Random Pictures from Saturday

We had an appointment with Dr. Flores yesterday and we were encouraged. Josh's heart sounds better, his calcium was in the right range and his blood work came back okay. God is really working!


Dana and Joshie.


Bertha babysat yesterday for us and painted up Micah's face. (and hands)
Micah cried a lot this morning when we washed it all off.


Bertha did a great job on Eva's face.


Bertha with the kids.

La Vida Es Buena

Life is good. Feeling very content.

Josh had a good day. Big kids are happy, well-behaved, and increasingly self-sufficient. Husband awesome as usual. Falling more in love with each of them every day.

Lots to look forward to!

Eva's class Christmas party is tomorrow morning. She and all the other 3-6 year olds will be singing some Christmas carols and then we'll party down in their classrooms. Count on photos and video.

Friday is Eva's Tae Kwon Do test. She got her uniform today and she is so proud! She looks awesome.

Only eight more sleeps til we leave for Canada! Wow, we will be in the air before we know it!!!!!!!! We are all UNCONTAINABLY excited.

The food thing is looking up. I was really frustrated that Joshua had a bunch of episodes over the weekend even though I didn't think I'd had anything suspect. But he seems to have gotten better and so I am thinking it was the fruit and nut snack mix I had middle of last week. It had maltodextrin in it. Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies also have some sort of malt something in them which seems to affect him. If Josh continues to do well, then I will have finally nailed a "safe" diet! It would be so great to have a baseline to work from. Then I can experiment more with dairy to see if any form of that is safe. It would be great to have yogurt back! It has been so tricky to find this baseline because sometimes it is two days before Joshua reacts to what I've eaten. And the effects can last up to four or five days after I consume it.

I made a (super expensive) yummy gluten free cinnamon raisin bread today. SO great to have some bread in the mix... I always feel like something is missing. One can only eat so many corn tostadas. Mom, do you want me to bring some up for you? I know how much you enjoyed them, ha ha.

I have been doing some serious dabbling in green smoothies. I like knowing I'm getting so much nutrition in just one glass. Expecting my energy levels to go through the roof any second now. ;) It is pretty fun to experiment with exotic combinations of vegetables and fruits. I have learned that pomegranate seeds are terrific on a salad, but not so good in a smoothie. Not good at all.

It's Starting To Happen...

... The years are beginning to blend together. The other day I was trying to remember how old Eva was when she first went ice skating and I couldn't! I am so glad for this blog because I can actually go back and find the pertinent entry and see photos and maybe even video. This year I'm ordering hard copies of Joshua's pregnancy/birth blog and of the 2008 posts from this blog. I know I will treasure them both.

At the beginning of our relationship there were big events at regular intervals which helped us remember what happened when. But now we've been here in the same house in the same city going on four years, and there is almost three years between babies and all of the sudden I don't remember what happened when. Soon I'll stop remembering to whom. Sometimes can't get names straight. I might call Eva "Andrew", Joshua "Micah", it's just a mess.

Cake Party

So I got pretty stressed about Eva's birthday cake. The last time I baked a cake was one year ago. Baking at high altitudes is challenging. And I can't eat wheat so I couldn't do any taste testing. Eva asked for a lemon cake so I found a layer cake recipe online and made it on Wednesday so if it was garbage I would still have a day to get one done. Things were going pretty well. I felt good about how it came together. I made a single cupcake so the kids could try and approve it. That cupcake just about did the project in! I tried to fit the muffin tin plus two 8" round pans on the same rack. And managed to push one pan right off the back of the rack!! NOOOOOooooooooooooooo!!!!

I was able to salvage about 2/3 of that batter and that was good enough for me. The beauty of the layer cake and toppings is that it doesn't matter too much what the cake underneath looks like. It's all about the taste. And the kids gave it two thumbs up (I'm sure the two cups of sugar in the recipe had nothing to do with that, ha ha).

Here is the finished product.



And finally, our FIRST FAMILY-OF-FIVE PHOTO! (Hm, the cake looks rather lopsided now that I look at it. Maybe the cake underneath does matter a little. Ah, whatever. I wasn't going for perfection, just edibility.)

