Creativity is contagious

I had the expo today, and it went great! I met a lot of great people, enjoyed talking to customers and gaining new fans. It was the first time I've really showcased any of my handmade creations, although I didn't bring a ton of stuff, just a few simple items that I whipped up last night. What a rush!

I also met some other creative mamas, and loved their stuff! How fun to see other versions of similar items , I love to see other people's techniques, fabrics, and ideas. I love how it seems that in today's economy, theres finally a lot of creative , entrepreneurs! Photographers, painters, crafters, floral arrangers, scrapbookers, cake makers, etc. It's all art, it's all beautiful, and I'm a sucker for it all!

If you have a creative talent, or business- post a link ! I want to share the love! Also, find my fanpage on facebook : https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.371868452858629.94584.182671151778361&type=1#!/pages/Ems-Creations/285779711453825   [....holy long link!!]

vroom,vroom!

I miss lazy days!

I dream of a day where I can just ...get up whenever I feel like, get dressed whenever I feel like- and do absolutely nothing.

As it is now, I get up at 7{ish} to either get someone off to school, feed the baby, or deal with a kid having a tantrum [yes..sometimes they have tantrums even earlier than 7am...] and then I'm go-go-go all day either doing dishes, laundry, picking up after kids, cooking,etc.

I know I'm not the only person in the world who has to manage a house while a heap of kids are at home- but holy hannah, it's exhausting. I'd love to just be lazy..although I'm not sure I'd know what to do!

Licence pictures...

Does anyone have a GOOD licence picture ? ...Really??? I've had  awful licence pictures since I was 16. I wonder if I still have that card kicking around...probably not, it was so awful I think I wanted to burn it the second it expired. I had  short,awful hair, I wore a denim jacket with flipped collar, and had an itch on my nose that instead of using my hand to scratch- I wiggled my nose like Tabitha on Bewitched- *click* mid wiggle. No re-takes..that was my photo, for 5yrs. fan-friggen-tastic.

This year I wanted it to be different. Granted I've had other photos between then and now, none were ever good. So they've changed the rules for licence photos now, you have to follow the same "no smile" rule as passports. How lame, so we all have to look like criminals, to protect the criminals. Yeah...that makes sense!

I got my new card in the  mail today- I don't hate it. I'm shocked, although I knew I was going to have my picture taken so I did full-on makeup , primped before going in to the licencing place, etc. I felt like an idiot..but it paid off. My picture is actually, not awful for a mug-shot!

I love to get mail...anyone else??

Ever since the introduction of email- I find the world has gotten so impersonal. Very little face-to-face contact, forget about "snail mail" ! Well, I loved having a pen pal when I was a kid, so I've actually found *online* groups on fb for pen-pal type stuff ! We send each other presents. HA.  yes, it's true- we either make handmade items to send, or we go shopping for someone based on their little blurb they give to the group. I don't know anyone personally, but I love getting presents in the mail, and we're actually forming fun little friendships, from other countries, some fairly close to home- but everything is always mailed.

My husband thinks I'm crazy, and maybe some of you do too- but for a work-at-home mama of 4 little kids...I need to take all the excitement I  can get. Getting a package delivered with my name on it, excites the crap outta me- especially when it's not my birthday!

As you may have guessed by the timing of this post- I received one of these packages today...and it's calling my name. But it's a "secret swap" gift and there's a certain open date where we all open our gifts at the same time [hahaha yes..I know...that part might sound crazy] and then we post about them on the group wall, some post pictures [I always try but forget half the time!]. I am not good with surprises, I hate waiting, and I am awful when I know there's a present for me somewhere- that I'm not supposed to open. of COURSE I'm going to open it.  Ok- so I'll wait till I get *closer* to the date...but it's about a month away! These things sort of kill me, as much as I love them.

more Manning spam

First chance I got to touch Manning after being whisked away to Nicu

Manning and his Cpap machine

No more cpap, still in oxygen and under "the lights".

Manning

So that photo, brought up other saved photos that I haven't looked at in a long while...and now I'm on the subject of our handsome Manning.

