Nothing fits the giant baby

I'm patiently waiting for some hot weather so the giant baby can start wearing cute little baby dresses. She officially doesn't fit in any cute jeans or capris and several of her "spring" weight pants can no longer slide up over her girth. It's a challenge getting her dressed in the morning, and I only had a third baby hoping it would be a girl, so I could dress her in cute things, RIGHT? ;-) And while I am proud (and distraught at the same time) to have a daughter of mine blessed with her mother's *athletic* thighs, YOU try finding something other than leggings to fit this:

(mental note : this is the first photo of her, ever, with no pink on)

So if we could just jump a few degrees to that category we all know as "hot", I could put her in flowy dresses and matching little diaper covers without fearing I was going to freeze her. She'd be comfy, we could change her easier, and all peace would be upon us. No more digging like a madwoman and searching for some top to match the crazy patterned leggings we seem to own.

Since a number of people have asked me this lately, here you are, all three Things at four months old.

Thing 3

Thing 2


Thing 1

Don't diagnose online!

So waddyathink? So far so good on the new design! I knew immediately when I saw this graphic that it was exactly and completely what I was looking for. It's perfect. See Thing 1, 2 and 3 playing at the park? With a mom, a dad, and a dog? Yeah, dude, that's us and the whole silhouette was just screaming "a crafty mom's blog" to me. Although it's remarkably not representative of anything crafty. But, heck, we're flexible around here so I decided to go with it!

We (the *collective* we, meaning Peter, David, Leah and I) packed up and headed downtown to see the doctor about Peter's face. Our regular doctor was not in today, so we saw one of her colleagues. I was impressed, he was on time, pleasant, and good with kids. He was remarkably calm when he walked into the room to see David taking apart a wooden represenatation of a prostate. Hmmmmm. I only have two hands, and well, there were four of us crammed into his tiny office.

He asked me what we were in for. I said "my son Peter has what appears to be a staph infection on his face. I googled it and I believe it might be impetigo".

"You know, it's a very bad idea to seek medical advice online, and even worse to try to diagnose any type of rash on a child. There are so many grey areas in which you could make a mistake."

"Yes, doctor, that's why I am HERE, in your office today. What do you think it is?"

"It's clearly impetigo. If you googled impetigo and looked for a photo, a picture of your son would be there."

"Oh, thank you. So I guess my online diagnosis was correct?"

"Yes. THIS time."

He gave us an antibiotic prescription and off we went. Completely painless :-)

Yo yo yo - I think we've got staph!

I don't like to be one of those know-it-all moms who diagnoses her kids' ailments on the internet. Yet, I am, and I did; and I have a strong hunch I'm right on with this one. Poor little Thing 1 has a staph infection . . . on his face of all places. It started last Friday when he and Thing 2 were warming up for their big break with the WWF (wrestling federation, not wildlife you tree huggers out there!). David kicked Pete in the face and he got a slight little bump above his lip. By the next morning it was red and started to look more like a little cut, almost a blister. Within another 24 hours, 2-3 other little blister areas were popping up right next to it. They were starting to look pretty gross, and were oozing a bit of honey-coloured goo (that is my non-medical terminology, lol). Finally he had a couple more, one near his eye and then, today, one on his chin. A dad from Pete's preschool mentioned he had something that looked similar - and that it was a staph infection and was fairly common.

I raced home and googled "staph infection" and learned that staph is the shortened name for Staphylococcus, a type of bacteria. These bacteria can live harmlessly on many skin surfaces, especially around the face. But when the skin is punctured or broken for any reason, staph bacteria can enter the wound and cause an infection. BINGO! When I scrolled down through the staph infection info, I read about impetigo. It described Pete's symptom's to a T ("an impetigo skin infection begins as a small blister or pimple, and then develops a honey-colored crust. . . impetigo doesn't usually cause pain or fever, although the blisters may itch and can be spread to other parts of the body by scratching") - YES, that's what he has!!! Apparently it often clears up on its own, but since Pete's is not clearing up so well and is in such a difficult area of his face to keep clean and have him not touch, we're popping into to see the doc tomorrow. He now looks pretty gross and I feel bad about other people/kids looking at him funny.

