Flop

Well, it seems that babies and baking don't mix. Last night I was making dinner, mixing up dough for pizza buns, refereeing sibling rivalry and entertaining a whining, teething baby. Something suffered and that was my dough.

It was utterly disgusting and it took me all evening to try and think of why it didn't mix properly. I am pretty sure I doubled the water. The mass was sticky and gooey and no matter how much flour I added it would not pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl.

This dough felt just like a post partum tummy. Jiggly and soft. A feeling I know all too well.

I baked it up anyway to see what would happen. I got two flat, tough and gummy loaves of bread. The kids aren't fussy and quite enjoy a large piece warm from the oven with butter and jam. I need to stop multi-tasking so much!

On a brighter note, Liam slept in his crib last night without the bassinette and did his longest stretch ever! Exciting!

Also, he rolled over from his tummy to back. I missed it though. I put him on his tummy and then turned to talk to Chad and the next thing I know, he's right under my face looking rather startled!

Welcome Emma

Congratulations to our dear friends, Darryl & Sinead who had their third daughter yesterday.

Emma arrived in the morning weighing 7 lbs 13 oz. She is also welcomed by her big sisters, Ceara & Clodagh. Isn't she a doll?!

About Me

I got this from a fellow blogger and figured why not! You're supposed to write down the first thing that comes to your mind.

I am...tired.
I think...a lot of silly thoughts.
I know...that I could be a better wife and mother
I want...to be a better wife and mother!
I have...too many lazy habits.
I wish...I knew what I wanted to do for a career.
I hate...unvacuumed carpets.
I miss...my life before baby (just the freedom).
I fear...flying.
I hear...the hum of the hard drive and the blessed quiet of children in bed.
I smell...chocolate icing on my breath from scraping out the cake pan.
I wonder...if my fillings are going to hurt tomorrow.
I regret...worrying about the future and not living in the moment.
I love...my life...thank you God!
I am not...going on my morning walk tomorrow due to snowy sidewalks.
I believe... in God.
I dance...very poorly and therefore I don't dance at all.
I sing...in my car, always.
I don't...like washing, blow drying and straightening my hair.
I win...when I hold my tongue in a disagreement.
I lose...when I let my anger get the best of me.
I dislike...tailgaters.
I never...want to see my children get hurt.
I listen...to my boys ask 'what's for a snack' every single day after school.
I am scared...of asserting myself.
I read...every night before I go to sleep.
I am happy...when my family is happy.
I notice...people...love to people watch.
I express...myself better in writing than in speech.
I talk...very kindly to anyone in customer service because I've been there.
I drive...a Jetta that wants a new home very badly.
I watch...Lost and am forever confused by the storylines.
I dream...of one day not having to budget our finances so closely.
I need...more self control in the eating department.
I haven't...dusted my baseboards for a long time.
I pick...really horrible honeydew melons....what's the trick?
I run...when someone is chasing me.
I suppose...I'll have to do the same things I did today again tomorrow.
I wear...cheap perfume that smells like suntan lotion.
I cry...every single time I watch TLC's A Baby Story.
I smile...just about everyday.
I own...my actions.
I make...really good cookies.

4 Months Old Today

Our delightful little man is a whopping four months old now.

He celebrated this milestone by sleeping in his very own room last night. Yippee! To be honest, I don't know if he even realized it but I sure enjoyed having my bedroom to myself again. We set up his crib yesterday and he's doing a gradual entry program. Bassinette in the crib for a while and then directly in the crib. I need to go and buy a mattress pad and my mom is sewing me some sheets.

Now I can read before bed, turn the light on at night, be as noisy as I like in my ensuite and open up my drawers all the way to get my socks and undies. (his bassinette was in front of my dresser) Plus the room is much less cluttered now and somehow that just makes my day.

As of yesterday he decided he loves his rice cereal and now opens very wide when I get the spoon anywhere near his mouth and kicks his legs in anticipation before each taste. He's so much fun and we are just cherishing all these specials days as we realize they go by so fast!

Not Like They Used to Be!

Okay....Chad came home today with a birthday party invitation.

The party is at the pool and the kids will be served supper with a choice of either pizza or sushi!!!

Chad is beside himself with excitement due to his sushi addiction. I sort of wish I was invited myself :)

What happened to hot dogs and potato chips?

Too Short but Very Sweet!

My friend, Jenn and her kids were able to stop by last night for a quick visit on their way to see her sister in Chilliwack. Even though Salt Spring Island isn't that far away, we don't get to see each other very often. We had a speedy update on each other's lives while the kids had fun playing and getting reaquainted. Sorry we didn't get to see you Christian, but Jenn convinced us to come for a visit this spring so we'll catch you then!

