2 pirates, 1 ballerina, 1 ladybug and 1baby

Happy Halloween!

We took all 5 kids out tonight trick or treating! Caroline had her first halloween and she slept the whole time in the stroller. Catie remained in the stroller eating candies and treats the whole way! The three olders really got into it this year! Carly LOVED it! The kids used their manners and said thank you when they received their treats! They had a lot of fun! It was fun to watch the 3 run to the doors and yell TRICK OR TREAT! They even took turns ringing doorbells.

The kids had a lot of sugar today. They went to bed in their sugary state. Very pleasant lol.

Now, how much of the candy should be eaten? There are sooooo many treats in the house.

in action!

Caroline is almost on the move! She has been getting up on her hands and knees this week. I put her down in one spot on the floor, I come back around the corner and she has moved way across the room!

I cannot believe our baby is almost 6 months in 2 days!

More Pirates in the Fam

Here are two more pirates. Maybe we should have dressed Catie as a pirate too. Maybe we should all become pirates!

This is Cameron and Claire before their school parties today.

Happy Halloween

5:30 is the new 6:30

Yup. We started the day off with a power outage. Yes, another power outage. It went off at 5 am and did not come back on until 8 am. It was dark and cold. Yes, frost was on the lawn today.

I immediately thought of the homeless. I felt so sad for those who are in that cold today, and always. It made me realize how much we take for granted. Thankfully we had blankets, clothing and each other to keep warm. Those power outages remind me we sure have a lot!

The kids were scared of the dark this morning. Cliff stayed home for a few extra hours until the power was back. Then he went to work.

Everything is back to normal except the time change is still not working in our favour. The kids were all up at 5:30...that doesn't include Caroline who was up before them all.

This is a photo of the kids with Daddy on the couch keeping warm. Caroline was snug under our covers in our bed.

time change trauma

So, the pediatrician advice didn't work. My Mom posted a posting on her blog about something she heard on the radio from an expert in regards to helping kids with the time change. We did as she said (the expert)...and this morning (bright and early Monday morning!) It didn't work. Oh yeag. Yesterday it kind of worked. They got up at 7:30 which was 6:30 am. This morning. Nope. WAY EARLIER. I am feeling sorry for myself because I will now be up so freakin early. I was up and ready to go way before 6 am. Breakfast is already done and that is before 6:30.

Cameron was up at 4:45 am playing lego with the light on in his bedroom. Catie was screaming in her crib for Daddy. Carly and Claire got up and tried to go to the playroom to watch TV. We kyboshed them all. Told them it is too early to get up. We sent them back to bed. Cliff then was off to work.

I have been up 3 nights in a row with Miss Mae Mae (Caroline) My little monkey is teething. She bites me and feeds and gets diaper rashes. And, the drool. Oh the drool. Last night I think I had 2 hours sleep. She has been very fussy.

I wonder if April was up at the same time with Abby? I hope those teeth break soon.

Happy Monday!

Spooktacular Scurry

Tonight Cliff and I ran a race. Here are our costumes:

I went as Tippi Hedren as in "The Birds" and Cliff went as well, 24 carrots of goodness.

We both beat our times from our first 5K races. It was a blast.

And no, we both ran in running gear and got ready after. I ran in my big hair and make up though.

Cliff got a prize for 2nd place and I got a booby prize. I got an awesome book on running.

What fun!

exersaucin

Here is Caroline in her exersaucer two days ago on Thursday! I managed to capture a drooly smile. She was very happy chewing on her pop beads.

Rescue Mission

Today I got to recover a mini Tonka truck from the toilet. This is a minute or two after I say to Claire and Carly. Toys do not belong in the bathroom.

Carly was sitting on the toilet going poo and pee. A minute later Carly comes to me (all upset) and says I dropped the truck into the poo in the toilet. GREAT. I lecture whilst getting a plastic glove to go recover the toy.

Yuck. Nothing more fun than sticking your hands in a glob of poop and pee and toilet paper. Oh, the joys of Motherhood. Ain't it grand.

