Picture this:

Since I am camera-less, I feel like I cannot post, as I cannot show you the moments in my life. But since when has such a simple thing been an impediment to my desire to communicate? Never.

Snapshot #1: The kids and I packed into Ruby (the van), complete with tasty snacks, baby stuff, playmobile bits, crayons and paper, roaring down the highway to the ferry last week. We're blasting our latest fave tune, The Swimming Song by the lovely Kate & Anna McGariggle. I am wearing blue, hair is newly cut short. We're headed to Vancouver, for a short but overdue visit. My dear friend of my youth, Katie Jane, is in town from Pittsburgh, and I have yet to meet Shona and Ryan's lovely baby, Miss Bryn. So we called Nana, packed our gear and took off.

Snapshot #2: I'm driving through downtown Vancouver with the kids, telling them about when Mommy and Daddy worked as bike couriers, preparing them for the Lions Gate bridge, an awesome sight. Pointing out Daddy's first apartment, Mommy's first job (the White Spot at Park Royal Mall), Daddy's first job (the Esso Station at 15th and Marine), the cottage-y house with the best candy and spooky soundtracks playing on hallowe'en (15th and Fulton) . . . it was a bittersweet walk down memory lane. I recall my West Van youth fondly, though at the time I was unaware of how happy I might have been. Hindsight is like that you know? I suddenly longed to live there, to buy up the little cottages on the hillside shrouded in mist and towering trees. But I knew it wouldn't be the same. We picked up Katie and went to John Lawson Park, and amidst the yoga class on the lawn and nannies perched on the benches, the kids played, Katie and I caught up, and I knew my childhood town had changed. At least as far as I could tell. And why not, I have changed too. The kids, well they soaked it all up and hoped they got a cookie after lunch. So easy to please.


Snapshot #3: Kit, bent over in the back yard, digging up plants, moving hunks of concrete, working all day to create the ultimate Secret Garden for the kids. And it is way cool. Gone are the veggie beds, which were really just a monument to my overwhelmed life, being too busy to weed them so they just fill with mint and morning glory, taunting me and making me feel shitty for never using them to their fullest potential, in the way my apartment-dwelling friends ache to do. Now there is a circular area, surrounded by plants and tall grasses, that will let the kids hide in plain sight and concoct whatever fantasy play should call to them. Yes!


Snapshot #4: Ivy. Big blue eyes, hair blonde yet short, except right on the top of her head, where it sticks straight up and flutters in the breeze, like a dandelion held out a car window. ??? er, anyways. Now you see her, now you don't. Why? Because she's rolled over and is now showing you her bum. oh yeah, we've arrived. at that place, you know the one. Where she is not yet able to sit up or crawl, but no longer happy lying down. 'Wait a minute' you say. 'If she's not happy lying down, but not yet able to do anything else, what on earth is she doing?' Pitching a fit and squirming like a grub, yesiree-bob. the holiday is over, the trying times are here. Yet she's still as fabulous as ever, and in this pic she's sporting her white worn booties, grey karate pants and striped shirt. It's way cool dude.


Now you're kinda caught up. Oh me, you ask? I'm looking fine, thank you very much. my fine cheekbones are complimented by my gentle tan, and my hair is in that perfect place of not too long, not too short, nice and spikey yet flat, kinda tousled. I look good, picture it.


I'm working through a stack of novels these days. I've just finished two books by Sara George: The journal of Mrs. Pepys and The beekeeper's apprentice, as well as Tiger Claw by Shauna`Singh Baldwin. I really liked the first two, learned from the second but was a bit bugged by the heroine's undying-love-thing. Oh, and before those I read The Sisters (or Secrets?) Of Jin-Shei, which I really enjoyed. But this is all pre-ambled to sneak in my latest read, the classic The Bell Jar by Ms. Plath. I just read this paragraph and really like it:

"I saw my life branching out in front of me like a fig tree. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another a brilliant professor, and another was E.G., the amazing editor, and another was Europe and Africa and South America, and another a pack of lovers with queer names and off-beat professions, and beyond these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing just one meant losing out on all the rest."