You know, Thing 2 had the exact same thing on his tummy two weeks ago. We thought he had a rash or something weird from his diaper, but it looked exactly like this and took a week or so to disappear. Pete must have contracted it from him.

The impetigo-faced child had his first night of organized soccer this evening! It was so freaking cute to see him running around the field in a real little uniform (yes, we are pathetic "sporty/competitive" parents who stuck their poor four year old in a real soccer club), shin guards and cleats to boot. I can't believe I forgot my camera. You'd think if I could gather and haul enough crap for three kids to a soccer field less than five minutes from my home, that I could remember a camera. There were several of Thing 1's teammates having complete meltdowns and tantrums out on the field, while their worn and ragged parents were trying to coerce them back out with the rest of the players. As Pete ran around the field chasing the ball with the other kids, not needing instruction or urging at all from his parental units, it reminded me (proudly) of just how far that little boy has come in the past year. I mean, as of last September the child had never been away from me and I had concerns he would never go to preschool . . . and here he is playing soccer and graduating preschool next week.

*sniff sniff*

Grasping for straws

I think Leah is teething. This seems to happen progressively earlier with each child. Thing 1 was almost 12 months old when his first pearly white popped through his gums. David appeared to be teething for a couple months before his first made an appearance at around six months. And now poor Leah at barely four months old.

I could be wrong, I've certainly been wrong before. You'd think with two children with most of their teething behind them that I'd have learned something about the cues and symptoms of teething. Nope. Not really. I've become that mother who basically says "oh, he's teething" anytime her child is grumpy or tired. And then maybe four weeks later a tooth will erupt and I'll still wonder if there was any correlation to the "grumpy" day. I'm going to go out on a limb and declare teething as the most difficult challenge I've met in motherhood. Your child is in pain, when they are young they cannot even explain to you what they are feeling. It hurts, and they often end up with a plethora of other unpleasant side effects . . . clear runny nose, runny, messy poops (which may or may not at any point result in a sore bum and diaper rash), low grade fever, difficulty sleeping, general crankiness, etc.

I *think* I can see a little lump beneath the surface of Leah's lower gums. I rubbed it and it does seem to feel lumpish (my new word of the day). She's been pulling her ears for a couple days, hard enough to leave little scratches all over the side of her head. She's been having trouble napping and even waking at night - which she hasn't done in a while. (Don't throw a shoe at your screen, it's just statistical - eventually one gets a child that sleeps through the night early on). She cried a number of times today, another hand I'm not typically dealt in the course of my day. So I'm interested to see if my theory is right and Thing 3 will get her first tooth at four months old, winning the "earliest to get a first tooth" contest and putting her big brothers to shame.

Groan - I bought the Beco

If you've become a regular reader you might have heard, earlier this week, about my obsession with a new baby carrier. I already have two, a baby bjorn and a pouch-style sling (this is not the site I got mine from, a good friend made my pouch sling for me). There are benefits to both styles, and David in particular was a big lover of the pouch sling. I wore him in it for months and months. The bjorn is great too, for perhaps less, err, hefty children. I'm finding the design of the bjorn doesn't lend itself to much comfort while I'm carrying Leah - which can easily be up to two hours on any given day at the park. I have noticed after the past month or two increasing pain in my upper back, shoulders and neck, which I attribute to long days with Leah in the bjorn. It's just not a very ergonomic design. And the sling was amazing when she was younger, but seems too restricting to her lately. The giant baby is so active and needs to kick her legs freely to be most happy.

I happened to be in Westboro yesterday after taking Leah to the doctor, so I popped into Milkface Nursingwear just to check out the Beco carriers. Big. Mistake.