Unimpressed

Liam had his first taste of rice cereal a few nights ago. Let's just say it didn't go so well!

He was a bit cranky so my timing was a bit off.

Over the past few days I've tried a few more teaspoons and thinned it out a bit. He's accepting it a bit better now!

My Own Little Game

Since the kitchen seems to be where I spend most of my time I thought I'd write up a little meme for you you!
I'd like you to play along too, so will you oblige? Anyone can play....anyone with the urge to share their dirty little kitchen secrets :)

Ten Random Facts about Me & My Kitchen

1. I love my Kitchen Aid stand up mixer. It is the best purchase I have ever made...kitchen-wise. I think all bakers need to have one.

2. I do not 'cook' food in my microwave. I am not sure it's completely safe. Yet I will re-heat and de-frost food in there. Go figure!

3. You won't find many ready made foods in my cupboards. My kids don't get granola bars or fruits snacks in their school lunches. I bake everything for them. When we vacation or take day trips they get very excited about those sorts of food because they are a big treat for them.

4. The one thing you will ALWAYS find in my deep freeze is hashbrowns. Keith adores them and eats them every single weekend.

5. Everytime I open my cutlery drawer and see the tray I think I should wash it out and I never do. Je ne sais pas. One day.

6. I always keep some butter in the cupboard for spreading on toast, etc. I know it should be kept in the fridge but it hasn't killed us yet!

7. My plastic container cupboard looks like a bomb hit it. I loathe organizing it and hope that one day my husband or some other kind person will do it for me.

8. I don't know how to make coffee. I really should learn.

9. Raw meat really grosses me out. I hate to touch it or smell it. This is my least favorite part about cooking supper.

10. I keep my bread in the freezer at all times. I know everyone has their own way of storing bread. I've seen it in fridges and on counter tops. Must be in the way we were raised.

11. My one wish for my kitchen is an island. I think we'll move before that happens!

Well, now you know plenty of trivial facts about me and my kitchen. Won't you play too?
Tell us ten facts about your kitchen and then one thing you would like to do to improve your kitchen.

Finito

My dad called us last week to let us know of a great opportunity. It seems that one of his customers was trying to get rid of an range microwave. The lady was short and found it difficult to reach the back of the microwave to clean it. He thought of us and there was a swift transaction made. We got a one month old unit for a fraction of the cost of a new one! And I just love a good deal. We really didn't need one but our microwave was 14 years old and took up valuable counter space. My dad assured us it would be easy to install. Ahem....this was a very trying few days for my husband. The unit was not easy to install and it took Keith a total of nine hours to get it installed!

Before (the range hood already removed)

After

Look at the face on that man. Utterly fed up and very glad it's finally installed!

Just a goofy picture of my baby wearing Nate's specs. Let's hope he never has to wear them for real.

Liam now sits with us as we are eating our meals. He's liking being a part of the family during mealtime. I think he's very close to being ready to try some solids. He watches us eat very intently! I think by four months we'll be dishing up some scrumptious rice cereal.

Today Keith took me on a date. After many weeks of dropping hints and having one or ten emotional break downs he wised up and arranged an afternoon matinee for us. It was really nice to get away from all three lads. We saw 'Yes Man' (not our first choice but 'Doubt' wasn't playing in town anymore) and it was pretty funny. Crass but funny! We found ourselves laughing when no one else in the theatre was so I suspect it was plain giddiness from being 'kidlesss' for an afternoon. Thanks Mom and Dad for taking the boys!

Beautiful but C.O.L.D.!!!

Wow is it ever gorgeous out there! The weather is lovely with all the mountain views and very fresh crisp air. The only thing about winter sun streaming in my windows is that I see dirt and dust everywhere. That is quickly remedied by tilting my blinds closed a wee bit :)

Actually my mom very graciously came over to watch Liam and clean my kitchen blinds last week while I was at the dentist. I'm very thankful because the dusty grease is so hard to clean off.

Keith is on a course for work today so I took the boys out for a long walk to get some fresh air and exercise. It sure felt good!

I haven't blogged in a bit.

Here is the latest:

~our vehicles have not sold. I am trying not to be discouraged but not even one bite on either of them makes me a little nervous.

~we are in the middle of a project in our kitchen that is becoming very frustrating but is almost done. A post should be coming in the next day or two of course.

~my brother is in Hawaii right now and I am very jealous and perturbed that he didn't want me along as a chaperone :)

~we haven't been able to walk up and down our driveway for about a week due to the frost. A north-facing steep driveway in winter is the pits. It NEVER thaws out!

