Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Ugh!!

Usually I don't post in the middle of the day but today.....today is a special day. Today I went to Wal-Mart.

Normally I love Wal-mart. The American ones are the best, in my opinion. I can still remember when our local store opened and how thrilled I was.

Well the thrill is off. Completely.

They are having their "huge anniversary sale" right now and have tons of stuff on sale. But I didn't go today for the sale. I went because I needed to buy Julie some new underwear. But the other 8,000,000 people were.

Every employee I encountered was rude. Starting with the "greeter" at the door. What an odd term for that position. They don't really "greet" anyone. The person there always looks so surly so I try not to even look at them. In 15 years I have probably been "greeted" three times.

We made our way to the girls section to select some underwear. Talk about frustrating. Does a 7 year old girl need "low rider" underwear?? Bring on the old granny panties, I say. Julie was horrified that I would even think of those ugly underwear so we settled for "hipsters".

Next, I needed to find those Little Swimmer diaper things for Jordan she can go in the water at the waterpark this weekend. I asked a woman in the baby department where I would find them and she snapped "OVER WITH THE DIAPERS!!" Dang.

Usually the aisles are aways clogged with stock but today there wasn't any. And what a coincidence...there wasn't any on the SHELVES either. Ugh. Everything they advertised was already sold out. Lots of bare shelves.

It was in the frozen food section that I had the pleasure of hearing an employee speak incredibly rudely to an elderly woman. She was really shocked and frankly so was I.

Finally we headed to the checkout, along with a million other people and in true Wal-mart style, there are only a half dozen cashiers open. There was a woman in front of me with a shirt that didn't have a price tag on it and got cross with the cashier for having to call for a price check. Finally it was our turn and the cashier was very pleasant with me which was a welcome change from the norm. The cashier I had on Thursday had a temper tantrum right in front of me.

It amazes me how filthy this store is, how poorly it is stocked and staffed, and how rude the staff is. Customer Service clearly is not a priority at this store. It's amazing. Yet.. I still shop there.

Julie wanted me to post a picture of my lousy parking job when we stopped to drop something off at the church.



I often park this way. I can't help it.

Here is a shot of a bruise on Ian's arm. Apparently he got beaten up by the children. ;-)



Jordan hangin' on the couch.



I'm going to take a nap with my little baby and try to get rid of my headache. I discovered - after I returned from Wal-mart of course - that we are out of Tylenol. I'm going to have to suffer because I'm not going back!!

Monday, September 29, 2008

Happy 1/2 Birthday Jordan!

How is it that my little baby is now 6 months old?? Where have these months gone?



She is sitting by herself for short periods and loves the view. She is no longer content to lie down - she wants to be sitting up so she doesn't miss a thing. She's a big cuddler and has become much more comfortable with "strangers" holding her, just as long as she can still see me.



She loves all of the vegetables I've given her so far: creamed corn, peas, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and waxed beans. She's not so hot on fruits though. And she loves arrowroot cookies.



Her sleep schedule is still an issue. She will wake several times a night looking for her pacifier and then a bottle around 5am. She's cutting two bottom teeth at the same time so I'm sure that once they break through we'll all be sleeping a bit better.

I don't know what was up with her today but she kept bursting into laughter. I loved it. She has such an adorable laugh.

In other news, I had to take Julie to the walk-in clinic tonight and we waited for over an hour to see a doctor. She has a bladder infection and it just breaks my heart how much pain she is in. I hope her prescription kicks in soon. Poor thing. The doctor that saw her looked like Jack Shepherd from LOST. Sigh. I miss LOST.

Today's Dr Phil has me riled up a little bit today. A mother allowed her 9 yr old son to ride the subway ALONE in New York City because "kids need more freedom these days". There were 357 "level 2 or 3" child molesters within a one mile radius of the route this child took, according to his research, but she was ok with that. I am all for allowing children some age appropriate freedoms, but this isn't the world that I grew up in and I can't pretend that it is. Life is different now and nowhere near as safe. I just shake my head at this type of careless parenting.

On the other end of the spectrum is a "helicopter mom" who spies on her daughter, following her around everywhere incognito, grilling her boyfriends, calling her cell phone constantly to check up on her. FREAKY. Dr Phil says she is crippling her daughter.

I am HOPING I fall somewhere in between... I've really stepped out of my comfort zone with the children this year, by allowing them to play outside on the street alone. Well, alone as in not with me out there. They've made tons of friends and love that they are trusted enough to do this. Meanwhile... I am nervously biting my nails and watching the seconds tick away until they have to check in. Ok.. maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration.

I'm very excited that Desperate Housewives and The Amazing Race have started. The only thing missing is LOST and that doesn't come back on until January I think. I end up taping all of these shows and watching them when I'm on my own, commercial free. Love it.

Well... it's going to be a busy week. Wednesday night my house group starts up (yay!), Thursday night the Lifesavers Girls Group starts and I'm hoping to see a movie with Mom afterwards, Friday is Family Night and Saturday/Sunday we'll be at the indoor waterpark in Niagara. Busy busy!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Girls Night

Last night I went out for dinner with my girlfriends Jodi, Cecelia and Julie. We try to have dinner together once a year but for some reason I missed last year.

We had reservations at The Mandarin for 7:30 which I was really glad about because the place was packed. I had never been to this location before and I was really impressed with the service we received. Everyone greeted us like we were royalty! I could certainly get used to that.

We were seated by a huge, wall-to-wall aquarium filled with colourful fish. I am not a fish expert...but they were all fish like in Finding Nemo. Very colourful.

We laughed so hard about topics that I can't even write about here. LOL. I felt sorry for the people around us who were hoping for a quiet dinner. Never happens when we get together.

The food was awesome and they had just about everything you could think of. I tried salmon (ew) and duck (ew) and almost tried lobster but decided to pass. Maybe next time. And the dessert tables....whoa.

Thanks for a wonderful time girls! I can't wait until Jodi's annual Christmas party!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Thankful Thursday



Thanks to my friend Jen for this great Thankful Thursday icon!

