Reflections on turning 36.

Happy Birthday to me - I am 36 years old today.

Wow. When did THAT happen?!

When my Mum turned 36, I was 4 weeks old and Andrew was 3 1/2. Paige's age! I guess I got a bit of a head start on her in the kid department but it's eerily similar, isn't it?

I was thinking about this post last night ... planning in out in my mind if you will. (Who says that only the Days are planners?! Campbell's can be planners too - we just tend to do it all last minute!! LOL!! But I digress ...) I was replaying the Movie of My Life So Far trying to figure out what I have accomplished over the past 36 years. It seems to me that a person should be able to accomplish a lot in 36 years on the Earth! I didn't reach any earth shattering conclusions (no pun intended.) No epiphanies. Just the simple fact that my biggest accomplishments - my 3 biggest accomplishments actually - all happened in the past 6 years. Two of these accomplishments decided to keep me awake most of the night last night!! Just to remind me that the days of being the Birthday Princess (or in my case, the Birthday Queen!!) are over. Sigh. Just you wait girls, I'll get my own back when you have kids of your own!!!

So if my biggest achievements happened after turning 30, what the heck was I doing for my first 30 years?!?! Sweet (insert bad expletive here) all if you ask me! It's no wonder then that I have been plagued lately with a sense of impatience. Like I'm waiting for a really anticipated show to begin and there are major technical difficulties delaying things. I love my kids and my husband so why am I so anxious to get through school, get them INTO school, and start my "real life"? I spend a lot of time waiting for the next big milestone thinking that will somehow make everything else in my life make sense, only to be disappointed when I find it's still the same old, same old. How do I go about changing that?

Deep questions for a Wednesday morning!!

Well, accomplishment #3 just woke up from her nap so my deep thinking time is over. Until next time ...

Can you believe that Christine (Little Christine, that is) is 6 months old already?! Time flies when you're having fun ... err ... busy running after 3 kids and a husband!!

She is 16lbs 9 oz and 27" in length. That's 90th percentile for height and 50th for weight - just like Marley! She's sitting up on her own now and loves the new freedom it gives her. She's not rolling over like she probably "should be" at her age but every time we put her on her tummy she screams bloody murder! Already she has very definite ideas of what she wants and isn't afraid to express them!! I'm sure she'll eventually rool over AND crawl ... probably something we shouldn't be encouraging!! Who wants a baby who's mobile?!?!

These two pictures were taken of her on her 6 month "birthday" (Sept 23rd) in her bedroom during a little play time with her big sisters and their two best friends. She loves playing with other kids! Although she did start getting a bit annoyed with the "let's put stacking cups on Christine's head" game!

This next picture was taken by Greg one day. He came upstairs to get Christine up after her nap to discover all three girls in the crib. As he said, "you are so busted but wait there, I want to get a picture of this first!" Ah, parenthood. Finding that line between discipline and comedy!!

I call this picture, 3 Little Monkeys in a Crib!

Better Late Than Never

Well, I finally completed a scrapbook of our honeymoon. Only 7 years late!!

After Christmas I thought I would have the time (and energy) to finally organize baby albums for Marley and Paige. Since Little Christine's due date prevented me from taking another class at BCIT, I - rather optimistically - thought I'd need to fill the time usually spent on homework with another project. I took over the dining room table with various photo albums and scrapbooks I've accumulated over the years. And there they sat

... untouched

... gathering dust.

I was stumped. I had no idea how to get started. I had little experience scrapbooking and what I'd done before I wasn't happy with. It wasn't until June that I got the idea to create a mini album for Marley's preschool teacher as a thank you for the incredible 2 years she gave to Marley. It turned out really well (if I do say so myself) and the rest is history!!

I was totally hooked! I started to check out various Blogs and even got books out of the library. And Michael's became my new Mecca - I have a bit of a paper fetish! Then I had to pick a project. Any project! In the pile of albums on the dining room table was my first attempt at scrapbooking our honeymoon. It seemed so amaturish to me and that's when I knew I had my project. I could redo the album and this time complete it!

It took me all summer (having an infant, two other children and a husband in the house doesn't allow for concentrated "scrapping time") but it's finally done and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

But you be the judge! I've taken pictures of all the pages and made a movie of them. Enjoy!! And stay tuned for future projects!!

Seattle Getaway

Greg's parents took Marley and Paige for 5 days of "Granny Camp" in Victoria so Greg and I quickly escaped with Christine for two days in Seattle. It was our 7th Anniversary this past Sunday so we looked at this trip as a celebration. It was so nice to only have one child to worry about again the whole 5 days of Granny Camp were a celebration!!

