PLEASE VOTE for my Kids in the "Cutest Kid Contest" at Virgin Radio....

I just wanted to let everyone know that I entered Brooklyn and her twin brothers into the Virgin Radio "Cutest Kid 2012" contest! The grand prize is a trip to Disneyland!!!!!!! 

PLEASE click on these links...scroll down to the bottom of the page and CLICK "LIKE" to the right of my child's photo's. The contest is based on who's child get's the most "LIKES", so please vote today! 

I have never entered a contest like this before but we would LOVE to take Brooklyn to Disneyland for the very first time!! Thanks for all your support!! MamaCC

RYDER's Link: http://vancouver.virginradio.ca/Showcase/CutestKid2012/View.aspx?ID=320462

CRUZ's Link: http://vancouver.virginradio.ca/Showcase/CutestKid2012/View.aspx?ID=320466

BROOKLYN's Link: http://vancouver.virginradio.ca/Showcase/CutestKid2012/View.aspx?ID=320451

These are the profile photo's I used on their "Cutest Kids Contest" Profile's:)

Brooklyn and her boo-boo's

So Brooklyn has been so cute lately. She has become very attached to her "Purple Doll" which is what she named her "Share Bear" CareBear (I encouraged her to name her "Daisy" or something cute like that but she insists the name is "Purple Doll"! She takes this doll everywhere we go and any time she hurts herself and starets to cry (which isnt very often as she is one tough cookie) she yells, "where is purple doll!". What's even cuter is when I recently got sick and Brooklyn came over to me on the couch and said, "here Mummy, you can have Purple Doll"....melt my heart. Another time Brooklyn saw me crying (when I learned of a dear friend passing) and she came up to me and said, "here's Purple Doll Mummy!" She knows purple doll makes her feel better when she's sad or hurt so she now gives purple doll to me or the baby's when they are crying or upset. She's such a nurturing little girl and I cant even begin to express what a wonderful big sister she is. She doesn't like it when the baby's cry so she runs back and forth to bring them toys if they are crying, she sits in front of the front door so they dont fall over the edge (it's only a 3-4" drop) that they have mastered but she still just worries about them. If they have fallen or bumped their head, Brooklyn makes sure to tell me or she hugs them to make them feel better. She dances for them to make them laugh (they think it's so funny as do I).

Brooklyn cut her finger the other day and it was bleeding a little bit....she yelled "Mummy bleeding! Bleeding Mummy!" so I walked over to have a look and I said, "its just a little bit of blood honey, lick it"....she looked up at me with a confused expression on her face and said, "No, YOU lick it!" ha ha.....so I did! She thought it was kind of funny but now whenever she cuts herself she runs over to me, holds up her finger or hand and says, "bleeding Mummy, lick it! It makes me laugh....I feel like a bit of a vampire but whatever....every Mama bear licks their cubs wounds, lol.

Beautiful pictures of my munchkins:)

My friend Michele was here for a visit last month with her baby girl and took some amazing photo's of the kids! Unfortunately the family portrait didn't work out so well with the 3 year old refusing to cooperate, hubby holding the twins like sacks of potatoes and the twins trying to escape and/or suck on their fists, lol. Better luck next time I suppose.
Here are the beautiful shots she captured of my munchkins:)

http://www.micheledyson.com/

Body by Vi (Visalus)

Okay, first let me say that I am in no way a salesman (nor do I ever desire to be). Im quite happy being a Nurse and a Mom but I do have to share with you this new product I discovered through a friend called Visalus. It's a nutritional supplement that promotes health and weight loss. After having 3 kids in 23 months, I had an extra 25 lbs on me that just wouldn't budge and with infant twins and a 2.5 year old, I have NO "me" time, no time to exercise and Im lucky if I brush my teeth and hair in the same day! lol. I am crazy busy but after ordering my Visalus (it shipped in 3 days!), I dropped 12 lbs in 6 weeks with no exercise (well chasing after 3 kids is exercise but nothing outside of that) and the best part is I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the shakes! They are delicious! I was using Isagenix for a while and although it does work, its REALLY expensive, tastes like crap and was a very drastic lifestyle change (fairly unrealistic in my opinion) with their dreaded cleanse days which I had to severely modify. Visalus on the other hand is an amazing product, is much more affordable and is so delicious! I look forward to my shakes everyday! I seriously can't stress enough how delicious the shakes are! I have around 10 lbs to lose yet so I will keep you posted. I just wanted to put it out there, if your looking for a healthy meal replacement or looking to drop a few stubborn pounds or a lot of stubborn pounds, this is the best! The other great thing about Visalus is how much support you get once you take the 90 day challenge. It's a whole community (which I learned after I bought my Challenge Kit). If you need a place to purchase your Visalus stuff, here is the link where I buy my shake mix http://candicecandice.bodybyvi.com/


If you have any questions about Visalus you can learn more here http://whatisvisalus.org/
and here is a link to a chart that compares all the popular meal replacement products on the market...Visalus has the most to offer! http://visalus.com/docs/product/compare/US/D1215US_ViShape_CompChart.pdf

Unexpected knock at the door....

