Thankful Thursday

It's that time of week again!!!

Today, I am thankful for one specific friend! :) I don't know this person very well, though I feel like I have known her forever. She has inspired me SOOOO many times in the past months, in more ways than one. Jade Steckly, this one's dedicated to you! :) Thanks for being my friend!!!

1. I am thankful, first off, that Jade accepted my friend request about a year ago! :)

2. I am thankful that she is so loving, caring, compassionate, inspiring, and so darn easy to talk to! This has helped us become good friends fairly quickly!

3. That she is an amazing parent! I strive to learn all that I can from her!

4. That she has 4 kids! Because most my friends don't want to hang out with me mon-friday because of daycare crew!

5. That she loves "Friends" as much as I do!

6. For her inspiring Thankful Thursday post on her daughter Myka in a hard time. That post helped me SO much in dealing with Rowan in a hard phase!

7. That she has a great marriage!!! She has so much to teach me about give and take, forgiving, moving on, and most of all... loving!

8. That she cloth diapers!! I always love to have friends that cloth diaper too!!!

9. That she makes amazing towels, that are so soft, and that my kids love!

10. That I know I can call her anytime, with any problem, and she will be there to talk, and support!! <3

11. That she loves to talk. Because I do too!!!!

12. That she can talk "points" with me!!!

13. For her Zumba skills. Seriously steller. She needs to teach me!!!!!!

14. That she introduced me to "sweet Georgia Browns!!!" (Tasted one the other day... ugggggghhhhhhh! <3<3<3!)

15. That she stops in when she is in town sometimes! Breaks my day up!!! And gives me some Adult time!

16. for her Pintrest invite!!!

17. For her blog! Always sooo inspiring!!!

18. For her sweing skills... one day I hope we can get together and she can teach me!

19. That she always has something nice to say! Makes her easy to be around!

20. The biggest thing I am thankful for is that she is my friend!!!

Thanks Jade :) <3 I hope we can grow our friendship in the future and become even better friends!!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for family. Big, small, and not even human! I rely on my family so much, and I just wanted to make a special post thanking them...for all that they do!!!

Rowan enjoying a moment with Papa and the animals!!! :)

Snow Flies

I knew it was inevitable. Snow. :( But I am still disgusted as ever about the fact that's here. I am not sure when I made the switch from loving snow & cold as a kid to hating snow & cold as an adult. It's this time of year that I want to pack up and move south!!!! You can't tell it from the picture, but the road is sheer ice. My daycare moms were sliding right by my house this afternoon. NOT COOL! I am thankful that my husband was on top of his game this year, and has the winter tires on the vehicles. I am soooo not looking forward to venturing out tomorrow morning to take Ashlyn to preschool!

Happy Halloween!

:) My kids had so much fun trick or treating!! I just wanted to add a few more pictures! Rowan was soooo cute. Running door to door, and always remembering to say thank you.

Trick or Treating at Auntie Terry's house :)

Halloween!

Happy Halloween!!!! The kids had so much fun this year! Rowan's was very much into running door to door yelling "trick or treat". It was sooooo cute. Daniel had to switch his shift to nights so he could be there, which wasn't fun. (Nights suck!!!). It was the first time we actually had fun trick or treating. Usually it's just cold and the kids are miserable. Rowan was a turtle and Ashlyn was a princesses.

Kids and their pumpkins.

Daycare kids!!!!

Holidays....

Time sure has been racing on by. I have been so busy the last few months, it feels like I haven't had a moment to just sit.

Our vacation was fun!! The kids traveled and slept AMAZING! I was sooo proud of them! Visiting baby Mya was defiantly the highlight, we can't wait to get back there for Christmas. We spent most of our time at Nana's house, giving Dave & Jen some space. The weather was awesome the whole time we were down there, I can't complain. Here are a few pictures from out trip!