Manning was born Nov 25th, 2009 . He came at 36weeks,  after I went into labour naturally but had my water broken after a while. He was born strong, screaming, and pink...then fell into respiratory distress.

It was terrifying,  and depressing. I spent the first 3 days post-partum crying to myself in my hospital room, especially after the nurse would come in and say "wow, still no baby in here?!" ...they rub it in, even not realising it. I would spend as much time at his bedside as I could, but for the first few days I wasn't allowed to speak near his cot or touch him, as when he knew I was near he'd get all worked up, lines would get ripped out, and his sats would drop. [yes...talk about heart wrenching!]

I had to leave the hospital and he stayed. That was hard to swallow- I left our street [our neighbourhood is pretty neighbourly] looking very much pregnant, and came back very much NOT pregnant..but didn't have a baby to show for it. I carried photos around instead, and said - he's getting stronger so he can come home, which was true :).

Manning was lucky, and came home just over a week after being born,and it was magical. I begged the doctor to let him go, I overheard the nurses chatting, and then pushed for his discharge. I think we got home at 10pm or so haha. I didn't care..I just wanted him HOME.

At 3 weeks old, he started vomitting like I've never seen. I took him to the doctor and said "something is wrong, I've never seen this much puke".  Doc says " all babies spit up, we'll monitor". Weeks go by, he vomits more, and more, and more.  He lost a ton of weight, finally the doc goes " wow, there's something wrong with your baby..we need to figure it out".  {insert angry death glare here} Specialist after specialist, appointment after apointment, and hundreds of tests later....they finally decided {through process of elimination} that he has Milk and Soy Protein Induced Colitis. He was 6 months old when we got a diagnosis, and 10lbs . He couldn't hold his head up, he had very little trunk support/strength, he wasn't rolling and nowhere near sitting. They started him on Neocate formula, and off my breastmilk [I had milk proteins in my diet] we changed everything about what he ate- suddenly he started turning into this pudgy little thing. It was amazing. he didn't scream, arch his back, spit up,anything. It was night and day- amazing!

So here's a split screen of Manning's transformation- I just had to share. Of course there is more to the story, and maybe I'll dig up some more emotions later on- but for now...I just love this split screen. Oh how far we've come!!

and here's Manning today :

Someone has a tooth!

Ok...so I was just about to come on here and gush about Mia's first tooth - that seems to have popped out yesterday or maybe Monday. I was going to talk about junk none of you care about...I promise, I was. I was going to get sentimental about one tooth.....

then I looked over, and saw this:

and got side-tracked. This is Manning...with a pair of my underwear around  his neck, climbing on the laundry. He's got the right idea...I feel as though the laundry is a mountain...too. ;-)

Pray for Anna Grace's family

Ok, one more post tonight.

Please check out this blog: http://carryinganna.wordpress.com/ . This family went through hell and high waters in their recent pregnancy, birth, and recent farewell. Their beautiful Anna Grace lived for only a few short hours out of her mama's womb yesterday, but for 40weeks inside.

***Warning: their story is very heartbreaking. They need lots of prayers and support, if you don't want to cry- save the link for another day, but please send your prayers or happy thoughts/virtual hugs anyway. ***

G'nite blogger world.

Just keep sewing, just keep sewing...

{to the tune of Dori's famous song, in Finding Nemo haha}

For those of you who don't know...I am pretty much, a jack-of-all-trades. [except for math- I don't do math. I have never done math, I will never do math. I will lie through my teeth to my children until they are old enough to decide for themselves- but I detest math. I married an accountant for a reason ;-)  ]

So- sewing, is one of my things that I love to do. I'm self taught- I started playing with my mum's little sewing machine when I was 8, I used to make skate covers, soft sided skate guards, etc. and I would even sell them ! [for less than they cost to make, but still...I had the right idea lol]. I started a little handmade business back in November, which really has turned into something wonderful. I'm sewing like crazy, have tons of orders come in- so much so I really need to start tracking them....eeks. but I've got some craft shows coming up, TWO this Saturday [yes, double booked- but I've got my business partner for the diapering boutique, doing one show and selling some of my items, and I'm doing another]. I've got two orders that need to be completed tomorrow- and then I've got a ton of things to make for the shows this weekend.

