Too Posh To Push?

So the talk right now is of the royal baby watch. Catherine is due soon and the world is anxiously awaiting the babies arrival. I was watching a show this morning and they were discussing the due date etc. and one person made a comment that the c-section was already booked because she was too posh to push. I'm sorry but when did it become more fashionable to have a c-section scar? Why are we robbing women of the right to be a woman and pushing surgery on them? I am horrified by this new trend. I heard in the past how Hollywood women have a c-section and tummy tuck all in the same procedure. I have had 4 babies all natural and all with minimal intervention. I used nitrous oxide and demerol with my first early on in labor and then pushed without drugs. I was induced with my second but did not use pain control other than breathing, with my third there was no interventions, and my fourth as well. All four deliveries were different and yet not one time did I hear that we may have to have a c-section. I was able to deliver all my babies confidently and with the assistance of my mom and my best friend was able to have 4 very amazing birth experiences. Why would any mother want to rob themselves of the very thing that we were put here for? I am glad that not once has my support suggested that I have a cesarean section. I understand that there are certain times when it is called for and I am not disputing that it has saved lives but when it is being used as a tool to make money and supposedly make the mother more comfortable that is bs. There is a longer recovery time with surgery and a new scar to show off. Why would anyone opt for that? I would never want to rob myself of the feeling of accomplishment of pushing that baby through my birth canal. My wish is that other women be able to have this same experience. Don't rob yourself of the most primitive and amazing love a woman can feel.

Grrr...or How to deal with having children and PMS at the same time.

Step one: Tie children up.

Step two: Lock them in a room.

Step three: Drink Bottle of wine.

Step four: Repeat step three.

(disclaimer: I would never and have never drank two bottles of wine while having my children tied up and locked in a room. I make sure one of them has a knife, usually the little one as the bigger one can't be trusted, so they can get free in case I pass out!)..

(extra disclaimer: Seriously do you really think I would do that?)

Mommy brain and the boobs...

Mommy brain..mommy brain..what was I going to write about mommy brain...Oh ya..it makes you forget...

Which I guess is a good thing in some cases. It makes you forget where the keys are, what your kids names are, birth dates, your phone number, name, etc..but it also makes you forget other things like your life before kids, your body before kids, your boobs before kids.

I used to have a pretty nice body, before I had 4 boys, I was slender and a nice high rack and firm ass..
Not anymore, now I have stretch marks, and a wide ass, and my boobs look like a couple of deflated balloons.

Don't get me wrong I would not change it for the world, I earned every stretch mark, every extra pound and every wrinkle in my boobs. I am just grateful for the mommy brain and the fact that I can forget what it all used to be like.

I think it gets worse the more kids you have which may be why my grandma is having trouble remembering things now. She had 8 kids. I only had 4 and I can barely remember things. I know I used to have a life, I can remember parts of it, some of it was pretty crazy too, maybe that is why I like to forget it now.  There are days when I can't even get out of the house because I forget why I was leaving. It is pretty bad. I gave my kids all J names so I can just start mumbling in gibberish and they all think I am talking about them. If I don't put my keys in the same place every day it is an hour of looking for them before we can leave the house. I have to make sure the baby bag is packed and at the door by my shoes so I don't forget that. I am lucky that I remember the baby half the time. Poor thing being the 4th kid he is lucky I still have a brain! I have never been one for lists I got it I know what I need, lately I need to make a list write it down on the calendar and make sure I check every day so as not to forget anything.

As I was saying I think we get mommy brain to forget, forget that we had a nice body and a life and nice things, and also what childbirth was like. If we kept all that in our brains there would not be enough room for the new memories you make of playing, and the concerts, and the games, and the smiles, and the hugs, and the I love yous. I guess mommy brain can be a good thing...now where did I put that publish button??

Shitty pants, 1000 mosquito bites and endless hours of crying..yay we're camping!

As a mom of 4 and full time parenting 3 under 6 I don't often get out of the house, my partner however has other ideas, which I don't mind, much, but now and then he gets an idea that although having good intentions never fully understands the repercussions of his actions until it is too late.

We went camping, for a night, with a 6, 3 and 8 month old. Now normally that might be enough said but let me tell you a bit about our adventures...

It started out innocently enough..wanting to get away for a couple of days. By the end we were ready to be home and we were only gone a day...

Packed what we could find for food and camping gear, not knowing if the air mattresses held air, (they didn't btw) not sure if the stove was going to work, not sure where we were going, we headed out..

We got to our first major stop at Rearguard Falls Provincial park BC. It is a spot I found a few years ago and continue to take friends to if I get a chance! I recommend you check it out. It is just a short hike down to the falls and it is not a big park not much to do there no picnicking or anything like that, just a lookout spot but what cool nonetheless. It is the furthest place up the Fraser river that the Salmon make it as the water comes to fast over the falls they cannot climb the ladder, depending on the time of year you might catch them trying to make it. This was a good spot for trying gold panning as Chase has found a new hobby, we think we might have even found some..not sure though as we don't really know what we are doing.

