It's already April??!

1. Time for an update! No better way than to link up with Kelly!

2. Happy Easter! Hope everyone had a great one. We had a fun 6 am wake up by the kids yelling "Alleluia!"followed by a fun egg hunt around the house followed by some kids eating all the candy followed by epic meltdowns from a certain almost three year old. SO MUCH FUN.

3. We were up so early and by seven everything was done so we decided to scrap the breakfast we were going to make for ourselves and go out for breakfast at the Marriott. It was a delicious buffet with pretty much everything you could ask for, but having so many choices is kind of overwhelming to me. I can barely handle making the decisions for myself, and then having to help four kids decide what to eat kind of killed me. Also the kids had overdosed on candy so they weren't that hungry and the amount of money we were spending and not getting our money's worth was kind of stressing me out. I'm such a fun person, I know!

4. We took a break from school this week. Its been low-key, but nice. We've done pretty much nothing, but that's the point of it I guess! Today we tried to go on a picnic to celebrate our last day but it rained.

5. William was at rugby camp for the mornings all week, and the house was so quiet without him! Sometimes one kid really does make a difference. He's just so chatty, always talking to me and asking me to do things with him. I missed him, but dare I say it was a nice little break for this introvert? The girls can get into their own little world reading or playing together, and Gus can be so independent and play for hours with his little cars. And the baby doesn't talk so it was nice to have a few hours where I could be quiet......er.

6. Little Zellie is 6 months old! She is a sweet heart, happy to be sitting if she is surrounded with toys and siblings to watch, and starting to creep/crawl around a bit, but not fast enough to be annoying yet! Time, please stop. Unless you will make her start sleeping a bit better at night. Its not terrible, but I'm ready to sleep through the night again. Ha.

7. William turned 5! He's sweet, the absolute best big brother, and just an all around nice kid. Except when he's being a stinker;)

The Birth of Azalea Therese

Zellie is almost two months old now and I still haven't written her birth story. So before I forget it all, I'd better write it down! Be forewarned that it is long and full of gory details. Read on if desired.
   First off, all of the other kids were born at 10 or 11 days overdue, (aside from Maria, but she was my first so I wasn't really comparing hers because firsts can be so different). And only with William did labour start on its own. So I was definitely expecting to be induced again, and honestly it wasn't a big deal - my labours with Felicity, William and Gus all went pretty much the same, induced or not. All I needed was a little push and then my body did the rest. So this time, when my OB said she didn't like letting people go more than a week overdue, and then scheduled me for induction on Thursday, which was 6 days past my due date, I didn't think it was a big deal. If I was going to have to be induced anyway, the sooner the better, or so I thought. In hindsight, maybe my body just wasn't quite ready, and maybe those extra four days would have made a difference, since this time my body just didn't quite respond the way I was used to. Read on if you're interested.
   So on Thursday, October 13, we dropped off the kids at their grandparents bright and early, and showed up at the hospital where they immediately placed some gel on my cervix to get things started. My doctor left saying, "I'll be back at noon to check on you again, unless I get a call beforehand", which she fully expected to receive since with Gus it only took four hours from start to finish. As soon as I was allowed, I began to do my thing - walking and walking and walking. Four hours later my doctor came to check me and I was.....3 cm maybe? I was expecting to have given birth by that time, so it was super disappointing. Contractions were still irregular and not very strong. She attempted to break my water, but couldn't. With orders to start pitocin, she left again, expecting to be called back soon when things got intense. In all my inductions, I have always been able to avoid pitocin, which I'd always heard made the contractions super intense. So I was scared! I was tired and getting disheartened and wasn't sure if mentally I could make it through! I knew I could make it through unmedicated if things went roughly how I expected them to. So something like this freaked me out and for the first time in five labours I began to seriously consider an epidural. The thought of just resting while things happened sounded so appealing. Especially since they said once they started me on pitocin I wouldn't be able to walk around, which is what I do in labour. I came so close to saying just give me the drugs! But in the end I decided to just wait until the pitocin started and see what it felt like. So we started it at 2:30. And nothing really changed. Except my water did break, but even that didn't really speed things up. At 4 I got on the ball, once they would let me, and bounced around until contractions started happening a little more regularly and stronger, although they still were pretty pathetic. When my doctor came back, she told me to get off the ball and lie on my side because the baby's heartbeat was dropping a little after contractions. At 4:50 I texted my sisters: "Still 3 cm. This sucks." I had told my doctor that I go from 6 to 10 cm in about five minutes usually, so instead of leaving the hospital, she was hanging out in a room next door and coming back to check on me every half hour. And every time she came, I had nothing to tell her. The contractions still were not anything to get excited about. I was barely having to breathe through them. Still she would check my cervix, and there would be hardly any change. She was hesitant to increase the pitocin too much because the baby's heartbeat kept dropping. Eventually she upped it a bit and they began to get intense. I think that was around 7pm, but my memory of the timing of this part is so hazy! Around 8 they were super intense and my doctor decided to stay in the room, checking me after each contraction. I was 6, -contraction - now you're 7 -contraction - now you're 8 - contraction - now you're nearly 9 - contraction - now you're a good 9 - contraction - pretty much 10- contraction - ok you're 10! She let a few more contractions go by so I was good and ready. By this point I was obviously in the most intense pain ever but just taking it one contraction at a time. I kept expecting her to say "Ok, time to push!"  and so died a little when I had to make it through another contraction. Finally, at 9:10pm, push time came and with one good push out she came! THE MOST RELIEVING FEELING IN THE WORLD. The next best part was that within 10 minutes my placenta came out! All of it!
  And that is how little Zellie was born.

