Our Weekend of Fun

This past weekend was a whirlwind of activity. Friday afternoon my in-laws picked up all 3 kids and took them up to their trailer for a fun camping adventure. Dave and I had the weekend to ourselves! Friday night we took a nice loooong walk around town. Saturday morning we had a nice quiet morning and headed to the gym where I went to boot camp and Dave did his workout. After that was over we headed to Toronto to watch the Blue Jays take on the White Sox. Our seats were in the 500 level and I haven't been up there in years. Let me tell you...I had a slight anxiety attack I think. Walking up those steep steps I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see really how steep and high we were up. Now yes, I've always been afraid of heights, but not like that. I guess with age comes more fear?? It took 4 innings for me to feel o.k. there. Dave quietly reminded me that I am going to be up there for the U2 concert which made me freak out. But it will be dark, so hopefully it won't be as bad...right? ha ha ha. The game went into extra innings, and Dave decided that we would leave after the 10th inning and find somewhere to eat. We went to Jack Astors. It was good. The game was still going by the time we were done. It went into 14 innings, Jays winning it 9-8. We made our way to the hotel by the airport. There we spent the evening watching t.v. and playing games. It was really nice.

Sunday morning we headed to my parents place stopping at Vaughn Mills first. It was nice, we wandered around the mall and spent most of our time in the Bass Pro Shop. Once at my parents we waited for our little ones to be dropped off. They had a great time at the trailer. Full of little stories, Caleb's favourite part was finding a penny in the river! We celebrated Dave's birthday while everyone was there. Then in the evening Dave and I attended the Robin Mark concert at the O'ville Baptist Church. It was so great. We spent the night at my parents and in the morning we ventured to the zoo.



It was a perfect day weather wise. I was so excited, anticipating the joy on my kids faces while they discovered animals. To my dismay, they didn't enjoy it like I thought they would. They were so tired from the weekend. Caleb hardly wanted to get out of the bike stroller. He was excited to see the hippo, only to tell us to look at his poop! Amberly enjoyed herself. I think the highlight of our day was sting ray bay. It was so neat to touch them, I was amazed that they actually just slow down and surface so you can touch them.


I admittedly felt disappointed at the end of the day, I set my expectations too high. But I learned some things, like the kids need a good day of rest before starting a new adventure. But none the less, memories were created and a little more wisdom added.

So Proud of Her

Is it a girl thing? Amberly knows how to push my buttons. We bang heads all the time. She's stubborn. She's independent. She's so darn cute. But man, she causes me the most grief and I think she loves it. This whole potty thing has been the worst thing about the whole parent world. For me anyway. Caleb was a gem, he was born to be our perfect child. Is it a girl thing? A middle child thing? I don't know. But my challenge will be raise my beautiful girl to be so loving and accepting with a joyful heart and spirit. May I honour God in how I raise her because He is the one who has given her to me as a most precious gift!
It's been 2 weeks now and Amberly is officially a toilet sitter/flusher. There is the occasional accident (like this morning when playing with her friend, she forgot and just peed!) but she's fully aware of the things that need to leave her body and when usually! At Christa's she's been working on a poop potty chart, and yesterday she reached the 10 sticker goal and was taken to the store where she could pick her prize. She was so thrilled with her reward. (We have 4 of these princesses now)


Also, I have a talented artist on my hands. Amberly did this all by herself. I'm lost for words really. The only thing Christa did was the pink circle and the purple star, and my daughter turned them into flowers, added the sky and the grass and stems. I'm just so amazed! THAT'S MY GIRL!!!

Validation

Who else watched the last show of Oprah? I admit I was a little bored at the beginning but then she started talking about validation and how it's the common thread amoung everyone. Everyone wants validation. As she was speaking about this, I began to feel how I am robbing my children of that in little bits of our days spent together. Her words "I hear you, I see you, I care about what you're saying" rang out to me. Oh how often do I ignore the "Mommy can you...." or the little stories that come from their mouths because I have something on the go or that is taking up my time at the moment? I then get frustrated and angry when they do something wrong. When all along, it was because I didn't take the time to "validate" them.

I feel this way too around people. I want to be heard and seen and yet many times I feel like I've been a wall hugger and slipped out of every one's radar. Many times I get asked a question but the asker doesn't really care for my answer, perhaps out of politeness they asked in the first place, but never really hoped for a reply. As a mom I struggle day to day to find my worth. But I'm learning that I'm worth everything to my heavenly father. I count, I matter and most graciously and amazingly I'm loved beyond my comprehension. It's now my daily prayer to ask for the grace and patience my children deserve, and now I will add on top of that, for the validation my children need.

Wow - My New Favourite!!

I LOVE this band!!! Wish I could see them, but unfortunately they are opening for Taylor Swift (ECK!) and it's sold out!