I got the truck out of the very bottom of the toilet. I drain the truck off in my hands over the toilet. Go get the spray bottle of disenfectant. Spray down the toilet, the the sink and the toy. I multitask and clean off the mirror and the counter and the sink and toilet too. Multitasking is a good thing!

I thanked Carly for telling me the truth. I said you are a big girl Carly. Next time please remember why we do not play with toys in the bathroom.

Now, the toy is air drying after a major clean, the girls (after washing their hands) are doing waterplay in the kitchen sink.

Back to normal for now.

Mommy Moment

Every morning, I clean up the breakfast mess. And, sometimes I miss a Cheerio or two on the floor. It always AMAZES me how small they shrivel up after the milk has dried. They also stick very well to the floor!

Just thought I would share.

Fall Back, ya right...

I don't know about this Fall Back business. I do not like the Fall Back time change. I know for everybody sans kids it means we should in theory gain an hour of sleep, but really...

For the past 7 years when we fall back we lose an hour. I can explain. That means our kids end up getting up 1 hour earlier so nobody wins.

As an example. This morning the kids we all up at 5:55 am. That is 4/5 kids. So, on Sunday morning. We would all be up at 4:55 am. That is not fun. It is very hard to adjust back to getting that hour back.

I do however LOVE Spring Forward because then we get to stay in bed just a little bit longer...in my dreams it should work like that lol.

Paper Bag Princess and the Devilled Egg

Back view of my costume

Front view of my costume

Well, I went with Paper Bag Princess! I made my costume today in less than one hour using stuff I had in the house! The kids thought it was fun to do!

I used an over sized "hulk" gift bag. Cut out a head hole in the bottom of the bag for my head, and then I cut out arm holes. I had brown kraft paper in which I cut out two large sheets about the same size...spray glued those on to the bag. I had small paper lunch bags which I spray glued along the bottom in a few layers like a dress fringe. Then, I made a large paper bow at the top. I had the princess accessories from my 35th bday. (Thanks April!) and I carried a brown kraft bag as my purse. Final accessory. Punched a hole through the bottom of a lunch bag, crumpled it down to make a bracelet!

I won the costume contest. It was based on cheering. I got the most cheers and I won a fuel card worth 7 dollars, a Runners magazine, a 30% off coupon and a ghost puppet. It all came in a running shoe bag! Bonus. I spent 1 hour on my costume, and got all of that! Yipee. It was so fun to walk in there, and have everybody guess. Most people guessed correctly. Apparently we have a lot of Robert Munsch fans there!

No, I didn't run in the costume. I changed quickly because I didn't want to turn into paper mache! that wouldn't be so fun. Everybody wanted to see me run in my costume. Too funny. Maybe if it hadn't been raining.

Cliff dressed up as a Devilled Egg. White t shirt with cut out egg yolk (coloured paper from the kids stock) spray glued on the front and the back. He purchased a devil's pitch fork and horns from the local dollar store. He came in 3rd. He got a fuel card, a 30% off coupon and crazy teeth. Didn't have enough time to snap a photo. People were getting a great laugh out of his costume.

Lots of fun. I had a GREAT 5k run tonight. I love running.

Cameron

Cameron got to be the special helper in school today. I picked him up, and out he comes with this big roll of paper with an elastic on it. It is a HUGE sheet of lined paper with black felt in "School Printing"

This is what his friends from his class said about Cameron:

The most important thing

about my friend Cameron

is that he is nice.

He is also friendly,

he shares with others,

and he really likes lego.

But the most important

thing about my friend

Cameron is that he is

a good friend.

I am a proud Mom today. We must be doing something right.

Horse Play

Here is Carly and Grandpa at the riding stable. Carly got the biggest horse there Grandpa said. The horse's name was BEN.

Carly said that Chipper (she pronounces Chipper as Chippa) was there again. She got to feed him carrots.

Grandpa said she had a great time on her preschool fieldtrip.

Quick Costume Idea...help!

