Thursday, November 30, 2006

more eats

Caroline tried sweet potato today for the first time! She loved it! She opens up her mouth so wide to receive the goods on the baby spoon! I don' t remember ANY of the other kids doing that! Maybe I just forgot! So, sweet potato...check!

Next we try squash, then carrots! (thanks Cynthia ;D)

I realized today that I do require more bibs! They are wearing out! Maybe a good Christmas gift for Caroline!!

snow is melting!

I am glad to see the snow melting! We are going a little (well OK A LOT) stircrazy in this house!!!!! We have been home for 3/4 school days this week. I am sure school will be back in tomorrow! Yipee! Happy Fridaay!

The kids have torn apart the house, and really I could care less. It can all be put back together tonight.

I personally cannot wait until bedtime. Catie did not nap today, and Caroline slept for very little. Makes for a couple (or 5) crankpots!! Oh, how my head throbs! I have had a headache all day long! Sleep will cure that.

I miss running too. I am hoping to go out with our group on Sunday morning for an 8k! That will be pure relief!

Monday, November 27, 2006

the gift

You've know you all have received a bad gift.

Think back to that gift...remember that gift. It was the most BRUTAL gift you or your loved one has received EVER!

How do you deal with that lovely gift? I know I always have to write a thank you note! What ever happened to that gift? How did you get rid of it? Did you keep it, is it still in your closet? Do you take a photo with it, mail it off to the person who sent it, and then get rid of it?


You know you have to write a thank you note like this:

Dear Jane,

Thank you so much for finding the most unique little boy's outfit I have ever seen! My son will look like the perfect little man in that outfit. I cannot wait until he fits into it! You chose the PERFECT shade for him!


I really appreciate your thought and care you have placed into finding this gift for our son.

Lovely to see you again!

Love,

Cathy


Even though you want to write something like:

Dear Jane,

Am I really supposed to thank you for the ugliest outfit I have ever seen in my life? And what makes you think my son would look good in that number? Thank you but no thank you. There is no way I am EVER going to put my son in this *TERRIBLE outfit. And why would you think he would even wear that?

I have never ever seen YOUR kid in an "outfit" like that.

I am dumping this outfit into a garbage bag, and tossing it into the ocean. I hope it NEVER surfaces again. If it does, I will make sure it ends up on your doorstep! SO your son can wear it.

Now, I have to spend my precious time and send it off to the local charity. Do yo really think THEY want it? Are you nuts? Why would you subject us to this gift?

Have you ever heard of gift cards? or my gift registry?

Thanks for nothing!

Cathy

*insert your choice words here!

My Fab 5!



Here is our latest photo of the 5 kids...this was one of the best of about 15 tries! Catie was the one one who couldn't sit still!

Caroline's Check Up (Almost 7 months!)

Well, we had another power outage. This time, it lasted 9 hours. Yes, 9 long hours. Power came on around 2 pm! 4 hours earlier than BC Hydro stated on their emergency line!

We still made it to Caroline's appointment even with all of this snow!

She was overdue for her immunizations. She had 3 needles in her legs and boy did she let the doctor know she was not happy! Thankfully we are done now until she is 1 year old, and then at almost 19 months she will have her last set until she hits Kindergarten! She screamed and she was strong.
Miss Caroline weighed in today at a hefty and healthy 17 lbs. 11 oz! She was in the 75th percentile for head, height and weight!

So, Caroline is a happy and healthy gal!

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Caroline in Action




Here is Miss Mae Mae in action! She is now getting up into a crawl position! So exciting!

Go Caroline Go!

Let it Snow



We cannot believe how much snow has fallen here! The kids are LOVING the snow. How lovely!

Annual Christmas Party Weekend


This year and last year...

Cliff and I had a nice night away on Saturday night. We drove in the snow there and back to Richmond! We upgraded to a luxurious suite that had a wonderful king size bed! It was hard to get Cliff to stop snoring as he was so far away from me lol.

