Making life easier...I think not!

Do you ever do something to make life "easier" but then find out that it probably made life harder?

 That's me. I'm always doing this, big things and little things, all the time. It drives me crazy, but I still find myself in situations that I have to shake my head at myself and wonder why I ever thought that was a good idea!

Now to be honest most of the problems stems from laziness, what can I do to make this "less work".

For example (and trust me there are tons) I had to run to the van to get something quick, so instead of rummaging through the closet to get my winter shoes, I threw on Dom's since he had just come in and they were beside the door. So my size 8 feet trudged outside in size 12 men shoes and after about 5 steps I realized this was a BAD idea! It had been snowing which made the ground slushy and slippery. My great idea of "saving time" was now taking me twice as long to get to the van since I had to walk with extra care not to slip and kill myself. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I thought I'd only be outside for a few seconds so I didn't bother bringing a coat and so now was freezing to death!

Or the numerous times I've carried WAY too many things in my arms down the stairs, to "save" a trip later ending in either an item or myself falling down the stairs.

Or the time that I decided not to "scrape" the vomit off the blanket before washing it - if you have a good stomach please refer to my blog -  **Warning Gross story ahead **

I owe it to my Mother for teaching me the skill of multitasking! She's always finding ways to make things work better and faster! The difference is that she's good at it! LOL
NEVER leave a room empty handed is her motto and a good one at that. She taught me to find ways to make things quicker, easier and more efficient. Little did she know that she was teaching an accident prone daughter these valuable lessens!

My dear friend told me this quote today, although I'm not sure if the wording is right the statement sure is true!!

 If you don't have time to do it right,

 How will you find time to do it twice?

Yes, lazy, time saving, ideas keep leading me into these, usually funny, situations! I guess I'll just never learn!

My Year in Photos ~ 2011

So 2011 was an interesting year. We did a lot, learned a lot, laughed a lot and cried a lot. It brought new adventures and closed some old ones.

We're looking forward to 2012 and all the new things that it will bring.

I got this idea from Jackie at withjustabitofmagic.com. I thought it would be a good way to close 2011 and bring in 2012!

My Year In Photos ~ 2011

January

We WALKED into January with smiles and hope for a fun year! I was already a few months pregnant and Carebear had just started walking! 

February

February was full of love and fun!

March

Carebear got her own bed!! She had been sleeping on a mattress for a while but this was her first official bed! She loved it and started sleeping so well, so did Mommy and Daddy!!! Which was good, since I was 6 months pregnant and working and needed as much sleep as I could get!!

April

April was hard to find a picture to sum it all up. This April held birthdays, Easter, Anniversaries and so much more but one of the best was rainy Spring days! Carebear and I started to get out more since the weather was better but we both loved rainy days and splashing in puddles.

May

May started off slow. Mother's Day and some more birthdays but at the end of the month came the biggest surprise birthday EVER! B-Man made an early entry! He decided to come 4 weeks early and super quick!

June

June was all about getting used to our new little family of four! Carebear wasn't sure of B-Man at first but soon came to like him, well at least show him indifference! LOL

July

We had fun celebrating Canada Day and watching fireworks! What a great way to celebrate July!

August

Aw, spending good time as a family outside! What a great summer, not too hot, not too cool! It was perfect and what a better way to spend time as a family then being outdoors in the sunshine! Mr. Rooster also got a new job and thus started the whole adventure of us moving!!!

September was a busy month settling into our new home! It was a quick and crazy move, but well worth it! We love our new home! We're close to family, the kids have more space, we have a HUGE backyard, close to schools, tons of parks, shopping and right on a bus route! Perfect!

October

Ah October, another busy month! There were so many things this month that it was hard to pick just one photo! B-Man's Baptism, Thanksgiving, Oktoberfest, Birthdays, and our favourite holiday HALLOWEEN!

Yes, our little family loves Halloween, every scary little bit of it! This year we went as The Addam's family (with help from our dear friend)! We had such a great time. I love decorating the house and going all out on spooky foods and devilish treats! Yes, definitely one of my favourite holidays!

November

November marked B-Man's 6 months birthday! Gosh the time has just flown by! Carebear is such an amazing big sister! She loves to help get his pacifier, give him is bottle, help with bath time, and always finds toys for him to play with! She loves her little brother and he is just in awe of her!

December

December

December will have to share two photos because the month holds the two most important events! Carebear's birthday and Christmas! Both were magical and wonderful times! We were surrounded by all the people we love and got to create some beautiful memories.

It was hard for me to just pick one picture for each month. Anyone who is on my Facebook knows I have over 160 albums of photos (oops) and am adding to it on almost a daily basis! I love taking pictures of my family. Who ever said that the more kids you have the less pictures you take never met me! LOL My poor kids have a permanent flash mark on their eyes from all the pictures I take of them! LOL You think I have a lot of Facebook but I have a thousand more on my computer that never make it to Facebook! LOL What can I say?

Kids grow up so fast I want to try to remember EVERY second of it :) 

It was a good year full of interesting things, some I'd like to forget, some I will treasure for the rest of my life.

Happy New Year everyone, and may 2012 be a wonderful year for you all!

And finally....

