Weekend work is done!

Today is Steve's LAST DAY OF WEEKEND WORK!!! He really shouldn't be working today, at least that is what I think, but he already took two days off this week. . so he had to put a bit more time in before his holidays which start tomorow. He is off for two weeks and the first week back he will be working 5am - 1pm. I am looking forward to that shift.
Yesterday we finally saw some temperatures that were normal. It was a beautiful day and the kids played a bit outside. It was so nice that they could actually spend more then one minute outside before freezing.
yesterday morning The Muehlings came over to visit. It is always neat catching up with people and they have a little Aiden (spelled differently) too so my kids thought it was so neat to have another Aidan. It is also nice to meet more people with a family since you find you have alot more in common.

Tomorow we are off to Boissevain for a visit with Grandma and Grandpa. Aidan is faithfully counting down the sleeps. Yesterday he asked to go for a nap cauze he thought then we could go this morning because he would have had his two require sleeps. Silly guy!!

Next tuesday marks my 26 birthday. I always have to look back and see what age I am turning. yes, i know I am still young but I swear my children are ageing me faster every day.

And one more very exciting mark, Cassidy has not wet her bed in a while. This is a HUGE deal for me and she hasn't even worn pullups. I guess I shouldnt complain, she trained herself before she was two for daytime.

quick update. . . .

Thursday is here already??? Where did this week go. I just wanted to blog to let everyone know I have added some photo albums to your right hand side of the page. This is only a tiny fraction of some of my pics. I am finding it takes forever to put them on the album and I have thousands, literally! But go ahead and take a peek if you want!
Also. . .I have an album of some of our house reno pics, for anyone who is interested. I really need to take some pictures of the house recently though because most of the pics are before and during the renos. Really, the pictures make the house look really good before we worked on it, but it was a whole different story walking in here the first time.
a quick update here, the kids are all good, healthy as usual. They are feeling a little housebound though. Next week we are going to spend some time at Granny and Grandpa's farm and they have been counting down the sleeps.
Liam is talking up a storm lately, tons of new words everyday.
This morning we all ventured out to moms group, Aidan got to come too since his school was cancelled (due to a water main break) Liam stayed in the kidsroom the WHOLE TIME!! I think this is only because Aidan and Cassidy were with him but he usually doesn't let anyone leave him alone. I had a nice few hours without the kids!
Oh and for very good news, it is supposed to be +4 on sunday!! WAHOOO!!!!!
This weekend Steve begins his two week holidays. He plans to spend lots of it working on the many house projects. He is still working on leveling the floors and hopes to get that project complete. After his holidays, his schedule will be weekdays, finally.

last but not least. . .

Aidan Patrick

I love his sence of humor. Sometimes the littlest things he says are the funniest.

I love how protective he is of his sister and brother.

I love how he is outgoing and the life of the party. He loves attention and isn't shy of anyone.

I love how good his memory is. He can remember things I cant! He also is soaking every thing up at school and knows bible stories and verses.

I love how he loves to be active and play outside. There is never a dull moment when he is around.

I love that he is a daddy's boy and daddy is his hero.

I love that he LOVES music. He loves to sing, dance and wants to play drums. He loves to listen to music and knows the words to kids song as well as many praise and worship songs we listen too. His all time favorite song is 'Praise you in the storm' by Casting Crowns. He loves it and knows all the words.

I love his determination and eagerness to learn new things.

I love how he loves wheels. Ever since he was a baby he has been enthrawled with anything with wheels. He loves vintage cars and trains.

I love how much he loves sunday school and preschool and asks to go every day.

I love he loves to play with stuffed animals. He carries them around and plays with them as though they are dolls.

I love his excitement. The little things can often make his day, and then he will give me a hug to thank me.

I love when he says I love you.

I love that he can do so much himself now. Dress, brush his teeth, buckle up in the van, get himself a drink/snack, clean up his toys, make his bed.....etc....... It makes life alot easier on me.

