Ahhhh...

The "free" weekend is over (yeah rite..."free" I feel incredibly guilty over the amount of money I spent the past 3 days, even tho' in reality it wasn't really all that much) and my only regret was that we didn't stay a day longer (sorry "d"). There's just so much one can do, aside from shopping. So when you spend a day (4 hours) in the car, a day shopping and then another (4 hours) in the car on the way back, it just seems to be incredibly rushed. We did enjoy a nice supper out at East Side Marios (which I'd recommend) and catched 2 flicks at Rainbow (Inside Man and Failure to Launch). The worst part about these trips tho' is coming home. You kinda get used to only looking after yourself, even if it's only a day, then coming home, to two screaming kids is such a gut-punch. A rude awakening. I'm not saying it's not nice to be home, but being away has it's definate perks too. Thankfully my sister was still here, so I was able to immerse myself back into the swing of things throughout the day.

This morning we headed over to Kinsmen. There were a couple of Mom's there already and a few showed up after we arrived. I think it'll be a good thing. The kids sure liked hanging out and some of them recognized each other from Mom's Morning Out. Remember, if you're in the area, every Tuesday morning (weather permitting) 10-11 am (times approx. You can really show up anytime you want and leave whenever). My sister said on the walk home that "according to those other Mom's it's about time you have a baby". I said "what? They said that?" She said, "no, but they all had babies..." so somehow that relates to me and that fact that I too, should have one. Again, I'll keep you posted on that one.

Steve made it home last night too. Tired and dirty. He said he had a good time.

Wow. Here's a plug for you. Tomorrow on Oprah, she's going to take a concentration camp survivor back to Auswitz (I'm sure I'm spelling that wrong. Sorry). That should be interesting.

Now it's back to looking up prices. I sold a road bike on e-bay, now I just have to figure out how to get it down to MA as cheap as possible. Any ideas?

soon and very soon

In about an hour a friend and I are heading to Regina for a weekend away. Like she says it couldn't happen soon enough. For some reason my kids have been totally acting up this week. Maybe it's just in my head and it's some sort of coping mechanism for me leaving them for the weekend, or maybe they truly are acting up. I don't know and right now I don't care. All I care about is the fact that I was suppossed to go pick up a part for our Landcruiser (which we are "suppossed" to be driving down) and the part is not in. Or rather, as the guy said, it was ordered and it's "suppossed" (there's that word again) to be here, but he can't find it anywhere. Nice. Very nice. That leaves me where?
This same Landcruiser is also on e-bay as we speak and it's time is almost done in which case if it sells, then we can't take it anyway, but if it doesn't then technically I should be able to take it, however I'll need this stupid part.
Who knew leaving for a weekend could be so difficult?

On a lighter side we were at a friend's birthday party last week and Callah was eating sand. Our friend asked if this was the first time. I said, "no, she does this all the time." She laughed and I thought, oh yeah it's hilarious. Especially when it comes out like sandpaper!

Okay, that wasn't that funny.

So Mom's Morning Out is officially done for the summer. We will be meeting now, every Tuesday, at Kinsmen Park here in Prince Albert. I know I said it before, but we had the windup last week at Lil Red, so now it's officially done.

Otherwise I really have nothing else to say. That's why I haven't been writing that much. Nothing really new and exciting (or un-exciting even) to report. Just kinda blah...waiting for summer holidays and camping and swimming at the beach. Soon. And very soon.

I wish I could...

Aha!! Finally, even tho' the task seems so simple, for some reason getting this crazy picture up here has taken me numerous, frustrating minutes. So here, finally, is a picture of my kids on one of our many walks out at the Little Red Park here in PA. I have this other photo of them, walking amongst the trees, which I've mentioned before that I absolutedly love. I've always had a fascination with trees.

Anyway, other than that (and this new found knowledge of uploading pics) I don't have much to say at the moment.

C'ya!

thinking

Sometimes I think I think too much. Making mountains of mole hills and giving myself countless hours of sleepless nights. I also think that's a woman's thing, but if I'm wrong then I need a new excuse. My latest thought process' have been about summer and friendship. I freak out constantly about not knowing where and what and when we're having summer holidays. Mainly b'cos I want to ensure that we do get summer holidays. Steve is the kind of person, where if you don't make plans, the time flies by and it doesn't get done. That's why I'm pushing the whole holiday thing. I NEED summer holidays. A few good days of camping will cure whatever itch I've got.

I've been thinking about travelling. The thought occured this morning that I'm a traveller stuck in a body in Prince Albert. Not everyone is a traveller. Some prefer, even if given the opportunity, to just stay put and never go further than their back yards. Myself, I love travelling. I think it comes from my parents, who altho' have only recently went overseas, took us somewhere every summer. We toured Canada, from BC to Quebec, numerous times during my youth and hit many of the States along the way. So when I hear of people who get these awesome opportunities to go somewhere and don't take it b'cos they'd rather hang out with friends at home, I want to just kick them in their butts and say "get moving!". I'd SO gladly take their places. Or they're humming and hawing over whether they should go, well they may never get another opportunity to go, and then they'll regret it when they're older, with kids, and many more responsibilities then they had in their youth.

As a side note. I love Pearl Jam.

Then there's friendship. I laugh at Matthias when he meets someone new. Right away they're his best friend and he loves them. He can't wait to go outside and play with them. His new friends are all he talks about for a few days. It occured to me this morning (I do alot of thinking when there's no kids around...this morning was my morning off, so Steve had the kids and took them shopping) that I'm just like Matthias. I don't have many friends, and so when someone actually wants to be my friend, I smother them. I'm like a 3 yr old and all I want to do is hang out with my new friend...ALL THE TIME. While painting our fence a few moments ago, I also thought that it's like I think they're cheating on me with other friends. I know they're doing stuff with other people, so why when I ask, do they always say no. It's so stupid. How old am I? Anyway, I guess the moral here is that I just have to step out and make more friends. Right?

Now for lunch, and hopefully some rest from my thoughts.

is this normal?

Both my kids have colds...again. I'm seriously wondering if there isn't more to it then just the weather or germs. Is there something in my house? The carpet maybe? So I washed down all the walls again with bleach, maybe that'll help.

But this morning Callah was in her room when I heard her call out in this really low, scratchy voice, "Mommy...Mommy...". It was kinda freaky. I went to check on her to see if it really was my little girl. There she was reading books on the floor. Now let me ask you, is that normal?

This evening at supper I look up at Matthias and he has the collar of his shirt pulled down exposing his nipple. "Mommy, this is my boob." He then proceeded to tickle himself and say "tickle, tickle". I covered my mouth with my hands to hide my smile, then told him to stop doing that and eat his supper. Again, let me ask you, is this normal?

think summer...

think summer...think summer. I've been repeating this little chant all morning. When I woke up to pee and saw snow on my neighbours roof (think summer), when my kids woke up at 6:47 am and the house was FREEZING (think summer), when Matthias looked outside and said excitedly "It's snowing!" (think summer) and when I went outside to work out in my shorts and flip-flops (think summer) and nearly froze off all things precious to me (think summer). Today is not the kind of May day I was hoping for.

Think summer.

Oh sweet heavenly summer.

Where are you?

8

A cousin just sent me this e-mail and there wasn't really a message, just a bunch of photos. It was of a family, they had 2 girls (possibly twins) about 4 or 5, and the Mom was pregnant...with 6 kids!!! Can you imagine? Having 8 kids under the age of 6? That's insane! God help that woman, whoever she is. There were other pictures of the 10 of them, at Christmas and stuff. Crazy.

This past week has been beautiful. The weather's been great, the kids have been decent, and Steve's been busy with his sermon. We spent alot of time outside, which I love. We went for 2 walks out at the Lil' Red (which has to be one of my favouritest places in Saskatchewan...I haven't been to the east coast yet, so can't say Canada) and I love it! Callah and Matthias just run wild on the paths and the wild crocus' were out and everything just smelt so fresh and summery. I can't describe how it feels out there. Just know that I love it! The coolest thing was just watching the kids run. Any other time I'm amazed by how big Matthias is getting and Callah isn't my little baby anymore, but out there, compared to the massive trees, they look so small. I'm always reminded of how massive our world is and the fact that God created it all. The little butterflies, the squirrels, the crocus', the huge pine trees, the winding river, everything. It's so awesome.

This Tuesday we're starting our casual Tuesday's at Kinsmen Park. If you're in the area and need to get out of the house (provided it's not raining) come on out to Kinsmen Park between 10 and 11 am. Bring your kids and whatever else you may need. Hope to see you there!

It's Official

No I am not pregnant.