More Photographic Experimentation

It's hard to get a really good photo!! There is always one factor or another that I haven't considered. I'm learning though! None of these are as good as I'd like, but they tell about life at home here so I want to share them.

The closest we get to fall colours here in the desert. (they are plastic)

Eva deep in thought as she creates a card to go in her classmate's birthday present

Animated and excited about something...

The card Micah made. He's suddenly quite good at writing and drawing

"Look Mom!! I can touch my EYE!!"

Eva drawing Buzz Lightyear for Micah

Joshua 7 weeks

I love his hand position. He's so cool. I've got to post a photo of him in his orange diaper cover and amber necklace... total surfer dude...

Thanksgiving in Monterrey

We spent the weekend in Monterrey. I attended a conference- The Humanization of Birth- with Joshua. Andrew and the big kids swam their buns off and did some exploring in downtown Monterrey.

The weekend did have a couple of tough moments- crazy big kids refusing to fall asleep, Joshua crying for four hours, beginning the moment after we started eating an expensive meal. But while the weekend had some tough moments, overall it was quite amazing. Joshua was very good about letting me focus on the speakers and even take lots of notes. Eva and Micah were very well behaved for Andrew and they had some really fun times together. And the cherry on top of the sundae? A beautifully smooth bedtime tonight! It was really nice to shake up our routine and do something different. I feel good.

Good, and ready to jump into my own wonderful bed.

But first a short Thanksgiving list. I am thankful for:

- my husband who is incredibly supportive and loving. I am married to an AWESOME man.
- my smart, loving, beautiful, healthy children
- my body that brought forth those children- a miracle each time, and I got to be part of it!
- awesome parents and in-laws
- friends and extended family whom we love and love us so well in return
- our comfortable home and reliable, comfortable, perfect-for-our-needs vehicles
- the means to keep our fridge and pantry stocked with healthy and yummy food
- the opportunity to live and work abroad, to grow and stretch and learn through the experience
- the opportunity to attend a conference on a topic about which I am passionate
- much, much more. I am truly blessed.

Quite the Week

This was a challenging week. Even since before he was born, I had been dreading pulling together everything for Joshua's proof of Canadian citizenship and Canadian passport applications. With good reason; it was as horrible as I expected. On Tuesday morning, knowing it was overly optimistic but hopeful since all our destinations were close to one another, I hoped to accomplish the following: Get Joshua's blood test done, get his passport and citizenship photos done, and get the photos and passport application signed by our guarantor.

Here's what really happened. We got to the clinic at the time they told us to be there, waited 20 minutes, then were told that the special test thingie wasn't in yet and to come back in half an hour. So we went to the photography studio, showed them the diagrams with the size requirements, had Joshua's photo taken, and were told to come back in an hour and a half. By the way, try getting a photo of a fussy four week old which does not show hands holding him, and where his eyes are open and mouth is closed. About as easy as finding and killing that mosquito that lurks under Andrew's desk making mincemeat of his legs.

Went back to the clinic, and of course by this time there was no parking nearby. There poor Joshua was subjected to multiple heel pricks in order to fill the little circles with blood stains, and Micah played in the hazardous waste bucket.

Called the studio and the photos weren't ready yet.

In the afternoon, took all three kids back downtown to get the photos. Micah, did you bring shoes? No, why would I have done that? Carried Micah and Joshua into the studio (luckily there was parking right in front). The passport photos were clearly not the specified size. Guy said he would take care of it. Eva is now hungry and thirsty. Micah now has to go pooh. Willy bad. I did not want to take him back, shoeless, to a restroom we had once used and didn't care to use again. Never mind with two other kids in tow. You're gonna have to hold it, kid. Finally we got the photos we needed and couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Later that evening I actually had a look at the photos. Not only were they still not the right size, but my hands were showing. Big no-no.

So the next day we went back. After fiddling with the photos for 15 minutes, it became apparent that another shot would have to be taken. It took about 20 minutes to get the shot. And then we spent an hour waiting for the prints. In the muggy waiting room. With an inconsolable baby. Aughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

When we finally emerged victoriously with the necessary photos, we headed over to drop one off with our guarantor for signing. Micah didn't want to leave the building but I managed to convince him and finally we were done for the day.