The Farm

After spending a day at Shannon's parents farm, I quickly realized that Shannon (Dave's cousin and my good friend) and I had a very similar childhood, and was also reminded how dear I hold on to my memories of the farm. (Looking back at the days with open fields and 4-wheelers to drive in them!)


Our children had a blast, with freedom to run, with many things for them to do, not once did I hear "Mommy can you...."
There was a huge swing set up in the barn, we went on a long wagon ride through a marshy bush, 4-wheeler rides, ice cream and lounging around in the beautiful sunshine.

On the wagon ride we drove through so much water and marshy land.
Once the trail stopped at some dry area, we got out and explored a little in the bush. Shannon said as children they called it something which I can't remember now, but it reminded me of the springs and waterholes that were on our farm that my brother and I used to call our secret garden.
The boys were having fun throwing things into the water.
This weekend had a mixed bag when it came to weather, but all in all, it was beautiful. I did get lots of things accomplished, and survived the 3 days without my husband. Seems like things are in full swing now that this holiday weekend has gone. Our summer on the calendar is getting full of things happening, and I'm looking forward to them all.

Half Way There

Our team, "The Fat Bottom Girls" are leading the way in this contest, I'm so thrilled about that. We're a good 1% ahead of everyone else and have lost more than 10lbs over the other teams. With 2 & 1/2 weeks to go, I hope we can keep this lead and be the winners! I think we can do it and seeing the mid point results gives us more motivation to finish off strong.

I Think We Did It!

It's been two weeks now. I decided that Amberly was just being lazy and stubborn when it came to potty training. So instead of giving her what she wanted (each morning she asked if she could wear a diaper)I put her straight into underwear. At first it was a disaster. She would constantly pee or poop and have no worries or regrets or even 2nd thoughts. I was drowning in frustration and anger. I only allowed her 2 outfits a day, so she spent half her days naked. Which she at first thought was great, but then it started to get to her that Caleb could go outside anytime, but she couldn't. The start of this week I took away an outfit only allowing one outfit a day and finally on Tuesday she was perfect all day until late afternoon in the backyard she peed. I brought her in and took her clothes off and she was so upset and cried for a while because she couldn't stay outside.
We haven't had a naked girl since then......
Granted, we had one little poop accident yesterday, but it was a easy clean and I'm o.k. with that because I know it can be harder to master that on the potty.
I'm so proud of her and I'm just over the moon! We attempted to jump the potty hurtle and this time we cleared it and we're not looking back!

Transforming

I think it's safe to say now that spring has officially arrived. The buds on the trees are starting to push out and the world is looking more green every day. I love it. It's been wonderful having the sun come and stay for a bit too.

Three weeks ago I joined a team of 5 ladies and entered into our local gym's Biggest Winner contest. It runs for 6 weeks and the goal is the team with the greatest percentile lost wins. The prize is $1500. When I stepped on the scale three weeks ago I was ashamed of myself. I went home and had a little bit of a cry. It turned out I didn't lose much of my Joel weight. So the challenge was on. It's been a rough road. I've been doing something almost every day in the form of exercise. 30 minutes and up. Anything from biking to walking and the lovely boot camps which are provided by the gym. I go to 2 boot camps a week and get my butt kicked. Between the squats and lunges, my legs are going to be whipped into shape! They are what usually hurt a day or two after! Then there comes the food. It's been really hard to change my eating habits but I have. I don't love salads, but I'm making every effort to enjoy them. Who knew my new favourite food is chili! But after 3 weeks I've lost 16 pounds! I'm so happy about that. My goal is to try and lose 25 lbs in total. So I have 9 pounds to go in the next 3 weeks. I know it's going to be extra rough, and that I'll have to work harder at getting more exercise in, but I hope I can do it. Why 25? Well this contest has run a few times already and the most lost in the 6 weeks was 24 pounds, so I want to try and beat that. I'm not going to stop at 25 either, I've got a ways to go to get to where I want to be. But I'm thankful for this contest for kick starting me! And hopefully we'll win the prize. $300 would be awesome to get new clothes with!

Celebrating 7 Years

This past Sunday Dave and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe that we've been married for that long already. We've been on this road that takes up hills and down. Around sharp corners and through vallies. Along riversides and desert. I've grown more in love with him. He is so much better than I am. (He would be gloating too if he reads this!) His patience is remarkable, his wisdom is impressive. He is so well respected amoung his co-workers, our church family and our closest friends. I love him to bits! The day he became a father, I'll never forget. Those butterflies returned to my heart when I saw him hold Caleb for the first time. He is such a great dad, I'm so proud of him.

This year we marked the occasion by going out to The Keg for a over the top yummy meal. And we've been talking about getting an iPod for some time, so we also did that and together are filling it quickly with our music and his apps!

I love my man!

