End Of Summer

How is it that its the end of summer already?? Where did the last two months go? Boo.

We all made it to church today. I dressed the girls in matching outfits just because I can. After the sermon I spent some time catching up with some of my girlfriends that I haven't really spoken to over the summer. I touched base with a lovely woman who runs the Ladies Coffee Hour on Wednesday mornings to find out when that starts. They have childcare for the children so moms can just relax and fellowship with one another without worrying about their kids. I am thinking about trying that out again. Apparently they don't sing anymore so that's enough to get me going back. ;-)

After church we took Sam to get his haircut. He is never happy with me when he gets a haircut and today was no exception. He wants to grow his hair long like his cousins but I tell him if he wants to have hair like that then he'd better start wearing skirts.

Oh yes. I said that.

Ian headed off to Starbucks to work on his sermon for the youth retreat this weekend. I wish I could hear him. I bet he does a great job. While he was gone the kids played outside, Jordan napped and I watched a movie.

My aunt leaves tomorrow after visiting with my mom all summer. She'll stay until the children leave for school then will head home to Michigan. She'll be back for Christmas. YAY!

We all headed over to my mom's for a farewell dinner. My mom had originally wanted to have a bbq but with all the hoo-ha about Listerosis and the ever-growing recall list of tainted meat, she decided to have turkey instead.

BONUS! It was like Thanksgiving in the summer!

I asked Ian to take a pic of my aunt with all of her great-nieces and nephews so she could take it home with her. She has made such an impact in each of these kids lives. It's absolutely amazing. I also asked Ian to take a picture of my mom with her grandchildren because she hasn't had one in a few years. Here they all are (note the girls' matching outfits!)



Now that Jordan can roll from her back to her tummy, she does it ALL the time! But it's like she's forgotten that she can go from her tummy to her back, so she cries pitifully while on her tummy until someone flips her. She even rolls over in her sleep, then wakes herself up. She had Ian up quite a number of times last night.

Here she is in all her brilliance.





That's it for today.

Garage Sale and Birthday Party Day

Today's garage sale was a great success. I was not fired this week because I was conspicuously absent.

:-)

Julie had her lemonade stand again and Sam had his Pokemon stand. I stayed inside with Jordan, my mom and my aunt, cutting vegetables for our family dinner tomorrow night.

Julie had a birthday party today so I styled her hair for her the way she likes.



Here she is, ready to go.



The address for the party was on a street that was just down the road from my mom's house, so Julie and I put Jordan in the stroller and headed off.



For some reason I assumed that the house would be at the end of the street closest to my mom's. I just felt my heart sink when we turned the corner and the house number started at 99.

We were looking for number 6!

We chatted as we walked along in the 4,465,555,324 degree weather. She was so excited to see her little girlfriends. Of course it was the LAST house at the END of the street. I had my usual nervous moment about leaving her in a strange place, with people I don't know, but of course she was fine and actually said..."I've arrived! Let the party begin!"

What a shame she's so shy. ;-)

So, as I mentioned it was about 4,465,555,324 degrees. Apparently this guy didn't know that.



I actually felt hotter just looking at him.

Here are my guys - cat too! - pooped on the couch. It was only 3:30!



After I brought Julie home from the party I headed out shopping with my girlfriend Cindy. I thought I'd have to go all week without getting together with her! After poking around a few stores we stopped for dinner. I always feel so good when I'm with her. She is so encouraging and funny and has great insights.

I just finished watching one of my most favourite comedians, Jim Gaffigan, on tv and am now heading up to bed. My face hurts from laughing.

5 Month Pic

Miss Jordan at 5 months.

Brilliant.

Busy Day

I woke up this morning at 9am feeling very rested and realized with no small amount of pride, that Jordan had slept through the night. 12 hours! I was praising her over and over while I was dressing her for the day and she just beamed up at me. When I called Ian to brag he sadly admitted that this was not the case...he had been up with her at her usual time of 4am so that I could sleep through.

Darn! I thought she'd turned a corner! Ahh well... thanks for the extra rest, Ian! I needed it and it was much appreciated! ;-)

Today Jordan turned 5 months old. I can't believe how these months have just flown by. This morning she rolled from her back to her tummy and looked rather pleased with herself. She's been working on that all week. Brilliant. This week she tried sweet potatoes and pear juice and loved both. She's also relented when it comes to napping in the playpen....usually she wants to sleep in my arms. It's such an incredible feeling to hold a sleeping infant. I just love how she feels in my arms, warm and cozy, right next to my heart.

The children and I picked Ian up at the office early today and we went out for lunch together to celebrate the end of summer vacation. They chose Burger King, which in case you didn't know, is fine dining in their eyes. ;-)

Since I was in the area I popped into my old office to visit some friends and to introduce them to Jordan. Not much has changed in my old department. I met the woman who replaced me and spent some time talking with the women I used to work with. I knew I missed them, I guess I just didn't realize how much. We fell into our old banter immediately. Everyone fawned over Jordan and said she looked just like a Gerber baby. Just about everyone was surprised to see me with a baby and I heard a lot of "you wore Ian down, huh?" to which I replied "yep...6 years of whining will do that to just about anyone".

I've blogged about this job before and how hard it was to make the decision to leave, the issues and scars I had from there and how long it took to fully let go of it after so many years of it being a part of my life, of who I was. Yet, after I left today I felt this sadness. As jerky as some (most?) of the people were (are?), I enjoyed my job and I did it well. I worked with a really good team, for the most part. I still keep in touch with a few people from the other branches across the country and hopefully always will. Still, being a full-time mom is the best job I've ever had and I wouldn't change it for anything.

