Archives for My Life category
Posted on May 8th, 10 at
10:57 am under My Life
8
May
Simon and I have now been married for 11 years…
I was just 21 when we walked down the aisle but I knew that I had found “the one”… now 11 years and 4 children later, I know that I was not mistaken.
It is amazing how time flies, and though I don’t feel “old”, I look back on pictures and I can see that I looked so young… It won’t be in too long now that we will have been together for more years than not… what a strange concept…
So here is to 11 years and many more to come!!!
Colin drew this for us this morning…
Us on our wedding day 
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Posted on Apr 24th, 10 at
4:15 pm under My Life
24
Apr
I’m home now and finally able to sit down and write this while I nurse the little one…
So, after McClymount park our plan was to head to Smithers. Annie had an eye appointment at 2pm and with a 4 hour drive and 3 kids in tow, we decided that we needed to leave bright and early. One thing about Wilhelmina is that she may not like short car rides, but longer ones are a different story. We were able to drive about 2 1/2 hours before she started to wake up and when she did so we were just right next to an amazing Organic Bakery. We stopped for a treat, some coffee for me, and a bathroom brake and a nurse and then headed back on the road for the final stretch, arriving in Smithers with about 2 hours to spare before the appointment.
I actually didn’t get many pictures of Smithers because I was just enjoying walking and hanging out with Annie and the kids. We checked into our hotel and right away decided that we might spend two nights instead of just one. We headed over to fellow blogger Taimarie‘s home for a nice supper and to hang out and I was so happy to get to know them. Taimarie also met up with us the next day for lunch and a walk which was equally great…
We headed back to Prince-Rupert slowly on Saturday morning and saw the first bit of rain in more than a week…
On Sunday we headed out to Kloiya Bay with Erin, Keith and little Hayden. The weather called for rain in the afternoon so we decided to go in the morning before the rain came and by luck, we didn’t get any rain at all, but we did get tons of wind which made Willa gasp a few times…
What another beautiful place. The tide was going out so every few minutes new beach appeared along with new little hidden creatures. Erin and Keith had brought their little rubber boat and the crab trap and Cam headed out with the baited trap to put it down. The dogs, not wanting to be left behind ran and swam, following them and because of the lowering tide and sand banks they looked at times as if they were running on the water. The trap stayed down for just an hour or so but we had 8 crabs in that time (3 that were big enough to keep) and we cooked them right then and there on the beach… Amazing and delicious!
Finally on Monday we took the day to stay around the house, do laundry and just hang around and planned on going to the museum on Tuesday as I was leaving Wednesday… The museum was great, though I didn’t get any pics, and I was able to finish my tourist shopping there and at another little store after eating an amazing lunch at the Cow Bay café…
If was an amazing week to end the perfect vacation… (have I said amazing enough in this post??… it all truly was )
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Posted on Apr 22nd, 10 at
1:15 am under My Life
22
Apr
I am now on the way home, stopped over in Vancouver for the night and heading to Montreal in the morning.I am eager to be home but had an amazing trip with a great last week of time with Annie and her family.
I couldn’t have asked for more; from the Ocean and a warm secluded beach, to the moutains and snow, to a beautiful walk in a mossy forest, to a beautiful drive for a two night stay 4 hours away and then eating freshly caught crab on the beach and then a tour of the Museum of Northern BC… it was great.
I had never really been in Northern BC besides for a stay in the Queen Charlotte Islands as a young child. I have to admit though, now that I am seeing it and metting the people, I am loving it, and would definately concider looking into it if we decided to move to BC as I have wanted ever since we left.
Just after I posted my last blog post, we headed out on Keith and Erin’s boat (friends of Annie) and with their new little rubber boat we headed for Kitson Island, a secluded Island park just south of Prince Rupert. Getting on the little boat from the big one was a bit nervewracking with Wilhelmina (and Camera) in tow but it went perfectly well and it was an amazing adventure…
(as usual click on any of the below pics to see them larger)
The day after the beach we headed to the top of Mount Haze, the mountain that casts a shadow on Prince-Rupert. We starterd up the bumpy road toward the top and almost considered heading back at one point with all of the snow and Ice, but with help of the 4X4 we made it to the top and the view was just breathtaking. Ocean and islands, eagles and seaplanes flying far below. Seeing the city from high up and the calm and silence of the mountain top…
The next day was a walk in McClymount park, a park/forest in the middle of Prince-Rupert. The wetness of Prince-Rupert makes everything so green and mossy.
Part 2 to come…
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Posted on Mar 29th, 10 at
8:39 am under My Life
29
Mar
Well, the day has come…
I am all packed and pretty much ready to leave. I just need to finish up a few things and get my mind into gear. I did the grocery shopping yesterday, so Simon and the boys are set for at least weeks worth of meals… I have talked to the boys many times about my leaving but I think that they all understand to varying degrees. I am still a bit worried about Khéna but I know that things will go great, he is with his dad and his brothers and they have things planned.
