Valentine's Day

8 Years I have got to spend with the wonderful man I have in my life and this year he decided to spoil me! He surprised me by coming home early and sent me out the door to go shopping. My sister and my mom picked me up shortly after he arrived home. So we were off to the market mall. Right before I left though, he surprised me with earrings, some that I have wanted for a very long time because I can only wear real gold. I know, I know, I'm a very expensive wife but its not my fault!

 My new earrings!

 

 When I arrived home after some shopping and wine, Grant had started making me a home cooked dinner! He never cooks so this was a huge surprise and a yummy one too!

 Grant at work!

 

The final Result! Home made marinara sauce on fresh pasta with Chicken Parmesan and Caesar salad! 

Blogger

So I haven't fully kept up with my one and I think only news years resolution, who knew. I was going to try and write on my blog at least once a week and I think I've only done 2 posts since the new year...well here's another.

I wonder who checks my blog when I don't post a link on my facebook. I for one, check my sisters blog on almost a daily basis. I love to see the new pictures she has taken and see what her little family is up to. Some times thats how I know they did something or went somewhere. That kind of sounds terrible but its little things, like when they got their crib and how they spent their new years eve, just to name a couple.

Just like this blog, there is another thing I was thinking about when the future comes. When the years have gone by and my kids are all growed up, I can look back on my blog and read about how my family and I spent our days. There is another way, that I was thinking might be kind of cool:

I joined facebook in 2007. Right before Austin was born I believe. Very shortly after I was married and my life was just really starting its next chapter. How neat is it that when my kids are older (old enough to join facebook), they can go on to my page and go way back to when they were first born. They are able to read statuses from when they were little, what I was thinking or how I was feeling that day. Its kind of weird to think that they might come across that one day. They may even find something that they don't like or will hurt their feelings because I was stressed out one day and wrote something like "I can't wait until this day is over" (not sure if I actually wrote that or not). Not very long ago I read a note that someone had posted to their sister. This person wrote it before their sister was even old enough to be on facebook. But then, when she felt it was the right time, she showed her sister something that she wrote to her a long time ago. Its just kind of neat. So a few words of advice, Be graceful with what your words are on facebook, you never know who is going to read them!!

Dutch Soup

Growing up I am quite fond of the memories I have sitting around the dinner table with my family. I cherish those moments probably more now than ever, now that I have a family of my own. I work nights so I am rarely ever home to even eat dinner with my family but I will one day.

Some of those recipes I grew up on I will for sure be passing down to my own children. I am very happy that Grant will give anything a try, if I ask him to, and then spice it up with his own version (by adding some sort of hot sauce). Dutch soup is one of those things. The first time Grant tried it he did not like it at all and I was very disappointed. We made him add Maggie because it is necessary in our minds. To our discovery, and to Grants, it is not necessary at all (for him anyway). He decided to try it with franks buffalo hot sauce and to his discovery he liked it. Which I am very thankful for because it is now a family favorite now as I am the mom not the child. I get to pass down not only memories from this favorite dish but also a little bit of heritage. I have and always will be very proud to be a Dutch descendant. Even though my Opa passed away when I turned 19 I feel like I did not know him as well as I would've liked, however, even if I did know him very well I think I would've still felt the same as my Opa passed away too soon.

Other things that have grown on Grant is camping. He didn't necessarily dislike camping but he seemed to dislike everything that was involved when it came to camping. The packing, the rushness and eagerness to get there, the cramped sleeping situation, the hot days and then cold nights, the bugs, the dirt. But he has also grown to like camping very much I believe.

I am so glad that I was blessed with the family that I have. I insist on passing down important things to my children as they were, intended to or not, passed down to me. I will continue to carry on traditions and also to create new ones. I will continue to carry on memories as well as create new ones. I will continue to carry on the importance of family.

I don't always blog, but when I do, its full of words!

That title was for you Granty!

I guess I haven't actually posted a blog in a very long time and I've been thinking about it lately. The last time I set out to post a blog was just over a year ago, holy. I started blogging about our trip to Vegas, but I guess I just never finished it. Now I don't remember the things I wanted to write, its actually kind of too bad because I would've liked to hear the rest of the story. I started thinking about blogging again because its nice to open it up and remember some of the stuff that has happened over the years. So I am making a pledge to blog at least once a week even if I barely have anything to say.

I started to think the other day about how funny all the things Drayper says is sometimes. I need to start writing it down so I can read it in the future and remember it all over again. I always said I was going to do that when even Austin was little because some of the stuff he would say was so darn funny but do you think I could remember it now, no :(.

The other reason I started thinking about blogging again is because of Pinterest. I Love Pinterest. I swore a long time ago that I would never start Pinterest because I knew I would like it, at the time I was not aware that I would Love it. For the first month or two I was completely addicted. If I had any free time at all I was on Pinterest, even when I didn't have free time I was on it. However, I am not one of those Pinners who doesn't actually try anything or use the information that is given. I have actually given a lot of my pins a go and still have many more to try and do. For those of you who do not really know what Pinterest is, it is millions of people "pinning" different pins to different boards, those pins are peoples blogs. They are blogs, from recipe bloggers to fashion bloggers to photographer blogs. .....See, this is why I don't blog. I have had about 6 interruptions while writing this, the last one being an hour long and now I forget where my train of thought was even going.

I am inspired to blog from these recent thoughts, therefore I will so I can reread those moments in my life that inspired me to write about them.

