Rambling with a side of pictures

Know what I hate?!? I hate that it is December 20 and there is NO SNOW and no forecast for snow within the next 5 days. It is hovering around 50°F (10°C for you Canadians) It just sucks. They are saying we *might* have snow by Dec 26. i won't hold my breath though. Maybe I will be lucky enough to have some for my birthday. Isaac wakes up every morning and looks out his window for snow.


On a good note.....the US Department of Homeland Security cashed my cheque so I guess my recent filing of I-751 was accepted.


Ok I have too much to do to be sitting here rambling....enjoy the pics. Reid loves his tummy time so there are a couple of those. He is rolling over like a champ now. He has been going from tummy to back since he was 5 days old...shocking I know. He started going back to front a couple of weeks ago. The other one is from a photo shoot gone terribly wrong. It started with the ear pulling and went downhill from there. Love the picture though.

YUCK!!

The two kids I babysit just left. The both came in the door well. The oldest left with a runny nose and a fever of just over 100. I had given him Tylenol (with the permission of his mother of course) Had he started running it earlier I would have had his Mom come pick them up immediately. But he started running it 15 minutes before she was due to pick them up. Please pray that the kids don't get whatever he has. I really don't want sick kids for Christmas. Not to mention that we all just got over a nasty cold....yes we have been sick since Thanksgiving! That is just over 3 weeks and I am so sick of blowing my nose!She has until Wednesday to make the kids well again....at least fever free. I won't take them back until they have been without a fever for 24 hours. I am anal like that.

I thought I was finished Christmas shopping. It appears I am not. Actually *I* am. Mike isn't. I refuse to set foot in a store this close to Christmas so I am making Mike do it.....LOL. I am sure he will have a blast walking around Toys R Us. I figure he can handle scrubbing toilets so he can handle some last minute shopping. Sorry but I am going to brag for a minute. My husband cleans. I don't make him clean. I will do housework....I don't mind it too much. I would rather cook all day than clean but we can only eat so much food in a day. Mike, on the other hand, cleans everyday. He vacuum, sweeps, scrubs, does laundry, SCRUBS THE TOILETS!!! He does EVERYTHING and I LOVE IT!!! So that's my little brag for today...LOL.

Off to eat some dinner. Might come back later to dump some pics.

Dreams Pt. 2

One more time.....***NEWSFLASH*** For those who don't know....I am weird. I have known this for quite some time but I figured I would warn you all before I write this post. Just do me one favour.....don't comment negatively on what I write here in this post.

These dreams are the ones that have truly gotten me through some tough patches. These are the dreams that make me wonder if they are in fact dreams. When I was 7 my Grampie passed away. He was the only grandparent I ever knew and I couldn't have asked for a better one (though I am convinced the Grandparents I never met were just as wonderful.....they would have to be for me to have the parents I do :)) Anyway....not long after he died I had a dream about him. It was a short dream...nothing extravagant. I was outside playing and sitting in a truck was Grampie. I noticed him just sitting there watching. I got up to go to him and he drove off. Odd I know...considering he didn't drive. That was the last dream I had about him until 4 years ago. I started dreaming of him again. Many of them the same as the one I had when I was 7/8. One particular dream stands out in my mind and I am convinced this wasn't really a dream. Call me weird...I can handle it. This one was about 3 years ago. This dream had EVERYONE in it. Mom, Dad, Jackie, Derek, Emma, Isaac, Me, mike, aunts, uncles, cousins......you name them...they were there. We were at a wedding reception. It was Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Jack's reception (I wasn't there so I don't know what their reception was like) Grampie was there. Sitting at a table, just watching everyone. He was in his work pants and plaid shirt. His legs were crossed. He was Grampie as I remember him. I went to him and sat down. We talked. Actually....I talked. I told him EVERYTHING that had happened since he died. I really don't think I left anything out. Even though this was Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Jack's wedding I even told him about my own wedding, Emma being born and Isaac being born. I even told him about all the ones that were expecting babies. The whole time I talked, he listened. Even though everyone else in the room could see him nobody interrupted. They would stop, look, smile and move on. This dream seemed to last forever. After I filled him in on all that had happened all he said was "I have to go now. I love you!" I guess it's what happened after this dream that has me believing it wasn't really "just a dream". After he said those words to me, I woke up and could smell him. I could smell the wood stove, his chewing tobacco and the way he smelled after coming out of the shed. This all happened at a time I needed some reassurance of sorts.

