I survived!

I managed it. 36 hours on my own with the kids. Rob was gone for work and had to overnight in PA, so I was all alone. And it was ok...

I got everyone up, dressed and out the door by 9 am yesterday to drop Isaac off at playschool. Took the girls for groceries and to check out fabric at another store in town. Dropped the groceries at home, and was back to pick I up by 11. Managed to prepare lunch - no convienence food either. Then got everyone *yes, everyone, including me for a 1/2 hour* down for naps. Went for a walk in the afternoon, it was really mild, just below freezing. Made dinner - frozen pizza, can't be all good. Then Melissa came over in the evening for hot cider and conversation. Yay! And then I got both I and N down to bed too. Melissa and I had a nice evening, and Rob was able to call and check in around 11:30. He had a busy day.

Here's the best part...ALL 3 KIDS SLEPT ALL NIGHT. Granted, R was up with me past midnight, but I didn't wake up again until 8:30 when N woke up. I was shocked. It was lovely. At least, I'm pretty sure R didn't wake up. I could be wrong.

Then today, off for an event at the college. A literacy day music and craft event for preschoolers. All of us up and dressed and out by 10. Great morning, singing songs, dancing...and I made a really cute guitar (I being Isaac, not *me*, although I did help) out of a kleenex box. He's been walking around singing with it since we got home. Very cute. N discovered popcorn today, they had some bags of it for the kids. I had to break it all up for her so she wouldn't choke, but the little mooch would not be deterred from eating it. She was after everyone's popcorn, so I had to keep on top of her while nursing R in the sling. Got home, made lunch, got N down for her nap. Then Rob got home around 2. All good. I'm so proud of myself, and the house is still rather tidy too. Oh, and dinner is cooking in the crock pot as I type. Go me!

got this off a GCM thread.

Especially good since we're currently on a Green Eggs and Ham kick here.

Dr. Seuss For Nursing Moms

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Would you nurse her in the park?
Would you nurse him in the dark?
Would you nurse him with a Boppy?
And when your boobs are feeling floppy?

I would nurse him in the park,
I would nurse her in the dark.
I'd nurse with or without a Boppy.
Floppy boobs will never stop me.

Can you nurse with your seat belt on?
Can you nurse from dusk till dawn?
Though she may pinch me, bite me, pull,
I will nurse her `till she's full!

Can you nurse and make some soup?
Can you nurse and feed the group?
It makes her healthy, strong and smart,
Mommy's milk is the best start!

Would you nurse him at the game?
Would you nurse her in the rain?
In front of those who dare complain?
I would nurse him at the game.
I would nurse her in the rain.

As for those who protest lactation,
I have the perfect explanation.
Mommy's milk is tailor made
It's the perfect food, you need no aid.

Some may scoff and some may wriggle,
Avert their eyes or even giggle.
To those who can be cruel and rude,
Remind them breast's the perfect food!

I would never scoff or giggle,
Roll my eyes or even wiggle!
I would not be so crass or crude,
I KNOW that this milk's the perfect food!

We make the amount we need,
The perfect temp for every feed.
There's no compare to milk from breast-
The perfect food, above the rest.

Those sweet nursing smiles are oh so sweet,
Mommy's milk is such a treat.
Human milk just can't be beat.

I will nurse, in any case,
On the street or in your face.
I will not let my baby cry,
I'll meet her needs, I'll always try.
It's not about what's good for you,
It's best for babies, through and through.

I will nurse her in my home,
I will nurse her when I roam.
Leave me be lads and ma'am.
I will nurse her, Mom I am.

Michelle had her baby

Yay! Joey (Joseph) John was born at 4:30 this morning. Apparently, it was only 30 minutes from when she got into active labor until he was born. Oh my! I'm hoping to get over to see her this afternoon, if Isaac will settle for a rest.

And Isaac seems to have a tummy bug. He threw up again this morning...while eating breakfast. Nice. Rob was sitting there and caught it all in his bowl. Ew. Then Isaac asked for a new bowl of cheerios. Nope, he was done. I'm proud of Rob for handling it so well. Puking is never a fun one to deal with. But he almost knew it was coming, Isaac got up this morning, walked into the kitchen and laid down on the floor. That's a good sign your kid isn't well.

Oh and an election scandal. Our sitting MP got ousted in the final poll return really late last night. He ended up losing by 106 votes and is now alleging voting irregularities. There will be an investigation and a recount. Interesting.....

There was not much napping, but there was plenty of poop to go around. Such was my day - how was yours?


Robeez released their new spring/summer styles today. I'm gushing over them. I love the snail and the strawberry. Either of them would be a nice compliment to the hand me down burgundy butterfly pair that Ruby will be wearing pretty quick. I also think the crab and the shark are cute too. I love these shoes for kids.

New church ideas

Rob and I both in the last couple of days have come up with practically the same idea. Totally without talking to each other about, as we were praying for ideas as to what to do about our church situation. (situation being that we need the church to grow in order for Rob to still have a job there, as finances across our diocese are really tight and all churches need to become financially independant, also that our church is mainly filled with older - as in retirement age - people) Our church has said that they want to reach out to young families and younger people, but it isn't happening. We did have a new family in church this week, but when the priest's kids make up the majority of the Sunday school, there aren't a lot of young families. It's feeling like a Holy Spirit leading...we're praying for more guidance on this.

Back to our thoughts. Last night, we were talking (way too late, of course) and both of us brought up the idea of having a mid-week service. Early evening, family friendly, more contemporary. Kind of like Sunday@7 used to be for us...but not on Sunday. It could really be a good thing. Given our town's location, so many people aren't in town on weekends, either for sports, shopping, whatever. Weekdays could be an interesting option for those who are not around on weekends. Our biggest challenge would be music. We don't have anyone who could lead more contemporary music right now. We may have a lead on a guitar player (who isn't always around on weekends) but not sure how much she could commit, or if she would be interested.

Anyhow, we both really feel led towards doing something like this. If you are reading this, please pray for us in going forward in planning this...and that we could find a way to do music for it. Maybe some of our friends in BC who did the Sunday@7 band should take a road trip.....hint, hint. ;) I would just love to see our church grow, not just number-wise (but that is great too), but faith-wise.

So I voted...

Did my civic duty. Voted. It's not easy voting for the least offensive party, instead of making a choice for something I can really go for. Nobody was really *winning* my vote in this election. It was more of who was making me the least mad. Couldn't find much info on our local Liberal candidate, all of his material was rather vague in terms of promises and ideas. His one major *marketing* point of view was that he is Native - which is a big deal here. I'm in a huge (land-wise) riding, with a very large percentage of the population being Native. But really, that was all he had to offer from what I could see.

So I voted Conservative. I just hope we get a change of government. More variety. I would love to see some Green Party candidates win. More NDP. Less Bloc, because I really don't want to break up the country. Then again, I was born in Quebec...would that make me a dual citizen? lol

Oh - brush with fame....went to vote at the same time as our current MP. Wouldn't have really recognized him (need new glasses), but the SUV with his name on the side helped me place his face. :)

bedroom is almost done!

bed is done, headboard finished. I stuck glow in the dark stars on his ceiling today too. It looks great. Only complaint is that when the bed is in there, on the only wall that is long enough for the bed without covering the heating vent, it covers both outlets. That's strange. And annoying.

This morningwas strange. Isaac threw up. I can count on one hand the number of times this kid has thrown up in his life. Norah and Isaac were playing on his bed before church, and he just threw up. Strange. Maybe the new bed is too bouncy? Or maybe he just had to break it in...

Had our AGM today at church, after a potluck lunch. I brought spicy bean enchiladas and they were very well liked and talked about :) I got to use my new potluck casserole dish with warming gel pack and transport bag. I'm such a dork for thinking this is such an exciting thing. And we had a new family at church too. Yes, you read that right, FAMILY. 2 kids, age 7 and 9. Yay! They had fun at Sunday School too. I made sure they did. I love our SS organisers, but they aren't too tuned in with making things fun and interesting for kids. We're currently doing a Noah's Ark theme, and I had to make sure that I retold the story, and included the covenant part. The other women totally left out the whole rainbow part. You know, the important part. I'm actually enjoying sitting in on SS and helping out. I hope they don't mind it, but it's easier to be there than to juggle the girls during the service.

the bed has arrived!

woo hoo! Isaac's new bed arrived at the Sears depot in town yesterday. I went to pick it up with the van, but the woman wouldn't let me take it, telling me to "get some help, go get a strong man" She was really quite a cow about it. roll eyes. Anyhow, loaded the girls into the van, took Isaac's car seat out of the back and flattened it out, Rob and Isaac took the Camry and we all went and got it. Yes, the bed was heavy, but we got it in the van. The mattress was super light, and so was the headboard. I so could have done it myself...ok, maybe with a bit of help.

Got home, got it all in the house. Moved the other bed out, and got ready to set the new one up! I had to move all the furniture around in Norah's room to make room for Isaac's old bed. It took forever to find the screwdriver piece to set the ends of the bed up too. But it's all in there now...if more than a little crowded with furniture. Norah's room will be better when we take the big green armchair out, but right now, we really need it there. It just seemed to make sense to keep the Ikea bed upstairs instead of trying to lug it downstairs.

Isaac's new bed went together really well. It looks great, and he seems really pleased with it. We still have to do the headboard, but Rob says he'll do it during the hockey game tonight. (Go Canucks Go) It's hard to believe my little guy is old enough for a real bed....

We have the church's AGM tomorrow, with a potluck lunch. I'm really excited to use the potluck dish MIL bought me for Christmas. It's a pyrex dish, with a cover, carrying case and a heating pad thingy for transporting. Honestly, it's the most exciting gift she's ever bought me!

