Family Life – Page 50 – a hippie with a minivan

update on the water heater disaster…

Well… almost a month later now and today we have the contractor coming to check on the house before they start their work… to got a feel for where they are going to start and when they will be starting…

The inspection for the damages has come out to about 6000$ worth of repairs…meaning that all of the downstairs flooring needs to be replaced, and a few walls need to be torn out and replaced also… It makes us realize to what point we have too much stuff… We have to get most of the stuff out from downstairs so thatÂ they can work and we really don’t have room to put 3 rooms worth of furniture, books, toys and all of the other things….

At least the insurance will be paying for everything (minus our deductible) and I was able to choose the new flooring which will match our furniture better…

a few new pics…

Khéna is crawling!

The other boys were quick to crawl and to walk… crawling before 6 months and taking steps by 9 months…

Because of his size I knew that Khéna would be a bit later… I really enjoyed the time that I could just sit him down and know that he would stay at the same place… he has been able to go from tummy to sitting for about 2 weeks now and when he started to do that he would get around that way… laying on his tummy and then sitting up a bit further… then he started doing a crawl with one leg straight and on one knee… and then a few days ago he started the “traditional” crawl…

He can also pull him self up easily now and loves to stand in the bath and around the couch…

It is amazing to see him grow and change…

5 years in…

The 5th birthday seemed to affect me more than many of the others… There is something about the first birthday and now the 5th that are special… and I assume there are others later on that will do the same.

5 years ago I became a mom, a parent. I went from being alone to having a baby, another being that relied on me.

We went from being a couple to being a family.

I took those transformations not as negative but as positive and so did Simon. I knew from the time before I was pregnant, before he was born, that there was nothing I wanted to do more than stay home with my children, raise them completely, be the primary caregiver and parent. When I held him the first time, when I examined every little hair on his body, when I gave him his first bath, heard those first coos and words, saw those first steps I know that I would never regret being a full time parent.

5 years ago, I was holding my new babe and going to sleep as a family in our home for the first time… I was nursing for the first times, I was holding a tiny new life in my arms… not only any life but one that was created out of the love Simon and I share.

I would have never have thought that 5 years later I would still be nursing… not the same babe anymore but 2 others…

I would have never have thought I would feel so passionate about being a SAHM and the importance of breastfeeding, babywearing, positive parenting, natural living, unschooling and so many other issues. I would have never though that being a SAHM was as tough as it is sometimes but at the same time the most rewarding job I could ever do…

5 years isn’t much time when you really think about it, but I have so much trouble remembering the time before we had kids… and you know what… though movie nights, suppers as a couple at a restaurant, going out anytime and just taking the keys were fun… in all in all…Â I don’t miss it…

it has been 5 years that I am a mom… wow….