Long time no blogging...

Life is hectic with lots of stuff going on and honestly sometimes I find I have lots that I could blog about but honestly I sometimes don't know where to start...so I just don't blog at all.

Here's a little recap of what's happening with the Suleman's....

Hayden is totally loving is new school and continues to thrive. Faruq and I both have come to realize that the small classes are just what he needed. He gets constant one-on-one attention from the teachers who are all very passionate about their jobs. They have gone on a a few fields trips already. He is making new friends (even a little girlfriend that is very sweet on him). It is refreshing to go to the school everyday to pick him up and see that he is so very happy at the end of the day.

Faruq has joined the Parent Advisory committee for the school and is excited to get involved with the process of making the school even better then it is. He is very busy at work but has managed to find a good balance between work and home lately. It so nice that he can take Hayden to school most morning as well...sadly he does work a lot of later nights but it's worth it for them to have that time in the mornings together (Plus it saves Mama & Laila getting ready to go in the mornings).

Beavers has started again for the year and Faruq has volunteered to be a leader this year. He figured he was there most nights anyway so he mights as well become a leader. They certainly needed more this year as the number of new beavers have gone through the roof. I think they have something like 30 in the troop compared to 12 last year.

The kids are in swimming on Saturday mornings and I have missed taking Laila to her lessons but I shouldn't really go into the VRRI pool (because it's heated and fairly warm) until after the baby arrives. These lessons go until October 31st and they will start them again in the new year.

Laila has started a weekly Kindermusik class with me on Wednesday mornings and seems to be enjoying it thus far. Last week was a bit of a mish mash but I think she wasn't feeling well and honestly just didn't want to be there. The classes run through to the end of January so we still have lots of weeks for her to start loving it !

Baby is doing well but seems to have taken a liking to DWTS and tends to re-enact the dance numbers every night starting around 3am which has made Mamad a little tired. I'm getting so big and find it tough to sit, walk or sleep. But it's only 88 more days until this little arrives so I'm trying to just enjoy the last few months of pregnancy.

We had some crazy weather here in Calgary the last few weeks and it had been very,very warm. I was secretly wishing that fall would arrive and I think I have gotten that wish. It is definitely gotten colder but fall is my favorite season and I'm truly enjoying it now.

I have gotten about 1/2 my Christmas shopping done and feeling pretty good that I can get the rest done in the next few weeks. I remember when I was pregnant with Laila a few years back at this time of the year the mall was the last place I wanted to be during the last month of pregnancy.

We had planned to spend the week between Christmas and New Years in Kananaskis but sadly that won't be able to happen this year with us having the baby during that week. Hayden seems a little bummed about it but we figure we can get out sometime in February for a little get away.

That's about it...busy and pretty boring really !!

Baby Update

I had my first OB appt today and all went very well. But to my surprise I found out today that we will actually have a wee baby before the end of the year. With a planned c-section as this baby will be they actually like to deliver them around 37 weeks to ensure that I don't in fact go into natural labor. When I delivered Laila that OB left his patients until around the 39th week.

My actual date for 37 weeks would have been 24th December but I begged them to go a few days later because I would have been in the hospital during Christmas which would have been a great for the kids. As well, I didn't think the wee one would have liked to have her birthday on Christmas Eve. As it is I'm sure she won't even think December 26th is that hot but it's a bit better then the original date.

So I guess I know what my New's Years eve plans are for this year and I couldn't be happier to be cuddling a new precious life.

We have less then 100 days until our family is complete and I can hardly contain my happiness !!

Weekend

We had a pretty good weekend...very low key and not a lot of plans. Friday evening we went to Costco and did a little grocery shopping then grabbed some supper. We got home early and after getting the kids to bed I decided I would try to read a little of "Twilight" but honestly I think I read two pages then went to sleep myself.

I was thinking how great everyone is in bed before 9 and we will be up bright Saturday morning to get ready for swimming lessons at 11.

Well, Hayden had another plan...around 1:30am he woke screaming with pains in his stomach. I knew he wasn't constipated so we were a little worried it was something more serious. We tried to call Healthlink (it's a call center we can call to talk to nurses and it's available 24 hours a day) but after being on hold for almost 1 hour we decided it was best to just take him to our Children's hospital. Off they went and didn't return home until almost 9 am Saturday morning. Thankfully, it was just pain old gas pains and nothing major. But my plan of everyone being nice and refreshed did happen.