Michelle and the girls were over this morning. I wouldn't be shocked if she has the baby in the next 48 hours. Wow, her girls really make my kids look easy to handle. Jordan is really pushy and Jacey is agressive. Michelle is very laid back with them, I'm assigning positive intent that she's just too pregnant to do much else...but I'm not totally convinced. So, I found myself jumping in quite a bit to handle things as they came up. I did a lot of redirecting and coaching of the kids. That's ok though, kept Norah from getting bitten at one point. Hope she didn't mind, but my house, my kids stay safe!

My one complaint about my new friend Michelle - she doesn't drink coffee. I will have to fix that....(insert evil laugh here)

oh - our washer is fixed. Finally, after a week without it. We have tonnes of laundry to catch up on, as you can imagine. Shows us just how much clothing our kids have though! Only Ruby was running dangerously low, and the older kids were out of pjs...but only because they make such a mess of them at breakfast every morning.

So the repair guy was in town today (only once a week...small town) and came by. The problem with the washer was that it wasn't turning on. Rob takes the guy downstairs, says "so, the knob turns, but doesn't pull out...like this" and the knob pulls out and water starts running. Ya, just what it hasn't been doing all week! Rob says, "really, it hasn't been doing this at all!" But it really wasn't working properly because of all the water that fell on it when the bathtub leaked last week. So it got serviced, lubed and cleaned. Funny though, only worked when the repair guy was here. Oh well, off to deal with Mt. Clothing...

Michelle, my friend (only one here) is due to have her baby any day now. Her third. Her 2 girls are both a bit older than my kids. She's currently at 3 cms. I'm really hoping she goes into labor late tonight. Why? Because I'm going to watch her girls while she's at the hospital with her DH. So if she goes into labor tonight, Rob will be home tomorrow so I won't be home with 5 kids under age 4 at once! So, really, it's all about me. :) I know she's also getting anxious to be done, this is actually the longest she has been pregnant, both of her girls were early.

It's strange having a local friend again! She calls to chat...I kind of forget how to do that with someone who isn't long distance. Speaking of calling, I should give her a call pretty quick to check in.

Michelle's hubby knows what gender the baby is, but she doesn't. I don't know how he hasn't let it slip, or how she hasn't dragged it out of him yet!

Today's Parent magazine

I *heart* this magazine. It's not too crunchy for more mainstream parents, so it has broad appeal. However, it really has some good things to say from a more crunchy point of view. I really love John Hoffman's articles. Most of what he writes is from a left-of-centre viewpoint, and is quite balanced. His editorial on breastfeeding, Stop Blaming Nursing Moms was excellent. This month, he has a really good article on SIDS advice - nicely balanced, in my opinion. It's nice to read an article that doesn't condemm parents for co-sleeping.

Today Isaac decided to say that he doesn't love Rob. Apparently, because Rob works downstairs and doesn't play all day and is busy, Isaac doesn't love him anymore. It was heartbreaking to hear Isaac tell Rob why he doesn't love him, and Rob explaining that HE will love Isaac anyways and always. Too cute.

It's been snowing since just before 9 am. It's been really snowing. We've had at least 2 inches so far. So pretty.

quote from an email I received today

Thanks for the pictures.  Add my name to
the list of people who think that
because you two have a powerful combination
of genes for beautiful baby
making, you shouldn't stop procreating
until you can't any more.

And how could I not agree... We have been
told by more than a handful
of people that we have the cutest
kids in this town :)

And while I'm being venty...

Parenting. It's hard sometimes. Kids don't have an off button, even when they are sleeping. They demand all you have some days and still need more. And that's their job. They rely on their parents because they aren't able to do it themselves, and it's the parents job to care for them, love them and nurture them. It is a great opportunity to model selfless, sacrifical love. You know, the kind Jesus had.

So why are so many people so selfish in their parenting? Children are a blessing, a gift from God....but yet so many children are treated like they are curses. That their presence is an inconvienence to their parents. Cramping their style. Making their lives hard. Today I was at a drop in playgroup and I overheard 2 moms talking. One mother was saying how hard it was with her 3 kids - age 8, 3 and newborn. How much she appreciated her mother being there to help her out as she transitioned to life with her new son. I understand that....then she started talking about how she wanted another baby. Great, I get that too, sure. THEN she went on to say how she wanted to hire a nanny for her kids....so she could get the nanny to deal with them and how she (the mom) could keep the house clean. WHAT? Why have kids if you want to hire someone to raise them so you can keep your house clean??? What's the point of that? (don't even get me started on how both these moms were all "$900 a month for a nanny, that's nothing. $900 is a lot of cash in my books! Heck for that price, I'll raise your kids for you!) Why have children if you would rather a clean house? If I had the money I would pay someone to clean my house so I could raise my kids! Now that makes sense. I would love to have a staff so I could spend way more time nurturing my kids instead of maintaining my house and preparing meals.

The people who spend more time and energy on their DOGS than they do on their children. Let their dogs sleep in their beds, but heaven forbid their child comes in for a snuggle. Dogs aren't children. They don't even come close. For goodness sakes, dogs like to roll in things that stink! Kids are bathed much more easily when they smell. ;)

While typing this, Norah woke up from her nap. I went into her room to get her and she immediately started jumping up and down in her crib, saying "mum, mum, mum" and she gave me a huge hug and kiss when I picked her up. How could I pass that up for housecleaning? A vaccuum will never love you back. A trip can be taken when your kids get older. Your dog may love you lots, but you will never get a meaningful conversation out of your dog while you bake cookies together.

Sure, parenting can be hard, but the rewards are amazing. There may be hard days, days harder than I can even imagine right now. But any day at home is better than a day without my kids. They have taught me so much about love, sacrifice and joy. I thank God for them daily.

So sorry your kids are an inconvienence.

ehhh. wasing machine doesn't seem to be working. we're needing to do some serious laundry. large load of cloth diapes in washer right now...but nothing happening. and there is still water in the carpet from the tub drain failing - at least it's fixed, but now the washer isn't working. fun.

excitement!

my mom is moving. She has pretty much sold her place in Vancouver, it's all paperwork now. I'm so happy for her. Her place, in the 5 years she lived there, just over doubled in price, so it's going to work out nicely for her. She is probably going to buy a place in the next 2 weeks...in Saskatoon! So she will only be 3 hours drive from here!!! I'm so excited. For her, for us...

She won't have to work unless she wants to, because of the price differences between the 2 cities. She can travel really easily, as S'toon has a pretty decent airport and is central to most of her closest friends. She will still only be 2 hours air time from my sister in Vancouver. She can buy a house outright and get back to gardening in the summers, something she couldn't do in her condo. She can have the retirement life she wants, and early too, since she's not 60 yet. She is looking at the cutest little houses ever - older, gorgeous hardwood floors, cute styles...all the things a grandmother's house should be! I'm so happy for her. She deserves this, she's earned it.

As for us, it's really nice too. Selfish point of view ahead....Not only will we have family close by, our kids won't be too far from all their grandparents. We can take some mini-trips to *the big city* and not have to pay for a hotel, we can go shopping in a place with real stores (not just StuffMart), and not have to cram it into a day trip...we can even leave the kids with mom and go shopping! Yay for no melt downs in StuffMart, unless we have one ;) We can take the kids to activities in S'toon, the museums, the parks, and not have to leave the house at 6am to do it. And I'll be closer to my mom.

I'm really excited for her because it's a brand new adventure. She doesn't know anyone there, and that's exciting for her. She can leave the office life behind and have a life. I challenged her to leave this in God's hands, and she has, it's all falling into place nicely. Now that my grandmother has died, mom's ties to Vancouver aren't what they were, so she is now fully an empty nester ready to start *her* time. I'm beyond thrilled for her.

Sarcasm

I'm getting really cranky over sarcasm. The more I hear it, the less I like it. Really, when you get down to it, it's not funny. It's mean. People try to explain it away "I didn't mean it"....um, but you SAID it, so you did think it. I just don't have the patience for that. It's like a passive/aggressive way to tell somebody what you think, and then hiding it behind your tone. If you don't like something, say it. I just don't like hearing it anymore. I used to use it a lot, in lots of situations. Now I see that it's just hostile, at least 90% of the time.

And you know what makes me even more upset? When people use sarcasm towards children. That is really mean. Kids don't get it. They can't tell the difference between sarcasm being "playing" and adults just being mean. It's not fair to do that to kids. Growing up, my dad used it a lot with my sister and I. I really remember how it made me feel. I doubted so much of what he told me, and HATED feeling like he was making fun of me. It was degrading, humiliating, and didn't make me feel good about myself. I bet if I told him that he would feel awful. Yes, our job as parents or other adults of influence in a child's life is to protect them, not always to make kids 'feel good' about themselves - you can't help hurting a child's feelings when you have to correct them sometimes. I'm not advocating treating a child with kid gloves to protect them from any "emotional harm", they will get their feelings hurt sometimes. But we should never put a child down for our own amusement. That's just cruel. To use a cliche, would Jesus do that to a child? I'm guessing that the answer would be no. So why do it to a child? Why do it to someone we love? For that matter, why do it to an adult?

playdate

It only took 11 months. But we had a playdate today. And it was good. I have a friend. Nice.

AND I managed to buy the cartridges for the music blocks online today. Woo hoo for online stores finally restocking!