This week , I wish my kids were in daycare- instead of me having kids here for daycare- ...yes, I also babysit people's children lol.

Please oh please, blogging world- send me your energy, patience, and strength for the remainder of this week.

This is how my brain feels when I look at my to-do list for this week. <3 Madison!

My dog can beat up your dog....

[Maybe in his dreams...] My beautiful Vizsla...is stealth, like Batman. Just now, I was talking with my son, Mason, and we made some sound [like a raspberry, but with your lips] and off Moose bolted. He's cowering somewhere upstairs now, shaking like a leaf no doubt.

I have honestly, never seen a dog more afraid of everyday things. You hear all the time that dogs are terrified of thunderstorms and lightning- they rip their house apart, they do their business on the floor, they drool, pant, etc. Moose doesn't- Moose sleeps soundly through storms, but pretend to blow a bubble with your lips- and he's convulsing.

Maybe I should take the anxiety meds...so I don't notice his insanity {a.k.a anxieties- I know, people!} , anymore . ;-) One of these days I'm going to upload a video of him doing one of his rituals.

{Quality Control} inspecting his favourite snack, air-popped popcorn.

got another lovely memory from our trip....

a skin infection. I suppose that comes with the beauty of public pools...you never know the kinds of things floating around inside that water, although I would have assumed the chlorine count would kill off any little bug- somehow it got me. Thankfully, nobody else from our trip [especially the kids!] got anything.

YUCK!

oh and ps: don't ever...I mean, EVER,  google "skin infection" . *shudder*

My beautiful tiny girl.

How can you not fall in love with this face? This is my beautiful Mia, today- 6.5months old , eating egg yolks and freshly harvested breastmilk. she LOVED it.

They always say, the best things come in the smallest packages. <3

Breastfeeding a tiny baby.

Mia is small for her age. Mia is 6.5months old, and weighs just under 10lbs. She was 6lbs 8oz at birth, and 18" long- a tiny little thing. She's petite, her structure is small, everything about her is tiny and fragile looking. She's the sweetest little thing you'll ever lay eyes on- I swear. Maybe I'm biased...but, she's pretty freaking cute.

I have been breastfeeding Mia since she was 10minutes old , and we've got a very strong, very successful nursing relationship. She's a champion nurser, with a great latch, I've got a ton of milk [small boobs- but tons of milk, it happens!!] but she's tiny. I started supplimenting her with Neocate formula about a month ago, because my gp was concerned about her "numbers", while the feeding specialist at Sick Kids was not. But- we're doing everything possible, to make sure our itty bitty girl is the healthiest princess she can be.

Remember that post a few days ago about judgement? Well, Mia's size is cause for even more judgement than I receieved that day at the checkout in our wholistic food market. I get advice from family, I get tips on what to do from strangers, I get the questions "was she a preemie?", " how old is she?" , " why isn't she bigger?" from family and strangers alike. People have no shame. While at the Lodge this weekend, I had blatant stares, as I wore my 6month old in a water sling, and had her in the pool with me the entire weekend, while I was chasing the other guys around. Everyone assumed I had my newborn baby, in a chlorine filled public pool. I had people ask me how old she was, about ever 20mins. A dad, actually, was staring at me so obviously, I assumed my bottoms had gone transparent and I rushed out of the pool with Mia in sling, Madison holding my hand- to do a bathingsuit check in the changerooms before returning back to the pool . He later came up to me, and just asked " is your baby getting wet?" and I simply said, yes, smiled and walked away.  Is my baby getting wet?? I'm in a freaking pool buddy...I should have asked him " is your baby getting wet?" I wanted to scream. If my kids weren't having such a wonderful time, I would have started a scene.

So...why is Mia so tiny ? She's breastfed , formula fed, and eating solids. I pump my milk and feed her from bottles on occasion , she eats every 3hrs or so. I don't know why she's so tiny...she just is.