After my visit we headed over to a new Wal-Mart to do some back to school shopping for the kids. They needed school supplies, shoes and a few items of clothing. Ian and Sam headed off and I took the girls with me. We had just selected her school supplies and were looking at shoes when the guys came back, arms full and a proud "we're done!".

WHAT?!? How is it that men can shop so fast? What's up with that?

Julie took great pains to select the "perfect" pencil case, a matching binder, the "perfect" pencils, "perfect" sharpener.... She was so cute. They had a whole wall of backpacks but they were really generic and I thought (more on this later) that she wanted a themed backpack, so we left that until later.

I thought I would DIE waiting for her to pick the "perfect" pair of shoes. And we had to do this twice! One pair for indoors, one pair for out. I was moaning and groaning inside my head when just when I thought we had the "perfect pair"....she'd put them back and start over.

UGH! And I thought *I* was picky when it came to things like this!

I helped her select a few pairs of jeans and some shirts to try on and at the end of it we bought her two pairs of jeans, a jean skirt, two tops and a hoodie. She was so funny in the dressing room. Every time she'd come out with something on, she'd strut back and forth like she was on the catwalk. Oh how I enjoy that child.

Sam is not as into clothes as Julie is, but he came home with a couple of shirts, a couple pairs of jeans and a hoodie as well.

We were about to leave when I remembered that Julie still hadn't gotten a backpack, so Ian said he would help her choose one. I said we'd likely have to go to another store to get her a themed one, all the while wondering if that would be considered uncool for a second grader to have one like that. She chose a light blue and black one, but not before telling Ian that she was afraid of hurting my feelings, because apparently "mom has her heart set on a character backpack for me".

LOL! Talk about your miscommunication.

After a mild heart attack at the register, we were off.

We're having another yard sale tomorrow so Ian hung up more posters on the way home. I needed to stop in at Purolator because I missed the delivery guy when he came to the house this morning, because being the woman of leisure that I am, I was still in my pjs when he arrived so I didn't answer the door. All day long I obsessed over the notice that I had an envelope to pick up. I couldn't imagine what it was and was worrying about it. I wasted my time because it was only Jordan's birth certificate.

Let me tell you, the government of Canada gets a gold star today. I applied online for Jordan's birth certificate on the 27th and it said it would take 15 business days for it to arrive, but it came today. I was impressed.

After a not-so-quick trip to the grocery store and another mild heart attack at the register, we headed home. I'm not sure who is more tired tonight, me or my beloved credit card.

Tomorrow afternoon Julie is going to a birthday party which means she wants to have her hair and nails done. I'm hoping to be able to hook up with a friend for a visit since we couldn't co-ordinate our schedules to meet this week.

I'm pooped!

Feelin' Quiet

Haven't posted much this week because I haven't really had anything to say. It's been a rough couple of days. Lots of spiritual attack going on. It's frustrating and I'm tired. Just trusting in God to help me put one foot in front of the other.

I'm working through the laundry today. I swear it multiplies when I'm not looking. It's hard when you have one kid who likes to change her outfit several times a day and another who plays like it's his mission to get as dirty as possible!

I'm also making a mental list of what I need to buy for them for school. And I need to get Sam in for a haircut. I'm planning on taking them out for lunch tomorrow to celebrate the end of summer. Celebrate seems like a strange word...but it will be a celebration because we had a good time together, did a lot of fun things, and best of all, we grew closer.

They're both excited about returning to school but apprehensive about their new teachers. Usually there is a slip of paper enclosed with their report card telling them who their teacher will be in the fall but they didn't do that this year, so they're a bit nervous as to who they will be getting. Sam isn't thrilled about discussing sex-ed this year. LOL. This is the year that Julie has her First Reconciliation, but we will likely not have her do her First Communion, just like Sam didn't. I was absolutely floored to hear the parish priest tell us at an information meeting that for a Catholic to accept communion at any other house of worship other than a Catholic church, it would be considered a mortal sin.

!!

I can't even begin to imagine what Jesus would make of THAT statement! Hardly biblical! There is no way I will allow anyone to teach my children that garbage.

Oh I don't have time to get going on that topic. Too much to get done today.

I'm glad that this weekend is a long weekend because it's one extra day we get to have Ian at home. I'm missing him a lot today. :-(

Jordan is doing well. She tried sweet potatoes this week and loved them. She likes apple juice and tried pear juice last night at dinner. She's quick to smile and likes to laugh at me. I have been working with her to get her to nap in her playpen or crib during the day so I can get some things done. She doesn't like it. I have sooo many people tell me I'm spoiling her and it makes me want to tear my hair out. I can't help it that she prefers me and cries to be with me if someone else has her - I'm with her 24/7 (poor thing!) of COURSE she's going to feel most comfortable and safe with me!

Ok. Back to work.

:-)

Tonight Ian brought me perfectly prepared cup of tea, in my favourite Eeyore mug...with this special note on it.



I love you, Ian. Thank you for making me feel loved and beautiful even when my actions are ugly.

Ladies Lunch

I actually made it to church today although I couldn't tell you what the sermon was about. I was in and out trying to take care of Jordan. Still, it made my heart feel good to be there at all, and to reconnect with some friends. I was able to touch base with a couple of them to discuss a bible study that will be starting up in October so I'm really looking forward to that.

After church, Julie and I went out for lunch together. A "Ladies Lunch" she called it. I really wanted to touch base with her to see what was going on in her world, and to try to address some concerns that Sam had raised in our talk last night.