Yes. I'd switch doctor for poet and actor for professor and writer for editor. But the gist is the same. I've never before heard my feelings explained so perfectly and succinctly. I do not at all regret the branch I've chosen, it was entirely my choice and I revel in every minute of my great great life. but I do not want it to be the only branch available to me either, for the rest of my life. And so I sit and think, and post these little snippets.

laundry beckons. oh to dig it up just like the never-weeded veggie beds, and end the task forever.


kisses

C


P.S. The 5th snapshot is of it and I and the kids, so excited because Shona and Ryan and their kids are coming out to visit us this weekend. Woohooo!!!!!

saturday morning . . . .

found a chin hair
found a chin hair
found a chin hair Clementine
I'm only 31 soon be 32
found a chin hair Clementine

on the left side
kinda gray-white
'bout a cen-ti-metre long
kinda greyish
mostly whiteish
about a cen-ti-metre long

not gonna' pluck it
no I won't dear
not gonna' pluck it Clementine
makes me feel wiser already
not gonna' pluck it Clementine

Hoo-boy. The tales I have to tell . . .

Gather 'round the campfire kiddos, I'm brewin' up some stories here on the westest side of the country. Seriously, I'm in a really shite mood and know talking about my kids'll make me right again.

his post has no pictures, I'll explain why later. Oh and I'm writing this on Kit's way-too-big keyboard, so typos shall ensue. At least more than usual.


So, I'm lying in the bed trying to get Ivy to sleep and I'm listening to the two sibs in the kitchen. Hannah has drawn something on a piece of paper, and then says to Leif: (verbatim)

"Guess what animal this is."
"Can I have a hint?"
"No. guess guess guess"
"okay. an elephant'
'no'
'a bear'
'no'
'a wolf'
'ooooo, no. good guess though' (reminder: she's not yet even four)
'a fox'
'no. do you want a hint?"
'no.do not give me a hint. is it a chicken?'
'no'
'okay. give me a hint'
'okay. rabbit'

!!!!!!!!!!

So then he draws somethig, and asks her to guess. she says: (exclamation marks intentional)

'a bear!'
'no. do you want a hint?'
'yes!'
'okay, it's something you live in'
'a chicken!'
'no'
'scrambled eggs!'
'no hannah. it's something you like to hide in'
'easter eggs!'


what the hell is she talking about? I mean really. he told her it was a structure, so she guesses scrambled eggs? between this and her pasttime of spinning around and then lying on the floor because 'the room spinning is silly' makes me think either artist or druggie. time will tell.


okay. no pics. why you ask? well, Kit took the kids o an adventure yesterday. want to knw more? okay then. he's had an itching to go on this river cpaddle for months, and I've just bowed out of it entirely. so he decides to take the kids, both of 'em, solo.he rustles up some other adults to go along. i pack many meals the night before, and then kiss my two kids goodbye at 7 amthe next day. i miss themalready and feel like y day at home with just Ivy is not going to be the big woohoo I'd imagined. On that point, I was right. but back to the kids. I needn't delay this any longer, the canoe caught on a tree/branch/thing on the river,and tipped over. I'm not saying capsized because that just paints a middle-of-the-ocena-scary picture. this was probably armpit deep water? the shity thing is that right before it tipped, Kit had all the dry bags open as he doled out snacks and took photos. So when the canoe flipped, it all went.He did find the camera, but it was underwater. he did not find his gps norhis cellphone, and sadly, the kids dry changes of clothes were al in those opened dry bags too. so it ALL got wet. wallet, clothes, all the sandwiches, lifejackets, kids, nature books, backpacks . . . the lovely part of the story is that the head adult in the other canoe, behind Kit, and not a paddler himself at all, said "no no Kit, you don't approach it that way" and in his sweet and genteel arrogance, he flipped at the exact same spot. In the end they survived, they shared wet food and the least-wet clothes. as Kit tellls it, 'we were alll in good spirits anyway. you'd have hated it though'. okay by me.

so we await the drying out of the camera. if it's crap, KIt knows he'll be forking over some dough. Until then, I think posts will remain pic-free. Unless I start drawing stuff. :)



Oh, but wait! he best news of all!! Ryan and Shoa had their baby!! Shona used all her mighty power and yelled with all she had, and a lovely baby sister for Isla was born.Dear Bryn looks like the rest of the family. And Shona's words were something like 'while i'm glad I got to have a natural vaginal birth this time, I'm never fucking doing that again!'. A wise move sister. We hope to be blessed with a visit from them in the near future, and I'll have a camera by then, don't worry.
Okay, must go, Ivy's pitching a fit.Teething bites.

oh, a pun.