7 Quick Takes Saturday

Linking up with Kelly a day late!

1. We've been enjoying very fine weather! We've lived here for three years but I can't remember if this is just what Fall is like here. Somehow I don't remember nice weather lasting for much more than a few weeks. And by nice I mean around 78 and breezy. It is heavenly.

2. Since its not so hot, for the first time since we've lived here the kids have been playing outside everyday! This is monumental and the absolute best. I guess it feels like summer in Canada. Usually we are all shut up in our small air conditioned house all day. The only way the kids want to go outside is to swim in the pool because usually its just too hot to do anything else. We are so lucky to have a pool but it means I have to be out there with them. Having them freely playing outside while I keep an eye on them from inside is really really amazing. Please beautiful weather stick around a few months!!!

3. We had a crazy week last week, full of sickness. Our house (and my sister's house next door) got hit with a terrible cold that went through everyone, including the newborn babies! Zellie had a fever at three weeks old, and ended up spending the night in the hospital. It was so terrible and sad and she is just now finally getting over her cough. I'm never taking her out of the house again until she is a teenager.

4. Maria has a swim meet this weekend! Which means three days of early mornings and spending hours at the pool. Super fun but super tiring.

5. I'm sure its like this for most big families everywhere (with 5 kids do we qualify as a big family??) but on this Island I feel like a freak show whenever people see me with all my children. The counting heads, asking if they are all mine, commenting on how busy I must be.... So far it hasn't been negative, just mostly incredulous, but I'm not really fond of sticking out and drawing so much attention. I guess I shouldn't have had five kids then, right?! Or else I should just hide away in my home. Haha.

6. On that note, those of you with 5+ kids, do you ever leave the house? Does it get easier or should I just resign myself to a life of seclusion?

7. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

7 Quick Takes: We had a baby!

1. Firstly and most importantly, our newest kiddo arrived!!!
Introducing Azalea Therese, born on October 13, weighing in at a petite 7lbs 7oz. Birth story to come soon:)

2. She is two weeks old now, and quite a good little baby, in that she sleeps, eats and poops lots!  

3. As expected, it has been so much fun watching the girls with her. They both rush to get her when they hear her wake up, and they just love changing her diaper and picking out her outfit for her.