She was so cute sitting across from me, sharing her thoughts and ideas. We had a lot of laughs as well as lots of seriousness. It is always interesting to see how she processes thoughts and ideas.

After lunch we went to Chapters to look around. I wanted to check some of the parenting magazines to get some tips on how to get Jordan to sleep through the night.

Once we looked at everything that interested us we headed over to my mom's to pick something up that I had forgotten when I was there yesterday. I had a great visit with my aunt and then my mom joined us for a bit. We headed off just after 5 and picked up dinner from Swiss Chalet to bring home. Ian had spread out a blanket and we had a picnic in our living room while having a family meeting to discuss the issues and concerns that the children had raised in their talks with me. I think we've got some new and great ideas to try out.

It's certainly been a very busy weekend, as well as an emotional one. I'm pretty tired. Being a parent to three wonderful children, all at different stages with different needs, can be a difficult job. A great one, and one I wouldn't change for anything, but a difficult one.

That's about all I have for tonight.

Catching Up

Things have been pretty busy these last couple of days and I finally have some time to sit quietly and update my blog.

Ian took this pic of Jordan the other morning. Cute, but all I keep thinking is "great...another person who wants to control the remote!"



I have been continuing to work with Jules to teach her how to ride her bike. She's RIGHT THERE but is so afraid to just let go and do it. I keep running alongside her, holding on to her but she still struggles with balancing herself. She is adamant about learning without falling. It's tough.

Here she is, putting on her Hannah Montana bike helmet, ready to practice.



I can still remember when we were first starting out and she wouldn't even get ON the thing. She's ok to pedal once or twice, but she's afraid to keep going.



Giving herself a pep talk..



Feeling discouraged...



Sam decided he would try to help her out and got on her bike to show her how easy it is to ride...



Giving her a few tips and encouragement...



While Julie took a break Sam showed me some of his tricks.



Oooooh....go Sam....



I have run out of tips as to how to get Julie going with her bike. Its hard for her to see all of her friends - and her own brother - riding their bikes around the neighbourhood and she can't go with them. She's so, so close but something is holding her back. I honestly thought about just letting her fall so she'd get it out of her system but that just seems like such a mean thing to do and I know it would be a very long time before she trusted me and an even longer time before she'd try to ride again.

Sigh. Tomorrow is another day. I'd love for her to do it before she goes back to school so she can tell her friends she learned to ride a bike over the summer.

Saturday was a gorgeous day and we were FINALLY able to have the yard sale. Ian was going to run it because I knew - even though I've never had one before - that I was not going to have the patience for it. All the signs that he posted clearly stated that it would start at 9 am, however that didn't stop people from arriving between 8 and 8:30.

The sale started at 9am and I was fired by 9:02. I couldn't help it. A man was asking Ian about a bike we were selling and said he wanted to buy it, but not until tomorrow. Ian said the sale was only today. Again he said something about wanting to buy it tomorrow. Ugh. This went back and forth and finally I said "You can buy it TODAY or TODAY!"

That was the first time I was fired.

A short while later Ian was emptying a box of things on to the table and another man was poking through the box and pulled out a black magic marker and asked Ian how much it was. I said something like "that's not for sale....it's to write the prices...maybe you could just step off for a minute so he can finish setting up!"

Fired again.

You don't have to fire me three times...I was outta there.

Julie decided to set up a lemonade stand to earn some money. Here she is preparing...



Open for business!!



She did a great job and sold about 4 pitchers. She kept giving Sam free drinks but made the rest of us pay.

Sam has a million Pokemon cards and decided to sell some of them, so he set up his own stand. He ended up selling about 30 cards.



Some dude browsing...



Sam demonstrating one of the items for sale. I don't know why I found this so funny but I did, so he kept doing it.



Some guy actually asked Ian how much he was charging for this.



I'm not kidding. He had to explain that it was there as a garbage bin for people to put in their empty cups.

A short while later someone else started poking around this, checking it out from all angles. Then he asked Ian what he was charging for it.



It's a laundry basket that was in the garage, that Ian had taped a "Yard Sale" sign to!! He patiently explained this to the person a couple of times until finally he moved on.

I swear, Ian has the patience of a saint and is polite to absolutely everyone. I bet he'd be polite to Charles Manson too if he were to have shown up at this yard sale.

I spent the rest of the time inside with my mom, aunt and sister, while Sam sat on the porch for a short while with Jordan.



We still have a lot of stuff left over so, weather permitting, we'll hold another one this coming Saturday. Julie is already excited at the prospect of selling more lemonade. There is something so sweet and innocent about a lemonade stand.

Ian headed off to do a volunteer magic show for the street party a couple from our church had planned and took Sam and Julie with him. Jordan and I hung out together and cuddled.

Julie, Jordan and I went for a walk along the ravine together after dinner and once we came home Sam came out and we walked around the block a couple of times together while he and Julie rode their scooters.

Once Julie was in bed, Sam and I had a huge heart-to-heart talk that lasted 2 hours. He had so much to get off his chest....I don't know how he carried it all. After the first hour I started writing things down, repeating what I had heard him say, then together we worked on some solutions. He was exhausted afterwards. So was I.

Long, long day.

Thoughts And Wonderings

Lots of things are on my mind these days so I thought I would share them with you. Of course, this will show you just how odd I am, but that's ok. Chances are you know that about me anyway.

So let's begin.

This morning Ian had quite the story for me. I still don't believe him. After a wonderfully hot bubble bath, lovingly prepared for me by my husband and a glass of wine, I headed to bed. A few hours later he came to bed and said I was humming a song in my sleep and did so for about a minute until he woke me up. I know I talk in my sleep because I've woken myself up doing it before. And Ian has held full conversations with me while I'm sleeping. Yikes.

