A momment of peace

I have been enjoying a fun and busy week end. We had company over last night and are going out tomorrow afternoon. It is nice. My cleaning Thursday totally turned into cleaning week end, but the rewards to this are endless.
Things I am happy for from this week end:

* friendships formed from last night
*I can finally completely see my kitchen counter!
*The wonderful garage sale I found Saturday
*My daughters cute skirts I bought on sale for them on Friday(pictures to come)
*The box of toys Chad and I sorted through from the living room, more importantly the understanding my 4 year old had that the toys are going to someone who doesn't have toys.
*The total understanding that my family is completely in God's hands (this is what I am most thankful for)
*finding friends more on Facebook

What are you thankful for?

Super Cleaning Thursday

Today I am bound and determined to clean as much as I can. I decided I am only going to list the goals but not be specific as to how much I will get done.

Laundry

Dishes

Sorting hall closet (this is the harest job today)

Bathroom

Here's to Cleaning!!!

Teddy bear B*A*S*H at my house

Today at Mom 2 Mom, a poor bear (which is hilarious to mention he is bigger than all of the toddlers at Mom 2 Mom) had a poor accident where his "fluff exploded". I took the bear home with me and the kids so I could "operate" on the bear. It was rather funny looking in the back seat of my van beacause there were two toddlers and this giant bear, who is bigger than them, in the middle. All I saw was a giant bear in the rearview mirror. I laughed so hard when the kids were buckled in and the bear squeezed in beside them. I wish I had my camera!

Needless to say we will be taking the bear back to church this afternoon so he doesn't get home sick. Too funny!!

What my Daughter knows about me

Pooky bear brought this home for me for Mother's Day from pre-school, I have to share!

How old is your Mommy?
5

What does she do at work?
Cook

What is her favourite thing to do?
Make crafts with me

What is her favourite food?
She likes it when I cook

What is her favourite movie?
Dragon Tales

How many brothers and sisters does she have?
She only gots me and little monkey.

Where does she like to take you for fun?
To the playground

What message would you like to say to her on Mother's day?
I Love You!!!!!

She then signed her name at the bottom. My Pooky bear cracks me up!

In His Hands

Right now Chad and I could be faced with some change, but for the first time in forever, both Chad and I are looking forward to it. I don't want to get into too many details, but I am very excited to finally see my husband trusting God with everything he has. I have never seen CHad be at such peace before, normally it does not take much to stress him out. Now nothing could. It is amazing how God is able to do this. Faith is awesome! I can't wait to see what God has planned for us now!

weird

I just posted a comment on NorthVU's blog site and have never experienced so much grief when I tried to post a comment. My comment talked about choices and how God appreciates it when we correct a bad choice of where to "stand" (essentially that was the comment)

Anyway, I first tried sending it and it deleted everything I wrote (fortunately, I copied what I wrote into my clipboard) Then after I pasted it back, I went to post it and I had a weird virus allert from AVG, I checked into it and fixed the problem, then when I went to publish it I had a weird messege pop up which basically questioned whether or not I would really want to publish this post because it could comprimise my marriage and finances because of the 170 porn site it would put on my computers memory by posting this comment. I have never seen this message from windows before.

What really got me was the "by sending this message this could comprimise your marriage and finances by the 170 porn sites which will be added to your memory by posting the comment on this site." My marriage, how would the computer know about my marriage?

WEIRD! Weird...............weird.

spring maddness

I have really realized I tend to hibernate in the winter; but when the snow melts and when my allergies are at their peak, I become crazily busy. This week is busy with Pooky bear's t-ball games ( her first one is tonight! Yeah!), I have a meeting after that. Tomorrow is a fundraiser for my friends campaign, Thursday is Pooky bear's second dentist appointment to finish making her teeth stronger ( I think there is a t-ball game that evening, but I don't think she will be able to make it). Friday is a Birthday party in the afternoon. Saturday is membership at the church all afternoon. Also somewhere I have to fit in 2 extra meetings and several calls for my business.

Am I insane? I don't think so. I actually like being busy, I hate feeling bored.

All I see are clothes and chairs!

These past few days have been crazy busy trying to prepare for the clothing give away at my church. We started out setting up in the santuary, however that was a "no go". So, we had to put chairs and tables away and set up in our cozy foyer. I am having a blast hanging out with the other moms. The kids are having a blast being able to play in the west wing. Everything is doing well. I am so blessed with the amount of volunteers there are to help set up and volunteer to help on the day of. It is awesome. It is nice to teach pooky bear about giving. My family has done a lot of receiving over the years, and it feels good to be able to chare the blessing with others.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY POOKY BEAR!

Here are some pics of Pooky bear when she was 1 1/2 to 2 months old. I can't believe it has been 4 years! We have a jammed pack week end full of Birthday festivities this week end. I think I will be sick of Birthday cake when I am done this week end. Totally worth it!

Goal Day

I am having a goal oriented day! (or at least attempting to!)

Goals are:

=> DISHES!!!

=> Laundry *including folding and putting away!!

=> sort clothes for clothing give away and sort kitchen "stuff" for garage sale

This does not sound like a lot, however, it is enough for me to take in a small chunk rather than feel too ambitious in the beginning only to realize at the end of the day I only half completed my list. This way it is attainable for me and I can add to it later. (The chances of me adding to my list later are fairly small given my lazy mood I am trying to over concur!)

Appology

I am sorry for not posting anything recently. Things have been rather chaotic in my house and I have been using my spare time to clean, sort or sleep. Not much is new to me and my family except we are getting ready for Pooky Bear's 4th Birthday. Wow, I can't believe it has been 4 years. I am so blessed to have her and her sister in my life. Children can really change who a person is, I am really thankful for this.

Question

If we are suposed to forgive and forget, like how God forgives us, is it Ok to always allow people to walk over us? Ex. If someone takes advantage of someone, asks for forgiveness, that someone is supposed to forgive and forget. How many times is this suposed to happen where we take what we have learnt to forgive, but not forget?

Further explanation:

It is my understanding that we are supposed to forgive and forget. The forgiveness part is easy, the forget part, much harder. We tend to remember and learn lessons from the event which caused the need for the appology.

My problem is, if we were to completely do this, in theory, abusive relationships could continue forever. Where by the abused would continue to forgive and forget the abuser and the cycle would never end. At what point are we allow to stop forgetting and just forgive?

In God's eyes, is this OK?

I welcome any comments on this.

Sorry

Sorry, I have not written lately. Things have been rather chaotic. None the less, I have a story to share.

After Pooky Bear had a shower, I held her up to the mirror so she could see herself.

She asked, "Mommy, where's Jesus?"

"Jesus is in our hearts"

"Is Jesus in everyone's hearts?"

"Jesus will go into anyone's heart if they ask Him to."

"I asked Jesus very nicely to come into my heart."

I had to share this story....too cute.

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Update

I am sorry for all the blogs recently which more talk about the direct events in my family rather than cute stories about my girls or "super cleaning days". I have appreciated the value of being able to vent "online".

