Trick or Treat and Other Happenings

Another week has come and gone! Holy smokes! I had intentions of sitting down and blogging a few times this week but somehow something else always came up.

I started Week 1 of the Bridge to 10k program today. If I keep up with it I will be running 60 minutes straight by the end of the 6 weeks. That seems like an unbelievably long time but I would really like to say that I can run 10k, and when I started the 5k program I never thought I would be able to run 30 minutes straight and I did that, so there is hope I think.

Halloween was on Wednesday. The kids had a blast. I personally hate everything about Halloween. Its cute to see them dress up but that's about it. It was so cold too so they didn't go out for long. -8 and sleet. Definitely not as nice as years past. I was lucky enough to get candy duty while Nathan took them trick or treating.

The boys had Thursday off from school as they do annually on November 1st (smart school). We just kicked around home and enjoyed staying warm as it was freezing rain and the roads were a mess. Kids were off the wall by the end of the day but what can you really expect when you load them up with sugar and keep them penned up in the house?

Friday we headed to Calgary for the day as I had my 1 year follow up appointment with my plastic surgeon, so we pulled the boys out of school for the day and made a family trip out of it. Took them to the big fancy mall with the Bass Pro Shop. I think they enjoyed it.. though April wouldn't walk so Nathan ended up carrying her the whole way because we forgot the stroller. By the end of it we were all exhausted and all 3 kids slept for a good hour on the way home ( April slept the entire 2.5 hours). Unfortunately my plastic surgeon doesn't like the look of my scars though and wants to revise them on December 10th. Not over the moon about being cut open again but I will be happy if it makes them less noticeable.

Today was a lazy day. On some strange miracle the kids let me sleep in until 10. Not sure how it happened but I will attribute it to bags of halloween candy and the new squinkies that Colin bought with his birthday money last night. This weather we've been having is leaving me really drained though. We haven't seen the sun in quite a few days. It was quite warm today though and I was able to sneak my last run of week 1 in today. Nathan worked until 4:30 so the kids and I just hung around home, and I finished my book "The Maze Runner".

Graduation Day!

This is me today after I finished the last day of the Couch to 5K running program!  I did it! And I couldn't be more proud of myself. Today I did 5.09km in 30 minutes. It was a chilly -5 today so I bundled up.

Life

Its been an awfully long time since Ive blogged. I wish I was more consistent with it. I am going to try to commit to blogging at least once per week. Whats going on in my life these days? Well I am glad you asked :-p. Things seem to have gotten really busy and I am struggling with that. I am the kind of person who needs lots of down time or I feel like I'm drowning. These last few weeks have been a bit too busy for my liking. Joel started curling and Colin started soccer and they play on the same day every second week or so. I also volunteered to be on the curling board and do the attendance. I like it but its just another thing that I feel like I have stacked on my plate. I really shouldn't complain. I am blessed to be able to stay at home and I just have April at home now and so I have more time than 99% of people.

About 10 weeks ago I started the couch to 5k program. Its essentially a program that gets you from never running a day in your life to being able to run 30 minutes straight after 9 weeks. I used to hate running.. and when i say hate I mean absolutely despise it with every fiber of my being. But now I love it! I look forward to it. I cannot wait to get out there and see what I can do! I have never been so proud of myself in my whole entire life! My last run is this Friday and then I will be considered a graduate! I injured my leg a bit and have been seeing a physio therapist for a few weeks now to get it back to where it was. He has diagnosed me with tendonitis which I am told can be a bit of a tricky injury to heal. But its not the stress fracture that I thought it was so that's incredibly relieving! Its been a big learning experience!

 April is such a sassy little thing. She is full of personality. She knows what she wants out of life and wont stop until she gets it. She is in the princess faze right now, and her favorite princess's are Tiana and Ariel. She loves to dress up and would wear her princess dresses before the rest of her clothes all the time if I let her. She's a real sweet heart most of the time, but watch out if shes tired or hungry. She likes to use words such as poopy and hate to describe things. I think the first one definitely is influence of having 2 older brothers.

