SomeThings We've Been Doing

On Labor Day Karen and Martin came up and we went out for Vietnamese food, then we went to River Valley Park. It was so pretty down there. There are playgrounds, golf courses, picnic areas and tons of bike paths.

After the Park, we went to Elk Island National Park. There you can see Buffalo, Moose and Elk. But, we only saw Buffalo. At the Park is a huge Playground, a lake, picnic areas and hiking trails. We plan on going back for a hike and a picnic.

Taylor started eating Baby Cereal. She loved it!! The next time I fed it to her, she was so excited, she was kicking her feet and laughing.

Taylor started using her Jolly Jumper. She really likes it, and of course when ever she uses it she has an audience, and someone to "help" her jump.

Davis lost his top tooth!! It was wiggly for a long time, and Drew tried to pull it out for 3 days. Finally it was barely hanging in, and it was at a funny angle, and he was able to get it out. Davis was so pleased.

Meal Planning Monday

Yeah, I am late on posting this, so let's call it Tardiness Tuesday...

Monday- We had boring spaghetti (sauce from a jar, hamburger, you know the kind) and peas. Davis wanted to have it for dinner on Sunday, but I made something else, so I promised him that I would make Spaghetti the next day.

Tuesday- Cheesesteak Sandwiches and a green salad.

Wednesday- Sweet and Sour Meatballs and Rice

Thursday- I'm not really sure if it has a name, but it is this egg and tuna salad stuff that you put on buns, and then toast it.

Friday- It is Drew's Birthday, so I let him pick the meal. He requested Chicken Enchiladas, and I will make a green salad. And for dessert I am going to attempt to make peach and coconut cream pie.

Saturday- I know we had something similar a few days ago, but I am making Spaghetti and Meatballs. This recipe is so good, that Monday's Spaghetti is embarrassed to be seen with today's Spaghetti. Oh, and a Caesar Salad.

Sunday- I am making Chicken Tortilla Soup. Since we have late church, I love to try and make something that I can throw in the crockpot before we leave and come home to a yummy smelling house. Especially since we are all starving by the time we get home.

The First Day of School

When we told the kids that we were moving, Davis took it the hardest. One of the things he didn't want to leave was his School. He loved school. He had excellent teachers and great friends. I admire his courage to start grade 2 in a new school. It was hard, and he had a hard first couple of days, but things are getting better. He isn't getting lost everyday and he has made some new friends.


Marcus on the other hand has had no problems adjusting to a new school. He loves Kindergarten. He is excited to go everyday. Even if it is just to get away from Phoenix.

Change

I struggle with change. I am an over-thinker and a worrier. We found out in October that because of budget issues Drew would not be offered a full time job at Lethbridge College. I cried for weeks. I assumed it was the natural progression, once he finished his Master's, then the College would offer him a job. It was my job to check the job postings for Colleges and Universities in western Canada. We were willing to go anywhere for a full-time job, but hoping that things at the College would change. I dreaded looking at the job boards, it was depressing. It was getting into summer, and nothing that great was coming up, and we were going to plug away with a contract position at the college. Then in the last week of July, Drew got a phone call. One of the jobs that he applied for (NAIT) wanted to interview him, and a week later he was offered the job and was off to Edmonton to check things out.

It was a hard decision to leave Lethbridge. We had so much to lose - we were close to family, the kids were in a good school, Drew liked the College, we were in a good ward...But, we had so much to gain by leaving. A permanent full-time position. This is what we prayed for. So in a whirl-wind month we managed to squeeze in camping at Writing on Stone, swimming in the pool, going to Edmonton, going to Ashley Lake, and packing up our house.


There are things I am not going to miss about the house: The mouse situation, water in the basement, the septic tank, having no water because of a broken pump, or frozen pipes, getting stuck in our driveway, and in the winter hearing the wind and worrying that we wouldn't be able to get out of the yard, and having the power go out for long periods of time. And, I don't think Drew will miss all the many, many, many hours of cutting grass.