Thankful Thursday

A friend of mine gave me this idea. She was having a rough night with her little girl, and decided to blog 20 things she was thankful for about her little girl! I Have been struggling a bit with Rowan, figuring out how to discipline him, and getting him to STOP being so mean to other kids. I've been feeling pretty down about it. So here's my 20 things.
20 Things I am Thankful For About Rowan
1. His giggles. No matter how fowl of a mood I am, his non-stop giggles, always gives me the giggles.
2. His love call. He does this weird noise when he has or is around something he loves to pieces.
3. That I am one of 3 things he love calls. His blanket, his trains, and his mommy :)
4. His health. I can not IMAGINE what having a sick child would be like.
5. The fact that when he gets a bonk, even a tiny one, he ALWAYS needs me to kiss it better.
6. The fact that he is a snuggler! I love wrapping up in a blanket and just cuddling.
7. His love of train, and that I figured out I can use this love to get him interested in books (which leads to even more cuddling!)
8. The fact that he enjoys having the daycare kids here. Makes me feel less guilty for needing to spend time with other children so much.
9. The fact that he is a boy! We were soooooo darn excited to find out we were expecting a little boy. It was my dream to have one of each!
10. When he says the sentence "why a duck!" Makes me smile, inside out.
11. That he shares my love of swimming!
12. His willingness to help me, with whatever I need! Even if its unfolding laundry because he has brought it to me to put away!
13. his love for his sister! I am blessed that he enjoy the company of his older sister. Makes me feel like I have the best family in the world!
14. That he LOVES to clean up! and is pretty darn good about it too!
15. His dancing! Always good for a giggle! I love to see him laughing and enjoying life!
16. for his love of animals. Since he was a baby, he has always loved animals, and showed compassion and is caring and (mostly) gentle towards them. This is how I know he will be a great person when he grows up, because I can already see how much love he has to give.
17. That he will sleep ANYWHERE in his playpen. Makes traveling MUCH easier!
18. His hugs. And that every hug needs a kiss to go with it!
19. His love of bugs! This means if there are any icky ones in the house, I don't have to touch them! He will take them outside for me! :)
20. That he is MINE! <3

Whenever I start to feel discouraged, I need to remember these 20 things, and the thousand more things I could think of!

Much thanks to my dear friend :)

:) So Damn Cute!

Ok, how freaking cute is this picture!!!! Wearing nothin' but rubber boots!!! Every mom must have a picture of their kid like this. Especially if every kid is as obsessed with their rubbe boots as Rowan is with his. I had them, at one point, put away for the summer, but he drug them out. Of course. Everytime we go somewhere, he goes and get those boots. And, as you can see, they are his favorite thing to wear in the house too! :)

PEAS!!!!!!

My daycare kids have been very busy taking care of the garden we planted. Today was a huge pay off for the kids!!!! Great job guys!!!!

Camping :)

We went camping this weekend! Man, we had a total blast!!! We came back a little worn out, dirty, and totally refreshed! The kids had a really great time. They had soooo much fun. We went on saturday morning and came home monday afternoon. Man, I loved hanging out with my family all weekend! We had a really great site. Lots of grassy area where the kids could run and play. We went with my friend Jana, and her hubby, and their 2 girls. Their oldest, Arilyn is just a few months younger than Ashlyn. So the girls get along; and play really well together. We really enjoyed hanging out with everyone. Shelby even made it down for an afternoon. My kids sure enjoyed having her to snuggle with for an afternoon! We also made it into GP for a little shopping. Books and kid clothes were on the list! The campground we went too, Saskatoon Iland, is a really nice one. Lots of walking trails, and playgrounds for the kids. There is a nice beach, though it was too cold to spend any time there this weekend. Anyways, here are some pictures!!!

Kassidy!!!

Rocks make good toys!!

Ashlyn & Arilyn. They played soooo well together! Just like their mommies!!!

My beautiful Milo!

Pretty Landi! Man, was I ever glad she was there! Protector of the night!

Daddy helping Ashlyn look at the ducks on the lake.

Daddy! We love him!

Ashlyn and Rowan, enjoying an evening walk :)

My big boy Rownie having some food!!!

Rownie, I think you are in the wrong seat! :)

Kassidy is just soooo cute! The only little baby to ever make me re-think not having another baby! She just melts my heart!

Our campsite. Panorama style!

The Garden

Even though we have had little sun and a LOT of rain, out little garden is starting to produce. Baby carrots, peas, and raspberries are all making an appearance! All the kids are sloop excited about the food! Here are some pics! Sorry, didn't get pics of the carrots! :(

Checking out the peas.