I'm rather intrigued about 90210 starting this fall. I don't expect it to be a great show by any means. The original was HUGE and I was a devoted watcher and I will still watch it in reruns. I just want to see what they do with it. Apparently Tori Spelling won't be in it because the word on the 'net is that her salary per episode was considerably lower than Jenni Garth and (ew!) Shannen Doherty. I am of two schools of thought on this. One, her father created this show! How can they not have her in it?? But at the same time, she wasn't the strongest actress on the show... I don't know. I would sign a "Bring Back Donna Martin" petition if there was such a thing.

Ian and I are watching The Shining as I write this. I am fully aware that this is supposed to be a horror movie but I can't stop laughing. Every time that little boy says "redrum...REDRUM!" I start laughing. I also laughed a lot at the end of Seven. Talk about your bad acting.

Another thing that I've been wondering about is why women brag about the length of their labours, each one trying to top the next with how long they "suffered". Is it a badge of honour for them or something? I truly don't know. My labours were controlled inductions. Sam came in 7 hours, Julie came in 3 and Jordan came in 5. Sure there were periods of discomfort but praise the Lord there were epidurals.

I love it when people ask me if I had "natural" deliveries. It always makes me laugh. Natural, I am assuming, is drug-free. To that I laugh and say HELL NO. "Oh" they say, disapprovingly, because THEY did it naturally and are therefore better than me. Well, good for you. If you can stand that type pain then go right ahead. It just makes me shake my head. I can't imagine asking someone if they had a natural delivery. Who cares??

Moving on...

Shelley Duvall is an astonishingly bad actress. Yet, I continue to watch the movie. How could I possibly stop watching now that it's almost the end?

I was reading my celebrity news sites this morning as usual and was very pleased to read that Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling have gotten back together. Just sayin'.

I also wonder why it is that some people feel the need to correct other people's children right in front of the parents. Everyone parents differently and what might work in my home might not work in yours. If my child is truly offending you with his/her normal child-like behaviour then tell me so that I can address it myself.

What's up with The Hills? What is this show about anyway? And why are these people so famous? I tried watching an episode once and I just couldn't bear it. These people are everywhere. Reality TV is really getting desperate.

Ooh.. speaking of Reality TV... the new Bachelor has been announced! Jason whatever his name is, the dude that DeAnna rejected. What a nice guy. I will be watching to see how he makes out. Why? Because as lame as Reality TV is, I still watch some of it. Oh don't you snicker and shake your head at me... you know you watch some of it too.

There is this creepy cat that wanders around my neighbourhood. Apparently his name is Car Wreck. Yep. It used to visit at my friend's house because her husband fed it once and then continued to come every day afterwards. Well, now that they have moved away Car Wreck seems to think he's going to hang around my house. Oh no kitty cat..I think not. I kept trying to shoo him away tonight and he just stood there. I think he knows he could take me if it came down to it.

Aside from my startling hair loss, I am experiencing memory loss as well. I had to leave my phone number on a message today and I drew a complete blank. I don't often call myself, so theres my defense. Yes.. I am aware of how lame that sounds.

Sometimes when I can't fall asleep I plan what I would do if I ever won the lottery. I am always amazed when someone wins the lottery and when they are interviewed on tv they say they have absolutely no idea what they will do with their winnings. Honestly. I, on the other hand, will be perfectly prepared.

I have this thing about odd numbers. I don't like them. I can't buy my fruit and vegetables in odd numbers. I can buy 2 apples or 4 apples, but not 3. Even if I know that the 4th apple will die in my rotter - err.. I think normal people call this a crisper, but nothing I put in there ever comes out crisp...it rots in there because out of sight, out of mind - I will still buy it. Bananas.. has to be a bunch in even numbers. I cannot buy a bunch with 5 in it and add 1 single banana to make six. Nope. Now what I have is two bunches of unevenly numbered bananas. I will remove one banana instead. I don't count strawberries or grapes because even I'm not that crazy.

I am afraid of the dark and therefore leave a light on all night. I worry about being lost in space. I have to touch the lock on my front door to convince myself that yes, I locked it. My mind races with weird thoughts like these all the time.

Well, that's it for today. Hopefully my next entry will be a little more....normal.

Blah Blah Ramble Ramble

Something I have been waiting for forever finally arrived today. MOTIVATION!! Yep. I actually FELT like cleaning up around the house which is pretty good timing because it needs it. Badly.

Jordan, however, had other plans. We had quite a bit of fun together today and she loved that she had all of my attention. We sat across from each other and laughed at each other for about 5 minutes. The harder she laughed the harder I laughed and so on. Precious. She was having so much fun that she would get so sad when I had to set her up with something to occupy her so I could get a few things done while Motivation was visiting. Whenever I'd look over at her she'd have these fat tears sliding down her cheeks.

The kids had been outside with their friends for awhile when they came in asking if they could put on their bathing suits so they could have a water fight with their friends. I said of course, and off they went. I checked out the window periodically and all was well.

Then Ian came home, and came into the kitchen carrying muddy towels and shoes. Apparently Sam wanted to refill his water gun and Julie took hold of the hose and sprayed everyone and everything in the backyard, making a lot of mud. I can't even bring myself to look outside and see what kind of mess there is.

They both blamed each other of course. Ahh well. Thank goodness everything washes.

Not much to report today. Things were pretty quiet. I'm hoping Motivation settles in for awhile... I have so much to do around here.

