Free Again

If you can believe it I only have two more days of work. I am so excited that I am going to be a stay at home mom once again. Jamie and I talked about if after my last shift at Tims on Tues that he thought that it was time for me to have a break. I will be working my last day at Tims on Wed. and my last day at Hickory Farm is Sat. I am glad that I have been able to contribute so much to the basement and that it looks great from all of Jamie's hard work. We have now moved the furniture down stairs and the kids are having a great time playing down there with all their toys that they have not seen in about two months. I like to be able to say to them to go down stairs and play when they start to get too loud. Now we have to save up some money so that we can get Darien a new bed for his room. We are going to sell the bunkbeds and then Darien can have his own bed and Keagan will finally have the slide bed that he has waited so long to use. It has been great having the moms here to visit and we look forward to Jamie's bother Tyler and wife Michelle's arrival on Sat. Today is Darien's christmas party at school so Keagan and I are going to go and sing Christmas Carols with them. I love Christmas. If I don't talk to anyone before Christmas and I am sorry to say that I didn't get any Christmas cards sent off, but we wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year. I look forward to staying in contact with everyone.

The Date Is!!!

Well, it is official I went to the doctors and heard the heart beat, which is always awesome. The due date it June. 25 and I am 13 1/2 weeks along. So that could explain the big tummy and the weight gain. I was getting a little bit upset about the amount of weight that I have gained but I have come to realize that it doesn't really matter, because I have taken it all off before and I can do it again. So I am already booked for my ultra sound on Jan. 25, and yes if they can see we are going to find out what we are having only because I have a lot of boys in this house that want to have a little sister and I really need them to be prepared for the fact that it will be a boy most likely. I asked Keagan the other day why he wanted a girl and he said that it was because he needs a Princess Laya, I thought that was really funny. So I am almost done my big mad rush for work. Once this week is over I am going to be done at Hickory Farm and Tims. I looked at my schedule for Tims and for the next four weeks she has me working 1 day a week and that is just not worth it. So I am going to give my notice today. I know I didn't want to work a lot more that 2 to 3 days a week and it is hard to work around Jamie's schedule but I am done. I have worked very hard in the last couple of months and it will be nice to play catchup. On a final note the carpet is in the basement and what a treat that is. The kids have been down there since right after breakfast, it is great I will post some pictures soon. There is still work to do but we can wait for the little stuff.

Moms Have Arrived

I am so excited. We were having a very normal Sun. with alot of things going on when Jamie decided that it was time to have a game of hang man with the kids. I thought that was a little bit strange but whatever. So we started playing and it was HAZEL & PENNI 4:35. It was a surprise for me and the kids that Jamie had changed our moms flights so that they arrived yesterday instead of Tues. I was so shocked and happy. Jamie was feeling for me because I have been so busy, tired and sick that he thought that it would be nice to have some extra help sooner than later. I was so happy and the kids were very excited. This weekend has been busy with Tammy coming up and doing hair, me working, and trying to finish painting our basement before the carpet people come. I am happy to say that we are ready for the carpet which will be coming in the next couple of days and then we can enjoy all of our (mainly Jamie's) hard work. It has been a lot of work but really worth it now that we see it with the final coat of paint. I must say my husband has done an excellent job of the drywall and mudding and taping. I am going for my first prenatal appointment today so I will have the offical due date for everyone seen as I have no real idea. I am going to go and take care of Keagan now who had his first cavity filled today, unfortunately he has my teeth poor thing.

Busy Busy Busy

I can not believe that we are getting so much closer to Christmas. I am so excited. I thought that I had managed to skip getting sick like the rest of the family but I finally broke and got the stomach flu. I came down with it on Tues and the next two days are a real blur. I actually phoned in sick for work both days which was nice to be able to stay home and enjoy some relaxation. So for now Darien is the only one that has not come down with it. I of course am not taking any chances and I keep sending him to bed with a bucket just in case. I am so excited about all the things that are going to be happening in the next little while. My hair dresser friend and her family are coming up this weekend, which is always fun, it is like I have my own salon built right into my house. I have arranged about 10 cuts and 8 colors so it will be really busy, but not for me I get to just sit and visit with everyone that comes to have their hair done. Then next week my mom and mother-in-law arrive from BC. This is very exciting. I must say that I am very blessed to have moms that get along so well and we all have a great time when we get together. So I guess you can tell what I am looking forward to I love my moms. Good times ahead.

