Halloween Sweet Treat!

Here is a little treat for all your viewing pleasure and if this doesn't just melt your heart than nothing will.

My Baby Pumpkins

Ella 6 Months Old - Halloween 2005

Camden 6 Months - Halloween 2009



Harmony 5 Months - Halloween 2011

Weekend Recap - Halloween Style

     Halloween festivities started Thursday for us with a Halloween open house at the local Children's Centre/Early Years Centre.  We go every year with the kids and its tradition.  The kids had lots of fun exploring the different room and activities.  Friday was trick or treating at the mall.  We used it as a dry run for tonight.  We had a bit of a time getting Camden into his costume but he now loves Halloween. I mean who doesn't love dressing up and getting free candy.  Saturday was adult Halloween.  Babysitters were obtained and out we went.  First stop was a friends birthday party then out to the bar scene which in this small town is sketchy at its best. Sketchy as it was, it wasn't stopping this nurse and doctor from having a good time.  Sunday was Chinese food and pumpkin carving which the 2 youngest could have cared less about so it was left up to Mike as Ella already carved hers last weekend and I was busy baby wrangling.

Can you tell which 2 Mike carved with out any input from me?

     Tonight, we are off to do the Halloween rounds that involves 1 town and 2 villages in 1 night.  Sounds like fun right?  Not to mention that I would kind of like to be home to hand out some candy since we are new to the neighbourhood and all.

      Stay tuned for a sweet Halloween treat posted later this afternoon.

5 Months Already

5 Months old already? Where did the time go, Miss Harmony? Time passes much quicker when wrangling 3 children, a dog and a big move.  Looking back at pictures of my little peanut I realize how much she indeed has grown.  She went from this.

To this.

Its the same doll.  She was smaller than that baby doll at birth and now look at her.  She is still tiny, as pretty much every stranger likes to point out, which I am well aware of.  I always like to look at pictures of the older 2 just to see how they compare at the same age and well lets just say there is a big difference but as I have to constantly remind myself there was a big difference in birth weights and lengths as well ( E - 7lbs 9 oz, 19.5 " C-  8lbs 11 oz, 21" H - 6lbs 4oz 18.5 ")

Harmony at 5 months wears:

• Size 1 diapers
• Size 1 shoes
• 0-3 month clothes, with the odd newborn or 3 month outfit, and maybe if they are a super small fit 3-6 month

Harmony at 5 months eats:

• Primarily breast fed with 2 ,  4 oz bottles of Formula a day since my milk supply isn't the greatest due to her tongue tie and poor latch.
• has tried squash on her first Thanksgiving and once after that, not a huge success. She liked it but none stayed in her mouth, so clearly not ready
• enjoyed her first baby mum mum cookie last night as a Halloween treat, She liked it but more ended up on her than in her tummy

Harmony at 5 months:

• is 13lbs and 24" long
• enjoys her exersaucer, bumbo, bouncer and swing
• has found her voice and likes to yell for attention, squeal and screech in delight, and babbles non stop, usually at 5 am.
• refuses to be rocked, nursed or cuddled to sleep, has to be swaddled tight with her sucky and fish tank on, lights out and that's it.
• loves being talked to by anyone and rewards them with big smiles
• rolls over both ways
• has excellent head control
•  loves tummy time
• excellent hand - eye coordination
•  picks up things and puts them in her mouth
•  loves standing up and will pull up if you hold her hands
• wakes up maybe once a night or sometimes not at all
• loves baths in the jacuzzi tub with the jets on

Harmony's nicknames at 5 months:

• Little peanut
• pumpkin or chunkin (chunky pumpkin)
• Shoulder Monkey (she sort of perches herself like a little shoulder monkey)
• Tune (Papa A)
• Petunia (Grandma J)
• Hazel - her second middle name (Uncle S)

Harmony's favourite people at the moment

• Mommy and Uncle S

Things I never want to forget:

• Your amazing blue eyes and great big toothless grin
• How mad you get when you don't get what you want
• How much you love your sister and brother
• How teeny tiny you are and I love it
• How you love talking to the birds on your mobile/swing
• Your shrieks for attention at 5 am ( not crying just talking)
• How much I love you and enjoy every second with you