Sunday, we found out Chad's dad is only functioning on 1/3 of his heart. This was crazy, but oddly, not devastating. Right now I have been uplifting him up to God and I have been also praying he would do the same. I know he is the janitor for a church, but I am not aware of his walk with God.

Monday, we found out my Grandpa on my dad's side is in the hospital. He just got a pace maker today, I think he is doing fine now. I know just before the pace maker, he was struggling a lot. From what I understand the procedure was easy and very necessary. My poor Grandma!

My baby girl has been sick since Monday. She is starting to look and act better. I helps she is actually able to hold 2 oz in her body. Gee, I know what that feels like. Her spirits are good, and the doctor we saw today could not believe how contented and happy she is. That has been her attitude for a long time now.

**********************

Taking all of this information has been a little overwhelming, but not too much to handle (if that makes sense?) I have been working on praying a lot lately. To take my mind off things, I took the kids for a walk yesterday and watched them enjoy puddles. Pooky bear had a blast splashing as much as she could. I am also trying to be focussed on my work and cleaning. Gee, at this rate I will have one sparkly clean house and tons of money in the bank for all the avoidance I have been wanting to do. I am going to go visit my Grandpa tomorrow. It is pretty much guaranteed I will be in cleaning mode after I come home. For some reason when things like this happen in my family, I tend to clean. The cleaning is a good thing, the reason I am cleaning, not so good. Oh well.

Had to share

Presenting my newest toddler(picture taken today), and my soccer player (picture taken at the soccer facility on Saturday). I needed to share.

Update on family: Chad got his pins out and I have to go for an ultrasound on my wrist, however, my stomach is not doing so bad. Yeah! Chad's dad though is in the hospital with a lung infection and blood clots in both legs. We saw him today briefly and he said he has been much better once they started him on the right drugs, so yeah for that. I officially became a complete pampered chef consultant, big yeah for that! Pooky bear is doing much better on her new drugs for her asthma and poor little monkey is teething 8 teeth at once! We could see and count eight of her teeth, including two molars. Poor girlie! She has been struggling to sleep and has been reliant on tylenol and icy bite soothers. Other than that things are doing really well.

YEAH!

Hope

A good friend of mine gave me a book recently called, "Treasures for women who hope" Written by Alice Gray. This book has been a very inspiring book to read. I can not seem to put it down. I am sure the chapters are meant for one chapter-a-day reading, however, I keep reading on.

Since at the end of each chapter there is part for you to analyze what you have read, I thought I would answer the questions on my blog, this way others could read and comment too. Warning the questions are loading and are not an easy answer. I am going to try my best to answer them with no masks on

Something beautiful

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity in their hearts,

except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

1) Describe you feelings about the idea that God allows and, yes, even plans difficulties for our lives. How does your understanding affect your ability to hope?
This is not an easy answer. My first gut instinct is to question "why". As I have learnt recently Job did the same thing to God. He was richly blessed in the end, however, through out the book of Job it talks about him questioning why God does the things He does. So, my first feeling is confusion. I do know that lessons are learnt through experiences. With out the experiences, we would learn nothing and would not know a lot in life.

This still causes confusion as I still want to find an easier way to learn, however, I also know that the easy way out is not necessarily the best way to learn. More mistakes can be made this way.

I am typically the first voice of hope in our house when things take a turn for the worse. I am just not good at dealing when it is me that is directly involved in our turmoil. It sounds weird but I can handle things happening to my husband and my children. I indistinctly go into a mode of dependence on God and focusing to my family that God will get us through it. However, if it is me that is sick. I can not seem to manage this. I understand it fully, but do not find peace in it.

I know I have problems with confrontations. I have been trying really hard to work on this fault of mine. I tend to hide from the problem rather then face it. I have been really trying to work on this in hopes that it will help my coping skills for when I am ill.





2)How do you usually respond when heartbreaks crash down on you or those you love?
It depends on who is involved. I seem to loose hope if it is me directly involved, however, if it is anyone else, I have no problems understanding where my hope comes from. I do know when I am seriously ill, I seek prayer and support from those I care about. This I guess helps find hope for me. (So much for a simple answer!) I guess I understand where I go to help find hope if it is lacking in me. I believe this is a good thing. I am also starting to read more scripture than before, which has also helped because I never really realized how much heartache is in the bible. Is it wrong to find comfort in reading about someone else's pain? It reminds me I am not alone.

Empathy is a powerful response to people's pain. I tend to seek empathy when I am sick, I also try to give empathy when others need it. I know I would not be here if it wasn't for God. Everything I have in life would not be here if it wasn't for Him. I am eternally grateful for that and I also know He will get me through anything. However, knowing this doesn't always help.

I am a bit of a control freak and like to be in control. This is why, I think, I have no problems providing empathy and support to those who need it. This is also why I have a hard time coping when something goes wrong with me. I can not control what is happening. It seems I have an easier time telling others to pray and provide support to them, rather than letting others provide prayer and support to me. For those who have known me a long time will know this has been a struggle of mine for a while.

I have to say,though, I have been making an effort to change that and let God take control of my life as well as others. I don't struggle with change, as it happens a lot in my life, so I am looking forward (finally) to the change God has planned in the near future. I see change happening and I am curious about his plans. So I guess I am finding hope again, and it is a good feeling.



These questions are taken from chapter 3 in "Treasures for women who hope"

I see the rainbow!

This afternoon I am feeling much better, I still have my wrist in a splint, but that is my only obsticale I am faced with today, YEAH!

And on the note of feeling better, I am going to clean as best as I know how.

Goal for this afternoon:

Make lunch - soup and toast with fruit for dessert

Laundry - at this point anything more than one load a day would be an ackomplishment

Dishes- (this one will hurt, but it is really needed right now)

Reading and enjoy a cup of tea - didn't expect this one did you, I am realizing I will need a break before I wear out.

Bathroom - I can't wait to try this one as I just bought the Mr clean bathroom cleaning kit

Call some people re: Pampered Chef

Then get ready to enjoy my Friday night.

Little sneak

Since Chad and I have been sick, it seems my girls are testing their boundaries to see if they have changed. The boundaries have definitely changed for minor things, but the major ones like meal times have not. Pooky bear today has been really wanting ice cream, but we said she could have it after lunch. To which she replied early this morning, "can I have lunch now?" What a girlie.

My stomach is acting up huge today, but she still makes me laugh so much!

Owe!

Saw this and thought I'd share

This was taken at Pooky bear's soccer game in January. My little monkey definately has Rider Pride! (as an FYI- Pooky bear's team are called Timbit Riders)

Rainbow

I am finally starting to see a break in the clouds where one day soon a rainbow is sure to appear! I am still nauseous, but I am able to hold food down. The Dr thinks it is the Rhoda Virus which takes a week to ten days to get out of your system. I just caught little monkey's cold, but it is actually better compared to the virus I am still working on. It sounds bad because I have 2 viruses in my system right now, but I know a cold does not last that long and I am on day 8 of the Rhoda virus (which means only around 2 more days to go). At this point I am just praying it does go away because otherwise I have to go for more testing. But at least I will know what is going on.