Sickness Has Struck

Well, I am not too sure what happened put this last week has gone by so quickly. I know that I was busy but I am not too sure with what I guess just life. It seems that as it gets closer to Christmas things seem to come up very quickly. I had my third annual cookie exchange last Wed. and it was great. I love being able to make one thing and end up with a freezer full of other things in one night. So that is my Christmas baking all done. I am still working a lot. Tonight is my only night off this week so I have to make sure that I am really organized for the rest of the week, so tonight after family home evening and bed time I am going to plan my meals for the next two weeks and go grocery shopping. I know this all sounds so exciting but I find that it is the only way to survive. I am taking Keagan to his first speech assesment today. He is doing alright but with some of his letters he is not saying them correct so I want to make sure that there isn't something that we should be working on, I have to take Rylan with me so hopefully he will be good and not too crazy. It has finally warmed up here, it is supposed to get up to +4 on Thurs. which is nice but it makes the roads very slushy. Today will be a good day to play outside.

Where Has This Week Gone

Well, I am not too sure what happened put this last week has gone by so quickly. I know that I was busy but I am not too sure with what I guess just life. It seems that as it gets closer to Christmas things seem to come up very quickly. I had my third annual cookie exchange last Wed. and it was great. I love being able to make one thing and end up with a freezer full of other things in one night. So that is my Christmas baking all done. I am still working a lot. Tonight is my only night off this week so I have to make sure that I am really organized for the rest of the week, so tonight after family home evening and bed time I am going to plan my meals for the next two weeks and go grocery shopping. I know this all sounds so exciting but I find that it is the only way to survive. I am taking Keagan to his first speech assesment today. He is doing alright but with some of his letters he is not saying them correct so I want to make sure that there isn't something that we should be working on, I have to take Rylan with me so hopefully he will be good and not too crazy. It has finally warmed up here, it is supposed to get up to +4 on Thurs. which is nice but it makes the roads very slushy. Today will be a good day to play outside.

Relaxing Sunday

What a late night. I didn't get home until 2:30 this morning from hanging out with Jamie at the club and Jamie didn't get home until 3:30 and yes we still got up for church this morning at 7:30. So we are a little bit tired. Jamie did really well last night until he went to search for a song and kind of messed up the play list for the night, but we managed to recover and fill all the requests for the night. Technology is amazing everything is in the computer and away you go. Crazy. It is a good sign when people are dancing and not leaving and it was a very busy night. I think we had 3 pages of requests. I didn't plan on staying that late but it was fun to work together and I didn't want him to be lonely. So we went to church today because it was the primary presentation when all the children get up and sing and give talks for their parents, which is always cute and the children did very well. But Rylan I left right after because he has a cough and runny nose. We came home and he just lay on the couch until everyone else got home, pour guy. So today is our PJ day we are all in our pajamas and just relaxing which is so nice considering how busy it has been. Tonight we are going to decorate the big christmas tree. I love christmas.

Boys and Skiing

It is so much fun to watch as Darien and Keagan learn to snowboard. They are having a really good time learning. I was really surprised that they still wanted to go this morning considering it is -20 outside but they went with about 3 layers on and not once did they complain. I on the other hand stayed in the lodge and watched from the warmth with Rylan. It was so cute because Keagan has such long eyelashes that as he would breath the moisture would rise up land on his eyelashes and then freeze, don't we all wish we has long eyelashes. So now we are all relaxing then Jamie and I are going to another wedding reception tonight. Then if you can believe it Jamie is helping out a friend and will be DJ'ing at a club tonight, I know shocking! But it is fun for him to try something new so I am going to go and hang out with the DJ. LOL.

I Must Be Crazy

Well, I am not too sure what I was thinking but I have now taken on a third job, yes you read it right I am now working at Hickory Farms in the mall for the next month until Christmas. I know that life was busy but now it I don't even know what to call it. The main reason for getting the job is because a friend of mine is the manager and she was stuck because one of her staff is sick and she really needed someone to fill in, so here I am. The crazy thing is that I was trained for 2 hours yesterday and today I will be on my own for 4 hours during the busy time, so you can imagin what I dreamed all night. Of course today is the day that Rylan had to wake up with a fever and he really doesn't look so hot. So hopefully he will be fine. The other crazy thing is that I have to work tonight at Tim's from 7 - 11:00 so I should have just enough time to get home and change than I am off again. I know that it will all be worth it in the end when I know that I have been able to pay for the basement being completed, I just hope that it can be done by Christmas. Jamie is working just as hard as I am in that as soon as he puts the kids to bed he is done working in the basement until late. It is all about team work. At least I don't have to wear a uniform, but the other crazy thing is that I had to put on my first pair of maternity pants yesterday that is a little freaky seen as I am only just 2 months along and normally I don't start to show until at least 4-5 months, it is a sign of things to come or maybe it is just the way things go when you are having baby #4. Any way wish me luck today.

