Help!!!

Help and no I am not talking about the Beatles!

I wish I could get my family to help me out even a little, it seems like they all think I am their MAID and just for the record I'm not! I am not too sure how to get everyone to pick up after them selves. Here is a list of things I would like to see all of them help out with....

Zachary - Clean his room at the end of every day
  - do his own laundry and put it away
  - help out with dishes
  - clean the litter box
  - do his homework without being asked
  - take a shower at least every second day
  - Make lunch for the next day
  - Put items away in the pantry
  - help with max

Brodie -  set and clear the table
 - clean bedroom every night
 - do homework and reading with out being asked
 - make lunch for the next day
 - help with dishes
- help to put pantry items away
- help with max

Lucas - help to clean bedroom at the end of every day
  - help with dishes
  - help to put everything back in the pantry
  - help with max

TJ - help clean up after dinner
  - be responsible for his own clothes (Put them away after I wash, dry and fold them so they don't end up back on the floor)
  - pick up after himself
  - cook once a week
  - and many more things that I can't think of right now....

I am just getting so frustrated and I could really use a day off from real life, having 4 wait 5 messy boys is just too much to handle.

Making Progress!

12.5 LBS 

That is how much I have lost in the past 2 weeks, My husband and I have each lost over 12 pounds and I am so excited to have the scale moving in the right direction we have been eating very healthy and exercising every day. Making sure to do 10000 steps every day and working on strength training. I am starting to look and feel different! 

I am loving this new beginning, my husband is feeling better about himself and is truly enjoying having people congratulate him for a step in the right direction! Thanks for checking in with us! 

Lose the weight

Good Morning, so in past few weeks I have stopped nursing little max (He now has 4 almost 5 teeth) due to his biting. I had just been going along as I had eating what ever and not really gaining but since he is no longer taking my fun calories I have started gaining. This past weekend we had some family photo's taken and I really noticed that I had been gaining so I am back on the healthy living and way more exercise. I have already lost 6 pounds and I am hoping to lose 30 all together That will take me from 180.2 to 150. It has been a long time since I was that low but I deserve to be that low. I am hoping by christmas I can get down to my goal weight. I know halloween and thanksgiving will be really hard this year but it is all going to be worth it when I am 3 full sizes smaller! I can't wait! Tj is joining me on the journey so I am excited to see how he is going to do as well. He seems committed to the process as well we went for a 90 minute walk yesterday and it was awesome to get the blood flowing and enjoy the warm weather. It got rather chilly hear for a couple of weeks and has now warmed up a lot. I will post more in a few days on my progress!
Cheers!

Back to school

      We are almost done with our summer vacation, the kids will be going back to school soon and I am not looking forward to that day. This week the boys Zachary and Brodie have been enrolled in a soccer/swimming camp and it just made me realize how soon they will be gone to school all day. This is Brodie's first year of full day school he is going into grade 1 and Zachary is going into grade 5 where has the time gone.  Lucas and Max are sure going to miss them.

I will be shopping for all the school supplies later today when the kids get home, I can't get over the list of supplies they require even little Brodie's list is huge. Thank goodness for back to school sales. I have so much to do before they go back. We have spent most of our summer at the lake so I feel like our house and yard have been seriously neglected.  I have spent all morning cleaning and doing laundry since only the bare minimum has been being done!

Maxwell has started crawling and pulling himself up on the furniture it is so exciting to see him grow and change every day, yet at the same time he is growing up so fast. I have had to ween him off of the breast cause he was biting all the time so he is now on the bottle full time, it is a little sad but at the same time it is a happy day, I am enjoying having my body back, I am free to go out on my own again with out feeling like I am leaving them helpless. it only took me 2 weeks to get him fully off but it was the longest two weeks I would say every time I nursed him he was biting. He also has 3 teeth now. The two bottom ones and his top front tooth on his left side.

It is almost my birthday, this year I will be turning 31 and I have no idea where the time went, I think I feel 31 but I don't really know what 31 feels like, Last year was my 30th and I was not really able to go out and party it up cause I was pregnant with Max so we are going out and partying it up really good this year. Mary Lee my Mother-in-Law has planned to watch the kids over night and I am so excited to have someone I trust so much watch them it has been so long since we had a night away from the kids.

