouver Zoo. A girlfriend of mine wants to get one just to go walking there b/c her oldest really likes it. So this last weekend I bust out the entertainment book, found a 2 for 1 coupon and dragged Duane (and Devon) to check it out!

Devon looking cool!

Duane really enjoyed it! And so did I, although Devon was a little monkey (do they already have those at the zoo), He was cranky b/c he wanted a nap but didn't want to sleep in the stroller (hence the mommy needs to work on that).

Daddy & Devon

We are planning a trip to Oregon with Duane's best friend Brad, his wife Regan and there baby Peyton (4 months old). We rented this AWESOME beach house in florence (about an hour from the sand dunes and close to the sea lion caves. It's the kind of home I want to live in, SO luxurious! There is a theatre quality media room, a hot tub and it's on the beach, who could ask for anything more...AND it was only $900 for the whole week! Not too shabby!

Regan and I have had our issues in the past (SO NOT going into on a public blog) but I feel that since we have both had children we have moved past that and may even be on the road to becoming friends again, so hopefully no more issues arrive while we are in Oregon! and we are both looking forward to the day trip to the Woodburn outlet malls to do a little retail therapy!!!

Tag your it...from my facebook note!

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs (or the + sign) on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1. My feet are Clausterphobic. I hate socks, I hate shoes and when I am sleeping my whole body needs to be covered except my feet!

2. I get a high off finding a good bargain and saving money. Some people do drugs, some people drink. I shop but only if it's on sale!

3. I knew I wasn't going to have a traditional wedding from the first time I was involved in a wedding. I used to always say I hope when I get married my husband won't mind going to Mexico. We ended up getting married in the Dominican Republic but same idea!

4. I have always wanted to adopt, my husband wants to have children of his own. I only get to adopt when we win the lottery.

5.I NEVER leave home without my camera! I take lots of pictures anytime I think it might be important to someone even if it isn't important to me.

6. As much as I love to take pictures I didn't take any the whole 39 weeks & 2 days I was pregnant!

7. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up! I went to college for 3 different things. In the end I didn't want to do any of them and work at a job that utilizes nothing I learned.

8. I work in the same area as my 2 brothers (who are at a different company) and my husband (who just recently left the aviation field to come work at my company).

9. I still have nightmares, VERY realistic nightmares!

10. I HATE stuffed animals! I think that they are gross, they hold in dust and little bugs!

11. I haven't ever been formally diagnosed but I am pretty sure that I have OCD. I can't stand it when things are out of place and when things get chaotic or too cluttered. My heart starts to race a little and all I can think about is getting it back in order.

12. I start Chrismtas shopping in January for the following year, this makes sure I can good deals!

13. I have had the same best friend for over 20 years! Luv you Lindsay!

14. I have a hard time sticking up for myself...Usually, if I am pregnant don't cross me.

15. I hate being pregnant and I am not 100% sure I want to ever do it again, except that I don't want an only child.

16. I am very behind my "life plan". I was suposed to be married by 25 (married at 27) and had all my kids by 30 (won't be having another until at least 31). But I am content.

17. I am very stuborn and hard headed!

18. I LOVE to swim and could live in the water IF only I was a little more comfortable in a swim suit.

19. I got engaged in Disneyland at the "Blue Bayou" restaurant that overlooks the Pirates of the Carribean ride. Right before he proposed I blurted out "You better have a ring in your pocket because this is where I want to get engaged". Not having the slightest idea that he was about to propose. When he finally did, I didn't believe the ring was real and vomited in my mouth! All in all I think it was the perfect proposal!

20. My father in law is a professional clown! And I am TERRIFIED of clowns! How ironic!

21.I am adicted to eBay!

22. My cousins and I always take couch pictures and bahhhhh at each other b/c we are good apples. You won't understand unless you are related to me!

23. I sucked my thumb until I was in grade 8. March of grade 8 to be exact!

24. I feel very strongly about traditions and am very sad when things change!

25. I dream of having enough money to go to New York and shop till I drop, this would be one time I wasn't looking for a bargain!

Ebay Addiction

I am slightly addicted to ebay. I went through an ebay phase just over 2 years ago and something happened that caused them to close my account (thanks to someone who was using my account and NOT me, just so you don't think I was irresponsible with it), and I was forced to give up my ebay adiction. Recently I opened an account in Devon's name and was able to take up this habit again.

Here are a few things I bought recently!

