tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-169561782024-03-14T00:06:58.656-07:00Little ToewsiesJamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.comBlogger659125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-59670241538945107852014-08-12T22:53:00.000-07:002014-08-12T22:53:09.366-07:00First Birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On August 11th, our baby girl celebrated her first birthday!</div>
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The occasion called for pulling out the <i>real</i> camera (as opposed to the ever-present iPhone) and documenting the event on my much-neglected blog (as opposed to the instant gratification of instagram/facebook). <br />
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A year ago I was in an "easier" season of parenting where all 3 older kids were relatively independent and things were running pretty smoothly in our household... And then enters baby Miriam: the nursing newborn stage, the fussy evenings, the night wakings... then it was the too-short naps or the not-at-all-naps and the right-before-I'm-trying-to-get-dinner-on-the-table whine fest... which has turned into "whatever keeps the baby happy" (i.e. letting her shred - and possibly eat - paper or allowing her to empty the entire contents of any and/or all cabinets in the kitchen...) My days are much fuller and my time is much less my own, BUT this girl has brought so much joy and laughter into our house this year. She is a constant form of entertainment for all of us (so much that I worry she will believe the world revolves around her every move), the older kids adore her and fight over her and want to be the one she looks at or laughs at or plays with or crawls to...<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Miriam has become a fixture in our family and it is hard to think of what our family would be like without her.</span><br />
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Miriam's nicknames have evolved over the year. As with all the kids, we came up with silly little pet names for her - odd names like Meerkat or Whimsical Mimsical or Mimsi-Bear... The names Mimsi and Meems were pretty common, but the one name that has stuck - I think permanently - is Mimi. I'm not sure I would've expected to be calling her that when we chose the name Miriam, but it's become fully adopted by all the members of this household. </div>
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Miriam is definitely starting to communicate more and more. Her official first word would have to be kitty - which mostly just sounds like the letter "T" over and over, along with violent (but excited) shaking every time she sees the cat. She also says "mo" for more, and "na-na" for night-night. She waves bye-bye and claps her hands, especially when she stands unassisted, which is happening ALL the time right now. She has attempted a step or two in between people/objects but no serious toddling yet. <br />
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Miriam loves to look at books and spend long concentrated moments turning pages back and forth. Otherwise her favourite thing is to be in her Mommy's arms. And if Mommy's arms are busy, she enjoys hanging onto her legs and keeping Mommy from doing whatever task it is that Mommy is trying to finish - sinking her teeth into Mommy's thigh to get her point across if necessary. <br />
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Miriam is our best eater yet - probably mostly because we've thrown her right into the world of food without spending too much time in the baby cereal/pureed food stage. Some of Miriam's favourite foods are things my other kids wouldn't touch. Her fave right now is a Mexican quinoa salad with veggies and black beans. She also really likes the pancakes I make for her most mornings (1 egg, 1 banana, some oatmeal, cinnamon & vanilla). She is loving all our BC berries and has eaten more than her weight in blueberries and raspberries over the last month. She has no problem trying just about any food - she polishes off raw broccoli florets and gobbles up homemade salsa... The only problem with her adventurous eating is that it sometimes overlaps to other not-so-edible items - her two favourites being paper and cat food. She LOVES cat food. And if I don't put it up high and snatch up every little kitty crumble off the floor, she <i>will</i> find it and she <i>will </i>eat it. <br />
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Miriam has never really taken to a bottle, but has learned to drink from a straw and a sippy cup, though those are mostly just for water. I'm still breastfeeding - this is the longest I've made it with any of my kids so far - and I'm hoping we can keep it up a little while longer. <br />
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We celebrated Miriam's 1st year with a family get-together. The kids and I had fun putting some simple decorations together for her little party. It is so nice to plan an outside party after all my winter/spring babies...<br />
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My inspiration was a $2 package of cupcake papers I found at Walmart - I loved the green and pale peach colours and decided to use the extra liners to decorate...<br />
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Miriam thoroughly enjoyed her first cupcake (dairy-free to be friendly for all our guests - made with coconut milk/oil... <a href="http://veronicascornucopia.com/2011/07/13/dairy-free-white-cupcakes/">Cupcake recipe here</a> and <a href="http://premeditatedleftovers.com/recipes-cooking-tips/dairy-free-butter-cream-frosting/">icing recipe here</a>.) <br />
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The cupcake didn't stand a chance...<br />
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The year has gone by so fast! But we are in love with our little Mimi and can't wait to see how much she learns and grows in the year to come!<br />
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Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-57800085502020440212014-03-05T14:44:00.001-08:002014-03-05T14:46:18.940-08:00Florida Trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Back from another hiatus - this time to blog about our Disney trip a few months ago! I had a tough time choosing which pictures to post so it's turned into a barrage of photos. But that's OK. In a few years from now it'll be fun to look back at our vacation memories!<br />
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There was a lot of planning and anticipating that went on before we left on our trip. And the packing, ohhh the packing...<br />
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(Silas in his hatred-of-all-photos stage)<br />
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Miriam was 3 and 1/2 months when we left on our trip. This turned out to be the ideal time to travel with her. Young enough to nap in her stroller and not be too distracted while nursing in many, many locations... And young enough that we didn't need to think about bringing baby food, sippy cups and all the paraphernalia that goes along with feeding. My own self and my nursing cover where all I needed to keep her fed and happy!<br />
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None of our kids could remember the last time they were on a plane - it's been awhile! The flight attendants were so great and they let the kids come up to the front to check out the cockpit. Micah was feeling quite anxious about the flight and I think talking to the pilots helped ease his mind :)<br />
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After 2 flights, getting our baggage and rental car, and making a late-night stop at McDonald's to feed some hungry children (and grown-ups too, who am I kidding!), we headed off to our final destination. We are SO fortunate to have family living just outside of Orlando (Winter Garden) - my sister Nichole, her husband, Brad and their 2 kids, Josh & Kailyn. Staying at their house was what made this vacation affordable for our family. Plus it was so great to spend time with family. We also had the perks of having the expertise of Disney-veterans during our days in the parks, not to mention a free nanny service! My 13-year old niece Kailyn took care of Miriam about 90% of the time and she honestly DID NOT get tired of it. As much as I <i>loved</i> babies as a teenager I don't think I could've handled it for as long as Kailyn did. It was Ahh-mazing!</div>
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The first couple of days we just relaxed and enjoyed some of the local sights, including the football field at the HUGE high school down the street. <br />
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After some debate we left our big camera at home and took an older smaller digital camera on our trip. But in the end we didn't use it even once and took every single vacation picture on our iphones. So they may not be amazing but with 4 kids in tow we were all about compact and convenient.</div>
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My parents were also in Florida visiting when we arrived and we got to overlap with them for a few days before they headed back to Manitoba. Here is part of our entourage at the Farmer's Market (and me nursing in the midst of it!)<br />
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We explored a nearby lake and spotted some alligators as well as some Canadian moose if you can believe it... ;)<br />
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Brad & Nichole showed us a local school that has a grove of orange trees - free for the taking! So sweet and juicy...<br />
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After we had sufficiently relaxed, it was time to start using our 5-day Disney park pass! Here is Silas scanning his card for the first time...<br />
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Magic Kingdom here comes the Toews family! (Silas is excited... really, he is)<br />
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Kailyn was getting her baby fix that day. We commented over and over that her arms must be tired but she denied it! With her holding Miriam it freed up both our strollers for tired older children :)<br />
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Keziah ready to drive her first car in tomorrowland...<br />
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Micah giving Grandpa a rough ride.<br />
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Stopping for lunch. We are quite the crew...<br />
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Carousel ride.<br />
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Spotting Mickey and Minnie performing at the castle.<br />
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Splash Mountain...<br />
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It was a long first day at Disney and our last day with Granny & Grandpa!<br />
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We were all pooped - especially this little guy. <br />
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The next day Brad & Nichole showed us around a place called <a href="http://www.gktw.org/">Give Kids the World</a> - a place that holds significant meaning for their family. They brought their son Noah here on his wish trip shortly before he passed away. Now they spend as much time as they can volunteering here. It's a pretty fun place for kids to be!<br />
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Next stop - Epcot! The previous days were warm but this was the first day it started getting HOT...<br />
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Test track was our favourite Epcot ride - gotta love those g-forces :)<br />
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Miriam just went with the flow...<br />
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Oh no. Bruce ate my children.<br />
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Next park was Animal Kingdom. The Expedition Everest roller coaster was a favourite! Silas had to miss out on some of the bigger rides but he was a pretty good sport about it as long as he got a treat and some extra iphone time while he waited. <br />
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Kailyn & Josh introduced the kids to Disney pin trading.<br />
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Micah trading pins with a Disney employee...<br />
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Stopping for a lunch break.<br />
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We enjoyed watching people's reactions when Kailyn was carrying Miriam around. One lady in particular could not stop staring and we overheard her asking her husband if he thought she was the mom! <br />
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Petting zoo.<br />
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One of Micah's souvenir purchases.<br />
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It was very sweet watching how 11-year-old Josh interacted with Silas. <br />
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Silas resisting a photo yet again.<br />
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We had a few more days off in between Disney park days. Josh showed the kids where he likes to go fishing.<br />
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Miriam was her usual cute self - hanging out in her stroller. A lot.<br />
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Erik had a pretty cool opportunity to go with Brad to an NHL game featuring Tampa Bay Lightning and Winnipeg Jets. </div>
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They had pretty good seats!<br />
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One day we drove to Daytona Beach. It was an absolutely perfect day at the beach. We could've spent a few more days there I think!<br />
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The next Disney Park was Hollywood Studios. This looks like a statue but it's actually a real man in costume.<br />
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And the most-feared ride - the Tower of Terror. Micah absolutely refused to go on it - mostly because of his fear of "haunted" things (he wouldn't do the Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom either). I really didn't want to go on it either because I hate dropping rides - but I put my brave pants on and did it. Ironically this was a ride that Silas was big enough for and so we convinced both him and Keziah to go on. It was intense. I think we ruined Silas for rides after this one and he was scared to go on pretty much everything after this!<br />
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But as scary and intense as it was, it has been hands-down the most talked-about ride since we came home. Micah even told us that he regrets not going on it. <br />
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This was the photo taken during the ride (we're all in the back row). <br />
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Uncle Brad and Miriam having a moment together.<br />
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Our last day we went back to Magic Kingdom and rode our favourites as many times as we could. Splash Mountain was at the top of our list:<br />
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And Space Mountain - Micah's favourite:<br />
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Meanwhile I took the girls to meet the princesses. Keziah was star-struck.<br />
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And then it was time to say good-bye to Disney! Hopefully not for too long though!! And hopefully Silas will be a little less camera-shy next time around...<br />