4. The boys are also really cute with her! Of course they love to hold her, put her soother in and push her swing.

5. I'm feeling tired, due to feeding her at least every two hours in the night, but otherwise I'm feeling pretty good! I even took all FIVE kids out by myself and didn't die!

6. However, I took the four youngest to the grocery store (Maria was at swimming) today and it was pretty terrible. I had Zellie in my wrap so she was good, but Gus was running everywhere and Willy dropped a container of yogurt on the ground and I am looking very enviously at all you people who can order your groceries online and then just pick them up without leaving your vehicle?! That is looking amazing to me right now.

7.  Halloween and All Saints Day costumes this year are going to be very underwhelming. I remember when I used to sew the girls their costumes. Ha! Its a dig something out of your costume box which is probably the same thing you wore last year kind of a year. Luckily the kids are totally ok with it.

Have a good weekend and go see Kelly!

7 QT Pregnancy Edition

1. 40 weeks today!

Its my last week being pregnant! Induction should be scheduled for next week if this baby doesn't decide to come on her own before then!

2. My hospital bag is finally packed, the car seat is ready, and the baby clothes are washed. We just have to get the bassinet down from the attic and clean it up. But realistically we have a week left to do that!

3. What I'm most looking forward to: holding this baby, and showing her to the kids! It's been a long 40 weeks of waiting for all of us!

4. Although I'm eager to not be pregnant anymore, I really can't complain too much about this pregnancy, except that its been long. And hot! But I've been able to be pretty active, and have had no real problems, which I am super grateful for.

5. These last few weeks of waiting are kind of torturous though! I am so tired of visualizing labour over and over again...I just want to get it over and done with!!

6. But....do I actually have to go through it??! The baby does have to come out somehow, right?!?!

7. Feeling super grateful that Hurricane Matthew turned northward and spared us. I was beginning to imagine being in labour and not being able to make it to the hospital.... Praying for all those who have been affected and who will be affected by it!

Linking up with Kelly!

7 QT

1. We are back at school and extra curricular activities and life is super busy! Maria does swimming (4 times a week) and soccer, Felicity does swimming, ballet and soccer, and the the boys play rugby. So it doesn't sound like a ton, but it ends up that we have something everyday except on Thursday. It gets exhausting.

2. School is going okay so far. There have been only a few melt downs and tantrums thrown so its not too bad! My biggest obstacle is that the girls have such a negative attitude towards it that it makes it disheartening when I'm putting so much effort in. Fun teacher I am not.

3. If only everyone had the attitude of William when it comes to learning! He is always the first one sitting next to me with his reading book each day. He is sounding words out and it is so cute to watch him!

4. William's very favourite thing to do right now is play Memory. And I'm not kidding when I say he kicks my butt nearly every time. I sit there in awe. I have no idea how he remembers where they all are.

5. Today was my last day at the gym. Not because I am too pregnant, because it still is making me feel good to workout (although vvvvvvverrrry scaled down and I am always so exhausted after). But my gym membership expired and I don't think I will renew it since I don't see myself getting out of the house very easily with a newborn, and 4 other kids and no gym daycare. Boo.

6. My next door neighbour sister had her baby a few weeks ago and it was absolutely the cutest thing when I took the kids to see their new cousin. They were in love and I can't wait for them to meet this baby! Gus just wanted to hold him the whole time and was so excited about everything he did. "He moved his hand!" He is going to be such a cute big brother! Felicity was over the moon and was lamenting that we'd have to wait 6 weeks to bring our own baby home!

7. 37 weeks today! I'm resigned to another four weeks of waiting, but the end is in sight! I really just cannot wait to hold this baby!

Have a superb weekend and go see Kelly for more fun!

Drained.

