All About me – Page 10 – a hippie with a minivan

What an amazing week… (part 1)

I am now on the way home, stopped over in Vancouver for the night and heading to Montreal in the morning.I am eager to be home but had an amazing trip with a great last week of time with Annie and her family.

I couldn’t have asked for more; from the Ocean and a warm secluded beach, to the moutains and snow, to a beautiful walk in a mossy forest, to a beautiful drive for a two night stay 4 hours away and then eating freshly caught crab on the beach and then a tour of the Museum of Northern BC… it was great.

I had never really been in Northern BC besides for a stay in the Queen Charlotte Islands as a young child. I have to admit though, now that I am seeing it and metting the people, I am loving it, and would definately concider looking into it if we decided to move to BC as I have wanted ever since we left.

Just after I posted my last blog post, we headed out on Keith and Erin’s boat (friends of Annie) and with their new little rubber boat we headed for Kitson Island, a secluded Island park just south of Prince Rupert. Getting on the little boat from the big one was a bit nervewracking with Wilhelmina (and Camera) in tow but it went perfectly well and it was an amazing adventure…

(as usual click on any of the below pics to see them larger)

The day after the beach we headed to the top of Mount Haze, the mountain that casts a shadow on Prince-Rupert. We starterd up the bumpy road toward the top and almost considered heading back at one point with all of the snow and Ice, but with help of the 4X4 we made it to the top and the view was just breathtaking. Ocean and islands, eagles and seaplanes flying far below. Seeing the city from high up and the calm and silence of the mountain top…

The next day was a walk in McClymount park, a park/forest in the middle of Prince-Rupert. The wetness of Prince-Rupert makes everything so green and mossy.

Part 2 to come…

I'm off!

Well, the day has come…

I am all packed and pretty much ready to leave. I just need to finish up a few things and get my mind into gear. I did the grocery shopping yesterday, so Simon and the boys are set for at least weeks worth of meals… I have talked to the boys many times about my leaving but I think that they all understand to varying degrees. I am still a bit worried about Khéna but I know that things will go great, he is with his dad and his brothers and they have things planned.

(I cut his hair yesterday)

So, I am ready, my flight is at 6:20pm but I will be heading out in the rain today at about noon, heading to Costco to pick up a few Montreal treats to bring out west and then heading to my friend Gen’s house and hang out until her parter gets home. I will able to leave the car with her until I come back and she will be bringing me to the Airport today and then picking me up on the 22nd of April.

I can’t believe that I will be in Vancouver tonight!

My mom is also in Vancouver, so I will be hanging around with her until I head up to Prince-Rupert on Thursday morning. I am so excited to be with my best friend for three weeks also… oh… the cooking we will do and the pictures we will be taking together! It will be great!

Here is a pic from the last time we were together…

Nervous and excited…

Today is Monday, and I am leaving next Monday… I can’t believe that I am leaving in just a week…

Though I am excited and looking forward to travelling, seeing new sights, seeing Annie and getting out of the house, I am also very nervous about leaving the family, leaving the kids.

I just haven’t been away from them for so long before and Khéna is still so young. I keep going back and forth of thinking that I am doing something that will be great, that will break the routine a bit, and I know that it is a now or never situation….but then I start thinking that maybe it is a mistake.

But if I don’t go, I know that I would regret it.

Simon won’t have this much time off again and even if he does take three weeks of vacation from work I wouldn’t take that time to leave, Vacation time is family time and we can’t afford all of us leaving either… so if I want to go for a small trip, I need to take advantage of this situation.

As for being 3 weeks away from the boys, they will be their dad. For the last 7 weeks now he has been taking the role of primary parent while I devote most of my time to Willa and he is an amazing dad… they are used to going to him first when they need something at this moment, and when I think of how they were when we were in BC when we were alone for three weeks after Simon had gone back to home, I know that they are going to be perfectly fine. They missed their dad, yes, but it wasn’t a big deal at all and for the older two, it will most likely be the same. Khéna on the other hand will miss me more, I know that. Simon has things planned though, so he will be keeping busy and we have preparing him since the tickets have been bought, it is just the time period that he doesn’t grasp yet. though I worry, I know deep down that he will be fine.

I think most of the nervousness that I feel now though is that I will not be at home in my space for three weeks and that I am actually doing it. I am doing something for myself alone (well I will be with Wilhelmina but at this moment I just consider her an extension of myself, like when I was pregnant but with a bit more baggage).

