If You Tell a Wish, Will it Still Come True?

We enjoyed our long Easter weekend a LOT.... maybe too much.

Friday morning we put together 42 treat-filled eggs to bring to a potluck we went to later in the day. The kids played outside for a while, and in the afternoon Scott took them to the church for some floor hockey in the gym (one of our favourite family activities) while I made parmesan chicken, potato salad and rosemary bread to bring to the potluck.

The kids enjoyed the egg hunt at the potluck get-together. Since we don't "do" the Easter Bunny at our house, this was their time to enjoy some chocolate and candy.

We rented the movie Enchanted and had a movie night on Saturday night. What a cute movie! Definitely a good one to see, if you haven't already. Loved it!

We decided to have our big turkey dinner on Monday. In the middle of carving the turkey, Scott found the wishbone and Samantha got to break it with him. Scott ended up with the bigger end, and the kids all wanted to know what his wish was. I told them that it's generally believed that if you tell a wish it won't come true. Jesse thought about this for a minute, then said, "Dad, I don't want your wish to come true... I wanna hear it!"

Cinnabon Cake

I made this cake for Nathan's first birthday. I didn't realize that I typed the recipe up over six weeks ago, but never got around to pushing the post button.

Grease a bundt pan and coat with cinnamon sugar.

1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
Combine in a bowl and set aside.

2 cups flour
1 ½ cups white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
Mix in mixer on low speed.

Add:
½ cup applesauce + ¼ cup vegetable oil
3 eggs + 1 egg yolk (room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla
2 X 100 g yogurt cups - I used a vanilla/caramel duo (or you could use 1 cup of plain yogurt or sour cream)
Mix again on low speed until combined.

Pour ½ of bater into greased and cinnamon sugar coated bundt pan. Sprinkle cinnamon mixture over top, and then remaining batter. Swirl with a knife.

Bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes.

Icing:
1 cup icing sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp cinnamon

Whisk together in a bowl, then drizzle over top of cake while still warm.

Enjoy!

Number Five

Wow, it's good to be blogging again. It's been so long since my regular posting sessions, I thought I might have forgotten how it's done. I started this blog as a way to keep a record of our family's everyday adventures, as well as an outlet for me to share whatever else seems newsworthy in the Hill home.

Well, have I ever got something newsworthy. And it just doesn't seem right to let the days and weeks keep going by without even a mention of said news on the blog.

So here it is.

In September of 2008 our family is going to change forever with the addition of baby Hill number five.

Yes, you read that right. A new little precious baby will be joining our family in just less than 6 months!

(Stop to breathe here)

Okay? Let's keep going.

We told the kids first, which was so fun, and they were surprisingly good at keeping our little "family secret" for quite a while. We took a vote at Family Home Evening, and it was a tie: three of us think it's a girl and three think it's a boy. (I'll let you guess who thought what.) Yes, Nathan can vote at 14 months; he's pretty advanced for his age.

It's been a roller coaster the past several weeks, let me tell ya. The seemingly constant nausea, along with the extreme tiredness, in combination with the inability to look at food without resisting the overwhelming urge to gag made it a little difficult to tend to the needs of four children and a husband who actually require feeding three times daily (at least), not to mention clean clothes and help with things like homework and baths and, well, a caregiver that is able to leave the couch more often than the bare minimum number of trips to the washroom daily. Unfortunately, I was unable to convince anyone else in the family that it was completely desirable to eat nothing but soda crackers for days on end.

(Now that I am safely into the second trimester, I am thankfully free of the morning sickness - or as I like to call it, the morning/afternoon/evening/late-night sickness - and I have also started to function somewhat more productively on less than 11 hours of sleep per day.)

The roller coaster took an emotional turn when I had my first visit to the doctor. At this visit, I was told that I was one of two things: either completely off on my dates or carrying twins. A very looooooong four days later, an ultrasound quickly ruled out both of those situations, which left me with the only remaining (yet arguably least desirable) alternative scenario... 11 weeks pregnant with one baby growing in a uterus the size of a watermelon. I tried to look at the bright side and think of how great it would be not to have to stress about telling everyone that we were expecting, since they would already know by the simple fact that I was already, ahem, showing.