I need a costume idea for Cliff and I for tomorrow night. Any ideas that cost very little?!

There will be prizes, and I would love to have some fun!

HELP!

Monday is here...again

Well, another busy weekend has passed. Today seems very quiet and dull around here. Maybe because I am wearing a grey wool sweater. Maybe because the sun is not shining. The weather was beautiful over the weekend here. We did errands, went to birthday parties.

Yesterday Cliff went golfing, and I went for a 6k run. It was cold and such a great run. I love running. I am so happy. I have almost officially finished my 10 week Clinic. Wed is my last run with my group. I have also lost 19 pounds in the last 10 weeks. My grand total of weight lost from the day Caroline was born on May 2nd to about 45 pounds of my 50 pounds put on. I gave away my "fat" pants that I purchased in the postpartum period. I had to buy another size, and those are now getting loose. I am squeezing into my pp clothing. I figure another 10 pounds and they will be perfect. That is good. Next Saturday I run my goal race. A 5K. In November, I will begin my 10k Clinic. I will be instructing this time around. I hope I will do a good job. And, I get a discount on my gear there. That is cool. My goal race will be for in January 2007! Another 10 weeks. I have lost 45, and I going the distance this time...about 50 more pounds to go. Hopefully I lose another 20 in the next 10 weeks.

Cliff is going to start training for another 1/2 marathon. He starts on Tuesday. I am excited to cheer him on in February. I am going to run the 8k race in Feb. Brrrrhhh. It is going to be a cold one like last year!

We have 6 pumpkins ready to be carved for Halloween. Cameron and Claire are going as pirates, Carly a ballerina. Catie and Caroline...they stay home. The kids are all excited.

I found a new preschool for Carly that she will be starting in January 2007. November is her last month at the old preschool. I had to change it so that it was easier to get there and back with less drama. Thankfully we can walk there and back if we want too. It is going to make everything better! The drive was getting to be too much with all of them. This will take some pressure off! That is good. Carly is going to spend the month of December with Caroline, Catie and me. That will be nice! She is happy about going to her new school, and she knows one of her teachers which shall make that transition a smooth one!

I went out and bought warm coats for 3 girls this weekend. I also got long sleeved shirts and some pants for 4 kids this weekend too. They look so good in their coats and they wanted to wear them all during the day!

Yesterday we took Claire and Carly out for a "run" and we walked Catie and Caroline in the stroller. The girls had fun. Cameron went to a birthday party and got to do lots of fun stuff there like trampoline (full size) going for a ride on a quad, pinyata, food and hanging out with his friends. Today I know he has another spelling test. I am crossing my fingers for him. The bonus words: Thursday and Pumpkin! Good luck Cameron.

And now, Monday is here again. Lots to do this week. Gotta go. And to all of my blogger friends, I hope you will update your blogs too! xo

Brown or Blonde?

I LOVE the colour of Cameron D's hair, and here is me with the colour blonde I prefer (I miss you Crystal)

Isn' t that a great brown!

Chocolate Brown or Blonde?

I was flipping through a magazine that my Sis gave to me, and it showed 3 stars that went from blonde hair to dark brown hair. I am wondering if I should go for it. I haven't had dark hair for quite some time. My engagement photo has dark hair, and after I had Carly I went dark, and after Cameron I did a red colour.

Cameron Diaz looks amazing with dark hair (chocolate brown) and her blue eyes...and I am growing my hair longer and I have blue eyes and my face is not so fat (baby/pregnancy fat) anymore.

I thought that may be a nice "Fall" look and I could do away with colouring costs for a bit. The worst would be that I hate it, and have to turn back into a blonde. I am still searching for a great hairdresser. Hhhhhm. Should I just pick a colour and do the dye job by myself, or get a colourist to do it? Should I do it?

Blondes do have fun, but it would be neat to be a dark haired person for awhile. I may even "age" myself a bit. Currently most people say I am in my early to mid 20's. Hhhhmm.

So? Stick with Blonde? If I can find somebody that works out? or go dark for fall. Dark and mysterious?!