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But before we left the Disney property we took a quick swim at the Polynesian resort to cool off after a hot day.<br />
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Kailyn got in some extra cuddles with Miriam that evening - they were sad to say good-bye to each other.<br />
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Bye-bye Florida. We hope to come back again!<br />
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Travelling with 4 kids was an adventure. It was busy and a bit chaotic at times, but totally worth it. We made some amazing memories that will stay with us for a long time to come. <br />
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<br />Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-53768959830433429002014-01-11T17:12:00.000-08:002014-01-11T17:14:42.484-08:00Minnie Mouse Party & DIY Pinata<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Time to break my hiatus from blogging. Would you believe life has gotten busier with 4 kids?!? Who would've thought... I spend so many hours a day toting around a heavier-than-she-looks 5-month-old and anytime my arms are free I find myself frantically catching up on housework or half-asleep on the couch watching reruns of Duck Dynasty... </div>
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But now I'm ready for an update. And I'm going to rewind a couple of months back to Keziah's 7th birthday party. Every year the party theme is a subject of great debate. My daughter has some over-the-top ideas about what she would like and she also has a stubborn streak. But, if I'm strategic, I can convince her (every once in awhile) to go with one of my ideas. This year, in light of our upcoming trip to Disney, I convinced her to go with a Minnie Mouse theme, which turned out to be one of our simplest themes yet. </div>
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One nice thing about this theme is that you can find tons of Minnie Mouse birthday paraphernalia in all kinds of stores. We did buy some Minnie Mouse plates and balloons, but we also did a few crafty things to add our own personal touch. </div>
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We wanted all the party guests to have Minnie Mouse ears for the party so that was our first project. I t<span style="text-align: center;">raced circles on black cardstock (I think I used a plastic kids cup for this size circle) and drew a tab on one side before cutting it out. My dollar store glue gun came in very handy and these were done in no time. I just folded the tabs on the ears and glued them to the underside of the hair band. I used the ribbon to make small bows and glued them to the top of the headband. </span></div>
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Minnie Mouse ears complete!</div>
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I used more black and pink cardstock to create simple goody bags.<br />
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The cupcakes were the easiest ever! With regular size oreos and mini oreos we were able to create the mouse shape. Some of the ideas on Pinterest showed the addition of a pink bow using fondant, but that just sounded like waaaay too much work. I think with the pink icing they looked "feminine" enough to pass for Minnie cupcakes (as opposed to <i>Mickey</i> ones).<br />
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One thing that Keziah had her heart set on this year was having a pinata at her party. I really didn't want to buy one so I decided to see if we could create our own. It was actually pretty simple and I think it turned out really great!</div>
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I started off with some large cereal-type boxes rescued from my recycling bin and traced the mouse shape on them using a large dinner plate for the head and a smaller plate for the ears.<br />
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Then I cut strips of cardboard to make my head 3-dimensional and started creating my shape with lots of painters tape. <br />
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Half-finished and ready to tape the other side on. <br />
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My 3D pinata shape is finished. I left a flap at the top where I could add the candy in later. <br />
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Keziah was pretty pleased with the Minnie Mouse shape and next it was time for the fun part - paper mache!</div>
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We made a mixture of some white glue and water to make a sort of runny paste and then dipped in our ripped up newspaper - tons of fun for the whole family :)<br />
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After we felt it was sufficiently covered in glue and paper, we left our soggy shape to dry and harden. If you plan to attempt this, give yourself a few days. It took a day or so to dry and then I did about 3 coats of black paint (crayola craft paint) to get good coverage - leaving it to dry in between coats. <br />
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When it was finished I packed that baby full of leftover Halloween candy. (Side note: I decided to divvy up the candy into snack-sized ziploc bags - one for each guest - to avoid a crazy free-for-all where some kids might end up with a ton of candy while others got none.)<br />
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Lastly I taped the top flap closed with packing tape and added a pink bow, which I made by adapting the instructions I found <a href="http://www.usefuldiy.com/diy-modular-gift-bow/">here</a>. <br />
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And after we were finished, it was time to destroy our hard work! Erik drilled a couple of holes in the top and hung the pinata from our plum tree in the backyard. I wasn't sure how it would stand up to the baseball bat test - I didn't want it to come apart with the first hit but I also didn't want it to be an indestructible fortress either. In the end it worked out perfectly - each of the kids got a couple good whacks and then we let Keziah go to town on it until it broke open completely.<br />
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Overall, pinata-making was a pretty simple process and could work with all kinds of shapes - like a number for the birthday boy/girl's age or the first letter of their name... I think I may have inadvertently started a new birthday tradition... :)</div>
Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-19932650497444708952013-11-18T22:16:00.001-08:002013-11-18T22:16:45.206-08:00Look-Alikes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After perusing through Keziah's baby pictures this week, there is no doubt that our 2 girls are related. So I decided to have a little fun posting some comparison pictures of our look-alike daughters.</div>
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Miriam:</div>
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Keziah:</div>
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Keziah:<br />
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Miriam:<br />
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I had a little too much fun recreating this next pose, right down to the yellow receiving blanket. (One might think I have a lot of time on my hands...). Any guesses as to who's who??<br />
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Baby A:<br />
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Baby B:<br />
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I think these next pictures highlight their differences more than anything. Keziah is much more blonde while Miriam is slightly darker, has longer eyelashes and fuller lips.<br />
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Keziah:<br />
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Miriam:<br />
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Despite the nearly 7 years that separate these two, they are most definitely sisters!<br />
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<br />Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-21586833322086202722013-10-15T17:42:00.000-07:002013-10-15T17:42:51.024-07:00Giving Thanks2 months have passed since Miriam Jane joined the family and we are well into the school year and the fall season...<br />
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Keeping up with this blog has become more of a challenge since she joined our family, but I was thinking the other day how often I look back at my old posts to remember when certain things happened and to be reminded of various stages of the kids growing up and I realized how valuable it has been and will continue to be if I can manage to keep it updated. And in this digital day and age the blog has become a "scrapbook" of sorts for my kids to look back on one day. <br />
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Right now I type as I listen to my 11-lb, 2-month-old scream in her crib. Long daytime naps have become a rare luxury around here. I've grown accustomed to 20-30 minutes here and there and a lot of crying in between. But, thank the Lord, she sleeps great at night. From about 7 pm to 7 am she is in a solid sleep with only 2 quick feeds in between. If that keeps up, I can survive the crazy days. <br />
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I've been meaning to post about how we chose Miriam's name, especially since a few people have asked, so here's the baby name scoop...<br />
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By now it's no secret that Erik and I are partial to Biblical names. The names Micah, Keziah and Silas can all be found in the Bible. But in this stage of life, the choice of baby names grows narrower and narrower as more and more of your family and friends and others in your social circle have their own kids and "use up" potential names. It seemed as though all the preferable boy Bible names had already been snatched up by others, and there wasn't much left to choose from if this baby had been of the male gender. Who knows... our child may have very well ended up with a name like Nahum or Jehoshaphat or Melchizedek simply in order for us to stay true to our genre :)<br />
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So, lucky for us, she turned out to be a<b> she</b> and we were able to use a name that we've kept coming back to for the past 9 years. We had the name all picked out when we were pregnant the first time around. If Micah had been a girl, the name would've been Miriam Keziah. I wanted Keziah for a first name but Erik was still a little unsure about it, so we agreed on Miriam. But, of course, it turned out to be a boy, so we had our <i>Micah</i>. When I was pregnant the 2nd time, the name Keziah had grown on Erik so much that we opted to use it as a first name (Silas was our top boy name for that pregnancy). Out came a little girl and we named her Keziah Katherine, using my mom's name as the middle name. Then pregnancy #3 rolled around and Miriam was back on the table as our top girl name. Of course, we didn't end up using it when it turned out to be a boy. So, with the 4th and final pregnancy there was no question that we would use the name Miriam if it was a girl. As soon as the ultrasound results were in, the name was set in stone. We never once discussed boy names together and the kids immediately started referring to their baby sister by her first name. Our intention was to keep it a secret from everyone else, but that didn't work out so well. By the time Miriam was born, Erik's whole family knew the name as well as a few others who either guessed or overheard it from our chatty children :) <br />
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We chose the middle name Jane because we thought it was sweet and went nicely with the first name. Miriam means "wished-for child" and Jane (which is also a Hebrew name) means "gift from God". Such appropriate meanings for this special little girl. A year ago I wouldn't have believed that we would have another daughter in our family.<br />
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So we are feeling blessed! There are so many things to be thankful for this year including a beautiful property to enjoy. Life on the farm continues to be exciting. We're currently waiting for about 30 hens that might inhabit our newly built <a href="http://littletoewsies.blogspot.ca/2013/04/at-least-chickens-will-sleep-well.html">chicken coop</a> as soon as today. We're also anticipating the birth of a new baby calf any day now...<br />
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(This is Bambi the heifer who is about 7 months old)<br />
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And construction on the house keeps moving forward, slowly but surely. Some days it feels like it will never be complete but every day gets us nearer to the goal!<br />
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I am counting my blessings this fall season and feeling grateful for many things, least of which are these four little ones... :)<br />
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<br />Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-11765297829166669102013-09-23T14:26:00.000-07:002013-09-23T14:26:21.750-07:00Bring On The Flood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's about time for a little progress report on the house construction. </div>
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Here's the last photo I shared back in July...<br />
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And here's a picture I took this past weekend:<br />
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The house has undergone some weather-proofing treatments - fancy construction terms like weather-stripping, tyvek and soffits got thrown around during this process. All I see is white paper and stripes and new white stuff under the roof over-hangy things. <br />
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Ok, I'm not <i>that</i> bad with my construction terminology... <br />
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This picture shows off the new pot-lights, soffits and gutters as well as the new vinyl deck. <br />
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There seemed to be a lot of "outside" work happening and not enough "inside" work (in my opinion). But the goal was to get the house weather-proof before the rain started. And the rains have come. So, inside work can now get underway!</div>
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The inside of the house is insulated and poly'd (the plastic sheets covering the walls) and tomorrow we will finally see the drywall go up! </div>
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Having "real" walls will make this project seem that much closer to completion...</div>
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Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-84054345685346782812013-09-07T09:31:00.000-07:002013-09-07T09:31:01.274-07:00New Beginnings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Nearly a month has passed since Miriam has joined our family... pregnancy and gestational diabetes and braxton hicks and 43-week giant bellies and major overdue-ness already seem like a distant memory. If it wasn't for the last remnants of water retention that make my hands tingle and my shoes still a little snug, I would almost believe that we've had this new little one for many months already.</div>
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Now we are 4 weeks in, settling in as a family of 6 and I'm enjoying the feeling that our "quiver" is finally complete.</div>
