Archive | January 2010

Snowy Weekend

I know I have not mentioned the magazine I was gifted (Family Fun) recently but the February edition is chock full of fun Valentine’s fun! Though some of the ideas (ie. the Valentines cards you can make) are a little too difficult for our boys I found a wonderful recipe for “Pudding Cones” using powdered pudding mix which I will share when we do them up for the party. I have ideas for NEXT year when the boys are a little more focused which I am definitely going to have to make sure this magazine ends up in the Valentine’s and Easter craft box!

Sadly the Saturday puppetshow at the library was cancelled due to lack of interest so instead we spent our day at home. I sorted out the outgrown clothes – and boy do we have a TON and I have given away at least as much! I am so glad that when I go through the buckets I find MANY pieces that we did NOT pay for. Thank goodness for presents, hand me downs and kind family members. The boys did a craft project in the late afternoon – snowman heads… from a little kit my mom had dropped off last weekend. Of course not something Trinity could do so we set her up with a tub of Play doh and some toys.

Snowmen

Snowmen

Ken managed to get out all of the non-toy items out of the kids’ basement playroom finally so I am hoping to spend a day this week tidying up the toys. We still need to set up the spare tv with their little computer set up for quiet time since the twins really are getting too old to lay down for a nap most days. Which of course is a major source of excitement for the big boys. They have also been going outside as much as possible to get in time in the snow.

We are trying our hardest to get back into the swing of EVERYTHING starting this weekend so Ken and the twins headed off to Sunday School leaving a VERY cranky  Trinity and Emanuel to hang out with me. Whenever we stay home and the boys leave I try to have Emanuel do a craft (After all they do one in class). Today he chose to make Grandma a card using foam squares and dinosaur stickers.

Finished Card

Finished Card

So much snow today and the weather turned rather cold after the guys got home from church. But what can  you expect from February in Alberta? How better to take advantage of a snowy day than to finish the project I want to mail out tomorrow? I won’t be sharing any pictures until my cousin receives the piece but I am rather happy with it.

A nice portion of the afternoon was spent playing with the Wonder Sand the boys got for Christmas. A little messy when all is said and done but more in the cleaning up than the actual playing. Definitely something we won’t bring out often as the boys just can’t contain the mess BUT a great rainy day/snowy day activity.

Wonder Sand! (Gavin left)

Wonder Sand! (Gavin left)

Tomorrow is my first official prenatal appointment back with my old doctor. Add to that having to get bloodwork done and I am VERY glad to be spending the whole day at my mom’s. It gives us the opportunity to go to the baby supply store without the kids and only take Trinity to the doctor’s appointment. Mom and I are going to give carrot cake a go and maybe take Harley for a walk… as well as take our sleds in case the weather is favourable. With all these kids and my lack of energy even just an hour away is a big effort so it is nice to have a place to stay for the day, rest and let the kids play.

So quite a bit to do tonight before turning in for an early (for me) morning. Hopefully by mid February I will feel A LOT more like myself!

We are certainly keeping busy!!!

We are certainly keeping busy!!!

This entry was posted on 31/01/2010, in Uncategorized. 1 Comment

Shopping For Baby and Me

Today we FINALLY got out to the local baby supply store so I could do some much needed bra shopping and ask some questions about cloth and gDiapers. We stopped there, H&W, the bank and 7-11 and I am officially exhausted!

First on the bra shopping. As a bigger busted girl with a small ribcage I cannot stress how important it is that I wear a good and supportive bra! Definitely not a cheap endeavour and one that has caused much frustration with its trial and error. It was not until Trinity came along that I finally found a brand I can stand behind and in all honesty, solely purchase and that is Bravado. Not only do they have a lovely selection but their bras (and tanks) LAST! I actually would wear these bras even when NOT breastfeeding they are so comfortable and supportive. Though I cannot vouch for their under-wire line (I do not wear under-wire while breastfeeding – there can be complications leading to mastitis and the woman I talked to at the local store said they only suggest if you HAVE TO wear them to wait until you have been breastfeeding AT LEAST 3 months) I absolutely love their tanks (I have the bamboo in white and the black) and the seamless nursing bra. It is definitely $55.00 (plus gst) worth spending!

THE Bra

THE Bra

The diapers I am still working on the pros and cons of. gDiapers seems to have some limitations and the local store didn’t have the type I found at a store in the town my mom lives at. I do believe those are made locally, but with reusable liners and washable covers WHERE they are made is not overly important as long as we buy enough and are good about laundry. Ken is still not 100% sold and rather concerned about the width and thickness of material between the baby’s legs, worried that they would push out the baby’s hips as we have seen in some of the older style cloth diapers. I am liking the liners and the fact that even the film you put on top of that to keep poop from staining is reusable (as long as it is just pee and up to 8 washes!). So lots to think about but it was neat to actually get a chance to touch the diapers and take my time asking questions in person!

H&W was well worth the trip today. Lots of out of season fruit for some decent prices. The grapes were a little pricey at over 2.00 a lb but they had apricots, peaches and a nice selection of apples. Thankfully Baby #5 and the other 4 in the house LOVE fruit!

