Summer is Back!!

At least it has certainly felt like it temperature wise this weekend :)  What a gorgeous +23 day Saturday was!!  Blake and Cal were off to hockey practice Saturday morning and Emerson and I were off to swimming lessons.  Cal says Blake is still enjoying himself and improving each time!  But Cal has figured out that Blake will try harder for Coach Gord or Coach Dan vs. for Dad!!!!  On Saturday Blake even asked Cal to find Coach Dan!  lol!  It's nice that he enjoys the other coaches too ;)  Emerson continues to love swimming!  Whenever we pull into the YMCA parking lot she says, "Swimming!!"  Even though two times a week we're not there for swimming!  Saturday afternoon Cal and Blake drove out to the Cameron family plot at Busby for a gathering honouring his late Uncle Glen.  Cal said it was a nice, informal ceremony and it was great to hear and share various stories of his wonderful Uncle.  Afterwards, Cal and Blake came back to pick Emerson and I up and we went to his Uncle Evan and Auntie Netty's house for a bbq.  It was such a gorgeous day, we spent the whole time outside on their large deck and the kids enjoyed running around the acreage!  I wasn't sure if we should go because the kids are still recovering from their various ailments, but they were very well behaved and really enjoyed all their Great Aunt's, Uncles and 2nd cousins (Cal's cousins, not sure if those would be the kids 2nd cousins or 1st cousins once removed?!?)!!!  I really enjoy spending time with the extended Cameron family and I'm glad we went!  As happens with these types of things, we got home later then planned but thankfully the kids went to bed well and slept in a bit this morning.

Today was a laid back kind of day!  No rush to get anywhere at a certain time, which is really nice sometimes.  I'm working tomorrow and Cal's home with the kids.  Thankfully everyone seems to be on the mend.  I have a regular Dr. appointment on Thursday afternoon, hard to believe I have to go every two weeks now! 

Let's hope this nice weather sticks around for a few weeks :)  Have a great week everyone!

xoxo
The Cameron's

Doctor's Visit

We had Preschool and Come Play With Me this morning.  The kid's both had fun!  Blake was pretty pumped about the bird house he made in preschool, which he hung off our lilac tree in the front yard!!  Emerson seems to be a hit amongst the nannies at Come Play With Me ... lol!  They all play with her and talk to her so much!  It's cute and funny how she seems automatically taken with them ... typically she doesn't take to strangers quickly or at all.  I think if we ever need childcare again we should look for a Filipino lady :)

Cal's been pretty sick the last few days.  He had to go to a meeting on the west end early this morning and then back to work for a few hours, but came home at lunch time today.  The plan was for him to get some sleep, but that didn't happen!  We decided to take the kids to the Dr. after Em's nap.  I called our pediatrician, but he was over booked today, so we took them to a walk-in clinic near our house that we've gone to before.  Dr. Mitha is pretty good, someone I trust!  We find walk-in clinic and medi-centre Dr.'s to be a little sketchy at times!!!  Kind of pill pushers, if you know what I mean!  Anyways, turns out Emerson has an ear infection in her right ear and Blake has a throat infection and a possible bladder infection.  The antibiotic he's on will take care of both, so we didn't do further lab tests to determine whether or not he has a bladder infection, but Dr. Mitha said it is very likely.  He's been refusing to go potty and then all of a sudden having a huge accident, which is not like him at all!  He's been potty trained for almost a year and has had small "dribbles", but nothing like this.  He gets mad when we ask him if it hurts to pee, so who knows if it does or not.  Hopefully within a few days Blake and Em will be feeling much better!!  It's been a frustrating week for me ... I guess partly due to the kids being under the weather and more grouchy then usual and partly due to me feeling like crap!  I'm not handling the whining and crying very well ... Feel sorry for the kids at times and in hindsight :S 

Have a great Friday tomorrow :)

Tracy

Ugh!

Vent time ... I'm feeling blah :S  I'll be 33 weeks tomorrow and this past week has been kind of rough.  I can handle puking and feeling nauseated, but feeling so tired and having no energy really sucks!!  I have no idea how people have 4 and 5 and more (GASP!) kids!!!  I suppose maybe they space them further apart ... who knows??  My legs are aching, which drives me nuts and none of my clothes feel like they actually fit.  For some stupid reason my pants don't stay up.  What's with that?  I have a big belly for crying out loud, you'd think I wouldn't have to yank my pants up every 5 minutes!  What I really want is to have a couple of very lazy, low-key days ... in a hotel!!!  lol!  Keep dreaming Tracy ... What a whiney brat I am, hey?!  But within the 5 minutes it's taken to type this paragraph, I'm feeling better already!!  For me, complaining in writing is better then complaining in speaking ;)  Thanks for "listening!!"