I love his fiery red hair and his big brown eyes

I love his big bear hugs

I love that he is very excited about God and tells me every day that GOd lives in his heart.

Honestly, doing this exercise was hardest with Aidan. I think it is because he has been pushing every button and testing my limits. But it was very good to look at the good things in life and focus on them.

I am sure the list could go on and on for all three of them.

i love continues

Liam Jacob

I love his laugh and how he laughs as soon as someone is laughing whether it is funny or not.

I love that he is silly and knows it. He will do silly things over and over just to make you smile.

I love how he gets excited about the little things in life.

I love that he adores his brother and sister and follows them whevever they go. He has to do whatever they are doing.

I love when he tries to sing his twinkle twinkle song and the ABCs. I love when he tries to say new words.

I love that he loves music and as soon as his cd is on in the van he is content.

I love his love for animals. Out of all of the kids, he sure is excited about them. As soon as he sees a picture of a cat or do he squeels in delight.

I love that he is determained. The name 'Liam' means determained and it suits him very well. He has to do everything himself whether he can or not.

I love that he is sensitive and is always conerened if someone is sad.

I love the way he 'prances' from one room to the other. He has short legs so his run is cute. I also love when he dances.

I love how he loves his toys and will play with his little people or with cars forever. I love how he loves to look at books and point out everything.

I LOVE that he is an amazing sleeper. His has hardly ever waken up at night and was so easy to transition to a big boy bed.

I LOVE that he is a good eater. He eats everything and anything. (except cheese...go figure!!)

I love that he still loves to snuggle and cuddle.

I love that when he throws a tantrum, once he is put in his room he cools off instantly and comes down happy.

I love how much he loves Steve and I. Even though it is frustrating he won't stay with just anyone, it shows us how much he loves and is connected to us

I love his smile, his blond hair and his big brown eyes.

I love. . .

Reading Kerri's Blog the other day, she challenged every mother to do an exercise listing all the things they love and appreciate about there kids. I have been wanting to do this for a couple days now but haven't had a chance to sit down to write it all up.. . .and since there are three kids, I will do one kid a day.

So here is goes, starting with my Princess Cassidy. My beloved, precious only daughter.

I love that she is hilarious. In her own special way. She says such funny things that make us laugh and laugh and she doesn't even realize it is funny.

I love that she is very sensitive. Although this trait sometimes frustrates me because she takes things too personally, it shows her true compasion. She takes everything to heart and is always very concerned when someone is sad or hurt.

I love that she plays by herself very well and has a HUGE imagination. She has no problem sitting for hours with her barbies, ponies or polly pockets playing.

I love that she is smart. She finishes puzzles faster then all of us combined and loves to read. She would sit for hours looking at books. She loves to draw and color and make lists like mommy!

I love that she is a true daddy's girl. She defiantly has him wrapped around her little finger.

I love that she loves music and singing along. She loves to play her harmonica!

I love that she has been a model sleeper right off the bat. Her first night in the hospital, she slept 7 hours straight and it only got better. She will often sleep in late and outsleeps both her brothers every morning.

I love that she loves to bake. She would bake cookies every day if I could. Although we try not too since we would just eat them all.

I love that she potty trained herself well before her second birthday and surprised us all.

I love that she is a princess, loves everything pink. Her idol is Sleeping Beauty. She loves to play barbies, polly pockets, dress up and tea party. She is a true girl and I am so thankful for this!

I love that she loves ballet and wants to be a ballerina.

I love how excited she gets over the little things in life.

I love the way she tells me I love you before she goes to bed and always needs a hug and a kiss.

I love her smile and her beautiful red hair.

all is well. . .

Liam had his speech assesment on wensday morning. They said he falls in the middle which means they are not too concerned but will see him again next year to see his progress. I kind of figured this would be the case since his vocabulary has grown quite a bit in the last month or so. They also are setting him up for more ear tests since he has yet to pass a test with one of his ears. I don't think he has any ear issues though, he has never had an ear infection and that can be a sign of hearing issues.