   It's 8pm and the house is finally quiet, for the first time since 6am this morning. Shane is not home and I don't even care that much because the whirring sound of the fan is pretty much all I want to hear right now. Life is busy. Does everybody say that? Did I say that when I just had two toddlers running around? I think so. And it was busy, but life with school aged kids and toddlers is a different kind of busy. Especially when you are homeschooling. My mind gets so overwhelmed from answering questions and giving directions all day long. My 36 week pregnant body gets exhausted from feeding children, doing laundry, washing dishes, changing diapers, picking up toys, and shuttling kids to different activities. And when the school day is over, there is my sweet four year old wanting to hang out and chat and play memory. Its the sweetest and I wish I could enjoy it but I really just want to be left alone. To have a few moments of quiet to drink my LaCroix. Without sharing. I miss the days when all the kids had naps/quiet times and I had a break in the middle of the day to recoup. Its just not doable anymore, and it leaves me drained by the end of the day.
    The fun part is that I'm about to add a newborn to the mix and life is going to get MORE CRAZY. Most days I wonder if I'll be able to do it. Are we crazy to be having another kid when I can't even handle the ones that we have?!
   I know life will probably just get more complicated and exhausting the older the kids get, and in a few years I'll probably look back on this post and laugh at my naive self. Little do I know how easy I have it now, right?

7 Quick Ones!

Linking up with Kelly two weeks in a row!

1. Two out of four kids have been sick pretty much all week so we've basically been watching shows and playing lots and lots of memory and cards. And reading stories. It seems that they are on the mend now so I'm hoping we can get out of the house this weekend!

2. William has a deep and burning desire to go to Russia. Because its big? I guess....he will just randomly sigh and say "I really want to go to Russia."

3. I attempted to grow some things in containers on my deck. I got a few cucumbers that really were the best tasting cucumbers ever. But then the plant got eaten by something. I don't know what. And I think we got two tomatoes and then none. And now there are two beautiful peppers out there. So totally worth it, right? I don't know what is wrong with my gardening skills.....

 4. 30 weeks! Hurray!

5. Sometimes so that we (I) don't have to go outside I let the boys bring their bikes inside the house. Mom of the year, right?

6. We are at a lovely stage in our family where the kids all get up on their own and make and eat breakfast on their own. So if we can ignore the noise and someone doesn't come in asking for a diaper to be changed, we can actually kind of sleep in till 7 or sometimes 8! I'm savouring it because I know things will change all too soon...

7. I really do hate to complain, but this time of year is really not so fun here. This is the first year that we aren't going up to Canada for a significant chunk of the summer and I am minding it even more than I thought. I miss those summer days of the kids playing outside all day....here we try not to go outside if at all possible. Ok complaining over.

Have a lovely weekend!

Update on Life in 7QT

Has it really been over a year since I've written on here?! Linking up with Kelly for a little update on life around here:

1. We moved into our new house and it is wonderful! We love having a place of our own, next door to my sister and the pool is a nice perk:)

2. We're expecting baby #5! I'm 29 weeks today and looking forward to baby snuggles and not being pregnant in the nearish future. Just need to get through the rest of this sweltering summer.....

20 weeks!

3. Maria turned 9! How can it be???!! She's been swimming up a storm this past year and has improved SO much! I love watching her swim and cheering her on at meets. She hates school which makes me feel like a terrible failure as a homeschooling mom but such is life I guess. We are happy for the summer break:)

4. Felicity turned 7 and I feel like its the sweetest age (or else she is just the sweetest girl:) She is actually such a delight to me these days - so sweet, always ready to help, especially where Gus is concerned. I love her very dearly:)

5. William is 4! I feel like he is so old! But also still cute:) He took his first swimming lessons is now an awesome swimmer! He is such a good little brother and plays so nicely with the girls (read: does whatever they tell him). He is mostly patient with Gus too, Haha.