Thoughts from the weekend

Well our computer was down all last week. Stupid thing. Can't live with them, can't live without them, or so it seems.

We had an interesting weekend. Not a busy one, but interesting none the less. Yesterday my Grandma phoned me and she had fallen again. She's 88 years old and not doing the best. Steve was home, so I was able to go over to her place and help her up and sit with her awhile. It was funny listening to her phone people afterwards. Like a little child asking for sympathy. A little gleam in her eye as she says she's fallen (sigh) but she's okay now. She looks at me with a little smile on her face. No, don't worry about me she says, I'll be fine. I was reminded of my own children. When they fall or scrape something they immediately come to me for a kiss and some lovin' attention. Old people, so much like children.

Then there were thoughts of our Toyota Landcruiser. It's an '83 BJ60. We're trying to sell it. We're asking $4500, but lately we're wondering if we should sell it to a friend for less. Sort of a God thing. Set it out there and see what happens, what blessings might befall us.

We've been thinking about our neighbours, and how odd it is that we haven't seen or heard them all week. A good thing, but odd.

Of course we did the usual yard work, raking dead grass and pine needles here. Sawing branches off our trees there and eating freezies on the grass everywhere. On Sunday (BEFORE supper!!) we took our kids for ice cream. It was freezing yesterday, but our little guys toughed it out and seriously froze their fingers off, but boy was it worth it!! It amazes me how dirty they get from eating ice cream cones. Can they not feel the sticky coldness ALL OVER THEIR FACES??

Finally (well no not really, but I think Cinderella is done and my kids are running free upstairs) I thought about being pregnant again. There's a pretty good chance I am now, and we'll know for sure in a few more days. It's earlier then I wanted to be, I would have liked to wait a month or two more, but then I see those little babies, and everythings seems to be alright. We'll see. I bought some sweet maternity clothes at the clothing sale on Friday, so it makes it more exciting.

Now it's off to get some groceries so I can make something tasty for the potluck at Mom's tomorrow. See you there!

Neighbours

When we first bought our house, we thought it was a pretty good neighbourhood. We had a fancy, rich house on the one side, the other was a super sweet 90 yr. old man. Behind us was a young family who liked our dog. You can't argue with that. But then the 90 yr. old man turned 93 and the winter of '04/05 wasn't kind to him, so his family urged him to sell his home and move into a seniors complex. Goodbye Floyd, you are greatly missed. The house next to us sat empty for a few months. Then we heard it sold. We started seeing a younger couple come and go, but never saw any furniture. Then we saw a young native mother come, an older native woman go and yesterday a group of native teen boys sat on the fence smoking. Now to make myself perfectly clear, I have nothing against Natives. Unfortunately I worked in a pawn shop for a year, so I got to see the side that don't give a flying flick. There were those who did have good jobs and were nice people, but I will always remember the others. Like I said, I have nothing against Natives, but I do when they start messing with my stuff. Case in point this morning at 6 a.m. a beer bottle was thrown against our house (outer bedroom wall) and smashed into little pieces. Steve brushed it all up and put it back on their sidewalk, but I told him I'm afraid they'll just kick it into the grass between our two houses and I'd rather not that happen. See when these two houses were built, the two old guys who inhabited them were great friends. So they had a stone walkway built between the houses and they're just very close together. We've been wanting to put up a fence since we moved, now we're thinking we'll expand it a bit, the length of our house. Sigh. Times like these I really wish we lived on an acreage.

In other news at Mom's on Tuesday we watched a video about children who take tantrums. I know a few who do (mine included). It was pretty good. A few things were learnt. The speaker, Kelly Nault, really pushed trying to get your kids involved. Get them to help clean the house, or put groceries away. Yes it may take a long time, and patience is a virtue, but come 5-6 years when we want them to help out, they'll know how and it's easier then telling them to NOT help now and expect them to later. We got into table groups after and talked about ways to keep our kids occupied (other than TV....which sadly my kids are watching right now while I type this) and there were alot of cool ideas. Like finger painting, sidewalk chalk, filling a 9x13 pan with rice krispies and letting them play in it with little trucks, etc., putting snow (if you still have some) in the bathtub and letting them play with it, bubbles, getting them to help gardening, etc. It was pretty good. Another thing that Kelly pushed was having Mom's make a 100 Wish List. She said that Mom's without dreams are Mom's without hope (or something similiar) and that's no good. So then we talked about some of our dreams. Like I said, it was all good and I enjoyed it.

No Mom's next week. The Clothing Sale is on the 21st, so come on out for some good buys. The final potluck is on the 25th, there's always good food. Have a great week and pray for my new "neighbours"! :)

A Mother's Love

It's been awhile since I've been on the computer, so I decided to make some quick rounds this morning. I don't usually link to links in other people's sites but I will to this one. I have a friend who had a son die when he was like 5 or 6. I can't imagine. I'm inspired every time I see her. She's had more children since and would like to have more still. In my eyes, she's a great example of a Mother's love.

woody

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that also at Value Village yesterday we found this Woody doll (from Toy Story). It's gotta be like 2-3 feet. Comes with a guitar and everything. When Matthias found it he HAD to have it. Luckily I was able to keep it from him until I completely hosed it in ammonia. It was just funny last night when Matthias and Callah were arguing over who got to play with him. Then I remembered that we also had a little Woody (small action type figure) so I told Callah that she could have the small Woody and Matthias could play with the big Woody. I found it quite commical. I told Steve later that night that I was talking about big and little Woody's, and he barely even cracked a smile. But he's sick, so I'll blame it on that. Am I the only one that thinks it's funny?

third times a charm

There are a couple of cd's that bring back memories of the few months that Steve and I actually dated. One of them is Third Eye Blind. I had a copy of their debut cd (entitled simply Third Eye Blind) and Steve had his own copy. I had my own reasons for liking the band (the lead singer Stephan Jenkins had the coolest beard and he was hot) and I'm sure Steve liked them for whatever reasons. The fact was that we both liked them. I can remember playing cards at his house (our game of choice was rummy) till all hours of the morning listening to Third Eye Blind (and Third Day....hmmmm....there's seems to be a running theme here). Life was good. Then we were broken into and Steve's copy was stolen (as well as half of his other cd's). But we were still good, we still had my copy. A few years later, we were broken into again (different house) and they stole my copy as well as half of my cd's. Now we were without a copy of the cd. The memories were lost.
But wait!! Yesterday while shopping in Value Village (our store of choice) what do we see? A copy of the Third Eye Blind cd, perfect condition not a scratch on it (it was probably one of our stolen copies). I look at Steve, "should we buy it?" " I don't know, everytime we have a copy we get broken into and they steal it." "Let's buy it." So we bought it. I'm listening to it right now (and downloading it onto our computer!) and loving it! Ahhhh...the memories. It's soooo good.

Just Wait

Growing up I had the Blues Traveller tape cassette Four. I really enjoyed their music. I don't know what reminded me of them, but sometime last week I thought of them and looked up a bunch of their songs. The song Just Wait really hit home for me. For the past week you could say it's been a type of theme song. Last night at bible study (we've been doing this for awhile now, where we have a candle on a table in the middle of the room, and we can bring whatever we want, be it a song, baking, prayer request or praise or just how we're feeling, to the table of Christ. It's kinda cool.) I brought this song. It was kinda cool 'cos some other people had some praise and readings dealing with waiting. Anyway, here are the lyrics. Like I said, I thoroughly enjoyed them.

Just Wait

If ever you are feeling like you're tired
And all your uphill struggles leave you headed downhill
If you realize your wildest dreams can hurt you
And your appetite for pain has drinken its fill

I ask of you a very simple question
Did you think for one minute that you are alone
And is your suffering a privilege you share only
Or did you think that everybody else feels completely at home

Just wait
Just wait
Just wait
And it will come

If you think I've given up on you you're crazy
And if you think I don't love you well then you're just wrong
In time you just might take to feeling better
Time is the beauty of the road being long

I know that now you feel no consolation
But maybe if I told you and informed you out loud
I say this without fear of hesitation
I can honestly tell you that you make me proud

Just wait
Just wait
Just wait
And it will come
Just wait
Just wait
Just wait
And it will come

If anything I might have just said has helped you
If anything I might have just said helped you just carry on
Your rise uphill may no longer seem a struggle
And your appetite for pain may all but be gone

I hope for you and cannot stop at hoping
Until that smile has once again returned to your face
There's no such thing as a failure who keeps trying
Coasting to the bottom is the only disgrace

Just wait
Just wait
Just wait
And it will come
Just wait
Just wait
Just wait
And it will come
Just wait
Just wait
Just wait
And it will come

the sky is falling

...well no, not really, but Steve bought a pair of cowboy boots today and that could be thought of as the end of the world, or at least the world as we know it.