It was love at first sight. As soon as I clipped that soft cotton carrier around my waist and adjusted the ergonomically curved shoulder straps to fit my height, I knew I wouldn't be leaving the store without it. The benefits overwhelmed me . . . and in case you're interested:

* Comfortably fits users under 5’ and over 6’ and everyone in between
* Ergonomically curved shoulder straps
* Built-in infant insert enables baby to sit higher in carrier
* New redesigned body style
* Three section ergonomic waist belt
* Inside panel enables to pass baby front one parent to another
* Easy and safe front and back carry
* Removable hood and storage sleeve on the waist belt
* Newborn to toddler up to 55 lbs (PERFECT b/c I can technically use it for any of my three Things!!)
* Lightweight and Stylish (important to me that it fit in a diaper bag)
* Hands free nursing (bonus!! Can feed anywhere!)

As I walked out of the store $100 poorer, I knew I would have to play up the benefits to Paul when I got it home. The "I really need something more comfortable to carry Leah around the neighbourhood in" wasn't likely going to carry a lot of clout with him. I needed to show him the benefits and long-term value of the Beco, and they needed to be GOOD. I needed to convince him of the potential resale value AND the money we will save by avoiding future gigantic chiropractic bills. But better yet . . . I remembered some of the boys' clothing I had sold to a local consignment shop; I popped over there (it was down the street from Milkface - I mean, is that a sign OR WHAT?) to find out the money in my account was just slightly more than the cost of the Beco. Whoop Whoop. I bought me a new carrier.

Leah LOVES IT. She slept in it this afternoon at the park for two hours. She is comfy and secure, I am comfy and have yet to experience any discomfort, or reach for the Advil bottle. It was meant to be. My only minor complaint would be they didn't carry any funky, stylish colours so I had to opt for plain brown (my other option was skull and crossbones - um, no thanks). I didn't want to order a custom carrier and have to pay shipping.

So here we are earlier tonight in all our glory, ready to take Rudy for his evening walk.



And totally unrelated, here is Thing Three getting better at sitting up. She likes to sit up and look at her toys now, to shake the bejeebers out of them and then giggle :-).

Dandelions and the giant baby

Sometimes it takes a four-year-old to revive you from the coma-like state in which you wander through your busy, hectic day. Sometimes I'm really on auto pilot, and that's simply so I can accomplish everything I need to and to make sure all three Things have food, clothing, clean diapers, and oxygen. I'd like to smell the roses every single day, but I just don't have time. Or I don't make time.

Today as we were driving home from preschool, Peter looks at a large empty field we pass on our drive. It's completely jam packed full of dandelions and is bright yellow. There are literally thousands of them. Pete says "look at all those dandelions mommy . . . they cover that field like a blanket and are so beautiful". As a grass enthusiast who has been on my hands and knees more than I'd like lately yanking out those precious little yellow weeds from my own lawn, I was completely struck by his comment. Any child would think this perennial herbaceous plant is a beautiful, sunshine-y yellow flower, while any adult would consider it a complex weed. I decided to spend the rest of my day focusing on the hidden beauties I often miss as the minutes pass by into hours.

And I did promise an update on the giant baby, aka, Thing Three. She is a healthy, vibrant, pleasant four month old today. She tipped the scales at Dr. Cooper's office at 16 lbs 9 oz and is just over 24 inches long. So she is officially only a few ounces shy of Pete's weight at 12 months!! Impressive. I asked the ridiculous question "am I over-feeding her?" to which the doctor assured me that it is not possible to feed a breast-fed baby too much, that her weight will taper off soon and the rapid gaining will slow down. I follow the feed-on-demand philosophy so I feed Leah whenever she seems to want it, or I at least offer her a breast and let her decide. But she sleeps through the night, so it's not like she's nursing 24 hours a day or anything. So after the dandelions I decided to just sit back, relax, and enjoy my robust and chubby "giant" baby.

And relish in the satisfaction that, NO, she does not need to be expelled from her Peg Perego infant carrier car seat just yet (the seat's limit is up to 20 lbs, or 26 inches long, whichever comes first). That horrid switch from portable baby able to be taken anywhere asleep, to baby in convertible car seat from which you must wrench the little body from in earnest, trying not to wake up and disturb said baby. When the time comes I'm thinking of putting Pete or David into this Britax Frontier(which I learned from a fellow gardener is going to be available in Canada in June or July - WOWFANTASTICWOW) and having Leah move into the Alpha Omega.