Today I am thankful for....

~ My marriage. May it grow stronger and more loving every day.

~ Being able to stay at home with my children full-time.

~ My mom for letting me do so much laundry at her house this week!

~ For good friends that I can laugh with, cry with and pray with.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

What Do You Mean It's Wednesday Already?

Where is this week going?

Monday and Tuesday I was at my mom's and did tons of my laundry. Thanks to Mom, I was able to visit AND get some chores done! ;-)

Last night was Open House at the children's school and they were so proud to show us their classrooms. I always have the same questions for the teachers, year after year. 1) Are they on track and "getting" what is being taught, 2) are there any problems we should be aware of and 3) how are they doing with their peers. They are both where they should be so I'm pleased about that. I think Julie showed us every square inch of her classroom! I could probably slip in there tomorrow and be up to speed with the rest of the class. ;-)

This morning was my ladies Bible study. We had almost twice the number of women today than we did last week. It changed the dynamic considerably, but its still early in the study so I'm not going to stress about it. I love that I am able to take part in this and that I get to see my friend Jen every week.

After the study Jordan, Ian and I went to lunch together. We had a great talk about a couple of friendships in my life that I am struggling with. He has such a good heart and gives very loving and godly advice, helping me to see things in new and clearer ways.

Thank you, Ian.

After I picked the children up from school we headed to the park to fill in some time before we picked Ian up after work. Sam and Julie kicked off their shoes and socks, rolled up their jeans and headed into the creek to skip rocks and to look for tadpoles and minnows. Jordan enjoyed her very first swing ever. She loved it and I loved watching her as she swung with her eyes closed and her face turned towards the sun. She had such a beautiful smile on her face as I tried to imagine what she was feeling.

I had her try a sippy cup tonight and she knew exactly what to do with it and took to it right away. She loved being able to hold the handle by herself. She amazes me.

Believe it or not...she says "Mumma". I'm not kidding. Ian, my mother and Julie have all heard her say it. She will cry when I leave the room and say it clearly. She is BRILLIANT. Not even 6 months old.

I finally went grocery shopping tonight. I find this chore to be extremely relaxing and enjoyable. I went on my own so I was able to look at everything in my own time. Ian shops like it's an Olympic event and he needs to beat his last time. It drives me nuts. He will zip through the store and not forget a thing. Me? I could browse for hours and still manage to forget something.

My cashier was very dissatisfied with her life and I was the recipient of all of her complaints. I just smiled and made what I hoped were sympathetic sounds.

You would not believe how many people have called, texted, emailed and facebooked me (one from Africa!) to share the news that Clay is gay.

Thank you, my friends. Yes, you were all right and I was wrong.

I am not shocked by any means. What I am is disappointed. I am really disappointed. I won't pass judgement on him. That isn't for me - or anyone else - to do. We all have things we will have to account for when our Judgement Day comes. I am more concerned with my list than with Clay's.

I will still enjoy his music. I will still appreciate what he does in terms of serving others. It is my hope that he will continue to serve the Lord to the best of his ability, using the gifts that he was given.

I must admit that I am somewhat concerned with those who were completely obsessed with "outing" him. I hope they fill their new found freedom with something a little more productive.

Moving on...

Walmart is growing on me. Three Sundays in a row they have been giving out free samples. Week #1 was Kool-Aid singles. Week #2 was a roll of toilet paper. Week #3 was 2 free diapers. I am very curious to see what this Sunday will bring because I am all about free stuff.

I am really looking forward to the first weekend in October. Ian has booked a room for us at a hotel in Niagara Falls that has an indoor waterpark. We're really excited about that. We had such a great time when we were there last year.

That's all I have the energy for today.

Over and out.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Shocked & Sad

Apparently Clay Aiken has come out publicly that he is gay.

I had an entire entry on this typed out but I just deleted it. I'm not interested in the debate that I am sure would follow if I expressed my true feelings on this issue. Which is a shame really, because this is my blog after all.

Suffice it to say, I am very, very disappointed. And I'm so sad.

I can think of a handful of people that will probably trip over themselves to tell me they were right and I was wrong.

It would appear that way.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Sunday Already?!?

I can't believe its Sunday night already. Where did the weekend go??

Yesterday morning we all headed out to the Christian bookstore in our city because it was having a going-out-of-business sale - 25% off everything. Ian bought some resources to use with the Jr High kids, the children each got new bibles and I picked up a book as well. It's called Conflict Free Living, by Joyce Meyer.

Oh look... there it is. ;-)



I'm looking forward to reading it.

My neighbours had a huge party for their daughter's first birthday yesterday afternoon. Our children were invited and they asked Ian to do a magic show for them. They were expecting over 20 children! Jordan and I headed over to my mom's for the afternoon to escape the noise.

When we came home there were people everywhere! I dropped Jordan off with Ian and headed to the pharmacy to get some Tempra because Jordan had developed a fever and had been throwing up. On my way home I stopped for some take-out for dinner. I almost died when they handed me this receipt. **click on the picture for a larger version**



Take a look at the tip they entered.

I don't think so!

The party next door was still going on in full force and every visitor parking spot was taken and their guests had started parking on the street. Well..except for this dude.



Yes...this car is parked on the lawn. My girlfriend Jenn didn't think I would have the nerve to take this picture while there were people around, nor did she think I would post it on my blog. When I asked her what was in it for me she said she'd buy me a Frosty.



See you on Thursday, Jenn. Bring your wallet. ;-)

This morning I attended the Protection Policy Seminar at the church, and once I have my police check done I will be good to go to work with the girls group. I am getting more and more excited every day. I will be meeting with the other two leaders and the Associate Pastor on Thurday morning to go over the agenda for the year, etc.

Have I mentioned how excited I am about this?

This afternoon the children were at another birthday party for a friend of theirs on our street. Needless to say, my party animals are partied O-U-T.

Looks like another busy week ahead. My new calendar is keeping me very organized and on track.