Chocolate Brown or Blonde?

I was flipping through a magazine that my Sis gave to me, and it showed 3 stars that went from blonde hair to dark brown hair. I am wondering if I should go for it. I haven't had dark hair for quite some time. My engagement photo has dark hair, and after I had Carly I went dark, and after Cameron I did a red colour.

Cameron Diaz looks amazing with dark hair (chocolate brown) and her blue eyes...and I am growing my hair longer and I have blue eyes and my face is not so fat (baby/pregnancy fat) anymore.

I thought that may be a nice "Fall" look and I could do away with colouring costs for a bit. The worst would be that I hate it, and have to turn back into a blonde. I am still searching for a great hairdresser. Hhhhhm. Should I just pick a colour and do the dye job by myself, or get a colourist to do it? Should I do it?

Blondes do have fun, but it would be neat to be a dark haired person for awhile. I may even "age" myself a bit. Currently most people say I am in my early to mid 20's. Hhhhmm.

So? Stick with Blonde? If I can find somebody that works out? or go dark for fall. Dark and mysterious?!

Ye Ole Halloweens

A cat that I made, that my Mom saved for me. I have no idea when I made it lol, but it is a rather cute cat lol.























Cathy; Princess, April; Gypsy and Amy; Rabbit

(Don't you love homemade costumes! Mom you made us the best costumes!!!) Mom, look how beautiful you are there!























April, the witch *and Carly wore this costume last year!
Amy the Princess *recycled costume - see above!
Cathy the Gypsy (unhappy Gypsy!) *recycled costume

And, me...the pumpkin! I think I remember wearing that costume my Mom made.

Take a look at the cool Jack-O-Lanterns my Dad carved! He is the pumpkin carving Master!!!

L is for Laundry

Some photos of me at my Sister and BIL's house on Sunday evening. Doing what I do best lol!

L A U N D R Y! Yay Laundry!

Me and my Niece...on her birthday 7 days ago!

Aunty Cathy! I am an Aunty and it is so EXCITING!

Here I am with Abigail! I love her.

Taken from Carol's blog! Thanks!

Your Personality Cluster is Extraverted Thinking

You are: Organized and logical - a master at puzzlesCompetitive in almost any arena of lifeObjective when necessary, but passionate about what you truly loveIntolerant of excuses and incompetence

What's" Your Personality Cluster?

What are you?

The Mother of All Blogs: The Birth of Another Baby Website: BabyCenter.ca

The Mother of All Blogs: The Birth of Another Baby Website: BabyCenter.ca

Check it out! Canadian Baby Centre!! yipee!

All I Can Do Lyrics - Chantal Kreviazuk

Chorus:
All I can do is love you to pieces
Give you a shoulder to cry when you need it
When the day is long and the night is coming down on you
All I can do All I can do All I can do

Do you ever hear a song that really calls out to you when you are driving along or whatever? Have you heard this song? This song really speaks to me! I reminds me of when my kids are all crying, and cannot console them, or they are all fighting, or sad or mad or bad. I hear these lyrics and all I can do is love them to pieces and give them my shoulder to cry when they need it!

And, I think of April, Nick and Abigail with their long days and nights with a newborn. And really, all you can do is love your kids! No matter what!

Love is all that matters and at the end of the day, that is what matters the most to me!

Sunday Night

Well, It has been another busy weekend, that has now almost drawn to a close.

Friday, I went running with Cliff and my Dad! That was really fun. Then, we had a nacho splurge and tv together. The In-Laws stayed away for the weekend in Richmond (our treat) and so it was nice just to be the seven of us.

Saturday, we headed to Wal*Mart to get some photos for pick up. Picked up a couple of gifts, and then we drove around and then headed into the Fort to pick up a gift and then have a gelato as a treat. Cameron got 4 exceeds expectations on his preliminary report card, and Claire read a lovely poem to us about apples and Carly was really helpful, and Catie, well...she is so darn sweet we had to treat her too. Then, we got water for the water cooler and then we came home and had lunch. Cliff and I enjoyed a quiet evening to ourselves, and fell asleep on couch until 2 am. That sucked lol.