But for now, another month or two of car seat freedom for me!!!

Hey . . . someone reads this site!

I'm very excited. People read this blog. And I found out today that it is truly useful to some. I couldn't be happier. I added a ticker to count hits on this site a week and a half ago . . . and apparently quite a few more people than I thought are actually reading this. Or stalking me.

I packed the Things up today to visit my friend J, who has a daughter Pete's age and a new baby a little younger (and significantly smaller!) than Leah. While chatting about her "higher-than-average-needs" baby and fussiness, she told me she'd clicked on Tricia's blog link and read her reviews of baby carriers. She ended up purchasing a Moby Wrap b/c she'd read about the success that Tricia had with hers!! That's fantastic and I know that Tricia will be both floored and thrilled to find out someone is reading her blog :-) J said it has made a big difference and that her baby K really loves it . . . and now she can actually leave her house and take her older daughter to the park to play!!! Success!

Our visit went quite well. Visits with our little family can sometimes rival a circus sideshow, but all went well and the kids all seemed to have a good time. I didn't bring my camera and missed some choice shots of David and Pete wearing some of R's *bling*. Not sure if daddy would have approved but that's ok, the game evolved into a jewelry heist anyway!!

While on the subject of baby carriers and baby wearing, I should mention that I heard this recommended by a friend and am secretly lusting for it. It looks like the perfect combination of my hotsling-model (designed and made by another talented friend of mine) and the baby-bjorn. I'm finding as Leah gets heavier (stay tuned tomorrow for a weight check in on the giant baby), the bjorn is not that comfortable and hurts my shoulders, even though I know I have it adjusted correctly. The regular sling is just not her thing all the time - she is a very active, jumpy, leg-twitching baby and loves the bjorn b/c she can kick to her little heart's content. The Beco Butterfly is supposed to be comfy and useful up to 55 pounds! You can place baby on your front or your back, and the design is totally ergonomic and thus totally comfortable for mommy. Thing 5 (otherwise known as Paul) would "skin my hide" if I purchased another mode of carrying my child, so for now the Beco remains unobtainable for us . . . unless I win the lottery sometime in the coming weeks.

Maybe I can convince him buying the Beco is cheaper than a future chiropractic bill ??????????

Keepin' it safe

Being what I would term a "relatively-safe" mama, I was pleasantly surprised to find the Safe Mama website from my friend Tricia's new blog. It's a "one stop resource for child safety, product recall, health and well-being", and does appear to have a tremendous amount of useful information on its website. It offers tips and information on keeping your child(ren) safe, and brings a lot of the information floating around on different sites to one concise area, making it easy to click and find what you're looking for. The moms running this site also offer "cheat sheets" on BPA-free bottles, cups and storage containers as well as safe sunscreens and chemical-free body care products. It's an American site, but the information is still entirely relevant, and more importantly, helpful.

And I thought I'd also take a moment to throw in a plug for my all-time favourite safe cleaning product, Pink Solution. Although I had been using chemical-free and safe cleaning products for a few years (I was a fan of Melaleuca and Nature Clean) I made the switch to Pink last September. After dropping Pete off at preschool, and David off at Granny's for a couple hours, I zipped over to Costco to try to stock our home with the basic necessities like food, liquid, and toilet paper. I was abruptly stopped by a young man doing a demo on a new, non-toxic, biodegradable and chemical-free cleaning product. I wondered why he stopped ME - do I scream "tree hugger" from a distance? Did he catch a glimpse of the "I just want to clean my house without impacting or harming my children or pet" desperation in the corner of my eye?

Regardless, he had me at the first little stain he scrubbed out of his tiny little piece of demo carpet in front of him. The slight OCD tendencies in me kept me listening and wanting, so badly, to believe that something this good could be true. Natural? Good for you? Safe? But does it work? I broke into mass hyperventilating the day I gave up my Windex for cleaning my windows . . . I had beads of sweat dripping down my forehead when I thought I'd kissed that "streak-free shine" goodbye forever.