Last night I had another dream. It wasn't the same as they were before. Last nights dream seemed to be just that....a dream. I haven't had another like the one I described. There are days that I am feeling overwhelmed and just missing people and those are the days that I smell him. It's almost like he is reminding me that he is here. It reminds me that there are people that care. I hope that I can always "smell" him like I have been. It's comforting.So there you have it....Dreams Pt. 2. Probably wasn't what anyone was expecting but I will cherish those ones always.

Being sick sucks!

Dreams Pt. 2 will be posted soon....I PROMISE! Reid and I are both sick with colds. Nasty ones with an evil cough. So ready to be well again. I suppose now is better than Christmas.

Other than the colds, everyone is well. Reid is HUGE. He is the size of a 6 month old (in weight and length) It's insane. Could be worse I suppose. He could be the weight of a 6 month old all packaged into the length of a 3 month old. That would look hilarious. Little michelin tire man. Right now he is content on the floor playing with Isaac. They are rolling around. If he keeps this up he may be crawling as early as Isaac did. Isaac was 4 1/2 months when he crawled. I should figure out how to post videos. I should also quit rambling so much.

Sunday we went to visit the jolly fat man at the mall. We woke Sunday morning to the fire trucks going through the complex. Every year they do what they call Christmas cheer. All of the Depts in Ulster county have Santa atop one of their trucks and the kids climb up there to give him their lists. I knew this was happening Sunday but we slept in. Isaac seen him and wanted so badly to go down. I felt awful that we missed it so we got ready and headed to the mall. Mike and I thought Isaac would chicken out....but he climbed right up on his lap and the first words out of his mouth were "TARTAR SAUCE!!" He watches too much spongebob. Once he was over the initial excitement he told Santa he wanted a kitchen and tools. We had the boys picture taken with him. Reid was sleeping so there was no freak out. They charge $15 for a stinking picture! It's highway robbery!

Today I sent out my final paperwork to have the conditions lifted off my permanent residency!! This is the final step in the immigration process. From what I understand after I get my next green card I just have to file every 10 years unless I decide to go for citizenship. I always said I wouldn't but I am seriously considering it. Canada would still recognize my Canadian citizenship so I would be dual. I can hold a US passport then and it would make a lot of things here easier! After all of this is done we are going to apply for the boys dual citizenship with the Canadian government. The US doesn't recognize dual citizenship but it doesn't really matter anyway. I just want the boys to have more "options" once they are older. Thank God they won't ever have to go through the crap I have had to.

I guess that is all I have for an update right now. I may get a few minutes tonight to do Dreams Pt. 2. If not it probably won't be until Friday. Tomorrow is Mike's early day and Thursday he goes to Jersey for Manager's meetings so he has to be out of here by 6 am to get to South Plainfield by 9 am.

Just something random

I have been hurt in the past. I have ALWAYS forgiven those that hurt me but never forget. Sometimes I have wondered if that has made me a bad person or if I really truly forgave if I was unable to forget. I came to a conclusion, this year, that the easiest thing on this earth to do is to forgive. Forgetting, however, is impossible.

So as I was sitting here this morning fuming about some things that happened earlier this year and trying to figure out how on earth I was going to really, truly "forgive and forget" I came across this on a board I frequent....."You can and should forgive the trespass or hurt, and that makes you a good person. But it makes you stupid if you trust or tolerate someone again without reason. If you forgive, that's a change YOU have made. What change have they made? "

So that is my random thought for today. I have a teething 2 month old so I have limited time on the computer. Stay tuned for Dreams Pt. 2 sometime this week!!

Dreams PT. 1

***NEWSFLASH*** For those who don't know....I am weird. I have known this for quite some time but I figured I would warn you all before I write this post. Just do me one favour.....don't comment negatively on what I write here in this post. Some of these dreams I hold close and they helped get me through some tough patches.

I have always had quite vivid dreams. It is rare than any are "bad". For the most part I remember them and can wake up the next morning and write them down. I can remember lots of dreams from when I was a kid. The one "bad" one I remember from when I was a kid actually makes me laugh now. I guess as a 3 year old, a gorilla coming in your bedroom window to play would be sort of scary. As a 27 year old I actually find it hilarious. I have had one scary dream as an adult that made me wake up crying. Not fun.