The boys are still working away on Winter. The goal is to finish up most everything this weekend so when we are home on Tuesday we can get started with Valentines and Chinese New Year. I have requested some books from the library we are waiting on for both celebrations and have gotten our bucket of Valentines decorations and cards together. The boys will have the option to use bought ones we have saved and picked up along the way or make their own with the pink paper and foam stickers. I am hoping we can get in some Perler bead projects as gifts for the local friends and family.

Keeping The Boys Busy! (Zander left)

Keeping The Boys Busy! (Zander left)

It is nice to feel like we have a plan. The 14th is going to culminate in a little party combining both the events. We have friends coming over and probably a light lunch (since people are going to want to celebrate their Valentines later that night). On the 13th we are heading out of the city to a Rabbit and Poultry show to see what we can find out about dwarf and miniature rabbits. We are going to meet up with my mom and Mike which of course makes the boys even MORE happy – petting zoo AND grandparents!!

So while not a long and involved few days the kids are learning and the baby growing and Ken busy… we still don’t know if we have our rental for another year (they are waiting on THEIR status in the states) BUT we are remaining optimistic… should know within 2 weeks! Fingers crossed for us please!!

Where's My Nose ??

Where's My Nose ??

What a Weekend!

What a busy and incredibly PEOPLE filled weekend I have had! Saturday we first had Ada and Nathan come by for a relaxing afternoon of visiting. The boys were overjoyed to have Uncle Nathan to wrestle with. I think we ate a whole loaf of banana chocolate chip bread! They had not been over since our December Christmas party. They are supposed to join us for a little Chinese New Year celebration on the 14th and again the following weekend for the boys’ joint birthday party.

Caught her chewing but can you see the baby bump!! Hi Baby !!!

Caught her chewing but can you see the baby bump!! Hi Baby !!!

Later that afternoon Karyn managed to make it over. Apparently the roads were not very good and LOTS of cars were in the ditch! Once Ken had a brief nap Karyn and I headed out to THE Mall to do a little shopping. Karyn at Sephora and myself at The Body Shop. They brought back the Cocoa Butter Moisturising Stick that is meant for helping avoid stretch marks. A nice and subtle smell.

The next adventure was a new restaurant… new to us and new to the area. Well the second of its kind to the city – the Rice Pad. It was sent in a little strip mall next to stores like Subway and the like… walking in it is DEFINITELY a family run lovely sit down restaurant. They specialize in Chines, Vietnamese and Thai cuisine cooked traditionally. This included my favourite – LEMONGRASS!! We ordered beef and broccoli, Lemongrass chicken and a medium rice with a pepsi for me and a lemon soda for Karyn. All of that before tip was just under 37.00. Very yummy!

Karyn with our yummy meal!!

Karyn with our yummy meal!!

When we got back from our meal Ken headed out and picked up Sean, his laundry and his computer. Which meant a relatively quiet night leaving Karyn and I to do our individual crafts – her crochet and my cross stitch while the guys played on their computers. Though for some reason when I went to bed late that night… just couldn’t fall asleep. Exhausted but nothing doing!

The next day Karyn and I headed out to check and see if Superstore really carried a brand of cloth diapers with disposable liners called gDiapers. I am finding them harder to find than I thought they would be but am hoping they are comparable in price to disposable as I would really like to give them a try with Baby #5. The one store I called I think has an early version they are liquidating… two more stores – out of stock with varying prices. They are rather interesting diapers… according to the site they have a reusable outer piece and then a liner that you can either get as a disposable one or a reusable. Now if I could just get my hands on some to look at. I am sure the initial investment will be a little but but after that…

We also headed over to Red Robin for a late lunch. I absolutely LOVE their strawberry lemonade. Karyn and I got home in time to meet up with my mom with Harley the not so little puppy in tow. Of course the boys were in heaven – Grandma, the dog AND she brought craft supplies! They stayed well into the afternoon until Mike returned from his visiting and picked them up to go home.

Grandma blowing special doggy friendly bubbles (Zander front)

Grandma blowing special doggy friendly bubbles (Zander front)

By the end of all that I have to admit I was more than exhausted. Even today I have felt rather lethargic and worn out. Thankfully the boys have managed to keep busy with toys and crafts and worksheets. Emanuel spent a nice chunk of the afternoon making a snow picture out of construction paper, white glue and pom poms. With a red pom pom rabbit and all!

Crafty Emanuel!

Crafty Emanuel!

The plan is on Wednesday to head over to visit with another homeschooling family, but with how I feel tonight I am a little concerned about making it. I am really quite surprised about how worn out I am. The previous two pregnancies had me no where NEAR this exhausted and ill at this point. Pretty much taking it one day at a time.

Our big accomplishment of today – pom pom snowmen – though we are still working out how to make little hats for them! Tomorrow we will draw snowflakes using white chalk on coloured paper for the covers on the lapbooks and then hopefully finish off our work on Winter. After all on the 1st (well 2nd since I have an appointment that is an hour away) we start Valentines AND Chinese New Year! It is going to be a busy two weeks!

Snowmen! (Gavin middle)

Snowmen! (Gavin middle)

So life keeps moving and I feel like I am riding along right now but we are speeding up again and feeling good… 2010 is definitely leading to better and bigger things!

Ok just too cute NOT to share!

Ok just too cute NOT to share!

This entry was posted on 25/01/2010, in Uncategorized. 1 Comment