Right now we are 14 weeks along and things seem to be running a lot smoother at home. I think this is mostly due to the fact that we have all significantly lowered our expectations of what Mom can accomplish in one 24 hour period. If the kids are dressed, the family is fed somewhat regularly (yes, mac 'n cheese from a box counts), the beds are made and the laundry and homework are done - we are having a highly successful day. Maybe next month we can add in some extra vacuuming, dusting, and filing sessions in the office, but I'm not making any promises.

After all, I have finally, yet reluctantly, come to the understanding that I am at the mercy of the development of a tiny human being, who is (rightfully) more interested in growing healthy organs and limbs than he/she is in the cleanliness of my kitchen floor.

We Have a One Year Old in the House!

Nathan was the sweetest little birthday boy! He got lots of attention from his siblings, and even a visit from Nana and Papa for some birthday cake in the evening.

I feel bad that I'm blogging about his first birthday a month late, but that's just the way life goes for the fourth child, right? (Yes, I realize that when Samantha turned one, the only person on the planet that had even heard of blogging was my brother, Sami, but that's beside the point.)

Here is a little bit of what Nathan is like at 13 months...

Mode of Locomotion:
The Crawl (I think he's following in the footsteps of his older cousin, Jayna, who just started walking at 17 months)

Favourite Words:
Uh-oh (after anything falls on the floor)
Heeeeeyyyyy (when he sees something appealing like food or Oscar)
Daddy!
Hi (whenever he sees - or heaven forbid, gets his hands on - a phone)
NO! (used completely in context about 134 times a day, on average)
Boo! (as in Peek-a-boo... for some reason he says this right away as soon as he sees us with the camcorder)

Favourite Pastimes:
Eating
Chasing Oscar
Bathtime
Doing bad things to laptops by banging repeatedly on the keyboard
Finding marbles, Legos, K'nex, or any other chokable objects to put in his mouth when Mom's not looking

Playing on the Electric Piano
Eating
Emptying the dishwasher (clean or dirty), and contents of the cupboards onto the kitchen floor
Going for a ride in the sled when it's time to pick up Jesse from school
Watching "Backyardigans" (or listening to Backyardigans Music on iTunes)
Playing in the toilet
Did I mention eating?

It's scary to think of how fast a year has gone by.  A year and a month ago I came home from the hospital with this new little bundle and I remember looking at his curly black hair and wondering how our lives would change from that moment on.  Sometimes I think of how Nathan is lucky to be born into a family with two parents and three older siblings who adore every single thing about him.  But mostly we are lucky, or I think the more appropriate word is, blessed.  Yes, we are so very blessed to have Nathan in our family.  I absolutely cannot imagine life without this precious boy.  

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Month

.... for blogging, that is! On the whole, it's been a good month, really, I just wasn't busy blogging about stuff and sharing photos. I think the proper blogging-etiquette would have been to inform my readers (all four of you) that I would be taking a little break, and to please check back in a few weeks. But it really wasn't planned, honest!

Here are a few snapshots of what we've been up to....

Vana, I mean Samantha, setting out milk & cookies for Santa

Christmas morning - Nathan quietly raided the stockings, hoping we were all too distracted by presents to notice...

Brett doesn't like to waste time - why not colour when it isn't your turn to open a gift?

Jesse's favourite gift was his new hockey stick, but I didn't snap a picture of it :(

Samantha got the movie, "Bridge to Terabithia". I have never read the book, nor did I know what the story was about. OH MY GOODNESS! Do not watch this unless you are prepared to cry your eyes out! (It's really good though - just be sure to stock up on Kleenex.)

Grandma Paton came down with Scott's parents for Christmas Day!

Wake me up when the turkey's ready!