Photos

Here are a few photos from yesterday.

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Sam and Julie all dressed up...

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Waiting for lunch...

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All of the grandchildren together for the first time.

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The entire family together for the first time (and hopefully not the last!)

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My inlaws, Jack and Doreen cutting the cake.

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Jordan.

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Sam and Megan.

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Piggyback rides!

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More piggy back rides. Julie is with Jennifer and Sam is still with Megan.

We Made It

Yesterday was the big day...

Ian's parents wanted to leave for the venue by 11:30 which meant we would have to leave our house by 10:00 in order to arrive in time to change out of our jeans into our outfits for the day.

We woke up around 7:30 to begin baths and showers and hair and nails... Ian packed the van with our outfits, shoes, various video and camera equipment as well as all the other paraphernalia that we seem to have to travel with. We were out the door by 10:15. Not bad.

Ian and I had prayed for the day together before getting out of bed, but I found myself chatting with God many times during the hour drive north. I was fighting against feelings of worry and nervousness. 10 years is a really, really long time to not speak to someone. I didn't know what to expect. But He kept reassuring me that I am who He created me to be and that is enough.

We arrived with about 8 minutes to get dressed. We were prepared to see his brother because he is staying with my inlaws. We were very surprised to see his sister and her family there. I thought we had a little more time to prepare but we were all thrown in together. Our nieces and our children hit it off instantly and I started to relax. I didn't know what they were told about this separation so I didn't know what to expect from them. As usual, I shouldn't have wasted time worrying about it. They are absolutely lovely young women, both inside and out.

Julie and I changed into our dresses as fast as we could and then both changed Jordan. She just smiled and cooed no matter how we jostled her this way and that. We tossed everything into a spare bedroom and flew down the stairs and out the door.

The party venue was at a golf club inside Base Borden. The room was decorated in burgundy and gold, and on each table was a slim vase holding a couple of roses. Very elegant, just like my mother in law. Even the ladies room had gold coloured hand towels to match.

I suck at small talk. Just about everyone who knows me knows this about me. If I know you I could just about talk your ear off, but if I just met you, well... it's agony. Well, I had to make a lot of small talk yesterday! Lucky for me, everyone was interested in seeing the grandchildren, especially the baby, so that really helped. I know a fair number of my inlaws friends and that helped as well.

My inlaws could not have been happier to have all of their children and grandchildren under the same roof. I honestly did not think this day would ever come. God is good. He was so present yesterday.

I had to laugh when someone asked if they could take a picture of everyone together. Once we were all in place, all sorts of people gathered to take photos. I whispered to one of my nieces that I felt like we were in front of the paparazzi with all the flashes going on. I guess just about all of them knew about the rift between the children and figured it would be another 10 years before we were all together again so they'd better get a picture now!

Ian had put together a presentation of photos set to music and it was terrific. Everyone enjoyed it. He also took pictures of everyone there and had them up on the screen playing throughout the meal.

I can't believe how well the children behaved the entire day. I received tons of compliments on them from how beautiful they are to how well they behaved, etc. No one could get over how well Jordan did. She didn't fuss at all even though there was always someone mauling her or poking at her. I managed to get her to sleep but when I turned around there was a woman poking at her and Jordan was smiling. She said she had to bump the stroller four times before she'd wake up. Honestly! I didn't really mind. Whatever it took to make my inlaws and their guests happy I was committed to doing.

The children were getting a little restless after lunch so I let them go just outside the door on to the patio after extracting promises from both that they wouldn't disturb the golfers. Would you believe they found a frog outside and were playing with it. Ew. The poor thing was hardly moving at all by the time I made them put him back in the grass. He was still breathing, I think he was just terrorized.

I had a chance to talk to my nieces for a bit and discovered they are as intelligent and funny as they are lovely. Julie had two of them cornered for a bit and talked their ears off.

We headed to my inlaws just after 4:30. The children had a wonderful time playing with two of their cousins and ended up having piggy-back races. I made my small talk (yikes) and passed Jordan around, rescuing her when she'd had enough. His sister and family left just after 7:00 and we headed off shortly after 8:30.

Ian's parents were so pleased with the day and that made Ian and me very happy. We were all in bed by 10:30! We are all pretty tired today.

Ian talked to his dad this morning and he had nothing but good things to say about the day.

In other news, my sister moved back to my city yesterday. She now lives about a 1 1/2 minute drive from my house. Not sure what that will bring...

I'll post some pics a little later. I'm off to go grocery shopping before my family starves to death.

Its Pimpin' Time!

I am happy to announce that Ian has started up a blog of his own.

He is a terrific writer and I know you'll enjoy reading his thoughts. No promises on how often he will update, but I'm sure it will be thought provoking and enjoyable.

Family Video

Ian makes the most wonderful family videos so I thought I'd share my favourite one with you.

Sunshine At Last!

After what felt like days and days of rain we finally got some sunshine yesterday so the children and I headed out to hang out at the beach for a few hours. It wasn't too crowded and I found a nice spot in the shade to sit with Jordan while the kids swam.

Sam was teasing Julie by squirting her with his water gun. She was wailing "SAAAAMMMMM!" and running to me to tell on him. I'd pretend to scold him and as soon as she looked away I'd wink at him and egg him on.

It was really a very pleasant few hours. Once Jordan fell asleep I pulled out the book I've been trying to read since I bought it about two weeks ago. Between the gentle breeze, watching my children playing together and looking over at my perfect little baby, I felt as though everything was truly perfect in my world.

Here is Jordan at the beach...