C

And time just marches on . . .

. . . look at her! Already chilling out in the exersaucer, laughing at the crowd. Do I never get to just stop time and look around and try to hold the moment? Apparently not. You can still track down pictures of Leif in this same exersaucer, if our old website is still running somewhere out there in cyberland. www3.telus.net/babyhead. It may not exist anymore.


Well, to keep on the theme of time, I'm proud to announce I've let go of some control in the kitchen (see, I CAN grow) and even more proud to inform you that the boy can feed himself! Check out peanut butter sammy-man:




The final installment in this time-themed intro is this pic. To see my firstborn holding my third born is beyond words. My 16 year old punk-rock self would be blown away. The present-day me can't grasp it either.



. . . okay, moving on. Hannah would like to be talked about please. She's working away at soccer, but it seems an aspect of her personality previously unseen has cropped up. I'm not exactly sure of the descriptor for it, but I think of it as the first-strike-I'm-out point of view. When she tries to do anything for the first time, if it doesn't work, she's really, really not cool with it. She's both sad, and pouty, and heartbroken, and angry. It's tough to watch, tougher to get through. She'll ask me how to write Ivy, so I write out I-V-Y for her to copy. And her version ends up looking like those spam-blocker 'type the letters below' type things, where you need to squint to figure out what the letters look like. And she's upset, it's 'not right!!!'. I'm thinking 'give yourself a break love, you're only 3 and a half'. But to her it's more like she's the only one in the family who *can't* do it. Leif can write, I can, Kit can. Leif can play soccer . . . so when Hannah's coach says kick the ball over here, and she kicks it over there, she turns and walks off the field in tears. It sucks, a lot. But we're working on it. Here's her save while playing goal in her wee class of crazy 3 year olds.




I don't know if this pic will be clear or not, but you need to see her eyes . . . she is glorious!  I needed to share her big bright blue orbs.






So check out this pic, from our photo session on our big bed the other day.




In the background is one of my favorite paintings, can you guess why? Cause she's asleep! Doesn't she look peaceful? Anyway, one day we're lying around in bed (homeschooling at it's best) and hannah ays "that lady looks like Mummy" and I say "Oh really?" and she says "yeah, except your feet are different". Er . . . .

I tell you, she's un-describable, a new word I created perhaps?

So, an update on the back yard. The weekend involved a lot of this:



I harangued Al into helping out, and the 'just one day please' turned into 3, and then they had to go. Then Kit used his charm and got his parents over to help out, and I found the three of them out there in the dark, 9:30 at night, guided by the light of the construction lamp and Susan's direction from the pattern layout in her hands, they finished the brick work. It looks awesome!





The places with wood are being blocked out for custom work. We're going to do poured concrete, and possibly some marbles and kids' drawings or something in there. Then it's furniture, irrigation, final touches and voila! We will live out there all summer. I hope the plants don't die before then. I keep forgetting to water them. (Don't tell Kit).

And so fine travellers, I leave with this really cool picture. Anyone remember that Bugs Bunny when Bugs falls asleep and his den floods and his bed floats out and along a river right into some weird Dr. Frankenstein's castle and the doc has this helper monster thing that has no arms and is covered in red fur? Remember that guy?

This picture totally reminds me of him:





good night my lovelies


love always
Big C


There's talk of a Leif & Hannah funny faces photo shoot, so stay tuned!

And hopefully the next post will include news of the arrival of Ryan and Shona's fabulous new baby. Can't wait!

*this post was written to Hayden's "I hate bunkbeds". Leif likes it for the yoga lyrics. :) *

What's goin' on?

Not much. I'm writing this to the background sounds of the dryer, and a lovely english woman reading The Complete Tales of Peter Rabbit. No, I haven't hired a British nanny. Our long-awaited book on tape CD's have arrived. Woohoo! While Leif is enjoying lying in bed and listening to them, it's doing little to quiet Hannah's regular cries of "I'm still hungry/thirsty/too tired/too awake/it's too dark/it's too light/I don't want to go to soccer/Anna's/french/swimming . . .'. Seriously, she's fine. She loves her classes and she just ate a bowl of cereal and a PB and banana sandwich. This is just her *thing*. And I will tire her out and make her stop. This is night two of just escorting her back to bed everytime she gets up. As soon as its 'bedtime', life becomes very dramatic for our dear second-born.