 Colin turned 6 last Saturday and we celebrated by going to the movie "Hotel Transylvania" and having a sleep over with his cousin Drew and his friend Jaxon. It was a lot of fun other than the boys waking up at 5:00 am. That made for some tired cranky boys especially after going to bed at nearly 10 the night before. Oh well.. that's what makes the memories.. right?

 Joel.. hmm what is new with Joel. Not too much really. Same old sweet sensitive.. and a little bit bossy boy that he has always been. He's been really enjoying his curling and he is also on the cross country team at school with Colin. I don't hear much from either boy about it, but I am just happy they are getting involved in things. He's in grade 3 now and says he wants to be a scientist who studies rocks when he gets older. I'm sure it will probably change though. That's the unit they are working on in school right now.

 Nathan has also started running and I am so proud of him! He has kept it up with me and it gives us something in common. It helps us both stay motivated and its also nice to have someone to talk to about it.

Busy Times

It has been a very busy few weeks at our house. I have been remodeling our kitchen and it has been a lot of work but the results are incredible. We went from fake oak cabinets to beautiful black with silver pulls and a gorgeous mosaic back splash. It looks so good. I still have one more coat to put on the island cupboard doors and we need to grout the back splash but its so close. I will post pictures once it is fully finished. It feels really good to know that I did all the renos and it turned out so great. Very rewarding.

Joel lost his 2 front teeth this past week. He has a great big gap now and it looks so cute :) I can't believe he is so grown up already.

Here is a picture of him after her lost the first one. I still need to take a picture of the 2 missing.

Not too much is new with Colin really. He is loving kindergarten and it is a nice break for me. Having just one kid around the house is easy!

April is OBSESSED with the movie Mamma Mia lately. She loves the music and would sit there and watch it over and over if i let her. We borrowed an ABBA cd from my dad today so I am going to burn it and maybe she will like listening to it for a while rather than watching the movie. She can sing a few of the songs too which is adorable. I still need to record it on video.

Nathan is quickly approaching his 30th birthday! Where did the time go? I swear it was just yesterday we were celebrating my 18th. Crazy how fast the years fly.

Sweet Kitty

This last week was a very hard week for me. Our precious kitty got very sick from ingesting foam flooring that created an intestinal blockage. We decided that the risk and cost of surgery was not something we felt we could go through with and made the difficult decision to end her suffering. On Saturday we said good-bye. She will be greatly missed. I am blessed that the kids are too young to really understand. That was a very big concern of mine before we put her down, was that the kids would take it really hard. Luckily they don't seem to notice to much. The boys have both asked if we can get another cat. I just pray that when the time comes we will find a new kitty that can fill Eva's paws.

Rest In Peace Sweet Eva!

Hot Lips

We were driving in the truck today and April was bugging Colin. He was starting to get annoyed and he turned to her and says "Hey! Stop that hot lips!"

The things they do.

I wanted to start doing more posts.. shorter posts more frequently. I really want to document my kids more often before they are grown and I forget the little things they do that you think you will remember forever. Here are a few of their quirky little habits.

Joel has been doing this for a long time but I am sure with time it will fade away. It drives me a little crazy but it is who he is and I want to remember it. It used to be more frequent, like every time he had anything to say but now its more random. He will say to whoever he is talking to "Can I ask you a question" before every single question he asks. I always tell him that he doesn't need to ask if he can ask that he should just ask the question, but he still does it. LOL! Crazy boy!

Colin loves blankets! He will take as many as he can carry and use them to turn into different things. It started out that he used to turn them into cars but now they will be just about anything from cars, to a space ship to the moon. "Come on April come get in my rocket ship". He has a wild imagination. Below is a picture of one of the first times he decided that all big blankets could potentially be cars. He even pulled Joel and Grandma in on the fun.

April's newest thing is that she loves jewellery and she calls all necklaces "my pretty". She loves to try on all sorts of different pieces and even dress up the cat with them. "Mommy Eva pretty". I am sure this is just a small preview of things to come.

Proud!