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(10 days old)</div>
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After Miriam was born, the rest of August passed by in a blur. A good blur - but a blur nonetheless. We were blessed to have my mom here for 2 weeks after she was born and it allowed me to focus on feeding and sleeping and enjoying a cute and cuddly newborn.<br />
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The kids enjoyed having Granny around too - baking, puzzling, shopping, laughing at episodes of "I Love Lucy", and you-tubing funny animal videos on her ipad :)<br />
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We've also been so thankful for many different friends who have blessed us with meals and treats over these last weeks. We've been well-fed and our freezer is stocked with some extras that we can pull out on the crazier days in the weeks to come. And with gestational diabetes in my past and my insane nursing-mama hunger I have been appreciating the end of my diet restrictions. I may or may not have enjoyed several of my friend's famous Skor cookies in one sitting... <i> (*sheepish grin*) </i></div>
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The kids have adjusted quite well to having a baby in the house, but it still is an adjustment. The evenings are generally Miriam's fussier time and in a small house the kids can hear her crying as they're trying to fall asleep. The other night at about 9:30 Micah came out, all bleary-eyed, and suggested to me, "Why don't you try rocking her?" (As if I hadn't already been pacing the living room, shushing and patting my brains out?? Thanks for the parenting advice, buddy... But <i>please</i>, go back to bed.)</div>
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Keziah <i>loves</i> her baby sister but has had the hardest time adjusting to how much time Mommy needs to spend with the baby. It seems I'm always nursing her or rocking her or changing her when Keziah needs me. But maybe it's because Keziah seems to need me a lot these days. She's been a bit more over-dramatic and whiny in general and I'm trying to be patient as I remind myself of what she's probably experiencing through this huge change in our family. </div>
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(Bath time - about 2 weeks old)</div>
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We've had several visits with our 2 midwives in the last 4 weeks and Miriam weighed 9 lbs 15 oz at her last visit (3.5 weeks old). I loved my experience with the midwives at <a href="http://wchealthco.com/">West Coast Health Collective</a>. It almost makes me wish we could do it all over again.<br />
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Almost.<br />
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Miriam even gave her a little smirk for the picture :)<br />
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Speaking of smirks, Miriam has been offering us rare smiles for the last week or so. I have yet to capture a good one on camera, but you know that once I do I'll be instagramming that baby :) This morning after I fed her and she dozed back into dreamland, she actually smirked and chuckled. I kid you not. She has not laughed in real life yet, but apparently she laughs in her sleep. Let's hope this is a hint of a happy kid in our future??<br />
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And just as we've gotten settled into a sort of loose routine, we've been thrown into the back-to-school craziness...<br />
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Since school ended in June I've been slightly anxious about how a new school year was going to go. Micah had a really, <i>really</i> tough time at the beginning of Grade 2 last year. Crying, running from his classroom, clinging to my body and fearing that I wouldn't come back for him at the end of the day. It took almost all year to work through his fears and anxieties only to know that we would have to start all over again with a new teacher and a new classroom for Grade 3. The first morning those familiar fears started to surface for him but we were able to talk through it and he went willingly into his classroom despite some tears. The next few days were completely fine and on Friday afternoon he announced that he wished it wasn't the weekend because he wanted to go back to school. Let's just say we are feeling <i>very</i> thankful!<br />
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Silas gets a new beginning this year too as he goes to preschool 3 mornings a week. Yesterday was an open-house for parents and kids to meet the teacher and see the classroom. He was pumped! When he got there he wanted to know where his desk was and was disappointed to realize that preschoolers don't actually have their own desks... He had actually brought his own "homework" from home and proceeded to work on it at the art table. <br />
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This kid is definitely a character.<br />
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As always, Keziah was quietly excited about a new school year and seeing all her friends in Grade 2. All 3 kids have fantastic teachers and I'm feeling good about how this year is going to go.<br />
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The school mornings will be an adjustment with a new baby in the mix. Miriam has added a whole new element to the morning routine. Thankfully she sleeps quite well at night. Last night was her best night yet - a 5 and a half hour stretch followed by another 3 and a half hours. And <i>most</i> nights she eats quickly and goes straight back to sleep. So I can forgive her brief naps and fussy evenings if our nights continue to go this way...<br />
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Now, if only I could figure out a way to bottle her newborn-ness and save it up for the years to come, I totally would...Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-91699184424848039442013-08-17T21:56:00.000-07:002013-08-17T21:56:17.263-07:00Miriam Jane: A Birth Story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It feels like we waited a long time for this little girl to make her appearance but now she's here and I'm finally on the other side. </div>
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And Miriam Jane was worth the wait... </div>
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So for those who are interested in the details, here is the play-by-play of my drug-free induction...<br />
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First of all, going overdue isn't something I would wish on anyone. The first few days aren't so bad but when you hit 41 weeks and Babycenter sends you your weekly email with facts about your "1 week old" and you are still huge and hot and NOT in labour... It gets old pretty quick. <br />
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I had been having increasingly frequent and strong Braxton Hicks and my brain was in overdrive, constantly analyzing each one, thinking in vain that "that last one might've been a little stronger" and foolishly timing them on my iphone contraction timer... Then Saturday morning I woke up with some crampy contractions and signs of early labour and I thought 'this is the day!' But dinner time rolled around and nothing more had happened all day. I was emotionally spent and very much over my high hopes of going into labour on my own like I did with Silas. So, I called the midwife and confirmed that we were on the induction schedule for the next morning - which was 10 days past my due date. <br />
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We got to the hospital around 9 am on Sunday and spent the next couple of hours hooked up to the monitors in triage, getting an IV (I was GBS+ and needed antibiotics), and getting settled into our room. Here I am at 41 weeks, 3 days. The size of my belly (which measured 43 weeks by the end) made sense afterwards - I was still swollen with my 9 lb baby, a giant placenta and extra fluids...<br />
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We opted to just go ahead and break my water since I was 2 cm dilated and my cervix was favourable. When I was 9 days overdue with Keziah we did the same thing - I was 2 cm dilated with a soft cervix - and she was born just over an hour after my membranes were ruptured. Yes, it was fast and intense... but it was also effective! With Silas, after my membranes fully ruptured he was also born in about an hour (though I was already having contractions beforehand). So, when the midwife broke my water at 11:15, I fully expected we would have a baby by early afternoon. </div>
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But an hour passed by... we did some laps around the maternity ward (listening to other women in obvious labour), bounced on the birthing ball aaaand... nothing was happening. A few contractions here and there but definitely nothing to write home about. I was pretty surprised that I wasn't in full-blown labour considering my past experiences. Our midwife told us that oxytocin was an option but we would need a nurse in the room to monitor it, and at that moment there wasn't a nurse to spare. So, in its place she suggested I try using the electric breast pump - which is a natural way to get your body to produce oxytocin. I was just sitting around anyway, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to try. She had me pump for 15 minutes and then take a 1/2 hour break before pumping again. Every time I pumped I would start getting contractions, but when the 1/2 break was up they fizzled out a little bit. So, I kept at it; 15 minutes on, 30-45 minutes off for about 4 cycles. Around 3 pm I started getting regular and increasingly painful contractions every 3-5 minutes. And as I was pumping the 4th time, I didn't even make it through the 15 minutes before quitting because the contractions were getting so intense and I was ready to be in a more comfortable position. Throughout this process the midwife was also giving me blue cohosh pills - a homeopathic remedy that is also supposed to help labour along. So this may have helped, though I'm certain it was the pumping more than anything that finally put me into full-blown labour. </div>
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At about 6 pm, after I had been in active labour for 3 hours, the midwife decided to check me and I was about 5 cm dilated, stretching to 7. I figured we were in the homestretch - as I remembered with both Keziah and Silas, once I hit 5-7 cm they were born within the next 20 minutes or so and with just a few pushes. I figured with this being baby #4, she should literally fall right out of me. Right? </div>
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Wrong. I spent the next hour and a half in the most painful labour that I can ever remember having. Micah's labour was a little longer but I'd had some pain meds in my IV to take the edge off. And the hard part of labour went quite fast with both Keziah and Silas, so this time the transition phase felt like it lasted FOREVER. It seemed like the pushing wasn't productive and she just wasn't coming down. At one point they could see the head and then I could literally feel her crawling right back in. The midwife commented that she really didn't seem to want to come out! Finally after several more contractions her head was out and that's when they saw the cord wrapped around her neck. Tight. This was all unbeknownst to me as I had my eyes closed and was in my own world of pain, but Erik said they pressed the code alarm button. Once the rest of her was body was out, they saw that her uber-long cord was wrapped around her neck once, under her armpit, around her back and through her legs. They placed her on my tummy but she was blue and unresponsive and was quickly whisked away to the warming table where they worked on her for a very silent minute and a half before we finally heard her start to cry. </div>
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What a relief... To hear her crying and to know that the hard work was over. Erik told me later that this was the most intense birth experience for him as well. He hadn't remembered seeing me in so much pain in my other labours (which confirmed to me how bad it really was!) and the long moments of waiting for her to cry filled him with dread. We're both sooo glad that part is over!</div>
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The midwife commented right away about her size and guessed that she might be over 10 lbs! When the scale said 9 lbs 4 oz she actually re-weighed her just to double-check :) </div>
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So the fact that she was my biggest baby and the fact that the cord had her so entangled may have been the reasons why it took me so long to push her out. The midwife commented that, had this been my first delivery, it may have even ended in a c-section. Not only was the baby big and the cord super long, but the midwife said my placenta was also unusually large. So big that she also weighed it (almost a 3 pounder!).<br />
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Miriam Jane was born at 7:30 pm, and shortly after we called and texted the family to let them know the good news and invite them to come meet our newest member! I had a chance to give her a nice long feed first which was important because of my gestational diabetes. We wanted to avoid her having a blood sugar crash so she was able to get a few calories into her before the midwife tested her sugars (which she passed).<br />
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The family showed up around 9 pm and the kids got to meet their brand new baby sister. <br />
(We took pictures mostly with our iphones that evening so the quality isn't fantastic.)<br />
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Oldest and youngest:<br />
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Sisters :)<br />
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Big brother for the first time!<br />
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Can you believe I have FOUR kids??<br />
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Erik stayed with me the first night in the hospital and it was NOT restful. First it was hard to settle down to sleep because of the excitement of the evening, and when we finally got tired enough, Miriam decided it was time to be awake. I don't know how many times I fed her that first night but it was <i>a lot</i>. Erik took a turn trying to settle her but we both lost a lot of sleep and were pretty exhausted the next day. <br />
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Monday morning it was time to give Miriam her first bath. I loved how she watched Erik so intently the whole time.<br />
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The midwife checked up on us and told us that we could feel free to leave the hospital at any time, but we ended up staying most of the day so that several friends could come and visit. Miriam was spoiled with lots of presents and I was spoiled with lots of candy and chocolate - from all those who celebrated with me that my gestational diabetes was no more!<br />
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Finally at around 4 pm we were all packed up and ready to head home. <br />
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The kids had been anxiously awaiting our return and proceeded to fight over who would get to hold their baby sister. <br />
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He's one excited big brother!<br />