Our shopping trip went well. Mostly. Got Norah her shoes, bought the chandelier, I got some pants. The roads were clear and mostly dry. Saw only one deer, but it was already dead on the shoulder...ick. Only 2 of the kids melted down in StuffMart. We were bummed that the play area at the Burger King was closed for maintenance, so we went to McD's, which also had a play area. One of our goals while out of town is to eat where we can't at home, but we were a little stuck because of the play area situation.

I really wonder why our local McD's doesn't have a play zone. There is absolutely NO place in this town to take your kids to play inside in the winter. Really makes me miss Vancouver's rec centres drop in times. $3 for 2 hours in a heated, clean gym with ride on toys, some balls and other assorted toys and FREEDOM to run around like mad. Those were lovely days.....

We've got a playdate in the morning. I'm so excited. Well, unless the mom goes into labor that is. She's due with #3 any day now. House is tidy enough. Need to get some oj out of the deep freeze, may get some banana bread too. I'm excited to have another adult to talk to! Saturdays are always a not so fun day here.

Had a great phone conversation tonight with a friend expecting her first baby. I'm so excited for her. She shared some really nice things that people had told her about my kids, AND told me that our conversation was really encouraging to her. Nice to know I can still have a good effect on people even though I'm so far away. I love my long distance plan.

This will be Isaac's new bed.  It's a full sized twin, with the

headboard.  We're hoping it lasts until he moves out! 

This is Isaac's current bed, but in white. We're going to paint it and the toddler bed to match. Both ends fold down to take it from a toddler sized bed to a twin. We will need to get some sheets made to fit it.

I really hope it stops snowing. I want to go shopping tomorrow! And if it's still snowing, we won't go. I really need to get the van's wipers fixed so I can see while I drive. I have GOT to get out of town for the day. Just have to.

This is quickly becoming a house of no naps. Day 2 that Norah is fighting sleep tooth and nail. It's painful, for all of us. If she doesn't nap, she is horribly cranky come 5 pm. Ruby needs to poop and isn't sleeping well right now. Isaac is tired too, and really needs a nap today. I need a nap - Ruby had a rougher night last night and I don't think I fell asleep until around 3.

I'm feeling really emotionally fragile right now. I need more sleep, even though I seem to be getting plenty. I'm easily irritated and snappy. I blew up at Rob last night over a whack of things. Dragging stuff up that totally wasn't relevant. I think I'm hovering on the edge of depression, but not quite sure what to do about it. I don't feel anywhere near bad enough to need meds, but I'm not totally coping well on my own either. I told Rob that I just didn't feel like myself and haven't felt like myself in ages. He claims that I don't seem different, but more changed - like one would expect given all our situational changes in the last 5 years. Since January 2001 we have moved house 4 times, including the big one eastward. I finished school, and worked, we did a couple of summers working at camp, Rob graduated and went into ministry. My grandmother died, I'm dealing with the junk of my parent's separation, most of my friends either moved away (or we did) I had a pretty serious car accident...and add in 3 kids to the mix. No wonder I feel out of things.

It's like I'm swimming underwater sometimes, and everything looks blurry. I can't remember how to focus, how to hold a conversation, how to make a friend, how it feels to have fun. Beyond the front doors of my house that is. Rob's worried that I'm blaming him for how things are in our lives right now. And really, to a point, I am. I told him as much. But really, I only blame him when he's not talking to me about stuff. When he's trying not to burden me with his stresses because he's trying to protect me and help me, that's when I'm most frustrated with him. But I don't want to be treated like I can't handle stuff. Sure, there are days I can't - we all have those days. I need him to involve me with his days - for goodness sake, I don't have anyone else to talk to! It's when him and I are being each other's best friends that everything else falls nicely into place.

Ok, enough rambling on about random thoughts. I'm currently hiding in the kitchen at the laptop. Both Isaac and Norah are in their rooms, not napping, but mostly quiet. It's close to a break. Ruby has nodded off and I've moved her to the bouncy seat. I'm blissfully free of children for a little while. Need to take advantage of that and get some cleaning done. This kitchen, which is driving me crazy because it's laid out in such an unworkable way, really needs me to give it a going over and re-working. Fun...

We're going shopping!

I'm so excited. We are going shopping! Sad, isn't it, to be so excited? But it's a big day out. 3 hours of driving round-trip and lots of planning. The joy of living far from stores. We're making up our list now. A block heater for Isaac's room - the kid's rooms are so cold at night and Norah has been sleeping so much better since we put one in her room. Shoes for Norah - hope we can find some dressy shoes. Poor kid inherited my wide feet and I've been forcing her feet into a pair of mary janes that just aren't wide enough for her toes for too many Sundays. But look what I'm going to buy for what will become the girl's bedroom! It's on sale at Canadian Tire...

going for groceries

So today I had to go get some groceries. Yes, I know, did it yesterday. But was out of some things I forgot about yesterday. This is why I obsessively write lists for when I shop. Anyhow, back to today. By the time I got myself and both girls dressed and ready to go out and into the van, it was 10:38. Hmmm, Isaac needed to be picked up from playschool by 11, preferably by 10:55. Wasn't looking likely to fit the grocery trip before then, especially at the potentially slug-like Extra foods.

So I took all three kids. Isaac walking, Norah in the front of the cart, and Ruby sleeping peacefully in her bucket, in the cart. Once again, leaving me about enough room for a bag of bagels, some produce and a bag of diapers (the backup bag, or for when Norah is wearing a dress that won't fit over cloth). That was it. I miss the big carts at Superstore. The ones where you can put 2 kids in the front, and still have a pile of room for food. In all, wasn't a horrible experience. I have to do more groceries this week again, but I will do my best to get out the door in time to go before Isaac's playschool is over.

Menu planning. That's what this is all about. I'm back to menu planning again. I am one of those crazy people who actually enjoys this activiy! It really helps to have a huge deepfreeze. So I have thrown together our menus from now until the end of the month. Now I just have to get my shopping done. Oh, great resource is http://www.cookingfortherushed.com/healthy_family.htm This book has some wonderful looking recipies that are healthy, easy and quick. The trio of things I look for in a recipe! The author of the book, Sandi Richard has her own show on the Food Network in Canada and has 7 kids, so she knows something about planning meals for families! I can't wait to get going, and if her recipies are as easy and good as what we had tonight, I think this could really work!

Tonight I went to the ACW meeting. Not terribly exciting night out. A meeting of the church women, of whom I am by far the youngest. They have all been married longer than I have been alive. But it's part of the job to go... They are all lovely women, and some are really funny too. In a good way funny.

Tomorrow morning I need to get up early and get on the treadmill. I will do this. I will.

No shocker here. Journalism...I did actually take some Journalism courses in my Public Relations program. No wonder I did so well in them.... As for English being second, once again, no shocker. but Math...that's new! You scored as Journalism. You are an aspiring journalist, and you should major in journalism! Like me, you are passionate about writing and expressing yourself, and you want the world to understand your beliefs through writing. Journalism 92% English 83% Linguistics 75% Mathematics 67% Philosophy 67% Theater 67% Art 67% Psychology 67% Dance 50% Sociology 50% Anthropology 42% Engineering 33% Biology 17% Chemistry 8% What is your Perfect Major? (PLEASE RATE ME!!<3) created with QuizFarm.com

when there isn't any parking out front

i get frustrated when I can't park out front at church. Today, I had to park a half block away. Normally, not a long distance...but not so short when hauling a 28 pound toddler who can't walk in the snow yet, an almost 17 pound baby in a bucket car seat and a diaper bag. All while trying to keep a preschooler right next to me. Ya, that's no fun. And I don't think it would be any easier to put Ruby in the sling because she wouldn't be warm enough, because we can't load her up with a heavy jacket in the car seat, so all her warmth is from her fuzzy blue shearling GoCozy and extra blanket. Not exactly the best way to enter into worship...all cranky, sweaty and feeling like your back is going to hurt. Well, at least it was only -7, could have been much colder!

Oh, and then I took all 3 kids to the grocery store. We survived, but thankfully it was a short trip. That was a first, if you don't count the time I put both girls in the double stroller and let Isaac walk. This was a genuine "get a cart and buy some milk" grocery trip.

upgrading....

We're redoing Isaac's bedroom really soon. Ordered him a new bed from Sears today. This is the bed...well, can't get the link to work... His old bed will go to Norah. We're going to paint the old bed and the toddler bed we have the same colour - they are currently different shades of white. Ruby will eventually move into the crib Norah is in, Norah will take over the Ikea bed - it's the VIKARE bed, in white. It folds into a full-size twin, but can be smaller. Nice for a little one.
When Ruby moves out of the crib, she will have the toddler bed. Keeping up with this? Then we won't have to buy a second crib mattress for the toddler bed, since we will only have one crib mattress in use at one time.

Phew! That's tiring!

Anyhow, Isaac gets a new, big boy bed. He's already got some bedding, but we're going to have to buy him some new bottom sheets. I'm wondering what colour to paint his walls. I would like to keep them the wheat tone they are, but he's scratched the paint up...only one coat on there it seems. (suggestions welcome...) He's asking for orange, or red, yellow and blue, but that seems a touch bright.

When Norah moves into the Ikea bed, she's going to need some sheets. I wonder how hard sheets would be to make, given the strange dimensions of that mattress. To be honest, I would love to get matching sheets made for the girls. I saw some gorgeous flannelette fabric in the local fabric store (yes, *I* was in a fabric store, not for fabric mind you). Almost makes me want to take up sewing. Almost....

she's huge!

Ruby was weighed today. At 2 months of age (and five days), she is 16lbs 13oz. That is almost double her birth weight! wow. that's all.

bunnies!