So all is well with his speaking. but they aren't dismissing him just yet. Because of Aidan's speech history they will keep an eye on him.

another week is here. . .

So as I am reading Jamie's blog this morning, I realized that I never take pictures of myself with the kids. Mainly because I am ALWAYS the one taking the pictures. So I pull my camera out and shoot a few, only realizing how much I don't like my hair now. My bangs got cut a little too short for my liking and now I am trying to work around that. As well, I am debating whether to cut my hair short again, or grow it out. What a stressful decision!! Wish I could have taken more but my poor camera batteries died on me.

Liam goes for his speech assesment on Wensday. Funny thing is a get this letter in the mail telling me how they have been trying to contact me but if I didn't phone them back ASAP he would be taken off the list. Weird, since I own an answering maching, call display and have all record of calls. So I guess they must have been trying pretty hard then!

I think Liam's speech has come along way since his 18 month apointment. I actually debated whether to call them back because I didn't know if he needed it. But it isn't costing me anything so better safe then sorry. I was told it could be well over a year before he was seen so I am rather surprised it took this fast. But he is starting to repeat things more and more and is working on his alphabet.

As for other news, I think it is officially the COLDEST DAY OF THE YEAR!!! I honestly don't remember it ever gettting this cold outside. I hate it and it is such a bone chilling cold too. We are all praying for a very early spring. Days like this I find it hard to believe that we have +35 weather in the summer. Really??? Does it get warm enough not to have to cover every inch of your body before you go out?? Can we really fill the pool with water and enjoy it? Times like these it is hard to imagine. Makes me look back at some Old summer posts to remind myself that it will warm up eventually.

Yesterday Uncle Tony dropped by to bring Aidan's present from his Grandma and Grandpa. They missed his birthday because they were in Mexico at the time. He was VERY excited to get a remote control truck and I am surprised he has yet to go through the first set of batteries!

Aidan would like to thank you Grandma and Grandpa!

the weekend is here. . .

It is friday!! I really don't like fridays because it means a long weekend ahead of Steve working. But. . . . he starts training the new weekend guy today which means he will be a free weekendman hopefully next sunday! It is also really really cold out and we have a windchill warning. Because of this, Steve took the vehicle to work so he doesn't freeze his ears off when waiting for a bus tonight. So we can't go anywhere, but I wouldn't want too anyways even if we could. Thankgoodness it is February and spring is on its way! Every winter I wonder why we live in this cold place.

So Steve is toying with the idea of not selling this house. He really wants to rent this house out and own two rentals. It all started when I suggested we rent this house and sell the Brandon one instead. I really want to get rid of the Brandon one so we don't have to be worried about being so far away from it. It is rather a pain being so far away and what if something happens and we have to rush out there to do something? Luckily Steve's dad has been there when the house required attention but we may not always have this luxury readily available.

So what to do. . .This house would be an easy rental and we wouldn't have to do all the remodeling we planned. We also could take a nice profit each month. But can he be convinced to sell the Brandon one as well? Any persuasion is much appreciated. .

well, I have noticed my page is getting often 50-100 hits a day. So . . . .for all of you out there, make yourself known! I would love to know who reads this and learn more about you.

February is here!

I haven't blogged in a couple days now, but not much new has happened here. The weather has cooled off again and I find it hard to go out when it is so cold.

This past weekend marked a big milestone for us though. Liam had his very first sleepover away from mommy and daddy. Many of you may think this is strange since he is already 20 months old. I remember leaving Aidan for a couple days before he was even a year old. But we just never had the chance to leave Liam, we would always just get rid of the oldest kids.

Satuday night we had a party to go too and so all the kids went over to there cousins Ashton and Julie's house. Liam did great and even slept on a mattress on the floor, no more playpen for him!! He was pretty happy to be home though and so excited to sleep in his own bed the next day.