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After our first night in the hospital, I was nervous for how night 2 would go at home. But Miriam has done amazingly well each night - sleeping a 4-5 hour stretch, eating and then going back down for another few hours until morning. I couldn't ask for anything more. Though I hesitate to get too excited as I know babies are notorious for turning the tables on their mamas.<br />
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The experience of having a midwife versus a doctor was a really positive one. She was with us throughout most of the labour (partly because it was an induction) and Erik and I both felt the sense of connection you feel with anyone who goes through a major life event with you. She has also done regular home visits since Miriam was born. Miriam has hovered around the 9 lb mark since coming home from the hospital and will get weighed again on Monday. She's a little bit jaundiced but is feeding really well and all of her bodily functions are working as they should!<br />
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My mom's plane flew in the same day we got home from the hospital and I've been enjoying the cooking and cleaning that has been happening while I tend to my newborn - not to mention the meals that have been coming from friends. What a blessing! <br />
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I feel quite in love with this little pink bundle and am soaking in every newborn moment... <br />
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How am I going to keep myself from spoiling her rotten??<br />
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<br />Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-32282452227622261362013-07-30T19:05:00.000-07:002013-07-30T19:05:51.652-07:00Eviction Notice and a House UpdateUnfortunately there's no baby news to report yet. The ultrasound at 38 weeks showed that our baby girl was a normal size and doing well. The large fundal height measurement might just be due to the way that I'm carrying this time around and the midwife said we can basically ignore it now that we know baby is fine. This is a relief as I was starting to get really worried about how big she was going to be. I even started having dreams that she came out as a 6-month old rather than a newborn... Either way, she has completely consumed my abdominal space and when she's active I feel as though my entire body has been overtaken by an alien. <br />
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Up until the last few days I haven't been too anxious to have this pregnancy over with but I think I am officially "ready" now. I'm 2 days from my due date and feeling a lot of cramps, contractions and back aches - which can tend to get my hopes up. But when I looked back at my end-of-pregnancy days with the other kids - specifically Keziah and Silas - I realized that these "false labour" symptoms went on for days and even weeks before they were actually born. In Keziah's case she had to be induced at 9 days over. So, I could still incubate this baby for a while yet. I always said in my mind that having a July baby was not a likely possibility and so I fully expect to see my due date of August 1st come and go... <i>sigh</i>.<br />
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<i>(No this is not my belly, but I saw this picture <a href="http://its-fitting.com/2012/12/baby-eviction-how-induce-labor/">online</a> today and thought it seemed appropriate...)</i></div>
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So with no news on the baby front, I figured it was high time to give an update on the house project. After the very visible changes that happened during the framing stages, things have felt like they've come to a bit of a standstill. But a lot of the internal parts have been coming together: plumbing, hvac and electrical - all necessary before the drywalling process can begin. <br />
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The roof is now shingled and the windows and doors are in. Temporary railings have been put up around the deck for some added safety.<br />
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Part of the process has been tying the old house into the new house. We needed to have an indoor connecting point between the 2 living spaces so it meant moving around some walls to create a door and hallway. Unfortunately I don't have any "before" pictures of this area but it really looks quite different. The white door in the picture below is Mom & Dad's back door leading into the bottom of their new house. Keziah is standing in the newly formed hallway, which is in the original house and used to be made up of closets and bathroom space before the walls were moved. The doorway Keziah is standing beside leads into what will be <i>our</i> downstairs bathroom. By the end of the the workday today Erik and his dad had put in a new door in this hall to separate old house from new house (or the "wood house" as Silas refers to it).</div>
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If you take a few more steps back you can see some new walls that Erik has framed in. The laundry was previously set up kind of awkwardly with the washer out in the "foyer" and the dryer tucked away in a corner of the bathroom. Now Erik has started to create an actual laundry room, which we'll be able to close off with a bi-fold door.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ycDBKK1lMqs/UfhX4seb-NI/AAAAAAAAKks/FeKhJqxYQ6k/s1600/DSC_0154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ycDBKK1lMqs/UfhX4seb-NI/AAAAAAAAKks/FeKhJqxYQ6k/s640/DSC_0154.JPG" width="424" /></a></div>
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And here's the view from the other end of the hallway. Keziah is stepping inside of a closet and the next door leads into the bathroom. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8D24qMYJtRs/UfhX_m0sMwI/AAAAAAAAKk8/6Xexrib-U8o/s1600/DSC_0156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8D24qMYJtRs/UfhX_m0sMwI/AAAAAAAAKk8/6Xexrib-U8o/s640/DSC_0156.JPG" width="424" /></a></div>
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The next big change will be seeing the drywall go up in the new house. But hopefully before all that happens we will have some baby news to report. So stay tuned folks. She's gotta come out eventually!Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-28221909294433494542013-07-19T13:44:00.000-07:002013-07-19T13:47:01.022-07:00Just Call Me The Walking Water BalloonI'm officially 38 weeks and in the "full-term, could-have-this-baby-at-anytime (but-probably-won't-for-awhile) phase"...<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7SuV3x1utYo/UelD1IBV7pI/AAAAAAAAKjs/4kzMFGnCssQ/s1600/photo+(48).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7SuV3x1utYo/UelD1IBV7pI/AAAAAAAAKjs/4kzMFGnCssQ/s640/photo+(48).JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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My biggest complaint at this late stage is definitely the water retention. I thought my ankles were getting a little puffy a few weeks ago. I remember sitting in the 30+ degree heat at the parade on Canada day and feeling like my feet were growing with each passing minute. But it was nothing compared to the cankles that have developed since...<br />
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Let me tell you, until you've felt the tops of your feet jiggle when you walk, you haven't lived folks.<br />
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Last week (at 37 weeks) I had appointments with both my OB (to monitor my diabetes) and my midwife. I've been a little concerned about the fact that I'm still packing on the pounds week to week and also the fact that I've been consistently measuring a week or 2 bigger than I really am. It's frustrating when I know that I've been eating better than I ever have in pregnancy before and yet still growing "too fast". I was starting to imagine the monstrous giant baby that I was going to have to push out... Then, to make matters worse, both the OB and the midwife measured me at 41 weeks! (That's a whole month bigger than I should've been at week 37 in case you need help doing the math...!) In fact the OB was even hesitant to tell me the number because it was so shocking. He didn't seem overly concerned about it since my blood sugar levels have been really good, so I was anxious to see what the midwife would say the next day. After she measured me, she felt baby's position in my belly and told me that she didn't think baby was overly big. But she said it felt like there was a lot of extra fluid in there, which would explain the uber-big belly. The extra fluid is likely a by-product of the diabetes and it explains the crazy fluid retention in my feet and hands as well. Yesterday I went back for my 38 week appointment and the measurement was 42.5. It was enough growth in a week to warrant a late-pregnancy ultrasound, which I went for this morning. Now I wait to hear the verdict from the midwife - depending on the size of the baby and the amount of fluid, there may be cause to induce early. <br />
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In the meantime she suggested a few natural remedies - raspberry leaf tea and evening primrose oil to help ripen the cervix and hopefully help me go into labour earlier than later, and dandelion root tea to help reduce water retention. I have to drink multiple cups of both teas for them to be helpful, so I've created a concoction of tea and some sugar-free lemonade crystals. When it's chilled it tastes pretty good - which is helpful since I'm trying to get through 2 pitchers per day.<br />
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As much as I would love to go into labour on my own, it's hard to keep to that resolve as you near the end and grow more and more uncomfortable. And with measuring over 40 weeks I feel as though I'm already overdue and I can't imagine how much more my belly could grow if I go too far past my due date. I think I'm officially ready for this pregnancy to be over. And after seeing my big baby girl on the ultrasound this morning I am more excited than ever to meet her and hold her in my arms. </div>
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Plus I'll be pretty pumped to get my ankles back. </div>
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Just sayin.</div>
Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-52275162558749155032013-07-13T20:31:00.000-07:002013-07-13T20:31:13.134-07:00Oroville<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We don't have much going on by way of summer plans this year since our 2 big major projects (baby and house addition) have trumped everything else. But when we got an invitation from <a href="http://www.littletoewsies.blogspot.ca/2011/06/wedding-day.html">James & Rosanna</a> to spend a few days at James' family cabin in Oroville, Washington, we couldn't pass it up.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XnM5pPgGFBI/Ud23g9EbPCI/AAAAAAAAKiE/ONNcqjoS3EY/s1600/photo+(21).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XnM5pPgGFBI/Ud23g9EbPCI/AAAAAAAAKiE/ONNcqjoS3EY/s640/photo+(21).JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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The cabin sits on a beautiful spot on Lake Osoyoos where the sun is always shining and the water is pleasant. And with a trailer and a second smaller cabin on the property, there was plenty of sleeping space for the others in the Toews family as well as Rosanna's parents to all be there enjoying it together. </div>
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(Silas & Keziah)</div>
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We arrived on the 4th of July and had a prime viewing location for some fantastic fireworks. It reminded Erik, the kids, and I of our <a href="http://www.littletoewsies.blogspot.ca/2010/07/july-celebrations.html">fireworks experiences </a>on the lake at my parents' cabin in summers past. The fireworks started before it was dark and kept going on and on and until we all decided we were too tired to watch anymore...</div>
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(Caleb, Micah & Keziah)</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">The number one activity and definite highlight for all the little cousins was Uncle James' famous tube rides. Kudos to James for the many, many hours spent behind the wheel of that motor boat, keeping 4 eager little tubers quite content.</span></div>
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(Micah & Caleb)</div>
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(Silas & Keziah's turn)</div>
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Elissa & I watched nervously from the boat while our little ones bounced around like rag dolls on the back of that tube - we were waiting for the first spill, knowing it was inevitable. And sure enough, one by one they all made it into the water over the course of the weekend. Despite a few tears, they were all game to go back on - some of them even begging to be dumped again!</div>
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Uncle James had a system of how "spicy" the tube ride would be based on the number of jalapenos they requested. After a few initial rides, the ideal number ended up being "Jalapeno 3" and the kids begged for it over and over and over again...</div>
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There were some though that requested less spicy rides. Grandma & Grandpa took Emerson for a pretty tame ride.</div>
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Heck, they even convinced Elissa and I to get on that tube. Our ride was probably jalapeno <i>minus</i> one and we still screamed like school girls the entire time. It brought me back to all the reasons why I disliked boating adventures as a kid...</div>
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Thankfully the kids loved every minute of it.</div>
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(My blonde boys...)</div>
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On day 3, the kids got really brave. After watching Daddy and Uncle Doug get up on the waterskis, they were begging to try them too. </div>
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James had all sorts of contraptions for them to try out. Micah went first and had the most success. He got up quickly holding onto this bar on the side of the boat. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--xe3eJFN24s/Udzv0CJz5uI/AAAAAAAAKgQ/bgx7iaLGUtI/s1600/DSC_0267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--xe3eJFN24s/Udzv0CJz5uI/AAAAAAAAKgQ/bgx7iaLGUtI/s640/DSC_0267.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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Next he tried getting up using this short rope attached to the bar. It proved to be a lot trickier - especially to keep those skis together... </div>
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Next up was Keziah - she didn't have much success but gave it a good try!<br />
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And even Silas gave it a whirl - James gave him some special skis that were tied together. He didn't get out of the water but I think he had fun trying :)<br />
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A few of them tried the knee board as well. Keziah got going right away but when she stopped the knee board came up and bopped her pretty hard in the mouth. She was done with it after that. </div>
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(Silas getting warmed up with Grandpa after another tube ride.)<br />
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When we weren't on the boat, there were plenty of other things to keep us occupied... like entertaining 5-month-old cousin Sawyer.<br />
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Or paddle-boarding...<br />
