Austin the Cat - etc ...

He's driving me crazy.

All I want to do is throw that cat outside as far as I can throw. He has food and water, but jumps on the counter to get into trouble, pulls down the garbage can and occasionally poops where he wants. He stays up all night playing with any small toy he can find, usually in William's room - driving me utterly insane. Spring better hurry up because this cat's life depends on it. The only thing keeping this cat alive ... is the fact that he LOVES Amélie. He follows her everywhere and wants to sleep right beside her at all times.

Scentsy :

I'm planning a Scentsy relaunch. In February I will be attending a big Spring Sprint and hope to have some great ideas. :)

27 weeks :

I have no idea how I got to be 27 weeks pregnant. Seriously, it's like I blinked and then here I am ... I think I might be rather big for how many weeks I am but it's like I'm petite with a huge belly and some wider hips ... it's weird ... 0_o.

Baby N :

Amélie loves this baby already. I hope it sticks. I'm not even a little bit worried about juggling three kids because I am secure and confident enough to say no to things I think will be too much. There is no reason to spread myself thin to please other people and I trust that they will consider that when I say no instead of flipping out. The people in our family and friends are pretty considerate.

Maternity Leave :

Holy Hannah I'm so looking forward to it. I like to take at least a month ahead of time to get the house ready, to spend time with kids, to be able to sleep on a schedule that my body wants instead of what work needs. I have some sick days as well so I am going to use some and be done in March. I have a day in mind but still juggling it around.

Spring :

Usually I don't get antsy about spring until February but, is it just me, or is winter extra long this year?

Wind out of the sails

Sometimes ...

Sometimes I think people forget that everyone has feelings. You know? Like ... look out for yourself and screw the world.

I'm not saying we need to put everyone first, but sometimes it seems ... hard and cruel, when it should be compassionate and gentle. You know?

Everyone makes a mistake or two but why are we all so hard to forgive.

Sidenote : This is not about that drunk driver person, in any way ... just ... fyi.

Sometimes, I feel like people will say something hurtful to me in defense - because I was not gentle about their feelings first. Birth is a big one and too many people get offended at just being around me - or so it seems. I'm sure it's because when I say a truth - it hurts them to hear that it's not good for everyone at the hospital. I have forgotten that they have feelings too I suppose and should be gentler and word things differently. Perhaps they have that little thought in their head and it hurts to have it tugged at ... sometimes you just want to let something go.

But. Truth really needs to be told. It just does and it should not be withheld because it could help.
But. There is always a way to say it gently. It might have to be screamed at some point, but why do we jump there from the get go?

Is it just me or are there a lot of misunderstandings in this world? You know? When someone says something hurtful why don't they talk it out? No really! I mean yeah ... it's hard but wouldn't we be showing kids that we all care about each others' feelings, even when ours are hurt?

Kids are whiny and tired and asked to do things to make them into 'good successful adults'. Why? Why don't we teach them, instead, to care about others? Isn't that successful enough? Do they need three cars? Do they need a million dollars? Do you need fancy clothes? Do you need Kool-Aid drinks?

Sidenote : Frankly Kool-Aid drinks are the devil in liquid form but that's just my opinion ...

Recently, I started looking up organic foods, canning, freezing, Pinterest-ing recipes. I posted something about mashed cauliflower and got a few comments. Instead of getting defensive or angry, well I did for a second or five, I realized how utterly ... ridiculous that was. Really. People can't tell my tone of voice, they didn't know that I was just 'saying' that I couldn't fool my children. I wasn't looking for advice on how to hide it or different ways to do it ... I was just saying a rhetorical comment. Instead of blasting about it, I decided to relax and take it like it was. Innocent advice. I explained the situation, thanked for the tips and then asked for tips I really did need - like soup recipes.

Why create a rift or friction for something so small and insignificant?

There are bigger things to be frustrated about, that we probably have many common cause over.

Like the penalty for drunk driving, why do some people get more rights than others ... and why do pedophiles get let out of jail, ever ... no for real, like why? Who, ever, needs a semi-automatic gun to go hunting ... are they that bad? Why are they getting pissed off about not being allowed to own a gun like that anymore? Instead of putting billions of dollars into learning how to make bombs and you know ... those ... big ... (hang on while I try to remember) .......... tanks! why don't we invest in gardens? I mean ... we could feed a lot of people with a billion dollars worth of gardens and fruit trees ... couldn't we?