YES, IT WORKS. Pink Solution is a " natural enzyme cleaner, which when mixed with water, emulsifies dirt, grease and grime, and restores finishes to their natural state. This means that it will not only clean, but will actually brighten surfaces that most cleaners dull, such as stainless steel appliances and fiberglass bath and shower stalls. The enzymes will emulsify even the oldest stains, which means that so long as there are not permanent dyes involved, even the oldest of laundry and carpet stains will be removed. Also, it contains no chemicals, and can be inhaled, eaten and used without any gloves, with no ill effects." And YES, he ate it in front of me. He took a big old scoop of that white goo and swallowed it.

I was sold, I bought it, and I've never looked back. I have found the perfect dilution for my windows, my laundry, toilets, bathtub, countertops, stove, etc. I love to use the full paste to scrub out stains on clothing (yes - it whisks away that mustard breastfeeding poop stain from any adorable little baby outfit), carpets and floors. Can you spray it and wipe things clean with a gentle flick of your wrist? NO - let's be realistic now, shall we? No product without chemicals is going to disintegrate dirt and grime on contact. The Pink Solution takes a bit of elbow grease but I personally enjoy a little work out when I clean, and there is nothing in my home that isn't as clean as it was before I switched products.

One of the most satisfying things about using the Pink products is that the boys actually help me clean. I give them each a cloth and a spray bottle with the diluted solution and they follow mommy around the house, spritzing and wiping away.

To music. And, yes, we dance too :-)

Not a hair out of place

Time is precious when you're a mother of three young Things. It's become so precious, actually, that I haven't managed to schedule myself a hair cut yet in 2008. I finally found some time and managed to book an appointment to have my hair coloured and cut (figured I might as well get as much bang for my buck as I could, right?) this past weekend. It was delightful and exhilarating to sit quietly for 90 minutes in a comfy chair while somebody else took care of me. When Joanne asked me what I wanted to have done, and what colour I wanted to have in my hair, I just sort of looked at her, stunned and in another world. I hardly cared what I looked like when I left the salon, it was all about the *act* for me. But, she knows me well and took good care of me. I am now the proud owner of a nice head of rich, brown hair (basically my natural colour without any more gray roots!), slightly shorter, and more layered.


We had a not-very-exciting long weekend. The weather wasn't typical May warm weather in Ottawa, so we were inside a bit more than we'd hoped. I spent several days laughing hysterically after watching the season finale of The Office last week. Seriously, there's not much funnier on television these days. If you're not a fan, then I assume you don't share my dry and sometimes unique sense of humour. I was in love with the Supertramp rendition at Toby's going away party - WAY too freaking hysterical.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 kept themselves busy for the most part this weekend. They built a ship and sailed the seven seas . . .


And then they tried desperately to appear cute. Hmmmmm, they've got that down pat I think :-)
No new pictures of the giant baby, she slept and smiled her way through the weekend. She will be four months this week and I'm intrigued to go to our doctor's appointment on Thursday to see how much she weighs. If you want to check out a cute lil' 8-pounder, see my new nephew Hunter on Lauren's blog. He is just gorgeous!!!

WELCOME BABY HUNTER!!!

We are all so excited this morning to be welcoming the newest member of our family!! My sister had her a little boy this morning, Hunter, weighing in at 8lbs!! He and mom (and dad and sister Reese) are doing extremely well. The birth was pretty speedy (I warned her about this only yesterday - those sneaky second babies like to come out fast!) so Lauren didn't get an epidural but did just fantastic! Pete and David are thrilled to have a new cousin and we all cannot wait to meet him soon. I just spoke to Lauren on the phone yesterday and she was saying she didn't want to have the baby over the long weekend. WELL, no worries on that front sis, he gave you a break to enjoy your long weekend with your new family :-)

In other news . . . I went for my first post-Leah run the other night. Through much muscle pain and fatigue, I learned I am *truly* out of shape. It's been almost a year since I have run, and I barely made it a km or two. So now that the weather is nice there are no valid or reasonable excuses why I can't run in the evenings and get myself back into shape. I seem to be stalled in my weight loss too - I have a final five pounds to go but they are proving to be a little deceptive. I'm hoping the running will help shake off a pound or two. But, seriously, I think eating less ice cream would do it too :-).

