Bits of this and that

Well, Steve is trying to sing a very tired but fighting Cody to sleep...and failing. He's suspiciously acting like the 1/2 hour sleep he had before he woke up scared out of his wits, was enough to go for a few more hours. Not a good thing at all.

This is the "red-headed" woodpecker I saw a few days back. Nicely making all those holes and calling out for me to observe him. Gorgeous! Although I was informed it was a sap sucker NOT a red headed woodpecker. Anyone out there blame me? Red headed? Check. Acting and sounding like a woodpecker? Check. Obviously I wasn't a very good student all the years I was indoctrinated in all things birdwatching. :)

This cutie came running to meet me on the same "wood pecker" trail. Sigh. What a sweet grin.

Opa & Cody exchanging glances. Too bad I didn't get the whole hat swimming around on that little head but I am glad I captured that there's a whole lot of love covering the span of years.

Miss Independant thought it a wonderful thing to feed herself the remaining yogurt when Mama went to tuck Cody into bed. She was so proud of herself she was just about crowing! That is one video feed I can hardly wait to show her in a few years! She scooped (and dripped) until she had enough and then nicely placed the bowl back on the table where she had grabbed it from in the first place. Monkey!

That's it for today but maybe some more again soon.

One of the things about having a secret friend is the feeling of being spoiled. I'll admit it, I'm a presents & surprises kind of person. Doesn't have to be huge or even big. For me, it's all about the finding something with my name on it and discovering the surprise within. I'll also admit I love to eat yummy things. So, imagine my delight when I found a big snowman tin with MY name on it in the church fridge. It was filled to the brim with a variety of delicious tidbits. I'm thinking my secret pal is an amazing baker. Think chewy ginger snaps, tiny shortbread balls dipped in milk chocolate, covered with white chocolate shavings, think a yummy version of nanimo bars and almond filled cookies. I told you I was spoiled! Thanks, SP, that tin was a wonderful find!

Another sweet friend popped a little box in my mailbox. That little box packed a big punch of the gift card type. This Mama is now heading for a pedicure, the first ever! I'm looking forward to it. Thanks, Steph!

A few people asked me what I did for Leah's teacher this year. I covered this photo album with the intention of writing 2009 on the label so she would have a place to put all the pictures that come around now. But I know some people like to hang the pictures about the house so I decided to forego a date. Hopefully it will come in handy either for last year's pictures, this year's pictures or some other pictures all together. (the one drawback of this album is that it fits 4x6 pictures so you either have to trim a few photos or leave them out.)

I also made the card which I included only because I am tickled with these flowers right now. Took an old (sappy) novel and started punching flowers. Stacked the flowers - at least 8-10, secured with a brad, scrunched and then inked the edges. A super cheap but wow embellishment. (Always check the content of the top flower :) )

Well, my little Cody is not finding it possible or desirable to go to sleep so I think I better make a visit to his bedroom for some snuggles.
Some more pictures soon - maybe even tonight.

A few pictures

Because I should be finishing the bathroom cleaning and continuing with the wash. Sometimes it's good to just stop and look through pictures.

I love that these two are no less in love with each other now than the day they snuggled in the hospital bassinet. They love to be touching in some way. They greet each other enthusiastically when they wake up usually leaning towards each other in a sweet 1 year old type of hug and calling out, "hi!... hi!". For today I'm forgetting the hair pulling and biting, fighting over toys and stealing food off high chair trays.

Did I ever mention how much I love the view out my front window? Granted, the photography isn't perfect and there are a few distracting poles and lines in the way but we see some gorgeous sun rises.

And unspeakably stunning sun sets. Especially in these winter months. Big thanks to the Other Leanne (my sweet sis-in-law) for removing all poles and lines for me.

What a special moment to catch all three boys sharing (and totally enthralled) with a new to us toy. Obviously one of the three was thrilled to be included in big boy's play. Thanks to the W's for sharing this with us!

Two Weeks in a Blur

So, there are a few things I would like to cover from the last two weeks. Some are really important. But first, here is the short of it.