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Auntie Elissa came up with a scavenger hunt one afternoon.</div>
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There was some great food to be enjoyed as well...<br />
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Waffles baked over a fire? Yes please :)</div>
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Mmmm. Bacon.</div>
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Baby Katie was a fan too...</div>
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And enjoyed being entertained by her big boy cousins.</div>
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Uncle Erik getting in some Sawyer time. Hard to believe we'll be having another one of these little people in our family very soon...</div>
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Speaking of which... At over 8 months pregnant, I took it pretty easy. I could be found lounging on a lawn chair by the lake or - when I got too hot - lounging on an air mattress in the water. I figured I should soak in these last few weeks of pregnancy where baby is nicely incubated inside and relatively easy to care for :)</div>
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All in all, we had a fantastic time. The kids will have fond memories of our time in Oroville.<br />
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Thanks James & Rosanna for a great time!! <br />
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Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-9104968117622735632013-06-28T08:08:00.000-07:002013-06-28T08:08:20.693-07:00BBQ Margherita PizzaAfter a week of rainy weather the sun has finally decided to reappear. It's actually starting to feel like summer vacation now with blue skies and hot weather on the way. Though the hot weather brings mixed emotions for me this year since my feet are already noticeably swollen on the cooler days... Ah well, my cankles and I will enjoy the pool later this weekend once the heat wave hits.<br />
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Another great thing about the warmer days is cooking more meals on the BBQ. We discovered a simple and delicious BBQ recipe last summer that has become a new staple around here and I thought it was the perfect day to share. (You can find the original recipe <a href="http://www.todaysparent.com/recipe/lunch/quick-grilled-pizza-margherita/">HERE</a>.)<br />
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<b>Quick Grilled Pizza Margherita</b><br />
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<b>Sauce:</b><br />
1 tbsp olive oil<br />
2 tsp chopped garlic<br />
2 cups (or about 1 can) whole Italian plum tomatoes with juices<br />
Pinch of sugar<br />
Pinch of salt<br />
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I chose this President's Choice brand of tomatoes from Superstore and it turned out delicious. One 19 oz can seems to be enough for just our family, but our kids are not big eaters so you may need to double the sauce recipe and use 2 cans (and possibly triple it if you're serving guests). <br />
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Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds or until it starts to smell sweet. Pour in the tomatos and squish with a potato masher (I usually just chop them up with my spatula as they are cooking). Add a pinch of sugar and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer on low-medium for 15 minutes or until rich and saucy. Season with salt. <br />
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Once the sauce is ready it's time to spread it on the Naan bread. The original recipe has instructions to brush the bread with olive oil and partially grill it before putting on the sauce but I decided to skip this step and keep it simple. <br />
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This is the bread I use, also from Superstore. (It was still frosty from living in my freezer over the last few months but a little defrosting took care of that.)<br />
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Spread your sauce...<br />
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The original recipe just calls for sauce and then the cheese (a true "margherita pizza" I guess) but feel free to customize with the toppings of your choice. We like ours with pepperoni and mushrooms...<br />
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Next comes the BBQing. This part happens quick! Once your BBQ is hot and ready, place the pizzas on. They will take only about 5 minutes before the cheese is melted and the bottom is nicely toasted.<br />
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Finally, top with fresh basil (we've been enjoying some fresh from our garden these days) and dig in!<br />
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Not only simple, but a crowd-pleaser as well and perfect for entertaining...<br />
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Happy Summer BBQing!Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-71939917842788988092013-06-24T23:01:00.001-07:002013-06-24T23:01:24.904-07:00Trusses<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
There is no shortage of free entertainment around here for the kids. I guess it's not technically "free" but it's definitely entertaining... This morning the trusses were delivered before school started. The kids and I watched out our front window while the enormous crane lifted them from the the trailer on the road all the way to the roof of the new house.</div>
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By the time the kids came home from school the house was looking much different yet again. <br />
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So, once again, here are some pictures of the house progress...<br />
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Front of the addition: Top floor left window is a bedroom and the right side is the living room. Bottom floor will be another bedroom on the left and the Erik's parents' future master bedroom on the bottom right.<br />
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It's always fun to look back to where it all began. Here's the front & side of the house at the beginning of April.<br />
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And a picture taken from a similar angle today:<br />
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The west side of the house before:<br />
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The west side of the house now:<br />
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Back/side view before:<br />
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Back/side view today:<br />
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Back view before:<br />
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Back view today:<br />
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I also snapped a few photos of the inside of the house. Starting on the bottom floor - the inside set of stairs:<br />
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A future guest bedroom (a little wet from all the rain we've been having):<br />
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This picture is dark but this is the future master bedroom for Erik's parents (looking out to the pasture on the west side of the house). As I mentioned before, this lower floor will remain unfinished for the time being. So consider this the floor hockey room...<br />
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Now up to the top floor. This is the living room facing the street:<br />
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The bedroom (also facing the street):<br />
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Big, big windows from the kitchen/living room area facing out to the west pasture:<br />
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The kitchen at the back of the house (facing south):<br />
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The view from the kitchen window:<br />
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And that's it for today...Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-2114636387828878852013-06-15T12:50:00.000-07:002013-06-15T12:50:27.295-07:00One Week<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In one week, a lot has happened around here. Last Saturday we woke up bright and early to watch the concrete slab get poured.<br />
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Before breakfast and even before getting dressed for the day...<br />
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Erik's aunt and uncle are visiting right now so they got in on the action.<br />
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The older Toews brothers watching from the sidelines.</div>
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The kids' favourite part was watching the workers make the concrete perfectly smooth.<br />
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Once the concrete was smooth as glass, Erik and Micah started envisioning future floor hockey games...<br />
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And by the next afternoon, the hockey action was in full force. The best part is that this lower floor will remain unfinished for awhile and will be a big space for the kids to play hockey or maybe even ride their bikes during the rainy months. Can't wait until I can send the kids "to the basement" to get their energy out this coming winter...</div>
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On Monday the framing began.<br />
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By the end of Day One, the house was starting to take shape. <br />
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Then the 2nd floor joists started going in.<br />
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Erik pausing for a photo...<br />
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Now the plywood is in place on the 2nd floor. Yesterday, Silas and Uncle Gary golfed balls from the new house into the pasture.</div>
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Then, of course, they had to go find them...</div>
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Pretty soon everyone got in on the driving-range action. Me thinks our neighbours are going to find an awful lot of golf balls in their blueberry field this summer...<br />
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And here is the house at the end of the week!<br />
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Can't wait to see how much more has progressed by next Saturday...Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-36456457834585176042013-06-07T17:29:00.000-07:002013-06-07T17:29:32.046-07:00The HomestretchIt seems there are really 2 major projects to be updated on these days:<br />
Project House-Addition & Project Baby-Addition<br />
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The house hasn't changed much since I last posted, so we'll make this particular update about Baby Toews...<br />
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<i>(32 weeks)</i><br />
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She certainly hasn't stopped growing in the last couple of weeks. In fact, when I went in for my recent visit at 31.5 weeks, I was measuring at 33 weeks. I'm pretty sure I always measured right on or even a little smaller with my other pregnancies (even though the rest of me seemed enormous). Perhaps this means that I'll deliver earlier than I did with the others? <br />
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Ahh, likely wishful thinking. <br />
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The real reason I'm making a big baby this time is probably because I've been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes :( <br />
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I was pretty shocked to hear that I had "failed" my glucose test at around 28 weeks since I had never had any problems with this test in the past. And after watching my sister-in-law deal with GD a few months back I thought, really, what are the chances? <br />
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But it just so happened that my levels were high enough to lump me in the diabetic category. So after a 3 hour diabetes training session at the hospital I implemented a new diet and started checking my blood glucose levels several times a day. Now that I've been at it for a few weeks it really isn't so terrible. I've found some decent replacements for the sugary sweets that I crave. In the grocery store I keep my eyes peeled for items labeled sugar-free or no sugar added. I quickly learned that the diabetic candy is actually kept in the pharmacy section of most grocery stores (go figure!) I've learned to be careful about which fruits I choose to eat (hint: tropical fruits are higher in sugar than fruit grown in North America...) And I've learned to be mindful of the sugar content in things like breads, chips and french fries... It seems strange to be on the prowl for artificially sweetened foods when I've grown accustomed to the idea that "natural is best". But thankfully it's only temporary. And in the meantime I'm grateful for sugar-free options to curb those pregnancy cravings...<br />
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The bonus to all of this is that the numbers on the scale have slowed down significantly. And hopefully I will have less to lose when all is said and done. Of course, it could go the other way - when the baby is born and I can have sugar back in my life, I may just pack on all the pounds after all... Oh well. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.<br />
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It's funny how I thought I was huge 3 months ago. I forgot how big "huge" really is. And I've still got 8 or 9 weeks to grow. I've discovered that my belly has become a bit of an unwieldy battering ram. Silas' head happens to be right at the same height as my rounded tummy and I have 'belly-checked' him multiple times in the last several weeks. Whether we're trying to fit through a doorway at the same time or I simply turn around too quickly with him beside me... It's a bit humorous how many times I've nearly knocked him off his feet with it.<br />
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With the 3rd trimester well under way I'm starting to experience a lot more aches, pains and exhaustion. Simple tasks are starting to feel overwhelming and when the days are a little hotter like they have been, it seems like I'm doing everything in slow motion, especially by late afternoon. I've determined that an afternoon nap is vital in helping me function with those school pick-up to bedtime hours.<br />
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Thankfully we have a welcome addition to the farm these days that has made both the late afternoon hours and the heat a little more bearable. This previously owned pool has seen better days (and is losing water daily despite our patching attempts) but it has already provided hours of entertainment for the kids. And I may or may not have awkwardly climbed my pregnant self in there and lounged on that green floaty tube. <br />
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I can foresee much more swimming/lounging happening here in the next couple of months. <br />
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It's hard to believe we're in the home stretch of this pregnancy. School will be done in a few short weeks and then the real countdown is on!Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-51387546376365497412013-05-28T22:08:00.001-07:002013-05-28T22:08:24.272-07:00House Addition: Forming & Concrete<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's time for a quick progress report on the house-building situation. Over the past few weeks a lot has happened. First came the task of building the forms for all the concrete walls...</div>