As Thumper's mama told him many years ago.... "if you don't got nuthin' nice to say, don't say nuthin' at all" .

proud to be a hypocrite.

...sounds crazy , right?? WRONG!

I am a complete food hypocrite. I tell my kids not to eat too much candy, I tell them junk food is bad for us and I tell them to eat their vegetables. All true and important things to tell our children. But.... I love candy. I love anything sweet and sour, and I also looooooove chips [especially with dip!] I hate zucchini- you can't pay me to eat zucchini , I've done it on occasion but I gag, I heave, it's embarrassing. I made my kids muffins with zucchini in them [I know...I'm evil] and I was trying my hardest not to gag as I shredded the stuff. Look at that, even typing about it makes my jowels start getting ready to heave.

So- I do what any good parent does. I eat healthy during the day, infront of my kids I stuff my face with lettuce, carrots, everything fresh and delicious [because I actually do love eating healthy] but when they go to bed..or even nap time...I'm raiding the cupboard for everything "bad" for us. cookies, chips, my secret stash of sour jujubes [THE BEST]. Does that make me a hypocrite? Sure it does...but I think that's one area of hypocracy, that I'm proud to be a part of !!

You're probably wondering if keeping my kids away from all the bad for you things, works for us. Well- my kids eat a lot of organic, dairy,soy,nut,gluten-free stuff [because of Manning's colitis, sometimes it's just easier feeding them all the same snacks!] I also try to stay away from refined sugars; I make delicious allergy friendly cake/cupcakes and cookies, super-food filled muffins, super healthy allergy-free trail mixes , etc. When my kiddos go somewhere and are eating cake ["store-bought cake" ] they won't eat even 1/4 of it,and they'll politely tell you, there's too much sugar in it  , and clear their plate. To me, that's a very big parenting WIN. :-)

{if you're lucky...I'll post a few of my recipes if there's interest!}

Great Wolf Lodge with 4 kids

We did it- we survived the Lodge....with 4 kids in tow. Thankfully, my husband and I recruited my dad [ a.k.a "Ampy"] to come with us ! It was a big, wonderful place. All the kids had a blast - there was something for absolutely everyone...but it's a vast place, where kids can disappear in a second. You stop to connect with your spouse for two seconds to say " ok, so meet back here in 10 mins"  , you go to grab you 2yr olds hand...and there's no hand to grab. This happened, about...ooooh....100 times today, with Manning! That kid- LOVED the water park! He wasn't too big on the slides [wouldn't go near them!] , didn't want to go in the whirlpool, or the waves. He didn't want to go in any water that went any deeper than his little chubby knees. But there's a ton of splash-pad type areas with fountains, sprays, spouts, puddles.

I went on a few big slides with Mason- the look of sheer terror followed by a proud smile on his face, I wish I could capture them on camera, but I wasn't allowed to bring it on the slide!! Madison loved the "little-big" slides, perfect intro slides for little guys. I showed her the trick to  go super fast [lie on your back, and cross your arms over your heart] She went on those slides over and over and over.

We will definitely go back again, but unless we've got a large adult following [...ha...right!] we will probably be waiting until Mia turns 2 to experience the adventure again.

For those wondering though: it was great for a kid with allergies- they are VERY accomodating. We didn't order much food from the lodge , it was too pricey- but they made an exception for Manning's dietary needs and he ate very well. The room we stayed in was ideal- a king bed in a seperate room [with a lock!] , 2 double beds, a double pull out in the main room, a large bar and bar fridge, 6 pull up bar stools, a balcony. Big tv in main room and the king suite. Tons for the kids to do, not in water. They do scavenger hunts, pj story time, cub club, and more. GREAT family vacation to stay close to home.

holy judgement, Batman!

