It is true!

Okay, okay. Yes, I did sneak that little tid bit in. I am pregnant. On my birthday (August 27th), Kaye brought be a pregnancy test as a 'present'. I was quite late and he really wanted to just know, for goodness sake! I, on the other hand, did NOT want to know. I was not, and I'm still not really, ready to give birth to another big headed baby of Kaye's. Either way, the test was a big positive and here we go again. I really wanted to wait until after the ultrasound at 12 weeks to make sure that it really was what it was to say anything. Of course, I didn't. I let it slip out earlier. I did go to the ultrasound though and it was wiggling and kicking and having a good ol' time in there so it's a go. I'm a little unsure about wanting a girl this time around. I am fairly positive that this will be the last little baby from this mommy, so I don't know if I want to change it all up now and learn how to parent a little girl. I also wouldn't need all new stuff. My poor little baby boy will be raggedy and worn looking with all the hand me downs from his older brothers, but I'm good with that. We'll see. Who knows? I'm thinking it may even be an 'it' until D-day. It might be fun to be surprised. You can look out for the newest member in our family around the end of April. Hmmm...reading over this post, it does not sound that upbeat. I mean, Yay! Another baby!! :) ALSO - I am actually working on my own computer!! So, my desktop is still broken and this netbook is not working up to par yet, but it is sort of working so I'm thrilled. No more computer withdrawal! Of course, I did try to post a picture of our pretty well completed house but the loading of a picture onto my blog was just too much for it's seemingly delicate constitution. Pictures will have to come later.

I'm alive!!

So, BOTH of my computers have stopped working. After doing all the work on the house that we did, suprisingly, we cannot afford to get them fixed. SO....here I am, borrowing Kaye's work computer after going through SERIOUS internet withdrawal. I thought that I had better update my sorry blog. What a cliffhanger I left at hey? I'm sure you were all SO dying to see how we could get any better than that beautiful yellow and forest green. It was tricky, let me tell ya!

First off, the icky part! So, obviously, this house is old. Old old! We were actually really lucky that it ended up being in such good condition, except for this..............

This delightful bit was where our foundation was crumbling inside! It had been reinforced on the outside, reinforced on the inside, and they put big steel posts along the basement walls to help ensure that the basement is safe. Sadly, our old side door had rotted away so when our contractor pulled it off, we got THAT! That being the huge hole in our foundation walls looking in to my basement laundry room - past the yucky old pipes.

It's a beauty isn't it? Luckily, that turned into...

THIS!!! YAY!! A door. After plywood for a ridiculously long time, we finally got our third and FINAL door installed. We, at one point, had plywood on two of our doors with no stairs going to our third. It was super fun.

I obviously had a ton to catch up on, but they wouldn't let me upload any more pictures, as well as a complete lack of caring on my part, so I've only put some of the pitures on here. We now have the siding finished on the north side, front (east) with the exception of the vinyl cedar shake stuff that is going in the peak, as well as the peak of the porch, and the west (back obviously!). Kaye has just the south side to complete and we are DONE!!!

We still have soffit, fascia, and eavestrough to do, as well as the porch(a railing might be nice), oh and repouring a new walkway going up to our house, and all the inside stuff for the windows...putting all the sills and new molding and stuff up left to do, but we are leaving most until next year. Expensive!!! I might have to sell one of my children to get it all done. Heck, lets just sell them all. Then I can do a total rehaul on the inside too!! Kidding, sort of. We did run out of money though, so wait we must.

We did get a new roof (sheeting and all) installed as well. Apparently, the old owners were fans of cosmetic fixes and not really real fixes. We had rotting cedar shakes under our shingles. And under that was rotting ummmm... under stuff. It was crazy! We had holes we could see through! I felt great about that. Anyway, now all the roof is fixed and the walls or insulated and siding pretty well all up! I am thrilled!!!

We also bought all new windows. Marcus' and Rhys' windows were broken and didn't even shut so winter would have been a fun little adventure! We also got windows that all open so we have air flow! It's amazing the difference something so simple as a breeze can make!

Now, I'm tired. For FHE we decided to rake our neighbours (single mom and daughter) leaves. Service! So worth it, yet, 32 bags later, my pregnant hips and tailbone hate me and I think I'm going to lay back on a heating pad. I am so NOT kidding.... 32 bags. Yep, I thought it would be great to live on a beatiful tree-lined street. Wait, oh yeah, there are leaves involved. And it was probably only about 1/4 of what is going to fall this year! We still have tons of leaves not fallen yet!!!

Good night all! I hope we can meet again soon (ahem..Kaye, your computer.. hint hint).

Kaye has finally started to demo on the outside of the house. It is definitely bittersweet. Yes, the siding was an appalling colour and the house was hideous, but that siding was classic! It was original...it had character :(. We are looking forward now though! Our windows are in and awaiting installation as soon as Kaye can get the exterior stripped.




Kaye is so quick and efficient. He doesn't waste any time. The bottom back half of the house was on the ground in a matter of about an hour and a half. Last night, he stripped most of the front deck with his friend Jeff in about 15 minutes.