I have been doing some scrapbooking this summer, thank god cause it had been way too long, I just love doing it but I never make time for the things I love any more, I need to make more time for myself.  

Habits

Habits are formed by doing something over and over again or not doing something over and over again. I have worked very hard for the past few months getting my Newest son Max on a schedule, I have watched his cues and taught him cues so that I know when he is hungry, tired, poopy, or just wants to be held. With summer approaching things have become very hectic around our house. Baseball is in full swing, we have begun our summer line up of events, usually beginning with mother's day and this year was no different, Mother's day was spent in the mountains this year so that meant we were in the van a lot touring around and enjoying the sights and scenery, then we had a wonderful long weekend at the lake, last weekend was spent at a ball tournament for Zachary and his team, next weekend we will be at our Pitmaster competition, the weekend after we will be back at the lake, and all the while the kids have 25 school days left in the year and I know it will just fly by!! Anyway the past few weeks have been a little rough on Max he is still sleeping good and in good spirits but I am not sure how next weekend will go lets hope he still wants to spend lots of time being held. I think we will have to bring the kiddo some toys and such not being home for a few days is always more difficult.

Birthdays

SO this week is my husbands birthday and I am really struggling on what to do for him this year, we have plans to be a part of a BBQ competition this weekend so it is limiting our options I was thinking that it would be great if I could make a cake and present it to him during the day but I am not sure I can manage that large of a cake I think it would need to feed about 100 people. I guess we will see how it goes!

Busy Busy busy!

Lately we have been so busy 4 kids are a huge time commitment we have had our 3 older boys in swimming lessons and now the 2 older boys have started baseball. This weekend we are in a tournament for the oldest boy Z and I am sure it will be a huge success! His team is the youngest in the league so they will probably not win but I know they will be having fun!I will be very busy chasing the 2 middle boys all day! Lest Hope they win!

Lucky Me!

Somedays I feel like I am the luckiest mom around, I have a wonderful 10 year old that is almost always willing to help, a 5 year old that is just so sweet and friendly to everyone, he is very polite and  helpful too! A 3.5 year old that when he wants too he can be the sweetest most loving little boy and my almost 2 month old that is sleeping threw the night already! Max has a great schedule (He set) and is nursing wonderfully, I know that they do say that the more babies you have the easier they are, you know what to expect and learn all the cues early. Baby Max is also smiling and cooing so happily and it just makes my day!

I also have the most amazing husband, he is supportive and caring,  I have more fun with him just sitting at home than I could with anyone else. We will be celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary here in a few weeks and I am just not too sure what to do for him?

I have a wonderful family, my mom is just amazing and my step dad (Cal) is more than I could ever ask for. He is just great for the whole family. My dad and step mom (Kim) are great with our children and so much fun. It was so nice growing up, having 4 people that loved me. I also have a Brother, Tyler. He is the best brother a girl could ask for, we work together and hangout often, he is a super uncle for my boys and loves to spend time with them. He has a Great girlfriend Trish and she is just amazing, we have become fast friends and I couldn't have picked a better person for him myself! I also have 2 step sisters and a step brother, Casey, Heather and Andrew. Casey is from Cal and Heather and Andrew are from Kim. I love being part of a big family. Casey is married to Paul and have 2 children, Aurora and Ryder. Aurora is the only grand daughter/Niece so she is very special to us all.  We also have TJ's family, Mary Lee is his mom and Rick is his dad. Mary Lee is the best mother-in-law a girl can ask for she is easy going and so supportive. Rick is going threw some hard times right now and is just needing to work on himself. TJ has one sister Krista and a Brother in law Arturo who have 3 children. Jaleena, Saraya and Ariono.  They are super sweet and the kids love spending time together.

People keep asking us if we will have any more children and I am not opposed to it, I would love to have a little girl but so far we have not been graced with one. I am trying to be optimistic and keep hoping that we will one day. After I had Lucas I was very depressed that he was not a girl I was so hopeful and when he was born a boy it was really hard on me. This time was a little different I am not sure why but I don't feel bad that Max is a boy. Max is so easy going and really all in all just an easy baby so maybe that helps. Not too sure.

