How to have a baby Canadian style

After giving birth to my son Tommy in Washington DC I was pretty sure we were done having children.  I was getting older, the gap between Tommy and another sibling seemed too large (5 years) and further more I just didn't know if I had it in me to endure one more bout of morning sickness which only leads towards being as large as a hippo, and ultimately giving birth.  But sometimes things just happened and when I finally realized I was pregnant again I think it hit me like a ton of bricks.  I swear there were many times when I felt dying would be the more humane thing for myself than throwing up all day long, or when I just wanted to sit in a pool because I felt like a 500lbs. hippo.  But alas the day finally arrived when little Georgiana was born and I think her birth was the perfect punctuation mark for our little family.  After having a terrible experience at the hospital in Washington DC I knew this time around I was going to go total granola.  Here in Canada they have a midwifery program that is integrated into their mainstream health care.

So I decided to throw caution to the wind and have the baby all hippy-dippy at home.  Here are my fabulous midwives who were so wonderful during all the action.  The birth went smoothly and I found being at home to be so comfortable and relaxing.  And here is the book my sister Adriane gave me to read when I was in Arizona over the summer.

Adriane warned me when she gave it to me that it was a little "out there" but that the information was totally priceless for a natural home birth.  

When I read it I laughed my pants off.  The wordage reads like an episode of the Brady Bunch.  Everything is psychadelic, heavy, or telepathic.  Granted it was written by women who gave birth in the 1970's, so it just seems funny now.  When I read excerpts to Derek I could tell he was worried that I'd totally succumb to the dark side and encourage him to become a woodcutter and live in a converted school bus by a river.  But I digress,  when my hour of need arose and I was right there staring natural, home birth in the face, this psychadelic, hippy-dippy, book made SOOOOO much sense.  I will never laugh at it again--well not as much as I did before.  

Derek took a lot of revolting post birth photos of baby and I.  This one is semi-decent.

No that is not sasquatch, that is me the day of the birth of our little munchkin.  If anyone wants to know the secret of going into labor just make your way to Gatineau Park and hike the King Mountain Trail the day after your due date.  You'll get home and be in labor within minutes, worked for me at least.

The kids have adjusted well to having a new baby.  Tommy is especially enamoured with being a "big brother".  He is so offended when I won't let him hold little Georgiana.  In fact he's a little bit of a bully when it comes to holding her.  I have like a gazillion pictures of Tommy holding the baby, because he'll whine, lie, and cheat just to hold her.

 We have managed to squeeze in a few other people with little Georgie.  All the kids have been super helpful and loving and I consider myself one lucky Momma to have the kids that I do.

Derek's been a trooper too.  One nice thing about being in Canada is that his co-workers here would be more offended if he tried to go back to work rather than stay home with us.  It's nice to feel like people actually want you to spend time with your family.  Also he has endured my post baby mood swings like a champ.  We've mostly weathered my bad/happy moods by watching this guy be grumpy.

Ahhh...Good old Doc Martin.  He's sure to make you think twice about acting like a total jerk.  I don't know how Lew-eeser puts up with him.   Plus watching this show makes you want to go to Cornwall and hang out at Large and Son's restaurant, watch the scenery and wait for someone to pass out.

I feel so blessed to have had the experience of carrying and giving birth to little Georgiana.  She is the sweetest little newborn.  We have opened our hearts even wider to make space for this little one and miracle of miracles there is always room for more love.

Winter stuffs and Maple Syrup Adventures

So this winter has been a major doozy.  It seemed that winter started the moment my morning sickness went full throttle and now that I am feeling more like myself wouldn't you know winter is still hanging around the Great North.  Doesn't Canada know I'm feeling better!  Which means bring on the green grass, wild flowers, and birds singing.  Not ice pellets, frigid wind and the sound of scraper trucks driving past my house! Mother Nature is seriously one confused old lady!
Thankfully Canadians seem to have this long winter thing under control.  Once the holidays subside after, New Years, they begin preparing for Winterlude.  The canal gets a make over and yummy hot food stands pop up.  Then in February they turn downtown into a winter wonderland, transforming the snow into slides, mazes and statues.  Once you wrap your head around dressing appropriately for the weather, being outside doesn't seem so bad.

"sliding at winterlude"

"hanging tuff at winterlude"

                                               "being idiots in front of snow sculptures"  

Derek and I have the "embarrassing parent" pose down to a science!

    "partying Canadian style with french? english? soldiers and a giant inflatable beaver.  And of course       zip-lining in below zero weather--good times people!"