Today, I actually managed to get pigtails in Norah's hair. They were adorable, and no, I didn't get any photos. I snuck up on her during Dora and got them in. Then Isaac asked for some too. So I did. His looked hilarious, sticking straight up out of his head. He then said that he was a bunny, that the pigtails were his ears and that he needed to jump. So we all jumped. Then I needed bunny ears too. (good thing the camera was nowhere to be seen!) Isaac apparently is a carnivirous bunny as he told me his bunny only ate meat and small animals (???).

Rob came home in the middle of this. Was a little surprised to see Isaac with the pigtails...then he saw Norah and just melted. She was pretty cute. That girl has her daddy wrapped around her finger for sure.

freezing rain is no fun

Now, to be honest, I didn't go out in it. The problem is that the freezing rain froze the sliding doors of my van shut! I took Isaac to preschool today, and despite remote starting the van a good 8 minutes before going outside, the doors would not open. So Isaac got into the van from the tail. That was interesting.... Especially interesting to drive with the door beeping at me, telling me it was open...when clearly, it was not. I just couldn't get it fully closed due to the ice!

He had to get in the van that way after preschool too, but by the time he and I made it to the bank, they had thawed. I think despite my earlier reservations, I will park in the garage, as Rob wants me to.

You know, I'm thinking about just how amazing God's timing is. Yesterday, I was having a bit of a mommy meltdown. Couldn't find Isaac's tuque (boy, that word looks wrong...). Had to go to the bank - where I can't fit the double stroller in the door. So I was freaking out trying to figure out how to get out with all 3 kids and only a single stroller. I hadn't slept well, so I was cranky too. Was SO glad Rob was working from home and emerged from the downstairs office just in time for me to hit my worst point...and bailed me out. (wiping brow in relief!) He's such a great dad.

Anyhow, at that moment, the phone rang. A good (but long distance - aren't they all?) friend. Having a worse day than me. Needing a bit of a phone hug and some encouragement. I could do that! And I hopefully did, I'm sure she will let me know otherwise ;) What I learned from this phone call is that really, it could be worse. If my biggest issue is where my kid's hat is and how to manage 3 kids who sleep at night and with a husband who impresses me with his skills with said kids - life is pretty good. Great in fact. Thanks for the opportunity to feel ok with how things are going here. amen.

Ruby at Christmas

something Isaac put on the bathtub....

snow fun!

Yesterday's moments of perfection:

Standing in kitchen, baby in sling, stirring homemade cider. Watching hubby and older kids play in backyard snow. Son comes inside stating "I'm just so cold mom, so cold. Daddy threw snow on me, I'm done". Offer son cup of cider. He is skeptical, asks for hot chocolate. I give cider and urge him to try. He tastes, eyes light up, puts down mug and claps hands "this is delicious mom, thanks".

beautiful moment. These are the times I am beyond thankful that I am a mother.

11 signs your surgery isn't going well...ick

1. When your doctors stop talking to you and start talking ABOUT you in a very official sounding tone
2. When you say quietly "I'm going to be sick" and nobody hears you until you start vomiting
3. When you tell the anesthesiologist that you want to go to sleep now and he tells you "don't you dare close your eyes"
4. You know your blood pressure is really low - last numbers you saw were 54 over 26. That can't be good. Oh, and your heart rate varies every time you look at the monitor - somewhere between 65 and 120...and you can't do the math to figure out how much of a change that is.
5. When the anesthesiologist starts barking at a nurse to order a bunch of things...and you can't tell what they are because everything is going fuzzy
6. Everything goes fuzzy
7. Someone says "hey, that's a lot of blood"
8. The doctors performing the surgery are pushing on your rib cage so hard that, even though everything is fuzzy, you are thankful for being frozen from the chest down
9. A random nurse stops by with a big white cooler, saying "here's the blood"
10. You can tell they are distracting your husband by repeating "baby's almost out...look, here's the baby"
11. The anethesiologist can't get a read of your blood pressure even with a manual cuff...you may casually croak out "hey, so am I dead"...and he's not laughing.

Then, mercifully, the baby is out. And you can breathe again, and you can feel your blood pressure coming back. All of a sudden, things feel ok again. Wow - that was scary. No rush to do that again.

I have 3 kids!

Wow - there are 3 of them. And it is a good thing. Ruby is just a little princess, who isn't really demanding at all. She just fits right in. Isaac always wants to hold her, Norah wants to touch her ("gentle Norah, gentle on her head"). It's great. We have had help here, but tomorrow it's just the 5 of us for the day. Could be interesting!

Thanks to my Mom and Leslie for being here so far. I couldn't have made it this far without them. This is the first time we have had any real outside help for any length of time, and it is such a blessing. My mom is back tomorrow night. Yay! She was back in Vancouver for my Nanny's memorial service. I wish I could have been there, but I had a good excuse.

So strange to have my Nanny die the day before Ruby arrived. Timing is crazy in life. So now she has an extra middle name in tribute.
http://www.legacy.com/can-vancouver/LegacySubPage2.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=15648284
(although, technically, she only had 4 great grandchildren at the time of her death. Ruby arrived the next morning)

3 kids - now to get them all to look at the camera

Isn't she lovely?

and more Isaac issues!

poor little guy. It just doesn't end. This morning, he woke up sick. Feverish, whiney, not his usual self. Then had a nap this afternoon, and woke up wanting to stay in bed. Even turned down juice, wanting water instead. If that's not a sign of being sick... and he wanted me to sit on his bed with him. No talking, no story reading, just sitting. Strange. Hope he's feeling better in the morning - don't want him to miss his preschool Halloween party!

Oh, and the baby comes in ONE WEEK. ONE WEEK from today.

Isaac's new injury

My poor little guy. Hurt again. Broken finger. And from tripping while walking down our hallway! Just walking along, minding his own business...and wham! As soon as he stood up, I knew it was broken...Rob couldn't even look at it, he just turned green. Off to the ER we went. What a little trooper Isaac is. He let the doctor poke and prod his finger without much complaint at all. The doc was sure it was only a sprain, given how Isaac let him move it. Did x-rays anyhow. Thank goodness - because there was the break, plain as anything on the x-ray. Pretty gross actually. He got a splint and then I took him to the hospital cafeteria for lunch (since this happened as we were getting ready for lunch). A woman from our church works in the caf, and she brought Isaac a popsicle. That made his day. :)

So Isaac has managed to do in less than 4 years something that Rob and I have yet to do in our combined 60+ years of life - break a bone. What can I say, he is talented!

Norah, Isaac and Ainsley.

The cousin's kids.  Soon to be added to again. In weeks, there will be 5 of them! 

 

Norah's birthday cake

cuddly mornings in our room

why is it?

Why is it when Rob is away my house is cleaner?

I would like to think it's because we like spending time together and the housework gets pushed aside. Secretly, I think he's as messy as the kids.

I hate this month, simply because Rob is away so much. From Tuesday to Friday this week, overnight too. Next Tuesday for the day, then Synod over the weekend. It's no fun being home alone...especially pregnant with both kids. I'm just tired and so ready for a break come 5 pm.

my daughter, the duck

What is it with Norah quacking all over the house? She happily crawls around, quacking. I don't get it. It's funny - but strange. She is starting to take those solo steps...but doesn't seem to like it much. She's also way into blowing kisses and "ro ro?" (grabbing your hands and wanting to play row, row, row your boat).

I currently have 3 pumpkins turning orange in my living room. I grew them! Also, a whole wine box filled with tomatoes, that I grew, ripening as I type this. Not sure what to do with them though. I just can't believe how well my garden did this year. Apparently, ignoring your plants most of the time is a good thing. Who knew?

Oh, and it's SNOWING. Since this morning, there has been snow falling. It's not sticking though, but it's really pretty to watch. I hope this doesn't mean fall is over...I'm loving the leaves, crisp mornings and beautiful sunlight in the afternoons.

I got my first speeding ticket this past week. Not fun. Actually, sent me into a really bad day overall. Kind of pushed me over the edge of being cranky about life in general. Think I'm gettting over it though. Hope so.

confession before bed....

Ok, this has been on my mind since I got home on Tuesday night.

I was freaked out about driving the #4 from North Battleford in the dark. I was in Battleford in plenty of time before the sun set, but I knew the 1.5 hours remaining would be in the dark. Dark dark, along the forest, where there are lots of deer and other wild animals. And me with 2 small kids, no cell phone and only armed with a minivan. I was freaked out. I have heard too many stories about hitting deer and other wildlife along this stretch of highway to not be freaked!

So I drove it. The kids were quiet for the most part. Wasn't going too fast in order to prevent hitting stuff. Saw one fox. One skunk. Too many deer to count. A male deer saw us, lowered his antlers and CHARGED at the van. Was chasing us. Thank you Toyota for good engines that can take the pressure of me speeding up like a mad woman. In my mad dash away from the deer who seemed to take my van as a rival for some female deer's loving...I created some road kill. I hit a cat. Yes, in all my attempts to avoid the wildlife, I took out a domestic cat. The sound of it hitting the tires will resound in my memory for years. Sad part was, we weren't near any homes, so I don't know whose cat it was. "what was that mommy?" "um...the car just hit a bump sweetie". So, now I am both a cat killer and a liar!

Had to get that out. I feel (somewhat) better now.

time just flies by

I can't believe how fast the time gets away on me. The last few weeks have been a total blur. Nanny diagnosed with terminal liver cancer and a quick flight (ha!) into Vancouver for a week with the kids to visit and say goodbye. A crazy week in Vancouver, where I didn't get to do half of what I wanted to do. Strange being in Van again. It was really weird. It felt like home, yet nothing like it at the same time. Yet, Meadow Lake didn't feel like home either. I finally figured it out after I got back to our house, after a 2 hour plane ride and a 3 hour drive with the kids. HOME is where Rob and my kids are. Period. That's home. Where my family is...and my family is now my kids and spouse, instead of my parents and sibling. Does that make me a grown up?

