With the most recent events in our lives (Recent meaning the past 4 years and the past 4 months) the time has come. The four years of events are obvious if you read previous entries. The past 4 months have just been one thing after another. Eli arrived in October, Astrid broke her foot, Christmas was fun and busy, January brought some crazy news… Justin and Astrid are going to pack up our 2 grand babies and head to Europe for a few months on an extended business trip. Eeek, they are leaving next week??? Yes that’s about how it happened. Astrid saw the surgeon and was cleared to travel. Justin ran around getting everything organized and got the passports for the babies. I had to figure out PayPal and sort out what I had to do to take care of his business while he is away. It was a crazy week.
Off they went to London, then Paris, then Spain… And they have settled in there for a while. We do video chats with them and get to see the kids and hear what they are up to. It’s great. During one chat I said, “I’m going to check on tickets and maybe we could come visit in February.” They liked the idea. I have never had such a crazy idea then followed through on a whim like that – ever. (Except maybe getting married with 2 weeks notice)
Then came February. I bought tickets, called Spain, they still liked the idea… So here we go! Stay tuned for some non parenting entries. As Trey puts it, “so you will have 10 days off from being parents?” That’s right – yeehaw!

I’ve realized that Dija loves to walk down memory lane. I know she’s only 5 and there are only so many things to remember… She gets my iPod and goes to her bed and goes back through the photos as far back as she can find looking at how little she was and laughing at silly videos of her when she was little. She thinks she was pretty cute. I think she still is!
Dija has decided she never ever wants a baby in her belly. She has watched Astrid survive two pregnancies and thinks its just not for her. Breast feeding however is a different story. She has decided that its never too early to start that. In fact if you are holding someone else’s baby and they are all the way across the room while the baby fusses its best to just tug y our shirt open and offer the baby a drink. Poor little Eli just couldn’t find much there. I had to snap a picture before I told her that wasn’t really her job. Now she sticks to feeding her dolls. I was happy that she started spoon feeding this week as well.

Trey is also all over the birthing business. A recent conversation was as follows but I really wish I could show you his facial expressions that went with it… Oh my.
“I know where babies come out. Between your legs. I just don’t know HOW they get out. Long story?”
“Pretty much”
“Gross story?”
“Pretty much”
“OK Forget it” just as simply as he stated his facts he simply dropped the topic because he just wasn’t committing to a long gross story. I’m cool with that because I’ve voted that Astrid can tell my kids all the facts since she seems to be the baby influence!

Yesterday was a rough day for us as parents. We had to deal with a very emotional issue. I might share that another day. When we picked the kids up from school we all came home to process things. Maybe the kids picked up on how we were feeling…
They sat at the table and played several games of “Trouble” before deciding it was outside time and on went the snowsuits. They played on the hill until they froze then came in and sat together – side by side – in my big armchair. They don’t normally do this. Saying nothing, the amazed parents simply exchanged a look. It lasted the rest of the day… Awesomest kids ever.

Now that you have read this go check out the video on Www.southshorenow.ca about the open house at Lahave Lites!

This was evident on the weekend as well… Super powers failed me. Following our parent teacher interviews at school we popped the kids in the Jetta and hit the road. We are driving the Jetta because Justin has borrowed our van while Astrid was super pregnant and no longer fit in the Jetta comfortably. Baby has arrived but we haven’t changed vehicles yet. Stay with me here because the car part is actually important.
For all future road trips we will use a van. You see the longer the kids are in close proximity to each other the louder and more annoying they become. Yes annoying. They have nothing to fight about so they make stuff up just so they can be annoying. A quick growling at Trey often does the trick but Dija will act as if she heard nothing… So the annoying cycle continues. I have likely mentioned how there is no punishment that ever seems to matter to her. So we redirect and distract as much as we can but it can be exhausting while driving and my neck gets sore so really I want to take that seat belt and….

We were driving. Stopped in Halifax and had a snack with the kids. They thought it was funny that we went to Halifax for coffee. Then we kept going… They didn’t know what was up. Dija started to freak out a little because she didn’t pack anything. Trey was cool because he was with us and nothing else mattered. What if Dija didn’t have the right shoes for tomorrow? So we told them about the suitcases in the trunk and that we have a hotel booked in Moncton. They felt better and Dija went through a checklist to be sure we remembered everything that matters.

Before I continue I must tell a quick story about my first litter of children and a back seat incident. Justin had to refresh my details on this one. Imagine Christianna and Justin in back seat doing the same sibling squabbling as Dija and Trey but they start playing “hide the tissue from each other” until Justin is suddenly a little panicked. He had shoved the entire tissue up his nose! When I asked him why he did such a thing his answer was simply “So Christianna couldn’t get it.”

