Delayed long weekend update!

It's been pretty hectic here with the baby teething and Emma being sick, plus Chris working like a dog, all the repairs going on at our place and the long weekend that just passed. I feel like a zombie, my house is disgusting, I'm behind on laundry but on the bright side we are all still breathing and that in itself is a miracle.

For anyone who is curious, Emma is doing very well. She is taking antibiotics every day and seems to be back at 100%. We are still keeping a close eye on her though, the slightest inclination that she is sick again and we are out the door! The other dogs are doing pretty good too, although Paul threw up today. Very random, he doesn't do that often but we aren't concerned.

Chris has been working himself into the ground in the last week or so. Small things at past jobs are popping up and he is running around like an idiot going to work in Orleans and then going into Hintonburg area to patch some drywall. He's been home late almost every day this week. This week coming should be better though because he is just finishing the one job then heading to work on his parent's basement. Its a bummer though, overall, when he gets home its dinner, shower, bed. He is so tired at the end of the day there is just nothing left for me or the baby. He has to work as hard as he is though because Emma's vet bill was pretty high, and now we are left playing catch up. I am seriously considering going back to work right now.

On top of him being either gone all the time or too exhausted to move, my insomnia is getting worse. I am going to bed later and later at night and Cadence is going some kind of sleep regression where now she won't go back to sleep in the morning. So I'm falling asleep around 2am, and then waking up at 7am. She does take a nap in the afternoon if we go swimming, but I hardly have the energy to take her as often as I need to be able to nap. Its cyclical and driving me crazy. I'd like to point out here that this is not a case of "see I told you having a baby was hard". Cadence is in excellent health and an amazingly easy to care for baby. Its my body/mind that are betraying me and its making me crazy.

The furnace guys came last week and installed our new furnace. One of the guys took it upon himself to fill up an empty pop bottle with water from our water dispenser, tell me how he'd like to kill and BBQ my annoying dogs, and then smoke cigarettes in front of my house and leave the litter on the lawn. I'm guessing so the dogs can choke on the butts. I am not sure how to proceed with this information; should I call and complain about what happened or just leave it. Lots to think about.

This past weekend was Cadence's first Thanksgiving. We had a nice dinner at Bob and Jane's on Saturday evening. The Lackey/Smaridge/Pantalone family were all there to break bread so to speak. Then on Sunday night we had Nancy and Kevin over for dinner at our place. It was a family filled weekend, with lots for us to be grateful for. Let me share with you now.

- We are grateful for a roof over our heads, food in our bellies and clothes on our backs. The house may not be the best, the food might not be as plentiful and the clothes might be outdated but they are there and they work and thats what matters.
- Cadence is in excellent health. She is growing more and more every day, she is so calm and easy to care for (for now). We are both truly blessed to have such a wonderful baby girl.
- I am grateful for Chris and everything he has done to provide for our family. He works hard to make sure the roof, food, clothes and medical needs of our family are partially met (I help meet those needs too, just saying I am grateful for Chris's contributions). He is also a great support emotionally, always willing to hear me out and then offering any advice he can think of.
- We are both thankful for the wonderful people who are in our lives everyday, both friends and family, who support us as we navigate being parents and our growth as a couple.
- We are thankful for our little fur babies too. As much as they drive us crazy, the little faces, snuggling and kisses are so worth it.

Lastly, if it hasn't been announced yet, over the long weekend we asked Ryan and Hannah if they would be Cadence's godparents and they said yes! So, once I get my act together to figure out how this whole baptism thing works we will have a ceremony and they will act as godparents. Thanks guys!

Now I'm off to bed. We've got another long week of stuff coming up that I should try to be well rested for. Good night!

My little lovelies

We've had to deal with some very unpleasant and scary news recently; Emma became very sick very fast. We were placed in a position of what we should do: whatever it takes to help Emma make it, or put her down because surely the care would be very expensive. Well, for a lot of reasons, we went with the treatment. It was very expensive, and we will go without for a long while, but it was completely worth it.

We've also come under fire from some people who think that spending any money on a sick animal is a useless investment and that we should have put Emma regardless. Emma had a bowel infection, she did not have cancer or require risky surgery. It was a no brainer. People don't seem to understand the connection we share with our "original" children, so I thought I would take the time to explain how they fit with our lives.

We'll start with Oscar as he is the oldest. Oscar has been with me since November of 2005, I bought him with the last of my student loans money in my first semester of college. Right off the bat we connected. We used to play hide and seek. I would run and hide behind a door or beside the bed, call his name and usually he could find me. When I would cry he would jump in my lap and try to lick away my tears. We've lived in 7 different homes and with a lot of different people but he is always my little soldier. Yes, he pees in the house. Yes, he growls at smalls noises in the house. But he stands by me and is always there when I need a little snuggle.

Paul is the next oldest. Chris adopted him from a family in Hull who had no time to care for him anymore. Paul is EVERYONE's favourite; he is so snuggly and soft, its like almost impossible to resist his charm. Before I got pregnant, Paul used to sleep in our bed. He would snuggly under the covers and keep us warm in the colder months. He is always so happy to see us when we get home, and always has kisses for us. His love shows in big ways.

Then we have Roxy. Roxy was found in a similar way to Paul; she was being given away by a family who had no time for her. At first it was hard to bond with her. She was very slow to warm up to me, she warmed to Chris almost right away. Before the baby came they used to spend the mornings cuddled up on the couch. She gives us both lots of kisses, Chris on the head and myself on the toes. She grumbles when she wants water, to go to bed, to go pee or just a good butt scratch. She is so dumb, but that is a huge part of her charm.

Lastly, we have little Emma bean. Emma has only been with us for a year. Initially we did try to re-home her, as we weren't prepared to have a 4th dog with the impending baby. But both homes sent her back, and at that point we had gotten attached. Emma is notorious for barking at the slightest noise, whining to come into the bed with us at night, and not respecting our personal space on the couch. She will chew on your nose or chin if you let her, but her breath is terrible so you don't really want her to chew on you. She will play fetch all the live long day. She has a little sweater that she likes to wear, we assume its like a security blanket to her. When she sleeps, she snores. She snorts and kicks her blankets around to get comfy.

I know these things seem trivial to a lot of people but to us they are emotionally entrenching and endearing traits. I am not doing these guys justice, they are so entwined in our lives, so much a part of our identities, that even the thought of losing one of them makes my heart hurt.

Busy couple of days!

I've figured out how to post from my phone which will make things so much easier. I have more access to my phone than I do to my laptop, and most of my photos come from my phone.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this but we had family photos taken two weeks ago. We went with the in-laws to the experimental farm in Ottawa. I haven't seen any of the shots yet but it was a beautiful location and the photographer had a good eye. I think they went really well.

We've been struggling recently with heating the house. Awhile ago we had a cold snap and the house was freezing! We've sealed off the widows and we have some portable heaters placed around the house to warm the rooms we find ourselves in but soon that won't be enough. Our furnace doesn't work and the fire place needs to be cleaned and repaired before we can use it. The furnace people are taking forever with their appointments and I'm losing patience.

Lastly, the dogs had fleas. We busted our asses cleaning the house and then drying everything. That was on Saturday. Our bedroom pillows still aren't dried and it's bumming me out.

That's all I have to say right now. I feel like I'm repeating myself for some reason hopefully this isn't a repeat post!