A ONE AND A TWO

Finally the cat's out of the bag and I can share our big news.  It's been killing me (seriously) to keep the secret but now that it's all over Facebook I can tell whomever I want.  Woohooo!

Come February or March we will have nine little grandchildren to kiss, cuddle, and spoil.  Nathan and Emily are going to be the proud parents of two little girls (at least that's what the doctor thinks but the babies were moving around too much to get a clear picture).   I am so excited for them and for me.  The girls are really starting to outweigh the boys so I'm thinking that Brittany and Olivia need to have boys this year. Hint, hint.

A TALE FROM THE PAST

This little anecdote happened a number of years back when all five of my kids were under the age of ten.
 I had just said goodbye to Ian who was going out for the evening and I went to check on the kids who had been put to bed about a half an hour previously.  All of them were sleeping soundly so I decided I was going to run a well deserved,warm bath and soak for an hour.  As I lay there luxuriating in the bubbles the sudden thought hit me that I had forgotten to lock the front door.  That knowledge sabotaged any hope of truly enjoying my bath and my very active imagination set off a series of scenarios playing in my head all of which invariably lead to my untimely death at the hands of a serial killer.  As I lay there contemplating getting out of the bath to go and lock the door I noticed a shadow pass under the bathroom door.  It felt as if my heart stopped and for a moment I froze.

"Ian is that you?"  I called out.  "You're home late." I added, even though I was not expecting him home for at least another hour but I wasn't going to let my intruder know that.  I wanted him to think that someone would be home at any moment.
Not only was this met with silence but the shadow that had passed by now came back and stood still in front of the bathroom.
"Adam, is that you?"
Silence.
"Matthew, is that you?
Silence.
"Daniel?"
Silence.
"Brittany?"
"Nathan, is that you out there?  Do you need to go to the bathroom?"
Silence.
"Would you answer me please!"
Silence.
  My imagination kicked into high gear at this point.
I could see that the door handle was slowly being turned back and forth and I was convinced I was about to meet my doom.  I looked around the bathroom and realized there was absolutely nothing in there that  I could defend myself with and then I remembered watching something about the best thing you can do in a situation like that is to surprise your attacker because it will throw him off his game plan. This thought gave me courage, I wasn't going to be an easy target so I stepped out of the bath dripping wet, covered in bubbles, completely naked, and made my way to the door.  I undid the lock ever so quietly, yanked open the door, at the same time yelling in my very loudest voice "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!!!"
There stood three year old Nathan looking up at me with his big blue eyes, sheer terror on his face.
"Muuummy?"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

I was sitting here wondering what is so special about late September that would cause a population explosion in late June then I realized that the nights were probably getting a lot colder and there was obviously more than just snuggling up in a blanket going on.

Today some of my favourite people celebrate the day of their birth.

Happy Birthday Breanne, the girl who thought Scotland was in Nova Scotia.  True story.  This girl was Brittany's first friend when we moved north and they have remained close ever since.  We consider her part of our family.  She may not be blonde like us but she acts like it, that's why we love her so much.

Happy Birthday Heidi a.k.a Pocahontas who used to come and visit Brittany but we all knew you were here to see the brothers.  Admit it.  Daniel once pulled her hair in church and they've been great friends ever since. We hoped for some sort of merger with her and one of our boys but it was not meant to be. (probably a good thing)  We still consider her family.

Happy Birthday Claudia, our German exchange student.  We could not have asked for a better match for our family.  I cannot say enough good things about this girl.  She lived with us for a period of six weeks over ten years ago and has remained a part of our lives since.  We still receive postcards from her when she travels.  I bet she doesn't realize how much she is thought about and reminisced about in our family. We love her.

Happy Birthday Nathan, the baby of our family.   His sweet demeanor blesses our family.  I can't wait to see him as a dad (that's a hint by the way) because he is awesome with his nieces and nephews.  They all love him.  Everybody loves Nathan, there's just something special about him.  I wanted to share some funny stories about him (like the time he ate poop out of  the toilet) but since it's his birthday, I'll refrain.

How can you not love this face?

WHAT GOES ON BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

After my last post, I was reminded of a time when Nathan caused me some undue embarrassment.  It happened when he was about five or six years old and we had some friends over for a games night.  Nathan approached me at the table and just at the time that there was a lull in the conversation he offered this insight...
"Mom, I know what you do when you go to bed at night... and it's not sleep."