Plus ... why do we ship oil to the States, then ... pay double to buy the gas back? Or ... why don't we just put money into being more energy efficient? Why does everything have to be about profit ...

Why are people selling so many things on Kijiji? Why not give it away? Yeah ... some things you want a little bit of money for but things like kids clothes, toys ... etc ... you know?

I really feel, like we've all forgotten how to care about each other.

Why are we all so selfish?

I don't know when I realized it - but a big thing for me was being given - yes given - three sets of maternity clothes from three different people. Just ... given to me. For free. No charge, no 'rules' just here ya go. I look around and other people are selling them for SO much money! We also had someone give us their time to work on our car last year ... just ... give us the time. If that's not humbling, I'm not entirely sure I know what is ....

Sometimes ... I feel like the wind has been taken out of my sails, and other peoples' sails too ....

Terrible Tuesdays

I despise Tuesdays ...

Tuesdays are dance days and they are fine when I can just go home and Corey takes Miss Cranky Pants himself ... but then I miss talking, in peace and quiet, with everyone else there ...

Most days, I get Miss Cranky Pants and Mr. Energizer Bunny. Omg-it's-so-horrible-I-can-hardly-think-of-it-without-cringing.

At first, it was totally fine because it wasn't Canadian Stupid Winter. I was also about 35 lbs lighter and less pregnant. When I started getting the headaches - ick. Now that the headaches are gone, I am counting the days until recital in March because Mr. Energizer Bunny and Miss Cranky Pants are not handling long Tuesdays well - and neither am I.

It starts off early at 6:30 am, and drags on allll day until we get home at 6:45 - when we walk back into the house. I started packing snacks for the kids while we wait because it's JUST far enough that I can't go home before going there, but when I get there I don't have time to do anything, but I have to sit and wait and entertain Miss Cranky Pants who just woke up from her Tuesday nap and Mr. Energizer Bunny who wants to run everywhere I can't see him. Plus he's noisy and loud and I can't sit and enjoy a conversation.

I despise Tuesdays ....

By the time supper is ready when we get home it's 7:15-7:30 and then relax time and bed ... BLAH!! It makes me so exhausted just thinking about it because kids are hyper, like right now, and NOT sleeping, and whining and .... siiiiiigggggghhhhh.

Of course, I wouldn't change them for anything ... :)

26 weeks

Or ... you know ... whatever ....


Baby N moves around a lot, when I'm sitting down and driving it's the most annoying. At first, the amount of weight that I've put on in such a short span was driving me crazy, but then ... I remembered this IS my third child ... I mean ... my body is just stretchier .... isn't it?

I'm more tired this time around, and kind of wish I could cut down my work days but ... with this cold and crappy weather it almost HAS been cut down because I refuse to drive when it's -40. Blech!

On Thursday I'll have more stats, maybe ... unless I forget all the info ... which is possible.

The ultrasound we had in December told us that so far everything was good so that's helpful.

I don't have anything else to say ... this is a really boring update.

Want to hear about Pinterest instead?

I found some great recipes there! (oh sorry you said no?)
I also found some 'why are these on here' recipes ...

Then I started pinning things I would like to get for Baby N.

Pinterest is a really great way for me to keep things organized ...

Now that I look at how many weeks pregnant I am ... I'm still pretty far away ... darn it. I wish spring would show up already (BAHAHAHAHA it's only January)

That's all I got for tonight ... hm. Maybe next post will be more entertaining ...

I'm looking for soup recipes if anyone has any? Some that are great to freeze?

Stop saying Fuck.

As Corey and I are surfing Pinterest, searching for a recipe for stuffed mushrooms, and using innappropriate language, Amélie suddenly looks at us and declares :

"Stop saying Fuck. That's a bad word and you shouldn't say it. Are you a bad guy? No. So you don't say that word. Fuck is a bad word. Then I say it and it's bad."

There was no way we could keep a straight face. It had maybe slipped out once, but she heard it, while wearing headphones and surfing on YouTube.

Oh man oh man ...

We laughed. I had to immediately go to the washroom.

We also got in trouble for laughing.

I should point out that earlier today she also said 'Holy Fuckers that's nice' while we were surfing online. I had told her we don't talk like that and only daddy talks like that because he doesn't have an expanded vocabulary with good describing adjectives.

Pregnancy Week who the hell knows ....