We thought we might find a campground near Jasper so we headed that way next, on the way we spotted a campground off the highway that looked pretty empty and an elk was standing right at the entrance so we saw that as a good sign and pulled in. Turned out they had room and was cheap $16/ night. We drove around and found our site and set up camp. We paid for our site and headed back to Jasper to get supplies as we didn't have much for supper stuff. I recommend buying your supplies beforehand as Jasper is not cheap, but a lot cheaper than the icefield's but I will get to that. We get back to camp and make dinner for the boys. While trying to build a fire I look over and see Jaxan standing funny and I ask him what's wrong and he proceeds to tell me that a big poop just came out of his bum. I check his pants and sure enough he is pooing his pants at the campsite. Luckily there was plenty of baby wipes on hand. I grabbed the boy stripped his pants off and cleaned him up right there at the campsite. I threw the pants and poop out as I was not going to try and deal with that mess in the van for the rest of the trip(the pants were old and ripped so I felt they were ok to throw out.) Got him in his jammies and things were all better. Took awhile to get the fire going so me and the boys went for a walk and checked out the lake and the area. We were in a pretty cool place, almost made the 1000 mosquito bites worth it. Did I mention to mosquitoes? They were huge! At one point I looked over at the baby and he had several of them on his head. ( I think they were trying to carry him away to feast on him at their leisure.)

After a sleepless night on a deflated air mattress and crying babies because he didn't have his purple blanket(Jaxan) we woke and I made breakfast, which turned out fairly well on our little camp stove and we ate and packed up camp as we still had a full day ahead of us. We planned on heading to Athabasca Falls and after that we were not sure. We headed back towards Jasper again and headed south to Athabasca Falls, along the way we hit a couple of geocaches and found some great spots for pictures. We made it to Athabasca Falls and took our time looking at the falls and taking pics. It is an amazing place and I am glad I took my boys to go see it! After the falls we had a choice to make continue to the icefields, or head north back home. We headed south and we are glad we did! When we got to the icefields it was amazing. I kind of remember going there as a kid, but to see it as an adult is something else! We told the boys they were visiting the ice age! They were looking for dinosaurs! We toured around on our own as we were trying to save a bit of money. Then we got hungry, boy was that a mistake. We decided to stop in at the Icefields building for lunch and $53 dollars later for grilled cheese sandwiches! We were none too excited, and the lunch was not that good either, if you are travelling there bring a lunch! We could have turned around again at this point and headed home or continue south and see more mountains and maybe visit with Sam and Lee. We chose south!

Heading south we saw some amazing mountains and stopped to take pics when we could, calling Lee to see if he was going to be home. No answer, we carried on. We couldn't hit any more geocaches as I didn't load any more on the gps device and we had no cell service, but regardless the trip was still fun! Even saw a frozen lake because we were so high up! In Banff we went to the Banff Fairmont Springs Hotel and showed the boys the big hotel. Found the Tim Hortons grabbed a coffee and headed to Calgary!

On the way Jaxan was complaining of a headache and owie belly so I asked him to rest and he tried but his belly was really hurting. We got to Calgary and stopped at Peter's Drive in as that is the place to get a burger and a milkshake. Jaxan refused to eat his still saying he has a sore tummy. We stopped in at Lee's place and Chase got to visit his puppy who he hasn't seen in a few years since he gave him to his brother to take care of. Sam freaked out seeing Chase! It was too cool! Meeting Lee was cool too! We didn't stay long as it was 8 pm by this point and we still had a 3 hour drive home. The drive home was nerve wracking because poor Jaxan cried most of the way because of his poor tummy but we would ask him if he needed us to stop and he would say he just wanted his own bed and his elephant. We made it home in record time and Jaxan went straight to the bathroom and let loose with an explosive bm that filled the bowl as the stench filled the air...poor guy. But we were home and all of us alive! We may even do it again some day!

my letter to my mla.

Dear Mr. Deron Bilous,

I am writing to you on behalf of Geo Mousef and his family. Geo is the little boy who was killed by alleged drunk driver Richard Suter, at Ric's Grill Monday night. I am sure you have heard the story. As a mother of 4 boys I am a huge believer in designated driving often times going out with my friends only to make sure they would have a designated driver and get home safe. Richard Suter is having a bail hearing tomorrow morning Thursday May 23rd at 10 am and if he receives bail he is then able to go out and celebrate with his friends and possibly kill another. We need to set a precedence with such a case and show Richard Suter and others who feel it is ok to drink and drive and kill babies that it is NOT OK! I hope you are behind the push to toughen the drunk driving laws and make it not ok for these dangerous people to get behind the wheel and hurt or even kill people. Geo will never know the freedom of being able to sit on a patio and enjoy a drink with his friends and family in a responsible manner like the rest of us. His mother will never see him graduate or tie his tie for his wedding. His father will never be able to show him how to shave and fix a car. All because a selfish man took his life. I invite you to join the group Justice for Geo on facebook and show your support for tougher drunk driving laws. You can view the group here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/Justice4Geo/ . Mr. Bilous please show your support and Help us to stop mothers and fathers from ever having to bury another child due to someone else's selfishness.