Gym Day

Well, I made the move to go to the gym again so that I can keep up on my exercise. I felt really good while I was there because it has been so long since I last went for a run. But I must admit I am feeling pregnant. I thought that I would be able to run for at least 45 min. but I had to push it to get to 30 min. but I am glad that I went. I am thinking about joining the gym that I went to but I don't know about everyone else but I have a hard time signing a contract and commiting to something for a long time but maybe that would encourage me to go. So I will try is for a couple of weeks and see how it goes. The other problem is that it is not right in town and I have to drive 25 min. to get there and some days that is really pushing it with getting kids to school and picking them up. I am going with a friend right now so I am hoping that she can keep me motivated. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. LOL

The Great White North

So I am happy to say that the other part of my family (Jamie and Darien) made it home safely last night from their trip to Inuvik. As they walked off the plane I could tell right away that they had a great time and they were both very tired. I don't remember the last time that I saw Jamie that tired. I guess it was all of that Northern air. They spent the whole time outside doing all kinds of fun things. Darien said that his favorite part was the dog sledding and when he got to ride on his own snowmobile. It was a great time. I am so very thankful that Jamie loves to spend time with his boys and that he makes the time to do that with each of them, he was able to take Keagan and Rylan to Ontario in Sept. for a week, that was a nice break but Darien was really lonely, thank goodness for brothers.

Could Do Better!!

For some reason I thought that I was going to be able to do better at keeping up on this. I can't believe that it has been a week since I last wrote. It has been a busy week. We had a great weekend with the Hansons. Sat. morning was my favorite because we got a babysitter and went out for breakfast and then to starbucks for a yummy drink it was great. I did put up my Christmas decorations finally on Tues. as I was feeling really good that day. I was surprised how fast it went. I still have a little bit more to do but for now it looks very good. I will post some pictures later. Then on Wed. and Thurs. I had a computer course that I took to upgrade my bookeeping skills. For those that don't know I have started my own bookeeping business from home. It is going well but it is hard to remember things that I learned in school almost 10 years ago. But I will get the hang of it again. But those two days where long days as I didn't get home until 6:15 each night then I had had to be at Tim's at 7:00 to work until 11:00. The worst night was Wed. because it was Jamie's birthday and so I only really saw him for about 30 min. I am glad that I don't do that everyday. This weekend has not been very busy. Jamie and Darien left Fri. morning for their annual father son trip. This time they have gone all the way up to Inuvik. I know what you are thinking why there. Well, I don't even really know but they are having a great time. They have gone dog sledding, ice fishing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling. This kind of trip is really Darien's thing. Although has enjoyed every trip. Their last one was to New York. I think I need to have a mommy trip to. But it would be better it is was a mommy only trip. hee hee hee

The Cats Out of the Bag

Yes, the rumor is true we are expecting our 4th baby due sometime in July. We have only just found out so I am only about 1 1/2 months along. We are very excited as this will be our last. We thought for sure that Rylan was going to be our last but after a lot of thought we decided that one more was in store for our family. We have not told our boys yet as the next 9 months are going to be long enough, so we figured we would wait until the first doctors appointment in Dec. then tell them. It was really funny because the way I told Jamie was by baking him a cake and on the top I wrote 3 + 1 = 4 and he was very shocked, the kids all enjoyed the cake and Darien was the funniest because he thinks that his mom is the best at math. How funny is that it. So I found out the same weekend that Jamie was a way on a trip to New York with his bothers and when he got home he was very surprised. We did not think that it would happen so quickly as all the other times it has taken us a while to get pregnant, so we figure it was meant to be. So far so good, I am not feeling too sick just a little bit off some days. I am a little bit upset at the fact that I am eating all the time and that I have not been running for about 3 weeks, so I am going to go back to the gym and see if I can stay on tract even while I am pregnant. We will see.
Jamie and I have been working on the basement after the kids go to bed and last night was no different. But after missing the second plug hole we dicided it was time to have an early night which was nice for a change. It is amazing the amount of stuff that you try to squeeze in after you kids have gone to sleep.
Marcy thanks for the notes and I have been trying to get onto you site but it will not let me in. Can you let me know what I can do? Thanks.
The pictures that I have added is obviously the cake and the other one is of us on our family vaction this summer when we took three weeks and drove down the Oregon coast to San Fransico, over to Lake Tahoe, up to Salt Lake and home. We used our tent trailer the whole time except for a couple of nights in San Fransico. It was a great trip.