But there are things that I will miss. This is the house where I fell in love, with both Drew and the Clark Family. This is the house where we brought Taylor home after she was born. This is the house where I brought Drew home from the hospital. This is the house where there were so many delicious meals. This is the house of making chocolates. This is the house where so many games and hands of Rook were played. This is the house where we welcomed loved ones into the family. This is the house where we said Good-Bye to loved ones. This is the house of many well-wishes as we set off for other adventures such as missions, marriage and having babies. This is the house where many Birthdays were celebrated. This is the house where countless hours were spent jumping on the trampoline, playing kick-the-can and swimming in the pool. This is the house for sleep-overs. This is the house of the annual Doug and Nola Clark Memorial Swimming Party. The house has a history. We will all be forever grateful for Doug and Nola for not just building a house, but for building a family and traditions of love and kindness.


So, here we are in a new city, in a new house, in a new school, in a new ward, with a new job, trying to figure out why we are here. When we met with our Bishop for the first time, he told us that he felt inspired to tell us that we were brought to our ward for a reason. That is a scary prospect, but I know that we are here for a reason as well. It seemed like things fell into place so easy, how could it not be right?

Meal Planning Monday

I had planned to work on my Blog yesterday afternoon, because I figured that would be a good Sunday activity, but it was such a nice day that I spent it napping and outside with the kiddos. So, here is the plan for the week.

• Monday: Bean and Sausage soup with some cornbread muffins I pulled out of the freezer this morning because Phoenix insisted on eating a frozen one.
• Tuesday: Shepard's Pie. If you want to be technical the correct term is Cottage Pie because I am not using lamb.
• Wednesday: Chicken Parmesan and a Caesar salad. My kids love Caesar salad. It's kind of funny.
• Thursday: I call this Mandy's Pasta, because she told me how to make it. It is a baked pasta with cheese, bacon and onion in it.
  
• Friday: Hamburgers and Pasta salad. Even though it has been raining for what feels like a year, I am so ready for Drew to light the Barbeque and for us to eat outside. We even got the deck swept off last night so that we can.
  
• Saturday: Breakfast-For-Dinner. Not sure what I'll make yet, but I'm thinking it will be pancakes...maybe Star Wars Pancakes if I'm feeling fancy.
  
• Sunday: Roast Chicken with whatever vegetable that appeals to me when I go to Safeway this week.

My New Idea

I am a planner, and a list maker, so making a meal plan for the week comes naturally to me. When Jo and Karen are over they like to check out what I am making for dinner that week. So, my new idea of a weekly (we'll see how long it lasts) post called Meal Planning Monday, where I'll tell you what my meal plan is for the week, and maybe spark some ideas to your meal planning, which can be a dreaded chore (especially when you ask your husband what to make and he either says I don't care, or something totally ridiculous like Liver and Onions). Feel free to comment, ask for recipes, or give me ideas!!

• Monday: Tacos. (I can just hear my sisters say Taaacos). Drew just got back from Kalispell, and he brought back some of those really yummy uncooked tortillas from Costco. Then for dessert, we made them with butter and cinnamon and sugar (SO GOOD!!)
  
• Tuesday: Perogies. Not that interesting, but Tuesdays are a really busy night.
• Wednesday: Sweet and Sour Chicken.
  
• Thursday: Spaghetti and Meatballs. I got the recipe from Lynn, and they are SO good. The trick is to make them the night before, because they are better the next day. They are also really good if you freeze them, and then re-heat later. And a Caesar Salad. If I'm in the mood, I might make some breadsticks. We'll see.
  
• Friday: Crispy Oven Baked Chicken and Baked Garlic Mashed Potatoes. I think that my veggie will just be cooked carrots, because my Dad gave me a gigantic bag of them from "the pit".
• Saturday: On Saturday is our Breakfast-For-Dinner-Night. But, I think I might rebel and have my dear husband take me out on a date, or I just might take myself out on a date.
• Sunday: Ham (one of those ones from Costco in the red package), funeral potatoes and broccoli.