Time to check in! Been to long and too absent since my last update. Things are going pretty well. It has been a busy few months but now that Christmas is over things are slowing down a bit.

I have been so proud of my boys this week! Joel was having some attitude and listening problems but the last few days he has been making giant strides to improving that. Everyday this week he has already been dressed when I've gotten out of bed, this morning he even had his full snow suit on ready to head to the bus.. LOL! So he ate breakfast fully bundled, but it sure was nice not having to bitch and nag! He has even been putting his stuff away without being asked! I have been trying to tell him how proud i am and how much i appreciate it so that he feels appreciated as well. Colin has been making great strides in school this week too. He has started writing his own name and is on his way to knowing all his upper case letters. It may not sound like much but up until now he has had no interest in learning any of that. April got the leapfrog magnetic alphabet for Christmas and he has been playing around with it and learning that way. He can even identify his last name now!

I wanted to come one here and have a positive post for once. Its nice to look back and see a little bit of positivity and remember the good stuff :)

The Post I Never Knew How to Write.

This entry has been a very long time coming. Years upon years this thought has been going in an out of my mind, like a strong wind that comes and goes. I have always past it up and tried to write it off, trying to come up with any excuse to talk away what I have always felt. I kept thinking that certain things would fix it, like if I just find the perfect man, get married, have a baby, get more money, get a dog, get a cat, a bigger house, nice clothes, maybe if I have another cup of coffee, or maybe i just need some more sleep, something, something has got to take this feeling away. But inevitably nothing has. It blows in an out depending upon the day, and I have never wanted to actually admit it to myself, and most definitely not to anyone else, but I think I am depressed. Today is one of my bad days, where I wake up and I just don't feel like doing anything, I get out of bed because I have to. I have to get the kids fed and dressed, get Joel off to school, but I feel overwhelmingly sad, overwhelmingly irritable, and kind of empty. I make it through the days, which feel unbearably long, and nothing can shake me of this funk. I have often tried to pass it up as boredom, but I don't want to do anything. There isn't a thing that sounds like it will be enjoyable. Then I have my good days, where I feel great, I get lots done, I enjoy playing with the kids and life feels great, and I realize why it is worth living. I keep thinking this feeling will go away but it doesn't, and I don't know what to do. I don't know where to go from here or what to do. I am sick of feeling like this and being at the mercy of my emotions, but I don't want to medicate myself either. I am at the point though where I don't know what else to do. I guess that is why it has taken me so long to admit this because I feel like the world is over medicated. If you are reading this and have dealt with depression before I would really appreciate a response to tell me about your experience. Today I just feel hopeless.

Blue

I am sitting here right now feeling a little defeated. Today has been a very draining day. April is sick and has been very needy and clingy. She isn't sleeping well and when she is awake all she seems to do is cry. She won't eat. Now it looks like Colin is also getting sick. Joy of all joys. Sometimes being a parent can be very challenging. To top it off, Nathan and I found out about some not so wonderful family drama today. I just find it so hurtful to know there are certain people in my life that feel the need to talk about me behind my back for not weeks, not months, but years, and then put on a happy smiling face when they are around me. I know I am certainly far from perfect but I just feel like if there is something that I am doing that you don't like or that hurts you in some way I wish people would just let me know. I don't know. I am feeling extremely drained today, and I am on the verge of tears. It could be that I am getting sick too, and that I am a little over tired. Hoping I will feel better tomorrow. Really hoping this bug passes me by.

Kids say the Darndest Things

I was laying in bed with Colin last night before he went to sleep and he says to me.
Colin: Mommy I wish we could get a pet.
Me: What kind of pet would you like?
Colin: a cat
Me: Daddy doesn't like cats so I don't think we will get a cat
Colin: Well maybe if Daddy dies then we can get a cat.

School Days

Here we are again at the "start" of another school year! Crazy! Well technically it is 15 days into the school year but pretty darn close. Joel boarded the big school bus on September 1st bound for a new world! He is loving it! I had no doubt he would love it. And surprisingly I am enjoying it too. I cried the first day he went and felt a little lost, but we are getting into a new routine now and it is definitely easier with 1 gone. I miss him though and I hate that I don't really know what is going on. His school isn't over informative and it can make me a bit uneasy. I would rather be bombarded by information then feel like I know nothing of what is happening.