6. Gus is just the best. I love two year olds. He is active and really quite a terror to take in public (store or Church), and really dislikes having to be quiet or sit still. BUT! He is just so cute that I can overlook all of that. He loves to play superheroes or sports, but also loves to sit quietly and read a book (just not when you want him to, like in Church). He talks and expresses himself so well for his age and learns so much from his older siblings (for better or for worse).

7. Shane and I are celebrating 10 years in a few weeks! We went on a little babymoon/ anniversary trip to Houston and Dallas last week. We shopped til we literally dropped (had to stock up for the year!), ate way too much food, and even got to play tennis and go skating. It was nice to get off the Island (first time in a year for me!) and spend a little time not eat, sleep and breathing all things children! But it was also so nice to come back to the little loves who we really did miss so much.

Have a great weekend and hope to be back before the year is up ;)

What Can I Do to Help?

It was 6:45 pm, we had just returned home from a busy afternoon of swimming lessons and grocery shopping, everyone was starving, and Shane was working late. Exhausted from lugging the groceries plus the baby and the toddler up the three flights of stairs, I hurried to serve the supper that had been cooking in the crockpot all day. I reached into the drawer to grab a serving spoon and sliced my finger on something sharp.
 "Sh**!!!" I cried as I grabbed a paper towel to stop the bleeding. The kids all ran over to see what had happened as I examined my finger. It wasn't anything serious but it sure was bleeding a lot and I had to keep pressure on it.
 " How am I supposed to get you guys supper and feed Gus??!?! Why isn't Daddy home??!?!" I wailed. (It wasn't my finest moment, I admit). And that's when I heard my seven year old sigh and say, "What can I do to help?"
 I looked at her in shock and awe. Suddenly everything seemed a little less daunting. I instructed her as she served out the spaghetti and then my five year old carried it to the table. She offered to put the baby in his high chair but since it is as tall as she is and he is almost as heavy as she is I opted to avoid that disaster and awkwardly swung him up with one hand and then watched as my big girls fed him, ate their own food without prompting, and then worked together to load the dishwasher and wash the dishes.
 As I tucked them into bed that evening still nursing my silly finger, I whispered, "I don't know what I'd do without you sweet girls."

Every time I set foot in the grocery store some kind soul is sure to remind me of how full my hands are! And while many times they truly are, sometimes these children are my hands, and I couldn't be more grateful. To all you moms out there of just littles, hang in there! Just wait until your oldest ones are old enough to actually help - what a difference it will make!

7 Quick Takes

1. I was looking through my blog yesterday and I loved reading all about what the kids did at certain ages! Since I am a horrible mom this is the only sort of baby book I have kept, so when there is a huge gap like there has been recently, I feel like so many memories are lost!

2.

 

 

Gus is 11 months old and the cutest stinker ever. He is so different from William, who was laid back and took forever to do new things (at least as a baby...). He is a climber, and his latest feat is climbing on to the couch. Oh so annoying! But apparently so. Much. Fun.:

 So satisfied with himself.



 

He also says some words.... or at least repeats them. About a year ahead of his brother on that one... He says "Up", "uh oh", "mama" and "Dada".

 

3. Ok enough with the bragging about my baby. I must have something else to say!

Oh! Here's some more interesting news: we bought a house! Or at least, made an offer and it was accepted! So assuming everything else goes through as expected, we will be home owners finally! At the ripe old age of 30.

 

4. Its actually only half a house. But my sister and brother in law bought the other half of the duplex! It has a gorgeous pool, and is on the canal so a boat purchase must follow soon! I'm excited, but it kind of seems surreal because it happened so fast, and I only looked at the house once so I am hoping I actually do like it....

 

5. Lent was long, as the kids gave up sweets AND TV, which let's face it, was more a penance for me. You better believe they've been getting their screen time this week!

 

6. Kelly asked for Easter pictures so I dare not disappoint...

When I look at this picture I can scarce believe how blessed I am. Can all those beautiful children be mine??!