The border lineup on Monday morning was pretty long so Christine and I got out and wandered around Peace Arch Park. She wasn't all that happy to be stuck in her car seat while the car was stationary!!



After crossing the border we took the scenic route to Seattle. Greg had done a lot of research prior to our trip (what a surprise!) and had read about the Chuckanut Drive. This is a scenic, winding, two lane road that follows the coast from Fairhaven to Burlington. Unfortunately, it was too windy for Greg to really appreciate the views! We then made our way to Whidbey Island. This next picture was taken on the ferry from Clinton to Mukilteo. It was only a 15 minute ferry ride but Christine appreciated being released from her car seat again!!


We safely made it to Seattle, found our hotel - $82/night on Hotwire apparantly comes with a water view! Who knew?! After letting Christine stretch her legs for a bit on the hotel room floor, we went off to a Mariners game. Now, I'm not the biggest baseball fan (okay, I HATE baseball) but it was an experience I'm glad I had. Not that I feel the need to do it again mind you! I'll let Greg take the older girls next time while I hang out in the hotel room and read a good book! Christine did really well. She loved the sights and the kids in the row in front! By the beginning of the 6th inning she was showing signs of "being done" so I took her away to nurse and get into a sleeper then Greg met up with us and we wandered around the stadium checking out the sights. Safeco Field is a pretty impressive building. There are a lot more interesting things to look at than the game!! Christine even got to meet the Mariner's Moose! She is like Marley - fearless when it comes to mascots!

Having been awake for longer than I think she's ever been awake in her whole 5 months of life, LC slept like ... well, a baby! Which was good because we had another busy day planned for Tuesday. We had breakfast at Lowells in Pike Place Market, explored the market and then took the Monorail to the Space Needle and the Experience Music Project. The EMP was pretty neat and after a caffeine & sugar pick-me-up we went next door to the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. That was also pretty cool. I'm really a sci-fi geek at heart!! Sad but true!

Finally it was time to head up the Space Needle.

It was Greg's first time up and the weather cooperated beautifully. We got some excellent views of Seattle and surrounds. Christine was more impressed with her toy though!!

After a nap for Christine and myself, we went back to the Market area to have dinner and then called it a night.

Wednesday meant it was time to head home and become a family of five again. So alcohol was needed!! We went home via a couple wineries in Woodenville. Greg was driving so yours truly did most of the tasting. Shucks, darn! We really only had time to hit two wineries which was probably good both for our wallets and for me!

Well, we're home now and back to normal. Sigh! I think I need another vacation!

Day Trip to Whistler - Aug 15th 2009

The Days went on a Day Trip - ha, ha, ha!! Fun with names!

Greg thought it might be fun to go up to Whistler for the day and since we'd really not done too much this summer with the girls I went along with the idea. We knew it was likely to be busy as Crankworx - a mountain biking festival - was going on, but we knew we wouldn't get another opportunity to see the mountain and all the new Olympic venues before the Olympics. Plus we figured the girls would like watching the crazy mountain bikers race down Whistler. WHY do people do that?! For fun?!?!

The last time we went to Whistler was to celebrate our 4th Anniversary - Paige was about the same age as Christine is now. Wow, time really flies!!

Our first stop was at Shannon Falls just outside of Squamish. It was a quick get out of the van, walk to the Falls (5 minutes), takes some pictures and load back into the van. I was reminded of road trips with my parents when I was a kid. Dad always stopped at EVERY "Point of Interest" sign to see what it was all about and to take pictures. Sigh! I've finally turned into my parents!!

This picture was taken at the falls viewing area. Two things of note: Marley is in her typical modelesque pose and Paige is doing something goofy. This is how things are at the moment. Paige either refuses to have her picture taken and tries to hide, OR she's only too happy to oblige as long as she can make a funny face or pull a funny pose! Marley on the other hand LOVES to have her picture taken and will strike a pose (usually this one above) as soon as she sees a camera! Too many episodes of America's Next Top Model I guess!!

This shot of Greg and Marley was taken after a series of attempts to get both the older girls with Greg but ... Paige being Paige ... we had to abandon that. All was not lost though as this is a great picture of the two of them!

