Too cute!

Ethan informed me today that he is not going to do any of the bad things that Rachel tells him to do. He said that when she says the "A" word, or the "S" word, or the other "S" word, or the "H" word he is just going to ignore her. Talk about inadvertently ratting someone out!!

Tonight was a great night with the kids we did home work, danced to Andrews mixed C.D.'s and cuddled. If every night was like this I would be laughing.

Stephanie:)

NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING!!

This is what I caught Ethan doing this evening. I was right he like "boobs", the part I didn't count on was that he likes them on him....please do not tell Andrew!!!

Yo, Yo, Yo

Rachel has developed a rapper persona. She goes around making the rock out symbol with her fingers and goes "yo,yo,yo, diggity dog". She is having a little identity crisis I guess??

I found Ethan using the washroom in my bathroom and he was looking at the Victoria Secret catalogue. I asked him what he was looking at and his reply "boobs". I can't wait to tell Andrew as he will be so proud!!

Love,

Stephanie

Rachel's Christmas List

Dear Santa,

These are the things I have done to be a good girl this year. I have raised money for Terry Fox. I put away the silverware for my mom. I do my work at school and I listen to my teacher.

This year please can you bring me winks, the one with the clothes and locker and a big doll house. I want to get a baby crib so I can give my other one to my little brother.

Thank you Santa. I miss you and love you.

Love, Rachel

Love is a beautiful thing...

I overheard Ethan talking to Rachel and I had to post this conversation on my blog. The conversation went like this:

Ethan: Rachel remember when you were sick

Rachel: Yes, I remember

Ethan: That made me sad I don't like it when your sick Rachel

Rachel: I know but I am feeling better now

Ethan: That's good Rachel because I feel bad when you are sick, don't get sick anymore O.K. Rachel

Rachel: O.K. Ethan I won't

Ethan: Do you want to play guard?

Rachel: Sure

As a parent there is nothing more gratifying than seeing the love and devotion that exists between your children. As much as they fight I know they adore each other and more importantly they will forever have an ally in this world, each other.

Stephanie:)

P.S. In case you do not know what guard is...it is a game they play where Rachel plays the role of a princess and Ethan is her guard.

Thank goodness for Crappy Tire!

Well our tire adventure is now over. As you all know by now Andrew hit the curb yesterday and busted 2 tires in the process. I've told him for years that he hugs the curb and he is going to hit the curb (of course he has hit the curb before but just not this bad)!! $451.22 later have we learned our lesson? I sure as hell hope so. We are now proud owners of 2 overpriced Michelin Destiny tires. I try and look at the bright side, as Dad pointed out, at least there are no curbs between here and Fort McMurray!!

Rachel is feeling better and is at school today. She wanted to go so who am I to stand in her way. Ethan, so far, hasn't caught her "bug" and hopefully he won't. Time will tell. It is the season for illnesses, Sally is not well, Abbie was not well last week, Cathy's kids have been sick and so has Josh. The weird thing is none of these people have been in contact with each other so these are all separate outbreaks. Maybe the flu pandemic is closer than we think??

Anyway, I better get my work done now.

Love,

Stephanie:)

A Letter To Santa

Ethan wrote his letter to Santa today. Of course the grammar is questionable but the following is dictated word for word from him:

Dear Santa,

I love you and I give you hugs. I love him in my heart and I love him so much. I be good boy this year. I cleaned my room, picked up my toys, I help Rachel with the silverware.

Can you give me cookies dear Santa. Please give me hotwheels and ninja turtles, and Darth Vader light saber & voice changer (with buttons).

Thank you Santa for all this stuff.

Love,

Ethan Ross
xoxo

Sometimes he makes me melt!!

I will post Rachel's tomorrow as she is not feeling up to writing letters. She was up all night vomiting and has been lying on the couch since 8:30 this morning. I hate to see them sick and I wish there was something I could do for her. Anyway, stay tuned for the next post.

Love,

Stephanie:(

The Jackpot.....

Well today pretty much finished our Christmas shopping. Just stockings and a few odds and ends and we are done. The malls are already insane and I personally hate the "hustle and bustle".

Andrew is now outside maintaining his hot tub. If we move home I guarantee he will try to con me into taking it with us. I wonder what it would cost to move one?? Anyway, I discovered today that Rachel has a loose tooth. It is her top front tooth. Since then she has been wiggling it non stop hoping to hit it big with the tooth fairy.

Peace Out!

Stephanie

Thank Goodness....

Andrew comes home tonight!! The kids and I are pretty excited, but mostly me. The weekend will consist of finishing our Christmas shopping for the kids and family back east. I'm hoping to ship them on Monday and be done with it.