The things I cherish!

The things I have learned over the last 36ish hours is that I cherish my children to death. Being apart from them is really good for me. I am enjoying the heck out of getting to spend some quality one on one time with my Draypie! He is so darn funny, not that I didn't know that already! It is helping me rejuvinate and recharge for when they return home. It is helping me miss them and I will cherish the moments I get with them.

Everyone always says, man how do you do it with 3 kids, working nights part time and still have energy and everything. Well I will let you in on a little secret!! Having one child is just as draining as having 3. Not having Austin and Dalyce here, Drayper has needed more attention than ever! When the other 2 are here he is so entertained with them he doesn't need me to do that for him. I can sit and watch the 3 play for hours and not have to worry. As soon as the older 2 are gone, Drayper all of a sudden needs someone to play with, I guess thats me!! Having only him is bringing back memories of when I only had Austin! I remember how exhausted I would be with just him. Yes it is MUCH easier to go places and do things, but in all reality when you are at home, it is just as easy to have 3 little munchkins as it is to just have 1. I guess thats why I never go anywhere in the afternoon, only in the mornings.

It is quiet around here today, and I can imagine it will be the same tomorrow. It is really nice to be able to have a lot of me time and one on one time with Drayper. I will enjoy the quiet while its here but I kind of miss the noise! We will see how I feel about that when Austin and Dalyce arrive home tomorrow afternoon :)!

All in all, I think all of us are enjoying what we are currently doing. I realize that having 3 is just the same as having 1, well maybe! I understand why people think I have a hard time with all 3 but I really don't, well I guess sometimes I do! People also have to understand that I was not just thrown into this mix, I gradually added them and grew with them. It would be way different if I was given 3 all at once but I got one at a time so I learnt with them what that meant!

Austin and Dalyce blowing bubbles at Amma and Papas

Picking Zuchini out of Ammas garden

Drayper at the mall, squirting milk all over his face and thinking its hilarious

Hanging out on mommies lap

I love my life and would not change it for anything! I love my kids more than anything in this whole world and I have pride in knowing that what I have is exactly what I wanted! My husband is the most amazing father and husband, more than I ever wanted and expected! I am starting to learn to enjoy and be happy with what I have instead of always wanting more, bigger and better. Sometimes I take things for granted when things are hard or when they are really easy! I need to just relax and enjoy every little moment because they are the best and most memorable!!!

Milestones

There are milestones in your life that you hit when you realize...whoa, this is life! I hit one of those today. Now I have had 2 new vehicles before in my life so it wasnt that. This is the first vehicle I have actually owned and it is mine. It also happens to be a truck of all things. When I got the rav and the sienna it just wasn't the same. Today I feel like a big grown up and I have something to call my own and be so proud of! It is also a big, huge step in my life. We got a truck so we could tow a trailer, mostly. We needed a crew cab to tow all of our children, who are all still in car seats. I think I would've bought a crew cab anyways just so that they had a lot of room to grow in to. Although this big truck thing is mine I kind of feel like I am driving my dads truck or something because I never thought I was going to be a truck person, but driving it home today I realized I really am. I didn't like how far away the kids were in the van, it kind of made me nervous. I also had to pull over on the way to drop them off today to give them a big fat warning to stop being so loud and hitting each other. I don't think they took me seriously so I had to prove it! If I was in the truck when this happened I could've just reached around. I like being able to just reach and hand them something and reach and take something away from them. In the van this was not even close to possible.

I think I will miss the van immensly. I liked how roomy it was and everything but I think over time, as I get used to the truck and its capabilities, the van with not even enter my mind anymore. I do already though miss putting stuff in the back of the van and having it covered. We will need to get a cargo cover thingy ASAP.

Adult Time!

I have decided that when you are in a relationship with children you still need to make time for your spouse. Grant and I have been together for almost 6 years now and the first year was awesome because it was just me and him. Then Austin was born. From there on out we started caring more and more about Austin than each other I think. Not that we ever had problems we just started to become distant, not as close and affectionate as we used to be...then we had Dalyce, then Drayper.

After having just one weekend away we have rekindled what we used to be. I don't think we will ever be like we "used" to be because the kids are always here and we have to put them before ourselves, always! As the mother, I always have lots of things on my mind. How are the kids feeling, are they going to sleep through the night, is the kitchen clean, what am I going to make for supper tomorrow, how early do I have to get up tomorrow....all sorts of things that run through my head on a regular basis, and I don't think at any point in time were all of the things I think about done so I don't have to worry about them. Sometimes it's hard for me to enjoy Grants company when I have all these things going through my head and I can't relax. When we had our weekend away all we had to worry about was ourselves, it was very nice! I didn't have to worry about if the kids were going to wake up, I didn't have them. I didn't have to worry about the house being clean, I was staying in a hotel and someone else was going to clean it up. I didn't have to worry about what to make for dinner, we were going to go out for every meal and it didn't even matter where we went. I didn't have to worry about money because I saved up a bunch for our trip. All the things I worry about were being taken care of so I was able to enjoy and relax and rekindle the romance between me and Grant.

I think when you are in a relationship with Children you need your time away so you can be the best parent/spouse that you can possibly be. After going away to edmonton for a weekend I think we may have started something. I think we should take a trip away, even just for a weekend, somewhere at least once a year...problem is...who is going to watch our kids everytime?!?!? Miranda???