Sunday, that is today. Well. This morning my Mom came over to watch the kids, and Cliff, Dad and I went running. I did another 5k this morning in the rain. My legs felt like lead today...why, I have no idea. Friday's run was SOOOOO much better. After we came home, we did a quick tidy up and we had Cynthia, Mike and Ben over for lunch. Cynthia made some delicious cookies for us to eat for dessert, or asssurt as Claire likes to call it! After they left, we just really had a home day. The In-laws came back from a restful weekend away.

Then, this evening I packed up sandwich stuff, soup, pink baby clothing, and some other things for April, Nick and for Abigail. They had a rather rough couple of nights with Abby. So, I came over with dinner, unloaded their dishwasher, did some laundry, folded some laundry, cleaned up my mess, changed a poopie bum. (the cutest little bum in the world) and chatted and did stuff, and then came home. Fed Caroline (and had a couple of Cynthia cookies and milk) and got on the computer. They are doing just fine! I am so proud of how they are managing. It is not easy with a newborn. It brought me right back to when I first had Cameron in '99. And now, my little boy is almost 8!! Wow.

My little niece is so A D O R A B L E. She is so tiny, and perfect and lovely. I could just eat her up. She is a little baby doll. She just needs to figure out that nights are for sleeping ;D

Next time I am going to hold her a bit longer. She is a little angel. I am so happy for April and Nick.

Tomorrow, back to the grindstone. We are having Crockpot Turkey Chili for dinner. Crockpot is almost ready to go. 6 am comes early.

what's in your purse?

I did a purse dump and clean tonight, and these are the contents I found and will record here!

my wallet
shopping list
2 receipts from shopping
a package of vanilla mint gum
old lip gloss I use on the girls
tweezers
2 packages of mint floss
my good lip gloss
a nail buffer
lip stick that I never wear
2 quarters
empty sunglasses case
small hand lotion
1 bootie and one sock
computer card for photo developing
1 ballpoint pen
small Purell
1 comb
hair band
Tide-To-Go pen
my keys
lots of lint etc.

I cleaned it out, and it feels and looks so much better! What is in your purse/diaper bag?

Murrayville Mom's Mom

Murrayville Mom's Mom: "Wednesday, October 11, 2006"

Check out the family funnies eh! My Mom posted some fun photos from the good old days!

word to your momma

Catie decided to put a doll hat on, and this is the result.

Home girl Catie. Peace out.

Nannie and Caroline

A proud Nannie with Caroline Mae on Thanksgiving Day!

Amy and Catie

Aunty Amy and Catie on Thanksgiving...we all described Catie as a little doll. She just lay there comfortable on Aunty! It was very cute. Catie is wearing her birthday gift from Aunty Amy and Uncle Tyler.

carrot top

flowers

These were some flowers for my 35th birthday from my Mom (in-law)

Introducing Abigail Autumn

Introducing...

Abigail Autumn

Born to my wonderful Sister April and Brother-in-Law Nick.

She was born tonight at 8:19 pm! She is an absolute beauty and smells delicious!

Congratulations to the new Mom and Dad and to all of the Grandparents, Auntie's and Uncle's!

I am so proud of you April! I knew you could do it! You are simply beautiful and amazing. I love you Sis. Welcome to the club!

Aunty Cathy xoxo

My Life List

Purchase a heritage home and fix it up to its original beauty with modern conveniences

Become a showgirl for one night on stage

Get a pole and continue on with pole dancing! Get strong!

Christmas in New York

Run a Marathon

Complete an Ironman Triathlon

Have a beautiful family photograph taken by a famous photographer

Meet the Barenaked Ladies

Ride some of the world’s finest thrill rides!

Meet my online friend Missy in Minnesota and tour Laura Ingalls places of where she grew up etc. Buy all of her books to give to my kids!

