As I mentioned before we were in Caledonia because I was having breakfast with the softball girls. So, because of it we made plans to see other people while we were there. My sweet sweet husband is always letting me hang out with friends while he watches the kids so I've been trying to return the favor. He's really been wanting to go see The Hobbit, and I do too, but I honestly don't think that I could sit through a movie that long. :( The perks of being pregnant. So, he asked our brother-in-law Joshua to go and it seemed like they had a really good time! :) They went to watch the movie and then they grabbed some dinner and just had time to chat about whatever. And honestly, even if they didn't get to see the movie I think the dinner was helpful to them both. To talk about shows, books, life with somebody other people you see all the time can be so refreshing... and not having to worry about making sure the kids aren't getting into something is such a relief! I'm glad that they got a chance to hang out, get to know each other better and get some time off.
However, the weather got a little crazy and it was snowing ever since we got there and then it turned to ice! So, we actually ended up staying at my parents house again... good thing they have space! We did get to hang out with my sister and her husband though because of it, so that was really nice. I know its one thing to love your family, well, because they're your family, but it's a completely different thing to actually like them. I would say I like my sister and her husband. I like hanging out with them (sans kids... its just to chaotic to get anything real accomplished otherwise) and we got to do that. We played Euchre together, laughed, snacked and joked. It was really nice. :)
Unfortunately, staying there or whatever caused me to get sicker so I went to bed that night with no voice... oops. I'm glad that we got to hang out with them because they were leaving the next day or so and we weren't going to see them again before they left. Glad we got to hang out and just chill dear sister of mine. Missing you already, can't wait to see you again!
JVG
Family photo Oct 2010
Monday, December 31, 2012
Friend visit #5
Last Friday morning I went and had breakfast with the "Softball girls" This group of girls were friends from high school and we started the beginning of the softball era that is going on now. For the past few years at Christmas time we try to get together with Coach and his wife to catch up on how things are going.
We all four have such different life paths right now it's interesting. We met in Caledonia for breakfast and we actually had to wake the kids up to get ready to leave in the morning. It just figures that the morning that the kids would've slept in late we have to wake them up... haha. Anyhoo, we got on the road just fine and I ended up taking Lucy to breakfast with me. Honestly, I'm glad I did! Like I said before we are all on such different life paths that it was pretty awkward and dysfunctional, in my opinion. Coach brought his grandson with him, which is just fine because he's just a few months older than Lucy, but other than that everybody was having their own little conversations. It was nice that I had Lucy to focus on to help with food and stuff or else I would've been bored out of my mind!
I guess for me I wanted to know more about each person and how they're doing and getting little surface tidbits wasn't really doing it for me... its hard because I used to be really good friends with one of the girls but its proving over time that we really don't have that much in common any more and that's a hard one to fully grasp. Last year I was kind of feeling the same way but I didn't know if it was just that particular day or not, but I'm starting to see a pattern. I'm thinking that next year if I'm not already in town I'm not going to make a special trip just to come up for an awkward breakfast...
I hope that all the girls enjoyed their breaks with their families and it was good to see them for that little moment. :)
JVG
We all four have such different life paths right now it's interesting. We met in Caledonia for breakfast and we actually had to wake the kids up to get ready to leave in the morning. It just figures that the morning that the kids would've slept in late we have to wake them up... haha. Anyhoo, we got on the road just fine and I ended up taking Lucy to breakfast with me. Honestly, I'm glad I did! Like I said before we are all on such different life paths that it was pretty awkward and dysfunctional, in my opinion. Coach brought his grandson with him, which is just fine because he's just a few months older than Lucy, but other than that everybody was having their own little conversations. It was nice that I had Lucy to focus on to help with food and stuff or else I would've been bored out of my mind!
I guess for me I wanted to know more about each person and how they're doing and getting little surface tidbits wasn't really doing it for me... its hard because I used to be really good friends with one of the girls but its proving over time that we really don't have that much in common any more and that's a hard one to fully grasp. Last year I was kind of feeling the same way but I didn't know if it was just that particular day or not, but I'm starting to see a pattern. I'm thinking that next year if I'm not already in town I'm not going to make a special trip just to come up for an awkward breakfast...
