One Year Ago...

It was a year ago today my thoughts were scattered all about, my Grandma was in the hospital and it was not looking good.  I was scared but I knew she was strong.  It was late afternoon and I was getting ready to go up to the hospital to see her.  I had litterally just walked into the kitchen to grab my wallet and keys and the phone rang.  Looking at the phone I saw her number appear.  I was excited could she be ok and be calling me?  It was my Aunt to give me some very sad news...My Grandma had passed earlier that afternoon.  I then made the hardest phone call I ever have had to make, I had to track down my Mom and Dad to tell them the very sad news.  

Dear Grandma;
   I miss you so very much, there is not a day that goes by that I don't think about you.  One month and seven days after you got your wings our sweet baby boy was born.  I know you were so excited to meet him.  I like to think that you were the angel that made sure he got here safely.
In the hospital he held his hands like he was saying a prayer, I took a picture to show you and felt really silly afterwards because how could I forget you were gone?  I have actually dialed your phone number to talk to you to tell you something exciting, but there was a recording about checking my number and trying my call again....if only I could.
I miss the way you and Ian would tease each other and although it sounded like you were insulting each other, you both were insanely funny.  I miss being able to talk to you when I had a problem that I could only talk to you about, you always knew the right thing to say even if it was telling me that I was in the wrong!
I have learned many things from you....most of all "jumping on the bed never hurt anyone just as long as its done safely!"  I have learned this can can be applied to so many things in life! 
The kids are growing bigger and bigger and we talk about you all the time.  Today Abigayle and her cousin played with rocks you collected from all over Canada.
I bought a beautiful wrap to carry Sam in, it is blue.  I fell in love with it because it reminded me of you.  When I wear Sam in it I feel like you are giving both of us a squishy warm hug.
Thank-you for teaching me all that you did, and helping to mold me to be the person I am today.  I am so thankful for the amazing times we spent together, all the adventures that we took and the trouble that we got into together....
I Love You Forever

It has Been Forever

It has been so long since I have posted anything...Yep, I am indeed a slacker blogger. 
So the updates are: we had a beautiful baby boy (I will detail his birth story on a later post) and this family of mine has kept me super busy with their antics, shenanigans and carrying on.  I of course would not have it any other way!  I have been dealing with an annoying unknown autoimmune disease which leaves me in a great deal of pain in my feet, knees, shoulders, back and hands.  I am seeing a specialist to get it all sorted out!  Ohh and I learned about baby wearing....ohh baby wearing is my new passion
 I may not post everyday or every week but I have so much to share and write about and oddly enough writing is my out and it keeps me sane...Hugs

37 Years Young

Monday was my Birthday and I turned 37 years...Ohhh lucky me, oddly enough I really don't feel much different from my 30th birthday!!!  Isn't there an age old expression you are as old as you feel?  I really feel that my kids keep me young. 
Monday did bring a bit of disappointment I was supposed to have maternity pictures done and the photographer cancelled at the last minute.  They have been rescheduled for the beginning of next week, so keep your fingers crossed that this baby does not appear before the pics are done!
We were blessed with a wonderful weekend away.  We packed up early Saturday morning and headed to Marineland for my DH's work family picnic.  It was a wonderful day, hot sunny and a lot of walking.  We endured getting soaked by two Killer whales, took in the beautiful Beluga's, met up with a few deer and fed some bears amoung other exciting things.  After we had a wonderful BBQ lunch we headed back to Arctic cove and saw more Beluga whales, they actually have an area where you can feed them however the lineup was huge and we decided to go to the underground viewing.  This brings me to the highlight of my day, we walked around the underground viewing and they had Belugas that were pregnant and they were due any day.  I was lucky enough to see a baby move in one of the Momma's tummies...I was moved and got a bit teary eyed.
The line-ups were crazy so the younger kids went on 1 ride and Our older daughter went on 1 ride appropriate to her age. 
At the end of the day we had another awesome treat awaiting us.  My Mom and Dad treated us to a hotel for the night for our Birthday's.  DH and I are exactly a week apart, it was wonderful not having to sit and drive all the way home, we enjoyed dinner then we took the kiddos down to the pool for a night swim.  The water felt amazing, after swimming for at least an hour or more we headed back to our room got dressed and took the kiddos to see the Falls lit-up at night.  We all finally got to bed around 11pm...Sunday morning brought our adventure to a close as we made our way home with a a few stops on the way for shopping etc. 
A special thanks to my Mom and Dad for a nice night away, it was a wonderful treat before the hectic couple of months that we will have before us adjusting to life with a newborn!