Looking Brighter

Well yesterday was a day from hell. It all started Sunday when my hubby and I had a little "argument" about my involvement in certain things. His point made no sense and it was just infuriating me. So that carried over to Monday morning...and Monday afternoon...and into the evening...and well we still haven't really talked about it, so I guess you could say into today as well. The bright spots, and there were some, were truly bright. Yesterday I pulled into a parking lot right after another minivan. The other Mom got out first and opened her side door to reveal her son. I laughed immediately at this little youngster who had removed his boot and was eating the mud from the bottom. His Mom laughed too and said something like "I thought he was hungry but I didn't think he'd eat his boot!" The little guy had mud smeared from one ear to the other. It was really funny.
This morning was my Mom's Morning clean sweep. I heard people laugh, questions were answered, prizes and gift certificates were handed out, so I think it was a good morning. There were no major mishaps on my part, so I guess that's all I can ask. At lunch the kids and I walked home from church after dropping Steve and the van off. And after their nap we played outside in the sun and sat in our lawn chairs soaking up the spring rays. That was my highlight of the day (forgetting about the snow still lingering under my feet).
Steve will be home soon, and it'll be time to "hit the pavement". I hate lingering problems.

In other news we all have colds once again. *sigh* PLEASE bring on the nice weather!!!!

Puddles

This morning I took Matthias, Callah and Gus (our dog) for a walk around the neighbourhood. What is it about puddles and ice that draws kids towards them? We were only gone about 30 minutes and yet we arrived back home soaking wet and covered in mud from head to foot (including IN our boots!!). Can anyone explain this attraction?

Mornings

I've never been a huge fan of mornings. Well I guess there was that one summer where I was obsessed with getting up early to run...boy was I young and foolish!! :) This week has been somewhat more challenging for some reason. Perhaps it has to do with Matthias running into our room and saying "it's okay Mommy, it's okay Daddy." And of course it never really is. Or the sound of a pitcher of water hitting the floor ... at 7:15 am. Or Matthias coming in and saying, "Callah's making a mess." These are examples of ways you don't want to be woken up with. Then there's the singing of theVeggietales theme song at the top of their lungs, which is cute...but not at 7 am. Sometimes there's the lighthearted sound of their laughter as they tell each other to "shush". Or once in awhile there will just be silence as one wakes up and silently leaves their bedroom, then the other wakes up some minutes later. That's a good morning. I like those mornings. There should always be mornings like that. Oh and I forgot this morning, Matthias yelled out, "I peed my pants!" at 7:20 am. Luckily he knows where all his clothes are and can dress himself, so I simply yelled back, "So get dressed." Then of course Callah came jumping into our room and yelled, "up! up! up!" wanting to get up on our bed and would not stop until she made it. Then my brother phoned at 7:57 am. We finally got up at 8:15 am.

I hate mornings.

p.s.

oh yeah I forgot to comment on my weekend to Strathmore. All the right spots were hit (IKEA and Krispy Kreme) and it was a super good weekend. The relatives were great hosts, the driving wasn't the best but we made it and the conference itself was...well the theme was dead on and they had some really cool visual aids to hit the point home. If you want to check out what is was all about click here. See ya!

Sunshine

I love waking up and seeing the sun shine through our bathroom window. For one thing, this time last year, we didn't even have a window in our bathroom, and for another thing it reminds me of summer and I CAN'T WAIT for summer. The longing for summer has finally hit me and I think there'll be no stopping it now till summer comes. Steve is gone this weekend at a hockey tournament in Saskatoon and he took the car, so feeling "summerish" I got the stroller out and loaded up the kids (it was a bit cool at -17 C windchill incl.) and we walked down to Shoppers for some movies to watch tonite. As we passed the ice cream shack, Matthias said, "I want some ice cream." I explained that the ice cream will open again once the snow is melted and summer comes. I think he's longing for summer too. He opened the sandbox cover to play with his toys only they were all frozen into the sand. Poor guy. So we'll wait. Patiently. Until then we'll push the stroller through the snowy streets, we'll play with our trucks in the snow and we'll sit in the sunshine...in our home and wait for summer to come.

This past week has been painful. Tuesday, at the urging of Steve, I went x-country skiing out at the Little Red. Being only the 2nd time on skiis this winter I took the shortest path I could find. However, I don't think it was short enough. My back has been in pain ever since and my chiropractor has told me to "take it easy" and "lay off lifting children". Right. Like either of those are going to happen! Every night Steve, being the good husband that he is (or else...) rubs Watkins on my back and then a heat pack is added. Man, does that feel good. Makes me wish it was night time all the time, that and the fact that sleep is soon coming. Tonite I'll miss my Watkin guy, it just won't be the same without him.

Next week at Mom's is a video day. On what? I have no idea, so come out anyway and it'll be a surprise for the both of us!! This Friday (the 31) is another Mom's Nite Out. If you live in the Prince Albert vicinity and would like a nite out away from the kids. Feel free to join us at Digger's Restaurant @ 6 pm. Otherwise, have a great weekend and enjoy the sunshine!!

Squeaky Farts

A few thoughts to end your week...

Last Thursday my younger brother, Kris and I went to see a movie (Just Friends) at the Rainbow Cinema in Regina. Something happened that I wasn't particularly proud of, but I learned something from it. There was a totally, and I mean TOTALLY annoying girl in the row ahead of us. She did numerous things that would have enabled her to be slaughtered (I think) in other countries. After the movie ended (which was funnier than I thought it would be despite the many annoying interuptions) I was kept awake with my own thoughts. A few weeks ago at our Ladies Retreat, the speaker Rosemary told a story of a time when she was in Trinidad. Every week she would have to walk thru a swamp to get to her bible study, so instead of getting her shoes muddy, it was easier for her to simply take off her shoes and walk bare-foot thru the mud. Another woman would see Rosemary walk thru the mud every week and wonder what was so important, that every week, this woman would take off her shoes and walk thru the mud to get to. Investigating further this woman found out that Rosemary was going to a bible study and eventually this woman became a Christian and started going to the bible study herself. The point of the story is that we should be aware that someone is always watching, so we should live our lives according to God's will. Last Thursday I did not live my life like God would've lived and I felt trememdously bad about it, so I prayed until I fell asleep. Something to remember...someone is always watching, whether it be your kids, husband, friends or a stranger.

This morning at my ladies bible study one of the ladies brought up this thought. If we talked to our husbands as often as we talk to God, would they think we love them? Now for me this idea blew me away. Shamefully, I don't talk to God as often as I should, so thinking about all the time and effort I put into the relationship with Steve, and how my relationship with God should be way stronger really changed my perspective. I need to really develop my relationship with God. Of course this is something that I've always learned and I'm always striving to better that relationship, but putting it into that different perspective really made me think.

So now the kids are sleeping, Steve is eating lasagna and watching TV and I'm thinking about tomorrow and our trip to Strathmore with our youth group for X-treme Impact. I'll be taking the girls in our van and Steve is driving with the boys in another van. It's a 50/50 time, sometimes good, sometimes bad. The good is always hanging out with our youth, the bad is the cost to go to Alberta to do it. I'm also looking forward to Krispy Kreme's and a possible trip to IKEA. We'll be staying with Steve's cousin and her family. They have a large dog and shedding cats. They also recently had a baby girl, so should be a fun time!

That's my thought process lately. Maybe it'll give you something to think about too. There's no Mom's Morning Out on the 21st, so enjoy your week off and we'll see you later!

25 cent bouncy balls

We just returned from Old Navy here in Regina. Who knew you could get large bouncy balls for only 25 cents? My kids are having a jolly good time throwing these balls around my parents house and chasing them before the (vicious) terriers get to them. It's great!

So our adventures today consisted of going to Starbucks (for the delicious double chocolate chip frappuchino, which my sister, who just quit working there after 3 years, has informed me is close to 600 calories....yum!), then driving around Wascana Park looking for monsters hiding in the trees (Matthias swears that he saw them), going to Old Navy (where I bought a pair of jeans - for me jeans are SO HARD to find and the treasured bouncy balls were purchased), then going across the parking lot to the PetLand, where my daughter proceeded to scare the poop out of the kittens (who were let looses) in the cat adoption room. Ever see the Looney Tunes with Elmyra? My daughter totally reminds me of Elmyra. She would stop breathing and squeeze these cats, then she would pick them up in really awkward positions that cats should not be picked up in. It was funny, but I felt sorry for the cats so we left. Now we're ready for supper.

