I never did reveal my birthday present! J & my Dad went in together and purchased a cute red Nano! Life was so crazy back then!

Mama Lee at Full Plate, tagged me for a music meme (BEFORE Ethan was born … bad blogger BAD):

Guidelines: List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what they are. They must be songs you are presently enjoying. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.

Dudes … This is going to be a tad embarrassing. See I am so out of the loop when it comes to music. Like really really bad. Without Much Music (really MTV … sucks in comparison all it is is reality tv … no music!?! How did video kill the radio star?) I feel lost. I have yet to find a good rock station down here. One thing about Detroit … they know their rock! So yeah I have a thousand excuses why I suck at the moment, and really I need to get back into the music loop … Let’s hope the developments in our world help out my cool factor *wink*

Here is my Seven Songs (as per what is played most on my iPod minus the Winnie the Pooh Soundtrack!)

1. Upside Down - Jack Johnson (so last year!)

2. Poison - Alice Cooper (I adore listening to this while doing the dishes … don’t ask!)

3. I want you to want me - Cheap Trick (J makes fun of me but I heart this song!)

4. Holiday/Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day (somewhat cool, right they are still cool right!??!)

5. Run off to LA - Kid Rock (I am sure I have mentioned my obsession with this bad boy … Marz & I even saw him in concert together hehe good times!)

6. Life Wasted - Pearl Jam (old school cool)

7. Don’t Cry - Guns N’ Roses (who doesn’t have the Guns in their top 7?!?!)

I am a terrible tagger … So please play along if you wish. And all you cool peeps out there … What are YOU listening to? I am seriously feeling uber uncool.

I finally updated my knitting blog … I posted pics of the yarn we dyed if you want to peak!

Nancy from Are We Having Fun Yet? tagged me for a meme containing 7 random things about me … However I am adding a little twist … I am going to share 7 random things about my kids of the top of my head …

1. Becca likes to sing a little song while taking a poop on the potty. Or she will talk endlessly to herself while taking care of business.

2. Ethan absolutely adores being in the sling. On days when we are home more, he gets a little cranky if I do not wear him.

3. Becca can spend upwards to an hour and a half in the bathtub. She takes with her a collection of plastic animals and plays with them. Sometimes they are fishing, swimming, eating or sleeping. Her imagination is endless with those little animals.

4. Ethan wears cloth diapers 99% of the time. We are still not brave enough to go cloth when out and about. Not sure what the hesitation is since he has leaked in disposables (Huggies no less!) yet only once out of a cloth (that was too big for him!)

5. Becca loves to make elephant noises and is always disappointed when Mommy cannot!

6. Ethan can be starving and totally upset but will calm completely as soon as he is placed in the bathtub. I am so thankful that we found a plain, unstructured tub for Ethan to splash around in.

7. All of Becca’s friends at the moment are boys. She tries so hard to keep up with them (all older than her except for one) which has in turn helped her gross motor skills catch up after becoming a little behind due to her vision problems last summer.

And one more for Damselfly who tagged me for 8 Random things!

8. I have had 9 body piercings (although not all at once). My nose, eyebrow, tongue, ear (tragus), then two lower ear, two upper ear … as a teen my friend & I pierced my belly button but it did not last long (and omg it hurt, we froze it with an ice cube! Stupid!)

After reading a lot of Mother’s Day celebrations, it sounds like everyone was rightfully spoiled! I received beautiful flowers, a Chai Latte from Starbucks, some games for my computer and an addition to my Mommy Tags necklace (now I have Becca and Ethan’s birthdays!) Oh the best part … I organized my closet and took a THREE hour nap … priceless!

CG from Bubbie’s Corner tagged me for a Meme …

A- Attached or Single? Attached to my Best Friend!

B- Best Friend: J of course (see above)

C- Cake or Pie: Cake and make it Chocolate!

D- Drink of Choice: I cannot remember it has been so long!

E- Essential Item: My iBook

F- Favorite Color: Brown, Pink … Reds

G- Gummi Bears or Worms? Worms

H- Hometown: Born in Kamloops, BC

I- Indulgence: Geekness … I am a sucker for all things Apple!

J- January or February: January … J’s Birthday

K- Kids: Two awesome little ones!

L- Life is incomplete without: J, Becca, Ethan …. (and my iBook hehehe)

M- Marriage Date: November 10, 2001

N- Number of Siblings: That is a complicated question I may explain one day

O- Oranges or Apples? Apples! Yum …

P- Phobias/Fears: Not being able to move home to Canada …

Q- Favorite Quote: There is no place like home … Dorothy

R- Reasons to smile: J, Ethan & Becca … forever and ever.

S- Season: Fall - In Canada … The smells, the colours, the anticipation of Winter!

T- Tag Three: I tag anyone that would like to participate

U- Unknown Fact About Me: I once worked for a meat packing plant for five months because I thought I was too cool for college … I was an idiot and earned enough $$ to go back and I proved to my Dad I was serious that time.

V – Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals? MMmmm Meat

W- Worst Habit: I still chew my nails when I am anxious - I try so hard not to!

X – X-rays or Ultrasounds? Ultrasound- Seeing my babies for the first time was magical.

Y- Your Favorite Foods: I really like pasta.

Z- Zodiac: Aries

My Dad flies home tomorrow  

Pic of the Day ~ Becca and Daddy on our Hike on Sunday ~

With J leaving on a jet plane … Becca and I are hitting one airport in one city in the morning, then another airport in another city (the opposite direction) in the afternoon to pick up her Grandma! Fun stuff eh?