We didn't win any prizes this year, but we still had a fun time at the Casino night. I hung out with Mrs. Merriman and Mrs. McNeil most of the night! We played Blackjack. That was my first time playing that at this party in 5 years.

We shipped 2 kids to Nannie and Pappa's for the night, and 3 stayed at home with the in-laws. Caroline did AWESOME. My chest however, did not do so well. I was very engorged which made for an uncomfortable night, even in the down filled feather bed and duvet. Oh well. I still managed to sleep in until 9 am! That was a treat, but we did go to bed around 2:30 am. I would say a gin and tonic is my new drink! Oh yes, I had many drinks! And I enjoyed them ALL!

Dinner was nice, and so were the desserts. Yummy. No dancing this year, maybe next year eh!

I am happy to report to those who care, Cliff and I just slept FYI. We can promise there will be no more Christmas Party babies lol. So, you can all sleep easy tonight.

what can BROWN do for you?



So? what do you think?

Biggest and the Littlest


Friday, November 24, 2006

Fabulous Friday

Today, I only had to go out once! That was a nice treat. And, the walk to school was dry and almost sunny. Claire and Cameron had school today, but after school Claire went to a playdate.

Lisa is going to pick up Cameron and Claire and bring them home because it is hailing and she knows Caroline goes down around this time for a nap!

So, today Carly stayed home from preschool, and we had a lovely day together and she got to play her toys without ANY interruption. She loved that. Made the 2 kids a nice lunch too.

Caroline and Catie are both napping and I managed to clean the whole house from top to bottom during the day, 3 loads of laundry, some white slipcovers and even managed to dust, spray down the surfaces, vac and mop! Very productive, and now I can breathe a sigh of relief so I can concentrate on finding an outfit tonight for tomorrow without guilt! Yipee. It is so quiet with only the 3 kids today! Wow. It is like a totally different house!

I am just waiting for the kids to get home...looks like the hail has now stopped!

Have a happy Friday! I am going to put the slipcovers back on the cubes at foot of our bed, and unload the dishwasher in the peace and quiet!

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Thursday Night

Wow, I haven't blogged for quite some time. Not much to chat about really.

I am feeling quite good now, and I have one more pill to take tomorrow morning. I am so excited for the weekend. We get to go away for one night sans kids to go to Cliff's annual work Christmas party. I am looking forward mostly to dressing up and getting out to celebrate (and getting a whole night with the Merriman's!) and also a wonderful sleep in the awesome king size bed!

I still have to buy some lip gloss, and find a top to wear. On Saturday morning I am FINALLY getting my hair done with my awesome hairdresser Crystal. Then, I will go see Kelli for my mani, pedi, waxing and make up. I am so excited to feel all "beautiful" for one night. I feel so good when I can dress up like that!

That is about it.

Caroline is now dragging herself around the house by her forearms, and she gets around that way! She is quick. And, when she finds us, she grins so big! She has been spitting out her cereal at us. I guess she is tired of rice cereal. I will try another one this weekend.

All of the kids are doing well.

Oh yeah, I am STILL not sure what colour to do my hair. I guess I will decide with Crystal on Sat!

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

barth o buddy burst and I feel better

Yes, last night...I started feeling better. I went to go to the washroom and I noticed blood, so I thought. Great, my period is back. But, the more investigating I did with a mirror, I figured out that the cyst burst. (really discusting lol but I wanted to share!)

I feel a lot better. The roid is shrinking and the UTI is gone. Antibiotics are finished on Friday. Saturday is the yearly Christmas party! Looking forward to that now! I am starting to feel like my good old self again! Yipee.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Weekend Woes

Well, I still feel like poop. I am not really feeling better except for the uti. Caroline goes for her immunizations on Monday and I am going to tell my doc about my new problem of the "roids" or shall I say the largest walnut I have ever seen. I have been walking around with a cotton ball and witch hazel to give me some relief. The cyst is still very large. Maybe it can be drained. I am disappointed I will not be running tommorrow with my group, and not Monday either. Bummer ha ha right Carol!

