Limping, coughing and whining.... oh my!

This week was a really long, really challenging week.  It started last weekend with a foot injury that carried through with Carson refusing to walk at all until Wednesday.  He was very whiny, very needy and it was a bit overwhelming.  We did get him checked out, which is another story on it's own that was a day long process, no fracture or cast, thank goodness.  He is still limping a bit, but he is back to running and jumping so that is progress.  However, in addition to the injury, Carson developed a fever and nasty cough and cold.... which because I was carrying him around for 4 days while he coughed in my face, I also developed.... and so did Wil and Daddy.  So a house full of sick people, whiny people and cranky overtired people makes for a loooooooooooong, stressful week.  Needless to say I am glad it's over and that everyone seems to be on the mend.  All I can do is put it behind me because it is over with, and move forward knowing it can't get much worse!! 

So I don't have many pictures from the week... but I do have lots that I haven't posted yet so I will pick some of my favourites. 

Love when Wil dresses himself... we love colour!!!

Best Brothers

Carson playing "Baker Aker" and making treats for everyone

We got to meet the newest addition to the "boys club", Daniel

(Wil loves babies, and Jack is a super proud biggest brother!)

Carson and I get our play time again now that Wil is back at school.

(He went up and down this slide about 400 times!)

 

Climbing the giant snow mountain on Grandma Red Deer's deck, and helping pull the icicles off the roof!

Post skating sweaty helmet hair

Carson and I went to Ikea... apparently it's exhausting

(I was looking at kids storage ideas and turned around to this... he found a stuffy fox, took his boots off and made himself right at home.)

This is how Carson spent most of his week, between the injury and the hideous cold, I think he watched more TV this week that he has in the rest of his little life combined.

In the South Campus hospital pediatric unit making sure he was all good.

(This was the longest day ever, but Carson was a trooper though the whole thing.  He let all the different Doctors and nurses check him out, he sat perfectly still through his x rays, he answered all their questions and didn't cry once. He had to wear the "magic mask" because he had the cough and fever.... it was cute!)

Feeling better and the weather was great so we rode bikes in the ice puddles!

Feeling sick and feverish so we hydrated!

We NEEDED to get out of the house on the weekend so we went to Cross Iron Mills mall and looked at the fish.

Holiday Highlights

I know it was a few weeks ago now... but we have been busy and sick and away and sick.... here are some highlights of our fabulous Christmas!!

Cousins

(It is so amazing how well these two get along and we are lucky to have cousins close by to play with and grow up with)

Christmas activity books

(these were a big hit this year and got Wil trying really hard to colour like a "4 year old")

Carson made a sled out of the furniture and played Santa

Christmas Jammie dance party

Watching Christmas movies with my dudes

(These pj's were a gift from Auntie Lindsay and Uncle Ward and the boys wore them constantly for about 3 days.... literally.  Carson especially wore them day and night)

Christmas fun is hard work... taking a break to rest on his fort

Carson was REALLY sick Christmas Eve... he was pitiful

He rallied enough to take some nice photos in their new Christmas Eve Jammies

(stockings out and ready for Santa)

Cheese!

Christmas morning... enjoying their gifts

(it was really cute, they were very excited about everything and they got some really special new toys and clothes)

Some of the favourites

The new air hockey game

We went bowling on Boxing Day in Red Deer

Carson did bowl, but then they played Katy Perry on the sound system and we lost him to dancing!

It was all very tiring!

Daddy and Wil went to the Flames game on New Year's Eve

(Wil's first NHL game... he was sooooooo excited!!)

My New Year's Date.... it's blurry because he is dancing (yet again!!) while watching the NYC coverage!

We have had a few other adventures since Christmas and New Years.... so I will catch you up as the week goes on!!

Happy 2014!

2014... what!??!!?  Where is time going?  I can't believe it is already the start of another new year.  2013 was a good year for us.  I think back on it and we really accomplished a lot and made so many wonderful memories.  There are always challenges, and tough weeks however, as a whole we had a great year.  That is always encouraging when you head forward, to keep the good times rolling and keep making memories.

As is custom at this time of year, we make resolutions.  I am once again trying to not make big giant (more apt to fail) resolutions.  There are a few things I am trying to focus on for this year as a whole.

First, to continue to try to do something active everyday... whether it be going to the gym or just running around with the boys... just moving.  I worked on this last year and was quite successful, I was even able to lose 20 pounds! I have kind of stalled there though, so my goal is to amp it up a bit and lose a few more pounds to reach my weight goal.

Second, I want to clean house, declutter, simplify and keep it that way.  Having two adults and two small kids in a house means stuff and mess almost constantly.  My plan is to start with one room and sort, purge and organize (with a method that will make staying organized more feasible), then move on to another, until I can get through the house.  We have so much storage space that is just not well used at the moment, and if I really set my mind to it, I can make this house more organized and functional.  We are all tired of tripping on clutter, so I will also be enlisting the help of the kids with their toys and books and clothes, and Chad with his stuff too.  Once things are organized and cleaned out, I want to just simplify life.  We don't "need" anything else right now, it's time to appreciate all that we have and live in a more basic, simple way. 

Third, is actually all about me.  Now that the kids are older, I feel more comfortable taking time for myself (as if they need to be older for me to feel this way... it should always be fine to look after me, but that's the mom guilt for you I guess!).  I want to be able to take some time each month, to have me time.  Not just my mornings at the gym, but actual time for me.  Whether it be dinner with friends or my hubby, using our benefits and getting a massage, getting my haircut more than twice a year, or an hour or two of shopping by myself... whatever.  I am so fortunate that I am able to stay home with my kids, but it is a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week job, where I am always on call and don't really ever get weekends or vacations.  Yes, I get help from Daddy, and when family and friends come... I am not that hard done by, but I do feel like it is important for my sanity and my self worth to spend some time on just me.  Being a stay at home mom, it is very easy to lose your identity, to just become "Mom" and nothing else... because I have no other role outside the home.  I love being "Mom", it is the greatest blessing I could have ever asked for, it is all I have wanted since I was a child playing with my own baby dolls and playing house, but sometimes it would be nice to just be "Stacie".  She was a pretty fun girl too and sometimes I miss her! I think there is room for both of us and it feels important to me to not get so caught up in being mom that I just don't know how to do anything else.  Seems simple enough... now to find the time and just do it!

I was going to add some picture highlights from the year, but there are just too many great things that went on.... it was too time consuming to narrow it down.  You can look back through the years worth of blogs to see all the fun we had!!  I wish you all health and happiness in the new year!  I am looking forward to many great things to come!

Stay tuned for all the picture highlights from our holiday season!