Today I:
- went to Levi's Outdoor Fun Day at school
- weeded the garden (OK, not all of it)
- planted some annuals
- had a nap
- made chicken noodle soup
- mowed the inner lawn
- shampooed the main floor carpet
- bathed all my kids
- cut Josh's hair
- got a very sore back
- am very tired
- am not yet in labour despite trying to over work myself
You know that list you have in your head that you want to get done before baby arrives???? Mine is just about done. Done enough that I won't mind a bit if baby decided to show up sooner than later. Some of the things we've accomplished are:
- clean out fridge/freezer (my MIL helped with this one and did the oven/stove, too while she was at it!!!!)
- made some freezer meals
- organized kids clothes for summer and got baby clothes out
- cleaned my room well
- went to Calgary and got my American passport
- cut the boys hair
- prepare and send off taxes
Things that are still on the list:
- clean the kitchen light over the table
- organize my craft stuff
- plant my annuals
- pick a name!!!
Other than the name thing nothing has me too worried. But really, we have nothing. I liked Esther but found out last night Josh isn't too keen. So we have nothing. Boy or girl, nothing. Maybe if its a girl we can just call her Baby and if its a boy we can call him Buddy.
We went back to the Dr's a few days later to re-x-ray (is that a word?) Levi's arm. This new Dr was really smart and asked for both elbows so that we could compare good and bad. Turns out his elbow is NOT dislocated, and IS broken. Poor guy. His half cast is all he needs, though, and according to the specialist in Lethbridge who looked at the radiographs, if you were to break your arm this is the way to break it. Levi has been rather..... emotional at times. Very sadly he has fallen THREE TIMES onto his arm while playing outside or even lego at the table. That sure isn't helping things heal quickly. The last few days he has been more calm and I am grateful for a husband who can give blessings of peace, comfort and healing to a very sad little boy.
Enoch has been picking up reading recently. When we read scriptures at night he will sound out words pretty well. (The short ones, of course). The best was when he read people as pee-op-po-lee. We all laughed our heads off at that. He is really loving school and has fun helping Daddy around the yard. That kid is a shadow of Josh's, for sure. Loves to do absolutely anything with him.
Monet runs the roost around here. I admit I am looking forward to having a real baby and not just a self professed one in the house. Her hair is long enough for a little pony tail in the back; so cute! She is my shadow and likes to "help" me weed the flower gardens and plant seeds in the vegetable garden. She still hates it when I sing to her but she will now let me sing My Heavenly Father Loves Me, since there are actions to it. Potty training has been put on hold as she refused to use it after our last trip to Calgary. One day I will be diaper free...... one day........
This last is from Easter in Saskatoon.
I don't know how many times when the boys were in my belly, that Josh made the joke while they were kicking, "oh, looks like he's gonna be a soccer player."
They are now. Levi and Enoch are on the same U6 team here in Stirling. I debated putting Enoch in, but he insisted that he wanted to play. I think he hates it. He is definitely the slowest and smallest on the team. He never gets the ball and usually spends most of his time watching from a distance the pack of kids and the ball; he doesn't even try to run after them. And thats if he's standing up. He might just be sitting on the field staring at the grass. That seems to amuse him, too.
Levi on the other hand, being among the oldest on the team, has been doing well. He gets the ball and dribbles it and all that jazz. Unfortunately last night on a break away a good defenseman stopped him in his tracks and they both went down; with Levi landing on his elbow. Now he can be quite dramatic at the best of times so I sort of ignored his crying at first. But when it continued for an hour after we got home, we decided to take him into Raymond to the hospital. A couple x-rays later shows no broken bones but a dislocated elbow that for one reason or another the doctor couldn't put back in place. So Levi gets to wear a half cast for the next few days and then we go in again for more x-rays. I am ashamed to say I had to really hold back the laughter when Levi asked me about the worst day of my life. He was pretty sad. He wanted to know about Daddy's, too. What was sad, though, was when he asked me if he was gonna die. I assured him no such thing was going to happen, it was just a sore arm. He also wanted to know if he was hurt or wounded. What's the difference? I am not sure, but he seems to think there is one. Hopefully next week soccer won't be quite so eventful.
A couple weekends ago I got very spoiled and spent some much loved time with three of the most awesome girls I know. We used to be 4 very silly girls in high school. Nowadays we aren't quite so ridiculous, until you put us together. It was so fun to laugh and talk and spend time with these girls that I have known for so long.