Tuesday night, i was able to enjoy a girls night out with some friends I have met here (and a few classic ones) The longer we are here, the more we are realizing how many people we have lost touch with over the years live here. So it has been neat catching up with alot of these people. As well, I have been going to moms group on thursday mornings which has introduced me to a ton of moms my age, and this also gives the kids time to play with other kids.

Yesterday, Aidan recived a package in the mail. He was terribly excited!! THANK YOU to Uncle Joel, Auntie Laura, Maddy and Olivia for the present. Aidan has already been busy coloring with his new crayons and coloring book, eated his treats and we put his starts on his cealing last night. He actually woke up in the middle of the night crying because one fell down and he insisted it needed to go back up instantly.





We also spent some of the day with Steve's grandma (Baba) yesterday. We took her to do some errands and she took us all out to Mcdonalds for lunch. We then brought her over for a little visit! The kids adore her and are becoming quite attached to her.

Not much else to blog about!! I can't believe it is Feb.1st!! 20 days till my 26th birthday.

friday

Today was truely a very long boring day. Steve took the vehicle to work, mainly because I was just too lazy to drive him and Liam needed to nap. But it made for a very long afternoon stuck inside!
So I broke out the camera and tried out some of the new filters. My favorite would have to be the diffuser. It softens the pictures quite a bit. I really noticed on Cassidy's face since she had a few bright scratches and they really blend in using this filter. I am also practising on using only manual focusing rather then auto. I think I am getting pretty good at it! I am still asking Steve stupid little camera questions. I am the one who takes all the pictures, but he understands all the stuff better then I do. I think my skills are improveing. . .although I have adorable subjects which makes taking pictures easy.

As for Cassidy's bed wetting, funny thing is she has been try for the last few days. But she did wake up in the middle of the night with bad dreams last night. This is very odd, she is by far our best sleeper and outsleeps the other two by several hours.

Ever since Aidan had to give up his blanket, Cassidy has been terrified to turn 5. She is so scared of letting her blanky go. She tells us she will turn 4 and then she will turn 6. Too bad it doesn't work that way.

Here are two pictures of the kids. The first one was taken in January 2005 and the second was taken today. Wow they sure have grown!

thursday. . .

Today is a beautiful day!! It looks like the really cold weather is a thing from the past. We were actually able to go toboganning this week with the kids.
I just wanted to inform everyone that we have switched over to SHAW from MTS. So my email is changed to ekeown@shaw.ca. So please update your address books. (steve's has changed as well) SHAW is just cheaper when you have tv, internet and phone.
The one thing that has been on my mind this past week is. . . . .potty training. I pride myself in potty training my children fast but when I think about haveing to do it with Liam soon, I rather dread it. What is it about diapers that makes life so easy? The fact you don't have to worry about an 'accident' when you are out of the house? But the idea of not buying diapers is even more appealing. We have been changing diapers for the last five years and I look forward to saying goodbye to that for good.
So, Liam is not as ready as my other two were at this age. He seems to be such a baby still. We have brought the potty out for him to play with but he has no concept of what it is exactly for. I am guessing by March he will be ready and I will devote an entire week to it. If worse comes to worse, Steve has most of May off for holidays and we will do it then.
Cassidy on the other hand has been wetting her bed. She was fine for a while but recently has been back in pullups at night because I am sick of washing bedding. Even when she doesn't drink a drop all evening she is still wet. I have a feeling she may be like this for a while yet. Frustrating yes, but at least it is only night time.
I don't have much else to blog about. I don't have too many new good pictures to post either. I recently bought some new stuff for the camera and hope to experiment with some new pics soon but haven't had the chance.

HUSBANDS FOR SALE!

~~This was posted on my message board today. I have read this before and thought it was SO funny~~

A store that sells husbands has just opened in New York City, where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates. You may visit the store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the attributes of the men increase as the shopper ascends the flights. There is, however, a catch . . .. you may choose any man from a particular floor, or you may choose to go up a floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building! So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads:

Floor 1 - These men have jobs and love the Lord.