When I am pregnant or stressed is when I have the weirdest and some of the best dreams. In fact...some of the "dreams" are so real that I am left to wonder if they are really "dreams". Stay with me here.....this will convince you that I am in fact WEIRD!

Let's start with my pregnancy dreams. Anyone that knows me well knows that I am very vocal when I am sleeping and I have an appreciation for GOOD music. "Bubblegum pop" does not fall under the "good" category (and here I am overusing quotation marks....reminds me a bit of Britney Spears...BLECH) Anyway.....I was sleeping peacefully one night. Here starts the dream. There were many people involved....most of them friends and family. Usually in my dreams there are 2 or 3 people talking. Everyone else kind of stands around like cardboard cutouts. In this dream the talkers were myself, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. I don't like either but if they were the last 2 artists on earth I would definitely pick Christina to listen to. Anyway.....we were at a pool. There was a stage and Christina and Britney were competing. This stage was probably 20 feet up. You had to climb stairs to get up there. There was a landing about halfway up. Christina and I were standing on the landing when Britney tried pushing her way through. She was totally bullying Christina (laugh cause I am laughing while typing this) Well Christina was a wimp and couldn't take care of her own business so I took care of it for her. I turned around and pushed Britney down the stairs. She ran off crying. Well the time came for her to perform. She climbed the stairs. She got on the stage and began singing. I woke myself up yelling "BOO!" That was the end of that dream!! LOL

Another dream, while it probably seems awful to some, was actually prophetic to me. I was nearing the end of my pregnancy with Isaac and was starting to get a bit apprehensive about the end of my pregnancy. I worried very little about labour and delivery. I credit Jackie's labour and delivery with Emma for my sense of calm about my impending experience. I was more afraid of ending up with a c-section. Of course there were also the question of being a mother and what life would be like having a helpless child to be responsible for. Onto the dream. It was winter...lots of snow on the ground. It was a Sunday morning. The inside of the church was Burnham Road. The outside was another building. It wasn't familiar to me. I pulled into the church yard and got out of my car. I began walking towards the church. In my dream I was not pregnant. As I am walking I hear a wimper. I look down and see a naked baby in the snow. To this day I do not know what the gender of the baby was. Incidentally, at the time of this dream we didn't know Isaac was a boy. I scooped up the baby and was pretty calm. I never freaked out. I walked through the church doors and was greeted. The greeter (I have no clue who it was) asked if the baby was Emma. I responded yes. It wasn't though. As soon as I said yes I backtracked and said no it wasn't....Emma is 2 now. This baby couldn't possibly be her. So I got the baby dressed, warmed up and fed. Once the baby was taken care of I woke up. At first I tossed it aside as another of my weird dreams but I couldn't get that dream out of my head. As I replayed it in my mind it gave me a sense of peace about being a Mom. I felt prepared to take care of this little person. Sometimes I wonder if that wasn't just a glimpse of what Isaac would look like. I wish I could shove a DVD in my head and record some of these dreams.

That took longer to type out than I thought it would so I will have to come back another time to finish this. Look for Dreams Pt. 2. They aren't quite as weird as these ones.

ISO

Can someone PLEASE tell me where I put my wallet??? My wallet that has 3 credit cards and more important is my green card!! The green card that I need to even go out in public. The green card that I need to photocopy...front and back....so I can file my I-751 ASAP. Should have done that 2 months ago but I have been a little busy. It MUST be filed by Dec 29 or I face deportation. Here I am freaking out over the green card when there are 3 credit cards that someone can use.

Ok so I had my little freak out...no I haven't found my wallet. Waiting for Mike to check the car before I turn this place upside down.

Thanksgiving went well. My pie was a hit. Isaac, the not so subtle food critic, LOVED it. If Isaac doesn't like something he will tell you he doesn't and usually it goes something like this...."*cough*, *gag*, *choke*, That's not good for me...it makes me sick!" And Mike....well....Mikey'll eat anything. Not really but he loved it. The rest of the food was good. Might have been more enjoyable if we had full functioning taste buds. Yes, by Thursday, we were ALL sick. Now that Mike knows I can bake pies he has requested another pumpkin pie and an apple pie for Christmas dinner. Isaac is still thinking about it.