Ivy she's in the crib in the kitchen, sucking on the foot of Dompy The Flying Horse. He's cool. Kit's at Ultimate, the first game of the summer season. I think sometime's I can measure my life by which season we're in and which night he therefore has Ulti. I try not to think about it too much. :)

This morning, I forgot which direction of the faucet would give me cold water. I kid you not. I stood there for about 10 seconds trying to remember, baffled that I had no clue. Then, since no answer was coming to me, I thought I'd find out via an experiment. I'd turn it on to one side and see what happened. Towards the toaster gave me cold water, and it stayed cold, so I figured that was the side for cold, my right. I have no memory of 'knowing' innately what side gives you what. This is not good. I've borrowed a friend's calculus text to see if I can jump start my brain. Otherwise, I'm screwed. Truly. I mean, who the hell forgets where you get cold water? Kids rot your brain.


So how about some pics of the darlings? :)




This is Leif's own set up shot. It's very avant garde.




Hannah's still in the more straightforward place of a 3.5 year old.


On Friday we celebrated May Day with the Waldorf Society at a local park. The kids made flower crowns and cool little bees out of pinecones and wool, and then danced around the maypole. Leif and his buddy Taro got silly with it, whereas Hannah was all about correct procedure.









To finish up on the whole 10K fabulousness, here's some pics of my number and my name in the paper. This is obviously a big deal to me. I took a week off afterwards, and got a crappy cold, and now the thought of running again on Friday is horrible. thank god my dear friend will force me to do it. Now revel with me in that great feeling of accomplishment.







Now, I need to tell you about the Yellow Dress. It was mine as a baby, and it is very cool and bright. Ivy's in her last days of wearing it, as it slowly morphs into a tunic and eventually a shirt. Either way, it's great. All the kids have worn it. How cool that I too was once so small. :)







Updates: Shona's baby is still getting it's finishing touches put on. And Melissa's dear son was born last Thursday. The very darling Cohen Peter, born to be Ivy's dearest friend, is also her buddy in wierdness. To Ivy's tailbone Simple Dimple, Cohen matches it with his own Mongolian Spot. When they're older they can compare asses.



kisses
C

Can you feel the thrill?

I can. I did it!!!!!!!! I ran the 10K. The whole bloody thing. Good god it was great and brutal. At 6K I was ready to die and lie down in the grass. By 7K I thought maybe I could actually do this thing. Some highlights all occured between 7-8K which really made it worthwhile. The elderly lady on the corner in the bright red coat, who blew kisses at the runners and said "You go darlings, you can do it!". The handicapped guy beside me being pushed in his wheelchair by a friend, and when we started going down a tiny incline the guy in the chair said "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" and sported a huge grin. And the otter who came out of a hedge, ran along beside us for maybe 5 feet and then ducked over the seawall into the ocean. Add in the blazing sun, the Tai Ko drummers at 9K, and my good buddy at my side, and it couldn't have been a better day. The details: my time was 77:07 minutes, and I placed 5700 out of 10,000+. How can you not like being average?


As I secretly feared, this has turned Erin and I into 'runners'. Shoot. Now we have plans to continue our 7K/3 days a week schedule, and aim for doing 10K's every weekend by June. Good lord!!!! Now there's talk of doing the half marathon (that's 21K btw) next summer. Dammit!!!! We should've just stayed on the couch.


Okay, while Hannah at 3 and a half is an impatient emotional wreck (but not in an annoying way like other people's whiny kids), man is she funny. We were sitting at the table eating dinner, and I look across to Kit and comment that Hannah is really articulate. She leans in to my right and whispers "don't forget to tell him I can undo my own seatbelt too!". Maybe you have to be here to get it, but it was too fabulous.


What can I say? Weather is great, my body is not as dead as I feared it would be, May is upon us tomorrow, and our backyard is taking shape. What more could a girl want? Okay, well, let's not get into that here.

It's a brief update, free of pics, but hey! I get it in whenever I can. Don't hassle me about it. :)

C
now know as a 'runner' don't forget. as in
"do you know Caelen?"
"oh, you mean Caelen The Runner?"
"yeah her"
"oh yeah, I know her. She's cool".
"no doubt."
:)

My Life Uncensored

I often get asked what life is like with 3 kids. I try to put it into words, but honestly the best I ever come up with is "It could be worse". The highs are so so great, and the lows, well, they can be as messy as cat puke.