Have a complete makeover from head to toe including my wardrobe from Stacy and Clinton and the What Not to Wear show

Learn how to paint from a painting master

Visit the Louvre

Kiss my hubby in Paris in the most romantic place, the Eiffel Tower and then sit at a cafe and have a coffee and people watch

Visit Germany to see my Dad’s childhood home

Take my whole family (the whole family) and friends to Disneyland!

Take a Motor home across Canada to see all of the places I have never seen! Every province and bring the kids with us!

Drive a Porsche 911 stick shift and drive REALLY FAST!

Own a convertible car for Cliff and I so we can take that out instead of the minivan all of the time

Learn how to sing a love song to my husband

Learn how to play the drums

Learn how to tap dance

Go to San Francisco and ride a cable car, see the Ghiradelli Chocolate factory, see Alcatraz, see the most twisty road in San Fran.

Spend the day touring vineyards and sample the wines and then have a fabulous ride home via stretch limo and stay in a fab hotel to rest from all of the relaxing wine!

Own a motel on a lake so we can start a family business

Get my teeth zoom whitened

Go shopping on Rodeo Drive like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman

Rent my own private island for my husband and I

Got to Las Vegas and renew my wedding vows!

Meet somebody famous

Get hair extensions

Ride a gondola in Venice with Cliff and have the most romantic trip ever

Lose my weight and have a pin up photo taken by Jillian and surprise my husband

Go onto a reality tv show (again)

Monday Update

Well, what a busy long weekend. Too much to type out, as I am having a busy morning!

Saturday was my birthday, it was pretty uneventful but good. We went into Fort Langley and walked around in the sunshine with all 5 kids, Nonna and Grandpa. It was the annual Cranberry Festival. We had gelato at Maria's Gelato as a treat. We also bought some kettle corn for the kids. It what in it?! Cranberries in it lol. They loved it of course. We also treated the kids to McDonald's which is very rare around here. Cliff and I ate our own "healthy fare." the McD's did not even appeal to me really. In the evening I went out with Cliff to Quizno's for a Turkey Lite sandwich and some baked lays. Then we headed over to Chapters for a latte and a treat. I had a date square. And at that point Cliff called me B O R I N G. lol. Thanks a lot Cliff! We then looked at books etc. It was nice.

On Sunday we had our Thanksgiving, and if you read my Mom's blog she wrote up a nice posting about it. We celebrated with my In-Law's, my parents, my Sister Amy and her bf Tyler. April was at her SIL's for dinner, and still waiting for her baby to come out!! That little one is still baking! Come on out baby! After, we had my parents up to our place and we chatted, and I heard more about my Dad's drawing adventures. I am so excited for him, and I am totally excited to see his artwork. He is such a gifted artist. It was lovely.

Monday, well...that was yesterday. We took a drive around Abbotsford, we drove by the airport. It was a good day. We splurged and had nachos at night. I caught up on Little People Big World. We love the Roloff family! Cliff and I want to have a farm like that one day. Then I spent time on the computer.

Tuesday today: Cliff is home today. Working tonight. We have scheduled playdate for Claire with her friend Annika. They will have homemade turkey soup (thanks Grandpa) and turkey burgers for lunch and do a fall craft. We walked up to our local coffee shop and had a latte and we bought Carly a hot chocolate. And, a Mom from school gave us a whole bunch of wine grapes to eat! Yummy. They remind me of having grapes like that at my Oma and Opa's place. Yummy wine grapes! Mmmmmm.

Design Shows on HGTV.

Do you enjoy watching any design shows on HGTV Canada? I am really enjoying anything to do with house flipping like The Big Flip, I love watching design inc with Sarah Richardson. And I also like watching Design Interns. Another show I enjoyed today was The Style Department. I have always wanted to take Design in school. Maybe one day I can follow through on my biggest dream.

I FINALLY got to catch a few shows today when I was sitting down to feed Caroline.

So many great shows, so little time!!