I hope that all the girls enjoyed their breaks with their families and it was good to see them for that little moment. :)
JVG
Christmas at home
This year was really the first year we did a lot of the 'Christmas' type things. Even though we've had a family for 4 years now, this was the first time that the kids were going to be excited about it. Dude loved putting up the tree and decorating other parts of the house and he LOVES seeing people's Christmas lights outside. This was the first year that we went Christmas shopping for the kids because there actually had interests in things. :) It was nice because we could have Christmas how we wanted it, and how we wanted it is low-key.
Since we had been doing Christmas things at my parents all weekend, it was nice to be in our own place with our own choice of loudness. I know that with that amount of people even if they're all whispering its still going to get noisy. After the kids woke up we had a lazy breakfast (actually, Dude requested M and M pancakes) and then got ready to open presents! The hardest person to shop for was Lucy. She's at that stage right now where she likes everything that Big Brother likes... so we felt like we were just buying all the presents for him! We got them a lot of books and one or two toys and they loved it. He was more into opening presents than she was, but they both had fun. :)
Ultimately I would like to start a tradition where we do different culture's/countries Christmas every year or so. This way it gives the kids a perspective that there is 1.) A bigger world around us 2.) that there is a culture side to holidays 3.) educational and fun! :) I'm thinking that it's going to be a few years yet until Tristan is at least a 5 or so, but who knows... Really, it's because I probably won't get organized enough to do it until then, but weirder things have happened. haha.
Its always fun giving your kiddos gifts and seeing the appreciation in their eyes as they open it. We are fully under the impression that you don't have to wait until a holiday or special occasion to give them things, which is why they probably didn't get a ton at one time. Also, then they get overwhelmed with new things and it gets lost in the shuffle. :) But, the few things we did get them I knew they would really like and they did. :) Merry Christmas all!
JVG
Since we had been doing Christmas things at my parents all weekend, it was nice to be in our own place with our own choice of loudness. I know that with that amount of people even if they're all whispering its still going to get noisy. After the kids woke up we had a lazy breakfast (actually, Dude requested M and M pancakes) and then got ready to open presents! The hardest person to shop for was Lucy. She's at that stage right now where she likes everything that Big Brother likes... so we felt like we were just buying all the presents for him! We got them a lot of books and one or two toys and they loved it. He was more into opening presents than she was, but they both had fun. :)
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| Big brother helping her see what it is... we got her a sit and spin |
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| Opening it up! |
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| She was having a lot of fun on the bottom of it even without the middle part to help her spin! |
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| Dude was helping to spin her as well |
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| After we got it all assembled she wanted to sit on it like this and go around very slowly... silly girl! |
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| The beginning of the excitement... |
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| Yeah, we didn't really wrap them in fancy paper, but they didn't seem to mind |
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| Dinosaur Train... Nature Trackers! This is a book he knew we had bought him for months now and he was excited to finally have it |
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| We got him a duo book that he always gets from the library. We highly recommend it... it's called Zero and One by Kathryn Otoshi. For being a kids book it has a great message in it. |
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| Here's my quick add for Better World Books. You get books for way cheaper and every time you buy a book they donate one :) |
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| Children's classic... Richard Scarry's 'Cars and Trucks and Things that Go!' He calls it the Goldbug book... |
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| His toy. The underwater version of the dinosaur train |
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| After it got put together. Train track and all! |
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| Some dinosaur train toys came with 3D glasses... |
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| Looking good baby girl! |
Its always fun giving your kiddos gifts and seeing the appreciation in their eyes as they open it. We are fully under the impression that you don't have to wait until a holiday or special occasion to give them things, which is why they probably didn't get a ton at one time. Also, then they get overwhelmed with new things and it gets lost in the shuffle. :) But, the few things we did get them I knew they would really like and they did. :) Merry Christmas all!
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| Hahaha our presents to my parents... ReinBeer! ;) Thanks Pinterest. |
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| Momma's shiny present... the husband knows what i like. Thank you! |
JVG
Sunday, December 30, 2012
First real snow!
