The Mooney Clan

Jacquie came down from Calgary and we had a really nice time. Caden enjoyed having his auntie here and we got to go see Santa; the real santa not the one in the slideshow. I'll post that one once I get it. Jacquie took us to the Keg for supper (those are the first couple of pictures - Caden started out a little pooped but livened up afterwards) and then we got to go home and have a bit of prechristmas. Caden was tired but he kept himself awake long enough to open some presents and play with the paper and the boxes. Lots of fun - and thanks to those who sent the gifts out. We loved everything!

Here are a few pictures of Caden's new moves. THE DRAG - Notice the legs moving up and down a bit (Isn't this fascinating:) ) THE SCOOT - (or bum slide)

Cruising is what Caden has been up to lately. He's pulling himself around by the arms - Justin calls it his soldier with wounded legs impersonation and that is exactly what it looks like. Every once in a while though he gets his knees up but he hasn't totally figured that part out yet. He's growing SO fast. His teeth have decided to come and have brought pain and agony with them. Poor guy! We're excited about Christmas being right around the corner. We were visiting my side of the family this past weekend and spent some time with the Pippus' as well. It was a fun few days. There are never enough days to see everyone we want to when we are there but Christmas holidays will give us the few extra days to visit that we always wish for. Hope you are all enjoying the season so far. Happy Holidays!

I know that it is wednesday and I'm a little late but I wanted to share these pictures of some of girls who went to Moose Jaw for a getaway winter weekend. We stayed at the Days Inn and enjoyed the hot tub there. We visited into the wee hours (some later than others hey Lorraine, Crystal and Andrea !!! ). After enjoying a continental breakfast at the Inn we browsed around The Yvette Moore Gallery and eventually settled in for lunch. If you have never been there I highly recommend it. It is a gallery and it is also a wonderful shop. We did a few other things here and there including hot drinks at the coffee shop or a tour of the tunnels and some gelato and fudge at the Chocolate Moose Fudge Factory. The afternoon ended with a visit to the Ashby house and then 5 of us went on to Caronport for the annual Christmas Musical which is always beautifully done and very enjoyable. And Yes - I was away from my baby for 28 hours. WOW! I made it and am very grateful for a wonderful husband who ...

I am sitting in my warm living room that is all decorated for Christmas and I can see the snow outside my window. The snow shoveller man is outside cleaning off my sidewalk. Bailey is curled up beside me all warm and cozy and best of all our beautiful baby boy is making cute baby noises and smiling at me. There are some moments in life that just fill you up and make you all tingly (and in my case - make you teary eyed) and this is one of those. Caden is a long hoped for dream come true for us. In the past, Christmas was one of those times where the ache for a child would be greatest. Now he is finally here with us and what an incredible gift from God he is. The list of things to be grateful for in my life is enormous and yet sometimes I forget and dare to complain. How can I? All I have to do is look down my alley and see someone dumpster diving or watch the news and see the multiple ways that so many other people are suffering to realize that I have no idea what it means to really suf...

Christmas is my favorite holiday and I love getting to decorate our house. I tried not to overdo it like I sometimes do, especially since our house is pretty small. It was fun to show Caden the tree with the pretty lights and shiny decorations. He just wanted to grab everything - its a good thing he can't crawl yet! I bought a couple of new Christmas Cd's and am excited to enjoy the season. We have tonnes of snow now too so it really feels like the 'most wonderful time of the year'.

Auntie Trinda and Caden Isn't it wonderful to spend time with family and friends? I love having people stay with us and this week we were lucky enough to have Adam and Trinda and their kids (Zackary, Jaiden and Gabrielle) here for a couple of nights. It's great how much life they bring with them wherever they go, not to mention how much cute!! It's crazy how fast kids grow up and it reminds me how important it is to take time for them and how much you miss if you don't stop to listen to what they have to say to you. Having spent lots of time with kids over the past ten years (daycare kids, nieces, nephews and friends' kids) I have learned that you aren't really living if you never make a mess (some of you may not believe that I think that but I really do!!) and how much fun it is to think about things in a new way. I hope I keep thinking about these things as I raise my own kid (s) and I hope you all will remind me if I seem to have forgotten! Zack, Jaiden &...

I want to write something fascinating, or humorous. And if it can't be humorous then I'd like it to be thoughtful and deep. Unfortunately I'm just not in that place tonight. Besides, I can't hope to be as funny as my husband. Right now the deepest thought in my head is how nice it is to be at home, in my pajamas, relaxing. So, I apologize for giving you really nothing to read. I'll just say this - enjoy the simple moments in life. Enjoy being with your family. Enjoy a hot drink. Enjoy lounging around in your pajamas.

Hello to you, my peeps, my confidantes, you people who I shall rule one day. It is time for another installment of the Mooney Files. Star Date 20061119. It was a cold night. Too Cold. The kind of cold that makes you put warmer clothes on. That has nothing to do with the story. I am just ranting. Ok, so back to my story. We had just had a weekend with the Pippus Clan minus the mini Pippuses. I guess that wouldn't be the whole clan. More like a Pippus delegation that is there to represent the entire Pippus collective for the purpose of setting up some kind of trade agreement. The purpose for this visit, however, was the Clearview Christian Camp board meeting that was held on Saturday. We did all of our traditional activities. The "I can stay up longer than you" contest, the "embarrass Tim at NHL 2006" event, and of course, my personal favourite, the "..." (sorry. What happens at the condo, stays at the condo :). That is the first rule of... uh.... condo ...

We are back from a fun weekend in Calgary. Caden was able to spend time with all of his Mooney aunts and uncles and with Grandma and Grandpa Mooney of course. There was lots of laughing and Caden was smiling at everybody and just enjoying all the love and attention. There are a couple pictures of the Calgary Hitmen vs Prince Albert hockey game that James and Nicola took me, Justin and Jacquie to on saturday. The Hitmen won 8 to 1. Yikes. Caden travelled really well both ways. He slept, played and ate in the car. The trip didn't really take us any longer than it did when it was just the two of us (YAY for formula).

You may not know this about me (Jen) - but I have never seen a dead cow. That is - until today. I am referring, of course, to a dead cow that is still fully intact and looking like an actual cow. I never would have imagined that I would see my first dead cow from about 5 feet away. I also would never have dreamt that I would be innocently driving down Victoria Avenue in the city of Regina only to glance out my drivers side window and have a dead cow staring right in at me. The question of the day is then - should I have been surprised? There it was laying on its side tied to a flatbed truck, all big and hairy and with blood all over it. Maybe it's the city side of me but my stomach lurched. I'm glad Caden isn't old enough to have noticed it. Yuck. The farmers out there may be disappointed in me and if the guy driving that cow around reads this - could you tarp it next time? Thanks! So that was my monday morning adventure with wildlife. :)

Bonjourno!! Well, we have finally joined the ranks of the bloggers. There has been a lot of pressure on us to do this. At first I thought it was because the general masses have a craving to hear my dry wit and piercing humour but as it turns out, people only want pictures of Caden (a.k.a. The Cutest Baby Alive as voted by Time Magazine and Popular Mechanics). However, I will use this forum to share my endless opinions on everything from nylon stockings to whether we should be buying organic Chicken stock or regular chicken stock. Although the organic Chicken stock is a bit more expensive, it is worth the investment. Anywho, we will try to update this as we have thoughts but as actual thoughts are few and far between and are usually of the nonsensical variety, you definately won't get smarter. Unless of course my Jenny decides to raise the level of inteligence by posting some of her thoughts. As my first post, I have to share with everyone my battle with depression and shame as I wa...