Thankful Thursday - BBC April Mommas

I have a group of friends. We have "known" each other for 3 years or so.  Many of us have never met.  Some may think it odd that a group of Women all across Canada from coast to coast could be friends. There is a vast diversity of women in this group from occupations, religions, parenting style, ect but we have much in common.  We are all mothers, we all support one another, we all have good days and bad days.  We share everything and I mean everything, from triumphs to tragedies.  When someone is going through a rough patch, we are all there to support, encourage and lend an ear.  When someone has some amazing news to share, we are usually the first ones to hear.  We talk about everything from potty training, book suggestions and where to find a good deal, anything and everything has been discussed and shared.  I honestly don't know how I would have gotten through the last 3 years with out them.  Being a mom is a hard job and I know these women understand.  When I feel like the worlds worst mom, they are there, encouraging me, telling me I am doing a great job.  I know we all share the feeling that we are so lucky to have this group to come to share openly our thoughts and feelings.  I can't even count the number of times I have started a conversation with " One of my mommy group friends ...." Today and everyday, I am thankful for these wonderful Momma's friendship.  I am thankful that one of them could stop by and visit today for my first of hopefully many more meet ups.  One day it is our collective dream for us all to meet in person, just waiting on one of us to win the lottery or someone to feature our group on tv...Hmmm...Where is Oprah when you need her?

Wordless Wednesday - Photos by Karlee Edition

Argh, doctors and disapointment!

     Well let me start out by saying this may be a tad bit of a rant.  If you don't like hearing about toddlers, babies, breastfeeding, doctors appointments and this Momma's disappointment stop reading now, and what are you doing here anyway?

     Today I packed up the 2 youngest and had us out the door and at the doctors by 9:25 for Harmony's 9:30 appointment which ended up being more like 10:30.  Not a bad wait time, I've waited longer. I was well prepared with an ipod, snacks, a bottle, toys and the resolve to not scream or lose my cool in the crowded doctor's office.  Harmony screamed on and off because she was missing her nap and she likes her sleep. Camden was well behaved until I noticed him throwing things out of the bottom of the stroller while I was bouncing and shushing the baby as the entire waiting room gave me that fake sympathetic stare that all moms hate.  I overheard 2 guys talking about how my baby was pretty new, like 6 weeks old and something along the lines of me handling a new baby.  Thanks guys, she is 5 months old and yes she is little and yes you two are stupid.

     We get into our room and wait for the doctor.  Usually our doctor is amazing but today I am assuming it was her busy day.  She measured the baby an inch and a half taller than the well baby clinic did last week and she didn't grow that much in a week.  They based her development and growth on her being taller than she was and she is now in the 75% percentile for height.  Well no she's not but Thanks anyway.  The doctor said she is doing great and growing very well. *sigh* Fine, OK! She doesn't believe she needs her tongue tie dealt with but will be calling us with a referral at which the next doctor will probably not do anything anyway with her being almost done with bottles and nursing! Ummm...at just 5 months we aren't even close to being done. *big sigh* I will wait for the referral and beg for him to actually do something.  Little miss Harmony got her shots and we were out the door.

     We stopped at the health store afterwards to pick up some supplements to help increase my milk.  Yummy sounding things like Blessed Thistle and Fenugreek.  Oh, I can't forget the Mother's Milk Tea with such appetizing ingredients like goat's rue and nettle leaves.  I am not sure how I will get much else done in the day after I pop 2 capsules 3 X a day for one, 4 capsules 3X a day for another and 2 cups of tea after each meal.  I can't even remember  or have time to shower every day let alone all those pills and cups of tea.  It will be a real treat if I decide to add the Domperidone pills 8X a day. 

    Next and last stop was to Shopper's to get some good deals on diapers, wipes and some other goodies I found.  Camden was having a meltdown for Smarties (I said yes he could buy them but no he could not open them until we got home).  The lady at the cash saw him and said oh he can open them now  and scan them when you check out. Thank you lady for undermining my parenting.  No, he is not allowed to eat an entire box of Smarties, in the store, before lunch, leaving a trail of chocolaty drool that will be deposited on the stroller, car seat, clothes and his sister.