After the beach we delivered a baby gift on behalf of my mom then went to pick Ian up at work. Tomorrow is Ian's parents' 50th wedding anniversary luncheon so I wanted to buy Julie a new dress.

She chose a lovely pink dress at the very first store we went to and it was just what we were looking for. She tried it on and said she felt very pretty in it. It was $29.99 marked down to $19.99 and when the saleswoman rang it in it came up as $12.99. Not bad at all. Who cares how you feel in it missy....Momma just got herself a D-E-A-L!

Our next stop was to buy earrings to go with her new dress. The Queen of Indecision reared her royal head and I thought we'd be there forever. She had it narrowed down to a few pairs and finally I said I'd buyt them all just so we could leave already.

While browsing around I came across another dress marked down to $5.00 so I bought it for her as well.

Last evening I met up with my girlfriends for our weekly time together. We just hung out at Tim Horton's and talked each other's ears off.

Things were pretty quiet around here today. Ian took Sam out to buy dress shoes for tomorrow and we had our weekly Family Night. Ian had bought the children new Pokemon books so they were more interested in reading those than watching anything on tv. MY choice was to watch the DC Games (Disney Channel). Why I like that show so much I have no idea but I get really cross if anyone talks during it or blocks the tv. Honestly...I'm not kidding. In case anyone else is watching it, I am rooting for the yellow team, just so you know.

I am now propped up in The Tower (aka my bed) with the new laptop. I once blogged about how high my bed is now, so I took I pic of Jules standing next to it so you could have an idea of just how high it is. She isn't a short kid, either.



There are still some nights when I forget how high up I am and don't compensate for it and pretty much stumble/fall out on my way to get Jordan.

Tomorrow will be a big day... we will see Ian's sister for the first time in 10 years. I'm getting very nervous because I don't know what to expect. The children are very excited to meet their three cousins. Any prayers would be appreciated.

That's it for today.

Hump Day

Wednesday already...crazy.

This morning my mom came over to watch the children so I could go and get my hair done. After working myself up to changing the colour I ended up being lazy and staying blonde. Love it.

I brought my hair loss to the attention of my stylist today and showed her where I'm actually losing it noticeably. She said it's normal to lose hair after pregnancy. I have heard this although I've never experienced it. She was very cavalier about it until she started rinsing the colour out and saw how much came out of my head. I heard her say "oh my" a couple of times....not that I wasn't worried enough BEFORE.

I told her that at this rate, this might be the last time she sees me because bald people don't require haircuts.

She assured me that it's growing back but I don't see it.

When I am not obsessing about my hair loss issue, I am obsessing about the amount of crime in my city.

On Saturday night a teenaged boy was shot and killed in a community rec centre on the street where my friend Carrie JUST moved on to. Residents have been quoted as saying that there is gang activity there and drugs are sold regularly. This street is about 3 minutes away from me.

Then, last night, a guy was sitting in his car at a red light when some guy got out of his car and walked over, leaned in and started stabbing the guy. This intersection is RIGHT OUTSIDE MY HOUSE!

Sigh.

Now my friend Jen just told me that her church was broken into last night. A CHURCH.

Ugh. I'm going to bed.

Cookie Time!

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar??



Who ME?? Couldn't be!

They're Home!!

I am so happy to have my children home again!

I could hear them playing in the backyard when I arrived so I snuck around the side of the house and just watched them playing with the neighbour's dog for a few minutes then called out "who's your friend?" and they turned and did a double take. LOL. Then they started squealing and ran into my arms for hugs and kisses. My heart felt so good.

As soon as we got into the house they wanted to show me the little potato people they made while they were at the festival. All the captions and names are Sam's.



Such good little Christian kids!







Once they had told us all of their stories they headed back outside again to play before dinner.

They KNOW I don't like it when they wrestle but they don't listen. They look like they are having fun while they're doing it but it can turn into SmackDown 2008 at any given moment.



They adore the neighbour's dog Henry. He has this thing about finding golf balls and bringing them home. At one point I knew how many they had but I can't recall now. Thousands I think.







Nothing gross-er than dog goober. EW!



After dinner we all went for a walk along the nature trail with Ian's parents.

Jordan missed the whole thing.



The children love to pick flowers for me, which I love. But these flowers...well...they don't have a very nice smell, so I suggested that we take a picture of Julie holding the flower, that way it would never die.

(and I wouldn't have to smell it)



On our way back to the house we passed by this sign on someone's lawn. Man it made me laugh.


I wonder if it works.

Oh, it feels so good to have them home again.

Pick Up Day!

Yay! Today we head up north to my inlaws house to pick up the children. I am SO excited to see them.

As much as I missed them, I really enjoyed this time alone with Ian. We've been needing it.

I can't wait to see my Sam and Julie!!!

Update

Last night Ian and I went to see Hulk and Iron Man. AWESOME! I am not a comic book person, but I always made sure to watch The Incredible Hulk and Wonder Woman. Oh glory. If they ever make a Wonder Woman movie I'll go nuts with excitement. I wanted to BE Wonder Woman when I grew up.

Today we went to the mall to purchase a gift for my inlaws' 50th wedding anniversary. We will be giving them a digital camera and printer. My father-in-law has always been into photography and they will be going on a cruise next month to celebrate so I'm sure they'll enjoy it.

50 years. Wow. That's incredible. This generation seems to have lost the value and appreciation and commitment that marriage requires. My inlaws are hosting a lunch for 60 people next Saturday to celebrate and we will be seeing Ian's sister and her family for the first time in 10 years. She has never met our children. I'm a little nervous about it to be honest.