I am now having facial breakouts around my nose and in between my chin and my lower lip. What the heck?! What next, well...another storm tomorrow that is what. I sure hope the power stays on this time.

Not much to report. I am trying to stay sane without my running, the kids have been crazy, coo coo, loco, exhausting. I don't have much patience left these days. I just want to feel better. I feel very run down I guess. Yeah, run down. Running out of steam.

Tomorrow I am home with the kids, and Cliff goes running. I am sure he will have a good run. I am very jealous about that lol. That means tomorrow I have not run in 1 week. bully for me.

I cannot wait until I can sit or stand without pain. It is hard to cope with 5 little ones who need me. They do not understand how bad I feel. It even hurts to lie in bed. boo hoo right. Haven't cried yet. And I won't cry over this. I just want to get better.

blah.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Bloggin about Bartholin

Yes, that is the name of my lovely cyst. Check out the info on that bad boy!

And, I have of course the first UTI of my life, (feeling much better when I pee) and now yes, the H word. Grrrhhh. Drats. All in the most sensitive areas of my body. I hurts to stands, sit and lay down. I hope everything starts going away soon. I am SO tired today. And, trying to get back on track from all of the power/roof troubles etc.

I had my follow up at my Doc's yesterday. The cyst has gone down somewhat, but it needs to shrink a whole lot more!! Hopefully by next Friday all of the pain will subside, and the cyst will go away. If not, I need to go back AGAIN to have it looked at. So, that is all. If I do have lump left over I can go to a gynocologist and have the cyst removed. (lovely)

The drugs are making Caroline have so many poops too. Goodness. When will it be over?

That is my update. Happy Friday!

power outage AGAIN, but longer this time!

Remember the previous power outage we had on Halloween, well that was nothing.

Our power went out on Wednesday around 1, and we went without power for 29 hours!

Thankfully we had the gas fireplace in the kitchen to keep warm with, but it was still very cold and dark!

And, of course the temporary tarp that was keeping the roof dry, blew right off. The rain and wind was unbelievable out here! Trees down, shrubs down, plastic bags flying, gutters blowing off houses, fence panels down, basket ball hoops tipped down, and siding blown off houses! We saw a lot of damage.

Thankfully the harsh winds and rain stopped during the Wednesday night and we went on a hunt for dinner (We drove everywhere but ended up waiting for 40 mins in a McD drive thru line up) came home, sat in the kitchen with lots of candles (it actually was quite beautiful by candlelight), but the romance of the evening was over when we all had to endure the cold beds, and scared kids! We left a flashlight on in the hallway for the kids! We all got cozy in the living room with the kids all around us before bed, and we talked a lot about when they were babies, and then we asked them who these would marry when they got older. Claire she said she was going to marry a Canadian soccer star, Carly well, she is going to marry a chef, and he would make her strawberries with chocolate, and Cameron said Saige wants to marry him. It turned into a nice night.

We all slept in until 7 am. We got ready for school, but school was cancelled. Cliff stayed home on Wednesday when the power was out to help me rest, and deal with my cyst. Thursday he went to work, and came home early.

We actually had our crockpot going on Wednesday when the power went out with turkey chili in it, and we had to call our neighbour and ask if she would keep our dinner plugged in! (Hoping the power would come back on by evening! NOT) And a flashlight plugged in too lol. Well, she kept it until yesterday!!

Yesterday (Thursday) was still cold in the house, but the rain stopped and we did a lot of driving around to drive thrus etc. Thankfully my mom in law was home, and we both entertained the kids. We did charades, guessing games, books, simon says etc. The kids had fun. We made the most of the weather, and didn't let it get us down. A new roofer tarped up our house, and we are set until they can put a new roof on! Cliff came home a bit early. As, I had yet another doctors appointment.

