Minutes before the wakeup

I have only a couple of minutes left before my house erupts with children waking up from nap time. Before the clean house becomes messy. We have about an hour of silence these days. I usually tidy up, listen to music, read a couple of blogs. Today I got caught up in pulling out clover leaf weeds out of my grass. Actually quite relaxing :)

We had a wonderful time visiting my older sister over the weekend, pictures and a post to come later.



My little nephew and my younger sister joined me and the kids for the long drive. It was fun and the kids did excellent and yes we LOVE portable dvd players. We didn't use it to often, the kids did listen to books on tap...ahheemmm...one particular book was played about a million time "the three little wolves and the big bad pig". I had intended on listening to it with them but my sister and I kept talking. Yep, we talked the whole 10 hours there and the whole 10 hours back. I love family! I did miss Drew however, it was a bit of a reminder of how much help he is with the kids. But it was a nice break from home and the kids played with their cousins and the sisters chatted, sipped wine and we all did our mom thing together.



My Mom watched the kids for me the other week and took some pictures. These two have been running around outside and digging in gardens for buried treasure. I fear Kaylin has a hatred of all things that do with hair looking nice, she is constantly pulling out the elastics and pins....



I came home from grocery shopping to hear this story. Told by Drew in my words...."I was in the house and the kids were playing, I heard them singing and running and looked out the window. Kaylin was swinging a mouse by its tail and Jacob was singing.....we found a chumpmunk....we found a chumpmunk. I ran outside threw it in the bush and raced her inside. Washed her hands and even had her rinse her mouth with listerine....only to look outside and see Jacob. Who had rescued the mouse from the bush and was swinging it by its tail "chumpmunk....chumpmunk....I have a chumpmunk.."

I came in and was informed by a very serious little girl and little boy that "Mommy....half sick mouses are full of GERMS....and they're not really chumpmunks..."

Needless to say that I was thankful I was on grocery duty and Drew was on kid duty.

On different news, my Mom took some updated family pictures. Kaylin was paying attention....



and it took more shots, but we finally got one in which, Drews eyes are open, Kaylin is smiling, Jacob is not screaming and I'm looking in the right direction. We'll have to work on Maddie.



Until next time!

Road Trip

Yikes...i'm in the midst of making lists of what to pack. My little sister and I are making the drive to Washington DC tomorrow to visit my older sister who moved there recently. We're taking the kids, 4 little ones. Packing into my mini-van. With a LOT of toys, books, cd's. Last night I raided the dollar store and come home with a whole bag of fun things. This bag will remain hidden from the kids and one thing at a time will be handed out as the cranky levels raise. I also caved and am bringing a portable dvd player (GASP!!!!). I was harsh on these not so long ago, when my kids were babies and travelled well. Something about the 9 hours of driving convinced me to changed. Jacob is a terrible passenger, he detests car seats and being tied down. This may be the difference between a good drive and a horrible one. I'm determined not to use it constantly, not to use it right away but to save it. Let them watch a movie or two (or Dora...) somewhere along the drive.



I'm excited! Drew and I were hoping to go together but he is needed at work and thankfully my sister is brave (or foolish) enough to join me..:) I'm not quite brave enough to make the drive by myself. Drew will be well stocked with canned chili and hamburgers. He's already planned to go to his parent's for dinner.

Here's to road trips, dollar stores and portable dvd players!

Baby Bliss (and sleep deprivation)

This little one is 6 months old today.



6 months old. I find myself with a rare moment in the late afternoon to post, only because I made dinner earlier. Pulled pork on buns with fresh veggies...yum.

But I was talking about 6 months of baby. A happy baby (with a rather strong temper, with thankfully doesn't surface often...) a chubby baby, a cute baby with wonderfully round, dimply legs.



Our easiest baby transition by far. Mostly I believe because of the decision to not nurse quite early. I nursed Kaylin with tears and frustration for about 7 months, Jacob with more tears and frustration and a constant fight with his weight for 3 months and Maddie we lasted 3.5 weeks. I love the idea of nursing, I hate the pressure and the thoughts that every can nurse. Dreading each feed and topping up with tylenol before feeds to get through feeds is not fun. With Maddie it was going to be successful, I had a nurse with me for every feed in the hospital, lactation consultants for the first 4 days helping. For some reason no one can seem to explain it doesn't work. Its painful, I swear when they latch on, the first couple of weeks normal, but not the first couple of months. My babies don't seem to gain weight like they are supposed to. I cry, they cry, we all have a party. but not really. I'm stubborn and insist its going to work.