I cannot believe the amount of judgement there is in the world. Especially, for mothers. I took 2 of my littles out today to run some errands before our big adventure tomorrow. We managed to get everything we needed done, before noon. [yay us!] even snuck in some playtime and lunch in there. At our last stop, Mia started to fuss part-way through [we were at our holistic food market, getting snacks for tomorrow's car ride!]. Keep in mind, when Mia fusses..it's about as loud as a wimper. I wasn't stressing, I was doing the "shhhh baby girl" and rolling the cart around back and forth, trying to calm her. I took her out and was carrying her for a few mins, then we got to the check out and I put her back in her carseat [she's still in the bucket]. All eyes were on me, as I clipped my crying child back into her carseat, instead of going crazy trying to fix the problem. I'm paying for my few groceries and the lady at the cash goes " wow, what's wrong with your baby?" I said... " she's pooped through her clothes, is hungry and tired" . [perhaps...I was too specific?? lol] the look I got from her when I said that....could have killed me. She says - " oh my, well the bathrooms are right there, you should change her right away" . ....Thanks, tips. I smiled, and said thank you- but home is only a short drive away, I will change her there where it's easier than wrangling my busy 2yr old in their tiny bathroom. She watched me with disapproving eyes as I put my cart back in the corral, slung my 2yr old over my shoulder, my bag on my arm, purse on the other, and bucket seat with crying baby, in one hand. [new meaning to bag lady!?] .

Amazing how many looks I got from people, simply because my child was crying. Yes...I get it- baby cries are sad, pull at the heartstrings, etc. But babies can fuss for a few minutes without mama jumping, stressing, and running around like a chicken with her head cut-off- simply to calm baby. Granted- if Mia was screaming, tears streaming, hyperventalating,red crying- I would have grabbed my stuff from the car and changed her in the store.

Does wanting to be home [5min drive from there] where Manning would be safe, I could sit down to feed Mia without having a blanket covering her head, to change diapers...make me an awful mother??!

Rebellion time

Phew I'm on a roll tonight.

I've been thinking about it for years- since I was 18 actually...so that's... uhm..*cough11yearscough* but I never knew what I wanted. Now with 10 years with the love of my life, 4 babies, and a solid head on my shoulders {I think anyway?? haha} I've decided I'm ready to get a tattoo. Nothing crazy...like really, I am sure the tattoo artist will laugh at me when I go in to get it done- and they'll HAVE to charge me $30 or something just to make it worth their while..but I'm ready and I know what I want. I'm getting it on my inner wrist [ don't worry- when I become a CEO it will be for my own company, so I won't have to worry about the "rules"since I'll be making them ;-) ] it's going to be small, subtle, and uber sexy. I am going to plan a day to go [soon!] with my gf who also has wanted a tattoo for years, and I'll post photos. 

I want this Barbie {for myself, not my girls!}...think I could pull this look off??!

What am I doing here??

Ever walk into a room, and then stand there with  a blank stare , thinking to yourself : why did I come in here? I  do this daily.  I'm going to blame it on the 4 babies I've had in 5 years. They say that when  a woman is pregnant , her hormones make her body do all sorts of crazy things- and memory loss/memory retention is a big one. You hear people joke "oh mommy brain moment!" or " doh-blame it on the baby brain!!" ....listen to them, and give them a break.

I have now resorted to calendars, hand written hanging in my kitchen- AND on my blackberry, which I set reminders for 1day before and 1hr before something is supposed to happen...and I still forget. Half the time, I remember something ALL DAY and then said event is taking place and...I've forgotten. A big one for that- is birthdays. I think to myself ...literally, from a few days before, "so-and-so's birthday is in 3 days. get him/her a card" ...I assume I've made a mental note, and then go on with my day. 3 days goes by, I wake up and say " a crap, it's so-and-so's bday and I forgot to get them a card. Make sure I send a message online or phone" ....then it's suddenly 11pm, and neither of those things have taken place.

I double book myself constantly- this is a huge problem of mine. I'm getting better though, I now check my calendar before commiting to anything , I feel so silly saying "let me check my calendar and get back to you" but I really have to- or I'll have 3 birthday parties in one day, and a craft show...and I'll be making a cake for one of the birthdays. Seriously...I've done this kind of thing before! oh and fit in dance class in the morning. My husband gets really annoyed with me- he doesn't understand how someone can be "so absent minded" ...(*grumble!!!!*) but he has never experienced pregnancy, childbirth, OR keeping up with 4 kids all day long, trying to follow conversations and stories as I do and remember friends names and what that friend said about this, what colour shoes that friend wore today ,etc.

