food for thought

This article from January 2007 in Maclean's magazine is a good reminder as to why Rob and I are so picky about the clothes our kids wear. No 'slogan' shirts or tube tops here.

the garden's contents

I currently have growing out back:

- sunflowers, carrots and peas from seeds
- 2 kinds of pumpkins
- lots of zucchini (fire up the bbq, we *heart* our zukes here)
- a bunch of cucumbers
- red and yellow peppers
- a watermelon
- a honeydew melon
- strawberries
- basil (because I adore it fresh, and can't find it locally)
- tomatoes - 4 kinds! red and yellow tom thumbs, ultra sonics, early girl and first lady. I picked them because I liked the names.

the basil and red and yellow thumbs are in the planters next to the deck.

back up and running

another "my husband's bringing sexy back because he fixed something" post. The laptop is fixed! We no longer are trying to share one computer.

How sad is it that one computer isn't enough?

bah - moving along....thanks also to my dear brother in law for all his long distance tech support. Turns out, the whole hard drive was fried, and Rob put in a new one, restored the photos that could have been lost, and increased my laptop's memory. nice.

The garden!

As of 3:30 this afternoon, the garden is fully planted. Our small assortment of veggies and fruit can now begin to grow. Yum.

Will the domestication of Kristin ever end? Laugh all you want Paul, since you snickered at me over the applesauce canning of 2005 (that would be West Coast Paul, not East coast Paul or extended family Paul...there are a few Pauls out there!)

So happy I can talk about it now

I'm so glad the word is out on a recent engagement. I was bursting with joy.

I was beyond thrilled to get a long distance call from bonny Scotland last weekend to share the news. Way back when I was pregnant with Isaac, and Graham was living in our future 'baby room', I pegged Nathalie as a good match for G...but she was too young at the time. 5 years later and they are now engaged. How fantastic. Now waiting to hear about a wedding date...

Yesterday was my wedding anniversary

how on earth do 11 years go by so quickly? I can't believe we've been married that long, yet it barely feels like any time has passed. However, one can't ignore the 3 children which do add some evidence to the passing of time. I can't imaging spending the past 11 years with anyone else, and still being so much in love and still enjoying the togetherness of being married. *mush, mush*

oh, and about my mother's day gift?

Ya, before people get all envious - it was a one time thing. a one time thing.

which I think is a very, very cruel tease.

the playroom is finally painted!

woo hoo! Visits from my dad are always a good thing. He's much better at getting jobs done than I am.

Now if you haven't been here to visit, these photos won't be quite as fun (so you should fix that and visit...nudge, nudge). However, to add some commentary, we had some Ugly (capital U) dark green walls in various places around our basement. The basement with next to no windows. Nothing says bright and cheery like
very dark green walls. We picked a bright and sunny green, and put it all over the playroom and where the green walls were on the stairs. It's hard to capture the exact green, but I really like it and it's a slightly lighter shade than a bottle of pert plus shampoo. Then we painted (and by we, I mean dad) the remaining white walls white, as nothing quite shows the lack of nice paint like new paint next to it.

For fun, I switched the 'feature' wall in the guest bedroom to a wall that made sense, again, if you've been here you will understand what I'm
talking about. We also managed to have enough white paint to repaint the dresser that arrived in
our home from Rob's childhood bedroom and had seen too many slurpees and lego creations. I'm quite fond of the blue...and please ignore the unmade bed, sheets are currently being washed.

I still need to finish 'dressing' the guest room, and need some shelving in the playroom. But I consider it mostly done. You may also note the beautiful artwork on the playroom walls. The artists are currently sleeping upstairs. :)

I've been wanting to reflect

to ponder and muse over my 5 years as a stay at home mom. To consider deep thoughts and ideas as to what it's like, and why I'm still at it.

then this blog post was brought to my attention. I think she did it for me. Yes, oh yes, there is such truth in her words.

the best mother's day gift ever

I had a great Mother's day, after it not quite starting out that way. Church had some issues, but managed to get through that. The afternoon was lovely, girls napped, Rob kept kids out of my hair so I could do some random and strange cleaning I wanted to do. we had take out from our local Chinese place (which is rather good, considering). We had a great meal together, lots of fun and laughs. Then Rob suggested I go downstairs for some quiet time, and put all three kids to bed. (I originally typed that Rob kicked me downstairs, but that may have come across wrong.) Then he gave me a great backrub - woo hoo!

Homemade cards from the kids, a pair of hanging baskets for the yard, a downloaded cd I was interested in...all good stuff.

However, nothing compared to waking up this morning at 6:30 - by rolling over and realizing that it was just Rob and I in the bed. Ruby slept through the night for the first time ever - and on Mother's day too! I slept from 11 until 6:30, my longest, continuous sleep since before Norah was born! Ahhh, wonderful way to top off Mother's day.

sob...boo hoo

my laptop may be dead. I'm not entirely sure, but it isn't pretty. Rob will be in touch with the family techie in the next couple of days....but I'm very saddened by this development. I can use his computer, but apparently he "needs it to write sermons and the kids are too into stuff in his office" during the daytime. sigh. so selfish of him, don't you think? ;)

At least the weather for the next couple of days is supposed to be nice. May is beautiful here. I should take advantage of it.

why yes, thank you, I am terribly clever

Those who know my beloved and I in real life may not need to be told the following. I am a planner, lover of lists and organizing. He flies by the seat of his pants more often than not, and prefers to go with the flow. I like to tell the flow where to go. To complicate things further, neither of us is a 'doer'. I lack confidence to start most projects that I can plan and organize, and he would rather just wait...and see what happens. Prime example being the first 2 years we were married and had nothing on our living room walls. nothing. I couldn't decide what I liked, and he didn't care.