The kids both have colds, but don't you dare call Blake sick!!!  He gets quite offended and says, "NO!  I just have a little cold!"  What a guy!  It really hasn't slowed him down at all, which is good!  Emerson on the other hand is suffering a bit.  She is waaayyy more whiney and clingy, which is ... challenging!  I feel bad for her, but at times I'm thinking to myself, "For crying out loud, it's just a cold!"  At least I hope it's just a cold.  She hasn't had a fever, but if she's not feeling better by next week I'll probably take her in just to make sure her ears, throat, etc are okay.  She had a 3 1/2 hour nap this afternoon (that never happens) and then cuddled up to me on the couch after, which was very nice.  Hopefully she'll have a good sleep tonight and maybe be feeling better tomorrow!  Cal is getting a cold too :(  Hopefully Cold FX will ward off the worst of it.

Cal and the kids had a great day on Monday.  The all slept in, which was very nice for them :)  I had a good day at work, although the day seemed to go by much slower then when I'm at home.  It was nice to work with Kathryn again :)  We're not going to the library tomorrow.  I don't like taking the kids to programs when they're under the weather, especially sneezing and noses running!  I know when I see kids like that out, I often wish their parents would have kept them home, instead of bringing them and spreading the germs!!  So maybe we'll do some baking tomorrow!!

Hope the remainder of your week is fabulous :)  I have a Sweet Momma massage tomorrow night, which (I'm certain) will make me feel better!!

Tracy

Hi Ho, Hi Ho ...

It's off to work I go!!  I'm picking up some casual shifts at FSHC in the next few months.  My replacement has moved on already!  She accepted an awesome job with the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the U of A, an opportunity that she'd be crazy to let pass by ... I only wish this position would have popped up five or six years from now and I would have applied!!  So I'm going to work most Mondays until November or until they hire someone into the position.  Cal is home on Mondays, so it works out great childcare wise.  And I'll be happy to make some extra moola before the most expensive time of year - Christmas!!!

We had a great weekend!  Saturday morning Cal took Blake to his hockey practice and I took Emerson to her swimming lesson.  Both kids had fun!  Saturday afternoon we headed to Stony Plain to celebrate our niece Jenna's 1st birthday.  We had fun watching Jenna opening gifts and enjoying her cake :)  The kids also enjoyed playing with many of their cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and Grandma and Grandpa Cameron.  It was a great afternoon/evening!  Thanks Stony Plain Cameron's :)

Today we spent the day at home.  Emerson had a rough night last night.  Not sure if that was due to going to bed 3 1/2 hours later then usual or because of the cold she's getting.  Thankfully, both kids slept in and my amazing, wonderful, spectacular, fabulous, handsome, etc, etc, hubby let me sleep in even longer :)  I felt like crap this morning, but was feeling better within a few hours!  Unfortunately Blake is getting a cold too, although he seems to handle the sniffles and sneezing much better then our little drama queen :)  Poor Em was totally off today ... hopefully they'll both be feeling a bit better tomorrow for their day home with Dad!  They both went to bed great and have been sleeping good, lets hope that continues until morning.

I feel like we have a busy week coming up, but if the kids aren't feeling well we might have to cancel some of our daytime plans.  Tuesday/Thursday is the usual, Wednesday we were hoping to go to Sing, Sign, Laugh and Learn with Christa and Berlyn, Wednesday evening I have a Sweet Momma massage (YAY!) and Friday we were going to the Helm's for a play date!  Friday evening I am taking a van full of ladies to the Alberta Rehabilitation Coordinating Council Awards in Camrose - ROAD TRIP!!  lol!  I told them to bring a DVD for the van ride if they want ... lol!!  Saturday we have hockey and swimming, as well as a Cameron family function.