That's about it... I'm hoping for an early night tonight.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Awesome Day

I did it!!

I met with the Associate Pastor this morning to discuss my working with the Girl's Club and he thinks I would be a great addition to the leadership team. I am really excited!

We've started reading If You Want To Walk On Water You've Got To Get Out Of The Boat this morning at the ladies bible study. I'm in love with this book already. I think I'm going to really get something out of it. Our time together is a mix of the study and conversation and a little bit of prayer at the end. Very comfortable.

Miss Jordan slept a lot today which has me a bit worried. And her appetite isn't what is has been at times. I hope she is ok. She was very happy throughout our trip to the mall this afternoon and smiled the entire time.

Tonight I met up with my regular house group to plan our Fall study. I can't even begin to describe how good it felt to be in the presence of these women after being away from them for so long. They are more than just my sisters in Christ. They are the sisters of my heart. We talked and laughed and caught up with one another and just fell into the way we've always been together and it just felt so right, and so safe. These women have been my rock more times than they know and exemplify true friendship.

We're a small group of five women but we think that for this next study we will open it up to all of the ladies at the church and see what God does with it and who He brings forward. Very exciting. We're all to make a suggestion or two of a good study and I don't even know where to begin. We love Beth Moore and did Get Out Of That Pit this past winter and it really, really changed how I thought about a lot of things. We also did Breaking Free about six years ago. I'd appreciate any suggestions.

I am now exhausted. It's been a very busy day and I am off to collapse in bed!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Kate The Builder

Today was a very difficult day that yielded a great result!

But before I begin, I have to show off the lovely roses that Ian brought home for me yesterday, "just because". Aren't they lovely?



Secondly, I have to admit publicly that I was wrong. If you are a 90210 watcher but haven't seen tonight's episode, then do not read any further! You have been warned!

Dylan as Kelly's baby-daddy? UNORIGINAL! I am sooo disappointed. I was sure it would be Steve's, so that the show could go for shock value, but nooooo.

Anyway. Enough about that. On to the good stuff.

On Sunday we bought a dresser for Jordan. I couldn't wait for Ian to put it together for me. I was looking at it last night and got to thinking....I could build that. How hard could it be? Well, the answer is REALLY HARD but we'll get to that.

After dropping the children off at school, I drove to Tim Horton's to get a steeped tea. Oh what a luxury. After waiting forEVER in line, I took it home in joyful anticipation of a quiet house, a cup of tea and an intriguing project.



I took one sip from the cup and almost barfed. It was COFFEE!!! Ew. Such a heinous disappointment.

So I began my little project at 9:15 am. Here it is in the box.



I was so excited as I opened it up, separating the pieces, noting that they were all numbered. Then I separated and laid out all the paraphernalia that apparently I was going to need.



I started getting a little intimidated. Ian said something about it probably only needing an "allan key" whatever that was. He was so very wrong.

I cracked out the trusty screwdriver with all the different sized thingys that go in it to screw things in.

Here is the first side of the dresser. This portion of the project took me an hour and fifteen minutes.



Even though I was following my 8 page novel of detailed instructions, I managed to screw in those long brown things in the wrong direction using the wrong screws.

I hope Jordan's first words aren't "damn it" because she heard it a few times today.

Sorry, Baby Girl. :-(

Finally I had the frame done and Jordan and I could break for lunch.



I had to stop at 3pm to pick up the children from school, drop by my old church to pick up Julie's baptism certificate, pick up a few groceries, then pick up Ian. Once we got home, I continued to work on my no-longer-any-fun-project.

I refused to let anyone help me. This was MY project and it didn't matter how hard it was, or how long it took, I would be the one who did it.

My children lovingly ignored me shouting "damn it!" and just kept encouraging me.

At one point I realized that I had screwed a couple of things in the wrong way and had to reverse what I did. Out of frustration I started to cry and threw my screwdriver down.

Sam came to rub my shoulders and ask me what he could do for me. I told him that I was frustrated because I couldn't do it. He said it would be ok to leave it for Dad. I cried like a wimp for a couple of minutes then picked up my screwdriver and started again.

Ian put up bible verse that we are adapting as our motto. It's Philippians 4:13. Look it up. ;-)

Back to the building... There were more tears, frustration, etc. Sam brought me a cold drink. Julie read to Jordan. Both kept telling me how proud they were of me, and how I could do it, I was almost done...

When it came time to fit the drawers in the kids gave me a drum roll.

The first one didn't fit. DAMN IT!

I wondered if I screwed everything in too tight or something. Ian came home and wanted desperately to help but I wouldn't let him. I am so stubborn and I wanted to be able to say I did it all by myself.

Why?

Because Ian does everything around here. He does everything for me. For everyone. If something needs to be fixed or put together, Ian does it. Everyone asks him for help. If I start something and can't finish it, its Ian that has to. I wanted to do this on my own so that he didn't have to.

And I finished it. By myself. At 8:17 pm. 11 hours and 2 minutes.

Here is Jordan perched on her new dresser.



Whew. Now I want to build something else. Maybe I'll go volunteer for Habitat For Humanity.

Whoa Kate. Easy now. Let's not get crazy.

Speaking of volunteering, I'm meeting with our Associate Pastor tomorrow after my morning Ladies Coffee Hour group to discuss the Girl's Club. I'm actually hoping that I can do this. I'm getting pretty excited about it.

Ian went to a meeting at the church that is affiliated with my children's school. They attend a Catholic school even though we practice at a Baptist church. Why? Because it's a Christian school, the beliefs are the same with a few exceptions, and my taxes support the Catholic school system. There, got that out of the way.

This is the year for First Reconciliation and First Communion. As I posted before, Sam did not have his First Communion with his classmates. The priest told us at a parent info meeting that for anyone to accept communion anywhere other than a Catholic church they are committing a mortal sin. We were not going to have Julie take this sacrament either. However, we were planning on having her participate in First Reconciliation. Well, that is until Ian attended the parent info night at the church tonight.