Peas! Not quite ready, but give them a few days!

Raiding the raspberries!

Gold raspberries we got from Uncle Dave and Auntie Jen's garden in Manning!

:)

I just had to share these photos with you all :). We were at Daniel's brothers house and they have a huge raspberry patch out in the back. We brought the 3 kids out there (3rd being our niece, Zoë) and we all had a fiest. The second is Rowan with his new found love: trains!

How luck am I to have these two amazing kids!!!!

Flooded.

Yup. We are flooded. Our basement, our city, our region. Every thing is deffinately water logged. Roads are washing out, and new lakes are forming. I'm glad insurence hasn't come to fix my basement yet, because it in the process of flooding again!

So while my basement is out of commission, we are all crammed into the up stairs. We are all cranky and needing space. The worst part, is not only did we loose half our house, we can't go outside because it's so wet.

Yup, I don't think i could get any more stressed out. But I'm trying to roll with it. :). Which is hard. Especially since Danny has picked up extra shifts at work. He has worked the last 8 days and still had 4 to go. He usually works 4 on 4 off. So not only am I crammed up stairs with 7 kids I can't take out, i (or my kids) haven't seen Daniel I'm over a week! *sigh* it will pass, right?

Lovin life!

I am LOVING this summer weather! Last week it was so rainy and depressing, but this week it's been nice and hot!!! I took the kidlets to Beach Day yesterday and we had a playdate with another daycare this morning in her backyard and now we are playing in the back yard with the pools and water! We are DEFFINATELY taking advantage of the sun!!! All the sun is making me crave the Okanagan! We have decided to go September 15th to 26th. Nana will be soo excited! I am a little worried that all the touristy things will be shut down, as I love going and just being a tourist! But, I am sill pretty pumped about it :)

Had to share this photo of Ashlyn and the garden we planted together!!! :) she is pretty proud of it!!!

My job!!

Though there are a lot of not so glorious tasks about doing day are (like all the diapers), I have to say, I LOVE MY JOB. At this very moment, im earning money, spending time/playing with my kids, while relaxing OUTSIDE enjoying the giggles of seven little kidlets!!! Pretty awesome job. This pic, is what all the giggles are about!

Not sure life could get anymore perfect than it is at this moment!!!!

:) Little R growing so big!!!

Rowan really is getting big. He has learned how to climb out of his crib, and how to undo the crib tent. So, he's sleeping in a toddler bed!! I think I will get Daniel to bring the captains bed up from the basement though. One less move we have to do latter on. For now, the toddler bed was a quick solution to nap time today. I was so worried that he was going to fall and split his head open climbing out of his crib.

Rowan is also peeing on the potty!! Not consistly, but sometimes! Hey! Gotta start some where, right? The other day I striped him down to go for his bath. He was running arroung giggling trying to get away from me, when all of a sudden he grabbed himself and yelled, "potty! Potty! Potty!". He ran over, sat down, and peed! I swear, it's the cloth bums we use! Both my kids became aware of their pee so early! I a deff plus!!!!

Rowan had also started to repeat everything we say, and is talking two word sentences! Ahhhhh! Life without a baby!!! I loved my babies but I'm glad both my kids can now tell me what they want with their words, instead of crying.

Nice, Sunshiny, Day?

Okay, so the sun was shining, birds were chirping. I decided to take the kids outside to play for an hour before home time. We all head tothe door, dress, and head out. Within 2 minutes, we are all headed back inside. Why? Well the sun left, the wind picked up, and the snow came. Within 2 minutes, the entire spring day was ruined. Where are all the nice days??????

This photo was taken just after we got inside. You can actually see the snow coming down. Crazy how much it snowed in like 2 minutes!!!

Ugh!

My yard was, almost, free of snow. Today, it looks like this.

Gross. I know. After being teased a little with spring, mother nature decided to say "Fuck. You.". And I have to admit, she sure got us. For the very afternoon before the evening it started to snow, Danny put on our summer tiers. We were so thrilled, giggling with delight. Look who's laughing now.

Sister Wife Anyone?