Off Day

Today I am having a bit of an off day.  I have been busy enough, but I keep thinking of my Grandma today...I am really missing her today.  I had running around to do this morning and every time I turned around something would remind me of her...maybe it my hormones or the upcoming birth of my baby and knowing she will not be here to hold her Great Grandchild.  I just about lost it on the bus a few times today...thank goodness for sunglasses that are dark enough to hide teary eyes. 
I am getting ready for a busy weekend and my maternity photo's on Monday...I will post more about my experience with this on Monday... I am super excited! 
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Lovely Morning

Today was a great morning...not because of the 8:15 am phone call that woke up myself, DH and kids who never sleep past 7am...no it was the phone call that I received later on in the morning.  It was from my old room mate...Whenever we talk and I have a few friends like this it seems as though we have not been apart from each other.  In the case of B (my old roomy) and I we have not seen each other in at least 12 years.  That is absolutely crazy!!!  We live about 2 hours apart from each other and every time we have made plans to get together something has come up and it has not worked out.  So this summer after the baby is born and I am back on my feet we are definitely going to get together I am super excited for this day!  So thanks B for making my day a little brighter, for remembering days gone by and laughing at all the crazy why did we do that again moments. 

The Blah's

Audrey Hepburn called them the "Mean Red's" in Breakfast at Tiffany's...I am calling them the BLAH's...Mostly because I am tired, sore, huge and frustrated all at the same time.  The first are obvious...late stage pregnancy and in a few weeks it will be done...Its the frustration I can't seem to curb and unfortunately I set myself up every time.  You see I have a vision of how I want things to be, and I am very quickly running out of steam.  I am having a c-section so I want my house to be spotless before I go in...well have you ever heard that expression "cleaning your house with children is a little like shovelling the sidewalk in a Blizzard" by Phyllis Diller.  That's kind of how I am feeling.  I have toyed with the possibility of just banishing every single toy to the playroom which would not be seen by anyone unless they wanted to play in the playroom...and lets face it my kids hate cleaning up after themselves.  On the other hand I think well this is their house too they should be able to play with a few toys in the living room if they desire...but with the theory that they need to be put away at the end of the day.  At my house at the end of the day everything gets left on the landing to go upstairs or downstairs but never put away.  So my goal for today is to clear off both landings, to banish them of everything including the shelves that I have put there.  I am going to strategically place a basket one for upstairs and one for downstairs.  Before bedtime I will disperse what items go where and have the basket empty to go back to its home the next AM.  As for the toy situation, I think that the playroom and the kiddos bedrooms are where their toys are going to stay however I am not going to demand that if they want to play with something specific in another area of the house that they can't...however the items must be returned to their home...somehow sounds easier said than done.
On the upside I have started to make bows again...I wish I had a better supply of ribbon.  At the moment I am just using what I have laying about, I have the sewing part done so this morning I will assemble it all together, then mount it on a clip.

Cranky

Yep I am Cranky so why not write about it...I woke up this morning and all my fingers and toes are so swollen, I am very grateful I took my wedding band off yesterday because I am almost certain that someone would have had to cut it off today.  My feet are so swollen even my beloved crocks are too tight.  It was very hot last night and is still very hot today so my sleep was very little.  It is going to be another hot and sunny day today, I am praying after shocking the pool last night all the chemical levels will be at where they need to be because I intend on being a prune in the pool to stay comfy and cool.
Don't get me wrong I am ecstatic about having my sweet baby, but today I am very uncontfortable.  I almost wish there was snow somewhere close by because I just might walk through it barefoot.  What did or do you do to cope with the heat and late pregnancy?