The kids have been helping out tons too! This morning, Marcus, Colby, and Elijah were out throwing the stripped siding into the big dumpster before I had even gotten out of bed.....It was only 7:45 okay! It's the summertime! No judging. ;)

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

On a roll!

Or maybe....verbal diarrhea? I've been so silent, I've just got to get it out!

Now, this, this here, is what stops me from blogging. While doing this I forgot to try to stop this!




Those little brown things right there? Those would be the chocolate chips that Rhys spread ALL OVER my main floor. Nice! Okay, truthfully, I totally gave him a bowl of chocolate chips for a snack. Dummy! (That would be all me...woops!)



At one point today, this main floor looked, I dare say, tidy. Hmmm...



And there he is, the man of the hour! A great big thank you my delightful child Elijah (as he so innocently looks up from his Cars video game I sat him down with - another bad parenting moment). I feel so guilty. See Rhys with him little bum up in the air. Fast asleep he is! Um...nap time? Another oopsie! Poor thing! They are so neglected. :(

I guess I had better get out my broom.

Colby is 7!

FYI this is the third post! Check out the other ones I posted too!


As of the beginning of May! Still, better late than never!



Sadly, it wasn't a very nice day outside so we did a mad scientist party inside! We had fun science experiments (cornstarch and water, vinegar and baking soda, etc) and had each of the kids dress up in lab coats (men's undershirts cut down the middle), goggles, and rubber gloves. It was great. They made their own icing and decorated their own crazy cupcakes. It was so fun!




















Now as for poor Rhys' second birthday? I forgot to take pictures! I know, I know, I'm an AWFUL mother!!! I still love him though! I just keep telling myself that he isn't quite old enough to remember anyway! Guilty conscience anyone?

Fun in the sun

Blog post #2 of the day! Okay, maybe I'm trying to catch up just a little...

I was just informed on 4u2c TV ;) that there is an impressive new waterpark in Brooks! I think that is super exciting! The Brooks waterpark was a little less than stellar. Unfortunately, we don't live in Brooks though! We live out here in Moose Jaw.

Luckily, Moose Jaw as a beautiful park in the center of the city called Crescent Park. It's supposed to be a similar idea to Central Park in NY (obviously on a MUCH smaller scale!) It is fabulous though. It has a great little water park, attached to a playground, attached to a free little paddling pool for the little ones, attached to a big outdoor pool (not free but still fun!). It's so great to go and relax there. There is also a little "river" with ducks, the gorgeous Moose Jaw public library is in there, there is an outdoor theater area, a tennis club, a lawn bowling club, a beautiful fountain, walking trails, a museum, an art gallery, a YMCA gym...I LOVE Crescent Park. Anyway, we love to go strolling through the trees and playing at the water park! The kids have such a fun time! Yay for summer and warm weather! I know we'll be hanging out here all summer long!

Starting Fresh

I have recently decided that instead of trying to "catch up" on blogging, I'm simply going to start fresh. Here we go!


For so many years, our trusty gold 1993 Toyota Camry Wagon was so kind to us. There was never a need for too much work to be done on it and it never broke down. It was a gem. It was also.....ugly! Kaye, being the one without the 4 kids to haul around, got to be the one to drive our delightful wagon.

When we moved to Saskatchewan, we were required to get an inspection done on our vehicles to have them insured. To my dismay, after getting the inspection done on our wagon, we required $3000 worth of work to be done on it. Not likely! For a poor car that isn't even worth that fixed up? Sadly, I had to give in to Kaye's pleading for a shiny new car.



TA DA!! Being that Kaye is an abnormally tall person with ridiculously long legs, we were a little limited to the type of car that we would buy. Luckily, we pulled into the Toyota dealership one sunny day and found this little beauty.




It's a 2009 Toyota Matrix. AND...he's got a whole 2-3 inches of head room! It's great. Kaye loves it. He doesn't feel like an old lady driving his car around any more!



Sadly, Kaye is SO proud of his dandy new car that he takes to stupid thing to the car wash at least once a week. He has also completely forgotten to take care of my van. Yes, it's getting old and isn't as shiny as his, but it still needs love! Oh well. At least Kaye is happy...and we can feel like we are a little more with the times instead of driving around in a fancy 1993 wagon!

Four years old!

My little baby turned 4 on Tuesday....sort of forgot to blog about that. We celebrated by mommy having a nice long nap *thanks Grandma and Grandpa* and going to look at our new house, AND eating a classy cake mix cake at 10:00 at night. Yep, that's just how I roll.

Poor Elijah, he probably thought we didn't love him! To my credit, I did send him to Toopy and Binoo Live with Colby the week before. Toopy and Binoo is his favorite for some wierd reason. I don't see it, I just don't.

Too. tired.. to... type.... anymore.....

New Music and a NEW HOUSE!!