However when March comes, the snow has turned into gray mush.  Melted snow creates mini ponds in your back yard and everything starts looking really icky.
Enter "sugar bush" season.  Where the fluctuating temperature creates the perfect environment for extracting syrup from the maple trees.  Through out the country side little farms open up for the city folk to inspect the sticky harvest.  Added bonus are carriage rides, animal farms, and red cheeked kids running amok through puddles, while parents ooh and aah over maple syrup.

Thankfully we have good friends who watch over us here in Canada.  They make sure we experience the authentic traditions.

 Derek and I had the pleasure of accompanying our friends to a "leave the kids at home" night at a proper sugar bush restaurant called "Bean Town".  Complete with bon fire, French Canadian maple food, carriage rides, Old Lumberjack man making maple syrup taffy, and of course music and dancing.  It was like New France at Busch Gardens only colder and with out fried pickles.

  Outside "Bean Town" sugar bush farm.

 Mmm...pickled beets--I'll forgive them for not having fried pickles :)

 Our pea soup, cole slaw, foie gras, and bread--All the "non" maple syrup foods

Sorry about the creepy group shot.  What's up with our eyes?  

We had pancakes, bacon, beans, potatoes, egg souffle 

and like 2 quarts of maple syrup to drench everything in.  It was all you can eat and I think we might have taken too much advantage of that. 

 Old Lumber Jack man preparing the maple taffy. How you ask?  Boil maple syrup, get some snow, and pour.  I think when I'm an old Lady I'm gonna rock overalls and a Davey Crockett hat  :)

**Warning--Prepare to feast your eyes on some post maple syrup feast hotness!

 Here's what Charlie's Angels look like after consuming a bazillion calories of maple syrup!

Pretty sexy eh?

    

 

Watch out Cameron Diaz here we come!

After all that "hotness" we decided to chill out in the attic with the men-folk.

We ended the night back at the restaurant where they had a local guy playing some French Canadian tunes.  Then they switched over to club mode all I have to say to defend this video is I "blame it on the boogie".  Hahaha--we had a great time.  Now if I can only get Mother Nature to lighten up a bit.....

The Wedding

So way back in December Derek's little brother got married.  The wedding was in Phoenix, which had the BEST weather--it was sooo warm.  Ahhh... to be warm!  What does that feel like?  I don't know because it's March in Canada and there's like 5 feet of snowbank out our front yard.  Oh well.

I loved the wedding---Derek's brother Aaron has married a very sweet girl named Loren.  She was sweet and outgoing and very lovely.   They had all sorts of fun things planned for the wedding--a prenuptial 5k, family dinners, etc.

I was highly anticipating this wedding.  I had ideas of coordinating outfits, cute photos, travelling here and there to see family, etc.  However around November I found out I was pregnant and just like that I started to spiral into what I like to call the pregnancy insanity.  I have such bad morning sickness that I really should not be allowed to make decisions, operate vehicles, or be allowed in public.  Consequently we missed the reception, which I'm totally bummed about now that I'm slightly less sick and crazy.  However, It was a miracle I survived the 3 week long adventure in Arizona.

Here is A LOT of photographic evidence that we were actually in a warm climate a couple of months ago.  ***Disclaimer ----I swiped ALL of these photos from Loren's facebook.   I hope that is ok :)

 Oh this was a cute photo!  And by having me blurry in the back ground it looks as if all is well with me but......

 I probably looked more like this the whole time.  You know that look that says, "DON'T mess with this lady--she crazy!"  Just to know this picture is available to the masses---embarrassing is not really the right word.  But I'll own it ha!

 Here's Xela with her cute Aunties.  Love getting to see all of our Navajo relatives.

 I like this photo, a nice slice of reality.  It was just so relaxing and fun to be with all the siblings again!

 Ahhh...I like me some nice soft grass to lounge in too.  I can't WAIT for the snow to melt so I can sit in the sun, in the grass, relaxed---mmmmm.  Now if I could just look as cute as Sophie?

 Emma and Jaymes, aren't they a handsome couple?  I guess I should've put a picture of Emma's cute pregnancy belly, but you can only swipe so many pictures off of facebook--you know?!

 I think Hanna and I have a future in modeling--look at how we work that camera.  It's all about the closed eyes and the nonchalant wrinkled brow line.  Can I get an Amen on that?

 Oh what a cute photo of our family.  Tommy was sick as a dog that day.  Poor thing.  Wish I would stand up straight once in a while.  Then I wouldn't look constantly 5 months pregnant!

 I'm so happy cute little cousin Miah made it out to the celebration.  We loved hangin with that homey once again!

 I couldn't resist this classic Farina pose!  Those glasses on Reener --only she could pull it off, well her and Johnny Depp :)

 The siblings reunite!  So sweet to have everyone there :)  Derek you are from one good looking family!