Sincerely

Jodie Velthuizen.

The race is on!

Man am I glad spring is finally here! We love geocaching and with 3 little ones it is way easier in the months there is no snow on the ground. For those of you who do not know what geocaching is we like to explain it as treasure hunting all over the world. People everywhere have set out treasure boxes for you to find using a gps enabled device. We have been doing it for a couple of years now. I am up to 212 found! Today we set out to see if we could be the first to find on a couple but was beat by mere minutes. I found out about it a few years ago while planning our annual ladies weekend, my cousin gave me the idea and so me and my mom tried it a few times to see if we could make it work for our weekend. We did and it was fun (although some in my family still believe they don't exist simply because they didn't find one). A couple of years ago I got a gps device and we started looking for them as a family. Last year I got a membership and then I could get emails telling me when a new one had been published. This opened up a whole new game FTF! (First to find) We managed to get a few of them last year. One even had a nice FTF prize of a canada flag travel bug, it gets tracked as it passes through each geocache and people can move it around. Right now it is in Quebec so far it has travelled 1889.3 miles. We left it in drumheller! There was another cacher who would beat us to the FTF quite often so to get one close to home was a great feeling! Today we set out to find a couple new ones the popped up, but we missed both of them, one our friend found first..foiled again...lol It was fun looking for it. This one was disguised as a tree hiding in a tree go figure. Many more geocaching adventures planned for this summer, the great thing is you can get out and get exercise and find treasure! If you want to know more about it go here--->www.geocaching.com Maybe we will see you out on the trails!

A new venture!

I have recently started a new venture, making little toys for babies and selling them online. I don't expect to become rich from it but I hope to be able to make a bit of money at least. The site I have chosen to sell my items is called All about boys. The online store is powered by ecwid and I have paypal set up also. Not bad for my first day! I have also made a few items already as a test run for my new machine and pattern. I'm hoping to be able to use the money to help in publishing my books. A lot of hoping and hard work involved but I'm not afraid of hard work. I also decided to try something new in that I have entered the mothers day walk for breast cancer, www.mothersdaywalk.ca. I am hoping to raise $200 before May 5th. I am already a third of the way there thanks to my amazing family and I know I can make it the rest of the way. I am walking with a good friend of mine. She helped me to deliver 3 of my boys and is a mom herself so this is an important cause to us. If you would like to help you can click the link above and donate to team Jodie Velthuizen! Here's to new ventures! A new year and new experiences!

I'm not ready to have a teenager...

But I guess I'm too late as he has been a teenager for a few months already..when did this happen? Wasn't it just yesterday that I gave birth to this little baby? Who is taller than me now by the way...when did that happen? When I saw him last he was shorter then me and he comes back for a visit and now he looks down on me..As teenagers go he is a pretty good one, gets good grades and does what he can to help out and listens to his parents..I couldn't have asked for a better kid..but did he have to grow up? I am not ready yo be a parent to a teenager I am still trying to parent myself! He has been my greatest gift and my biggest fear. All my kids are a great gift and each have brought me something special in their own ways. I know they are each on the way to greatness and I could not be a happier mom, I just hope to be able to continue with lessons they have each brought to me. I love you Jorian and I miss you..slow down ok..

Time away..

I realized this morning that I had not blogged in awhile. The reason I started this blog is to become a better writer and to share my experiences as a mom and recipes that I love. I guess I haven't had much to say...I did make some great recipes lately, most of them come from the web I will try and include the links to them in a future blog. I had my oldest boy home for a bit for spring break and that went pretty good, I miss him so much, I have always shared custody with his dad but had primary residence and now he has been at his dads  for a couple of years, he decided he wanted to go spend some time at his dads when he was 10 and I have always let him make choices for  himself so that he learns what it means to live with the consequences of your actions. He has been doing amazing there and I am so proud of him. His grades have come up and he is excelling at his studies, even joined an improv group! As a mother it is difficult to let your babies go off without you and seeing him excel without me is even tougher as I have always considered myself a good mom. Maybe even a great mom. Not perfect by any means but I have great kids and in order to have great kids they have to have a great mom right? Seeing him take off and enjoy his life at his dads is awesome and even though I have a bit of a tough time when I say goodbye to him I know he is going where he is loved and  respected as a person. I guess I can choose to look at it from the angle that he is excelling because of the love and encouragement that I gave him growing up, which I did give him lots of, but I also struggled through a crack addiction when he was younger and chose to send him to his dads for a year while I went through recovery. As a parent we hope that we make the best choices for our kids and help them to become independent and have the skills to succeed and when you see that child grow and make good choices for themselves it is an amazing feeling. I hope to see him sooner this time and be able to hug him a little bit longer as he is still my baby even if he is 13 years old.

Poor treatment at Sobeys!