We finally got some snow around here! I'd say it's about time since it's the end of December... although I admit it has been nice not having to scrape off the car. The kids were so excited to eat their breakfast while watching the snow fall outside. Dude about fell over because one of his favorite dinosaur train episodes it snows. He's been asking if we can make snow-dinos all year, and we kept having to tell him that we had to wake until there was enough of it. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough still, but enough to get to go outside and play in! :)
It was hilarious getting them all dressed up in their snow gear... made them look huge! Lucy was pretty excited about it at first, but then I think she didn't really know what to do. Dude was having a blast! He made snowballs and threw them and was running up and down the little hill behind our place. After Lucy came inside they made this huge snow pile that he would run down the hill and jump in at the end. They started to do it where Gaetan would pull him down the hill into the pile... he thought that was pretty funny. I diligently took pictures from inside because I wasn't feeling the greatest...
Can't wait til there is more snow for them to be able to get some serious playing time in. :)
JVG
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| All bundled up and ready to go! |
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| Jumping up and down with excitement! |
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| Showing how to make a snowball |
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| Papa got knocked over by Dude's snowball! |
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| Lucy was tipping over... |
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| Attempting a snow angel |
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| Finally understanding the moving the arms and legs on the ground... not in the air |
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| My sweet eskimo girl |
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| Our neighbors cat on the fence... the highway is on the other side! |
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| Dude's pile of snow that he was jumping in |
Can't wait til there is more snow for them to be able to get some serious playing time in. :)
JVG
Funny kid moment
One of the nights that we actually spent at home this week we went to go check on the kids before we went to bed and before we even opened their door we could hear Lucy snoring through it. It was amazing how loud she was snoring and how Dude was just sleeping right through it. We actually ended up recording it because it was so impressive... I'm sure she's going to love that when she's older :) But it was so very cute.
We also asked Dude who his favorite sister was and he said, "Norah." What a goob! Granted this was just minutes after Lucy had tried to destroy his train set and was being a bit of a bully, but I thought it was pretty funny.
Also, Norah is getting quite playful. I know that sounds a little weird since she is still in my belly but we play games. If we tap or gently rub one area she will kick or push back. We try different sounds and things with her and see how she reacts and she is a funny one. I keep asking Gaetan if all the kids were this active in utero and he says the others were more kickers instead of pushers and sharkers... personality already :) She likes to stretch out a lot more than the others did too, so I feel it in two areas. And I feel like Norah is 'up' a lot more than the other kids... maybe I'm just paying more attention not sure. But I did start filling in her baby book (something my sister got her) which was fun. Makes me want to do one for the other kids too... maybe I will...
Love my kiddos to the max. Even though they are pretty sick and a bit grumpy from it, I love the snug time and seeing how they are developing as people.
JVG
We also asked Dude who his favorite sister was and he said, "Norah." What a goob! Granted this was just minutes after Lucy had tried to destroy his train set and was being a bit of a bully, but I thought it was pretty funny.
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| Our silly girl who loves to dress in big brother's clothes and double fist drinks. |
Love my kiddos to the max. Even though they are pretty sick and a bit grumpy from it, I love the snug time and seeing how they are developing as people.
JVG
Breakfast Casserole and Mini-Quiche
This is the breakfast casserole I made for Christmas! The nice thing about this is you can make a lot of the things ahead of time so that you can just throw it all together Christmas morning no hassle! I did change that I used frozen cubed hash browns instead of the bread squares, but that was just a personal preference.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/country-breakfast-casserole/detail.aspx
The mini-quiche I've done before but it was a big hit. I made them for my Mom because she likes quiche and my Dad doesn't so she doesn't get it very often, and I wasn't sure if she was going to like the other, so it was a perfect opportunity! :)
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Bacon-Quiche-Tarts#.T-4EU5h5n14.pinterest
JVG
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/country-breakfast-casserole/detail.aspx
The mini-quiche I've done before but it was a big hit. I made them for my Mom because she likes quiche and my Dad doesn't so she doesn't get it very often, and I wasn't sure if she was going to like the other, so it was a perfect opportunity! :)
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Bacon-Quiche-Tarts#.T-4EU5h5n14.pinterest
JVG
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Sick Momma
As I mentioned before I had felt myself getting sick hoping that I really wasn't going to get the full blown illness. I am happy to say that I haven't gotten a fever (those are the worst for me) but I have everything else... no puke which is a plus too. I usually feel it in my lungs and throat first and this is where it hit. I have two inhalers I can use but don't like to if I don't have too, but I was seriously considering using them! It was painful and hard to breath, but I think that I have gotten over the worst of it.