I can't even tell you the reaction of those around me because my mind was frantically trying to figure out how he would know such a thing.  We were always so very careful to be discreet in those matters.  My only reply to that was  a weak "oh?"

"yah" he continued "you do crossword puzzles.  I've seen the book and the pen by your bed."

"You are exactly right!"  I said giving a huge sigh of relief.

IF THE CARD FITS...

I came across  "Bluntcard" today which is basically  a site where you can send ecards to your friends and family.  They are all 50's style and some are outrageously funny.  Unfortunately a lot of the cards contain totally inappropriate language so I don't suggest that you go to the site unless that kind of language doesn't bother you at all.   As I perused the cards I found some that I could instantly think of the perfect recipients to send them to.

This one for instance made me think of Daniel.  He's really not that conceited but he likes to dress nicely and he often gets compliments on his attire.

Matthew and Nathan once set off fireworks at an outdoor party we had for Daniel and Olivia.  They went awry.  You can read that post here.

This could actually apply to a few of my friends so I won't call anyone in particular out.

I know a guy who takes every opportunity he can to humiliate his wife on Facebook.  Recently, she has succeeded in retaliating.  Mandy, I think you should send this one to Matt.

Sorry Lisa and Cora, I am totally calling you out on this one.  Don't feel bad, I am confessing to being just as guilty to this sort of behavior.  There are a few more of you out there. You know who you are. 

And finally.....

How great IS it to have a friend as wonderful  as me?  Lisa?  Cora?

AKA (almost known as) SHAGGY DOG

Proof that Nathan was a dream child.  He let me dress him in this without complaint.

We thought we'd let our 4 kids have a hand in naming the latest addition to our family.  They decided if the baby was a boy he should be called Shaggy Dog.  We nixed that idea but the boys got their revenge and called him Nate Dog as a teenager. 

He was a dream child from day one.

• one hour total labour. That's right, one hour only.  Every mom should be that lucky.
• slept through the night at six weeks. Pure heaven when you have four other kids to deal with all day.
• rarely cried. Not even when his brothers inflicted pain that would have made even their eyes water.
• was always singing or whistling.  I was a bit worried when all he would sing was Backstreet Boys songs but he outgrew it. Phew!
• kind hearted.  He once offered his sister his ice cream cone when hers fell on the ground without any hesitation.
• happy disposition.  Not much gets that boy down.
• made friends easily. When he enrolled in a new school he told me he wouldn't talk to anyone for three days, he had a new best friend by lunch time.

That little dream child could also be a bit of a nightmare just so you don't think he was totally perfect.

 

He

• ate poop out of the toilet thanks to an older brother who didn't bother to flush or put the lid down. 
• stole cheese from the fridge all the time.  I was forever finding little bite marks on the cheese block.
• flushed toys and toothbrushes down the toilet. I can now remove a toilet seat and reassemble it in no time now, a skill that has proven handy.
• had a party at the house once when we were out. The only one of our kids to ever do this and get caught.  Don't think I am fooled you guys, I know there were other parties... Brittany....

I can't believe my baby is twenty three today.  Where did the time go?  That sweet, sweet boy is now a man I'm still wrapping my head around that one all married and grown up.  It won't be too long until he's a parent himself this is not an announcement although I wish it was.  When the time does come, he will be a great dad.  His nieces and nephews adore him and it's no wonder to me. 

Happy Birthday Nathan!

Don't worry Emily, those teeth have been brushed thousands of times since the "poop" incident.

PERKS

One of the perks to owning an iphone is that I have a video camera at my disposal at all times which allows me to capture random moments like this...

This was shot at a Best Buy store in Toronto.  Nathan decided to try out the xbox Kinnect and I decided to pull out my iphone and capture the moment.  What you can't hear (because of my awesome editing skills) is Nathan warning me that I had better be getting some shots of the TV screen so people could see what he was really doing.  Things he didn't say:

Don't post it.
Don't blog about it.
Make sure when you edit it, to keep the shots of the TV screen in the movie. (This was impossible because I didn't actually take any video of the TV.)

When my kids would sometimes get in trouble when they were younger a favourite excuse was "Well you didn't tell us NOT to do it." ...and I wonder where they got it from?