New Things, Easter Eggs and Much More

The challenge was issued on Palm Sunday. Are you willing to "media fast" for 7 days leading up to Ressurection Day? Some people went all out. No t.v. No video games. No internet. Dave went without tv for the week, where I only gave up Facebook. It doesn't seem like a lot. But for me it was. Every time I pass the computer I check facebook. So with that distraction put away, I had much more time on my hands. I read books. I played with my kids a lot more. In the quiet still of my home (which doesn't happen a lot) I had time to reflect on things, reflect on the sacrifice Christ gave. It was a good exercise, letting go of something.

In the world of the Snyder household, it was a busy past few weeks. I was a part of our church's Easter Cantata. I even had a solo part or duet. That was a huge leap out of my comfort zone, but it was an exciting one. We sang a couple of our songs on Palm Sunday during our regular service. Then had the full cantata that evening. My parents came for the entire day. Caleb was a part of a bell choir that performed that same morning as well. Then we also performed a few songs on Good Friday (our church had an evening service this year) and on Easter morning. It was a lot of fun and I'm kind of sad it is all over. I hope there will be one for Christmas. Caleb did so well in the bell choir. All the little ones did. The majority of age was 4 and 5 year olds!

This spring we ordered the kids a play set for the backyard. Dave spent his evenings last week assembling what he could in the garage and by Sunday it was ready to be brought out back and fully assembled. The kids love it, as do I. Yesterday they spent a good hour in the back playing. Caleb's new favourite thing is playing "Mario races" with everyone. He must get this from school because we don't have any nintendo stuff. He was over the moon when we found Dave's old McDonald's toys of Mario and the mushroom and Luigi. Anyway, he spent most of his time out back running around as Mario while Amberly was the princess. It is so nice to see them play like that together. (Amberly has no idea what Caleb is playing, but hey, if she's a princess she knows how to do that!)



On Good Friday we spent the day at my parents. Sally and I planned a huge egg hunt for the kids. It was so windy and cool, but the kids had a blast. They were so spoiled with sweet things. Easter Sunday, the kids each got a basket with gifts containing a book, a little toy and a few little chocolate things. We gave Joel a little ball popper and veggie tale cd.



Joel is on his way to trying all sorts of food. So far we've had rice and oat cereal. All sorts of veggies, from squash to yellow beans. Even some banana and apple/rasberry. Next visit to the grocery store I'll pick up some mum mum crackers and try those with him. He's getting so big!
Caleb is learning how to read and eagerly picks out words he knows. He keeps asking me if things are healthy or not when we eat something. He loves his swimming lessons, and is starting to out grow his naps. However I'm not ready to out grow them, so he still is sent to his room for nap time. But sometimes he just sits behind his door with a few toys. Although he still needs a sleep as you can see....
Amberly is still giving me grief with the potty, but I'm at the point where I don't care. It will happen. She'll ask to go on and off, and that makes me so happy. She loves gymnastics. She loves hanging from the bar and the rings and she scurries along the balance beem a little too fast for my liking, but she's so darn cute.


That's about all that is new. I've joined some co-workers and my sister-in-law to make up a team of 5 and we entered into our local gym's Biggest Winner contest. It runs for 6 weeks and a $1500 prize is awarded to the team who loses the most percentage of body weight. A part of entering gives us 2 boot camps a week. I went to the first one last night and got my butt kicked. I'm so out of shape. But I do hope that over the next 6 weeks I will get a good head start on losing this weight left over from Joel (it just does not want to go away). Plus some extra cash could always come in handy!

Beautiful Things

I've been struggling lately with myself. Feeling low, unhappy with myself. A failure. Worthless. I know it's a combination of things. I know I'm not the only one who feels like this sometimes. It's tough being a woman. It's hard being a mom. But knowing that God's grace is unconditional, I'm new every morning, I'm loved beyond my comprehension. These things pull me out of that dark hole I put myself in. He makes beautiful things out of us. You make me new, You are making me new.

Following Through Can Break the Heart

The kids are in bed. They didn't go so happily, and I was angry. Something happened to Cinders the night before, I don't know what, I wasn't home, but she's not herself. Christa our saving grace (our babysitter who is also a vet tech.) came this morning to examine her. We figured she got hurt some how and needs to rest and be left alone. The kids don't understand this. I get that. I would gently remind them all day long to leave Cinders alone. Amberly had a few time outs because she would ignore my reminders. We were in the midst of our bedtime routine, the movie was on, the snack was over and the kids decided to ignore me again and kept going after Cinders. I started off with a warning. "If you touch Cinders we'll have to stop the movie and go straight to bed" I got a reaction out of both of them. Lasted only 5 minutes. I gave another warning in fact 2 more warnings. By the third warning, I followed through. I shut the movie off and told them to get their story they want me to read. Amberly acted out even more and found Ashes and stepped on her tail. Again I warned her, if she were to do that again, she wouldn't get her story either. She went and got her book and then returned to only step on Ashes tail again while looking at me straight in the eyes. I kept my cool and just took her book and walked her to her bed. She screamed. I said good night and closed the door behind me. She fell apart, crying and screaming. I continued reading to Caleb and got him to bed while she laid by her door screaming. Finally I went to her room and gave her a song and said prayers with her. She continued to sob and calling out for me to come to her. Sleep with her, sing to her again. I was heartbroken. Why does it have to be so hard? Everything in me wanted to scoop her up and read her a story and lay with her and cuddle her, but if I did that, she wouldn't learn her lesson. I fear that it was her that did something to Cinders, she is so aggressive with those kittens. Maybe it was my mistake for bringing them home in the first place? Maybe she's not ready to understand gentleness with baby kitties?
But I'm left here now wondering what have I done wrong? Am I breaking her heart as mine is breaking? I love her so much I can't even comprehend it.