We walked around the mall a bit and popped in to HMV to say hello to my cousin and introduce him to Jordan. We stopped for lunch and ended back up at Best Buy and bought a laptop! And so here I am blogging from my couch watching Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes. Very nice.

Tomorrow we go to pick up the children. I have missed them so much!

08-08-08

How cool is today's date..?? 08-08-08.

Very cool.

Ian took me to see Dark Knight at (on?) the Imax and it was pretty cool. Lots of great stunts and effects. Heath Ledger did a great job as the Joker, and although there is a lot of talk about him winning an Oscar for it I'm I'm not so sure I agree. Which doesn't mean much because I'm often annoyed at the movies/actors that win and those that don't.

I couldn't look at Harvey Dent when he became Two-Face... shudder. That one freaky eye and the burned away flesh... It was gross!

Last night we ordered in and watched a movie called Serenity. It was science fiction-ish and I liked it.

Not sure what's on for tonight. Maybe we'll go to another movie.

The children are having a great time with their grandparents although Julie tells me she misses me soooo much. I'm glad they are having fun and it's a special time for Ian's parents as well. They're enjoying the care packages and LOVED the playing cards Ian ordered from Hong Kong.

I watched a bit of the opening of the Olympics this morning and now as I putter around the house I have Regis and Kelly on. Why, I have no idea. Kelly Ripa really, really, REALLY annoys me. And she's EVERYWHERE!

I don't really have much to talk about today. Feelin' kinda blah today.

Final Score

The final score for tears today was: Julie - 2, Mom - 2

It's a tie.

My inlaws arrived just before 2pm much to Sam's excitement. He'd been watching for them for hours! As soon as they arrived he picked up their stuff and headed for the door.



After a brief visit they headed off. Sam got in the car without saying goodbye! Jules was crying as she buckled herself in and I reminded her that it's ok to miss each other and that we'll have lots to talk about on Sunday when we pick them up.

I stood outside waving until they turned the corner then I headed back inside to have a bit of a cry myself.

I'm looking forward to a date with Ian tonight...

Scorecard Update

The scorecard update for tears so far is: Julie - 1, Mom - 1

Yikes!

I had hoped I would have scored higher!

63 As a 1930s wife, I am Superior Take the test!

The scorecard for tears so far today is: Julie - 1, Mom - 0

Feelin' Sad

Later on today Ian's parents will be arriving to pick up the children. They're going to have them from this evening through to Sunday.

I'm going to miss them so much.

I know it's important for them to spend time with their grandparents and that they like to visit with the children without Mom and Dad hanging around.

Still... I am feeling very sad and my stomach hurts a little bit. Ok, it hurts a lot. I don't mind if they go to visit someone....I just want them sleeping under my roof at night.

I love being with my children and I am very selfish about my time with them. They come first and Ian often has to remind me that before they came along we were Ian and Kate and that relationship needs to be nurtured. I know he's right.

Ian and I are going to see Dark Knight tomorrow night. His third viewing, my first. It's made $400 million in 18 days. Incredible. My mom and aunt will watch Jordan for us.

I finished putting together some "care packages" for them. There is one for each day they will be away.





Each envelope has two Hershey Kisses and two Hershey Hugs. They always get lots of hugs and kisses at bedtime so these will take the place of the real deal.

I put two Hershey Kisses in their lunches every single day during the school year. Just so they know I am thinking about them.

Wednesday's envelopes are cards with a picture of each child with me and a note for them to read before bed.

Thursday's envelopes contain a deck of cards for each and the back of the cards is a photo of them. Ian ordered these from Hong Kong. Very cool.

Friday's envelopes have Pokemon cards in them. They are SO into Pokemon. If they aren't trading the cards they are having battles, or watching the tv show or watching movies about them on the computer or playing with their stuffed Pokemon characters..... Honestly. I am all Pokemon-ed right out.

Saturday's envelopes have notebooks and pens inside. They can draw pictures or write about their adventures while they are away.

Sunday's envelopes have The Cooties in them. This is a long story so I'll give you the short version. A few years ago my mom started teasing Sam about having Cooties. They are always trying to give them to each other in new and creative ways. My mom wrapped them up as a Christmas gift for them to open Christmas morning. She has also mailed them to Sam as well as emailed them. I wish I could see their faces when they open up their Cooties.

*I* can't get them because I have the only Cootie Lock in the entire world so I am forever exempt.

Yes... we actually play with The Cooties. I don't even know what they are. Germs maybe? Ahh well. We have fun with them. They tend to give all their Cooties to Jordan because she can't give them back. Ohhh but one day...

Well I am off to bed. It's after 1:30am and I am very tired now. We are going to have our pancakes on the porch later on this morning and then I need to finish packing their bags and gather whatever things they want to bring.

Stay tuned for my pity post later on this afternoon once the children have left.

Sniff sniff...

It's Over Already

I can't believe the weekend is over already. We had a lot of fun though. Ian was such a blessing to me today - he sent me for a nap this afternoon AND picked up a pizza for the children so I didn't have to cook.

Tonight I went out for dinner with Cindy and several hours later I am still feeling quite full. We couldn't decide what to order and finally settled on four different appetizers: nachos, quesadillas, spinach dip with flat bread and mini cheese burgers. Jenn joined us awhile later which was nice. I love getting together with these ladies and I look forward to it each week.

GLORY. I am stuffed.