Chad's and my wrist are still sore. I had x-ray on my wrist and I see the doctor next week to determine what to do, because it is still in a lot of pain, my Dr thinks it may be a ligiment problem which will mean a specialist. I am actually relieved to know this because I am on the road to recovery then, yeah for me! Chad gets his pins out second week in March, he can't wait to get a normal cast.

Little monkey is almost over her cold and Pooky bear is doing well too. They are awesome little girls! They have been able to make me smile so much these last few days, it is what I needed.

In other news, I am pleased to announce my friends Scott and Candace had their baby yesterday! Her name is Claire Andrea, she was born 8lbs 14oz and 21" long. Mom and baby are doing well. Scott commented to Chad that he was really tired and was looking forward for the 3 weeks off so he can sleep. Chad quickly informed Scott his sleeping will be on Claire's schedule, not his. I can't wait to be feeling better so I can see the little doll!

Update

We all saw the Dr. today, but not much was determined for me as more tests need to be done. Chad's hand continues to be very sore and he has come down with the flu now, joy! Little monkey has a cold, I am worried because her appetite is weak right now, fortunately we have an abundance of fresh fruit right now which is all she wants to eat besides her milk. Pooky bear is the healthiest of us all, but I am still worried about her because I know she is really worried about us. Crazy eh?

"Patience is a vurtue" - I am struggling with right this now as my pain tollerence is low and nausea level is high. I think I have had all I can take right now. All I want to do is stop throwing up, but I can't. All Chad wants to do is sleep, but he can't. I am ready for a break. My flag is up, and I'm begging for peace. I know when it rains it often poors, right now I am looking for the rainbow, of God's promise, after reminding me clearly that God is here.

It's funny because I know He is here, I saw it for the last two days from two women from my mom 2 mom group came and brought goodies of various kinds to help me out and also one offered some assistance in cleaning my house. I very much appreciate their generosity and kindness. It gives me that drive to look for the rainbow of God's promise.

I pray it comes soon.

A sum up of how our house has been feeling

Poor Pooky bear has been so worn out these past few days, she fell asleep on an old computer chair of ours! She has been more worried about how her Daddy and Mommy are doing, and we are trying our hardest to let her be a kid by playing play dough with her and other fun things kids like to do. It's completely worn her out! I know how she feels! Chad and I are worn out from trying to let her be a kid and stop worrying about us. All the tiredness from all of us was worth it!

I forgot

I forgot to mention Chad's surgery went well. He has two pins in his hands which means he can't use the hand for anything. It's one of those you don't want to know what would happen if he did use it. The pins will stay in until 3 1/2 weeks. After that he will get a normal cast in which he could at least hold little monkey again. It bothers him that he can't pick his girls up any more. We don't want to rick the pins moving.

More on just when you think...

I am not going to scream this time, just vent. I promise.

Warning: my writing is may not make perfect sense, I am too tired and drugged up to be worried about my grammar.

My Friday was really good, I babysat, went shopping for a few things, went out for coffee with a friend, came home and e-mailed a few other friends, then sickness hit me. my abdomen was in excruciating pain and I was nauseous....I won't get into the rest. So, needled to say I ended up in the e.r once again. I was had a bowel obstruction which I don't want to begin to describe what happens when you have one. I didn't get home until 12:00 p.m. the next day. While Chad and I were at the hospital my pooky bear had an upset stomach all night. She didn't become better until 7:00 a.m Saturday.

So, I missed my Mom's birthday, Pooky Bear, Little monkey and I were actually all sleeping when it started. We missed church because we are still all recuperating. Little monkey showed symptoms of having a cold when she woke up this morning. At least she is not having an upset stomach.

My house continues to be a disaster and we keep praying things will settle down. I am thankful for family day tomorrow, because we are in no shape to be having two extra toddlers for the day.

Right now I think I am going to make some tea for Chad and I. We will relax while my girls play in the living room.

"...so on the seventh day he rested from all his work"
Genesis 2:2

That is what we will do too!

Just when you think....

Just when you think things can't get crazier, they do. My husband broke a bone in his hand this afternoon, the same hand I fractured my wrist in. Him and I are the cute couple right now with matching splints and tensers. Only difference is he has to go for surgery tomorrow. CRAZY!

It was 10:30pm when we finally got home. Chad and I arrived at the hospital at 5:30p.m. Too bad we didn't go at 5:00 a.m in the morning when the e.r. is dead. Oh well. I haven't been able to find a babysitter for tomorrow for a surgery we have no clue what time they will book it for. Sorry for my venting, but ARGH! Things were hard enough with just me having a fractured bone in my wrist, now Chad. I am at a loss for positive thinking, even though I know God can get us through.

I keep thinking about how dirty my house is going to get, my wrist is already hurting to no end because I had to do the lifting Chad normally does. ARGH!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

O.K., now I feel better. Thanks for the vent/scream. I am going upstairs now to make sure Chad eats something now because he can't eat past midnight. Maybe tomorrow I will finish the book Q.W.P gave me in the waiting room. That would be a good thing, provided I find a babysitter.....O.k, I am not going to stress over this, God will work it out, He always does.

Yummy!

I did my first cooking show in front of my husband tonight and made this:

I thought I would share how yummy it looks (and tastes)

Enjoy! It is a Banana Split Pizza.

Can and can't

My cleaning has dragged into today, I am discovering what I really can do and what I really should not do but have tried anyway. In this case the, " Can't stands for Certainly Are Not Trying" does not apply because I tried all of these.


Cans and Can'ts:

Can - Sort laundry slowly, carry small loads downstairs using my hip and my right arm, dump the load in the wash etc. Who ever invented laundry baskets is a genious-especially the person(s) who invented the laundry basket with the curve in it for your hip. I am able to fold laundry too.

Can't - scoop litter. This is not a bad thing at all. However, I did try, but the tenser bandage ended up smelling like the litter box even though I did not touch it. This was a huge lesson in how to clean my tenser bandage and my splint which can't get wet. God Bless Febreeze and Pet and Oder remover with enzymes and good old fashion hand washing.

Can - make brownie with my husband, the after math left my tenser needing another cleaning though. Maybe it was a good thing I don't have an actual cast, I couldn't imagine how dirty it would get it!

Can't- open baby food jars, I forgot to remind Chad to open the jars before he went to work and I ended up opening one myself which was exceptionally hard. I needed T3's after that, not too mention an ice pack and Motrin. It was definately a reminder my wrist is not better.

Can - make food still by myself...I was very proud I made Shepperd's Pie last night, I had to use instant potatoes because I could not peel them myself, but it was good none the less.

Can't - Wash dishes, I am able to put most of them away, but washing is not an easy task. This is actually driving me nuts because although Chad has been washing dishes everyday, they are not all caught up because there are days (especially when I am babysitting) where there are two to three loads of dishes which need to be washed. I think I am going to go crazy by the end of the three weeks in my kitchen. I should also mention my husband is not too great at washing dishes either. He gets an "E" for effort, but he is not me. As much as I hate washing dishes, I am a perfectionist when I do wash them. Oh, to have a dish washer!

Can - sort papers, my problem is not doing this with 1 1/2 hands, it is actually getting the motivation to do this.