   Now we are home, I'm venting and the kids are napping.  Thank God for Sisters who drop by unexpectedly with a Timmie's Coffee in hand and a real sympathetic ear.

Blessed!

A big THANK YOU to all those who helped us celebrate our new house today! We are truly blessed to have such great friends and family.  Our house was full of people, laughter and food.  We really enjoyed the day and are so glad so many could make it out.  For those that couldn't feel free to stop in anytime and say hello.  The best part of having a house is entertaining and I am happiest when we have a full house.  I am so thankful today ( well and everyday really) for family, friends and a great place to call home. We are Blessed and I Thank God for all that we have.    

Home - Where our story begins.

     This weekend, we are very excited to be holding a house warming open house for our new place.  I am very excited as I've never had a house warming party or a house that I've wanted to show off.  We are so incredibly happy here.  I knew I liked the house but thought I would be sad about moving.  I'm not!! After going back one day this week to do a little cleaning and picking up a few left behind items, I can honestly say, wow, I can't believe we lived there for so long.  Its amazing how much happier we are as a family when we enjoy our surroundings.  The conveniences this house has makes everyday living well umm so much more convenient.  I love the dishwasher, front loading stacking washer/dryer, central vac, a kitchen on the main level,  bedrooms for everyone, 2 bathrooms and the list goes on and on.  The time I save, I use doing fun things like crafts with the kids or crafts for myself and baking and cooking with the kids.  I have loads more time to just enjoy life with my kids.  A huge plus is the kids watch way less tv.  I have storage, plenty of storage.  I will admit I did shed a tear or two on moving day but those were aimed more at the memories we were leaving behind and definately not the place.  We have been busy making new memories and filling this home with love and laughter while making this new house a real home.  There is talk once and awhile about the old place but the kids agree they are much happier here and they don't want to go back.  So if you are in our area, come stop by Sunday to warm our home with laughter and help us celebrate a new chapter in our lives.  

Tired, with a capital "T"

Tonight was supposed to be easy.  I was supposed to clean out the garage a bit, clean the house, put away laundry, spend some quality time with the girls and hang out with Mike when he got home from work.  Bedtime was going to be super easy with Camden overnight at Gampa Gampas.  Ella and I read, she had a bath, and I tucked her in.  I cleaned the kitchen and gathered the laundry. I attempted to put Harmony to bed.  She was having nothing to do with it.  I bathed, changed, fed, burped, rocked, re-fed, re-burped and still she screamed.  I swaddled, sang, jiggled and wiggled her and all to no avail.  I gave her some Tylenol, I pleaded and begged.  We tried the swing, the crib, bouncer and my bed.  I unswaddled and re swaddled. I fed, burped and changed and re swaddled.  I put her back in the crib with her mobile on and yet she still screamed.  At this point I was exhausted and frustrated. I had completed nothing off my task list....I begged and cried a little. We walked, bounced and tried the range hood.  Finally, after two hours of this or more she finally passed out in my bed completely exhausted.  I don't know what was wrong but I do know her and Camden either conspired against me or it was my own fault for saying to Mike tonight will be Easy Peasy with just the girls.  My back is killing me.  My hair is a sight to be seen.  My clothes are dirty and I smell of sweat and desperation.  The garage is still messy and the floor was never vacuumed, swept or mopped.  The laundry is still piled up and I am OK with this.  At 11pm I have decided to take the rest of the night off and fall into my bed probably in the same dirty clothes I have been wearing all day because frankly the thought of changing is more than I can handle and besides what's that I hear? Oh, its a screaming baby who has slept 20 minutes. *sigh*

Pinterest - my love/hate relationship!

