The Experiments Of A Run-About Baby

The terrible twos. Do those words send shivers down your spine like they do mine? Those two little words evoke many awful and amusing scenarios but the most dramatic usually involve  my fourth child, David. As a baby he was a delight with sparkling blue eyes and a warm, loving personality. Physically he was plump and passive. He’d……

My Baby LOVES Dog Food

Life was especially chaotic after the birth of our eighth and ninth children because everyone was still fourteen and under.  It was difficult to keep a sharp eye out for my new bundle of energy, Anthony. As our second youngest, Anthony’s basic character has always been pleasant and easy going. His eyes are usually twinkling and a slight……

” I Will Never Complain About My Life Again!”

The tale of the chickens’ demise started out innocently enough. I had no idea that I was setting myself up for a disaster of massive proportions. It began when the butchers  phoned us to change our butchering day to the very same weekend as a conference that Michael was looking forward to attending. Putting on a positive front, I assured……

Nature Not Nurture. Trust Me.

This picture is a great symbol for how I very often feel as I watch my offspring. Sometimes I think, “Are you really my kid?Where did that talent, personality or characteristic come from?” All my children have the same parents and  have lived in the same environment but each child inherited not only different physical genes but……

The Battle To Get David Dressed

When my eighth child was born, every one was thirteen and under. The mornings could be chaotic and six year old David was the main contributor to the mayhem. He was full of energy and good humour but would express it by running up and down the kitchen in between eating, brushing his teeth, gathering  reading……

Make-Up And Little Girls

One visit  from Grandma Jean and Grandpa Ron  occurred when Melissa and Mara were about four and five years old.   My two little girls were fascinated as they watched  Grandma apply a touch of make-up each morning because they had never seen anything like it. I wasn’t  interested  in make-up in those days and frankly  there wasn’t time anyway;……

Cutting Kids Hair By Trial and Error

Do you remember this humourous, family kitchen scene, perhaps from the forty’s or fifty’s, where a child sits on a stool with a huge sheet tied around their neck, a pained expression on their face and a bowl on their head as Mother stands poised behind them, scissors in hand? This family drama came to life in the early 1990’s. Our whole……