Getting close to having everything together now. The rest should be a piece of cake. There is a bank and courier office in walking distance, and walking with Joshua and Micah is cool. Fun, even. This morning we did that walk, only to be told at the bank that we need to have an account to get a cashier's cheque. I'm pretty sure that's not true. I also know that the service fees for the cashier's cheque are going to be almost as much as the value of the cheque itself, but I'm purposely not letting that get to me. Anyway also the courier office by my house has shut down. Perfect.

Thursday we had our monthly Circle of Friends meeting. I barely got to be part of it because Joshua was super uncomfortable and just cried and cried. The only thing I've eaten different lately is the trial of two pieces of toast on Monday. I would have expected to see repercussions the same day or day after, but he was really hurting on Wednesday and Thursday!

The other thing that has been tough this week is the acting out by both of the bigger kids. On the one hand I understand, but on the other hand I can't just let it go. Eva spent a good thirty minutes in time out rather than clean up a few things she took out. I put Micah back on his time out chair over and over and over and over and over again (not to mention chasing him down as he dashed for another part of the house- all of this with a baby in the sling) before he finally acquiesced. I was sooo close to just giving up on both of them, but the persistence did pay off. That was encouraging.

So those are the challenges of my week. But there were plenty of blessings and good stuff to offset it as well. People at Andrew's work took care of picking up the stuff from the guarantor and will take care of the cashier's cheque and courier stuff for me. Whoohoo! The last couple of days have been a little better with the big kids. Joshua had a much better day today. Still having discomfort but doing way better than Wed and Thu. Andrew takes good care of me, picking up the slack in the dinner department, being totally in charge of bedtime for Eva and Micah (even if Joshua is asleep, sweet!), doing the grocery shopping, and encouraging me. Micah was really quite well behaved during all the many runs to downtown. We had a fun time doing our walking errands this morning. We bought some birthday supplies and Micah was so excited to come home with Spiderman plates and cups and whatnot. In the afternoon Eva and I had our little birthday supply date and she loves her Princess paraphernalia. We have a social weekend planned and I think that will be good for the kids. On Wednesday I did something very out of character and I not only took the kids to a fast food restaurant, I also bought them something to eat. They played for a really long time on the play structure and finally got up the courage to explore the whole thing. They were so excited! AND, Eva made some friends. So happy for her.

Also, next weekend is my birth conference! Everyone is coming along and Andrew is going to enjoy three days in Monterrey with Eva and Micah while Josh and I conference it up. I'm so excited!!

So life with three is just a little more extreme. The challenges are tough but the blessings and rewards are great!

Almost 4 Weeks Already!

Can you believe Joshua is almost 4 weeks old?

This week was going pretty well, with increased tolerance (though not full acceptance by any means) of car rides and some longer relaxed happy stretches. By that I mean up to ten minutes of just hanging out before he starts to fuss. Then Wednesday night he was restless in the night and needed about 90 minutes of bouncing to get back to sleep. Last night again he needed 2 hours and later another hour of bouncing in the predawn hours. The good news is that the tv programming is quite good in the middle of the night! I am catching up on old ERs and Greys Anatomy. I am also learning many valuable fashion lessons from Stacy, Clinton, and Tim Gunn.

I started keeping a food log. Wheat has been out of my diet for over 3 weeks now. Dairy has been out for a week or so. Today I had a bowl of yogurt so we'll see what happens. I didn't want to add either until he'd had about three really good days in a row, but I was so starving this afternoon that I caved. He's been somewhat fussy today so unless he has a dramatic reaction, I may not get a clear signal of intolerance.

I took Joshua to the pediatrician today. He weighs 10lbs 4oz (4,650g). His heart and lungs sound terrific. His abdomen looks and palpates fine. We hadn't done the heel prick test I know as "PKU" screening, and Dr. Flores recommended that we do the more exhaustive metabolic disorder screen test, so we will do that on Tuesday.