This past Sunday we dedicated Joel. It was a very special day with family surrounding us. Our children are a gift from God and to give back to God only what he gifted us is definately hard, but we trust in Him and His guidance.

So happy that April is here. Today was only a glimpse of great weather to come. I had the sweetest surprise today. My lovey left for work at his normal time, with Amberly. And 5 minutes later returned home. I asked him what he forgot and he told me that he just took the day off. It was so exciting! I had a terrible day yesterday and this was such a wonderful surprise. I was able to take my time at getting myself ready instead of running around thinking of myself last because I had to get Caleb off to school. We all took Caleb to school. Afterwards we headed into the city and looked in Canadian Tire. We have researched tents and have decided on a certain one. We had a wonderful lady help us. She told us the tent we want is going on sale on May 13. So we didn't get it yet. We did get Amberly a sleeping bag. We looked at bikes because we need to get Caleb the next size up. Then we went to Home Hardware and ordered a playset for our backyard. We had such a nice time together.

Joel decided to wake up April 4th and roll all over the place as if he's been doing it all along. He also likes to lay on his back and push himself around with his legs. He's a cutey!

Amberly is currently at Awana. Last week was crazy hair night and this is her look. She is so good with having her hair done. She sits so still while I play and style her hair. She doesn't flinch much with the comb either which is nice.

Caleb didn't go tonight, he complained about a sore tummy. I think he is just really tired. After a full day at school he does get pretty wiped out. Tomorrow we're off to the doctor's for Joel's 6 month appointment. Caleb also has an appointment at the hospital for an ultrasound. So I just hope they will do well, we've had a long week. One I would like to forget. So I'm really hoping to finish the week off well and enter into next week with new beginnings.

Woo Hoo, Here Comes April

March is leaving us today. For what I consider to usually be a long month, March seemed surprisingly fast! My Joel-ly is 6 months old now. I still need to take his official 6 month shots. Our new additions have settled into our house very well. We all adore them. Amberly adores them a little too much. She gets a little rough on them. Tries to wheel them around in her stroller. Tries to make them sleep in her lap. Tries to carry them every where she needs to go. Tries to kiss them by squishing tight. But Cinders and Ashes takes it well. They haven't run in terror at the sight of her coming, so that's a good sign. They destroyed Joel's soothers on me today. Joel was not happy, and sent me into a panic! Luckily I had an old soother of Amberly's tucked away in her keepsake box!


I joined the Easter cantata at our church. I'm so excited about it and I'm having so much fun. My friend Christa and I are even doing a duet. This makes me nervous, but we've been encouraged and we're eager to step out of our comfort zones and see what happens. Since doing the duet, we've been asked to join the worship team on Sunday mornings as well. I had no idea that I could sing! HA! But apparently people see a talent that I didn't know I had.

Also this month I got to reconnect with some of my old friends. One of them is getting married and I eagerly wanted to meet this guy who will be whisking her away to Nova Scotia. He's a very good guy and I'm so happy for them both. What I love about getting together like that was even though I haven't talked to some for a couple of years, we can get together and talk like old times, as if we saw each other only yesterday. I miss them deeply and love them all.

We are gearing up for Easter in our house. Caleb and Amberly both talk constantly about the Easter bunny. I don't like that so much, but they do know the real reason for Easter, but still can't comprehend it. Much less some adults don't know how to comprehend it! Dave and I are so eager to celebrate the most important gift ever given. It really is my favourite thing to celebrate.

As much as my daughter drives me up the wall some days, she makes me fall in love with her more each day....
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We started feeding Joel cereal. The first few days didn't go so well as he immediately spit what ever I put in his mouth. But by day 4 he mastered the whole swallowing action and is now a pro and loves it! This week I'll enter the world of vegetables and begin with my favourite, sweet potatoes.
Caleb is loving his kitties, he hasn't asked for xbox since we got them. He's back in swimming lessons and tomorrow I arranged to volunteer on his very first school trip to a sugar bush. We both are excited!
Well, March, you were stinky with your weather, but we managed with good neighbours and friends that cheered us. Now lets see what April has in store. First big event - Joel's dedication this Sunday. So looking forward to this.