So this week has been a challenging one! Chris was gone for 14-15 hours a day this week so I have been on my own. Brooklyn was in daycare on Monday and Tuesday until 5pm and came home two days in a row in a foul mood. I noticed she was coming home really dehydrated and was begging for more and more water! I think the combination of dehydration and waking up too early with the early sunrise was catching up with her (she woke up at 5:45am both days and she normally sleeps until 7-7:30am). She was acting like the devil and after just having spent the better part of my weekend in the hospital with a sick baby Ryder, I had two screaming sick baby's and a shreaking 2.5 year old who was having an academy award winning tantrum over putting on her pajamas! Tuesday was a nightmare! It also happened to be 26 degree's so I had ALL the windows and doors open in the house as I was melting away chasing after these kids!
After Brooklyn refused to put on her Pajama's and threw a massive tantrum, I picked her up and put her in timeout. At this point I had enough (she had been naughty for 1.5 hours at this point) and I told her she needed to sit in timeout for not listening at which point she clenched her fists and started screaming at the top of her lungs (which is piercing loud people!).....I warned her once to stop screaming at which time she did it again so I threw her over my shoulder and carried her up to her room kicking and screaming and told her she had to finish her timeout in her room and that I would come talk to her once she had calmed down.....all the while the baby's are downstairs screaming because they want me to pick them up! I had to let them cry it out...I just didnt have enough hands...they were fed, napped and changed and were only crying because they wanted me to pick them up.....correction, Cruz was crying because he wanted to be held and Ryder just follows suit sometimes, lol. I thought for a moment I might lose my mind!!!

I came downstairs and Brooklyn was kicking the snot out of her door upstairs so I ran back upstairs and yelled for her to stop (twice)! When I went back into her room, she was hysterical and starting to cough and gag so I realized she was just DONE (it was only 6:45pm) and needed to go to bed STAT!!! I put on her PJ's, managed to calm her down, read her a short story, kissed her good night, shut her door and went back downstairs where the baby's had been crying for the better part of an hour and a half! Brooklyn fell asleep in seconds!!!
I picked up a screaming babe and two seconds later, the three legged beast starts barking like mad and I realize there is someone standing on my front porch! So with a crying baby on my hip, I open the front door all the while trying to restrain the dog from biting this complete stranger and I say, "can I help you?" and she says, "Do you need a hand!?"....I was totally caught off guard, a little embarassed and of course burst into tears! She says "My name is Irene, I live just over there (pointing)".....I said, "sure, come on in!" ha ha. Drying my tears, I tell her she can pick up the other baby "over there" and within seconds, the twins both stop crying of course because they are both being held which is all they wanted. I realized that this woman had been listening to the chaos, the tantrum, the shreaking, the crying baby's and the Mommy laying down the law and came to offer a hand. It was really very sweet of her....I kind of wish she came 20 minutes earlier to be honest! lol. I was very close to calling on one of my neighbors to help hold the baby's while I dealt with Brooklyn but didnt have time to leave. It was definitely the worst day I have had since having all three kids at home and thankfully most days aren't this insane. Brooklyn is good most of the time and this was an all time low in regards to bad behavior for sure! Oddly enough, I was on my own again the next night and things were much easier (I still think the dehydration is what made her "crazy").

So I have met another set of neighbors and plan to close all the doors and windows the next time things get out of control like that because I know everyone can hear EVERYTHING with how close the houses are built in our neighborhood. I was out for a walk with Brooklyn one day and I could hear the twins screaming a block away while Chris was at home with them. It sucks!!! lol. I kept thinking "why doesn't he pick them up!?" (Daddy isn't bothered by screaming baby's the way Mummy, Oma & Nana are). When I ran home to see what was going on, Chris was warming up bottles and the baby's were screaming on the floor because they were hungry! I just wish the noise and cry's didnt travel so far.

You know it must sound REALLY bad when a complete stranger knocks on the door to "help", lol.

