Table for Nine, Please

Recently, my sister, brother-in-law and their three children came to stay with us for a week. We had nine people in our house. Five of those nine people happened to be children.....four of those children were five and under. I would say the odds were pretty good for lots of chaos!

We managed to do a lot....especially considering the sheer number of people we had to get organized in order to go anywhere!

We spent a day at Scusset Beach in Cape Cod. One day we had a trip to the zoo in Providence, Rhode Island. Another day we took the train into Boston and went on the Boston Duck Tour. We took picnic lunches everywhere, the kids slept on the go (well....my sister's kids did, anyways) and overall, things went very smoothly.

I took a ton of pictures, and here are just a few....

This is our family at the beach in Cape Cod.

This is my sister's family at the beach in Cape Cod.

This is my eleven year old niece Caitlin.

Here are all five of the kids lined up with instructions not to move. We had just showered and changed them all out of their sand covered bathing suits and it seemed they were doing everything in their power to get dirty again!

This is my three year old nephew Quinton on the Duck Tours boat.

This is twenty one month old Cameron sitting waiting for the train into Boston.

Here are my two kiddos, Noah and Rebekah, going for a 'ride' on a carved wooden camel at the zoo.

And once again, all five kids are lined up for a photo. In order they are: Noah, Rebekah, Cameron, Quinton and Caitlin. That poor camel!

Still at the zoo....five little bums all in a row!

So, overall the trip/visit was a success. I found the most difficult days were actually the ones that we stayed in the house. The kids just took turns getting into mischief on those days! It was best when we took them out and tired them out! They had fun and although it is a lot of work, ultimately, I think it is easier on everyone!

And we got some great pictures for the scrapbooks!

A Funny Conversation

I had the funniest conversation with Noah yesterday!

It started with a question about marriage. He came to me and asked me if he could marry Bekah. When I explained to him that he couldn't, he got very teary and upset and wanted an explanation why. I didn't expect his reaction to be as serious as it was. He was genuinely upset that he couldn't marry his baby sister.

I explained how it is against the law to marry your sibling. With that I got another, "why?" I then tried to explain about genetics and how babies born to people who are too closely related can be sick. That just opened another whole can of worms!

He got very quiet for a few minutes and then the questions began again.

Now, I must provide some background info here. We have discussed where babies come from....in an age appropriate, five-year-old-sort-of-way. Noah knows from where the baby physically leaves the mother's body. The shock on his face was hilarious when I told him that! He said, "For real?!" He also knows that it hurts a whole lot when the baby is born. When asked how the baby gets into the mother's tummy, I told him that God puts it there. That was sufficient for him.

So, back to the marriage discussion. He was sitting and pondering our conversation. Then the rest of the conversation went something like this.

Noah - Mommy?

Me - Yes?

Noah - When the mommy is having the baby, does the boy have to do anything? ....Like get a shot??

Me - No.

Noah - So he doesn't have to do anything? Just watch?

Me - Pretty much.

Noah - Who drives the car? The mommy or the boy?

Me - The boy, because the mommy is too busy having the baby.

Noah - Oh.

pause......

Noah - Wow, I'm sure glad that's not me!

There was even more to this conversation, but I think the above was the best part. He is so innocent in his questions, and so genuine in his reactions. You just can't help but smile. :)

We're Not In Kansas Anymore!

One would probably assume that living in the USA isn't too much different than living in Canada. Well, I am here to tell you that that assumption is inaccurate!

Not too long ago I was opening the blinds early one morning when I glanced out the window and I saw this......

Those, happen to be wild turkeys. Yes, I did say wild turkeys. I thought it was one of the strangest things I had ever seen! Over the next couple of days I mentioned this strange occurrence to a couple of people and the responses were all pretty much the same.....oh yeah, no big deal, they are all over the place around here.

I have never heard of anyone seeing a wild turkey in Canada. At least not anywhere I have ever lived! A bear, a deer, a moose....yes, but a wild turkey?!

Weird.....

My Latest Addiction

You are never going to believe this.....I am addicted to the Webkinz website.

Up until a few weeks ago, I didn't even know what a Webkinz was. That's what happens when you live in Switzerland for a couple of years. You have no idea what is going on in North America. I left and Brittany Spears had just gotten married....I came back and she was divorced with two kids!!

Anyways, back to the Webkinz story. For those of you who have been living on another planet (like me) or for those who don't have kids old enough to be into the Webkinz phenomenon...I will give you a brief rundown.

A Webkinz is a cute little beanbag type stuffed animal. They are about the size of a Beanie Baby (if you don't know what those are, there is just no hope for you!). They come with a tag that has a unique code on it. You go to the Webkinz website to enter the code and complete the 'adoption' process. You name your animal and get a bio about his/her likes and dislikes, etc. It is from then on your responsibility to care for your pet. You get a bit of a bank account balance upon registration, but afterwards you must complete jobs, play games and answer educational quiz type questions in order to earn money to care for your pet. You must go shopping to buy them food, clothing and toys. You have to feed, exercise and play with them.