This one was for myself (A rare thing for me to do). A Lululemon bag. I must admit that I am not using this as a gym bag (one day I will get back at it) but as a diaper bag!!! In my opinion these make AWESOME diaper bags. I have 2 different ones off eBay and they make me feelstylish even mothering in my sweats. I paid $65 (shipping included) for this one (which you know is a decent price if you like lululemon)



This is Devon's winter jacket for next year. It's a GORGEOUS Columbia jacket (sized 2T). The price tag on this item was $109.99 CAD...I paid (drum roll please) $19.99 USD plus 11.95 s&h. So about $35 CAD. And the quality is so much better than the Old Navy jacket I paid more than that for on sale. This is my favorite purchase for sure.

These are little Etnies sandals...I am hoping will fit him in a year IF/WHEN we go to Mexico (fingers crossed). I don't know an exact price tag on these, but I have seen them for anywhere from $24.99 USD to 34.99 USD. I paid $9.99 plus 1.49 S&H.

In November we got our family portrait taken and I promised I would borrow a scanner and post it. WELL Duane bought me a GREAT little scanner for Christmas (so thrilled) and I finally got around to scanning all my photos in...talk about clearing up some space. I preserved all the memories on my USB drive and tossed all the developed photos (and there were lots) in the trash! But I digress...I can now post the photo I promised!

An update

I must admit I have been less than diligent about keeping up with my blog, I find my free time limited and would rather read other's blogs that post on my own.

Christmas was busy and passed by far too fast. Christmas Eve was spent visiting the "Heppners, Laurie, Dale, Shane & Ashley. A family tradition for Duane's family for years. They ordered Chinese food and we had a nice visit. This year our late nights are limited as we know of we don't get to bed at a decent hour we are going to sleep deprived once Devon wakes up around 6am. Chrismtas morning was CRAZY! Devon was spoiled and in fact so were Duane and I! My favorite addition to our little household was the Nintendo wii and the wii fit! So much fun! And it was quite a site making mii charactors for Lyle, Nicole & my Mom and they were all great sports trying out bowling and COW RACING. I wish we had taken some pictures! Later on we had a wonderful dinner at Dave & Amanda's! My Nephews got a gumball machine filled with jellybeans and they filled Lyles boots (there was A LOT of snow this year, thank God for AWD), he got quite a surprise when it was time to leave.

Boxing Day was spent relaxing and playing the wii, Lyle and Nicole went visiting so Duane and I cleaned up from Christmas and put some of Devon's new toys together. I feel quite anxious when things are busy and messy and cluttered. So that was a nice relief to see everything mostly back in order.

Duane was back to work between Christmas and New Years. New Years morning we headed up to Kelowna to spend 4 days with Lyle and Nicole and see his Auntie Lise and Nana.

Over this time Devon developed a habit of screaming for about 3 hours each and every night when I tried to get him to sleep. I think maybe it was because his schedule was off kilter. That was frustrating and sad. It lasted almost a whole month but I am SO thankful to say that he has out grown that phase and is back to his normal sweet self. I guess it didn't help that he was going through a growth spurt, had a nasty nasty cold and is teething. The poor thing didn't have a fighting chance of being a good boy.

Devon is changing so much. At his 6 month (YES 6 months!!!) He was 23 lbs 15 oz & 28" long. Pretty sure that he is the size of an average 1 year old, but he's happy & healthy and that is what matters most. His eyes have stayed that amazing shade of blue that they were when he was still an infant and his hair is getting blonder and blonder each day! I think maybe there is bleach in his baby shampoo. He can roll over now, bursts into random fits of luaghter, He can remain sitting if I put him in position, And he is making new noises daily! His favorite pass time is petting the cat! Diva and him have a special bond. If Devon is screaming she will come over and lick his little head and he looks at her and most times will stop crying.

His bottom front right tooth is almost through. Surprisingly he slept through the night last night but the night before that was awful. His sleeping patterns are at best sparadic. I KNOW he can sleep through the night b/c every so often he shows me he can just to get my hopes up then reverts to waking up 2 or 3 times a night. I do admit it most of the problem is me. With Duane working nights Devon often ends up in bed with me and we both sleep less b/c of it.

He knows what he wants and he also knows the way to get what he wants is to fuss and cry! I have been working on not always giving in b/c I don't want him to think he can always have what he wants! Parenting is hard. Much harder than I thought. And I am tired, much more tired than I thought that I would be...But I have never EVER loved a human being as much as I love Devon and I love Duane more too...Although b/c I am so tired I am not always very nice to him. He's very understanding though and tries to give me naps when I get too tired. I don't know what I would do without him. And I have so much respect for all the single Mom's (and Dad's) out there who do it on there own everyday!

I hope that Now that Devon is a little more independent and will play on the floor with his toys I will be able to post a little more often.

AND A HUGE CONGRATS TO KIM AND ROB ON THE BIRTH OF THERE BABY GIRL MIKEALA BONDERUD, BORN JANUARY 29, 2008 at 8:15 PM!