63, 35, 32 Hike

Happy Birthday to us

Happy Birthday to us

Happy Birthday dear Dad, Amy and Me

Happy Birthday to us

---and many more!

Sending wonderful birthday wishes to you both.

Amy, I hope you are feeling better. I hope you can celebrate soon.

Dad, I am so glad you got to go sketching again! I hope you had fun. I am sure there are many who would LOVE to see your work when you are done!

Maybe a blog is in order for you too Dad. To showcase your art!!

Love you both.

Cathy xoxo

34

Well, it is the eve of my 35th birthday.

Tomorrow I sit between 30 and 40.

At year 35.

Wow. As I reflect back on the year, it went very fast, and yet it went very slow. I started my 34th year pregnant with Caroline, and celebrated Thanksgiving last year pregnant (and my family didn't know!) and went through many ups and downs throughout the year with my pregnancy with Caroline. May 2nd sweet little Caroline who rocked our world when she arrived! Cliff and I celebrated 8 years of marriage together on May 9th. And now we have 5 wonderful kids. 5 healthy and happy kids to be thankful for. So thankful for.

There must be more stuff that went on during the year, but surely my highlights were mentioned above! To me, nothing matters more than family and friends. And love in my family.

I am happy that I had such a memorable 34th year, and I look forward to my 35th year with anticipation. I am still younger than 2 of my cousins (and I remember ALWAYS wanting to catch up to them!!) and now, we await the birth of my sister April's baby. (Not tomorrow April!!! xo)

Tomorrow, I turn 35, my Dad turns 63 and my little sis Amy turns 32. I love that we can all share our birthdays together. I am happy that our birthday's fall on a Thanksgiving Long Weekend! That is always nice. I cherish the memories we will make this year! I wonder what I will be typing next year when I turn 36?! Only time will tell.

Blessings to you all.

Peace.

So is 5 it?

Again, today I was asked this question? So, is 5 kids it?

I don't think I have been asked this questions twice in one day?! And I answered I think that 5 is it! And she said, you are going to have one more. lol. I guess they don't think I am that crazy lol. I told her my husband is happy with 5, and I would be delighted to have 6.

I got asked that question again today

"Are you having any more?" to which I responded, "Any more what?" and she answered "kids? are you going to have any more kids?" and I said, I would LOVE to have one more baby, but my husband is happy with the 5 kids we have. I told her I am on the waitlist for my veins, I am turning 35 on Saturday and I have been pregnant since I was 27. I think it is time for our family to move on. Although I told her, "Stranger things have happened!"

Sure I would do this all over again, even if my legs got 100 times worse! These past almost 8 years have been truly the best years so far, so yes. I would have a 6th. Even sweet Carly said the other day, I want you have a baby boy next. And I told her that Mommy and Daddy will not be having any more babies. She said there is room for "him" in the van. I thought to myself, look at my kids still OK with me having more?! Wow. Our kids have so much love in their hearts. I think that is so wonderful.

The Besth Blog: October 2006

The Besth Blog: October 2006: "At Last! "

Yipee...my sister April has a blog too! Hurry up baby so that I can become an Aunty! xo

it's been a hard days night...

Wow...yesterday was good. Last night, not so good. Caroline was quite hard to settle last night. I was basically on the couch with her, feeding her etc. from 8 - 12 midnight. Then, we got her into bed, and a couple of hours later she was up again, crying. I brought her into bed and fed her. She settled, I feel asleep. I fell asleep on my side, with my but hanging off the bed, and my hand tucked under my but. Very uncomfortable. At 4 am. I heard the TV on...and Caroline was sleeping beside me all cozy and comfy. Carly and perhaps Catie (I didn't have a chance to ask Cliff yet) were watching TV...TV at 4 in the morning. Cliff did the transfer of baby back to her crib. Then, 45 minutes later, Cliff's alarm went off. Then I managed to fall back to sleep for a bit. Then, I got up when most of the kids got up...at 6:15. Carly slept in until 7 am until I had to wake her. Caroline is still sleeping. I wish I were still sleeping, and I know Cliff wished he was still sleeping. It was one of those colder fall mornings where the bed just felt way too warm and cozy to venture out to step onto a cold floor.