Can't - wash wash my hair properly, washing your hair with one hand is not easy, and it hurts too much to try and use my left. My husband, again God bless him for his efforts, can't help me wash my hair.

Can - delegate to the kids when to pick up the toys and tell them where to put them. This never was a problem before, the only differnce was if they put the toys in the wrong spot, I would put the toy in the right spot showing the kids where the toy actually goes. Now, I just accept any spot they chose, as long as it is put out of the way, I don't care right now.

Can't - I can't wait to have my wrist better!

It's been a while

Since I have lost a lot of my independance, I am going to try and see what I can ackomplish with one hand for cleaning. I love my husband for his efforts in cleaning, but I really need to try.

Here is a list of goals I have to try for this afternoon.

- dusting - this will be easy for the most part, I must take a reactine before I do this (it is a bad thing to dust with out allergy meds if you are *very* allergic to dust.

- sorting paper - I think I can do this

- laundry - this I will have to see how much I can really do with one hand.

- making a craft with the kids this afternoon. (this we will have to see)

- attempt to make brownies.

We will see how things work out.

Another week end with lessons learnt

- Tripping up the stairs can result in a possible bone fracture in your wrist

- The side effects of such a fall may not be present immediately.

- The e.r. is empty at 5:00 a.m. on a Sat morning

- Tylenol 3 on an empty stomach is not a good combination

- It is good to plan an e.r. trip in accordance to your daughters 1st birthday party.

- My brother is an awesome shoveler

- Even though it is your daughter's first birthday, doesn't mean she has to stay awake for it.

- Doing things with one hand is not easy, but it can be accomplished

- Wacking the battery in your car can help start your car. Not guaranteed to work every time.

- Trying not to use my hand is easier said than done.

- Changing a baby's diaper with minimal hand usage is hard.

- Three toddlers needing their food cut would not be possible with out my Pampered Chef Food Chopper.

- UPS is faster than they tell you.

- Having kids help you sometimes makes it worse

- Pain can affect how patient one is.

- Taking a step back for a break is O.K. under controlled conditions.

- I have learnt I appreiate my husband so much more when he comes home since I have become more dependant on him.

- Losing some of my independance sucks!

*Biggest lesson of all *****never***** trip up the stairs when you are in a hurry, always be careful when using stairs!

HA!

Who do I look like?

It interesting spending a childhood thinking you are an ugly duckling wait to grow up to having your own child and realizing how cute I was as a child. Your self esteem is greatly affected after having a child look like a "mini-me" I view things a lot differently now. I want both my girls to know how beautiful they are inside and out. This is not an easy task as you don't want the girls to be too self centered, but still you want them to have the confidence neccesary to succeed in life. The pastor at our church conducted his sermon on Sunday based around confidence. He talked about getting the confidence from God. That is my goal to teach my girls confidence from God to do His will. I can't wait to see the outcome from the girls!

I did it!

My Little monkey just took THREE consecutive steps today by herself!!!

Just thought I'd share!

I love how this picture illustrates victory.

thought for the day

“Of all the attitudes we can acquire, surely the attitude of gratitude is the most important and by far the most life-changing.”
Zig Ziglar

A crazy week

This week has been a little emotional. My husband is about to turn his life around, and he doesn't even realize it. One of my best friends dad is in the hospital and her grandma (her dad's mom) pasted away the same week. Because of all of this, I have been praying like crazy. I have never been like this before. I just feel the need to pray all the time this week. There is so much to process and yet so much peace that comes with it.

Trust in the LORD and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the LORD

and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD;

trust in him and he will do this.

Psalms 37:3-5

If the LORD delights in a man's way,

he makes his steps firm;
though he stumble, he will not fall,

for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
I was young and now I am old,

yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken

or their children begging bread.
They are always generous and lend freely;

their children will be blessed.

Psalm 37:23-26

This scripture was highlighted to me today. It stands true to all I have gone through these last few weeks, not to mention years. It is something my husband and I need to follow and take comfort in.

What do you think?

I was watching an old eighties movie with my hubby, as we normally do when he picks the movie, and in the movie came a thought I was very much interested in.

"No one wins a fight."

Interesting food for thought.

A crazy Christmas

I have not posted for a while because illness fell upon our house right around Christmas. Pooky bear and I are the only ones left still sick. I have been to the doctor's office 5 times during the holidays and one visit to the hospital. Fortunately this made for a quiet Christmas. I did learn a few things this Christmas holiday though:

1) A hot oven rack will melt carpet

2) When you ask in-laws to come over an hour later because of illness and the delay in getting supper ready, they will show up an hour early to "visit".

3) When the reception desk at the doctor's clinic informs you the wait is an hour and a half, prepare for 2 hours.

4) Expect to run into people you have not seen for years at the doctor's office when you are looking your worst.

5) Extra Strength Ibprophen and Benylin cold and flu cause me to be very loopy

6) My oldest daughter loves to go the church at bed time

7) Don't have your carpets cleaned right after Christmas because before hand you do a lot of cleaning which creates extra garbage which can not be disposed of imediately as the garbage bins are already over-flowing.

8) Don't have your carpets cleaned if you are getting the flu

9) It's wonderful to have your husband home to help when you are sick.

10) Who ever's sicker, gets to rest -quite often this was me

11) missing boxing day shopping was not the end of the world

12) When you get your carpets cleaned it is a great time to down size the amount of toys your children accumulated.

13) Having a quiet new years with my husband and I playing games is my favourite way to bring in the new year, we did this last year and I was reminded how much I loved it.

14) It's going to be Ok to send cards late this year. Well, at least in my eyes it is.

15) My cat doesn't mind getting her hair cut.


The list could probably go on, but these are the highlights. I hope all who read this had a wonderful holiday and have a happy new year!

Gifts

I don't understand how taking a class, which is supposed to help determine what your spiritual gifts are and how you are going to use them, has made me more confused than helpful. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the class and conducted a lot of research as a result of the class, however, I don't feel I have truly "unleashed my niche". It's one thing to understand one's identity and personality, it is entirely another thing to put it into perspective and use it for the "greater good".

I believe part of my confusion is that I keep second guessing myself. I like to evaluate things until I fully understand them. The problem with determining spiritual gifts is you are not supposed to second guess. You are suposed to use your gut instinct rather than your thoughts. This is where I am bad for taking tests such as these. The solution the module has for situations like this is to have someone else take the test as though they are you. This is good, but I feel, has its weeknesses too.

When I take a test on personality, you really have to focus on who you actually are, and not on who you want to be. This can be done, but subconsciously one is natually inclined to persieve themselves to be who they want to be anyway. Their minds are going to give examples to support their thoughts and have the ability to give direct references who will verify their thoughts. The same can be said for people who are going to take the test for you. They are going to answer, not necessarily intentionally, who they think and percieve you are to them. At this point who is right?