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Here's Erik and his dad along with a couple of hard workers, Joel and Jeremy - forms are finished and they're ready for concrete pouring...<br />
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Here comes the concrete truck...<br />
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We picked the kids up from school a little early so they could watch the concrete truck and the pumper truck at work.<br />
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Pumping the concrete down into the forms takes some skill...<br />
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The next day, the forms were stripped off and some pretty nice concrete walls were in place.<br />
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There has been no shortage of entertainment around here what with the concrete trucks, pumper trucks, dump trucks, excavators and tractors. One morning we were blocked in our driveway while we waited for another big truck to come and pick up all the forms. The kids obviously weren't too upset about being late for school...<br />
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Thankfully we've passed all the necessary city inspections so far. And the last several days the excavators, tractors and manual labourers have been hard at work filling everything back in around the house and smoothing out the piles of dirt... er, mud.<br />
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Soon it will be time for the frame of the house to go up and we'll see the most visible progress in a short amount of time. Hoping the rain clears up and the mud dries up for this next phase. <br />
Stay tuned!Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-90849593394243594982013-05-17T17:22:00.001-07:002013-05-17T17:22:51.937-07:00Bathroom Makeover<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's been a long time coming but I am happy to report that our bathroom renovation is almost complete. I tried to type that last sentence without the "almost", but I just couldn't... since there always seem to be things that need to be tweaked. </div>
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Let's first take a walk down memory lane, shall we? Here was our bathroom back in early November right before we got down to business. I don't miss the linoleum or the tacky behind-the-toilet-storage-unit and definitely not that disgusting bathtub. </div>
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Wow. It seems so gross when I look back at it now. <br />
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The vanity was nothing special - it had been painted white somewhere along the line which was it's only saving feature. <br />
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After we took some final photos, Erik took out his sledgehammer and got down to business. He took it right down to the bare bones because of water and mould damage in the drywall and studs. I was sad to lose the window in the bathroom but it had to be done since this will be a shared wall with the new addition. In the end I don't miss the window at all, and you'll see why in a minute. <br />
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New studs and insulation and new bathtub too...<br />
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We seriously considered using one of the old vintage bathtubs that had been used as a flower bed when we first moved in:<br />
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One of them was in really good shape and I had visions of a white claw-foot tub in my new bathroom. Erik actually started working on it one weekend but when he calculated the work and materials that would be required to restore it we decided it wasn't worth it. In the end we chose a modern tub that is much deeper and more comfortable than what we had previously and I think we're both happy with it. <br />
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Drywall stage. <br />
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Then the tile started to go up. This was the most exciting stage to witness because up until this point it was all the behind-the-scenes work... which took <i>for.ever. </i><br />
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Making the decisions about all the finishes in the bathroom was the hardest part for me, being slightly indecisive and unable to envision the finished product. But Pinterest was a life-saver since I was able to find pictures of bathrooms that I liked and then pick out the common themes. I quickly realized that white subway tile was definitely something I wanted in the space. <br />
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Erik and I agreed that we wanted a heated tile floor. He started with a rectangular heating coil pad, which we then positioned where we wanted it in the space. It wasn't long enough to cover all the way from the door to the edge of the bathtub so it ended up somewhere in between (I figured as long as my feet were warm when I sat on the toilet I was good.) When the heating coil is turned on, the difference between the heated sections and the rest of the floor is pretty significant. <br />
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Here is the heating pad after it's been cemented into place:<br />
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We lived without a toilet and a sink for what seemed like a LONG time. Thankfully the toilet was replaced right after I discovered I was pregnant. (And I definitely appreciated the heated tile floors when I was hanging over the toilet puking up my breakfast.) The kids got used to washing hands and brushing teeth in the kitchen sink for several weeks while we waited for our one and only bathroom to be functional again.</div>
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Erik & I agreed that we wanted some sort of wall treatment. I had really hoped for some rustic-inspired panelling on the walls like these bathrooms I had seen online:<br />
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<a href="http://www.clawfoottubshowers.com/clawfoot-tub-shower-gallery/">(source)</a></div>
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<a href="http://twoellie.com/">(source)</a><br />
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But Erik explained that achieving that look would require a lot more materials and labour and convinced me to stick with this more modern wainscoting, which was super simple for Erik to achieve. </div>
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And slowly all the parts came together to bring about this finished product...<br />
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I shouldn't have worried about losing a window because we gained it in another way. We had seen a couple of houses that incorporated tube sky lights to bring in more natural light and decided to add one into the space. It creates enough light that we often don't need to turn on the light switch during the day.<br />
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Here's the bathroom with natural light.<br />
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The tube light makes a difference for the entire hallway.<br />
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For the vanity I chose a double sink from IKEA. This bathroom will be our guest bath, but it also serves as our "ensuite" and I figured the more sinks the better. This sink still has plenty of space to rest a curling iron or that morning cup of coffee and it's so easy to keep clean. The upside to IKEA is the price. The downside is that IKEA parts are not so great. The plumber had to improvise a few things to get the plumbing parts to work underneath and unfortunately the sink stoppers are not fantastic, but I'm a sucker for a good price.<br />
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Erik did a couple of rows of white subway tiles behind the sink as a backsplash and built a frame for a free mirror that he pulled out of a house during a recent renovation. <br />
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I became educated on the difference between faucets when I bought and returned about 2 or 3 before I got it right. The IKEA sink required that each faucet could only use one hole. In the end I chose these ones from Home Hardware. <br />
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Erik's brother Doug built the vanity for us and it turned out beautifully. I love how we went with legs at the bottom instead of carrying the vanity all the way to the floor.<br />
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I found a light fixture that I liked at Home Depot online. It's not available in stores but by paying a bit extra for shipping I had it delivered straight to my house. <br />
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The tile around the bathtub turned out really well (though Erik had some frustrations with the grouting process). I love the white grout and the white tile. The kids kept asking me why everything was so... white. But I love how it all turned out, including the pot lights above the bathtub. Over the chilly winter months this became my new happy place. <br />
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A new chrome rod for the shower and white fabric shower curtain. <br />
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One of my favourite features is this 5-piece shower head. A rain head for regular showers as well as a hand-held shower head. The hand-held piece is so handy for rinsing out the tub and rinsing off soapy kids. And it rests on an adjustable bar so the kids can use it for their own mini-shower. Functional but also attractive - I realized that I love the industrial look of the chrome pieces combined with the white subway tiles.<br />
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Another one of my favourite features is the door we chose, because I think it has some rustic barn-door charm to it. I decided to go with the black hardware even though we did chrome finishes throughout the bathroom. Eventually we will replace all the doors on the main floor with this style. <br />
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Erik made me these 2 floating shelves out of old wood from our barn. (For the record, in real life I think they look much less "orange" than they do here). I need to work on the styling a little more here - I'm thinking a nice wire basket to house my toilet paper would be a nice addition - but for now I'm working with what I've got. <br />
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And we can't forget the floor. This probably caused the most drama of anything. After looking at dozens of Pinterest bathroom pictures I knew without a doubt that I wanted a small-scale tile on the floor. Unfortunately the smaller the tiles, the more high-maintenance they are. It's that much harder to get the floor installed evenly, and that many more grout lines to fill. Erik was not pumped about this decision but he agreed to let me have my way on this one. The tiles went in and turned out great but when it came time to pick the grout colour I was a little lost. I didn't want white-on-white but was hoping for a light to medium gray colour. I picked up a box at Home Depot that looked the most like what I was envisioning but as Erik mixed it up and started applying it I realized it looked so much different than the colour swatch on the box. Of course by that time, it was already too late. And it brought to mind my last <a href="http://littletoewsies.blogspot.ca/2010/03/backsplash.html">grout-regret moment</a> back in our old townhouse - and the sinking feeling of disappointment when you realize you made the wrong choice. So that is our one regret. In the pictures the grout looks pretty decent, but in real life it's a yellow/beige colour, which tends to look dirty even when the floor is clean. Apparently there is a product that can be applied over top of grout to change it's colour, but right now we're not going to mess with a finished product... <br />
It's just too soon.<br />
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And the minor things that need tweaking include putting in a toilet paper holder and maybe changing out the towel ring which I don't love, plus styling up those shelves a little bit better. But for the most part we've been enjoying the one room in our house that is beautiful and <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(almost)</span> complete!Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-85924229738954498432013-05-01T13:39:00.001-07:002013-05-01T13:39:49.312-07:00So Long 2nd TrimesterAfter the nausea and exhaustion of the first trimester finally petered off, this pregnancy has really flown by. The 2nd trimester is gone and I'm entering the last 3 months of pregnancy! I <i>did</i> think it was going by quite fast until one day last week when 3 separate people asked me how much longer I had to go. They didn't say it in so many words but I could see in their eyes what they really were thinking - that they figured I must be "<i>nearing</i> <i>my</i> <i>time</i>." It feels quite humbling to reply that, "No, I'm only in my 2nd trimester... I still have 3 months to go." In truth it's probably more like 3 and a half months with my track record, but I figure most people don't need to be bothered with those details...<br />
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(26 weeks)<br />
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The other question I'm getting asked these days now that I'm very visibly <i>with</i>-<i>child</i> is: "How are you feeling?" The quick answer is "Great!" Because compared to the gagging, nauseating, exhausting first trimester, the second one is a breeze. I'm not sure how much detail people really want when they ask the question, but I did think of some other possible responses...<br />
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1. <i>"I think I've developed a food addiction."</i> - This happened sometime in the last 3 months when the need to eat to stifle nausea turned into a plain <i>need</i> <i>to</i> <i>eat. </i>I'm pretty sure I spend about 99% of my day thinking about food. When I'm not eating I'm thinking about when and what I'm going to eat next. And when I <i>am</i> eating, I'm thinking about what I'm going to eat after I finish what I'm currently eating. Trips to the grocery store result in multiple impulse buys that are usually polished off within a day or 2. I can't follow the old adage to "not shop when you're hungry" because it simply is never the case. <br />
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(26 weeks, 5 days)<br />
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2. <i>"I feel like a whale."</i> - I suppose this response and the last one go hand-in-hand. No matter how much I determine at the beginning of each pregnancy that <i>this</i> <i>time will be differen</i>t, it just is what it is. I don't know whether it's my habits or just my body type but I've come to the conclusion that when I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant <i>all</i> <i>over</i>. The first time I was pregnant I was completely enamoured with the whole process and fully embraced the burgeoning belly. I was totally oblivious to the fact that I was burgeoning everywhere else too. I remember seeing a picture of myself in my 3rd trimester and wondering why it looked like my eyes were disappearing when I smiled. Now I'm annoyingly aware of my rounder pregnant face every time I look in the mirror. This pregnancy we have a digital scale - the jury's still out as to whether this is helpful or not - but I just can't seem to stop myself from stepping on it every single morning. When the second trimester hits they tell you to expect to gain a pound a week. But between 20-26 weeks I'm pretty sure I saw the scale jump up a pound every couple of days. I figured at this rate I might literally be a whale by the beginning of August. Thankfully the increase seems to have finally slowed down.<br />