Whistler was even busier than we'd anticipated so, rather than park WAY up Blackcomb and have to rely on a shuttle bus to get to the village, I coughed up big money for underground parking in the village. Considering how tired the girls and I were by the end of the day, it was worth every penny to know the van was close by! Our first stop was lunch and then we let the girls play on this playstructure in the village. Since Paige won't pose and smile nicely, we've adopted a "sneak attack" method of photographing her. Thank goodness for digital!! This cute one was snapped with this method! The one of Marley shows her living up to her nickname of Monkey!!

When we'd arrived at Whistler the clouds were lowish on the mountain top so we weren't sure if we'd be able to take the gondola up or not. We hoped so as we wanted to ride the new Peak to Peak gondola over to Blackcomb! As luck would have it, by the time we extricated the girls from the play area, the clouds had lifted enough that we figured we'd go up. Paige can be a bit timid on fair rides so we weren't sure how she'd react to the gondolas but she did great! They ALL did!!
Christine was just happy to be let out of the stroller I think, but she managed to charm our Peak to Peak gondola mates!

That Peak to Peak is something else!! A very smooth ride and you feel quite safe but holy moly you are up high!! It's hard to think that the only thing keeping you from crashing down into the trees are a few cables suspended over a valley! Great views though. I highly recommend it!
After we returned down Whistler, we walked over to Blackcomb (we couldn't go DOWN Blackcomb with the stroller - chair lifts not gondolas) so the girls could play at the Adventure Zone. Greg and Marley went on the Toboggan run and Paige bounced to her hearts content in the Bouncy Castle. That pretty much wore them out so we headed back to the van and Ladner.
It was a really fun day and the girls travelled pretty well. Christine complained about how much time she spent in a stroller or car seat in a way only she can. Lot's of loud screaching!! But all in all, a good time was had by all.

My first ever BLOG!!!

Wow! My own Blog! What the heck am I going to write about?

Duh! My crazy life, of course!!!

We are the Day5 - Greg, Alison, Marley, Paige and Little Christine (as opposed to Big Christine aka Auntie Christine!) The picture above is, sadly, the only picture of the 5 of us so far... that I could find... aAnd it's not that great! Sigh! Life is so busy these days. It was taken at the wedding of a friend of Greg's in the middle of the biggest heat wave the Lower Mainland has EVER seen. The reception venue was NOT air conditioned so we spent a lot of time out on the deck trying to get the river breezes!!

Marley is 5, entering Kindergarten in September and a bright, talented little girl. She loves to be active so we put her into everything we can think of and afford! Last week she took Tennis lessons for the first time and loved it. She was also very good - I thought!! She's also our Drama Queen. If even the tiniest thing doesn't go according to her plan, she bursts into tears and runs crying out the room. I really hope she doesn't try that at school!!

Paige is 3, super cute (and knows it!) and stubborn as all get out! We have been battling with her for months now to potty train but so far she is NOT cooperating. We did the whole reward chart with stickers to earn a Barbie which she quite diligently did. She was very excited to get her very own Barbie as Marley has 3 or 4 now but she has none. After depositing the requisite number of poops and pees into the potty and receiving her Barbie (not one, but two along with a car no less!!) she promptly stopped going in the potty all together. Smart girl! Hopefully!! Otherwise we have WAY bigger problems than refusing to pee in the toilet! Needless to say, the Barbie is now living in our bedroom until such time as she decides to use the toilet again.

Little Christine (LC) is 4 1/2 months old and a real joy. Unless she screams then it's everyone for themselves!! She can shatter ear drums. For the most part though she is a happy baby and the best sleeper out of the three girls. Thank God!! So far she is showing signs that she will be both tall and active. She's outgrown her 6 month sleepers already and is wearing 9 month size!! Yikes!! She loves to be entertained by her big sisters. Marley can get her to belly laugh which is so cute to watch!

Life with 3 kids - sometimes 4 - is completely and totally nuts! I pretty much doubt my sanity on a daily basis. We are currently 4 months into Greg's 5 month Paternity Leave (hence my 4 kids comment) and I am really looking forward to September. Don't get me wrong, having Greg around to help out is (usually) fantastic and most new moms would kill for it ... I'm just, well, how do I put this diplomatically? ... not one of them? It's been fun but now we all need to get into a routine. School, work, kids, etc. I'm ready to tackle the brood on my own! Really!! Okay, I know I tried to hibernate today (unsuccessfully I may add) but I'm starting to go stir crazy and I don't think it's all because of the kids.

Anyway, I hear LC so I'll sign off by saying that I hope this will be a good way to keep in touch with the British Rellies (those who aren't on Facebook!) Keep tuning in to see new pics and more sound bytes from the life of the Crazy Days!!