Pumpkin Hollow...

Gracie REALLY likes popcorn apparently.... 

Last weekend we went to Pumpkin Hollow, which is quickly becoming another Autumn tradition for us... Unlike Corn Maiden Market, you do have to pay to go in, but it is really fun for the kids... This year, they had a corn maze in the shape of the Rider's Logo.. the kids loved it so much we had to go through twice... They had wagon rides, a train ride, a play area with a corn box, some animals, pony rides, a corn shoot, and a concession... The kids had a great time, and so did we...

They also had a place inside the store where you could take pictures 

Gracie inside the chalk house...

Jeremy pretending to drive his "pirate ship"

The corn box...Gracie kept trying to swim in it...

Corn Maiden Market

Autumn is my very VERY favorite time of year... I love the colors, the temp, the places I can take my kids..

Since we had Jeremy one of our fall traditions is to take the kids to a place called Corn Maiden Market in Lumsden...They have had a Pumpkin Festival every year where they have a huge Pumpkin Patch, face painting, a haunted house, sometimes a hay bale maze and make pumkin soup, hot dogs, and hot chocolate.... We love that place so every year we bundle up the kids and take them out there....take tons of pics of kids on Pumpkins and buy lots of vegies... However.. this year we were kind of disappointed. They CALLED it the pumpkin festival.... but when we went out there... there was NOTHING going on... no hot dogs.. pumkin soup... haunted house... nothing. We took some pics of the kids and went home...  :(  I am hoping the lack of activities was due to the fact it was bad weather this year for pumpkins... because otherwise we are going to be losing a tradition...  I felt kind of bad, because we have told everyone we know about how much fun we have out there...and then this year they didn't do anything...

BLACKMAIL!

BLACKMAIL.... Oh Yeah!

This is a picture EVERYONE wants of their MIL... 

She has never touched a cigarette 

never mind a cigar in her life..

so I couldn't ignore the opportunity

when I caught her with this candy cigar

and my daughter's hat...

Ice Cream in October

It has been so warm this October

that it didn't seem at all unusual 

to go for ice cream....

So off to Dessart..

My fav ice cream store...

The kids didn't care what month it was...

Gracie

Cousin Josh

Mike

Cousins Paige and Jeremy

http://dessartsweets.com/

I am not a zombie...

I am not a zombie....
But I did take pictures of them...
and they weren't eating brains...
they were giving cans of food to the local food bank.

It was a very well attended event...
who could have known that being "undead" was so popular!

The walk started at the Legislative building,
and continued on to Victoria Park.

It was a "howling" good time for those who came to walk.
I say "howling" because that is what the "zombies" were doing
to the traffic...who was honking in support of them...

I also discovered that I am too fat to run ten blocks. :)

Day of the Living Dead.

You've had them....

We all have...

The DAY.

No sleep the night before...

I was too afraid to sleep..I had to be up at 5.30 am for an MRI that I have been waiting for

for about 6 months..so I really didn't want to miss it...

And for WHATEVER INSANE REASON...

Kendal decided to stay up building a costume...

and I decided I wanted to edit some personal pics...

TILL 1 AM!  

Smart move. 

Therefore proving my son right when he asked me if I was getting the MRI...

and I quote... "to find out if I had a brain."

"No Jeremy...Mommy does NOT have a brain.".  

At least not the working version.

You would think that being so tired.. I would be able to sleep...Right?

Well...think again.

Not so much. I was awake till 3am...

when finally I did fall asleep....

I did wake up at 5.30...

got out the door by 5.55 am...

Yaaa me.... 

IF I hadn't driven through a red light on the corner of Victoria and Albert...

Where...YES. THEY.DO. HAVE. CAMERAS.

I was so busy trying to think about which part of the road I was supposed to drive down

on two hours sleep ( They are doing massive road work and EVERYTHING is blocked)

that I totally missed the light...

I can only hope and pray that the camera was sleeping at that horrible hour.

I made it to the road I was supposed to turn on....

only to discover that it too was BLOCKED!

GREEEAAAT! I headed to the next street...and turned ...

only to find myself...going the wrong way down a one way street....

Good JOB! Once again..proving my sons comment...

I quickly turned down a back alley, and put myself back on the right street...

AND actually made it to the hospital ON TIME!

That should have been the end of my bad right?

BUT no.

The night before I had talked to the MRI department, 

and they told me to park in the Emergancy parking lot, 

and check in at their department, as the main one wasn't open yet.

SOOOO I did. 

Only to be greeted by an extremely unpleasant receptionist...

who informed me in no uncertain terms..

and made me know just how stupid I was...

that the main admitting desk opened at 6am/....

and I should have known that...

(Why?  Oh... I forgot all the time I spend HANGING in the hospital lobby!

It being such a great place and all..)

and that if I didn't move my car it would be towed.

Good thing I was only tired and not sick...

I didn't smack her... (kidding by the way...)

Sooo...now I am late...so out to my car...

Move it to the paid parking lot...

back in and now in line behind six people....sigh.