She was the sickest and for all who know Cara a little bit you will not be surprised that I headed for the doctor when all she did was lay around like this, the breaking point one afternoon when she woke up from her nap and wouldn't hold up her head. I did think the first thing I would hear about was H1N1 but there was absolutely no mention of it.

For those of you in Chilliwack... do you remember the Saturday birthday program when you could call in and send someone birthday wishes and possibly even win a birthday cake? I was wishing for a program for thank you's near the beginning of this sickness stage so I could call out a huge thank you to Ingrid. She came knocking on my door with a delicious dinner and scrumptious gingerbread cookies the morning I took the above picture. (It was the octopus day!) So, thanks, Ingrid, you surely saved that day! (sorry the thanks were so long in coming)

Well, after almost 2 weeks of getting up too many times each night and feeling stretched a few directions during the day Steve and I got to finish last week with a special get away. Someone(s) (who for now remain unnamed because I'm still not sure if this was to be publicly shared info) had gifted us with 2 nights away when the twins were born. We got to stay at the Harrison Resort & Spa, a beautiful, fantastic spot. Now while some may say any spot away at this point would have been amazing, I will still say this place is a cut above many! Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum. I stayed in my bed all night, didn't have to make any meals, didn't have to feed any meals, didn't have to change any diapers, get any one dressed etc.) What I (we) did do was relax, eat amazing food (lots of it), walk, nap, soak in the hot tub, sit and watch the fire (the one in the lobby designed for sitting in front of not a building fire or outdoor fire either), talk and laugh and enjoy the kind of silence that people who love each other and are comfortable with each other can enjoy.

This story isn't complete without a few quotes from those individuals involved. We were pretty sure the kids would be somewhat unsure of us going away without them and so to save the day I thought I would use The Bearnstein Bears and the Week at Gramma's as an example. Hey, the kids are familiar with the DVD and it's spins such a positive outlook on the whole business. So. I told them at breakfast early last week, "Papa and Mama are going on a second honeymoon." Sam was excited because that meant getting sleepovers. Leah was sad, she wanted to come along. Sam jumped in with, "but, Leah, honeymoons aren't for cubs!" Later when Gramma asked him what a honeymoon was Sam instantly replied, "you play tennis and stuff." He had a few more gems. Steve and I went into Chillwack Friday afternoon for Leah's school program and open house. The minute he saw Steve Sam asked, "how was your first honeymoon?" Then Saturday afternoon, "did you guys KISS?" in the most distressed voice ever!

As for Steve and I we also pulled a few doozies. Complimentary afternoon tea is served in the lobby and you can choose which baked goods you would like to eat but they are served by someone who is probably expressly there to keep people like us ("free goodies, let's load up!") from emptying the tray. So, Steve steps up, looks at his choices and says, "I'll take one of those pink cakes and its yellow counterpart" Without a blink or twitch she nicely placed them on the napkin and replied, "here's your pink cake and its yellow counterpart." Ever wonder what post tea conversations are like in the kitchen?

Eating supper in the Copper Room was another unparelled experience. We just haven't spent alot of time honing our fine dining skills (or dancing skills either) Well, after looking through the menu and seeing the choices, including turkey, and then asking our waiter what the soup of the day was, Steve looked at me and rephrased Turkey and Vegetable Soup as "Yesterday's Turkey Soup." Hey, it may well be true and the soup was good but, I couldn't help but snicker at it phrased quite like that in that environment. Or our appetizer. I do remember now that "bisque" is a fancy way of saying soup but hey, it never says bisque on the cream of mushroom can so you have to forgive me for my slight lapse in memory. Steve asked for the Five Onion Bisque for an appetizer, said we would share it and then answered, yes, I would still like the soup of the day over the salad. Imagine our faces when the waiter kindly placed a bowl of soup between us to share for the appetizer. Steve doesn't share food or utensils very willingly and he really wasn't that excited about sharing a bowl of soup with me. We laughed for the next 24 hours everytime we thought of it.