Seeing my grandmother was really strange. She has been unwell for the last 2 years or so, but this almost feels like she is ready to give up. Like the cancer is giving her permission to not fight anymore. I really hope I don't feel like that when I'm old - like life still doesn't hold any promise of something beautiful to come. It was sad to visit, knowing that Tuesday, September 20 was possibly the last time I would ever see her alive. I also got in a visit with the kids, but I wonder if Isaac will even remember her. I have really vague memories of my grandfather, he died when I was 18 months old...but I'm not sure if the memories are really true or more a reflection of what people have told me.

The kids were amazing on the entire trip. I couldn't have asked for more from them. Great travellers they are. Granted, they got restless and wanted to be more on the go than I was always wanting to be, but they are kids and I was pushing my own agenda on them a lot. Visiting, shopping, shopping, driving...they were great. I was really shocked by how easy Isaac was on Sunday back at Holy Trinity. Before we moved, I remember how tough Sunday mornings were. He hated to sit, wanted to be around the overhead projector, didn't like Sunday School (and I didn't blame him, it wasn't working well.) Last Sunday, it was like a different kid! He was fine with sitting until the Children's focus time, participated in the Sunday School class (which is doing great!) and was even easy to handle during coffee hour! Amazing what 7 months can do in a little guy. Norah was just her charming self as usual, smiling at everyone. I so hope and pray that this next baby is even half as easy as Norah is.

Ok, need to get to bed.

Happy Birthday Saskatchewan!

I live in a province that just turned 100 today. There were activities at the arena today for families. Isaac really enjoyed the bouncy castle. We didn't stick around for the free burgers, hot dogs and cake...it smelled funny around the food. Both Rob and I found it too oniony smell-wise. And for Rob to think that...it must have been bad! The fireworks tonight were great. 15 cities/towns across the province, synchronized to music. So glad we got a good view from our kitchen window. We kept Isaac up to watch them...he was amazed. It was really fun listening to him during the *fire stars*. "ohhh...that's for Norah" "that's amazing" "can we do this again?"

I've decided to take on a month of teaching Sunday School. 5 weeks actually. I figured they need the teachers, I have a child in the program, so I should. The timing isn't great, but better now than in 3 months when my hands are really full. Actually, I really want to push my own agenda in SS, to be honest. I want it to be fun! And I know that it's not really that great right now...not that the women who have been doing it don't love the kids...they just aren't that excited about what they are doing. Isaac loves it anyhow. I'm going to be doing some things a little differently...so we shall see how it goes.

upcoming birth crankiness

So, I'm stuck with a c-section again. Don't want it...mostly. There are a couple of advantages - I know the date and that helps with planning. I won't go overdue by 2 weeks or more again. That's it for the advantages though.

The downsides are much more plentiful. Pain, major surgery, long recovery, pain, risk of infection and complications....it goes on. I don't want to go through it again.

And why am I stuck? Well, stupid *policy*. So many hospitals are refusing to do VBACs now (vaginal birth after c-section...sorry, that's the term!) and there are many doctors who won't do them either. The risk of uterine rupture is too high. Um...it's like 1%, maybe slightly higher because I've had 2 c-sections already. The risk of other complications in birth are higher than rupture. But because I've had 2 c-sections, and one was within 2 calendar years of this baby's birth, I have to have surgery. Blech.

People have suggested that I just refuse the surgery, go into labor on my own and show up at the hospital nearly fully dialated. Not really an option though. Not here. At this hospital, where they can't really handle a fully, emergency c-section. I'm not fully willing to take that risk - it's still my baby we are dealing with, and my life too. Just such a pain that I'm not even given an option, because I'm *high risk*.

Ug, high risk. I'm 30, healthy, with amazingly great pregnancies. Perfect blood pressure, blood sugar levels. I have no real reason to be a high risk pregnancy. Just cranky about this. Very cranky.

10 years ago, I was: not married, but engaged...has it really been that long? Working at Starbucks, convinced that I knew so much

5 years ago I was: contemplating motherhood, but not feeling *ready*. At Kwantlen doing my PR diploma and realising that I was smarter than I had thought, but knowing I didn't actually know much, I could just write good papers.

1 year ago I was: Expectantly waiting Norah's arrival, tired of being pregnant and excited to find out what *brand* of baby we were having. Worried that Rob would be out of work within days and nothing was happening job-wise for him.

Yesterday I was: Enjoying a sermon that my husband was giving at both our churches. Tired of being pregnant, but sad knowing that this baby will actually be on time (they are so much easier while still inside) Amazed that I have a brain that works most days.

5 snacks I enjoy: popcorn, toasted pb& j sandwiches, crackers and cheese, ice cream (especially with caramel in it...just NOT chocolate), fruit

5 songs I know all the words to: ahhh, only 5? Lots of praise songs, all the songs on TMBG's ABC cd, If you're happy and you know it, a couple of hymns, the Backyardigans theme song...a kid theme here for sure!

5 things I would do with 100 million dollars: give the majority away - I have a list of causes, pay off the minivan, take family and friends on a big vacation together, buy a vacation property somewhere, go shopping (somewhere other than here!)

5 places I would run away to: Vancouver, Camp Artaban, England, Fort St. John, even Edmonton is looking good - you can shop there!

5 things I would never wear: underwear that showed above my pants, fur, leather pants, short shorts, or anything with an animal print

5 favorite TV shows: Arrested Development, Backyardigans, Rock Star Inxs, Weather Network, Baby Story...even though it makes me mad!

5 bad habits: procrastination, short temper, not so good at using the leftovers, forgetting laundry, getting agitated while driving

5 biggest joys: my relationship with the Lord, my husband, my kids, unexpected phone calls with good news and time with friends

5 favorite toys: computer, Rob, playing race cars with Isaac, my minivan, Norah and a scarf

5 fictional characters I would date: oh my...should I even answer this one???

Longest week...

This last week really stunk. Big time. Flooding in the basement that made me want to start building boats, sick kids, trip to the hospital with one sick kid, and a major poop issue. I just had enough. Yelled at God, he took it well I think. I can handle all of the above quite well usually....it's the piling up of things that does me in. Thank God Sunday was better. Great church services with both kids - at both churches. Normally, Loon Lake isn't a great experience for the family. It's nap time, Isaac isn't wanting to sit and would rather be up preaching at the front. It's especially hard when there is nowhere to take the kids. The downside of a church that is literally one room. Praise God that Sunday was better. Norah is still throwing up at night, but the virus seems to be on it's way out.

Well, except for the fact that I seem to have it now. Oh well. I'll be happy if I can catch up on some laundry...so hard to do when I can't take the kids downstairs with me. I miss our playroom when it's flooded. But we are now the owners of a sump pump...yay? and the church is taking out our carpets downstairs (which are starting to get mouldy - ewww) and putting in weeping tile around the house. May this be the last flood...especially with the rainstorm that is called for tonight...but they are only saying 5 mm at most. Please, oh please be less than that!

Corie had her baby!

It seems like the word hasn't really got out yet. Corie and Scott had their baby. August 7th, 9:04 pm. Little boy, Tyler Clifton. Apparently, Clifton is for Scott's grandfather...hope I have that right! He was 8lbs 14 oz and 22 inches long. Great size - bigger than both of my kids! He's cute. Corie totally had the birth she wanted, I'm so happy for her (and a touch jealous...since I don't ever get the birth I want...nor will I anytime soon). The new family seems to be settling nicely into life together, but it's not been totally easy. Then again, like I tell Corie, the first little while is never easy. Lots of nursing, not lots of sleep, lots of poop. Fun days....I kind of miss them actually.

Corie has been keeping in touch pretty often with me. I'm feeling a little glad that she feels like she can ask me the "been there, done that" questions. I've also been asked to be a mentor mom in a local parenting program. Apparently, around town, I'm getting the reputation of being a "caring, loving and good mom with creative ideas" Who knew? There are quite a few moms and moms to be who have asked me for my opinion on things lately. Even my in-laws made good comments on my parenting while they were here! I'm finding it strange to be in the place of experienced mom...since I still feel pretty new to all of this mommy stuff. And with all the people around me who are pregnant or new moms, I finding myself increasingly in the role of encourager.

It's funny, in the last year or so I have been saying that my primary ministry is to my family. The more I find myself focused on that *being* my ministry, the more I'm finding that I'm being led into ministry to others who are learning that ministry too. And here I have been, hiding from leadership in most aspects for the last few years, and more things are falling into my lap. It's great too for me to focus on what I do everyday as being ministry....keeps me much more focused on the long term instead of getting frustrated at the minute details...not that I don't get frustrated sometimes, but keeping my focus on ministering to my family makes the harder bits more managable.

Speaking of harder bits, wish my kids would nap better. On the bright side, Isaac is doing a great job in his swimming class. I'm thinking tomorrow we won't even use the lifejacket and see how he does with his floating and bubble blowing.

famous last words...

So, the other night, I say to Rob "hey, do you know that we've made it to almost 3.5 years of parenting without a night up with vomiting kids?" (smacks self on forehead).

Well, you can probably guess what happened next.

1:30 am. I wake up to hear Isaac in his room saying something about "needing a clean up. I need some wipes" Poor little guy, threw up all over his bed. No big deal, I clean him up, Rob deals with rounding up the laundry. Then Norah wakes up, to get in on the action I guess. No throwing up here though, thank goodness! We bring the kids into our bed to settle back down...then I think about it more. What if he is sick again? So, I get Norah's mattress from her room and put Isaac down on it at the side of my bed. We all sleep well.