Colin started playschool on Monday as well. It feels like yesterday that Joel started playschool and now Colin is there. Its almost surreal how fast these kids are growing up. One minute they can't get enough playtime with me and the next they won't want anything to do with me. Its hard not to take the moments for granted that they are vying for my attention. I am really trying hard to stop what I am so "busy" doing to get down to their level while they want me to. Joel is already at the point where he would much rather have a friend over than play with old mom but he still does want my attention at times. Colin has quite a few kids in his class that he knows so that is nice. There is also another Colin in his class which I find hard to believe. Its not a very common name. I think there were about 25 Colin's born in 2006 in all of Alberta.

Adventures in the Big Blue House

Howdy everybody.
Hope everyone is doing swimmingly on this particular Thursday in July. Whats new at our place this week? Well I am glad you asked :) I am currently learning to crochet and am really enjoying it. My Nana gave me all of her old crochet stuff, so I have being going crazy learning all the different techniques. I even finished a hat with ear flaps and a flower this morning. I will take some pictures of April wearing it and try to remember to post them later. I am pretty proud of myself! Nathan has been calling me an old lady though with all my elderly hobbies of baking and crocheting. Once I have mastered this I think I am going to learn to knit too.

In other news I have been teaching Joel to read. Well working with him anyways. His best friend, whom he met in kindergarten, knows how to read so he has been really wanting to learn. He gets pretty frustrated though and doesn't want to sound anything out. He just thinks he should be able to look at the word and try to guess what it is. Then he goes and pouts when he can't figure it out. Thank goodness grade one is only a month away.. I am not a very good teacher.

I have also been working with Colin to try and eliminate is terrible violent habit of hurting people when he doesn't get what he wants or is frustrated with someone. I don't like spanking my kids but it seems to be the only way through to this boy of mine! He is definitely a stubborn kid. He is the sweetest funniest kid when he wants to be but watch out when he is in a bad mood. I guess that can be said about us all. I hope we can get this corrected before he goes to playschool is September though.

April has been walking around all over the place lately. She really doesn't crawl much at all at home anymore. I will post some video later of that too.

In a blink of an eye

Holy Moses! We are near the end of July already! Wow. It has been a couple very crazy busy months. We sold our house and moved in to a new 2100 square foot 2 storey just up the road on June 15. April celebrated her 1st birthday on the 7th of June and we had her party on June 27 because we wanted to wait until after the move. Joel turned 6 on July 15 and we went to Vancouver Island for a week between July 13 to the 20th. Its been a blast but its hard to find enough time to do much blogging amidst all of that.

April took her first steps on July 11th and has been getting braver every day. Nathan said she walked across the living room while i was at work last night. It really is bitter sweet. I am so proud of her and happy that I won't have to tote her 24 pound body around much longer but it also means she is growing up and becoming more independent and that is so sad to me. I can hardly believe how the time flies, and I just wish for a few moments I could slow it down and just enjoy every sweet second of my kids lives.. and just freeze them the way they are right now if only for a few months longer. I can't believe it has been 6 years since Nathan and I entered into this journey of parenthood. 6 years! That is a substantial amount of time.. and that is the magic number. The school aged number where my big boy goes to school for a whole day, with a lunch in tow and becomes his own person with his own life. Part of me can't wait! It means he will learn to read and make his own friends, but part of me is so so sad that we have gotten here so very fast. A blink of an eye really. I here it only gets faster from here, so if the first 6 years went by this fast how much quicker will the next 12 go? Dear God.. please slow this life down! I only get one!

This Time Last Year....

I was 35 weeks pregnant! Crazy! It feels like just yesterday but at the same time a world away. Check out the video I made on May 4th last year! Just don't forget to pause the music at the bottom of the page.