Update

2012 has been a whirlwind thus far. I'm on my own with the kids most of the time because Chris works long hours (12-16 hours shifts 4 days in a row and then sleeps the fifth day because his last shift is a night shift).....I cherish the 3 days he's home but they go by way too quickly! It's been extremely difficult to manage all three of the kids on my own, especially when they all wake up at the SAME TIME! My mornings are crazy busy!! Brooklyn is still in daycare 3 days a week though so that is a huge help and she just loves it! She is thriving at daycare and they even come to my house to pick her up at 9am (because I cant leave the twins now that they are so mobile and they drop her off at 5pm. Lucky for me they are only about 4 houses away! Its been great.
Cruz got 2 front teeth about a month ago and 2 weeks later Ryder got his two front teeth. Cruz said "Mama" just over a week ago (melt my heart! lol). He says it whenever he see's me across the room, it's so cute! (who am I kidding....EVERYTHING they do is cute! ha ha). Ryder is sitting up without leaning on his hands and Cruz is almost there. Cruz started crawling backwards a few days ago and Ryder is starting to do the same. I bought a baby gate on Amazon.com today as my life is about to change drastically with two crawlers! I definitely need to contain them to the living room or I will be dodging baby's while trying to cook dinner and it could get dangerous!

I'm hoping I get to sleep in until 10am on Mother's day this Sunday.....I get about one sleep-in day a month (not enough!). I usually run on 5-7 hours sleep (I have sleep issues) which is unfortunate because the twins sleep for 9-10 hours (but don't nap much during the day, boo!). I find even when I get an 8 hour sleep (once in a blue moon) that I feel equally as tired the next day because its my daily work load that's just so exhausting. My feet just ache first thing in the morning when I wake up (I feel like an old lady, lol) but it goes away once I'm up and at em'.... it's a reminder that I'm literally being run off my feet day-to-day. I should write down everything I do one day so hubs knows what a gong show it is here when Im on my own with all three of them but I don't have time to do that! lol.

I gave the twins their 5th haircut yesterday! These boys grow hair like a chia pet! lol. The boys are starting to fight over toys and have started smacking each other! lol. I have to separate them often but once they start crawling (any day now) they should be able to get away from the other! I mean Cruz is crawling backwards but oh-so-slowly! ha ha. They are also on solids now. I try to make their baby food   because it's healthier (and cheaper) but it's just one more thing I have to do. Sometimes I run out of home made stuff and give them the flavored rice cereals instead. I made jars and jars of minced chicken with apple sauce and peas and they gagged on it (I tried it too though and it tasted awful until I added some apple sauce but even then they would not eat it) so I had to throw out ALL of it! It was such a waste of 7 chicken breasts!! boo!

We have out Au Pair arriving August 4th!!! I'm excited but at the same time Im sad because it means I have to go back to work! Where has the last 10 months gone!? I hope I remember this last year! ha ha. I go back to work September 4th and although it may be respite in some ways, I don't feel ready to leave the baby's! *sniff sniff*

Brooklyn starts pre-school in September as well (she better be potty trained by then)! Potty training is VERY frustrating and I havn't really had the time I need to devote to it). Sometimes she goes to the potty and other times she doesn't! It's totally inconsistent and she recently started telling me she wants to be a baby! I say things like, "your a big girl now and big girls poop in the potty" and she fired back with "I dont want to be a big girl....me baby!". I can see she wants more attention like the boys get.

April Fool's.....

I had a little bit of fun yesterday updating my Facebook Status......it read......"we are officially c-r-a-z-y-! We are expecting again!

You wouldn't believe how many people bought it......but there were just as many people that called my bluff, ha ha. It was hilarious to read all the "OMG's" though! I love April Fool's Day. I get Chris on something every year but this year I didnt do anything to him as we are just so incredibly busy! In fact busy doesn't even really describe how life is at our house. I cant begin to tell you how much work twins and a 2.5 year old are! It's just insanely busy from the time I get up, until the time I go to bed and most days Im by myself since Chris works shift work as is a write off for the better part of 5 days, then he has 3 days off and those 3 days FLY by way too fast!! It's incredibly challenging to manage all three of them by myself but sending Brooklyn to daycare 3 days a week has been wonderful and she really enjoys it there. I'm able to focus on the twins and those days are a lot less hectic for me!

I have a new HATE for Laundry and now that the twins started solids, I have an extra 6+ bibs, 6 bowls, 6 spoons a day, 2-3 clothing changes and in addition, the twins are "pukers!". I honestly cant believe how much laundry we do in this house! I manage to get a load in the wash and then in the dryer but I don't have time to fold it all and put it away so I end up with piles and piles of clean clothes on top of the drier or in the laundry baskets just waiting to be folded. I also have a new HATE for kitchen mess! Just as soon as I clean up the kitchen, it's a disaster within a few hours. We use about 10-12 bottles/day now that the twins stopped nursing.........they quite nursing cold turkey and I found the last few weeks they were getting really distracted by all the noise in here and just couldn't focus on eating so they would latch just to de-latch seconds later because someone was crying or Brooklyn bumped him or she was yelling or singing. I was pretty sad when they weaned.....they obviously were ready to move on and Mummy was not * sniff sniff *.