Protecting your children from the sun safely

Today they are forecasting 25 degrees (Celsius) and sunny in Ottawa. Sounds beautiful, doesn't it? Of course it is, but with all the sunshine comes increased risks of sunburns and skin cancer. Being a mom who prefers to take the natural route when possible, I find myself completely spinning sometimes with all the information available about sunscreens.

For the past few years I've followed the information being released about the dangers of regular, chemical-based sunscreens. There is a particularly informative document on Naturopath Lisa Vecchi's (of Oakville, Ontario) website. You can download a document entitled the Dangers of Sunscreen and Bug Repellent. It's two pages and a fairly quick read.

There is a chemical in most commercially available sunscreens that offers questionable safety b/c it easily penetrates the skin and is a strong free radical generator. Dr. Lisa encourages us to get a daily dosage of sunshine without sunscreen - of course being careful not to do it during peak hours or without a hat for protection. She suggests about 10 minutes or so, and then recommends applying sunscreen afterwards.

The Pure Know How site also offers some detailed and informative stuff on sunscreens, UV rays, SPF and more. They also recommend natural sunscreens. For the past few years, I've used California Baby and been quite happy with it. However, I'm thinking of trying Mexitan this summer, mostly b/c it is available at Lilou Organics here in Ottawa and I can buy it locally without having to pay shipping and duty from the United States.

I'll be honest, it doesn't rub into the skin and disappear as easily as chemical-based sunscreens, but after a bit it does disappear. Pete, our *picky* child, doesn't always love the white film left initially, but like last year . . . he'll get used to it :-)

Warning: too much cute stuff here

Well, if this isn't enough to keep me going on the "hard days", then I guess nothing will. If you have more than one child (and I'll even let you read on if you only have one), you'll know *exactly* what I mean. But, if this tugged at my heartstrings any harder, my heart would be ripped out and lying in a mess on the floor.

Since I promised to share some new golden nuggets of information with everyone, I'll talk today about one of my favourite sites to peruse for new threads for my kids. The Inspired Congo is a great place to find unique, WAHM-designed stuff for babies and kids. Click on the Hyenacart Shop so you can scroll through and see a variety of home-made and designed clothing and accessories by a number of talented ladies. I own a number of things from Nita at Hot Salad - and it's all amazing quality, cute, and super kid-friendly. The boys have a couple things they've worn since last summer, the clothing still looks brand new and washes so well. I've often had comments from friends (and strangers) about it so I wanted to share my secrets! Check them out! Leah is the proud new owner of this, and although it won't fit her until next summer, it's going to be super comfy (notice the diaper cover to match - way too cute!!).

I also just wanted to throw in a thanks to my family for a wonderful Mother's Day. We had a beautiful brunch at our neighbourhood pub (cannot beat Eggs Benedict there) and Paul surprised me (I'll use the term surprise *loosely* here!) with a necklace I'd been eyeing from Amos Pewter. It's gorgeous and I love it. I'm addicted to hand-crafted jewelry and this is definitely my new fab fav.

And just for good measure, to send you on your merry way:

We licked our leaky dipe problem!

Some of you know that I have been complaining as of late that Leah's diapers have been leaking. What is the point of using cloth diapers when they leak at every change and her clothing is wet too? Then I'm changing diapers every hour - not to mention putting a fresh, dry outfit on my babe. That's more time than I have during the day, and more than I'm willing to spend on extra laundry. I was perplexed and frustrated to say the least. The culprits were my Fuzzibunz, a pocket diaper that you stuff with a hemp or microfiber insert for absorbency. Well, they were leaking out the sides of the fitted legs - I wasn't sure if it was b/c Leah is chunkier than the boys were at this age and thus the diapers didn't have a snug fit, or if they were just too worn and used b/c Thing 1 and Thing 2 had worn them.