I am confidant that I'm not the only one who's couch has looked like this at least once. Between Daniel and I, we can get the laundry washed and dried and brought upstairs (and yes it takes two of us to do this). The problem is, we then need a third person to fold it and put it away! Not only is this antime consuming task, it's also one we avoid like the plague. Why? I'm not really sure. No one wants to do that job though. Maybe we should take on a "sister wife" to get our laundry done! :p

Spring!!!!!

This morning I was out with the kiddos in the front yard (which is still mostly covered in snow). And you will never guess what I found!!!!! Yup! Grass shoots! It got me all excited, and thinking about the flowers I want to plant this year in my flower bed :):) ahhhhh I love spring!

Typical day

I thought this would make for a rather entertaining blog! So here goes! My day!

Did you have a good sleep?
Why do you always have to save your poo for mommy?
What do you what for breakfast?
How can you be hungry? You just ate!
how did you get apple down your diaper?
Who's stinky?
Can you please take your boots to the front door and wait in line nicely?
Why do I hear fighting if you are suppose to be standing nicely?
Who is still fighting?
Do you guys want to go outside at all?
Can we PLEASE just stand nicely while I dress Rowan?
Who threw that snow?
Who threw that ice?
Are we suppose to be throwing snow or ice or ANYYHINg at anyone? Who is still throwing snowballs?
Who's stinky?
Why don't we go eat some lunch?
Who wants peach yogurt? Who want strawberry?
Who can't make up their mind?
who's stinky again?
When you are done, can you please get in line to use the potty?
Can we all try to stand nicely?
Why is linden crying?
Who pushed ayeden?
How could izzy push ayeden when she is still at the table eating?
Can you go line at the gate please? Nicely!
who's stinky?
Who didn't flush?
Who was the last to use the potty?
Why do I have to tell you everytime to flush the potty?
How did you get down here?
When did you learn to open the gate?
Who is talking and not sleeping!
Who's out of bed?
Did you sleep well?
who's hungry?
Why do I heat chattering and fighting when you are suppose to have your mouth full eating?
Can you come say good bye to your friends?
What should we make for supper?
Why cant you just sit still and eat?
Who's stinky?
Do you want a bath tonite?
Can you help mommy clean ip the toys?
Why pjs do you want?
Can you go pick 3 books?
Do you need the potty one last time?
Can i have a hug and kiss good night?
Can you just close your eyes and rest your eyes?
What tine should I set the alarm for?
Are you ready for this all again tomorrow?

7 kids is crazy. But it sure is fun. And never a dull moment!

All About Rowan

What can I say about our little 18 monther?? Lots!!! He is getting so big, I can't believe he's my baby!!! Rowan is at my all time favorite stage. He's learning and becoming more aware of how the world all works. He is really starting to discover so many new things!! And I really enjoy watching him learn all about his world.

The biggest change in Rowan over the last 2 months has been his speech development. He has so many new words and is even putting a couple together. Just today he said "another Dora" when Dora ended on the t.v. I love hearing what he has to say. Ashlyn is enjoying having her little brother able to talk to her instead of just scream at her.

Rowan is our little monkey. He will climb anything and everything. Chairs, tables, change tables, couches, toys - you name it. If it can be climbed, he will! Though its pretty cool he has no fear of heights or falling - its scary for mommy and a pain in the but for me to have to watch him soooo closely when I have so many kids in my care!!

Another big change for Rowan has been his teeth. Just 2 months ago he had 6 teeth. Today, he has 11!!! And has more on the way. He has been miserable at times, cuttin so many teeth at once, but I am glad they are finally giving him a break. It was really bad at first. Then I got him an amber twethig necklace, and it seemed to help!! Any one with a cranky, teething baby - I highly recommend using one!

Rowan is becoming quite the little helper. He is never far behind mommy and daddy when there are dishes to in load or laundry to fold. We like to encourage him to do his part and help - but this usually ends up making more of a mess for us!!

Rowan is finally at an age where doing things as a family are getting easier and easier. He is better about traveling, and is starting to actually enjoy the things we do instead just making it more work than it's worth LOL all you moms out there, you understand what I am talking about :)

This summer is going to be so much fun with him. We are looking forward to rotary, the park, picnics, and walks. Can't wait!!!

Here are some pics of him for you all to enjoy!!