Counting my Blessings

Eeeeek! It has been almost two weeks since I last wrote a blog post. Sorry about that, but as you may have guessed my life has gotten a tad bit crazy. Unfortunately, it is not all the good kind of crazy that we here at Shenanigans Inc. thrive on, and I am sad to say that Baby Girl's colitis has reared its ugly head once again and is giving her fifteen year old life a major whomping . . . again. Grrrrrrr! I probably should not share this, but the other day, after I had to pick her up from school for the third time that week because she was too weak to carry on, I texted Mr. Level-Headed the following message:

I really wish colitis was a person rather than a disease because then I could kick its  f*%$#^@   a%6!

Sorry for my profanity, and yes I did have a good long chat with Heavenly Father about my terrible lack of self restraint when it comes my use of the f-word when I am angry, and He assured me (perhaps not in the spoken word) that although He was disappointed, He completely understood. I really love that Guy!

Anyhoo . . .

So, since last week, we pulled Zoe out of school, ramped up her medications according to her doctor's orders, visited a Naturopath for the first time, started her on a dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, sugar-free diet (which surprisingly has not been very difficult to institute), and have watched a whole lot of the Voice and America's Top Model on the computer. 

Then because colitis is not enough of a trial for our family anymore (I said I was sorry for saying the F-word, Heavenly Father. Really I am!), we all came down with a nasty head cold on Monday. On top of her other unpleasant symptoms, this cold has absolutely sucked the life right of poor Baby Girl and has left me bed-ridden for a couple of days. So, while I was laying in bed on Monday with the laundry and dirty dishes quickly piling up around me, listening to my already-very-sick-Baby Girl cough and sniffle, tallying up the additional costs of Baby Girl's medicines and Naturpath appointments to our already-very-tight-budget,and knowing that my boys had already exceeded an entire year's worth of screen time in just one day, I became discouraged, and I began to cry.

Really, how much more can we take?

Even writing this, I am embarrassed because in the grand scheme of things and compared to the trials of those I love and care about, my trials are small potatoes. I should be ashamed that I allowed myself to get down, but I did. We all have a breaking point and Monday was mine. Then after one awesomely refreshing ugly cry and a warm bath, I put my big girl panties back on . . . quite literally . . . tee hee! I didn't even see that one coming . . . awesome! And I started counting my blessings. Sure the past two weeks have been challenging and at times utterly frustrating, but there has been a whole lot of good going on right now too, and so I am going to share with you my blessings list.

1. Thing 4 . . . duh! Seriously, the fact that I have been blessed with a Thing 1, Thing 2, Thing 3, and now a Thing 4 plus a handsome stud-muffin of a husband, with whom I get to make all these adorable Things with, is one ginormous blessing, and in all honesty, surpasses any and all nastiness that life can throw my way. 

Oh, and here is where I should post an adorable picture of my 32 week baby bump, but due to the fact that I have not gotten out of pyjamas in a couple of days, you will have to wait for it.

2. The boys and I are having the best homeschooling year ever. Until Monday, we went for four weeks straight without missing a day or even a lesson, and even though we are sick, the boys and I have curled up in bed to read our history lessons and do some fun art projects to go along with them. Today we read about the Terracotta Army in Ancient China. The cool thing is that we have seen a replica of this archaeological treasure at Disney's Epcot, and the boys are fascinated by it. 

3. The boys and I have joined another homeschooling group, which means we have not one but two awesome groups of families to share this homeschooling experience with. Last week, we went on a fun photography scavenger hunt at the zoo with our new group and the boys were thrilled to learn that there are a ton of boys their age in this group. Also, we recently found out that friends of ours, who belong to the same group, attended the field trip with us and who live right here on the Peninsula, are also homeschooling this year. Seriously, I think we are going to have one phenomenal year! 

Next week, we are going on a field trip just five minutes from our house where the kids are going to trek through the woods with a guide and learn how to identify the different types of trees, leaves, and animal tracks. Then, they are going to learn how to build a fire (Really, Krista? Perhaps I should think this one through . . . tee hee!) and roast hotdogs and marshmallows on the fires they start. How cool is that? My boys are in boy heaven right now just thinking about it!