Wing Ki came for a visit to show us her Hong Kong pictures. I would love to visit there someday!

We all LOVE having Aunt Mona visit. We had so much fun!!! Our kids all suffer from attention deficit when she leaves.

Now, after all that, I have to say that I don't have any pictures of the REAL reasons why I haven't been up to blogging a whole lot.

First of all, Scott and I were working on something we nicknamed the OM (short for Operations Manual), which is basically a 90+ page document of every detail you would need to know in order to run your own Play On! tournament. We finally completed it last weekend, and it is such a relief to have it done! It was quite a project, for Scott mostly, as my contribution was only a small portion of the whole. Even so, after a few late nights of typing until 1:00-ish in the morning, I had little energy left for more "chatter".

Secondly, my trusty laptop here is on it's last legs. It can't handle too much stress, gets over-heated and crashes - often multiple times per day. With the purchase of a 500 GB portable storage device to backup my files and photos, I finally had to admit that, sadly, I will soon have to say goodbye to good ol'CLEVO. I just hope it can hang on until the replacement gets here, although we're not exactly sure when that will be?? Until then, I'm just grateful every time I turn it on and see the green lights as evidence that it may indeed function for one more day.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year & Baby News!

We've had such a wonderful Christmas holiday and break from regular life. With the festive season winding down now, I'm looking forward to getting back into some semblance of normalcy (i.e. putting the kids to bed at half-decent hour and eating something other that Christmas treats for breakfast). Scott tells me he checks my blog daily hoping for an update and I'm sure he's getting tired of looking at that super close-up of Brett's tooth injury, not to mention so much has happened since then. Here it is (in a nutshell)...

Christmas 2007 at the Hill House:

• Christmas Eve day was spent doing some last-minute errands, shopping, and wrapping
• Christmas Eve night we went over to our friends Dave & Tasha's home along with some other friends for a fun night of make-your-own-loaded-nachos (and a pile of other delicious food) and, of course, visiting. Lots of visiting. A little unorthodox for our family for Christmas Eve, but we were so glad to spend time with dear friends and we didn't stay too late because we didn't want to miss Santa
• Christmas morning the kids ran downstairs and were happy to see that they were pretty good this year after all?!?
  
• We read the Christmas story from Luke 2 before tackling the presents under the tree (Actually, we have a tradition of opening the presents one at a time so that everyone gets to see each and every present... And yes, we clean up all of the wrapping before the next present is opened)
  
• Shortly thereafter Nana & Papa showed up from Kingsville, along with Grandma Paton, and the present exchanging started all over again
• We talked on the phone to family members across the globe before indulging in a traditional Christmas turkey feast
• We spent the rest of the day enjoying new toys and games and ended with some Karaoke before the grandparents had to head home in the evening
• A couple of days later my sister Mona came to visit (she took the train from NYC where she had spent Christmas with her fiance)
• Jesse came down with an ear infection and was in quite a bit of pain for a couple of days until the Biaxin kicked in
  
• Scott and I went to a party on New Year's Eve while Mona had her own party at our house with Samantha, Brett, Jesse & Nathan (We tried to convince her to come with us, but she insisted that spending the night with our kids would be more fun for her that going to someone's home that she'd never met) They played Mouse Trap, made treats, watched a movie, and stayed up REALLY late!
  
• The next morning, despite several inches of newly fallen snow and the forecast for more treacherous weather ahead, we set out on the drive down to Windsor to get together with the extended family on the Hill side (Scott's Dad's relatives). The roads were bad, but the reunion was great and we stopped back in Kingsville after for more time with Pat and Bill
  
• Grandma Paton and Uncle Tom came by for a visit, and the kids entertained us by dressing up with some of Nana's clothes they found in a dresser in the basement and coming up as various "people", such as George of the Jungle, complete with theme song. Some of their ensembles were quite creative, but my favourites were Brett wearing Nana's silk nightgown and Samantha and Jesse wearing dickeys as skirts.
  