First things first. After seeing Hannah's soccer pic on here, Leif requested that he be featured as well. Aiming for a quasi-democracy here . . .



next? We took the kids kite flying last weekend at the beach a few minutes away. Man they are cute. Leif's kite is a black shark, Hannah's a green octopus.





It was a gorgeous day. The beach is on a point and then there are big bays on either side. It is a really popular spot for all types of kite flying. From the simple family style to the double-stringed box kites, to the ones the folks sit in and hover above the grass like hesitant birds, to the full-on kite surfing down on the water.It was a crazy windy day. Nice to see so many folks out enjoying it.

So, in case you're wondering how the rest of the house has fared in our lives as parents of 3 kids, a growing business, an overturned yard, and homeschooling all hours of the day? Here's two pics, one Kit's office and one mine. You can tell which is his cause it has actual chairs.




Yes, the pic of my area, that which surrounds the phone, had an added bonus for me when we came home from our earth day potluck tonight. A nice pile of cat barf on my new book. See it? Yeah. Nice isn't it? Bodhi's not too thrilled that we keep having more babies. She pines for the days of fresh-fish and tummy rubs. I try to tell her that was 7 years ago. So she puked on my book. Like I said, this is my life, no censors.


I finally spent some quality time with little Ivy, and managed to snap some pics, even one with me in it! We hung out in the van, a favorite spot. We'd been in the art store nabbing new sketch books for the kids, when Ivy had a massive poo that ran right out of her pants. As I paid with debit while juggling a truly shitty baby, I grinned kindly at the woman behind the till, who offered up her sage thoughts in return "It only gets worse". Ah, I've been mistaken as a new mother of just this one child. Oh to strip and show her my battle scars, to outdo her in progeny and tales of poo and night-vomit and teething woes. No need, I know I'm the winner. And it's all good, the prize was worth it, as I got these great giggles out of the little pooper in the car afterwards.






The 10K is in 7 days. It does not look good, but we shall persevere. And even if it sucks and I fall down breathless only feet from the finish line and scrape my knees and crush my elbows . . . the after party's gonna be fabulous!!!!

Have a great week all.


C

Phew! I made it!!!!!

I've been unable to log in to my blogger account for weeks now, and had so much to tell and chat about. I'm glad I finally got in!


So, the BIGGEST news I have is that I'm going to be an Auntie!!!!!! Yipee!

Yes, my dear and only brother, Ashley, and his honey Virginia (see pic below with baby Hannah) are expecting a wee bundle in october. The month of all great things of course (heh-hem, my birthday is in that fabulous month!). And I am so excited! When friends of mine have been pregnant, I'm thinking about my friend, not the baby. Yeah babies are cute, but c'mon, seen one seen 'em all. And so my focus has always been on the adults invovled. This is different. Who gives a hooey about my brother and Virginia, SHOW ME MY LITTLE NEICE OR NEPHEW!!!!!! Who's a pretty baby? Who's a sweet little thing?? Yeah, I think I'm infected with Grandma virus, and it's gonna drive my brother nuts. But I don't care. I'm the Auntie!!!!!!




Okay, now that that is taken care of, let's move on to me. How am I? Wel, I'm alive at least. But man oh man does my body hurt. See, my running pal and general partner in motherhood survival erin rae and I have been training together for the race. We were up to a lovely 4-5K together, so we kicked it up a notch to 7K. Did great, felt proud. Then Ivy started teething = less sleep for me. And we kept running. And I slept even less, but realy feel so good about running so we kept at it. Now, I'm hurtin'. My collarbone hurts for goodness sake! I'm guessing that's from running with such huge boobs? I don't know. But it hurts. Today is a day-off of running (we run 3 times a week) and I hope I feel great tomorrow. Right now I feel lie I've had my knees stomped on by Jimmy The Chin or whomever. Ow!!!!!