Ahh, this is getting long, my babies need some lunch and really I need to get back at that wash. Thanks for sticking it out this long!

We have this thing at our house, a sort of feverish sickness which has prompted:
- glazed eyes
- roaring but not raging fevers
- increased whinyness
- decreased appetite
- general listlessness
- extra time on the couch
- (trying to think of it as bonus cuddles)
- mile high unfolded laundry
- heart aching sympathy for these helpless little ones

So far affected (I'm sitting here wondering if I have the right word - something to ponder while on the couch tomorrow) are Cam (almost done after 4 days) and Cody (completed day 1 with no signs of letting up yet) and Cara who seems well on her way to starting.

I think tomorrow will be a day I sincerely wish I was built like an octopus :)

a milestone

So, Cody gives me some more blogging fodder... he now holds the record for -first to the doctor's office for an injury. It's true, with all my children; active, jumping on and off couches, stairs, bleachers, beds etc. children, I have never made a doctor's visit on accounts of an injury. Enter Cody, actually Innocent Cody. He just happened to forget to sit still in the "kitchen-chairs van". His Mama of the moment forgot the benefits of properly installed booster seats and he lost out.
Doctor: "what happened"
Sheepish L: "he fell face first on the floor after flipping off a kitchen chair." He was in the "van" on the way to "church". I was laying on the couch with a sick kid and wasn't paying 1oo percent attention."
Kind doctor: "it happens"

He probably could have used a 3rd stitch but he was screaming and struggling to beat the band. Doctor said, "these have to come out again. A sterile strip should heal the end." Lady in the waiting room said, "it's okay, chicks dig scars." Oh yeah, did you already hear me say he isn't dating till 21? I guess he'll be the first I teach make up art to!

Clarification

Before you get the idea that things are very rough here let me tell you about the hours between the 15 minute chaos sessions. The truth of the matter is something like this.

Breakfast - they stay in their highchairs for sometimes maybe even 45 minutes (cheerfully too I should add) waiting for me to be ready to take them out and deal with them
Dressed and ready for the day - sure getting them dressed etc. can take a bit of time but once they are dressed they are very willing to either a) go play (upstairs or downstairs) or b) see previous post
but they DON'T always pick b.
Once they are playing they play very happily and cheerfully together and especially if they are downstairs (where they play very willingly and VERY nicely) they are not at all underfoot or in trouble.
Snack - back into the high chair where they enjoy something to nibble on and then again wait until I'm ready to clean them up and let them loose again.
Play time or mess time
Lunch - Back into the high chair - eat, make a mess and wait for mom or if she takes too long just fall asleep. This is not a common occurence but she was so tired there was no waking her up even though I really had to scrub to get that mess off her face.

Nap time- we're not very good nappers so we head back into the routine of play time or mess time quite quickly again.
Supper time- back into our highchairs.

Now, we take a few breaks for bottles and diapers and books etc. but really we are pretty good at the play time thing. We even still enjoy playing in the play pen as long as we're together. Today Mom even napped for 45 min. while we played quietly there.

Now I'm not trying to totally discredit the previous post, some moments are awfully crazy here, but I couldn't in good conscience let you think that all our waking hours are chaos.

As for some of the memorable quotes from around here lately.
Sam- as Steve and I were talking in the front of the van Sunday afternoon, "what are you disizzning (decisioning)?"
Leah - in all sincerity yesterday afternoon told me that if I was a widow I could have gotten both pictures she drew but since I wasn't one, she had to give one of the drawings to Dad. (What? Where on earth did that come from?)

These Two

Are causing me greater grief these days... or at least greyer hair, reduced energy, increased workload etc.

Papa has a rule, he gets the first toothbrush session, kids second session. He is VERY kind. Mean Mama says, I brush teeth and that's it. We don't have time for all this piddling around. These two love their Papa sessions. They would suck toothpaste out of the toothbrush for many long minutes if allowed.

And, if Mama's said no to the personal toothbrushing, best thing to do is wait until someone forgets to close the bathroom door and see if they also forgot to put the toothpaste away. Chances are, the tube is on top of the organizer and then it's game on. Sucking toothpaste from the tube is much more profitable than sucking toothpaste from an already used toothbrush!