Potty Woes

Who knew that a little girl who refuses to pee or poop on the potty would bring the worst out myself. I felt possessed this morning.

She was eager this morning. She wanted underwear on. I wanted her to wear them too. I witnessed her willingly go to the potty a few times. Then everything fell apart. She took a crayon and coloured our living room wall. Then added a splash of colour on our wedding plate. I cried. She peed. I changed her, and offered a second chance. (There was discipline action that occurred over the art work of course). We visited the bathroom before heading out for a quick visit to the grocery store (quick being less than 10 minutes). She was good in the store. But somewhere between paying for the few items in our cart to the walk to our van, she peed. I made her remove everything waist below,I didn't want her car seat wet. She complained all the way home that she was cold. Of course she was. We got home. Again, I offered another chance. She knew I was disappointed. She visited the toilet every 2 minutes. I left her to prepare our lunch when her brother announced that she pooped. She pooped in her underwear. She thought she should get rid of it before I could find out. This meant there was poop on the floor of the bathroom. It wasn't completely out of control, at least she got freaked out about poop being on her hands, she was washing those when I found her. Ahhhh. It was at this point I lost it. I put her in a diaper, said some things I shouldn't have, and felt exhausted.

Maybe she's not there yet. I realize that. So starting today, I'm going to pray that the Lord will give her a desire to sit and use the toilet. As silly as that sounds, at this point, this is all I can do. I've tried everything. Incentives, disadvantages, positive words and actions, removing prized possession. Nothing worked. My daughter loves chocolate, and this morning I should have known it was a bad day when she peed the first time she said, "I guess the bunny will only have chocolate for Caleb Mom." She seemed cheery when she said this to me!

Ahh she's my girl. I love her to bits. And today, I'm turning a new leaf. I'm not going to push her into it. I will always encourage, but I'll be patient and wait. I guess not only will I ask God to help her want to use the potty, but I'll ask Him to not wait until she's 6 or something ridiculous!

So humbled over the grace of God and the knowledge that he is always forgiving. I can see His grace in my daughter when she looks at me with those loving blue eyes and says "I love you Momma" after I exploded with my anger.

Cinders and Ashes

It's been a few months now that I've started to talk to Dave about getting a cat for our family. I've been missing having a pet in our home. I miss having the cuddles and the playing with animals. Around the Christmas time, I would see specials and movies with families which almost always included a beloved pet. Dave would continue to remind me of the litter box, the hair on everything and wouldn't seem at all interested in that world anymore. Until one day. He went to visit one of his buddies for a day and came home with a new tune. Not only did we need to get a cat, but we needed two!
I always thought we would go to the local humane society to adopt one. I wanted to be a hero to a kitty, and rescue them. But when Dave insisted on getting two young cats, I knew that picking from the humane society could be a hit and miss. After all, we have 3 little babies in our home and cats will have a wide variety of personalities and social tendencies. For our family, we needed to get kittens and have them mould their personalities as they grow with us and our children. The hunt began and I started searching the kijiji ads. Last Saturday I found these little babies who needed a home, and came without a price.

Meet Cinders and Ashes.




They are both girls and are 8 weeks old. Caleb and Amberly absolutely adore them. Caleb loves looking out for them , watching them and most importantly, playing with them. Dave and I enjoy the quiet times with them. Once the kids are all in bed, we get them out and they cuddle with us. I almost forgot the sound of a purr.

They are so great, and have settled into their new home really well. Right now they are cuddling with Dave upstairs as we await our afternoon out with friends.


Oh the joys of pets!

The Escape Artist

For Christmas, Caleb was given a small aquarium from his aunt and uncle. They have a huge aquarium with an abundance of platys fish and snails. So they stock our little aquarium. We have 6 fish and 3 snails.

Well just this morning Dave asked me why the lid of the filter has come off twice now? I had no idea, and quickly in a defensive tone said "I don't know". Off to work he went. While baking in the kitchen the thought of Finding Nemo crossed my mind. I laughed to myself thinking the fish were planning a great escape. At lunch time I sat in the living room for just a quiet moment and was watching the fish. Enjoying the scene something caught my eye off to the right of the tank. There on the table was a snail. Sitting there dry as ever. Dave came home and I showed him. The snail wasn't attached to the table I just picked him up and tossed him back in. The thing is still alive. Apparently they can live out of water for a couple of days! But the vulture fish we have seem to be picking on him and he doesn't look so normal at the moment. I hope he'll be o.k.

But yes, the adventures of a snail!

Five Months

My baby is 5 months old now. Where did that time go? It's amazing really. Time. Some days take forever to run out and other days fly by and you lay your head on the pillow and wonder what happened? There are days where in the moment you wish the time away. But looking back, I begin to wish time back. The experience of raising a baby is extraordinary. The amount of changes that occur in such a short time frame alone is amazing. To see the little personality come out. To hear the laugh and squeals of joy for the first time. To see the adoration in the eyes when he looks at his brother. Already the bonds are forming and that is beautiful.