Let me start out by saying that I do not shop at Sobeys often as the prices are a lot higher than at Safeway or Walmart which are both in my neighborhood. As a single mom of 4 boys I don't have a lot of money to spend on things like groceries. On Saturday March 2nd 2013 I was near the  Beverley Sobeys in Edmonton Ab with my boys as I was shopping in the nearby mall and I decided to stop in for a treat for my boys. While browsing the ridiculously priced donuts with my boys the bakery lady came over and offered my boys a free cookie, that was the only positive part of my shopping experience. What happened next appalled me! As I said I am a single mom of 4 boys, 3 of which I had with me this day as well as my double stroller. As the cashier rang my purchases through I maneuvered my stroller closer to the counter grabbed up my bag said "Thank you my dear!" and headed to the door and from behind me I hear the cashier say "What did she expect me to cater it to her?" I should have turned around and said something but I kept going instead posting this on your facebook page as well as my facebook page. My cashier was Nancy S and there was another Sobeys Employee behind me in the line whom she was talking to when she made the comment. As a customer service rep for many years this behavior is unacceptable! No I did not expect her to cater it to me, I did however expect her to do her job! She was at the customer service desk and it would not have killed her to hand me the bag to make it easier on me! I am a fan of your page and have shopped there for the specialty items I cannot find at Safeway or Walmart and I also have several entries in the contest right now but I do not know that I will ever shop there again as that was horrible treatment. 

Spinach ricotta roll ups.

I made a decision to try a new recipe every week and tonight I tried a great one! I made the filling ahead of time and so the dinner was that much easier to put together. For the filling I added some wilted spinach, a tub of ricotta cheese, some grated Parmesan, as well as some grated mixed cheddar and mozzarella, and a couple of eggs. Then I boiled the noodles and spread the filling on the noodle and rolled it up and laid them into a dish and then covered them with pasta sauce. Topped it with more cheese. covered with foil and put in the oven for 45 min. this one was very yummy and the rolls can be frozen individually and reheated later. 

Am I?

How come when I explain my parenting techniques to someone they always say, "wow you sound like a great mom!" Am I? I believe I am a good mom, my kids are all clean, all on par with where they should be or beyond in the case of speech and language and walking all my kids walked and talked early. All my boys were potty trained by 3 or shortly thereafter without much fuss. All of them know their manners, though they may forget them now and then. As parents we all brag, my kids are the greatest, the smartest, the best, etc. But is that because the parent is a good parent or because the kids are doing their best? I do my best with my kids that I know how. I gave up addictions for my kids, I try and give them each their own time, I take time for my kids when they ask, but I still worry that I am making mistakes. My oldest is 13 now and he is truly an amazing kid, but did I do that or did he? He has never talked back to me, never swore at me, never told me he hates me(my 6 yr old has yelled this at me a couple of times). I have learned as a parent that each child needs to be parented differently and what works for one kid may not work for all your kids. My first was a very mellow easy going kid, still is, my next one however was not and is not...I am glad that I got all boys as I would have to adapt again to raising a girl. As a parent I believe in holding my kids, picking them up when they cry, breastfeeding as long as possible, co-sleeping, baby wearing, the occasional spanking when warranted, individual time with my kids as much as possible, keeping my boys intact(non circumcised), putting down what I am doing to pay attention to them, snuggles when asked for them, play as often as we can. Do I make mistakes? Of course I do. Do I make corrections? Of course I do. Am I a great parent? I like to think so...but at the same time I believe I can be better. I strive to be better every day in taking time for myself and making sure that I am OK I make sure that my kids are amazing also! You should meet them they really are something! :)

Tsk Tsk Dream dress for less!

Tonight I came across a horrible story of bad customer service and as a long time customer service rep myself I feel I have to pass on information about a company when I hear it. This poor woman was just trying to have a moment to herself and this is how she was treated, that is deplorable!
http://www.harbourcityseo.com/blog/dream-dress-for-less

Another Yummy Supper!

Tonight I was at a loss as to what to make for dinner so I looked in the fridge and saw a rotisserie chicken from a couple of nights ago and thought pasta! Here's what I made tonight! I started by chopping some onions and pulling the meat from the chicken. Get the pasta going. In the pan I started a rue with butter added the onion and chicken to warm it through. I added flour to the pan and then milk and some red pepper and garlic salt. Let it bubble and thicken up and then toss the cooked pasta into it! It's that easy!

The attitude of gratitude!

I was just texting with a gf about how I recently started Kung Fu and have been working out for a couple weeks now. I've lost 5 pounds but more then that I noticed I feel better and don't hurt as much! I am excited to keep working out as I have never really had a work out routine before, I like seeing results and I am seeing them already! In the course of the texting I mentioned I was having a good year and she replied its about time! Yes it is because I am finally making it happen but more then that I am grateful for what has happened and that makes a difference! I have 4 amazing healthy kids for which I am grateful, I have an amazing bf who has shown me the most important lesson I have ever needed to learn and for that I am grateful! This year has just begun and so far it has been a pretty good year. I can't wait to see what happens next! I wrote a bucket list on my birthday of things I would like to accomplish before my 40th birthday next year, I am sure I will be able to get through all of them and then some this year. Stay tuned to the blog to hear how it went! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Beef pockets

Tonight I was thinking I would try something I have never done and make empanadas. Well my version of them anyways. I made a pie crust with 2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 3/4 cup shortning, and 4-5 tbsp water. I mixed that up and set in fridge for an hour. Then I browned a pound of ground beef, with some onions and some garlic salt, some oxo, and some seasonings. I rolled the pie crust out and cut as best as I could big enough to fold over the meat. I stuffed it with the meat and a piece of a cheese stick, folded it, sealed it with egg wash, and brushed it with egg wash then baked them at 400 for 15 minutes. They were so yummy even the kids ate them!