Sooo, my sister gave me this fantastic CD for Christmas which I LOVE! I thought that there might be someone out there who hasn't heard it and SHOULD. It's upbeat, relaxing, and uplifting all at the same time. It's called Anchor by Mindy Gledhill. Mindy is a member of the church and she also does church music. This CD is not gospel oriented. It's just so fantastic though. I get so tired of listening to music where you have to cringe every once in a while because of the language or the inability of listening to songs all together. This one is definitely a keeper. Check her out at mindygledhill.com if you are interested.

The next on the agenda....we bought a new house! Okay, old, old house. We bought a beautiful character home on a beautiful tree-lined street in the old part of Moose Jaw. It is kitty corner to a school where my kids can go to and I love it!! It's a big tall thing with 2 1/2 floors and the 1/2 floor at the top....it's the master suite. Yep, I'm excited. It's got 4 bedrooms on the second floor so all of my little darlings will have their own rooms. It obviously has some work to get done...the exterior is ghastly, but it's cheap too so we will be able to afford it...once our Trochu house sells. Please, oh, please, let the sale go through on the Trochu one!! If you are interested in taking a peak, there are pics on mls. The number is 390448. The pictures don't do it justice....it's adorable! I can't wait to move in and start settling in for once. I am so tired of all the moving. And this house is fabulous...or will be once I'm done with it!

The Things I've Learned

I've been in Moose Jaw for just over a month now. I've had some time to see what it has to offer and just thought I'd tell you what I learned.

- Saskatchewan has a SERIOUS snow plowing issue. Don't bother coming here in the winter. The roads are dreadful!
- Moose Jaw (I have no idea about any of the other places in the province) does NOT charge school fees....like none! This was a very convenient truth for me to hear.
- It's DARN cold here. No word of a lie...I thought Alberta was bad!
- This city has beautiful historic buildings. I LOVE them. They also have beautiful old character homes on amazing tree lined streets, of which I fully intend to live on in the near future.
- I really like it. I know, with all my griping and complaining, I didn't give myself a chance to let the Lord help me be okay with all of this moving stuff. BUT, after I did it, I feel like it was good decision. (I may recant this statement in the future if something doesn't go my way ;) kidding, kidding.
- I have never lived in a place where they actually deliver your mail to your door, but they do here.....and I LOVE IT!! I am so glad that I am not required to leave my warm house on these bitterly cold Saskatchewan days to walk down the street or drive to the post office to collect my mail. Yay for mail carriers!
- With the church not being very strong here, I feel like I can really do some good here. I feel like I have been brought up by strong stalwart members of the church who taught me how to live correctly and I feel like now I get to be the strong one to help those who need it...and I think that Moose Jaw needs it. I am really excited about being here and helping others become stronger in the gospel.

On the other side, I had an experience just last night that I have never had before. I go to a Christian mom's group that has been doing a study on how to better your marriage. Yes, sometimes it's a little bit weird to listen to a pastor and hear the bible being quoted in that new world way they wrote it, but honestly, I really enjoy it. I get a lot of good things out of it that have helped my marriage, which by the way, has been really good lately. I think that this study thing has really helped.

Anyway, last night, a friend of mine, who is also a member of the church and goes to the class as well, came over to inform me that apparently, we are still allowed to go to the class but we are not to share any of our crazy mormon ways. The instructor told her that we are not Christians, that we do not believe in Christ, and that we don't believe the bible. Now, obviously, this particular person has been grossly misinformed about the church, but I have never before experienced a negative attitude about us. I was honestly shocked. I am still going for me, but I feel really awkward there because they honestly think we are some sort of crazy. Hmmm. This is an interesting position to be in. I am so glad that I have a strong testimony and that this opposition doesn't faze me, but I feel bad that this is what it is like here. Welcome to living in a place with barely any mormons!

All in all though, I like this place. I'm excited to see what it is like in the warmer months....when I can actually go outside and also drive around without as much fear of a head-on collision! Time will tell.



Ummm...question? Is it totally weird that my son loves to eat raw potato? This is his new favorite thing to do and it just grosses me out, not to mention the fact that it sucks that all my potatoes have big bites out of the all the time.

Oopsie!

Disclaimer *This might really gross some (namely family) out, but man, it was mortifying!

Early this morning with the house still sleeping, Kaye and I sort of started to get intimate. ANYWAY..... All of the sudden ELIJAH popped up on the corner of the bed and came to cuddle with us. AAHHH!! I was so embarrassed! I had no idea that Elijah was sleeping on our bed! I really hope that I'm not the only one who this has happened to.

Note to self: ALWAYS, ALWAYS check the bed before engaging in ANYTHING that you don't want the kids to see!

Sorry everyone, just had to get that off my chest.

ICK!!

I'm in a slump...boo! I really don't feel like doing much blogging, but since this is one key way I stay in contact with others...I felt it was high time I did some sharing!

I have never lived outside of Alberta. I am an Albertan born and bred. This moving to Saskatchewan was an adjusT


ARG!!!! I had just written out a bunch of stuff and most of it disappeared! I was not meant to blog today...obviously.