Brooklyn is proving to be an AMAZING big sister!! She helps the boys when they're crying all the time. If they are in their swings waiting for a bottle and they start screaming....she runs to the living room, grabs 2 toys, runs back to the twins and gives each of them a toy.....melts my heart every single time! It is seriously adorable. She doesnt like it when they cry too hard or for too long so she will say, "Mummy, pick baby up!".

The last few weeks have been really crazy as the boys are teething (Cruz has one tooth already) and seem to be going through a "Mummy" phase where they want nothing but for me to hold them 24-7. I play a lot of "musical baby's" because as soon as I put one baby down and pick up the other one, the other baby starts crying again! Some days are insane here and I wonder how I will get up and do it again and again and again! ha ha. Im exhausted all day, everyday and you definitely get "used" to functioning on less sleep but there comes a point when you just cry. Yes, that's right, I have a good cry once in a while...not very often as I just dont have time to have the nervous break-down that I so deserve.....there are mouth's to feed, poopy diapers to change and a toddler to chase after! 

Framed Hospital Hats

The twins are rolling all over the living room floor. We are about a month or two away from installing baby gates to contain the baby's to the living room. Ryder rolled over about a month ago and Cruz started 2 weeks after him. Now they constantly roll towards each other and bonk heads... A LOT. Im contemplating buying them helmets, ha ha. Its funny how they always roll towards each other versus away from each other. They are finally starting to entertain one another which is pretty cute and they LOVE their big sister. Brooklyn has been amazing with them and she thinks its so funny when she can make them laugh. I cant wait until they can all play together in another 6-12 months. Brooklyn has been awesome and I am really enjoying her age....that being said, I dont know how Im going to get through the age: 18months-2.5 years old with the twins! Man, that was a difficult year in regards to discipline, timeouts and setting boundaries but Brooklyn is finally at an age where she's starting to understand more, can communicate bettter with words and last night was the first time she told me she "wuved" me unprovoked! ha ha. She was eating dinner in her high chair and she said "Mummy?", "Yes dear".... *she giggles a little bit*..."I wuv you!". Melt my heart!! lol. She even put my face in her hands, laughing all the while. It was a wonderful moment! (personally, I think scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese is the key to her heart and that may be why she said it but whatever the reason, she's starting to understand what it means so say I LOVE YOU! She's such a joy!

The boys are about 16 lbs now and 28" long! They are currently starting to wean though *sniff sniff* which I will miss immensely! I plan to start them on solids next month when they turn 6 months "corrected age" (they are 8 months actual age but only 5 months corrected). They sleep well at night but hardly nap during the day unfortunately. I put them in the Jolly Jumper a few days ago and they picked it up instantly.....bouncing away! All my kids have loved the JJ! It's so cute to see them givin' er in that thing!

Cruz has had some mild eczema the last 3-4 months but hasn't needed any sort of intervention (just lotion twice a day) and then over night Ryder broke out with a really bad rash (also eczema) and within a week had open sores on his cheeks that were weeping! Poor guy was trying to itch it like crazy so we put socks on their hands at night so they couldn't scratch at it. I took them to the doctor when Ryder woke up with raw, weeping cheeks and he's now on antibiotics and cortisone cream which is helping a lot. Cruz's rash cleared up on it's own believe it or not. It's amazing how they can just wake up with a rash or wake up with clear skin...it's so random.

The boys are still breast feeding but the last few days have started to refuse the breast so they seem to be weaning on their own!! *sniff sniff*. I will miss the bonding for sure!!!

I managed to finish a PINTEREST DIY project a few days ago. I framed all the kids hospital hats in shadow boxes from Michael's and they look adorable! One of the twins baby hats it so small, it fits on an orange! Their little heads were so teeny tiny!! (see pics below).

We have decided to get an Au Pair come August instead of a nanny for child care when I go back to work in September. A friend of mine has had several Au Pairs over the last few years (she has twins plus two other children) and says they are great helpers so we are looking for an Au Pair to join our family this summer.

Just for the record....I have way more photo's of the twins than I do of Brooklyn, simply because she hates to get her picture taken..... evidenced by the photo of all three of them below and Brooklyn hiding her face! It certainly didnt look good when I was at her new pre-school, pulled out my iphone to show them a picture of her and had to scroll through about 60 photo's of the twins....then I finally found one picture of her BUT it was the picture of her BLACK EYE!!! It looked really bad!! ha ha. Here are my amazing twins......oh ya and here is the kid we dont really like- hence the black eye! lol. It couldn't be further from the truth.....we really do love them equally, I promise! ha ha.