Anticipation

It's almost time to get my hands dirty........

Boys redo - 1

We have been in our new home for almost 18 months now. Our little house is kind of quirky compared to many of our more suburband homes of the past. The main part of the house is a updated 30 year old modular home. Previous owners have made some interesting additions & decor choices which I'm slowly organizing a plan to repair or modify or simply bring into this decade.. When we first moved in, Anthony moved into the large back room located in the addition. It has good bones...hard wood floors & ceiling. My plan was to have both boys share this room ( which they were on board with). However, some how in the move the bolts for the bunks were lost. After a whole lots of fussing around I was able to get new bolts from IKEA. Up until this morning Ana & Liam have been sharing the bunks in Ana's room. This sleeping arrangment was fine when they were little. This morning I reached my limit with being woken up with their conflicts. So...even though I haven't gotten the room painted...Liam's moving in !!

(The "before" was quite a disaster in my opinion.....my big boy & I have a different idea of " clean & organized". I'm planning on painting the room a lighter/warmer color. I would also like to install a larger window & some curtains to cover up the open shelving/closet)

( How excited are you? - " I've been waiting this long....20...200....well almost forever to have my bed back......this is good......brother's should be together...right Mom?")

I would have Loved to have this project completed completely before moving Liam in.....Oh well ! Now I have my kick in the pants to get painting !!!

Anxiety....

This weekend my big boy and I had a first. Anthony traveled with his scout leaders, a well intentioned group of Dad's to a mass scouting sleepover at Science World in Vancouver. This require them to drive from here to Naniamo ( approx. 3hr), take a 1 1/2hr long ferry, catch the right shuttle bus from Horseshoe Bay to the sky train station, then sky train into Vancouver making sure they got off at the right stop !! I know I sound a little over the top don't I. My concerns came from the leaders total disorganization.

My boy & I have both practiced this " him being independent thing" in various ways. Which have all been successful. I was worried this time not because I was second guessing how he was going to behave. I was more worried about the people he was traveling with. So I decided instead of canceling the trip I was going to look at it as a opportunity to pass on a deeper lesson "in taking care of yourself" to my child.

So we:

- packed lots of extra gluten free foods just in case he wasn't able to eat much that was provided.
- a list of " just in case" phone numbers ( his Aunty & Uncles & home)
-$25 in cash & change for the phone & food.
- discussed what the agenda was supposed to look like & what was appropriate conduct for him, the other boys & for his leaders.
- I reinforced the idea of listening to that little voice. That there was no such thing as a bad reason for calling for help or even just to check in if he was feeling unsure !!

Well he arrived home safe & sound & super tired with a great big smile. He had eaten all his rations, spent all his money and had the best time. His leader praised him for being such a great kid !! It was nice for both of us to hear.....a fact that is not lost on me....he so great !!!

All is good !!!

Results

So today I met with my lovely doctor Graham ( aka Dr. Blackburn) to find out some test results. Before I share them I thought I'd share a bit of my journey to today.

In 2003 I was diagnoised with having PCOS ( polycystic ovarian syndrome) by my then fertility doctor. It was one of those "ahah" moments. I had been wondering for sometimes why it was that I kept gaining weight and had irregular cycles. I had seen many doctors who always just shrugged my concerns off. Most women meet with a fertility specialist because they already have some concerns about getting pregnant. This was not true in my case. I went to discuss my options of having a pregnancy with artificial insemination with donor sperm. It was during this process that I was diagnoised. It explained so much.

I have always been a person who enjoyed healthy uncomplicated foods. I love my veggies and have never really been to keen on covering my food with sauce & added fat. While at the same time I have also always had a love of salty & sugar foods. My calories going in and my energy output should have managed my weight fine....but it didn't. I was always puzzled to what it was that I was missing?

Well now I knew......my body doesn't process sugar like most peoples. After taking a bit of time to wrap my head around the whole thing I formulated my plan. Over the last 7 years or so I have modified my diet & increased my exercise to maintain a perfect BMI. Initially the goal was to get to a healthy place to be able to conceive successfully. I have since changed my plans to have my own prenancy. I'm now okay with not haven given birth. I have 4 beautiful children and most likely could adopt more if I desired. Oh ! don't get me wrong... if I were to find out through some miraculous event that I was pregnant I would be over the moon !!! I'm just not going to go on complicated fertility drugs to make it happen.

A few weeks ago I went to Graham. In the last 2.5 months I have suddenly gained 15 lbs. My exzema has gone crazy & my cycles are acting up again. He sent me off for a complete blood panel. Well after that big long winded history lesson it appears that my PCOS is totally under control, my hormone & insalin levels are normal, and my cholestoral is beyond perfect according to the docts !

It appears that my body is finally acting find and I just need to exercise more and use a stronger medicated cream ! Sheesh !!! Good thing spring is coming & I have new walking buddy.

Spring Break

This year we spent the break in Courtenay. It worked out so well. Our local favorite motel was okay with our new addition, as long as we used her kennel. The rec. center was offering some age appropriate, well priced day program and it was Ana's 8th birthday smack dab in the middle.

( Liam, Denise ( camp leader) & Ana )

( Ana loves these scutter thingies !!)