Recently I talked about reading my journals. I made it through HS safe and intact, and much of it had to do with having these three girls around. Yes, we were idiots sometimes; but we all shared common beliefs and I was never afraid to be who I was when these people were around. We have always been able to be just who we are around eachother. (For better or for worse). I love these girls more than I can really express, and am so glad that dreams of fab 4 reunions as teenagers actually come true, even into our thirties!!!
The weekend included dining at Chiantis, a favorite Italian restaurant that is sort of a tradition for us. We also watched the infamous music videos - for years around new years we would sing and dance in front of a camera thinking that we looked real cool. Watching these videos now provides endless laughter and we wonder what on earth we were thinking. What is even more funny is that we would get other people to watch these. My apologies if you were one of them. At least we have stopped that bad habit. We also got manicures (don't really care for) and pedicures (love) and ate a lot of candy. The weekend flew by and was so fun. Thanks to a great sister, husband and mother-in-law who all watched the kids so I could really enjoy my girl time!
Monet got a wonderful, cuddly, cute, soft, pink blankie when she was born. She loves it and sleeps with it every night.
We left it in Calgary a couple weeks ago, and had a difficult night the first night back. She quickly adopted a new blankie that Levi liked and all was well again.
BUT - then we went to Saskatoon. We had arranged for the blanket to meet us there, but that fell through. We soon discovered that the combination of Monet without her blanket and without her own bed equaled a complete disaster. Well, a disaster if sleep is something that you require or want.
Monet did not sleep. No naps unless she was sleeping on Daddy's chest, she would not fall asleep at night. Not even with me laying next to her bed for HOURS. She would eventually sleep in MY bed, between me and Josh. Not so comfy when you consider we are used to a king sized bed for two, and we were sharing a futon for three. AAAAAAHHHHHhhhhhhh!!! It was pretty awful. Needless to say we took the long route home and stopped in Calgary on the way to Stirling. Monet slept that night at her Gramma's without a fuss or tear, all night, with her beloved blankie. And I am happy to report that she has been sleeping happily ever after ever since.
This past weekend we went to Saskatoon. It was really awesome to see the old haunts and places that were such a big part of our life for 4 years. It was even better to see our roomies of 3 years and hang out with them for the weekend, along with their kids. Pam and I are both very pregnant which made it extra fun - you can complain all you want about how sore you are etc to someone else who feels the exact same way.
It was also so nice to go to church! How I miss Wildwood! So many familiar faces. So many new ones, too. It was great to catch up with friends, but I quickly realized that next time I need to plan for a girls night or something. 2 minutes at church really just doesn't cut it. Not one little bit.
The Easter Bunny came while we were all at church, and the kids had a blast searching for candy with their cool Easter buckets. Levi and Enoch definitely got their fair share of the candy, the younger kids were just as happy with a few jelly beans and chocolate eggs. We had a great dinner with ham and twice baked potatoes. MMMmmmmm. I asked Levi to sum up what Easter means, worried he might talk about the candy. But he didn't, he summed it up with "An empty tomb."
How grateful I am for a Savior who lived, died, and lives again! I love Easter. I think maybe even more than Christmas. Its really the same celebration, but in the spring this time. What's not to love?
Is it bad to admit that I haven't been all that excited about this new baby?
Until now.
Don't get me wrong, I have always been happy that we are expecting, and this is something I wanted, I just haven't really had the time to think much about it.
Maybe its spring. Maybe it is the fact that basketball season is over. But as this baby in my tummy is super wiggly and as I am getting pretty big and uncomfortable, the thought of meeting this new little spirit is SO EXCITING!!!! I have to admit, I am baby hungry and am feeling lucky that I won't have to wait too long to get my fix.
So this winter was cold. And snowy. I have to admit that as I experienced my first AB winter in 5 years, I thought quietly to myself that the winters here are a little colder than I remember, and just as windy. At the same time, though, I was thinking that things were pretty good and glad the -30 never lasted more than a week or two. I also observed that snow that falls in a certain month usually melts in that same month. Whenever I was feeling sorry for my cold self, I would check the weather network and just be glad that I wasn't still where I was last year. (No offense to any who live there, it is just way colder there!!).
But now I have learned that this winter was an extra cold one for these parts. That is music to my ears. For the last four years February and March have crawled along at such a slow pace that it was hardly even possible to believe. But now, here it is, April, with snow patches here and there on the ground, and I can almost see flowers. The kids play outside regularly. I am so excited for spring, I just hope that when it comes it stays with a vengeance.
