Fifth Birthdays and the fourth child...

Well, I guess you know that you have 4 kids when someone finally asks you when you're going to post those birthday pictures and you realize they're still in the camera. In my defence, it has been an especially busy week. In reality, it's just kind of what our life is like these days.

So here goes:


Amelia Lillian turned 5 on January 21. My baby is five. FIVE! Wow!

I had no idea how I was going to squeeze a birthday into an already crazy week so I put on my thinking cap and...had an afternoon party, just with family AND pulled the older boys out of school. She was delighted!

(here are Maddy, Amelia, Isaac and Emilee decorating for the party)


She had one request and it was to play this balloon game we'd played at a friend's birthday, so daddy dutifully blew up 100 balloons the night before (don't worry about his lungs, there was a compressor involved!) and the kids went for it. It was a hit!

Maddy and Emilee in front of the hallway of balloons:


Here's Emilee hunting for candy in all those balloons.



Opening presents....

Yes that is a Camp Rock Barbie but before I get any snide comments, she loved it! AND it was cheap. HA!



Gramma and Amelia checking the balloon prizes out...


And it's cake time....(Isaac decorated it)



Each year that goes by adds to my amazement at God's rich blessings in our lives. We have 4 kids who truly love each other. (No. sorry they still fight. We aren't perfect! Sheesh!) and 3 cousins who are more like siblings. It's pretty amazing to look over and see my 15 (almost 16) year old nephew who looks more like a young man than a kid every day, taking time to spend with his 10 year old cousin or to snuggle with his (now) five year old Cuz. It's pretty great actually! And to see the two 13 year olds really enjoying watching and filming their youngest sib/cousin getting her presents. I am struck by our riches that have nothing at all to do with money. Thank you Lord!

....and happy fifth birthday baby! I thank God everyday for the surprise blessing that you are. He knew that we needed you in our lives!

Details, details....

I was so proud of myself I just had to share this. I know I'm probably over my limit on birthday posts but it took up so much of my time this weekend, what's a girl to do?!





(Yes Chey. That is a NEW bag of Mini Eggs. I didn't even eat most of them...baby steps!)

I've never attempted anything like this before, mostly because I'm notoriously bad at decorating cakes. Don't get me wrong, they're always super yummy but in the looks department, they fail miserably. I realize these ones are pretty amateur to the the seasoned pro but for me...they're as close to perfect as it gets.

The big problem is...
1. I'm not really a details person
2. I'm not a perfectionist...
3. I'm a procrastinator.

I marvel at people who are able to think of the minutia and who care to pull it off. You know her, the lady who remembers to paint her toes or who remembers that you might need a thank you card two weeks into your vacation...someone like that. I'm the one who forgets to bring my toothbrush or a hair elastic or underwear.

I figured it out though, as far as the cakes go. Do as much before hand as you possible can, freeze the layers and decorate frozen. It's amazing how well this works. It can be applied in all sorts of situations actually. If you get as much done before the actual event, you're much less likely to forget something. It seems my mother was right (again) after all!

I did almost forget to serve the cake though! BUT that's another story....

Click here for my inspiration...

Starting a new chapter....

This has been a week of new sports (or rediscovering old sports) for our kids. I'm really excited for them as they are loving everything so much. Here's our weekend in a nutshell...
(people keep saying how busy we are but this feel like our normal life to me. Maybe it's the four kids thing?)

Saturday and Sunday Soccer Fest:
My oldest son had the opportunity to try out for the Bronze rep soccer team. They had their first tourney this weekend.

To put it mildly, they were slaughtered lol. Seriously outplayed BUT they had fun and I think they'll improve. This is our son's first stab at competitive soccer and first time back after years of gymnastics and TKD. I think most of the boys on his team were pretty new to soccer too. They didn't seem discouraged so that's good:)


My mom and dad came out from Vernon to see the soccer, dance and celebrate the birthday. Thanks for the pictures dad! I couldn't find any pictures of my dad BUT I assure you, he does exist! He's behind the lens most times.