Next is the sore throat. I've never had strep before but my throat always feels like it's on fire and there are thousands of little shards in there! It's probably because I have a head full of snot and it's continually dripping down my throat which is irritating it, but there's nothing that I can really do about that either. Bring on the different color snot! Its the worst when one nostril is full of snot so you have to lay on your side in order for it to drain to the other side so you have a chance of breathing... glorious. I have also coughed, sneezed and blown my nose so often that my nose is raw and my ever absent ab muscles are sore...
I feel bad for Gaetan. I know for the little bits and pieces of time that I would fall asleep I would snore. A couple times in the night he said that I would let out a big snore and then wake myself up... turn over to him to tell him that I was snoring... poor guy.
And my last symptom is I have no voice. And if I have one it sounds like I smoke 15 packs a day... raspy and sexy, oh yes. haha. I'm trying to lay low and recover but there is lots to do! He was great and let me take a much needed nap today... I pretty much just fell asleep on the couch on him while he was doing other things... but when Dude wanted to get up they stayed quiet enough for me to get some rest. Thank you love. :)
Hoping I feel better soon so that I can get back to helping him out as much as this preggo can. I'm thinking that starting third tri isn't helping much with being tired, but so it is!
JVG
Next is the sore throat. I've never had strep before but my throat always feels like it's on fire and there are thousands of little shards in there! It's probably because I have a head full of snot and it's continually dripping down my throat which is irritating it, but there's nothing that I can really do about that either. Bring on the different color snot! Its the worst when one nostril is full of snot so you have to lay on your side in order for it to drain to the other side so you have a chance of breathing... glorious. I have also coughed, sneezed and blown my nose so often that my nose is raw and my ever absent ab muscles are sore...
I feel bad for Gaetan. I know for the little bits and pieces of time that I would fall asleep I would snore. A couple times in the night he said that I would let out a big snore and then wake myself up... turn over to him to tell him that I was snoring... poor guy.
And my last symptom is I have no voice. And if I have one it sounds like I smoke 15 packs a day... raspy and sexy, oh yes. haha. I'm trying to lay low and recover but there is lots to do! He was great and let me take a much needed nap today... I pretty much just fell asleep on the couch on him while he was doing other things... but when Dude wanted to get up they stayed quiet enough for me to get some rest. Thank you love. :)
Hoping I feel better soon so that I can get back to helping him out as much as this preggo can. I'm thinking that starting third tri isn't helping much with being tired, but so it is!
JVG
Christmas
As I had mentioned before sleeping upstairs with the rest of the family wasn't such a great idea, so I went back to sleeping on the couch downstairs. Now, I'm not sure what it is but when I'm pregnant I love to sleep on couches that are the smallest, hardest, most uncomfortable couches ever! Normally I wouldn't have chosen to sleep on this couch but rather on the mattress with my family, but in this particular situation I found it very comfortable. Lucy wandered downstairs rather early Christmas morning, which was good in a way. That gave me a time to get breakfast started before the chaos of everybody being awake happened.
I ended up making this breakfast casserole, because I figured it made a lot of food, and I actually like breakfast casseroles a lot! I made some mini-quiche for my Mom too because I didn't think that she was going to like the casserole... taking care of the savory side of breakfast. Dad made his famous Chef Pierre pancakes (inside joke within our family) to take care of the sweet part of it. Everything went really well! There was plenty of food to go around and it seemed like everybody really liked all the food that was provided. (I will provide the recipes to the casseroles and mini-quiches in a later post).
After we got everything cleaned up and everybody was fed Mom wanted to do the Grandkids presents. They didn't go over the top, which is something I'm grateful for. And the gifts that they did give were very thoughtful, in my opinion. I thought that my kids were going to jump out of their skin when they saw what they had gotten! My Mom, the crafty lady that she is, made Dude a quilt of all the words he knew how to spell last year. It was adorable. And on the other side it had Dinosaur Train fabric and the design that she had done with it matched a mini-blanket she made just for Hippo... also having dinosaur train fabric on it. Dude about lost it. He was jumping up and down and just wanted to sit and look at the words on his quilt. He also got him the dinosaurs A-Z book, but he was honestly more interested in the quilt! Lucy got a really nice quilt that Mom made, and she so got a mini dinosaur train quilt for some of her pals. :) Again, her big quilt matched her little one... super cute. She also got a book that she was rather excited about as well. :) Well played Mom. Well played. The Young's got some beyblade toys and an arena in which to battle and they thought that was just the coolest thing. So, for a little while both families kids were occupied and all was quietish. :)
After that the day was already getting towards nap time so Dad seeing that I was dragging quite a bit offered to take the Young boys out adventuring so that the house could be quiet for sleeping. Bless his heart. That would've been enough of a Christmas present for me! That meant that the kids actually got naps/down time in and I got the most epic nap I could've hoped for. The few hour nap that I got was the best sleep I had gotten all weekend and it really made a difference. When I woke up I felt refreshed and 100% better. It's surprising what a little bit of quality sleep will do for you!