Otherwise my trip here in the "windy city" has been good. That's all for now!

So cute I could just...

This morning after Steve had left for church, I was still laying in bed and the kids were eating cheerios watching Dora when Matthias comes into the room and says "Callah's making a mess." Last time he came into my room and said that, Callah had dumped the bag of Ritz crackers (crumbs and all) onto the living room carpet, so I bolted out of bed to see what my dear daughter had done this time. No, nothing in the living room, I look in the kitchen and the pantry door is open. Peering around I see my "cute", "adorable" daughter elbow deep in the bag of sugar.
"Caaaaaaaa-llahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" I say.
"Yeah." she says in her matter-of-fact voice.
I pick her up, hose off her arms, take off her shirt and brush off her pants, all the while my bare feet are crunching on the sugar that is now all over my kitchen floor. Upon further inspection I found little clumps of sugar on the carpet in the living room. Yes, sometimes kids are so cute you could just....

This week at Mom's we'll be answering all those deep questions that didn't get answered last "Ask A Mom" day. So if you wrote something down, come and we'll see if we can find an answer.

As for me, I'm taking off to Regina tomorrow to spend a week with my parents. Steve is taking a reading week here at the church, so I thought I'd take this time to spend some time, maxin' and relaxin' in good ol' Regina. There's just something about that place that I love. Besides it'll be good to get away from the 35 cm plus of snow that has fallen here in the last few days. If I see any more snow flakes fallin' I think I myself will turn into a flake.

Have a good week!!

Sweet Hands of Goodness

This past Christmas Steve surprised me (I say surprised b'cos we weren't suppossed to get each other anything) with a gift certificate for an hour massage. I have never had a massage before, or should I say a professional massage before, so I was looking forward to it. After having a cold and being sick for most of February I decided that this would be my week to go for my massage. I went yesterday, probably one of the worst winter days we've had here on the prairies yet, but boy was it good!! I was a little self-consious at first, what with being naked on a sheet. But she talked me through it and actually said, that when she's giving massages, she doesn't see the person as a person. All she sees and focuses on is the leg, or back or arm or whatever she's massaging at the moment. Anyway, I cannot say enough, it was the greatest feeling I've felt in awhile and I totally felt rejuvenated afterward.

Mom's this week was also really good. We watched a video on parenting. I think I've mentioned it before, this Marriage Unsesored stuff isn't that great, but this video had alot of "meat" in it and I'm not the only one that thought so too. I highly recommend it. The guy they were talking to was named ...of course I can't remember, but I will find out and let ya'll know.

Unfortunately I actually do have more to say, but my kids are begging for food, so I gotta go feed them. Later!

Pros and cons of a weekend away

This weekend is the annual Ladies Retreat for Gateway Covenant Church. I went 2 years ago and never made it to last years event, altho' I heard awesome things about it. So I'm looking forward to this weekend, if for no other reason than some time away from the house, husband and kids.

*Ever notice how hard it is to think of something when there's this really awesome song on and it completely engulfs your mind? (ie. If I Can't Have You by Yvonne Ellman)

Anyway, like I was saying...but at the same time, there's a bit of fear edged in there. For some reason I don't feel like I've really found a "place" in our church and so in regards to this weekend, I might be the lone woman out. I don't go to the ladies bible study, I'm not part of the worship team, or the Wednesday nite bible studies, I'm not part of the Covenant Women's group. I'm not really part of anything. I guess on the bright side, I should be able to get lots of R & R. This weekend is also the big weekend for the Winter Festival in Prince Albert. There will be fireworks (last years were awesome!) on Friday and all sorts of events off Marquis Rd. during the weekend. I'm a sucker for fireworks, almost made me decide not to go to the Retreat. My parent's also made a freak decision to come down for the weekend. I could stay back and visit them. I'm still not over my cold and am still having bad headaches.

I'm also fearful for my husband (or should I say kids). I don't know who will be worse off: Steve being home all weekend and watching over them or the kids having to live with their Dad for 3 days. On top of it all Steve has yet another hockey tournament this weekend and he's already tired and impatient. Thinking of it now, I might not want to come home Sunday! :)

I am excited to, hopefully, put my new x-country skiis to use. I bought them in January and haven't been well enough, or energetic enough to use them yet. I heard there's a couple of other ladies taking theirs, so that should be fun. Something to look forward to. The food will be good too. At least it was 2 years ago. Lauralea gives awesome facial massages, so hopefully I can talk her into one of those.

Pros and cons...as in most things in life I guess. You just have to decide what you're going for and make the most of it. Pray for us, especially my husband!

happy, happy...happy?

Maybe it's the impending time of the month, or maybe it was the frigid temperatures last week, or maybe it's the fact that I still have a stinkin' cold. Whatever the excuse I'm finding reasons to be mad. It's funny, I'm taking a bible study right now called Healing For The Angry Heart, and while it's nothing really new, it does make me re-think alot of things and how I can always handle situations better. I'm also realizing that I do have an anger problem, and it may be harder to get rid of than I originally thought and I have alot of apologizing to do! But I'm also having to deal with a lack of contentment in my own life. Like I posted earlier, there are a few others out there thinking about contentment and I can honestly say, if I were in their situation, I'd be pretty stinkin' content. We always think that our situation is worse off, that the other side is greener and we rarely take the time to think of our own blessings. I remember the first church camp I ever worked at was back in 2000 in Cypress Hills. We had to spend a whole afternoon meditating on how blessed our life was and we had to write down a blessing that happened every day we were there. It's something we can all do and it's so simple really. We have food (might not be what we want, but it fills our belly), shelter (again, might not be as nice as that guy's house across the street, but it keeps you warm) and general health (I'd take a cold over cancer any day of the week). So really, what haven't I to be content about? Why do I twist it about and grudge those who have more than me?

I don't know what to say to that. Any ideas? Anyone? I know it's something that I'll continue to struggle with, that I continually ask God for help with and I pray about and over all the time.

So until next time...thank You for this computer that I'm able to jot down my thoughts, even if I go away more confused than when I logged on.


This week at Mom's we're doing a magnet craft. Shouldn't take too long, so there will be lots of time for chatting and socializing with friends! Or bring your own and finish up an old project!! See you there!!

Another # Game

Take any number larger than one digit (ex. 57)

Add the individual number together (5 +7 )

Subtract that total from the original number (57-12)

Now take that number and add the individual digits together (4+5)

Your answer?

Nine.

Lisa it's your birthday

Happy Birthday Lisa!
You know how many times I've heard that? The best would have been over 10 years ago when this guy named Andrew (whom I secretly had a crush on, but he was my manager at McDonalds) sang it to me. That was a good time.
Today, on the other hand, is not. Not only do I still have cold, but the past few days have plagued me with monstrous headaches that WILL NOT GO AWAY. I don't know what to do. All I feel like doing is crawling into my head and pulling the covers over my face and dying. I don't know whether it's from taking cold/sinus medication for 3 weeks (but I still have a cold!) or whether it's from these new birth control pills. I've heard of women getting extreme headaches from certain types of pills. I have a friend who had these extreme migraines and I remember her saying that all she could do during the day was lay on the couch and open her eyes whenever a kid screamed to make sure they werent' dead. I thought at the time, that's terrible, but now I totally believe her.
So that's how I spent my birthday. Laying in bed, with the covers over my head for 4 hours, popping Tylenol like candy and putting Watkins canned ointment on my sinus' until I cry.
Happy Birthday to me.

My thoughts on other people's thoughts...

I haven't decided whether spending time with other couples is a good or bad thing. In many ways it can be seen as good, but there's always that little compare factor. Altho' I know I shouldn't be doing it, I do. I make note of little things and then I think about how my husband and I would handle the same situation. Lately I've been very happy and content with our relationship, but this past weekend we spent the night at a friends in Saskatoon. Maybe it's the fact that I've been sick for a few weeks now and our physical relationship has been anything but fruitful, but I became jealous of the little hugs, pats and kisses our friends were sharing with one another. I know lately in other blogs some of the topics have been about being content with what we have and looking to the future instead of dwelling on things of the past. You might think that you are content and happy, but all it takes is one little thing to put little doubts in our heads. Why is it so hard for our generation, our society to be happy and content with what we have and who we are? I remember this one Oprah episode from years back and she was talking about womens self esteems and how women in Africa are happy with their bodies. I don't remember the exact stats, but it was like 40-some % of Americans were happy with their bodies and 80-some % of Africans were. Is society really that influential that we can't be happy with who we are? I really like the new Dove campaign. I think it's awesome.
Anyway, so on the drive back to PA last night, I talked to my husband about these feelings. We talked about how we never were PDA (public display of affection) people and would we really want to be? After the hour plus drive, I felt immensely better about our relationship how it was and couldn't believe I was ever remotely jealous of our friends PDA.
I'm learning. Learning how to be content with myself as a mom and wife. How to be content with our "cute little home" and our summer "vacations" in our backyard. I think it's something that we could all get a lesson in once and awhile.