I hope everyone had a good weekend and is keeping warm and sane during this dreary weather ...  I for one am sick of the rain, although I do prefer the rain to snow at this time of year ;)

Take care,

Tracy

32 Weeks

I am 32 weeks today!!  Hard to believe (getting tired of hearing that?!)!!!  I had a Dr. appointment this afternoon and will start seeing the Dr. every 2 weeks now.  The Dr. was running VERY late today - 1.5 hours late ... Thank goodness for my Blackberry, which helped me pass the time.  I really need to remember to bring a book!  I got the results from my ultrasound and all is good on the placenta front ;)  It is no longer marginal!  Dr. Schafter said today that she has never seen a marginal placenta not move.  Baby was actually laying side ways today, which felt very odd.  Hopefully by my next appt. (34 weeks) baby will be head down, not feet down!  Babies heart beat was 137 bpm today, which is right around where Blake and Emerson's were at 32 weeks, so not giving away the sex with the heart rate!!  I ran out of dyclectin on Tuesday, so did not take one Tuesday night and boy did I pay for it on Wednesday.  ICK!  I couldn't eat a thing without losing it and felt nauseous all day.  So I called the Pharmacist and got 1 pill for Wednesday night.  And of course, I mentioned the prescription refill today at my appt., but left without the prescription :S  So tomorrow should be fun again.  Oh well, I'll call the Dr. office at 9 and they can call or fax in a prescription for me and I'll pick it up asap.  Considering I've been sick the entire pregnancy, it makes me think this baby is a boy.  I was sick the entire pregnancy with Blake, but was only sick for the first 5 months with Em (the 1st trimester rule certainly does not apply to me!).  But that is the only thing I am basing my guess on, so who knows?!  Of course, it really does not matter either way.  We only pray for a healthy baby!  I'm just glad we won't have 3 girls ;)  We think we've decided on a boys name, but still working on a girls 1st name.  I'm feeling kind of achey this week and my ankles are swelling a bit!  At this point, I am so glad that I wasn't at the end of my pregnancy in the heat of summer!!  I definitely don't think that would be very enjoyable!!  In preparation for baby's arrival, we've started planning Blake and Emerson's room.  Although there is not much room to plan!!  The bedroom will barely fit the 2 beds and a dresser, so there isn't much space to work with.  We will do some decorating, but I'm not going to go to overboard with that!  It will be a room to sleep in, that's it!!  Right now Blake wants trains and firetrucks on his wall, so we'll see what we can do about that.  I'll probably do flowers on Emerson's wall.  Or butterfly's or something girlish like that!  We're not painting the walls or anything.  And we'll add a few more shelves on the wall to balance out what's existing!  I'd love for them to have matching furniture, but they won't!  In the future when the 2 boys or the 2 girls share a room we'll hopefully be more matchy-matchy!!  lol!  We don't think Blake will have any troubles with sharing a room, he is a pretty deep sleeper and he seems excited!  Emerson on the other hand, may have a big adjustment!  She seems to be a light sleeper still.  Blake often moans and groans in his sleep, so we're expecting Emerson to wake up to that.  There will definitely be an adjustment period, we're just hoping it's short!!  I'm actually looking forward to the kids sharing a room.  I think it will be good for them :)  Keep in mind this is coming from someone who has never shared a room ... but I think it helps to foster a closer relationship between siblings.  I hope that in the years to come they will take comfort in having a loved one so near by when awoken by a bad dream, a loud noise, etc.  And I think it will be neat that they can whisper to each other and scheme against Mom and Dad ;)  LOL!!  Anywho, this short update on baby has turned into one long post ... sorry ;)  Have a great weekend everyone!!

xoxo The Cameron's 

Yay Blake!!

The Tuesday after August long weekend, Blake had a rough night.  He woke up numerous times through out the night scared and had trouble going back to sleep.  This went on, off and on, until last week ... We were very distraught!!  We also felt so bad for Blake, because he was truly very scared and it broke our hearts.  He's always been an excellent sleeper, even before we sleep trained him at 4 months.  So having to go into his room during the night, sometimes lay with him, sometimes bring him into our bed was driving us CRAZY!  The other odd thing was that he NEVER wanted us to lay with him nor did he ever want to climb into our bed.  At times when he's been sick we've tried to do one or both, just to give us a break and he wouldn't!  But after some problem solving and getting advice and information from various sources our boy is an AWESOME sleeper once again :)  Phew!  After talking to a few parents and friends, I was very surprised at how many people sleep with their children or have to stay in their kids rooms until their children are asleep, etc, etc.  I seriously don't know how those parents do it ... kudos to them, cause we could never handle it!!  We like to put our kids to bed awake, close the door and they go to sleep, sleep for at least 12 hours and stay in their beds!!!!  We also stopped putting Blake for a nap a few months ago.  He would take forever to fall asleep at night if he had an afternoon nap.  So now he's going to sleep quite early (between 6:30 and 7 pm) and gets up between 7 and 7:30 am.  Now we have one more notch on our belts ... closer to becoming sleep experts?!  LMAO!!!  NOT ... I'm sure there will be many more interesting bedtime/night time "encounters" in our lives ;)

Wishing you all a good night's rest too :)

Tracy

Busy Weekend!

