For the love of teeth.

It would appear that I have somewhere, along the way, pissed off someone and now its payback time! Am I ever paying out the whatnot!! What could I possibly be rambling about? TEETH!!!

As I prepare to get them to their cleaning and checkup appointment, I am filled with dread at the news that I am no doubt going to get... Marian's orthodontic journey is going to take flight soon and Gabriel will need dental surgery.

Let's do a quick stock take... Micaela is in braces already, in a few months she will hopefully have them out but will get a retainer. Marian (who has the exact same overbite issue Micaela had) will be in braces soon, since she has lost a whack of baby teeth. Gabriel with his lazy tooth, that will have to be cut out and dragged into place with braces!!! Lucian is still a mystery. Not so much Clarisse, her overbite is more pronounced as a baby than the girls ever was. Double you tee eff!?! I fear we will be filing for bankrupcy soon.

Don't get me wrong... PLEASE! I am very, very thankful that this is my biggest source of stress and that my children are otherwise incredibly healthy. I would have it no other way! I am also really greatful that we found good doctors who are good at what they do and are amazing with my kids, so much so that the kids love going!

Hitting the road: Step 1, G1.

Yay me! I did it! It took a very, very long time to get it started but the fact of the matter is that the ball she is a-rolling. I am talking about driving.

I took the written test and am in possession of my G1 learner's permit!!!

I still feel like I want to kick myself for not having done it sooner but I'm a firm believer that everything will happen as it should.

I officially stink at this.

It would appear that I am terrible at maintaining a blog! I'm a little disappointed in myself, yet I keep feeling hopeful that I am going to do better.

Once again, almost 3 years have gone by in the real world. Our family has since grown.

Clarisse joins the clan😊

We have welcomed a little sister, Clarisse Larsa, to our baby bouquet. I have become a mom of five!

My life!

We had and lost a pet (betta fish, good old Lucky) and gained two more (betta fish, Red and Gill). We've also moved house again. 

And in other news... We have another new cousin, my gorgeous Godson, Antoine.

Antoine at birth

Antoine at 20 months

We have lost loved ones on both sides of the family tree, uncle Shmail and aunty Gerty. May their souls forever rest in peace.



Now that miss Clarisse is 2,

Princess Sofia wishes she was as cute as this little Princess!!

and the other kids are all at school,

Time flies when you're having fun😊

(yes, Lucian started junior kindergarten last September!) I might just be able to pull this [blogging] off as I try to stay ahead of chores and such.

Keeping my fingers crossed :)

Yeah... its been a while.

Well, it has been just over 2 years of inactivity on this blog but a TON of activity in the real world! In a nutshell... or better yet... a year *or two* in pictures

Firstly, and by far THE MOST IMPORTANT, Lucian was born! A blessing and a joy!



Lucian Ramil Youash

Surrounded by love!



And family.

Followed by... wedding bells!!



Martin and Marsha tie the knot!

A few new babies in the family...




Jody and Craig welcomes the beautiful Oriana.

Marsha and Martin became first time parents to the beautiful Ilona.

Hanging with Aunty Razaan



And Oumie

I also took a trip to South Africa with the boys... 

Some of the South Africa family..





My mom and baby sis, who we all miss like crazy!

And on the home front...

The shenanighans continue... hehe!



Still surrounded by love!

My loves!

6 long months and 6 short years.

It seems like such a long time ago that we woke at 5am, pulled our little girl out of her bed, put her in the car and drove to the Hospital for Sick Children to fix a hole in her heart.


The day she proved to  us just how strong she really is.

It has in fact been 6 months... only 6 months! Which means she can stop taking the medication too, HOORAY!! All that's left is a visit with her cardiologist and we can close the book on this chapter. Deo Gratias!

What DOES seem like just a blink of an eye ago, was when Micaela was born!

Only 12 hours old.

That was 6 years ago... 6 whole years! How can 6 years seem like just the other day and yet 6 months are a lifetime ago?? Could it be because she has just brought so much joy, happiness and laughter into our lives? I think so. As much as she has the ability to just drill a whole into my eardrums when she whines, her laughter (which has become much more frequent) patches it up in an instant. She has meltdowns about the most trivial things, but her beautiful smile melts all meltdowns away. She is growing up right before my eyes, and so quickly too.

In 2 days, she turns 6. Each day since her birth has been such a blessing and as hard as it sometimes gets, I wouldn't trade being her mom for anything. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICAELA!

On the road to expansion: Half way there.

They say "Time flies when you're having fun."

I say "Even though time flies, It's not always as fun as all that!"

That said... Looking back on the passed 20 weeks, it felt longer while it was happening. But now that it's done, it went by in a flash! Could be that I was so sick during my 1st trimester that the days just mashed into one and when I recovered I had so much catching up to do, that I just zipped through the time in a constant preoccupied buzz! WOW! that sounded almost as confusing as Bilbo's speech at his 111th birthday!

If none of that makes sense, it's because my brain, these days, is like the mascot for Ellen's 12 days of giveaways this year... A HOT MESS! lol I'm all over the place, but nowhere, really, my husband and kids drive me unusually nuts and I'm emotionally erratic! I worry sometimes that I won't have enough time to get everything done that I set out to achieve before this baby arrives. It doesn't really help that I'm expanding at a ridiculous rate and it's taking a toll on my energy levels. I feel as if I'm a duck already, and I'm only halfway!

As for baby, he (yes! it's a boy!) is so active! I started feeling flutters when I was in my 17th week. The kids are so super excited and now they can see him moving around too :) It's made Gabriel much more aware of the fact that there is a little brother in mummy's belly now that he can see the movement.

The new 'thing' is for me to lie down and pull up my shirt to expose my belly, so they can see the movement, poke and 'kiss' him, do raspberries on my belly and hug him! They also like to share what they are eating with him so I have to eat it so he can taste it. lol Not always ideal... since I'm afraid of catching their bugs/viruses and even more grossed out about eating their leftovers/ gooey, sticky finger stuff! I do it anyway just because it makes them really happy. I find it strange that they don't want to share with each other but they share with him without blinking.

Taking pics, as I said I would, to show my progress, is not happening at all. I'm never really up for saying cheese and rarely dressed for it ;) To be fair... I've not been taking much pics of anything at all.

With all the things coming up in the next few months i.e Christmas and New year, Micaela's birthday, Gabriel's birthday, [possibly] some pre-wedding events for Marsha, trying to get Oumie here and hopefully getting one or more steps closer to obtaining a driving licence *fingers crossed big time on that one*... I hope it keeps me sufficiently occupied to pass the rest of the time in a flash too! 

Little monsters.



How cute are they?

Halloween this year was definately more fussed about in our household than previous years. The kids were all excited about their costumes, which is not normally the case.


Minnie mouse bat.

Princess bride

They never want to wear costumes and I am normally the one fighting to get them into it! The girls were so excited that they could wear them to school.

Gabriel wore his costume all day and had to be coaxed out of it for meals (to prevent spills on them before going out).

Go Batman!!

Going to the cousins for dinner and 'trick or treating' was a definate highlight. They had a blast going around their cousins neighbourhood and spending the evening with them and as a bonus... It's aunty Marsha's birthday!!



AWWW!!!

Aunty Michelle bring up the rear :)



Somewhat spooked by the decorations hehe



The girls wanted to 'fly solo'.