April

Life with a newborn is busy. Life with 4 kids is crazy busy. I love having Taylor as a part of my family. I am so lucky to have her, and I wouldn't want it any other way. Here are some of the things we did this April

Davis lost his first tooth. He was a bit slow in losing teeth. He was worried that he hadn't lost any yet, and felt sad that all the other kids were losing theirs and he hadn't. He asked me one day "Mom, will I still have all my baby teeth when I'm an adult?"

I don't know how we worked this, but our last two kids, and Mat & Robyn's first two kids have been born 2 weeks apart. Here is Taylor with her cousin Daxon. He is 2 weeks older, but when she was born, she was 2 pounds bigger.

Auntie Lynn came and stayed with us for a few days. It was so nice to have her here!! It was just what I needed. She played with the boys, gave Taylor lots of cuddles, baked and cooked very yummy things, we talked, we laughed, we shopped a bit. I was so sad to see her go. I knew that she needed to get home to her own family, but I wished that she could have stayed longer. I know this sounds weird, but I don't think you really realize how much you miss someone, until you can spend some time with them.

We set up a tent in the basement, and the boys got to sleep in it. Phoenix only got to sleep in it for one night. He was a bit small, and kept his brothers awake too much. I think there also was a bit of a conflict over someone wanting a cuddle, and no one would cuddle with him.

Taylor and Marcus playing on my IPhone.

We were worried that Phoenix would be really jealous of Taylor, because he doesn't even like it when Marcus sits on my knee. He has been fairly good about having a new sister. He loves her, and won't keep his hands off of her. He always has to touch her, and lay beside her, try to wake her up, bath her and feed her. One day she was getting her clothes changed, and was laying in just a diaper on the floor. I went to get her some clean sleepers, and as I came into the kitchen from the laundry room, Phoenix was throwing a diaper into the garbage. He told me that she was poopy and that he changed her. I went back into the Family room, and Taylor was laying naked on the floor.

Introducing...

The wait for baby was of course totally worth it...

Before I was due I set up an induction date with my obgyn because I was terrified of having a gigantic baby. All of my kids have been around the 9 lb mark, and I was worried that if I went over, then the kid would weigh at least 20 lbs. I was so nervous the night before. I was worried that it wouldn't work, or that it would take all day. I was also worried about actually being in the hospital, since the last time I was there I didn't have the greatest experience. On Friday March 25, Drew and I got to the hospital at 630 am. After getting checked in, at 800am the doctor came at broke my water, then Drew and I wandered the halls for an hour to see if we could get things into motion. While we were walking around we were reminiscing about going for walks at the Foothills in Calgary. This time Drew pushed my IV pole around. Sadly, the walking didn't do much, so at 900am I was put on the drip. Because I was on the drip I couldn't go into the shower, and I was really disappointed because that is one of the things I do to help with the pain. At around 1100am, things really started picking up. I am not comfortable with an Epidural, or with Morphine, and my pain reliever of choice, the gas, wasn't available anymore, so I was hurting, and unsure of what I was going to do. They gave me heat packs, and those were great until they took them away because I was getting too hot. Then I decided that maybe I should have some Morphine, but when they went to put it into my IV, the baby dropped too much, and it was too late. At about 1130am I started to push, and then at 1137am, I had a baby. When it came out Drew said "It's a girl!!", and I said "A girl!?! Really!?!". We both were surprised. She weighed in at 8 lbs and 13 oz (the same weight as Phoenix), and was 54 cm long (the longest of my kids (hopefully that doesn't always stay that way)).

Because we didn't know we were having a girl, we didn't really have a name picked out, we did have a list of names, but we didn't have one picked. We actually didn't decide on her name until we were just about to leave the hospital. I had all the paperwork filled out, and her loaded into the carseat ready to go. Then to complicate things, Drew asked the boys what they thought we should name their little sister. So, we decided to call her Taylor Rosetta.