But, I'm eating very well. :) I've signed up for a bunch of cooking classes, taught by my friend and fellow mother Chef Heidi Fink. She is GOOD!!!!!! I've done a Thai class and an Indian class. And yesterday (after the killer run) I made butter chicken, homemade naan bread, basmati rice and tomato onion chutney, and oh my god!!!! It was FANTASTIC!!!! Kit and I scarfed. The kids tried it, and Leif joined in the scarfing. I am now down with terms like Tamarind and sambal oelek and urad dahl . . made my own garamasala for heaven's sakes! This week is another Indian class, then next month it's great grains, and in June it's veggie summer appetisers. I figure if you're gonna play the June Cleaver role for awhile, why not do it like a star? ;)

Okay, children. They just keep getting better and funnier. Makes me want to have more of them. But not *that* much. So Hannah is most excited as she's started soccer classes, like her big bro. As you can see, her level of concentration is palpable:




As for Leif, he is, as usual, excelling in all things he tries. Soccer, swimming, lego building . . . . he takes his role as big brother seriously, always waking Ivy with his game face on. If I could capture a picture of this face I'm telling you about, you'd understand. He plasters a big grin on his face, opens his eyes wide and raises his eyebrows. He embodies a 'happy' look for the baby. And Hannah copies this look also. So they end up looking like Stepford children. Ivy loves it.

I can finally exhibit a wee bit of my own art. I'm thinking I'll get a small wallet-size shot laminated, and when people ask me what I've been up to, I can just show them this:



Kind of like a business card. Though I'm not offering my services or anything. :)


Okay, a family jam pic:



And finally, Ivy's 'big moment'. Right on schedule, just like leif and Hannah, Ivy has developed the skill and inclination to grab the Octopus' leg. You go girl!




Happy spring my lovelies!


Big C


Coming soon: Melissa's new baby (due early May) and Shona & Ryan's new baby (due late May). Lookout world, two more Gemini's join the ranks.

A photo essay

Hello my beloveds. I dream of updating you thoroughly, but this 3 kids gig is like trying to keep the locusts off your crops; there's just no spare time. So here is the past month in photos. A bit of explaining: I gave Hannah a way cool pixie cut in response to a request to look like her Dad, and then gave her free reign with the scissors to make it 'just right'. She hacked one side right down to the skull. Clearly I am a laid-back parent, yes? Good. Kit went through his own personal nightmare, forced to speak to multitudes of strangers with no end in sight. Yes, he and Tobin had a booth at the local garden show. They took all the displays by storm, with their very cool bamboo fence (which will be appearing next in our back yard!) and gigantic urn thingy (ditto!). The kids and I went to visit, Hannah thinking her purple dragon suit and her own baby Ivy were the right choice for such an event.

And I think that the pig sniffing at the Little People BBQ pork chop is oh-so-Hannah.

What else? I'm still here. And all the kids are alive. My work is done.

What's going on with us you ask????

How much time do you have?? We've got things goin' on!

Firstly, Ivy is doing fabulously. I have some sweet pics to parade before y'all. She is fantastic. Sleeps, likes to just hang out on my shoulder, digs going for runs in the jogging stroller (more on that later). So first, her mugshots . . .



I LOVE this picture!11 This is the face she makes (and Leif and Hannah did it too) when she sees something or thinks of something 'curious'. She's saying "ooohhh! ooohh!!! what's up with that?" It's so cool.




Who couldn't enjoy this scrunched up face, mashed into the futon?




Yes, that is a smile. She doles them out very rarely, and only to Kit thus far, which is so sugary sweet of her.




And what is Kit up to you ask? Well, about 5 feet of mud and clay. He's making his own unstable mountain out in the alley. Some broad (psst, me!) convinced him that our tiny yard would better serve us as a courtyard, and he's on board with a no-grass look. So for the past 3 weekends Kit and his dad Brian have been digging up all the mud in our yard, having already ripped out all the grass, and eventually (like April) there'll be a fantastic Japanese-ish courtyard out there, complete with huge walls of bamboo, trees to climb, and a comfy swing with cushions. Perfect for this mama and her kids to lounge about in all summer. Then he'll start on the front yard, which is currently a mudpit already. Right now when the kids want to play outside they take their toys out to the sidewalk; nowhere else on our property is free of mud.


Leif and Hannah? Well, they're focused these days on lego. Building monsters and time machines and flying ships and robots . . . the kitchen table is covered in bits and no feet are safe from the possibility of stepping on a hard little cube of plastic in the darkness of nighttime. ouch.