Thursday night at hockey registration I found out that Blake had his first hockey practice this Saturday!!  We thought his first ice time might be next weekend (18th), not THIS weekend!  So Friday morning the kids and I ran out to our local sports store to pick up a practice jersey and hockey socks for the big guy.  Cal had an optometrist appointment Friday afternoon and was home early from work, which always makes us happy :) 

Emerson had a disruptive sleep on Thursday night.  We didn't have to go into her room, but she was crying out every now and then and then falling back asleep, etc, etc.  On Friday it seemed that she would cry every time she had to pee.  She'd be walking around and then all of a sudden bend at the waist and hold herself and say, "Pooooo." (she says poo regardless if she pee's or poos!) and cry a little bit :(  It kept happening over and over and I thought it was a bit odd, but she didn't have a fever so that night we put her to bed as usual.  She was not settling and kept crying and saying, "Poooo."  So I started thinking maybe she had a UTI or a bladder infection??  I wasn't sure, but I called Health Link and they suggested taking her in, which I did.  Three hours later, after putting a urine bag on her and getting a contaminated sample and attempting an in/out catheter the Dr. suggested coming back tomorrow if she became feverish or sick to her stomach.  Ugh ... sometimes I think I overreact when the kids are sick, but you just never know and I think you're better safe then sorry!  Although I would have rather spent my Friday night differently!!  Turns out, she does have a small diaper rash and maybe it was burning when she was going to the bathroom.  She hasn't had a fever or been sick to her stomach and seems much better :)

Saturday morning was a very busy few hours!!  We had to be out the door at 8:30 to take Blake to his 1st ever hockey practice!!  We were all very excited!  To the right is a picture of Blake getting all geared up :)  Cal volunteered as a Coach this year ... thank goodness!  Most of the kids on the ice had an adult with them, which was much needed!  It took Blake awhile to get his feet under him and much of the 1 hr on the ice was spent literally, on the ice!!  But he came off the ice happy and talking about next time, so it was a positive 1st experience :)  It was a full ice surface, with approx. 30 kids and 20 adults on the ice!!  The Initiation 1 and Initiation 2's shared the ice, but in the future just the Initiation 1's will have an ice slot.  After Blake got off the ice, we headed over to the YMCA for Emerson's 1st swimming lesson of this session.  As expected, she LOVED her swimming lesson!  She was smiling and giggling the whole time :)  Saturday evening I went to visit my friend Candace at her Mom's house in Beaumont.  It was great to see Candace, as usual!  I left there around 12:30 am to pick up Linds and Jer at the airport!  They were back from their two week vacation in Turkey and Greece.  It was great to see them and hear all about their fabulous vacation!!  They spent the night at our house Saturday.

Sunday morning we went for brunch with Lindsay and Jeremy and then they were off to Fort Mac.  Sunday afternoon the Parenteau's came for a visit.  We missed Berlyn's 1st birthday party last weekend, but kept her gifts and were able to see her open them today :) 

Tomorrow I have an ultrasound appointment at 11 am.  This ultrasound is to see if my placenta has moved at all.  I don't think I'll get any results tomorrow and I'm not sure when my next Dr. appointment is!  I'm going to call the office tomorrow to find out. 

This week we have the usual activities and I found out last week that a new session of Sing, Sign, Laugh and Learn started at Londonderry Library, so we might check that out on Wednesday morning.  Emerson has swimming on Saturday from 11 to 11:30, Blake has hockey from 11:45 to 12:45 and we have our niece Jenna's 1st birthday party at 3:30!!  I was hoping to go to my friend's wedding ceremony at 12:30, but I don't think I'll be able to fit it in.  I'm not taking Emerson with me and having her miss her nap!!  I'd rather she has a good nap before the birthday party, because I'm sure she won't be going to bed on time!  Sunday we no plans, which is good because we'll need a day of rest ;) 

Have a great week everyone :)

xoxo Tracy