I wiped my kitchen counters for the first time in a week, which means my parents have headed back home to the prairies and it’s up to me again to keep this house running. When they come to visit, they do everything (clean bathrooms, mop floors, change diapers, cook lasagnas) and I am the kind of person who has no problem accepting that kind of help (read: am disturbingly lazy). I so appreciate the break they give me and when they leave I feel refreshed and loved and taken care of. They are so great and I miss them already.

Karenna is giving me a run for my money these days. She is always into trouble and I can’t leave her alone for a minute without her destroying something or climbing into a bathroom sink to eat a tube of toothpaste. Crazy beast.

My latest belly shot is posted at urbanmoms.ca. Feel free to take a look and my startling girth. Then send me some poutine.

My new post is up at urbanmoms.ca and it’s about how my mom is pretty much the best lady I know.

My dad has been a long-distance runner for 40 years. His passion is training and competing and winning. When we were little we used to tag along and cheer him on at his races and yesterday we had a full-circle moment when we piled the kids into the truck, drove to Kamloops and watched my dad run a cross country 8 km race in the Masters World Games.

That’s right…World Masters. He placed 10th in his age group…in the WORLD.

Go, Bumpa! Too bad all those athletic genes of his seem to have skipped a generation.

We made a sign and cheered loudly for him as he passed us by.

Here’s a close-up of the inspiring artwork:

It was a great day and I’m so glad we were there to share in his success.

(Speaking of exercise, my latest post at urbanmoms.ca is all about my lack thereof. Take a look-see!)

The days just keep rolling past in a blur of kids’ activities, half-assed housework, play dates, and deliciously downloaded television shows watched on the laptop in bed at night. My belly grows bigger each week, Avelyn seems an inch taller each month, and Karenna is adding new words to her vocabulary by the hour. My favourite of her additions is her version of the word “treat”: TOOT! She’ll come toddling over to the kitchen and start rummaging around the cupboards in search of a “Toot? Toot?!? TOOOOOOT!” She has also taken to hitting and hair-pulling and this really endearing and primal guttural bellow when she’s angry. Such a little lady.

Our house renovations hit a few hiccups and we’re still at the mudding and sanding stage. Hopefully the painting will happen soon, then things will get rolling again. I can’t wait until we’re all settled in our new/old home, because Steve is pretty beat from working on it all hours of the day and night. Last night I said to him, it’s like we’re running a marathon: you’re running the first half by building the house, then once we move in I’ll run the second half by squeezing out a new baby and not sleeping for a year. Sounds delightful, no?

Do you have a kid who wakes up at a disturbingly early hour? We had been going through a rough patch with Avelyn where she’d be up before dawn, but then be super sensitive and exhausted and meltdowny for the rest of the day and it was basically destroying my will to live. Then we got this nifty little gadget called the Good Nite Lite and now I don’t feel like jumping off a bridge anymore. It’s a little light that glows like a moon when it’s night time, then glows like a sun when it’s the morning. We just tell Avelyn she has to wait until her clock turns yellow like a sun before she can come out of her room and it’s worked like a charm. Of course, now that I’ve gloated about our success she will undoubtedly regress and start waking up at 4:30 am to spite the Blog gods. Anyways, we have been pleased with the product* and I highly recommend it for kids who are too young to tell time.

My new post is up at urbanmoms.ca and I’m writing about whether you should be able to find out the sex of your baby before he/she is born. Check it!

*Not a paid endorsement. Just sharing the awesome.

I am breaking out and it’s not pretty. My latest post at urbanmoms.ca is up and it details the glistening whiteheads on my chin.

My newest post is up at urbanmoms.ca and it’s all about how fat I’m getting. Who wouldn’t want to revel in that? Head on over.

Today we blew bubbles, mopped the floor, ate twice-baked potatoes, and laughed a lot.

I adore her crazy, tangled mop of wild curls. So her.

Playtime with Daddy gets the biggest giggles out of these girls.

And here is my belly at 12 weeks. BIG. Wow.

I got a call from my doctor last week and she said, “I have the results from your ultrasound.”

OK, I thought. Strange that she’s calling at seven in the evening; I hope everything’s fine.

“Your baby looks fine and healthy. But I need to let you know that it had been a twin pregnancy.”

WHAT?!

“There were two embryonic sacs present at the ultrasound, but one was very small and had no fetus in it anymore. It looks to have been lost around six weeks,” she explained. “They were fraternal twins.”

I was speechless. And at a loss for reaction. I was shocked, but since I had never grown attached to the knowledge or idea of twins, I can’t say I felt a deep sense of loss. It made sense, though: why I looked 4 months pregnant at 6 weeks, why I was so sick but then suddenly felt better at 10 weeks, why Avelyn, from day one, had been telling everyone that I had a girl AND a boy in my belly.

I feel like I want to speak of this baby who we’ll never meet and acknowledge just how different our family’s story would have been if he or she had made it to us. It would have been a crazy ride, but he or she would have been welcomed and loved through it all.

Today at urbanmoms.ca I’m writing about how I hate breast-feeding. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Sorry that posting here has been so light. I am working on getting a belly shot ready so you can see my bump in all it’s chubby glory. Until then…

My newest post is up at urbanmoms.ca and it’s all about what a frumpy old bag I’ve become. Head on over!