The second floor sign reads: Floor 2 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, and love kids.

The third floor sign reads: Floor 3 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, and are extremely good looking. "Wow," she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.

She goes to the fourth floor and sign reads: Floor 4 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop- dead good looking and help with the housework. "Oh, mercy me!" she exclaims, "I can hardly stand it!"

Still, she goes to the fifth floor and sign reads: Floor 5 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop- dead gorgeous, help with the housework, and have a strong romantic streak.

She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor and the signreads: Floor 6 - You are visitor 4,363,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store. Watch your step as you exit the building, and have a nice day! Please send this to all men for a good laugh and to all the women who can handle the truth!

the many faces of Cassidy. . .

So today is sunday. January is coming to an end, thankgoodness. We all ventured out to church this morning even though Steve was working. I thought it wouldn't be that hard but Cassidy refused to go to sunday school because there was a new teacher and ended up in Aidan's class. Liam refuses to go in nursery and wiggled and giggled through the whole service.
In the end, it was alot of work but at least the kids had a good time interacting with other kids and I could visit with adults and have some adult conversation. So even though I missed the entire message, it was still good to get out of the house (and out of my pjs LOL!)
This is supposed to be one of the last weekends. The next few weekends he will be training a new person and then he will be free. . . .or so I hope. Again, I have learned not to believe everything he is told from there but because of his new position, they can not keep him in weekends for much longer.
As for other news, Cassidy has decided she wants to be a 'painter girl' when she grows up. Strange yes! I asked her what she was going to paint. She said pictures. I asked her if she was going to sell them to make money. She says No. I then ask where she will get money to live. She looks at me and says 'From you!' Too bad I don't make any!
As requested, I took a short video of Liam practising his new vocabulary.

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Not much else is new here. Steve's parents arrived home from Mexico this weekend and here is Liam modeling his new hat. My parents and Brad & Nichole arrived home as well from Florida and Noah was a great little guy the whole time. We decided they timed it right since they missed the really cold spell!

almost forgot. . .

I almost forgot to post this short video from Aidan's Party.

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Update. . . .

Wow, it is wensday already. Why do these weeks keep flying by faster and faster? First of all, while uploading Aidan's birthday pics, I realized I took these of the kids last week, trying to practise on my growing photography skills. Taking pictures is something I really, really love doing lately. Really only ever since I got my fancy new camera. (and am already eyeing an even better one! LOL!) My kids rarely ever sit nice together and was surprised they did for ONE shot! That was all the time Liam had in him. Cass on the other hand is my little poser.

Aidan's birthday started out with opening a few presents. Cassidy bought him a wooden vintage car which he loved and he also got a new big boy bible. He loves listening to bible stories and Noah's ark is a big favorite right now.

We were then off to Church were Aidan had special birthday treatment in sunday school. That afternoon Uncle Tony came over early and gave Aidan a nerf gun shooter thing. This thing is quite scary and the kids had a blast with it, I think Daddy liked this one the best too!

The rest of the family arrived and we had a fun evening together.

Cake time!!!!

Pinata time!!!

Pin the number on Lightening McQueen game!

Aidan got spoiled as usual. One of his favorties is his remote control car from Juile and Ashton.

Showing off his new race track.

Also, in other Keown news, I had to share that Liam's vocabulary is finally growing. He does have an appointment to have his speech assesed still but I already see an improvement. The funniest thing he is saying is "Cass" but it sounds just like "ass". SO CUTE!! and we laugh and he says it over and over again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AIDAN!