Tonight the parish priest told everyone gathered that he is aware that there are families in the church that practice at other denominational churches, and that it was morally wrong and a sin for them to do the sacraments. (I probably have completely botched what he said...sorry Ian!)

That was all Ian needed to hear. He got up and left. I don't blame him. This priest is so rude and so is the woman who works with him. I have often felt the pull to visit this church every so often, but I won't as long as he is there. He preaches so many things that just aren't biblical. It's shocking to say the least.

Ian spoke with our Associate Pastor/Friend and he was raised as a Catholic and is willing to sit down with Julie for her "first confession". She feels very good about that.

In other news, Sam is not liking school very much this year. His teacher is homework-happy and seems to be cross with the class a lot. He finally agreed to let me make an appointment to speak with her rather than wait for the Open House next Tuesday. He was almost begging me to let him stay home from school today. He said he just couldn't go. I reminded him about Philippians 4:13 (did you look it up yet?) and he went to get dressed.

He was thrilled when I picked him up after school. He said that he is now a Kindergarten Class Helper. He has given up his morning and afternoon recess to work with the little kids (I sooo want to say kindergarten babies!). He's so happy he "got the job". We're very proud of him for putting others before himself and explained how wonderful that he would serve others this way. What a great kid.

Whew. That's about all for today. If you've read this far then you deserve a piece of chocolate for your patience!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Footprints

Footprints

One night I had a dream.
I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord
and across the sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints,
one belonged to me and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that many times along the path of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest
and saddest times in my life.
This really bothered me and I questioned the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you would walk with me all the way,
but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life
there is only one set of footprints.
"I don't understand why in times when I needed you most,
you should leave me."
The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child,
I love you and I would never, never leave you
during your times of trial and suffering.
"When you saw only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."

~ Mary Stevenson ~

Saturday, September 13, 2008

This-n-That

Its been a busy few days and I finally have a few moments to sit down and talk about what's been going on or going through my mind.

Thursday night Jules and I headed off to register her for indoor soccer. YES! I LOVE being a soccer mom and she loves to play. Being that she's been a member of the soccer club for a couple of years now, the registration took less than five minutes. We should get a call sometime mid-October and the first game is end of October/beginning of November. The season will end in March. I hope she gets a different coloured jersey this year. She's been gold for two years now! A third year would just be freaky. The games will be every Saturday, sometime between 12-3pm.

I have a wonderful and amazingly generous friend named Jen V who has been blessing us incredibly with clothes that her two daughters have outgrown. The outfits are so adorable and thanks to Jen, Jordan is very well dressed.

Yesterday I put her in a pair of jeans and the back pockets were so cute I just had to post a picture of one of them.



Occasionally I will tune in to The View to see what the ladies are talking about on that particular day. This past Friday they had Senator John McCain on the show. I was struck by the way these ladies were dressed. Everyone is dressed up with the exception of Whoopi. As you will see below, she wore jeans.

JEANS!

This man could potentially be the next President of the United States....and Whoopi wore JEANS? I couldn't believe it.



Looks like Senator McCain visited the ladies prior to this and look at Whoopi's attire...yep, jeans again.



Am I alone in thinking this is disrespectful?

I don't know about you, but if I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with the future Prime Minister of Canada, I think I would shelve my jeans for that day. Just sayin'.

Moving on...

I am looking forward to the book we'll be studying at the Ladies Coffee Hour on Wednesday mornings. Here it is.



I've been wanting to read this book for some time now and it seems to reflect where I am these days.

Something else I'm excited about these days is this.



The kids are killing me with all the grass and mud stains on the knees of their jeans. This stuff has been a lifesaver. I much prefer Shout but my local store doesn't carry the spray bottle so I went with the other.

Oh my. I am blogging about stain removers. Ha. I love this stay-at-home-mom gig.

Once upon a time in the business world, I used to deal with accounts that would have hundreds of thousands of dollars in receivables. Now, I deal with dishes and diapers and grass stains. I love it.

So there's this guy from the States who has eaten 23,000 Bic Macs in 36 years.



Apparently he eats two a day. I don't know how he does it. They're good, but I wouldn't want one EVERY day. Not even EVERY week. You know, I used to work with someone who knew that eating one of these would make him feel like crap afterwards, yet he'd go ahead and eat it anyway.

My Big Macs never look like the picture above. That one is all tall and neat looking. The one I end up getting looks like it was dropped in the box with the lettuce falling out one side. It also looks squished. Is that picture an inaccurate representation of a true Big Mac or are the kids at my local McD's manhandling my burger?

Oh..excuse me. I believe they refer to these as sandwiches. Why is that? If it's a meat patty on a bun then its a burger. A sandwich is something else entirely. I refuse to call it a sandwich.

I am looking forward to this movie coming out at the end of the month. It looks really good. I will go and see it if I can and then will post my thoughts on it.



It looks interesting, doesn't it?

I've decided to get off the sidelines and in to the game. I want to serve somewhere at my church. It would seem obvious to some that since I have an infant I could work in the nursery. Been there, done that. I don't want to work in the nursery because I can't stand the smell of dirty diapers and I don't like other children's drool/snot/barf/poop/etc.

So...

There is a need for another leader for the Girls Club that meets on Thursday nights at the church. When I first heard of this need I just pushed it from my mind, telling myself that I had enough to do and I would find somewhere else to serve that wouldn't be such a commitment. Someone always steps up when needed.

Then during the sermon, God did what He seems to do more and more often when He wants my attention. He has this way of speaking into my heart that isn't in words, exactly. But it's not just a feeling either. He just puts the Truth in there in a way that I can't mistake it. And while He's doing this, He shuts off the outside world so it's almost like I am not aware of anything else, except for what He is telling me. I love how He does this. I can be pretty dim and miss when He talks to me and I end up missing His message. He knows this about me because He created me. Now when He has something to say He says it and I hear it!

What He was telling me was that I was to serve in the Girl's Club.

I actually argued with Him, if you can believe that. You can't mean me, Lord. I'm not fun. Ian is the fun one. I don't play. I'm not craftsy or creative.