Apple Picking

Enjoying the fruits of their labour...Jonagold apples fresh from the orchard trees


Still enjoying the apples they picked and a ride in the wagon was fun!



Say APPLE!



Apple Picking in the orchard



Catie loved being in the orchard..we were chasing her everywhere!


Carly and her apple



Claire and her apple



Cameron and his apple


We has a lovely afternoon on the first day of October in the apple orchard called The Apple Barn in Abbotsford. Free to get in, and a large bag of apples we picked cost $4.50. We also picked up some ornamental gourds to add to the Thanksgiving table on the weekend.

Today, the kids are making apple crisp and are enjoying eating the apple peels from the apple peeler. I think the crisp is going to be delish!

Cameron is also doing a presentation in school about apples. So we have and apple and some seeds for him to do his sharing presentation in school this week. He is looking forward to sharing about our adventure with his class.

Monday Update

Well, it has been very busy in our family this week. Really, when is it not busy?!

We had a super weekend. I got to go out the the Giggle Dam in Poco to celebrate my birthday (early.) My real birthday is on the Thanksgiving weekend. I am turning 35. Wow. I am getting up there. The Giggle Dam was hilarious, and we laughed so hard that our cheeks hurt for a couple of days after.

Yesterday we took the 5 kids to an apple orchard to pick a bag of apples. That was a lot of fun. It was sunny and beautiful. I will elaborate on all of the activities after I get some photos from friends from the bday party etc. I have to download the apple barn photos to the computer.

This morning, Cliff had the day off and we took Caroline to the BC Children's Hospital to go have the VCUG test done, and then took her to the specialist. Well, I am very PLEASED to report that her Duplex Kidney is functioning as well and equal to her right kidney. She has NO REFLUX. She didn't cry when they inserted the catheter into her wee bladder. Her urine was clear as water. She cried only during the test as I had to hold her arms up over her head to keep them out of the pictures they took, and the radiologist did a super job and held her legs. She was mad because we had to hold her down. Cliff and I and the docs all wore those big vests that you wear at the dentist. And, the procedure was quite quick and they really took the time to tell us what they were going to do, and we were able to watch it on the screen too. They filled up her bladder two times, and no reflux either time! In fact, they said that the amount of pressure from the fluid they injected with the pressure would show reflux and Caroline didn't even pee it out!He had to pour warm water on her belly to make her let go of the rest of the fluid. They told us there in the exam room, that is a great sign. No problems there. The little fluid filled sac in her bladder had not changed either.

We then headed back to see our specialist in the other building. We waited for an extra half hour to get in there and finally we saw a resident, and then Dr. M. He told us everything looks great, and everything is functioning very well. All he wants to do is see her in a year for a follow up ultrasound. He also told us that a lot of the times these problems disappear on their own. All great news. He told us to watch for fever with smelly, dark urine and an uncomfortable baby. IF that were to happen head to the Emergency to have a urine test done. And take it from there.

We are very pleased, and on Wednesday my Mom takes Caroline off the prayer list at church. I told my Mom all of the prayers must be working for Caroline. Blessings from above! Yay.

Yay Caroline! You are a fighter my lovey. I knew from that first ultrasound when you had your fist up and looked like you were flexing a bicep to tell us you are strong! You are Caroline, you are!

On a sad note, on Sunday my Mom lost her last living Aunt. Aunty Thelma. She was a wonderful Aunty. She was my Grannie's last living sibling. She lived in Winnipeg and will be missed by us all. My Grannie flies to Winnipeg tomorrow for her funeral on Friday. She lived a full life doing activities such as golf and bowling right up until the end. She was 90 years old. I will miss her, and remember her as a strong, fun and loving person. She was beautiful inside and out. Good bye Aunty Thelma. Say hi to my Pappa for me. I miss him too.

This Thanksgiving I am EXTRA thankful for all of my blessings in my life.