Nothing Stops a Good Drummer

They're back - the ear infections that is. Our poor little boy has been sick for over a month and one round of antibiotics just didn't cut it for him. I took him to see his pediatrician today - perhaps something that I should have done a long time ago - and sure enough, Declan has 2 ear infections. The doc was surprised to hear that the URGENT CARE doctor prescribed Cephalexin as a treatment for bronchitis when Declan so clearly has a simultaneous ear infection instead. I am so thankful that I took him to his regular doctor because he always knows what is best for our kids. So Declan will be starting his new round of meds today. We are praying that he starts to show signs of healing real soon. These sleepless nights are not good for anyone involved.

While we were waiting for the doctor to come into our room, I decided to take some pictures of Declan. Here he is playing with the stirrups and the garbage 'drum'.



He weighed in at 25 lbs 3 ozs and measured 33" tall. That leaves him in the 50th percentile for his weight and 77th for his height, although he seems so much taller when he is dancing around on his twinkle toes. When he is in the kitchen he loves to take two pot lids and crash them together like cymbals. He bangs his toys and pounds his hand on the window. He is a true percussionist at heart. Even in the midst of an infectious storm taking over his body he loves to play, and for that I am truly thankful. I am thankful because he is still the same little boy who loves to run and dance and still cuddle from time to time. I am thankful that he will have even more energy in the weeks ahead. Our baby is on the road to recovery.

Crazy Spoons & Pearly Whites

Today was crazy spoon day in our house. I thought it would be fun to let the kids eat their lunch with crazy spoons. They really had fun with it!

(Sorry for the poor quality. These two pictures were taken with my camera phone)...

Maya used an ice-cream scoop!

Declan used a wooden mixing spoon!

And yesterday I tried to teach Declan the routine that goes along with brushing his teeth.

And here are my beauties showing off their pearly whites...

("All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!")

I Headed South

First of all, I want to say Happy Birthday to my wonderful mother! The above picture was taken in Newfoundland the last time we saw her. And yes, that is Maya she is holding....it has been THAT long! Maya was just 6 weeks old the last time we saw my mom. So you can imagine how eager I am to have her come visit us here in Oregon in June. She will even get to meet her grandson (Declan) for the first time face to face. We miss you mom (nanny) and hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Even though I wanted nothing more than to stay in from the rain today, I bundled up the kids and took them to Wal-mart in McMinnville. It was a nice change for us because we usually head north to go to the store. In any case, I managed to get some inexpensive items for my mother-in-law's beauty shop that I am redecorating so I was a happy camper. The kids were so good in the store that the lady at the check-out even asked me if they were always that quiet. "Of course!" I thought, but the truth seemed to escape my lips a little quicker "Not usually, but I'm loving it!" And to keep with the theme of the day, I'm Lovin' It , I decided to swing by the McDonald's drive thru on my way home from the store. We were about 2 miles away when Maya started yelling "McDonald's where are you?" and then her brother tried to copy. Holding his hands over his mouth Declan yelled "mamina are you?" I was surprised to hear that he managed to get part of the words right. That's our little McSmarty pants.

I love the following pictures of them eating their nuggets. They really capture their individual personalities...


Declan, the one who is always happy to have food in his hand.


Maya, the one who is always thinking and analysing every bite.

For some reason, Maya has developed a habit of sitting on her kitchen while she watches T.V. She is getting so big that she hardly fits up there anymore but that won't stop our little monkey.

Declan loves his Incredible Hulk toy most of all. He places him on the toy box, presses the toe and watches as Hulk sings and dances. He can often be seen wrestling the large toy, much like he wrestles his mommy when I am trying to change him. Sometimes I think it would be easier to change the real Incredible Hulk!

New Background

Some of you may have been wondering why my blog background keeps changing. Well the answer is simple. I have been trying for weeks to get my own original background uploaded but there was always a glitch in the HTML code. I finally figured it out last night and now I am proud to say that I have a background ALL MY OWN! Allow me to explain how I came to choose this pattern.

