We had a little birthday to go to last night. Finn got all fired up about the kids and had an absolute blast. On the snowy way home in the car, we heard a bad clunk, and Wrenny had an unprecedented scream, and when we got home (after aforementioned thunk was dealt with) Finn was, as to be expected, overtired. We gave him his"nuk" and bath, and, as seen here, a snuggle with Wrenny.
All ended well.
I fell asleep on the futon as the fire roared in the woodstove.

Oh, the small luxuries!

Some pics of the last few days..a visit from the "Greats" from Creston, and Auntie Irene who is here from Calgary this weekend. We are so enjoying all our family coming out to meet our new addition.

Our first day in a new stroller. Some friends of ours traded us (for a season or 2) their double stroller for our single. Its pretty deluxe and even comes with an infant sling. We took it out today in the blustery october streets. Wrenny slept while Finn chattered. Its so good to be out again and not confined to the car. yesterday morningFinn and I went out for a breakfact treat. Just the 2 of us. we put on his big winter coat over his PJ's and walked off in the 8 am darkness to our local coffee shop.I really enjoyed having a little time with just him.

otherwise, i have to say this is a pretty great time in my life. I fully enjoy being a Mama. The house may be in a state of ongoing chaos, but the seas are pretty calm inside my heart. As my learn;ed friends back at the Family Center would say..I feel congruent. Things are aligned and balanced. I sleep, I eat , I drink (chocolate milk and red wine too) I laugh with my kids and my pretty awesome hubsy. Most days I am just in awe that life is sweet.

On the flipside, I really missed my friend Doug today. His leaving the planet in May has left a lingering tear in my heart. I have been thinking again how he really was a man who knew how to love well. especially his friends. I thnk this is because he was well loved all through his life. He was the youngest child by quite a few years. I gather that he was a kid who loved to make others laugh. He was cherished by his family. I hear that through the stories of his sister and brother. I hope that I can love my kids that well. So that they have confidence to love others. To make themselves open to what love can offer. All its frailties and triumphs.

Yesterday, before Nana's departure, we went to a playgroup at the Anglican church called "Rice Crackers".

A few shots of us all.

Nana left today.

Reality with 2 kids is about to set in!
Finn woke up from his nap and said "Nana, go?"
I told him Nana went home to be with Poro. He said "Come?".
He will sure miss her..all those fun stroller walks and shopping and snuggles and stories. She bought him some new "Mr Fixit" pyjamas yesterday which wore over his clothes all day with great pride!
We will miss all the yummy meals and laundry and dishes always being done, not to mention sleeping in. What a luxury!We were so grateful for all her help and support.
It made these last 10 days so much more enjoyable and bearable.

Here are a few recent pics...

-Wrenny's first bath at home..in front of the fireplace.

-Pops with Wrenny when he came to visit this weekend(and helped Mike chop up our winter wood!!!!). So great to share this first week with Family near by. Pops gave Finn all sorts of wagon rides and laughs.

-At Home with Pumpkins...our October Baby!

-Finn's loving affection for Wrenny..

It has taken me a while to get to blog...for good reason though. The contractions started friday morning-long and leisurely spaced and on until saturday night where they picked up speed progressing well indeed. However, baby once again (as with Finn ) seemed to get trapped after the first pelvic turn and so we made another harried trip to the OR for a c-section.

In any case on October 8th in the warm glow of the full moon, our little girl,
WREN MIRABEL MAY was born with some complications that landed her in Vancouver for the first 30 some hours of her life.(...see mike's blog for these details).
Mike and Wrenny returned to Cranny on Monday night at 11pm to spend one hour of Thankgiving day (in french "Action de Grace") as a family. I was sooo thankful to have that baby home, I spent the whole night in the hospital nursery rocking her and staring at her...like all first nights with babes should be!

Wrenny has turned out to be a very mellow and quiet bundle so far. Likes to eat. Likes to sleep. Likes to look at the world with large blue eyes attentive to all things. We are truly delighted at her joining our family and even Finn wants many chances to hold her and kiss the top of her head (which is starting to smell strangely of peanut butter and jam)

The other gift that came this week was Mike's mom (Nana) being able to come and help us out for these first days. I'm not really sure how we would be able to do this baby thing any other way. I said to Mike today "I like the 3:2 ratio, I don't know what we are going to do when that changes". Adjust. I guess.