( Piper Loved having us all in the same room )

( One of the many perks to living in a Motel - eating dinner sprawled out in front of the t.v on your bed)

( The " Bigs" took part in a 3 day stain glass workshop. They both really enjoyed themselves. Keisha made this beauty for me, it's meant to hang in the window)

( The " lg pool" had opened up their schedule for the break. Keish & Anthony made 3 different trips.)

( On our very last morning we woke to THIS !!)

( Piper checking out the snow for the first time....she was way more excited than I was !!)

Doubled !!!

While down in Courtenay I put in several rolls of film for development. When I came across these shots I just had to smile. That light brown rolely polely pup standing right in the middle of the tray is our Piper !! She about 7 weeks and so small !!

Little puppy bums !!

Anthony & Piper ( 11wks ) a week ago hanging at the park. It's amazing how much she has grown in only 5 weeks. She weighed in a 15.8 lbs when she was 9 weeks old. I wonder how much she be at her next check in this Wednesday?

* update - She's now 13 weeks and weighing in at 21.8 lbs !!!

I'm so happy with my choice. She's a GREAT addition to our family !!!

turning 8 - Ana style !

Mom - What would you like to do for your birthday my Ana Rose?

Ana - " I want to go to Nana & Grandpa's, have a cake & some presents ! "

Mom - How about all of that and a week of camp?

Ana - " OKAY !!"


So Nana Val & I put our heads together and came up with a great plan for the day. First, camp with a large cake to share with everyone ( they sang the birthday song to her twice ! ). Second, the presentation of her birthday tiarra & orange feather boa. Third, a couple gifts to open( new hair clips, a stuff doggie carrier & the game Connect 4). Forth, a wonderful homemade ham dinner. Last but not least....an amazing cake made by Nana !!!









Thank you Nana & Grandpa for hosting such a great party !!!

My girls 8 !!!!

Anastacia Rose Violet Mobey Shepley
March 10th, 2002

( 2002 - 3 weeks old the day I brought her home)

( 2003 - Spring Break on Hornby Island)

( 2004 - On her 3rd birthday)

(2005 - washing the van in March believe it or not ! )

(2006 - Ana's fourth b-day in Alberta)

( 2007 - Playing at the park)

( 2008 - photo taken by Aunty Vanessa)

(2009 - at Aunty Vanessa's & Uncle Ray's farm in Whitehorse)

a day of first & memories.....

We arrived in Courtenay just before 9 am on Monday. The weather was beyond wonderful. Ana & Liam went off to their first all day Spring Break Camp at the Lewis Center. The " bigs" and I went for some breakfast, checked into our favorite motel and ran some errands. Before we knew it it was time to pick the " littles" up. The day was so beautiful we just needed to play outside some more......

Just before leaving town our Ped. Dr. Lund gave us the results of Keisha's blood work. It appears that she does not have Celiac after all. It seems that she most likely had a severe intolerance to wheat & gluton. When she moved in at 3 she was in such bad shape from all the years of neglect & abuse. Living all these years as a Celiac have allowed her body to heal.

What better way the celebrate...than with legendary burgers & onion rings from White Spot !!

I decided to take the kids on a little tour of our old neighborhood. Liam's been asking a lot about our time in Courtenay. He's was only 15 months old when we moved away. We visited several times over the years that followed. However his memories are all disconnected. So we picked up our White Spot dinner and headed to the little park in our old neighborhood. Even though Liam has had a legendary burger before it's been a while. Both he & Keish were VERY pleased with how yummy they were. According to my little man " this special sauce sure is SPECIAL !! "





We played, shared memories and enjoyed soaking in some so much lovely vitamin D. What a wonderful way to start our holiday !!!

We're all loaded....

......and ready to hit the road for Spring Break.

my girl....

I received this from Ana today. She had had a VERY tough morning which ended with the two of us having a fight. I hate that many times all my experience & training means nothing. In the end the things that she needs to redirect herself is my being angry with her.

I asked her to tell me about her drawing and this is what she said:

" This witch is you ( mom). She's making a potion to make her kids happy again, because she loves them & doesn't like them to fight. This cow is Anthony because he's slow & quiet. These three sharks in the circle are Liam, Keisha in the middle & me."

What a perfect illustration of how we are as a family right now ! A reminder that even when she appears to barely be functioning...she doesn't miss much.

Ouch !!

Got a call this morning from our secretary Mary saying that Liam needed me to come & help him out in the bathroom. After over 4 year we finally found out that my little boy wasn't just being difficult when it came to toilet training....he has a deformed colon !! So we have a deal with his teachers that if he feels like it's too much to handle..." I'm just a call away".

As I entered the school I could here his class in the gym. Just as I passed the through the doors, I heard that horrible sound of my own child's hurt cry!!! Liam's teacher was in the midst of picking him & his new buddy Bradley up off the floor. The boys had collided...really hard. Liam's nose & mouth were both bleeding. Bradley had a huge goose egg developing on his forehead.

I walked both boy to the office/medical center. Mary came & got Bradley. They went to the kitchen for an ice pack. Liam & I went off to wash his face off. His front top teeth/gums were bleeding & swollen. Thankfully he hadn't bitten through his lips or tongue & his nose stopped bleeding quickly. His feeling on the other hand......after much sobbing......we decided that maybe it was time to go home.

It's amazing how a frozen fruit pop & a little " Scooby Doo" can make everything better !!!