I believe everyone has multiple identies. To my children I am their nurturer, caregiver, organizer, provider, supporter, boundry enforcer, maid, cook, and driver. These don't even come close to all the characteristics it takes to be their mom. Am I these characteristics to everyone? No. Do I enjoy every characteristic it takes to be their mom? Maybe not all the time, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

When I am serving in a ministry, I am several different characteristics. I am not these characteristics all the time, but for that time, I am. I am a woman trying to serve God in a different way other than being a mom or a wife. This is why it is hard for other people to evaluate my personality. There is no one physical person who is a witness to all of my identities. My husband is not always there to witness me serving in certain ministries, he knows my tendencies, but is not always there. The same goes for friends of mine, they are not their at night when Chad and I are parenting our children before bed. And all of this Ok, but hopefully one can see how confused I am when I am trying to determine what my spiritual gifts are.

To try and help determine what my real gifts are I selected 2 people to help take the tests for me. My husband, of course, and my spiritual buddy who knows my tendencies as well. With the three of us I know I can get a better result, however, it is difficult still because they have the subconsious ability to respond to how they want me to be, not how I actually am. This is where I wish the Holy Spirit, who knows and understands the complete me, could just tell me where to go and what to do.

My prayer is for Him to just use me as a tool and use me to my full potential. I know He will open and close doors for me. I am more than willing to listen, especially now. I just hope my bias does not interfere with, what I perceive, God wants me to do with my gifts.

"Use me, oh God!
See my strengths and embrace them,
see my weaknesses as experience,
see my body as a tool for you,
see my mind and influence it,
I am yours.
Use me, Oh God!

Stories about Santa lies

Little monkey and Santa today


Stories about "santa lies"


I have been having problems with the "Santa lies" which has to be created in order for your children to believe in him. For example, I was at Wal-mart last night and a little girl saw that I had a Littlest Petshop Playground in my cart. Her mom reminded the little girl that she received Littlest Petshop last year. I almost said, "Well my daughter knows santa is working on it, so I had to get it for her". When I started to say this, I realized I could potentially wreck the "idea of santa" for this little girl. If it was my own daughter at her age, I would have told her the truth as we have been already leading into the fact he is not real; however, she was not my daughter, so I had to make some quick cover detailing that my daughter has been wanting the Littlest Petshop Playground for a while now. The mom could obviously tell I was about to blow the "santa lie" and when she walked away she mouthed the words, "thank you". I think I did the right thing.

**********************************************************************************

Pooky bear is way too smart for her own good! Today, even after we have gone over many times that the santa she sees is not the "real santa", Pooky bear while sitting on santa's lap, was asked what she wanted for Christmas. She cheekily replied, "don't you know santa?, you've been working on it?" Santa's reply was "I want to hear again to make sure I don't get it right" Pooky bear, very snarky at this point, replied, "I want Littlest Petshop" (she said it in a tone resembling a "Duh!" sound. I laughed so hard it hurt!

************************************************************************************

While sitting in the Dr's office tonight with my oldest daughter, I noticed she saw a picture of Santa on the wall. I looked at the picture and saw Santa sitting in a row boat with a bunch of animal friends and toys.
I asked my daughter, "What does santa ride in?"
"He rides in a sleigh, he can't ride in a boat, cause he couldn't get to my house!"
She had the whole waiting room laughing including the staff!
I would have never thought that's why santa does not ride in a boat.
That girl is definitely too smart for her own good!

***********************************************************************************

Chad and I are trying to create more of an idea of Santa with the intention of teaching the girls, when they are old enough, where santa came from and why people celebrate santa. When that happens we will not have presents under the tree from santa, but a chance to draw names and have more of a "secret santa" with emphasis on doing something nice for someone. Our plan is, a week before Christmas, we will draw names and everyone will have to do something nice for that person each day leading up to Christmas. On Christmas eve, everyone will fill the stockings of the person they drew. We want to encourage the kids to make something rather than buying the gift. I think this is a good compromise to the "santa idea" and reminds children that the real St. Nicholas did something nice for some girls, not to get praise, but to do, esscencially, what Jesus would do-help those in need. This is the santa idea we want to teach, but it is not easy for a three year old to understand.

We both have told her the santa she sees is not real, but she talks to him like he is. Maybe it's because we still are telling her to sit on his lap and he is the one asking what she wants, or maybe it is the other children and all the propaganda in support of santa around her, I am not sure, but it is cute all the comments she makes as she is learning. I think we sill start focusing on our beliefs when Little monkey if 4 or 5. I don't want to wreck the "santa experience" too soon. We'll see what happens.

Another cute story

"Look Brandy! Little monkey is playing with me!"

"That's great! I am so happy the two of you are having fun together."

"But, I'm not a toy!?"

Why can't I see Jesus?

After praying my daughter asked,

"Mommy, why can't I see Jesus?"

Thinking of answer quickly, I replied,

"That's because Jesus is our hearts."

She paused for a momment and commented,

"Oh, Jesus must be sleeping then, because I can't hear him."

Super cleaning Thursday

We've been so busy lately, I admit my cleaning has been not as fine tuned as I would like it to be, so, I have decided I am going to host another, "super clean your house" day! I am going to update my list to keep track of my accomplishments.
My goals today:

- Laundry- get as many loads done as possible, this must include folding and putting away clothing. did 3 complete loads, the nice thing is that I can only go as fast as the washer will let me.

- Dishes - wash until every dish in this house is clean. Yeah I started!

- Litter box - I don't think anyone wants details to this one. Done

- vacuum- this includes hallway and bedrooms Doing when the kids are up from their naps

- sort miscellaneous stuff and have the attitude of "keep, sell, toss" have started, so far I have 1/2 a box full of stuff to get trid of and 1/2 a bag of garbage. Wow do we have a lot of stuff!

- empty all garbages in house done

We will see what I get done, who knows, I may be able to actually complete this list!

Some pics of the concert Sunday

The quality is not great but you can still see how cute the girls are in their pretty dresses.

Insomnia

I am tired, but can not sleep. Tomorrow I am going to pay for it! I have been up for the last hour playing with the pictures we took today from Pooky Bear's pagent at church. I am also listening to Pandora.com( http://www.pandora.com/ )radio.

Pandora is very cool. You pick a song or artist you want to listen to and they pick songs which relate to that and play only that genre. I am pretty pumped because a found a radio with worship music to dance music. I so have to play this for Pooky bear, who loves her baby techno dance cd. I have been trying to find fun ways to introduce worship music to my girls at their level. I did discover that Blessings has a video and music collection called "God Made Babies ". It's kind of like baby einstein but with biblical references and worship music. Little monkey is getting a video for Christmas. I love Blessings http://www.blessings.com/ .

I'm all about being a free advertiser tonight. Oh well! Enjoy!

Newest pics

Newest pics of Pooky Bear and Little Monkey

T'is the season to be busy

I think as Pooky bear gets older, we get busier and busier. I actually admit I like it. This is what I have wanted for my children. I just hope they like it too, or things will have to change. With Christmas parties, pageant rehearsals, soccer and Christmas pageants, our weekends are packed with things to do. It is truly great! It may sound weird, but it keeps us from a boring weekend of not knowing what to do.

I remember when Pooky bear was little, Chad and I wouldn't know what to do on the weekends. We often would stay home. Now, with all of the activities, we are often out of the house before 9 or 10 am. We are getting more house cleaning done, because we are forced to put it into our schedule or else it won't get done. This is a very good thing!