Morning comes...and he's still not well. Won't elaborate, but let's just say he wasn't well, either end. Big mess. Actually went voluntarily for a nap - that has NEVER happened before. He was sick. Poor little guy. Better today. Last time I hope to say something stupid like that though!

Oh, Isaac thinks he's having a baby too. Talks to his belly. Says that I am having "another sister", he's having a puppy. Not so sure about that... He is starting to understand that boys and girls are different. When he sees a baby girl, he says "look, it's a baby Norah!".

why does this make me laugh so hard???

sleepy boy at camp

I defy anyone to tell me she isn't cute!

so it's been ages

Wow, haven't been here in ages. Getting bugged by a few people to update...so here goes:

- expecting baby #3 in November, November 1 to be exact.

- bought a minivan...out of necessity. Rob loves to say that "nothing says virility like buying your wife a minivan". It's a gorgeous 2004 Toyota Sienna. Got an amazing deal on it - and it was even here in town! It's white, and I love it, even though I never thought I would want a white vehicle. So now we are a fully Toyota family with our his and hers cars.

- There are babies everywhere! I can think of 6 people in my circle (of sorts, long distance circle that it is) who are expecting, or just had a little one. Must be something in the water....

- Had a visit from Rob's parents, Jenny and the kids...all at once. Went really well, despite our basement FLOODING an hour before they got here...hate our basement.

- My mom and sister were just here for a weekend visit - I had no idea they were coming! I am rarely surprised, so this was fun.

-We're turning into a real crunchy family. We are now cloth diapering. I'm an AP pusher (ask if you don't know what that is). We are really working on being the kind of parents that we feel God would have us be, and modelling Christ's love and sacrifice when dealing with our kids. I could go on about this, but I won't!

- We went to camp for a week. I miss Artaban, this was not Artaban at all. Not bad, but made me homesick.

- It's cold here - we had to turn the heat on last night. Where did summer go??? Apparently, it's supposed to be warm this weekend. Eh, I'll believe it when it shows up.

- I am starting to like living here. Really. Doesn't mean I don't miss Vancouver...because I really do, but there are really great things about living here. Too bad our basement isn't one of them!

- Isaac is talking up a storm these days...makes me almost long for the days before he was talking. He is so funny though, he's really discovering what humour is.

- Norah is so sweet, if only she would learn that she doesn't need to use her teeth when she kisses. Soon she will be walking....and talking too. She's starting to use signs, especially *more*. The kid loves her food! I've never seen a baby get so excited to see a banana or an apple.

- Rob has been pretty busy over the last 2 weeks, we did a VBS at both churches. It's good that most of the summer has been quiet otherwise. I think he's really doing well here, and people seem to like him enough...or they fake it!

- Rob gets priested in October. It will be busy that month, the ordination, an ordination retreat, a clergy retreat and synod. All in 3 weekends. Oh ya, and add in that I'm going to be hugely pregnant by then...this should be fun. Or not.

- Met some of the other clergy wives in our diocese. Too bad they all live so far away. Quite a few of us have lots in common, kid-wise. Quite a bit of breastfeeding, slinging, cloth diapering out there! One couple even is expecting their third 4 days before we are...and their kids are almost the same age (and are the same genders) as ours. Too bad they live, literally, on the other side of the province from us! 6 hours to drive for a visit....not fun.

Anyhow, that's it for tonight. I'm sure I'm forgetting lots....but I'm tired.

made a change

decided to change my background and stuff. I was getting bored. It's supposed to be Spring, but it's been snowing for the last 5 days! And cold. Today at least there is no new snow. I shoveled the front walk on Saturday morning. It was really light and fluffy snow, but still a pain to shovel. I started the driveway and then just gave up. Besides, the car can just drive over the stuff!

I'm so tired.

Norah cut her first tooth somewhere between Sat midnight and Sunday morning. She hasn't been sleeping well lately. Therefore, neither have I. I am tired. Any why can't I get both kids to nap? At the same time? I'm just so bagged right now, and all I need is more sleep. A quick 20 minutes of shut-eye between 4 and 5-ish would totally help me get through the day. Sigh.

Norah is almost sitting up - she will do it for short bursts before falling over. It's really fun, and Isaac is totally encouraging her too. He keeps saying "you can do it" and clapping for her.

We had a bit of a tragedy here last night. Rob's parents sent us a care package last week, and there was a toy Hummer for Isaac. His new favourite toy. It's one of those cars that you push and it keeps going type thing. It even has under the hood sparks! He and Rob were playing with it last night (his new after dinner activity) when the accident happened. Rob revved it right up and it went flying...hit the not quite fully attached heating vent by the bathroom and fell down it. Gone down the vent into the duct work. Rob tried and tried, but couldn't get it back. We're not sure where it is now, but Isaac keeps walking by the vent and stopping while muttering "oh Hummer where are you?". It's pretty funny, but a pain too. Anyone know how to get a vehicle out of duct work?

have to run now, my mom comes to visit tomorrow. Still have 2 loads of laundry to finish (thank goodness I have my helper Isaac, he's great at starting the dryer and transferring clothes) and 2 bathrooms to clean, plus groceries. No wonder I'm tired!

about Isaac

This kid is something else. He is so confident and secure - it's hard to believe he's ours! He has such a great sense of humour too. Last Sunday night we were at a dinner at the United Church (went as the guest of a possible-future parishoner). He wasn't that into the food, fine it had been a long day, but there he is - off making friends. He found the table that the youth group was sitting at (in the youth room off the hall), went in, introduced himself and just made himself at home. I went to get him and he said "bye mom" and shut the door. One of the girls said that he was the best entertainment she had had in weeks, especially when he showed off his counting abilities...up to 40 no less.

Tonight, he was in the bathtub singing Eddie Murphy's "Party all the Time". OK, not sure where he heard that one...must be from when Rob sings it with some other lyrics...anyhow, something really funny about the sight of a little boy, playing with his bathtub boat and singing.

I love how great he is as a big brother. He loves to come and see Norah as soon as he wakes up in the morning, when she wakes up from naps, and when she is crying he likes to help her out by giving her toys or asking "you otay Norah?" or "waast a matter?". I really didn't expect the transition to being a big brother to go so well.

And now with the reading...spelling out words with his letter blocks, identifying some words on signs. He's blowing me away!

What can I say, I love my son and I'm so proud of him. What a blessing he is to Rob and I, I couldn't have asked for a better little guy.

But...had to add...he is so accident-prone! (must be Rob's influence). In the space of 3 days, he managed to get a nasty bruise on the left side of his chin and a gash/cut on the right side of his chin! The bruise was from a run-in with his train set (wiped out and landed on one of the bigger pieces), the cut was from rolling off our bed around 4:30 in the morning...and we didn't even know he had come in! Poor little guy...wonder what next week will bring....

stuff I forgot last time...

In my rush to finally get an updated post on here, I forgot some stuff!

We had our first road trip the other weekend. We drove to Cold Lake, AB for a WalMart trip. It was a quick hour and 20 minutes or so to get there. however, the road wasn't that great. Pretty bumpy - but it's our closest WalMart and other big stores! (not to forget, Alberta is the home of no provincial sales tax). Not a bad outing.

We have decided to get water - you know, those free-standing water coolers? Totally needed - the water here is nasty for drinking. So chlorinated, when you shower it sort of smells like a swimming pool. There is a local supply place, and the water is really tasty. It's so funny how much water tastes different from place to place... I think the price of it is worth paying, beats dehydration!

OK, kid waking up from nap...gotta run!

2 weeks? how has it been that long??

Wow - time is passing so quickly...

Lots going on here. Rob has now officially started working. It's hard not to think he's leaving the house *in costume* in his clergy shirts. Strange, but they do look good on him. Tomorrow is his first real *driving day*. He is going to Spiritwood for a deanery day. Apparently it's a 90 minute drive, and he's leaving at 8 am. With any luck, Isaac won't wake up as early as he did this morning (yelling Dad get up no less).

Took Isaac for a hair cut today...um, he's had better ones. We are having photos for the parish directory tomorrow, so I think I will need to take him back out to get it fixed up in the morning. It's not horrible, but we don't like it. The woman at the salon told me she was great with kids...apparently only kids that never move and are not alive. Oh well, it was only $10...

We went to Holy Trinity the last 2 weeks for church. The first week was for Rob's dad's cousin, who is filming the documentary on Rob's great grandfather. Richard was in town over the weekend, and spent some time at our place. A little strange, since we don't even really know the guy and he's not the most...um, friendly guy out there. But who knows, maybe Rob's true calling is documentary star!?!

Am starting to figure out what is going on here in town, kidwise. Not much it seems. I took the kids to a playgroup on Tuesday. Isaac had a blast, even though he really didn't get the craft. Lots of running around and playing. Some really friendly moms there. I'm really hoping to really MEET some other moms. I'm starting to get a little stir-crazy in the house with the kids. On the upside, the weather is getting pretty warm in the daytimes, so we can be outside for a decent stretch of time. AND Isaac is starting to *get* snow now. He is way less stressed about it these days, he used to just freak out walking in it. Too funny. Now he likes to slip on the ice for fun, yelling WOAH!. Problem is, there is SO much ice right now, I'm slipping too. Wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have Norah either on my back or my front. With the nice afternoons, so much is melting...only to freeze again at night. You could almost ice skate through the entire town right now. I'm not kidding, on the side roads, it is totally possible.