(I cut his hair yesterday)
So, I am ready, my flight is at 6:20pm but I will be heading out in the rain today at about noon, heading to Costco to pick up a few Montreal treats to bring out west and then heading to my friend Gen’s house and hang out until her parter gets home. I will able to leave the car with her until I come back and she will be bringing me to the Airport today and then picking me up on the 22nd of April.
I can’t believe that I will be in Vancouver tonight!
My mom is also in Vancouver, so I will be hanging around with her until I head up to Prince-Rupert on Thursday morning. I am so excited to be with my best friend for three weeks also… oh… the cooking we will do and the pictures we will be taking together! It will be great!
Here is a pic from the last time we were together…
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Posted on Mar 22nd, 10 at
2:28 pm under My Life
22
Mar
Today is Monday, and I am leaving next Monday… I can’t believe that I am leaving in just a week…
Though I am excited and looking forward to travelling, seeing new sights, seeing Annie and getting out of the house, I am also very nervous about leaving the family, leaving the kids.
I just haven’t been away from them for so long before and Khéna is still so young. I keep going back and forth of thinking that I am doing something that will be great, that will break the routine a bit, and I know that it is a now or never situation….but then I start thinking that maybe it is a mistake.
But if I don’t go, I know that I would regret it.
Simon won’t have this much time off again and even if he does take three weeks of vacation from work I wouldn’t take that time to leave, Vacation time is family time and we can’t afford all of us leaving either… so if I want to go for a small trip, I need to take advantage of this situation.
As for being 3 weeks away from the boys, they will be their dad. For the last 7 weeks now he has been taking the role of primary parent while I devote most of my time to Willa and he is an amazing dad… they are used to going to him first when they need something at this moment, and when I think of how they were when we were in BC when we were alone for three weeks after Simon had gone back to home, I know that they are going to be perfectly fine. They missed their dad, yes, but it wasn’t a big deal at all and for the older two, it will most likely be the same. Khéna on the other hand will miss me more, I know that. Simon has things planned though, so he will be keeping busy and we have preparing him since the tickets have been bought, it is just the time period that he doesn’t grasp yet. though I worry, I know deep down that he will be fine.
I think most of the nervousness that I feel now though is that I will not be at home in my space for three weeks and that I am actually doing it. I am doing something for myself alone (well I will be with Wilhelmina but at this moment I just consider her an extension of myself, like when I was pregnant but with a bit more baggage).
But I am doing something more than going shopping, or going to see a friend for the day. I am getting on a plane and going to spend three weeks at my best friend’s house 5117 km away from home (according to Google). If Simon wouldn’t have mentioned it, I would have never even thought of it as a possibility.. . and now it is not just a dream, or idea, but I am actually doing it…
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Posted on Mar 18th, 10 at
1:42 pm under Family Life, My Life, Photos
18
Mar
Last week, Wilhelmina met her great-grandmothers. Last Wednesday, I picked up my father and went over to the nursing home his mom lives in to have lunch and spend a bit of time.
At 91 years old, she is a good shape physically, but with Alzheimer’s, her memory is slowly fading, but it isn’t gone yet. Being in the nursing home has helped her immensely these last few years.
My father didn’t tell her we were coming, so she was very happily surprised when we showed up in the dining hall… We ate lunch and then went up to her room and talked I was happy to see her and bring a smile to her face.
my dad was also very happy to meet his new granddaughter…
A few days later, on Sunday, my mom came to visit with her mom…
The last time my grandmother had come here was just before her surgery for stomach Cancer last November.The surgery went well, they took out 3/4 of her stomach and she has been recuperating since… she has lost weight and had pneumonia last month but is feeling better and is trying to gain her weight back…
She was very excited to meet her great-granddaughter…
My grandmother and my mom…
One thing that we wanted to do was to get a picture with the four generations of Women. We had a similar picture taken when I was a baby in my great-grandmother’s arms with my mom on one side and my grandmother on the other…
Then I asked the boys to come in the picture with us and surprisingly they all came without hesitation…
A picture I will always cherish…
I had a very special relationship with my great-grandmother when I was a child and a young teen. She was an amazing woman and I loved being with her and went to see her as often as I could, which was almost everyday in the year before she died. I am so grateful that my grandmothers are both still around, and I hope that as my children grow they will know their “greats” and have a relationship with them that they can remember also…
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Posted on Jan 28th, 10 at
11:55 pm under Breastfeeding, EC (Elimination communication), My Life
28
Jan
Wow… I am in love…
Not only do I love my new little girl, but seeing her brothers love just makes my heart melt. The boys are completely amazed and enamored by her… they want to kiss her, hold her, touch her…
Xavier spent at least an hour holding her hand and looking at her while she slept the day she was born..