I have talked this over with Ian a few times and he has been so encouraging and loving, pointing out the gifts that God has given me. He thinks I should do this, full speed ahead. I spoke with one of the current leaders to get a feel for what would be required.

Yesterday afternoon I was talking about it with Him and told Him yet again that I don't think that this area is for me.

And then He led me to this video.



Wow.

Its amazing, isn't it? All the images that our daughters see that plant themselves in their minds and influence who they are and who they will become. I want more for my daughter than these worldly views of beauty and worth and value.

And then He did it again. He told me to go for it. Just like that. He spoke into my heart and said "go for it!"

I am hoping to meet with the Associate Pastor at the church to discuss this. The group can't begin for the year until they have this leadership role filled. I'll let you know how it goes!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Happy Meet-A-Versary Ian!

Today is a very special day in our house because 15 years ago today Ian and I had our very first date. We've been together ever since.

So, that makes today our Meet-A-Versary. :-)

I can still remember the night we met like it was yesterday. He was about nine minutes late to meet me and I was sure he wasn't coming. When he did arrive we went for a walk together and just talked and talked and talked. It was so comfortable.

I remember that he was such a gentleman, and always walked on the side of the sidewalk closest to the curb. And I can still see the look in his eyes when he asked me when he could see me again. Then he kissed me on my front lawn.

15 years later we are still debating who kissed who first. But we both know that HE kissed ME.

(Yes you did, Ian!)

We've had many seasons of joy and sorrow, but I can honestly say that through it all, he's still my guy.

I love you, Babe.

xo xo xo

Thursday, September 11, 2008

How Do I Look?

Many, many thanks to JEN for helping me to give this blog a much needed facelift!

Thanks Jen!!

September 11, 2001

"...Father, forgive them,for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34

*** video removed ***

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

No Creative Title Today

Today started out pretty rough. It's always so hard to get the kids up in the morning and today was no exception.

Last night they told me they had to wear blue today because the school was taking a 25th anniversary photo. No problem - I know they have blue stuff so I wasn't concerned about finding anything.

Sam wasn't too difficult this morning. He got up, found his something blue to wear, brushed his teeth, made his bed and came down for breakfast.

While he was doing this, Jules sat on her bed, yawning.

I tried to kick her into gear and went to make my own bed and get dressed. As I was passing her room with Jordan, she was then sitting on her bedroom floor, yawning.

After a brief argument about why she couldn't wear the same skirt she wore yesterday, I headed down the stairs to prepare their breakfast.

I put their breakfast on the table and still no Julie.

I changed Jordan's diaper and got her dressed for the day and still no Julie.

I made lunches and still no Julie.

Finally she comes downstairs for breakfast and she's wearing a turtleneck.

???

I explain as patiently as I possibly can that it is much too warm for a turtleneck and she will need to change. < Insert drama here > She tells me that the only other shirt she has that is blue is too small.

Sigh. Ten minutes to departure time.

I send her back upstairs to find another shirt. She comes down wearing the one that is too small.

My patience is all but gone. I send her back upstairs while I put their lunches into their backpacks, then I headed up to help her. She is sitting on her bedroom floor, yawning.

Five minutes to departure. She isn't dressed, her bed isn't made and her teeth and hair haven't been brushed.

Suffice it to say, it wasn't my finest morning as a mother. Cut to the end...she headed out the front door with a lovely blue shirt with little flowers on it. Lovely.

< Insert eye roll here >

By this time we had about two minutes to get to school, which is a five minute drive. They were dropped off with a "Hustle! Hustle!" and I was off to my next stop.

I made it to the church by nine for the Ladies Coffee Hour. I am SO glad I went. My friend Jen came as well which was really nice. We started off talking about books we've read, and one lady started talking about Heaven and that she'd read a book that talked about Heaven, what it looked like, smelled like, what we'll do, etc., as well as different levels of Heaven. This was the first time I'd heard of this and I didn't feel very good listening to it. I'm going to have to look for this in the bible to find out more about this.

We also talked about the jewels we'll have in our crown and how we live here will determine what/how many jewels we will have in Heaven. I thought about this all day and ended up calling Ian to ask about it. He is incredibly knowledgeable about the bible, I have to say. So I asked him...what if I get to Heaven and I haven't "earned" any jewels? Will it be like back in the day when we had to do the Canada Fitness Test and the kids that didn't even win a bronze badge (ie; me) were given a Participation Pin? Will I get something like a Participation Jewel?

Oh the crazy things I waste my time thinking about.

We also had a great conversation about friendship, which led to friendships with non-Christians. I have often felt attacked by one of my friends in particular, as though this person is always trying to catch me being less-than-Christian, then takes joy in pointing it out to me. We also shared ideas about how to witness to those who are unbelievers. Lots of great ideas, without making the friend feel like its our "pet project" to get them saved.

Anyway, it was a great morning and I'm looking forward to next week.

We went to Costco today and took our time browsing. I love looking at everything they have and trying out their samples. We bought Jordan a toy that looks like a gum ball machine, and you feed in these balls that have little characters inside and she presses the lever and out comes a ball just like a gum ball machine. It said six months and up but she is BRILLIANT and can play with it now.

Once we got home I opened it up and we played with it for awhile. She's so cute. She's starting to sit on her own and can do it for about five seconds before she either falls over or does what I call the slow-fold-over and ends up bent in half, practically kissing the floor. She seemed to enjoy the lights and noises the toy made.

SCORE!

Sam went to bed feeling sick tonight. I don't know what happened but it came on pretty fast. I might have company tomorrow.

I watched last night's episode of 90210 tonight and I just know I'm going to get hooked on it. Some of the casting is annoying and the story lines are quick and predictable but still... I'll watch.

I would just like to go on the record and tell any 90210 fans that might be reading my blog, that STEVE SANDERS is the father of Kelly's son. Just get a load of those crazy blonde curls. I know what I'm talking about.