We all love her a lot.

Overdue

I have never been pregnant on my due date...until now. And it is complete torture. I was teary and a bit cross all day on March 18. I tried to keep myself busy and distracted, I did laundry and some sewing with crazy hair, and in my non-fitting pj's. Then my sweet husband took me out on a date, and I felt much better. At first I didn't want to go, because I feel very anti-social, and very un-attractive. We went to Streetside, and then wandered around the Home and Garden Show. I kept making comments like, "I packed my bag today maybe that will get me into labor". As I was getting into bed that night, I sighed and said "I am officially overdue.". March 19 came and I had high expectations. I even got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed the kitchen floor. I thought this baby just wants to share a birthday with his/her Aunt Mandy. No luck. Then March 20. March 21. March 22 (maybe it wants to share a birthday with Aunt Jen). Now we are sitting at March 23. One person told me that I am having a girl because girls like to take their time. They need time to do their hair. Meanwhile, I keep getting advice from people on how to bring on labor. Eat Chinese food, jump on the trampoline, drink raspberry tea, drink caster oil (gag), eat Curry, go for a jog, go for a walk, get a massage, get "romantic", go on a bumpy car ride...I admit I am trying some of these, like the tea and the massage, but I am doing those because I like to drink herbal tea, and I like to get massages. But, for the most part I think the rest will just make me more uncomfortable, and make me waddle just a little bit more. So, I guess I just need to be patient, and try to enjoy being pregnant for the last time. Because this won't last forever...even though today it feels like it will.

Mmm...bacon

I know I've mentioned before that Phoenix is a busy boy. He is down-right exhausting at times. The other night, we were doing a family activity before bedtime. Marcus picked that he wanted to color. So, we were all busy in the living room coloring; meanwhile, Phoenix got bored and wandered off, then my sister Lynn called, and I was talking to her. We heard some rustling going on in the kitchen, and Drew sent Davis in to see what Phoenix was doing. He came back in with the open package of raw bacon, and said "Phoenix was eating meat!!" Phoenix opened the fridge, opened the ziplock bag of bacon, and was eating it. The funniest part was that he was upset that we took away the bacon, and made him wash his hands.

A Very Special Person

I need to apologize about these pictures...they are terrible. The joys of taking pictures in a school gym. I should have tested it out first or something, but I took some cute ones, and then realized that I needed to turn off my flash.

At Davis' school they have "Special People" Assemblies. Kids get honored for all the hard work that they do in school. At the end of January Davis got picked by his teacher, Mrs. Fleming. It was also a special assembly because Mrs. Fleming and her baby got Special People Awards because this was just before she went on her Maternity leave. Davis is a very special person. I always get told by his teachers how well liked he is by all the other students. He is funny. He is a hard worker. He is smart. I love my little first-grader.

January

January is always a bit sad. Even though my tree is so crusty and such a fire-hazard, it is still sad to see all the Christmas decorations come down. It is nice to have things return to normal, but I love Christmas. Not only was the tree hard and crusty, but the gingerbread house and train were getting crusty, and honestly I was tired of having them sitting on my counter (I hate having too much stuff on my counter...it drives me crazy). So, I told the boys that they had one more day to snack on them, and then they were going in the garbage. I came into the kitchen and I saw them gnawing on them like little beavers.

We had people over one night, and so we brought the office chair upstairs. I told the boys to get ready for bed, and when I came to check on how the teeth brushing was going, this is what I found...


This winter has been horrible. Cold. Snow. The works. It has even been too cold for the boys to go play outside. On one of the actual nice days that we had, I sent them all outside to play.


We have a gigantic drift on our deck, and Drew and Davis dug a cave into it.

Winter feels like it will never end, but I really hope that we at least get some more good play outside days.

Mummies

It really is amazing how much fun you can have with a roll of toilet paper.