It's so not important. It might be if I wasn't sure about my dates or I was ginormica I suppose, or if there was a problem I guess ... but since the ultrasound especially - I have lost track. I know I should be between 22 weeks and 24 weeks or ... whatever. When people ask how far along I am I shrug and quickly calculate backwards from my due date and throw out a 'I have about 4 months left' answer. I will figure out my weeks in the New Year just so I can update my picture because I suddenly have this belly. It's not twins. I'm pretty sure most of it is cookies because it's not like baby is kicking any higher.

I also haven't seen my midwife in a while ... since my first appointment. WHOA. Stop panicking bahahaha! Seriously people - is there no person responsible for their own health anymore? ;) This is my third pregnancy and we had made a bunch of decisions right at that first appointment. Decisions such as : Ultrasound date and when to follow up if there was concerns, checking blood pressure, and checking in with problems. I did check in at the end of November - ish with headaches but those are long gone after some chiro and massage. Then I checked in after my ultrasound but there were no concerns so I booked for the end of January.

Don't I need to be weighed and measured? Why? I'm not gaining excessively - okay I'm gaining faster than my first two but give me a break. I'm pretty sure my body is just adding extra layers because it's so cold. There is no swelling or high blood pressure so far and the ultrasound gave me the exact day I had predicted so .... why measure?

Don't I want to hear the heartbeat? Well ... at first it's always the most important thing I need to hear but then I realized something as time went on. What would I do about it anyways? No really though ... if there is no heartbeat ... it's already too late to do anything! Now that I've felt movement or movement that I could say for sure was baby (at 16.5 weeks or 16 weeks - just like with my other two) I can tell what baby is up to.

Aren't I worried about baby's health? Of course! That's why I eat healthy, stay away from the unhealthy stuff, get some excercise and keep my stress down. Okay well I do the best I can haha. I am more than aware how quickly things change when it comes to babies and since I'm not the all knowledgeable midwife I'll be checking in the New Year and more regularly after that.

For those who are dying to know though : At Christmas I weighed 130 lbs. Although this is a lot for me to have put on in a short period of time I understand and accept your hatred because you may already be more than that and not pregnant. ;) The problem for me will be later if I continue to gain so quickly - my knees and body will be more tired and sore. I put on 50 lbs for my past two pregnancies but most of the weight gain was in the last 2 months. If I gain like I usual do near the end, I'll be over 150 but like I will point out to anyone who asks, I'll lose all if not most of it.

Welcome to our planet ...

Christmas Eve mass is tradition in my family. We do a reviellon and it's fun and there's cards and food and laughing and mass.

This year, we let all the boys behind and went to mass at 8:30. I don't approve of this 8:30 crap because it's called MIDNIGHT mass but ... I digress.

Amelie was a little excited, but I knew she would be bored and I didn't really care. I mean really, I just didn't. I left Will at home because I didn't have the energy to chase him down the aisle or pin him down on the bench. Plus I knew he would fall asleep better if we all left.

Mass started and Amelie and Avery distracted us from listening to anything.

I'm not actually fond of mass in the first place but that's ... that's another digression so ...

There was people sitting in front of us, two young boys, some friends of ours actually. S brought Amelie and Avery some coloring pages and colors and that distracted them for a bit. I actually had a chance to pay attention to the priest - almost.

Amelie begins to ask me about something. I can't remember the flow of conversation but it came down to me talking about Jesus' birthday and that he wasn't alive anymore so we could eat his cake and there's his statue up on the cross.

Suddenly, Amelie is sitting next to me holding up a paper she had colored. I mean over her head way up high kind of holding it up. I look over at her curiously.

"What are you doing?"
"I'm showing Jesus the picture I colored for him. Can he see it?"
"Uh ... yes, sort of, probably I suppose."
"Does he like it?"
"For sure."
"Is he up in the sky?"
"Yes."

Then it was time to exchange the sign of the peace ....
This is what I hear :

Someone : "Paix du Christ."
Someone : "Paix du Christ"
Amelie : "Welcome to our planet."
S : "It means Peace be with you."
Amelie : Oh.

At the end of church Amelie begins to get ready and we tell her that we'll go to memere's and play some cards and have fun.

Amelie : How will we get there? In a spaceship? Is everyone coming? All these people? Will they all fit? Will Jesus come to our planet? In a spaceship? Is there cake? Can I have some? How will he get down from the sky?