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3. <i>"Tums are my new best friend."</i> - Some days, no matter what I eat, I feel that uncomfortable burning in my throat. Who knew <i>water</i> could give you heart burn? Needless to say, my staple bedside snack in the last month has routinely been a couple of berry flavoured antacids. <br />
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4. <i>"I'm considering adult diapers."</i> - Let's face it. After 3 natural childbirths and the weight of a 6 month belly, it is nearly impossible to retain the contents of one's bladder. When the urge strikes, a bathroom must be found. And fast. I'm thinking a pair of Depends might just save me some time. And some laundry. <br />
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5. <i>"I'm getting practiced up for sleepless nights with a newborn."</i> - Besides getting up multiple times to go to the bathroom, I've started experiencing a bit of pregnancy insomnia. If I get woken up for any reason after 3 am I might as well just get up for the day. In fact, I started writing this post in my head at 4 in the morning and finally decided to just get up and actually type it out. It is nearly 5:30 now - the sun is almost up, the birds are wide-awake and apparently I'm wide awake as well. At least I can look forward to an afternoon nap... :)<br />
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6. <i>"My belly has a life of it's own."</i> - Feeling the baby move has got to be my favourite part of pregnancy. Hands-down. So this isn't so much a pregnancy complaint as an observation. All 4 of my children have been very active in-utero, making the idea of laying down to do a "kick-count" seem quite ridiculous. Already I can sit and watch my belly jump and vibrate - usually when I'm sitting down in the evenings. The kids have each had a chance to feel the activity of their little sister. Silas has the least patience to sit still and wait for a kick (often he'll put his hands on my belly quickly and tell me that he feels her moving even though I know he can't feel anything). But the other day he had his hand in just the right spot when his baby sister gave such a big kick that it startled both of us. He's felt smaller kicks before, but this time his eyes got really big with the realization that there truly is a little person in there!<br />
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Despite all the discomforts and annoyances of growing a child, I still enter each day with a deep sense of thankfulness for this amazing gift. This is a child that, at one point, seemed like an unlikely possibility. I grieved over the realization that our family might be complete with 3 kids; I felt so sad at the thought that I would never again feel a little one moving inside me or hold my very own newborn again. I am so, SO grateful to get to experience all of this just one last time. It really feels like an undeserved blessing. And the fact that it's a girl - a sister for Keziah and the perfect fit to our family's puzzle - is equally amazing. <br />
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Erik joked the other week that now that we're having 4, we might as well just keep going. Why stop now? And Silas likes to talk about our <i>next</i> baby or when Mommy's pregnant the <i>next</i> time... <br />
Sorry boys, but I think after this one we are really and truly finished!Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-14649296597812806712013-04-27T11:49:00.001-07:002013-04-27T11:49:57.408-07:00At Least the Chickens Will Sleep Well...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Spring has sprung on the farm. The plum tree was in full blossom a couple of weeks ago. </div>
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So pretty...</div>
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But unfortunately surrounded by this chaos...<br />
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Let's back up the train a little bit here. The last time I posted we were still "pre-dig". I took a few "before" pictures of the farm before everything was in upheaval. This is the house from the front. The house will essentially be doubled in size with the addition on the right.<br />
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Here's the side view of the house (left side of photo faces the street) and the future site of the addition.<br />
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And the back view pre-dig.<br />
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Same view after the digging has begun. Of course the warm, dry spell we had been having came to an abrupt end when the digging began and torrential rains ensued... resulting in piles and piles of mud. I snagged these pictures several days later when the sun decided to reappear.<br />
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With our access to the back porch completely obliterated, we are now using the front entrance. For about a week the kids and I had to put on boots just to make it to our van, where we kept our "good shoes." This gravel path that Erik's dad put down helped a lot, and the sunny weather this past week has also dried things up significantly since I took this photo.<br />
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So, essentially there is not much more progress to report at this time. There are so many other steps involved before the actual building can begin - things like soil testing (which we passed apparently), digging for new water pipes around the property and generally waiting for things to dry up. Erik is super busy at his "real" job and plans to devote some time to the house in a week or two. Hopefully there will be some further progress to report soon!<br />
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(Grandpa & Silas hard at work...)<br />
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Meanwhile, the chickens will be living it up in <i>their</i> brand new home...<br />
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Construction on the chicken coop is nearly complete. A friend at church joked that if Erik was building it, they'd probably have crown moulding and everything. Well, almost. This little house has water hook-up, electricity, insulation and even pot-lights on each side of the front door. Erik just needs to finish it off with some cedar siding. Very soon it will be ready to house some real live poultry.<br />
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And, hopefully, happy chickens will produce delicious farm-fresh eggs!</div>
Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-3389064869742459002013-04-03T19:11:00.000-07:002013-04-03T19:11:38.890-07:00Spring Break on the FarmTwo weeks of spring break felt like an overwhelming amount of time to kill with all 3 kids but it managed to fly by. We didn't end up accomplishing <i>everything</i> on our spring break to-do list. Ah well. Summer's just around the corner. At least it felt that way over the Easter weekend when the temperature hit 20-something...<br />
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The first week of spring break was still a bit cool and wet. In fact one afternoon we even saw some snow coming down for a few brief minutes. But despite the weather there was still plenty to keep us busy. One cannot forget the <a href="http://www.littletoewsies.blogspot.ca/2013/03/jamie-toews-official-cattle-wrangler.html">episode of Patches and the new baby calf</a> that provided some excitement. After Cow #1 delivered, we knew that Cow #2 (Daisy) was not far behind. Erik and I felt determined that we were going to witness the next calf birth so I was watching her like a hawk. On Silas' birthday I could tell she was acting a bit different and after dinner she was in obvious labour. We spent the evening outside sharing a set of binoculars but wouldn't you know she went into the far corner of the pasture and waited right until the point that it got too dark for us to see anything. Really, who can blame the poor girl, but still we were disappointed to miss the actual event. <br />
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Since the first calf was named Bambi, we decided it was fitting to name the second calf (a male) Thumper. Bambi and Thumper have been fast friends. (Meanwhile Patches has been sequestered to a separate pasture). <br />
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(Cow #3 {Brownie} is not due for her calf until the fall but the kids are already brainstorming more Bambi-like names for him or her.)</div>
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Over the long weekend Erik and his dad started work on the next farm venture - a chicken coop.</div>
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The kids enjoyed the sunshine and the chance to don their tool belts and "help Daddy work".</div>
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Daddy's trailer is always full of fun tools to try...<br />
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After the forming was done it was time for the concrete. The boys were <i>filthy</i> but Erik said Micah was actually super helpful - a future <a href="http://www.alderidgeconstruction.com/">Alderidge Construction</a> employee in the making we think...<br />
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Not sure when this coop will house actual chickens but I'll be sure to keep you up-to-date on the egg-production venture.</div>
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And, speaking of eggs...</div>
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The warmest and sunniest day had to be Easter Sunday. What a perfect afternoon for an Easter Egg hunt.</div>
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Ahhh, Mom - it's too bright!<br />
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Little Miss Organized made sure everyone had equal amount of eggs.<br />
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There has been <i>much</i> too much chocolate and sugar consumed in this household as of late and it's time for this preggo Mama to go into a bit of detox mode. (If only it wasn't for this baby girl making me SOOO hungry... <i>All. The. Time.</i>)<br />
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And now some exciting stuff starts to happen here on the farm. The plans for expanding the current house to meet the needs of Erik's parents and our own growing family are finally getting underway. There has already been some demolition happening around here. When I got home this afternoon I no longer had any railings on my deck - slightly dangerous but I'm definitely not missing my concrete block railings (which matched the pattern of the blocks on the bottom right).<br />
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The view from the house is much more unobstructed and I can start to envision a much nicer looking deck in our future...<br />
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The rest of the current house will stay as is and we will be building an addition out to the west side (to the left of the house on the first deck picture). Once the addition is complete, Erik's parents will move into the new part and our family will take over both floors of the current house. We're looking forward to having another bedroom, another bathroom and another living room to spread ourselves out a bit. <br />
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The real digging starts tomorrow so stay tuned!Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-56365297359666791242013-03-28T22:01:00.000-07:002013-03-28T22:01:06.632-07:00FourSilas turned 4 today.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gonABIO2c_4/UVSneaMjHmI/AAAAAAAAKIw/KD6_4M_6FEo/s1600/DSC_0216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gonABIO2c_4/UVSneaMjHmI/AAAAAAAAKIw/KD6_4M_6FEo/s640/DSC_0216.JPG" width="640" /></a>I can't believe how quickly he's growing up. I can clearly remember the <a href="http://www.littletoewsies.blogspot.ca/2009/04/silas-birth-story.html">March morning</a> that he was born. I feel nostalgic about him becoming a big boy and yet if there wasn't another baby on the way I think I would feel <i>much</i> more sad about the rapid passing of time and how quickly we have entered a different phase as a family.<br />
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There are many great things I could say about this boy. He is SO loveable. And the fact that he doesn't want to sit still and snuggle anymore makes us want to squeeze him all the more :) He's a true third child - making everyone laugh at the right moments and keeping the whole family entertained by his charm and silliness. <br />
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And we're not sure whether he comes by it naturally or if it's a result of having an older brother who is into all things hockey, but this boy loves his stick and puck. </div>
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On rainy days he spends his time on the kitchen floor, mini-stick in hand and ball flying. On sunny days, he takes me out to the street to show me his "slap-shot", "back-hander" and how he can shoot the ball through the "5-hole". The phrase I hear about 25 times a day is: "Mom, watch the replay!" and then I have to patiently wait while he does a slow-motion reenactment of whatever amazing play just occurred...<br />
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He shoots...</div>
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He scores!!</div>
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He doesn't have much patience for toys and imaginary play, but give the kid a ball or a swing or a shovel or a bike and he'll be happy as a clam. He's an outside kid through-and-through. This year he learned to pump his legs on the swing and ride a pedal bike (he's already graduated from the <a href="http://www.littletoewsies.blogspot.ca/2012/03/elmo-cupcakes-birthday-bike.html">strider we gave him last year</a>). He's also a natural at hockey - so Erik says - and can keep up with Micah and the neighbour boys.<br />
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I may not share his affinity for sports but I am definitely in love with my little Siley-bear. I think I'm going to miss having him as my "baby", and when he goes off to preschool in the fall I might be a bit lost without his silly charm. <br />
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Happy birthday Silas!</div>
Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-28945909823529830212013-03-20T20:23:00.001-07:002013-03-20T20:31:36.150-07:00Jamie Toews: Official Cattle Wrangler<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I think I earned my cowboy spurs this week. </div>