I finally did make it to the MRI department...

and the receptionist was nice...

but I got the distinct feeling that the technician 

would rather have been doing ANYTHING else then 

answering my dumb questions...

(dumb questions like do i have to drink anything discusting..

What temp does this bring your body up to... 

and how long will this slightly neurotic and very clausterphobic person 

have to stay in this cigar shaped coffin.)

She did snap at me because I didn't hear her tell me what I was supposed to do after I changed...

The test took half an hour...

I spent the first 10 minutes telling myself that I had to breath...

after that I kind of relaxed into a semi coma ... induced by exhaustion...

After it was over, I headed back to the lobby to get the cash that i needed

to pay for my parking...

and then to the info desk to ask if they had change I could feed the machine..

Where I was "TOLD" that Don't I know there is a parking attendent out there?

Um. No. If I did... I wouldn't be over here asking for change..

and....

Is this NOT information????

Wow...apparently I wasn't the only one having a bad day...

I did make it home safely after that...

and I think I will stay here where it is relatively safe...

until I meet the living dead tonight.

Yes. I did say that.

Park in Oct....

cousins Paige and Autumn Grace

Paige loves Jeremy....

Jeremy loves his Spongebob watch

Auntie LA visiting from Cranbrook

LA's husband Lewis

Kendal's brother Mark

and his wife Esther...

Just moved to Regina from Kamloops!

More fall park pics...

Autumn Grace

Jeremy

Cousins..

Cousin Josh

Cousin Paige

Autumn Grace

Thanksgiving Weekend!

We had a pretty busy Thanksgiving this year... Kendal's sister LA and her hubby came from BC to visit for the weekend, and Kendal's brother Mark and his wife Esther just moved here (yaa!) from BC, so it made for an action packed weekend... Lots of food, and card games, and pictures.....

My daughter Autumn on the swings....

Cousins Josh and Paige...

Look at those eyes!

These pics were taken on Sat. afternoon when we brought the cousins and my kids to the park to play...

Almond milk...instead of Cow milk...

A few days ago, I mentioned that I was going to make some drastic changes in what i ate...
Well, the first of those changes is switching from Cows milk to Almond milk.
I have always kind of had issues with cows milk...
Jeremy is lactose intolerant, and it gives him the runs..
and my older girls always complained it made them feel bloated and sick.

About 20 years ago it started making me feel kind of sick and gassy,
and I have just never felt quite right about drinking it,
but the alternatives didn't do much for me.
At least I liked the taste of Cow milk...
but Soy milk really discusted me..
(and I have since researched and come to believe that Soy isn't really great for us...)
I tried Rice milk as well... It had a much milder taste, but I still couldn't do it...
Then... a few weeks ago, we had a lady at our church
come in and talk about foods, and what they could do for us,
and what she believed we probable should and shouldn't eat.
I found it pretty interesting... and although I don't think I can go as far as she did
with the health food thing... I was already planning on making some serious changes
so she gave me "food" for thought... (Hehe bad pun...)
She offered up Almond milk as an alternative...so I tried it...
and I liked it!!! I haven't touched milk since... (except in my coffee...)
Then I heard something on TV about what is in Cow milk...
and that kind of made my decision final...
(after it made me sick...)
The best part?
My kids LOVE it! Jeremy BEGS me for "Nut" milk as he calls it...
We have it on cereal, and by itself..
It is great!! They also make it in vanilla and Chocolate..
which might make my kids happy...

You can buy Almond milk at Superstore,
or if you live in Regina you can buy it cheaper by the case
at a really cool store called
Body Fuel Organics..
Check out their website...
They sell Almond Breeze.... Good stuff!
They also have all kinds of other organic foods and vegies...
and some cool Bin programs going on.

Check in with us on Tuesday
When I will be comparing the benefits/ Negatives
of Almond milk vrs....Soy

Have a great weekend, and Happy Turkey Day!

Help for family and friends...

If you are reading this on behalf of someone else, here is some advice on how to help them deal with the pain and loss of their miscarriage....

• Do let your genuine concern and caring show.
• Do be available... to listen or to help with whatever seems needed at the time.
• Do say you are sorry about what has happened and about their pain.
• Do allow them to express as much unhappiness as they are feeling and are willing to share.
• Do encourage them to be patient with themselves and not to expect too much of themselves, nor to impose any 'shoulds' on themselves.
• Do allow them to talk about their loss as much and as often as they want to.
• Do reassure them that they did everything they could and that it wasn't their fault.
• Don't let your own sense of helplessness keep you from reaching out.
• Don't avoid them because you are uncomfortable. Being avoided by friends may add pain to an already painful experience.
• Don't say that you know how they feel (unless you have experienced their loss yourself, and then you can be particularly supportive).
• Don't say 'you ought to be feeling better by now' or anything which implies judgment about their feelings.
• Don't tell them what they should feel or do.
• Don't change the subject when they mention their loss.
• Don't avoid mentioning their loss out of fear of reminding them of their pain (they won't have forgotten).
• Don't try to find something positive about the loss (eg. a moral lesson, closer family ties, etc).
• Don't point out that at least they have their other....
• Don't say that they can always have another.... (they wanted this one).
• Don't say that they should be grateful for....
• Don't make comments which in any way suggest that the loss was their fault (there will be enough feelings of doubt and guilt already).