I'm still on the cloth diapering learning curve. I bought a little of this, little of that so I could figure out what I like and what works best for us and order that kind in the next size up. Well, four weeks in and I just don't know. I'm still trying to figure out how to fashion the perfect blowout-proof Poop Pocket with the prefolds. A lot of people seem to love one size pocket diapers, but they're so bulky up front right now, snapped down to the smallest size. I want to love them, because they have a nice soft liner that keeps baby feeling dry. That wasn't a priority for me because I want to do at least part time EC and I know that he is more likely to stop using diapers sooner if he doesn't get too comfortable in them. That said, I don't want him to have be too uncomfortable either! And he sleeps in such long stretches that his diapers get really soaked and I feel bad for him. His private parts get all wrinkly like he's been in the tub too long!

I found myself thinking that cloth diapers were really not very absorbent at all since they get so wet so fast. But right now he pees about every 10 minutes so of course they're going to get wet fast. And I rarely have a leak, whereas I remember needing to change Micah's leaky disposable diaper- and sleeper- in the middle of the night almost every night when he was younger than Josh is now.

I have been doing some EC. The other day we caught like 4 pees and poops. That was fun. If/when Joshua gets more relaxed I'd like to lay him out on a pile of prefolds or something and REALLY watch his cues and learn his elimination patterns better. But right now he'd last about a minute. So for the time being he's in diapers and covers all the time, with a number of potty opportunities throughout the day. And I change him as soon as I know he has pooped. At this point there's no way I can keep up with all of his pees. I'm hopeful that as he grows and his eliminations become less frequent and more regular/predictable, we'll be able to really get into an EC groove.

Joshua has already grown out of the cover I crocheted for him. I'll have to get going on the next size. I wonder if I can get two out of the wool I have left. I like the wool covers because I know they breathe, and the ones with the little legs contain blowouts better. The down side is that because the wool absorbs the wetness, a little gets wicked onto the baby's clothes. They just feel a little damp to the touch though, not wet like a leak would make them. I must say that the Bummis Whisper Wrap covers are really good. They do live up to their reputation. The Berry Plush minky cover truly is adorable and works decently over a prefold or fitted diaper, but I've had a few messes with the snap in insert so I'm not convinced of its value as an All In One diaper. I'm not sure about the Kissaluvs fitted diapers. They're great for Andrew who hasn't had a complete orientation to the cloth diapering world yet (but is putting in an excellent effort and being totally supportive), and I haven't had a leak. But then they just somehow feel even MORE wet than the prefolds when they're wet. Maybe I'm just being silly. But Joshua had some diaper rash in his first couple of weeks so I'm paranoid of anything that might cause its return.

I do like five loads of laundry a day. I don't know what has happened. I only wash diapers every two days and Joshua usually makes it through the day in a single outfit, so how has my load increased so much? Oh wait.... Could it be the copious number of "accidents" the older two are having lately? Well, this too shall pass... (and at least it's not puddle accidents, right?)

Swimming and Tennis Update

We swam with the kids again today. It's so fun. Eva is fearless and would stay in the pool all day, I think. Her determination is awesome. I loved watching her practice her swimming by pushing out into deeper water and then working her way back to where she could touch. If she gets tired she asks for help and never panics. She is doing fantastic.

Micah has had a couple of scares in the pool in past, so while he enjoys the water he has been Mr. Clingy. Always needing to have some part of him wrapped tightly around some part of one of us. Well today he surprised me by letting go in deeper water for a few seconds at a time! He also loves to do "pole diving", where he uses the stairs handrail to dive down to the bottom of the pool.

The kids are doing really well at their tennis lessons. They both tell me they don't like it but it sure doesn't show while they're in their class. It's held in a squash court and they do all kinds of great drills to help their hand-eye coordination and to get them familiar with the game of tennis. Eva has a pretty good backhand! Andrew came to watch and took a few photos so you might find some posted on this blog or his photog blog in the next few days.

The Cluuuuub.