I can't believe Norah is already 5 months old. The last six months have gone so fast, with Rob being off work and home with us. And now she's not a newborn anymore, and he's working again. Wow...how much life can change so quickly. As for Miss Norah, she is trying so hard to sit up. She has mastered rolling, but has some trouble with banging her head on the hardwood floors, so she gets pretty ticked off at them. She LOVES Isaac. Her face lights up when he is around and he can make her giggle in no time at all. I love the sound of them laughing together. :) Best part of my day is that sound.

Our computer is doing something funny. I blame Rob. ;) I think (and he actually agrees), that he did something that messed up something...long story short, we can't get into our hotmail or our bank info from our main computer. The laptop, however, is filling in the gaps. But it's a pain.

Anyhow, I need to run to bed. I am so tired, now that I'm fitting in early morning Curves workouts, I need to catch up on the sleep.

Be my Valentine

Today we went to Loon Lake to visit. We went to the house of a couple from the church and spent a couple of hours at their place and had lunch. Then we were off to visit the church. It is so cute! Such a lovely building. It's too bad that there isn't a hall of any sort (or running water for that matter), which would really make any sort of Sunday school much easier. It will be interesting to see how things work out there. It's really hard to wrap our heads around 2 parishes....

With today being Valentine's day, I made a nice breakfast for my Valentines. Eggs, ham, hash browns and (pink) pancakes. Rob got heart-shaped eggs, done over easy. That was harder than I thought it would be...the cookie cutters I used were still pretty sticky despite all the cooking spray. Oh well. Rob brought me some lovely flowers and got dinner for me. Nice.

Tonight, I was invited to join in at a Women's service in town. Apparently, the United, Anglican, Lutheran and Catholic churches have a little annual gathering. They do a service, then have fellowship and sign up for secret prayer sisters for the year. Neat idea, and I was pleased to be asked to go. Well, I was pretty much the only woman there of child-bearing age but that was ok. Really nice women, and I'm looking forward to praying for my prayer sister over the coming year. At one point, they had us stand up and state our names. It was really funny when I did - there was an audible buzz of "that's the new minister's wife" and other such comments. Small town, and a new person really seems to stick out. Apparently the day we arrived in Meadow (as we now call it), the A&W was buzzing with the news.

We have officially kissed any anonymity we ever had goodbye.

the first week in Meadow Lake

We have now been in Meadow Lake one week. The night we arrived, our contact from the parish called and invited us out for dinner. Very nice! We got to finally meet her and her husband, and I got to meet one of the women from the search committee as well. At the restaurant, we also met the pastor of the United Church in town, and Flo, the Salvation Army captain for Meadow Lake. The next morning, Rob was at the house really early for our things to arrive. Strange about being in SK, they don't do daylight savings - we dropped Rob at the house by 8:30 am and the sun was just coming up. However, late sunrise makes late sunset!

I got our long distance, high speed internet and all that phone stuff hooked up with Sasktel. I also called the cable company and they came out to hook us up on Wednesday. Still need to get the car insurance thing taken care of - and say goodbye to our BC plates!

People are really friendly here. Really. We have already had a couple people from the church stop by. One man and his 9 year old daughter came by on the Monday night and helped us unpack. Well, he helped us unpack, his daughter kept Isaac occupied! Another member dropped us off some meat and potatoes. The church also had some basic food stuff here for when we moved in. Also, the pastor of the Alliance Church came by to say hi this week too and invite us for dinner.

We went to Holy Trinity's shrove Tuesday dinner and got to meet lots more people. They are really excited about meeting us, and they all seem to love the kids.

We also checked our our local coffee shop. Both of the women working there (one is the new owner) attend the Alliance church. Not bad coffee, and it's a cute place. It's no Starbucks, but they do know all of our names!

For church this week, we went to the Alliance church. Isaac loved the worship music, and he knew most songs. He stood on his chair, held our hands and sang along. It was so cute, I have to say, to hear him sing Hallelujah along with the praise band. Once again, lots of friendly people at the church. We were asked out to lunch by the women from the coffee shop, and they treated us to a nice little lunch there. I mentioned that I worked at Starbucks and they are all over having me come in and make sure they are doing things right. Too funny. Apparently, the owner has only been in charge since Feb. 1, and they are really new to this whole thing. I may just have to take them up on that...especially since my espresso machine seems to be broken again!!! I have to call Saeco in the morning and tell them that I need them to fix it again. So glad there is a 6 month warranty on the repairs! Just have to have that latte fix!

There is lots of work that I would love to do on the rectory. It needs some TLC in the basement for sure. They are talking about renovating the kitchen come summertime...I really hope they ask me for lots of input...ok, I will probably give it anyhow!

Have to run and finish up Rob's Valentine's gift!

long time no post

it's been ages since I've been on here. The last 10 days have been crazy for us. But now we are in our new home, I can't say settled there though. Maybe I'll just give the highlights of our trip here.

Feb 1. Vancouver. Isaac had his evaluation. Apparently he may have a 3 month delay in some areas of his speech development. However, combined with the areas he is ahead, he averages out ahead of his age. He just isn't a talker. Um, I needed an expert to tell me that? Oh well, we know for sure. She recommended a preschool as a good way for him to need to use his verbal skills more, and was totally shocked that he is showing early reading skills at 30 months. Then a goodbye with Mike, and off to Garth and Mary's place. Leg 1 of the trip - 60 kms. It was great to visit with them, and Paul and Tammi came over too. Girl time in the hot tub, all is right with the world.

Feb 2. Omnious sign. Isaac throws up just beyond Hope. He's a mess...why didn't we think to bring the Gravol? Changing a kid by the side of the road in rainy fog by a rushing river really makes one have to pee. somewhere along the way I started to cry when I realised that there wouldn't be a *on the way back* for this trip. Then we saw a rainbow, took it as a sign that things would look up. But then again, after a big vomit session in the back seat, there wasn' anywhere to go but up. Purchased Gravol as soon as we hit Merritt. The drive was perfect weather-wise. It was snow-free and dry pretty much the whole way past the toll booth, better than the last time we were on the Coquihala and it snowed in May. Stopped for the night in Revelstoke.

Feb. 3 Again, amazing road conditions. I really feel that God was watching out for us, the roads could not have been better in June! Revelstoke to Okotoks. A couple of stops once we hit Calgary for crying kids, but it wasn't too bad. Great to see Scott and Corie...oh and a load of laundry too. Isaac loved playing with Jake (their puppy for those not in the know). The work they are doing in their basement is exciting, and the painting and stuff they have done to their house looks great too. They seem so happy in Okotoks - I hope that we can be that way in Meadow Lake.

Feb. 4 Snow on the highway from Calgary to Edmonton. Not great conditions, but not terrible either. I was tired by the time we hit Edmonton too and we were all done with the car. did some grocery shopping and I cooked dinner - nice to have a suite - and it was nice to eat homemade food again. I get tired of restaurant food so quick.

Feb. 5 West Edmonton Mall. Shopping and play day. Thank goodness for the rental strollers shaped like cars. Not only did Isaac love to be in it, it had a great sized storage bag. Totally worth the $5. I finally got winter boots (on sale no less)!

Feb. 6 Drive home. Wow, that sounds strange. The roads were good, except when we were close to a large truck. They caused lots of blowing snow that made visibility really poor. Took a minor detour off the highway to some small town (can't remember the name). Bought breakfast. They had the world's largest pysanka there. What a claim to fame. (pysanka= those Ukrainian Easter eggs)

saying goodbye sucks

this goodbye thing is really starting to stink. Yesterday Leslie hosted a little goodbye party at her house. I was doing alright until Lauren hugged me and made a bit of a cry-like noise. Then I lost it. By the time I hugged Les goodbye, I was pretty much a sobbing wreck...who had to drive the car. It's hard to say goodbye, but it's also nice to have relationships that mean enough to make you cry. And it's not like we are leaving forever, never to be seen again (I hope!!).

Kind of got me thinking about way back when people used to leave their families. It would sometimes be forever. They would head off, sometimes never to go back home again....I can't really imagine that at all. We are so blessed to live in an age of instant communication with the internet, cheap long distance and air travel. Goodbye isn't for ever anymore, it's more of a *until we meet again*. However, that doesn't make it any easier to say.

I think the kids are stressed, life isn't that normal right now at all. I would be stressed too if I were them....but I'm not stressed today! I had to use up the gift certificate that Dad gave me for my birthday today (had to, it was tough). I had a wonderful 3 hours at the spa today! A lovely facial and an hour long massage. I was a little worried how Norah would do with me being gone that long, but she was great. Feeling so good right now, aside from saying goodbye to my sister and Dad tonight. It does help that they aren't the most emotional goodbye-ers around.

Lots to do tomorrow though, so I'm sure I'll be stressed again in no time...oh yeah, and dinner with Rob's family. More goodbyes.

headsplitter of a day

I should have known that yesterday would suck when Norah threw up as soon as I put her in the car.

We are tired and sore. 2 days of frantic last minute packing and organizing and errand-running will do that. Mix in a tiny bit of sleep (for all 4 of us)....not a good recipe. Anyhow, by noon I was calling the BC nurse line to ask how deep a cut needed to be to need stitches. Isaac had fallen at my mom's and split his forhead open on her tv stand. Blood all over. Nice. It wasn't that bad, but I took him and Norah down to the parkade to head out for stitches...and slammed 3 of his fingers in the door of the car. Can you say guilt? Anyhow, fingers were ok. Head was ok after some surgical glue. No naps for anyone though. Long, tiring day. In short, it sucked. And while all this was going on at my mom's, Rob was at the house dealing with the packer.

So strange to see all your stuff boxed up.