When my sister was here with her kids, my niece, Caitlin helped Noah buy a yard for his pet. We then bought and planted seeds in his garden so he could harvest his own food. The problem is, you have to log in every day in order to weed, water and tend to the garden! I kid you not. With Noah starting school, he has less time for the computer (probably a good thing!) and I am the one who ends up logging in at 11:30 pm in order to water the darn garden! It's insanity!

Aside from that, I have become a bit of a fan of some of the video games that allow you to earn currency too. It is my brainless downtime. It is also why I have not been blogging as much lately.

Let's just say, Noah has about $4000 in Webkinz currency in his account right now! Yikes!! I think it is time to stop!

Big Man on Two Wheels!

Noah can now officially ride his bike without training wheels! It took only two weekends to get him up and running. I am so proud of him....I was sure it would take a lot longer than it did. I was also sure it would be a lot more painful (mentally for us and physically for him!) than it was.


Taking off the training wheels.......

Kevin started him out riding on the grass and before long he could ride the width of our property. Moving to the pavement was going to be a challenge though.... He still couldn't turn and he wasn't great at stopping either.... He would come to the edge of the woods and just throw himself onto the ground in order to stop! Even though he could use his hand brakes effectively while using the training wheels, he became so overwhelmed with the knowledge that the training wheels were no longer there, that he forgot what to do to stop!



This past weekend, Kevin and Noah moved from the grass to the driveway. After a tip from a friend (thanks Stef!) whose son just learned to ride on two wheels, Noah was soon on his way. The trick was to have Noah use his feet to propel himself and then lift them without pedalling, so that he could get the sense of balance that he was going to need to pedal. Before we knew it, he was putting his feet on the pedals and pedalling away without any prompting from us!



Noah is continuing to improve. He still has difficulty pedalling uphill and maintaining control....he gets a bit wobbly. He also needs some more practice with turning.

Overall, there were only a few meltdowns and no major injuries. I would call that success!

Now, if only all other aspects of parenting were that easy......

Business....or Bust??

Well, I guess time will tell!

Let me explain my title.... I have decided to try to market myself to do some custom card making/scrapbooking work (again). I dabbled a bit in Switzerland....teaching some classes at a local store (and out of our house!) and doing a few custom orders for friends.

(I still have yet to figure out how to photograph these cards in a way that does them justice.... I may try scanning them next time and see if that works out better.)

I have decided that the time has come that I need to make an attempt here too. I desperately need something to call my own! I need something separate from wife, mother and house! (I know all of you mothers out there can relate!)

So, I am making some cards to give to friends, family and acquaintances as samples in hopes of drumming up some business for myself. I have talked to a couple of ladies here, and there seems to be a bit of a market for custom work. I figure with Christmas coming, it is a good time to put my name out there!

If any of my loyal readers (wink, wink) would like to order some Christmas or any other kind of cards, a mini album (they make GREAT Christmas gifts), or even a full size album, just let me know and I will come up with a design especially for you! Please pass the word along if you think you know anyone who may be interested. Do you belong to a committee, own a business or need cards for teachers, school bus drivers, clergy, etc? I'm your girl!

I will try and post photos of my projects over the next few weeks.

I bet you never thought you would be thinking about Christmas this soon! :)

The Verdict Is In.....

Well, I just got Noah from the school bus. The driver gave me a 'thumbs up' and said he did great on the bus. I asked him how school was and he replied, "It was fun", before running off to play with the neighbourhood kids.

So, I guess he really is growing up....

Sigh....

The First Day of School

So, my first born has officially started school! It isn't pre-school, or nursery school, it isn't optional french private school or even junior kindergarten.....it is REAL, grown up, my child is now five, kind of school.

After I put him on the bus, I cried like a baby!


He seems so little to be going on the school bus by himself! I didn't want him to go any more than he wanted to go. He started early this morning with, "I don't want to go to school, Mommy", but we ushered him through the morning routine, and by the time breakfast was finished he was waiting at the end of the driveway anxiously looking for the bus.

The list of stuff he was supposed to have was enormous, especially for him to carry on his own. Among other things, he needed a blanket and small pillow for rest time. By the time I stuffed that into his backpack I would have sworn that he was going to tip over backwards! Well, he managed to stay upright, and he got on the bus with some nervousness, but without any tears. That's OK though, I cried enough for both of us. :(






Kevin went into work late so he could be there for the momentous occasion too....







I am now sitting here watching the clock as I type this...only 12 minutes until the bus drops him off and I get to find out how his day went!

It's kind of funny....when they are with you, you just want them to go away and leave you in peace....but when they are gone, you miss them every minute!