Gotta Run
Lindsay

Cherish the moments

Some days I look at my life and wonder what the heck was I thinking, I got pregnant the first time at  19, I had my first boy Zachary at 20 (2004)I was engaged to be married, and a short year later, I ended the engagement because I knew we were not meant to be. In 2007 I did marry my best friend and we have 3 more boys together, TJ and I have had our ups and downs but we have always worked things out. I am living proof that you should wait to have children, don't get me wrong I love my son and would not change a thing but waiting until I was older and in a much better relationship would have made my life much easier. Zachary was born with a problem with his swallow(Aspiration) it caused him to take liquid into his lungs and it was miss diagnosed for 3 years as asthma. All of these things made me into the person that I am today but every once and a while I think about what it would have been like to enjoy my early 20's (without children), with little to no real responsibilities. Possibly go to university, travel, just be me.  Since then I have managed to get a great career in oil and gas industry, I did take some management course at NAIT and be a "super mom" as our friends and family call me. I love my boys more than life it self and I would do anything for them.
Zachary, Brodie, Lucas and Maxwell are the most amazing little boys, and they truly are little BOYS they love to wrestle, get dirty, play sports, build forts, play with tools and build stuff, but at the same time they love to cuddle and give hugs and kisses.  I love watching them play together, there is something about a family that loves to be together and my boys enjoy playing, painting, colouring,  traveling, and helping out together. It is truly an honour to be their mom, sometimes it just takes a little reminding that I am the person I am now because of them.

This past mothers day I was given gifts with their hand prints on them and I know they won't be little for much longer and it saddens me to think that they won't be babies any more. Zach and Brodie are already in school and Luke will be there soon Thank goodness little Max will keep us in baby mode for the next few years.

The poem that came with the gifts read this.

Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small
And always leave my fingerprints 
On furniture and walls. 

But every day I'm growing 
I'll be grown some day
And all those handprints 
Will surely fade away.

So here's a little handprint
Just so you can recall
Exactly how my fingers looked 
When I was very small.

Someday I will look back and I will shed a tear(cause that's what I do),  I am seeing Zachary as more and more of a man and what he will become. He is already 10 and in 8 short years he will be an adult going off to university(he already has the one he wants to go to picked out cause it offers the program he wants to take) Sometimes I just make him sit with me and hold him I wish I could keep him young forever but then he wouldn't get to experience all the wonderful things that come with being an adult!

Gotta go ... Lindsay  

Creativity Lost but not forgotten :(

Over the past few years being back at work, having 3 kids and no where near enough hours in a day I had lost my drive to craft, but now that I am home again and being able to find a few spare minutes I am just Jonesing to get my hands on some paper, buttons, ribbon and ... My Cricut! I have so many good Ideas and no where to set up my stuff (Of which I have lots of) no really LOTS!!!) As soon as our home project is completed I am going to be setting up my craft table again and getting busy. I have a bunch of great Ideas for Max's baby book. I also did not make a full year scrapbook last year so I need to do some catching up.

SO ... here is a motivational push to get crafting. Call me if you want to get crafting and maybe we can do it together!

Lindsay

All in a days work!

We have been planning on getting our house ready to sell for about a year and the week before Max was born we started a new project. We built a wall for Zach's room and created a pantry to give us more storage due to the fact that our kitchen is on the small side, this was very necessary. We have been living in a mild amount of chaos for 7 weeks and it is beginning to drive me crazy. I am hoping it should be all done in about a week if possible! We are finally at the paint stage, I have picked new colours for the house and I love them already we only have one coat on a few walls so far and I can't wait to see the final reveal! Zachary is loving his new room but I am hating the mess that goes along with construction. He has had a very unorganized and messy room for the past 7 weeks and he is in for a big surprise cause as soon as the reno is complete he is going to have to do a big clean! The little boys room has gained a closet as well so the entire 3rd floor is in chaos and I can hardly walk past it without cringing.  Once the 3rd floor is completely finished I am going to be painting the rest of the house as well.I will post pictures once everything is finished!