It's all getting moved out as I'm typing this. Today is a better day with the kids. I could use a nap, but we did make it out to the grocery store! Can't wait to get the house emptied out and cleaned....then we move on!

good news/bad news

good news: there will be lattes in Meadow Lake! My espresso machine is fixed and back home again. Needed a new pump and some seals. Not cheap, but way cheaper than a new machine. Not bad for a 10 year old machine I got for free at work.

bad news: we have to stay in Vancouver until Feb. 1. That is the earliest we can get the boy in for a speech assessment. After talking to one of the speech pathologists in North Battleford, the wait there would be over a year, so I guess a couple of more days won't be that bad. Just annoying to have to live out of a suitcase for longer. Now if we can only get our furniture arrival to work out.....

On the whole speech thing anyhow....I'm of two minds about it. Since he's been on the wait list for assessment, his vocab has totally exploded and his sentence length has taken off. Great, right...but I still worry. His pronounciation is not where it could be, beyond the typical toddler-speak. I know it's not likely to be a hearing problem, with a kid that has never had any ear infections and can pick out most songs by the first few notes. I think where I do worry is that he does have really strange learning patterns - really ahead in some areas, and not quite there in others. I'm a mom though, so it's my job to worry. But this alphabet/number thing he has is really not typical. I haven't yet met another kid who could identify all his letters at 25 months, most of his peers are nowhere near that yet. Not to mention his counting...forward and backward to 12 and forward to 23, and to 7 in Spanish. Ok, for the Spanish I give credit to Dora the Explorer. :)

I think that it's probably just worth a check to make sure he's doing ok, or how we can best support and encourage his learning style, which doesn't seem to be totally typical. Who knows, maybe we have a genius on our hands....either way, I think just getting a professional opinion will be a good thing. Just a pain that we can't do it earlier. On the upside, maybe we can do a going away party-thingy to be able to say goodbye to friends...

it's getting close

This whole move thing is getting closer faster than I thought it would. Now, logically, time passes at it's usual pace, but this month is really going quickly. Today, I had my first real start at tears over leaving. I think it's finally starting to sink in that we are leaving. I had a little emotional moment as I said goodbye to my hairdresser. My hairdresser. Really. She is wonderful, I have been seeing her for over 2 years now. I just wouldn't have guessed that she would be the first person that I said goodbye to that brought me to tears. (shallow thought alert - now, what if I can't find a good hairdresser in Meadow Lake? Someone who understands my hair and gives me great cuts that grow out as nicely as they look the day I get it cut?? I know, get over it, it's just hair. Then again, there was the great hair fiasco of 2001....)

Oh yeah, after getting the body work done on our car this week, guess who backs up into a wall in a parkade. Rob assured me that the damage is very minimal....but I still feel like a moron....

tomorrow will be better, I'm getting my espresso machine back! Also a playdate with the Yummy Mommies and kids, Sebastian, Baz, Ella, Gracie and Maddie. Yay!

seriously...

after I mention that Meadow Lake is lacking in the coffee department, how many people are going to tell me that I should open a coffee shop "for something to do"??? I'm sure they are well-meaning, but last time I checked I had 2 kids under age 3. Between them and creating a home for their father who will be working a priest's hours, I somehow don't think I'll be on the lookout for lots of things to do....

Norah and mom
Posted by Hello

baptism day

We had Norah baptised today. It went well for the most part. Unfortunately, her Godparents couldn't make it. Monika called on Saturday, Paul and the girls were all sick. Totally fair reason for not making it out! I'm also glad they didn't share the sickness with us...but then again, we have had our own cold-like issues around here. I think I'm next. Anyhow, we had Jinx and Val stand in for them, we figured that as Isaac's Godparents they would be a good stand in!

Norah was great, if hungry at her big moment in the service. She was totally trying to have a snack. Fortunately, my finger held her over until we could be in more private surroundings. :) She was crying a bit when John took her, then totally stopped when he poured the water on her head. She was completely stunned, it was pretty cute. People after commented that she was so mesmerized by John...but Rob and I know the truth. She was making her "where the heck am I?" face.

I'm really glad we didn't do anything major for the baptism. I was really tired afterwards. It's a major accomplishment getting 4 people up, fed, dressed and out the door by 8:45 am! Especially when it's almost -10 and we have to really scrape the windows, warm up the car, and drive on uncleared roads. Darn snow. Love to look at it...but driving around here is a pain with the hills!

Isaac sort of used his potty tonight. He actually went *on* the potty. Poor Rob, he was dealing with him when it happened. He did get Isaac to help him clean up...guess we will be teaching him how to lift the lid!

Again today we heard lots about how great people in Saskatchewan are. I hope so! Can't believe it will only be 3 weeks until we leave. Today on the drive to church, I turned off 16th on to Hemlock...the view of the mountains was amazing. I will miss that for sure. Then again, I can't wait for the quiet of a small town either!

sick kids?

I think both kids have a cold or something. They both woke up snuffly with snotty noses...nice. Norah is taking extra naps...Isaac, of course isn't napping at all. I need a nap myself. Hard morning playing cars with the boy. Ok, actually it was really fun.

I loved waking up and seeing the snow falling. Made me so glad we had nowhere to go at all and a breakfast ready to pop in the oven. After Rob made crazy numbers of phone calls, we took the kids outside to try out the winter gear. As I don't have boots, this was going to be fun! Isaac and Rob had a great time playing in the snow. His (Isaac's that is) boots and snowpants were great...if only we can keep his mittens on his hands. Rob was pleased with his boots too. Norah decided she wanted nothing but to go inside and nurse.

I managed to get a box of toys packed up and put away, while playing cars. We need to get the moving company to get us some boxes so we can really start packing. I'm feeling the need to get going already! Rob has been making lots of calls about the ordination service, and been getting lots organized with John Oakes. So many details...but we do have an organist! That is good news - and he's good too. There is just so much to be worked out though...it's the good kind of stress :) I think this whole move is actually the good stress kind.

Rob got a call today from Pete Molloy. He is a priest in our new diocese and a Regent grad. Rob has actually heard from Pete before, when they tried to recruit him a few years back. Pete graduated the year after Rob started at Regent (I think that's right) and he is in town in the next week or so. Wanted to get together with Rob and do the coffee thing. That will be good to do I think - get some insider info on stuff!

Funny - there was an article about Rob in the Saskatchewan diocese's webpage. Well, the title was funny to us. http://www.saskatchewan.anglican.org/ It's in the news section. Had us laughing....ok, off to get dinner happening.

random

I got George Clooney.... http://www.magnum7sins.com/theSun/ddate.html

10 pm

Kids in bed, Rob is out and I'm on the computer. Peace and quiet - how nice! I'm catching up on the posts on www.gentlemothering.com My hang-out, reference and resource for parenting issues. Love that site...

Anyhow, more shopping today. Long underwear and wool socks. How sexy! I haven't got boots yet, there doesn't seem to be any warm enough boots in the Lower Mainland right now - most places seem to have shipped them off to colder parts of Canada. Might have to wait until we get to Kamloops or Edmonton or something. I just hope I can find cute ones! Is that too much to ask?

I'm feeling a little torn about all that is going on right now. We were at the Vibe on Sunday (minus Isaac, who was playing with Auntie Kendra) and it was sad knowing it would be our last service with these people. Then again, not sad at all, but excited to leave. To go to our new home, not excited to leave the people here. It's strange though, I think that God has really been preparing us to go for a while now. We have both been feeling like we have been...I don't know how to word it...distanced?...from people/things lately. Not in a bad way, but more in a "hey, us two are in this together" kind of way. (scratching head...not sure if that's what I meant) We have referred to the last few years as our wandering in the wilderness years...wait, does that make Saskatchewan the Promised Land? that would be too funny. I'll have to reflect on that one....

Oh my goodness...we are going to be living here really soon! Crazy. But exciting. Isn't it cute???
Posted by Hello

new year...new changes

11 pm on January 1, 2005. This time last year, I had already made a big oops by replying to an email that I should not have replied to. So far, 2005 is starting out better :)

Garth, Mary and Tammi were over for New Year's. Lots of fun, great board game play and yummy snacks...and a little too much wine for me. Actually, it was only about 3.5 glasses spread over about 4 hours...but more than I have had in a long time. They were here late (for us anyhow), and I didn't get enough sleep. I'm so thankful that I was able to not be short tempered with Isaac at all today.

dinner tonight at my aunt and uncle's place, along with my cousin and her fiance. Both kids were great - even in a not-really-kid proofed home. I'm so in love with my little family. Great kids, wonderful husband - I couldn't ask for more in life! Isaac is communicating so much better these days, and that makes dealing with him way easier. Norah is just a sweetheart who totally goes with the flow. They are just fabulous - and cute to boot!

We're not going to go to church in the am, maybe we'll sleep in a bit. My sister has offered to take Isaac for a few hours in the afternoon, but we'll have to play that by ear. It will depend on the weather I think, and his mood. He's had so many *no* days lately. With the holidays and visiting and all our move prep, he's been stuck doing too much boring stuff, or been in lots of *don't touch* situations. He really needs a good day to run and play outside like a wild monkey, which will be pretty much impossible at her place.

OK, just checked the weather forecast. Supposed to be 1, but feeling like -3. Brrr. (Insert new mantra here: that's not cold!) Put this into perspective - they are calling for -27 in Meadow Lake tomorrow morning. What are we thinking??? Minus 27! With a high of minus 24!!! If SK wasn't so cold, I would be really excited about going. As it is, I'm pretty excited, but really hoping I don't freeze my bottom off...then again, easy way to slim down....