 Easter was lovely, although I only made it to Good Friday service, and then Easter Sunday Mass. Shane and the girls went to Holy Thursday Mass, and then we decided NOT to attempt the vigil with the boys in order to keep our sanity intact. But Maria had her little heart set on going. She walked around muttering to herself, "I wish I could go to the vigil!" So when she suggested just her and daddy go, the kind man hadn't it in his heart to tell her no, so away they went! She loved all three hours of it. Then on Sunday we had an indoor hunt, then went to Mass, had brunch with my sister and her family, went for a swim, then had supper at my in laws. Lovely, lovely, lovely!

 

7. All the birthdays in our family fall between Feb and July, so we are in the heart of birthday season:) This weekend should be a good one, filled with rugby watching and birthday celebrating! Ok the rugby may not be my favourite but my husband, the birthday boy, sure is!

 

Have a good one! But first, swing on by Kelly's, say a prayer for her son, and then check out what other folks are up to!

 

And from our lovely family to yours, Happy Easter!

William, Age 3

For his whole life, I have been trying to savour this wonderful child because I thought, surely a bad stage must be around the corner. But for three years, he has pretty much been an awesome kid. Except for maybe two weeks when he went around hitting people. But that was it!

I can't believe he's 3!

 

He is an amazing big brother. So gentle, patient, and fun!

He is a great little brother, although maybe he does ruin the girls legos or barbies every now and then..

He is so much fun to be around! So talkative and entertaining. I love hanging out with him.

Some other things I want to remember about this kid right now:

Whenever you are only half listening, and he asks a question and you kind of just say mmhmm, he will always clarify with "yes or no?" Like, "Mommy I can have this candy?" Me: "mmhmm". Will: "Yes or no?" Me: "Oh what? No!" What a good kid.

Me: "I love you"
William: "I DON'T love.... tigers!"

He used to call Maria "Ella" and Felicity "Mae-Mae" (have no idea how he got those names...) Now he can pronounce their real names, but when he's talking about them together, he still says, "Ella-Mae-Mae".

Everything is always, "Just ONE more!" (holding his finger up)

He is obsessed with his ABCs and counting everything.

He does not sit still for long. "Watch me run SUPER fast!"

Whenever he gets in trouble (which is not that often) the worst part of it for him is that we are not happy with him. So as soon as it is resolved he is quick to ask "Mommy are you happy with me?" Or if I'm getting mad at one of the girls he will always come and check "You not happy with Ella-Mae-Mae? But you happy with me?"

When asked what he wants to be when he grows up: "Superman!"

Basically, he's my favourite person ever. Besides my other three children of course.....

12 in 2014

My blogging year has been terrible, but in real life it was great! Dwija's link up is the perfect opportunity for me to quickly recap all that I've missed updating here on the blog. So here we go! 2014 at a glance:

 January was pretty low key. We enjoyed one week of cool weather and we wore long sleeves and pants and went for walks outside. It was glorious. 

In February we revealed to the world that were having another boy! I also entered into the final year of my twenties. 

March was an exciting and busy month. We travelled to visit family in Ontario, where we got our fill of winter weather! Although it was so much fun to spend time with everyone, it was not so fun when we got hit by an awful stomach flu that made the rounds. It was such a horrible feeling just sitting around and waiting for the next person to start puking. When we got back, we celebrated William turning two!

In April Shane turned 30 and I threw him a surprise party.  I was also hugely pregnant and feeling a bit uncomfortable. Right after Shane's birthday we were sent to Miami for a special ultrasound to see if the baby had what my doctor thought looked like a pretty serious heart condition. Long story short, his heart looked beautiful and it ended up being a whole lot of worry and heart ache over nothing which we were so, so grateful for. Easter came and I was never so happy to be with my family, since I thought I was going to have to leave them to go have the baby in Canada. So it ended up being a month filled with stress, and then intense relief and happiness. And it was all magnified by my lovely pregnancy hormones.

