fall pictures

Mom came up for a night/day and we went outside for a bit...Aaron here did not want to look at the camera, nor smile (he wasn't being the best of boys today)

We tried getting one with all three kids (complete failure) so we tried with two and that er, nearly worked.

My favourite leaf comes from my favourite tree, the Maple tree (of course!)

At least one child knows how to smile nicely in the picture...aw, she looks cute.

Even Owen didn't do as badly as Aaron. This is my mom (oh, excuse me Amelia just corrected me, it's Oma not mom.)

Playing in the yard with a ball.

the pussycat and other things

Haha, no not a real kitty. But this reminded me of one! :)

:)

Must be somewhat comfortable!

Oh yes, we are always this happy when we do school! I wish! :)

"What? I was supposed to smile?" Haha!

Delicious Chicken Soup!

I have to tell you about a method of making chicken soup...a lot of you probably already know about this (especially those Nourishing Tradition peoples), but I'm so silly not to try it out...and now I see the difference! Let me tell you that to make wonderful chicken broth you can't just boil the bones...I mean yes you'll get good broth but I wanted flavourful broth that I only need to add SALT (or salt, pepper, onion powder) to instead of adding a chicken bullion cube which has MSG in it. Ok, so I make a chicken in the crock pot for a dinner meal. After you take off the chicken meat for your dinner pop the bones, skin and leftover bits into the crock again and fill with water...then add chopped onion, and chopped carrots, and chopped garlic...and yes I thought it would be a waste to throw it away but not if it means I don't have to add MSG products to it later on!! You'll need at least 3-4 cloves of garlic btw the more the better (well don't overdo it). So you cook that on high over night in the crock. Strain and there you have the beginnings of chicken soup! Add your usual ingredients, mine are: chopped/diced Carrot, onion, celery, dried parsley and the leftover chicken...and salt. I can't believe I only used salt! And did it pass the test? Aaron likes it, and started talking about Oma (my mom) lol...that must mean it passed with high marks. I don't think I'll ever make broth without cooking it with the other veggies...amazing what a difference. :) If you haven't tried it, you need to! :)

soo tired,

I'm very tired. I'm waking up too much in the early hours of the day and having great difficulty going back to sleep if I do at all. I'm tired of seeing 6am...but nevermind, some people get up much earlier, but maybe they are able to cope, because I can't...well, not without coffee. Oh dear, what have I gotten myself into again? I thought I was off of it, and then you go to Oma's (my mom) house and well she makes coffee 4 times a day!!! Typical Dutch. So, inevitably I end up with one or two in a day, highly unusual, and not very good for me.

So I get back from Oma's/my mom's and two days later we have Mark and Mercy over...and of course I didn't even take one picture....not one! I'm pregnant...yes, it is an excuse, and a good one too, and yes, I use it all the time, because unfortunately it is quite true! We enjoyed having company over, and getting to know the little Olivia and Charlotte. Amelia was being taught how to play with a baby doll - which she needed a bit of teaching I think. :) Another good thing was that my evenings were full and usually late (ahem...) while we chattered. I also have the babies car seat (because they are so much cheaper in the states!) so we are happy to get two big items off of the list...now maybe we can focus eventually on babies bed and clothes, which a good friend of mine has offered these particular things. :) Yes, we are being provided for. Much to be thankful for.

Scroll down to see big pregnant bump...and still uhm 8-9weeks left, slowly getting there.

Yogurt, again.

Pilgrim's Bonnet.

Cheesy smile.

Oh. Its me, without my hair done (not uncommon) and one big er little baby. Taken today, 32 weeks. I know, I look very thrilled...if Jett was behind the camera the smile would be sweeter. :)

smallish update

Amelia is getting tired here...but she ate quite a bit.
To prove my kids can eat... here is Aaron's plate after a second helping of a very bland meal. Yes he eats peas and rice (he really likes rice for some reason!)

We have made it to 31wks now and still counting. I feel like a duck and an elephant. I waddle, and I'm slow. The heavier baby gets the harder it gets for me. This is one of the harder times in pregnancy but I still don't think it compares to being sick for 20wks (which it was with Amelia). But we are slowly getting there, week by week. It is now quite the chore to sweep and mop a floor. Instead of running after kids, I'm waddling as fast as I can. Sleeping is a big issue, because I am limited to my left side...and very rarely will my right side do. My body must think that I need to wake up at 2:00am in preparation for feeding the baby...but couldn't it wait for 9 more weeks?? And why does Owen have to go from sleeping through the night at Oma's to waking with me? Must be the creaky bed...will have to move the little man into Aaron's room, maybe that will help.

But, we are doing fine. I have quite a number of people that I can call if I need them, so I shouldn't complain.

We are missing Jett, and I didn't realize Owen knew what the program Skype looked like and what it meant...he was very upset when I closed it down one day without seeing Daddy...so I had to show him pictures of Daddy for awhile to appease him. He was quite happy seeing the photos, thankfully!

And I just got back from my mom's yesterday after a good week and few days. It was nice visiting her, although I think we were a bit too much for her! We did a lot of shopping...with a lot of nice finds. :) On Sat we went to my sister's for thanksgiving dinner (yes we have it earlier than the USA) which was nice.

And now I need to wake up sleeping handsome(?) or else he won't sleep tonight for me!!