And me . . . I'm doing well. I've run a few nights with a friend, and today have discovered a painful knee. This is not good. I got this same 'injury' the last time I tried running, so I want to address it asap and not have it develop and keep me rom running (today just walking in the house is painful). I'm excited because I can actually jog for a bit without passing out or developing a major headache. woohoo!!!! Kit's parents are trying out picking the kids up after class on mondays and keeping them for the afternoon. That means it's just me and Ivy all day Mondays. Can you feel how great that is?? It's great. And my mom very kindly loaned me her high-backed rocking chair, which is a life-saver for my spine, as Ivy, just like her siblings, only likes to rock to sleep between 7 and 9. Why, damned if I know. Knowing I can now actually rock her, not just propel myself back and forth on the sofa, destroying my back and shoulders nightly, is a blessing you cannot imagine. Now if I could just get downloads of my fave CBC radio shows, I'll be truly and utterly satisfied.


And many of you will be happy to hear we've finally, finally programmed our answering machine. no more fax tones. Nancy that was very creative of you to fax us a note after no one ever answered the phone! Now you'll hear my lovely voice. I can't guarantee we'll answer the phone, but at least now you can leave a message.


oh, Ivy calls . . . .

As promised . . .

. . . pictures!!!

First we have darling Ivy, asleep . . .
















Then we have the dearie awake!

















Here's how the kids spent Ivy's first week. Doing experiments in the kitchen. Kit gave them a bowl, a cup, the baking soda and some vinegar. Hey, at least the table got quite clean!






















And finally, Kit has expanded his alter-ego personalities, and the latest addition is "David", as in David Attenborough (famous wildlife . . er . . documentarist ?). (Previous list personas include "Francis" as in Ford Copolla and "Mario" as in Andretti). Here is his daring close-up of the evil heron that tried to get our fish. Our garden is a wildlife wonderland.


















gotta' go make dinner . . . .

C

Oh crap!!

I've just screwed myself. How?? Oh wait'll you read this . . . I agreed to join a local team of moms for the Times Colonist 10K Run in April. Crap crap crap!!! I am such a slacker, and while I can walk or cycle for ever, I can run like a block max. I printed out the training schedule (which starts tomorrow) and talked a friend (okay bullied her) into doing it with me. So this is it. I will either amaze us all, myself included, and become a 'runner' (a week after having a baby . . . stupid stupid stupid) or prove once again to be she who begins something with gusto, and then quietly drops out. Time will indeed tell.


More pics of Ivy soon. Kit filled our camera with shot of this heron who was hunting in our pond for our baby koi . . . but I'll get our true baby on here again soon, promise.


Big Mama

Ready to ramble?????

Fasten your seatbelts, I'm feeling chatty . . .

I've been told not to upload photos or anything, as Kit is currently in the throes of an online ass-kicking with Mike, I think they're playing Half Life?? I cannot risk slowing down our internet connection, horrors! I'm at a loss for giving a poop about these online death games. If it gives the man a chance to let his brain run loose, fine by me. I know he'll kick butt too, and that's always sexy. His handle is Mr. Snuggles.

Ivy is presently passed out in what is possibly the world's biggest stroller. Okay it's a pram from the UK, wicker no less. Hey, if it's my last baby, I can buy whatever I darn well want okay?!!! This thing is a monster though. Add to it the antique crib I found at the side of the road, and the $10 change table I picked up, and our house is suddenly cluttered. The me of 6 years ago, who'd not let having a child change our lives or decor, well, she'd shudder. But she'd also be jealous. A wicker pram, come on! It is too cool! If only there was no snow I could actually use the dang thing. Oh right, I'm not supposed to be walking.


That brings me to THE BIG DAY! Yes, tomorrow, Wednesday, is the big day. The day I take myself for a wee walk, to test the body and train it up to a regular level of activity. Up until I've been berthed up on our sofa, not getting up to do anything other than eat, pee and toss in a load of laundry. (Okay truth be told I took Leif to a movie on his birthday yesterday, and it was a hugely bad idea. But I felt so crappy about his birthday (more on this later), I wanted to do SOMETHING. It was not the right something, and I hustled my body home to return to my sofa perch. If you have a chance to see Happy Feet, save your money and bu a CD instead, or a coffee and muffin. That movie stank. But don't tell my midwife I went anywhere, she'd flip!). So I'm planning to walk the 6 blocks to my pal Erin's house, have a visit and then walk home. It is the training for the next BIG DAY, which is friday when I aim to walk to Family Storytime at the library, a distance of possibly 15 blocks one way. I hope one day of rest in between is enough. I cannot take much more 'bedrest'. My body is lighter and free-of-cumbersome-belly, I want to get out and take long strides. BUt I will bide my time, just take baby steps for now.


