The In Utero News

That's me in there! 

Thing 4 here.  Since I woke my poor mom up this morning at 5am with my early morning baby Zumba class, I figured the least I could do was write her blog post for her so she could get some rest. Yeah, I am nice like that. Oh, and what a class it was. I danced, kicked, punched and rolled for at least an hour and a half. It was a blast! Finally, mom got the hint and got up to take a shower, and, man, was I thankful for that. A baby can work up quite the sweat with all that action. While we were in the shower, dad made us some oatmeal. I have to tell you that I have the funniest dad ever. He acts all tough and stern, but he is such a softy. Like this morning, mom pleaded with him to tell me it was time to stop being so rambunctious, and both times, he came up really close to mom's belly and said in a very deep, serious voice:

Thing 4, this is dad. Mom is very tired. It is time for you to settle down now.

Then he would give me kiss . . . ha, ha! That man is putty in my hands. Of course, as soon as he kissed me, I would laugh and giggle and kick up an even bigger fuss. Gosh, I love that guy! Oh, and yes, for the record, when I was just a wee fetus, I was a little timid of him and I would immediately do as I was told, but I am so over that now. I figure the way my big sister and two brothers squeal and laugh around him that he is no one to be afraid of.  In fact, a couple of weeks ago, I even showed him who was boss. I was performing my usual before-bed shenanigans, and he knelt very close to mom's belly and told me it was time to go to sleep. Well, as soon as he leaned over to give me my kiss, I kicked him right in the mouth . . . it was perfect! Now, if you ask mom, she claims that I very gently, nudged his mouth as if I was giving him a knuckle bump, like all the other kids do before bed, but dad and I both know the truth; I kicked him in the kisser . . . ha, ha! 

So, I am thirty two weeks old and right now there is not much happening here  in utero other than some major weight gain, some zumba, and some hiccups. It is getting pretty tiresome, and I can't wait to get out to experience the world. I think I may have picked the best family ever. As you have probably heard, I am a very active baby and so I am going to fit in perfectly with this crazy family. They are always on the go, and they are always in the middle of some form of foolishness. I can't wait! Right now, my favourite time of day is when mom lays down in the boys' bed at night and reads us stories. I can always hear dad and Zoe off in the distance discussing some topic in great length and detail (between you and me, I think they are the brainiacs of this operation, but don't tell mom that). The series mom is reading to us right now is about four kids in Ancient Roman times, and they have just arrived in the city of Pompeii . . . oooh! I may only be 32 weeks old, but even I know this story is about to get good. As mom reads the story and Avery interrupts every two seconds to ask questions, Elliot rubs mom's belly and I bounce and bounce and bounce. We have so much fun!

As for cravings, I think you have already heard that my mom travelled far and wide to find my most favourite poutine of all time. She is such a good mom, and now that I tasted the best poutine ever, I can proudly say that I am done with this silly poutine craze. Yep, like I said, I am now 32 weeks old, and my tastes have matured. Sure, I think I will still send mom out once a week for a can of Coke because, let's be honest, who doesn't enjoy a little buzz once and awhile, but I am done with the poutine. Instead, my new craving is almond milk smoothies and dad's oatmeal covered in blueberries, strawberries and raspberries . . . . mmmmmm. Oh, and I can not forget to mention peanut butter on rice cakes. They are to die for! You see my big sister Zoe is now on this uber strict diet to help calm her colitis symptoms down and she can not have dairy, wheat/gluten, refined sugars, or eggs. You would think that this would leave her with very little to eat, but our mom always finds a way to feed her babies, and let me tell you, I have been reaping the rewards from this new diet. Last night, I even had maple glazed salmon . . . mmmmmm. Mom hates salmon, but she realized quickly that I love it,and she could not stop eating it . . . ha, ha! We all know whose calling the shots around here. 

Well,there you have it, the in utero news. I plan on making my entrance into the world in about seven weeks from now and I look forward to meeting all of you. Oh, and just so you know, my mom is one highly overprotective mama bear with her babies. She has promised to be generous and let others hold me since so many of you shared your babies with her, while she was waiting for me, but don't be surprised if she lets out a little roar or two when you first snatch me away. Oh, and fully expect her to hover very closely. She waited a long time to get her hands on me, and she is not going to stray too far away for quite some time.