Butternut Squash and chick pea soup.

I'm always trying to find ways to use up veggies I get from the food bank in new and yummy ways and tonight I made the yummiest thing ever! I had a container of cubed butternut squash which I have never used before and I wanted to roast it off to puree for baby food so I tossed it with olive oil salt and pepper and roasted it at 350 for half hour. Let it cool. Then I threw this in the blender with a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas, some leftover chopped up red pepper, water, I had no garlic but do have an oil ceaser dressing so I used that, salt and pepper and blended it together, I heated it up for a bit then transferred it back to the blender and added milk to smooth it out a bit. Put it back in the pot and heat through and I topped mine with olive oil and balsamic vinegar before enjoying!..

Chicken casserole..

I was inspired for tonights dinner by Rachael Ray doing casserole week this week. I made a yummy chicken casserole that was super easy and took no time at all..here's how I made it

3 chicken breasts
carrots
onion
pasta
butter
flour
milk
cheese
seasoning

I started by poaching the chicken in some water with the carrots and onion and salt and pepper and various spices such as sage. When cooked drain off the liquid and set  the liquid back on to boil, let the chicken cool. Cook the pasta in the poaching liquid, I threw in a can of peas also. In another pot melt a couple tablespoons of butter and add a couple tablespoons of flour, make a rue. Add milk and cheese, I added some leftover mushroom soup I had from lunch! For the cheese I used cheese strings because that is what I had on hand. I pulled the chicken apart and tossed it with the pasta and veggies in a casserole dish then poured the cheese sauce over the whole thing. I topped that with some bread crumbs I made from leftover bread and parsley. I put all of it in the oven at 400 degrees for a half an hour or until browned and bubbly. I can always tell how good it is if the kids eat it and this one was gobbled up!

Reflections

Four years ago today I made a decision to change my life. I quit smoking Crack cocaine. I had quit previously for a couple of years when I met my sons father he took me back out for a few months. On the morning of February 7th, 2009 I looked at myself on the floor of my room and decided I needed to take my life back again. I haven't touched it since. I feel amazing saying that. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do for myself. The first time I quit in 2006 I was pregnant with Jevan. His name actually means Life, (the proper spelling being Jeevan) The reason I gave him this name was because we gave each other life. I was scheduled to terminate his pregnancy because I had been using we were concerned there may be problems with him. I am pleased to say that he is an amazing, smart, incredible kid. I made the choice to keep him and get my butt into treatment instead. We saved each others life. The second time I quit I didn't know it yet but I had conceived Jaxan that morning. I just knew I had to quit. I was not liking the person I was becoming again, the effect it was having on me and my children and my family. I have never looked back and have successfully removed anyone who uses from my life including Jaxan's father. I am sad that my boys do not get to see their fathers but I am not sad that they are removed from that life. I will remove them from their fathers 1000 times over to make sure they are safe. I talk about my past but I do not live there as that is not my life anymore and I love my life today! I would not have made it if it weren't for the support of my friends and family and I wan't to thank everyone for being there for me, but most of all I want to thank myself for continuing doing it for myself! Way to go!

Tired momma..

Yesterday Jensan got his 4 month shots and did pretty good or so I thought..apparently he decided that he no longer has to sleep. As a mom of 3 boys under 6 I need my sleep, I enjoy my sleep. I nap whenever I can with my babies while we are home. Some nights I put the baby in his swing and I don't hear from him until the next morning which is amazing, that is also why I was amazed that he did not want to sleep last night. Last time he got his needles I don't remember him being like this. So what happened this time. He didn't nap any more than usual yesterday. He is awake again after a 20 minute nap this morning. A tired momma does not function well and my DH is working today so he can't be here to help. I fell for the poor kid as the needles cannot be fun and I know there is a lot of controversy over whether they are needed or not but all of my kids have had them and never had any side effects other than the sleepless nights here and there and I can deal with that. I would not deal as well with a sick or dying baby. Well I'm going to snuggle my babies into bed and have a nap..if I am rambling well as I said I had a sleepless night..

Oh phone where art tho?