Speaking of birthdays, I seem to have lost all ability to remember anyone's. I used to be the type who had it all figured out a month ahead, had a hand-made gift all ready, always remembered to call and sing . . . now I am pathetic. I sent a friend a little gift thing, just for fun, in October, and she remarked 'is this for my birthday?". Her birthday was in July. Another friend wondered if I'd possibly died or taken gravely ill, as she'd turned 30, a big year, and not heard from me for A MONTH! And there's a huge list of people whom I've shunned in this way, even my brother! None of it is intentional, and I can't seem to fix it. I write it down, I tell myself to remember . . . and I can manage it until about a week before the event, and then Poof! The entire idea just leaves my head and I never remember until at least a month later. A woman I know has the right idea I think. She has a big party each January, for all her friends, and treats it as a big group party for all their birthdays. Cause she knows she'll forget them during the year. This holds appeal for me. I'm thinking an annual backyard martini picnic is in order, to cover all my bases throughout the year. I've forgotten too many too often to be forgiven anymore.


Ivy is not yet a week old, but I feel my old self returning, in the form of She Who Makes Lists To Cope. Faced with a body in need of fitness, 3 kids needing transport to various classes with varied gear, a new year of homeschooling starting up, to be juggled with running the house as usual, I'm finding myself composing lists in my head to write down later. Lists like 'healthy snacks' and 'minimal chores, and how to do them while teaching Leif about space: Sub-titled don't forget Hannah is showing phonics-readiness signs, must address this!' and the ever-popular 'places we can walk to, which means less messing with car seats'. My friend Sarah thinks we moms find some solace in these lists, as though if we just organise our time, we will find inner peace amidst the chaos. Kit recommends self-medication instead.


On that note, I shall drag myself to bed. Ivy's expressing a liking for waking up to party and kvetch at 3am and dragging it out until 4:30. I'm not going to let her get too cozy with that idea, so must rally my strength ahead of time and be rested enough to cajole her back to sleep in the wee hours. Wish me luck.

kisses
Big Mama

Did you feel the earth move today?????

We did! Our first born monkey turned SIX today!!!!! Can you believe it????? Look at how he has already perfected that teenage-male relaxed in bed in the morning thing . . . sheesh!

We're most pleased to introduce . .

. . . little Miss Ivy Kate St. Bright. She is so delicious . . .

Ta Da!!!!!!! We are magic . . . . . .

. . . for we have created a people!

I figure I cannot make you wait until we name her, because at the rate we're going it'll be a month from now before she gets an identity. For now she is babygirl two.

She made her debut Thursday afternoon at 2:05. I had spent the morning shoveling our walkway and those of our 2 elderly neighbours. Then I took our van in to the shop, and because of the snow I could not get a free cab to bring me home, so I walked. I think the walk and the shoveling had an effect; she was born a few hours later. It seems, unlike with Hannah's birth, that the amnesia is not kicking in fast enough to make me forget the pain and want to do it again. It's all very vivid, and we already have many recommendations for a great vasectomy doc.

Oh right, she weighed 8 pounds 11 ounces. A tiny one this time!

Here are some pics . . . . I hope these work . . ..



Our fabulous midwife Michelle with little blondie . .



















Dressed for the first time . . . only 24 hours after birth this time!













Hannah tends to the bare feet . . .



















Leifer learns the art of the diaper . . .

















Leif and Hannah are the coolest and sweetest siblings. Too bad I'm such a crank right now! They want so badly to help. She wakes up at night and Hannah comes over to pat her back while I cajole her into nursing. They race each other to grab diapers and one will inevitably cry when the other beats them to it (now what can I bring you?????? sob!). It is great, and I'm sure in a few days I'll be more open to all this great help. As long as the snow keeps falling Kit is stuck at home so I'm looking forward to a week in bed before I need to face getting 3 kids out the door in time for classes.

That's all for now. As soon as a name is chosen I'll let you know. Promise!


kisses
Big Mama