The side panels where the bridges are have a lot of meaning to me. First of all, this is a beautiful picture that my sister took. A sister that I rarely get to see because she lives so far away. A sister that I call when I just need to vent. A sister who has always been there for me through thick and thin. A sister that I miss so much. And now I can be reminded of her everyday when I open my blog.

The bridge in the picture is called The Bluewater Bridge in Sarnia, Ontario. It links Ontario to Michigan. You see, I was born in Sarnia so therein lies the reason why I chose this bridge over all others. It also signifies the move that I made from Canada to the USA. I realize that I did not move to MICHIGAN per se but I did move to a new country and this bridge reminds me that there will always be an easy connection to my family.

The words mingled together on the inner panels simply describe everything I love to blog about - My children, my husband, traveling, crafting, decorating, and the love I have for my family and friends. What can be more sweeter than surrounding myself everyday with the things that I love the most?

So there you have it, a brief description of my new blog background that I am happy to announce is here to stay!

Laughing at my Crafting

Jeremy called a few minutes ago and asked what I was doing. I said "I'm working on my button challenge" and he said something like "Here's a challenge, can you button the pocket on my pants?" I was running around like crazy on Saturday when he asked me to do it so when my friend Heidi announced that her new craft challenge theme was BUTTONS I knew it was going to come back to bite me in the butt. So I did...I added a button to my hubby's pants...

Did I have to show you a picture of it? Probably not, but as I was doing it, I was reminded of the little girl in THE GAME PLAN who bedazzled her father's football. I thought about doing this (with buttons) to Jeremy's pants but these were his work pants and I didn't think the other men in the office would appreciate it as much as I would....:)

So on to the real thing. These are the items that I decided to make with buttons...

A tacky bracelet that I will never wear:

A hair clip that Maya could use for dress-up:

And a greeting card (...boring!)

I have decided that I am not much of a crafter. As much as I enjoy doing it, I am usually at a loss for what is COOL. I had some friends over on Saturday for a Craft and Tea Time and I decided to make an Easter wreath for our front door, only to have it turn out to be VERY commercial looking.....

It was fun making it but it is not really our style. So I took it down and it is now hanging in our bonus room, where most of our guests will not see it.

It was nice to have the chance to sit and chat with some friends without having to worry about the kids getting in my hair. Jeremy took them to his parent's house and it turns out that Declan had a long nap but Maya skipped her nap. She fell asleep on the 10 minute drive home and we just let her sleep a little bit on the couch before changing and putting her to bed.

Now that the kids are starting to get over their sicknesses, I have it. Mine is just a sinus cold but it is still not pleasant. Hopefully I am cured by Wednesday because we have a play date that day and the kids really need some interaction with other kids.

It's All About Being Current

Will the madness ever end? Why do we continue to change our hair? A stylist said to me once that we usually change our hair when we are going through a major change in our lives. So what does that say about ME?...



And these are just a few pictures of the different hairstyles I have sported over the years. Does the obsession start when you are a child or when you are old enough to make decisions yourself? In my case, I think my obsession comes from my mom. She loves to try new styles and colors - perhaps not as often as I do but the switch-it-up attitude must come from her if my father is bald right? My mom loved to play with my (and my sister's) hair when we were kids. Dayna always got the ringlets and I always got the pigtails or Dorothy Hamel look. I was only 11 years old the first time I highlighted my hair. I remember begging my mom to let me do it. You see, my hair was really blonde as a child but it started to get darker at the age of 9. It is amazing how I had an urge at the age of 11 to go back to my blonde days. (There must be a psychological reason in this quest somewhere). In any case, as an adult I have been blonde, red, black, and orange. I have had really short hair and really long hair. Perhaps the madness will end someday, but for right now I must stay current. For right now I must follow my husband's theory of what looks best on me. I will be growing my hair long again....at least for right now.

Freebie For a Fashionista

My dear friend Heidi has announced a Friday Freebie so I thought I would enter her competition to win all of these wonderful treats...