-Thing 4

Smoothie time!

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. :)

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.

Trouble With a Capital "P"

Mondays are my least favourite day of the week. Especially when you are coming down from one of the best and most tastiest weekends you've had in a long time. 

It all started on Friday afternoon, when Zoe and five of her friends, who were all hopped up on a we-just-finished-our-last-exam high, raided our home. One of these aforementioned friends has become my most favourite person of all time because she passed along onto me one of the greatest secrets of the universe:

Krista, Zoe told me you are craving poutine with this pregnancy.

Karlee, it is so bad. In fact, I have thought about it all week (again!) and I am totally thinking about going on another poutine run tonight.

You should try the poutine at Reed's Point Pub. It's awesome!

For those of you who may not know, Reed's Point Pub is a small pub located almost directly across from the ferry landing here on the Kingston side, AND it just happens to be a three minute drive from my house. I am in so much trouble!

And so, as you  have already probably guessed, I made my first trip to Reed's Point Pub immediately after I dropped all the girls and the one, totally outnumbered boy off at another friend's birthday party. I have no will power!

And let me tell you, the poutine was to-die-for!!!! Unlike the poutine run I made the Friday before to Deluxe, this run left me completely and utterly satisfied. It was heavenly!

Unfortunately, though, it was so good that another fan was created in my household, and I had to share my treasure.

Afterwards, when I was basking in the glory of a full and happy belly, I decided I needed to place limits on this new found love of mine. So far, I am at 3 poutines in 3 weeks, and at this rate, my poor AMA body may just explode; therefore, with Mr. Level-Headed as my witness, I vowed to eat it only once a month for the rest of my pregnancy. 

Then Saturday came, and oh what a Saturday it was. The sun was shining, my hubby had no work to do, we had a date afternoon planned with some close friends, and the pool was ready! It couldn't have been better.

Then, on our way to Hampton and since we had no food left in the house (eeek! Whose in charge of this organisation anyway?), we took the kids to Kredl's Cookhouse for lunch. In spite of the tempting Quebec poutine advertised on the menu, I was strong and ordered a BBQ'd sausage instead. Baby Girl decided to go for the poutine and my once fully satisfied craving for this fatty, salty, cheesy delicacy of the gods revved up again. Be strong, Krista! Be strong!  But nope. As fate would have it, Baby Girl could not finish her lunch and I somehow ended up with it sitting on my lap. What's a girl to do?

And so I ate it. . . . . mmmmmmmm!

If I was to compare these two poutines, I would have to say that the one at Kredl's is far more tastier, but only because they actually use cheese curds. The one at Reed's Point Pub, however, deserves points for it's sheer proximity to my humble abode and for it's sheer size. It definitely wins the Bang-for-your-Buck award! Oh, and FYI: both of them blew Deluxe out of the water. 

I have to admit that I was a little ashamed of myself for the  lack of will power I displayed that afternoon, and so after chowing down on a giant popcorn and pop, while watching the new Superman movie (awesome!) with our friends, I opted to only have a salad for dinner at Peddler's Creek (the next stop on our epic Saturday adventure).

But . . .

our friend Brian ordered their poutine with pulled pork and, although I was able to restrain myself for the time, I have not been able to stop thinking about it. It looked like the poutine to end all poutines, and I need to get my hands on it! And so after much thought and deliberation, I have decided that my goal for this pregnancy is to seek out the best poutine in all of Atlantic Canada! I say Atlantic Canada because I recently heard that Halifax N.S. has a poutinery and I am desperate to try it, and we also have a trip to PEI coming up for Baby Girl's soccer tournament, and surely they have poutine on the island. Right?

Nothing good can come of this . . . 

Oh, and if you are wondering, yes each of these gravies are probably filled with gluteny goodness and yes, I am still gluten-free. Thankfully, they have not bothered my belly, but I have developed a very itchy rash on my neck . . . eeeek! True love comes with sacrifices, though. 

Happy Monday!