I do have to say I am not getting any major cleaning time, but that just means I need to set aside a day of cleaning. I think tomorrow afternoon and into the evening I will work on my basement. I kind of wrecked any organization I had down there trying to look for my missing Christmas boxes (which I found by the way and my tree looks fabulous!). I could probably start doing it now, but Pooky bear and I have to leave in an hour and I feel like procrastinating instead. Moms need a break too. Did I mention everyone in my house, except me, are sleeping right now in between activities. I would be sleeping to, but I had coffee at Tim Horton's while getting Pooky bear's free drink.

Hats off to Tim Hortons, because they sponsor her soccer team, they give every player a free drink after they are done playing, they just have to show their shirt. Pretty cool! Pooky bear loves it, and I'm loving it too because I am in need of a good cup of coffee after being the assistant coach for her team. Coffee is a good thing!

Trying to keep up with appearances

It's my family tradition to set the Christmas tree the first weekend of December, it is nice because it also coinsides with the start of advent. Chad and I decided it would be a godd idea to have a set time in which we do it, that way there is little procrastination from Chad and me not putting the tree up in the middle of November. It works well for us, Pooky bear and little monkey had a blast too!

We set up the tree, which sadly is beginning to break down, and put the lights and some decorations only to discover we couldn't find a box of Christmas decorations. My tree right now is wilting at the top because the angel, which I normally use for decoration on my end table, is too big. Chad said we shouldn't put the angel up at all, but I commented that it isn't a Christmas tree with out a tree topper. Which I know sounds weird, but it wouldn't be the same; so, now I am trying to find the mysterious box which went missing and making decorations to help my poor tree look normal again.

It's a struggle trying to make my tree look like it used to. I'm missing all of the bows I hand made to replace garland and a lot of my ordaments I made as a child. I am happy we have the ones Pooky bear made last year, but it is not the same. I keep looking at pictures of my tree in previous years and feel sad it does not look the same.

Will this affect my Christmas? Of course not. If anything, I think I will get the kids to help me make new decorations for the tree to help with its lack of ordaments and bows. It still looks pretty when the lights are on.

helpful

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:11

Experiences

From taking a spiritual gifts workshop, my homework was to evaluate my experiences through life, including the painful ones. For some reason, this is harder to accept. I have a hard time grasping the thought that all the pain I went through as a child was intended by God to give me experience. I understand that He uses our experiences as tools for our spiritual gifts, my confusion is that isn't there another way to gain experience without pain. The answer is no, but I look at my children and I don't want any kind of pain upon them what so ever. Is that physically possible? Of course not. But I still struggle with the knowledge that He wants us to experience it. Does He cry when we are in pain? I like to think so.

As a mother cries to see her sick child in the hospital, I am sure He cries because He knows we must endure this to get stronger. I recall a story told to me by a pastor about him literally watching God cry for our city. Does He cry for the lost, for his followers that are struggling, for joy? Is it all of the above? I want to believe all of the above. And yet, as selfish as it sounds, I would like to think there is another way, but I know there isn't. I know the pain I have had to go through has greatly impacted my life in every aspect. I parent my children differently, I act differently, my ministry focus was impacted by my painful experiences.

Even through the toughest times, God is there. He will always be. At which point is it determined that you must endure something for His glory or Satan's? Is it Satan that causes our painful experiences while God watches in the sidelines to see the outcome. Or is it God expanding our boundaries, giving us wisdom and knowledge in the end. I really don't think that Satan would bring on painful experiences if he know the outcome would end up in God's glory. Unless, he hopes that people use the experience in a negative/harmful way in takes that risk. I don't know.

I know I have a lot of faith, but lately it seems to be questioned the more I learn. I find if I stick more with the basics of Christianity, I am fine. Maybe my answers are that simple. Don't worry about it. God knows, that's why he sacrificed His only son. I don't worry about physical needs, I worry about emotional needs. I think that is why I am so confused. I know God provides everything one needs physically, but does He provide for us emotionally? The answer is yes, I just don't get how. How does he provide for us emotionally with free will.

After reflecting over the last question, I was reminded of how a friend of mine came into my life. Our principal in elementary school initiated our friendship. Our principal at the time, I'm sure, did not realize that by initiating our meeting would lead to a friendship that has lasted 16 years, which also has turned more into members of each others families rather than "just friends". That friend was there as a support for me emotionally, physically and spiritually. Only God is able to provide a support network which is necessary in His people's growth. He carefully selects who are going to be involved and when. People, even with free will, can open themselves to God and allow Him to come into their lives, through Jesus, and do God's work. That is a miracle at its finest.

I do understand sometimes the choices we make end up in pain, God can not stop that. But what about children dieing of cancer or other illnesses or accidents. If a child is put on this earth to teach the people around them a lesson, isn't there another way to bring that message across with out the ending of a life. Yes, they would be going back to God, free of pain and suffering. But what about the people left behind devastated, hopefully seeking God, but does not. I have heard of people giving up all hope after a loved one dies. They give up the idea of God and turn to things that will never fill the void. Are these people the risk God takes when he is trying to teach us? Or are these people Satan is trying to get?

The bible has so many verses which can answer these questions. The confusing part is I can find an answer to every question I ask, but which verse/book is right? I can find a verse to support yes and no in the same question. The more I realize this, the more I have to rely on my faith to get me through. It's so frustrating because I know the right answers, without looking in the bible, but I still question why? I'm like my three year old wondering why the sky is blue, after my daughter hears the scientific answer she still says, but why?

That's what I am doing right now, wondering why? I understand my experiences I went through, I know what the outcome was and am happy with it in the long run. But I still wonder why? Only God knows the answer to that. With faith, though, I know it will be alright.

One of my favourite songs:

Don't worry mother, it'll be alright.

And don't worry sister, say your prayers and sleep right.

It'll be fine lover of mine.

It'll be just fine.

Lend your voices only to sounds of freedom.

No longer lend your strength to that which you wish to be free from.

Fill your lives with love and bravery,

And you shall lead a live uncommon

I've heard you anguish

I've heard you hearts cry out

We are tired, we are weary, but we aren't worn out,

Set down you chains, until only faith remains

Set down you chains

And lend your voices only to sounds of freedom

No longer lend your strength to that which you wish to be free from

Fill you lives with love and bravery

And we shall lead a life uncommon

There are plenty of people who pray for peace

But if praying were enough it would have come to be

Let your words enslave no one and the heavens will hush themselves

To hear out voices ring out clear with sounds of freedom

sounds of freedom

Come on you unbelievers, move out of the way

there is a new army coming and we are armed with faith

To live, we must give; To live

And lend out voices only to sounds of freedom

No longer lend out strength to that which we with to be free from

Fill your lives with love and bravery

And we shall lead... Lend out voices only to sounds of freedom

No longer lent out strength to that which we with to be free from

Fill you lives with love and bravery

And we shall lead a life uncommon

Life uncommon by Jewel

Pictures

I can not upload any more pics on my flikr site, so I thought I would put more on my blog......