Yesterday we ventured out to the Ice on Whyte festival with the kids. It was pretty cool although the heat was wreaking havoc on the sculptures. The kids thought the ice slides were pretty fun. Jaxan kept going up the little kids slide over and over again while we waited for Jevan to go up to the big one. The kids area was fun but not set up well for strollers. I wanted to try the frozen yoga until I saw them standing on their heads...lol. The only problem with the day was when I lost my phone while packing up the stroller. We should have stopped immediately but instead drove around the corner and DH ran back to find that it was gone. Not worried about the phone so much as the pics on the phone. No there are not any genital pics on there (I deleted those already..lol) but the pics of the babies. I did dump them recently but there were a few new ones on there. Luckily I sent a couple to facebook. I found an old phone at home and was able to hook that one up on the account so I don't lose any of my minutes which is a good thing, but I am sad about the pics.  Luckily the phone was worth nothing as it was a cheap pay as you go phone. I guess I'm lucky it wasn't one of the kids I lost...lol. We went back later that night as I had tickets to the theater but did not find the phone. On the plus side the theater was great!

Mmmmm dinner..

Last nights dinner was chicken breast stuffed with broccoli and cheese. It was super easy to make.
4 Chicken breasts
broccoli chopped
cheese (i used cheese strings cut in half)
flour
egg
bread crumbs

heat oven to 350. pound the breasts out flat. roll the cheese and broccoli into the breast and secure with a toothpick then roll in the flour and then egg and bread crumb and bake for 20-30 minutes and enjoy!

My morning

There is nothing like spending the morning snuggling with babies. This morning I found myself in my bed with my 3 yr old and my 4 month old and we spent a good hour just talking and snuggling and laughing and tickling and giggling and enjoying each other. As a mom I have my own ideas about how to raise kids, my house may not be the cleanest, I don't sterilize everything that goes into my kids mouths as I believe they need to get some germs in order to build up and immunity. I breastfeed, I co sleep, my boys are all intact (not circumcised), I had all my boys vaginally and without drugs. This is what works for me, it may be different for you. I believe that all mothers need to do what is right for them. I believe that there is no better start to the day than baby smiles as we wake next to each other in bed. So when I get to spend a morning in my bed with my babies and enjoying the time we have together it is an amazing start to an amazing day.

Enter now for your chance to win Lindt Chocolate!

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Workout blues...

So I bought the EA Sports active 2 game for the ps3. It looked pretty cool, comes with a heart rate monitor, and bands to let the game know how you are moving as well as a usb stick to track your progress online. So yesterday I figured I would try it for the first time. I have not worked out in years other that walking or playing with my kids so I was not sure what to expect. I changed into workout gear and strapped everything on and got warmed up. I set it up as a beginner so as not to be too hard as I recently had a baby also. Went through the 20 minute workout and burned some calories. I have to say I had fun! Got a sweat going and didn't feel too bad afterwards. The program I started is a 9 week program so I hope to see some results for summer. The part of the blues comes after the workout...you see the game came with a usb stick to track your progress online. So after my workout I sit down at my pc and head over to the EA website...oops site does not exist.. Hmm??? where did it go?? After some investigating I find that the game did not do as well as they had hoped and so the site where you can track your progress is no longer available. So I have decided to continue with the workouts and see what happens, I am sure I will notice some changes even if I cannot track it online it does keep a record of your progress on the game. So wish me luck as I embark on a new adventure! Here's to a new me!

My week in review..

This has been a crazy week for me. From taking my boys to the doctor finding out Jaxan's eye has not changed and Jevan has a murmur that is not serious, which is good, to going to court for full custody of Jaxan . I won which was what we wanted and it was amazing being able to walk out of there knowing my son will never have to suffer any abuse from his father. Then we pick up a new entertainment center and now my entire living room has been rearranged! I have lived here for almost 5 years and have never changed my living room around so I figured it was time. That started an avalanche of cleaning which is never a good thing in my house..you never know what you might find hiding in the nooks and crannies...lol. I am pretty amazed at myself this last year I have purged the basement, moved around my kids rooms, sold a bike that was given to me by my abusive ex, moved my living room around and got rid of a bunch of clutter, and cleaned and changed the kitchen also. Now the last couple of items left is my room and my desk..I like to say I am 2 boxes short of being a hoarder..lol so this last year of cleaning has been very cathartic for me. I have needed to purge a lot of my old life for some time now. In a couple of weeks I will have 4 years of crack cocaine and meth and some of what I was holding onto was from the old life and I needed to get rid of it finally, so I have been feeling good about getting rid of the old crap. My desk and my room are going to be tough as they are pretty cluttered and I need to find places to put the stuff. I hope I can get rid of enough to clear some of the clutter and enjoy my new cleaner lifestyle!

Proud momma

I am a very proud momma. My son just celebrated his 6th birthday and he got a lot at Christmas this year and was acting very selfish so we had a talk and we decided that instead of gifts he would ask for donations for a charity of his choice. I gave him a choice between a womens shelter, the Stollery Childrens Hospital and the Humane Society. He chose the Stollery. We sent out the invites and called the Stollery and got it all arranged and made sure he was still ok with how we were doing it and he was. The big day came and we raised $180 at the party. At this time I am unsure of what we raised in online donations but when we get a total they will put together a giant check for my son to present with a photo op. He is pretty excited about this. I am too. I hope to be able to carry on the tradition and teach him more about giving back to others. He is an amazing kid and I am a very proud momma!

Kijiji Finds!