I (Andrew) haven't posted here for a while so I thought I'd add a post. We spent the weekend hanging out at the cluuub. In Spanish the "u" is long therefore, it is called the cluub. Anyway, we were hanging out at the cluub this weekend and really enjoying it. It's like going on a mini vacation. During the week Eva and Micah have been taking tennis and art classes. I hope to make it out this Friday to their 'tennis' class. I'm quoting "tennis" because it's more like hitting the ball against a wall etc. At the end of the day it's awesome for their hand eye coordination.
This weekend the kids spent a lot of time in the pool. Eva has advanced like crazy in the pool. She's got her pink pool noodle and that is giving her the confidence to jump off the diving board into very deep water (unassisted), slide down the super fast tube slide and swim all over the place. In fact, Eva can now go down the slide, crash into the water, then get her head above water and swim back to the edge....WITHOUT HELP. No pool noodle and no Mom or Dad. She is really growing up fast.
Here are a couple of snaps from Saturday and Sunday.

A little diving board action....


Sliding with the pink noodle...




Big impact but she manages to hang on....


That was too easy...Now she wants the noodle to float in the water as she comes down the slide.



She came shooting out a little hot and lost control...Please be advised she stuck the landing unassisted.


Finally, we had to throw in a belly photo. So awesome.

Awesome and Exhausting Four Days

Saturday morning at DebnRobnAshe's place. Micah nonchalantly drove Ashley's toy motorcycle straight into the fence. It did not cross his mind to do anything like, oh, try to steer, or take his foot off the gas.

Eva's new- previously enjoyed by Ashley- hat and sunglasses. Can't get them off of her.

Micah trying on a pair of shades.

More photos to come after I get permission from everyone...

On Thursday morning I got a call from Tara. I know her from church here and she invited me as a support person to her home birth this month. She was due on the 20th so we were crossing our fingers it would work out. She called to say her water had broken! She wasn't having regular contractions yet but I rearranged my schedule so I could be ready for her when she needed me. Around lunchtime she asked me to come be with her while her boyfriend went out to pick up her mom. So my mom dropped me off and took the kids with her to her salon appointments. I was so glad they were really good for her! I hung out with Tara until the late afternoon. Her contractions still weren't regular and I thought she needed some space. I got a chance to eat with the kids and tuck them in then I headed over there again for a couple of hours. Things kind of died off so I headed home and climbed into bed with my cell phone close at hand. Still no regular pattern so in the morning I was able to go to the park for a really fun playdate with some of my mom's friends that she had a playgroup with when I was young. Four of us daughters/daughters-in-law were able to be there with a total of eight little kids ranging from 4 months to 4.5 yo. So cool! We went to an awesome park.

Just as the playdate was ending I got the call that Tara was in active labour so Mom dropped me off and headed home with the kids. She laboured beautifully and had the birth she dreamed of in water, right in her own living room at 5pm. I was honoured and privileged to attend and support her, and it was very moving. Mom and baby are doing great! Seylah is perfect and content.

So that was VERY exciting! Also very tiring and my cold which was improving took a turn for the worse.

We had lots of fun plans for Saturday. In the morning we went to see 9-year-old Ashley's lacrosse game. I really enjoyed it! Good entertainment and so fun to see her out there. She is one of only two girls on her team and she holds her own. She is loving it. Now our kids want lacrosse sticks!

Afterward we were invited over for lunch and wow did we pack a lot of fun stuff into a short couple of hours. There was cookie making and trampoline jumping, swingset playing, treehouse playing, BBQ eating, motorcycle driving, and hand-me-down hand-me-downing. We had a blast and didn't want to leave. But we had a family BBQ we were also looking forward to in the afternoon.

Everybody made it and it was great to have a chance to see and catch up a little with everyone. I loved seeing the kids together. Eva and Micah really really enjoyed playing with seven year old Ben and nine year old Jamie.

We got home way past the kids bedtime and by then I was completely out of gas and just went to bed with them. I was thrilled to open my eyes to a clock that reported 7:08am! At least a full hour later than Micah's recent usual.