• Scott did a fantastic job of getting us home safely that night despite a highway closure (due to an accident), and the incredibly slick road conditions. We saw a lot of cars in the ditch (I stopped counting after the first five) and I was so grateful when we finally pulled into our own driveway late last night
• Today was a sad day as we said goodbye to Mona and sent her off on the train back to Montreal

Hands down, the most exciting thing that happened this Christmas was the arrival of our new nephew, Tyler Wade Hill, who decided to make his grand entrance into the world on December 29 (eight days late), weighing in at 9 lbs 2 oz, born to the world's proudest dad (Jeff) and mom, Lindsey. We are so happy and excited for them and can't wait to meet the little... er, not-so-little guy!



Is anyone making New Year's Resolutions this year? I would love to hear what you are all resolving to do in 2008! I've got a New Year's Resolution spreadsheet in the works, but for now I will share just three:

1. read more books
2. do monthly meal plans
   
3. stress less about unimportant things

I hope to maybe blog a little more too, but I haven't set any specific goals for this because I really enjoy it and don't want it to become a chore. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that 2008 will be a year to remember.

Brett's Tooth

I guess deep down I knew it was inevitable with three boys in the family and all, but I don't know if I was ready for this day to come so soon... On Tuesday we had our first hockey-related injury. Brett took an accidental stick to the mouth while playing floor hockey with Scott, Samantha & Jesse at the church. His front tooth was not chipped, broken, or knocked out - but it was somehow pushed back up into his gums.

We took him to the dentist right away for an x-ray, and he assured us that it will be just fine, since it is still a baby tooth. Uncle Gibb? Can we get a second opinion here? (Just to give you an idea, his two front teeth used to look identical to the one on the right. Also, this picture was taken right after it happened, but for the three days after his upper lip got really big and swollen.)


Brett was such good sport about the whole thing, and really hasn't complained much. He did get to pick a toy out of the dentist's Treasure Chest and has been begging Scott to play Chess with him every day since (he picked out a dollar-store chess set from the chest). Actually, for five years old, Brett is quite good at Chess and has come close to beating Scott once or twice. And don't think for a minute that Scott isn't trying his hardest. I have learned that letting a kid win at a game (in order to boost his or her self-confidence) is totally a female inclination, and that guys will totally try their hardest to win, even if it means crushing a three-year-old's heart because you just beat him or her at tic-tac-toe in ten consecutive games.

Anyway, Brett's lip is almost back to normal now, and his tooth hasn't turned a shade of gray or anything, but the worry wart in me is wondering if his permanent tooth has been affected at all. I suppose only time will tell.

Snowed In

We've had a big snow storm here that has blessed us with somewhere around 30 cm of snow in the past 24 hours, and it's still coming down.

We enjoyed a fun family day of relaxing, wrapping presents, watching Christmas movies, eating lots of clementines and chocolate, and listening to Christmas music. It was wonderful!

Although I admit the snow is beautiful... the truth is I really enjoy it the most when I'm looking out my window, snuggled under a warm blanket by the Christmas tree with my slippers and hot chocolate. I'm definitely a wimp when it comes to getting bundled up to shovel it, scrape it off my van, or (heaven forbid) drive in the stuff. I think Scott and I are destined to be snowbirds, because as soon as the cold settles in we both start dreaming of Florida and Dubai.

The kids, bless their hearts, are thrilled with the snow and can't wait to get outside for snow angels, sledding, snowball fights, and snowmen, and I remember feeling the same way as a kid.

Speaking of Christmas Music, my dear friend, Meaghan, recorded a Christmas CD with two other female artists, to raise money for the Maritimes Food Bank. You can read about the details here, and you can even listen to samples from the CD and read a message from the artists. Scott and I just got our copy last weekend and we LOVE it! We have been listening to it nonstop for the past few days.

I hope you are all enjoying your Christmas preparations and finding fun ways to spend time with family and loved ones!

One Year Older... More Adorable Than Ever

Scott turned 33 today. He thinks his life is half over now, or in his words, "I'm halfway there."