Now that Thanksgiving is over we are starting to get ready for Christmas. Shopping is almost done. I need to get the box ready to ship north. I need to place an order with Chapters. One more trip to the mall for a gift certificate. Impersonal I know but I don't like dealing with the crowds. The one trip I am dreading...WalMart. I HATE WALMART!! Unfortunately Mike's God daughter has requested some things that I know we will only find at WalMart. Did I mention I hate WalMart?? The rest of the shopping I can do online.

Well I am off to go wallet hunting again. Unfortunately it wasn't in the car.

ETA: I found it...right where I put it! Imagine that!

Food makes me sick

So here I am making my first pie ever....and it looks fabulous even though I HATE pumpkin pie....when BAM (yes I watch too much Emeril) my nose is running and my throat feels like I swallowed nails. How wonderful for me. I drag myself out of the kitchen even though I haven't even made a dent in what I needed to get done today. So all I got done today was the dressing and the pie. The rolls must wait until tomorrow. Those have to be done by noon which means I have to be up no later than 8 am so I can get some coffee in me and be awake by 9 to get started.

Aside from this awful cold, things are going great here. We are all starting to gear up for Christmas. Isaac is planning his big trip to see Santa. We were talking about what he was going to ask for and he told me he wants a Spongebob puzzle, a spongebob cake and a kitchen. I'm sure if he seen a Spongebob kitchen he would ask for that. I am actually dreading that trip to see Santa because it means going into the mall......it means wading into insanity. Greedy, ignorant people roaming through the malls intent on making me miserable. No I don't really think that they are really thinking "Let's make Gina miserable today!"

Friday is Black Friday. Sounds a bit ominous doesn't it? Every year, the day after American Thanksgiving all the evil retailers open their doors at like 5 am to hoards of people who will then proceed to trample anyone in their way to get to that shelf that has the $3.98 12 cup coffeemaker. They all do it. Walmart, Home Depot, JC Penney, Toys R Us, Target.....even the grocery stores.....all just to get a little more money! Seriously....Walmart has a coffeemaker for $3.98 on Friday so if you Canadians want one you better get over to Presque Isle early.....take a stick or something though so you can beat down the little old lady with the walker. Just make sure you hit her first cause those walkers hurt!

Ok enough rambling...I have a 3 year old who needs to go to bed, a 2 month old who wants to eat and a kitchen that looks like someone did a science experiment!

Food.....so sick of thinking about food

Why must the USA have Thanksgiving in November. My life would be so much easier if they held it in October like Canadians. I have to figure out 2 menus at once so I don't have the same meal now and then again Christmas Day. I don't like Turkey enough to have Turkey Thursday and then again in 32 days. So we are having ham. Don't know what I am making for side dishes yet. Glazed carrots probably.....and maybe manchego potatoes. Then comes the dressing....I must make dressing. But what kind?? Potato....bread.....apple and sausage?? TOO MANY DECISIONS TO MAKE!!! Maybe I will cook the ham and slap two slices of bread on the plate. The one thing I am certain about, aside from the ham, we are having pumpkin pie. Homemade...not store bought. I want something else too.....just don't know what. I need appetizers too. I can't cook a big meal without appetizers. Something with artichokes.....I love artichokes. Did I mention it is just us for dinner?? Anyone want to join us for dinner??



For now I will leave you with a picture of Reid....it cracks me up....he was watching TV with his Daddy and had his tongue hanging out.

Because i'm bored

I was told by Tish that I needed to start a blog to keep in touch with family. I have 2 blogs...this one and another private one. I figured I should start posting on this one and transfer old posts over to my other blog. This one was over 2 years old. I deleted past posts because they were possibly offensive to some people. I know....I am usually one who doesn't care what others think of my opinion but I figure there will be some younger people who see this. Considerate ain't I!

Things are going great here. Isaac will be 4 in just a little over 2 months from now! Crazy huh! I guess we are having a Spongebob/Spiderman party. Should be interesting. Reid is growing like a weed...literally! Yesterday was his 2 month well visit with the pediatrician. He is the length of an average 5 month old! He is going to be tall like his mama.

So if you make it to my blog leave me a message. Until next time enjoy a couple pics of my boys.