[or this morning when getting into the car to take Madison to preschool- she found her "pretty shoes" outside. So she wanted to wear those  , not the ones on her feet {both were flip flops} so she assumed one of each was a great idea...I won THAT battle,but she won the pretty shoe battle]


Here's a typical conversation of the day:

Mummy: Manning, let mummy help you put your shoes on
Manning: No. Do yelf. {self}
Mummy: ok well when you're ready, let me know and I will help you.
Manning: RAAAAAWR SHOE!!!!!!! ON!!!!!
Mummy: ....can I help you?
Manning: NO! DO YELF!
Mummy: ok. (walk away to get something else )
Manning: Mam!? help shoe!! on!!
Mummy: so you're ready for me now?
Manning: ya mum. hank. [thanks]

imagine this....10 more times in one day and tell me...am I absent minded, or do I choose not to retain the information ? ;-)

                        Just because this makes me smile. Here's when Mason and Moose were babies.

..I'm not dead...

Just because I'm married and have 4 beautiful babies.... ;-)

So I went into the city today with my boys and baby Mia [Madison was in preschool] to visit my sister in her new condo. She's in the fashion district of Toronto- trendiest place in the city! I love it. She's one lucky bitch. Everyone is beautiful, artistic, unique, and fashionable in their own right. Everyone has a cool looking dog, drinks cool looking coffee, and has a cool sounding name. [Amadeus?! and he was Hot- right Rachel?!?]

So we wandered the streets this afternoon, taking it all in. What a great change of scenery- I love just walking in Toronto. I don't have to spend a dime, I just love to walk and thankfully, so do the kids. With the street cars, the big cool buildings, statues, birds, dogs, you name it- not one tear of tiredness, not one fight, it was great. We popped into this new ice cream place around the corner from her place, called "Cool Hand Luc". We will definitely be going back. Not only did the owner [Luke...a.k.a delicious] know a lot about wholistic, whole foods , but they have dairy,soy,nut,gluten-free sorbet which is seperate from the ice cream AND it is delicious, he was super friendly, super helpful, super delicious on the eyes, and lifted my stroller down/up the stairs since there's no ramp {and didn't drop it haha} . Manning felt so included and special, being able to get his very own ice cream, in a shop. This was a big moment- and I wish I had taken a picture of him eating his sorbet..but I was too busy planning Rachel's next run-in with Hotty McScoops A Lot to snap it. oops. mummy fail.

Check them out- and tell them I sent you! http://www.coolhandluc.ca/ ....and take a picture for me.

with sunshine, comes exhaustion!

So, I know I'm not alone here- but for mums who stay home, whether they stay at home and don't work or work from home [ I do a bit of both] when the sun is out and weather is warm and dry and beautiful- the kids want to live outside. This leaves little time for anything that needs to be done, IN the house. I had two mounds of laundry waiting to be folded all day..heck...since yesterday. I tried my hardest keeping up on things inside, but the kids were in for maybe a total of 20mins all day. I even had 9 kiddos in my backyard at one point ! We have so much fun in the warm weather- we have a jumpy castle, a swing set, playhouse, dog who loves to play with kids, water table...you name it,we've probably got it going on either out back or in the garage to be played with in the front.

I love having a house that's welcoming to friends to pop in whenever they want, I love that the neighbour kids enjoy playing here and want to come visit/play. I figure, our kids are only little once...and I will be slaving over my house for the rest of my life. I might as well enjoy these moments since I am able to, and get outside and play! I do just that- I get on the jumpy castle and go crazy with my kids [and the neighbour kids!!] my neighbourhood must think I'm crazy, since I just moved the castle to the backyard- it's been outfront when I've used it for the last week!!