Christmas in May

Oh my word.. the weather here is INSANE today. I thought we were going to enjoy an early spring for once, but oh no.. old man winter decided to rear his ugly head once again, in MAY for goodness sake! Its hideously awful out there, but the one up side is that I get to enjoy a lazy day inside with the kiddos and my mama because they canceled her work today. I will have to take some pictures and post them later... it is really something else!

Not much else to report. We still have not sold our house. We had a showing last night, and a couple more expected this coming weekend. Hopefully one of them will result in a sale, but we shall see. I am not too worried. I believe the man upstairs has us covered! I just hope we don't have to pay 2 mortgages for very long.. if at all! I am getting pretty excited about the thought of moving into our forever home! (or LONG time home), plus we won't have to hang our stockings on the wall anymore at Christmas time as we will have an actual fireplace and numerous spots that a Christmas tree can go! Man all this snow apparently makes me think of Christmas!

I also think I should get a pat on the back for how frequently I have blogged lately! I believe (if I have counted correctly) I have posted 5 entries in the span of a month! Yay me!

Letter of the Day

Dearest Colin,
I love you to bits but today you are trying my patience. This morning I was woken up by your brother who informed me that you had dumped an entire bottle of glue on our love seat. You had also pulled out a roll of double sided tape that you unrolled and left in a pile. Toys were strewn from one corner of the living room to the other. Your ears also seem to be broken today as your listening skills seem to not be working. I know one day that I will appreciate your creative nature and your silly antics, but today I just don't have the patience for it.

sincerely,
your worn out Mommy

New Home

Well its official! We will be moving to a new house June 15! I am ecstatic! I cannot wait to live somewhere and make memories in a new home! Now we just need to sell this house. We had all intentions of selling this place before removing all our conditions on the new house but unfortunately that wasn't possible because the other house got another offer and we got served with a 24 hour time line or we lost the house. I am so very excited! I just hope this place sells FAST!

In other news the boys started soccer this week. It was freezing cold but Joel seems to really be enjoying it! We just need to work on his sportsmanship because he is a bit of a poor sport but he is doing 200% better from last year. Colin has his first game on Friday night. He is more athletic than Joel and I think he will really enjoy himself. Will post pics soon.

Bummed!

I am sad today. We found out yesterday that we won't be getting our house after all and it makes me really sad! But we just can't do it.. it will be way too much money and Nathan and I aren't willing to put ourselves into that much debt! We would basically be house broke and I don't want that at all. So from here I don't really know what our next step would be. I would kind of like to contact a realtor and have them keep their eye out for the perfect house for us. I just don't know at this point. I am bummed and thats all I know.

Busy Busy Busy

Okay so it is always my excuse.. I am a busy mama of 3 beautiful crazy children. It takes up most of my time and I generally don't feel like taking the time to blog. But here I am. I am not going to apologize. It just isn't my top priority. :) Things are even more hectic now that I am back to work 2 nights a week and every 2nd Saturday. Which is going amazingly well, thank you for asking! I am enjoying the break, and the extra pay check is an added bonus. We are saving it so that once Nathan's lease is up we can afford to buy another car without payments. And we are also in the midst of hopefully building a new house. We are currently working on all the financing issues. I am very excited about the prospect of a bigger house more suitable to our family, and the house we are looking at building will be a nice big bilevel finished on both levels. It's a house we hope to be able to stay in until our kids are grown up, if not beyond then.

In other news my smallest babe turned 10 months old yesterday! Holy moly! That is insane! Wasn't it only yesterday that I was griping about still being pregnant? Wasn't it just last week that I took that pregnancy test and saw 2 lines instead of 1? Wasn't it only a year ago I brought Colin home from the hospital.. and the year before that that I found out at the young age of 18 that I was going to be a mommy for the 1st time? How did so much time get away from me? I do not understand how the days can sometimes feel so long but the years so short? This life passes too quickly!

Well I suppose I should get back to the grind and get lunch started before Joel walks in the door from school. I hope everyone is doing amazingly.. and hopefully I will be back to post again before next Christmas rolls around :)