This time of year is crazy for most people but in our household it's just a bit extra crazy! Carebear's birthday is one week before Christmas and so it's been a buzz around here with things to do, add NO SLEEP since little B-Man is on a sleep strike, let's just say Mother Hen is about to pass out! Oh and now both chickies are sick with a cold! Yay!
Even now my eyes are glazing as I try to type!
It's been nearly a week since I intended to write this blog post and yet even now the hours are passing and another day may pass before it's actually up and on my blog!


But this blog post has more meaning to me than just a funny story about my little chicks, this one makes me have to think and lately that is something I don't have a lot of time for! :)


Someone that I admire a lot  (fourunder4plustwo) nominated me for the "Tell me about yourself" blog award and I must say that I feel very honoured to be thought of :) so big thanks to her :)

So here it goes! Please keep in mind on a good day I can barely form good sentences so in my sleep deprived, glazed eyed state, here goes nothing! LOL


7 Things You May Want to Know About Me, Mother Hen.....


1) I used to jump from one thing to the next without giving it much thought or realizing the consequences. I now research and make a plan before I start something new, which is a HUGE difference for me. I'm still not perfect but a lot more settled than I ever was before. This is all due to Mr. Rooster, who has helped me calm down a lot. He is my rock and helps to keep me centred. Every once in a while I get him to loosen up and do something spontaneous, but for the most part, he keeps me focused!


2) For the past 4 years I have been on a long and exciting spiritual journey! I was raised in an Agnostic/Atheist house, we were never discouraged but never encouraged to believe anything. My father was an Atheist and believed that when you died, poof that was it, you were just gone. On the night that he passed away I just knew that all the things he believed about death were wrong and thus started my journey to find out what I truly believed. It's been a long, bumpy and very lonely journey but one that has brought me more peace than I ever dreamed and more love then I ever knew possible!


3) I LOVE BEING A MOMMY!!!! Ok, this might not be a shocking secret to some of you, but the level in which I love being a Mommy always seems to shock me! Each day brings new challenges and I feel proud of myself each time I am able to overcome them! I have discovered such strength in myself that I never knew was there, and so much love that I can't stand it sometimes! My children are the most important people in the whole world and I am truly blessed to get to spend each day with them, watching them learn, discover and grow!! I'm not sure what the future holds but I hope to have another little one one day, or as many as God will give me!


4) I use LOL way too much! I use it in e-mails, blog posts, and this year, I even used it in a Christmas card! I don't know why I use it as much as I do, but I use it all the time! LOL see there ya go!


5) I have recently started a Pet Portrait business. I drew some portraits a few years ago as Christmas gifts and as much as I really loved doing them I never had the courage or the confidence to do anything else. This year I have had to face a lot of demons in my life and one was to get enough courage to start this business. So I did! This has been one of my proudest moments. I've had a few clients so far and I'm really enjoying it. As much as this will probably never be a "full time" career, I am proud to call myself an artist, that has been a  life long dream of mine! :)


6) I have an amazing and fantastic husband! If you've ever met Mr. Rooster, you know that he is kind, funny, smart, patient and caring, but what you might not know is that I know this too! :) and tell him every day! He has sacrificed a lot for me and I don't think he'll ever know how truly grateful I am. He always surprises me with how sweet and sensitive he is. He is an amazing father. He's so loving and caring with the kids! He works hard all day and still comes home ready to play and help with the kids! He loves to get on the ground and play with the toys, I mean, kids :) He loves to read stories, play games, help feed them, bathe them and changes his fair share of dirty diapers! He is an amazing father and our kids are so lucky to have a Dad like him!


7) I sometimes surprise myself with how much I've changed in the past few years since I've met Mr. Rooster, and although some may disagree, I think it's all been for the better. I have come to see some people for who they really are and have had to make changes to my relationships with them. I wear my heart on my sleeve and am such a guilt ridden person that I tend to get hurt all the time. :( I care way too much about people and what they think that I would rather put myself out than to disappoint or hurt them in any way.
I've had to "grow a back bone" as some would call it and start to stick up for myself. This has been scary but at the same time refreshing. I hope to I continue to see more of these good changes in myself.


So there are 7 things you may or may not know about me :)
Part of this award is to nominate 15 other people but shamefully with being as busy as I am, I don't have the time to read as many blogs as I wish I could!
When I have the time to start I will find some to add to this and award them all! :)

Packing for our journey...

We go for a walk every day, no matter the weather. We live in such a great area now with so much to do, that it's been a real pleasure to get out and about! We've gotten our "get ready" routine down to a fine art now and the chickies know that when the big stroller comes out it's time to get ready to go!
For the longest time now Carebear has taken it upon herself to help "pack" the stroller for me and each trip I am amazed at what she deems as "important" for our walk.
Yesterdays items included; half an eaten carrot, her sippy cup and a snowglobe. :)
I'm usually busy with B-Man that I don't notice what she's put into the stroller till later when I'm emptying out the bottom.
The other day I pulled out two sopping wet stuffed puppies and discovered that she felt the need to include a leaking sippy cup that had honey lemon water in it no less. Now not only did I have two sopping wet stuffed puppies they were also sticky along with everything else under the stroller! Fun!
I often wonder what goes through her mind as she starts her list of thing to pack and always have a chuckle at what she think she'll need on our journey! :)