A Nice Family Moment

The past 2 weeks have been anything but nice and familial (if that's even a word) what with my being sick and Steve being so stinkin' busy with hockey, church and our stupid vehicle. But today, like a breathe of fresh air, something seems different. Just a few moments ago, Steve was practicing his songs for Sunday on guitar, I was sitting on the couch downstairs and the kids were dancing to the music. They ran over to Steve and wanted to "strum" the guitar (not quite as pleasant to the ear, but they're learning!). It's funny to see how entranced they are by the guitar. A good thing.

Otherwise, I'm REALLY getting sick of staying home. I'm doubting more and more that I actually have whooping cough. All that I've read up on it says that it lasts for weeks and weeks. While the symptoms I had/have are the symptoms of the cough, they've all been in the span of a 2 week period, and I'm feeling better every day. So the choice becomes mine, whether or not to go out into the world or sit here, bored, waiting for the test results from my doctor (who appears to be on holidays for the next week). Never being one to sit useless, I'm thinking I may take matters into my own hands and face sunlight once again. Of course, I won't be "smothering" myself onto other people. I'm not that stupid and carefree! Like I said, today there's something different in the air, I just hope it stays like this!

Sick

This is where it's at. The energy level had returned, unfortunately nothing else has come with it. I did a little organizing of the house yesterday only to stop a few minutes later in a coughing fit. There's nothing like not being able to breathe out of your nose (it's plugged up completely) or your mouth (tickle in the throat creates an instant coughing reaction with every single breathe) . So here I sit, barely breathing with lots of energy! Hooray for me! Not only did I miss a truly excellent weekend last weekend (I was looking forward to last weekend for weeks beforehand) but now it's carrying on into this week, which only makes it more depressing.

AND...if you can get more depressing, Callah has it now too. There's something that always breaks my heart when you lay down with your little girl (who also can't breathe) and she has such a fitfull sleep. You just wish you could take away all her pain with the "brush" of your hand as you pull back her hair from her face.

I don' t know why we're always sick. It's not like we don't eat right. Steve is always making sure we eat all sorts of vegetables and eat plenty of Vit. C. I thought it might have something to do with a little mold problem we have (which we're looking into) but then I've been told that this is just life with kids. Kids play with other kids, who are sick, who inturn make your kids sick and it's just a vicious cycle. I don't know if I totally believe that. I know of families with lots of kids who don't get sick as often as we do. So I think there's got to be something more there.

So with kleenex and Lysol in hand, I bring this sickly post to an end. I pray that you and yours are all doing well. If you feel up to it, Mom's is doing a book review on 5 books tomorrow. All the books have to do with marriage and relationships. There will also be a Darla original Valentine cake given away as a draw. For me, that would make going totally worth while!

Until next time!

Chickens?

Taken from a friends blog:

Raising children is like being pecked to death by a chicken. (written on a plaque given to her by her sister-in-law after babysitting for a week)

Four Things

B'cos I'm bored (altho' my head really feels like it wants to lay down) I'll do this, but I'm changing it up a bit!

Four jobs I've had:
-McDonald's (for 4 years)
-Humane Society
-coffee shop server
-worked in a brewery in Ontario (by far the BEST job I've ever had)

Four places I've lived:
-Hornby Island, BC
-Peterborough, Ont.
-Les Cedres, QC.
-Regina, Sk. (and of course PA)

Four TV shows I love:
-Scrubs
-Survivor
-CSI (the original)
-Criminal Minds

Four places I've visited (been):
-Bolivia
-Florida (layover on the way to Bolivia)
-California
-Chicago (2 week bus ride down there)

Four of my favourite dishes:
-lasagna (with spinach & meat)
-chicken cordon bleu with wild rice
-good ol' Kraft Dinner always satisfies!
-a big juicy, cheesy burger with bacon

Four sites I visit daily:
-Vandermeander
-Randall Friesen
-Dooce
-Chez Gavin

Four places I'd rather be right now:
-Hornby Island
-in bed
-East Coast of Canada
-somewhere warm, not hot, not cold, but warm...

This morning at Mom's we didn't watch '10 Questions we ask about Sex'. We watched another Marriage Uncesored video about being a 'pain' to live with and how we can lighten up our home lives. It was alright, but honestly, I was looking forward to learning about sex.
Next week there will be a panel of 6 people giving book reports on books relating to sex/marriage/relationships. Could be interesting. See you next week!

Nothing

The day started out pretty well. For once I wasn't the first one out of bed. Trust me, those 5 extra minutes were totally worth it!! Breakfast was good, we got all dressed up to take Gus out to the Little Red for a walk. When we got out there the sun was still coming up over the trees, the snow was sparkling and the air was fresh. It was a nice moment. Then Callah fell out of the sled and scraped her chin (on what???) and Matthias' feet started getting cold. By the time we reached the van again, both were crying, Matthias was curled up in the fetal position. I was left wondering what had happened to the beautiful morning that was greeting us not that long ago. Never fear tho', nothing a Pepsi slurpee couldn't fix.
The afternoon was lazy which was nice, the evening was spent with Great Grandma eating her favourite KFC.
And tonite, I just have this feeling that something is lacking. Like I felt when I was 16 and wondering what life had in store. If I would ever get over this feeling of ... of... nothing. So right now I'm just sitting here at the computer listening to my music and feeling this nothing. I wouldn't say it's something bad. It could be thought of as peaceful. It's just nothing. Do you ever feel like that? I'm sure it'll go away. Tomorrow is a new day, with new opportunities and new ways to grow, new chances to enhance the life I lead. I just hope I'm up to the challenge and accept them.

I love being a Mom

There's times when I really love being a Mom, and one of those times was this morning at Moms. This morning we had an "Ask a Mom/Woman" segment. It was alot of fun, there were some really good serious questions and some funny lighthearted questions. Alot of information was shared and ladies really opened up. Made me really glad to be apart of something like this.

And don't forget! Next week we watch a video on S-E-X!!

Another thing happened today that made me glad I was a mom. My daughter, bless her little heart, got into our butter dish. Not just once, but twice! The second time she had this soft, melting butter all over her hair and face, down the front of her shirt, in her hands and on the back of the chair. What made me glad I was a mom, was that I was busy making supper when she did this, so her father had to clean her up!

What was that?

As I was sitting downstairs doing my blogging rounds, I suddenly hear a scream, "MOM!!!" So I bolt upstairs to my room where my son is suppossed to be sleeping and he's crying and sobs out a "there's a bead stuck in my nose." No problem, I quickly push it out and calm his shaking little body. "Don't ever put anything up your nose. Never. Okay?"
"Okay" came his timid reply.
"Okay, now go to sleep."

If only all problems could be solved that easily.

Amazing

I know I've been missing for quite some time. Last week I watched an amazing show that I wanted to write about, but then I got sick, and so I'm finally getting better and here I am! If you haven't seen March of the Penguins, see it! It's amazing what these little guys (and gals ) go thru to mate. The whole movie I kept saying "amazing", b'cos it actually really was! It made me laugh out loud, it made me cry, it totally moved me. Clearly one of the best films I've seen all year. I cannot rave about it enough. See it, if you haven't already. What's funny too is that penguin sex has been a topic I've been hearing alot of lately. I first heard it last summer when Steve and I were reading a book called Blue Like Jazz. One of the chapters was all about penguin sex. Then a friend of mine wrote about it on his blog (but I can't find it now) and then this movie came out. It's all very interesting.

Anyway that's my opinion. Now this is what parenting is all about! If only it was that simple! One of the Mom's from MMO (Bonnie Malenfant) is going in tomorrow to have her twins. She has a 2 yr. (almost 3) old boy now. Pray for her. I think she's going to need it!

Otherwise this past Mom's was suppossed to be with a guest pharmacist. I hope you asked her lot's of questions. This week should be alot of fun. It's Ask A Mom/Woman. So bring lots of questions that only a Mom would dare ask and hopefully (which I'm sure there will be) another Mom will have gone thru the same thing and be able to offer up some words of advice. Like this for instance taken from a friends blog. Thanks Dixie!