Somewhere along the road Dija was making horrible noises again and in an obvious panic. I had just about had it with her and was about ready to find a bear along the highway to feed her to… “Corey she has a seatbelt wrapped around her neck!” I tried turning around in my seat to rescue her. I’m in a Jetta and I’m as big as the pregnant lady who didn’t fit in here… It’s not working. He pulled off the highway and I didn’t go through the windshield even though I was no longer wearing my seatbelt. I jumped out and opened her door to find that the belt is locked in place and there is no moving it in or out of position. Dija was screaming and crying, “Call the police! Call the police!” (It’s funny NOW) She was also leaning forward as she panicked which did not help. When she screamed I a kept telling her, “Stop it, just stop it!” Which likely didn’t help to calm her down. By this time Papa had come around the car and stepped in while I went to search for a knife because I was ready to cut this belt off her neck. I know right where the multi tool is in our van but I’m finding nothing in the car. Justin has since told me where to find a knife and Corey has since purchased a multi tool for the car. Now that the horse is already out of the barn but who knows when we will have another situation… And for sure we will. Corey managed to push her back in her seat far enough and twist her head and pull that seatbelt off (according to Dija). Both kids were in tears and the next part of the drive was very quiet. I had visions of flagging down a trucker to get a knife to cut her out of her strangling seatbelt. It took a little while for our pulses to return to normal and the back seat sniffles to subside before we could carry on a conversation and chat with the kids about what had just happened.
Dija had taken the middle seatbelt and wrapped it around her head and of course then it tightened up the way seat belts do. Dija did not want Trey to find the tissue… Or um, seatbelt!

We made it to Moncton and home again with the same number of kids we left with. That’s a good thing. We spent the PD day at the Zoo and had a great time and got really tired. All of us. I got a sunburn (big surprise), Dija got poo on her red boots, Trey is wondering why I don’t have all pictures on a memory stick for him yet and Poor Papa had to work on Sunday so he is more tired than the rest of us. We loved the zoo and will go back again. Next time we will take a minivan!

Trey and Dija are 19months older than they were when Emery was born. It’s interesting seeing the difference in the reaction to Eli. They were both eager to meet him.
I went to meet him first when I took Emery home to meet his little brother. That was a moment to remember. He leaned right in and kissed his little brother – no prompting necessary. This was the same way Trey reacted when he met Baby Dija after her birth. Precious moments etched in my memory.
The following day we took the kids in to meet Eli. Trey wanted to know, “How long does he have to do that.” He really wanted Astrid to stop feeding him so he could hold him. Then he complained that he never gets to hold him as long as I do… Well Trey when you get to be the grandmother you can hold the baby as long as you want!
Dija was not very interested in Emery when he was a baby. Different story now that she is five. Eli, Eli, Eli…all I ever hear is Eli! Well that’s not really true. All I ever hear is Dija but she talks about Eli a lot. Astrid asked her what she thought about the baby. “Good.” Then after further consideration she wanted to know if she could call him a girl because she wanted Eli to be a girl. When she realized that isn’t an option she wanted evidence, “when can I see his whole body naked?” Is it possible that Justin and Astrid just don’t know what they are talking about? There is a slim chance that they could be mistaken and she was hoping for that chance!

It’s a little strange to be raising kids with our kids but it keeps things interesting. This isn’t what we had planned but it seems to be working for us…

Let me share a nutshell version of where I have been since June/July and maybe you can get an idea of how I managed to become cranky, overtired, emotional… any of those other things I’ve been experiencing that you don’t need to know about! Here are just a few things we have been up to.

School ended and the end of school has apparently become an emotional time for me for reasons I feel I now understand and can communicate. The realization that I have yet to see any of my children graduate (as in actually attend a graduation ceremony) and now the reality that I will possibly have two more kids to experience. I never knew that I felt I had missed anything. I’m proud of my kids accomplishments whether they walk the stage or not.

Summer brought the fun of the camping season that we felt the need to experience a bit. I like electricity and flush toilets so we were selective in our choices. We bought a camper so we didn’t need to sleep on the ground because we aren’t silly. The kids loved the camping because it meant just hanging out with us, swimming in a pool, listening to birds, catching bugs… You get the idea.

We attended a conference in August and took the kids along to attend the children’s program (that was fantastic). We stayed in a lovely 3 bedroom, 2 bath apartment and the kids loved it. We did too. Not that it was an apartment but that they had their own rooms. They kept disappearing and it was wonderful! This little tidbit makes more sense later.

Then came the end of summer and our baby girl left us for school. There were no tears, no hanging on the pant leg, no hesitations. Raising confident children is hard on a parents ego – they should need us a bit more! Dija loves school, her classmates, her teacher, the activities, all of it. She mostly loves that people at school love her – her words!

