Confessions, birthdays, magical tears and some upchuck

You might be asking yourself, "how can all of these things come together?"  Well, it begins with two confessions I need to make:

1)  I am finally updating my blog because I am avoiding doing the dishes right now, and
2)  I have not updated our family picture on this blog (pretty sad given we've added a child in the meantime!) because I am embarrassed about my weight gain.

Phew.  There... I feel much better confessing these things!  Oh by no means do I feel better about DOING these things but I am relieved to not hide behind them anymore.  Seriously, every time I log into my blog, I smile looking at our family picture, then I do a sad sigh longingly as I look at the fact that I was FINALLY just fitting back into my size 9/10 clothing (had finally lost the double chin), then I chuckle realizing that I would unknowingly become pregnant within a month of taking that picture, and then I nearly shed a tear at the fact that our dear Sivana needs to be included in our family picture!

Yes, these are the joys of being a woman and running through a full gamut of emotions within a nano-second!

Sigh.

Hmmm, I am realizing I sigh an awful lot in my posts!

Next we have a birthday adventure.  Anika turned four on the 18th and we headed out for supper at Boston Pizza followed by the whole brood heading off to watch Tangled at the "big, big movie" as my little ones call it.  Thankfully we invited Grandma Jacquie to join us at the movie because as it turns out, we definitely needed an extra set of hands!

Our tickets came with complimentary popcorn and drinks which we kept at the opposite end from where Ethan was sitting.  Thankfully he could have the iced tea.  It is rather amazing to watch a two-year-old boy consume his weight in iced tea within thirty minutes!!  He sat happily on Melina's lap watching and slurping away at his drink.  Anika sat next to me dazzled by the big screen movie and the story unfolding before her eyes.  Sivana nursed happily in my arms and even sat watching the movie, too, until she got fussy and needed to be taken out by Grandma Jacquie for a quick stroll in the lobby before falling asleep and returning to the dark room where the rest of us sat mesmerized.

I thought to myself "hey, this is actually working out" only to have that thought interrupted by Melina whispering traumatically "EW MOM, GET HIM OFF!!"  Apparently iced tea goes right through two year old boys who consume their weight in fluid!... and down Melina's lap onto the nice comfy theatre chairs!  And apparently fifteen year old girls do NOT appreciate the lack of "coolness" factor being at the movies with their toddler siblings AND looking like they just peed their own pants, too.  In all honesty, she probably would have been happier if it was her OWN urine rather than her little brother's!

In the dark I began digging around in the plethora of diaper bags we have to bring with us everywhere we go (change of clothes for each of the kids, epipens, diapers for Ethan, diapers for Sivana, wipes, drinks, Ethan-kosher-snacks, etc...).  Would you believe that in this particular diaper bag, I was out of Ethan's diapers???  Off Duane goes to get Ethan a diaper (thankfully my mother had returned with Sivana at this point) and Melina was off to the bathroom to use one of those hand-dryers to eliminate the impression that she just peed herself.  Anika was happily oblivious to all that was unfolding before her and thankfully no one in the theatre was yelling at us (yet).

Finally, Ethan is changed, Sivana is sleeping, Melina seems less upset and we are all enjoying the movie as it builds up to a highly intensive part.  You can feel the whole theatre holding its breath in anticipation of the next moment only to have the big screen suddenly go pitch black as the theatre lights come back on.

Everyone was stunned and looking around like "is this a joke?"  Anika (who is NOT a fan of any movies being interrupted) turned around to look at where the movie had been projected and yelled in her sweet voice "Um, excuse me?  Can you turn it up a little bit, please?"

Needless to say, the whole place burst out laughing and thankfully the movie came back on, the lights went out and without further a do, we were all pulled back into the story.  Another minute in, (and still intense) the main character sheds a tear and it lands on the face of someone dying in her arms... very intense moment and you could cut through the silence with a knife... the tear fell onto the character's face and something magical began to happen... but before anyone could really "soak it in", Ethan yelled "She just made that guy all wet!"

Once again, despite the moment, chuckles filled the room.  (I am really lucky no once chucked popcorn at us).

It was late when we finally got back home and the kids were swiftly tucked into bed as we tried to wind down from the day.  At 11:00 pm, after everyone had gone to bed, Duane and I chose to relax in a hot shower... I know, I know... too many details for some of you (sorry mom and dad) but you have to understand that Duane and I almost NEVER take time to just relax together.  For whatever reason (maybe because we felt like heroes tackling all that we just had that night) we chose to just savour some much needed relaxation.  Afterall, everyone was in bed.  Well, someone begins banging on the door!  It's Melina!  Apparently it is not much fun for a fifteen year old to "interrupt" her mom and step-dad taking a shower... and apparently it's no fun for mom and step-dad, either!!

"WHAT?!!"

"Anika just threw up in her bed!"

You have got to be kidding me!  Up we go to tackle that one... Ethan is crying because he has been woken up, Anika decided to place her sopping wet pajamas on the carpeted floor instead of the bathroom floor.  Melina starts her bath and I (lucky me) grab the bedding and clothing wonderfully covered in Anika's vomit.  I am trying not to laugh as I hear Melina dry heaving from the smell as she tries to say "Mom, I can't handle the stench!"

Down I go to the big ol' shower (which seemed so relaxing a place only moments ago) to hose down the bedding and clothes before putting them in the washer.  I look at the HUGE amount of upchuck and once again cannot believe that my children do NOT chew their food!  There was a completely whole pumpkin seed!!  How do you swallow an entire pumpkin seed?  And why is she vomiting stuff she had at lunch??

The cat is still living in the bathroom and it is trying to climb onto the comforter as I am trying to hose it down.  I nearly start losing my supper when the cat starts lapping up the big chunks I am trying to hose down the drain!  I am yelling at the cat and now stepping into all this lovely mess running off the bedding!

Finally, finally, finally... the bedding is cleaned enough to be put in the washing machine.  I proceed to clean the shower.  By the time Duane and I crawled into bed, it was past midnight and Sivana was starting to fuss for her night feeding...

Understand now why a relaxing shower is a RARITY in our home??  Why "quality time" together just does not happen??

And that, my friends, is how confessions, birthdays, magical tears and some upchuck can all come together in one blog post!  Only in the life of a mother... only, only, only.

On that note, I bid you all adieu as it is clearly too late for me to do the dishes (evil laugh) and perhaps some magical cleaning elves will take care of them while I sleep!  But more realistically, I will get up in the morning, walk into the kitchen, groan at my own laziness hitting me in the face saying "wash me!  wash me!" as I say "looks like it's going to be another coffee morning".

Here's hoping you are all doing great out there and preferably tackling your own responsibilities with more self-discipline than I am!  And if any of you are out there wishing there was someone whose dishes you could clean, come on over!  Or at the very least, send some of that energy my way!!  God bless you all out there, stay warm on this cold winter's night, and enjoy a relaxing shower on my behalf... please!

And hopefully I will mustre up some courage and enough self-love and respect to post an updated family picture so as to honour our darling little Sivana.  Lovingly, respectfully and gratefully yours... amen!