Colin had to come kiss her at least once every 15 min..
Khéna is just in awe and wants to stay close and always wants to hold her…
Khéna is also adapting to being a big brother amazingly well… I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about how he was going to take not being the baby of the family anymore… having to share mama with someone who needs her more, losing his coveted place in the family bed in front of mama… having to share his “Maju”… but he showing me that I was wrong to be nervous… he is taking it better than I would have hoped for, he is so proud to be a big brother!
My mom came by today to bring me a chicken she cooked this morning so we can make some sandwiches with and she left with Colin and Xavier and brought them to where she is saying near the cabin for two nights… the boys wer excited to go and honestly having the house be a bit more quiet will be nice… Khéna would have wanted to go also but it isn’t the best time, so instead he is doing special things with Daddy alone which he thinks is a great alternative…
As for life with baby… she is amazing… her first night was a bit rough until she had a big poop at around 2am and then finally she relaxed and slept… nursing about every 3 hours or so until morning and then throughout the day… she reminds me so much of Colin as a baby.. she looks like him also, the resemblance is quite amazing..
It was because of Colin that I tried EC for the first time.. he hated being wet, even for a second and would get worked up inconsolably… so letting him potty somewhere else than a diaper was exactly what he wanted and needed…
With Khéna we started when he was 4 days old…when the meconium poos were finished… this time I was hesitating on doing the same, but after seeing her reaction to having a BM and being in it for a few minutes, it reminded me so much of Colin that I decided to try right away… and she has been dry all day… she gives a clear signal that she needs to go and the within a few seconds of putting her over the potty bowl she eliminates… she does cry for a few seconds before going but once she lets go, she stops crying immediately and is quiet and content again… though I have seen it before, it is amazing to see how natural it comes…
I have also fell in love with the prefold belt that I bought… and I am going to be sewing up some of my own very soon… it is such a simple concept but makes things so much easier and it looks so much more comfortable than any newborn diaper cover or diaper that I have tried on my babies…
Wilhelmina is also an amazing nurser… her latch was perfect from the start and she is efficient and just so easy to nurse… my milk is coming in also and it amazing to hear her gulp and drink and be content…
As for me, I lost a little more blood than I would have liked yesterday but I am feeling better today… still a little weak, but better… I am also in pain all over my body… my SPD is better but labour was rough and my body is definately feeling the consequences of that… All I can tell myself is that everything will be better soon…
And Simon… well he is still tired from the night I laboured and is doing so much for everyone and is being an amazing husband and father… I think he is feeling a bit overwhelmed and stretched out but he is taking it in stride… I think that having the older boys with my mom for the two nights will make things easier for him also.. he is also happy to be starting his paternity leave which gives him until August before returning to work…
So, yes, we are all in love and enjoying life with a newborn… It is amazing… she is amazing…
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Posted on Sep 15th, 09 at
9:55 am under My Life, Pregnancy and Birth
15
Sep
Things around here have been quiet…
The summer was busy, but not too much but it feels good to start back into a normal routine again… My aversions seem to be going away and though there are still a lot of things that don’t look appetizing, I can eat more meals that I make, which in turn gives me a little more inspiration to cook. Lately I have been going through the freezer and using the food that we have in our meal plans…
I am trying to get our food costs down but I find it hard. I can spend a lot less for a week or two but then have to spend a lot more the next week in order to replenish a lot of our staples. So basically things spending the same amount when you make the average.
But, we are using more things up which is good.
My energy is also seeming to come a back a bit… I swam a bit last week and would like to go again tonight… Swimming normally (crawl) feels great but only if I don’t use my legs much… when kick with my legs I get contractions and it doesn’t make swimming that comfortable. Having more energy also means that again, cooking is easier, making bread on a regular basis and getting some more cleaning done in the house… Simon has been working a lot on the downstairs lately. We have a bit of a mold problem, it is not in the walls or black mold but looks more like a grey dust on the walls and on a few pieces of furniture. We bought a dehumidifier and that seems to help with the humidity and Simon has been taking everything out and cleaning it, moving furniture etc and a lot of things are not going back were they were before… instead being bagged and either headed to the garbage, recycling or for donation.
Last week I made a new friend… I feel like a kid when I think about it… she just opened a little Maternity store in town where she sells motly local baby products including cloth diapers and soon wraps and slings etc… though she doesn’t homeschool we have so many other things in common and it feels great to be able to meet and talk to someone in the area…
I have also made a decision about the local group and will not be going back. A few things happened and were said at the last meeting that were the last straw for me. I might still do a few activities on the outside with the group but I won’t do much more than that… I will try though to go with the other further groups a bit more often.
So life continues… the leaves are changing and fall is arriving and soon things will start going faster as January approaches… It is still a bit of a shock to think that we will be adding another little life to our brood… scary and exciting at the same time…
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