I am a newbie to Pinterest! I thought I wouldn't like it.  It sounded stupid...blah blah blah.  I finally decided to check it out. It's actually pretty addicting. Which is great because I needed another way to ignore and neglect my kids for long periods of time, Facebook just wasn't doing it anymore.   I am in love with it.  So many good ideas that I just wanna try out, like right now well the kids are still up running around screaming but , really whats the worst that can happen.  For starters yesterday I saw a couple things that needed a glue gun, long story short I burned my finger.  Today, I wanted to do a little project on Harmony's wall.  Now I am not a complete idiot, I had a back up plan.  I would just use the spare paint in the garage to paint over it, if it didn't turn out.  I didn't like it.  It was too dark.  I could have made it look nice and work but I changed my mind.  I started scrubbing it off enough so I could re paint the light yellow.  I grabbed the spare paint, opened it up, dipped in my brush and one second before I went to paint it on the wall I noticed that it was the yellow for the kitchen not Harmony's room.  Crap, I checked every left over paint can and not one matched hers.   *&%#% Now What??  I start scrubbing harder and most of its off but not it looks horrible.  I then had a stroke of genius.  Thank God for Magic Erasers. It completely took it off.  The yellow looks a little worn, but I will put up a picture or something.  Our House Warming is on Sunday and since the yellow was painted by the previous owners there was a slim to none chance of matching the paint, and I would have had to find a giant picture or cancel the party.   I have now learned my lesson.  Don't paint on the walls.  Its a bad idea! I now hate pinterest.  I am tired and grumpy and have no interest in pinning anything...well at least not for a few hours anyway. 

Exhausted

OK. Exhausted may be a wee bit of an understatement.  Little Miss Harmony did not settle and sleep last night until well 7 am this morning. It was just in time for me to crawl into bed and pass out for 15 minutes before I had to get Miss Ella up and ready for school. I woke her up threw some clothes on her and pawned her off on Mike (he's working afternoons this week) to take to the bus stop, oh and feed.  I managed to grab an hour or two while the boys saw Ella off on the bus and then headed out to pick up Camden's new bed. 

    After the bed was set up and ready to go we went and got Harmony weighed.  She is a whopping 13lbs and 24" long.  She is still little for being 4.5 months old but as the health nurse pointed out, she started out little at 6lbs 4oz and 18.5 inches.  She has now doubled her birth weight, which they like to see between 4-6 months old. We all pretty much crashed the second we got home and took a very long afternoon nap.

     This evening we did this. A Halloween /Fall bouquet and I burned my finger with the hot glue gun.

   I'm way past exhausted and have a very messy house but decided the kids needed to make something fun and creative.  The dirty dishes and floors will be there tomorrow and will be waiting for me.  The kids grow up too fast to not indulge in spending as much time as possible with them, even if it does mean neglecting the house work once in awhile.

Bloggin' Bella and Camden.

Today the kids have kidnapped my blog.  They want to write todays post.  So here it goes.  .
 Camden: []k;.'''''''''jnm;;;;;;;;;;;;;;..;'>jnm;'/h  B ( I Like Backhoes!)

Ella: Tonight, after supper Camden, Harmony and I had a bath in the Jacuzzi tub.  Mommy turned on the jets and the bubbles went really high.  We played with our tea set in the tub and had a tea party.  I went under the bubbles and pretended to be a fish.  I also used the tea pot as a watering can.  Mommy pretended to plant us as seeds in our bubble garden.  She sprinkled us with water and she was the sun. We started to grow and grow and grow. We took turns being different flowers, plants and trees.  We started to grow in the spring and our leaves fell off in the fall.  We had lots of fun using our imaginations.  After all that hard work growing, we relaxed and then scrub a dub dubbed. We got into our cozy pjs, had a yummy snack and now its off to bed.  Goodnight Mommy's friends. 