May brought the arrival of our sweet Gus! Labour wasn't extremely horrible, he was (is) such a dream baby, but I did have to deal with my usual retained placenta which was an extra pain this time. Living on an island, I think the doctors here are extra paranoid, and so I was subjected to a D&C, weekly appointments, and a whole lot of discomfort and medical bills only to have the placenta come out on its own two months later. It was not fun and definitely cast a cloud on those newborn days. Felicity also turned five this month! She was such a sweetheart and enjoyed the day even though Daddy had to work and Mommy really couldn't do very much to make her day special.

This photo represents what June was about: four small people having fun and loving each other but all needing to be taken care of. By me. We were busy but I can't say what we really did! Except Gus got baptised, and Felicity's Godmother came to visit for a week. It was fun showing her the island, although I was limited in my abilities to do all the activities.

In July Maria turned 7! She enjoyed her day thoroughly as always, with frozen yogurt, the park, watching Frozen, and ice cream cones (she had her cake the day before at her Frozen party). The girls went to Bible camp for a week, which they LOVED. Then we took four young children on the plane (so tiring but they were so good!) to NB to visit my family, which also ran over into.....

August! It was a crazy, busy, chaotic, and fun time, with a whole lot of people, including 14 kids under 7, all staying under one roof. There was a lot of running around outside, fighting over the two swings, putting on plays, swimming, drinking beer (adults only!), shopping, bonfiring, baby holding, cooking, hiking, and bubble blowing,  Two weeks just wasn't long enough! When we came back we celebrated our 8th anniversary with a fun little date of playing tennis and going out for dinner.

In September I was having a bit of a hard time and so my lovely mother came to the rescue! She flew down and spent three weeks with us. It was so nice to have her around, spending quality time with the kids and showing her the island. We even had a girls night out, and I managed to start school with the kids. It was so hard to say goodbye to her.

In October this boy gave me a scare when he split his head open while playing on the bed. Thankfully he was ok and was the sweetest, toughest little kid, not even flinching while he was poked and prodded with needles. Shane, Gus and I escaped to Texas for five days for a wedding. We had a lot of fun, but it was so hard leaving the other kids I'm not sure its worth it and don't know when or if I'll commit to doing it again!

November was filled with the ordinary exciting stuff like Gus starting to eat real food, starting to crawl, and pull himself up (crazy child!). We enjoyed cooler weather, and maybe started to like Cayman a bit more since we could actually spend time outside (without pouring with sweat!).

December has been busy! We started off the month running - Shane and I in the Cayman Islands Marathon relay (quarter marathon each), and the girls in the kids run. We had so much fun that the next week we ran in the Jingle Bell run 5k. I was so proud of the girls who ran the entire way - even little Felicity! Then there was lots of crafting, baking, planning, and getting excited about Christmas! Christmas with these kids just gets better and better each year. The bonus this year is that Shane is taking two weeks off so we've really been able to relax and enjoy family time, including lots of beach trips. snorkelling with the girls, and dates with Daddy.

All in all its been an exciting year and we are so grateful for all of our many blessings! Here's to a great 2015!

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7 Quick Takes

A huge obstacle in blogging these days is time: I just don't have enough of it, or else I'm not good at managing it. But since I have a rare moment when lunch is made, the dishes are done, and no one is demanding anything of me, I'm back joining Jen!

1. Its been a busy week. If you were to ask what we've done, I can't say that much except the usual! I guess that's just life with four little kids?

2. I have officially potty trained my third kid! Yay for only having one in diapers! He was so good and it was so much easier than I expected. By the third day he was telling me he had to go and hasn't looked back!

3.   Guess who finally started talking in full sentences? Yup this guy! It really is the cutest thing to hear everything he's thinking and I absolutely love this age.

4. This guy turned 6 months and all of the sudden started sitting up completely on his own, and creeping forward. Its so cliché but... they certainly do grow up so fast!

Oh and he started eating real food!

5. I know everyone who is starting to experience winter will hate me for this but, we had a few cool days here this week and it was the best. We played outside and didn't sweat. I might really like this place if we had a bit more of that!

