Please help my friend!

My friend Shawna, is *this close* to winning a Benjamin Moore contest. She and her husband renovated their kitchen after they bought their place and they did an amazing job! 

I think you all should see it. If you love it, please vote for her! 

She does so much good in her kitchen, and she bakes the most beautiful, tasty cakes in her kitchen too!

Good luck Shawna! I hope you win!

organizational mess

Yes, I am talking about myself. It seems lately I just cannot find enough hours in the day to correct my messes. I guess with all that goes on at home, and with my photography business. And of course thing called life, it gets really busy. So, tonight my husband went back to work in the evening. I took that time to reorganize my office space. File away papers, ideas, dreams etc. I have for my business and file them into proper categories. I am after, One Organized Chick. Today, I am One Organized Chick. I moved my desk around, I wrote up my to-do list. Filled out my daybook, and also cross-referenced with my ical. (I love my ical!) I love my MAC.  I don't know what I would do without my MAC either! 

Anyways. So desk is moved, I moved the other one in-front of the window. It feels more organized. I have a long way to go, to make it LOOK like my office. I really don't suit dark brown walls. Or a brass nipple light. So, I will have to change some stuff up in here. Especially more important now, as many women have their make up and hair done in here. So, I have to spruce it up a bit. Make it guest worthy for them. Image/brand is everything. This room does not = Cathy. So, time to change that up.

Speaking of organizational mess...Caroline is turning three on Saturday. And absolutely NOTHING has been officially planned for her. Poor kid. She just wants a teddy bear, and a pink cake. I love the simplicity of our kids. So nice! I know one day they will ask for way more than this, but for now. We roll with this. 

Trying to figure out where to take her on Saturday. Any ideas? We usually take the birthday child out--one on one time with Mom and Dad. They love it, and so do we. I remember taking Catie to Starbucks for hot chocolate and a cookie for hers, for Carly's the Walmart McDonalds. The others...I forget now. I think we took Cameron to the zoo. Claire, we had a fairy tea party for her with all of her friends. 

Albums. That is what I have to work on next. I need to buy three more albums. Carly's 6th birthday party photos from August are still waiting to be filed away. Same with some other photos. 

And usually you need photos for albums right?! Well I haven't been taking any. Except for photobooths, and of course my camera phone. I am going to book in personal photography in my planner so I can just shoot for fun. 

Our big old van is in for servicing as we are having a transmission problem. Thankfully covered under our extended warranty. So, they gave us get this...a seven seater mini van. Cliff told the nice gentleman that we actually need a LARGER van as that doesn't hold our whole family. They will have one for us tomorrow hopefully. It is hard to stay in and not go anywhere but walk. I love the walking, but just getting out to grab a coffee is nice once in awhile. So, hopefully only a couple of more days until it is fixed.

these bug me

Do you have a list of words/sounds that bug you? 

I do, maybe I am weird? I know my sisters will agree with some or all of them. 

Words:

• curly cues
  
• cold cuts
  
• new potatoes
• suckling
  
• suckles
  

(I know there are more words, but of course my mind is blank right now--sisters can you share some more in the comments please!) I would love to hear yours! Post in the comments if you want! 

Sounds:

• the sound of others eating, and sometimes myself eating.
  
• clicking jaws
  
• clicking knees
  

Colour me?

If I could be represented as single colour or couple of colours? 

Which colour or colour combo would you pick for me? Please leave your colour choices in the comments.

Thanks :D

EARTH DAY | Pass it on!

{PASS IT ON}

Photos speak volumes

This morning...somebody still misses me!! Check out the hand action...

I was getting stronger and leaner...until I had to stop running. 

I miss my blonde hair...

Big smiles for me!

You know you have a large family when you cannot fit all of the family in front of the photobooth!

My crazy busy life full of ups and downs! I wouldn'thave it any other way!

Not much to say again

Me having something like my fifth glass of wine! (OK so I am making up for lost time...so what!!)

I think I was maybe dancing back there, or showing off my muscles (the kids ask me to do this for them!)

Cliff and Cathy (with two peepers on the top of the stairs)

The eight of us...

The nine of us...

I am afraid my blog is getting really boring. I go through these phases. With so much on the go, and so much going on. This poor blog is the last to get the love. I have my eggs in so many baskets. And, with this non running business aka injury. I am not really enjoying blogging that much.

We had a nice Easter at my parentals over the weekend. I will snag some photos from her, for this blog (thanks MOM!) I drank wine, I ate lots of dessert (OK two servings and ice cream right Nick!! ) and two servings of dinner. It was really good. The kids had fun playing restaurant. They kept taking our orders which was really cute.

Anyways. That was Easter! Next up...Caroline's 3rd birthday...and what I should be writing here is that my marathon is the day after. But you all know that I won't be running. I will be trying some new things around here. I need to keep active somehow. So, I am researching, and I will come up with a good plan.