Week Review Wrap Up

So this week was a busy week..(Aren't they all?).  I don't think I accomplished much. However, I did clean, organize, cook, visit with family and cuddle my kids.  Nothing overly exciting to most but, it was to me.  I love being home with my babies and the mundane things in this life keep me happy.  I enjoy cleaning the kitchen and putting away toys, loading the dishwasher, doing laundry and hanging out with the cutest little people I know.  The weekend was a blur of get togethers.  Friday night nothing special was planned as Mike was on the late shift but my family came over and we had a good time just hanging out together enjoying each others company and laughing at this, this and this (oh look how clever I am, I linked things).  Saturday morning we just took it easy, relaxed, made a big brunchy time thing and tried to keep the little crazies happy for the afternoon.  Keeping the crazies happy was a bit tough but we managed to get ready and out the door with only a few meltdowns (me and the kids) so we could head out to Grandma's 90th (yes 9-0 Mike's Grandma not Mother) open house.  The kids charmed the throngs of people and were so well behaved I thought they were someone else's.  I just love when that happens.  It makes me look like a way better mom then I am.  Why yes, these are my little angels and they are just so well behaved, I just never know what to do with myself with them being so perfect all the time.  Excuse me for a moment, while I laugh (Bwahahahah) OK. Good thing they didn't see the meltdowns before we left the house, I am pretty sure Camden's head was spinning around like the exorcist at one point. Sunday morning was filled with cleaning and once again controlling the little demons cherubs so we could have a pleasant afternoon at a baby shower.  So Saturday afternoon once we were all fed, dressed insanely cute (the kids not me, I am way past being cute) we meandered (I love that word...meandered meandered) over to my ex husbands, fiances baby shower for Alien Baby (their words not mine).  The kids were stupidly well behaved and I didn't even have to bribe them.  We took a diaper cake made by myself with Ella's help for the momma to be.  I chatted and ate, Harmony was passed around and Camden chased all the little girls (he was in his glory). We enjoyed ourselves.  Thank you for inviting us M&J (weird they have the same initials as Mike and me, never noticed that before).  We had family over to dinner this evening and finished off the day with one of our favourite shows, Dexter.  It was a great weekend.  Oh, and just in case you are wondering I gave up on my diet by Wednesday.  I plan on resuming it this week.  Ha ha ha...maybe. 

England?!?

I am super excited.  Why? My very nice, kind, generous father has given my sister and I his air miles so we can make the trip to jolly old England to visit my niece Kirstin.  He then decided that my mom and him will most likely accompany us!! Yipee!!! Nothing has been booked. We don't have a date in mind.  I am still excited.  Before I got too excited, I made the necessary calls...umm...the kids, oh yeah, I have some don't I? Ella's Step Mom said they would keep Ella (THANK YOU), Mike's parents said they would keep Camden (Another HUGE THANK YOU) and well that just leaves Harmony.  After about 30 seconds of saying oh crap, I remembered, she's a baby and she's free.  Guess what buckaroo? You are coming to England to meet your cousin, You're Welcome.  Don't say I never took you anywhere.  We will be tentatively staying with Kirstin, at least a couple of us will be, so free accommodations.  That just leaves food and spending money.  I guess I better get saving my pennies. Now, I just have to start planning this trip.  Thankfully my dad is a very well traveled man.  I will not be nearly as scared as I was before I found out he will be most likely making the trip with us.  I am so excited but so nervous and feel panicky all ready.  Did I mention I get extremely homesick? This should be fun.

Thankful Thursday - Little Brother Edition!

Today I am Thankful for my Little Brother who is turning 14 today. I am very thankful that my parents decided to adopt this little munchkin from Guatemala.

Such a sweet, funny little boy! I changed your diapers, gave you baths, kissed your boo boos and made sure your tickles (corners of his pillow) were ready for bedtime.

Now you are a teenager...*sigh*

You act like a typical teenager and drive me crazy at times but I still love you and so glad you are apart of our family!  We are very lucky!

I Love you!

Not so Wordless wednesday - Frustrated!

I am frustrated with breast feeding today. Harmony started out a fairly decent nurser but its become a problem.  She is very tongue tied and now that she is more active she can't maintain a latch.  This results in her getting very upset and gulping air. It ends in her freaking out and me giving her a bottle, which until recently she couldn't latch well either. I don't want to give up.  At our last doctors appointment the doctor said they don't snip it anymore unless its a big problem.  Well now it's a big problem and I am hoping next week at our appointment I can beg for a referral for my little peanut.  I am dreading how long this process will take.  Getting a referral for anything these days takes for ever, which we will wait and get it done but I would prefer not to stop nursing in the meantime.  I've started pumping every 3 hours (ouch), taking fenugreek (icky), downing a ton of water (I swear I pee every 5 minutes) and loading up on healthy foods.  This is all new to me.  Camden was a boob man.  He would sit there all day and nurse if you let him.  I know formula feeding doesn't mean I'm a bad mom but it sure feels that way.  My breast feeding goal was at least a year with Harmony and a bit longer if she wanted.  Now I am lucky if we make it to 5 months.  *sigh*  I know in the end all that matters is a healthy, happy baby but I am hoping we can stick it out!

Oink - Back away from the Fridge!