Heidi said that we could just write a comment about an Easter tradition in our family or blog about her freebie so I have decided to do both in hopes that my children become the proud owners of those jelly bellies.

Growing up, we did not have a big Easter tradition aside from the obvious:

Waking-up, seeing the chocolate stash on the living room coffee table, dipping into it before having to get ready for church. Then, we would ALWAYS wear our new Easter dress to church and that was my favorite part of all - getting dressed-up! I remember that my mom loved the SEARS catalogue and bought a few dresses for me through the order center. I remember having to wait for what seemed like YEARS to get that perfect dress in the mail.

Now, with a little girl of my own I have passed on my passion for fashion. Maya is eager to wear her pretty pink Easter dress to church. She sees it in her closet and asks to wear it almost every day. That's my fashionista!

So thank you Heidi for allowing me to reminisce about Easter as a child in my household. The SEARS catalogue is so obsolete that my daughter Maya may never know what it is but it still remains a wonderful part of my childhood.

Crafts and Cakes

When he's angry he finds a toy or a piece of furniture to bite. I suppose I should be thankful that Declan is not grabbing one of US to bite, but it is unfortunate that he has to let out his aggression in this way. I am praying that he doesn't lose a tooth over it. He and his sister were playing on the bed yesterday when Maya decided to push him off causing Declan to land on the wooden corner. Now he has a red mark across his eyebrow and eyelid. When I told Jeremy, he started singing the ROCKY theme song. I think he secretly hopes to have an ultimate fighter son in the future.

The antibiotics are starting to kick-in for Declan, but now Maya is starting to get a cough. I didn't think this was contagious but who knows. I am praying they are better real soon so we can have some fun play dates with other kids.

I am hosting a Craft & Tea time on Saturday for some of my friends. I have a lot of projects that I am currently working on, but I think I will spend most of that day working on an Easter wreath for our front door. Yesterday I decided to surprise Jeremy with a new wall project. There was one wall in our bedroom (across from our bed) that had nothing on it so I ordered a designer quote from http://www.simplestencil.com/ and measured and installed it on the wall yesterday after it arrived in the mail. It turned out to be smaller than I had anticipated so I will have to add some pictures around it but I thought I would share my little surprise project with you...


("Waking beside you is more lovely than any dream")

There are many websites that I enjoy reading and that inspire me. I love to decorate so I am usually drawn to sites like DO IT YOURSELF and BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS . Today, however, I came across a picture of a home-made cake that someone had uploaded to the BHG site:


Now we all know that I am into making fun birthday cakes:


(Maya's 1st Birthday cake)


(Maya's 2nd Birthday cake)

And even Jeremy got into the cake decorating this past year. He made Declan's first birthday cake all by himself...

So I may just have to try this flip flop cake this summer while my mom comes to visit. After all, this will be the first time she will ever step foot on a Pacific Coast beach. Looking forward to your arrival mom!

Yet Another Blog Award

Thank you to my friend Kim at www.caldwellcuties.blogspot.com for honoring me with yet another blogger award.

In order to receive this award properly, I have to do two things:

1. list 10 things about myself

2. share the award with others

So I am going to attempt to come up with 10 random things about me that most people do not know....

1. I LOVE to decorate my house and secretly want to be on HGTV's Design Star

2. I am a perfectionist and like to keep my house clean, but the kids have other plans and like to redecorate with scattered story books and toys.
3. My favorite meal is baked macaroni and cheese but I hardly make it because it is too fattening
4. I used to be a reality show junkie but the only one I have followed through every season so far is American Idol.
5. I am the only member of my family living in the USA

6. I want to FLIP - A - HOUSE some day
7. I love to travel and hope that Jeremy and I can do a lot of it when the kids are older

8. Jeremy taught me to kayak a few years ago and now I LOVE it!
9. I would love to sing with Chris Tomlin!
10. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a fashion designer when I grew up. Now all I want to do is take a sewing class so I can actually make some of my designs for my family.