These facts make our trips to the city rather, well, potentially comical. I keep an ongoing list of what we need, and what store would be best to purchase it in. He would rather wait and see if we may like Canadian Tire's offerings over Home Depot's. Home Depot is the store he would just rather avoid altogether. I have big plans for what I would like our kitchen to look like, our bathroom, our yard - if only money weren't the issue it actually is.

Actually, Home Depot is the setting for this particular story.

I like Home Depot. I like the potential of renovation and improvement, but am not always skilled enough to take the projects on (and let's not even get started on the lack of time...). I like to plan and plot and wish and wonder. He would not. Truth be told, I can hear him rolling his eyes the minute we get into the store. I kid you not, I can hear his eyes rolling at me. He's not an eye roller in my direction often (bless him, for I often deserve it), but Home Depot sets him off like nothing else. So we wandered in to the Depot of all things Home the other day while in the city. I had plans for purchasing things. I had Lists!

On that list was a mini-project even I could complete. And I found my tools, on sale no less, and made the purchase. AND I even did the job last night (at 11:30 pm no less). I am rather pleased with myself.

Now granted, Mike Holmes may consider the work "not done right", but I'm pleased with the results. See!



a tile backsplash in our basement bathroom! Decor and function where there was just plain wall previously.








Ok, so they are press on, self adhesive tiles. But these happy little flowers with such sayings as "make a wish - faites un souhaite" is at once charming AND a nod to both our official languages.

Well, I liked it.

morning deliciousness

Hey, minds out of the gutter, I'm not talking about *that*. I am a lady, so won't be sharing those details. Today at least.

What I am talking about is the wonderful wakeup of a small bunch of kids climbing into bed to snuggle. Granted, one has already moved in during the night, but the arrival of the other two children is such a lovely moment. Well, provided it does happen closer to 8 am than 7 am. Closer to 7 is a touch less wonderful. Three small, snuggly bodies climbing in to snuggle close, whisper secrets and give hugs and kisses. You just can't beat that - especially if it happens at 8:45! I just can't think of a better way to start the day, while still maintaining this blog's G rating. ;)

it's like living with a pair of barbie dolls

the frequency at which these 2 little girls change clothes, pull on fancy princess dresses, take them off and put on backpacks and hats, then switch them for other dresses and scarves.

It's tiring to keep up with. But it's fun.

fluffy friday

I'm going to admit my fluffiness right now. this blog I'm reading, that is pure, silly, fluff. I can't look away. I just can't.

did I just say that?

Really, did I? I'm shocked. Stunned. This is not ME talking, surely.

what were the shocking words?

"maybe I should learn how to sew"

random, rambly post

I don't even know what to type right now. My brain has been on overdrive all morning, and it's all feeling mushy at the same time.

I'm thinking about how much I've changed over the past 7 or so years. How I'm different. How I like some of the changes, but not others. How there is less drama in my life, which is good, but also more guardedness. Like I'm holding parts of myself back, which isn't so good. Like I'm guarding myself against things. Yet, things sometimes just feel numb, which isn't good either.

I can think of a few triggers over the years: my parents splitting up, a couple of our moves, my car accident, the births of the kids - particularly Ruby's. Some physical changes/hurts, some emotional. But things that have contributed to changes in me. Mistakes I've made, hurts I've caused, sadness I've tried to keep hidden, it just bubbles and percolates. Things I wish I could change, words I'd say differently next time, opportunities missed, times I've held back and maybe shouldn't have. I've been a lousy friend, a weak daughter, a selfish sister, not the best me I could be. I don't even know how to begin to fix things, let alone fully recognize where things are broken. I feel unloved and unlovable. I don't know how to ask for help. I don't know...I just don't know...

sigh.

ever have a day where you just feel little and like your worries are just small and foolish? when my biggest complaint is my lettuce going 'off' before I used it, yet more snow falling outside my window, or my youngest un-rolling the toilet paper, I really should be counting my blessings. The small, monotonous complications of my life are so little, so....tiny and petty.

there is so much more that I could be dealing with. Storms could come and change everything. My kids could be fighting an illness, my marriage could be in a terrible state, I could have just been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor...there could be so much more. These things happen all the time, and yet people are able to stay strong in their faith, know where their strength comes from, from the God who is able to do more than we can ask or imagine.

I don't know if I could do that. Stay strong in the trials like that. I struggle with just getting through a good day.

big ol' whine

I'm tired of snotty noses, and kids who are the borderline of being sick

I'm frustrated with myself for falling 'off the wagon', ww-wise right now

I'm ticked that I planned to put barley in our lamb stew tonight, but I'm out of barley and don't feel like going to the store

I'm bored with town this week because it's Easter break, and all our regular stuff is not happening

I'm annoyed that it's too windy to enjoy being outside

I'm feeling the aftermath of too much cheap chocolate

I'm too lazy to do any house cleaning. good thing it's rather tidy

I just want the snow gone already. The stinkin' stuff has been on the ground since November 1st!

I wish our basement had bigger/more windows. It would be easier to be downstairs with the kids if it weren't quite so dark down there

I'm just feeling blah all over.

I think I need a big prod to get back on the wagon, get off my rear end and tidy up while my lamb stew simmers (without barley, but with potatoes). Anyone got a cattle prod?

Happy Easter!

May you and your family have a blessed day as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord.

Check my kids blog for some adorable shots of them all dressed up for church.