For now, some photos and many thanks for prayers and well wishes. All have been gratefully received and cherished.

I took the cat to the vet today..to get fixed.
She almost escaped out of her cardboard box enroute so and I almost lost it. However, I managed to contain her by flipping the box over and putting the camp stove on it. She survived. I thought she might die of a heart attack. Thankfully not. She is our only mouser (and birder as it so happens...even canaries are no problem for her)

It has been the journey of hormones over the last three days as my due date is in sight. So far no reports of happenings. The odd contraction here and there,. Especially as I drive the van...perhaps that is because i am trying to stretch my legs to reach the pedals while trying not to squeeze baby belly on the steering wheel during sharp turns without power steering.
perhaps.
Finn has been cared for by friends today as I took a day off to do some errands, visit with friends and nap. I am very thankful for this. I grow tired, but am very excited about what the future brings. Here a few pics of the weekend at our guitar players wedding up in Kimberley.
Mr and Mrs Ben and Debbie Vanderwerf.

Here's our cleaning party day!

In the final countdown..
Mike and I are attempting to finish the reno's by weeks end.

Friday morning I have invited four hard-workin friends to help us clean up the house top to bottom (I provide the pumpkin soup-they provide lots of energetic cleaning power!)
AND THEN baby can come!
Here are a few shots of the In-Progress days we are living in, as well as Finn in a cardboard tunnel from the wardrobe boxes and a shot from our church's corn roast with his friends Hendrix, Kali and Hope.

Sunday Morning came early...well earlier than usual.
Mike had spent all of yesterday driving to Calgary and back with Truman, our faithful orange van, to pick up the remaining pieces of the wardrobe. I spent the day baking and looking after Finn and friend Kate-as well as 2 hours off catching up on phone calls, emails and such.
So when the wake up wail came at the crack of 6:30am-I told Finn it was still "night-night time" (love these dark morning!) and he managed to stay quiet in his crib until 7:00am on the dot. We three hung out and took it all in slow mo until the juice and coffee and ovaltine kicked in. Mike managed our first-of-the-season fire in the woodstove with some gift firewood from friends, and we celebrated our own
First Autumny Day.

(Note: baby belly shot-we have not taken very many of this pregnancy-so here is the profile at 37 weeks-any baby gender guesses?)

Rainy Friday Morning.
I have composed a shopping list but am undecided whether I will go shopping.
Nice to be able to make these decisions-with no deadline or boss to tell me when and where and how.
After such a long dry season (please no lawn comments from locals, ha), I am enjoying the comfort of the rain on our roof all day and as I drift off to sleep at night. The last few days I got to bake and cook to my hearts content and even started a few sewing projects. Finn's favourite bear is now sporting a fetching pair of jeans (see pictures above). Finn is enamoured with them. Somehow it reminds me of my own Mama. She made clothes for our dolls and teddies. Finn and I had a good time with this little project..I sewed and he leaned up on the table on a chair and said "I watch?". A most pleasing time..and it made me so happy to be able to stay home with this crazy Nutkin I call my son!

Looking at the above list, I suppose you could say, I am nesting.
true enough.
I saw midwife and OB this week and all seems to be fine with baby. Now that my anemia is under control, I feel a lot better and more energetic. More than the rest of this pregnancy..how ironic, as we are down to 3.5 weeks.
Finn's memorable saying of the week was 2 days ago on the change table. He has begun to use this maniacal forced laugh all week. Seems to be trying on different laughs all the time. As he is laying there doing the diaper thing he laughs his crazy new laugh and says to me "I funny".
How could I respond..
"yes Finn: you ARE funny"

Well, we are definately in the thick of things...mainly clutter and plaster/drywall and sanding dust! Mike has finished the bedroom floor and we will be able to sleep in our own room again in 2 short sleeps!! The camping has been fun (in the livingroom) but the futon is getting a bit too low to the ground for me...with only 4.5 weeks to go in this pregnancy. It makes those night tme bathroom breaks somewhat challenging!