Joel cut his first tooth on Saturday March 5. He's been a little under the weather for quite some time now, and I'm sure the teeth are the cause of this.

He loves bath time. And to make life a bit easier we graduated him into the big tub and he absolutely loves it! He's a huge splasher!

He's pretty perfect I think. I'm biased I know. But look at him!!!

People think he looks just like Caleb, but I think he's got a perfect blend of both Caleb and Amberly. He has the same eyes as Amberly. But the same adorable smile as Caleb. He's simply lovely!

Music

I've added my playlist at the bottom. If you don't want to listen, just scroll down and shut it off. Otherwise, enjoy!

Oh ya, one other thing. After a long day of worry and nursing. Caleb came out of his classroom, took one look at me and started to cry. He didn't want to come home with me, he wanted to go home with Christa. His tears almost made me cry. Christa hugged him and I told him he could pick out a treat at the store when I went to get Amberly a few things, and it was all good.

Not in the Clear

I thought we were safe, moving towards health and normalcy. I was wrong. Today, a Thursday, a quiet day for Mommy and Joel while Caleb goes to school and Amberly goes to Christa's my mind began to think of the many things I could accomplish. Well, Amberly was gone for only 20 minutes before I got the call from Christa telling me that she threw up all over. I had just got out of the shower, dripping wet trying to quick think of how I'll get to her and get Caleb to school. Christa came to the rescue by suggesting that she drop Amberly off home and pick Caleb up. Phew. By the way, Caleb was over the moon that Christa was coming to get him. It was record time that he managed to get all his school gear on and even waited eagerly on the front porch for her.

Once Amberly got home Christa said she was throwing up about every 10 minutes. And sure enough once I got her settled on the couch, she started throwing up. At this point she had nothing in her system. My heart just broke. I suggested that she get her jammies and relax, but she worried that jammies meant bed and refused, until Mommy came out in her jammies. Then it was o.k. and we had a jammie movie day. First she watched Curious George on the couch (love the music in that movie!) Then I set up our van's portable dvd player in her room and took her there. I put her Princess Stories on and during that she fell asleep. After waking up she wanted to watch Winnie the Pooh. So I layed down with her and she then threw up again. She wanted me to hold her. I did for a long while. Then it was time for me to feed Joel and get back into my clothes so I could greet Joy (who came to stay with the kids so I could get Caleb) and go out to pick Caleb up. At that point she was watching Mary Poppins. When I returned with Caleb, she had thrown up again, this time all in her hair. So once Mary Poppins was over, we ran a nice warm bath and put her in. She didn't want to get out. After 25 minutes, I insisted she get out (so I could get supper made) and put Tarzan 2 on. She watched that, and then some Dora and finished the night off with Oswald.

I'm worried about dehydration. Although she's been drinking, she hasn't kept it down and she hasn't peed all day. Before she fell asleep tonight she finished a large freezie and had a couple of mouthfuls of Gatorade. I'm telling myself to be prepared for a long night ahead. Not only worried for her and vomit, but Caleb has a terrible cough, he's coughing constantly. So much so I kept him home from Cubbies tonight. I hope he'll be o.k. for school tomorrow.

So yes. I am SO DONE with all this illness. I want it gone! Spring can not come fast enough. But having said that, I look at my little man and wish for time to slow down. 5 months old and growing up so fast. I can't have it both ways. So although this sickness, while in the midst is terrible. I will make every effort to savour each moment, each day, every minute, because my babies are growing so fast I don't want to miss a thing.

Baby Laughing Hysterically at Ripping Paper

This totally made my day. Can't wait to get uncontrolable laughter out of Joel like this!

So Long February

It was brief, there were good moments and bad ones, but it's over now. Moving onto March. Wow.

Joel is 5 months old.
Amberly learned terms such as "What's the big deal?" and "I just don't believe it"
Caleb somersaulted in the water.
Dave finally agrees it's time for a new kitten.
I joined the choir at church for the Easter Cantata.

To send off the month, we went to East Side Mario's for dinner. Kids eat free on Mondays. We successfully pulled it off despite a few mishaps. Caleb fell off his chair smacking his ear on the floor, with some very dramatic screams. Joel only slept for 5 minutes, the rest of the time we had to hold him to keep him happy. We chose to confine Amberly in a highchair which was a wonderful decision on our part. Caleb tried cutting his ice cream with an actual sharp knife. We're such model parents! But having that said, we did enjoy our time. Dave even had a smile on his face occasionally and had no signs of embarrassment come across it. We actually ate hot and yummy food. And we got home in time for normal schedule routine. We are quite proud of ourselves for our public appearance over a meal.

Here's hoping for a great nights sleep, I sure need it!