6. I'm a little late on this, but I have to share Halloween/ All Saints cuteness:


 

Susan, Lucy, Peter, and a Train Engineer




 

We shuffled the costumes slightly to get: St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. George, and St. Barbara


 

7. The real awesomeness of course was in a little Salt and Pepper:

It was my first time dressing up and going out in...I don't know...10 years?

Of course I'm a little late in posting this... didn't quite get it finished in that little window of quiet time... so here I am Saturday morning in my almost quiet house (the three big kids are at rugby) finishing it up!

So it has been awhile......

Aaaand it's been four months and I should probably just kill this blog, but I love looking back at the old posts and reliving the memories so I think I am going to keep on plugging along!

  An update on life here: Gus is FOUR months! The time has flown! He is absolutely the cutest and best baby. Did I say that about all my babies? I can't quite remember, but he is honestly the friendliest thing, smiling all the time. If he starts to fuss, all it takes most of the time is to have someone near him and he is happy! He sleeps straight through the night these days, going down around 7 or 8 and waking around 6. I have no complaints. I love him. Haha.

He's actually three months in this picture but you get the idea

William is two. Enough said. Haha really he is not bad but he keeps me busy! He is constantly testing the limits, trying to be big like the girls. BUT he is as cute as ever, loves to play any kind of sport or do puzzles. He is talking quite a bit FINALLY! I love two year olds, but they are crazy! At least this one is!

  The girls are getting so old! Felicity is five and is growing up! She loves (home)school and is really turning out to be an eager learner, which I did not expect. Maria is SEVEN. Crazy. But I love seven! So eager to do things with me (actually both girls are), and she is capable of actually helping me, and is still little enough to love doing it! She can also to do crafts on her own, following all the instructions and cleaning up after herself, which is amazing!

We started school a little late this year, but so far it is going well! Both girls are enthusiastic (so far), which is always nice! My mom has been here for the past couple weeks to help me, so we'll see how I do with occupying William and taking care of Gus while teaching the girls when she leaves.....

  Hopefully it won't be four months till I write again! I'm sure no one is out there reading this anymore but I have to start somewhere!

He's here!

Introducing Augustine John Westin, born May 5 at 1:01 pm, weighing in at 9lbs 7oz.
   Labour was quicker than my others (at 4.5 hours, compared to around 8 for the others). I was induced (just with the gel) at 8:30, and by 11 I was having fairly strong contractions about 2 minutes apart. After about another hour they were getting very strong and I told the midwife I was probably getting close. She checked me and I was 5-6 cm, but she said she could feel the baby's right there ready to come out. I had told her that with the other kids I dilated from 7 to 10 cm in about 5 minutes so she went ahead and called my OB to come and break my water. By the time he got there, about 8 contractions later, I was 9 cm. He broke my water, I was ready to push, and after a couple pushes, he was out!
   This makes it all sound very smooth and easy, but believe me, it was hard work! I am super grateful that everything went as it should and there were no complications, except for the placenta of course ( I have a history of retained placenta). This time, my OB worked on it for 40 minutes (very pleasant...) and out it came! He thought it was all there, but apparently it wasn't and a few days later I had to have a D&C to remove it, and now we are hoping its all out but my OB still isn't sure! So annoying, but I am glad that I've had no complications during pregnancy, labour or delivery. This placenta problem is annoying, but at least Gus is out and its not affecting him!
  The kids are smitten with him, and all love to take turns holding him. William is the absolute cutest with him. Each morning he is so excited when he hears that he is awake, and runs in to see him. He is constantly asking to hold him, and every time he does he asks me to take a picture of him. Melts my heart every time.

I've been busy adjusting to life with four kids, getting in newborn snuggles, changing diapers, and feeding that baby! In between I try to fit in feeding the rest of the family, homeschooling, and getting some sleep, but its been tough!