Avery mimicking one of the Great Auk statues at the Zoo (a scavenger hunt requirement)

4. And finally, I have done it. I have achieved my goal for 2013 and have found the ultimate poutine, but first, a back story: 

On Friday afternoon, my friend BJ and I drove four girls from our church to PEI to participate in what we Mormons like to call Super Saturday. These are monthly activities set up for our youth, typically from ages 14-18, and they involve long drives . . . tee hee!, a much anticipated and always enjoyed dance for the youth, followed up the next day with Sunday-school-like-lessons, and then a big culminating activity. This month, the kids put on their yellow Mormon Helping Hands pinnies and went on a food drive for a food bank in Montague, PEI. Thankfully, Baby Girl was feeling up to going and she had a blast dancing with all the cute Mormon boys (Mormons make some handsome boys . . . just look at the three I have in my life). Seriously, though, they are a great group of kids, and it touched this mama's heart to watch a group of about twenty of them (there were probably 60 in total for the whole weekend) playing frisbee on the front lawn of the chapel, laughing and enjoying themselves. Baby Girl was feeling pretty worn out by this time, but a couple of her friends sat with her and they were all laughing together in the sunshine. It took all of my will power to walk away and to not stand  hovering over soaking up this moment. Most of them know about her struggles with this disease and they are always so supportive of her. I wish all teenagers had more Super Saturday-like experiences in their lives. Then when it was time to depart, the youth were all hugging, snapping photos and carrying on as if they would never see each other again and as if that they wouldn't be texting one another within minutes of getting into their cars . . . tee hee!

Anyhoo . . .

Yikes! I totally went off on a tangent there. Poutine . . . so the winner of my 2013 Atlantic Canada poutine challenge is the BOOM BURGER in Charlottetown, PEI. You have to check it out! The food is made from all local products and the poutine is to die for. Thankfully, they mixed up my order and gave me a large rather than a regular like I had asked for because I didn't want to stop eating it. In fact, I was so full that each bite was starting to hurt, but I couldn't stop. My mouth waters just thinking about it, and the best thing about their poutine is you can order it with grilled mushrooms, my other, less talked about, pregnancy craving. I was in heaven!

Look at this sucker! It is huge!

Mmmmm . . . and the cheese curds are made by Cows Ice Cream . . .  yummy!





Yep, life has been ridiculous around here, and there have been a few tears shed and a few curse words said, but all in all, it's still been pretty fantabulous and I really have nothing to complain about.


Happy Wednesday!

Oh, and please keep Baby Girl in your prayers. We could really use them. :)

Eleven Days Worth of Nonsense

You are going to have to forgive me, but I am about to cram a whole lot of nonsense into today's post because this will be the last one for awhile. We are taking a quick jaunt up to Halifax tomorrow for Baby Girl's appointment at the IWK, then we are rushing home to begin our whirlwind weekend of soccer, soccer and more soccer. Go Hampton U16AA girls!  On Sunday, we are going to church (as long as a certain someone's head remains lice-free . . . keep praying for us), and then we are having our annual Back to School Feast 

Our theme this year is "Seek Learning", and we will be reading this article to inspire and encourage the Wee Websters and Mr. Level-Headed in their upcoming year of studies. I know . . . I am such a geek! I don't even know when I am going to have a chance to make all the food we have planned.

Then, it is showtime: Monday morning the boys and I will be waking up bright and early to kick off our first day of school . . . eeeeek! Where did the summer go? I am taking the first week of school off from the blog because I foresee having to channel all of my energy into motivating, consoling, and prodding my boys of summer back into a routine. Ugh! This is not going to be easy.  . . . again, keep me in your prayers.

Anyhoo . . . 

11 days worth of Shenanigans Inc. is about to commence in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .

This week marks my 27th week of being pregnant. I am really enjoying this pregnancy, but I am reaching the point now where all I want to do is to meet my baby. People always ask me what I think I am having, and in all honesty, I don't have a clue. Sure, some books say that mom's have a keen intuition about the gender of their baby, but that has never been the case with me. For Zoe, I thought I was having a boy. For both Elliot and Avery, I thought I was having girls. Clearly, I am not a reliable source, and since I have never had success with my past guesses, I haven't even tried to make a prediction for this little one. Some days, Thing 4 is a Leif and some days, Thing 4 is a Harriet. Even my dreams seem to be confused!

Last week I had a very vivid dream, where I was taking Thing 4 to the doctor because he or she had a diaper rash. When the doctor took off Thing 4's diaper to see the rash, this little penis popped up. I was shocked and exclaimed:

You're a boy?! I thought you were a girl.

Then I picked up my baby and held him close to my face. I whispered:

Really? You are my Leif and not my Harriet.

I could not get over the shock, but I was pleased nonetheless. When I awoke from that dream, I was convinced that Thing 4 is a boy.

Then . . .

A couple of nights ago, I had another dream. I do not remember the premise of this dream, but I do remember Mr. Level-Headed sitting in a big, comfy chair, talking to our baby girl, Harriet, who at this point was a toddler. She had a head full of curly, brown hair and was asking him a million and one questions. When I awoke from this dream, I started thinking that perhaps we are having a girl . . . tee hee!

Ultimately, I guess we will have to wait another 12 weeks before we know for certain, but I am having a lot of fun speculating on who this little person I am carrying actually is.

27 week bump

 But there is one thing I know for certain, and that is that this craving for poutine has got to stop. I am not even going to tell you how many poutines I have had since Friday night, but know this, it is more than two and less than four . . . tee hee! Oh, and for the record, Costco makes a ridiculously good poutine and it is super huge and it is super cheap. Costco, you just keep getting better and better in my eyes . . . 

Look at those cheese curds! Some of them were as big as the french fries . . .  Heaven!

Yesterday, was a big day here at Shenanigans Inc. Not only did I discover Costco poutine, but Elliot finished a honk'n huge novel that he actually started during the school year. It took him 30 minutes a day/ five days a week for about three months, but he got through it and more importantly, he enjoyed it! In fact, he has already picked up the second book in the series and asked if he could read it just for fun.

Ummmmmm. . . YES!

How long have I waited to hear those words being uttered from one of my children's mouths? Far too long if you ask me.

The book is called the Beyonders and the third one just came out.

Funny, Elliot. Very funny!

Oh, and since we are talking about books, Baby Girl ACTUALLY read a book this summer. A big kid's book, nonetheless, and it was fiction . . . gasp! This may come as a shock to you, but as smart as that girl is, she is not a reader. Sure, she has a stack of non-fiction books, fact books, and Baby Mouse graphic novels by her bed at all times, but she is not one to sit and read a novel. Well, that all changed this summer and I am giddy about it. Perhaps we need to start up our very own mother-daughter book club . . . only kidding Baby Girl. I promise to take it slow . . . tee hee!

And that is all, folks. I hope you had your fill of us. See you in September!

Confessions and Genetics

I went for my sixth month check-up yesterday, and everything looks great, but I have to admit, I am getting very scared. When I came home to jot down all my check-up info like weight, fetal heartbeat, etc. into my pregnancy book, I noticed something that has been nagging me for quite some time. Everything about this pregnancy is identical to Elliot's . . . . . ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! At 22 weeks, I weigh the exact same as I did with Elliot, the fetal heartbeat is the exact same (150), and I was sick at the beginning of both of these pregnancies. Mind you, I was not as sick with Elliot as I have been with Thing 4, but still, I never vomited once with either Zoe or Avery. If this trend keeps going, that means in about four months I will be the proud mama of one, very colicky, albeit adorable baby . . . eeeeeek! 

