Mama-luia

We celebrated our fifth anniversary this week. It was truly enjoyable day. We were able to get to Mass as a family, which was lovely, and the kids were excited because we hyped it for them a little (not to be self-centred, but because we think it's an occasion worth celebrating as a family). Noah even surprised us with a gift! While out doing an errand with his aunt, he decided he wanted to give us a big bag of marshmallows. Not the size of the bag, but the marshmallows themselves. Enormous . He promptly asked us if we could go camping that night and roast them by the fire. Isaiah "helped" me set the table. I'm kind of in love with how we went from having virtually nothing when we got married, to so many beautiful things, basically all given to us! Tablecloth: Dollarama find-o'-steel from my Mom. It seemed appropriate because my bouquet was lilies. China: A beautiful hand-me-down from my mother-in-law. It was her own mother's. Hutch: (still e...

I just love my new house!  The tall staircase, the tin ceiling in the living room, the fact that it has two, count 'em two, bathrooms, the spacious backyard, the sweet little laundry room away from the public's eye (as our old house had the laundry RIGHT at the front door). All of it is begging to be photographed. . . when perhaps there are fewer cardboard boxes to be seen.  Yet some of it could use a leeetle sprucing up, Jenna-style, so it will look more like our home. Thus I give you this week's 5 Favourites! 1. This adorable kid-room art. This little fellow in the painting reminds me so much of my own boys that I would love to have this hanging in their bedroom. Right now their room is a mishmash of dated wood-panelling and stencils of... wait for it... hummingbirds feeding from morning-glories . It fascinates me who decided to go ahead with that! My agreeable little four-year-old told me, "I like the hummingbirds pretty well, but I think...

We are alive. More than that, we are so very content. We arrived in the little town that is our new home, and will be moving into the home we hoped and prayed could be ours, in just a week. We have already been met with warm welcomes, a bottle of wine, and a box of pantry items. (Thoughtful friends give you Saran Wrap and all-purpose cleaner when you're moving, for your information. They have both proven to be imminently useful.) We faced what seemed like many setbacks getting here -- our initial offer not going through on our house, our van breaking down in rural Quebec, among others -- but we are here, and so happy. **** We had our first glimpse of Baby Lemon this week via ultrasound. Imagine our surprise and delight when we discovered the hospital here allows women to bring three guests in to watch! Noah, Isaiah, and Patrick all got to meet our very active, sweet little baby, who did his or her darndest to allude the technician's efforts for a clear images. She ...

Isaiah is two now. It's funny, really, because he embodies so much 'two-ish-ness' that it seems odd that it took him this long to reach his birthday. He is one unstoppable force of energy, that child! Shrove Tuesday. Joining in on the parish Pancake Race (which combined all his passions --  running around like crazy,  wearing a costume {the apron} and consuming carbs) But do you know what else he is? A really affectionate little soul. He is actually becoming more cuddly as time goes on, unlike Noah, who has grown into a stage (I hope it's only a stage!) where being hugged or kissed, even by my, isn't to his taste. Isaiah, however, he just loves to cuddle. Painting en plein air (the fancy way of saying painting outside) He also has the most adorable love and reverence for babies. When we were house-hunting in our soon-to-be hometown recently, we saw so many babies. Isaiah was just in awe. He wanted to touch their little faces, mak...

My mind is a little chaotic these days. Don't come for a stay unless armed with Percozet or red wine for yourself, rippled potato chips for me. It is a little jungle in here. Yet in an effort to catalogue the various odd happening in my life, I am writing amidst my inner " Squirrel !"  If your toddler is interested in sampling a loved one's herbal laxative tea, don't let him. He might just like the taste, and ask for another sip... followed by another... followed by it's  efficacious results . Driving under the influence of a) pregnancy hormones and b) Cat Steven's  Cat's in the Cradle  is never, never wise.  So much ugly-crying. Date nights might be essential for some couples, but you know what I've realized? I am with my husband  all the time  because he works from home . Sometimes what we need is a 'Date' Night with  friends  instead of each other. It gives us something to talk about other than, say, depressing news from Lifes...

Just the other day, Isaiah walked over to me in the kitchen and said, "Hi Baby Lemon!" to my belly, and it stuck. He was a Baby Appleseed when in the womb, so it seemed appropriate to make this child a fruit as well. Funnily enough, when I looked prenatal development up on Babycenter.ca, I found out at 14 weeks gestation, this baby's current age, he or she is actually the size of a lemon! What a funny coincidence! I also think it's appropriate because I can't get enough lemon-water, at Little Lemon's constant request. Better yet,  Perrier  water with a slice or two of lemon. Little Baby Lemon, your requests are already so refined! Sidebar: if you feel like amusing yourself immensely  via the Internet,  look up "baby lemon" on Google images, and find gems such as this. Poor, poor little baby. In any case, while this child will be born into a house of wildness and noise, our little family is already full of love for the child we have...

I remember reading a few months back Amanda Soule's blog post about her son's fourth birthday, and feeling excitement and joy at what was to come in the life of our oldest: "I do so love  four . This fourth time around for me, I think I can safely say that it's one of my very favorite ages. Coming out a bit from the early years of rapid growth and intense development,  who they are  begins to really emerge in definitive and unique ways." I see that already, too. I am so delighted in the little person Noah is becoming. It is quite wonderful and surprising all at once to see him emerge as: funny, creative, imaginative, opinionated, compassionate, clever, enthusiastic, 'game' for any sort of adventure or excursion, curious, rambunctious, introspective and much more, all rolled into a sweet little boy who loves to cuddle, be read to, paint, explore the outdoors,  play with Daddy,  and generally live, laugh and be with the people he loves. ...