Whatever! *roll eyes*

We talked about going out for dinner, but ultimately decided to stay home with the kids, as we have something going on every other night this week. Or maybe it was because Scott's becoming more of a homebody in his old age and doesn't want to go out anymore, I can't remember. I offered to make him any meal and dessert of his choosing, and he asked for homemade pizza and chocolate mousse cake. (I think he was trying to let me off easy, wouldn't you say?)

Four years ago I unintentionally started a tradition of taking Scott shopping for something on his birthday. Just for those rare things that he needs that I wouldn't be able to pick out for him, like I usually do with jeans, shirts & ties, shoes, clothes, and well, pretty much everything. But it started with sunglasses four years ago and last year it was hockey skates, and this year it is going to be running shoes and/or basketball shoes. (What do you mean that's not as exciting as a shopping trip to Cleveland?) Scott is always reluctant to go, as he doesn't like to spend any money on himself, but he always comes around eventually...

Scott and I first met just over 11 years ago, but it feels like we've known each other forever. He is a loving, supportive husband, and truly my best friend.

Happy Birthday, Scotty. I love you!

Samantha In Alberta

I've posted pictures of Brett, Jesse, and Nathan from our trip to Alberta, but not any of Samantha yet. Okay, maybe one picture of her here, but that's it! I think this would be a good thing to do before 2008. So, for your viewing pleasure, here are some pictures of Samantha's adventures on our family vacation to Alberta in August of 2007. Enjoy!

Lots of Snow, Two Christmas Trees, and One Curious Brain

We put up our Christmas tree last weekend. The kids were so excited, as they were *positive* we were the last people on earth to put up our tree! Can I just say that I am forever grateful to the person who invented pre-lit Christmas trees? Not having to string lights on the tree not only saves us about two hours of tree-decorating time, but also makes it way more fun for the kids, who only care about the ornaments anyway.

In my perfect world, we have two trees. One is covered with homemade ornaments made of pipe-cleaners, popsicle sticks, paint, and glitter, with of all the decorations covering the bottom 3 1/2 feet of the tree because that's how high up our kids can reach on their tip toes, and another tree that looks something like this:

(Yeah, still working on that second one... maybe next year?)

I really do love our Hodge-Podge, totally-doesn't-match-or-have-a-theme tree. As we take each ornament out of the box, we always remember where it came from or why it holds a special meaning and we share those memories as we hang it on the tree. I love this tradition of ours.

Winter must have seen our tree and decided it was time to visit London this week. The first couple of snowy days were slightly stressful at times, as I somehow underestimated how long it takes to get everyone bundled in snow pants, boots, coats, mitts, scarves, and hats, yet the school bus doesn't take this into consideration and adjust it's schedule accordingly, unfortunately. Thankfully nobody missed the bus, but we may have had a couple close calls. I think part of the problem is that our kids are really good with Velcro, but beyond that, any tying, zipping, buttoning, or snapping has to be done by Mom. We'll have to work on that.

Jesse has had fun riding to school on our toboggan, pulled by Scott. He was loving it so much that the day I picked him up in the van he flat out refused to leave the school, and said he wouldn't step foot out of his classroom until I agreed to walk him home in the snow.

Scott took all three kids tobogganing this afternoon on the hill close to our house, the same one I used to toboggan down as a kid. I stayed home with Nathan and got caught up on dishes as our dishwasher has been broken broken for two days now and the dishes have been piling up.

Tonight when I went up to put Samantha to bed, I found her wrapped in an empty plastic bag that had been ripped into strips and tied around her body. She was jumping and playing around like she always is at bedtime, as if these were her everyday pj's. I asked her where she comes up with her ideas. She looked at me very matter-of-factly and said, "Mom. I have a brain. And a curious one." Well, what do you say to that? I mean, just because I've never been curious about the most fashionable way to turn a plastic bag into a nightgown, doesn't mean it's not perfectly normal, right?