Kids!!!

Ok, it has been one of those days. I have just put my two year old upstairs in his crib. It is amazing how different everyone of my children are. My other two have never draw'n on anything other than paper, but then along comes Rylan and if he can find a pen he will draw on everything other than paper. I just walked in to find him with a green bic pen drawing on my sand colored couch and after removing him to his crib I came downstairs and discovered that he has also colored on my new cream colored otoman. I am a little bit up set to say the least. I will get over it and I am sure that we will be able to get it out. Of course with kids you scotch guard everything.
On a lighter note I finally got the Christmas tree that I have been waiting for from Costco today. I stood in line and waiting for the store to open because they were only going to have 12, I was one of the first three, so I am glad about that.
We are heading down to Calgary tonight for a wedding and to visit with Tammy and her family. I will update when I get back.

Potty Training Begins

Well, I thought that it would be a good day to try and get Rylan going on the potty. He really likes wearing the big boy underwear but the whole concept of going pee on the potty is a little bit beyond him still but we will try it for the day and see what happens. He is so funny and full of little boy energy. So I started writing this early this morning and by about 12:00 I had given up on the potty training, yes I know what you are thinking, that was short and sweat but I can tell that he is not ready yet, he only just turned two so I will give it a little bit more time.
I am so excited for Christmas that I can't wait to start decorating. I will have to take before and after pictures. I think Christmas is my favorite time of the year. We have some very fun family traditions that we have started, my favorite is we go to the movies christmas eve day and then come home and eat a lot of very good food. I am so excited.
Well, Darien just got home so off I go to unload backpacks and check for home work.

Service is Wonderful

Yesterday morning we found out that a friends two year old daughter had a terrible accident involving fire and that they were at the hospital. After many phone calls we discovered that that was going to be well but she will have some healing to do. There was some damage done in their house and it had a stronge smoke smell through out the house so we made some phone calls and within an hour their house was beening cleaned by some very willing sisters from church. It was so amazing to see these ladies in action, and all the work that was done. There was not a spot in their house that did not get cleaned and there was not a towel, sheet or peice of clothing that didn't get taken home to some ones house to be cleaned.

So, today was not very eventful as a new week begins. Darien has school and he is really enjoying grade two. He is very quick to learn things and it is amazing to watch him learn and grow each year. Keagan goes to playschool three times a week for two hours, it is very cute because his best friend is a little girled named Chelsea and they play together all the time. When I picked Keagan up from school today his teachers had to come out and tell me what he said. They said that they were all sat down for snack time and Keagan was sitting across from Chelsea just kind of staring at her, when he turned to his teacher and very seriously said to her "Teacher I can't wait for the day that I get to marry Chelsea". Well, they thought that was so cute that they think that we should write it down and see where things are in 20 years. It is funny the things that kids think of.

We had our family home evening tonight and now for their activity they are playing hide and seek in the dark which is my boys favorite game to play but Rylan (2) is not thinking that it is very much fun. I have to head off to work in about 20 min. For those of you that don't know I am working at Tim Hortons 3 nights a week so that we can get our basement done before Christmas. So far I have been able to pay for everything which is very exciting we are now working on putting up the dry wall. So off to work I go.

Where Do I Begin

I can't believe that I have decided to do this. After looking at so many other blogs, I thought that it was time to start my own. My reason for doing this is so that I can get in contact with all those people that I have not see or talked to in some time. I am also hoping that it will help me record some the details of my life that might not be interesting to everyone but are things that if I don't write them down I will never remember them.

I must say that I have been very blessed in my life and there are many things that I am thankful for. I am very blessed to have 3 healthy and active boys and a very supportive and loving husband. Life has been good to us.

I don't even know where to begin. Life in Alberta is fun and often cold as the winter has begun. But we are getting ready to enjoy some of that snow as Darien and Keagan start snowboarding lessons, which they are very excited about. Rylan and I will hang out in the lodge and maybe sip some hot chocolate.

Jamie is loving his job as an airtraffic controller. It is truly a dream come true for him as it is something that he has wanted since high school. He is very good at leaving work at work and coming home to his family and playing with his boys.

Last night was a date night for Keagan (4) and I. We went out with a friend of ours and their little boy same age for dinner and then a fun night of glow in the dark bowling. I am not sure if Keagan enjoyed the bowling more or the dancing that he did the whole time. He is quite the ham.

I look forward to continueing with this blog and I hope to hear from some of you. It might take me some time to get it all figured out but it will happen.