Trey started grade 1 and came home totally disappointed that he didn’t have the same teacher as last year. He had it all worked out that since he was in a P/1 split he would get to do it all over again as a 1. Well he was placed in a 1/2 split instead and it took a little adjusting over a few weeks for him to like school and his new teacher. I think he’s ok now.

In September we also decided to purchase another house. More space, another bedroom and bathroom and near Nana and Justin & family. We had it all figured out and it seemed as if it was the thing to do. Well then we had the disappointment of the deal not going as we would have liked and we ended up not closing the deal. Here we are in our 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house. The kids never seem to disappear in this house.

Now it’s October and I don’t know what happened to July. October has had it’s share of glitches. The house deal was called off early one morning and then that same day we met with our Daughter, Caitlyn’s caregivers to fine out that she needs to move out of the home she has been in for several years now. Even if its a positive move it is emotional and stressful for us not knowing how she will handle it or what she thinks or feels about it. We wait to see how this will play out.

Then there is a minor issue with the school board that I can not discuss publicly so I will tell you only that it has caused me personally a great deal of stress, inconvenience, and even hardship. The reality is that I think some people really do not listen. Not sure if there is a solution for this one.

Now here we are mid October waiting for baby Pickens to arrive… What? You didn’t know we were expecting? Ok Ok, it’s not ME having a baby but Astrid – much better plan! Baby Pickens could arrive any minute and let me tell you that some great news would be most welcomed here in this house. Zipporah Pickens would be a lovely name – Zippy! (Yes this is a joke)

This is a long enough list of complaints for one day. Do not get me wrong, I have much to be thankful for and life is great. I’m mostly happy! I just don’t like getting tired and cranky. It does help to say things out loud. Thanks for reading my whining. I will check over some “private” posts and see if there is anything positive tucked away to share next.

I know it’s been a while since I have posted anything. It’s just because we are having a fun summer!

Princess Presence. You can tell when a princess is in the room even before she is announced. She carries herself with confidence, clarity and composure.

Princess Pride. I love the definition I found on Wikipedia, “pride refers to a satisfied sense of attachment toward one’s own or another’s choices and actions… and is a product of praise, independent self-reflection, or a fulfilled feeling of belonging”. That pretty much sums it up.

Princess Purity. Little girls should enjoy as much childhood as possible without being tainted by adult issues. They will have plenty of time to deal with adult things as adults… Let them have a childhood. They can be “Sexy and know it” when they are much older.

Princess Perfection. I’m joking… This is NOT on the list!

The whole idea of taking 5 year olds for spa treatments is not to turn them into makeup loving polished painted princesses. It’s really about enjoying the time together and showing them that they deserve special treatment. They are loved, valued, and should be cared for. The sparkly polish is a nice touch and simply fun to wear. The “hands on” carrying for others is something both parties benefit from. I’m proud to have a princess who cares about how she appears and behaves and understands at such a young age that real beauty comes from inside.

Today a friend posted her status on Facebook and mentioned that her son was turning 16 and he was going to start driving today. I went directly down memory lane. I remember rather vividly what happened the day Justin turned 16 and he had big plans to head to London and get his beginners permit. He was so eager to drive.

We moved to Ontario when Justin was heading to high school… Horrible thing to do to a teenage boy. He adjusted very well… Mostly. He had an issue with the high school washrooms and refused to use them. Many days he would tear in the house and run to the bathroom before he exploded. Apparently the places smelled really bad so he refused to go in there. Well, on his 16th birthday his friend convinced him to just use the washroom and holding his breath he went to take a pee… Near fatal mistake. He was obviously in a hurry to get back out and started to run. He somehow managed to slip and hit his leg on the corner of the ceramic tile wall and created a bloody mess. His friend took him to the office where the vice principal tried contacting his parents but proceeded to drive Justin to the nearest emergency department. We met on the road where they chased us and stopped us to say “follow me, he’ll be ok” and I think it was no accident that the VP was driving a sporty convertible.

Once at the hospital his injury (gash down his shin) was cleaned and the doctor came in to stitch it up. Well after he dropped the needle and picked it back up he froze his leg a little and began stitching the gauze into his leg…. I bet you’ve guessed it wasn’t a great hospital experience. That’s right… It was disturbing and we never returned to that hospital again.

The entire time Justin was just plain upset that he wasn’t getting his beginners permit that day. That’s it. His life was ruined. I think we took him the next day and he drives lots now. No worries. Life did go on. His leg however seemed to have constant infection for about 2 years (gee, I wonder why). That was a struggle but aside from a scar he’s alright now… Mostly.

I hadn’t planned to post about my big kid but that little walk down memory lane this morning just made me laugh. It’s good exercise for my old brain too. Thanks MJ for digging up that day for me. These moments all pass to quickly. We should all have the opportunity to live them out a second time! I just hope that my little boy doesn’t break himself as much as my big boy did.