Ian's parents are coming to pick up the children on Wednesday for a visit and we'll go get them on Sunday. There is an annual festival that goes on in their town and they've gone for the last two or three years. While I am not looking forward to their absence, it will be nice to have a few date nights with Ian. My mom and aunt have offered to watch Jordan for us so we can go out for dinner one or two nights. Ian wants to see Dark Knight on Imax. This will be his third viewing. I'm not all into comic book movies but he swears up and down that I will love this one. He's usually right about these things.

Tomorrow I need to pick up a few things to make little care packages that the children can open each day and know that we are thinking of them. I have a few ideas of what I'll do.

I need to get my hair done this week and I'm trying to decide whether to stay blonde or go back to brown. Sam wants me to go red again. Julie wants me to stay blonde so we look the same. I asked Ian what he thought and he said I look beautiful either way.

Decisions, decisions.

Sweet Sunday

We were pretty tired when we woke up this morning and discussed skipping church today.

Again.

I really didn't feel like going. Nothing was wrong, nor did I feel sick. I just didn't want to go.

Well, experience has taught me that when I feel like that, then that is the very thing I need to be doing.

I'm very glad we went. The worship was wonderful and it was Communion Sunday and I love taking communion as a family.

We headed over to my mother's for dinner to celebrate my aunt's birthday and it was a wonderful visit. Afterwards Ian and I sat around the table with the children and my nephew and played a few hands of Cheat.

I am too honest to play this game therefore I lost every hand.

It was so nice to be able to put aside the brokenness within my family and to pretend things were like they used to be, if only for short while. For that brief period, the continual weight on my heart was lifted. I saw hope for a future with healing.

God is good.

Family Fun

We woke up to beautiful sunshine, so we decided to head downtown to Ontario Place for the day. As usual, I will tell you about our day in pictures.

It took us longer than planned to get out the door so we grabbed breakfast to eat on the way. As you can see, nutrition is extremely important to me and I feed my children only the best.



Ooh! Almost there!



I never get tired of seeing the CN Tower.



Construction as usual. I swear that Ontario seasons aren't Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, it's Construction, Construction, Construction and Winter. Very annoying.



While planning this family trip I failed to check to see if anything else was going on downtown. It turned out that today was the big Caribana parade.

While we were stuck in traffic we saw many people who were getting ready for the parade so I took some pics.

I don't know of anything that could make me walk around like this. Not even a million dollars. And I would really like a million dollars.







I don't know what to say about this shot because I don't want to be mean. But a lot of ideas come to mind.



I think maybe she should have worn a pair of shorts over this. Maybe just until she got where she was going.

After a what felt like forever and a million are-we-there-yets we finally arrived at Ontario Place.

While we were walking across the huge parking lot it started spitting. I looked at the sky and still saw sunshine so I figured it would pass. Ian ran ahead to buy our tickets as it started raining harder. He found a spot underneath a tree for us just before the sky opened up. I can't remember a time when I have ever been out in a rainstorm like this. I closed up Jordan's stroller but was beginning to panic about her getting wet. We were soaked to the skin in minutes and it just kept raining harder and harder. I couldn't believe how hard it was raining. I looked over at Ian where he was in line and just shook my head. He came running over to tell me he would go and get the van.

The poor guy ran at top speed to the opposite end of the parking lot, through blinding rain with bronchitis. What a guy!

By this time the children were shivering and holding on to me. I took a quick peek at Jordan and she was still sleeping and perfectly dry. As soon as Ian pulled up we ran over. I couldn't even see it was raining so hard. We fired everything into the van and once we were in we gave the children towels to wrap themselves in.

Of course, once we were all buckled in, the rain stopped and the sun started peeking out again.

Unbelievable.

We decided to just head back to the 'burbs and dry off. The children were so disappointed but Ian had a back up plan. As soon as we got home I had a hot shower then made lunch. Then we headed out again.

First stop...Build A Bear.

When Sam was 9 months old I made him a little brown bear that I named Joe. Today Joe was re-stuffed and got a cool High School Musical sweatsuit and shades. Julie's bear Snowflake or Snowball (the name changes depending on the day) got a new HSM shirt, a Baby Bjorn carrier and new shades.

I love this store. I could sit and watch every single kid while they brought their new bear-friends to life by stuffing them and wishing on the little hearts that go inside them. Every person that works at that place is awesome with kids.

Next stop... Playdium.

Ian found a corner table so Jordan and I settled in while Ian took the children around to play some games. I read People Magazine and got caught up on all my famous friends. Why I enjoy reading about their lives so much I have no idea.

Eventually we all headed outside to see what they had going on out there and did we ever have fun!

First up, Ian and Sam went against each other in a water fight. They had to load up a water balloon, pull back on it and then fire it over to their opponent.





Then we headed over to the go karts. Not being a fan of go karts, I happily stayed with Jordan and watched.

Ian fitting Jules with a helmet...



Ian ready to go...



I love that he wears superhero shirts. He has a lot of them.

And they're off!



Apparently Julie kept yelling "Go faster, Dad! FASTER!"



Then she yelled "I'm screaming in happiness!!"



Then it was Sam's turn...





I think it was right after this next picture that Sam's helmet flew off his head.



!!!

They were flagged to come in and they brought him another helmet and off they went again.




What is up with this woman's hair? I blurred her face because I am all respectful like that. But the hair... what would make her think this was an attractive look???



That's all I'll say about her because I don't like talking poorly about people.

After the go karts we headed inside to bowl.





Ian won. I think his superhero shirt helped him.

OK, it had nothing to do with it. He is just naturally gifted in anything competitive.

Ian trying out the batting cages. I don't think I could have hit a single ball.



Sam and Julie going up against Dad in a water fight...



A terrific family day...