Also with warm weather, comes my schedules. In the winter we fill our days however we can, fly by the seats of our pants type of deal. In the spring/summer, there are so many wonderful things I want my kids to do and experience- they are never done learning! I try to plan nature walks, where we collect treasures and bring them home and talk about them. We make tons of crafts [love painting outside!!] we visit different parks, we go to the splash pads [parks with water that sprays out , some are even interactive!] , we do library trips, etc. Last year I ran a playgroup that went horribly wrong, but I met a few great people from it- not sure I'm going to open my doors to that insanity again [I caught a mum searching through my purse...and she denied it!]

It's only been one week of freakishly warm weather...and I'm already EXHAUSTED. I just want to sleep right now, but the laundry is still calling my name, sitting right beside me- partly folded.

                                                I just want to close my eyes!! :-)

Frugal mama

Raising 4 kids is not for the weak at heart. It can be expensive, and wonderfully chaotic. If I payed msrp for all of my kids clothes...we'd be forced to live in my van, down by the river- I'm sure of it.  ;-)

So how do I escape paying full retail for my kids play clothes and shoes? Sales, Clearance, and Once Upon a Child!

I went today, to Once Upon a Child with the boys and Mia and dropped $100.00. But with that I got :

4 shorts for Madison, 1 pair of sandals for Madison, 1 pair of boots for Madison (brand new) , 3 shorts for Mason, 2 shirts Mason, 1 pair of leather sandals for Mason, 4 shorts for Manning, 1 new sweatshirt for Manning,  4 shirts for Manning, 2 jeans for Mia, 1 pair of jammies for each kid, and a baby-doll walker [which in all fairness, I thought was the tiniest walker I had ever seen, and thought it would be perfect for Mia...then I snapped out of my "blonde moment" - think {" look...baby dohnuts!" } and realized it was for dolls. I tried it anyway ...and I was right- so now Madison's dolls have a great learning tool to walk. lol....oops. oh well, it was $4.

How far does $100.00 get you while shopping for clothes for your kids? Oh and everything I bought was name brand [Gap, Nautica, Children's Place] .

I love successful trips to the consignment store,especially when I have a heap of kids in tow!

                                                 here we are....blogging for today!

If it's not the kids...it's the dog!

Meet Moose.

Moose is a beautiful 6yr old Hungarian Vizsla with the heart of an angel. He is a sweet, loving domestic giant.....who is afraid of his own shadow. Moose has many anxieties, I feel as though I'm bubble wrapping my house, just so Moose can walk and live calmly. I've got foam mats lining a "runway" for Moose, so he can go from stairs, to kitchen, to dog bed in family room. If there is even one mat missing, Moose will sit on the mat before the missing piece, and cry for an hour ...because he's stranded on an island, [and the sharks might get him...] We joke that we need to take a video of him, because he has to back into certain rooms of the house, and up certain steps of the staircase. When he does we say "beep,beep,beep" like a large truck in reverse lol. He walks sideways past certain openings, dark shadows scare him, wind instruments terrify him- my list could go on and have a blog of it's own.

His latest anxiety is over sewer grates. You know the ones on the road, that are sort of open- the kids love sending rocks down them to hear them splash. Moose is TERRIFIED! After an almost bad situation during a walk last week with kids on bikes, Mia in stroller, etc  I found out Moose is afraid of these grates [when his backend almost took out a bike] . So I am determined to beat this fear- I got him comfortable enough to sit on the grate for a few mins, and get calm that time. I took Moose and Mia for a walk tonight, and he only had one episode of terror , and then proceeded to stick his snout into every hole [it's sort of waffle-like ]  sniffing, wagging his tail . He made it over 6 sewer grates with only a tiny bit of apprehension! SUCCESS!