The other day, Elliot mentioned that it would be so neat if Thing 4 was the same as him, and I nearly passed out. When he is with Zoe and Avery, he feels like the odd man out. Everything comes so easily to the two of them and from his point of view, they excel in everything they do; therefore, it would be great for him to have a kindred spirit, a person he can relate to and impart all his words of wisdom to, but  . . . . is this really a possibility? Would Heavenly Father really send me two special little spirits? Oh man, as much as I love Elliot and would not trade him for the world, I pray that he is one of kind in this household. When I confessed my fears to Mr. Level-Headed via text, his response was:

No worries. Elliot is awesome. You can handle two.

I love how confident he is in my abilities.

Anyhoo . . 

We all know I will love this baby to the moon and back no matter what so I am going to stop fretting now and continue to fantasise about who and what Thing 4 will be like. If there is one thing I have noticed with all of my kids is that not one of them is truly alike. They are all unique, they all have amazing abilities, and they all drive me crazy from time to time.

The other big news at my appointment was that I have gained 5 pounds. Hooray! This makes me very happy since I was not gaining weight in the beginning thanks to round the clock vomiting, but now I am on a roll. I confessed to my doctor that my weight gain probably had something to do with the THREE poutines I ate over the weekend and she laughed. She also assured me that she has heard of worst of cravings and that I didn't need to worry about it. Hmmmm . . . is this the green light to indulge even more? NO!!!

While we were in PEI, yes I tried three different poutines and I have to say they were all very yummy. The first night we were in Charlottetown, we went to dinner with three other families from Zoe's team. As it turned out, I was sitting with the other moms and I was DYING for a poutine and Coke. It had been two weeks since my last indulgence and all I could think about was some salty, cheesy, ooey, gooey goodness chased down by a little black death. After they all ordered their salads and wine, which sounds so very grown-up, it was my turn and I sheepishly turned to the waitress and told her my order. I have never felt so self-conscious in all my life, which is absolutely foolish. I felt like my young self, seated before the priest in those dark confessional boxes of my Catholic Church, confessing all my sins, some made-up and some not so made-up . . . this is a whole other story . . . anyhoo . . . The minute my order left my trembling lips, I turned to the other ladies and confessed to them, almost apologetically, that I am pregnant and that poutine is my craving. The minute I announced this, the whole table erupted in congratulations and laughter. We had a grand chat after that, and it was so nice to finally break the ice with these women, whom I have sat with to watch many soccer games but really never knew well.

Anyhoo . . .

Man, I keep getting off topic this morning. So, here is the run down of my PEI poutine splurge:

1. Swiss Chalet has AWESOME poutine! They smother it in gravy and the gravy is thick and yummy.
2. Wendy's makes a very yummy poutine and it is cheap. They use lots of cheese and their new fries are very good.
3. Ken's Island Fries, a truck parked in the Walmart parking lot, makes alright poutine. The fries were too thick for my liking and Ken was skimpy on the cheese. Seriously, though, what did I expect from a truck parked in front of Walmart . . . tee hee!

Wendy's - Look at all that cheese!

Ken's

Awesome gravy, but so little cheese!

So, the final standings are:

For franchised restaurants:

1. Swiss Chalet

2. Wendy's

3. Deluxe

For locally-owned restaurants:

1. Kredl's/Poutine Shack at Kingston Market

2. Peddler's Creek

3. Reid's Point Pub

Sorry, Ken. 

This weekend, my hubby is taking me to Grannan's for my weekly poutine indulgence, and I am so excited. I heard they won the Great Saint John Poutine Challenge a few weeks ago, and I am expecting big things. Big things, folks. Grannan's, please don't disappoint me. 

Since you stuck with this ridiculously long and terribly random post of mine, I am going to reward you with some very embarrassing pictures of me and my belly. The amazon, super-modelesque woman beside me is my baby sister, Emily. She is only two weeks behind me in her pregnancy and for the record, she is not craving poutine and she is thirteen years younger than me and she is carrying her FIRST not her FOURTH baby.

I have titled these photos: An Elven Mama and a Hobbit Mama

I probably won't have to tell you whose who.

I love how her body dwarfs mine and how I had to stick my head out just so you could see me. I guess this is just further proof that although siblings grow up in the same household together, have many of the same experiences, and have the same parents, they all grow up to be unique individuals. Phew! I have nothing to fear then. ;) 

Happy Thursday!