    It's quiet this morning, eerily quiet.  Harmony and I have been up for an hour or two and she is now down for her first nap of the day.  The other 2 are gone and Mike's still asleep.  All that can be heard is the click-clack of the keys, the dog sniffing about and the hiss of the coffee pot. I love quiet mornings when I get some quality ME time.  I've had a chance to clean the kitchen, sit down with a cup of coffee and catch up on the blogs I read.  It's a quiet contemplative type morning, after the rush of the long weekend. I was quite happy until I sat here rehashing all the bad feelings of over indulging.  It all comes down to self-control, which I totally lack.  I'm not quite sure why I don't possess this quality but I don't.  I sit here making a mental list of all the house work that needs to be done and which house hold task cancels out which food I would like to eat .  I'm not a calorie counter or a chronic scale junkie ( I don't even own one) but I do know how to make better food choices.  Take breakfast for an example: left over cheesecake or low cal oatmeal.  It's pretty easy really if you think about it but so hard to enforce.  I've decided I need one of those fridge pigs, you know that oink at you when you open up the door.  I would be more likely to reach for the carrots if that pig were staring me down.  Possibly Mike could be my food conscience and encourage me to stuff my face with spinach and not the triple chocolate ice cream.  Oh, wait I've tried that before and it ends poorly, usually for Mike who was just doing as I asked.   I am trying to decide if hanging a picture of me on the fridge at my thinnest would encourage me or depress me (120 lbs, 6 feet tall and size 0).  It would probably just depress me as I will never be a size "0"  again or 120lbs.  I am off to mop, vacuum, fold, scrub and tidy this weight away.  If I clean fast enough it counts as cardio, right?  Let's hope I work up a sweat because everyone knows it doesn't count if you don't break a sweat? Oh, who am I kidding I will be a hot sweaty mess by the time I am done and not because I am jogging on the spot while windexing...more likely due to the fact its exhausting carry this extra baggage around.  Happy Tuesday but feels like  a Monday everyone.

Thanksgiving Regrets!

    I have a serious case of Holiday regret.  I had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed spending time with family but I ate way too much.  I most definitely gained a 5lb food baby.  After I finished shoveling my second turkey dinner in my mouth we received a wedding invitation for December.  Perfect, I wish I had known say, hmm...oh maybe last week before I binged all weekend long.  Don't people know Winter is the fat season?  The most horrible time to go dress shopping because all the yummy holidays and early Christmas festivities.  I am sure they had excellent reasons for having a winter wedding but for me *argh, sigh, pout, cry* I had a baby 4 months ago.  I haven't even come close to losing the weight and now I am forced to either buckle down and shed some pounds or cry in a dressing room while looking like an overstuffed sausage in its casing.  Knowing me and my inability to commit to anything long term, like exercise it will be the latter.  So  I sit here totally regretting all the delicious food I consumed this weekend.  First thing tomorrow I am off to the grocery store to stock up on salad and raw veggies. Yum!

A week already?

We have been in the new house for a week.  We love it, but really that's an understatement, we absolutely are head over heels for this place.  We are happy!  It's been a busy week or unpacking, friends over several times, even had the in laws over for a home cooked meal made by me and no one died.  Tonight our central vac was installed by my dad and I am one happy camper.  I can clean my house!! There may come a time when I will grumble about cleaning but for now I am content to have a house to clean! We have accomplished a lot in one short week, as long as you don't look into our garage.  I am horrified every time Mike doesn't shut it immediately lest the neighbours get a good look at how full of junk stuff to be unpacked it is.  Maybe on the weekend it can be cleaned, organized and purged.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone, I am off to enjoy whats left of this crazy Friday evening and the coming weekend!

Thankful Thursday - Sleep Edition

     I am thankful for sleep!!! Camden after well 2 and a half years of needing mommy or daddy next to him to fall asleep, doesn't anymore.  I am not sure if it was the move, or his own new room or that he is growing up (please stop growing up so fast).  The last few nights and nap times we tuck him in, give him a kiss, say goodnight and promise to check on him in a few minutes and that's it.  He doesn't scream bloody murder if we leave the room.  It's completely amazing that instead of sitting next to him for 30 minutes I can actually spend a few minutes with Mike.  Ella has always been an amazing sleeper right from the start and Camden has never been.  He still wakes up several times but this new stage is thrilling to say the least.  Harmony has also started to fall asleep on her own again.  She is loving her big crib, in her new room and with the reintroduction to swaddling she sleeps pretty much through the night.  Occasionally we have the odd wake up here and there but that I can handle.  So this week I am thankful for sleep. 