For more information on Women's Health and Miscarriage... check out this link...

http://www.womens-health.co.uk/miscarr.asp

They have some great information....

Now what do we do..that baby is gone....

First of all, I would just like to thank all of you who had words of condolence for Kendal and I after this last miscarriage...
I am doing better now...sort of....
I am done with the miscarriage...
I have to go in for more blood work to make sure my hcg levels are back to normal...
Emotionally...well....I guess we will deal with that.

My point for telling people about the miscarriages is to get women talking about it.
It is a really touchy subject...

For those of us who have miscarried..as one woman put it to me recently...
"It's like those babies didn't exsist...
no one wants to talk about it.." Her baby was in the second trimester.

I myself have friends who when I miscarried...completely avoided the subject..
never asked me how I was..or how I was dealing with it.
It left me feeling very angry, and alone.
...and also like i really didn't have any friends....
I am very fortunate to have a husband who stands by me,
and grieved with me.

There are also those who just don't get it...
I was told once last year... "Well, at least you have some healthy children..."
Don't get me wrong... I am VERY thankful that I have been fortunate enough to have children...'
but that doesn't lessen the pain of losing the one you are carrying...

I have many friends...but if one of them dies...I don't rejoice that I still have many who are alive..
I grieve for the one who died...

Sometimes the medical community isn't very sensitive about it either..
I know a lady who had a miscarriage about the same time as me..
The doctor asked her what she was crying about anyways...
after all..she was only five weeks along....
(I should add however, that my doctor was amazing...
she has been extremely supportive, and also ordered tests
to see why this happened...I am so glad to have a doctor who
doesn't just consider me a number...)

So again...I thank those of you who sorrowed with us...
I may not have responded well... but I really did appreciate it...
we are doing much better...

So.... What to do now...

Well...
I have decided that if nothing else, this loss has indicated to me that my body needs some changes...
so I will be changing some massive things in my diet
and hopefully also getting into some kind of more regular excercise program.
When I was tested it was determined that I was low on iron...
and also folic acid...
I suspect I also am having trouble with my Progestrone levels...
And since Progestrone controls all aspects of a womans health..
I will also be checking into that one as well...
I will be sharing some of those changes in the next while...

In the meantime... Please feel free to comment,
share your experience, or your healthy ideas...
Also feel free to tweet this, or link to it on facebook...


blessings... Have a great day!

Miscarriage... :(

It happened again.
The unexpected excitement when we found out we were expecting ...
even though we hadn't been trying...
The short wait...
The feeling that something was just not right..
and then...
the moment of truth.. loss of symptoms...not enough symptoms...
and then bleeding...
today an ultrasound confirming what I already knew..
more sad blood tests following the dropping HCG levels...

My second miscarriage in two years...

I know that there are people out there who don't understand.
Why would I want yet ANOTHER baby... #6 it would have been...
Aren't five enough?
Yes.... five were enough...
I LOVE... ADORE my kids...
and our choice to have Jeremy and Gracie after so many years with no kids?
We have loved every moment of it..
Even the bad ones...and there have been those.
And the tired days. And there have been TONS of those.
But...once the pregnancy was there...
we wanted that baby too.
we wanted that little one to join the family,
no matter how surprised we were that it was there..
and now.. there is a baby shaped hole,
that no one else can fill.

and now once again...in May...
I will remember that two babies could have been with us...

and I will try to understand what God meant when He told me
that I have "two little pearls waiting for me in Heaven"... treasures I can't have now."
and that "Life is His to give, and His to take away"
I wanted to hold them now instead....
I want to not feel sad all the time...
and I want to hold my youngest two all the closer,
because I am so thankful that God allowed me to have them with me now...

I did not want to go to church on Sunday,
and watch another lady be healed of her sore knee
when I was watching a dream slip away...
and I didn't want to feel very angry at God....
so angry I slammed a door hard enough to shake a wall
so angry that I didn't want to pray.
(He is big enough...He can handle our sadness and anger)

I did appreciate my OB and his wife,
who prayed with me, and said they will continue to do so at home.'
I know they will.

so for now...these words are my hope and comfort...till I feel better....
and I will.

though he slay me, yet will I trust him." .... "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

I struggled as to whether or not to share this, as we didn't really tell many people we
were expecting this time,
but I feel that more moms need to know it is ok to talk about death...
about loss.... miscarriage at all stages....
It is ok to grieve... and No...you never really get over it..
or forget. That is ok too.

so many avoid talking about it because it is uncomfortable...
but those babies were real to us, even if they were with us for a short time...

Please feel free to share your story.. or e-mail me  if you like. I would be happy to pray for you..or just talk...

Whether you feel it or not...God will walk with you.