My neck is tense with the prospect of J leaving, however I know the time will fly by and he will be back with us where he belongs. We spent a lovely evening together last night, packing and finishing preparations for Becca’s Easter basket. Gosh I am going to miss that man.

As I mentioned yesterday the always fantastic, Janet has tagged me with an amazing meme. I gushed and squirmed as I read her post, feeling so loved and honoured to be included with such great bloggers. It is The Thinking Blog Award! *~insert shock here~* Although I like to think I have a little impact on the world through sharing our lives, it is truly wonderful to know that I make people think. It is not my style to be controversial, bitter, vent all that much or negative. I try to look at life as a wonderful adventure, with some tweaks long the way. Thank you all for coming along on this adventure with us and supporting us so much (your kind words yesterday and today are so welcome!) As with all Meme’s here is my chance to pass on the love and admiration. Now picking a mere 5 bloggers was tough. This month marks my second year blogging on soodz.com, and I have made some lasting friends along the way.

The directions I was given are these: 1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think, 2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme, 3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.

The following five bloggers have made an impact on my world (although they are not alone in this, many of you have I had to pick five). Please go check them out if you do not already read their blogs. They are powerful, intelligent and amazing people (whom I believe have not been honoured with said meme yet):

Nicole - I am cheating here a little, since I have the honour of knowing her in real life too. She has been an inspiration for me for years. Always driven and strangely over organized, she started with an amazing blog when pregnant with her first son. Now she is running an amazing review site called the Opinionted Parent (which I have had the honour of contributing to!).

Trisha - I just left a comment on trisha’s blog about why I chose her for the Thinking Blog Award. She is an amazing mother, living in Japan and supporting her husband’s insane working hours. After reading her determination, commitment and acceptance of the lifestyle, it made me realize what a spoiled brat I am. J is such a committed husband and father and I was asking him to juggle way too much. Since reading Trisha’s posts we have changed our schedules, allowing J to spend more time at work and honestly it actually works better. Becca and I miss him so much but the days work out … it is odd.

Krista - Oh this woman inspires me. I am not sure words can express how much. Little does she know that I had the courage to pick up the sticks and start knitting because of her. I have been attempting to dabble in my art more so with her encouragement. She consistently surprises me with her creativity, insights and sharing her world, even when her world is cold and dark. When I go to her blog, I am challenged to be better than what I am. It rocks.

Beck - Oh my Canadian homegirl. Her words grace my Beloved iBook and I get shivers. I long for her to write a book so I can hold it in my hands, so one more sense can be tantalized by her creativity. She celebrates life in ways I never imagined. I look forward to our next move, just so I can make leprechaun traps for our kids and bake fabulous food for them!

Betty - For the last two years I have fallen head over heals for Betty’s blog. She always has the most fabulous designs and creativity. Her kids are so sweet and spoiled beyond anything I have ever experienced. Yet it is so fun to read about. I have followed Betty and her Beetle from Spain back to the US, through disappointment and through pure joy (Apple Store!) She finds so many cool things for the Apple and hosted the coolest Fafarazi ever!

So there you have it. Thank you again Janet for the honour and I look forward to seeing the nominees from the bloggers on my list. What a fun award meme!

Pic of the Day ~ Do You Like My Hat? ~

Isn’t Becca’s toque AWESOME!??! Marina knit it (for herself but the pattern came out a little small! hehe) Becca has received so many compliments on it!

I realized on my drive to Marina’s yesterday that I never really blogged about the anxiety attacks, rather I grazed by them not wanting to make them a big deal.

For the last 6 weeks, I have been experiencing what I think are anxiety attacks. I feel this incredible sense of impending doom, my chest tightens up, I have trouble breathing, my heart races and pounds in my throat, sometimes I break out in a sweat and have hot flashes. It is a HORRIFIC feeling. I feel like at any moment I might die. The only time I have ever felt this sensation was when I had the miscarriage. I was bleeding extremely bad and my blood pressure was dropping at an alarming rate. I had the above feelings as well as a feeling of lose of control. Then I passed out. It only happened three times during the duration of the hospital stay during the miscarriage, but it was a feeling I will never forget.

So after the first “attack” I was pretty freaked out. However, these “attacks” occur when I am at rest, the most comfortable and pretty much completely relaxed. There is NOTHING occuring to initiate such a responce. I spoke with our OB doctor about it and he seemed disinterested and said sounded like anxiety attacks. I have just breathed through them and tried to remain calm.

Now that I am a little more in tune with my body and the braxton hicks are gettign stronger, I am coming to realize that with the practice contractions the “attacks” appear either before or during. I am coming to accept that these attacks are indeed my version of a braxton hicks (explaining the 2 cm progress!) and that it is not impending doom instead my body at work. It is not comfortable and I dislike feeling that way quite a bit, however knowing my body is working for me this pregnancy rahter than against me, makes me feel jubilant and fortunate.

On a brighter note …. WOW! What a responce to the Interview with a Blogger. I hope that I have sent out all the questions to everyone. I feel much better with the distractions so thank you.

Jacquie at Deal With it Girls Rule, is a new blogger, however has been a reader and commenter here at Crazy Thoughts for a long time now. She participated in the Q & A, so make sure you check it out and give her some blogging love, being the new kid on the block is a tough gig!

Midori played too … her answers are really great! Erica from A Lifetime too! Awesome Mom played along (again!) Stephanie from Queen of the Cute Shoes (got to love that blog title!) … There are more coming … Challenging my very pregnant brain to come up with unique questions! I will be sending out another round out this morning! This has been a fun meme!

Updated  to Add Misguided Mommy played along too!