And now I would like to share this award with:

Bethany Perry (http://mammabethjoy.blogspot.com/)

Yvonne Mc Clees (http://www.chrisandevey.blogspot.com/)

Sarah Sommerville (http://ourpumpkinandsweetpea.blogspot.com/)

Kirsten Lobb (http://www.lobbsters.blogspot.com/)

Bronchial Bug and Bed Bugs

Just when we thought the little guy was out of the woods, his sickness returns. Declan has had this for about 3 weeks now, off and on, so instead of waiting to get an appointment to see his pediatrician we decided to take him to Urgent Care yesterday. This was the first time that we have had to go to the Urgent Care clinic but it was well worth it. It turns out that Declan has Bronchitiis. He has been tearing-up with every wheezing cough. He is just not our normal little guy right now but we are thankful to have antibiotics to help combat this illness. He lost his appetite for a few days but it must be back because even through his piercing cough he managed to steal his sister's sweet potatoe fries yesterday...

On Saturday, we assembled Declan's new big-boy bed. Both he and his sister really enjoyed every minute of the process, from watching Daddy piece together the frame to watching Daddy bring in the base wood. They even had a great time dancing on the large piece of cardboard in which the bed frame came.

Maya and Declan loved playing on the bed and climbing the headboard rails.

When I painted Declan's name on his wall, it didn't really go well with the rest of his room but now I think it does. His room is more of a pre-teen looking room with industrial tones and textures, but we think it turned out pretty good. Once Declan is used to sleeping in his bed, I will post more pictures of the final product. For now, his crib remains a big part of his pad.

(Maya wanted it to be HER new bed)

So Declan's Bronchitiis is on the mend, his bed is assembled, and we are eager to find an LCD TV to complete our living room. After a lot of research, we have decided what components matter most to us and we think we have it narrowed down to one or two units that we have seen at Costco. Hopefully we will have something by Christmas...=)

Sweetest Words

The lights were out while I was rocking Maya in the rocking chair last night. This is not a normal occurrance so I took advantage of her need to be comforted. And just when I least expected it she said "Mommy, you're my best friend!" And then came the waterworks. Did my little girl just say what I think she said? Am I really her best friend? It was a moment that I will remember forever. A moment when every other thought in my head seemed to dissappear. It was finally OUR moment - the moment when Maya really began to realize how much I love her.

A Tribute to My Angels

When she is not in her normal analytical mode, Maya's smile is infectious. She makes us laugh with the little things she says and the little things she does. We are currently trying to get her to pronounce words better so that sgetti sounds more like spaghetti and Wilms sounds more like Williams. Sometimes she gets frustrated and says "I can't say it!" but we all know that this is just her way of internalising the words because she starts using the proper words later on. She is an analytical soul with a strict schedule. As soon as she wakes up, she takes off her clothes, puts on her big girl underwear and sits to watch Maya's show. Any slight change in her schedule and she is a bundle of tears. She loves school - even though she is too young to go. To play along with her desire to be a school kid, we tell her that she is going to school when we go to church on Sundays and when I attend a M.O.P.S. meeting. This is our way of getting her excited about playing with the other kids. And sure enough, when I drop her off with the nursery teachers she is off like a flash - socializing with every kid in the room and making coffee in the play kitchen. That is our little social butterfly of independence.

And then there is Declan, the one in desperate need of a hair-cut these days. He is the copy-cat, the one who wants to do everything his sister does but is still a little timid. Declan is our cuddle monster. He can often be seen running towards us burying his head in our lap. He is affectionate and loves to kiss. Lately he has been wanting to read more books so I spend a lot of time with him on my lap explaining the different species of TRUCKS. He loves the "Wheels on the Bus" song and when we get to the part "The horn on the bus goes..." he clenches his fist and pounds his chest like Tarzan saying "beep beep beep!" He can say "Hi dad" pretty clearly and loves it when Nanny calls because he gets to talk to her on the phone. Now that his health is back to normal, it is fun to watch him dance, sing, and speak. He's not really our little baby anymore - he's our little running man.