I love kijiji.  I mean Love kijiji!! It is a great site to find stuff cheap, I have found some great finds on that site for free as well as at a great price! Yesterday for example we picked up a chocolate fountain for my sons birthday party this weekend, a deep fryer that I have been wanting for awhile now, a microwave oven as ours was getting really bad, a toy for my 3 month old baby that will last him until he is 5 or better and a PS3 with games all for $307! How can you go wrong with that? You can't! I recommend the site to everyone and you can even find a laugh or two on there on occasion. If you have never heard of it you should check it out at www.kijiji.com you can set your preferences to your location or search anywhere in the world! They have a free section and you can set your parameters for what you are looking for narrowing your search even more! You want to beware of fake ads and fake posters but for the most part I have had a great experience with the site. Check it out!

Happy Birthday to me...

Today I turned 39. For my whole life my birthday sucked..A couple weeks after Christmas and right before most paydays no one wants to do anything...just sucks..Today I was determined not to let it suck. We had plans for dinner, which didn't happen but that is ok because the DH made an effort to make me a nice dinner and make my birthday better and it was the nicest gesture anyone has ever done for my birthday. For years I have wanted to go to Von's Steakhouse and Oyster bar here in Edmonton and we finally had reservations but due to circumstances beyond our control we had to cancel, so DH went and got us a roast and some crab and we made some crab and white wine sauce over bow tie pasta and a roast with potatoes and carrots. I also got to have a nice bubble bath with a glass of wine and some candles and just relax for a bit. So even though it was not what we planned it was just what I wanted and it was an amazing day after all.

Now what?

As I sit here with my youngest filling his pants in my lap, I can't help but wonder what's next? For some time now I have been debating on what to do with myself that will support me and my babies. I enjoy writing, hence why I started this blog. And the other day while nursing my 3 month old at 4 am some thoughts came to mind. I normally keep a journal near my bedside because I will wake at odd hours thinking about stuff and need to write it down or I will forget it. I had taken the book downstairs earlier to write down some dreams and ideas we had and I had left it there so here I was at 4 am trying to find my book on the table by the light of my cellphone. I grabbed the book and headed back upstairs to finish feeding the baby and write down my thoughts. Before I knew it I had 2 childrens books written! I have had an idea to write childrens books for some time now for my kids and now I have 2 done already! Now the daunting task of publishing and marketing my book which I have turned into a series about my 3 year old and the adventures we have learning to deal with him being blind in one eye! And the baby just looked up at me from my breast and cooed at me with a big smile! I think he likes the idea too!!

Mmmm chicken fingers and home fries.

So my usual trick is to find whatever we have in the cupboard and coat the chicken with it and bake or fry it..and I can usually get something pretty good together. I found a stale bag of Doritos in the cupboard that were a bit spicy and so did not get eaten. So here is what we had for dinner tonight.

4 potatoes
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
bag of doritos
bit of oil
salt and pepper
2 eggs

I quartered the potatoes and tossed them with a bit of salt and pepper and some rosemary and parsley, then laid them out on a sheet pan and in the oven at 425. The fries should take about 45 minutes  to an hour depending on how thick you cut them.

For the chicken I cut it into strips and tossed it in the beaten eggs and Doritos and then fried them in a shallow pan with a bit of oil in it just to crisp up the crust then transferred to a sheet pan and put them in the oven also. These should be done as the potatoes are done if you timed it right.

Make whatever dip you like.

Today's Lesson Lock the door!!

So the other day I learned a valuable lesson as a parent, lock the door when napping. I normally do have the door locked when I am home alone as I have an abusive ex-partner(a story for another day). But the other day I apparently forgot as I took the baby upstairs for a feeding and a lie down. I usually set the 3 yr old up in his room with the tv and a drink and I take the baby to my room and feed him and as I was lying down with the baby I was listening to the 3 yr old play. I heard him go downstairs and was singing and moving about and then I heard the door open and I assumed it was his brother coming home from school. Then I listened for a minute and heard him talking to someone but it did not sound like my son. I immediately got up and went down to check it out. Here a friend of mine had popped by for a visit and Jaxan had opened the door for him! We explained to Jaxan why he should not open the door and went on to visit for the afternoon.   But from now on I make sure the door is locked before heading upstairs!..

I just need some symthathy..

So my 3 year old has developed quite a flair for the dramatic these days, and I am hoping it ends soon. It seems since he turned 3 the tears have not stopped flowing. To the point where the other day I asked him if he was really hurt or was just looking for some sympathy and he tells me I just need some symthathy..well I nearly died laughing but since that point I have tried to be more sympathetic to my sons plight and sit down with him for a minute and ask what is going on or give him a snuggle for a few minutes. And when he is making a scene in the store or at a friends or family function I calmly sit down with him and ask him to take a breath and we both take a deep breath and snuggle for a minute so he can gather himself and then we try and decipher his 3 yr old perceptions of what the issue of the moment is and how to resolve it in a quieter way.

We forgot Ironhide!!!