We did take the kids to their swimming lessons and came home right after. Hubs and the kids took a long nap in the afternoon while I went to Safeway for a few more groceries. We got the kids in bed early last night and I managed to actually read a few chapters of my book.

Sunday is being spent at home just relaxing !! I put a pot of Hamburger soup on for supper and plan to whip up some cheese biscuits to go with them. Hayden and Faruq are watching the Transformers movie for the 100th time. Laila should be waking from her afternoon nap shortly.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend !! Big TV week coming up - DWTS and Grey's are back for the new season !!

Me and TV

I would love to say I followed my original plan to rid my family of the ever evil TV as I had intended to this summer but I just couldn't do it....I'm weak !!

Hubs and I talked about it {alot} but I just couldn't bring myself to cancel it. I admit I enjoy watching TV !! {there I wrote it}. I don't have near the time to watch as much as I would like but with the magic of PVR's in multiple locations throughout the house I manage to catch a lot of my favorites. I'm not sure what we did before PVR's but it has certainly helped me maximize my viewing time.

In particular of I love Reality Shows {huge gasp} again it feels kind of dirty to type that. I love Survivor, Big Brother, The Bachelor and Bachelorette, DWTS, ANTM, Project Runway, Hell's Kitchen, Top Chef and of course every version of The Real Housewives !!

Hubby loves comedies so we watch The Office, 30 Rock and my personal favorite King of Queens.

I will periodically check in on the ladies of The View or Oprah but Laila and I both enjoy a daily dose of Ellen !! Of course, my most guilty pleasure is watching Coronation Street which I have been a follower of for almost 20 years now. But mostly during the day if you pop by my house I will most likely have The Food Channel on in the background for noise.

So....I guess I am weak but honestly TV gives me a little mindless relief I need from very hectic life as a mama.

Everything old is new again.....

And let me tell you it comes at a price. I will back up a bit...Laila is not a TV watcher which I'm not complaining about but there is the odd time where I could really use a half hour to say have a shower. I have tried many, many shows none of which have kept her interest for more then a few minutes. But we happened upon "The Big Comfy Couch" one day and all I can say is the rest is history !! I remember this show when Hayden was a youngster but he was more the Thomas the Train fan so we never watched it.

Well our little Laila loves the show !! I'm sure if allowed would sit for hours and watch it. I thought it might be neat to get her a Molly doll or even the dust bunnies from the show so I started to look around but the show was produced in the late nineties so there is nothing in the stores. I have found a few DVD's but they seem to be few and far between. I figured Ebay would be my only hope and sure enough there is tons of this stuff on there but for selling for double or triple the original cost.

So, whats a good mommy to do except order some of it. I think I have convinced myself that I am in fact not crazy and that she will indeed love the Molly doll and two dust bunnies I have ordered for her. I don't even want to write the price I'm paying for these treasures because I'm sure you will think I'm crazy !!

So hopefully by the end of the week we will have 3 new members of our family and one very happy little girl ! Will post pictures upon their arrival !!

Birthday Weekend

Well I turned 41 on Friday and honestly can say that I really don't feel any different !! I still have the stinkin' head cold and have been trying to relax as much as I can this weekend so most of the partying will need to take place down the road.

Hubby surprised me with a lovely cake and beautiful flowers on Thursday night.

Faruq booked our sitter for Friday night and we went out with friends to The Keg for supper and laughs. We had a wonderful time and the meal was amazing.

It was nice getting out without the kids for the evening although I guess Miss Laila decided that bedtime was going to be a challenge for Lindsay (our sitter). But when we arrived home everyone was sound asleep so we actually managed to watch a movie before bedtime.

My girlfriends had planned a lovely day in Kananaskis on the Saturday with spa treatments and dinner but we had to postpone it due to me being under the weather. We hope to do it later this month. Can't wait to get away ladies for a day of pampering.

So instead on Saturday evening hubs and I watched The Real Housewives from New Jersey and Atlanta plus we managed to catch the latest season of Project Runway. Pretty good evening in my books.

I didn't even get dressed to today and have managed to get a few nice naps in...I'm starting to feel more like myself and hope that this is the end of the cold for me. It's so tough when you are pregnant because you are really restricted on what you can and can't take.

We have had beautiful weather in Calgary this past week and I think the forecast is for sunny skies for the next 5 days. It would be so lovely to have a nice fall/winter season this year.

It has been a lovely weekend even with this silly cold and couldn't think of any other way I would have like to spend it.

I hope you all had a great weekend !!