From This Day Forward

Do you remember the day you met your husband for the first time? Do you remember the first time he smiled? Your first kiss? The first tear in his eye after your first child was born? There are no words to describe the butterfly feelings that comes with those touching moments. In those moments it was as if you were both stuck in slow motion and all the world around you had faded to black and white. After years of marriage, kid #1 and kid #2, it is difficult to regain those precious moments. It seems like such a task to create that slow motion moment again. As a busy mom of two, I know this all too well. My dear sweet husband is a patient man. He's a man of honesty and unconditional love and I am here to say that from this day forward I am going to try to recreate those special moments when we get lost in each other's presence. I want this year to be a year that we remember forever - not for the bad but for the moments that take our breath away. I want to love my husband more and more with every passing day, for when I do, we will in turn share that unconditional love with our beautiful children.

(Taken the first day we met face to face)

The Toddler Chairs Replace The Couch

We have been trying to sell our couch on craigslist.com for a few weeks now and it finally sold last night. The lucky recipients were an older couple from Battle Ground, WA who traveled in the rain and hail to get to our house. Thankfully they liked it and decided to take it. The hardest part was getting the queen size sofa bed down the stairs. I am so grateful that Jeremy is a strong man and he was here to help. The reason why we sold the couch was because we have plans to turn the bonus room into a play area for the kids. The money from the sale of the couch will go towards our new flat screen TV that we plan to put on the wall in our living room downstairs. Now that the kids are old enough to watch some of their favorite shows, it has been a little difficult only having one TV. So Jeremy and I are pretty excited about the new mommy & daddy television. Now all we have to do is research which one we want before we make the big purchase. The bonus room needs some TLC too, but we have some temporary seating until everything is completed in both rooms....



(Sorry to all of the people who read my blog on a daily basis and were confused by the reconstruction I was doing with my layout. I think I am finally happy with it now.)

Safe and Sound

Jeremy arrived home safe and sound around 7:30 this evening and he survived THIS at the mountain...

(Saturday evening)

(This is what they woke up to in the morning....SUN!)

Pajamas and Tarps

You know it is time for new pajamas when.....

Sure Declan has other pajamas but these were the first ones I saw in his closet so I decided to go with it. Turns out that they are pretty tight on him and he is busting out of the feet area. I suppose it is time to bite the bullet and admit that my baby is getting bigger.

Yesterday I witnessed Maya get teary eyed when she said goodbye to her daddy. This was the first time she got that emotional. Was it because she knew she would miss him or because she knew something that I didn't know? Jeremy left early yesterday morning for Mt. Hood. This was his anual snow-camping event with his good friends. One of the guys had cell-phone coverage so Jeremy took the opportunity to call me last night and when he did, I could just tell in his voice that he was cold. He said that he was in the midst of a storm and that they had tarps around them. Doesn't sound fun to me (considering I have to dress in long pants and a sweatshirt to stay warm in bed at night). I started to really worry about him. I didn't sleep much last night and I could tell that Maya couldn't either because she woke up early but she was still pretty tired. I still haven't heard from him today but I am praying all is well and he will return home safely within the next few hours.

(This is today's live sky cam near Timberline Lodge Ski Resort. The guys camped on the other side of the mountain I believe but this picture shows some of the conditions up there today.)

Sickness and Friendship

Today we were awakened by an obvious tummy-sick little girl. However, as soon as we took her to the potty, she said "No potty, just look at pictures." This is something that we only occassionally allow our children to do. Not because we don't want them to look at pictures but because these so called pictures are on our computer in our bedroom closet where there are lots of chords, clothes, and other things for them to get their hands on. Anyway, I digress. After Jeremy left for work, I turned on a movie for Maya to watch while we waited for her brother to wake-up. When little Decky woke-up, he wanted to watch "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" too so the kids sat in front of the TV while I came into our bedroom to check my email. The next thing I know, I hear some comotion from the kids' bathroom. I go out to check on the kids and sure enough Maya was in the bathroom but she didn't quite get her PJs off in time and there was a HUGE mess all over the bathroom floor and on her clothes. This happend yesterday too. Our little girl has been potty trained for months so I know this has nothing to do with it being an ACCIDENT and everything to do with being sick. Declan has been having some posterior leakage as well. So it has been a trying week for us here in the Williams home. The kids' appetites are gone and they continue to have these pretty frequent explosions. Sometimes I think that I just need a break from it all - but I know my kids need me more than ever right now.