Why is it that the 3 yr old always needs to bring a toy to where ever we are going only to leave it behind and remember 5 minutes down the road?...We face this reality almost every time we venture out somewhere. You think I would have learned by now to either A: not bring the toy or B: make sure we don't forget the toy.  But alas I have not and we inevitably leave the toy behind every time. I'm thinking maybe this will spawn a line of toys with a way to strap to the kids so they are not forgotten. Or maybe this will spawn a generation of mothers who have a better memory. I'm guessing no on the latter. So now the decision do we turn around and go back to retrieve the toy or call and let Auntie know that we forgot him and can she please bring him next time she comes this way. We sent a text, don't worry I wasn't driving.

YAY HOCKEY!! NOT!!

Yay the hockey lockout may be over, big f*n deal...what does that mean to me? Not much, I am not a fan, never have been. It was shoved down my throat as a kid with my brother playing and my cousins playing. I find it deplorable that these people would be fighting over more money when there is so many people in this world with nothing. How can they justify the salaries they already get? They skate around and play with a stick and a puck, I as a mother of 4 boys have way more skills than these people. I may not have a special skill or talent but why shouldn't I get millions of dollars for the effort I put in every day? Personally I will not be watching the games nor buying the merchandise, and when my partner watches I will leave the room as I cannot sit there and watch these assholes who feel they deserve more then any one else play a silly game that was meant to be played in fun.

Chicken and rotini dinner..

I decided to call my blog mommy kisses and hot chocolate thinking I would also share some of our favorite recipes with my readers. Tonight after sledding we came home and I whipped up a quick easy dinner here's what I did.

3 Chicken Breasts
2 cups rotini pasta
1 can peas
garlic
water
1 cup milk
chicken stock
flour or corn starch rue.
season to taste

Cube the chicken and toss in a large pot with enough water to cover the chicken and the pasta, I used one of those concentrated stock packets and added it now, boil for a few minutes and add the peas, I also added some sage and salt and pepper and chopped up garlic at this point. When chicken and pasta are near done about 10-15 minutes add milk and the rue. Stir until it tightens up.

I got this idea from the new dish at Tim Horton's and although I have not tried it yet I think mine was better. Try it let me know what you think.

Goggles my dear Watson..

So today we decided to take the boys tobogganing. Sounds like fun right?..hahaha Well now we have to find clothes for everyone, get the baby fed and dressed and settled enough so that he won't fuss too much while we are trying to have fun, find Jaxan's mitts as he usually loses them right before we go anywhere, and try and fit us all and the sleds in the van before mom has a melt down and turns around to go have a nap. Now mom has not gone down the hill in a couple of seasons as I have back issues and being a single mom until recently it was hard to keep tabs on all of them and have fun also. The first time this year that we took Jaxan he decided he did not care for it as he got a face full of snow while going down the hill, so on subsequent trips he was not having any of it. Today however we were talking about finding him some goggles  and Jevan pipes up hey mom I know where there is some! I send him down to find them and he brings up some swimming goggles! Hey this might work! We adjust them to his head and get them on and get everyone ready. Off we go...Well the first trip down the hill is a success!! He loved it. Got all the way back up the hill and he said mom I didn't even get snow in my eyes! We were able to make it a few more trips down the hill before he started to tell me he was cold and wanting to go home. So from now on we know what little item we wont be leaving home without...at least when we go tobogganing.

Welcome

This is my first post on my blog. I wanted to start a blog to write down what I experience as a mom of 4 boys 3 of which are 5 and under right now. My oldest is Jorian, he turned 13 in September, still hard to believe I have a teenager. My next oldest is Jevan, he is 5 but will be six next week, he is the one I have to remind myself that he is still 5 as he is very strong minded and strong willed. After that I have Jaxan, he just turned 3 in October. He was born with a cataract in his right eye and is blind in that eye and we are working on potty training right now. I am happy to say he pretty much has it down pat already after only 3 months of working steady at it. Finally I had Jensan 3 months ago on October 4th. We are all adjusting to life with a new baby in the house. He is nursing and the other boys tend to want my time while he is feeding so I have to work out how to help them and snuggle them while I have a baby on the breast. That is where Chase comes in, he is my partner, and although he is not the father of Jensan from the day he was born he said that he would be the only father that baby would know. He has been amazing at taking care of me and the babies for the last few months but now he is ready to go back to work and I will be left to take care of the babies. Oh my how am I going to do this? Should be easy right? I have done this before..I am hoping to use this blog as a place to right down what works and what doesn't work. As a mother I know all about mommy brain and how we tend to forget things, I am finding out how differently each child needs to be parented for each of their strengths and weaknesses and how i need to grow and learn what I need in order to be a better parent. I have already grown so much as a person, giving up crack cocaine 4 years ago and meth 7 years ago and now deciding to take my life to places I have never been before, places I never would have let myself dream of. Growing up being abused in every way shape or form I never would have imagined what real love felt like for myself or my kids. But finding it in my kids and in my partner is the most amazing feeling in the world, I want to share that feeling with others that is why this is called mommy kisses and hot chocolate because as a mom I have come to find out that nothing is better at making us feel better than mommy kisses and hot chocolate and I wanted to share that with you.