We had a great long weekend. Nana arrived on Friday Night and Pops came on Saturday morning. Nana, Finn and I spent the day in Kimberley in order that Pops and Mike could sand the floors. Good times had by all. Nana stayed the whole weekend on the kitchen floor on a double blow-up mattress with distinguished dog, Poro. Pops spent the rest of Sunday and Monday with Grandad and anne in creston. We have decided that having both Poro, Charlie (Pops' dog), 4 kittens, Smee and Maus (our cat), is a bit to much for the house. However, all aforementioned animals survived weekend and went home intact. Next trip out, when baby is here, we are thinking no extra pets!!

Tomorrow I'm off to have coffee with Brooke.
Finn-less I will be.
I baked a cake for my friend Ross who will watch Finn for the morning (...however he informed me he is not a cake eater, and so his wife has volunteered to eat it all!!) The cake was part of a series that I made this morning based loosely on my Mama's "Zwetschen Struesel Kuchen (plum Streusel Cake). Turned ou beautifully. Plums courtesy of Grandad and Anne's tree in Creston.

Our Renos

We have decided this would be the best time to start ripping out lathe and plaster and re-drywall and, what the heck, refinishing the hardwood floor! I say "we" very loosly. That is not to say that i am not in favour of such a venture..a contraire, i just mean Mike and a guy named Piet have done most of the work...along with some kind-hearted, sypathetic friends and I have left town or at least the house, while they do!

The lathe and plaster came out a few days before our holidays in the pantry and bedroom. The drywall went up via a wonderful timely and efficient drywaller named Piet...new windows to follow. we also put in a door to the bedroom that will go to a small deck right between the pantry and bedroom...to catch the evening sunset. Mike apinted the pantry "a touch of curry" and the bedroom two shades of "avacado"..looks soo good!

He is now starting to work on stripping the lino glue that is on the hardwood floor in both these rooms. A dusty job.

Needless to say, I am NOT spending my days cleaning, and will await such chores when the fine sand has settled nicely over all our wordly possesions. I will then phone a few friends who arent afraid to clean and then we will get the job done right! I suspect I will be only a couple of weeks or days from my due date, and helping hands will not be too hard to locate!

So, Finn and I hang out...away from the boxes and clutter, if possible, and make up new games and visit friends, and enjoy these last summer days with relish. I feel very tired very often, but thems the breaks. I suppose! This is a busy little baby on the inside, not to mention the little crazy oat on the outside!

The other pics are of the kittens, now free to roam in the laundrey room and yard...they will be given to their prospective, respective homes in 3-4 weeks.

Our Finn is 18 months old now...and a 70s child for sure!

returned to cranny after 2 weeks of low stress holidays..complete with
early toddler mornings
coffees by Mike,
trips to town,
a daytrip to nelson,
a skunk incident with Smee,
pregnancy insomnia,
evening under the stars and twinkly lights on the deck
and many afternoons on our private pebble beach
(skinny dipping also).

There was never a shortage of fantastic company...starting with our friends jeff and marcia Wall and their 19 month old Gracie for six wonderful days-lots of good talks, wine and scotch (for them, not me), and stories of the months gone by where we havent seen each other. Mikey and jeff took turns of Mike's scooter, Couchette; volunteering eagerly to pick up small grocery items or anything else that "needed" getting! then my sister and bro in law came for 2 days...was great to reconnect...cousin time and relaxing in the sun. friends from home-Jen and Ross with 2 year old kate came for a sunday afternoon-with swimming and bbq on the agenda, and longtime friend Meme and her clan of 4 came out for the afternoon on tuesday. All in all, I got to read my library books (big overdue fine coming right up!!), had great alone time and together time with people i love and cherish, enjoyed the everyday isms of our 18 month olds antics...a rich and relaxing holidays.

we returned to a house covered in drywall dust and 4 kittens tearing up the laundrey room. more on that later!



Gracie and finn hanging out on the deck











Mike scootering onto the ferry on the way to Nelson.











Kai and Finn

We've been gone for 2 weeks..pics and stories to follow by the end of the weekend!

Here are some pics from our last two wonderful days out in Mayook for the 15th Annual mayook Mania.
Bright, blue sky days,cool, clear nights, great friends, music, food, drinks, mostly happy children(!) and a meaningful rememberence for Doug where his gravestone was laid..right beside his brother Wayne. A good closure, but still a really hard reality to live with.
We came home today...content, tired and grateful for such good times on this late, great planet earth...