Today we went to church. This time Eva trotted right into her class and had a great time, and Micah dissolved into tears at the thought of leaving me. So I took him into church for a while where he actually did sit quietly for a while. I knew it was time to try taking him to class again when he crawled under the chairs all the way back to the sanctuary. And he went right in and was ok with me leaving. When he came out he declared, "That was fun!". Maybe next week they'll both go to their classes for the whole time and I'll get a chance to focus on church.

After church a few of us had a picnic lunch at the park. It was great to hang with my friends, see their kids, see them with my kids, and to see the kids together. It was finally really sunny and hot today, whoohoo!

When we got back, all three of us took a super long nap. I actually had to wake Eva up. I'm looking forward to getting back into bed and hopefully sleeping this cold away. Lots more visiting planned for this week!

"Chillin" in Winnipeg

I found this on my camera card. Eva must have taken it before we left!

The kids and I arrived in Winnipeg on Tuesday. We left home at 7:30am, and by the time we got to my parents' house it was about 9:30pm. Yep, long day. The kids were good travellers as usual, but not GREAT. They were both either sick or fighting sickness (Micah went full blown with his own cold the next morning) and had very little focus. So it was hard to keep them busy and to get them to listen to me. The poor people in front of Micah's seat were probably grinding their teeth as he opened and closed the tray table for the millionth time, despite my repeated admonishments. Anyway apart from the fatigue everything went smoothly. No missed flights, delays or other problems. All luggage arrived together with us. Yesss! I thought maybe we'd brought the warm weather with us, because on Wednesday it was pleasant. But by Thursday it was raining, and Friday and Saturday were downright COLD. We're talking frost warning. In June. Unbelievable. These first few days have been busy and productive. Crossing things off my to-do list left and right. The kids had grown out of all their shoes except flipflops so closed shoes were a priority, especially considering the weather. Got some supercute runners for both of them. Here's our little wannabe skater...


Yesterday we did the 5km ALS walk at Assiniboine Park. Micah walked about the first 2kms! He was happy to just walk and hold his 9 year old cousin Jamie's hand. He was pretty pooped by the end! The kids caught some zzz's in the car while we dropped Dad and Sudz off at home, then Mom & I took the kids to the Winnipeg Children's Festival. It was pretty fun. We only stayed for two hours and that was plenty for our two tired little ones. We watched two shows and the kids got their faces painted.

Taking in the Washboard Hank show

Eva getting a sparkly sun painted on her face. She loved it.

Micah told the face painter he wanted pink and blue stripes. Later he told everyone he had a big circle on his face.

I got them each an outlandishly expensive balloon and they were tickled.

Micah took this photo!

Now that many of the errands have been taken care of, these next weeks will focus on visiting and getting the kids well. I started to sniffle last night too. I don't know whether I hope it's the cold or allergies. Allergies might actually make me more miserable. Well, just one extra excuse to have a nice long nap this afternoon :)

Weekend Activities

Two very contrasting days for me this weekend. Saturday was WAY too busy for my liking. All good stuff, but too busy. I used to have busy days like that all the time but now I will do whatever I can to avoid it going forward. I like my nice slow pace of life, thank you.

Saturday morning it was Andrew's turn to sleep in so I got up with Micah at 5:30. Got most of the dishes done which felt good. Headed to yoga at 9:00. I just didn't have enough sleep in me so I was useless. Right after yoga I hurried straight to my La Leche League meeting. Fourth in the series of four!! I enjoy going but it's nice to not "have" to go now that my course requirement is completed.

Got home, ate, packed us up and headed out to a birthday party. Swimming, pizza, nice people... Lots of fun. We noticed that the kids have finally reached that age where parties aren't so exhausting because they can fend for themselves a lot more. We actually fit in quite a bit of adult conversation!

Watched and enjoyed Valkyrie and fell into bed exhausted.

Today felt like Mother's Day all over again! I slept until 10am, completely undisturbed, and woke to a clean kitchen and empty house. After a very nice Quiet Time, I spent the afternoon cooking. Figured I should take advantage of the relatively cool weather to use the oven. I was proud to make quite a good lasagna without a recipe. I have come a long way. Then I whipped up some oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies. Muy delicioso! Too delicioso. I have authorized Andrew to intervene if I try to eat any more tonight.