January 14, 2014

January 14 has always been a special day for my it is my best friend Robin's Birthday and this year 2014 TJ and I welcomed Maxwell Thomas to our family, He came into this world at 4:44 in the morning and was welcomed by 2 midwives, my mom Sandy and TJ's mom Mary Lee. TJ and I had our other boys in the hospital and decided that it would be a more relaxed and much less medical intervention if we were able to birth at home.

I began looking into a midwife and at first was not successful until one day at about 14 weeks pregnant I got an email from the Lucina Centre where I was paired with Carly and Chantel, I met with the 2 of them for the next 25 weeks, They took such great care of me answered all my questions and when I started having contractions at 32 weeks I was sent to the hospital just to have everything checked out ... as it turned out I am just the unlucky person that got to have contractions for 6 weeks. With the other boys I did have contraction early as well but not that early. I started having contractions, Real contractions on January 7th and dilated to 4 cm with contractions at 4 minutes apart, then the contractions "stopped" I was only having contraction about once an hour until a week later when they finally picked up again and I went into labour for "real"

. Tj and I had decided to have a home birth and what an experience, we had the most amazing water birth in a birthing tub. I laboured in the tub for about 3 hours and then the time had arrived to push him out. It only took a few pushes and he little head was out under the water, I was in a squatted position and TJ was holding my hand to hold me up I finally gave it a final push and baby was out. We did not know he was a "He" until that moment and I was the only one that knew, he was wrapped in a towel still connected to the placenta and all I could think was that he was so perfect, and that he wasn't a girl, being our fourth boy we were all hopeful for a girl but with no luck. I shared my little secret that he was a boy with TJ and the family and everyone was over joyed! TJ and I spent the next few minutes falling in love with our sweet little boy. The midwives and TJ clamped the cord and TJ had the honours to cut the bond that allowed our sweet baby to be alive. Once that was complete the backup midwife took Max and checked him over while I deliver the placenta. Once all was said and done I got out of the pool and was wished to bed where I got very comfortable, unlike all those hospital beds.   Maxwell was being checked over to make sure all was well 10 fingers and 10 toes and such. He was and is Perfect!  We decided that would be a good time to wake the boys so TJ went down stairs and got the boys while the Moms,  and my step dad Cal poured the group a glass of champagne to commemorate the occasion. We toasted to Max on his birth and to all of us for a job well done! It was so wonderful to have the kids there with us to enjoy Max and his first few moments of life.  The boys were so excited to have a new brother.

We had the honour of having a dear friend photograph the process and it is just wonderful to have this experience captured in such a permanent way. Jenn @ PictureUsThere I will be posting a few of the birth pic's at a later date. I would also encourage anyone that would want their birth to be captured, to look into having a birth photographer involved it will free up your husband to be more focused on you! We also had a friend ask if she could take some newborn pic's of Max and I have posted a few of the wonderful shot she got. Ashley @ Love & Laugh Photography . I want to thank both of them for giving us such wonderful memories that we can hold forever!

Introduction to me!

My name is Lindsay and I am 30 years old I have been married to my wonderful husband TJ for 7 years. We have 4 amazing Children,  Zachary is 10, Brodie is 5, Lucas is 3.5 and Maxwell is only 6 weeks old. We have been blessed with a large family and I love each moment I spend with my boys. My family runs a business and for the past 15 years I have been working for them on and off (due to my children). I enjoy scrapbooking, and crafting of most kinds, painting, swimming, spending time at our Lake lot, home decorating and gardening. I seem to have less and less time to do the things I love but its all worth it to have more time with my boys. Since I am off for the next 10 months for maternity leave I am hoping to be able to spend more time on me as well!

Welcome Welcome Welcome!

Some days I feel like we are the Croods family, a little over the top and dishevelled. We, TJ (my husband) and I took our 4 kids out today, we needed to pick up some baseball supplies for our oldest son Zach, he starts Baseball training camp tonight and of course we waited till the last minute to find him what he needed and since it is no where near baseball season where we live it was really hard. Needless to say we managed to find what we needed but it was not easy going to 10 stores, we ended up dividing up and I stayed in the van with our 3 younger ones and while TJ and Zach went into the final 3 stores.  We ended our shopping trip with a special treat, The dollar store we even grabbed a few things for up coming St. Patrick's day, being Irish it always makes me feel special that so many people celebrate being Irish even if they may not be Irish.