Last night, we got a call from our wonderful neighbour Joan (the same neighbour who helped us shop vac the water when the washing machine went!) she had our crockpot going, and she put in garlic bread for us. We all had dinner there, and dessert and the kids played with her son, Thomas. Then, when her hubby Chris came home he said our power was on! Just as he was driving down our street. We thanked her, we headed across the street and home, and her hubby carried the crockpot back to our home and we got ready for bed. That was just before 8 pm. Now, we have a water restriction!! What next really?!

Today, was just a normal day. Uneventful.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

not so swell

I bet you have been wondering where I have been?! Well, today I went to a rush doctors appointment to discover I have my first bladder infection, and I have a huge growing cyst in an area of my groin on the right side. I am glad that I went, because this thing came out of nowhere. I had chills and fever last night, and the urge to pee a lot. I started feeling worse after my run last night. And, today I felt OK, and then it started to burn when I was peeing and the chills came back.

I got into my doc today at 4:20. And my doc put me on these huge horse pills 2x's per day to help both problems. It should take 72 hours to start feeling better. My doc said if I didn't go in today I could have been in serious trouble with this cyst tomorrow especially how fast it grew.

It hurts to sit. You know how a hemorrhoid feels, well this feels about the same but in a different area. He said if it got larger it could have been very dangerous for me. So, he told me to rest, take my pills and come back and see him on Thursday, and if I feel worse tomorrow to call him. He said that I cannot run tomorrow. Cliff is taking the day off so I can rest. I hope I start to feel better soon. Anybody who knows me knows I am not a wimp. So, for me to call and go in is serious business. So, I feel bad I cannot run tomorrow with my new clinic group. I am a co-instructor of the 10k, but I have to consider my health first. My doc said that if I do run tomorrow I would probably end up in the hospital on an antibiotic drip. Can't have that.

I find as a Mom, I just keep on going and going. It is very hard for me to let go, rest and let others step in for me. But, it is necessary and I am thankful for Cliff's help tomorrow. I hope this gets better really soon.

I have had one pill, and then for 10 days 2x's per week.

Oh why?




Oh Mommy and Daddy why can't I help? Why can't I have Caroline's baby spoon. I am so upset that I cannot help...

rice is nice






This is Caroline yesterday FINALLY trying out rice cereal. It was a hit, and Mrs. Grabby didn't want to let go of her spoon!

Today, was a success too! Our baby is growing up!

Friday, November 10, 2006

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Recovery

Recovery. We all have to recover at some point. Nonna B is recovering from her knee surgery, Grandpa aka Dad is going to recover from having a scope done today at the hospital, and hopefully get his gallbladder out soon so he can recover fully. April hopefully recovered from her long night the other night (up until almost 2) The people who take care of people in recovery, people recovering from injuries, people recovering from a loss of a loved one. It is such a small word, and yet it takes so much sometime to recover from something. I think about my friends who are going through post partum depression, and I remember my hard recovery from that time of my life, and I remember recovering from my gallbladder removal 4 years ago (November 7th it was) and I am thankful to those who helped me to recover.

I am also thinking about those trying to recover from body aches and pains, and for those who have lost babies, and babies in incubators, and babies that are not meeting their growth milestones, recovering (0r trying to heal) from miscarriage. I walked that path too.

Sometimes you have pain, and you have to recover. Sometimes people don't do well in recovery, and some do...it is a process isn't it.

I recovered from yesterday (I think) I had one of those really BAD days. I am thankful I can get over those days...and it was officially a hump day...a Wednesday. It was a really bad day, nothing went well, the kids, not listening, fighting. Disrespecting our wishes. I ended up taking everything out of a bedroom except the bed and bed linens as I got so frustrated. I was tired of the kids writing on the walls, breaking sections of their blinds, taking pieces of of their chandeliers, sick of leaking roofs, tired of living with other people, sick of kids playing at the dinner table, sick of kids not getting into their pj's, sick of telling the kids to brush their teeth OVER AND OVER AND OVER. Sick of washing and folding laundry, having the kids put the laundry away and then having the clean laundry end up on the floor or on the bed now unfolded.