Now I'll watch a little tv and work on some crochet.

Tomorrow's kind of an exciting day. Andrew and I are meeting with Eva's teachers in the morning since we will be already gone when they normally have parent-teacher conferences. I look forward to hearing what they have to say. I asked Bertha to come hang out with Micah while we're doing that. Eva will spend the afternoon at school doing a special event. They're renting inflatables and some are waterslides, fun! It will be a long day for her away from me so hopefully she can enjoy the event and not get sad because she misses home.

A Different Kind of Weekend

Most of our weekends are spent all together as a family. We get so little time all together during the week that we really appreciate that opportunity to be together while we're all awake. But this weekend was a little different, and it was fun to mix it up.

Andrew went to work for a few hours Saturday morning and I really wanted to go to yoga so I called Bertha to babysit. The kids were thrilled and ran around like mad people when she arrived. They spent the morning jumping on the trampoline and eating. On a whim, we asked Bertha if she wouldn't mind coming back in the evening so we could finally take some belly photos. She said yes! It was fun getting out just the two of us, and recording this special time in a special way.

Sunday morning we met Manuel and Xochi at the park. It was surprisingly and wonderfully cool and the kids played for a very long time. After lunch both kids were invited over to play at Xochi's house. It was weird dropping Micah off... he didn't even look back to say goodbye. He was so excited to be going to play with the girls and looking forward to eating muffins- the last time we were there Ana served muffins and Micah is a huge muffin fan.

Andrew and I almost didn't know what to do with ourselves. We hung around at home just soaking up the altered atmosphere for a while then we headed to the mall to do a couple of errands. We stopped a Haagan Dazs for a small cup of ice cream.... Oh my. I had the Belgian chocolate and it was incredible. I love love loved it!!! Good thing I don't have it available to me at home! Then we got trapped in the mall parking lot and arrived a little late to pick up the kids. They didn't want to leave. They'd had a marvellous time! It was fun shaking up our usual routine.

Nesting Days

Let the nesting begin! Yesterday I finally got into clothing organization, a task I have been planning for months. Our closet is now officially organized. I packed away all the clothes I won't wear until after the baby is born, got together all the clothes Micah and I will never wear again, and put aside all the clothes Micah has grown out of. I also sunned some drawers that had taken on a weird smell.

Today's task: Eva's clothes. I might tackle the kids' toys too. I wish I/we could keep them organized! Eva especially has all these little trinkets and knick-knacks that are so hard to keep in any kind of order. And then there are the papers. That kid draws and colours like crazy! The papers just pile up and pile up. It's daunting.

One of Those Days

It began with a dream. I was playing ringette and my performance was terrible. Missing every pass and just making wide lazy turns instead of doing anything remotely constructive. Left me with a feeling of disappointment and frustration.

All night I felt like I had solid sleep waiting in the wings, but never quite got there. Woke up tired, even though we went to bed quite early.

I am getting discouraged because I have yet to exhaust the never ending supply of cement-like substance which is blocking my nasal passages. I could blow all day long (and kind of do) and never have a clear moment, not even immediately following a three-kleenex series of blows.

Micah was in fine form today. Let's see.... crayons and strawberry lip smacker on a variety of walls.... while I was cleaning that he filled the kitchen sink with oats and water.... later a giant meltdown because I buckled his seatbelt for him... toilet brush dragged to the playroom... ripping parts out of his book.... fell asleep briefly in the car and didn't sleep later (when I REALLY could have used a few winks of my own)...

I took the kids to the park to kick a ball around and they would not be convinced to kick the ball to each other.... they both would just kick it away from the other one who would cry and complain and it was generally unpleasant all around.

They did eat really well at supper, which always gives a mother a happy feeling. And went to sleep more readily than they have in three days. I am planning to get to bed on the early side and have my solid heavy sleep!!

Easing Back Into Reality

Tomorrow Andrew goes back to work. But it won't be the return to the regular routine because Eva doesn't go back to school until Wednesday. We will miss him so much!!