~we were able to pass along our 'spare room' queen size bed to my cousin and his wife who had been sleeping on a double mattress on the floor since they've been married 1.5 yrs ago. We had a great sermon last week on giving and keeping too much 'stuff' in our lives and it convicted us to let go of things we keep 'just in case' to be used by someone here and now!

That's it....'til next time!

One Down...Two to Go!

Chad's room is all ready and he's feeling very settled in now. Last night we hung up the rest of his posters. He's pleased with it and if he's happy, we are happy.

A place for everything and everthing in it's place. Tragically, no one in my house feels the same way I do about that!

Keith had his posters perfectly aligned of course.

The toy bin corner. It probably won't be this tidy for long.

The boys hanging out this morning in Nate's bed.

Braveheart

Today Chad proved himself to be a very VERY brave young man. He got FOUR teeth pulled at the dentist! He went into the room and did this all on his own. The dental assistant came out afterwards and told me just how brave Chad was. I guess he was able to squeeze her hand and he had quite the death grip on her! He was in the room for an hour and I was very nervous sitting in the waiting room. I didn't hear any screams so I figured he was okay :) Chad did not get the teeth pulled because they were rotten but because he's got some over-crowding and the adult ones needed the room to come in. We were advised by our orthodontist that there 'wasn't enough room in the garage for the big cars'. Chad was rewarded with $20 and ice cream BEFORE dinner! Nathan and him have struck some sort of deal and it seems they are going to pool this money and their Christmas money to buy some Lego set.

Chad's new smile. It's awfully cute. The two teeth on either side of his front ones were pulled.

The reward! He got ice cream before supper and afterwards! I think I'm more relieved this is all over than he is.

I had to add these pictures of my scrumptious baby. Oh the cuteness...I can barely stand it! His first time in his exersaucer. He seemed to enjoy it.

Catching Up

First of all....can I just say 'YEAH' for no school on first day back to school? That was a lovely treat! All this snow is wonderful, yes it interrupts routine but it'll be gone before we know it and we'll all be back to drowning in rain.

Well forget about the rest of those Christmas photos. That is old news now and I don't really feel like going backwards.

We've had a bit of drama at the Dyck household. First of all our cat was put down yesterday. She took a major turn for the worse on the weekend and we just had to put her out of her suffering. The boys took it pretty hard. Nate went with Keith to the vet and was very brave about seeing Bailey out of this world. Chad was doing pretty good until bedtime when he had a major breakdown. Apparently he had noticed that we had already tidied up the cat area a bit and he said we didn't have any 'respect'! The mind of a seven year old....very fascinating.

Nathan was moved into his new room in the basement yesterday as well. (pix to come when it's all looking spiffy) He's so far away from us now and I'll miss just popping by his room to see what he's up to. He had a wonderful sleep the first night and said he was toasty warm. I did buy him a new extra warm duvet from Ikea as I feared it would be chilly down there. He did have a bit of a start this morning. He raced up the stairs first thing with adrenalin pumping! He thought he heard the carbon monoxide detector going off but what it was his alarm set to 'buzzer' instead of the radio! Poor guy....I guess that little talk about safety last night with the smoke alarm and carbon monoxide dectector really stayed with him!

So we are moving Chad to Nate's old room and Liam into Chad's room! It's way more work than I thought it would be but when it's all done everyone should be very happy. I'll be glad to have Liam out of our room and all his stuff which is strewn all over the place to have a home. I hate clutter.

Here are some recent photos of this and that...

Liam has only three more days of using the nebulizer. Thank goodness! He hates it and usually screams and fights us the entire time. The medicicine usually takes 10-15 minutes to process.
Liam got this puppy for Christmas and has really taken a liking to it. I think that it's going to be his 'lovey' for the next few years. Thanks Auntie Tracy!

And lastly, Liam has been introduced to the Jolly Jumper. He seemed to like it and enjoyed being upright and checking out things from a different perspective.

Out of Order

Yes, the next post was to be Christmas Day but I lied!
It's going to be New Year's Eve instead. We had a VERY low-key evening. Considering the stress and worry of the past couple of days we just wanted to stay home. The boys were all excited to be able to stay up to midnight (yes they made it!) and play games and eat treats.
When I asked the boys what sort of treats I should buy Chad told me chips and rootbeer floats. Nate told me he wanted veggies and dip. That pretty much sums up the appetite of those two kids!

We ate pizza while watching a few episodes of the Cosby show on DVD.We played a new game that Nate got for Christmas. Very fun!

Liam wasn't impressed by any of the festivities and decided to sleep through most of it.

Liam in 2009...recovering nicely! He's just a precious little boy and we're so glad he's getting better.