Enjoy! (Especially Auntie Mary)

A moment

I am taking a small moment to relax before the chaos begins with the kids coming back from pre-school and getting ready to head up to Saskatoon. There is a lot that needs to be done, but I have decided to take it slowly. I am not packing for the cabin this time and we are only going to be gone 2 nights at the max. So therefore, I can sit back and enjoy the peace and quiet.

I found in the past I can't pack days in advance. I do much better with starting my list in advance; then on the day of or night before, if necessary, I pack. I think today I am going to prove that stress is not necessary when packing last minute for a trip. I have a friend who has been encouraging me to start packing last week. I am not like that. I would actually forget more things if I packed that far in advance. My problem with packing too soon, is I will pack something, then realize I still need it and forget to put it back after, thus forgetting it.

Don't get me wrong, I will forget something. I am not that good at packing. Who is? Funny enough, I actually think Pooky bear will be a great packer, because she makes sure you don't forget anything she needs or especially wants. It will be interesting to see what happens when she gets older.

By the way, if I never mentioned before, Pooky bear can't wait to go to Saskatoon. The last time we were there was a day trip when she was 18 months old. This time, we are giving Pooky bear the MP3 player so we don't have to listen to Sharon, Lois and Bram all the way up. I have to say this trip will be significantly different from the last trip to Saskatoon. We are actually driving our own vehicle. That is really surreal to us. Although we miss "Auntie Mary's BIG car" (a 1986 2 door Tercel with duct tape covering the rust on it. It was a good thing the car was silver to "hide" the duct tape), it will be good to drive the mini van with all of its space and cd player with am/fm radio. "Auntie Mary's BIG car" only had an am radio, so we brought my cd player from grade 10 with lots of batteries. It's funny, I really do miss "Auntie Mary's BIG car", however, I am glad to have a car to call my own.

Now that I have gone down memory lane I just remembered things I need to add to my list. So I guess my relaxing time is over.

To everyone, have a great week end!

hands

Hands can be little or big, but they still can do so much.
I love my daughters!!

new pics

procrastination at its finest

My friend Cinder did this on her blog, so I thought I'd try:

The things in bold are the things I’ve done! Copy it and publish your list!!Make bold what you've done then copy and paste into your blog post. Easy-schmeezy!
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you’ and meant it!
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea (well at the Lake)
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Visited all 50 states
40. Taken care of someone who was drunk
41. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
42. Watched wild whales
43. Stolen a sign
44. Backpacked in Europe
45. Taken a road-trip
46. Gone rock climbing
48. Midnight walk on the beach
49. Gone sky diving
50. Taken a train through Europe
51. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
52. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table, and had a meal with them
53. Milked a cow
54. Alphabetized your CDs
55. Sung karaoke
56. Lounged around in bed all day
57. Gone scuba diving
58. Kissed in the rain
59. Gone to a drive-in theater
60. Started a business
61. Taken a martial arts class
62. Been in a movie
63. Crashed a party
64. Gone without food for 5 days
65. Gotten a tattoo
66. Got flowers for no reason
67. Performed on stage
68. Been to Las Vegas
69. Recorded music
70. Eaten shark
71. Buried one/both of your parents
72. Been on a cruise ship
73. Spoken more than one language fluently
74. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
75 Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
76. Had plastic surgery
77. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
78. Wrote articles for a large publication
77. Lost over 100 pounds
79. Piloted an airplane
80. Petted a stingray
81. Broken someone’s heart
82. Broken a bone
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Parasailed
86. Skipped all your school reunions
87. Shaved your head
88. Caused a car accident
89. Pretended to be "sick"
90. Surfed in the ocean
91. Saved someone's life
92. Fainted
93. Been in the room while someone else is giving birth
94. Hitchhiked
95. Adopted a child
96. Been caught daydreaming
97. Been to the Grand Canyon
98. Called off a wedding engagement
99. Donated your blood
100. Rode an elephant

I'm a Timbit too!

I am now the official coach for the Timbits' North Zone Soccer Rider Team 4 and under category. No one else wanted the job, so of course I volunteered! The awesome thing is now I know all of the children's names and had them cheering (in unison), "GO RIDERS, GO!" It was great.

My Pooky bear did better this game. She actually played each of her turns right until the last minute where she decided she was tired and just stopped playing, so I sent in another player for the last minute, she cried so hard about me sending in someone else. Oh well, she has to learn. On her defense she had her first sleep over at her friends house last night which ended up in an awake over. Then she had to come to soccer in the morning with her friends with no nap before hand.

She had fun though at the awake over, I on the other hand missed her like crazy. I kept asking Chad if we should go over there to say good night, or at least call her. He had the level head to remind me it might agitate Pooky bear about us not being there. I did sneak in a call at 9 to find out how they went to bed though. Apparently at 4 am they woke up and would not go back to sleep until 6 am. Pooky bear had such big bags in her eyes in the morning!

You know she's really tired when she asked to have a nap when we got home. I think we will settle back into our routine pretty easy after her nap. I don't think we have another awake over for a while now, especially because it is our turn to host it next!

Remembrance Day

Today I thinks the kids and I are going to make "peace hands" to help remind me about tomorrow and teach the children about tomorrow. It's hard to explain to the kids about Remembrance day. I don't want it to be just a day where people wear poppies, and maybe watch a service on TV. How do you really teach the kids about what happened? I can teach them about peace in their world with friends and family. They have no clue about much else. I think maybe that is a good thing for now. Innocence is a virtue in this case.

another goal day

Today's goals include:
Update at 4:55pm in red

- no answering the phone with exceptions being Chad and Dr's office (I caved and answered the phone when auntie mary called, but she lives in BC, so other exceptions can be made)

- no TV past 8:30 am (this worked for everyone except for little monkey who is teething very badly and needed some baby enstein at nearly 4pm)

- wash dishes (check)

- see how a toddler I babysit will do with out her Sucky at nap time (did surprisingly well, we'll see how tonight turned out)

- do laundry *including putting it away (I did laundry and put away laundry, but I am not finished yet)

- clean and vacuum living room (Cleaned but not vacuumed)

- make a craft with the kids this afternoon (did not happen, will have to make a point of doing so tomorrow)

- host a dance party this afternoon complete with dress up clothes and everything (Did not due because of behaviours)

- tidy up entrace way (I hate this job) (still procrastinated on, but one day it will get done)

We will see how it goes, so far it is going well, but the day is not over.

a long lost friend

I have recently had recently ran into an old friend of mine. It has been a long time since I had been with them. I was so happy, but reminded about why I hadn't seen them in a long time. My friend has the tendency to be very influential with not always the greatest intentions. It's funny, after only being with my friend for a matter of minutes, I was reminded about why my distance was necessary. Yet, I still missed my friend. I am so confused. Have you ever had a friend who was energetic, fun to be around when they show up, but controled how you did things? My friend would like to get together more often. I know my answer ought to be no, but I am tempted to say yes. I guess I won't worry about it until tomorrow morning when I have to decide if I want to see my friend again.

My answer will most likely be yes, with a little milk and a lot of sugar.

favourites

Chad and I have been sharing with each other what our favourite senses are. I thought I'd share them with all of you:

Smell: The girls after they had a bath, home made bread baking

Taste: (no brainer) MILK CHOCOLATE

Sound: Pooky bear and little monkey's laugh

Touch: the girls' skin

See: my daughters playing together at their own free will, and seeing people smile when they are truly happy.