And if Papa's taking too much time dealing with everyone else's teeth we only need to hop up on the stool and get in the way to remind him we need our turn too. Thankfully we still both can fit on the same stool.


And if it's not related to toothpaste there are a few other options as well. Mom can make a regular circut from the pantry to the garbage can, to the kitchen cupboards and possibly even our bedroom dressers. Most bothersome to Mom is the garbage can. We take great delight in adding choice items like pencils, pens (hey, we know we shouldn't have them anyway), toys, tupperware, brush for the dustpan (actually, I think that went out with the trash. I haven't seen it in weeks anywhere in the house!) hairpins, socks, or anything else we can possibly find laying around. That makes for a lot of possibilities. That doesn't bother mom the most. It's the things we take out that drive her crazy, the bag the roast was in, the slimy banana peels, papers with a layer of crumbs she just swept up off the floor etc. anything from the top down to about the middle is fair game. Pantry and cupboard contents make the upstairs a regular obstacle course but at least they are quick and easy clean up.

And last but not least is Cody's fasination with toilet paper streamers. I didn't take pictures of the mess yet. I've gotten a few nice video feeds! Toilet paper still rolling off the roll and the white trails have already made it down the hallway, back again, into the kitchen and then a few chunks pulled off to "wipe" chairs or even the toilet seat. Okay, it also doesn't make a huge mess and the clean up is fairly simple but guess who uses the mountain of paper on the toilet tank. Well, let's see. Not the visitors, can't very well ask them to grab a handful. Not the kids. They can't ever seem to find an end and so if they touch it we end up with more and more bits and pieces to cover the floor and it's extremely un-economical. I like getting my toilet paper off the roll! So, for now it's the little recorded voice at the bathroom door..."did you wipe? did you wash? did you turn off the lights? now SHUT the door!"

Another Birthday

and our not so little Leah is now 6! We thank God for His gift of Leah to us.
Six things about Leah (so some day I can scrapbook them or at the very least she can read them here):
- loves the color blue, it's been her favorite color since she was 1.5 years old and could look for blue cars and trucks from The Wave windows.
- right now it's all about Cinderella because Cinderella wears a pretty dress and it's blue.
- pretty dresses are wonderful - see birthday present below
- loves horses, maybe more than she loves blue

- loves to read and has taken a book about horses out of the school library nearly every week since the first library day

- was spoiled on her birthday with a horse AND a pretty blue Cinderella dress, both for the new doll she also recieved.

It wasn't blue but you find a pretty blue dress at Christmas time within a decent price range (without breaking out the sewing machine, midnight oil and skyrocketing stress levels)

She was pretty happy anyway.

She also had a wonderful birthday party with some wonderful, sweet girls - who stayed that way because they were busy with crafts like this glittery butterfly. (I don't include pictures of other kids without permission and most of the birthday pictures have giggly girls included!)

That she too may learn to count her days and apply her heart to wisdom's ways!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Mom's tumor is/was benign and she's coming home tomorrow. The Lord is gracious and all praise and honor are due His most Holy name!

I am blessed to be able to write that Mom's surgery went very well. Here is a small part of the email Dad wrote last night.

How much we prayed during this whole time, before and during and afterwards. We pray for God’s further healing also in this time of recuperation. After the doctor came to us to tell us the surgery went well, we read the first few verses of Psalm 103, and thanked the Lord for His goodness, and His crowning us “with lovingkindness and tender mercies.” The Lord has heard our prayers and dealt bountifully with us, in ways all underserved and all to His glory and praise. What reasons to be so grateful too for the medical staff and skills and technology in our country.

Again, thank you for all who have prayed and cared in many ways.

Mom is doing well this morning, very sleepy and being checked often.

Mom has surgery, the Lord willing, at 11:00 Tuesday morning. We covet your prayers on her and Dad's behalf.

It was a stunning day.