The Twenty Week Check-In

As of yesterday, I had officially reached the twenty week mark of my pregnancy . . . woohoo!  I am half way through, and only have nineteen weeks left to wait before I am holding Thing 4 in my arms, sniffing that newborn smell, and smothering those chubby newborn cheeks with kisses. I can't wait!

Thanks to the generosity of many friends and family, my baby stash is growing everyday. Thing 4 has a ton of baby books, wooden puzzles, some artwork, a stroller, and some clothes. The highchair and swing are on their way, AND . . . .  I just placed an order for Thing 4's AppleCheeks, the cloth diapers that will be swaddling his or her adorable baby cheeks in just nineteen weeks (eeeeek! I am so excited). With all this baby paraphernalia surrounding me and the constant karate chops I receive from Thing 4 throughout the day, I am really starting to believe that this is happening. I AM HAVING ANOTHER BABY!!!!!!  Excuse me for a minute, while I place my head between my legs and take some deep breaths . . . . I can do this, I can do this, I can do this.

There, I am all better now. Where was I? Right, so Shenanigans Inc. is full baby preparation mode and we couldn't be happier.

As for my cravings, they are also in full swing, which is not a good thing because of all the foods I could crave, my body has chosen one of the worst foods on the planet - poutine! Ideally, I would be able to restrict this craving to a monthly indulgence, but I am weak, and it never fails that as the weekend approaches, I begin to dream, to fantasize and to salivate for some hot, greasy, oh so very tasty french fries smothered in gravy and cheese curds. Truly, it is the nectar of the gods. I am convinced there is poutine in heaven (along with cigarettes, Coca Cola, and muu muus) I am such a class act! 

Disclaimer: I hereby swear that I am not consuming cigarettes or wearing muu muus at this point and time. Unfortunately, the Coco Cola and the poutine are free game! 

Anyhoo, since my last post about my poutine craving, I have, embarrassingly, consumed my weight in this fatty delicacy. I have ventured down to our nearby pub to partake of their yummy version once or twice. I have been to Peddler's Creek to try their poutine, which was very good, but unfortunately, this was a take out order and according to Zoe, we waited too long to consume it in order to give it a fair review. By the time we ate it, the gravy had absorbed into the french fries and the fries were cool. I had no problem with it and enjoyed every bite of it, but Zoe was disappointed. Then, last week while we had our British soccer coaches staying with us, we discovered that none of the boys had ever heard of poutine, and that was all the incentive I needed. As luck would have it too, Mr. Level-Headed took the boys to the fabulous Kingston Market, which just happens to be beside the soccer field, for lunch last Saturday. I was home straightening up a few things and catching my breath from the crazy busy week we had just had, when I got a phone call from my dearly beloved hubby.

Krista! The market has a poutine shack. I am getting some for the boys. Do you want some?

YES! I will be there in a minute.

It took me all of three seconds to throw my sneakers on and to hop into my car. Let me tell ya, the poutine was heavenly! The boys loved it, and I savored every bite of mine.

Mmmmm . . . How many more sleeps are there until Saturday?

 So, at the moment, the poutine standings look like this:

1. Kredl's/Poutine Shack at Kingston Market - they are a definite tie.

2. Peddler's Creek - the gravy is so yummy!

3. Reed's Point Pub - you can't beat the price or the accessibility (3 min from my home)

4. Deluxe - really, this should only be eaten if you are in dire need and there is no other poutine available.

We are heading to PEI next weekend for Zoe's soccer tournament, and I will keep you posted on my findings in that province. I am thinking that gravy and cheese curds on top of homegrown PEI potatoes will probably be pretty hard to compete with. Oh, I can't wait!

As of my last doctor's appointment at 18 weeks, I had only gained 1 1/2 lbs so far, but I have a feeling that this number is about to dramatically increase. 

20 week bump

What do you think? I would say at least 5 lbs . . . tee hee! 

I seriously need help.