Five years ago today I was about 35+ weeks pregnant, I had been in the hospital since the night before with early labor. You see, I had a very eventful pregnancy and even when pregnant, Aidan seemed to cauze trouble! (and this has not changed) I had been in the hospital a few weeks previous for a week with early labor and put on bed rest. Anyways, that night on January 13 they were hoping to send me home in the morning and stop it but my water broke in the night and I started bleeding. They gave me drugs to speed up the labor but i didn't progress fast enough and they were concered that I had placenta previa so they did an emergency c-section at 6:50 pm. That is when Aidan was born, weighing in at 5 pounds 14 3/4 ounces. I remember i stayed awake enough for them to say it was a boy and then they knocked me out because my epidural had fallen out and I could feel the staples. Recover was terrible and I was in alot of pain but I survived and went on to have two more, which were a piece of cake compared to this.
Aidan was small and premature. He spent a week in the hospital because he wasn't feeding properly and gaining weight as well as very jaundice. It was a very long week and finally we were able to come home.
I remember coming home from the hospital and feeling as though I was stealing him from all the nurses who seemed to take care of him. I wasn't sure how I was going to do it but we managed. He was a fairly good baby, (not as good as my other two) but pretty average.
Today Aidan is an energetic five year old that defiantly keeps us on our toes. He loves cars, especially old vintage ones, trucks, tractors, really anything with wheels. He also loves school and is a social butterfly. He is not shy at all and loves being with people. Aidan means 'Fiery' and that describes his personality to the tee! Aidan loves to push all my buttons and test his limits. I guess it all comes with his age. lets just say I am terribly excited to have him start kindergarten!
Aidan also loves being a big brother. Although many hours of the day are filled with fighting with his siblings, there are those few precious moments where they are playing so well together that you just want to bottle that time and cherish.
Happy Birthday Aidan!!
Enjoy the small slideshow of just a few of the pics we have taken over the years.



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On one last note, Aidan must give up his blanket today. For those of you who know him well, he has had a blanket (named 'bugs') that he has had since he was a baby. There is a picture of him lyeing on it in the slide show as a baby. We have warned him for a while now so we will see how it goes.

Here is a preview of his birthday cake. I am not too impressed with this one. It seems red icing is as impossible to achieve as red paint on a wall. After two jars of red food coloring, this is what I got. Oh well, Aidan still loves it! I will make another one for his school party on tuesday and we will see if I can find something that works better.

Here is take #2 on the cake. This one is for his school party. I went and bought premade red icing. Why didn't I think of that before???

Videos

Just a couple videos I took the other day. Liam is trying to sing 'twinkle twinkle' he has the tune right, that is about it.

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Back to regular schedule

I have blogged recently but am having trouble with blogger. I keep losing things and I keep having to redo stuff. Hopefully this will be up to stay.

January is here. I always hate January. It is cold, snowy and we all have holiday withdrawl. I always say if we can get through January then we are in the home stretch to spring!! Thankgoodness we have been very blessed with super mild weather here lately. But today it is back to -17 degrees celcius! (-25 with the wind chill)

We are pretty much back to normal schedule here. Aidan starts school tomorow morning.

Steve's job has not changed yet. I am beyond frustration. I am too a point of expecting nothing is going to happen. But. . . supposibly, it will. If his job didn't pay so well, I would have said enough already. They are still working out the new positions and he will have a 9-5 job. Monday to friday. This is what we originally wanted I just wish sometimes prayers aren't answered in such a complex way. Originally when we thought he would be on early mornings, we were a little stressed over the vehicle thing. We only have one right now and I need it for Aidan's school. Buses don't run that early in the morning so we were praying that would all get sorted out. So our prayers were answered in that regard since he will not have that shift anymore.

9-5 job would be perfect in many ways. So we will wait some more I guess. I think this is a true lesson of patience on my behalf. Really, a year ago he was a temporary worker with no guaranteed hours and now he is permanent full time supervisor. We would have never imagined him to climb the ladder at Canada post so fast.

Aidan's birthday is this weekend. Steve has taken sunday off to celebrate since we originally thought he would not be working. Steve also has two weeks off in February of vacation that he has to burn up.

Yesterday, I noticed that I had not taken any pictures for a couple days. Mainly because my batteries were dead and I hadn't gotten around to charging them. So i quickly snapped some new pics to post.