I'd love for Moose to be "normal" ..but he will never be. Moose is such a gentle soul and we're trying to find a solution to his anxieties to give him some relief [and to give me a sanity break!] but haven't found anything that works wonders yet. We tried Rescue Remedy first- but it just made him an anxious dog...who puked a lot. Then we tried Clomicalm from the vet- and I didn't notice an improvement, but I noticed MORE anxieties so I stopped that one. Next step is human anti-depressants but I'm hoping that a ton of fresh air, a lot of play with the kids during the day and a long walk everynight, will make a big difference- I think he has cabin fever, and his depression [he seems to get depressed in the winter months] lifts when we get outside finally. I might hire a dog walker for the cold months next year...

with sunshine, comes chaos

I love the sun. I love everything that has to do with warm weather, fresh air, bright hot sun, and the outdoors. Well...ok, almost everything.

I hate the crap that comes with the sun.... bugs, sunburn, allergies, scraped knees, dirty feet, dirty faces, kids who strip down naked at the drop of a hat, body odour, sweating, heat stroke....

Getting the kids out of the house in the winter to play, was like preparing for a marathon. For 20 mins of frigid play, it was about 2hrs start to finish to get them all  ready. Now, with the warm weather...it's not quite as elaborate with layers, but I now have to explain why we can't live in a "kini" [bikini as per Madison], we can't go everywhere in bare feet, that bubbles are  for outside, sunscreen is our friend, etc,etc, etc.

Today I had 4 kiddos outside [3 of mine, 1 of my friends - my oldest was in school] and after a while it just turns into a gong-show. I think my 2yr  old has an allergy to the sun now...[how fun??] so going out in the rays won't ever be the same- I still haven't found a sunscreen gentle enough for his sensitive skin, that's also safe for his colitis.

Lesson I learned today:

Let them be. Give children guidance, help them succeed- but let them be. Kids will fight over the most ridiculous things...I have decided [today] that they can figure it out on their own. As long as nobody is bleeding, nobody is being bullied, they can figure it out and come up with a solution. I decided this as I turned my chair so my back was to the fight over who's turn it was to close a lid, and sipped my fresh coffee from my happy springtime mug and listened to my 6 month old coo, giggle, and smile.

2nd lesson : don't wear long hair down, when nursing a busy 6 month old.*OUCH!*

....walk a mile in a child's shoes, and you might just learn some of life's greatest lessons.

Random ramblings.

I just celebrated my 29th birthday- when I say just...I mean, 2 days ago. I have 4 beautiful adoring children, and a loving husband. I had 3 of my 4 babies drug-free and naturally. I bounced back from pregnancy like a freak-of-nature and am damn proud of it. I had 4 babies, in 5 years...and now I am 29. I am a warrior.

Hitting 29 used to scare me. 30 makes me a bit nervous, I can't lie. I know it's just a number, and that everyone turns 30 once in their lives...but for whatever reason, 30 scares the shit out of me. This is my year though- I can feel it. My youngest little babe is 6 months old right now, and I'm being hit with such a creative, inspired wave of energy lately. Its almost as though Mia's birth, set free that starving artist that's been burried for 8 or so years.

So- I've successfully hit 29 and I'm still inspired, I'm still motivated, and I'm ready for this year!

on my list of things I'm going to do this year :  [this list will grow I'm sure]

*zip lining
*visiting a shooting range
*redecorating my entire house for less than $1000.00
*spending more 1-on-1 time with each of my amazing children
*making more time for my loving and handsome husband {and I! }
*throwing the most amazingly inspired birthday parties for each of my children
* really working on getting my businessses out there and going!! [http://www.maplebottoms.ca/ - go!!]
* making more time to get to know myself. Doing things I want to do!
* training for a bike race , which I want to enter when I turn 30!

THIS is the one.

This is the blog I'm going to keep on top of. This is the blog I'm going to stay up-to-date with. This is the blog you'll find my witty parenting adventures and tips I've learned along the way.

When you read this blog, you'll get to know a little more about me. You'll feel like we've been friends our whole lives. You'll laugh, you'll laugh harder. You'll look at your life and cherish every "blip" when you hear about mine [not that I have a lot..but it always helps get over your stuff when you hear about someone else's ...*stuff*. ]

So....welcome to my blog, lets see if I can post everyday until my 30th birthday....*gulp*. Considering I just turned 29 on the 16th....I hope you're ready to read about a lot of "stuff".