Is it sad to admit that my favourite movie right now is The Cheetah Girls: One World? Yes...I suppose it is. My friend Amanda watched it too and she has a 2 yr old son and a newborn daughter, no one old enough (young enough?) to be into The Cheetah Girls. So... we're lame together I guess. Like peas and carrots, we are.

My brand new calendar has been updated, colour coded and highlighted, and all stickers and birthdays noted. It is a work of art and very pretty to look at. I actually instructed Ian on the "proper" way to write things on the calendar so it stays neat and orderly.

Wow. I'm a control freak. Ha. Like that's news to anyone.

I am hoping, hoping, hoping that Jordan sleeps better tonight. She is way off her schedule of only waking once a night. I think she's teething and that is waking her. Poor little lamb.

Ian informed me this morning that - in my sleep - I shoved him right in the chest while he was sleeping. He woke up with quite a jolt and I said something to him about having to "get her...get her!" Or something like that. I don't know because I was sleeping. Poor guy. Its no longer enough to talk or hum in my sleep....now I've taken to beating him up!

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Busy Busy...Tired Tired...

Ian came home from the youth retreat yesterday afternoon and was exhausted, but apparently it was a great success and he really enjoyed himself. He had tons of pictures to show us all the fun they had. I think he's going to have a really great impact on these young people. They seem to be responding very well to him so far.

The children and I had another sleepover Saturday night and even though we went up to bed at 11, we continued to whisper and giggle until just after midnight.

Yes, I locked the bedroom door and put the basket of laundry in front of it again... Can't be too cautious you know.

I managed to get us all to church yesterday morning and was only 2 minutes late for the service. I hate being late because we start with worship and I love that so much. I feel closest to the Lord when I sing.

I think I take Ian for granted for all that he does to help me with these little ones. He always - and I mean always - takes them upstairs to sign them in to Sunday School and always goes up to sign them out. I had to do that myself today and get Jordan settled into the nursery. There was no time to visit afterwards because I had to collect up my herd and head home.

I tried to make the weekend fun for the kids so that they wouldn't miss Ian too much and I think I did an ok job. We ate pizza and burgers every day, stayed up late, hung out in our pjs, didn't make our beds (ok I did, but I have become OCD about that) and basically forgot about all our regular rules and routines.

At one point on Saturday afternoon Julie asked if she could call Daddy. I said no, because he was going to be with the youth group and wouldn't be able to talk, but he will call us when he could. Later on at Wal-Mart, I accidentally "pocket called" Ian. My phone is very sensitive and if something brushes against it then it will dial someone unless the phone is locked. I am always forgetting to lock it. As soon as I realized what happened I quickly hung up, hoping the call hadn't gone through. We continued to shop a bit more and I went to text someone on my cell and realized Ian had called twice. (If I'm not forgetting to lock the phone, I'm forgetting to turn the ringer on. Usually both at the same time) He called again thinking that there was something wrong since he had two calls from us.

Two?

Turns out that Julie HAD called Ian that afternoon even though I had expressly told her not to. Ian asked me not to scold her because she was missing him and it was the first time he's been away from the family for a whole weekend.

Softie.

So I let it go.

We spent so much time at Wal-Mart that it was dark when we left. Yikes.

I think I'm coming down with something. Everything hurts. Even my eyeballs hurt. I hope it's nothing big.

Today Ian was home with us and while I loved having him here, it threw off my morning routine.

Since he had everything under control with the baby, I had a nice hot shower and washed my hair. I changed the sheets on our bed and came down to see that he had breakfast on the table for the children and Jordan was happily playing with her toys. I sat down to check my email, enjoying a cup of perfectly made tea in my Eeyore mug, all the while reminding the kids to eat, etc.

When it was 5 minutes before the time we had to leave I guess Sam got tired of my "loving reminders" and asked "Mom...aren't you going to pack our lunches?"

$@%&!!

So I was racing around making sandwiches, and packing snacks and juice, all the while yelling "Get your shoes on! Grab your backpacks! Head out to the car I'm right behind you!!" I left Jordan with Ian and we raced to the car.

We were laughing so hard on the drive to school. I think I made it there in record time! I don't think they're going to let me live this down very soon.

After dropping them off I took my Mom to her physio appointment. She hates it when I say "took her", so I will revise that to "went with her". We picked up breakfast on the way back to her place and had a nice talk together.

Her cleaning service arrived unexpectedly, so Mom and I were racing around doing some pickup while the ladies unloaded their car.

All this rushing. Ugh. I don't like it.

Mom realized she'd forgotten her glasses at the physio clinic so I went back for them and after dropping them off I returned home.

I bought a larger calendar today. We have so many things on the go that I need a large space to record everything and the old one just wasn't cutting it space-wise. Looking at it I realized that all of Ian's commitments were ministry or work related. All of the kids' are school related. All mine are social. Oops. I should throw in something ministry related...

This Wednesday the Ladies Coffee Break starts up at the church. I think my girlfriend Jen is going to join me. I'm not sure I will enjoy it any better than I did when I tried it in the Spring, but I'm hopeful. Also, it will give Jen and me some time to visit together. We have some great spiritual talks sometimes.

Oh I hope I can get to bed early tonight. I am pooped. Jordan was up so many times last night. I have fed her well and filled her little belly as best as I could, so hopefully that will help.

I'm too tired to talk about anything else tonight.

Over and out.

Saturday, September 06, 2008

So Tired!

Since Ian is away on retreat this weekend I wanted to do something out of the ordinary with the children.

So...we decided to have a slumber party in my room.

Julie brought her inflatable bed and blankets and laid them out on the floor beside my side of the bed. Sam slept in my bed on Ian's side and Miss Jordan in her crib, which is always in our room.

Have I mentioned we need a bigger house? Jordan needs to move out and into her own space! Love her .... but her eviction is on the horizon...

I am always nervous at night if Ian is out and the rare times he's away I never sleep well. I'm always afraid someone will come to kill me!

I need to be ready for when The Killer arrives you know.