After researching online until my eyes were bloodshot, I went down to talk to Suzy at The Extraordinary Baby Shoppe. She said I likely needed to strip my diapers to get rid of unwanted detergent residue (which renders the diapers pretty much useless b/c they no longer are able to wick away the wetness). I told her I'd already stripped them using hot boiling water, but she gave me a baking soda and vinegar recipe to try. Well, it seems to have worked!!! I am beyond thrilled. I truly didn't want to use disposables (my reasons are tremendous cost savings; as well as for environmental reasons - I don't want to be filling up landfills with something as difficult to break down and decompose as disposable diapers) and was not excited to need to spend more money on new cloth dipes. I mean, I'm saving thousands of dollars using the same set I originally bought four years ago.

But, the desire to keep my girl in the cutest, finest, softest cloth dipes around, led me to pick up a few new dipes . . . seeing as I had made the trek all the way over to Parkdale to go to the store anyway :-) (Hey, is that the voice of reason I hear?).

These new Happy Heiny's are adorable. Similar to Fuzzibunz but with velcro instead of snaps. And I had wanted to try the new bamboo diaper from Bummi's for a while. Check out these sweet Bamboozles!! These need a cover, but I already have several at home.

So I'm off for now - yes, to change a diaper. But not an entire wet outfit :-) Colour me excited!!!

A day for Mother

Happy Mother's Day to every mom out there. There is only one day a year made for us, so enjoy it for every last second :-) I wanted to share a little poem I wrote for my own mom.

My Mother

My first memory of my dear, sweet mother

Is of her tucking me in, pulling up my cover

And off I went to sleep each night

With memories of her arms around me tight.

As I started to grow, she picked me up,

She cleaned my scrapes and put juice in my cup

She broke up fights between my sister and I

And helped with my homework as each year would go by.

She took me to skating and told me I was “good”

Even when my spiral didn’t look as it should

She encouraged me to read, and to fill my potential

To do well in school and earn any type of credential.

As time ticked by, I became a moody little bitch

From a cute little girl, that had been quite a switch

But that sweet mother, she loved unconditionally

She stuck it out, she always cared so traditionally.

Then she waved goodbye as I left on my way

To go to school in Ontario one bright sunny day

We were both very scared, but little did she know

That all she had taught me had prepared me to go.

I blossomed and learned to own my actions

To not worry what others thought, or need their reactions

To be true to my self, and loyal to friends

Has gotten me further than following trends.

But it wasn’t until I myself found a man

And married him out near the beach and the sand

And started a family of my very own

That I truly appreciated how fast time has flown.

Now that I have three babes in my nest

My own sense of motherhood is put to the test

The true and unending love that one mom can feel

Is something my own kin have helped to make real.

So today I understand all the small things you did

Like staying up all night when I was a sick kid

And showing your patience and your love and your pride

Helping me with that bike I learned to ride.

So now, mother dear, I dig down deeply to tell you

I appreciate, love, respect you, and thank you

For all that you did; and all that you are

You are one spectacular mother by far.

Changes to come . . .

Here is Princess Leah in one of her finest spring outfits. She's doing very well lately, truly blossoming into a real interactive, fun, smiley baby. She laughs and coos and likes to *play* with her brothers. She sleeps well and eats well. What more can one ask for, right?

I've decided to change things on my blog a little bit, to really try and spice things up (you know, like a Mexican burrito!). I'm impressed with my friend Tricia's new blog My one stop shop for all things mom, that I am hoping to do something similar here. She shares and comments on a variety of things related to being a mom, and well, since I couldn't be more submerged in being a mom right now, I am in the same boat. I'd like to start sharing ideas, web sites, tips, products and information that I like and in which I believe. While I'm not an expert in all areas, I am certainly aware and informed on a lot of issues surrounding how I raise my three children.

Of course I will still share photos of my cuties and my craft projects (which I suddenly have very little time for), but I hope some of my loyal readers will continue down this path with me.