What a Long Week

I'm so ready for a new week to begin in hopes that we can leave behind the sickness, sleepless nights, vomit, irritablilty and just plain sadness. On family day of all days it started. First it was Amberly, she was acting completely normal, except for the fact that she actually did sleep during nap time. Then once awake, she started to cry and I scooped her up in my arms, only to become a very close target of vomit all over me. It was discusting. Then she was fine again. She didn't eat the rest of the day, but was happy none the less. That evening, when all the kids were settled in to bed (or so I thought) Joel began to cry. Dave went to him only to tell me that he puked. He began changing him into new jammies when I entered the story. Once he was cleaned up, I brought him into our room and was about to swaddle him up like we always do. Well. He vomited again, all over me. So again, we had to change him, and he was so tired, I just laid him in the bassinet in our room and he went fast to sleep. He slept really well that night.

Amberly developed a cough through the night as well as Caleb, but both seemed well enough to go to school and the sitters on Tuesday morning. Joel was still not himself. Tuesday was long. He would scream everytime I would try to feed him. He hardly drank anything. By Wednesday, I made him a doctor's appt. The doctor checked him over only to come to the conclusion that he must have the flu. She suggested giving him Soy formula for a while to ease digestion, but other than that just ride it out. We've been riding until now. He has come down with a terrible cough and congestion. I've been nervous about pnuemonia, so I keep a close eye on him. If he isn't any better by tomorrow I suspect I'll be making another visit to the doctors. The odd thing out of the whole week and illness, is a fever has never been present. This morning while trying to feed him, he threw up everything he took in. Now I don't know why. I feel helpless a lot of the time.

I feel so tired. I skipped church and as soon as Joel went for his morning nap (which he's still doing) I put a movie on for the other 2 and went to bed. Didn't get a whole lot of sleep. But still it's been nice and quiet.

Praying for health to return to it's proper place in our house.

To my Hubby, Happy Valentines!

4 Months

Joel at 4 months weighs 16 pounds and is 26 inches long. My lovely BIG boy!

The Love Month

Ahhh February. I'm absolutely sure I did not like this month's entrance. I got sick on Sunday and woke up on Monday with the most worst painful throat EVER. I would clench my teeth and fists every time I had to swallow. I called the doctor's office first thing and they couldn't get me in until 5pm. I took the appt. and cried as I hung up knowing I couldn't make it until then. I called my mom to ask her what she thought I should do and she answered the phone on her way out the door to come to me. I love that. Once my parents got here, Dave took me to the hospital, and there I waited a couple of hours, and as suspected, the doctor told me I had strep throat. I got some drugs and went back home to get better. In the course of 3 days I had 9 hot baths, countless pain pills, unending tears, I even uttered the words that I would prefer childbirth to this, at least they have really good drugs for that! But by Wednesday, things were looking up and I felt good. And as of today, I feel wonderful. It's amazing how time makes you forget. When you're in the moment, it's magnified 100 times worse and I really just wanted to die.

Joel is 4 months old. I still haven't taken pictures of this milestone. He's doing great. He's a happy little guy, a routine little guy, a drooly little guy but most importantly an amazing blessing of a little guy. Dave and I just love him to bits. I love looking at my 3 little ones and can't help but feel God's blessings. Amberly is the most beautiful little thing. First thing in the morning, she's a chatterbox and the things she goes on about is really about nothing, but it's serious conversation for her, you can see it in her expressive eyes. She got her first bloody nose last night. While hopping up into her bed she smacked her face on her headboard. Oh the blood was flowing. Nicely onto my white shirt through to my white bra. Once she saw the blood all the tears stopped. Yes, she was intrigued with her bloody nose. Caleb is still a routine boy. He's developing more of a personality and is always hungry!

Our weeks are getting busy. I find it really challenging to keep up. With all of Caleb's school stuff he brings home. Yes, home reading, homework sheets and memorizing scriptures for Awana, it's a lot of work. Then I've stepped into the role of co-leader at our women's small group that meets every other week. I really struggle to get my own homework done. I end up cramming all 5 days worth into the actual day of the study. I guess the advantage of doing that is it's all fresh in my mind for that night! Dave has various meetings and social events that take up some of our evenings. It's nuts! In all of this, I still believe we've maintained a routine for our kids which is so important, they truly thrive on that.

I'm reading "Choosing to See" by Mary Beth Chapman. Wow, does this ever make the tears flow. I can relate to her personality so much, and I don't even know what to say about it here. All I know is her story has touched me in such a way, I don't think I'll ever forget.

Anyway, the Superbowl is on. I hate football. I love the party of the Black Eyed Peas. My husband went to a buddy's place to watch it. The kids laundry is ready to be folded. I need to turn my electric blanket on. This day is pretty much over. Tomorrow we are off to Orangeville for Joel's 4 month check up and needles. Next week we have another appt. for Caleb with the ENT's. I think I'm tired of seeing doctors all the time. Oh well. That's what you get with 3 little kids.