I am such a mom who loves her daughters a lot! I hope that doesn't make me weird. I wonder how much these will change when the girls get older?

fallen

I feel like I have fallen off the face of the earth now that I am babysitting, I don't have enough time to think let alone time to blog. So, sorry to anyone who has been checking my blog only to find no new entry. Hopefully I will find more time, but for now, I hope everyone had a sugar filled halloween, I know we did!

Sorry Grandma

Since the flu entered our home, I have not had the chance to even think about blogging. My days have been filled with keeping a bucket around someone in my family (myself included), sending Chad to Shopper's frequently (poor guy went there 3 times yesterday), and keeping my family hydrated with pedialyte. I am still not feeling the greatest but I am in much better shape than yesterday.

I have been feeling so bad lately because my Grandma had tickets for us to attend her church's annual supper last night. Being that I was the one sick, I thought I would feel better and kept pushing off telling Grandma I was not well. But by 5 pm it was definately obvious I was not getting any better so I called to tell her the bad news. I felt aweful especially because she spent a lot of time stressing over our tickets trying to get them at an early time so we could attend.

Tomorrow, I will call her and appologize again for canceling at such short notice.

No matter what happens, family comes first

On Saturday I got a chance to coordinate and participate in a clothing give away at our church. It was an amazing experience I will never forget. Today, my friend and I were going to share at our church what we witnessed on Saturday, however, Pooky bear woke up in the wee hours of the morning with a very upset tummy and in desperate need of new sheets etc. This continued through out the morning, so I made a decision to not to go to church (at first I was thinking just I would go) I will miss the opportunity to share with my church family but am confident my friend will explain enough for the both of us.

So, now I'm at home and all of my babies are sleeping (including my husband who got an upset stomach too from watching pooky bear). I am realizing it is a good time to reflect and enjoy the quiet, even if it is just for a brief momment.

Princess of Geeks

Chad and I had a lengthly conversation last night about who is the bigger geek, him or me. I, of course, said it was him with all of his knowledge of Star Wars, Star Trek and any other movie out there created before the 1990's that and he still role plays with his friends 2-3 times a week. Oh, and did I mention he's obsessed with his computer and all the games he plays on it. And a mention needs to go towards the fact he searches on e-bay to find rare transfomer figurines and old movies. In our conversation I also included the fact he still plays Nintendo 64 and brings it over to his friends house to play. I need to mention all of these things he does currently.

Here are the points Chad had against me:

- I was in 4 choirs in high school Done in the past

- I was in band for 5 years, the last year includes 2 jazz bands Done in the past

- I was the president of Peer Support and S.A.D.D. in my school Done in the past

- I know more than one charater to Strawberry Shortcake and Care bear's Chad can do this too

- I named my cat after a movie barely anyone has seen present time I did this, but he named his cat after a movie they based a role playing game about

- when Chad and his friends went to watch a football game at the Pump, my friends and I went with them and played Disney Trivial Pursuit at a table near the back. I need to metion too that I one the game. One point for geekiness here

- I decorated Kira's room in Strawberry Shortcake and love the fact she likes it along with barbies, my little pony, and dolls. I have been known to ask Kira if she wants to play barbies or my little ponies with me. If we were to have had a boy, or two boys, Chad would have been all over looking for GI joes and Transformers (which he looks for himself now). So, I fell this is point does not count. He's just jealous I can relive my childhood with my daughters and he can't.

So, after that discussion, he decided I was not the queen of geeks, but only a princess, and he is the knight if geeks. I know there are several geeks in the kingdom of geeks, but I still feel, I should only be a countess, where as my husband, belongs in the grand castle (he can use the castle he designed 2 years ago) of geeks as a prince.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

I feel like I'm a bad mommy

This morning I took Pooky bear and I to the dentist. It was her first time and it was fun for her, but bad news for Chad and I. She has 3 cavities starting, and one full cavity. I felt about 3 inches high after hearing that. From talking with the dentist, we concluded that from all the milk she drinks, it has been leaving a plaque build up on her teeth, and from not proper brushing the plaque away, she has developed cavities. The dentist wants to treat them imediately beacause she will have her teeth until she is ten years old. Poor Pooky bear is going to have to be sedated to have the proceedure done. I still feel bad because I even floss her teeth regularly. I am a mommy on a mission now to get better tooth paste for her with flouride and one of those cool rotory tooth brushes. The fillings she gets in November will be the last fillings she gets under my watch!


As for me, I am a proud owner of only one cavity and in need of a root canal due to crouding in my teeth. I felt pretty good about it having only one cavity. That appointment will be in December.

Now, in reguards to teeth, the only one in need is Little Monkey. I did speak to the dentist about her lack of teeth and about the way in which they are coming in and she suggested the same as my Dr, she wants me to wait until she is a year old and then take her to see a pediactric dentist. The dentist was puzzled at why they are coming in the way they are because they don't normally do that unless there is crouding. So, we will have to hope she gets teeth soon!

A great frustration

I have been busy lately trying to plan a clothing give away for our church and have run into a stumbling block which is very frustrating to me. The idea of the clothing give away was to reach out to our community, so I naturally called the two schools in the neighbourhood to see if I could send pre made flyers home with the children. The one school had me call the communications director for their board office and see if I could get permission from her. ( I have called several times and am now convinced she is never in her office or a "made up" escape goat for situations like this one, which is too controversial to answer. The other school turned me down outright because my church was not of the right denomination, not in so many words, but the is the distinct impression I got. ARGH!

On a positive note, I contacted the closest community schools in the vicinity of my church and they were excited about the give away and told me how much flyers I would need and everything. I was greatly encouraged because just with these two schools alone we would potentially be reaching out to nearly 300 families in need. Now I just need more people to donate and my job of marketing specialist is complete.

a day well wasted

This morning started off with me being the first of us girls up. This is a first for me. Normally it is my daughters who are my alarm clock. I then started straightening up preparing for company this morning. I kept checking on my daughters and was overjoyed when one of them woke up finally 1/2 hr after me. After getting the one daughter up, her and I attempted to wake her older sister. That was fun for all of us!

After we all had breakfast, a friend came over to visit, then I was presently surprised with a phone call from Auntie Mary. We were on the phone for quite a while having a good chat. I, during this time, did some laundry, put away dishes, and started cooking a roast. I am so glad I can multi-task.

Now, I am waisting time blogging while my daughters watch "Dora the Explorer".

Today is a good day!

Clean sweep

Today, I went through Pooky bear's room and did a "clean sweep" of her toys. I am very impressed with it. She actually picked up her toys before bed, probably because Chad and I sat down with her and we all decided if she leaves a toys at the end of the day not put away, mommy and daddy will take it away for a week. It sounds cruel, but wow is it working. Pooky bear was involved in the consequence, which is very similar to what happens when she does puzzles on the carpet and not on the table. I am hoping to help her develop healthy cleaning and organizing habits. It has to start now, or we'll have more problems later.
Now, tomorrow, little monkey's room!