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Monday started innocently enough when we looked out the window after breakfast and saw that there was a new baby calf! The older kids were home because of Spring Break so we all booted up and went outside to get a closer look. It looked like the event had occurred very recently as the calf was still wet and struggling to stand. Our 1-year-old jersey calf Patches was super interested in this new "friend", which seemed really sweet at first glance. But I quickly realized he had more on his mind than befriending this new little calf...</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DnmFbMareXc/UUpt1KRsISI/AAAAAAAAKHg/kT37Ud5Eu20/s1600/Bambi+blog+-+first+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DnmFbMareXc/UUpt1KRsISI/AAAAAAAAKHg/kT37Ud5Eu20/s640/Bambi+blog+-+first+photo.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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Exhibit A:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l4lkmldL3nU/UUpt3J-ybfI/AAAAAAAAKHo/FdZdF6APbFQ/s1600/Bambi+blog+-+Patches+mounting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l4lkmldL3nU/UUpt3J-ybfI/AAAAAAAAKHo/FdZdF6APbFQ/s640/Bambi+blog+-+Patches+mounting.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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If you remember, I <a href="http://littletoewsies.blogspot.ca/2012/06/patches-calf.html">used to bottle-feed Patches</a> twice a day when we first got him last spring. Then I worked with him many times to wean him off of said bottle. So the two of us have a bit of a history and I have an overall affinity for the little guy. But after watching him mount this newest addition repeatedly and noticing that the calf would collapse under his weight - and wasn't getting a chance to be cleaned off or try to nurse from Mama Cocoa - I was starting to get annoyed. <br />
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With Erik's parents in Saskatchewan and Erik tied up at work, I felt a strong sense of responsibility to "save" baby Bambi (named by the kids, of course) from her perverse predator. So enter me, my rubber boots and my pregnant belly (with 3 other kids shadowing closely behind). <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-paizOs8x7Bs/UUpuChyBmfI/AAAAAAAAKIA/mkFUVdLEDz0/s1600/Bambi+blog+-+boots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-paizOs8x7Bs/UUpuChyBmfI/AAAAAAAAKIA/mkFUVdLEDz0/s640/Bambi+blog+-+boots.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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And this challenging terrain to maneuver through...</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0sLsYHe5_E8/UUpt8gNuO3I/AAAAAAAAKHw/A8mnZjh8jVw/s1600/Bambi+blog+-+mud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0sLsYHe5_E8/UUpt8gNuO3I/AAAAAAAAKHw/A8mnZjh8jVw/s640/Bambi+blog+-+mud.jpg" width="478" /></a><br />
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The challenge was this: luring Patches away without getting too close to Mama Cocoa - who would no doubt feel threatened by my presence (let alone my 3 tag-alongs) and do who-knows-what to protect her new baby. And I needed to lure Patches a <i>long</i> way to the barn where I could lock him up in a pen. We had just run out of grain - which seemed like it would be the perfect bait for him - so I first tried shaking some rocks in a bucket. Patches seemed only slightly curious and the only thing it served to do was attract the other cows to see what I had for them. Not successful. <br />
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After a bit of brainstorming, I decided to try again. This time I grabbed some fresh hay from the barn and put a bit of dog food in the bottom of my bucket (it seemed more realistic than the rocks I guess). Then I searched for a rope and made a lasso - at this point I must've been tapping into my inner farmer... or perhaps my inner Wonder-Pet... (you could hear the kids and I singing, "to help the baby calf and save the day!").<br />
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After watching Patches repeatedly "offend" the baby calf and Cocoa idly standing by, I was more determined than ever that my plan needed to work. This time I got as close as I dared and did my best job of making the hay and pail of dog food look appealing to the occupied Patches. Lucky for me he took the bait and I had my lasso ready to get around his neck and cinch tight. And another lucky thing was that we were close to a fence post where I could quickly tie him up - out of reach of baby Bambi. <br />
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It was a bit of an adrenaline rush, I'm telling you. And I felt a deep sense of satisfaction when I watched him struggle against my amateur rope-tying job while Cocoa was finally able to tend to her new baby. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qJGsGOvodas/UUpuAdznkvI/AAAAAAAAKH4/NH5ZlZrIkZE/s1600/Bambi+blog+-+patches+tied+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qJGsGOvodas/UUpuAdznkvI/AAAAAAAAKH4/NH5ZlZrIkZE/s640/Bambi+blog+-+patches+tied+up.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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But of course the drama wasn't over. I won't get into too many details, but basically Patches got out of his rope eventually and made a bee-line for Bambi where he proceeded to violate her repeatedly for the next few hours. I watched and waited for an opportune time and managed to get him roped up again - this time was trickier as he was in the middle of the field with no fence posts nearby to attach him to. So envision me smacking his rump, pulling him by the horns, and just plain tugging with all my might. After some sweat and some patience I finally got him tied back up. And there he stayed until Erik got home a few hours later. <br />
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Now Patches the Offender is where he belongs. <br />
Behind bars. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-liL6zzVBYIc/UUpuEkiY7-I/AAAAAAAAKII/8j5n_ZupPOk/s1600/Bambi+blog+-+patches+in+cage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-liL6zzVBYIc/UUpuEkiY7-I/AAAAAAAAKII/8j5n_ZupPOk/s640/Bambi+blog+-+patches+in+cage.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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And Mama Cocoa and Baby Bambi (who we suspect is a female) got in their all-important bonding time.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3vBV9DhkLNs/UUpvk_t-BhI/AAAAAAAAKIY/ZAUDaGdGoB8/s1600/Bambi+blog+-+barn+shot+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3vBV9DhkLNs/UUpvk_t-BhI/AAAAAAAAKIY/ZAUDaGdGoB8/s640/Bambi+blog+-+barn+shot+1.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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So, I don't know about you, but I pretty much think I just single-handedly earned some sort of 4H badge or <i>something</i>... <br />
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At the very least I think I deserve a cute pair of cowboy boots.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-52310195902495409422013-03-13T15:01:00.000-07:002013-03-13T15:01:50.307-07:00Pink or Blue?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well.... the gender results are in from the ultrasound and we know what this baby's going to be!<br />
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But first, our family weighed in their votes: 4 votes for girl and 1 vote for boy (thanks to Silas for weighing in for the male gender).<br />
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Well, I guess majority wins...<br />
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Pink it is!<br />
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At the ultrasound, the kids were anxiously asking the ultrasound technician if the baby was a boy or a girl - Micah was chanting "please be a girl, please be a girl!" and Silas came back with "please be a boy!" I had to remind them a couple of times that she couldn't actually tell us at the ultrasound and that we were going to have to wait a little bit longer. But the technician told us she was 99% sure what it was, and the last thing she said to our little family was that "it should even things out." Even Micah was clever enough to pick up on that hint :) The midwife confirmed that the technician believes she saw a little girl in there... (Even though we realize there's still a chance that we could be surprised by a boy!)<br />
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So there is plenty of excitement in our house as we anticipate the arrival of a little sister for Micah, Keziah & Silas! (And I'm breathing a little sigh of relief since we already have a girls name picked out and not a CLUE for a boy!)<br />
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Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-2393538994244055772013-02-23T08:33:00.000-08:002013-02-23T08:33:45.469-08:00Love Month & Other Things<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Valentine's Day came and went. </div>
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And there was a lot of sugar consumed...</div>
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BC had it's very first Family Day this year (a week earlier than the rest of the country's Family Day - go figure). Unfortunately Erik could not participate so it just felt like a long day at home with the kids...<br />
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I decided to <i>try</i> to make it fun by baking Valentine's sugar cookies with the kids. But I think the first 1/2 hour of the process was spent fighting over which stool each kid got to stand on, who got to pour the sugar in and who's turn it was to use the mixer...<br />
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And then there's me watching flour go everywhere and silently reminding myself that <i>it's just flour</i> - we can clean it up later...</div>
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After the mixing, it was time for the rolling and cutting. More mess for sure. And more drama as the kids fought over the only 2 heart cookie cutters I had. Silas must've lost interest in the process by the time I took this picture. Likely sneaking in some screen time in another room...</div>
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While Silas napped (I'm so thankful he still does most days) the older kids and I got a head start on the decorating. Eliminating one child from the equation made this part so much less chaotic... Other than me reminding the kids every couple of minutes not to lick the knives they were using for spreading (sorry to anyone who shared these cookies with us...)</div>
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We used <a href="http://peppermintplum.blogspot.ca/2011/03/thick-soft-sugar-cookies.html">this sugar cookie recipe</a>, which calls for sour cream and makes super soft cookies.<br />
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Valentine's came a few days later and we celebrated Love Day as a family...</div>
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Pizza was on the menu and I cut them out using my big heart-shaped cookie cutter. A bit labour-intensive compared to regular pizza...</div>
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But worth it. <br />
I think.<br />
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Other exciting happenings of this last month included welcoming our newest cousin/nephew to the world. A few days before Valentine's, Sawyer James was born - the kids were already in their PJs when we got the news but we quickly packed them all up and headed to the hospital to meet him for the first time. <br />
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It was fun to explain to the kids that this is how they would meet their new sibling for the first time. I think they were pretty excited about the idea. <br />
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I'm now 17 weeks pregnant and feeling great. Just... growing. Up until yesterday I was making do with stretchy leggings and my regular jeans with an elastic band stretching from button to button hole - but the old elastic band trick just wasn't really cutting it anymore. And when I recently went through my bag of maternity clothes from my previous pregnancies I felt like throwing up a little bit. Some of those clothes I bought <i>nine </i>years ago. Needless to say they are just not working for me in 2013. Erik's mantra this pregnancy has been "We are not buying <i>ANYTHING</i> new for this baby." But sorry honey, Mama just has to feel somewhat pretty for the next 5 or 6 months - something to counteract the visual of those numbers creeping up on the scale every morning...<br />
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Happy Love Month to me!</div>
Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16956178.post-4962419712598769902013-02-07T13:33:00.001-08:002013-02-07T13:33:35.197-08:00Screen-Time Detox<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Over the last few months I've become painfully aware that Silas is a full-on screen-time addict. If it's not a TV show or a movie, he's asking to play on the computer or the Wii. And when we're out shopping or waiting during ballet practice, all he wants is to play on my iphone... </div>
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I think the problem really escalated in the last months of me feeling exhausted and nauseated 90% of the time. Silas wakes up at 6 am like clockwork, so I of course turn on the TV, give him his milk and then head back to bed. And then while the older kids are at school and I'm muddling through my day, I don't have the willpower to turn off the laptop or the TV after he's obviously had enough. </div>
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Now, as soon as the screens are turned off, Silas proclaims that he is B.O.R.E.D! The kid has forgotten how to play. So now that I am feeling much improved and more energetic I've decided it's time for some screen-time detox. </div>
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It's not easy, let me tell you. The boy has a short attention span for anything that does not involve staring at a screen (that he could do for hours, let me tell you!) This morning we played with play-dough for all of 5 minutes before going on to the next thing - painting. I really resist taking out the painting stuff since it seems overwhelming for such a short amount of play, but he stuck with it for about 20 minutes and actually enjoyed rinsing out his paint container at the end so it wasn't really that painful. Then we read our new library books, but that didn't take much time at all.</div>
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At that point I really had some stuff I wanted to get done and that's where the true test comes because when he is asking for screen-time and I'm really busy, it is just far too tempting to give in. But today I had resolved to be strong, so I pulled out an idea from my Pinterest board. All it takes is baking soda, vinegar and food colouring. It also helps to have a medicine dropper (took me awhile to track one of these down since we haven't administered infant tylenol or vitamin D drops in a couple years!)</div>
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Mix the vinegar with different colours...</div>
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And give your kid a plate full of baking soda. After that, they can drop away and create colourful little volcanic eruptions.<br />
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Silas loved the sound of the "fizz".<br />
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This activity didn't last 2 hours (like it apparently did for the pinner's kid). Not even 1 hour. We're talking 20-30 minutes tops. But hey. It gave me a chance to make the mango salsa for tonight's <a href="http://pinchofyum.com/mango-black-bean-coconut-tacos">delicious dinner recipe</a> so I call that a success.<br />
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And to keep things real, I did let Silas watch TV after managing to hold him off for a couple of hours. But that too, I consider a success. <br />
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Baby steps people. Baby steps.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05173027505090213903noreply@blogger.com3