But I am doing something more than going shopping, or going to see a friend for the day. I am getting on a plane and going to spend three weeks at my best friend’s house 5117 km away from home (according to Google). If Simon wouldn’t have mentioned it, I would have never even thought of it as a possibility.. . and now it is not just a dream, or idea, but I am actually doing it…

Meeting the greats…

Last week, Wilhelmina met her great-grandmothers. Last Wednesday, I picked up my father and went over to the nursing home his mom lives in to have lunch and spend a bit of time.

At 91 years old, she is a good shape physically, but with Alzheimer’s, her memory is slowly fading, but it isn’t gone yet. Being in the nursing home has helped her immensely these last few years.

My father didn’t tell her we were coming, so she was very happily surprised when we showed up in the dining hall… We ate lunch and then went up to her room and talked I was happy to see her and bring a smile to her face.

my dad was also very happy to meet his new granddaughter…

A few days later, on Sunday, my mom came to visit with her mom…

The last time my grandmother had come here was just before her surgery for stomach Cancer last November.The surgery went well, they took out 3/4 of her stomach and she has been recuperating since… she has lost weight and had pneumonia last month but is feeling better and is trying to gain her weight back…

She was very excited to meet her great-granddaughter…

My grandmother and my mom…

One thing that we wanted to do was to get a picture with the four generations of Women. We had a similar picture taken when I was a baby in my great-grandmother’s arms with my mom on one side and my grandmother on the other…

Then I asked the boys to come in the picture with us and surprisingly they all came without hesitation…

A picture I will always cherish…

I had a very special relationship with my great-grandmother when I was a child and a young teen. She was an amazing woman and I loved being with her and went to see her as often as I could, which was almost everyday in the year before she died. I am so grateful that my grandmothers are both still around, and I hope that as my children grow they will know their “greats” and have a relationship with them that they can remember also…

First days…

Wow… I am in love…

Not only do I love my new little girl, but seeing her brothers love just makes my heart melt. The boys are completely amazed and enamored by her… they want to kiss her, hold her, touch her…

Xavier spent at least an hour holding her hand and looking at her while she slept the day she was born..

Colin had to come kiss her at least once every 15 min..

Khéna is just in awe and wants to stay close and always wants to hold her…

Khéna is also adapting to being a big brother amazingly well… I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about how he was going to take not being the baby of the family anymore… having to share mama with someone who needs her more, losing his coveted place in the family bed in front of mama… having to share his “Maju”… but he showing me that I was wrong to be nervous… he is taking it better than I would have hoped for, he is so proud to be a big brother!

My mom came by today to bring me a chicken she cooked this morning so we can make some sandwiches with and she left with Colin and Xavier and brought them to where she is saying near the cabin for two nights… the boys wer excited to go and honestly having the house be a bit more quiet will be nice… Khéna would have wanted to go also but it isn’t the best time, so instead he is doing special things with Daddy alone which he thinks is a great alternative…

As for life with baby… she is amazing… her first night was a bit rough until she had a big poop at around 2am and then finally she relaxed and slept… nursing about every 3 hours or so until morning and then throughout the day… she reminds me so much of Colin as a baby.. she looks like him also, the resemblance is quite amazing..

It was because of Colin that I tried EC for the first time.. he hated being wet, even for a second and would get worked up inconsolably… so letting him potty somewhere else than a diaper was exactly what he wanted and needed…

With Khéna we started when he was 4 days old…when the meconium poos were finished… this time I was hesitating on doing the same, but after seeing her reaction to having a BM and being in it for a few minutes, it reminded me so much of Colin that I decided to try right away… and she has been dry all day… she gives a clear signal that she needs to go and the within a few seconds of putting her over the potty bowl she eliminates… she does cry for a few seconds before going but once she lets go, she stops crying immediately and is quiet and content again… though I have seen it before, it is amazing to see how natural it comes…

I have also fell in love with the prefold belt that I bought… and I am going to be sewing up some of my own very soon… it is such a simple concept but makes things so much easier and it looks so much more comfortable than any newborn diaper cover or diaper that I have tried on my babies…

Wilhelmina is also an amazing nurser… her latch was perfect from the start and she is efficient and just so easy to nurse… my milk is coming in also and it amazing to hear her gulp and drink and be content…

As for me, I lost a little more blood than I would have liked yesterday but I am feeling better today… still a little weak, but better… I am also in pain all over my body… my SPD is better but labour was rough and my body is definately feeling the consequences of that… All I can tell myself is that everything will be better soon…

And Simon… well he is still tired from the night I laboured and is doing so much for everyone and is being an amazing husband and father… I think he is feeling a bit overwhelmed and stretched out but he is taking it in stride… I think that having the older boys with my mom for the two nights will make things easier for him also.. he is also happy to be starting his paternity leave which gives him until August before returning to work…

So, yes, we are all in love and enjoying life with a newborn… It is amazing… she is amazing…