Well I hope you all have a great weekend! Stay warm out there!

Marriage

Steve is upstairs watching Hockey Night In Canada, and I just don't feel like hockey tonite, so I'm doing my "blogging" rounds and I came across this post courtesy of Toni.

What is it about making promises?

I've just heard from a Christian guy I know through a forum that his wife wants to try a separation. While there are reasons for this that are obviously complex, all the evidence I have is that he both was and is determined to be good for her and still loves her very much.

Don't people make promises when they get married these days? Like "in sickness and in health, 'till death us do part'" or similar.

Or maybe there are new vows that can be taken, along the lines of "as long as your bank balance holds out" or "as long as your skin is smooth and your breasts firm".

It seems weird to me that you can promise one thing, but as soon as there's an issue then it's OK to renege. After more than 24 years of being married, I KNOW there are times when you'll drive each other nuts, but what were your promises worth if they can't keep you together through that. I'm not talking about domestic violence or infidelity here, but the sort of strain that is normal at times in any marriage. How is it that promises have so little value - or we walk with so little integrity - now?

I'm not sniping at anyone in particular in this. I know BOTH sides of a marriage have to want it to work before it can. I just don't get why they won't. Let me say that I do honour and respect those that DO stay together through their differences and difficulties.

When you wake up in the morning...

...and your pants are overflowin'.
Diarrhea .
*toot toot*
Diarrhea.

Callah has had diarrhea since yesterday about 3:30 pm. It's not pretty. We went for supper at a friends house and both our kids wound up pooping in their pants. Callah through her pants and Matthias in his pants.

What a night!

pasta cheese sauce, ice cream and peppers

I was so right the other day when I said I was a freakazoid. This morning at Moms I gave my Thought For The Day (which my secret goal is to place on here every Tuesday) and I literally freaked out. I was so nervous. I think I popped a vein. I started out holding my paper, but I couldn't read it I was shaking so bad. So then I placed it on the stand and shoved my hands in my pockets, to which my foot automatically started twitching for dear life. Like it honestly tried to disengage itself from the rest of my body! That was the longest 5 minutes of my life!!

Anyway, here it is:

The holidays are finally over. How was everyone's holiday? I hope good. If they were anything like mine, you need another "holiday" to get over the last holiday. It seems like I had family for like 3 weeks straight. Not always good and fun times, some tense and sickly (literally, my sister came up for New Years and was sick the whole 4 days she was here) but overall they were good.

There were the priceless "mastercard" moments like when my son Matthias opened a present that was a horse trailer pulled by a tonka truck (horse included) and the delighted little voice "Oh my goodness!! I loooove it!"

There was also the sickly sweetness of chocolate EVERYTHING in our house. My daughter knows exactly where we hide it and she'll go over to the cupboard, jump up and down and point. Like she needs more sugar.

But there's also that tenseness that seems to come from couples spending too much "holiday" time together. Know what I mean or am I completely alone here? It's like spending a week together reminds you of every little pet peeve that annoyed you when you first got married. The way he always leaves the seat up. The way he lounges on the couch, drinking beer and watching hockey while you do dishes, bath the kids, and pick up the toys. There's got to be a way that couples can have a week of holiday together and not want to suffocate their partner with a pillow half way thru.

the bible says in Colossians "12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." (Colossians 3:12-13)

"Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience..." I know that's tough. I struggle with that all the time. Just last week my husband and I were suppossed to go on a date night and the night before he says to me "we can't go out tomorrow. I just remembered Canada is in the semi-final playing Finland."(World Cup of Hockey) I could have easily slaughtered him right then and there. Instead, I clenched my jaw, and went to bed. Later when he came in, I faked sleep as he tried to cuddle. Like you ladies have never done that??

The next day we were at each other like cats and dogs. Until we agreed to give each other an hour of time away. He went and played hockey. I went for coffee with a good book. That time away can be so refreshing. Even if it's only an hour or half an hour. During those stressful "holiday" times we can't forget to take care of ourselves and in turn care about those around us.

Compassion, kindness, gentleness and patience. We can do these things. It just takes practice, time and a little help from God.

So there you have it. Next week a pharmacist from Victoria Square pharmacy will be on hand to answer any and all questions you may have. As for today's title, tonite we had pasta with cheese and green pepper sauce. My daughter, being the ever graceful eater that she is, lost half of it in her bib. Later, when we were having ice cream and brownie, she creatively brought forth the noodles and cheese, mixed them all together and ate it! Look out Martha Stewart!!

A Lesson In Color

"Mommy, what color is this?" asked Matthias, as he points to his horse.
"Brown." I say
"Oh." he says. "Like poop."
"Yeah," I laugh. "Like poop."

Don't forget, if you live in the Prince Albert area, the first Mom's Morning Out is tomorrow morning!!

Freakazoid

Last night as I was laying in bed I remembered that I had "voluntold" myself for the Thought For The Day at Mom's next week. The first one of the year! What was I thinking???? ARGH!!!!! Just thinking about it gave me butterflies in the pit of my stomache and sweaty palms. I can't do this. I can't be a leader infront of a crowd. This goes way beyond doing a simple TFTD.

Sigh....
It's going to be a long year.

Hockey Sucks

Looks like we're putting that date night on hold. Apparently Team Canada plays in the semi-final tonite of the IIHF World Cup.

How come I didn't know?

One Day Left

All our family has gone. We now have one day left of holiday alone, together. So where is my husband? Why he's out playing hockey, then he's going over to a friends house to play poker! Of course! One day left....

Well my folks and sister came up for New Years. Unfortunately my sister came down with the flu the night she got here and it's just clearing up now, in time for her to go home. My parent's stayed with my Grandma so I didn't see them a whole lot, we did manage to get in a nice walk with the dog this morning. Steve's brother, wife and 7 yr. kid came up too. I have a problem with him, the brother. So there were a few tense moments, but I didn't spend alot of time with him, even tho' he stayed here in our house. The magic of that makes this New Year seem good already.

Tomorrow we'll take a few moments to relax and treat ourselves to a night out. Alone. No kids. That should be good, and I'm looking forward to it. I can't think of a better way to start off a new year. The kids will be back to normal nap hours and bed time hours now. Maybe then we'll have some peace in our home. That and the lack of chocolate in their systems. Tomorrow we're taking down the ailing tree. I can't wait to get rid of all those pine needles. The tree stopped drinking water almost 2 weeks ago. It's hurting. It's time is done. We'll miss it. But then Matthias can open up his final present. The big one we've been hiding downstairs. It can take up residence where the tree is now. I hope he likes it.

I'll keep you posted.

She's Alive!

This morning Callah came up to me with a new sweater she wanted me to put on her. So I did. Then we went into the livingroom where Matthias was playing.
"Hooray! Hooray! She's alive! She's alive!" he said.
I thought to myself, of course she's alive, I just put on a sweater for pete's sake.
Then he tried to run her over with a doll stroller.

The Best Christmas Gift

The best Christmas gift I received this year was having my son toilet trained. Finally it just kicked in!!!

Merry Christmas

I know it's still a couple of days away, but for us, it starts today. The mother-in-law is coming today and she's staying overnight. Which should be ...well....all sorts of things, but I'm trying to be nice here, so I won't say anything bad...good(?). She's leaving tomorrow, then we leave to go to my parent's home down in Regina. I know what you're thinking. Steve thinks the same about his in-laws. No, not really. I honestly believe that he gets along with everyone in my family. He has had a few tiffs with my Mom, but they've talked about it and worked it out. His family on the other hand...well, I don't want to get into it right now. Happy remember? So we'll go to Regina for a few days and then come home, carrying all our goodies that we've collected. 2 days break then it's the New Year! More food and drink. Thank goodness I got that gym membership!

So as I pause and think about the anger and impatience I felt yesterday, while out doing some last minute Christmas shopping, I think of all of you and pray that you will not honk at too many cars as they cut you off for that parking spot you've been waiting for for 15 minutes. Or you will not loose patience with your kids as they knock off another whole bucketfull of pine needles from your Christmas tree. And you will not flip out at the person in the checkout line in front of you who can't decide whether or not to buy the blue or green fuzzy knit sweater. I pray that you will remember what Christmas is all about. The birth of Christ. Hope you have a blessed Christmas with loved ones. Stay safe and happy this holiday season!

Merry Christmas!!

Something Fun

Okay I admit it, I'm a complete sucker for these things. This is one of those add a #, subtract a # and it gives you a really cool # that has to do with your life. Anyway, follow the steps one at a time. No cheating by jumping ahead!