By that time Dale and Marcella had gotten to the house along with Grandma and Grandpa Miller so it was quite the full house. Mom and Dad were busy in the kitchen making Moo Goo Gai Pan, which is a favorite in the house. I couldnt' believe how much of it they made! But I suppose when you're feeding about 18 people you have to make a lot of food! It was delicious and I was stuffed by the end of it. After Christmas cookies and goodies had been consumed and things were cleaned up we got the kids, and our stuff ready to go. It was fun being around them for a few days but it was definitely time to head home.
I also knew that we were going to be back in town in a few days so I didn't feel to badly taking off. We had a great Christmas just hanging out with family, which is what I think it should be. There wasn't any big show or anything like that... it was just what it needed to be. :) So, Merry Christmas everybody!
JVG
I ended up making this breakfast casserole, because I figured it made a lot of food, and I actually like breakfast casseroles a lot! I made some mini-quiche for my Mom too because I didn't think that she was going to like the casserole... taking care of the savory side of breakfast. Dad made his famous Chef Pierre pancakes (inside joke within our family) to take care of the sweet part of it. Everything went really well! There was plenty of food to go around and it seemed like everybody really liked all the food that was provided. (I will provide the recipes to the casseroles and mini-quiches in a later post).
After we got everything cleaned up and everybody was fed Mom wanted to do the Grandkids presents. They didn't go over the top, which is something I'm grateful for. And the gifts that they did give were very thoughtful, in my opinion. I thought that my kids were going to jump out of their skin when they saw what they had gotten! My Mom, the crafty lady that she is, made Dude a quilt of all the words he knew how to spell last year. It was adorable. And on the other side it had Dinosaur Train fabric and the design that she had done with it matched a mini-blanket she made just for Hippo... also having dinosaur train fabric on it. Dude about lost it. He was jumping up and down and just wanted to sit and look at the words on his quilt. He also got him the dinosaurs A-Z book, but he was honestly more interested in the quilt! Lucy got a really nice quilt that Mom made, and she so got a mini dinosaur train quilt for some of her pals. :) Again, her big quilt matched her little one... super cute. She also got a book that she was rather excited about as well. :) Well played Mom. Well played. The Young's got some beyblade toys and an arena in which to battle and they thought that was just the coolest thing. So, for a little while both families kids were occupied and all was quietish. :)
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| Dude inspecting Hippo's quilt |
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| Got him mid-jump in the air as he was so excited! |
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| Showing off his book |
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| Lucy was thrilled that she had dinosaur train on her mini quilt too |
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| The back of Dudes' quilt with all his words |
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| He already got Hippo tucked in with his new blanket |
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| Lucy was really into reading her book she got! |
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| The mini-quilt she got |
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| She loved it! If you can see the detail of how Mom sewed flowers into it, it's really amazing |
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| The big quilt that Mom made for her... I love it! |
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| The other side of Dude's quilt |
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| Momma reading Dude one of the books |
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| Papa reading Lucy the other one! Notice the fun puzzle stitching Mom quilted in |
By that time Dale and Marcella had gotten to the house along with Grandma and Grandpa Miller so it was quite the full house. Mom and Dad were busy in the kitchen making Moo Goo Gai Pan, which is a favorite in the house. I couldnt' believe how much of it they made! But I suppose when you're feeding about 18 people you have to make a lot of food! It was delicious and I was stuffed by the end of it. After Christmas cookies and goodies had been consumed and things were cleaned up we got the kids, and our stuff ready to go. It was fun being around them for a few days but it was definitely time to head home.
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| Jon and his wife Megan all tuckered out after Christmas dinner. I couldn't blame them. |
JVG
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