Baby number 3 and I finally had the courage to say "no" early on after a good attempt. Family and friends were encouraging for they saw the struggles. Strangers and not so close friends can be rather harsh. And yet, she grows, she smiles and she's HAPPY. In the early months we did a lot of skin on skin and she thrives. She responds to me the best of all the kids, the weight and burden of nursing lifted and for me, this made me a happier mom. Sometimes looking back the decisions that seemed so difficult, painful and agonizing now seem so simple and so right.

And this little one brings much joy into our home! And we are thankful, that we are able to watch her grow and smile and wave her cubby arms. She grabs at toys and shoves them in her little mouth. She grabs our plates at dinner to try to things we put to our mouths. She smiles at us and her eyes follow us around the room. And already, only 6 months and we can't seem to remember what life was like before her.

To Many More

Can you believe how much can happen in 52 years? You can be a baby, a teen, a wife and mother and then grandma not only once but 8 times! (and I have a feeling that all of us kids are just getting started:)



52 years! I have been blessed, with a mother who loves, who guides and who isn't afraid to tell me when I'm wrong. As a teen I was raised in a home where conversations never were forced and we could talk about anything. I remember family hikes on a Sunday night, and then in the winter curling up in front of the TINY tv and watching Road to Avonlea or Anne of Green Gables.

I remember snow days with pancakes and walking to the video store to get the 10 hour version of Pride and Prejudice. And watching it, just cause it was a snow day. I remember one night my Mom packing us in the car and driving after a storm, only to realize once we found it that it probably wasn't safe and rushing back home. Hot chocolate on the porch during storms. A girls trip to Ottawa with a police officer following us for over a mile with his lights flashing. Fights (there was three girls in the house...my poor brother) but no matter how angry I got deep down I knew she was there for me.

She was there when I fell in love, she helped me plan our wedding, she was there minutes after Kaylin was born, pacing the hospital floors, she was there when I called bawling not knowing WHAT to do with a newborn (seriously....they let you just take home a newborn?!)

She was there when Kaylin started walking and when she started talking. She was there when Jacob was born, she has watched him grow and now a third time with Madeline.

Mom - thank-you for always being there! I pray that the LORD gives you many more years as rich and full as the last 52! Happy Birthday

Fairy Dust and Pixie Hollow

A morning at the park, a walk home alongside the tall willow weeds. A moment spent showing the kids to blow the seeds and make a wish. This moment forgotten by a mom whose mind was elsewhere.

Fastforward three days. 3:00a.m. Kaylin sprints into our room "Mommy, Daddy my wish...it came TRUE" before we could respond "Tinkerbell VISITED ME!!!" and she sprints back to her bed in the hopes of visiting with her little fairy friends. Drew followed her to her bed, I listened, she pointed to the ceiling and the window and the lights, tracing the paths this little fairy flew. She was tucked back into bed and fell asleep quickly, her little face beaming with excitement. Imagination and reality mix together in her little world and such an imagination this little girl has. Her wish, when she blew that "special flower", her wish that she so seriously kept a secret had come true.



The next morning while the kids were eating breakfast, Drew went to their room to grab something and called me in. He pointed and there, fluttering around the window was a little brown moth.

Dining and Dashing

Saturday was our churches dine and dash. I organized this with the help of a wonderful lady in our church. We do this every year, and its FUN! Normally it goes without a hitch, this one kept me up the night before. If your not familiar with dine and dash, I'll attempt at a brief description. Different couples sign up and offer to host an appetizer a dinner or a dessert. Each of these meals are at different addresses and the group that you eat with is a different group for each one. The host does not who is coming, only the amount of people to prepare for. You ONLY know where you are going, not who you will be eating with. Its a great way to meet people or re-connect with others. To bring a large congregation together (If your interested in organizing one e-mail me, I can send you all the tips and how to do this. I cannot promise you that everything will go without a hitch, but people will love it).

This year we had two couple have to cancel last minute, thankfully me and the other lady who organized did not sign up to host anything, so we both hosted last minute. Big plans over here for taking pictures of the desserts I made, the table I laid out, the wine that was chilled and ready to serve, the candles that were flickering.... I forgot in my panic to clean a messy house last minute. I'm bad with stuff like that....

It would appear that I'm also bad at cleaning faces and doing hair BEFORE I take pictures



Sigh.....we also make the kids work around here...



see...Jacob even has "work" boots...in which when he is not working he stores all his trains and carries it along to the grocery store...





Here's to remembering to wash faces, do hair and THEN taking pictures...