I was thinking of taking them to play at Carl's Jr, a fast food restaurant. They have a great play structure and the kids have fun. The thing is that it's probably wrong to play there without ordering anything, and there is nothing there that I want to order!

Oh yeah, I don't have a car to go anywhere in. My van is in the shop to have, among other things, the coins removed from the CD player (again! This time Micah was the perpetrator).

Andrew made an amazing batch of chili con carne this afternoon. Chock full of good whole foods. Including 2 types of beans, which are slowly making their way into our regular diet. Now if I could only find tasty fish in this inland desert city....

Kids played beautifully together yesterday pretty much all day. It was spectacular. Today they turned their attentions back to us. Andrew did lots of crafts today, we both did some trampoline jumping. Micah helped me grocery shop. Eva helped Andrew with the chili a little- until she got distracted by the tv that I was using to distract Micah so he would let me finish my lunch.

Eva said the cutest thing the other day. "I shouldn't drink from a cup after Micah does because he's sick, and then I personally could get sick." Oo, I got a kick out of that one.

Eva is very excited to go back to school. She is disappointed that it's not time yet.

I am very excited that nobody has a runny nose (or worse) anymore!

Back in the Saddle

In Parras

Good thing Andrew got really into the blogging the last little while, because I have dropped the ball! Any down time I might have had while my parents were here (can't believe they're already gone!) got taken up caring for and comforting sick little Micah. He had bronchitis for a while and now he's recovering from strep throat. He had some scary high fevers from that and we have been back and forth to the doc and pharmacy quite a bit. Finally he is on the mend! No more fevers, but he is still so congested he has sleep apnea at night. Very disturbing. I am giving him the hated salt water nasal spray which helps a little but makes him scream. No fun.


My parents left this morning. Wow. Blink of an eye visit. They were planning to leave on Thursday but the weather has been so nuts in the U.S. and Canada they thought it would be better to leave a couple of extra days rather than pushing so hard like they did on the way down. Smart move, but very sad to see them go sooner than expected! We had a great visit though. Highlights include:

- The kids' reactions when they got here. They were so excited! And all over them, Papa in particular. It was a joy and a pleasure to see the four of them enjoying each other so much.
- Delicious meals together, in particular last night's Adults Only Steak Dinner
- Hilarious bloopers in the midst of our attempts at Awesome Family Photos. If only our remote shutter release had arrived in the mail on time.... well, maybe next time we'll get a photo of all of us together.
- Christmas Day, opening useful, fun, educational, thoughtful gifts and sharing Christmas dinner with friends as well as family



- BLOKUS!
- Lots of laughs and good times last night

And now Andrew is still on holidays for the rest of the week. How shall we spend it? Well, today is definitely a lazy day. This morning Sherrif Woody and I made pancakes. I tried a new recipe and threw some molasses in there... not terrible but wouldn't make it again either. I just tried to catch up on the sleep I didn't get last night but Micah didn't cooperate.

Weekend in Saltillo

text by Dana, photos by Andrew

This weekend we headed out to Saltillo for a (delicious!) Christmas dinner at Jim and Lorraine's with some other Palliser folks.



Crafting it up. Incidentally, they just moved into our favorite of the houses we looked at. We enjoyed seeing it with furniture and getting a chance to 'live' there.



Lorraine had all kinds of crafts ready for the kids... cookies to decorate and glue and paper and sparkles and scissors... a preschooler's dream! I think in this photo Micah is actually eating one of three yogurts he had in quick succession that morning.



Sunday morning we headed up to the town of Arteaga before going home. It's about 15 minutes from Saltillo and they have a market every Sunday. Very nice Sunday outing. The kids loved holding the 4 week old puppies and we loved seeing them enjoying themselves so much.





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The kids having a pony ride. They liked it but Micah was too ready for a nap to thoroughly get into it.



We stopped for supper at Tio Taco, right by our house. Yummy! Though the kids and I maybe indulged in a few too many cookies on the ride home. And chip appetizers. Our plates weren't exactly clean, though the food was very good.

Bonus Photos

After Andrew did all the hard work of getting the camera settings just right, I got him to hand it over so I could get some shots of him too. Here are a couple that turned out great!