Poison & Wine

Oh Man, I keep finding great music. Here's another one which I love. Enjoy!

I'd Do it Again

This past Sunday was a blast. Benji, Caleb and I left home early and ventured into the metropolis of Toronto. We went as far as Yorkdale and took the subway to Union station. Caleb loved that he got to ride the rocket! Once we made it to the Rogers Centre, we had to wait in line to get to the field where all the trucks were. While waiting I asked Caleb which truck he wanted to see first, Gravedigger? This was my natural assumption because his main truck that gets most play is Gravedigger. When asked, he got a panicked look on his face and said "No Mom" right away. This was odd, but then he insisted on seeing Ironman first. So we saw Ironman, Gravedigger Legend (different truck) and Maximum Destruction. Again I asked about Gravedigger and he was again quick to say no. So we wandered around all the other trucks and then Caleb was ready to leave to his seat. I thought no way were we leaving without visiting Gravedigger and so reluctantly he made it over to the truck and that's when he got all googley-eyed! I think he just couldn't fathom that he was seeing the real Gravedigger in person.
We had great seats, we were right on the side where the trucks come and go from the stadium. Caleb was able to stand at the side and watch them up close, again he looked down in amazement really.

It was an exciting start to the show and Caleb was waving his arms and screaming like the rest of the crowds. It was so much fun to watch him (and the trucks!) He was a little nervous about Robosaurus, and I'm not surprised, we happened to be so close to it that we felt the heat and wind from his flames. And by the end of it (which was the most exciting part where the best trucks would come out and destroy themselves), Caleb was tired and just wanted to go home. But I must say, Monster Jam was such a great show full of entertainment, and I will definately take the kids again, I even believe that Amberly would love it. Now it's just trying to convince Dave of the same thing!!!

BELOVED

Another song I've found that is so moving. Honestly I find it hard to imagine Jesus' love for me, and this song puts it in a different perspective. It's a beautiful song.

Caleb & Amberly Dancing

They love "I Gotta a Feeling" Caleb has some break moves, Amberly's got the party jump down (despite hitting her funny bone at the end) Now if we hear this on a commercial, they always get up to dance.

Challenge 2011

I know the beginning says 2006, but lets challenge ourselves in 2011. Frances Chan is someone I've truly enjoyed listening to, someone who does amazing things for others living like Christ. Lets not live comfortably.

Happy January

Yes, this month is going slow. Or so it seems. Yet, lots of things happened this past week. Caleb started back to school and began a home reading program. Amberly had a few really good days with the potty and a few really bad ones! Joel is staying up much more during the day and is enjoying his exersaucer and fishy mat. While giving him some tummy time (which he doesn't like) he got angry enough to roll himself over onto his back! This is very exciting! Although it makes me realize that he won't stay my ity bity baby, he keeps developing and growing every day. Caleb and Joel are now sleeping in the same room as well. This makes for a more solid sleep for both Mommy and Joel I believe! Dave started his regular routine back at the gym and I bought a swim pass and so far have done one aqua fit session. Once things are really settled I hope to make it to the pool 2 times a week. On top of that I have small group to attend AND Dave and I hope to join a Bible study on Tuesday nights. Busy Busy.

Today I received our Monster Jam tickets in the mail. I'm so excited to be taking Caleb to this. I just know he's going to have a blast! To top it all off, I think I'm going to just go as far as Yorkdale and run the subway into Toronto, he'll love that too!

Not sure what else has gone by that I'm missing. But again, it's only been a week!

What does 2011 Have in Store?

That's right, a new year is here. It's the time of year where plans are made, ideas are set in motion, resolutions are made. Do you have any? I don't normally think of it. In fact I don't like New Years. I don't like staying up late, I love my sleep. I don't understand why it's any different then yesterday? But people love to celebrate. Dave says it's a good excuse to get together. I was exhausted from all the Christmas celebrations, I didn't need another one!
Today I started to think about what I want to see accomplished this year. The first thing I thought about was building a stronger-better relationship with God. Quite often I find myself thinking that something is missing, I need something to make me happy, and ultimately that something is truly and undoubtedly the Lord. The next thing I thought about is myself, physically. I have been feeling so old lately. So unfit. I need to get energized and start feeling better by not longing for more sleep, but by actually getting active again. I'm not sure how this will happen or when, but surely, in small windows of opportunity, I will get going on that. Another thing is I want to read more. I'm motivated most often by the television to find my escape, but I want to start finding that in books again.
Will I accomplish this? I don't know. I'm still a procrastinator at heart, I still have 3 children to look after. I still have a husband who I need to continually build a deeper relationship with. I still have so many things that are piled on top of ME every day that it's hard to find the time to actually work on a better me. But by starting with God, I think everything else will fall into place the way they should.
Happy New Year to all of you.