Wordless Wednesday - Why I love our new house!

PLEASE!!! MAKE IT STOP!

I swear, my ears are bleeding (OK maybe not quite but they feel like they might).  The dog is whining because she isn't sure about the new house.  Ella is whining because her brother won't leave her alone, and she doesn't want to do anything I ask her to do. Camden is whining because he is getting a molar, he doesn't do change well, he didn't sleep well and I took his play dough away (he threw it all over and hid large chunks under the dogs new bed).  Harmony is whining because she doesn't like loud noises from the 3 other whiners in the house, mommy yelling and she may be teething as well.  I am pretty sure our new neighbours think I am murdering the kids because the kids are either yelling, screaming, crying, whining and I am pleading, yelling, begging them to stop.  On a happier note, they did stop whining after they discovered the jacuzzi tub makes incredible amounts of bubbles and they do in fact like the jacuzzi tub.  I, on the other hand may have lost my jacuzzi tub to the kids! I'm not sure what I was thinking but it stopped the whining.  The sleep issues have also started to resolve themselves (knock on wood).  Camden for both his nap and bedtime tonight has put himself to sleep, no sitting beside his bed patting his bum until he conks out.  That is pretty exciting.  Harmony has been rather hit and miss with naps and sleep as well, so I decided to pull out the sleep sack with the swaddle attachment.  It worked like a charm.  Apparently she still needs to be swaddled and it was an instant hit.  She had an awesome nap and went to sleep fairly quickly.  This mommy may just regain her sanity after all. Hoping tomorrow is a better day!

Are we there yet?

No, we aren't on a trip.  Just getting settled and I would like to be there now.  I managed to put away...wait for it...are you ready...4 or 5 boxes...Yeah, me! Yes, I am being sarcastic and would have liked to have accomplished more today but I am exhausted.  I did manage to get my hair and eyebrows done ( I was looking all ape-y and root-y).  I also managed to hit up the used store in town to find some deals for the house.  I didn't find exactly what I was looking for but did manage to get Camden some long sleeve shirts (4), a house coat, cleaning toys ( so he can help mommy clean), and a couple of toys for the girls that I am putting away for Christmas (excellent like new condition, I might add). A grand total of $28.00. All in all a fairly good day but everyone is tired.  Tired of unpacking, setting up, adjusting and exploring.  I would like to be able to find my shoes so people stop looking at me funny when I'm out in flip flops in 6 degree weather.  I want our routine back, you know when the kids slept at predictable times and I wasn't running from room to room wishing I had that book, Go the F%*$ Sleep, to read to them because hey, it might just work.  I would like Ella's school to hurry up and get her bus route figured out (same bus, same school - different bus stop but a stop that already exists with other kids, how is this hard). I would like my camera so I can stop missing out on my kids exploring their new home.  I know some of these items would be solved by unpacking more but I go back to the I'm tired thing.  I am truly happy with the house and even happier now that we found out the central vac is already installed, we just need the unit.  I love it, I really do but I just find myself wondering and asking ARE WE THERE YET? Yes, I know...almost just a few more boxes (OK, a lot more boxes) and a bit more patience!

All Moved In - Mostly!

We made it! I didn't think we would ever get to this point but we did.  We are happy, deliriously happy in fact.  I couldn't have imagined a better home for us.  It is perfect and God truly is amazing by blessing us with it.  It has everything I've always wanted in a house and a bit more.  We are all moved in, meaning all our stuff is here but not quite unpacked.  If you happen to pop by in the next few days please don't open the garage or closets.  Everything is set up and now the rest just needs to be put away.  I am thankful for all our family who have helped us the last couple days.  We wouldn't have been able to do it with out you. So because its late and tomorrow is another day of putting away, I will leave with this short message.  We are here and happy.   Details and pictures will follow over the next few days,  I promise!