1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you
would like to have chocolate
(more than once but less than 10)

2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold)

3. Add 5

4. Multiply it by 50 -- I'll wait while you get the
calculator

5. If you have already had your birthday this year 
add 1755 ....If you haven't, add 1754.

6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.



You should have a three digit number
The first digit of this was your original number
(i.e., how many times you want to have chocolate each week).
The next two numbers are YOUR AGE! (Oh YES, it is!!!!!)

a story or two

Tomorrow there is no Mom's Morning Out. It seems like it's the first time in a long time, that I haven't gone. In a way I'm glad. I just keep thinking about all the people I forgot to phone about possible session ideas for the Spring. Some programmer I'll turn out to be!

This evening Matthias and I were sitting on the couch. He reached over and started playing with my hair. He'd throw it in my face, and then back, then in my face and then back. He repeated this several times, each time laughing. Suddenly he got up and went over to his art drawer. He pulled out his scissors. "I'm going to cut Mommy's hair. Okay?"
"No, it is NOT okay!" I don't think his little crayola scissors could even cut hair, but I'm not going to let him try either. This is when the "do not cut your hair" lesson came into play. Somehow I doubt he'll remember this little conversation. But I hope that he does.

A friend sent me this via e-mail today. I've heard it before and thought it was kinda cool.

The University Professor challenged his students with this question: "Did God create everything that exists?"

A student bravely replied, "Yes, he did!"

"God created everything?", the Professor asked. "Yes, Sir," the student replied.

The Professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil. Since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are, then God is evil."

The student became quiet before such an answer. The Professor, quite pleased with himself, boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, "Can I ask you a question, Professor?"

"Of course," replied the Professor.

The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?"

"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?" The students snickered at the young man's question.

The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the law of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Everybody or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460 F) is the total absence of heat. All matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."

The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The Professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong, Sir. Darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact, we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You can measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct, Sir? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally, the young man asked the Professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"

Now uncertain, the Professor responded, "Of course, as I have already said. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing but evil."

To this, the student replied, "Evil does not exist, Sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love that exist just as does light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when a man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The Professor sat down.

The young man's name -- Albert Einstein.

Christmas is officially "just around the corner". I hope you've begun your shopping. This is the time I love. The anticipation of something. We don't put any presents under the tree until Christmas morning. Last year he was speechless when he woke up and we told him to look under the tree, and he saw all these presents that weren't there the night before. It was pretty cool. I'm sure it'll be harder and harder to do that as he gets older. But for now, it's priceless.

Campground Humour

I know I get these crazy forwards all the time. I thought this was cute tho'.

A very proper lady began planning a week's camping vacation for her and her Baptist Church group. She wrote to a campground for reservations. She wanted to make sure that the campground was fully equipped and modern, but couldn't bring herself to write the word "toilet" in her letter. So, she decided on the old-fashioned term "Bathroom Commode." Once written down she still was not comfortable.
Finally she decided on the abbreviation "B.C." and wrote, "does your campground have its own B.C.?"

When the campground owner received the letter, he couldn't figure out what she meant by "B.C." He showed it to several of the campers, one of whom suggested the lady was obviously referring to a "Baptist" "Church" since there was a letterhead on the paper which referred to a "Baptist Church". So he sent this reply...

Dear Madam:
The B.C. is located nine miles from the camp ground in a beautiful grove of trees. I admit it is quite a distance if you are in the habit of going regularly. No doubt you will be pleased to know that it will seat 350 people at one time, and it is open on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday of each week. Some folks like to take their lunch and make a day of it. The acoustics are very good, so everyone can hear even the quietest passages.

It may interest you to know that my daughter met her husband there. We are also having a fund-raiser to purchase new seats, as the old ones have holes in them.

Unfortunately my wife is ill and has not been able to attend regularly. It's been a good six months since she last went. It pains her very much not to be able to go more often. As we grow older, it seems to be more of an effort, especially in cold weather.

Perhaps I could accompany you the first time you go, sit with you, and introduce you to all the other folks who will be there. I look forward to your visit. We offer a very friendly campground.

Yours truly,

Camp Director, Hector Collins

Family, Take 2

It's funny. Family can be both a good thing, and a bad thing. Depends on how you look at it. Yes, people can live their lives trying to keep their families together. There are those, on the opposite side, who spend their lives keeping their families apart. I wonder sometimes at my husband's family. If they 'try' to keep their family apart. They have so many problems, that if they really looked at the problems and tried to solve them, it might work and they could be a 'family' again. It's almost like they choose to create more problems tho' instead of fixing the existing ones. Drives me crazy how much problems they have, that they refuse to look at.
Then there's my family, and my Grandma goes out of her way to accomodate my uncle and his family (who want nothing to do with my family) just to try and keep us together. Does my uncle even notice how hard she's trying? Doubtful. He doesn't even care.
Where do we draw the line? When do we stop working on our 'old' families and work on the new ones we are creating and neglecting? Or do we ever? Do we constantly work at keeping (or breaking) them all?

Some friends of ours are taking in their niece-in-law. I think it's a cool thing. Someone in their family is having a rough time, so they've offered to help out and take the toddler in. I know they'll be great at it. They deserve kids of their own. They're creating a different family. Then there are those whose friends are more family to them, then their actual family is. What do you do when you want to keep your family together, but they want nothing to do with you?

Family...it's so complicated. This Christmas, I pray that visiting your families is very uncomplicated and that your able to just enjoy being around them. Enjoy the times with your family.

Political

I'm not one for politics. But when I hear of something that directly involves me, I will read up on it. Here's something for us Mom's to read.

Family

Last night Steve and I watched Cinderella Man (with Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweggar). It's a true story of a boxer thru the Great Depression of 1929-1933. I thought it was really good. One of those feel good movies. For some reason there seems to be a couple of those boxer feel-good shows. I also recommend Million Dollar Baby too. Anyway, without ruining it too much, I hope, James Braddock looses everything when the stock crashes in 1929. Not making ends meet, they loose the power and heat to their little apartment. They can no longer even afford milk. But James promises his young son that he'd never send him and his siblings away. No matter what James would keep the family together. The story goes on, and his wife ends up sending the kids away without James knowing causing James to beg for money to pay-up the power and heat guys. Then James, who had been down on his luck in the ring, took one last fight with a payout of $250. During the fight, he gets hit pretty hard, but at the last second as he's going down, he remembers what it was like to come home and find his kids gone. The house empty. He remembers seeing the empty milk jars with a "PAST DUE" notice on them. He will NOT let that happen again. So he comes back and ends up winning the fight.
Later on in the movie, at a press junket, a reporter asks him why he's fighting again, or something. James simply says, "Milk."
What is it that drives you to keep your family together? Seeing a movie like that, I can't imagine how desperate I'd feel if I were in their position. Trying so hard to keep my family together, like so many hundreds and thousands of others during that time. Family is so important. Being a mother now myself, it puts a whole different perspective on it. What would you do, to keep your family together?

I found out about this yesterday. Sad.

Bad Mom

Is it bad, when you hear your kids screaming, but you continue to hide downstairs?

A Little Forgetful

Thursday we took the kids with us to do some shopping. Thinking they're still too young to remember stuff well. So we bought them Mr. Potato Head. Matthias picked it out and carried it to the checkout and paid for it. Then when we brought it home, I said, "Give it to Mommy and you can play with it later."
"Later?" he asked slightly worried.
"You have to wait till Christmas."
"Christmas?"
"Yeah, now give it to Mommy."
"Okay".
I "hid" it downstairs with their other presents in the spare bedroom. 2 days later, he's totally forgotten about Mr. Potato Head. Either I'm too clever for him, or he's a little forgetful.

Oh and before I forget, if you're reading this from PA, don't forget about the Mom's Morning Out Christmas Potluck this Tuesday. There's always TONNES of food and lots of laughter. See you there!

That's me, Mrs. Pessimist

We were suppossed to leave to go on our annual Christmas Tree Hunt half-hour ago. We've previously done it on our own. This year, we're "suppossed" to do it with Steve's brother. He hasn't left Saskatoon yet. He wants to have a weiner roast. We have a Christmas party to go to tonite, kids have to be bathed and fed before the babysitter comes. Somehow I don't see this working out good. It's already 2 pm.

Mystery Solved

Last night I made scalloped potatoes for supper. When I was peeling them, I noticed there were little bite marks taken out of quite a few of them. Now we're not a big potato eating family. We prefer rice, so my first thought was "oh dear, we have mice." However, never seeing droppings of any sort, the mouse theory didn't have much merit. Then this morning, as I'm sitting here checking my e-mail, my daughter comes over to me and plops two potatoes, with fresh bites taken out of them, on the desk. Aha...and yuck!

