My Life as a Mom

Okay, I know it seems like I'm MIA, and I guess I kinda am. But I don't have internet at my house right now, (Waiting for the hubby to get home and set it up!). So I am doing things and taking pictures along the way, but I have to come up to my mom's to use internet and then I feel bad, 'cause I feel like I'm using her. Especially when, like now, she is holding a fussy baby that wont be comforted, so that I can go online!! So when I get my internet back, I will post about all the things I've been doing these past few weeks - and there are a lot! But for now I'll just give you a sneak peak! Making "Brown" Food Harvesting my Kimberly Garden Saying Good-bye Learning to Roll Over Celebrating Back to School Going back to School Hanging out with friends Baking Celebrating the end of summer Playing with trains Making cookies Playing games with family Going to our Corn Bust - YUM! So although it seems th...

Okay, so it's a little early, but just a very little! Zachary Michael Yanos is (just about) five months old! That is so crazy to me! He's getting so big so fast, and it doesn't matter how much I make the time to enjoy him, it still goes by way too fast! I am loving this little guy, and I'm loving that I feel good and am enjoying him. It's kinda crazy, I actually find that I am less stressed with five kids than I was with two, three or four. I guess I've learned a lot from the other four! Zachary has made a lot of big steps this month. He now has really good head control, so that opens up a whole world of possibilities for him. He now sits in his Bumbo - and tries to eat his toes. He plays in his play-toy-thing...I don't know what to call it, but he likes it, and he loves his jolly jumper, especially if he has the mirror out to watch himself.  (Wow, what a run on sentence!) We are having fun as he is very free with his smiles now and he recognizes our voic...

Halloween 2009 - The Addams Family One of the best things about being out in BC this summer, has been that my kids have had the opportunity to get to know their Yanos grandparents better. We live in the same town as my parents, so my kids have grown up with them, and all of them have great relationships with my parents. They have been to my kids dance recitals, soccer games, skating competitions and school functions. My parents know my kids individually and have different relationships with each kid. It's been great having them around while our kids are growing up. My in-laws haven't had that same opportunity because they have always lived quite a distance away, and they don't come to visit very often. When they do come, it's always for a quick visit as they are on their way somewhere else, or coming from somewhere else. This fact has always made me a little sad. Grandparents are such an important part of a child's life. I grew up with both sets of grandparen...

So, I have 8x10  pictures of each of my kids in my livingroom and they are all nicely bordering a painting (Gorgeous, done by my Dad and given to me just a couple years ago - I've been wanting it all my life!). This arrangement has worked perfectly for me, when I get new pictures taken I change out the old ones and it works great. Well, now I have a problem. I now have five children, not four. Five pictures doesn't nicely frame a painting, and I am NOT moving my painting. So. I guess I need a sixth picture. And here is the answer to my problem....a picture of Michael and I with the kids' pictures. I'm actually really happy with how the picture turned out. It was the end of the day and Michael and I had been being goofy all day having fun with the kids. I pulled my hair out of my ponytail (Notice the frizz!) and handed the camera to our eleven year old. But really, I think it may be one of my favourite pictures of us.  At first I wasn't crazy about it, 'cause I...

Heather, my girl. Heather is such a delightful teenager. She is seventeen years old and really causes us very little grief. Heather has been living with us for almost three years now, and things have been fantastic. She is very pleasant and happy and likes to make people laugh. Heather is a great big sister, she is best friends with Natasha, she is finding common ground with Peter, is learning a lot from David and loves to sit in front of Zac and make him laugh and smile. She is very helpful and willingly baby-sits for me when I need her to. When I first met Heather, she was eight years old and was a little awkward with affection, but we desperately craving it. Since then Heather has become our hugger. She has no problems with throwing her arms around us and telling us how much she loves us. She is even starting to turn her Grandpa and Grandma Yanos into more affectionate people. If Grandpa Yanos doesn't get his hug from her, he starts teasing her until he gets it - and she loves e...

Zachary, my baby. There is nothing that makes time fly faster than having a baby. It seems like the last four months have flown by. Yes, my baby is four months old. He is such an amazing baby! Everyone comments on how bright and alert he is, and I get several people saying that most babies aren't that alert until they are much older. From the day Zachary was born, he's been a very alert baby. When he's awake he's awake and when he's asleep he's asleep. He looks at everyone and examines faces, he loves it when people talk to him and he definitely has his favourite people (Mom, Dad and David). Zachary is so easy to put to bed, I wrap him in a blanket, give him a soother and lay him on his stomach and he goes to sleep. Even if he doesn't go to sleep immediately, he will often lay there content until he does fall asleep. Yesterday I came in to check on him about 10 minutes after I had laid him down and found him completely wiggled out of his blanket, soother gon...

 Oh, David, my little monster. David is three years old, going on fifteen. He is super adorable and a little cheeky! He has added a lot of spice to our lives. He loves to learn about everything and asks "why" ALL the time! But he is actually trying to learn, and he remembers the answers that he's given - not that it stops him from asking again. Of all of our kids David is the one that constantly leaves us asking "He said what?!?" Because he comes up with the craziest things. Today at the dinner table he said that he wanted more water, when I told him to go ahead and get some, he looked at me with very sad and tired eyes and said "but I don't want to get off my butt..." It was so adorable that I just had to smile and get him some water (After he asked nicely!) David has absolutely loved being a big brother, which I was a little worried about because, let's face it, he's spoiled. With three older siblings, the youngest eight years his senio...