Monday birthday madness:

Maddy turned six on the 4th so we all celebrated her birthday together on Monday. She is such a joy to us. I can't believe we've only had her six years! She's so intensely full of life! Anyone who knows her knows exactly what I mean by this. She's just so...so...much. Big voice, big moves, big love! She's awesome!

Here she is enjoying her candy post candy hunt. Nothing like pounding sugar on your birthday. We don't mess around over here - straight into the veins! (scroll down to yesterday's post for a couple more pics of the birthday princess, her Uncle Ty and her cousin Emilee).

We went light on the gifts this year, mostly because we all seem to have everything we could ever want or need. Guess what?! She didn't even notice! Loved the Playmobil from Gramma & Papa & Cousins...

Yup we're on the tramp there...don't ask!

Here's some more of her fans...Gramma & Papa Speilman, Auntie Randa(the paparazzi) and Gr. Gramma. Our girl is well loved!


I have to post this. It's so cute/funny/crazy. Anyone who has kids knows what a webkinz is...my girls especially LOVE them. Maddy has loved her gray cat to the point of it having very little stuffing and fur. Grandma Reid knew that these cats enjoy a lot of special care so she thought knitting them new outfits would be just about right. Grandma is the best!


Tuesday was dance day for all princesses....
This day was anticipated by my youngest daughter for at least 6 months. Auntie Val (helps run the dance studio) told her that if she didn't pee in her pants anymore she could come to dance. Amelia has been trained and waiting since January.

Getting her shoes on...


She was all alone in her class and loved it!


Following the teacher very closely!

Learning to point her toes...


So tired at the end that she needs a cuddle from mom and a bit of time on the thumb!


Maddy started her first jazz class too...

She's such a big girlie now! She has jazz and ballet back-to-back this year so I leave her for two hours and she gets herself all suited up and ready for ballet. I'm pretty proud!

This week...
Isaac starts soccer as well so stay tuned for him in his cute soccer gear. Kev is coaching Isaac's U10 team this year which wasn't exactly the plan but should be fun! Go Dad Go!

Here's Isaac having a snack, getting ready for the week...

taking the day off...

As a stay-at-home mom, how exactly do I do this you ask? Well, it's like this:

I still get up (but later), run (but longer and at the time the shows I love are on) :
- CityLine
- The View -well today anyway, love Natalie Portman and the charity she is supporting is amazing! I'd heard about it on CBC already. They offer loans to people with no collateral in developing countries to help them start their own businesses. The loans can be as low as $50 and change, especially women's, lives. villagebanking.org

make lunch and then write in my blog. So really it's not a day off, more of a slow down day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISAAC (Saturday)!!!!

We had a crazy wonderful weekend. It was my second eldest's 9th birthday on Saturday. He wanted things like another trampoline so he could jump back and forth and a new bike (he's getting his brother's bike so...). Needless to say, he wasn't getting what he asked for and was surprised, in a good way, by all his gifts:) Crazy boy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETE (Monday)!!!

My father-in-law turned 60 on Monday. BIG DAY! We had a (sort of) surprise party for him on Sunday. My sil and I spent almost 2 weeks planning and executing the entire thing. By Sunday morning I was ready to curl up in a corner, sucking my thumb and sobbing but by the time we were cleaning up the last napkin and beer bottle, I knew it was all worth it! He was so surprised and thrilled and everyone had a wonderful time. There were loads of people on the deck and in the house and everything looked great!

Someone mentioned that my sil and I should go into business putting these things on and we (in unison) said "no way!". Purely a labor of love baby lol.

Onward and upward...
My hubby just mentioned, as he was on his way out, that perhaps the kids should not take another day off from school...so it would seem that my "day off" is over. I should go and get them started on their math and novel studies.

Have a wonderful rainy Tuesday!