Laundry Fun

OK, so I lied. Playing with my new camera, when I SHOULD have been putting away my laundry is fun! 

Not

I am not running, I am not eating right. I am not doing much of anything. Just my day to day grind with the family.

So, sorry not much to blog about these days. I don't feel like blogging. 

I am in physio and my marathon is 26 days away. It is doubtful that I will be running it (although it COULD happen) of course pain comes AFTER I have paid the 110 dollar entrance fee when I was feeling excellent. I am disappointed and I am not sure what direction to take from here. Running is pretty much my life, and now there is no running. I broke into the Girl Guide cookies last night. I am eating to feel better. Not really what I want to do. 

Any ideas for me? Fitness wise, eating wise. How to pull myself together. I have tried and nothing is working.

HELP ME LOL.

FREEDOM, and a trip down memory lane.

The above photos are a series from my computers photobooth. I would sit there in that same spot, the same nursing pillow, a receiving blanket, an a cozy blanket and breastfeed Courtney. Ever so often,  I would snap a photo of us. As I knew this was the last time I would do this for one of my kids. I also like to see how much I have physically changed over the past months. I am so thrilled with MY transformation.

I was lucky, and I was able to successfully breastfeed each and every one of my kids. I know breastfeeding isn't for everybody. So I count myself lucky I could do so with such ease. Without any trouble. Often I would be told that my milk was golden. Liquid gold. And that I had great milk. I am happy I could provide the best I could for my kids. Although not easy to sit down and feed, while the other kids were all over the house etc. We did it. I did it. I think breastfeeding was a wonderful experience for me, especially the MORE kids I had. I didn't like breastfeeding all that much with my first couple of kids. I was younger, I wanted to keep being me. I wanted not to sit and breastfeed. But, once the older ones grew, that time became SO important to me. For my sanity. A time to sit down an relax and just be. And savour every moment with each and every one of them. To keep that special little bond with each and every one of my kids. I feel so glad I could have that one on one time. The more kids I had, the easier it became. Dare I say I enjoyed it?! Sure. At times I was of course impatient, grumpy. But for the most part. I did my thing. 

Today, is always a weird sort of day for me. I will always remember being pregnant for the very last time. It seems as if I am going through a lot of lasts, and at the same time a lot of firsts! This is freedom! TODAY is FREEDOM! 

I posted my last positive pregnancy test two years ago today. Can you believe that! Last year Courtney was in 9-12 month clothes. And today in 18-24 month clothes. And she runs, and climbs. And dances. Smiles. Laughs giggles. And sucks her fingers. And she holds my chest LOL. This girl is a Mama's girl that is for sure! She says Mama. And not Daddy LOL. She has me captivated that is for sure. Our bond is very strong. 

Time sure has flown!

Today, my sixth child is almost 17 months old (well on the 16th of April) And can you believe I just weaned my baby from breastfeeding. It has been I think a week now...since her last feed. She looks longingly at my chest. And grabs for me. And cries for me. It really breaks my heart. But it was time for her to stop. She likes her milk cup. She doesn't really need it. So we did it. Sad, but also now I am F R E E! FREEDOM!

A little bit of Cathy trivia for you all:

• I have been pregnant 7 times (about 56 months of pregnancy total or almost five years of pregnancy for me)
  
• I have breastfeed all six of the kids (that is 70.5 months of breastfeeding or almost six years of breastfeeding)
• The first one for 5 months full time and quit at 6 months
  
• The next four for about 1 year
• The last one for 16.5 months (was planning to quit last October when she was 11 months)
• The last two kids didn't use any bottles, just straight to a cup.
• We never used a pacifier for any child (they didn't want them, and OH how we tried!)
• There was no 'try' to get pregnant for us.
• I have been changing diapers with my husband for almost 10 years straight...and probably have about 2.5 more years to go! Yes!
• We usually have two in diapers, with a month or two with only one in diapers. Right now like in the past we have two. Caroline is close to being ready, and hopefully by May when she turns three.
• Potty training we don't actively work on. It just happens around the age of three. We tried actively with the first one, and then we let go. We didn't push. We just talked about training EVERY diaper change. We have done a lot of talking about our bodies. And their lovely functions. Our kids potty trained over night. And were done. No troubles. We expect the same to happen with the last two.
• We only have one in a crib now, the rest all in big kid beds.
• None of our kids have asked us where babies come from. If they should ask, we will tell them the truth. We always use correct body part names with the kids.

I am so thankful for the experience I have had over the last ten years. I would never be this person that I am today without all of the life experiences that have shaped me over the last decade. I find it hard to believe that my first born will be ten this summer! Double DIGITS! Life is moving on in such a thrilling way!