On another note, I have decided to award some of my friends with a a BLOG AWARD. This award is given to friends who are creative & inspiring. I pass this award on to the following people with hopes that they will also pass it along to some of their creative and inspiring friends.

This one is for you:

Heidi Boos http://blueeyedblessings.blogspot.com/

Kim Caldwell http://caldwellcuties.blogspot.com/

Stacey Johnson http://stacey-memy3girls.blogspot.com/

Aging and Historical Moments

Our little girl turned 29 months old last week. It is so hard to believe that she is almost 2 1/2 already. She loves to blow bubbles so I had to post this picture that I took this morning.

A couple of days ago our little boy turned 16 months old. He is saying more and more lately and all of a sudden his favorite word is "poopy". Here he is chilling by the gate while Maya blows her bubbles.

With all of the new toys, games and gadgets out there for kids to play with it is hard to remember how we ever got by with just Hungy Hungry Hippo and Light Bright. Do you remember a time when BOXES were your best friend and PAPER DOLLS helped kick start your eye for fashion? I have saved very little from my childhood - simply because my toys would be old and moldy by now, not to mention BORING for kids in today's world. However, I did save this one little toy that I once considered to be the most interesting toy of all...

Do you know what it is?

You guessed it....a POPPLE! The cute little teddy has a pouch on the back that allows him to be folded into a ball. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Maya and Declan LOVE this toy because he was a big favorite of mine too. It is always fun to see my kids playing with something that once meant a lot to me too.

On a side note, I have added new pictures to the kids' bathroom. Most of you are aware that I painted it a nice grey-blue color and added some hints of purple and pink. The pictures of Maya and Declan in the tub fit perfectly with the color scheme.

And forgive me for changing the subject one more time, but I just had to post this picture of Declan from this morning. He hates it when I turn on his bedroom light in the morning because it is too bright for his eyes. Here he is trying to let his eyes get adjusted while I take his picture. I know, I'm a mean mommy for torturing him but he looked so darn cute.

And that is how we roll on Thursdays! =)

A Getaway & Relaxing Return

On Friday we had a wonderful day driving past the big city, around the snowy Mt. Hood, through the desert, and straight into the melting Sunriver. It was amazing to see the changes in weather and land as we drove through Oregon. We watched the snow in Sunriver melt away as the weekend saw more and more hints of rain. On our last day there (Monday) we decided to take one last walk to the Village Mall only to have it rain heavily on our way back to the cabin. We dried our clothes in the dryer, ate some lunch and we were quickly on our way back to sunny Newberg - leaving Grandma and Grandpa Williams back at the cabin to relax for a few more days.


Declan had the tail-end of a cold when we left home on Friday but he quickly managed to catch a 24 hour flu-bug while we were in Sunriver. He woke us up at 4:30 on Sunday morning - coughing, wheezing, and yes you guessed it...vomitting. (Just the way everyone wants their weekend getaway to go!) He was not himself for the rest of our time in Sunriver. He slept and played inside while everyone else enjoyed hot-tubbing and the great outdoors. We would, of course, take turns staying with the sick little boy in the cabin, but we were not about to let this ruin our weekend.





While we were there we celebrated my father-in-law's 62nd birthday (which happens to be today). We ate cherry pie, and other fun goodies, and Jeremy and I discovered that we are awesome partners at Pictionary.

(Maya and Declan eating watermelon in grandpa's arms)

All in all, it was a fun relaxing time. I was shocked to see that we had taken over 300 pictures while we were in Sunriver, but we are so thankful that we did. It was simply beautiful there.

Thank-you Al and Nancy (grandma and grandpa) for inviting us to stay in your timeshare cabin. We all had a great time.