Happy Chaos

My daddy comes tomorrow! YAY! The last time he came for a visit was in April and it was only a brief stay. This time he and Michelle are staying for a week! This will be the first time Michelle will get to see Declan since he was only a couple of weeks old. Both Declan and Maya have grown up so much since then so I'm sure they will see a big difference in them. I love having visitors stay with us...especially when there is SHOPPING involved! This coming Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year down here in the states. It's called BLACK FRIDAY - similar to Canada's Boxing Day sales but even better! I love shopping at the outlet stores on Black Friday because you can get up to 75% off a lot of stuff that is already priced really low. With that said, I don't have much Christmas shopping left to do, but I'm sure Dad and Michelle will have a field day while they are here; even though the Canadian dollar is not worth as much as it was a few months ago!

Can you believe the gas prices have gone down to $1.93/Gallon??!

I had a rough day yesterday - searching for gifts on Amazon while trying to keep the kids out of trouble only to have Maya pee twice on her bed because I wasn't giving her enough attention. I was doing laundry in the midst of this and Declan was whining a lot. I was also working on some home-made gifts that need to get done before my daddy arrives tomorrow. So, Jeremy called on his way home from work and I proceeded to tell him about my day...."What a day I've had!"....etc.

After I got off the phone, Maya came over and sat beside me on the couch and in a very sympathetic manner she said "What a day mommy!"

Those funny little words coming from my 2 year old somehow managed to extinguish all of the stress from my chaotic day.

Pwesident

We were watching T.V. this morning when our new President Elect came on...



Maya: Bawack Obama!

Mommy: Yes, that's Barack Obama! He's our president!

Maya: Grandma's Pwesident. Grandpa's Pwesident. Maya's too!

Mommy: Yes you're right - he's your President too Maya!



She's only two years old and yet she knows so much. It's amazing how quickly they grow up. Who knows, maybe she will be interested in politics and become President one day. She could turn after my grandpa (her great-grandpa) who was a Mayor. The nice thing is that now it is possible for anyone to become president....even our baby girl!

Sisters or Twins?

(Michael - 2 weeks old, Maya - 6 weeks old, Gabrielle - 22 months)

These were the only three children on my side of the family the last time I was in Newfoundland and saw my sister and my mom. I can't believe it has been so long since I have seen all of them. Now we have two more cousins... Declan who is 12 1/2 months now and Roman who is 5 days old.


My sister Dayna and I have always been close. We have been nothing short of best friends our whole lives. So when we were in our early twenties, splitting the rent in our one bedroom apartment in Calgary, it seemed so logical to imagine our future children growing up together. Sure, at the time we didn't even know if we would ever get married, but eventually we both did. Dayna went online and found the man of her dreams and a year later they were married in a tiny ceremony in her friend's home. Then they moved across the country to Newfoundland and left me in Calgary (sisterless). They soon had a beautiful daughter (Gabrielle), and a year or so later, I too decided to try out the same website where Dayna met Stelios. Sure enough - it worked! I fell in love with a wonderful man, but he lived in the states - even FURTHER away from my dear sister. I moved to Oregon, got married in a TINY ceremony and a year later we had our first baby - a girl named Maya. Throughout our lives, people have said that my sister and I do everything alike, but this was uncanny. First finding our husbands the same way and then having a DAUGHTER first! Well, the story doesn't end there. Dayna then had a beautiful baby boy, and a year later so did I. Sometimes Dayna and I would joke that we were really twins that were just born 2 1/2 years apart. Perhaps that would explain why our sons (Michael and Declan) look so much alike.

With all that said, I feel as though I am breaking a chain by not having another child. I'm sure if I were to have another one, it would be a boy just because that's what Dayna had. However, Jeremy and I are VERY happy with the two beautiful children that God has given us.

Dayna, I miss you now more than ever. I miss being silly with you. I miss you telling me that my lipstick is too dark. I miss singing with you. I miss hearing you snore. I miss going to McDonalds at 2am after doing street ministry. I miss your children. But most of all, I miss just being close to you. I can't wait to see you next summer and to hold your beautiful children and watch them play with Maya and Declan.

Mom, I miss you too! I can't wait until you come here for a visit! Your bed is awaiting;)

The Last Bundle

Welcome to the world ROMAN EVAN SPANOS! My sister delivered a beautiful healthy baby boy on November 7th. He was 8 lbs 1 oz. He is the last baby for us Curtis girls so I'm sure we will cherish every moment of his little life. Can't wait to see them in a few months. Miss you sis and all 3 of your beautiful children. Congratulations!

Where Have All The Socks Gone?

Can anyone enlighten me? I do loads of laundry and most of the time mine and Jeremy's escape without injury, but where do Maya's and Declan's socks go? Is it perhaps because they are too small and the washer eats them up? Is it because my kids find them in the clean pile of laundry before I fold it and hide them on me? I feel like I am always buying socks. Does anyone else feel this way?




This happend shortly after Maya was born too and the washer stopped working just because of Maya's tiny little sock. Yes, that is a piece of our washer beside her in the picture. Don't worry - Jeremy put it all back together!

Broken-Hearted AmeriCAIN Girl

It must be said that it is pretty cool that I have lived to experience this historic moment, but in the same breath I must also say that I am very disappointed in the outcome of this race. I admire John McCain for his great speach last night - a speach that will always remind me that no matter what the outcome, we must always embrace our president. I may not agree with the direction in which Mr. Obama will lead our country, but I need to accept it....and pray that it is only for the next 4 years.

"God, Please Bless This World We Live In!!!"

Fun One

It is still a mystery why time seems to fly faster when you are a mom. When I was single and without kids, I felt as though I just wanted time to speed-up. Now, things are different. I cherish every little moment I have with my two beautiful children because I know that in a few months I will no longer have "babies" to care for or cuddle with. Declan still wishes to be cuddled from time to time and I am holding on to every moment of that!

Our little boy turns 1 today and I am so excited that we can finally turn his car seat around. Here in Oregon the child has to weigh at least 20lbs AND be 1 year old for us to legally turn him around. We weighed him yesterday on our home scale and he is about 24 lbs....A BIG BOY! We weighed Maya too and she was only 26 lbs. So we indeed have a growing boy, who seems to really like food. Put anything on his plate and he'll eat it! Put anything on MAYA'S plate and he'll eat that too. He knows how to say a few more words now: Nan-Nan, Go-Go, Bawk-Bawk (like a chicken), Dada, and Mama. He attempts to copy Maya's words but falls short most of the time. He claps, dances, sings, and walks. He is really starting to enjoy playing in the back-yard with his sister as well. They have a couple of tri-cycles, a slide, and a picnic table out there so they are never without things to play with. I am so thankful for his little life and for all of the joy he brings to this family. His little laugh is enough to make any girl melt, including his mama. I suppose we should put in a private phone line for him because the girls will be calling any day now. We love you Decky-Poo. (Or is it Poop-Deck?)

And one last picture of his name that I painted on his bedroom wall...