I made sure that the front door was locked and the house alarm was on, then once we were all set up in my bedroom, I locked the door and put a heavy basket of laundry in front of the door.

That's right. I put a heavy basket of laundry in front of the door. Because if a killer is coming to get me, he's going to have to fold those clothes first.

We whispered until after midnight. We finally stopped after Sam's impression of me saying "NOT ANOTHER WORD!"

Jordan woke up a couple of times as usual but she didn't disturb the children. We got up for the day at about 8 and all of us cuddled in bed together. They're missing Ian. I am too.

Sam ate pizza for breakfast.

Not much on the agenda for today. I think I'll take them out to lunch and we'll go and check out the Disney store. They want to have another slumber party tonight.

I'm hoping that in there somewhere we can have a little nap! I'm so tired!

Friday, September 05, 2008

Friday

I have to laugh at some of the comments I get on this blog.

Karin commented on my last entry about how I would walk and burn off a couple hundred calories then eat go and eatg a Frosty.

Karin, Karin, Karin... one negates the other. Cancels them right out. Therefore, said Frosty is a freebie. :-) See how it works?

Feel free to adopt this method, I don't mind.

As for Sam's impressions of me... Apparently he gets quite a kick out of some of the things I say. Obviously I can't relay tone here, so I'll just post his favourite things that I say.

1) "JULIE!! Stop SPEAKING to him that way!" Said in frustration at the grocery store after listening to Julie talk to Sam like he was dirt.

2) "SAMUEL! Stop making so much bleepin' noise!" Said while trying to get the children to put their shoes on for school while they are horsing around.

3) "Julie....not another word...." This one is usually said at least twice while having breakfast at my mother's on any given school day. Sam especially likes how seriously I say it, and that my voice lowers. He says its funny when I try to sound serious.

4) "Oh my back is killing me...I'm trying not to complain" Said a few times in the last month of my pregnancy.

5) "HONESTLY GUYS!" Said whenever I am frustrated.

Again, hard to convey tone, but if you've ever heard me speak I am sure you can imagine what these sound like.

Today I went to the hospital to visit a woman from my church who had surgery this week. I was so pleased to hear that it was a success and she can move forward. I've mentioned before that I suck at small talk, so this poor woman was subjected to my ramblings. Turns out that she worked with my mother about 30 years ago and still remembers her. Small world.

Sam wasn't impressed that I went to the hospital without him. He and I had a grand old time eating crushed ice when I was there after having Jordan. We've often commented that - aside from having Jordan of course - the ice machine was the best part of being in the hospital, and that we miss that ice.

Wow. That sounds really lame to even type that out. We miss the crushed ice from the local hospital.

Oh well. It's true.

I actually thought of stopping to get some and just happily eating it on the way to the car, but then it felt like I would be cheating on Sam or something. So I didn't. Well... and because of the big "Patients Only" sign on the kitchenette door.

Ian left for the youth retreat this evening. We dropped him off at the church just before 6 and hung around talking for a bit while the kids arrived. There were about 40 kids going from grades 6-12. They were all so pumped to go.

We picked up a pizza on our way home and instead of watching a movie we watched all of the Disney Channel Games. The Jonas Brothers were on it and Julie was telling me all of the things she has in common with Nick Jonas. I guess it's over between her and Orlando Bloom.

I suppose I should get my little ones into bed...

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Good Day

Yet another exciting day in the life of Kate.

I walked the children to school this morning and Sam made me laugh all the way there with his impersonations of me and the things I say. According to my mother he is bang on. I had no idea I was so entertaining. I got a kiss from Sam this morning, but only after checking high and low and high again to make sure no one was looking. Julie on the other hand, had me walk her to her door and gave me a couple of hugs and kisses. I love that she hasn't given that up yet. I met Sam's teacher and she said she thinks she's going to love having him in her class because he is so funny. He really is, you know. I appreciate his humour.

After I walk the children to school I like to take a roundabout route back to my mom's so I can get some exercise and Jordan can get some fresh air. This morning was particularly exciting because I had stopped to take off my shoe to remove a small rock and a woman walking behind us caught up to us and stopped to look at Jordan and we started talking. We ended up slowly walking along together, talking about our children and life in general. We discovered that we are both Christians and then that led to another whole discussion about serving Him and gifts and blessings. We probably talked for about a half an hour before we parted ways. I hope I see her again. I forgot her name pretty much instantly because I'm kind of lame that way. Someone could tell me their name and it may not even register. In my defense, I have baby-brain still and I was excited to meet a new friend.

The truth is, if you were to stand next to me at the grocery store longer than three minutes I will make friends with you. I am friendly that way. Or really creepy, depending on how you look at it.

I had to ground Julie today. I know... mean mommy. Hear me out before you decide just how mean I am!

We have a rule that the children cannot ride their bikes between 5-7 pm. The reason for that is that people are coming home from work, there are a lot of cars on the road and we don't want them to be run over. Sam accepts this as the rule and doesn't fight us. The Princess balks at any type of rule and will test us at every opportunity. Tonight was no different. Sam came in at 5:30 to tell me that Julie was riding *J*'s bike. I asked him to please tell her I wanted to speak with her.

She did not come in.

At 5:50 Sam called in that now Julie was riding *T*'s bike. I was in the middle of washing a sink full of dishes so I asked him to please send her in. This time she came.

I asked her if it was true that she was riding *J* and *T*'s bikes and she said yes. I asked if she was allowed to ride between 5-7 pm and she said no. I asked her what time it was and she said "I guess it's between 5-7 because your face looks like I'm in trouble".

Sigh. I HATE having to punish my children.

I told her that obviously she was aware that she knowingly broke our rule and therefore was not allowed to ride her bike for the remainder of today or all day tomorrow. She could have her bike back on Saturday. Then I asked her to please put her bike away.

While she was doing this I heard her speaking really rudely to Sam, like he was garbage. I was getting very cross listening to it and when she came into the living room I asked her who she was speaking to like that and she said "SAM!" I asked why she was speaking like that and she said she was frustrated with him because he told on her. She JUST got in trouble only yesterday for speaking to him like crap and here she was doing it again!