Tired of the kids pushing my HOT BUTTONS. Tired of STUFF going wrong, and not the way I want it to go. I was also sick of the weather. I am tired of the fall, and winter is not even here. I was just plain frustrated.

How did I recover? Well, I vented to Cliff first when he first walked through the door...he knew I had a hard day as I had a nude kid running around the house with a diaper off, I was feeding Caroline on the couch, toys were everywhere, and nobody used the rule of one toy out, one away. And, we lost a leap pad cartridge in the house?! Where the heck did it go?! So much for that! I still cannot find it. What a welcome home eh! I bet he wanted to go back to work.

I went for a run a very fast 5k run. I didn't even feel like going out of the door, but I did. And I talked about my day to my sister on the phone. I vented to her! And you know what, when I got home from my run. The days worries and frustrations did not bother me anymore.

I was running and chatting with a nice lady named Susan and she told me her husband's recovery story about how he fell 12 feet and landed and how he had to recover. And, recover he did. 6 weeks of recovery! Suddenly my little problems didn't seem that bad.

That put my problems in perspective.

For all of you recovering from something today, my heart goes out to you.

Have a happy Thursday.

Monday, November 06, 2006

The Besth Blog

The Besth Blog: "Abigail Finally Meets her Cousins!! Hello Six Pack! "

My Sis April has posted some cute photos from Saturday.

Go have a look at the 6 pack!

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Crib Jumper

Catie is our first kid (that we can remember lol) That has figured out how to jump over the rails and out of her crib. This was at nap time. We now figure we will have to switch Catie to a big girl bed like her sister's Claire and Carly. I am sad that I may never have Catie nap again. Usually she naps for 2 hours every afternoon.

Our Catie is growing up!

Chalkboard Wall



We painted the main wall at the top of our stairs with Chalkboard Paint.

We chose black, because we like it! (you can get chalkboard paint in ANY colour at your local Benjamin Moore - 2 tins of paint was under $40.00!)

The kids think it is the greatest, and they spent an hour colouring today to see who could draw the biggest and best hearts! We thought they were all awesome! The best thing is that it wipes off very easy, 4 kids can go at it at one time and they have a blast! I wonder if this will eliminate the need to draw all over the walls?! (probably not!)

(as for the plug and switches...my handy Electrician is going to switch them out with black...we picked that up at Home Depot today!)

Caroline in the Tub


First bath in the big 'ol tub tonight. She really enjoyed herself. She outgrew the kitchen sink! She kept standing up on me! And, she is too long for the kitchen island. (and she has outgrown the baby bath towels)

trouble in action


We caught Catie today...in action. Oh, the joys of a 2 year old.

Catie and the Basket


Catie is so small that she can still fit in the basket! Daddy carried her up the stairs like that! She thought it was a blast!

The 6 Pac


We took the kids for a first time visit to see cousin Abigail Autumn on Saturday.

She was a beauty as per usual. The kid's REALLY enjoyed meeting her and hanging out with Aunty April and Uncle Nick too.

Note: Sister has white couch too! We must be related hey April!

Thanks for putting up with us all. We had a lot of fun. I think a 6 pack is really fun!

5 C's meet your cousin Abigail! The first meeting!



Saturday, November 04, 2006

6 months






Happy 6 Months to our Baby Girl Caroline Mae

(aka Miss Mae Mae )


Caroline turned 6 months on November 2nd. (Yes I remembered, but I was too busy to post!)

She is now getting up onto her knees and moving backwards and under all sorts of stuff like our couches and our bed. The kids think she is a lot of fun now! They like to carry her around (with our supervision of course)

She has a very strong grip, and grasps onto whatever she can (like my hair) and she doesn't want to let go.

I bought her new feeding bowls and I purchased some rice cereal for her. We were going to start today, but we were too busy. Probably tomorrow. I wonder if she will like it?!

We figure she is about 18lbs. And, we take her for her 6 month shots at the end of November.