First Birthday Photo Shoot

Oli and Livie-Lou had a photoshoot on their birthday February 9th!!! Visit this website for a sneak peak of some of the pictures! www.shortshotsbydarcy.blogspot.com

I Heart Todd

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

Todd, I loved you so much! I am so happy that I am your's and you are mine.

Thank you for being such a sweetheart and loving the children and myself.

Although we cannot be together today, I know that soon you will be up here permanantly and that will be splendid!

I have decided to not post a picture of your gifts... in order to keep you in suspense!

I will however give you 3 clues;

Fortune's Hugs and Kisses

I loved you and wish you a Happy Valentines Day

love your lovebug

Because...

Because...

Because Todd and I love each other, that is why we decided to just

GET MARRIED!!!

We were not able to have his daughter Rachel come out and we wanted all our kids with us or none, as not to leave any one out, so we choose to sneak off Saturday morning, get married, have lunch and enjoy one another! Simple, no stress, and to the point!We are however planning a little shindig for our family and friends, I will keep you posted.

Because the little muchkins are turning 1 on Feb 9th so we decided to have their Bday celebration/I survived 1yr party a couple weeks early so Todd would be able to be there.

Because I am a crazy party mamma who has a personal challenge with herself to create a better cake every year! Now I seriously have my work cut out for me cause that means 4 wicked cakes a year! As a side note; all parts of the cake are edible!

Because I made adorable stand up CIRCUS themed cookies, and wouldn't let Ty and Rylie touch the kitchen table, in fear they might fall over! We ended up losing 1 giraffe, 1 seal and 1 gorilla, very tragic.

Because only Livie-lou can smile like this!

Because the cutest giggles come from this little rugrat! I know I need to clean my hutch in the back, I have made more of an effort with dusting since this photo!

Because wearing a fresh new pair of shark undies is a lovely treat!

Because no matter how much you know about sharks, you can always learn more.

Because CATerpillars naturally have cat tails!

Because a princess isn't complete without her...


I-POD!

Because two little girls are better than one.

Because just twelve short months ago I walked into my two bedroom apartment on Dufferin Crescent with a fresh C-Section, a broken heart, 10lbs 13oz of newborns, 1 big brother, 1 big sister and a living room floor full of cheerios needing to be vacuumed. When I think back to those days I am so thankful for the blessing of "obliviousness" that I was given. When I prayed during my pregnancy for strength, I had no idea how the Big Guy upstairs was gunna help me. I quickly began to realize that he seriously has made it so I am the last person to connect with the fact that I have a lot on my plate. I love his sense of humor! Throughout my whole pregnancy while everyone told me I couldn't do it, it never once crossed my mind. When they said it was going to be hard, I was like -well I am sure I am not the only one-! I am thankful I was able to vacuum those cheerios 3 days after a c-section and live off 25min a night of sleep for 6 weeks. I am grateful for Tammy and Bob for coming over everyday and picking up my dirty laundry and bringing it back folded. I am thankful for all my blessings. I am especially grateful for Todd! He is the most wonderful caring man and father to the kids, he is my best friend and I am so excited to see my life unfold.

Because...

it just keeps getting better

9 in 09

So I have known for a little while what I was wanting to do for my 'Fresh Start' list . All I have to do now is do it!!!



1. Pick blossoms not battles

~ I used to think it was important to "pick my battles wisely", now however I think it is important to not pick any!



2.Learn a new word everyday and teach it to my kids!

~I purhcased us all Dictionaries and we are going to start at the beginning and cross off a word a day and we must use it throughout that day.



3. Put myself on my 'To Do' list!!

~Yes I have been watching Oprah, but I don't quite know how I will do this. I just know that I need to make more of an effort.



4. Hide a new food in Ty's food every week.

~ Right now his food groups are cheese, crackers and white bread, so I have been trying out new ideas to hide ligitimate food groups into his food! I have been quite successfull I will post the recipes later this week.



5. Love More ~ Whine Less



6. Put my energy into the present and enjoy the time I have with my children and Todd!



7. Teach my children patience through example!!!

~ Meaning I have to actually be patient which is proving to be challenging for me.



8. Run for 1 hour consistently.

~ Considering I have never run except to catch a kid this should be interesting.