7

There's this thing going around the inter-web, reminds me of a chain letter, which growing up, I always thru away. But before I threw them away, if they were questions, I'd tell myself the answers first. So I'll fill out this "questionaire" b'cos if nothing else, it might give some insight to myself, and b'cos I'm bored. So thank you Dixie.

7 Things to Do Before I Die:
1. Go to Scotland
2. Be financially secure
3. Get a tattoo
4. bike/walk/canoe across Canada
5. Do a long-term mission somewhere
6. Go to New Zealand (adventure capitol of the world!!)
7. Raise self-sufficient, God fearing, loving children into adults

7 Things I Cannot Do
1. Stay emotionally calm
2. Sleep while someone else is snoring
3. Skate (altho' for the life of me, I'm trying)
4. Watch a western movie all the way thru at one sitting
5. Drink beer
6. Sleep past 10 am.
7. Resist the convenience of fast food

7 Things That Attract Me To My Spouse (when I first met him)
1. His dog Newt
2. His cool vehicle (1982 Landcruiser)
3. His love for God
4. The way his hair curled out from under his baseball hat
5. His smile
6. His voice
7. His love for music

7 Things That Attract Me To My Spouse (now)
1. His love for God
2. His optimism
3. The way he plays with my kids
4. His love for his job (even when things go crappy)
5. The way he can make me laugh even on the crappiest of days
6. His solid hugs
7. His singing (which is so bad, it's cute)

7 Things I Say Most Often
1. "Don't"
2. "No"
3. "Don't touch."
4. "Do you have to go pee?"
5. "Obviously."
6. "No he's not here. Can I take a message?"
7. "I said, don't touch."

7 Books I Love
1. Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge
2. Little Women by Louissa May Alcott
3. The Complete Bartender (altho' I have never read it fully, I like having it on my shelf)
4. Jean M. Auel books
5. Maeve Binchy books
6. Guardian of The Balance by Irene Radford
7. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

7 Movies I Would Watch Over and Over
1. Braveheart
2. 13 Going on 30
3. The Day After Tomorrow
4. Garden State
5. Fried Green Tomatoes
6. Emma
7. Dodgeball

I'm suppossed to invite 7 people to join in on this bizarre fad, but I don't know 7 people who haven't already done this. So I'll just list a few people I know who haven't been "tagged" Steve, Gavin, Luke, Matt
If you read this blog and have time to spare, leave me your answers or e-mail them. I'd love to hear them!

This one's good...

Yet another quiz.

Your Personality Profile

You are dependable, popular, and observant. Deep and thoughtful, you are prone to moodiness. In fact, your emotions tend to influence everything you do. You are unique, creative, and expressive. You don't mind waving your freak flag every once and a while. And lucky for you, most people find your weird ways charming!

The World's Shortest Personality Test

I like how they say I wave my "freak flag" once in awile. That's funny, yet so true!

Poop

WARNING!! THE FOLLOWING POST IS NOT FOR THE QUEASY OF STOMACHE!!

So the kids and I were eating some french toast for lunch, when all of a sudden Callah's face turns bright red. You know she's pooping. The stench afterward was bizarre, you'd have to have been in another room not to notice that she had indeed, pooped. So fine. She had 2 bites left so I let her finish. When she was all done, I cleaned her off and carried her to the change table, where horror of all horrors, I noticed that the poop had gone all the way up her back. Yuck. I gave up cleaning her and just took her to the bath. I finally cleaned up her mess and laid her down for her nap. Then I went to clean up the table and dishes. What do I find? Poop. Little "crumbs" of poop on her highchair. Sick. I look at the table cloth. Gross. Poop is smeared all along the one side. I shudder even now remembering. If she poops again, I'll leave it so her Daddy can clean it up.

On the flip side, Matthias pooped in the potty today! Yeah!! Hooray!!

Not a fan of myself

Well I just took this BOOK QUIZ, and I must say, if I were on a shelf, I wouldn't want to read me.

You're Mother Night!

by Kurt Vonnegut

Nobody knows what to believe about you, and you know least of all. You

spent most of your time convinced that the ends justify the means, but your means were,

well, downright mean! And the end is nigh. Meanwhile all you want is to travel back in

time, if not to change, then to just delight in the way it used to be. You are who you

pretend to be. Oh yes, you're the great pretender.

Take the Book Quiz

at the Blue Pyramid.

Manly Man

I had a few titles in my head throughout the day, I'm not really sure why I settled on "Manly Man". Really, what is a Manly Man? Well, being as I just finished watching The Lord of The Rings: Two Towers no CBC, I'd have to say Aragorn (a.k.a. Viggo Mortenson). Now there's a manly man.
sigh.
Steve knows about this little crush ( He also knows about the Stetson man, Matthew McConaughey. But that's another story all in itself.) and he's okay with it, 'cos I know about his on Janet Jackson. Anyway, to me there's just something manly about a guy who looks good dirty. If you notice, not once, are Aragorn's hands clean. If they appear to be, they really aren't around the nails and in the crevices of his hands. He grows stubble very well too. Another manly trait. Steve looks very good in grubbies. Remember this is just my opinion. There's also something soft lurking behind that dirty exterior tho'. In Aragorn's case, there's the deep love he has for Arwen, played by Liv Tyler. This kind of love story reminds me of my favourite movie, Bravheart, and the love story that makes the whole movie (between William and Murron). The kind that I used to dream of as a kid. Where some big, masculine, tough guy (a manly man) would fall in love with me and nothing could break that love.
But that's just fairy tale. True love like that doesn't exist anymore it seems. It's harder and harder to keep a love like that together. Why?
Of course I have no idea. That's one of those questions that I'm just gonna throw out there. Not really expecting an answer. Just something to think about.

Tomorrow at Mom's we're doing a Christmas craft. A snowflake ornament I believe. Or you can bring your own artistic creation and work on it. I encourage you to attend if you live in the area. It's a chance to get out, and the colder it gets, the harder it will be to get out.

This past weekend Steve went to Edmonton with his Dad and brother to see an Oilers game. A dream come true for him, not necessarily with the Oilers, but an NHL game. The thing that I wanted to mention, was that it's funny how accustomed we get to having someone in the bed with us. I used to sleep with my dog on my bed growing up, a big dalmation cross. She snored like there was no end, mind you, now that I think of it, so does Steve. Another thing they have in common. Anyway, after I left home, I missed Sasha's (my dog) warmth. It took awhile to get used to. Then I married Steve and had to get used to having another (hairy) body all over again. Now, whenever he goes away, I have terrible sleeps. Not only do I miss his warmth (he's like a dutch oven) but I just miss having someone there, beside me. And a big pillow just doesn't cut it. Makes me think of how hard it'll be when they're gone.

20 days till Christmas. Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?

A Thought on Being Loved

I'm just going to throw this one on here. Enjoy.

Update

I was right. Matthias threw up twice last night before 2 am. and was up again at 5 am. Callah cried out off and on all night. The good thing, I guess, was that Steve's truck didn't start this morning, so he got up with the kids, leaving me an xtra hour of sleep. What a great guy!

sleep

I know I shouldn't be on here. I know I should be sleeping, at least attempting to sleep. I have a really bad feeling that tonite will be a rough nite for the kids, therefore it'll be a rough nite for me. My husband and I have an agreement of sorts. He "lets" me nap in the afternoon in exchange for getting up with the kids during the night. I guess that's fair. Right? I let him sleep thru the night, so that I can get up with the kids in the morning. Wait. Oh yeah...but I get to nap in the afternoon too. Somehow I'm seeing awhole lack of sleep on my part here.

Anyway yesterday my son came down with his 2nd cold so far this season. Yeah...like I mentioned before he's TERRIBLE at taking medication, so it'll last awhile. Just tonite, Callah has cried out twice already, since putting her to sleep at 8 pm. So I'm about 85% sure she'll be crying out a few times more during the night. She sounded like she's getting congested. I set up the humidifier in their room finally. I hate colds. There's not a lot you can do for them, and they seem to last forever. I just hope they get over it soon, without giving it to us. Is that too much to ask for?

In case you missed it, CBC Saskatchewan did a story on Mom's Morning Out this evening (6:30 pm news). They interviewed a few Mom's. It was a nice story. Maybe it'll bring out more Mom's to our group and maybe even inspire Mom's elsewhere to get a group started. Someone said something like, you can get all the advice you want from books and stuff, where they seem to "know it all" or you can get help and talk to other Mom's who are going thru exactly what you're going thru. Which would you rather do?