We were so thankful to be able to enjoy it! Can anyone really enjoy such a day and not see God's Hand?

Back again

First of all, again thank you for all your love and care. Mom's surgery was cancelled at the beginning of this week and rescheduled for 2 weeks from now. So starts some continued waiting and trusting for Mom and Dad. We pray God will show Himself near to them every single day.

And yet, life does continue. Days pass and at a sometimes alarming rate. Here are a few moments from our past weeks.

The joys of self applied lip balm. Remind me to go with a more subltle color next time :)

Cara looks like this each time she is finished her chocolate chip cookie. Full of chocolate and totally pleased with herself.

And because she's giving us more and more opportunities to laugh...and worry... these days, here's another one. She was wearing Sammy's toque and her face looked pretty tiny. She and Cody absolutely love to be outside.

They looked kind of posed but actually they were fighting over the chair. Cody finally got in and Cara figured, "fine, I'll just sit on top, and the top one wins!" I could almost hear her say it.

They are something else to watch now. For example, the juice cup story. Cara loves to drink from a juice cup. (She's another one of my I-can-hardly-wait-to-be-big babies.) Now, she loves her brother dearly but she no different than any other sinful, selfish kid. "Mine!" So when she left the cup on the floor and Cody came along and picked it up to play with, she came running, screeching at the top of her lungs. She quickly grabbed it from him where he was playing at a chair in the kitchen and motored over to the kitchen table where she pushed it as far into the middle as she could reach. She looked back at him and put in a bit of a lecture and then took off again. Cody is still at a disadvantage in that he can't quite keep up to her but she did forget he could reach as far or maybe even farther onto the table than her. As soon as she had left he just went to retrieve the cup again. What a pair.

By the way, a little side note. Cody started really walking last week. As in, more than 3 steps from wall to chair and today he pushes himself up from the floor and hardly crawls at all anymore. I did get some video and would share it with you like I did with Cara but his videos are longer and will take too long to load. I still love this starting to walk stage.

They're calling from their high chairs now where they are not so patiently waiting to be let out. I'll have some more pictures and stories over the next few days.

PS. If my secret pal reads this and would care to share the recipe for the delicious pumpkin loaf by putting a copy in my mailbox at church, my kids and I would be VERY thankful.

Thoughts...

As many of you are aware, last week our extended family was stunned with the news that Steve's Mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor. As has been shared in other places, the neurologist Mom saw was quite hopeful the tumor is benign. For now, there are some tests to be completed and then hopefully surgery in a short time. Thank you for remembering them in prayer.

As for our regular family happenings, as you can imagine, it doesn't quite feel right to prattle on about them right now.

Thanks for the love and care you continue to show us.

I'm really far behind and these pictures may not be top quality for color or composition but they all make me smile.

And once again I can say nothing but we have incredible blessings. Thanks for continuing to come back and read.

Edited to add:

We got spoiled with a fantastic birthday party after all. Truth of it is, Tyler (who kindly shares his birthdate with us) also shared his birthday party. Aunty Krista made the cutest barn cake and animal cupcakes. I obviously didn't go through the effort of it because I didn't make it a priority to take pictures. I am remembering I do have a couple pictures on email so I'll go hunt them up.

Carsie Button was at a bit of a loss having missed her nap...

But once she got a few hand fulls of icing she was just fine!

It must have been the birthday song that held this dear boy in shock - "happy birthday dear CaraCodyTyler or TylerCaraCody or TylerCodyCara... there are a few more options and I wouldn't doubt that every one was covered :)

But once that cupcake was within reach, he didn't hesitate for a second!

And like I said these babies were spoiled by cousins and friends alike and all five of my dear children have enjoyed the benefits of the birthday gifts. Thanks to all of you who shared your love with my babies. By the way, did anyone else consider that if there were really 15 kids at the table, 1/3 of them were mine!!? That's when I feel like I have lots of kids :) If Krista has a picture of all the kids at the table and all the moms are okay, I may add a picture like that yet. (Trichelle, the shovels are sitting on top of the pantry waiting for spring days :)