So... she ended up being grounded for the night, and was allowed to come out of her room for dinner only. I hate being a hard-ass.

Tonight I went out with Cindy which is always a fun and refreshing time. I know I've said it before, but Cindy is such a blessing to me. Instead of walking around Chinguacousy park we decided to walk around Loafers Lake instead. Its funny...neither of us wanted to walk tonight but thought the other did, so rather than letting the other down, we did the walk anyway. I'm glad we did though. I think we are improving on our speed too which is good.

Afterwards we went to Wendy's/Tim Hortons and talked for awhile. The girls behind the counter are always so nice to us and make excellent Frostys. I think they add extra M&Ms to ours because we're such nice people. ;-)

Ian is away on a retreat with the youth group this weekend, leaving tomorrow night and home on Sunday. He is one of the new youth group leaders and will be giving a sermon on Saturday night. I wish I could hear it first hand but I know he will be great. He has such a way with kids it's unbelievable. Me? Not so much...

So, tomorrow night the children and I will put on our pjs, eat pizza and popcorn while watching movies in my bed and have a "sleepover". Not sure what we'll do on Saturday...

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Some But Not All

Man I`m tired tonight. I had a fairly busy day but looking back on it, I don`t think I finished a single thing I started.

I drove the children to school this morning and already the kiss-n-ride drama has started. I don`t know why its so hard for some people to adhere to the natural order of things. There is always some parent that thinks nothing of parking and then walking their child in to the school. Meanwhile, there are 15 cars stuck waiting for this one person. UGH. The volunteer was freaking out as per her usual style, waving her arms and panicking.

I am thinking about volunteering at the school and I`d love kiss-n-ride duty. No parking on my watch! Oh yes. I must put my name in for that. I`ll get to wear a bright vest with an X on it and carry a walkie-talkie.

Copy that!

From there I went to Tim Hortons to get a large steeped tea with double milk. Excellent as always.

I started a few chores but as I said, I didn`t get to finish any of them which is a little frustrating. Oh well. I did get some laundry done. Some dishes. Some gardening. Some straightening up. Oh well...tomorrow is another day.

It was so hot today. 30 degrees! I was roasting while gardening. Not the best day to do it, but Jules wanted to ride her bike and I didn`t want her outside alone. Apparently it was 7 degrees in Edmonton. Ha ha. Someone once told me West is best, East is least. Well apparently not today, my friend. Not today.

I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by 90210 last night. I loved the references to the old days and inside jokes from back in the day with lots of new drama to come. It`s much more risque and has harsher language which I don`t like though. I`m already looking forward to next week. Lame...I know.

Speaking of lame... I am really excited that tomorrow there is an exemption to the 2 bags of garbage rule. I will have more than 2 bags. I actually wandered through the house LOOKING for things to throw out, just so I could take part in this joyous occasion.

Well. That`s it for me. Over and out.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Back To School

Well, here we are, back in our regular schedule. It feels as though we never left it.

On school days, Ian is always the first one up. Who am I kidding... the poor guy is ALWAYS the first one up! I called to wake up the children on my way to brush my teeth. When I came out, Sam was half dressed and excitedly making his bed. I commented on his unusual enthusiasm and as he threw open his curtains he replied "YES! The first day of school!"

Julie, however, was buried underneath her blankets. She's even less of a morning person than I am. A few more calls into her brought her downstairs in a bear of a mood.

Finally we were all packed up and ready to head off to my mom's because the children go to school in her area. After breakfast Ian took the traditional First Day Of School pics.

Sam, ready to start grade 4!



Julie ready to take on grade 2!



Both of them...



All together now!



Ian and I walked them to school, with Sam way ahead of us. I don't know if he was excited to be going to school or embarassed that not one, but both, of his parents were coming too. Maybe a little of both. I didn't even get a kiss goodbye. He went off so full of confidence.

Julie hung back and was fine until Ian asked a teacher where her class was so she could join them. I felt something tugging on my shirt and when I looked down, Jules had a handful of my shirt and was pulling me towards her. When I bent down she buried her head in my shoulder, crying quietly. Of course I felt my OWN tears starting, but I sucked it up and held off. Well, at least until all the children headed inside, then I started.

I know I still have Jordan going to school to look forward to (or dread!) but still, I feel sad that they are all growing so quickly. I love being a mother and having little people to take care of. Soon enough they won't need me for anything but to borrow money and to do their laundry.

Good luck with that!

I spent the day at my mom's talking her ear off. It was nice to spend some quiet, one on one time with her again.

Tonight is the premier of 90210. I am not even remotely ashamed to say I am excited about it. No one better call me between 8-10 because I won't answer!

Monday, September 01, 2008

SHE DID IT!!!!

Way to go, Jules!!!








She is so proud of herself! I am pretty proud too. She really wanted to be able to tell her friends at school that she learned how to ride a bike over the summer and now she can.

All the frustration and effort was worth it.

However, when Jordan gets to the age where she needs to learn, I will nominate Ian!

The children have packed their backpacks, laid out their clothes and shoes and had baths. They're so excited.

I forgot to buy new socks for them. :-( In my defense, I'm blonde and I have a lot of kids to distract me.

I'm just about to make their lunches then head up to bed. I always put a Hershey kiss and a hug in their lunches so that they know I'm thinking about them.

I'm going to miss my buddies tomorrow!

Monday Funny

BIRTH ORDER OF CHILDREN

You've just been told that you are pregnant:

1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes. ________________________________________________

Preparing for the birth:


1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month. ________________________________________________

The layette:

1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they? ________________________________________________

Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.
________________________________________________

Pacifier:

1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in. ________________________________________________

Diapering:
1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees. ________________________________________________

Activities:

1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner. ________________________________________________

Going out:

1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby : Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.
________________________________________________

At home:

1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children. ________________________________________________

Swallowing coins:

1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays.
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin, you deduct it from his allowance.