Gestational Diabetes doesn't scare me any more!

   Last week I got a phone call that many moms-to-be are very fearful off; I failed my Gestational Diabetes test and had to go for Gestational Diabetes counselling at the hospital. The night before I was really regretting that I had to go at all, and I felt a bit sorry for myself. I just didn't understand where did it come from. I ate healthy, I have plenty of exercise a day (after all, I am a mom of 3 kids, there is no rest time for me), and I don't smoke or drink. So why did I have to go and learn how to have a healthy life-style?
   Grandma and Gramps came over in the morning to look after Monkeys. It was a chore waking them up as they were super tired and grumpy. But I managed to have a breakfast with them before I left. The hospital is about 30 minutes away from our home so I had a bit of thinking time. I almost forgot what it is like to be by myself, with my own thoughts, in the car. It really felt weird not having people talking to me from the back seat.
   I got to the clinic a bit late and was directed to the classroom where one other mom-to-be was in the middle of watching a movie. I was really glad that I didn't have to sit through the whole movie. Thanks to some of my wonderful friends and the internet I already got a lot of information about GD. And the movie was very cheesy and outdated, like one of these that we had to watch back in school.

Why even bother with nature study?

Nature is beautiful

   Since it was the first Monday of the school year yesterday, it was also our first science day of the year. Science day can be a lot of fun for the Monkeys because they get to learn about science and nature. Once we are finished all the individual work for the day we get to work on Monday's activities. I always like to start off with reading our science book of the week first. This week Funky Monkey took out Whale Sharks by Heidi Mathea from the library so we made that be our first science book this year. The book itself was not too long so we were able to read the whole book in one sitting. It has numerous large photographs of whale sharks with tons of information that's easy to comprehend (even for the smallest of listeners). The book is written in a living book style so I found that the kids were able to remember a lot of the information long after we finished reading it. Even I found the book very interesting and learned a few bits about this largest fish in the world.

Money Wise Mondays - How not to cater to picky eaters.

Mmmm ... muffins

   Catering to picky eaters can be very expensive. Making a separate dish for every person in the house can add up to lots of money spent unnecessarily. The most frugal thing to do is to cook large nutritious meals at home that will feed the whole family, where buying in bulk can save money and time (and lets face time is money!) But what to do when you have one, or two or more people in your household that just won't eat what you make for them?
   Parents have to endure many things from their precious, little bundles of joy. We often get spit up on, peed on, we clean up throw-up, we wipe buts, we clean messes, but the worse one of all is hearing your preschooler announce "I hate broccoli, and tuna, and oranges, and .....I am not eating it!" We all have been there. Our family is no different. After many minutes, sometimes an hour or two, of cooking a nutritious meal for my family, the last thing I want to hear is "I'm not eating it!" To a parents, that statement is equivalent to treason

Sunday Snapshots!

   I hope that all of you are enjoying your Sunday. Here is some Sunday Snapshots from a family dinner we had yesterday. Have I mentioned how blessed we are to have such great family! And don't forget to check out Money-Wise Mondays tomorrow!

Rest time with Mommy

Little Monkey deep in thought

Little Monkey and Girly Monkey with their cousin

Gramps giving Monkeys a ride

After dinner shenanigans.

Funky Monkey

Great-Grandpa trying to save his hearing while all kids were loud. 

Dinner at great-grandparents. 

First week and Ballet for Boys and Girls.

   The first week of school is over and the excitement of school has wore off a bit. This morning, Monkeys were very excited to have their day off school. The only one complaining about lack of school-work was Little Monkey. I think that this had something to do with him getting a "smelly" sticker once he finished his work, and no school-work means no sticker today. The stickers were a great incentive not only for Little Monkey, but also for the two older Monkeys. I have bought them when I picked up their Math work-books and they are very cute. As an added bonus when you scratch the sticker they smell like fruits. The kids love getting them after they finished their copywork, or math, or Spanish lesson.

Funky Monkey helping Little Monkey

   So what is my review of the first week back?
I think it went smoother than I expected. I am glad that I spent all the hours planning the whole year, because it seem to have saved plenty of time daily.

The "not-so nice" surprise!

At the PNE
when we were just dating

   Last Saturday I had to go and do a 2 hour Gestation Diabetes test. These tests are never much fun since you have to drink and awful sugary drink followed by bunch of blood tests. I really am getting better at sitting through blood tests, but I still don't like them. I remember when I used to faint if I looked at the needle going into my vein and the test tube filling up with my blood. I would faint at the sight of blood, and not only during blood draws.
   One of the most embarrassing moments of my life happened a year before Daddy and I got married. We arrived at the annual PNE Fair in Vancouver with Daddy and his family. We had a fun day of going on rides and enjoying the shows that most people come from far away to see. We had a very lovely time until we decided to give Mini-Golf a try. Since it was the busiest time at the Fair, all the rides had very big line-ups, while Mini-Golf seemed a bit less busy. Myself, Daddy, and his brother were the only ones playing, while Daddy's parents sat on one of the numerous benches outside the Mini-Golf to rest. The game proceeded normally until we got to 6th hole. While waiting for my turn, I unknowingly stepped backwards off a stair and fell. Since I wore very flimsy sandals that day I twisted my ankle and scraped my leg up to my knee. Blood started trickling out of my wounds.

Our Art day was a success

   Yesterday was Wednesday and that means Art Day!. Art day is like fun day at my house because Monkey love to pain and draw and it gives them a chance to do that. We got all the family and individual "every day" work out of the way during and after breakfast (math, copywork, poetry, reading, exercise, Spanish) and then we got to the fun part of the day.

   This semester we are going to study Georgia O'Keeffe and her works. I started by reading short biography of Georgia's life and then we went to examine her first painting. Every week we will look at different painting until by the end of this semester we have examined 6 of her paintings.