Things I know for sure ....

There are many things in our lives that we don't know but here are a few of the things I know for sure....

• I have a great hubby who loves me unconditionally and for that I'm truly grateful.
• I have two wonderful kids that are just plain beautiful and perfect in every way.
• I'm 22 weeks pregnant with my 3rd and final baby.
• I will be 41 on Friday and for the first time in many years I'm not looking at that as a bad thing.
• I'm grateful for the group of ladies that I'm surrounded by and I'm honored to call them my sisters.
• I have taken control of my life and will not allow people that are suppose to be closest to me criticize me any longer. This truly makes me sad but I know it is what is best.
• I have a beautiful home that we have worked hard for and that I'm very proud.
• I'm not perfect and I accept that that is okay !
• I can be weak but now fully admit it and get great comfort from the support of others in similar situations.
• I am an "unfinished" book with the best chapters yet to be written !

I feel somewhat sad that it has taken me 4o years to realize that I'm great just the way that I am. I may have weakness and faults like everyone else but truly have learnt to embrace and love myself.

One gift that I will strive everyday to give to my children is "self worth". They will know that it is okay to make mistakes and to learn from them. My hope is that it doesn't take my children as long to know that they are perfect just the way they are !

I'm truly blessed and that is something I know for sure !!

We can finally exhale ....

For the past 3 months we have been living with some amount of fear that hubs may actually lose his job because his company was going through a reorganization after purchasing another O&G company. While his bosses kept reassuring him that his role was in fact secure you really can't relax until the "official" letter is handed to him.

Faruq is one of the hardest working and most committed people I know - there are countless times that he has given up his personal time to ensure that people have the information they require. He doesn't do this because he is a "bum" kisser he does it because he has great integrity and morals. He is often frustrated with people that take the slack approach to doing their job and finds it somewhat disheartening.

He has worked for this company for 18 years this month and honestly after so many years wasn't sure where he would go if he was let go. I think it is different if you are the one choosing to leave a company vs. being told to leave. I'm sure with his experience a new job would not have taken long to secure but extra stress was not something we needed at this time especially with a new baby arriving in January.

We tried to continue with life as normal during the last few months but honestly it did weight on our minds. I'm always amused with people who aren't in the O&G industry and their cavalier attitude towards people who are in this field. You see life is not as rosy as they would like to portray that it is. This is in fact the darker side of the industry but unfortunately it is something that needed to be done to ensure the continued growth of the "new" Suncor".

Faruq finally did receive his confirmation letter this past week so now we can exhale and continue to live our life as we have been doing. Sadly, we have some very good friends that have not been so fortunate and now are faced with the task of finding new jobs and we are praying that they will secure employment very soon.

Week 2

Well second week went even better then the first at Hayden's new school - We are adjusting to the new schedule and honestly have to say it's been pretty easy. It was lovely having daddy off for most of last week but secretly I'm more organized when he is not home. For me I know when there is someone else around I tend to slack off a bit (okay a lot).

I wasn't sure how the early mornings were going to go but once we are up and dressed the rest is easy. We have the luxury of daddy taking him at least 3 mornings a week so I can let Laila sleep a little later on those mornings. She and I usually head down to get him at the end of the day but there is the odd day dad can get away and pick him up. It's super that they provide before/after school care for the "just incase" moments. I anticipate a few of those in the new year with the new baby.

I'm still loving the uniforms as it just makes it easier when trying to decide what to wear in the morning and I guess I'm lucky because Hayden has never complained about wearing them.

He has 5 teachers and they are all lovely - You can honestly tell they are passionate about what they do and it shows with the way they interact with the kids. The "real" work has started but the homework is not to bad as of yet....they have said it shouldn't be more then 30 minutes a night due to the fact they have so much time in the class to complete work. I think Hayden is finding it a little different with only 7 others in his class - definitely no day-dreaming this year.

The schedule works well with only 3 classes a day, a lunch break and 3 recess breaks It's a long day and we can really see that he is tired when he comes home but we knew that this year at any school was going to be tough. He has always gone to school in the afternoon so mornings were pretty leisurely around the Suleman's.

They have already gone on their first field out to Canmore for a hike and we have gotten notice of two more upcoming outings. After hearing a few "nightmare" stories this week about some of the classes in the CBE I'm just so happy that Hayden is going to Delta West. It was not a cheap venture but one that I know will have lasting effects.

I can hardly wait for Laila to start Pre-K there in a few years !!