Ethan is starting to print his name...or should I say print his name for food. It's sad when you have to bribe him to get him to do something. I think I will make that my new years resolution, no more bribery!! I plan on taking Ethan for a hair cut after school (he needs one desperately). His response was "I no want to look like John, he looks weird" for any of you who do not know John he is bald. I explained to Ethan the difference between a cut and shaving your head and I think were on the same page now.

Rachel had some testing done yesterday and when I asked how she did she said "all checks and one x". I'm glad she's finally seeing the results of doing your homework!!

Signing out for now...

Love,

Stephanie

Tis The Season...

Well it's no secret Kelly and I had each other for our Christmas exchange. We both were bragging that we really liked what we had gotten each other when Kelly had the bright idea to keep our own gifts vs. sending them to each other. I somehow was reluctant that it might not be in the true spirit of Christmas giving, however, I relented when traditional Sally agreed to this (which totally surprised me by the way).

So Kelly this is a photo of what you would have received. You can email me mine as promised and for this year it is the thought that counts...Literally.

Stephanie:)

P.S. Ethan decided to take his gameboy in the tub. Yes, he submerged it. Why you ask? I wish I knew. It's o.k. though Rachel told him he could ask for a new one for Christmas!! Not likely...

Why Foxes??

Ethan has developed a new phobia. He is now petrified of foxes?? He won't go anywhere by himself and he has to sleep with someone else. He is currently sleeping on the floor in the hallway. I made him a make-shift bed so he could see me in the family room but he still wasn't satisfied. He got up and closed all the bedroom doors because I guess the foxes were lurking in the bedrooms??

Dad called tonight and read the kids a lovely poem. All Ethan did was whine because he wanted to hold the phone but Rachel listened attentively. When Dad asked if she would like him to read her another poem she politely declined and reassured him it was a great story. After they hung up, being the antagonist that I am, I asked Rachel what the story was about. Her reply was "it's was a wonderful story with a very nice ending"...do we have a future politician on our hands???

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Faye for being the only family member that did not insult the picture of me on my blog. I was not looking for advice on how to fix my face, I was looking for advice on the HAIR!! Kelly this is not totally directed at you, but mostly.

Now that you all have been exposed to my new method of keeping in touch I will expect to see sarcastic comments posted in my comments section regularly, as soon as you all register!!

Love,

Stephanie

P.S. Rachel had a brilliant solution to the after school pick up congestion. Her solution and I quote "Mom, I wish Mr. Roberts (the principle) would just say Rachel Ross you can go home and then Matthew McMaster, Hannah Cobalt, and then the rest of the kids in my class so that all the parents don't come at once!". I told her to run that by her teacher.

Counting Sheep...

After a fun filled day of playing trains, dinky cars, and sidewalk chalk this is the end result. Why is it kids are so much cuter when their sleeping? Why do we always take the classic "sleeping" shots? Now that I've mentioned it I looked through my Iphoto library and half the pictures are of them sleeping?? Maybe it is because that is the only time I know I can keep up with them!! Anyway, I'm going to go enjoy the piece and quiet.

P.S. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Ethan's partner in crime, it is Cameron, Denyse's little guy.

Missing In Action

Well it is no secret that we are certainly missing Andrews' contributions to our household. This week putting out the garbage sucked. Rotten pumpkin can certainly make you gag. The kids seem to have adapted and only occasionally ask me "how long till Daddy comes home?". The truth is I thought it would get easier as time goes on but that's not the case. Andrew has always been my "right arm" so to speak. I remember when I first moved to Edmonton I was terribly home sick and Andrew quickly became my security blanket. I know, I know, toughen up. I think sometimes we forget how good we have it, that is, until we don't have it anymore. On the upside it is less than a week until he gets back and Rachel, Ethan, and I cannot wait!!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures...Practice, Practice, Practice

Please be patient, I haven't a clue what I am doing? Anyway, you will see a few posts today as I don't know how to load pictures other than through separate posts. Where are the freaking IT guys when you need them???

No shortage of candy at our house!! These photos were from Halloween after a considerable amount of candy consumption. Rachel was a Hawaiian Hula dancer complete with grass skirt and Ethan was Darth Vader (minus a light saber). I must tell you Ethan was pretty pissed off about not having a light saber. My friend Dina tried to offer him a glow stick as a sort of consolation and his response "that not a light saber!".

Yes, sometimes they do love each other... 

A Moment of Silence...

Well it is Remembrance day. Rachel, Ethan and I observed our 2 minutes of silence in the car in between Superstore and Toys R Us (Rachel struggled to keep quiet for that long!!). It's hard to explain to a 5 and 3 year old the importance of what our veterans sacrificed for our Country. Sure, they understand the basics. Some people went to war and some people lost their lives but they personally don't know anyone affected by this. I on the other hand can certainly appreciate the sacrifices these soldiers made and to them I say thank you....hopefully I never take it for granted.