9. Create a new recipe once a month and take it to another family.

~And I will post the recipe.



Upside Down Cheesy Potato Quiche



1/3 cup Spaghetti Sauce
6 eggs
2 cups mozza cheese
(reserve 1 cup for later)
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup crumbled Ritz crackers
2 cups of prepared instant potatoes
1tsp salt
1tsp pepper
1 tbsp sundried tomato seasoning
1 cup ham cubbed: if picky children are an issue you can puree this as well

veggie puree: place 1 cup of broccoli, 4 asparagus stems and half a zuccini in a lovely Ziploc steam bag! Steam for 4 min. Place in food processor and blend depending on the pickiness of your children. If you want the veggies totally disguised keep hitting puree.

WARNING: THIS MAKES A LOT

Combine all ingredients-except for 1 cup mozza and Ritz crackers- and place in a whoppin dish. Bake for 40 minutes, remove and sprinkle mozza and Ritz on top, put back into your oven until bubbly!

The rest of the mixture that doesn't fit into your casserole dish I pour into mini muffin tins and bake for about 30 min. and then I freeze them. The twins love them frozen for breakfast! They also double as edible teethers!

CANDYCANE LANE

Christmas for us began with the arrival of Todd on the 21st! He drove for 60 hours straight with only 3 hours of sleep, through multiple blizzards and 13 states!!! With Todd came a new computer which I can't figure out so stay tuned for lots more pictures!

The next day we were off to buy a tree!(Next post I will have pics of this)

On Christmas Eve we were graced by none other than
SANTA CLAUSE!!!

Christmas morning was wonderful!!! Santa spoiled all of us!!!

I have wanted the American Girl Doll Samantha since I was 10! and Todd got her for me!!! I was so excited and I have no clue how he did it, because she has been 'retired'. Thank you sweetie- oh and Santa got Rylie Kit, another American Girl Doll!

We also took a day trip to Victoria to visit the UnderSea Gardens, where we saw a live show with sea creatures from around here!

Meet 'grumpy' the Octopus

After leaving the UnderSea Gardens we were greeted by over 100 ducks!

Ty decided that they ALL needed to go back in the pond! So he and Rylie single handedly chased all the ducks back into the pond.

Oh the joy of accomplishment!

Me and the rugrats

Thank You Todd for the best Christmas ever!! (I am not the best photographer, hence Livie-lou's face is not in the picture!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR

XYZ'ds

Apparently I am the author of my blog!! I have been checking it periodically and am always disappointed when there is no new post about what we have been up to!!! The reason for my airheadish lackadaisical approach to blogging is the current state of mind I am in... La La Land also known as in love with Todd land!!

Z is pronounced Zed

Y? Because I said so!

Xactly every thing is perfect!

We went to Bolt in 3D

Very Very quiet children make a long drive lovely

Using their new digital cameras Todd bought them!

To take photos of the dead...

Salmon! We were about a week late for the salmon run!

None the less we had a awesome time


Reisinger is Todd's last name

Quiet and calm; two words that describe Todd not me

Pee! Rylie did a lot of this in her pants because " the bathroom light wasn't on!"

Open House for Rylie's Dance School we attended

Not only did Rylie decide to sit down after 10 minutes

My Son Ty decided to join in

LOVE ! I love where my life and my children's lives are headed!!

Single Parenting is for the Birds

Single Parenting is for the Birds and Blogging is for Venting

So I have decided that this whole single parenting gig is terribly hard! I knew it was not going to be a cake walk- despite the size of my hips!! but I definitely had no clue how emotionally taxing it was going to be. And a little FYI, if you are involuntarily signed up ie; husbands leaves you there is no sign up bonus or free candle! When the most consistent part of their father is his inconsistency, behavioral issues arise. This is the area I am having a difficult time with. Ty has been testing me to the point where I am positive he is a teenage boy trapped in a 4 yr old body! All day long he is questioning my authority and well... laughing at it. I totally suck at the whole good cop bad cop thing and the kids are fully aware that when I am worn out there is a very good possibility they will get what they want. So if any of you have the same teenager running around in a 4yr old body at your house and are full of use full advice, PLEASE send it my way!