 Photographic evidence of me swiping temple ground grapefruits to feed my children and myself.  I hope it's not a crime and if it is I plead pregnancy insanity once again!

 Oh Xela with her favorite Uncle Awon!  So sweet :)

 The cute photogenic couple.

 Love that Xela is chillin out with her bouquet.

Well that's all for now.  Loren had quite a few more photos that I may use in a future post.  But it would really be my way of getting a copy of the pictures.  Huzzah to weddings and warmth and grapefruits!

Randomness

I'm not the best record keeper or anything that requires organization and patience, so I often kick myself for letting moments pass by without recording the memories.  I am trying to make my weakness a strength.  Little by little I guess.

When I opened up our picture files the first ones to pop up were from the Fall.  Above is Xela with her class all dressed up for Halloween.  I was a little out of sorts this fall.  Sophie and Leah pulled together their own costumes and Xela found that old (too small) Pocahontas costume in the basement.  I guess I'm over trying hard for Halloween.  Thankfully my girls are capable.  

Xela really loves her class and her school.  In many ways it has been quite a blessing to move to Canada.  Xela was under immense pressure at her school in Maryland to perform and meet benchmark standards. This year we had her tested and we found out she is dyslexic.  Her school has been very supportive and has given her so much attention.  Her reading and memory acquisition skills have really improved.  It has opened up our understanding of how she learns.

Sophie and Leah are now both in Middle School.  Each year students participate in a school musical.  This year they performed Alice vs. Wonderland.  Sophie was the 7 of hearts card and Leah surprised us by getting the part of the Mad Hatter?  They both did an amazing job.  These two have enjoyed their experiences at their school. 

 In the picture above they are in the dining hall.  Their school reminds me of Hogwarts from Harry Potter.  In fact I'm almost 100% sure the staircases in their school move around just like in the books.  I've have gotten lost in that old building so many times.  There are many twists and turns and nooks and crannies.  I'm on the verge of getting my girls cell phones, just so I don't have to run around that school to find them.

In November Derek and I were able to attend the US Marine Ball.  It is a formal affair, obviously.  I had a really great time trying to find a dress.  Many people spend a couple of hundred dollars to purchase their gown.  I'm such a cheapster that I refused to spend a lot of money.  I happened to stop by a Salvation Army in Watertown, NY.  There was a rack full of brand new "brides maids gowns".  I found this dress and it fit like a glove.  The orginal thrift store price tag was $40, but it was just my luck that it was 1/2 of day.  So I purchased that dress for $20.  I went on line and found the same dress being sold between $125 and $175, so I think I did pretty well.  Derek looked amazing, but renting a tux is NOT cheap.  His rental tux set us back $200, but he looked amazing and we had a great time, so it's all worth it in the end!

Tommy loves to go on walks.  His favorite spot is a little waterfall by our house.  There is a great place to throw and skip rocks.  He literally could spend all afternoon there on a nice autumn day.  He tries to climb up all the rocks which is lovely when we are alone as a family.  But when others are around I can see the panic on their face as he tries to climb some of the rocks.  I trust his abilities though.  Love that kid!

There is a canal by our home as well.  If you walk alongside it you can reach downtown Ottawa.  There are still boats that use the canal.  Derek and I liked to wake up early Saturday mornings and take the canal walkway.  On this particular morning I couldn't resist the beautiful reflection of the small cottage and trees.  I'm so glad cell phones take fairly good pictures nowadays.   

Arizona

We were fortunate enough to go to Arizona for three weeks this Christmas.  We enjoyed ourselves immensely--even though I was pretty dang sick the whole time (another story).  Anyway we spent a few days at my sister Adriane's abode in Camp Verde.  Adriane was a week late having her baby and we were trying sooo hard to make that baby come.  Attempt #1 in Operation "Deliver that Baby" we decided to let Preggers take us for a nice long walk.  Cousin Brooke, Mom Wilkins, Luke, and Mom Smith were on hand to join us for our hike in Sedona.  Cuzzie Brooke was good enough to take some nice snapshots of the fam.  Thanks cuz!
*side note and undocumented in photos is attempt #2 to get the baby out--Brooke brought Latin dance/Zumba videos for us all to do.  Poor Adriane danced her booty off and still no baby!

Derek loved to climb the rocks in Sedona.  We'd blink and he'd be half way up the rock formations.  Mom Smith, the kids, and I tried to keep up with him.  Poor Luke saw us at the top of the rocks and he thought we had left him behind.  So when we met up again he was anxious to be in all of the pictures--love that crazy kid :)

Here we are trying to make Luke feel better.

My cute boys!

Kids posed themselves and insisted Brooke climb back up to take this shot.  Not only is Brooke so much fun but she's a good sport too!